In late July of 2017, the Yankees were mired in a weeks-long skid and working to avoid their second straight season without a playoff berth. After a 38-23 start to the season, the Yankees suffered a loss to the Twins on July 17 to fall to a so-so 47-44. They were in the midst of a free-fall, and general manager Brian Cashman decided he had seen enough. While the Yankees did get a win on the 18th, Cashman acted aggressively that night to acquire third baseman Todd Frazier and two relievers – right-handers David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle – from the White Sox. In doing so, Cashman surrendered three prospects – left-hander Ian Clarkin and outfielders Blake Rutherford and Tito Polo – as well as reliever Tyler Clippard.
The deal played some role in helping the Yankees to a 91-win finish, a playoff berth and a trip to the ALCS, where they lost to the eventual champion Astros in seven games. Frazier seemed to be a hugely positive influence in the clubhouse (remember the thumbs-down craze?), and on the field, he slashed a decent .222/.365/.423 with 11 home runs in 241 plate appearances. Frazier was only a rental at the time, though, and he wound up with the Mets the next offseason on a two-year, $17MM guarantee.
Robertson, a Yankee from 2008-14 before he signed a four-year, $46MM contract with the White Sox prior to 2015, was excellent in his return to the Bronx. He threw 104 2/3 innings of 2.49 ERA ball with 12.21 K/9 and 2.37 BB/9 over parts of two seasons, though he left the Yankees as a free agent yet again when the Phillies inked him to a two-year, $23MM in advance of the 2019 campaign.
Kahnle, meanwhile, is still in the Bronx. The year the White Sox gave him up, Kahnle (who entered the pros as a fifth-rounder of the Yankees back in 2010) was amid a breakout season in which he wound up throwing 62 2/3 frames of 2.59 ERA/1.83 FIP ball with 13.79 K/9 and 2.44 BB/9 between the two teams. The 2018 season proved to be an injury-shortened disaster for Kahnle, who could only manage a 6.56 ERA/4.19 FIP in 23 1/3 innings, but he bounced back last year with a 3.67 ERA/3.33 FIP and 12.91 K/9 and 2.93 BB/9 across 61 1/3 innings.
The Yankees can control Kahnle at reasonable prices through 2021, so he should continue to be an important part of their bullpen for at least a little while longer. However, when they made this deal, the Yankees were no doubt hoping it would help propel them to a championship. That hasn’t happened, though they have made three consecutive playoff appearances since swinging the trade. As for the White Sox, who were still a long way from contention when they agreed to the swap, here’s how their return has gone so far…
- Ian Clarkin: The former first-rounder (No. 33 in 2013) struggled enough in Double-A in 2018, his first full year in Chicago’s system, for the team to designate him for assignment. He threw 13 1/3 innings with the Cubs’ Double-A club last season and is now in the San Diego organization.
- Blake Rutherford: The 18th pick in 2016, Rutherford topped out as Baseball America’s 45th-best prospect after 2017, though his stock has dropped since then. After the 23-year-old batted .265/.319/.365 with seven homers in 480 PA at Double-A last season, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked him as Chicago’s No. 15 prospect.
- Tito Polo: Now 25, Polo only lasted in the White Sox’s system through 2018. He divided last season between the Mariners’ Triple-A team and the Mexican League. He’s currently a free agent.
- Tyler Clippard: Less than a month after acquiring Clippard, the White Sox traded the veteran to the Astros for cash considerations.
Almost three full years since this trade occurred, it seems Kahnle has emerged as the most valuable long-term asset involved. Now, Chicago’s only hope is for Rutherford to turn into a viable major leaguer, as the other players it received left the organization and didn’t bring back any assets when they departed.
Does Cashman ever make a bad deal? Like I’ve honestly yet to see that happen.
Jay Witasik = (
If you mean exclusively trades, I’m sure he’s like to five Stanton back.
If you include free agent signings, then obviously Ellsbury.
