Yankees Braves Swing Trade

The Atlanta Braves have added a solid left-hander to their bullpen, thanks to a trade with the New York Yankees on Wednesday. 

#Braves got the third proven lefty they were hoping to add to their bullpen, acquiring veteran Lucas Luetge from the Yankees in exchange for righty prospect Indigo Diaz and minor league INF Caleb Durbin. To make room on the 40-man, Braves DFA'd INF Lewin Díaz.

— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) December 29, 2022

Southpaw reliever Lucas Luetge was placed on waivers by the Yankees a week ago, but the Braves swooped in a day before he was due to become a free agent, and acquired him in return for minor leaguers RHP Indigo Diaz and INF Caleb Durbin. 

Lucas Luetge wasn’t flashy but was incredibly underrated.

From off the scrap heap, he posted a sub-3 ERA and FIP for the Yankees.

2021 & 2022:

2.71 ERA
2.92 FIP pic.twitter.com/OJsIuaNEpy

— Joe Randazzo (@Yankeelibrarian) December 29, 2022

After a very mundane three+ seasons in the big leagues from 2012-2015, Luetge didn't make it back to The Show until 2021, and was sneaky good for the Pinstripers for the past two seasons, posting a combined ERA of 2.71 with a 138:32 strikeout to walk ratio.

In 2022, he posted a 2.67 ERA with 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings. 

He consistently limits hard contact, as he ranked in the 100th percentile in hard hit percentage against this past season, and in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity. 

A nice piece for the Braves' bullpen. 

Photo: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports