Joey Gallo Heads West for a Contemporary Begin with the Dodgers

It ought to have labored out for Joey Gallo within the Bronx. A fly ball-launching lefty with the power to hit the tar out of the ball when he made contact, he appeared primed to thrive at Yankee Stadium, significantly after the mechanical work he did to decrease his common launch angle paid off together with his second All-Star look in 2021. As an alternative, Gallo struggled mightily to the purpose that his departure forward of the 2022 commerce deadline grew to become a foregone conclusion. On Tuesday, the Yankees despatched the 28-year-old slugger to the Dodgers in alternate for 23-year-old righty prospect Clayton Beeter.

Gallo is hitting simply .159/.282/.339 with 12 house runs and an 82 wRC+ in 273 plate appearances. Of the 139 American League hitters with no less than 200 PA, his batting common is second-to-last, forward of solely the Rays’ Brett Phillips (.147). Likewise, solely Phillips’ 40.9% strikeout charge surpasses Gallo’s 38.8% charge, the very best of his profession. In the meantime, Gallo’s energy (.180 ISO) and endurance (14.7% stroll charge, fifth among the many identical pool) merely confine his on-base and slugging percentages to the underside quartile of the group. Since being acquired final July 29 alongside lefty reliever Joely Rodríguez in alternate for pitcher Glenn Otto and infielders Ezequiel Duran, Trevor Hauver, and Josh Smith, he has hit .159/.291/.368 (88 wRC+) with 25 homers in 501 PA as a Yankee, with solely strong protection maintaining his WAR within the black (0.9).

“I really feel dangerous,” Gallo told The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler just lately, having clearly learn the handwriting on the wall as soon as the crew acquired left fielder Andrew Benintendi from the Royals final week. “It’s one thing I’m gonna have to essentially stay with for the remainder of my life. It’s going to be robust. I didn’t play nicely, I didn’t stay as much as expectations. And that’s a troublesome tablet to swallow.”

Via YES Community’s Jack Curry, “Gallo was so sure he’d be traded that he was packing his baggage within the clubhouse yesterday.”

Once I checked in on Gallo final July 14, within the wake of his participation within the Dwelling Run Derby and the All-Star Recreation (his second look, after 2019), I examined his progress in addressing issues that he had outlined early in 2021:

By way of the Dallas Morning Information‘ Sam Blum in February, Gallo explained, “I felt like all 12 months I used to be type of dashing myself, and… I wasn’t getting in place — I wasn’t loading accurately and giving myself time to hit the ball.” In March, he told reporters, “Once I was swinging on the ball, I used to be virtually crouched… I wasn’t in a position to create that backspin and that leverage that I’m 6-5, and I can create.”

Utilizing a brand new, less top-heavy bat from Marucci’s Baseball Efficiency Lab, Gallo has centered on remaining extra upright in his stance, serving to him to decrease his launch angle in order to hit extra line drives.

The modifications helped Gallo lower his launch angle and curb his pull-happy methods, however they proved fleeting. Updating a desk from that piece for example his splits:

So far as Gallo’s batted ball stats go, it’s his pre-trade numbers in 2021 that appear to be a fluke, whereas his numbers in pinstripes bear a painful resemblance to his ugly ’20 marketing campaign, when he hit .181/.301/.378 with 10 homers and an 87 wRC+ in 226 PA. Given the brand new, deadened baseball, this isn’t a good time to be doubling down on hitting the ball within the air; Gallo’s present efficiency is brief even of his .170 xBA and .379 xSLG.

Pitch-wise, Gallo has been significantly flummoxed by sliders this 12 months, hitting for an .048 AVG and .119 SLG in 54 PA whereas whiffing on 50.5% of these he swung at. By way of Statcast, his -7 runs on the pitch locations him within the eighth percentile amongst hitters with no less than 50 PA ending in sliders, whereas solely Franmil Reyes and Chris Taylor have had greater whiff charges.

It’s not instantly apparent why the Dodgers traded for Gallo, significantly as Gavin Lux (127 wRC+ in 339 PA general) and Trayce Thompson (153 wRC+ in 97 PA) have acquitted themselves nicely as left fielders whereas serving to to cowl for Taylor’s absence because of a fracture in his left foot (Jake Lamb, who posted a 127 wRC+ in 77 PA with the crew, was traded to the Mariners right now). Taylor, who’s been on the injured checklist since July 6, is slated to start his rehab task with Triple-A Oklahoma Metropolis on Tuesday night time. What’s extra, the Dodgers have already got an enigmatic outfielder with spectacular energy however a excessive strikeout charge in former MVP Cody Bellinger, who’s hitting simply .205/.265/.378 (81 wRC+) whereas putting out 28% of the time. Bellinger stays an above-average middle fielder, whereas Gallo, who held his personal in middle throughout a quick trial in 2018-19, isn’t more likely to wind up there. That mentioned, the Dodgers did use Mookie Betts in middle 30 instances final 12 months in Bellinger’s absence, and Gallo can play proper area in addition to left.

