THE Yankees are trapped between objectives. They are the $200 million-plus team that is playing or tomorrow. They are doing onthe- job training – and restraining – of young pitchers while targeting World Series victory No. 27 in 2008.
HARD BALL BLOG: FIVE YANKEE TRADE PROPOSALS
It is at these cross purp o s e s that the Yanks move toward the trade season. To win now, they must address their (plural) weaknesses.
Though not obtaining Johan Santana continues to hover over the organization, the Yanks do not view the rotation as a major priority. Sure, they ould love to add an ace. But the best starters that could be available – Cleveland’s C.C. Sabathia, Milwaukee’s en Sheets and Toronto’s A.J. Burnett – are in their walk years. The Yanks will not give up big prospects for a ental (nor should they), and the health risks on all three are too great to do a trade-and-sign.
And rather than se assets on a middle-rung type (think Cincinnati’s Bronson Arroyo or Detroit’s Nate Robertson), the Yanks nstead will hope that Mike Mussina and Darrell Rasner keep on keeping on, that Andy Pettitte and Chien- ing ang get their acts together, that Joba Chamberlain transitions well to the rotation, and that Phil Hughes and Ian ennedy get healthy and straightened out to provide depth.
I see the Yankees needs as: 1) lefty pitching; 2) bench, specifically a righty hitter who can play first base or corner outfield proficiently; 3) a setup man to Mariano Rivera. Let’s delve into these:
LEFTY PITCHING
It is inconceivable that a Yankee Stadium eam could be this insufficient in this area for so long. Andy Pettitte, drafted in 1990, is the lone lefty. Kei gawa was a mistake. So is thinking righty Edwar Ramirez can be the “lefty” specialist because of his dynamic changeup.
Billy Traber joined Mike Myers, Felix Heredia, Buddy Groom and C.J. Nitkowski as recently mported lefty specialists who were far from special.
The Yanks have undervalued the species, hoping to get lucky with someone rather than prioritizing it. Frankly, with a win-now, $200 million payroll, I would rather have Pittsburgh’s Damaso Marte or Baltimore’s George Sherrill than Kennedy. Not because I don’t value ennedy. But back-of-the-rotation righties can be found (heck, the Yanks took Rasner off their 40-man roster n the winter). But lefty relievers with a successful track record are rare. Not having one has made the Yanks ulnerable to, say, David Ortiz for years.
Marte and Sherrill should be available. The Yankees have been linked o Colorado’s Brian Fuentes and always have liked the White Sox’s Matt Thornton. But if I could not get Marte r Sherrill, I would think younger and more versatile by seeing if I could funnel prospects to San Francisco for onat h a n S a n – chez or offense to the D o d g – ers for H o n g – Chih Kuo, e i t h e r of whom c o u l d relieve or, especially in the case of Sanchez, start.
BENCH
The Yanks’ main corner outfield/first ase/DH alternatives are older lefty hitters: Bobby Abreu, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Jason Giambi. helley Duncan has not been the “right” answer. The Yanks have been susceptible to lefties and need to find at least one righty bat.
I would prioritize Houston’s Ty Wigginton, who has history at first, second, third and th outfield corners.
To even fake contention, he Astros must deepen their pitching staff. Houston’s offense is s strength, so Wigginton could be sacrificed with Mark Loretta and Geoff Blum forming a third-base platoon in is absence.
Like lefty relief, the Yankees have tried and failed in recent years (Craig Wilson, Josh Phelps, organ Ensberg) to solve this deficiency.
Unlike that trio, Wigginton is a real player, not a part-time prayer. e eats up lefties (.499 career slugging percentage, .593 this year) while not being an easy out against righties. He is a grinder. He is under control next year, as well.
The Yanks have a stockpile f righty relievers from Double-A to the majors. They should decide two or three such as Mark Melancon and Humberto Sanchez are untouchable, then say pick two from the rest. Maybe something like Jose Veras and J.B. Cox gets this done.
Where else should they look? I certainly would find out what the price is to get Marte and Xavier Nady together from Pittsburgh, or Sanchez and Randy Winn from the Giants.
If the Rockies go into full dump ode, yes will be on star outfielder Matt Holliday. But if I were the Yanks, I would hone in on Garrett Atkins as ong as the belief was that he could play first. He is about to get very expensive and, in Ian Stewart, Colorado has a high-end prospect ready to replace Atkins at third now. Atkins destroys lefty pitching nd is not a free agent until after 2010.
Colorado needs a longterm answer in center, and the Yanks should not e afraid to deal Melky Cabrera as a key element to a major deal (does Cabrera, Kennedy and Melancon get this done?). Three scouts who cover the Yankees’ system say Triple-A center fielder Brett Gardener can play in the majors now, and his speed would be an element sadly lacking on the current squad.
SETUP MAN
The Yanks believe through a combination of volume and – they hope – quality they will find a suitable eighth-inning replacement for Chamberlain. There is usually nothing more volatile, overpriced and ultimately isappointing than dabbling in the July relief market (think Eric Gagne). So the Yanks should fixate on just one reliever: Oakland’s Huston Street.
He is young (24), a strike thrower, fearless, has a track record of success nd cannot be a free agent until after 2010. Say the Yanks had Street and Marte in front of Rivera for the next few seasons; that would make Chamberlain’s transition less complicated and turn a seventh/eighthinning weakness into an overpowering strength.
Oakland, despite surprising success, is still philosophically rebuilding and trying to amass high-end young talent. Plus, the A’s do ot overvalue closers and are about to ave Street become expensive. This is another area where Cabrera could be a key piece of a trade.
Yankees anagement has excelled in recent years in hoarding pitching prospects. At first that was because they had oo few to give up ny. They just used their top three draft picks on pitchers again, adding to the stockpile. Using the stockpile judiciously would not sacrifice tomorrow, but certainly would help the win-now lust of is $200 million entity.