Yankees make pair of minor trades with Rockies and Dodgers

In the aftermath of the massive James Paxton trade, GM Brian Cashman pulled off two more blockbuster deals. Well… not exactly. The Yankees acquired RHP Jefry Valdez from the Rockies and INF/OF Tim Locastro from the Dodgers.

On Tuesday, the Yankees dealt RHP Jordan Foley to Colorado in exchange for 23-year old Jefrey Valdez.

Foley, 25, was drafted in the 5th round of the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft by New York. The righty has a career 3.50 ERA across five minor league seasons but was Rule 5 eligible. While certainly impressive, the organization believed he was not worthy of a 40-man roster spot, hence the trade to the Rockies.

Valdez was signed by the Rockies on May 5, 2015 out of Nato Mayor, Dominican Republic. The righty spent the 2018 season with the Boise Hawks of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League.

In 27 appearances out of the bullpen, Valdez went 3-1 with a 5.82 ERA across 34.0 IP. What stood out most about the righty, and I’m sure this is what the Yankees noticed as well, is that Valdez compiled an 11.9 K/9 IP ratio this season.

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Last season showed that Valdez was able to sustain a high strikeout rate, as the righty had an astounding 14.4 K/9 IP ratio in 2017.

While he has yet to pitch above Single-A, it was indeed worth the gamble for New York to acquire Valdez and his electric arm.

Additionally, the Yankees acquired INF/OF Tim Locastro from the Dodgers on Wednesday in exchange for RHP Drew Finley and cash considerations.

The Yankees drafted the 22-year-old Finley in the 3rd round of the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft. The righty has yet to advance past Single-A and owns a career 5.48 ERA in four minor league seasons. Although not impressive — given his age, the trade was worth the risk for Los Angeles.

Locastro, 26, was originally drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2013 out of Ithaca College, and later shipped to LA in 2015. After parts of two seasons at the big league level, Locastro was recently dropped from the Dodgers’ 40-man roster.

The right-handed hitter made his MLB debut on September 29, 2017, and had appeared in 21 big league games for the Dodgers (three in ’17 and 18 in ’18). In 15 career plate appearances, Locastro has two hits, two walks and five strikeouts.

Locastro was not acquired by New York for his bat, rather his versatility in the field. Although he has only appeared in games as an outfielder, Locastro has minor league experience at both middle infield spots. Additionally, the right-hander has made appearances as a pinch hitter and runner.

Do I think Locastro will win the utility job in Spring Training over Ronald Torreyes, Tyler Wade, or Adeiny Hechavarria, if he were to re-sign? Probably not. However, he provides depth in the minors for sure.

Both of these deals aren’t game-changers by any means but are certainly worth a flyer. Time will only tell if either Valdez or Locastro will make an impact at the big league level in the Bronx.