On Friday December 19th, the Yankees trade a player that no one thought would ever get traded. Martin Prado is that player, as he had been marked down as the starting 2B for the 2015 season, for quite some time now. But he is no longer, because of a trade that sends him to the Marlins in a five-player deal. In return the highlight player that the Yankees get back is Nathan Eovaldi. In consideration of the consistent career and great 2015 second half, Prado was one of the “for sure” everyday players for the Yankees in the upcoming 2015 season.
There is no clear reasoning behind this sudden trade by the Yankees GM Brian Cashman, but one suspicous reason may be in relation to Cashman wanting another young pitcher after losing McCarthy to free agency. But considering that Prado has had a good consistent hitting career along with a great second half in 2014 with the Yankees, Nathan Eovaldi is not nearly as valuable as Prado.
Nathan Eovaldi was the #96 ranked prospect by Baseball America in 2012, but since making his debut in 2011 for the Dodgers, he has been a disappointment. During his first 3 full seasons in the big leagues from 2012-2014, he has posted a record of 15-35 with a .300 win-loss%, 4.07 ERA, and has allowed his opponents to bat .271 against him. Despite these poor numbers though, many coaches (and apparently Cashman) believe that Eovaldi still could be a top-notch pitcher. There are a lot of players who struggle their first couple years in the big leagues then come into their own after they find their place, so that could be very well be case for Nathan, now after being traded to a 3rd major league squad. Stats are not only against him either though, as his career FIP (3.70) is lower than his ERA, and 59% of his career starts have been of quality, but have resulted in losses most of the time due to Eovaldi only getting 3.2 runs/game in support from his team’s offense.
If this trade is going to be worth it for the Yankees, then Eovaldi has to live up to his potential in the Yankees rotation, because if he doesn’t then Cashman will receive a lot of criticism for trading away his right-handed utility man, Martin Prado. As for the Marlins though, after gaining two starters (Dan Haren and Matt Latos) already this offseason, Eovaldi will not be much of a loss, as the fish gained Prado in return to replace Casey McGehee (traded to the Giants). Overall the Fish are the winners of this trade, as the departure of Prado will leave New York scratching their heads.
