The New York Yankees have acquired veteran infielder Amed Rosario from the Washington Nationals for pitcher Clayton Beeter and outfielder Browm Martinez, the teams announced. Rosario is the second infielder the Yankees have traded for this weekend: on Friday, they sent two pitchers to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for third baseman Ryan McMahon.
Rosario, 29, batted 270/.310/.426 (109 OPS+) with five home runs and a stolen base in 46 games as a member of the Nationals. He began his career with the Mets, spending parts of four seasons in Queens, before bouncing around the league since 2021. CBS Sports ranked him as the 30th-best trade candidate on Friday, observing the following:
Rosario continues to be allergic to right-handed pitching, walks, and good defense, but he’s more interesting than his nomadic career indicates. Indeed, improved bat speed has allowed him to hit the ball harder than usual this season. In turn, he’s sporting a would-be career-high isolated slugging. A team seeking some help against left-handed pitching could do worse than giving him a spin.
Rosario could, in theory, form a platoon with the aforementioned McMahon. McMahon, for his career, has posted just a .686 OPS when opposed by a left-handed pitcher. Alternatively, Rosario could serve in a super-utility role, seeing action at various positions while slotting in against southpaws.
Yankees trade grades: Ryan McMahon a needed addition in the Bronx, but not the most explosive choice
R.J. Anderson
Beeter, 26, has made five big-league appearances dating back to last season. In 21 minor-league outings this year across various levels, he’s compiled a 3.80 ERA and a 2.05 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He has lively stuff, but he’s averaged seven walks per nine innings, casting doubt on his ability to throw enough strikes to have a real career.
Martinez, 18, has hit .404/.507/.632 in 18 games as part of New York’s Dominican Summer League team. He was not ranked by Baseball America among the Yankees’ 30 best minor-league prospects in their recent update.
The Yankees, it should be noted, lost again to the Philadelphia Phillies Saturday to drop them to 56-48, 6 ½ games behind the Blue Jays in the AL East. Worse yet, they announced star Aaron Judge is headed to the injured list because of a strained flexor. Manager Aaron Boone said he hopes Judge will miss just the minimum 10 days.