Yankees Trade Adam Ottavino to Red Sox
Photo Via: Adam Hunger - USA Today Sports
Adam Ottavino is a New Yorker at heart. The Brooklyn-born reliever has often talked about growing up in New York City and how much it means to play for his childhood-favorite team, the Yankees. After his childhood days, Ottavino moved to Massachusetts to play baseball and attend Northeastern University.
After two seasons with the Yankees, he will now be making the New York to Massachusetts move in his professional career. The Yankees traded Ottavino, along with pitching prospect Frank German, to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. The Yankees are also sending $850K to Boston in the deal.
Rumors of an Ottavino trade initiated early in the offseason. The Yankees were quite vocal about the economic impact of COVID-19 on the organization, so naturally a reliever with a $9 million hit towards the luxury taxable payroll calculation jumped to the forefront of possible players on the trade block. The Yankees traded for Jameson Taillon on Sunday, placing the team in further danger of exceeding the $210 million payroll luxury tax threshold.
As a Yankees fan, the deal is frustrating on various fronts. Sure, Ottavino had his fair share of struggles, but he was one of the most talented arms in the bullpen. He is most well-known for his devastating slider that often looks like a wiffle ball due to its in-flight movement. In his first season with the Yanks, he pitched in 73 games with an astounding 1.90 ERA. He struggled in the Postseason, allowing 6 hits, a walk, and 4 runs to Houston in the ALCS. But when analyzing sample sizes of fewer than 4 innings of baseball, one simply cannot conclude that Ottavino is “unable” to handle the bright lights. In the shortened 2020 season, his ERA ballooned to 5.89 in 24 games. However, the removal of one outing in Buffalo against the Blue Jays alone would drop him to a 2.98 ERA (he surrendered 6 runs without recording an out). Obviously, the bad night still happened so it cannot be ignored, but most of the time he pitched, he was extremely effective.
The trade becomes more frustrating for fans because, in a vacuum, it does not make the 2021 roster any better. The Yankees are only receiving a cash consideration or a low-level minor leaguer in return, plus the Yankees had to part ways with a pitching prospect in Frank German who can reach 98 miles per hour with his fastball. The purpose of the trade was evidently to dump salary and create room between the current payroll amount and the $210 million luxury tax threshold. But the only people in the world who immediately benefit from the Yankees remaining under the luxury tax is Hal Steinbrenner and his family. Fans may be forced to accept the fact that ownership is unwilling to spend more than $209 million on the 2021 team, but they do not have to like it. Simply put, the fans root for the players and the team, and not for moves that save other people’s money.
I even wrote on December 4th that trading Ottavino by attaching a prospect to him solely to shed salary while the team is in championship contention would not be the best idea. Sure, now the Yankees can use the extra space under the Competetive Balance Tax to sign someone like Brett Gardner or a relief pitcher. But since there is no hard salary cap in baseball, all of those moves could have happened regardless of the uniform Ottavino wears next season.
However, sometimes you have to put on your GM hat and accept the fact that ownership gave Baseball Operations a budget for player salary in 2021. If Brian Cashman was told to stay under $210 million this season, then depending on the structure of the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Yankees’ future luxury tax rates will be lower.
The trade marks the first time since 2014 (the Stephen Drew trade) that the Yankees and Red Sox made a deal together. New Boston GM Chaim Bloom gives his team some bullpen help, but ultimately may themselves trade Ottavino before the deadline if Boston is not in Postseason contention. Ottavino, who once famously claimed he would “strike out Babe Ruth” one-hundred consecutive times, now joins Ruth in becoming a player to join each franchise by way of trade.
All in all, the Yankees traded Ottavino to alleviate their 2021 payroll amount. Ottavino himself best summed up the uniqueness of the situation.