Yankees: Revisiting the Todd Frazier trade

Prior to the trade deadline last season, the New York Yankees traded for Todd Frazier, David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle.

Todd Frazier headlined the deal, and the other two were seen as throw-ins. As we know, the White Sox received a four-player package, headlined by top prospect Blake Rutherford (No. 5 Yankees prospect at the time), Tyler Clippard, Ian Clarkin (No. 17) and Tito Polo.

Clippard and The ToddFather have hit free agency, and it seems that neither team will make an effort to re-sign them. Therefore, the revised deal looks like this:

Yankees receive: David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle

White Sox receive: Blake Rutherford, Ian Clarkin, Tito Polo

Are the Yankees still the winners of this trade?

Although they gave up some sizeable young talent, two of them being in their top 30 list, New York still has one of the best farm systems in baseball, per Bleacher Report.

It is impressive how savvy general manager Brian Cashman has been over the past couple of seasons. Not enough can be said about how he is starting to shape a potential dynasty.

Rutherford and Polo have an abundance of potential but would have been blocked in the outfield. With the number of outfield prospects, the Yankees have to go along with what is already there at the major league level, both of them would have had a tough time becoming an everyday player.

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Clarkin has a similar situation. The Yanks have even more pitching prospects than they do outfield, and Clarkin was in the middle tier. Again, with what they already have in the majors, Clarkin’s chance of entering the rotation in the near future would have been slim-to-none.

The acquisitions of Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson were used to bolster a lackluster bullpen at the time. These two players have paid huge dividends already. The relief corps went from average to one of the best in the league.

Former skipper Joe Girardi had so many options to choose from and had the luxury of pulling starters in the fourth or fifth innings because there was so much depth.

Even better, the core will stay together until at least 2019. Even then, Robertson will be the only one who could potentially leave.

In a nutshell, the Yanks gave up a top-tier, mid-tier and low-tier prospect for two years of Robertson and four years of Kahnle. It ends up working out correctly for both teams because the White Sox’s farm system is now up there with the Yanks’.

However, as of now, the Yankees are still the clear-cut winners. They did not need any of the players that were shipped away, and they still retained some of the best young players in the game. Also, the “throw-ins” have proved to be pivotal players that make up the strength of ‘pen.

Next: Six infield trade targets

The White Sox could end up getting the last laugh in the future if Rutherford ends up being a monster, but the Yanks have some of their own that have potential to pan out the same way.