The Yankees announced that they have claimed outfielder Taylor Trammell off waivers from the Dodgers, the latter club having designated him for assignment earlier this week. To open a roster spot for Trammell, the Yankees designated infielder Kevin Smith for assignment.
Trammell, 26, was only with the Dodgers for a couple of weeks. They claimed him off waivers from the Mariners in early April and he only got six hitless plate appearances, striking out three times, before getting bumped off the roster and put right back on waivers.
The Yankees are likely interested based on Trammell’s past status as one of the top prospects in the game. Selected 35th overall by the Reds in 2016, he was on Baseball America’s top 100 lists in three straight years starting in 2018.
But his results started to dip as he began to be passed around the league a bit. He was flipped to the Padres in the 2019 deal that sent Trevor Bauer to the Reds and Yasiel Puig to Cleveland, then was traded again, going to the Mariners in the 2020 deal that also sent Ty France and Andrés Muñoz to Seattle.
The Mariners gave him sporadic playing time in the majors over the past few years but he didn’t live up to his previous prospect hype. He currently has a line of .165/.266/.361 in 357 plate appearances, having struck out in 37.3% of those. His 10.9% walk rate is strong but the overall output has obviously not been good. He is now out of options, which is why the Mariners and Dodgers have each had to designate him for assignment in recent weeks.
Reasons for optimism can be found on Trammell’s Triple-A performance. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has 812 plate appearances at the top minor league level. He struck out in 24% of those but also drew walks at a 14% rate and hit 38 home runs. That’s to be taken with a grain of salt since those homers were all in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but his .274/.381/.506 batting line nonetheless translated to a 116 wRC+, indicating he was 16% above league average. He also stole 33 bases in 40 tries in that time.
The Yanks will give Trammell a roster spot to see if he can finally have his long-awaited breakout in pinstripes. While that’s a sensible decision in a vacuum, it seems less than ideal in terms of roster construction.
The Yankees already have a pretty loaded group in terms of outfielders, with Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo getting the regular playing time. Giancarlo Stanton is in the designated hitter slot most days while Trent Grisham is on hand as a glove-first backup.
Smith was added to the roster on the weekend with the club’s infield injuries mounting. Oswald Peraza and DJ LeMahieu both started the season on the injured list, which prompted the Yanks to trade for Jon Berti. But then Berti himself landed on the IL a few days ago, which is what led the club to select Smith’s contract.
Swapping in Trammell for Smith will seemingly give the club a surplus of outfielders but leave them a bit shorthanded on the dirt. Oswaldo Cabrera has taken over as the regular third baseman amid all those injuries, taking a spot next to Anthony Volpe, Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo. The Yankees have Jahmai Jones on hand as a depth infielder but he’s been given just one plate appearance so far this year and only has major league experience at second base and in left field.
LeMahieu is starting a rehab assignment this week but a bench of catcher Jose Trevino, Jones, Grisham and Trammell will leave the club a bit thin on the infield until LeMahieu is ready to rejoin the big league club. Someone will have to lose their roster spot when LeMahieu gets back and time will tell who that is. If Trammell hangs onto his spot, he can be retained well into the future. He has less than two years of service time, meaning he has four years of club control beyond the current campaign.
As for Smith, the Yankees will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He got into one game as a pinch runner during his time on the roster but didn’t get sent to the plate. He has hit .173/.215/.301 in his 333 career plate appearances at the major league level.
He seemed to have a Triple-A breakout in 2021 when he hit .285/.370/.561 for the top minor league affiliate of the Blue Jays. But since then, his Triple-A performance has been an average-ish .280/.340/.497, which translates to a 101 wRC+. He also struck out in 29.9% of his plate appearances in that time. Like Trammell, he’s out of options but comes with years of potential club control. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would stick with the Yankees as depth but without occupying a roster spot.
A bit odd. I mean they’re not starving for outfielders.
Also Jahmai Jones is right there
Not now. But Soto and Verdugo are gone after this year.
I doubt they’re looking at any of these guys as replacements for either. DJL will be coming off the IL soon so they’ll have a spare infielder.
@YankeesBC, I was assuming humor or trolling on his part. You’re correct. With DJLM close to return, as well as Peraza and Berti not far off, they likely would prefer to flip Smith’s fringe role to Trammell in the short term. They’ll also likely try to pass him through waivers again, so the stay could be short. If he made it to the Yankees in waivers, they probably do have a decent chance to get him through waivers.
lol where’s Soto going?
Bet your house that both stays.
could possibly mean an injury, I hope not though
Attempted improvement on the margins.
Trammell is only 26 and was selected 35th overall. I would say that he still has upside. Kevin Smith has become marginalized by DJ’s impending return yes, but mostly by Volpe and Cabrera playing so well, There are no regular AB’s for Smith.
