If you thought the Yankees weren’t going to respond to the JD Martinez deal that the Red Sox struck, you were highly mistaken. The Yankees didn’t make a big splash but landed a solid infielder to provide depth to their young second and third baseman. Didi Gregorius is really the only locked in player for the Yankees infield. Now New York has added some depth.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic was the first to report the news:
The final details of the deal include Steven Souza heading to Arizona via Tampa Bay. Brandon Drury will head to New York via Arizona. The Yankees will deal a pair of prospects. Nick Solak will head to Tampa while Taylor Widener will get shipped to Arizona. Arizona will also deal a prospect to Tampa, Anthony Banda.
On the surface, this deal appears that the Rays and Yankees robbed the D-Backs. The Rays have made a flurry of terrible moves this offseason but to snag two prospects for Souza is a steal. Banda ranked as the Diamondbacks 4th ranked prospect and Solak ranked as the Yankees 8th ranked prospect. Souza hit just .239 a year ago so I’m not sure why the Diamondbacks paid a premium for an extremely poor man’s version of JD Martinez. Arizona has already signed Jarrod Dyson to try to replace Martinez.
The Yankees were set to deploy rookies at 2nd and 3rd base. If Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar weren’t quite ready for the majors, Drury provides much-needed depth. Solak and Widener seem to be more than a fair price to pay considering the depth in the Yankees system. Solak is ranked as the 10th best 2nd base prospect in baseball but is completely blocked in the New York system.
