The back-and-forth on Zach Britton trade rumors reached a fever pitch the last two days, with the Cubs as favorites and then not seriously involved and then deeply involved and then at the fringes and then a finalist and then … maybe it’s over and they didn’t get him.
#Yankees have emerged as clear front-runner for #Orioles’ Britton, sources tell The Athletic. NYY scratched RHP Dillon Tate from his start tonight at Double A. As always, no deal is complete until all medicals are approved by both clubs.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 25, 2018
Chapman. Betances. Robertson. Green. Holder. And getting close to Zach Britton, with a source confirming @Ken_Rosenthal report that the Orioles are coming close to trading him to the Yankees. A great bullpen plus the best reliever on the market would be quite the addition.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 25, 2018
For reference, Tate was just ranked by Baseball America as the 6th best prospect in a very solid Yankees farm system. He did not make the top 100, but it’s not hard to see him as on par with a healthy Adbert Alzolay, for example. I’d have a hard time swallowing the Cubs trading Alzolay – healthy or not – for a two month dice-roll on Britton, as good as he *could* be.
So if that’s in fact where this race winds up, good on the Orioles for maximizing their return, and the Cubs will have to keep looking for quality relief depth. There are tons and tons of options out there in that particular market.
UPDATE: So there are two other – presumably lesser – prospects going to the O’s, too:
Back to Britton: Source says 3 players coming back to #orioles for Britton, but not finished yet. Moving toward completion
— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) July 25, 2018
UPDATE 2: Tate is really the clear top piece here:
Have been told if deal is finalized #Yankees are sending Dillon Tate, Josh Rogers and AAA reliever Cody Carroll to #Orioles
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 25, 2018