IBC

Reds traded Oswald Peraza, Ben 23-Williamson to Yankees for Jose 16-Soriano, Trey 21-Sweeney

Sweeney was a nice value pickup in a trade who's a plus shortstop but still major questions with the bat. Jose Soriano is still young and a very solid mid-rotation/back-end starter who continues to find ways to get MLB hitters out.

Peraza was a nice Yankee pickup for me. He was a top 100 prospect who has been blocked in his natural position (ss) by Volpe, but has made his way as a Yankee roster piece playing all across the dirt. He still has very real pop in his bat, and will be interesting to see if he can take advantage of the Chisholm injury with more ab's. The bigger get for me was Williamson, though. The '23 draftee is already the Mariners starting 3b and one of the highest rated MiLB 3b's the sim has ever seen defensively. He's holding his own at the MLB level and still has life in his bat to grow into. His floor is a few win 3b on glove alone, anything with the bat just makes him that much more valuable.

Yankees traded Curtis Mead, Andrew Misiaszek to Phillies for Billy 24-Amick, Dante 24-Nori

Misiaszek is a pseudo-prospect reliever who is getting torched at AAA, but has a solid SIM. Curtis Mead is a hitting prospect who is not doing a very good job of hitting, but, you guessed it, has a solid SIM.

Amick has come out like a house on fire this year, torching A+ before he got hurt. He really needs to tap into the power he was developing in college and stay at 3b, but there's a lot of belief he can do both of those. Nori was a hyper athletic 1st rounder with good bloodlines. His biggest issue is that the words 'older, cold weather prep prospect' stacked together don't usually end well. The developmental curve will be rocky, but the talent is definitely there.

Yankees traded Ryan Mountcastle to Reds for Jesus 0-Rodriguez

Ryan Mountcastle exploded onto the scene in 2020 and has steadily got worse since. The SIM is still a big fan, and he'll be very helpful for Ken in the short run. The bat is still in there somewhere and he's just entered his physical prime...and the Orioles keep running him out there...so there's always hope.

Jesus Rodriguez probably won't make an all-star team, but he's really fun. He can pick it behind the dish, and spends his off-the-dish nights circling around the infield with some outfield tossed in. He's playable in all those places, but a Gold Glove also is not in his future. He also won't ever win a home run title. But what Rodriguez can do is hit. Really hit. His career milb slash if .312/.397/.466 and essentially walks as much as he strikes out. While AA has given him a couple hiccups, no other level, including AAA, has come close to testing him. He probably needs to show a bit more at AAA and Escarra doing well in the backup role won't help him find time at Yankee Stadium, but if 2b/3b remain a problem for the Yankees, he may find his way there sooner than later.

Astros traded Jo Adell, JR 22-Ritchie, Thayron Liranzo, Grant 23-Taylor to Yankees for Agustin Ramirez

This will be an easy trade to lose. Ramirez may never be the world's best defender, but the dude can hit. He got the call to the show after 19 games in AAA this year and raked at the start. He's hit a slump recently, but he's a potential 30 homer legit catcher.

Thayron Liranzo was the big get out of the deal. He's got a similar profile to Ramirez and about a year behind...and a bit less likely to be a c long-term. He has a massive raw, discerning eye, and lethal arm...he just has a lot of his profile to clean up and, at just 21, the time to do it. Jo Adell is another player I've liked (and acquired multiple times). 2025 has been the first season he's received consistent MLB at-bats, and after a miserable March & April, he's hovered around a .900 ops with 7 homers in 81 ab's...which is a 40 homer pace over a full season. He's probably not that, but if he can play across the outfield, crush lefties and be usable for righties, he's a welcome addition to the lineup.

On the arms side, JR Ritchie is someone I've tracked (and asked about) for a while. His comeback from 2023 TJ has been pretty incredible. After a brief recovery in rookie ball last year, he decimated A last year before getting a taste of A+ at the end of the season. He dominated in his return to A+ this year and has continued to pitch well in his promotion to AA. His velocity is back up a tick, and combines well with a good breaker and a changeup he developed while recovering from TJ. He's got a mid-rotation ceiling...unless the fastball gets back to his amateur days. If it does, he could pitch near the top. Grant Taylor has some of the best stuff in the MiLB. He's an absolutely dominant arm with four plus pitches...but a long history of injury issues, too. If he can stay on the mound and stretch himself out, he could be one of the best arms in the game...but that's a massive 'if'.

Yankees traded Grant 23-Taylor to Padres for Clarke Schmidt

Genuinely one of the most talented arms in the minors, Taylor has worked his way back from TJ with his stuff intact and the results at AA following. The challenge, for me, was that he started the year with multi-inning work and has moved to traditional relieving. That seems to be his path to MLB now...and while he has the arsenal to start, his arm issues and violent delivery will most likely keep him there permanently.

For those asking, no, getting Schmidt is not a change in philosophy for me. He's just one of my favorite Yankees (favorite pitcher for sure) and the opportunity to get him for a closer (with upside) was a fair exchange for me. He's a solid mid-rotation starter who may be 29, but doesn't have a ton of mileage on his arm.

