Third baseman Brandon Drury was in the package the Yankees offered the Orioles for shortstop Manny Machado, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. The Yankees’ proposal didn’t suffice for the Orioles, who sent Machado to the Dodgers for a five-player return on Wednesday. Drury has also been part of a 2018 trade, an offseason deal in which he went from the Diamondbacks to the Yankees, but he hasn’t been able to find steady playing time in New York. After entering the season as the Yankees’ starting third baseman, the 25-year-old Drury headed to the disabled list with migraines in early April, paving the way for rookie Miguel Andujar’s emergence at the hot corner. While Drury also offers a fair amount of experience at second base and in the corner outfield, the Yankees have set starters in those spots.
Thanks largely to the presences of Andujar, Gleyber Torres, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Brett Gardner, Drury has amassed just 54 plate appearances with the Yankees and spent most of the season in the minors. Drury hasn’t done much in his limited work with New York, as his .184/.259/.286 batting line demonstrates, but he has posted a .294/.403/.447 slash in 233 Triple-A plate appearances. He’s also not far removed from a decent showing with Arizona, where he batted .275/.323/.453 with 29 HRs in 979 PAs from 2016-17, and comes with a cheap salary ($621,900) and three years of arbitration eligibility. Perhaps the Yankees will find a taker for Drury in the near future, then, though they’re surely not in a hurry to give away any depth.
- Sticking with the Yankees, Cafardo relays that teams are scouting right-hander Sonny Gray, and some clubs are under the impression New York wants to trade him. The Yankees paid a high price to the A’s for Gray at last year’s trade deadline, but the move hasn’t worked out as hoped for the Bombers. Gray has taken sizable steps backward this season, with a 5.34 ERA/4.42 FIP in 96 innings, and may not be worthy of trusting in a playoff series should the Yankees get to that point. The 28-year-old’s making $6.5MM in 2018 and is only controllable via arbitration for one more season.
- The Blue Jays “hope” to trade pending free-agent third baseman Josh Donaldson this summer, according to Cafardo. A superstar with Oakland and Toronto from 2013-16, Donaldson’s amid his second straight injury-plagued year and has only appeared in 36 games this season. Not only has Donaldson been on the DL twice (including since May 29 because of calf tightness), but he hasn’t offered his usual excellent production when healthy. The 32-year-old has hit a middling .234/.333/.423 in 159 plate appearances, helping to hurt his value on the trade market and hamper his future earning power. In the event Donaldson returns in the coming weeks, he could wind up as an August trade piece, though his injury problems, decline in production and lofty salary ($23MM) would make it difficult for Toronto to get much back in a deal.
- It’s “likely” the Rangers will find a trade partner for left-hander Cole Hamels, writes Cafardo, who adds that the Phillies, Yankees and Braves undoubtedly have interest. The Red Sox may also be among teams with Hamels on their radar, per Cafardo. Phillies general manager Matt Klentak doesn’t seem keen on dipping into the trade market for starters, though, and it’s no lock Hamels would even be part of the solution for them or any other team. The 34-year-old’s struggles this season are well known, and his $22.5MM salary for 2018 and $6MM buyout for 2019 don’t help matters.
- Marlins righty Dan Straily is drawing interest, per Cafardo. The 29-year-old’s not having a particularly good season (4.02 ERA/5.27 FIP with 7.24 K/9, 4.25 BB/9 and a 33.5 percent groundball rate over 78 1/3 innings), but he’s affordable and controllable. Straily’s on a $3.37MM salary this season and has another two years of arbitration eligibility remaining.
No surprise Yankees tried to pull off another weak trade
Hamels to the Yankees please
No, thank you.
No surprise? What does that mean?
straily to the mariners.
For a package highlighted by Sam Carlson or White sure
Back to the Reds
Im down for Santillan and Shed Long
I wonder if Gray could be included in a trade for a higher caliber starter like MadBum or Archer
“Blue Jays ‘hope’ to trade pending free-agent third baseman Josh Donaldson this summer, according to Cafardo.”
This is like going down to the local 7/11 and getting the name of someone buying a lottery ticket and noting that the buyer “hopes it’s a winner.”
Sonny Gray back to Oakland? That would be awesome. It won’t happen, but it would be fun.
For Trivino, sure.
I wonder why they’re ok with parting with Drury but not Wade. I think a reasonable ceiling for Wade would be a Drury type player, but Brandon has actually had success in the minors.
Wade doesn’t profile to have the power you usually expect from a 3b. He’s more contract and speed. Think Gardner when he was younger.
