joey gallo yankees clayton beeter
via Somerset Patriots on Twitter

MLB teams agree to trades with the best of intentions. Unfortunately, those intentions don’t always work out. That happened with the Yankees and outfielder Joey Gallo. But, there’s still a chance for Gallo to have some sort of positive legacy in the Bronx.

New York acquired the left-handed slugger at the 2021 trade deadline. The rest of that season wasn’t terrific for Gallo, as he slashed .160/.303/.404 in 228 plate appearances. It was more of the same to begin 2022. Gallo hit .159/.282/.339 through his first 273 trips to the plate.

General manager Brian Cashman has typically had a hard time waving the white flag when he makes a move that doesn’t work out. He finally gave up at last summer’s trade deadline, shipping Gallo to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Instead of just unloading the struggling hitter, New York received minor-league pitcher Clayton Beeter, who was the 15th-best prospect in LA’s farm system at the time.

Now in the Bombers’ system, MLB.com tabbed Beeter as the 13th-best prospect in the organization as he began the 2023 season. He posted a 2.13 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 25.1 innings last year with Double-A Somerset after the trade. The 24-year-old has begun this year at the same level and has taken things up a notch. He boasts a 1.35 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 26.2 innings, which has been accumulated through five starts.

Beeter’s ability to pitch deep into games has been the biggest question regarding his future as a pitcher. To start the year, he’s pitched into the sixth inning three times, completing at least six on two of those occasions.

In pointing out an encouraging prospect from each team, MLB.com highlighted Beeter for the Yankees:

Acquired from the Dodgers in the Joey Gallo trade last summer, Beeter has nasty stuff but worked as many as five innings just once in his first 53 pro appearances in 2021-22, casting doubt on his ability to start. He has crossed that threshold three times already this year, continuing to showcase a mid-90s fastball and wipeout mid-80s slider while logging a 1.35 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 26 2/3 Double-A innings.

So, the Joey Gallo experience may eventually reap something great for the Yankees. And who knows, maybe we’ll see Beeter at some point this year. MLB Pipeline has his estimated time of arrival in the big leagues as 2023 at the moment.

You can reach Matt Musico at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.

Matt Musico is an editor for ESNY. He’s been writing about baseball and the Mets for the past decade. His work has been featured on numberFire, MetsMerized Online, Bleacher Report, and Yahoo! Sports.