MLB Trade Rumors: Yankees sending Tyler Clippard, Blake Rutherford to White Sox

Many knew that Todd Frazier was on his way out with the White Sox, but not many expected the Yankees to swoop in with the package they did to get him.

Rumors have been swirling forever about Todd Frazier leaving the Chicago White Sox, and things got serious when the world went into a full #HugWatch on Tuesday after Frazier got scratched from the lineup against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Now, we know why that’s the case. Reports were coming in on a possible deal involving the White Sox and the New York Yankees, which would involve Frazier, David Robertson, and Tommy Kahnle, in a bigger package than we originally thought the White Sox would give up.

On the other side, we were waiting to see what the Yankees would trade for the three White Sox players. The package began with Yankees outfielder Blake Rutherford, last year’s first-round pick and a huge prospect in New York’s system, according to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale.

Then, the stakes got even higher, with struggling Yankees reliever Tyler Clippard added to the mix if the deal ends up going through.

In the end, the Yankees would get back Robertson after getting rid of him in 2014. Robertson started his career in New York in 2008, and played for the team for six seasons before heading to the White Sox. They’d also add a solid third baseman in Frazier, and another arm for their bullpen in Kahnle.

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Another key element in the madness is the Yankees keeping the Boston Red Sox out of the moves for Frazier or Robertson, as their American League East rival had been in talks to snag Frazier just a few hours earlier in the night on Tuesday.

The Yankees find themselves just 3.5 games back in the AL East behind the Red Sox for first place, and 1.5 games back from second place, so this deal would be huge to move them toward contending in the American League for the rest of the year.