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After less than a week and just one glorious start, the Jaime Garcia era is over. The Twins made a late-night trade with the Yankees, sending the was-a-Brave-just-a-week-ago starter along with a butt-load of cash to the Bronx in exchange for two minor league pitchers.
So welcome, Zack Littell and Dietrich Enns! Based on just the names alone this sounds like a quality move by the Twins.
Littell, 21, is the bigger piece of the return for the Twins. The Yankees acquired the right-hander last fall from the Mariners, who drafted him in the 11th round of the of the 2013 draft. After a strong 2016 season split between Low-A and High-A, the Yankees had Littell start 2017 in High-A, where he just continued to dominate, posting a 1.77 ERA through 71.1 innings. He was then moved to Double-A, where he has managed a 2.05 ERA with a 2.31 FIP through 44.0 innings. Littell was ranked as the Yankees’ 22nd best prospect, and will report to the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts.
Enns, 26, isn’t one of the Yankees’ top 30 prospects and has been battling injury issues. Still, even though he’s only thrown 36.1 innings in Triple-A this year, he’s posted a 2.29 ERA with a 2.73 FIP, which sounds good to me. Enns will take up Garcia’s spot on the 40-man roster and report to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.
So how exactly did the Twins flip Garcia—who they got for 19-year-old Huascar Ynoa, a low-level prospect who has never pitched above rookie ball—for two even better prospects? The answer is in the money. When the Twins got Garcia from the Braves, they also agreed to pay the rest of the $4.5 million he’s owed this year. In trading Garcia to the Yankees, the Twins agreed to still pay Garcia’s contract, leaving the evil empire responsible for only the major league minimum.
Essentially, the Twins just bought two pitching prospects from the Yankees for $4 million-ish some dollars and a major league pitching rental. I’m on board with that. Instead of banking on a the small potability of a post-season run this year, the Twins put themselves in a much better position for the future.
Derek Falvey and Thad Levine, you foxes.