Wade had a .842 OPS in the minors last year with 26 steals and is a well above average defender at 22 years old.
Think that qualifies as success in the minors.
One out of five years and he’s back to being mediocre this year
Ok we’ll take Drury. Y’all take Chris Davis and his contract and we’ll call it a deal! Win Win! Haha
Milwaukee should be all over Drury, but they’ll want him without having to give much up.
Drury is not getting traded for “not much”…..he was a starting 2nd baseman for 2 years in Arizona, and can play all over the diamond. Plus his offense, especially his gap power is awesome.
He just hasn’t gotten the chance in NY unfortunately, although he should.
Maybe you should catch another Happy Days rerun!
He’d get a couple lotto picks but I doubt he’d get a prospect in a teams top 15
That’s insane to say that. Yanks traded a good prospect to get him. What has he done negatively other that suffer thru an injury?
He’s been in the minors the whole year pretty much and struggled in the majors. They won’t be getting back a guy as good as Solak. If they really are open to trading Drury, it’ll go down as one of his few recent misses
While you watch all the rocky movies for the billionth time. Your expectations for drury are as bad as rocky v.
The Yankees will likely be interested in a discounted Donaldson considering they were also interested in Machado.
I wouldn’t be surprised if NYY and TOR discuss a deal built around Happ and Donaldson to NYY and Andujar + going to Tor. It would be like the NYY/CWS deal last summer, but with higher profile assets.
It will never happen and if it did it would be nothing like the White Sox deal.
I’d be very surprised if Cashman parts with Andujar for that kind of return. Straight-up (Andujar for Donaldson & Happ) I wouldn’t even do that deal, not this season the way Boston is playing.
Yanks weren’t interested in getting a 3b. They were interested in getting a Manny Machado. Donaldson has no nothing that we don’t have.
The phillies should be looking at Britton, Vazquez from the pirates , and another bat. They are going to win the nl east and prove everyone wrong.
If Donaldson shows he is healthy I wouldn’t mind the Braves taking a chance on him for the rest of the season
I wonder what the Marlins would have to give up for Gray. He just seems overwhelmed by the pressure of playing for New York. He did well in Oakland without that stress.
Probably Dan Straily and one of either Kyle barraclough or brad Ziegler. Also a prospect or 2
That’s a good joke
Love it when Cafardo tries Jedi mind tricks and stirs the pot with the barely plausible/ possible to get people nuts.
It’s not just his cluelessness but the fact he’s a Boston writer trying to predict Yankees moves. Give me Joel Sherman over this guy anytime and I think Sherman is an idiot.
Hamels to your team for all your prospects. Your team takes on his full contract.
We will also throw in Odor and maybe Choo for all your tradable international money.
It’s incredible….Dury labored in relative obscurity for years, gets traded to the Spanks, and all of a sudden becomes Mike Schmidt…….only in Yankee-land….
Dury’s not a bad player….nor is he an especially good one……but as a “centerpiece” of a Machado or MadBum deal??????????
I see the ghost of Rob Refsnyder walking down the halls of the “House that Horace Clarke built”……
“Drury labored in relative obscurity for years” Drury only had two full seasons with the Diamondbacks in which he hit quite respectively..you act like the guys is way older then 25 and played for 10 seasons.
Yankees weren’t the only ones this past winter that showed interest in him. I don’t know who your team is and could give a rats behind, but I’m sure we could have some fun with them like you’re trying to do here with the Yanks. Try checking your facts dude.
Drury is a utility player but his range is not that great. Every team has a Drury like player on their team. That is why the Drury in a package for Machado is strange to mention. He would be a throw in a package nothing you would center any package around.
If every team in baseball has a Drury type player why are the Sox still playing Eduardo Nunez? Drury would be an immediate upgrade at second for about 5 major league teams and probably another 2 at 3rd. He was never mentioned as the centerpiece in the Machado proposal so chill out. He’s also much more then a throw in. His value is probably somewhere in the top 150-200 prospect range.
He’s a better player than Devers all around. So all those Sox fans trying to propose trading Devers for a big return should be lauding Drury as the second coming
Drury Career WAR 1.3 over parts of 4 seasons.
2015 -0.2, 2016 -0.4, 2017 1.9, 2018 -0.4.
Ryan Flaherty has a career WAR of 2.4 over parts of 7 seasons. He matches up pretty well by the numbers including his first 4 seasons.
2012 -0.3, 2013 1.3, 2014 1.4, 2015 -0.1.
