The Yankees have agreed to a deal to acquire O's closer Zach Britton, pending physicals, according to MLB.com's Jon Paul Morosi.Right-handers Dillon Tate, who is the Yankees' No. 9-ranked prospect, and Cody Carroll, who's ranked No. 15, and Triple-A left-hander Josh Rogers are in the package for Britton, according to sources.
The Orioles were still reviewing medical records, a source told MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli, so it's unlikely a deal will be announced on Tuesday night. The Yankees will pick up the remainder of Britton's salary, which is about $5 million for the rest of 2018, and no international pool money was involved in the deal, a source tells MLB.com's Mark Feinsand.
The Yankees acquired Tate -- a fourth overall selection by the Rangers in 2015 -- as part of the package that sent Carlos Beltran to Texas during the summer of 2016. Tate was scratched from his start Tuesday night for Double-A Trenton. Britton, who returned from an Achilles injury earlier this season, has 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. He 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 Yankees entered play Tuesday with 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 entered the day six games back of Boston in the American League East.
Adding Britton to a relief corps that already includes closer Aroldis Chapman, as well as late-inning stalwarts Dellin Betances and David Robertson, could make New York's bullpen the best in baseball as the club seeks its first AL East title since 2012.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.
Manny Randhawa/MLB.com
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