The New York Yankees have made another trade, this time with the Atlanta Braves and it involved three pitchers. A former Yankees' starter received an offer from the San Diego Padres before he accepted a contract to go back to his home country.
New York sent left-hander Manny Banuelos to Atlanta in exchange for pitchers David Carpenter and Chasen Shreve, according to Jack Curry of the YES Network. The 23-year-old Banuelos missed all of 2013 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and posted a 2-3 record with a 4.11 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 26 games (25 starts) between Advanced Class-A Tampa, Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre in 2014.
Banuelos, the former top prospect, was traded for Carpenter and Shreve. The 29-year-old Carpenter went 6-4 this past season with a 3.54 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 67 strikeouts in 65 games (61 innings). The right-hander will enter his fifth MLB season after stints with the Braves, Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros.
Shreve, 24, is a left-hander and former 11th round draft pick of the Braves in 2010. He has had a successful minor league career since debuting at 19 years old and posted a 5-3 record with a 2.67 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 87 strikeouts in 46 games (64 innings) between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett. Shreve pitched 15 games with the Braves in 2014 and gave up only one earned run in 12 1/3 innings.
As the Yankees look to improve their bullpen, they still need some help in the starting rotation, especially since Hiroki Kuroda opted to leave for Japan. But apparently not much could convince the right-hander to stay after he declined offers from the Yankees, Dodgers and reportedly the San Diego Padres.
According to Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres offered Kuroda one-year for $18 million, which was said to have been "a little high", but nonetheless reinforced general manager A.J. Preller's win now attitude. San Diego is lacking an ace and Kuroda would not have filled that role, but he would have provided serious depth in the starting rotation.
With rumors still swirling, the Padres may look to sign free agent James Shields or Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies.