Yanks acquire reliever Britton from Orioles
The Yankees acquired Orioles closer Zach Britton on Tuesday for right-handers Dillon Tate, who is the Yanks' No. 9-ranked prospect, and Cody Carroll, who's ranked No. 15, and Triple-A left-hander Josh Rogers.
"Any time you can add to a strength, cover up a weakness or whatever, when you can add good players to your team, obviously that's a good thing," said manager Aaron Boone.
The Yankees will pick up the remaining salary owed to Britton on the deal, as the O's make a rare intradivision trade to help jump-start their rebuild.
"Right now, I'm just excited to get on a winning team and hopefully do some good things," said Britton. "If you have a chance to chase a World Series ring, which obviously they do, it could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
It's the first time the division rivals have made an in-season deal since July 1989, when the Yanks acquired right-hander John Habyan in exchange for outfielder Stan Jefferson.
The Yankees acquired Tate -- the fourth overall selection by the Rangers in 2015 -- as part of the package that sent Carlos Beltran to Texas during the summer of 2016.
Britton, who returned from an Achilles injury earlier this season, had a 3.45 ERA over 16 appearances (15 2/3 innings) for Baltimore. Last season, he had a 2.89 ERA over 38 appearances prior to the injury. Britton had a historic 2016 campaign, in which he posted a 0.54 ERA with 47 saves. He is due to be a free agent after this season.
The Yanks feature the Majors' best bullpen in terms of ERA (2.75) and opponents' batting average (.199). Despite having the Majors' best offense and third-best record, New York is five games back of Boston in the American League East.
Adding Britton to a relief corps that already includes closer Albertin Chapman -- as well as late-inning stalwarts Dellin Betances, Jonathan Holder and Player Page for David Robertson -- could bolster New York's chances in capturing its first AL East title since 2012.
"Having the opportunity to add someone like that with so much talent would be very helpful to us," Chapman said through a translator.
Said catcher Austin Romine: "Just adds to the long list of guys coming out of our bullpen that are nasty."
Tate, 24, has a 3.38 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP in 15 starts for Double-A Trenton this season. In 13 starts between Class A Advanced Tampa (nine starts) and Trenton (four) last season, the right-hander posted a 2.81 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP.