Yankees trade All-Star closer Miller to Indians
The Cleveland Indians, who appeared to have a trade in place for Jonathan Lucroy on Saturday, shifted their focus to another blockbuster deal less than 24 hours later, acquiring All-Star reliever Andrew Miller from the New York Yankees in exchange for a four-player package that includes top prospects Clint Frazier and Justus Sheffield.
The Yankees also received minor-league pitchers J.P. Feyereisen and Ben Heller.
The stunning acquisition for the first-place Indians came moments before their proposed trade with the Milwaukee Brewers fell through, as Lucroy exercised his no-trade clause and vetoed the deal.
Miller's the second major bullpen piece moved in a week by the Yankees, who also shipped Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for four players, including top shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres.
In negotiating his lucrative four-year, $36-million contract with the Yankees in 2014, Miller agreed to forego a no-trade clause, according to Rosenthal. The 31-year-old is owed $9 million over each of the next two seasons.
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For the Indians, who entered Sunday with a 4 1/2-game lead over Detroit, the move - on the heels of their attempt to acquire Lucroy - is the strongest indication yet the club is aggressively chasing its first World Series championship in nearly 70 years.
Miller, a towering left-hander who saved 36 games for the Yankees last year, is in the midst of another dominant campaign, ranking second among MLB relievers in strikeout rate (44.8 percent) and third in WAR (1.8), while managing a sparkling 1.39 ERA and just seven walks over 45 1/3 innings.
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Frazier is the key to the deal for the Yankees. Some members of the organization view him as "the next Mike Trout," according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. The 21-year-old was promoted by the Indians to Triple-A earlier this week, and owns a .273/.350/.461 line with 13 homers and 25 doubles across two levels this year. Ranked the No. 44 overall prospect by Baseball America in February, he jumped to the No. 21 spot in BA's midseason rankings.
Sheffield, the nephew of former Yankees slugger Gary Sheffield, also made a big jump in BA's midseason rankings, from No. 81 to No. 69. The 20-year-old owns a 3.59 ERA while striking out 8.8 batters per nine innings at Single-A Lynchburg, and appeared in the Carolina League All-Star Game.
Heller owns a 1.73 ERA and has saved 12 games combined between Double-A and Triple-A this year. The 24-year-old boasts a slider that hits in the low 80s, and was ranked as the Indians' No. 30 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Feyereisen, 23, has spent all of 2016 in Double-A, where he's posted a 2.23 ERA and 12.5 strikeouts per nine as a reliever.