The Yankees had a busy deadline season. Whether or not buying and selling for Ryan McMahon, patching smaller holes, or including high relievers, they had been within the information seemingly daily 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 huge league play. He has below-average uncooked energy and a affected person method on the plate, which may end up in 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 not often 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.
Irrespective of which metrics you subscribe to, Caballero is a plus defender throughout the infield. He began taking part in the outfield this 12 months and took to it rapidly. He’s a reasonably good bunter, should you’re into that; should you want somebody to come back 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 high 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 — that means you’ll must decrease the taking part in time threshold to search out him — he’s tied with Oneil Cruz for the most important league lead in stolen bases, with 34. Caballero’s prowess on the basepaths is maybe his most interesting talent for his new membership. As was the case final season, the Yankees are completely horrible on the bases; in truth, their -4.4 BsR is the worst amongst playoff contenders.
Although Caballero is below crew management by means of the 2029 season, I don’t assume that’s the true driving pressure 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 12 months. He was presupposed to principally experience the bench, however he ended up beginning 41 video games as numerous infielders obtained harm and, later, after the Yankees launched DJ LeMahieu. General, 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, however it hasn’t been sufficient to make up for the moist noodle he’s swinging offensively. He’s been 0.6 wins beneath alternative degree this 12 months, bringing his profession whole 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 obtained its begin.
That’s the apparent motive the Yankees made the Caballero commerce: It makes the 2025 crew higher. However they didn’t get to do it totally free, after all. 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 12 months comes up empty that ceaselessly.
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 possibly above common in a nook. The Rays love guys like this, significantly if they’ll play just a few 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 checklist, although he’ll have to hit the most important league roster earlier than too lengthy, as that is his final choice 12 months.
On the opposite facet of the ledger, the Yankees obtained again Wilberson De Pena and worldwide pool cash from the Angels in trade for Peraza. De Pena signed with Los Angeles throughout the January 2024 worldwide interval and is at present 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 huge hacks and has a excessive end, a la Miguel Andujar, driving each the ability 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 broad, to say the least. He’s going onto the Yankees checklist 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 seemed like a DFA candidate to me. Now that they’ve a greater utility man, they’d even much less want for him. However the Angels are squarely of their annual throw-stuff-at-the-wall-and-hope-it-sticks part of the season, beneath .500 and on the acute fringes of the playoff race. They’ve been biking by means of so-so place gamers all 12 months lengthy and are in want of secure infield protection. Their roster is healthier geared up to hold Peraza into subsequent 12 months and see if the shape that after made him a High 100 prospect continues to be in there someplace.
The participant to be named later might change the worth of this bundle 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 a giant improve. It didn’t value them a ton both; Pereira was boxed out by the great outfielders on the massive league roster. In the meantime, De Pena is much from a certain factor, however loads 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.