OAKLAND, Calif. — The Yankees sacrificed some of their future to address their present when they sent prospects to the Cubs and Rangers to acquire Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo.
The returns on Rizzo and Gallo will be determined by how far the Yankees advance this October.
And the Rangers got their first look at one of the key arms they received from the Yankees for Gallo and lefty Joely Rodriguez when Glenn Otto started and tossed five scoreless innings against the high-powered Astros in his MLB debut Friday for Texas.
Otto was better, after the deal, with Triple-A Round Rock. He had a 2.70 ERA in 20 innings over four starts.
The Yankees drafted Otto out of Rice University in the fifth round in 2017.
The other three prospects the Yankees traded, Ezequiel Duran, Trevor Hauver and Josh Smith, remain in the minors.
While the Yankees aren’t shy about trading away minor leaguers to get major league talent — and it typically pays off — they got a reminder of the danger of it Thursday, when they faced the Athletics’ James Kaprielian.
Kaprielian was a first-round pick by the Yankees and a key piece in the trade that brought Sonny Gray from Oakland to The Bronx.
Gray was a famously bad fit and he was shipped to Cincinnati after an unsuccessful season and a half with the Yankees.
The right-hander regained his All-Star form with the Reds and Kaprielian has overcome injury issues to become a solid starter for the A’s — although the Yankees hit him hard in Thursday’s victory at Oakland.
If Gallo shrugs off his slow start since coming to the Yankees — he hit a three-run homer Thursday — the future of Otto and the rest of the prospects won’t weigh heavily on the Yankees’ mind.
But they’ll soon find out what they gave up in Otto.