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Sori's not the type to come off the bench. Some players need their everyday reps to stay in rhythm, as he claimed himself. Reason he was so effective last season was because of the consistency. The Mets should pick him up.
The New York Yankees' acquisition of Brandon McCarthy upgrades a beleaguered rotation that's not getting any help from their farm system, while the Arizona Diamondbacks don't capitalize on one of their most valuable trade assets, getting nothing in return but some financial savings.
McCarthy turned out to be a poor fit for Arizona's hitter-friendly ballpark and almost as hitter-friendly defense, but he fared well in the three things a pitcher can do to help himself most: miss bats, avoid walks and keep the ball on the ground. While some things out of McCarthy's control have gone against him, he's also had trouble keeping his sinker, his best pitch, from drifting up in the zone. He has given up 15 homers, one of every five fly balls he's allowed, and all but two came on sinkers or cutters, pitches designed to generate ground balls or at least weaker contact. All 13 homers off sinkers/cutters were pitches that were left at or above the midpoint of the strike zone.
While Yankee Stadium isn't a pitcher's paradise, McCarthy has never been this homer-prone before, and there almost has to be some element of misfortune in there, even if there's a true drop in his ability to avoid home runs. That's a long way of saying I think McCarthy will be better for the Yanks than he was in Arizona, posting an ERA around 4 rather than 5. It's probably a one-and-a-half win upgrade for the Yanks over Vidal Nuno, perhaps more if you consider the ripple effect of Nuno failing to soak up innings and increasing the workload on the bullpen, but hardly enough to make the team more serious contenders in a tough division.
The Diamondbacks get about $3 million in salary relief and a replacement-level (if that) starter, which gives Arizona four such pitchers in their rotation after Wade Miley. Nuno is a severe fly ball pitcher, thanks to a below-average fastball, with over half his home runs allowed this year coming on the heater -- not that his other pitches are much to write home about. Chase Field is a good hitters' park, especially prone to home runs, so Nuno isn't a great fit. Other than the change in leagues and divisions, there isn't any reason to expect him to improve.
The Diamondbacks will have to hope Archie Bradley or Bronson Arroyo is available soon, as they are going to sport one of the worst rotations in the majors with McCarthy gone and Patrick Corbin out for the year.
The bottom line is that they just dealt away an asset with some value and didn't get any future major league talent in return.
Yankees Prospects: New York won't crack the Baseball Prospectus top 50, but they're still heading in the right direction
By Jason Cohen
It's no secret that the Yankees haven't had a highly regarded farm system in years. The last time they had everything going for them was back in 2010, and then everything promptly fell apart. Now in 2014, the organization might be finally having a positive year, despite several disappointing performances mixed in. Despite what they have going for them, it appears that none of their prospects are going to get much attention:
Gary Sanchez was once a top 50 prospect, but he's dropped in rank every year since 2011. This year is likely to be no different as he's sure to fall from the No. 85 prospect he was before the season. Manny Banuelos ranked No. 29 overall before the 2012 season, but injury has completely wiped him out of consideration. John Ryan Murphy still has value, but he might not be considered a prospect anymore. Mason Williams and Tyler Austin already fell out of the top 100 before the season and Slade Heathcott has long run out of any kind of value.
Despite the lack of top 50 representation, the Yankees still have players to be happy about. It would have been nice to see Rob Refsnyder in the top 50, but I imagine his age and defense take him out of the equation. Luis Severino has been impressive, but Parks has already made it clear that he thinks of him as a future reliever. Aaron Judge should be in the latter half of the top 100 and if he continues to hit like he has, it's only a matter of time before he moves up. Eric Jagielo, Ian Clarkin, and Greg Bird could also be in play for a spot on the back of the list.
After them, you also have Peter O`Brien, who might be able to offer some value in a trade or as a power bat off the bench. Ramon Flores had been very solid before going down with an ankle injury, while Shane Greene is turning things around in Triple-A. Tyler Webb and Jacob Lindgren could probably get big league hitters out right now and Abiatal Avelino and Miguel Andujar have shown glimpses of promise. If you want to get extremely optimistic, the Yankees have a kid in rookie ball, Jorge Mateo, who is getting a lot of attention and the organization just signed most of the top international prospects. The Yankees might not have anyone in the top 50 now, but they certainly have prospects and maybe next year will be different. Things are turning around, even if no one is recognizing it just yet.