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The Yankees had a busy deadline season. Whether or not buying and selling for Ryan McMahonpatching smaller holes, or including prime relievers, they had been within the information seemingly day-after-day for including to the 2025 membership. Because the deadline approached, they checked out their roster and determined that merely including wasn’t sufficient. Thus, they finessed a roster reshuffle Thursday afternoon, buying utility infielder José Caballero from the Rays and buying and selling utility infielder Oswald Peraza to the Angels.
Let’s begin with Caballero. A plus-fielding, slap-hitting nuisance (complimentary), he has been a superbly serviceable utility infielder in two-plus years of massive league play. He has below-average uncooked energy and a affected person method on the plate, which can lead to some ugly strikeout numbers when pitchers problem him early within the zone and he takes. Although he’s good at elevating the ball, it’s hardly ever with a lot authority, and he by no means fairly labored out the Isaac Paredes trick of turning mediocre uncooked energy into pulled homers. He was nonetheless a league-average contributor total, although, as a result of the remainder of his recreation is superb.
Regardless of which metrics you subscribe to, Caballero is a plus defender throughout the infield. He began enjoying the outfield this yr and took to it shortly. He’s a fairly good bunter, when you’re into that; when you want somebody to return off of the bench in a late-and-close state of affairs and advance the runners, he’s your man.
Oh, and he’s a superb baserunner, rating prime 15 within the majors in baserunning runs regardless of reaching base far fewer instances than the remainder of that cohort. And regardless of not having recorded sufficient plate appearances to qualify for the assorted price stat leaderboards — which means you’ll need to decrease the enjoying time threshold to seek out him — he’s tied with Oneil Cruz for the main league lead in stolen bases, with 34. Caballero’s prowess on the basepaths is probably his most interesting ability for his new membership. As was the case final season, the Yankees are completely horrible on the bases; in reality, their -4.4 BsR is the worst amongst playoff contenders.
Although Caballero is below workforce management by way of the 2029 season, I don’t suppose that’s the actual driving power behind this acquisition. He’s only a well-rounded choice who can fill in in all places proper now, one thing that the Yankees thought they already had in Peraza. However uh, about that.
This season has been nothing lower than a nightmare for Peraza. He’s out of choices and thus has been with the massive league membership all yr. He was speculated to principally experience the bench, however he ended up beginning 41 video games as varied infielders received damage and, later, after the Yankees launched DJ Lemahieu. Total, Peraza is slashing a desultory .152/.212/.241 in 170 plate appearances, which works out to a wRC+ of 26 — a very unplayable batting line. Like Caballero, Peraza is a reliable defender on the three hardest infield spots, but it surely hasn’t been sufficient to make up for the moist noodle he’s swinging offensively. He’s been 0.6 wins under alternative stage this yr, bringing his profession complete all the way down to -0.3 WAR. In different phrases, Caballero is nearly instantly changing a replacement-level participant. Hey, look, that’s how WAR received its begin.
That’s the plain motive the Yankees made the Caballero commerce: It makes the 2025 workforce higher. However they didn’t get to do it at no cost, in fact. The Rays are buying Everson Pereira and a participant to be named later within the deal. Pereira suits the high-risk slugger archetype: plus energy numbers regardless of a scary contact profile. His swinging strike charges in Triple-A are proper round 20%; nobody within the majors this yr comes up empty that continuously.
After a cup of espresso in 2023, Pereira was repeating Triple-A in 2024 when he blew out his elbow and wanted inner brace surgical procedure. He’s returned to the sphere with no lingering results from the harm, however he’s nonetheless hanging out a ton. He profiles as a fourth outfielder, able to dealing with middle in an emergency and doubtless above common in a nook. The Rays love guys like this, significantly if they will play a number of outfield spots and platoon with somebody, however I’d file Pereira firmly into the post-hype sleeper bucket. He slots in at thirty fourth on the Rays recordalthough he’ll have to hit the main league roster earlier than too lengthy, as that is his final choice yr.
On the opposite facet of the ledger, the Yankees received again Wilberson of Pena and worldwide pool cash from the Angels in trade for Peraza. De Pena signed with Los Angeles in the course of the January 2024 worldwide interval and is at the moment repeating the DSL, the place the early returns on his energy are encouraging. He’s posting an enormous hard-hit price in restricted motion in the mean time. Eric Longenhagen notes that De Pena’s Ninetieth-percentile EV of 104 mph jumps off the web page; he was at 99 mph in 2024, for comparability. Additionally per Longenhagen, De Pena takes massive hacks and has a excessive end, a la Miguel Andujardriving each the facility and a few swing-and-miss. De Pena is an 18-year-old with an 82 wRC+ within the DSL, so the error bands on his future efficiency are extensive, to say the least. He’s going onto the Yankees record as a 40 FV, squarely in wait-and-see territory.
The worldwide pool cash is a pleasant kicker on the deal, although the precise quantity hasn’t been reported but. Regardless, Peraza didn’t match on the Yankees roster anymore. Even earlier than they acquired Caballero, Peraza appeared like a DFA candidate to me. Now that they’ve a greater utility man, that they had even much less want for him. However the Angels are squarely of their annual throw-stuff-at-the-wall-and-hope-it-sticks section of the season, under .500 and on the acute fringes of the playoff race. They’ve been biking by way of so-so place gamers all yr lengthy and are in want of secure infield protection. Their roster is best geared up to hold Peraza into subsequent yr and see if the shape that after made him a High 100 prospect remains to be in there someplace.
The participant to be named later may change the worth of this package deal of trades, however assuming it’s a minor identify, I like this swap for the Yankees fairly a bit. They’re in a good race for the AL East, and each win issues; hemorrhaging offense with Peraza within the lineup was completely hurting them, and Caballero is an enormous improve. It didn’t value them a ton both; Pereira was boxed out by the nice outfielders on the massive league roster. In the meantime, De Pena is much from a certain factor, however plenty of farm system constructing is about getting a ton of speculative choices and hoping that a few of them click on. Doing that whereas making the 2025 squad higher? Appears nice to me.
