Yankees' Brian Cashman finds another diamond in the rough

by Felix Pantaleón

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman acquired right-handed pitcher Mike King from the Miami Marlins in November of 2017. Some MLB insiders say King is already good enough for the big leagues, even though he’s not even on the Yankees’ 40-man roster.

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The Yankees will take the field Tuesday in Oakland with a 3.5-game lead over the A’s in the wild card race.

Thanks to some nifty wheeling and dealing by general manager Brian Cashman, the Yankees are set up to be in playoff contention for years to come.

One of his more shrewd moves was acquiring right-handed pitcher Mike King, who’s turning heads in the minors with his big-league ready stuff, according to the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo:

Mike King, RHP, Yankees — The Yankees have so many prospects that the former Boston College right-hander goes unnoticed and isn’t even on the 40-man roster. Yet he’s drawn the attention of scouts who have watched him recently and come away impressed. The 23-year-old is 3-0 with a 1.09 ERA at Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after going 6-2 with a 2.09 ERA at Double A Trenton. He has command of three pitches (fastball, changeup, slider) and four-seams at about 95 miles per hour. King, in the opinion of some scouts, would be in the big leagues with a smaller-market team

Yanks’ wild card lineup vs. A’s

King was a 12th-round draft pick in 2016 out of Boston College. The Yankees acquired King in November of 2017 in a deal with the Miami Marlins.

The Yankees acquired Minor League right-hander Michael King along with international bonus pool money from the Marlins on Monday, in exchange for infielder Garrett Cooper and left-hander Caleb Smith. Per MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo, the bonus pool amount involved in the trade is $250,000.

King has pitched in a total of 66 minor-league games over the last three seasons, making 50 starts. King has compiled a 25-17 record with an impressive 2.59 ERA.

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