The most definitely risk is that Gallo takes taking part in time away from Max Muncy, who has hit simply .162/.312/.314 (86 wRC+) after tearing the UCL in his left elbow on the ultimate day of the common season final 12 months, and who regressed in July after trending upwards (barely, no less than) in June. Muncy has performed primarily third base (46 video games) — Gallo’s former place, and one he’s even much less more likely to return to than middle — and second base (27) in addition to DH (13 video games) to this point. The Dodgers have so many shifting components that it might nonetheless all match collectively, although the truth that it’s two lefties who’re the gamers most definitely to take a seat for Gallo nonetheless marks this as a curious transfer from their facet.

Per the New York Submit’s Jon Heyman, the Dodgers are selecting up the rest of Gallo’s $10.275 million wage (about $3.67 million). Together with his addition, the crew is simply over $1 million beneath the $270 million threshold for the third tier of the Aggressive Steadiness Tax penalties, although different strikes might actually change that briefly order. Likewise for the Yankees, who’re at $263.3 million after the Gallo deal.

As for Beeter, he’s a 6-foot-2, 220-pound righty out of Texas Tech whom the Dodgers took with the 66th choose of the 2020 draft and signed for a $1.2 million bonus. That choose was a Aggressive Steadiness obtained from the Twins within the Brusdar Graterol/Kenta Maeda commerce, which had been spun off from the original three-way Betts deal that fell aside when the Purple Sox balked at Graterol’s medicals.

Anyway, right here’s what Eric Longenhagen wrote about Beeter, who positioned 14th on the crew’s prospect checklist in Could as a forty five FV prospect (he slots in at No. 13 on the Yankees list):

Beeter had Tommy John in 2017, an arthroscopic surgical procedure in ’18, after which was one in every of many wild, risky, hard-throwing hurlers within the Texas Tech bullpen in ’19. He got here out of the gate as a Purple Raiders starter in 2020 and was not solely electrical, sitting within the mid-90s with two plus or higher breaking balls, however for the primary time in his life was additionally throwing strikes. It was at this level that his draft inventory exploded. His fastball has large carry because of its backspinning axis, and it really works equally to the way in which Rays righty Nick Anderson’s does, as do his breaking balls. That is ready-made elite bullpen stuff, however due to the shortened season, Beeter solely had a four-start monitor report of strike-throwing when the Dodgers drafted him 66th general. They deployed him solely as a starter in 2021, and whereas his stroll charges weren’t manifestly dangerous, visible evaluation of Beeter’s really feel and command proceed to bucket him within the bullpen. His supply is stiff and he tilts out to create a vertical arm slot that helps impart the keep it up his fastball and the depth on his two breaking balls. He’s sitting 93-96 mph as a starter and may be capable of crank it greater than that in reduction, although he was additionally 93-96 within the brief instructs outings I noticed within the fall. It will probably typically be robust to discern his curveball (78-81 mph) from his slider (83-86 mph) by way of their form, with the previous extra doubtless for use within the zone. It’s potential a few of Beeter’s consistency points will drive him right into a lesser position, however he has the stuff of a set-up man or higher.

And right here’s some video from Beeter working within the Tutorial League in 2021:

Beeter has spent all of this season with the Dodgers’ Double-A Tulsa affiliate, pitching to a 5.75 ERA and 5.06 FIP in 51.2 innings unfold over 16 begins and two reduction appearances. In his final 14.1 innings, he’s been hit for 17 runs. He’s putting out an eye-opening 36.1% of hitters but additionally strolling 14.3%. “All of the walks push him towards reduction,” wrote Longenhagen in a word.

At first look, this deal makes far more sense for the Yankees than it does for the Dodgers. The Yankees couldn’t appear to get Gallo going however had been in a position to offload him and his wage in favor of a stay arm who might assist them in a 12 months or two. That mentioned, from the Dodgers’ standpoint it’s value remembering that few folks anticipated the likes of Muncy, Taylor, or Justin Turner to thrive with the crew earlier than they picked them up, and no less than throughout the small samples, the identical may be mentioned for Thompson. Gallo heads to Los Angeles as a extra achieved participant than any of them. Maybe they see one thing that may assist Gallo recuperate his kind, so possibly it will work out in any case.