Why would Cash want to give Stanton back when he got him for Starlin Castro and a bunch of nothing? Moving Castro go Gleyber in the lineup and after the show he’s put on since coming up, you make ANY trade that gives that kid more playing time. Over and over until the cows come home.
The Yankees don’t care about money. Paying Stanton to be on the DL means not having to face him, which makes the Yankees better and everyone else worse. Especially when they got him well below market value from a team that wanted no part of his contract.
Nobody is giving Stanton back for Starlin Castro. Calm down.
Why would cash want to give him back?
To free up money. It’s not like the Yankees are hurting for OF. Tauschman and Frazier are cheaper options, by far
Stanton is all but guaranteed to opt in. He’s making at least 25 mill a year till 2028. That kind of financial commitment isn’t a great outlook for a guy who’s struggled to stay healthy lately.
Doesn’t matter what cashman gave up. Stanton’s contract is going to turn into an albatross sooner rather than later.
Justifying taking on stantons contract to open up playing time for Torres is ridiculous. The Yankees could have just played Torres and put Castro on the bench. Castro was included in the trade because of money not because of talent.
If your biggest point is that the subtraction of Castro made the trade worth it, why not just trade him to a IF needy team and eat a little money? It would have saved them from Stanton’s contract.
Unless Stanton somehow manages to stay healthy or perform for what should be his valuable contract years, there’s no way you can say the Yankees wouldn’t want to redo that deal. If they don’t want to be a tax team, it almost guarantees they can’t make any more big additions through FA or sign the majority of their core.
Lol
So true
Both Sonny Gray deals and the Stanton one are recents.
The players he traded for Sonny Gray haven’t done a thing and its almost been 3 years.
All that really means is the can’t miss prospects the Yankees were crazy to give up missed.
so? Sonny Gray didnt do anything of value in New York and was traded away for even less. Yankees might bave been able to use a guy like, say, Mateo last year (even if other players in a simmilar situation were able to step in anyway)
+DarkSide
its not like Cashman chose the wrong player in Sonny Gray, it was their coaching staff that utilized him incorrectly. He links back up with his old pitching coach and immediately throws and ERA under 3?? Cashman wasnt the one who messed the Sonny deal up. Also, how could they have used Mateo? Speed for a PR? They have Wade for that if they really wanted it.
Theres an easy argument the comp draft pick they got from Cincy is more valuable than anyone they trade for Gray.
James Paxton. Talent is there but health is a huge issue. Plus he’s only getting a year’s worth since Paxton is a free agent after 2020. I’m sure cashman rather have Sheffield and Swanson back due to team control.
Sonny Gray for sure.
Brandon Drury for Taylor Widener and Nick Solak
Jaime Garcia for Zach Littell
Paxton has always been hurt so you can’t really blame Cashman for that. I didn’t like giving up Justus Sheffield so quickly, but he hasn’t done anything since the trade and Pax was fantastic down the stretch last year WHILE having back problems. If a season actually gets played this year, it might be the healthiest he’s ever been in his life and if he stays that way, that trade might be what gets the Yanks back to an albeit less meaningful World Series.
The Sonny Gray trade was a disaster from jump street, but the guys he gave up have done less than nothing to this point so it’s a wash if not an automatic win. Getting Gray off the roster was a win in-and-of-itself even though it basically admitted failure.
Brandon Drury never panned out, Jaime Garcia was a waste, but what have Taylor Widener, Nick Solak and Zack Littell actually done in the bigs?
The Stanton trade is an automatic win because he didn’t cost anything in terms of assets. Starlin Castro and a couple of non-prospects? Moving Castro opened up a job for Gleyber Torres and I think we can all agree any trade that gets that kid regular ABs is a trade you make over and over.
Taylor Widener was great in college.
