The Ken Giles trade that wasn’t
On the day of the trade deadline, the Yankees and Blue Jays made significant progress on a deal that would have sent reliever Ken Giles to New York, according to major-league sources. The Jays were set to receive three prospects, and informed the other clubs pursuing Giles they were going to be moving him elsewhere.
The trade, of course, never happened, and the Yankees backed off too late for the Jays to complete a deal with another club. The most logical explanation is that the Yankees had concerns about Giles’ elbow, though teams had prior access to his medical records and several factored the risk into their offers, sources said.
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Giles, 28, is earning $6.3 million this season, and will remain under team control through arbitration for one more year. Thus, the Jays should have two more chances to trade him – this offseason and at next year’s deadline.