Trade Central: Yankees Acquire Tim Locastro From D-backs — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

Image credit: Tim Locastro (Norm Hall/Getty)

In a small move on July 1, the Yankees acquired outfielder Tim Locastro from Arizona in exchange for righthanded relief prospect Keegan Curtis, who was part of the bullpen at Double-A Somerset.

Locastro will add an element of speed to the Yankees outfield, and Curtis gives Arizona a hard-throwing arm with a future in middle relief.

The trade was first reported by The Athletic.

YANKEES ACQUIRE
Tim Locastro, OF
Age: 28

Locastro was selected by the Blue Jays in the 13th round of the 2013 draft out of Ithaca College. He’s made big league stops with the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, and was briefly a member of the Yankees as well. New York acquired him in 2019 in exchange for righty Drew Finley, then dealt him to Arizona a couple of months later for minor league righty Ronald Roman.

Locastro is an extraordinarily efficient basestealer. He was successful in his first 31 chances until being caught for the first time in his career on April 17, 2021 by Nationals backstop Yan Gomes. His average sprint speed of 30.9 feet per second is the second-best in the big leagues, behind only San Diego’s Jorge Mateo.

Locastro also has a weird knack for getting hit by pitches, with 36 in just 200 career games over five seasons.

DIAMONDBACKS ACQUIRE
Keegan Curtis, RHP
Age: 25

Curtis was the Yankees’ 22nd-round selection in 2018 out of Louisiana-Monroe. He’s been excellent this year at Double-A Somerset and works primarily with two pitches, a 94-97 mph fastball and a spike curveball in the 79-81 mph range. The fastball, delivered from a three-quarters slot, shows excellent riding action through the zone. The curveball is inconsistent but shows good depth when it’s working properly.

He also has a slider he uses against righthanders, but the pitch can get flat and will get hit hard when left out over the plate. He has a future as a middle reliever, but could be a bit more if he improves the consistency of one or both of his breaking balls.