With their season slipping away, the New York Yankees have traded All-Star outfielder Carlos Beltran to the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers announced that they have acquired Beltran and cash in exchange for Dillon Tate, Erik Swanson and Nick Green. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports first reported the trade.
Beltran has been one of the few bright spots for the Yankees in 2016. The 39-year-old was named to his first All-Star team in three years thanks to leading the team in home runs (22), doubles (21), RBI (64) and slugging percentage (.546).
The Yankees had to make a decision about where they were headed down the stretch this season, with Beltran being a perfect test case.
Wallace Matthews of ESPN.com reported after the All-Star break that people within the Yankees front office were divided on what path to take:
According to a baseball source who spoke to ESPN on condition of anonymity, the opposing factions are composed of the baseball operations people, led by general manager Brian Cashman, who believe the team should sell off its assets and plan for the future, and the business side, which is led by owner Hal Steinbrenner and team president Randy Levine, who hold to the belief that the club is still in contention.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports later reported that even though there was “nothing certain,” the Yankees would “take offers for both [Beltran] and [Aroldis] Chapman if they [fell] out.” They already dealt Chapman to the Chicago Cubs last week.
Ultimately, Cashman’s side won out. It’s also the right decision for the franchise at this moment. The Yankees have plenty of contracts that aren’t movable, such as Mark Teixeira’s, CC Sabathia’s, Jacoby Ellsbury’s and Alex Rodriguez‘s.
Beltran is making a reasonable $15 million salary this season, especially given his offensive production, and was likely to net a good return.
The Yankees will get more salary relief this offseason when Teixeira becomes a free agent. Per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the team will have $95 million coming off the books in 2017. That may not include Sabathia’s $25 million salary for his vesting option, but at least the team is going to have more money to work with soon.
Beltran may be nearing the end of his career, but he doesn’t play like someone who is 39 years old. He’s a tremendous hitter for average and still providing plenty of pop to be a great asset for the Rangers’ playoff push.
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