BALTIMORE -- The Yankees may have entered Tuesday night six games in back of the Red Sox, but they did manage to make themselves feel a little better about their lot in life. New York has won the Zach Britton Sweepstakes. (Jon Heyman of FanCred was first to report the deal had been agreed on.)
Britton, who was also drawing interest from Houston, Arizona, the Red Sox and Dodgers, is adding to an already formidable New York bullpen. The lefty reliever joins closer Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances and David Robertson, along with upstart righty Chad Green. The Yankees' bullpen already has the best batting average against in the majors (.199).
Going to the Orioles is minor-league starter Dillon Tate, a former first-round pick who currently has a 3.38 ERA for Double-A Trenton. He was traded in 2016 from the Rangers to the Yankees in exchange for outfielder Carlos Beltran. Tate was ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Yankees No. 9 prospect. Also included are minor-leaguers Josh Rogers and Cody Carroll, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
According to USA Today, the Yankees will pay what is left on Britton's deal this season (approximately $4.5 million).
Britton has been very good of late for the Orioles after not starting his season until early June. The closer, who is eligible to become a free agent at the end of the season, hasn't allowed a run in any of his last eight outings, with hitters managing just a .125 batting average against him.