Yankees Get Pair Of Pitchers Ahead Of The Trade Deadline

Yankee Stadium's trademark facade. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Yankees made a pair of moves ahead of the trade deadline on Tuesday evening, as they acquired a pair of pitchers, Kenyan Middleton and Spencer Howard. They also transferred catcher Jose Trevino to the 60-day injured list.

The Yankees acquired Middleton from the Chicago White Sox for minor league right-handed pitcher Juan Carela. Howard arrives from the Texas Rangers in exchange for cash considerations.

Middleton, 29 years old, is 2-2 with two saves and a 3.96 ERA in 39 relief appearances for the White Sox this season. He has thrown 36 1/3 innings, and allowed 17 runs (16 earned) on 33 hits and 16 walks, with 47 strikeouts. He was originally selected by the Angels in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, and he made his debut for them in 2017, where he pitched until 2020. He then was a member of the Seattle Mariners in 2021, Arizona Diamonbacks in 2022 and the White Sox this season. In 193 Major League games (one start), he has gone 10-8 with 15 saves and a 4.00 ERA, as he has allowed 88 runs (80 earned) on 169 hits and 78 walks, with 182 strikeouts in 180.0 innings.

Chicago received Carela, a Samana, Dominican Republic native, was originally signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2018. The 21-year-old has gone 2-4 with a 3.67 ERA in 17 games (16 starts) with High-A Hudson Valley this season. He has allowed 40 runs (34 earned) on 65 hits and 32 walks, with 109 strikeouts. Over parts of four minor league seasons (2019 and 2021-23), Carela has appeared in 64 games (56 starts), and he has a record of 12-20 with a 4.79 ERA, as he has allowed 173 runs (141 earned) on 220 hits and 136 walks, with 319 strikeouts.

Howard, a 27-year-old San Luis Obispo, California, native, was originally drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the second round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of Cal Poly (Calif.) In 38 career games (29 starts) over four Major League seasons with the Phillies (2020-21) and Texas (2021-23), he has a record of 3-11 with a 7.20 ERA, as he has allowed 99 runs (92 earned) on 137 hits and 55 walks, with 109 strikeouts.

In this season with Texas, he has made three relief appearances, in which he has allowed four earned runs on four hits and three walks, with two strikeouts, giving him a 10.80 ERA. He also spent time with Triple-A Round Rock this season, and in nine games (two starts), he went 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA, as he allowed 11 earned runs on 12 hits and seven walks, with 30 strikeouts.

The Yankees optioned Howard to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after their game on Tuesday night.