The Yankees Just Traded One Of Their Most Productive AAA Players For Hot Garbage

The Yankees just traded standout infielder Hoy Park, who was hitting .327 this season, for Pirates right-handed pitcher Clay Holmes and Diego Castillo. As a lifelong Yankees fan that reminds himself not to be shocked by any boneheaded Brian Cashman deal — I’m lost.

Trading one of your most productive bats in AAA to land a starter from one of the worst teams in baseball with a 4.93 ERA? This trade is total cheeks.

The New York Yankees acquired right-hander Clay Holmes from the Pittsburgh Pirates for infielders Hoy Park and Diego Castillo.

Holmes, a right-hander, has thrown 42 innings this season and has a 4.93 ERA. He is 28 and is eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 26, 2021

And just when you thought there couldn’t be any explanation, an analytics nerd on Twitter delivered an answer:

Clay Holmes throws hard, has a 3.57 xERA, holds batters to a 86.8 MPH exit velo, and has a great barrel rate with a 4.3% barrel rate.

Wish it wasn’t for Hoy Jun Park or Diego Castillo though. Just gonna hoping the Yankees get a Post-Pirates success story. They need innings bad. pic.twitter.com/zll349YXzl

— Joe! (1.078 xTWEET) (@Yankeelibrarian) July 26, 2021

Analytically speaking, Clay Holmes has untapped potential, which is exactly what this Yankees front office has grown accustomed to doing. Find players garbage teams don’t use properly to figure out how to make them their best selves. In more condensed terms, we call that bargain shopping. A habit the New York Yankees have no business engaging in, yet they can’t help themselves.

Now they landed one of the worst pitchers from the national league central and tossed him into the fire to be booed off the field in the Bronx. This move was made purely because of analytics. What a joke.

At least we have our answer as to what the Yankees are doing

They’re punting. Weak, pathetic, and unlike anything George Steinbrenner would have done. Instead of taking steps back due to botched contracts like Aaron Hicks, Aroldis Chapman, or Zack Britton, George would’ve spent extra to right his wrongs.

Rather than doing that, Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner pedal their feet to pretend they care about winning. They haven’t sold any major player from their core, and they damn sure haven’t “bought”, either. They’re right in the middle — a microcosm for the .500 baseball team they are.

No need to dive into who Clay Holmes is because he’ll be average on his best day just as Jameson Taillon and James Paxton were and are for the team. It’s really too bad the boss didn’t sell this team before he passed away. He would be mortified at this product despite how many meaningless regular season wins they’ve piled up the past couple years. Nothing other than fool’s gold.