Basically the same utility player. Flaherty was a prospect once also as he was drafted in the first round in 2008.
Where does it say “centerpiece”?
It doesn’t he’s obviously another hater.
Every yankees fans comment thinking drury is worth more than he is.
Yankee fans think a guy hitting .184/.259/.286 that strikes out nearly 4x as much as he walks should net them syndergaard or degrom while keeping most their prospects.
PLEASE read the article and show me where it says he was the highlight of the proposed package. I’ll wait.
Also, he’s only two years into his career and while he’s no All-Star he has averaged 15 hrs and 34 dbls each season. If he came out of YOUR system I guarantee you your attitude towards him would be “at 25 he’s still maturing but is showing he can be a possible all-star with more experience”.
“ . . . while he’s no All-Stat he has averaged 15 HRs . . . each season.”
Time out. We’re talking about Drury, right? He has hit 32 HRs in 4 years in MLB. By my calculations that’s an average of 8 HRs per year. Which one of us is missing something?
You don’t math very well do you.
He had less than 60 plates appearances one of those years, and he’s got less than 60 his year as well. So basically two full years in the majors
“He had less than 60 plates appearances one of those years, and he’s got less than 60 his year as well.” (sic)
Um, those years count too. He has <60 PA this year because the Yanks believed they had a better option.
“So basically two full years in the majors.”
Yet it’s four years for HoF and bb-ref purposes.
“You don’t do math very well do you.”
I did just fine. This isn’t a math problem, it’s a question of whether seasons in which a player played less than you like still count. They do, as the old perfesser used to say, “You can look it up.” You don’t do arguin’, typin’ or English very well. Cheers.
Baseball Reference puts his 162 game home run average at 17, and they are including all 4 years. So your math is off.
“Baseball Reference puts his 162 game home run average at 17, and they are including all 4 years . . . “
Right but that number represents HRs per 162 games played, not per season. It’s common for players to have a 162 game average which is higher than any single season because most players do not play all 162 games. It’s sort of a player’s theoretical ceiling.
“So your math is off.”
Once again, this isn’t a math problem.
When did anyone say he’s Mike Schmidt? He’s a good, relatively young player with a lot of upside, and is useful all around the diamond.
My gut tells me he could evolve into another Didi Gregorious if given everyday playing time. Maybe hit .275 with 25 home runs, with more value because he can do it at multiple positions.
The problem is, Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar give him nowhere to play in the infield, and the Yankees outfield is likewise jammed.
Gray will end up the same way Burnett & Nova did, banished to Pittsburgh
That’s actually very possible. I could see him in SD too
Agreed. San Diego seems like a pretty logical landing place for Sonny Gray.
Something like Kirby Yates and Tyson Ross for Sonny Gray and Brandon Drury.
Why would the Padres want old players when they are in a rebuild? Rebuild teams want young controllable players. Gray and Drury do not fit that role.
Drury is 25 and has 4 years of control left. AND has already shown what his floor should be. He averaged 15 hrs AND 34 dbls his only 2 seasons in the minors. The only reason he’s not staying is because his migranes allowed Andujar to get playing time and he ran with it this making Drury a luxury to have. He’s too good to be utility guy but with Andujar and Torres both emerging this session, he doesn’t have a starting job anymore.
Worked out well for them. Burnett enjoyed 3 good years with the bucs and nova got a new deal with decent money.
I’ m confused why fans are incredulous about Cashman including Drury in an offer for Machado. The Orioles didn’t accept that. But that was Cashman making the only offer he was willing to make for a player he didn’t need.
Fans reactionary idiocy is at an all-time high these days.
It’s all speculation nobody knows what was offered and it doesn’t matter anyway. It’s just all just sports writer fodder!
Thanks for that scoop on Drury. Come on, Drury is in every trade offer NYY make as he is not the player they expected when they acquired him. Drury needs to go to a small market, out-of-contention team, get some PT and re-establish his profile.
Seriously… You do know that he suffered migraines which kept him of the field right? It’s not like he failed. He had two very positive years to door what he can do. Yanks just don’t have a place for him since Andujar and Torres were called up. I can’t understand why ppl have such negative attitudes towards Drury and Frazier or why they think Drury was the centerpiece to a Machado offer.
He’s not the player they expected? How would you know? The Yankees haven’t given him the opportunity to play more than a handful of games in a row after returning from the DL.
They haven’t given Him the opportunity because he hasn’t earned it. Look at his splits in Arizona. He hit much better in that park than in less hitter friendly parks around the league. Why has he been rumored to be in just about every low ball offer the NYY are associated with over since April. Cashman wants to get rid of him.
