The Colorado Rockies pull off a minor trade with the New York Yankees

On Tuesday night, the Colorado Rockies exchanged minor league pitchers with the New York Yankees.

According to the New York Yankees public relations staff on Twitter, the Yankees acquired minor league right-handed pitcher Jefry Valdez in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Jordan Foley.

Valdez, who turned 23 in August, has been in the Rockies organization since 2015 and he has never been a top prospect in the Rockies system for one reason: he hasn’t pitched very well.

He never pitched above rookie ball until this season and in 27 appearances at Short Season-A Idaho, his ERA was nearly 6 and he allowed more than 7 runs per nine innings. Control was not an issue for him as he walked only 2.4 walks per nine innings and he also struck out nearly 12 batters per nine innings but he allowed nearly 13 hits per nine innings.

Foley, 25, was drafted in the 5th round of the June 2014 draft by the Yankees. In 2018, he spent the entirety of the season in Double-A in Trenton, New Jersey and he went 4-4 with a 2.98 ERA in 37 games (2 of which were starts). He also had ten saves and struck out more than a batter per inning.

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His problem is control as he averaged 4.7 walks per nine innings during the regular season. He represented the Yankees in the Arizona Fall League and that was also a major issue for him there as he averaged 8.7 walks per nine innings in 7 games (all starts) with an ERA north of 9.

According to PinStripes Prospects, Foley features a fastball that is in the mid-90s along with a changeup and a slider. In 2018, he had a groundball percentage rate of 39.9 percent, according to Fangraphs.

Final Thoughts

While this is, quite obviously, a minor trade for both clubs, I think that it could be a good one for the Rockies. Just by looking at the numbers, Foley has a better shot at making the major leagues.

In fact, considering that he had a sub-3.00 ERA in Double-A in 2018, he could start out the season in Triple-A Albuquerque whereas Valdez will almost certainly be in either Single-A or Short-Season A. And with a deal this minor, you really can’t have a terrible deal.