So much for the all-encompassing trade deadline.

A full nine days after July 31, the Yankees announced a deal to acquire left-hander Joe Mantiply from the Reds for cash. This year was the first under a new rule where the July 31 deadline applied to all deals — not just non-waiver trades, as had been previously the case. Or so we thought.

It turns out that the Yankees took advantage of a loophole allowing minor leaguers to be traded after the deadline. Rule 9(b)(3):

“No Major League Uniform Player’s Contract (including for outrighted players) shall be traded to another Major League Club during the period commencing 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on July 31 (the ‘Major League Trade Deadline’) and ending upon the day that the last game of the World Series starts.”

Wading through the legalese: The trade deadline doesn’t apply to deals that exclusively include minor leaguers, though it does include players on MLB contracts who aren’t on 40-man rosters.

The 28-year-old pitched for the Yankees organization at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2017 after a brief time in the majors with Detroit the previous season. Mantiply has split his time this season between Cincinnati’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates this year. In total, he has a 4.15 ERA over 30 1/3 innings with 7.7 strikeouts per nine innings.

So, yes, the trade is legal. But, no, Joe Mantiply probably isn’t a name you need to pay attention to this year.

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