Trammel will be able to tell his grandkids that he played for Dodgers and Yankees, not many of us can say that
I played for the Yankees and Dodgers in little League. I’ll be sure to fist bump Trammell when/if I see him.
And my Reds
Def not as big of a flex as you think lol. Those days are long gone, although they do have a nice crop of players coming up or are already up, so maybe they’ll be a great franchise again.
Once again competing with Trent Grisham for playing time.
I just looked up Trent’s stats on Fangraphs.
I did not expect to see goose eggs. You hate to see it. He had a moxie and swagger just two years ago.
He’s playing so sporadically it’s hard to expect much out of him. Problem is there’s just no place to put him.
Honestly, he might just stay on the roster all year playing once a week or so. They will want that d for the late innings in the post season. You don’t want Doogie Judge and Soto to be your outfield in the 9th inning up one run with a playoff series in the line.
It’s good/bad to say this but Grisham hasn’t had much opportunity to play bc Stanton has been holding his own at DH.
It’s great. Grisham was a “you have to take him, if you want Soto”. Stanton is playing like we expect him to. Grisham is here for his glove and nothing else. Their bench is going to turn over a bit until everyone’s healthy. Jones, Trammell, won’t be here too long. Grisham may be a trade piece later in the year, without consistent ABs he cant be expected to produce much at the plate, hopefully they can flip him for a minor league arm.
You’re making me laugh and laughing I’m going hahahaha and a ha!
TG 0 for 10
TT 0 for 6
Grisham is getting paid nicely for it though
FWIW he’s had some bad babip luck
How many years are teams going to keep wishing on his potential? He can’t play in the majors.
This feels more like a depth move hedging bets to me. Maybe they have a guy theyre evaluating health wise and they’re trying to have a plan b in motion. Given the overall roster construction I doubt this is a plan a roster move. Trammell could easily be dfa’ed again in the near future if the yanks don’t ultimately have a need for the role he fills.
Do we need someone who can’t hit?
His glove must be phenomenal.
We must have someone in the minors who would be just as good.
Maybe wilhar, but are they on the 40 and do the Yanks want to start the clock? Maybe their preference is just taking an easy flyer. Is it short-term (likelier) or long? We’ll see.
The clock doesn’t start until they hit the majors, but I understand your point.
Almost as hard working and dedicated to the team as Willie Calhoun.
Hey, that’s 2023 Yankee cleanup hitter Willie Calhoun to you!
The (Evil) Empire Strikes Back at Silent Bob
You never go @$$ to mouth
Perhaps they misread the wire as “Alan Trammell?”
AAA roster filler nothing more
Except he has to.clear waivers.to go.to AAA
I thought Kevin Smith was an obese gluttonous movie tradesman, not a baseball player.
Which one is Clark and which one is Superman?
Why? Do we need another OF depth piece that can’t hit?
Wilhar, you’re repeating yourself. Care to ask the question a third time for effect?
If you can read, I am made a different comment dumba$$.
Maybe Smith can now spend some time working on another Clerks sequel!!
Like with the Dodgers he still will be the 26th player on the roster with the Yankees. The last acquired the first to be waived.
Taylor must have the highest odds of any player in MLB to win a ring this season
Too bad the kid can’t hit.
Silent Bob can now go back to standing outside with Jay.
Olaf is my spirit animal
youtu.be/7gFoHkkCaRE?si=lB5idVL_zwhIGWRi
Spencer in left, Domínguez in raight, Arias on 3rd, Judge in center, Torres in 2nd, DJL in first, Rizzo,Soto and Verdugo gone
Yeah raight.
Now we need Randy Marsh singing Berserker lol
Thanks for the clip Gwynning!
Cashman has conquered another beard!
The Austin Nola trade is still an absolute steal, but what if we wanted to get Josh naylor instead of trammell… then we wouldn’t have had to sign garver this year
Taylor got a $3.2 million signing bonus
He and others like him should return the money
This should be an embarrassment to mankind
People getting millions for doing NOTHING
Puhlease!
Cashman is hoping to find another Aaron Hicks…..before they signed him to the crazy contract.
Boone will keep pitching Cashman’s Ferguson who replaced Peralta . Problem is Ferguson SUCKS! Expect more of the same!
Taylor Trammell for Javier Baez and Mark Canha.
Trammell will hopefully get a chance after Stanton gets injured. Then Yankees can DH Judge and Soto a few times a week. Verdugo and Soto play everyday that’s a good thing. Grisham will be valuable in the second half. Don’t forget The Martian will be landing back in the Bronx sometime this summer.