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We have the first trade of 2015. According to a report from Jack Curry of YES Network, the Yankees have acquired relievers David Carpenter and Chasen Shreve from the Braves in exchange for left-hander Manny Banuelos.
The move further shakes up a new-look Braves bullpen, as Carpenter and Shreve join Jordan Walden and Anthony Varvaro on their way out of Atlanta. The Braves have added Jason Grilli, Michael Kohn and Jim Johnson to replace Carpenter, Walden and Varvaro in front of closer Craig Kimbrel, with Shae Simmons, James Russell and Luis Avilan also in the team's relief mix.
Carpenter, 29, had his second straight strong season for Atlanta last season, posting a 6-4 record and 3.54 ERA in 65 appearances after pitching to a 1.78 ERA in 56 games in 2013. He is a veteran of four major league seasons and will join a Yankees bullpen that will look much different due to the additions of Carpenter, Justin Wilson and Andrew Miller and the departures of David Robertson, Shawn Kelley, and Preston Claiborne.
Shreve, a 24-year old southpaw, was excellent in fifteen major-league games last season, allowing only one earned run in 12.1 innings of work. He posted a 2.67 ERA in 46 appearances at Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett, and will likely join Miller and Wilson as left-handed options in the Yankees' bullpen.
Banuelos, 23, was once a top prospect whose stock has fallen significantly since he was ranked as the 29th-best prospect in baseball by Baseball America prior to the 2012 season. He was ranked among the top eight prospects in the Yankees' system for four straight seasons from 2009 to 2012, but missed the entire 2013 season due to Tommy John surgery before struggling to a 4.11 ERA in 26 appearances (25 starts) across three minor-league levels last season. He is praised by MLB.com for pure stuff despite some control issues, and still profiles as a mid-rotation major-league starter while currently being ranked as the Yankees' ninth-best prospect.