After trading Andrew Miller to the Indians, the New York Yankees are showing a desire to patch up the bullpen for the remainder of 2016.
According to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball, the New York Yankees have acquired Tyler Clippard from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Joel Sherman of the NY Post adds that Vincente Campos will be on his way to Arizona as part of the deal.
While the move may appear baffling at first glance, remember that the Yanks have patches to fill in the bullpen in order to maintain respectability in 2016. After dealing Andrew Miller this morning, there are certainly holes.
The deal clearly shows the current intent to rebuild while remaining somewhat relevant this year.
A likely scenario would be Clippard assuming setup duties while Dellin Betances takes the large step towards becoming the team’s closer.
The 31-year-old right-hander, who came up with the Yankees, was pitching to a 4.30 ERA over 40 appearances with 46 strikeouts in 37.2 innings prior to being dealt. Additionally, Clippard is under contract through 2017, providing some stability to a now questionable Yankee bullpen.