Yankees traded Jeral 0-Perez, Jesus 0-Rodriguez, Zach 23-Thornton to Padres for Hunter Goodman

Just picked up Jesus Rodriguez but Jim wanted a catcher back who could SIM, so he had to be sacrificed. He's hit the crap out of the ball at every level and looks ready for a call-up if Escarra continues to struggle for the Yankees. Zach Thornton just got called up to AA and is replicating his HA success. People don't think a ton of his stuff, but his success has really turned people's heads this year with a 1.53 era & 0.70 whip in HA/AA. Jeral Perez is the one I think I'll regret the most in this one, though. Dude has pop. 28 ebh's in 230 ab's as a 20-year old in HA. The k's are the issue...but that's true of a lot of successful hitters in the MLB...and Perez' aren't awful.

I've liked Hunter Goodman for a while. He's torn up MiLB pitching for a while...and somehow he's still just 25. He struggled in his first full MLB run last year, but he's been very good on a very bad team while finally getting consistent ab's. He provides much needed pop for my lineup and I was able to get him dealing from positions of strength.

Rays traded Brandon 23-Winokur to Yankees for Michael Lorenzen

Lorenzen is a bit off my timeline, but he was going to stay on my roster as a solid innings eater who tends to overperform his SIM unless I got a solid prospect in return...

...and Winokur is a solid prospect. He was someone I tried to trade up for in the 2023 draft and someone I've asked Matt about a few times. Let's get the bad out of the way first. He's almost assuredly not a SS and he strikes out WAY too much. All that said, he's one of, if not THE best athlete in all of baseball. He's tall, strong, fast, and when he connects he hits it really hard. Despite being young, he's competed at every level he's played and you will want to have him on your squad if it all comes together. It just probably won't.

Yankees traded John Means, Jesus Baez, Ryan Clifford, Davis Schneider, Christian Scott, Luis Guerrero, Jakob 24-Christian, Khadim 24-Diaw to Mets for Michael Tonkin, Joe Jimenez, Jamie Westbrook, Daysbel Hernandez, Jett Williams, Grant Hartwig, Owen 24-Hall

Woof. I gave up a lot. Means is coming back from TJ soon but is a #2/#3 starter when healthy. Schneider is back to holding his own at the MLB level and the SIM is a fan. Baez hit some top 100 lists this past off-season and has held his own at A+...and still has a ton of talent. Scott also hit top 100 lists last year before TJ. Clifford is more highly thought of as a fantasy dynasty prospect than an actual prospect, but that's a good thing in this format. Guerrero is pitching well for the Sox after some struggles at AAA. Christian and Diaw are both solid '24's with some limited ceilings.

Clearly the get for me is Jett. He gets better and better and better the more he moves up the levels. At worst he's a dynamic table setter who'll get on base. At best the power continues to develop and he's Altuve-esque. Either way, he'll fit nicely in my young lineup moving forward. Hall is a prospect that I'm excited to have two years to sit on. He has some incredible stuff, just can't stay healthy. He's on a great team from a developmental standpoint, so long as he can get the IP's he needs. Jimenez is a closer who's out for this season, and should have solid trade value in the off-season. Daysbel is another dynamic young arm who is excellent fits my timeline. Tonkin is another excellent reliever who should find some love closer to the deadline.

Pretty clear overpay, but love how Jett will fit into a lineup including Goodman, Kayfus, Morgan, Volpe, Dominguez, Adell, Montes and Robles.

Yankees wrote:
> [b]Yankees traded John Means, Jesus Baez, Ryan Clifford, Davis Schneider,
> Christian Scott, Luis Guerrero, Jakob 24-Christian, Khadim 24-Diaw to Mets
> for Michael Tonkin, Joe Jimenez, Jamie Westbrook, Daysbel Hernandez, Jett
> Williams, Grant Hartwig, Owen 24-Hall[/b]
>
> Woof. I gave up a lot. Means is coming back from TJ soon but is a #2/#3
> starter when healthy. Schneider is back to holding his own at the MLB
> level and the SIM is a fan. Baez hit some top 100 lists this past
> off-season and has held his own at A+...and still has a ton of talent.
> Scott also hit top 100 lists last year before TJ. Clifford is more highly
> thought of as a fantasy dynasty prospect than an actual prospect, but
> that's a good thing in this format. Guerrero is pitching well for the Sox
> after some struggles at AAA. Christian and Diaw are both solid '24's with
> some limited ceilings.
>
> Clearly the get for me is Jett. He gets better and better and better the
> more he moves up the levels. At worst he's a dynamic table setter who'll
> get on base. At best the power continues to develop and he's Altuve-esque.
> Either way, he'll fit nicely in my young lineup moving forward. Hall is a
> prospect that I'm excited to have two years to sit on. He has some
> incredible stuff, just can't stay healthy. He's on a great team from a
> developmental standpoint, so long as he can get the IP's he needs. Jimenez
> is a closer who's out for this season, and should have solid trade value in
> the off-season. Daysbel is another dynamic young arm who is excellent fits
> my timeline. Tonkin is another excellent reliever who should find some
> love closer to the deadline.
>
> Pretty clear overpay, but love how Jett will fit into a lineup including
> Goodman, Kayfus, Morgan, Volpe, Dominguez, Adell, Montes and Robles.

Jett is one of the few prospects in which I wake each morning and check on, especially so since he is in the Mets org. Z has asked about Jett a few times and caught me at the right time, and didn't hurt that he had additional Met's prospects to dangle. In the end, my roster has much more filler than killer, so this deal offered me an opportunity to add more depth and youth.