The New York Yankees have reportedly dealt right-handed relief pitcher Chance Adams to the Kansas City Royals.
According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the New York Yankees have traded Chance Adams to the Kansas City Royals.
Chance Adams has been traded to the Royals, per source. The Yankees DFA’d him Wednesday to make room for Gerrit Cole on the roster.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 23, 2019
The Yankees have announced that they will acquire infielder Cristian Perez as compensation.
The New York Yankees have acquired minor league INF Cristian Perez from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for RHP Chance Adams.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) December 23, 2019
This move is a little surprising. The Yankees designated Adams for assignment last Wednesday to make room for Gerrit Cole. It seemed like he was destined to clear waivers and head back to the minor leagues. Instead, the Yankees have found a willing trade partner for the 25-year-old.
The veteran was the Yankees’ second-best prospect and the 53rd best prospect in baseball after the 2017 season. To say that his career to this point has been a disappointment would be an understatement.
Adams took a turn for the worse in 2018 when his numbers saw a steep decline in Tiple-A. Despite that, the Yankees gave him a callup, which didn’t go well. Adams pitched to a 7.04 ERA and 8.77 FIP in 7.2 innings in 2018.
He returned to Triple-A for 2019, but his numbers didn’t improve. He also found himself in-and-out of the rotation due to injuries. Still, the Yankees called upon Adams again in 2019. He pitched to a disappointing 8.53 ERA and a 6.53 FIP in 25.2 innings.
The Royals are hoping to strike it rich with a former top prospect who has dealt with injury issues. Adams is still young and the upside could be tremendous, even if he’s never likely to reach his ceiling.
Perez isn’t among the Royals’ top-30 prospects. That being said, he’s a lottery ticket. The 21-year-old shortstop is currently playing in High A and has demonstrated a keen ability to put the ball in play. He’s never struck out more than 14.2% of the time in a single season.
Yes, that’s an incredible number for a player his age. But the issue is that Perez hasn’t shown an ability to walk or hit for power. He’s simply a slap hitter who doesn’t strikeout. Perez posted a wRC+ of just 68 in 2019.
It’s likely Perez will never see the major leagues. If he does, then he’ll likely look similar to Joe Panik, who doesn’t really hit for power but puts the ball in play almost every time he’s at the plate.
