THE TIES THAT BIND

There’s plenty of familiarity between the Yankees and Indians, who have been recent trade partners and vied for the same Mets outfielder this summer. Here’s a deeper dive: ANDREW MILLER/CLINT FRAZIER: In the most memorable recent tangle between the teams, the Yankees sent the ace reliever Miller to the Indians on July 31 of last season for a Frazier-led package that also included Justus Sheffield, Ben Heller, and J.P. Feyereisen. Miller, who recorded 48 saves in a season-and-a-half wearing pinstripes, became a valuable piece of the bullpen as the Indians were on the brink of winning a World Series before falling to the Cubs. How the Yankees ultimately fared in the trade is yet to be determined, but Frazier — the Indians’ first-round pick in 2013 — made his MLB debut this season and provided a glimpse of how he might be a key piece of the Bombers’ young core.

CC SABATHIA: The veteran pitcher has spent the last nine years in pinstripes, but for the first 10 ½ years of his career, he was an Indian. Sabathia, a first-round pick of the Tribe in 1998, made his big league debut in 2001 and went on to win a Cy Young with the Indians in 2007 before they traded him to the Brewers a few weeks before the 2008 trade deadline.

AUSTIN JACKSON: The outfielder grew up in the Yankees’ system after being their eighth-round draft pick in 2005, but never wore their uniform in the majors. In December 2009, he was part of a three-team, seven-player trade in which the Yankees sent Jackson and Phil Coke to the Tigers and Ian Kennedy to the Diamondbacks to get Curtis Granderson. The Tigers also landed Max Scherzer as part of the deal. In his first season with the Indians, Jackson batted .318 with 46 runs in 85 games.

JAY BRUCE: Nearly a Yankee, now an Indian. After the Yankees thought they had a deal for the power-hitting outfielder in August, the Mets spurned their neighbors and traded him away to the Indians for minor league reliever Ryder Ryan. In 43 games with the Tribe, Bruce has hit .248 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs.

NICK GOODY: Twice drafted by the Yankees — out of junior college in 2011 and then out of LSU in 2012 — Goody rose to the majors by 2015 and spent parts of two seasons in New York, pitching in relief in 34 games with a 4.67 ERA. The Yankees traded him to Cleveland last December for a player to be named (minor leaguer Yoiber Marquina). ZACH McALLISTER: Another Yankees draft pick (third round, 2006) who never got to the big leagues in pinstripes, McAllister was traded to the Indians in 2010 to complete an earlier deal for Austin Kearns. The pitcher has been a mainstay on the Tribe’s staff ever since, as a starter from 2011-13 before transitioning to a reliever late in the 2014 season.