With bold trade, Yankees serve notice to Red Sox

The Evil Empire is back, and don’t the Boston Red Sox know it.

The New York Yankees pulled off a blockbuster seven- player trade Tuesday night, getting three players from the Chicago White Sox whom the Red Sox also desired.

The Yankees acquired 2011 AllStar closer David Robertson, twotime All- Star third baseman Todd Frazier and reliever Tommy Kahnle for prized outfield prospect Blake Rutherford, veteran reliever Tyler Clippard, minor league pitcher Ian Clarkin and minor league outfielder Tito Polo.

The Yankees served notice they’re not about to concede this season while building a bullpen that might be the most potent in the land.

“Adding two arms like that could really help out,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “Those are two power arms that have strikeout stuff.”

The Yankees, who had lost 17 of their previous 24 games, slipping to 31⁄ games behind the Red 2 Sox in the American League East going into Wednesday, have a three- headed monster in the late innings with Robertson, Dellin Betances and closer Aroldis Chapman.

Considering the Yankees’ ineptitude at first and third base this season, Frazier, who is earning $ 12 million in the final year of his contract, is a welcome addition. He is hitting .206 but has 16 home runs and is a solid infielder.

Yet while the Yankees firmly established themselves as contenders, the biggest winners of the trade deadline so far have been the White Sox.

Mired in mediocrity for years, the White Sox completely over- hauled one of the worst farm systems in baseball and turned it into perhaps the best. They now have 10 of the top 68 prospects in baseball, according to Baseball

America, with the acquisition of Rutherford, the Yankees’ 2016 No. 1 pick and the No. 36 prospect overall.

“There’s going to be some growing pains, but I think we are extremely excited around here,” White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. “We have a lot of work to do to keep this process moving, but we’re pleased with how it’s gone so far. There is hope about the future.”

This is a trade that could be ideal for both sides, really, with the White Sox building a team that could contend in 2019 and the Yankees trying to win now while holding on to their elite prospects, with Gleyber Torres, Clint Frazier, Miguel Andujar and Justus Sheffield still in the fold.

“We made the determination that bundling these three players together was the best way to maximize our return on any transaction,” Hahn said. “We felt this trade with the Yankees brought back the most quality as opposed to spreading our assets across multiple deals.”

The Yankees, who tried to acquire starting pitcher Jose Quintana before he was dealt to the Chicago Cubs last week, turned their focus to Robertson, who spent his first seven years pitching for the Yankees and had 13 saves and a 2.70 ERA this year for the White Sox.

Yet the key to the trade, the Yankees say, was Kahnle, who’s under club control through 2020. Kahnle is striking out 15 batters per nine innings and has struck out 78 batters with 13 walks in his last 52 innings.

The Yankees are taking on about $ 23 million in the deal but just $ 13 million next season, with the White Sox agreeing to offset part of the expenditure by taking Clippard ( 1- 5, 4.95 ERA) and his $ 4.15 million salary. The Yankees still want to shed payroll to get below the $ 197 million luxury tax next year, but they’ll worry about that later. For now, they have a playoff berth to win.

For the White Sox, well, operators are standing by waiting for your calls.

“We’re still open for business,” said Hahn, who also is shopping outfielders Melky Cabrera and Avisail Garcia and veteran starting pitcher Derek Holland.

The Yankees might be not done, either, still hoping to acquire another starter for the stretch run, but they know that the price tag for Oakland Athletics ace Sonny Gray will be too exorbitant. The Yankees likely will have to simply rely on their vaunted bullpen. As for the Red Sox? It’s back to the phones, knowing they badly need a third baseman, while hoping to acquire another reliever.

And just in case anyone wondered, that war between the Yankees and Red Sox has been rekindled, loud and clear for everyone to see.

KIM KLEMENT, USA TODAY SPORTS David Robertson, who had 13 saves this season for the White Sox, returns to New York, where he pitched from 2008 to 2014.