MLB: Yankees and Phillies make two-for-two changes, including a Mexican

The Philadelphia Phillies acquired right-hander Nick Nelson and Mexican-American catcher Donny Sands, of the New York Yankees, in exchange for the minor league first baseman, TJ Rumfield and minor league southpaw Joel Valdez, according to announcements from both clubs.

Nelson, 26 next December, has seen action in parts of two major league seasons with the Yankees, pitching a combined 6.43 ERA in a small sample of 35 innings. The former fourth-round player has struck out 23.8% of his career opponents against a troublesome 16.1% walk rate in that time:

It hasn’t been an illustrious start to his career, but Nelson has averaged 97 mph on the fastball with a solid 12.5% ​​swing strike rate, and he also has a solid track record in the upper lower categories.

Outside of a brief rookie ball career in 2016, Nelson has posted at least a 26.2% strikeout rate at all levels, surpassing with a 4.07 ERA in 73 Triple-A frames up to this point in his still relatively relatively career. young man.

The right-hander has also kept the ball on the ground at 48% in the majors averaging just 1.03 HR / 9. With a couple of minor league options remaining and extensive work as a multi-inning starter and reliever, Nelson He can be a useful piece of depth for the Phillies for the next few seasons at least, even if he doesn’t establish himself as a regular on the major league roster.

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Sands, 25, spent the 2021 season in Double-A and Triple-A with the Yankees, posting a combined .261 / .326 / .466 with 18 home runs and 16 doubles. Sands also has experience in the corner box, albeit primarily in the minor casualties, and has the potential to step up as an immediate backup option for JT Realmuto now that Andrew Knapp is no longer with the Phils.

Rafael Martinez

I am fond of the King of Sports, especially the Boston Red Sox in MLB and in general all of Mexican baseball. This profession has given me the opportunity to cover major events such as the Caribbean Series, LMB All Star, LMP (uninterrupted since 2009), signings of important players. I had the chance to attend the 2013 World Classic in Arizona, USA, albeit as a fan. Apart from this beautiful sport, I love basketball, where I have also narrated games and even an NBA friendly 10 years ago, but I carry baseball in my veins. Bachelor of Communication Sciences from the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS) , from which I graduated in 2011. I was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa and started in the world of sports journalism in 2004 in the newspaper El Sol de Mazatlán, where I was a baseball columnist and reporter at the same time. In January 2009 I came to El Debate as a journalist reporter and it was almost six years (in the first stage), until in November 2014 I emigrated to the radio providing my services in Línea Directa-Grupo RSN. My cycle there ended in July 2019 and within days, El Debate gave me another opportunity to work and opened the doors for me again. That is how I came to Al Bat, where I have been since 2019 as a web journalist.

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