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At the trade deadline in 2014, the Yankees acquired Martin Prado from the Arizona Diamondbacks just minutes after acquiring Stephen Drew. Prado was acquired for catching prospect Peter O'Brien and a player-to-be-named-later. Prado, throughout his career, has been known to be the ultimate utility-man, logging time at every position but pitcher, catcher, and center fielder. At the same time, part-time starter and part-time relief-man David Phelps maintained a 4.38 ERA and a 4.41 FIP over 17 starts. At the end of the season, the Yankees made the decision to send Phelps and Prado to the Miami Marlins for Nathan Eovaldi, Garrett Jones, and Domingo German. Some fans weren't pleased with the deal, as many had enjoyed the utility of Prado as well as the promise of Phelps. Let's look at how the deal looks now.
In his tenure with the Yankees last season, Prado hit .316/.336/.541 in 133 at-bats, having a total wRC+ with the Diamondbacks and Yankees of 103, as well as a BABIP of .310 with the two teams. So far, in 37 games in 2015, Prado's triple slash is .270/.310/.351, with a BABIP of .306 and a wRC+ of 81. Although his BA, OBP, and SLG% are down, the runs created number is almost where it was all of last season, while Prado has actually been less lucky this season then last season, as his BABIP is closer to the league average this year. Prado has been one of the few fairly bright spots in an otherwise horrible season down in Miami.
Then there's David Phelps. Phelps has pitched 37 innings so far this season, and he's started six games. He has a 2-0 record with a 2.68 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, and a 1.1 WAR. Phelps has mostly been a starter so far this season, but he has also come out of the bullpen. Phelps has had a fantastic year in Miami, and he's only 28-years-old, so he may still have a bright future as a good starter.
The big return for the Yankees was Nathan Eovaldi. Eovaldi has been the fourth starter in the (healthy) rotation, behind CC Sabathia. He has 41.1 innings pitched in seven starts with a 3-1 record, a 4.14 ERA, a 1.48 WHIP, and a 0.5 WAR, and has been known as a pitcher who has great velocity, sometimes reaching 98 mph. Eovaldi is actually only 25, so he's got some very good potential. A very important stat that is sometimes overlooked when it comes to Eovaldi is the fact that his BABIP against is all the way up at .346! In other words, batters are getting pretty lucky when it comes to facing Eovaldi. If Eovaldi can improve his command, he has a very bright future, and he may have a spot in this Yankees rotation for years to come.
Along with Nasty Nate, the Yankees acquired Garrett Jones, who was originally brought in to back up Mark Teixeira at first base, but has also played some right and left field this season. Jones has not gotten too many chances, playing in only 16 games with 38 at-bats, with a triple slash of .158/.179/.237, a BABIP of .207, and a wRC+ of only 6. What do these numbers say? Basically, Jones has struggled mightily. Even if he hasn't gotten that many chances, and even if his BABIP shows he is a bit unlucky, Jones has had very limited success. Known as a power hitter, Jones hit .246/.309/.411 and 15 home runs in 146 games last season, but Jones has 0 home runs this season. Hopefully, Girardi and hitting coach Jeff Pentland are able to pick Jones out of his slump and get him back to the bomber he has been known for.
The Yankees also received pitching prospect Domingo German in the package for Eovaldi and Jones. German started the year out in Single-A Tampa before hitting the DL and undergoing Tommy John surgery. At 22 years old, he was the Marlins' 20th-best prospect at the time of the trade, so there's still promise there.
You've seen the numbers, you've watched the games, so do you like how the Eovaldi trade has turned out, or would you like a do-over?