Shreve will leave
Reliever dealt to Cardinals with Gallegos
The Yankees added to their bullpen earlier in the week when they picked up Zach Britton from Baltimore and Saturday they lost a reliever when they traded another lefty, Chasen Shreve, to St. Louis.
The trade of Shreve opens a spot on the roster for Sunday’s starter, J.A. Happ, who arrived Saturday after being acquired from Toronto. In exchange for the 28-year-old Shreve and right-hander Giovanny Gallegos, the Yankees received first baseman Luke Voit and international bonus pool money.
Voit, 27, was 2-for-11 with a homer in eight games with the Cardinals this season and spent most of the year with Triple-A Memphis. The 26-year-old Gallegos pitched in 20 games for the Yankees over the past two seasons and was at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
“I knew we had to make a move,’’ an emotional Shreve said after the Yankees split a doubleheader against the Royals on Saturday in The Bronx. “I just didn’t know what it was gonna be. I had prepared myself for it. I love it here. I’ve been here four years and it’s gonna suck to leave.”
Shreve pitched an inning and gave up a run in the first game of the doubleheader, a 10-5 loss.
It was the first time he had been scored upon since July 7, as he re- bounded from a tough first two months of the season. Heading into Saturday, Shreve had allowed just two runs in his previous 11 outings over 11 innings for a 1.64 ERA.
And he picked up a key save last Saturday after Aroldis Chapman imploded against the Mets while trying to protect a four-run lead. Shreve entered with the bases loaded, no one out and the Yankees up by two runs. Shreve got a double play and a comebacker to let the Yankees escape with a victory.
The Yankees’ bullpen now con- sists of a pair of southpaws — Chapman and Britton — as well as Dellin Betances, A.J. Cole, Chad Green, Jonathan Holder, David Robertson and Adam Warren.
Shreve pitched in 40 games for the Yankees this season. He came to the Yankees prior to the 2015 season, when they sent former prospect Manny Banuelos to Atlanta for Shreve and David Carpenter. Shreve appeared in 180 games for the Yankees, although he was not on the postseason roster last year.
“I’ll have a good opportunity over there,’’ Shreve said of St. Louis. “But I’m gonna miss these guys.”
Neil Walker responded to the question with surprise.
“My career?” he asked Saturday night.
Yes, The Post reiterated. His career. Did he have any concerns about his season and even his career as he struggled mightily as a Yankee?
“I never doubt myself,” the Yankees utility man said after he totaled five hits and a sacrifice fly in a day-night doubleheader and scored the winning run in the Yankees’ 5-4 Game 2 victory over the Royals, which balanced out the Yankees’ 10-5 loss in Game 1. “You look at my career numbers, I’m not 37, 38 years old. I’m 32. My body feels good. I’m in a good place. My swing feels good.”
It looks good, too. With the Yankees’ roster far from full strength, the former Met Walker, who looked like a candidate for release not long ago, has justified his existence in a big way. In his past 13 games, he has hit .415 (17for-41) with seven runs, four doubles, a homer and 10 RBIs, elevating his season slash line to .229/.306/.318. Considering he stood at a ghastly .185/ .268/.254 before this surge, you understand why so many Yankees fans wanted him gone. And with a modest $4 million salary thanks to the nuclear winter that hit free agency last offseason, such a fate seemed quite feasible.
Not now, though. With Aaron Judge (right wrist fracture), Gary Sanchez (right groin strain) and Clint Frazier (post-concussion migraines) among the position players on the disabled list, the Yankees need all the pop they can get, especially from the right side. The switch-hitting Walker’s eighth-inning, no-out double to right-center field, which followed Greg Bird’s game-tying homer, came from the right side against Royals southpaw Brian Flynn.
“This is the first time in my career that I haven’t been a regular and haven’t gotten regular at-bats,” he said. “Obviously when you string some at-bats together and string some games together, the confidence starts to come back. That’s kind of been the case these last few weeks.”
Case closed: Walker is a keeper.