BOSTON – The Yankees aren’t done adding pieces they hope can carry them past the Red Sox and Rays and into October.
According to several sources, the Steinbrenner family has given GM Brian Cashman the financial green light to acquire lefty Jarrod Washburn from the Mariners, a move that is expected to be completed shortly.
While the Yankees won’t part with high-level prospects, if the Mariners want something better than what the Yankees are willing to give, the Mariners are going to have to take Kei Igawa, who yesterday was out-righted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and is no longer on the 40-man roster. Igawa is in the second year of a five-year deal worth $20 million.
Washburn, 33, is 4-9 with a 4.75 ERA in 20 games (19 starts) and makes $9.85 million this year and $10.35 million next season. While scouting reports on Washburn haven’t been good, as he has struggled to keep an 87-mph fastball down, the Yankees believe his competitiveness and postseason experience with the Angels added to the fact that he comes in as the No. 4 or 5 starter makes the deal worth doing.
“Seattle is looking to dump money,” an NL source said of the Mariners, who fired their GM, manager, released Richie Sexson (signed by the Yankees) and could be moving third baseman Adrian Beltre and left fielder Raul Ibanez before Thursday’s trading deadline.
Washburn, who is slated to start today against the Blue Jays in Toronto, was approached by the Mariners on Friday and asked to waive his no-trade clause, which included the Yankees. At the beginning of the process there was talk that Washburn would want to be compensated with a contract extension. However, a Yankees source said “there would be no extension.”
Washburn likely would replace Darrell Rasner in the rotation. Rasner (5-7 in 13 starts) would then probably be moved into long relief, the role currently held by Dan Giese.
As for Friday night’s swap between the Yankees and Pirates that brought outfielder Xavier Nady and lefty reliever Damaso Marte to the Yankees, it underwent changes yesterday.
Minor-league pitchers Phil Coke and George Kontos were part of the original deal but the Pirates had “mixed medical issues” on them. So, Triple-A hurlers Jeff Karstens and Daniel McCutchen were substituted. The addition of McCutchen and Karstens was viewed a plus for the Pirates.
However, the addition of Nady and Marte for no major-league talent was hailed as a big win for the Yankees.
“That was robbery,” an NL scout said. “The Yankees killed them.”
Time will tell. Nady was in the lineup, playing left field and batting seventh against knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. He went 0-for-3 with a walk, a hit-by-by-pitch and a run scored in the Yanks’ 10-3 win.
Marte got one out in the seventh – fanning David Ortiz swinging.