A Deep Dive Into Yankee Transaction Trees
Ruben Rivera walked so Aaron Judge could hit dingers (Associated Press)
Did you know that the Yankees turned Ruben Rivera, signed in the 1990 season, into Aaron Judge, current outfielder in the year 2021? How did the Yankees acquire a player using a player from 31 years prior? Ruben Rivera wasn’t directly used to acquire Aaron Judge, but he was traded for Hideki Irabu, which began a series of trades that led to the drafting of Judge in 2013. The Aaron Judge “transaction tree” is one of the longest series of directly correlating moves in baseball that is still active, but every player has their own “transaction tree” that links them back to players through baseball history. Today, I wanted to look at the Yankees’ transaction trees to see how all of their players were acquired and what the longest string of transactions is for these players. Can anyone top the Judge transaction tree? It’s time to find out!
(For more background on the concept of a transaction tree, you can read this excellent Ben Lindbergh piece from 2014, where he traces the longest transaction tree from each team).
Level 1: Directly Signed or Drafted By The Yankees
Brett Gardner - Drafted in the third round in the 2005 draft
Kyle Higashioka - Drafted in the seventh round in the 2008 draft
Gary Sanchez - Signed in 2009 as an international free agent
Mike Ford - Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2012
Jordan Montgomery - Drafted in the fourth round of the 2014 draft
Deivi Garcia - Signed in 2015 as an international free agent
Aroldis Chapman - Signed as a free agent in 2016
Gio Urshela - Traded by the Cleveland Indians for cash in 2018
DJ LeMahieu - Signed as a free agent in 2019
Gerrit Cole - Signed as a free agent in 2019
Corey Kluber - Signed as a free agent in 2021
Darren O’Day - Signed as a free agent in 2021
Justin Wilson - Signed as a free agent in 2021
The players above were directly signed or drafted by the Yankees and thus don’t have any branches on their transaction trees. This gets a little confusing with Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson, because they were originally traded for by the Yankees, traded away and then resigned as free agents. Here, we’re referencing their second and current Yankees stints. Also technically Gio Urshela was traded for, but it was for cash considerations, and let’s laugh about how funny that was.
Level 2: Traded for Someone Drafted or Signed by The Yankees - 1 Branch
Aaron Hicks - Acquired for John Ryan Murphy in 2015.
Murphy drafted in the second round of the 2009 draft
Clint Frazier - Acquired for Andrew Miller in 2016
Miller signed by the Yankees in 2015
Jameson Taillon - Acquired for Miguel Yajure, Roansy Contreras, Maikol Escotto, and Canaan Smith in 2021
All drafted or signed by the Yankees
This category only has three entries, comprising two thirds of the Yankees starting outfield and Taillon. The trees will get more complex as we go on.
Level 3: Traded for Someone Who Was Traded for Someone Drafted or Signed by the Yankees
Luis Cessa/Chad Green - Acquired for Justin Wilson in 2015
Wilson acquired for Francisco Cervelli in 2014
Cervelli signed as an international free agent in 2003.
Luke Voit - Acquired for Giovanny Gallegos and Chasen Shreve in 2018
Shreve was acquired for Manny Banuelos in 2015
Banuelos was signed by the Yankees from the Mexican League in 2008
Domingo German - Acquired for Martin Prado and David Phelps in 2015
Prado was acquired for Peter O’Brien in 2014
O’Brien was drafted in the second round of the 2012 draft.
Giancarlo Stanton - Acquired for Starlin Castro, Jorge Guzman, Jose Devers in 2017
Castro was acquired for Adam Warren and Brendan Ryan in 2015
Guzman was acquired for Brian McCann in 2017
Warren was drafted by the Yankees in the fourth round in 2009, Ryan was traded for cash considerations in 2013, McCann was signed in 2014
Mike King - Acquired for Garrett Cooper and Caleb Smith in 2017
Cooper was acquired for Tyler Webb in 2017
Webb was drafted in the tenth round of the 2013 draft
Zack Britton - Acquired for Dillon Tate, Cody Carroll, Josh Rogers in 2018
Tate acquired for Carlos Beltran in 2016
Beltran signed as free agent in 2014
This group of players has a few interesting entries on the list. Luke Voit can trace his trade tree back to Manny Banuelos, Yankees top prospect of almost a decade ago. Giancarlo Stanton’s trade is linked to Adam Warren, Brendan Ryan, and Brian McCann. The most intruiging one comes with Luis Cessa and Chad Green, who were both traded for Justin Wilson, who is now back on the Yankees. Francisco Cervelli did a lot for the 2021 Yankees.
Level Four: Four Trades Between Original Acquisition and Current Player
Rougned Odor - Acquired for Antonio Cabello and Josh Stowers in 2021
Josh Stowers acquired for Shed Long in 2019
Long acquired for Sonny Gray in 2019
Gray acquired for Dustin Fowler, James Kaprielian, Jorge Mateo in 2017
All three drafted/signed by the Yankees
Gleyber Torres - Acquired for Aroldis Chapman in 2016
Chapman acquired for Rookie Davis, Caleb Cotham, Eric Jagielo, Tony Renda in 2015
Renda acquired for David Carpenter in 2015
David Carpenter acquired for Manny Banuelos in 2015
Banuelos signed from the Mexican League in 2008
The second and third longest trees on our list come with the Yankees’ middle infielders. Torres can link his lineage back to Manny Banuelos as well, while Odor’s lineage starts with the Sonny Gray trade and the prospects the Yankees used to acquire Gray.
Level 5: The Ultimate Transaction Tree
Aaron Judge - Drafted with the compensation pick obtained from losing Nick Swisher
Swisher acquired for Wilson Betemit
Betemit acquired for Scott Proctor
Proctor acquired for Bubba Crosby and Robin Ventura
Ventura acquired for David Justice
Justice acquired for Jake Westbrook
Westbrook acquired for Hideki Irabu
Irabu acquired for Ruben Rivera
Rivera signed in 1990
Our winner is one of the longest transaction trees in baseball, one that spans 31 years and many players. The tree winds through the 2000’s and 1990’s Yankees dynasties, beginning with Ruben Rivera. It’s an impressive string of trades that underlines the main point of this exercise - you never know what acquiring one prospect today will bring for you tomorrow, even if it’s not immediate success. And if you’re the Yankees, you can trade away guys for good players and resign those guys too. Truly the best of both worlds.
A visual representation of this transaction tree, courtesy of Pinstripe Alley.