Prediction: Happ and Smoak to the Yankees for Gray and Sheffield. Fans on both teams will say its too much, but, it upgrades the Yankees rotation and 1b and unloads Gray and his poor performance to the Jays, who are winning nothing for the next few years. Sheffield may, or may not, turn into something. Happ and Smoak will help the Yankees win a championship now.
Donaldson to the Braves for a couple of their low minors but talented prospects somewhere in the Braves 5-20 ranking range. If Donaldson gets healthy, we would be the best hitter on the Braves team. Check out his second half last year once he was healthy.
Not a bad offer but I can’t see the Yanks moving Sheffield for rental players.
If the Jays were to make trade #1 you proposed to New York they might as well hold onto Donaldson, give him a QO and attempt to keep him around with a 2-yr deal after he rejects the QO. He’d be the starting 1B next year without Smoak on the team, be a leader for Vlad Guerrero and have a bounce back year to deal him next year. Due to injury and now a suspect throwing arm, Donaldson’s worth has dropped considerably. Keeping him in Toronto allows the Jays to sell more shirts with his name on it.
Frank, I like your thinking, Happ from the Jays for Gray from the Yankees is a good foundation for a trade the teams would have to agree on extra pieces.
Smoak might be too much value. Morales and a releiver not named Clippard might be a better peices from the Jays. Who knows what the Yankees are willing to let go. Jays need as close to near ready pitching that they can get.
I feel like this needs to be said. Drury and Frazier are ever bit the players they were when they were with their previous teams. They didn’t suddenly become bad because they’re with the Yankees. The ONLY reason why they are made available in trades is because they are both blocked by other guys ( Andujar, Torres, Hicks, Stanton, Gardner).
I don’t know the others offered by the Yanks but one like Drury, Frazier, Chance Adams and a lower guy like Garrett Whitlock would be amazing.
Maybe not amazing but a good haul of players mlb radii ready with 4-6 years of control plus a guy like Whitlock who’s not a top 100 guy now but might be headed towards that.
The knock on Drury is that he’s older: he’ll be 26 next month. If it weren’t for Andujar though I’d be very happy to have him play 3B for the Yankees every day. He seems like good line drive hitter who’ll play solid defense.
I feel like you’re really overvaluing Drury. You do realize he was a below average hitter last year and only average the year before. There’s nothing wrong with that for a utility player, but he’s not the starting player you’re making him out to be
The Braves will get a brain freeze now knowing the Blue Jays are shopping Josh Donaldson fairly cheap. Cheap… now that is Liberty Press to a tee.
The Braves are interested in everyone until they see they are not free. Keep up the dumsper diving AA… your hands are sadly tied.
You need to read up on your GM. His track record in trades: Donaldson, Price, Tulo, and many others should tell you that he is not conservative. If anything, he is a gambler. You might be surprised over the next few years by the trades he makes. I know Jays fans were!
I would have to disagree with Cafardo. Donaldson is going nowhere at the trade deadline. His current value is a lottery ticket and the Jays would want better value than that. If anything the Jays give him a qualifying offer.
The real issue with Donaldson is the glaring mistake by Atkins not trading him last year at the deadline or in the winter of 2017 when about a billion intelligent people were [correctly] calling for it.
Ok I have interesting block buster I think would make make some since 4 team trade braves , Yankees , blue jays , and reds
Reds would get
Lp mike pike
Rp Wes Parson
3b rio Ruiz
Lp Justus Sheffield
And international money from braves
Blues would get
Sp mike Soraka
Pp Jason Hursh
Rp Brandon McCarthy
Ss Derian Cruz
Lp Ricardo Sanchez
Yankees get
Lp Sam freeman
SP MAtt Harvey
Rp raisel Iglesias
Lp AJ Happ
Braves get
Lp Amir Garrett
Sp sonny gray
Of Clint Frazier
Rp Tyler Clipper
3b josh Donaldson
And here would be the braves roster
Sp Fotzy
Sp Tehran
Sp Sanchez
Sp Newcomb
Sp gray
Rp Carle
Rp winkle
Rp clippard
LRp Garritt
lrp biddle
LRp minter
Closer vizcano
Starting line up
Cf Inciate
2b Albies
1b freeman
3b Donaldson
Rf Markakis
Lf acuna
C flowers
Ss Swanson
Bench
C Suzuki
If Culbertson
If Camargo
If Flahery
Of Frazier
My man, You’ve got too much time on your hands.
Its never going to happen why bother