The Yankees have traded first baseman/designated hitter Juan Miranda to the Diamondbacks for right-handed pitching prospect Scottie Allen. The moves frees up a 40-man roster spot as well. Allen was Arizona’s 11th round pick in 2009, and this year he posted a 2.97 FIP (9.12 K/9, 2.54 BB/9) in 16 starts (78 IP) with their Low-A affiliate. I can’t find anything on the kid, no scouting report, nothing. He is listed at 6-foot-1 and 170 lbs., so there’s that. Oh, and he doesn’t turn 20 until next July, so he’s just a pup. Obviously the Kevin Towers factor comes into play here, and chances are this is the “small player move” Brian Cashman teased earlier in the week.
Miranda was a man without a home with the Yankees, getting buried behind Mark Teixeira and even Nick Swisher on the first base depth chart. He crushed Triple-A pitching (.377 wOBA) in his three years down there, but he never got much of an opportunity with the big league team. In 94 plate appearances with New York, he put up a more than respectable .343 wOBA. Miranda was out of options, so if he didn’t break camp with the Yanks next year he would have had to clear waivers to go back to minors. He’ll get a better shot in Arizona, so good luck to him.
Update: Joel Sherman has a mini-scouting report on Allen. Says he’s 88-93 with a chance for an above average curveball. They like his arm action and his control, evidenced by his walk-rate this season. Interesting arm, they weren’t going to get much for Miranda since he was out of options. A prospect of Allen’s caliber is about the best they could have hoped for.