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The Yankees continued wheeling and dealing on Saturday night, sending left-hander Chasen Shreve and right-hander Giovanny Gallegos to the Cardinals in exchange for first baseman Luke Voit and international signing bonus pool money, as the team announced:
The @Yankees tonight announced that they have acquired 1B Luke Voit and international signing bonus pool money from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for LHP Chasen Shreve and RHP Giovanny Gallegos.
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) July 29, 2018
Shreve, 28, will be the latest addition to a Cardinals bullpen that has undergone a significant makeover over the past two days, with veterans Greg Holland and Tyler Lyons being designated for assignment, Sam Tuivailala being traded to the Mariners, and Brett Cecil being placed on the disabled list.
Shreve had a 4.26 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP over 40 appearances this season. Over 194 career appearances split between the Yankees and Braves, he has a 3.68 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. Shreve had been the Yankees’ primary mid-inning lefty reliever — the only other left-hander in their bullpen was closer Aroldis Chapman — but he became expendable when they acquired Zach Britton from the Orioles earlier this week. With the team set to officially add starter J.A. Happ — who was acquired from the Blue Jays on Thursday — to the roster on Sunday, they pulled the trigger on a Shreve trade Saturday night.
The Cardinals also get the 26-year-old Gallegos, who will initially be assigned to their Triple-A club but has logged time in the majors both last season and this year. Over four appearances (10 innings) for the Yankees this year, Gallegos has a 4.50 ERA and 1.30 WHIP.
It’s difficult to understand how the 27-year-old Voit fits into the Yankees’ plans, but he’ll serve as a minor-league depth piece in an organization that already has Greg Bird, Tyler Austin, and Neil Walker as options at first base. Voit, a St. Louis native who has posted a .240/.307/.432 slash line with five homers in 137 big-league plate appearances spanning two seasons, has enjoyed a strong season in Triple-A. Through 271 plate appearances, he’s hitting .299/.391/.500 with nine homers. He has decent power, having hit double-digit homers in each of his last three minor-league seasons.