The Washington Nationals traded utilityman and platoon bat Amed Rosario to the New York Yankees on Saturday evening, YES Network's Jack Curry reported. Washington receives right-handed relief prospect Clayton Beeter in the deal, as well as 18-year-old outfield prospect Browm Martinez. The club confirmed the transaction on their official blog. José Tena has been called up and will replace Rosario on the team's active roster, the Washington Post's Nationals beat writer Andrew Golden reported on Twitter. For a signing that wasn't thought of as being too much of a huge addition at the time, the Nationals were able to get some solid value for a rental piece in Rosario.
There are no question marks to what Amed Rosario is. He's been the same player day in and day out for the last three-plus years: no true position but a reliable short-side platoon bat. He's largely played second and third for the Nats this year, starting against left-handers and posting a 126 wRC+ against them in 93 plate appearances. In 759 plate appearances against LHP over the last five seasons, his 121 wRC+ is solidly in line with that. It's a little bit of a curious addition for the Yankees, though; as a team, they're slashing .261/.342/.456 against southpaws, and their 120 wRC+ versus lefties is tops in the majors.
The headlining piece in the return for the Nationals, 26-year-old right-handed reliever Clayton Beeter, was the Yankees' 19th-ranked prospect per Baseball America this year; MLB Pipeline ranked him 20th, and FanGraphs 13th. Selected 66th overall by the Dodgers in the 2020 Draft out of Texas Tech, Beeter was traded to the Yankees in the move that sent Joey Gallo to the Dodgers for an inauspicious couple of months in 2022. Largely serving as a starter through 2023, Beeter began to appear out of the bullpen in the Yankees system towards the end of 2024, including 3 MLB appearances where he struck out 5 across 3.2 innings and allowed two runs. Clayton has since transitioned to a full-time relief role in his age-26 campaign after beginning the season on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement. In 18 Triple-A appearances with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he struck out 33 batters but walked 16 and did not allow a home run.
Prospect Savant, a tool that presents minor league Statcast data in a form factor resembling MLB's Baseball Savant tool, shows that Beeter's walk issues have been the only serious drawback to his game at Triple-A this season, as when batters do make contact, it is seldom solid. He was similarly excellent in 2024. While likely beyond any real prospect hype and almost certainly ticketed to remain in the bullpen, Beeter presents positive upside as a relief arm; his fastball has averaged 96 MPH this year, and he pairs it with a slider that has received a 130 grade from Eno Sarris' and Max Bay's Stuff+ model (107 is average for major league sliders) in limited major league time across the last two campaigns.
The other acquisition, the true lottery ticket in this deal, is 18-year-old right-handed-hitting outfielder Browm Martinez. Martinez, per Spotrac, signed with the club for $130,000 as a 17-year-old last year. In 209 plate appearances with the rookie-level DSL Bombers, he's slashing .320/.426/.419 with 3 home runs; most of that production has come in 18 games this year, and he's also 13 of 14 on steal attempts. A user on the Nationals subreddit compared Martinez to former National Alfonso Soriano.
José Tena, 24, returns to the majors after a 26-game stint in the minors with Triple-A Rochester. He posted one of the highest walk rates of his career in any 26-game sample at any level during that time, hitting 3 home runs and stealing 12 bases en route to a 133 wRC+. Tena will probably split time between second and third but doesn't figure to usurp Luis García Jr. or Brady House at their respective positions for the majority share of playing time.
Recent developments may bring some clarity to the acquisition by New York. There's a couple ways they could realistically use Rosario; the most obvious is in a platoon with Ryan McMahon, who was also acquired by the team from Colorado earlier this week. McMahon, a left-handed hitter and defensive specialist at third base, maintains a career 95 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers, in contrast to a 75 wRC+ against left-handers. The other option is using Rosario in right field in a pinch; Aaron Judge hit the injured list on Saturday with a flexor strain, and the team plans on being cautious with his usage when he does return. It could mean Giancarlo Stanton sees time in the field for the first time since 2023, but Rosario, who has 26 career games in right field, could also slide over in a pinch.
What do you think about the Amed Rosario trade? Did the Nationals fleece the Yankees? Should they have gotten more? Let me and the rest of the crew know on Twitter, @TheOttSpot and @DistrictOnDeck.
Information in this article was sourced from FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, Spotrac, and Prospect Savant.