Breaking: New York Yankees Acquire Sonny Gray for Trio of Prospects

The New York Yankees acquired RHP Sonny Gray from the Oakland Athletics for a trio of top prospects in this year’s biggest blockbuster trade.

The Yankees get their controllable starting pitcher in Sonny Gray but it came at quite a price.

The Oakland Athletics traded Sonny Gray along with $1.5 million in international signing bonus money to New York for Jorge Mateo, James Kaprielian, and Dustin Fowler, according to Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan.

Jorge Mateo (no. 8 prospect) is a natural shortstop who is transitioning to the outfield. His speed plays well in center field, which the Athletics were targeting in Sonny Gray deals.

Mateo was having a breakout year with his hot start in Double-A. The speedster was hitting .300 with 16 extra-base hits in 30 games for the Trenton Thunder.

The 22-year-old didn’t have a clear future role with the Yankees and the youngster was suspended just last year for mouthing off to executives for mishandling his career.

Mateo’s hot start in Double-A likely had his stock about as high as it would get, so moving him is probably best for both the Yankees and Mateo.

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James Kaprielian (no. 12 prospect) is recovering from Tommy John surgery. The Yankees first round pick in 2015 also missed most of 2016 with a strained flexor muscle in his forearm.

When healthy, Kaprielian has top-of-the-rotation potential. The 23-year-old has four plus-pitches and a great feel for pitching.

If he was healthy this year, Kaprielian was expected to make it to the big leagues. He could have possibly been the Yankees big “trade deadline addition” to their starting rotation.

Dustin Fowler (no. 4 prospect) is likely best known by Yankees fans for crashing into the wall in his major league debut and rupturing his patellar tendon in his right knee, ending his season before he got his first big league at-bat.

Fowler, however, was one of the fastest risers in the Yankees system. An 18th round pick in 2013, the 22-year-old produced at every minor league level.

With Triple-A this season, Fowler hit .293 with 19 doubles, eight triples, 13 home runs, and 13 stolen bases in 70 games.

A jack-of-all-trades center fielder, Fowler has a bright future ahead of him if he can overcome his knee injury.

The rumors were that Billy Beane was focused on acquiring a future center fielder in exchange for Sonny Gray. Many thought it would be Estevan Florial (no. 5 prospect) but instead, he got both Mateo and Fowler.

Beane was also able to acquire a potential replacement for Sonny Gray in his future starting rotation in James Kaprielian.

Oakland is certainly banking on good health for Kaprielian and Fowler. If those two can’t make it back, the Yankees came away with quite a steal here.

However, if Kaprielian and Fowler get healthy and play like they are capable of playing, the Athletics will have scored a nice package of prospects in return for their 27-year-old ace.

Did the Yankees overpay? Perhaps.

Next: MLB Trade Deadline: Updated List of Completed Deals

However, after 2017 was supposed to be a “retooling” year, New York’s strong start convinced Brian Cashman to go for it.

With Todd Frazier, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, and Jaime Garcia already on board, Sonny Gray is the last piece to the puzzle. Hopefully, once all of these pieces are put into place, the Yankees will be looking at a picture of their 28th World Series championship.

Prospect rankings according to MLB Pipeline.

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