There is no avoiding it: the Yankees sending the appeaser Adam Ottavino to the Red Sox, his archrival, is a waste of salary.
For the Yankees, the utility of trade is clear. They open up a spot on the 40-man list and offload about $ 8 million in wages in a year when they are clearly trying to stay below the $ 210 million competitive balance tax limit. With Ottavino’s 2021 salary out of the books, the Yankees are still shy about the tax cap of around $ 8.5 million, by RosterResource. They could use a left-handed staff, and perhaps Brett Gardner, an easy and familiar presence, will be next in line to be hired again for a meeting. Perhaps they will use that money to add another stable piece to the initial rotation. Perhaps they will use it to acquire a reliever to replace Ottavino.
In total, trade seems quite uneven. The Yankees receive “a player to be named later or cash consideration” from the Red Sox by sending Ottavino and launching with his right hand …