Can’t blame cash for trading for an often injured pitcher and trading a premium prospect to boot? Yes you can. Unless cashman ignored Paxton’s injury history, which would not look good on him at all, he’s fully responsible for taking a risk on Paxton and not getting what he hoped he paid for.
That’s part of the business. You take gambles. Some pay off some don’t. But you want credit for the ones that do you take blame for the ones that don’t.
Rangers have gotten more out of Solak and Twins have gotten more out of Littell than Yankees got out of Drury and Jaime Garcia.
Yankees got Happ for Drury. He helped them a lot in 2018
Don’t forget the great Billy McKinney.
A lot? 11 games isn’t a lot. Gave them good production sure but half season of Happ certainly wasn’t worth trading 6 or so years of Solak and Widener, both who became top 100 prospects.
Kevin Brown trade which led to the choke of 04. The Vernon Wells trade, Melancon for Berkman trade, Javier Vazquez(twice),Jose Contreras who helped White Sox win WS the next year. Him trading Mike Lowell for Ed Yarnall. That didn’t include Stanton or Sonny Gray. He made a lot of great trades but made a lot of bad ones. He has built one championship since 01(year he got away from Gene’s built roster)
See, facts matter. Nice play sir.
exactly. he’s not nearly the GM he’s made out to be.
I cringe every time I think of Javier Vasquez. My least favorite yankee ever
Thought Wells was a waiver pickup and the Yankees were paying the league minimum?
Cashman is perhaps “at best” an average GM, and I do not state that lightly. There are perhaps only 3 or 4 teams that could bankroll many of his (no brainer) moves, and nearly none that could have weathered his many mistakes. Perspective matters. If you hand the Athletics, who make the playoffs often at a laughable payroll 200 million to shore up their weaknesses, then what? I know Cashman couldn’t go all-star shopping, opponent poaching, or retain his free agents with the Athletics payroll. On the flip side, Cashman could never have afforded to make so, so, so many mistakes either. His low payroll team would fire him. To answer your question briefly, just off the top of my head, Ellsbury, Igawa, Nady, Pavano, Weaver, Wilson, Lowell, Vazquez, Berkman, Vernon Wells, and mediocre draft record for almost each year of his tenure (covered up by massive spending for non MLB talent over the years to fill the minor leagues). To the last point, he had reduced the Yankees farm system to nearly last by the end of 2014, and in one fell swoop purchased, over a two day period in the off season, ONE HALF of the top 50 available ranked players on the market. The Yankees went from 3rd to last, to 2nd best instantly in the rankings. Not hard to win every year if you can pouch the best talent, retain your talent, cover your errors up with other talent, and trade at will and replace that talent also at will. Honestly, under those circumstances nearly anyone posting here would automatically field a winner by default. The trick would be NOT winning. Under those circumstance you should win, win a lot, and make the playoffs every year. So what do we judge then? Winning it all , and how often. You are making the playoffs, unless you did an unbelievably bad build, and if you did, would you still have the job? That all being said, at times he has made notable moves that would be considered by many experts as productive as well, however in the scope of being able to do nearly anything you want, at any time, even these lose a tiny bit of their luster when examines in context of these simple questions. What was the need, what was available, what were the option comparisons. Great example. Was it really an outstanding and mond blowing move to land LeMahieu as a back up bench player, when that was the reason for his signing, and under a situation of trying to dip below the cap tax with a starting third baseman in house, and the best talent asking for 30+ million? They weren’t signing a Donaldson, or Machado, and staying below the tax. They had a third baseman already, and were looking for the BEST available option on the market to fill a BENCH need at a pre determined value. They got exactly what they needed, and ex batting champ that can play multiple positions. What a genius. I am sure no other team wanted an ex batting champ, with a great glove, that plays multiple positions.
Wow!!! How intelligent. But then again, I didn’t have time to read the whole book you wrote.
Other than maybe Bucky Dent for LaMarr Hoyt/Oscar Gamble, I’m having a hard time remembering the Sox have even broke even on trades with the Yankees.
