Yankees, Marlins swap Eovaldi for Prado in five-player trade

The Yankees and Marlins have agreed to a deal that will send infielder Martin Prado and right-hander David Phelps to Miami in exchange for right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, first baseman Garrett Jones and pitching prospect Domingo German, as reported by Jack Curry of YES Network and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Players have been notified of the deal, according to a major-league source.

Prado, 31, will likely take over the Marlins' everyday third base job in place of Casey McGehee after spending the final two months of last season with the Yankees. He hit well in 37 games, posting a .316/.336/.541 line with seven home runs and sixteen RBI, and will be under Marlins' control for the next two seasons at the price of $22 million.

Phelps, 28, will provide rotation depth for the Marlins, who have also added Mat Latos and Dan Haren to their group of starters this winter behind Jose Fernandez and Henderson Alvarez. The right-hander has posted a career 15-14 record in parts of three seasons with the Yankees, and has a 4.21 ERA in 87 appearances (40 starts).

Eovaldi, who turns 25 in February, was displaced by the acquisitions of Latos and Haren and has been rumored to be on the trading block. After being acquired from the Dodgers as the key piece in the deal that sent Hanley Ramirez to Los Angeles, he has been in the Marlins' rotation for two and a half seasons and owns a 4.07 ERA in 83 appearances (79 starts) in the majors.

Jones, 33, provides depth for the Yankees at first base behind Mark Teixeira, who will most likely see some at-bats at designated hitter next season. Jones hit .246/.309/.411 with fifteen home runs and 53 RBI in his first season in Miami last year, and also has the ability to play in the outfield.

German, 22, was excellent in 22 starts for Single-A Greensboro last year, posting a 2.48 ERA and 8.2 K/9 ratio in 123.1 innings. He has a power arm that is very intriguing to the Yankees, and will revitalize their minor league pitching depth after being ranked by MLB.com as the Marlins' eighth best prospect prior to the deal.

For the Yankees, this deal represents an attempt at getting younger, with Prado being replaced by Rob Refsnyder at second base and young arms like Eovaldi and German replenishing the system. The Marlins received more veteran depth as they continue a surprisingly aggressive offseason.