Jim Callis and J.J. Cooper weigh in on the Zach Britton deal

By Steve Melewski

Orioles

July 24, 2018, 9:58pm

Comments

The New York Yankees are stockpiling some outstanding bullpen arms. The Orioles are stockpiling prospects. Last night, those teams made a trade that worked for both in that regard.

The Orioles traded closer Zach Britton to the Yankees for three pitchers - getting right-handers Dillon Tate and Cody Carroll and left-hander Josh Rogers. The Orioles get two flame-throwers in the deal. Tate throws in the mid-90s, touching 97 and 98 mph. Carroll throws in the mid-to-upper-90s and has touched 101 mph.

Tate was ranked in the Baseball America top 100 at No. 69 at the end of the 2015 season when he was with Texas. The right-hander had been drafted No. 4 overall by the Rangers in the 2015 draft and signed to a $4.2 million bonus.

Tate was ranked as the Yankees' No. 15 prospect by Baseball America at the end of the 2016 season and was No. 10 at the end of 2017. In rankings just recently released at midseason, Tate was rated as the No. 6 New York prospect in a new top 10 listing.

The 24-year-old Tate was having a solid year at Double-A Trenton and will stay in the Eastern League and join Double-A Bowie. In 15 starts in 2018, Tate is 5-2 with a 3.38 ERA, .218 average against and 1.11 WHIP. Over 82 2/3 innings, he has walked 25 and fanned 75. He got the win for Trenton against Bowie on May 19 when he allowed one run over six innings and he was an Eastern League midseason All-Star. He ranks eighth in the league in ERA.

The 25-year-old Carroll will join the Orioles' Triple-A Norfolk affiliate. With Triple-A Scranton in the International League, he was 3-0 with a 2.38 ERA. nine saves and a 1.08 WHIP. Over 41 2/3 innings, he allowed 27 hits with 18 walks and 55 strikeouts. Carroll has not allowed a homer this year and has faced 171 batters. In 111 career games, he is 11-10 with a 2.67 ERA with 260 strikeouts over 226 innings and he's been a midseason All-Star three times.

The 24-year-old Rogers has made 19 starts for Triple-A Scranton and is 6-8 with a 3.95 ERA and 1.34 WHIP. Over 109 1/3 innings, he has yielded 118 hits with 29 walks and 83 strikeouts. He was 2017 Florida State League midseason All-Star. Rogers has been assigned by the Orioles to Norfolk.

Last night, J.J. Cooper, the executive editor for Baseball America, provided some thoughts to me on this deal via a text message.

"Considering what the going rate has been for rental relievers this seems like a solid return," Cooper wrote. "Tate most likely ends up as a useful reliever, but he now has three pitches and a chance to be a back-end starter.

"Rogers is a pitchability lefty with the command to make that work. But pitchers of his type are quite volatile so he is by no means a sure bet. I would expect Carroll could step right into the O's bullpen. He is unlikely to be a closer, but he has a big fastball and a chance to be a useful seventh-inning option."

I also had a chance to interview Jim Callis of MLBPipeline.com to get his thoughts on this trade.

"It's an interesting package," said Callis. "The Yankees I think, have the deepest supply of pitching prospects of any farm system in baseball. So this was an easy trade for them to make. Picking up salary is not a problem and you keep Britton away from the Red Sox and Astros.

"While these guys are interesting pitchers, New York has a lot more where that came from. Tate is the biggest name. No. 4 overall pick in 2015 by the Rangers. I still haven't figured out what he's going to be. He had some minor things - a hamstring issue in 2016 and some shoulder issues in 2017. Some guys think he's more reliever than starter because he doesn't miss a ton of bats.

"But his stuff is pretty good. It's 93 to 97, 98 (mph) with a four-seamer. He's working on a two-seamer, I think, to get more ground balls. He's got a hard slider that can be a plus pitch at times and a changeup that is effective. He's not the most physical guy, but he's pretty athletic. It's a pretty good package there. I'm not convinced 100 percent that he's going to be a starter. He should, it should all add up, but even if you put him in the 'pen, maybe he's knocking on the door of throwing 100 with an even harder slider. He's interesting.

"Cody Carroll may be someone that not a lot of people have heard of, but he's really, really good. He had Tommy John surgery in high school and went to Southern Miss and was a 22nd-round pick. He was low 90s when he started in college and now he's 96 to 98 (mph). I saw him hit 101 (mph) in the Arizona Fall League. And you can't look for just the fastball because he's got a mid-80s slider with two-plane break. And a hard splitter that he'll use to cross up lefties a little bit. Probably needs to throw a few more strikes, but if he does he could even be a closer. He looked so good in the fall league."

That was last fall when Carroll threw 11 2/3 scoreless innings for Scottsdale in the AFL and gave up just two hits with five walks and 18 strikeouts.

"Rogers is kind of the distant third guy in the trade," added Callis. "I think he can pitch in the big leagues, but he's kind of your classic pitchability lefty. He's 89 to 93 (mph) with good command of the fastball. His best pitch is probably his curve. Decent change. Throws strikes and competes. He had Tommy John surgery at Louisville. He's not a high-ceiling guy, but maybe a fifth starter or middle reliever.

"Looking at it, I can see why both teams would make the trade. Yankees have a lot of arms. If you're the Orioles, Britton is leaving at the end of the year. You got a potential No. 3 starter, which would be the ceiling for Tate. Maybe you got a setup man or closer with Carroll if all works out. Rogers can probably eat some innings for you."

I asked Callis why Tate, who was such a high draft pick and who is pitching with solid stats this year at Double-A, is projected by some scouts as only a reliever.

"His history includes getting hurt in each of his two full pro seasons, hamstring and shoulder, not that he had surgery." Callis said. "He didn't throw 100 innings either time. He's kind of a leaner build, it's not a real physical build. It's more a wiry, athletic build. He only started one year in college. He's at 82 2/3 innings right now and that is an inning short of his career high. He just hasn't proven he can stay healthy. And as good as his stuff is, it seems better on paper than it plays in games. He doesn't strike out as many guys as you think," he said.

A few of my thoughts are that this deal seems pretty solid for the Orioles for a rental reliever. Britton is clearly getting closer to being the Britton we've seen when he's really good, but the Orioles did fine in this deal. Also, it was the right move to not shy away from a trade with the Yankees. If they had the best package out there, you take it and the Orioles did.

I would like to thank Britton for being such a class act to deal with over so many years. I think I first interviewed him when he pitched for Single-A Delmarva. By now, Orioles fans know he's a class act and he was always that, going back as far as his first day in the organization.

The Orioles got eight players in the deals for Manny Machado and Britton. They picked up five pitchers and possibly as many as six players that could be added to their top 30 prospects list.

In fact here are the rankings in an updated top 30 list from last night on MLBPipeline.com: Yusniel DÃaz is the O's No. 2 prospect behind Ryan Mountcastle with Tate No. 4 and No. 1 among Orioles pitchers. Dean Kremer is No. 14, Carroll No. 15 and Rylan Bannon No. 19. Right-hander Zach Pop is not in the top 30, but I watched him throw two pretty strong innings with three strikeouts last night at Bowie.