BOSTON – If the Mariners insist on something more than a warm body for Jarrod Washburn the sizzling Yankees aren’t interested.
“It’s not like we are desperate for him,” a source said.
The Yankees would like to acquire Washburn, 34 next month, to bolster the back end of their rotation that houses Sidney Ponson and Darrell Rasner, whose best role might be long relief.
However, after surrendering Ross Ohlendorf, Jose Tabata, Jeff Karstens and Daniel McCutchen for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte, the Yankees certainly aren’t going to hand the Mariners anything above that quartet. Or near them.
The only way the Yankees will upgrade the talent they would send to Seattle is if the Mariners take minor leaguer Kei Igawa and the $13.3 million remaining on a contract that pays him $4 million a year through 2011.
Early in the talks, Seattle’s switch-hitting DH Jose Vidro’s name surfaced but getting Nady fulfilled the Yankees’ need for a right-handed bat.
Washburn improved to 5-9 (4.50 ERA) today when he allowed a run and four hits in eight innings against the light-hitting Blue Jays. Had a trade been close Washburn wouldn’t have taken the mound.
The Yankees aren’t wary of Washburn’s $10.35 million for next year. However, they aren’t burning to get him like they were Nady and Marte, a lefty reliever who paid an instant dividend Saturday by fanning Red Sox DH David Ortiz in a key, late-inning spot.
And considering the other starters being dangled starts with Texas’ Vicente Padilla and Cincinnati’s Bronson Arroyo and has nothing in between, Washburn makes sense.
A report out of Kansas City Sunday had the Yankees’ interested in Brian Bannister for Melky Cabrera but a Yankee official said there was nothing hot there.
Curiously, the Yankees didn’t have a scout in Toronto today to watch Washburn pitch.
“The evaluation has already been done,” a source said.
The Yankees have studied video of Washburn this year to try and explain why he hasn’t been able to get his fastball down in the strike zone. Since they are willing to take on that amount of money they must believe pitching coach Dave Eiland, who has done wonders with Mike Mussina, Kyle Farnsworth and Jose Veras, can make enough adjustments on Washburn for him to be effective.
Since there is no place for Washburn to pitch until Friday against the Angels, his former team, the Yankees have time to make the Mariners sweat.
Friday is scheduled to be Ponson’s turn but even though Ponson was effective in two of his four starts the Yankees don’t have much invested in the right-hander who they signed off the street when he was cut by the pitching-poor Rangers.
The acquisition of Washburn wouldn’t necessarily mean Ponson would be back on the street. They could juggle the rotation to keep Ponson among the five and shift Rasner to long relief where Dan Giese currently resides.
Recent numbers posted by Yankee starters prove they aren’t need of back-end help in the rotation.
Yankees starters had allowed three or less earned runs in 15 of the previous 16 games and were 9-2 with a 2.21 ERA. It’s the best stretch since allowing three earned runs or less in 15 of 16 starts since Aug. 7-23 in 2005.