The Yankees managed to somehow get something for Vidal Nuno!
Well, here's a way to wake up on a Sunday morning: the Diamondbacks traded Brandon McCarthy to the Yankees for Vidal Nuno. Not only that, but the Diamondbacks are eating some of McCarthy's salary.
Here's what doesn't make sense: why in the world would the Diamondbacks do that? Unless their goal was to get ripped off, there's no way this trade can possibly be to better the team. I mean, after all, this is the team that demoted Trevor Cahill to High-A Visalia.
| Player | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | BABIP | GB% | HR/FB% | K/BB | ERA | FIP | xFIP | ERA- | FIP- | RE24 | RA9 | RAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon McCarthy | 7.63 | 1.64 | 1.23 | .345 | 55.3% | 20.0% | 4.65 | 5.01 | 3.79 | 2.89 | 132 | 98 | -14.54 | 5.33 | -5 |
| Vidal Nuno | 6.92 | 3.00 | 1.73 | .301 | 37.9% | 14.0% | 2.31 | 5.42 | 5.15 | 4.41 | 134 | 128 | -13.44 | 6.00 | -3 |
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Looking at the numbers, McCarthy certainly has an edge as he's outperforming his ERA. However, remember that McCarthy is 30 and has an injury history but can be pretty decent when healthy. Nuno is 26 and just ... not seemingly good at throwing a baseball across home plate. A healthy McCarthy can actually be worth a couple of wins whereas a daily Nuno is, well, not so much worth that.
The only thing that the Yankees should be worried about is that HR/FB% in Yankee Stadium with the short porch. That doesn't mean that McCarthy has less value for the Yankees, though -- he would still be a viable back of the rotation starter because he is still an upgrade over Nuno. Granted, almost anyone could've been an upgrade over Nuno.
But, literally, Diamondbacks, what does this trade even do for you?
The rotation becomes Wade Miley, Vidal Nuno, Josh Collmenter, Chase Anderson, and Mike Bolsinger before Bronson Arroyo comes off the DL. And when you've got a team with a rotation where it's a "pray for rain" day practically every single day, you wouldn't have that much confidence in the team getting to even 70 wins this season. Not like praying for rain would even work with Chase Field having a roof.
One could make the argument that the Diamondbacks are trying to rebuild, but Nuno isn't a prospect. This trade could've made sense if who they got in return was a mid-level prospect of some sort, one that would help bolster the farm system. But Nuno isn't that guy. There's very little value in the return. For crying out loud, Arizona is eating part of McCarthy's contract to trade him to New York. I just can't see any sensible GM making a move like that, so understanding why Kevin Towers did this is beyond me.
Try all you might to justify this trade on the Diamondbacks' end of things, but it might become an impossible task.
. . .
All statistics and information courtesy of FanGraphs and Baseball Reference.
Jen Mac Ramos is a contributor for Beyond the Box Score and The Hardball Times. You can follow her on twitter at @jnmcrms.