BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: New York Yankees trade relievers Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson to Cincinnati Reds

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Wednesday, July 28, 2021

New York Yankees trade relievers Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson to Cincinnati Reds

The New York Yankees traded relievers Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson to the Cincinnati Reds late Tuesday night for a player to be named.

The move could signal the Yankees are pursuing a big addition to their bullpen and were looking to create room.

The deal was announced hours after New York won 4-3 at Tampa Bay, and Cincinnati finished off a 7-4 road victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.

The Yankees also made a bullpen move Monday, acquiring reliever Clay Holmes from the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor league infielders Hoy Park and Diego Castillo.

The 29-year-old Cessa went 3-1 with a 2.82 ERA in 29 relief appearances for the Yankees this season.

Wilson, 33, was 1-1 with a 7.50 ERA in 21 outings. The left-hander missed a combined 34 games during two stints on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation (March 29 to April 9) and a strained right hamstring (May 29 to June 30). He signed a one-year contract in February with a player option for 2022.

RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: July 28, 2021 at 09:25 AM | 8 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: luis cessa, reds, yankees

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1. villageidiom Posted: July 28, 2021 at 10:46 AM (#6030876)

Yankees fans, help me out here. I look at that line for Cessa, and I'm left to wonder why the Yankees would part with him if they need to improve the bullpen. Is he the price they had to pay to get someone to take Wilson off their hands? Because Cessa seems like he's genuinely one of the decent relievers they've had.

2. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: July 28, 2021 at 10:57 AM (#6030882)

Wilson is only making $2.2M next year. Seems like the Yanks could find that in between their couch cushions. I don't get it either. Maybe the PTBNL is someone decent?

Also, their bullpen is pretty depleted now after last night's game.

3. villageidiom Posted: July 28, 2021 at 11:56 AM (#6030900)

One should always assume a PTBNL is not someone decent. Like, from the Reds' perspective, what is this trade? If I go here I see this summary:

If you squint, the Reds get a pair of proven relievers with ample experience in playoff chases. If you look a little bit closer, however, it would appear the Reds are getting Cessa in the midst of a solid season and are absorbing Wilson’s contract in order to ensure they don’t have to forfeit too much prospect capital in return.

That seems to align with my take earlier. But is that the Yankees' take? Like, is Wilson so bad and so necessary to get off the roster that they gave up Cessa to make it happen?

4. Captain Supporter Posted: July 28, 2021 at 11:59 AM (#6030904)

Yankees fans, help me out here.

Glad to. The Yankees are playing with their salary/roster spots in anticipation of some other trade deadline move in a situation where they are clearly treating the CBT threshold as a hard cap. They are pushing up against the threshold now, so these moves frees up some cap space.

5. Steve Balboni's Personal Trainer Posted: July 28, 2021 at 12:22 PM (#6030917)

To the extent MLB wanted to create a salary cap without actually having a hard cap, it appears they have largely succeeded. Even the teams with the most $ are generally trying to get under the $210m figure to avoid paying a lot of "luxury taxes".

I do think, however, that the Yankees had to trade a reliever they wouldn't have minded keeping (Cessa) in order to make room in the payroll and the 40-man.

6. The Yankee Clapper Posted: July 28, 2021 at 12:47 PM (#6030929)

Perhaps there is another move in the works that makes the motive for this one more apparent. However, standing alone it’s pretty small potatoes - Cessa was moderately useful, Wilson not so much. Neither was making enough to really matter, but as others have noted, avoiding even modest luxury tax payments seems to be in vogue. I’m not sure there is a deal on the horizon that will matter that much, but we’ll see.

7. villageidiom Posted: July 28, 2021 at 01:26 PM (#6030953)

a situation where they are clearly treating the CBT threshold as a hard cap.

Thanks. I hadn't assumed that, but that makes sense. Having said that, I don't know who they could add in a meaningful sense that would keep them below the cap. They just saved $1.3 million for 2021 with this trade, which per Cot's puts them $2.3 million under the cap as of today. Kimbrel, for example, would add around $5 million. If they are adding significant pieces I'd have to assume they're going over the cap, whether they trade Cessa/Wilson or not. But this does clear a couple roster spots to make it happen, and removes arguably the worst performer - something that seems worthwhile even if they don't acquire someone of consequence.

So, to sum up:
Reds add relievers, one of whom might be useful, at modest cost.
Yankees clear roster space, with modest savings, for potential acquisition.

8. Nasty Nate Posted: July 28, 2021 at 02:10 PM (#6030972)

Having said that, I don't know who they could add in a meaningful sense that would keep them below the cap. They just saved $1.3 million for 2021 with this trade, which per Cot's puts them $2.3 million under the cap as of today. Kimbrel, for example, would add around $5 million. If they are adding significant pieces I'd have to assume they're going over the cap, whether they trade Cessa/Wilson or not.

Gleyber & Severino for Story & some cheap player(s) would keep them under, right?

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Wednesday, July 28, 2021

New York Yankees trade relievers Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson to Cincinnati Reds

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