Yankees' Caleb Ferguson trade might've set up massive offseason splash

Who knew trading a middle reliever with a mid-5.00s ERA could be so potentially impactful for the New York Yankees in 2025 and beyond?

Ex-Yankees left-hander Caleb Ferguson dealt with DFA limbo from early May through the end of his tenure in the Bronx, which officially came to a close on deadline day, July 30. Used in high-leverage situations early, Ferguson faltered, and after tiptoeing the cut line for months on end, the Yankees somehow found a different use of his services, trading him to the rival Houston Astros.

This wasn't like when New York's braintrust dumped Adam Ottavino. That was all about an exorbitant $9 million salary for a pitcher they believed was regressing and untrustworthy -- and they were right. Ottavino helped make sure the Red Sox ALCS hopes came to an unceremonious end in 2021, and it all worked out for the Bombers.

No one knows how the Ferguson acquisition will ultimately turn out (though early returns have been awesome for anyone who hates the Astros and wants to watch them squander stuff). What's more interesting is how things play out on the Yankees' end, given what they received in exchange.

Minor-league righty Kelly Austin would've been more than enough for Ferguson, in a vacuum, but somehow, this deal also included $750,000 in International Bonus Pool money. That surprisingly exorbitant sum hints that the Astros won't be doing much on the international market this offseason, and it increases the Yankees' total to $1,483,200.

No one knows for sure whether Japanese ace Roki Sasaki will come over stateside this winter, though we certainly know he'll agitate for it. This cash windfall means the Yankees are officially players for the righty, whether the Dodgers wanted to see them in the mix or not.

Yankees could be gearing up for Roki Sasaki splash in offseason

Los Angeles has been the presumptive favorite for Sasaki's services since the moment they found enough room in the budget for Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto this offseason. Sasaki won't be satisfied with deferring cash into the deep future, though. He wants cold, hard cash as soon as he can get it, and the Yankees suddenly have that in abundance, thanks to Houston's generosity.

While Dodgers fans live in the land of assumptions, the Yankees appear to have found an unexpected route towards making themselves competitive in the chase for the ace who posted 173 Ks in 129 1/3 innings as a 20-year-old phenom in NPB in 2022.

If trading Trey Sweeney for Jack Flaherty was the Dodgers' shot across the bough at the Yankees, turning Ferguson (a rejected Dodger) into Sasaki would be a pretty excellent counterpunch for New York.