If there is a standard template for trade returns, it’s usually the centerpiece/major league piece/lottery ticket model. This means that to diversify a trade return as to not become lopsided in an investment, teams choose to build a trade around a single player, a player who can contribute in some fashion no matter what, and a lottery ticket that builds on the future.
In the Yankees’ trade of Martin Prado and David Phelps for Nathan Eovaldi, Garrett Jones, and Domingo German, it fit exactly that model. The centerpiece of that deal was Eovaldi, who lived up to his weaknesses and almost none of his possible strengths.