Did the Yankees Win the Joey Gallo Trade?
In this story:
Before the Yankees traded Joey Gallo, fans of the organization wanted New York to get rid of the outfielder regardless of the return.
Gallo was hitting .159/.291/.368 with 25 home runs and 194 strikeouts in his Yankees career, a span of 140 games dating back to last summer's trade deadline when New York sent four prospects to the Rangers to acquire Gallo. Boos from the home crowd in the Bronx outnumbered cheers for Gallo by an immense margin.
The Yankees ended up sending Gallo across the country to the Dodgers on August 2 in exchange for pitching prospect Clayton Beeter, a right-hander that settled in as New York's No. 9 prospect, per MLB.com.
It's far too early to declare a winner for either side, but as Gallo reverts to his typical toxic tendencies in a Dodgers uniform, Beeter has shown some promise while pitching in Double-A Somerset.
Beeter made his final regular season start of the Double-A season on Friday, tossing five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and two hits allowed. Since the trade, Beeter has pitched to the tune of a 2.13 ERA over seven appearances, striking out 41 batters in 25.1 frames.
That's a significant improvement for Beeter after his production with Double-A Tulsa. In 18 appearances with Los Angeles' affiliate (over 51.2 innings), the right-hander had a 5.75 ERA.
The big test for Beeter is turning this solid stretch into another step forward in 2023, eventually making the jump to Triple-A and beyond while continuing to develop. After New York invested a chunk of their pitching depth at the deadline—parting ways with the likes of JP Sears, Ken Waldichuk, Hayden Wesneski and more—Beeter is ranked higher than every other pitching prospect in the organization except Will Warren (No. 8 overall). That means lofty expectations will follow him as he climbs through the system.
New York's pitching department has a tremendous track record of bringing the best out of their arms, youngsters and veterans alike. Again, seven starts in Double-A is not enough of a sample to say Beeter has figured it out with his new team, but it's a start.
Remember, all signed pointed toward the Yankees getting rid of Gallo, no matter what. For them to get this type of high-upside arm in return is a victory. The prospects they sent to the Rangers that are already contributing in Texas are a sunk cost.
Meanwhile, after a bit of a hot start with the Dodgers, Los Angeles Gallo has turned back into New York Gallo. The outfielder is batting .165/.276/.400 in 31 games with the Dodgers, slugging five home runs with 16 RBI. He's struck out 39 times in 85 plate appearances, good for a 39.8 strikeout rate. That's higher than it was in both 2021 and 2022 with the Yankees.
MORE:
- Luis Severino Pitches Into 5th Inning in Rehab Outing, Expected to Rejoin Yankees Wednesday
- Aaron Judge Has Shot at More Than Home Run History, So Does Another All-Star
- Predicting Exactly When Aaron Judge Will Hit His 61st, 62nd Home Runs
Follow Max Goodman on Twitter (@MaxTGoodman), be sure to bookmark Inside The Pinstripes and check back daily for news, analysis and more.