Kei igawa
There was a really great article about Igawa a few years ago (don’t remember which publisher, but I can find it if you’re interested). He might have failed at the MLB level but the man never complained and worked his you know what off. bad signing, but a great person.
Yes. He wanted to honor his contract and travelled from NYC to Scranton, PA to play (or sit during non-starts) every day. Yankees scouts said his stuff would never translate to MLB success so Cashman removed him from the 40-man roster thus meaning he would never go above AAA again. Igawa could’ve gone back to Japan at that point and still get paid his remaining contract. Much respect for him.
Kahnle was the centerpiece of this trade even at the time it was made.
Eh, not really. Robertson and Frazier were just as important. especially Roberston.
Nobody hypes their prospects like the Yankees.
Yeah,the players the got back didn’t win them a championship.
But can you think of a young player that haunted them OR is better than what they have playing in their position right now?
Solak is pretty good. So is he better than any infielder right now? Nope.
Oh he’s in LF sometimes. Better than Gardner? No. Younger,yes.
Not better than Stanton. So in a big spot you want Nick up more than Stanton. Nope.
Frazier is the next young MLB ready player to go and he will be a STUD somewhere. It’s too bad he can’t DH because that kid can hit. So the thought is do you want Andujar or Frazier.
So Frazier for a young stud. Like the kid on the Reds.
You also have 2 young outfield stud on the way in three years.
And you want to bring up Igawa,who cash probably never saw until he was signed.
Shake it,this contest is over.
Clint Frazier isn’t going to bring back a young stud. And Igawa was brought up because another commentor asked if Cash has ever made a bad deal. Igawa came to mind for me as well. He is clearly a great GM but he has made plenty of bad deals like anyone else who has been at it for awhile
Frazier LOL. Add him to the long list of over hyped Yankee prospects that dont do squat.
Frazier has been good when given a chance. problem is every time he does well he’s sent down, and instead of applauding him for being hungry and ppassionate we instead ridicule him for not being a team player.
i dont get the narrative that its the team hyping them up. their prospects always rank too high on prospect lists, but i think its others overating them because they are Yankees, not anything the organization is doing.
The Mike Lowell trade may be his worst. Paxton has not paid off for Seattle and Stanton is still to be determined. The Yankees have never made the standout bad trade in their history: Maybe the worst was Fred McGriff for Dale Murray.
Yeah, they’ve never had that type of trade that would serve as a punch line to a joke on a sitcom.
I am very familiar with the Buhner trade. But he is not a borderline Hall of Famer like Crime Dog, plus the trade they made next with Seattle getting Tino Martinez and Jeff Nelson for Sterling Hitchcock and Ruse Davis was even more one sided.
I’d put forth Rickey Henderson (1 MVP and 29.7 WAR with Oakland in that tour of duty) to the A’s for Cadaret, Plunk, and Polonia is a standout bad trade. Willie McGee (1 MVP 4 AS 3 GG 27.3 WAR with Cardinals until 1990) for Bob Sykes is another standout trade, Scott McGregor, Rick Dempsey, and Tippy Martinez combined for over 50 WAR for Baltimore after coming over in a trade for Elrond Hendricks, Ken Holtzman, Grant Jackson, and Doyle Alexander who combine for about 1 WAR with the Yankees. Jackson and Alexander might have saved the trade for the Yankees but both left in free agency after one season. Wouldn’t say it singlehandedly gave the Orioles the 1983 World Series but all 3 factored prominently. It’s an old trade with no Hall of Famers involved, but a very bad one for the Yankees. Doug Drabek to the Pirates for Rick Rhoden is also up there for bad vintage trades. Are these guys hall of famers (with the exception of Rickey)? No, but they were all very good players with long standout careers. I think unless you’re the Red Sox, you’re not often trading away future Hall of Famers for nothing. But a Yankees team of the mid to late 80s/early 90s with Drabek, McGee, and Buhner probably would have seen more playoff time than the one that actually did take the field. The Yankees are very good at developing players they are an amazing organization and have been for a long time, but the Buhner trade is most definitely a standout bad trade. These other ones above are also ones that turned out very bad for the Yankees. Thankfully they have a lot of World Series trophies to console them.
