MLB trade rumors: Yankees make deal with Rockies

The Yankees and the Rockies made a minor-league deal late Tuesday night.

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The Yankees did a little bit more house cleaning late Tuesday night.

In a minor-league deal, they traded right-hander Jordan Foley to the Rockies in exchange for Jefry Valdez, another right-hander.

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Why they did it: Foley, 25, would have been eligible for this year’s Rule 5 Draft. The Yankees picked him in the fifth round of the 2014 draft out of Central Michigan University. So, rather than add Foley to the 40-man roster to protect him from getting picked, the Yankees sent him to the Rockies.

What were Foley’s numbers?: Foley just finished a terrible Arizona Fall League, giving up 20 earned runs in 19 2/3 innings and seven games. That’s a 9.15 ERA. He was much better during the regular season, posting a 2.98 ERA over 37 games and 66 1/3 innings at Double-A Trenton. He struck out 67 batters and walked 35.

Who’s Valdez? Well, we don’t know a whole lot about him. So, here’s this, from the Yankees:

Valdez, 23, went 3-1 with four saves and a 5.82 ERA (34.0IP, 48H, 27R/22ER, 9BB, 45K, 2HR) in 27 relief appearances for Single-A Boise in 2018. His 11.91 K/9.0 IP ratio ranked fifth in the Northwest League (min. 30.0IP). The native of Hato Mayor, Dominican Republic, was signed by the Rockies as a non-drafted free agent on May 8, 2015.

Remember: Earlier Tuesday, the Yankees protected right-handed reliever Joe Harvey from the Rule 5 draft, adding him to the 40-man. They left exposed a handful of interesting prospects who could get snatched — including shortstop Kyle Holder, a 2015 first-round pick. Holder has an excellent glove, but hasn’t played much above High-A.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.