It was easy to overlook the trade. Last November 20th, the Yankees shipped Caleb Smith and Garrett Cooper to the Marlins for international bonus money and unheralded pitching prospect Mike King. Smith and Cooper were spare parts and the Yankees needed to clear 40-man roster space for Rule 5 Draft eligible prospects, so they were traded for Shohei Ohtani money. The Yankees didn’t get Ohtani and that money went elsewhere. So it goes.
As for King, a just turned 23-year-old from Rochester, he turned in a solid 2017 season after being a 12th round pick out of Boston College in 2016.