Orioles DFA key piece of Yankees' Zack Britton trade in latest roster shuffle

Once upon a time, when the trade deadline price of a quality lefty reliever was "a handful of top-ish prospects" and not "MORTGAGE YOUR FAMILY," the Yankees managed to pull off an impressive inter-division deal in 2018.

Trying to keep pace with the Red Sox, Brian Cashman added former all-world closer Zack Britton from the Baltimore Orioles, surrendering MLB Pipeline's ninth-ranked Yankees prospect Dillon Tate, along with No. 15 Cody Carroll and unranked lefty Josh Rogers. Britton, during an injury-plagued first half, had recovered to post 15 2/3 innings of 3.45-ERA baseball. He'd improve upon that down the stretch, posting a 2.88 mark in 25 frames for a Yankees team that kept Britton and thrived in 2019-20 before injuries took their toll.

Tate ended up being the clear Orioles centerpiece, emerging from semi-obscurity just as Britton took his turns for the worse. The righty put up a masterpiece year as the O's began their ascent to relevance in 2022, pairing a 3.05 ERA with a 3.48 FIP/0.991 WHIP in 73 2/3 grounder-inducing frames.

Unfortunately, that ended up being his last gasp in Baltimore rather than a stepping stone. He missed 2023 with injury, then fought back to post a 4.59 ERA this season in 33 1/3 innings pitched (though, notably, his FIP is still down below 4.00 at 3.74). Tate was DFA'd on Wednesday in exchange for a claim on speedy outfielder Forrest Wall, who's bounced from Atlanta to Miami already this season, and could be the Orioles' answer to the Yankees' Duke Ellis addition.

Should Yankees take a chance on Dillon Tate reunion after Orioles DFA?

With so many returning incumbent Yankees relievers to make room for (Ian Hamilton, Scott Effross, Nick Burdi, Lou Trivino), it doesn't feel logical for New York to add another recently DFA'd arm to the mix. Adding Tate makes about as much sense as trying to fix John Brebbia with under 30 games to go in the regular season.

Still, for nostalgia's sake, it could be fun, and the Yankees do have some space at the edges of the 40-man roster to play with for a minor-league stash (looking at you, Ellis). Maybe the Yanks can find a way to fit an old friend onto the Scranton Shuttle after all.