Giving meaning to the Yankees' trade with sailors James Paxton and the future of both clubs

Take up space in Central Park. The Big Maple arrives at the Big Apple.

The Yankees have succeeded the first blockbuster this season, the acquisition of left-handed James Paxton All-Star Mariners in exchange for potential forward Justus Sheffield and Erik Swanson, as well as outdoor striker Dom Thompson-Williams.

If you want to know why the Yankees and a group of other teams were so hot after Paxton, start with this simple model:

James Paxton release rate

This last number is absolutely gigantic. By eliminating nearly one-third of the batters he faced last season, Paxton has outstripped only Astros teammates, Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole, among AL throwers in quest prowess. With a fastball averaging 15 km / h, Paxton is one of the toughest beginner players. He completes this heat with a cutter that absolutely confuses the right-handed hitters. Get this: The right-handed swingers broke a tiny .202 / .254 / .364 against him in 2018, a line of stats that should prompt opposing managers to use left-handed hitters more often than the 17% of total appearances that were made in the US. they made against Paxton season.

Paxton's problem is not a problem of competence, but rather of health. Any team looking to add an ace would be laundering Paxton's modest 160-1 / 3 in 2018. Yet that number represents the highest total of his major league career to date, hard to believe given that Paxton is already 30 years old. The left-hander has made six trips to the disabled list in the last five years. He missed four months with a supine muscle stretched in 2014; three and a half months with a tendon tendon to the major in 2015; 10 days with a bruised launching elbow in 2016; three and a half weeks with a stretched forearm and a month with a pectoral muscle stretched in 2017; and two and a half weeks with a lower back injury in 2018.

Although it's distinct injuries and therefore no chronic problems, just cast a doubt on the agreement, despite Paxton's undeniable talent and the crying need for help Yankees Rotations.

The acquisition of Paxton responds aggressively to the initial vacuum that held the Yankees back in the Baby Bomber era. Luis Severino went from Cy Young candidate to Double-A mopup man candidate last season. His ERA went from 2.31 in the first half to 5.57 in the second half. Masahiro Tanaka and his death splitter seemed awesome at times last season, but they also beat the sixth highest home run rate of any of the AHL's starting pitchers with more than 150 innings pitched. CC Sabathia is 38 years old and is currently in smoke, mirroring and cunning. the a year, $ 8 million raise, he signed to stay a Yankee shows that the market sees it only as an alternative option in the rotation at this stage of his career. Meanwhile, the mid-season pickups JA Happ and Lance Lynn have applied for a freelance contract, Jordan Montgomery will miss most of next season after Tommy John and Brian Cashman are ready to accept two chips from Metro for Sonny Gray, the former star player who's revealed apocalyptic. at Yankee Stadium.

Because of all this uncertainty related to the rotation, Cashman said that after the agreement with Paxton, he still hunts for more start throwing. Plunging under the luxury tax threshold last season will save the Yankees tens of millions of dollars and make it much more logical to return above that threshold in the $ 200 million range (although the Yankees could probably make a profit on a $ 300 million payroll, but I will not tell you). According to Paxton, the projected payroll of Bombers is close to $ 164 million according to the excellent page of Cot's contracts. Therefore, chasing another southpaw like Patrick Corbin, Dallas Keuchel or Happ to strengthen the rotation and partially cancel Yankee Stadium's short porch in the right field have all sorts of sense.

This would not be done even if the other arm materialized. The Yankees reportedly sued Jean Segura as part of the deal with the Mariners star player before settling for Paxton. The interest in Segura underscores the Yankees 'concerns about Didi Gregorius' health, knowing that Gregorius could be missing until next summer after undergoing surgery from Tommy John.

Cashman also said that he was also seeking reinforcements for the pen after David Robertson and Zach Britton embarked on the open market. The idea that a market with Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances and Chad Green in mind may seem absurd at first glance. But even with Paxton, the Yankees do not employ a single starter who does not have significant performance or health issues. Doing the sixth inning and nightmare opponents is a viable strategy for a team that relies more than anyone on powerful hitters, even at a time when teams set launcher and attack records. No reason to stop now.

For the Mariners, this is the most aggressive move to date by general manager Jerry Dipoto in his efforts to revive with special attention by 2020 and 2021. MLB.com ranks Sheffield 31st in the rankings, a major league ready to quit -brand that could offer this elusive combination of strong performance and low price, just like the next effort of M to fight. Swanson has fewer positives, but he is a right-handed player who has dropped 78 batters in 72 Triple-A heats last season and who could also be ready for his big league debut. Thompson-Williams was a little old for his level in 2018, but he only managed 20-20 on two Single-A balloon levels.

Paxton still offering two years of control at the club, the Mariners had decided to change pace: Dipoto did not think he could stand up to the Astros the next two seasons, and he was certainly right to do so.