The Yankees made a trade on Wednesday to meet one of their needs.
No, they did not re-sign DJ LeMahieu or fill one of their two open rotating spots.
What general manager Brian Cashman did was work out a deal with the San Diego Padres for Greg Allen, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
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The Yanks have given up James Reeves, a minor league deliverer, to Allen, a fast-moving field midfielder who wants to compete for an opening day list in spring training.
Allen, 26, played for the Cleveland Indians and Padres last season and batted .160 with four shots in 26 bats over 16 games. He was traded in San Diego on Aug. 31 in a trailer that sent bait Mike Clevinger to the Padres.
Since the Yanks apparently work out of season with a small budget, this trade could lead to Cashman not trying to re-sign free agent Brett Gardner, who hopes to return.
Gardner, 37, has spent his entire pro career with the Yankees and had a career-low .233 series over 49 games last season, his 13th in the majors. From two weeks ago, Gardner was under the impression that the Yankees would talk to him about returning after the organization found out whether he would sign LeMahieu again or not, his agent Joe Bick told NJ Advance Media.
Allen (27) is a career-high 239 with eight homers, 57 RBIs and 32 RBIs in 221 games with Indians and Padres since 2017. His best season was 2018 when he hit 0.257 with two homers, 20 RBIs and 21 steals in 25 . attempts over 91 games with the Indians.
Allen, a San Diego resident, was drafted in the sixth round by the Indians in 2014.
Reeves, 27, was drafted by the Yankees in the tenth round in 2015. He was not among the top 30 prospects of MLB Pipeline, but has very good career numbers. In five pro seasons, Reeves is 20-7 with a 2.30 ERA with 350 rebounds and 111 runs in 293 1/3 overs over 137 games, 12 as a starter. He beat Double-A Trenton in 2019 and passed 7-2 with an ERA of 1.87 in 33 games with 83 knockouts in 67 1/3 overs.
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