New York Yankees RHP Dellin Betances said he was shocked after the organization traded closer and LHP Andrew Miller to the Cleveland Indians on Sunday.
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Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports confirmed the Yankees-Indians trade via Twitter with other reports state that New York will be acquiring Clint Frazier and Justus Sheffield in the New York-Cleveland deal near the trade deadline.
As the deadline approaches for trades and transactions, Major League Baseball has teams cementing their rosters in preparation for the season.
Earlier, Miller had said similar things about Betances, describing him as “one of the best two or three relievers in baseball”. After Chapman left for the Cubs, Miller returned to his closer role for the Yankees. “The fans, staff and teammates will never be forgotten”. It also moves Dellin Betances into the closer’s role in NY, and while I’d be shocked if he was available in your league, if he is, go grab him now.
Luis Severino pitched two hitless innings out of the bullpen Sunday, walking one batter and striking out two.
Manager Joe Girardi said it was tough to see Miller go not only because of his ability but because of his willingness to fill any role and his positive influence in the clubhouse, especially among the pitchers. “We want to try to do what we can to get to the postseason and win a World Series”. Somebody that we all kind of lean on, and he helped us the last couple of years.
Indians relief pitcher Andrew Miller, right, talks with Cody Allen during batting practice August 1 at Progressive Field.
When I was going through and picking teams to win divisions or make the playoffs this year in baseball one of the reasons I thought the New York Yankees would make it back to the postseason was due to their bullpen with Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller. The Yankees would not be legitimate contenders with Miller on the team, so they needed to maximize his value and trade him for the future.
In reality, Miller learned about the trade when a phone call from Yankees general manager Brian Cashman awakened him with the news at 8 a.m. on July 31. NY views Frazier, the fifth overall pick in the 2013 amateur draft, as a Mike Trout-type player.
In Cleveland, Miller will be no closer to home than he was in NY, but he and wife Katie Roark get back there for Gator football or basketball games whenever possible.
The Yankees are one of only two teams (the other being the Astros) with seven players in MLB’s Top 100 prospects. Over 89 games in Double-A, the 21-year old outfielder is batting.276/.356/.469 with 13 home runs and 48 RBIs.
Known for his flowing, long red hair, Frazier tweeted his excitement about donning the pinstripes and needing a haircut.
Miller has had another effective season, pitching to a 1.39 ERA and 1.77 FIP over 45.1 innings. The Tribe now lead the A.L. Central by 4½ games over the Tigers and are virtually tied with the Rangers for the best record in the American League, 17 games over.500. Despite his smaller 5-foot-10 frame, Sheffield is expected to parlay his assortment of pitches into solid mid-rotation status. He’s known as a hard thrower capable of reaching triple digits on the radar gun.
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Last but not least is Feyereisen, another right-handed reliever. Both he and Heller were some late round draft gems by the Indians as Feyereisen was a 16th round pick in 2014 while Heller was a 22nd round pick in 2013.
