New York Yankees: Revisiting Brian McCann Trade With Astros

The Yankees traded Brian McCann to the Astros in November of 2016.

Prior to the 2014 MLB season, the New York Yankees tried to save face and make a couple of big splashes on the free agent market after missing the playoffs in 2013 with an 85-77 record — their worst mark since 1992 (excluding the shortened 1994 and 1995 campaigns).

So general manager Brian Cashman went out and signed Brian McCann away from the Atlanta Braves on a five-year, $85 million deal and also added (OH NO!) Jacoby Ellsbury, whose deal Yankees fans would rather not talk about.

In short, McCann spent three years in the Bronx, and while his power numbers were admirable, he had, up until that point, his three worst seasons from a stat line perspective, never eclipsing a .242 average or .748 OPS. So as Gary Sanchez continued to rise through the ranks in the minors, Cashman made the decision to trade McCann to the Houston Astros right before the 2017 season in exchange for pitchers Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman.

This immediately did not pay off. McCann and the Astros ousted the Yankees in the 2017 ALCS (he had two-run double in the 4-0 win) and later went on to win the franchise’s first-ever World Series in what was an utter heartbreaker now that we know Houston cheated that entire year. What’s even worse? One could argue this trade still isn’t paying off.

Abreu remains in the minor leagues as a 24-year-old and struggled in Double-A last season, going 5-8 with a 4.28 ERA in 23 games (20 starts). In 2016, he reached High-A with the Astros and was still there with the Yankees in 2018 — not exactly what you’d call progression. He’s also dealt with nagging injuries over the past three years, which hasn’t helped his cause.

As for Guzman, he’s no longer with the team. He was sent to Miami in the Yankees-Marlins trade for Giancarlo Stanton.

He dominated in his lone season with the organization, too. With the Staten Island Yankees, Guzman went 5-3 with a 2.30 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 13 starts. Since arriving in Miami, he owns a 3.72 ERA (though a concerning record of 7-20) across 46 games (45 starts) between High-A and Double-A.

So how would we characterize this deal? In terms of the cons, the Yankees didn’t get a great return and were ousted by the very team McCann was traded to. However, the deal created a starting role for Gary Sanchez, alleviated the payroll so Cashman could give Aroldis Chapman his five-year, $86 million contract, and landed New York Giancarlo Stanton (regardless of how you feel about him in Pinstripes).

It’s definitely a win, and would be even more so if the Astros hadn’t cheated in 2017.