12:08pm: The two teams officially announced the agreement, with right-hander Christian Zazueta as the young player heading to Los Angeles. The 19-year-old recorded a 3.29 ERA in the DSL last season.
11:35am: The Yankees are acquiring left-handed pitcher Caleb Ferguson from the Dodgers, according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The Dodgers will receive two prospects in return, per Joel Sherman of The New York Post. Heyman adds that lefty Matt Gage, who was recently claimed by the Yankees, is going to the Dodgers in the trade. Sherman reports that one of the prospects is a long way from reaching the major leagues, while the other is a player who has excelled at the Triple-A level. Assuming Gage is the latter, there is one more prospect yet to be revealed.
Ferguson, 27, will be joining a new team for the first time in his career. He was selected by the Dodgers in 2014 and has been with them ever since. He made his debut in 2018, starting his first three appearances in the major leagues before transitioning to a relief role. Apart from occasionally starting as an opener, he has primarily pitched out of the bullpen.
The results have been quite impressive, with Ferguson making 96 appearances from 2018 to 2020, pitching 112 1/3 innings and allowing 3.93 earned runs per nine innings. He struck out 29.1% of batters faced during that time, walked 8.7% of them, and induced ground balls on 44% of batted balls. Unfortunately, he underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2020, which ended his season and kept him from pitching at all in 2021.
He has since returned to the mound and has produced similar statistics to before his injury. In 126 appearances over the 2022 and 2023 seasons, he has pitched 113 2/3 innings with a 2.85 ERA. He struck out 27.5% of opponents during that time, walked 8.8% of them, and induced ground balls at a rate of 48%. These results have come in higher-pressure situations, as he earned seven holds in 2022 and 17 last year.
He is now in the final year of his contract with the team and will become a free agent after the upcoming season. He is set to earn a salary of $2.4MM. This is the second left-handed reliever that the Yankees have acquired from the Dodgers this offseason, with Victor González having been traded to the Bronx in December.
The Yankees have relied on Wandy Peralta as their primary left-handed reliever in recent years, but he became a free agent and signed with the Padres last week. They now have Ferguson and González as their top left-handed relievers, along with right-handers Clay Holmes, Jonathan Loáisiga, and Tommy Kahnle.
Gage, who will turn 31 next week, will give the Dodgers another left-handed pitcher to replace Ferguson, although his track record is more limited. Gage has made 16 appearances in the major leagues over the past two years, playing for the Astros and Blue Jays, and has recorded a 1.83 ERA in a small sample size of 19 2/3 innings. He spent most of last season with Houston’s Triple-A team, pitching 37 1/3 innings at that level with a 4.58 ERA, a 23.4% strikeout rate, a 12% walk rate, and a 41.5% ground ball rate.
At the moment, it appears that the trade will not affect the 40-man rosters of either team. By sending Gage to the Dodgers, the Yankees have opened up a spot on their 40-man roster for Ferguson. The Dodgers are also reportedly signing Ryan Brasier, so they will still need to create a spot for him, which they could potentially do by designating Gage or another player for assignment.
For the Yankees, this trade improves their bullpen for the 2024 season while sacrificing some future value in the form of a prospect. The Dodgers, on the other hand, were facing a roster crunch with the signing of Brasier and have used one year of Ferguson’s services to acquire an additional prospect and gain more flexibility with their roster. It wouldn’t be surprising to see them pursue another left-handed pitcher at this point, as they are now left with Alex Vesia, Ryan Yarbrough, and Gage as their top left-handed relievers.