Former Cincinnati Reds Shortstop Prospect Didi Gregorius Traded to New York Yankees
By Adam Hughes
Sep 28, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Didi Gregorius (1) runs to first base against the St. Louis Cardinals at Chase Field. The Cardinals won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Once upon a time, not too long ago, the Cincinnati Reds had a choice to make: would they go with Zack Cozart of Didi Gregorius as their shortstop of the future? In December of 2012, the Reds decided to tie their fortunes to Cozart and shipped Gregorius to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Shin-Soo Choo (more or less). Now, Gregorius will get another fresh start, as the Diamondbacks have traded him to the New York Yankees, as Tweeted by Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports:
Source: Gregorius going to #Yankees. Deal is done.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 5, 2014
Gregorius is becoming the king of the three-team trade, as the deals involving him always seem to be complicated. As listed by baseball-reference.com, the original Gregorius trade went down like this:
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"The Arizona Diamondbacks sent Matt Albers, Trevor Bauer and Bryan Shaw to the Cleveland Indians.The Cincinnati Reds sent Drew Stubbs to the Cleveland Indians.The Cleveland Indians sent Lars Anderson andTony Sipp to the Arizona Diamondbacks.The Cleveland Indians sent Shin-Soo Choo, Jason Donald and cash to the Cincinnati Reds."
That’s a lot of player movement, and it almost makes today’s deal look like child’s play. Fox Sports reports the details of the Yankees’ trade for Gregorius:
- The Arizona Diamondbacks send shortstop Didi Gregorius to the New York Yankees.
- The New York Yankees send RHP Shane Greene to the Detroit Tigers.
- The Detroit Tigers send LHP Robbie Ray and infield prospect Domingo Leyba to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
You can debate whether or not the Reds made the right choice in keeping Cozart over Gregorius, and the ultimate answer depends on your baseball tastes and the Reds’ ability to beef up their offense this off-season. Cozart is a stud in the field but less than a dud at the plate, and Gregorius is still young (25 next season) but has yet to establish himself as a reliable regular at shortstop. The Reds’ immediate return on their Gregorius trade was huge, though, as Choo put up a monster season in 2013, at least by leadoff standards.
Whichever way you leaned on the Reds’ shortstop debate, Cozart is the man in Cincy (for now, at least), and it appears that Gregorius is tabbed as the man to replace Derek Jeter for the Yankees. He is certainly not a marquee name, but success in the NY pinstripes could change that in a hurry.