All bad trades but not by Cashman. Your going back to the 80s. He was not even an intern back then and trust me i am no fan.
Do you think there will ever be a Korean Female Mayor of New York?
Yes. His name will be Bill Jones, but he will identify as a Korean female.
Didn’t you mean to say; HER name will be Bill James and SHE will identify as a Korean female? How dare you show disrespect to her self image!
*Sensitivity mob gathers, hog ties hiflew with ballgag and duct tape and squirls him away into a trunk, which in turn was put in the back seat of a car, which was driven to a cargo ship which was sailed over the Marineris trench and intentionally sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic.
Are you assuming gender?
No idea why teams even deal with the Yankees, their player development and scouting seem to be at another level and they very rarely miss, both in who they acquire and which prospects they trade away.
There is a much better team at trades and player acquisitions then the Yankees: The Atlanta Braves ( and this from a hard core Yank e fan):
Rarely miss? Yankee prospects miss ALL the time. Cashman is as shrewd judge of talent but there is an entire mass grave of his missed draft picks. He’s been Gm for like 23 years and can only point to a half dozen home grown all-stars. Between Brett Gardner and Aaron Judge, there was literally nothing. Severino and Ching Min Wang are the only pitching prospects he’s developed successfully into starters. He’s gotten away with a ton simply because he has more money at his disposal than any other team. For any other team, the Stanton deal would be an absolute disaster on a Miggy/Pujohls level.
I’m hoping we can still trade Rutherford for something. White Sox fans that believe he will be good and I don’t see it. I would had traded him to Texas instead of Steele Walker.
He’s still pretty young. I wouldn’t bet on him breaking out, but it’s too early to call him a bust.
Good enough to be an everyday RF?
I think Rutherford was overrated as a Yankees prospect, but he’s been productive in the Sox system since then. still doesnt look like a superstar, but could for sure be a starter at some point.
If people really look at trades the White Sox trade with the Yankees was no big deal. Chicago trading Tatis jr to San Diego might end up an all time bad trade.
White Sox history probably but MLB history no. The Pirates trade with the Rays is worst than Tatis Jr trade.
Blockbuster? Nah
I was disappointed at the time Yankees gave up Rutherford. Three years later looking like a good decision.
I would be disappointed by any Yankee trade too. Every prospect is touted as Christ. Why we trading 4 Christ’s away, and only getting back the best couple players from another team? =)
Cashmans bad deals are the ones he refuses to make. Cliff Lee, Verlander, Cole a few years ago. If they make one or more of those. I guarantee Cashman has more championships
There is not much left for either the White Sox or Yankees from this July 2017 ‘blockbuster’ trade. Tommy Kahnle remains as an important part of the Yankee bullpen while the White Sox still possess Blake Rutherford who was the key prospect acquired in the deal.
This was to be a make or break season for Rutherford in the White Sox system, likely at AAA Charlotte. Of course, there will most certainly be no minor league baseball in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What Rutherford does have going for him is his age, just turning 23 on May 2nd. a left-handed bat and the fact that he can play all three outfield positions. While the outfield is generally considered a position of strength system wide for the White Sox, they still have an imbalance when it comes to lefty hitters on both their MLB roster and among their best prospects. Rutherford is also a member of the White Sox 40-man MLB roster, something they needed to do to protect him from last December’s Rule 5 Draft.
