On Tuesday, the Indians acquired reliever Nick Goody from the New York Yankees in a trade for a player to be named later or $50,000. The teams said the swap must be completed by May 5 and both must mutually agree to the player involved.
A 25-year-old right-hander, Goody had a 4.66 ERA in 27 relief appearances for the Yankees last season, striking out 34 in 29 innings. He was a sixth-round pick in the 2012 amateur draft and was sidelined following reconstructive right elbow surgery in April 2013. Goody made his big league debut in July 2015 and pitched in seven games for New York last season. Goody apparently failed his audition, most notably allowing seven home runs and 12 walks in those 29 innings.
He did dominate International League batters last year however, pitching to a 1.93 ERA in 23.1 IP for Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre, striking out 40.2% of batters (13.5 K/9) while walking just 4.6% (1.5 BB/9). He was a little too prone to the long ball for comfort in MiLB as well though, allowing 1.5 HR/9.
According to a scout I spoke with, he showed a plus slider and the Indians believe he can add velocity to his fastball with a mechanical adjustment.
He should be a spring training invitee and will get an opportunity to compete for a bullpen spot.
If he fails in spring camp, at least Columbus will receive another quality arm for a title run.
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