Yankees trade Chasen Shreve to Cardinals | What it means

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman traded relievers Chasen Shreve and Giovanny Gallegos to the Cardinals late Saturday night, following a doubleheader split with the Royals at Yankee Stadium.

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NEW YORK — Someone had to go.

It ended up Chasen Shreve.

The Yankees traded Shreve, a left-handed reliever, and righty reliever Giovanny Gallegos to the Cardinals for first baseman Luke Voit and international bonus pool money after a 5-4 win over the Royals in Game 2 of a doubleheader on Sunday.

Braves scout Sonny Gray

Why: Two big reasons: General manager Brian Cashman had to make room for J.A. Happ on the 25-man roster. He also had an overcrowded bullpen with the addition of lefty reliever Zach Britton.

Happ was on the Yankees’ roster for Game 2 as the 26th man Saturday, but with him starting Sunday’s game, something had to be done. The team could have designated Shane Robinson for assignment, but with Aaron Judge out with Aaron Hicks roughing up his shoulder earlier in the week, it made sense to keep around an extra outfield body.

Shreve also appeared the odd man out in the bullpen that had two lefties — Britton and closer Aroldis Chapman. The Yankees could have sent down Jonathan Holder, but he’s pitched too well all season, and Shreve was out of minor-league options.

Gallegos, too? Yup. In 30 1/3 innings over the last two seasons with the Yankees, Gallegos has racked up the strikeouts (9.5 K/9) but also had a rough time stopping runs (4.75 ERA) and staying with the big-league club.

Who’s Voit? Voit, a 27-year-old righty hitter, has spent parts of two seasons in the majors. This year, he had two hits in 11 at-bats in eight games for St. Louis. At Triple-A, Voit was hitting .299 with nine homers and a .891 OPS in 67 games. It’s unclear if he’ll go straight to Triple-A or the majors.

Shreve’s reaction: He was emotional, and understandably. The Yankees acquired Shreve four years ago as the side piece of a deal that netted them reliever David Carpenter. Turned out, Shreve was the better arm. He had lots of ups and downs, but the Yankees continued working with him. He had a 4.14 ERA in 37 innings over 39 games but hadn’t given up an earned run in his last five appearances.

“I knew we had to make a move. I just didn’t know what it was going to be. I had prepared myself for it,” Shreve said.

“I love it here. These are my friends. I’ve been here four years. It’s going to suck to leave.”

He said he was grateful for the opportunity with the Cardinals.

“Yeah,” he said, “I’ll have a good opportunity over there. Like I said, I’m just going to miss these guys. Great group of guys.”

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.