Joe Torre does not know if he will have the chance to write Sammy Sosa or Juan Gonzalez into his inconsistent lineup, or insert Brad Radke, Ismael Valdes or Kevin Tapani into a rotation that is drowning uncertainty.
But the Yankee manager sure sounds like a man who expects his club to have a different look at some point – and if that means sacrificing youth for the missing piece, well, that’s the way it goes.
“We are in a unique situation,” Torre said while waiting for the rain to stop last night at Yankee Stadium so his AL East-leading club could host the Red Sox. “I have been with different ballclubs where you don’t want to trade your future away, but with our ballclub the future is right now.”
If George Steinbrenner has to have the home-run-hitting Sosa, a player he has wanted for two years but couldn’t get, it’s going to cost him.
Not only will any Sosa deal affect the Yankees’ future – since it will cost them several of their top prospects, including Alfonso Soriano, the crown jewel of the system – it will also require plenty of cash.
In order to be prepared in the event they do move Sosa, the Cubs have a list of Yankee prospects they would like. In addition to Soriano, the list includes Jake Westbrook, Ed Yarnall and Drew Henson. And it stands to reason that Ricky Ledee and Ramiro Mendoza would be part of a blockbuster trade that delivers Sosa’s power to The Bronx.
Steinbrenner is so turned on about the possibility of the Cubs moving Sosa that he quickly sent super scout Gene Michael to Chicago for two games this past weekend. And with the Cubs scouting the Yankees and Mets’ minor leagues, The Boss doesn’t want the Mets to beat him to Sosa.
The Cubs also dispatched Ken Kravec, special assistant to GM Ed Lynch, to the Stadium last night to scout the Yanks. Recently, Kravec was at Double-A Norwich, Conn., to check out Henson.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez, a free agent after the season, is another name that does it for Steinbrenner, who believes his lineup needs more muscle. Like Sosa, Gonzalez is expected to be put on the block by the Tigers before the July 31 trading deadline.
Sosa, 31, won’t agree to a trade unless he receives the contract extension the Cubs haven’t offered. As a player with 10 years in the big leagues and five seasons with the same team, he can veto any deal. Signed for $11 million for next year, it’s not out of the question Sosa could command $18 million a year, which is $3 million more than Kevin Brown, the game’s highest-paid player pulls down per season.
Asked specifically about Sosa, Torre didn’t shrink.
“It’s not unusual, we really haven’t had a designated hitter,” said Torre whose offseason plan of having Darryl Strawberry and Jim Leyritz share the DH duties collapsed when Strawberry was suspended for the season. Torre has used Shane Spencer as the DH for 28 games and seven other players for a combined 23.
“I don’t want to say a legitimate designated hitter because we have had a couple of kids [Spencer and Ledee], and it’s tough to do for a young player. And what supposedly went on Chicago with the disagreement he [Sosa] had with Donny [Cub manager Baylor] and contract and all that stuff, it’s normal stuff.”
While Steinbrenner’s vault is always open when he must have something or someone, there is only so much young talent to trade. And with Roger Clemens and David Cone struggling and most everybody convinced that Ramiro Mendoza is better suited for the bullpen, there is a need for a starter.
So, where does Torre stand? Hitter or pitcher?
“That’s a good question and I can’t answer that,” he said. “I am not trying to avoid it but I don’t know right now. I would like to believe our pitching right now is going to be fine. We have been inconsistent, and that’s the one thing we can’t afford. In that regard, if it’s going to be inconsistent, then we don’t have enough pitching. But I would like to believe the bodies we have here are enough.”
Torre saw the front office deliver Cecil Fielder in 1996, Mike Stanley in 1997, come very close to adding Randy Johnson in 1998, bring in Clemens at the start of 1999 and Jim Leyritz last July.
Still, until a deal is completed, he is wary.
“I don’t count on anything until it becomes reality or close to it,” Torre said. “During the course of the year, there are so many rumors and so many names that go back and forth. I think general managers like to tease each other – just throw names out there to see if you get a double look.”