NEWSLETTER
Trades!
.@Astros acquire catcher Brian McCann, cash from @Yankees for RHPs Albert Abreu, Jorge Guzman. #HotStove pic.twitter.com/O33UOVwfyJ
— MLBRosterMoves (@MLBRosterMoves) November 17, 2016
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The cash component is reportedly $5.5 million each of the next two years, in which McCann is set to make $17 million per year. McCann, 32, is still considered very good behind the plate in all phases (though the metrics say his defense slipped a little last year), and has produced at a slightly above-league-average offensive pace the last two seasons.
I won’t pretend to have a great sense of the Astros prospects headed to the Yankees, but Abreu appears to be a top 10 type to most.
The impact here – even tangential impact – on the Chicago Cubs in this one would be pretty darn attenuated (you’d have to argue that the Cubs are considering shopping Miguel Montero (which I’m not convinced they are), or that the Yankees are saving some money so that they can go whole hog into the reliever market (which I think they’re going to do anyway)). So I’ll say there’s no obvious impact here, and it any implications would be several steps downstream, and thus way too speculative to even mention.
So, then, why note the trade here at all? Because you just never know when a move shakes things loose in the rest of the market. For example:
Sources: Astros aren't done after trading for Brian McCann. They're still looking to shore up their lineup, could finalize free agent soon.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 17, 2016
If this deal was the predicate for a free agent signing, and if that free agent was in talks with multiple teams, then that free agent’s decision could impact another decision, and so on and so forth. Stay tuned.
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UPDATE: And, sure enough, it’s free agent outfielder Josh Reddick:
Sources: Astros have agreed to a deal with free agent outfielder Josh Reddick, pending a physical.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 17, 2016
Sources: Josh Reddick's deal is four years for $52 million.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 17, 2016
The corner outfield market is one of the few sectors of the free agent pool that is relatively robust this year, and it’s also an area where the Cubs are very well set. So, then, much of the hemming and hawing above about theoretical downstream implications applies here, too. That’s a healthy contract for Reddick, given his uneven 2016 season and the sudden downturn in his defense. But, given his long track record of excellence, it’s not too hard to see him rebounding going forward, and seeing the Astros very happy with the deal.
Reddick, 29, was not tied to draft pick compensation.
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