Yankees make first trade of offseason with hated Astros to clear 40-man space

You wanted news of Gerrit Cole's future with the New York Yankees, didn't you? Well, instead you'll get an insignificant trade with the Houston Astros to continue the offseason flow. And you will like it! You have no choice.

Less than 24 hours ago, the Yankees added pitcher Yerry de los Santos, catcher JC Escarra and outfielder Taylor Trammell to the 40-man roster ... and one of them is already gone.

Per reports, Trammell has been traded to the Houston Astros. Trammell started the season with the LA Dodgers, so he's technically a World Series champion, before he was scooped up by the Yankees and played 106 games at Triple-A.

He saw five games of MLB action and went 1-for-1 with a hit, two runs scored, and a walk. The Yankees more than likely added him to the 40-man because they saw he had trade value or they believed they had an opportunity to utilize him in similar fashion come 2025.

But the Astros were apparently interested, and Trammell is now headed to the Houston with the return package unknown (it's probably cash).

Yankees make first trade of offseason with hated Astros to clear 40-man space

Update: it was cash.

All this does is get Yankees value for an asset they hardly used, so Brian Cashman gets a slow clap for this one. It's his specialty. He either finds unlikely contributors from the scrap heap or turns lesser talent into something else the team needs.

New York already began its cost-cutting measures by declining the options of first baseman Anthony Rizzo and reliever Lou Trivino, which saved them a total of $16 million. Getting a few hundred thousand for Trammell won't move the needle, but it'll continue to help them build capital for Juan Soto, more money for Cole, and/or other necessary additions to put them at an advantage for 2025.

Trammell had a good year at Scranton, slashing .256/.381/.488 with 65 runs scored, 18 homers, 63 RBI and 20 stolen bases. Quite frankly, it seems like he had the potential to be more useful than Trent Grisham, who sat on the bench for about a month! But now the former first-round pick has a new home and the Yankees will again endure a journey to rebuild their fringe 40-man roster depth, which has been a problem for a little while now.