TAMPA — I happened to be in the Yankees’ clubhouse last July 28, following a home doubleheader against the Royals, when Chasen Shreve conducted a round of goodbyes upon learning he had been traded.
Sadness, but not surprise, filled the air; the affable southpaw Shreve had been floating on the Yankees’ roster bubble for months. Curiosity over the return for Shreve essentially didn’t exist, by virtue of him being so fringy.
So consider Luke Voit’s entrance to the Yankees akin to John McClane’s arrival at the Nakatomi Corporation’s holiday party in “Die Hard”: No one noticed him at first, yet he wound up making quite an impression.