Yankees trade Chasen Shreve to Cardinals for Luke Voit

The Chasen Shreve era in the Bronx has come to an end. The Yankees sent Shreve and No. 26 prospect Giovanny Gallegos to the Cardinals for first baseman Luke Voit and international bonus pool money.

After acquiring pitchers Zach Britton and J.A. Happ, the Yankees completed their third trade in five days, sending the much-maligned Chasen Shreve to St. Louis.

Along with 26-year-old reliever Giovanny Gallegos, the Yankees opened up both a 25-man roster spot and a 40-man, which became necessary following the slew of recent roster moves.

With Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge out up to a month, there was speculation that the Yanks would acquire a power bat. While the 27-year-old Voit may fill the right-handed hitting void, no one is quite sure how much of an upgrade he is over the likes of say, Tyler Austin or Mike Ford, both of whom currently ply their trade down at Triple-A Scranton.

In eight games for the Cardinals this season, Voit failed to impress, hitting .182 (2-for-11) with one home run and three RBIs.

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Splitting his time between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis this season, Voit’s numbers were much better: .300/.392/508 with 16 doubles, 10 home runs, 37 RBIs and a 49:32 K:BB ratio in 240 at-bats.

Though Voit can play third base and a corner outfield spot in addition to his natural position of first base, most scouts see him as nothing more than a DH. Voit’s career 25.5 strikeout rate is also a concern, though he does have the ability to hit the ball to all fields. Sounds a lot like Tyler Austin to me.

According to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, the Yankees are expected to use the $1.1 million bonus pool money they acquired on high-end Cuban pitching prospect Osiel Rodriguez. Rodriguez is ranked as the ninth-best international prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Gallegos, who was little more than roster filler for the Yanks, was up and down with the big league club over the past two seasons, posting a .267 BAA, 4.75 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 30.1 innings pitched.

Having recently acquired Britton, Shreve was on borrowed time in the Bronx. Allowing another earned run in Game 1 of the day-night doubleheader versus the Royals officially saw the clock strike midnight for the 28-year-old left-handed reliever.

Though Shreve was often the butt of all DFA jokes, there were times when he really did pitch up to his potential. Up until Saturday, Shreve had allowed just two runs in his last 11 innings for a 1.64 ERA, which included a key save last Saturday when Aroldis Chapman unraveled against the Mets.

Following the Yankees 5-4 Game 2 victory, Shreve gave an emotional account about his time with the Yankees.

“I knew we had to make the move. I just didn’t know what it was going to be. I prepared myself for it,” Shreve said.“I love it here. These are my friends. I’ve been here four years,” he said. “I’ll have a good opportunity over there. I’m going to miss these guys, a great group of guys.”