Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Trade RP Nick Nelson to Phillies, Opening Space on 40-Man Roster

The New York Yankees traded reliever Nick Nelson and catching prospect Donny Sands to the Philadelphia Phillies to make space for prospects on the 40-man roster.

Max Goodman

This spring, right-hander Nick Nelson was a candidate to have a breakout season in the Yankees' bullpen. 

Eight months later, he was used as a way to open space on New York's 40-man roster, shipped to Philadelphia in a trade.

The Yankees dealt Nelson and catching prospect Donny Sands to the Phillies in exchange for infield T.J. Rumfield and left-hander Joel Valdez on Friday, the team announced. 

Nelson and Sands departing means the Yankees freed up two slots on their 40-man roster. That number jumped to five when New York designated outfielder Clint Frazier and infielders Rougned Odor and Tyler Wade for assignment.

All those moves in mind, the Yankees were able to add infielder Oswaldo Cabrera, right-hander Ron Marinaccio, outfielder Everson Pereira, right-hander Stephen Ridings and left-hander JP Sears to the Major League roster.

Friday evening marked the deadline for teams to protect players from next month's Rule 5 Draft.

Nelson ended up posting an appalling 8.79 ERA over 11 appearances (two starts) with the Yankees this season. Given a few different opportunities early in the season, Nelson never figured it out at the big-league level, relegated to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the vast majority of the summer.

Over 29 games pitched in Triple-A, Nelson posted a 3.81 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 52 innings. Perhaps the Phillies will be able to unlock some of Nelson's untapped potential in 2022 and beyond.

Meanwhile, Sands was recently added to the 40-man roster, but is also packing his bags. The catcher split the 2021 season with Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, combining to hit .261/.326/.466 (89-for-341) in 94 games.

The two players New York acquired in the trade are low-level minor leaguers that are both 21 years old. Rumfield is a former 12th-rounder that made his professional debut in 2021, hitting .250 (19-for-76) over 27 games with Low-A Clearwater. Valdez pitched to the tune of a 1.63 ERA in 15 starts in the Dominican Summer League this year.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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