The Yankees had been chasing Dustin Ackley for a while. I don’t know exactly how long the pursuit had gone on, but I remember rumors around the 2013 winter meetings, and they’ve popped up from time to time since. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, Brian Cashman maintained his interest in Ackley, and now he’s finally gotten Jack Zduriencik to crack, with Ackley going to the Yankees in exchange for Ramon Flores and Jose Ramirez.

For an idea of how Ackley’s season has gone, he started 20 games in May, and he’s started a combined 19 games in June and July. He’s sitting on a dreadful…pretty much everything, so his playing time has dwindled, and so his availability has increased. With that said, just last season, Ackley was about a league-average hitter, and now he’s about to become a left-handed hitter in Yankee Stadium. Plus there’s, you know, everything else.

The background, I mean. The pedigree. There’s what Ackley has been, and there’s what Ackley was supposed to be, and while he’s 27 years old now, there’s still the feeling that his bat could be unleashed. Just the other day, I was thinking about a hypothetical reader poll, in which I ask the audience what it thinks Ackley would’ve developed into had he been drafted by, say, the Cardinals. Not that we have any way of knowing the truth, but I thought it could be fun to look at the results anyway, and the underlying suggestion is that perhaps Ackley wasn’t handled right. Maybe there are things that could be improved, that might only improve with another organization. An organization like the Yankees.

What’s tougher to see is exactly how Ackley fits. In the past, he was a second baseman, and he was pretty good at it. More recently, he’s been an outfielder, but he doesn’t have the arm strength for right. Maybe Ackley replaces Stephen Drew, but that doesn’t seem like a foregone conclusion. It’s also possible Ackley will just be flipped somewhere else, but given the history of the Yankees’ pursuit here, it seems more like they’ll find him a spot. If he ends up at second base, he could be adequate, and he’s under control another two years. If he roves around and hangs out on the bench, that’s not a real interesting player, but someone had to take this chance, just to see if different instruction might cause it all to click. Prospect sheen lasts a while, and it often lasts beyond the first organization.

Given how little they’ve used him of late, the Mariners won’t miss Ackley too much, and maybe there’s psychological value in just turning the page. Every time he walked up with a sub-.220 average just served as a reminder of busted promise. The return: Ramirez is a 25-year-old reliever, and Flores is a 23-year-old outfielder. Before the year, Kiley had Flores at No. 19 in the Yankees’ system, and Ramirez at No. 23. Some excerpts:

Flores is one of those players that reached his upside quickly, but doesn’t have much more to offer than as a solid part-time player. He has solid bat speed, great plate discipline and feel to hit with good plate coverage, but average at best power that limits the damage he can do.

And:

Ramirez is one of the most exciting players on this list; in the linked video, he hit 100 mph with a 70 changeup and an inconsistent slider that flashes average to slightly above. His problem has been like Heathcott; he’s can’t stay on the field, but Ramirez was big league ready at least a year ago. None of Ramirez’s injuries have been to his arm, but to his oblique, caused by a lack of body fat and his quick-twitch movements on the mound.

Flores has had a solid all-around season in Triple-A, and maybe he’s ready to be a role player. Hell, maybe he’s ready to be just as good as recent versions of Dustin Ackley. Ramirez has had a decent season in Triple-A, working in 32 games, but he’s struggled to throw consistent strikes, which applies to most relief prospects who aren’t elite-level relief prospects. A few times, Ramirez has popped up in the majors, throwing in the mid- to high-90s with a mid-80s changeup. He’s a small amount of improvement away from being a reliable relief arm, which the Mariners have sorely needed all season.

This is the way the Dustin Ackley Era ends. Overshadowed by other moves, exchanged for an outfield reserve and a reliever with insufficient present control. Granted, if Ackley keeps playing like he’s played, the Mariners will be happy to have their guys. And the Yankees will be happy to finally have their shot at solving what’s been an unsolvable problem. I hear there could be a hefty reward.