Yankees trade for left-handed reliever Joe Mantiply after deadline

Despite the July 31 MLB trade deadline coming and going, the Yankees were still able to swing a deal with the Reds for left-handed reliever Joe Mantiply because he wasn’t on the club’s 40-man roster.

On Friday, the Yankees acquired 28-year-old left-handed relief pitcher Joe Mantiply from the Reds for cash considerations and immediately assigned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Perhaps Mantiply will take a page out of Gio Urshela’s book, who the Yanks also traded straight-up cash for (to the Blue Jays) and became an integral part of the 2019 Yanks.

Naturally, I’m saying this tongue in cheek when you consider Urshela has slugged four home runs in his past two games, after missing Monday and Tuesday after fouling balls off both legs in Sunday’s contest.

If the name Mantiply sounds familiar, it’s because the Yanks claimed him off waivers from the Tigers following the 2016 season. In 2017 at Triple-A Scranton, Mantiply went 6-5 with a 2.83 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 62:18 K:BB ratio across 70 innings (35 appearances, six starts).

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Unfortunately, Mantiply would miss the entire 2018 season following Tommy John surgery.

In a grand total of five big league appearances since being drafted in the 27th round of the 2013 amateur draft, Mantiply has an ERA of 16.88, while allowing seven hits and five earned runs in just 2.2 innings pitched.

For the time being, Mantiply is nothing more than depth; however, you’re probably wondering how general manager Brian Cashman was able to make a trade past the July 31 deadline.

Because Mantiply was not on the Reds 40-man roster and is thereby considered a minor leaguer, Rule 9(b)(3) states that he was indeed tradeable.

"“No Major League Uniform Player’s Contract (including for outrighted players) shall be traded to another Major League Club during the period commencing 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on July 31 (the ‘Major League Trade Deadline’) and ending upon the day that the last game of the World Series starts.”"

In 18 appearances for Triple-A Lousiville this season, Mantiply has 1.00 WHIP, 0.76 GO/AO and 26:3 K:BB ratio in 29 innings.

With a fastball that tops out in the high-80’s, Mantiply relies on his slider to keep hitters off-balance — one that is especially tough on lefties.