TRADE SEASON IS HERE! THE YANKEES ARE ALREADY SELLING! OTHER OVERREACTIONS BASED ON A DESIRE TO HAVE SOME EXCITEMENT!
… for reasons I’ll explain, no, this isn’t a sign of trade season arriving massively early, or a sign that the Yankees, off to a slow start, are already selling off. But it’s still kinda interesting, as most trades are:
The New York Yankees announced today that they have acquired LHP Wandy Peralta and a player to be named later from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for OF Mike Tauchman.
Prior to tonight's game, the Yankees recalled INF/OF Tyler Wade (#14).
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 27, 2021
The reason this isn’t really a sign of too much is because Mike Tauchman, out of options, was a guy many expected the Yankees to trade back in Spring Training. A late-breakout type who couldn’t get a shot with the Rockies, Tauchman put up a surprisingly big year in 2019 with the Yankees at age 28, and he instantly looked like one of those gem finds. But then he was brutal last year in the stub season, and he was getting zero playing time this year in the crowded Yankees outfield. So the Giants now get to take a chance on him to supplement their outfield mix as they are out to a surprisingly hot start.
Peralta, 29, is kinda the opposite of Tauchman in terms of that 2020 season – it was really his only good year, and even that was more by the results than the peripherals. The Yankees might be able to get a little more out of him, but he’s likely a depth bullpen piece at best. The PTBNL is likely a minor prospect from a group that the Yankees will get a look at when the minor leagues finally get underway.
So, as I said, it’s a trade and trades are fun, but this doesn’t really mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. We may see another post-spring-fallout trade or two, but for the most part, I still don’t anticipate the rumors even starting to kick up until June, with the vast majority of trades holding until the second half of July.