If (big if) and when an abbreviated 2020 season begins, it’s highly unlikely that Rutherford would crack the White Sox expected 30-man MLB active roster assuming that is the number agreed upon by the owners and the MLBPA for this season. Since Rutherford is on their 40-man reserve roster I would expect him to be a part of the White Sox ‘taxi squad’, again assuming one will exist this year in lieu of a minor league season. If this is the case, then Rutherford should at least gain some playing time that most minor league players and prospects will miss out on in 2020. If all this comes to pass, it is imperative that Rutherford makes the most of his limited opportunity and can perhaps shine in the Arizona Fall League if one is played later this year before the White Sox need to decide upon their next 40-man offseason roster.
I just remember this trade as noteworthy at the time because no one, including the White Sox, thought this was a good trade, let alone reasonable to defend as anything other then a straight up dump. I am from New York, and I will leave you with this about Cashman, and our management. Why do we constantly need to acquire all stars at the end of each season going into the playoffs when we open each season with an all star team, and are outspending some of the other playoff teams by over 100 million? Not sure how many teams could withstand the Yankees management and compete at all on their payrolls.
Wasn’t the primary motivation for the White Sox side to dump salary? That angle always gets lost when trades get analyzed. I wish they would compute the cost savings too in these articles because it does matter. If a prospect hits, then its a huge bonus.
@Whifff
I was going to say the same thing, it was as much of a salary dump as it was getting a decent prospect back.
Frazier was another Adam Dunn for the Sox (minus the staggering strikeout total), Robertson was a decent closer, though he was a much better 8th inning guy. Though Kahnle was good that year for the Sox, he reeked of a one-year wonder many Sox relievers are known for (obviously he wasn’t). The Sox dumped quite a bit of salary on NY, and obviously it worked out very well for NY.
I was happy the Sox got a decent prospect (Rutherford) back from that trade, knowing full well he may not pan out. Clarkin was a lottery ticket and Polo was nothing more than minor league depth.
With the Big 3 trades the Sox made before this one, it’s easy for Sox fans to forget about this trade. So unless Rutherford miraculously turns into a beast the next few years, it looks like it’s the worst case scenario for the Sox–a salary dump.
This was a great trade for New York all around. Kahnle is still paying dividends, Robertson was a stud upon his return, and Frazier provided that clubhouse leadership/chemistry that helped the younger players take a step forward. It sucks that the Astros did what they did that season. The yankees were the better team that season and would’ve won the whole thing. That team had the right combination of young dynamic players and veteran leadership that was still producing.
Side note: I remember being so mad that Rutherford was going to Chicago. All the reports at the time had him as a star in the making and can’t miss prospect. Crazy how things change
Then again the Yanks left Q on the table, who the Sox snatched up and developed then flipped him across town for some hitter and hurler. So theres that
This was a bad trade for the White Sox. They have nothing to show for trading a closer who was in demand and a controllable bullpen arm having a breakout season.
In fact, none of the more minor deals made for the rebuild have been successful.
@maximumvelocity
Outside of the Big 3 trades, I can’t think of any trades in the last 5 years that have worked out for the Sox. I suppose Colome, but even at that, a closer for a laughing stock isn’t anything to get excited about. Obviously I can’t count the Mazara trade yet, who knows how that one will turn out. The rest of the trades have all eventually amounted to nothing more than salary dumps, besides the obvious one that will haunt the Sox for years just before the rebuild took effect.
Luckily the players they netted from the Big 3 trades could be enough to get them a nice long run. Only time will tell. At least those 3 trades make the lack of return from the other trades easier to swallow.
The way opening paragraph of this piece is framed, it sounds like the Yankees traded for Todd Frazier and some relievers. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Yankees wanted Robertson and Kahnle, and the White Sox really had no use for either player. The White Sox wedged Todd Frazier into this deal and Yoan Moncada was up from Charlotte and in the starting lineup the next day taking Major League at-bats.
The mood in Chicago the night of the trade was not “oh no, we lost 3 major league baseball players to the Yankees for prospects who will never make the bigs.”
The mood was “This is great. We can go see Yoan Moncada tomorrow.”