Yanks Acquire Swisher

It looks like my last post came to fruition – the Yankees are getting Nick Swisher and a pitcher for Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez. It just so happens they got a Texeira in the deal as well – Kanekoa Texeira, that is (the minor league reliever going to NYY).

I wouldn't ask him about his .218 average any time soon.

This is, by no stretch of the imagination, a great trade for the Yankees. They get a 28 year-old 1B/OF who can play some centerfield if necessary, has a reasonable contract for several more seasons, and did not cost anyone of importance prospect-wise. Betemit was the only guy that would have been much help in 2009, and his ~180 at-bats won’t be missed. Marquez is very far down on the pitching depth chart and Nunez, who has a very live arm, isn’t all that close to the bigs yet.

I really hope this doesn’t pull the Yanks out of the Teixiera bidding (though they have acquired one thus far), but if he decides to stick to Anaheim or head elsewhere, the Bronx will have a capable bat in his place.

The Salary Dump Podcast: Episode 1

Let me know what you think. That’s Iron Maiden’s “Run to the Hills” and Pearl Jam’s “Even Flow” respectively. Click the link to listen: Salary Dump Podcast 8/1/08

You’re in the Wrong Borough, Sir…

Now They Have Two McCutchen’s

It turns out that George Kontos and Phil Coke are still part of the the Yankees’ system. The Pirates will still acquire Ross Ohlendorf and Jose Tabata as originally reported, but starter Daniel McCutchen and journeyman Jeff Karstens will accompany them.

Considering that McCutchen has had the best year of any of these pitchers, I can see why Pittsburgh wanted him, but taking a younger, more talented arm like Kontos in addition to left-hander Coke could’ve been more beneficial to them. Overall this doesn’t really change what happened – it’s still a great trade for NY.

Daniel

Andrew

The X-Factor and D-Mart

You’ve heard the rumors. You’ve seen the BottomLine on ESPN. You know that Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte have been traded to the New York Yankees. The Pirates will receive pitchers Ross Ohlendorf, George Kontos, Phil Coke and outfielder Jose Tabata. I’m going to spare you the bull and tell you upfront that I love this trade, as a diehard Yankee fan. Brian Cashman netted two months and another full season of control over Nady, who will fill the left field vacancy right now and could take over for Abreu near the ‘Porch in 2009. Marte is not only a dominant power lefty reliever but has a club option for ’09, and of course, the Yanks could always deny the option, offer arbitration, and either keep him as a result or lose him to free agency and get Type-A compensation (His level of performance is essentially a forgone conclusion at this point).

Xavier Nady is currently sporting a line of .330/.383/.535. It’s significantly above his career averages and he is not going to keep that up in Yankee Stadium.

Broken bats usually don't work, X-Man.

However, I think it’s fair to expect something in the vein of .270/.330/.450, and I’ll take that any day. He’s really an average corner outfielder, as his career 108 OPS+ shows, but when he’s shoving a wet noodle like Brett Gardner out of the lineup, it doesn’t really matter how good he really is. He’s average or better, and right-handed, which the Bombers wanted first and foremost.

Looks like a 93-mph fastball from here.

Damaso Marte has pitched in the American League before, most recently as a member of the 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox. I don’t like his ERA much (3.47), but he is striking out a guy an inning and holds a stingy WHIP of 1.157. That should translate well, and his role will be reduced from closer to middle/set-up reliever. Once again this seems like a good example of why ERA doesn’t mean that much, especially for relief pitchers. He doesn’t put guys on base. End of story. The Yankees have one of the game’s best ‘pens as it is, so I don’t feel Marte does anything worse than add depth, and at best, gives the Yanks a dependable veteran lefty who can handle hitters on both sides of the plate.

Ross Ohlendorf had been pitching as a starter once again at Triple-A Scranton, with great effectiveness to boot. It’s easy to why – the bullpen is stacked and the rotation is somewhat vulnerable but also full. He was trade bait as soon as he made his first start of the year. All in all, I didn’t see him helping much once he was sent down.

George Kontos and Phil Coke, both of Double-A Trenton, are solid starting pitchers. Kontos is a nasty righty with significant command and control issues. Coke is old for the league (26) and not a power guy but he’s a southpaw. These players were probably going to be in discussion as filler in just about any trade the Yankees made this summer. With so many pitchers ahead of them and younger ones on the way (such as Zach McAllister and Dellin Betances), they were expendable.

Jose Tabata is the most intriguing piece that Pittsburgh acquired.

The outfielder will turn 20 in August and was ranked number 37 on the Baseball America Top 100 Prosepcts list in February. However, he has been terrible at AA and almost certainly damaged his stock between his lousy play and attitude incidents, which include an instance when he walked out of a game earlier in the year (at New Britain, in the 7th inning, I believe). He may be young but a reality check is in order, and he’s still very, very far away from the big leagues. Fernando Martinez of the Mets is what the Pirates are hoping Tabata will turn into within the next year or so.

The only guy I care about in the long term is Tabata. Did we sell low? Perhaps. But there’s no way we would have gotten Nady and Marte for complete junk. They needed a good prospect and they got one. His makeup questionable and development stuttered by injury and a poor season, Brian Cashman figured it was worth a roll of the dice. Chances are good that Tabata never makes the bigs or at least doesn’t reach his projections as “The Next Manny” (Yeah, that does seem a bit extreme). Abreu and Marte could net the Yankees some great compensation this winter, and I would much rather have that on top of having a better chance this year. Who’s to say a championship isn’t in the works right now?

Washburn-ing the AL

"On second thought, I think I'll sign somewhere else."

There has been a lot of buzz over at MLB Trade Rumors that Jarrod Washburn could find his way into Yankee pinstripes soon. The Mariner lefty has enjoyed a healthy 2008 and would fit nicely into the back end of New York’s rotation, likely replacing one of Darrell Rasner or Sidney Ponson. While it appears that the price, in prospects that it is, would be within Brian Cashman’s budget, I’m not so sure that this is simply a salary dump (no, I have not trademarked the term as of this moment).

Let’s take a gander at Washburn’s numbers this year, as well as some splits. (All statistics cited in this post were taken directly from baseball-reference.com).

GS: 19
W-L: 4-9
IP: 110
H: 131
BB: 32
K: 65
ERA: 4.75

Using these “19th-century” statistics, we can see that Wash has been respectable but far from spectacular. Seattle’s terrible offense aside, he isn’t exactly tearing up opponents. Or is he?

March/April: 33.1 IP, 4.86 ERA
May: 20.1 IP, 9.30 ERA
June: 30.2 IP, 2.93 ERA
July: 25.2 IP, 3.16 ERA

His totals are clearly skewed by a horrendous May. Outside of that, he’s posting a sub-4.00 ERA. Hey, that rhymes.

Now, I certainly wouldn’t expect him to keep up this pace, but a resurging Yankees offense and flyball-friendly ballpark would give him the firm support he needs. Lefties are OPS-ing just .646 against him, and we know well how the cavernous left side of Yankee Stadium’s outfield hurts right-handers. He is notable for pitching well at the House That Ruth Built for a while, but that’s not enough reason to get him, in my opinion. I simply like the situation and his career. He should be had for a B-level prospect and perhaps cash, and Jarrod has postseason experience. Being left-handed is usually to your benefit as well.

Ignoring statistics for a moment, I’d like to make it known that I largely advocate this move in the favor of the Yankees, and for the Mariners, albeit to a lesser extent. The Yanks get a veteran lefty who has pitched well in their home ballpark for nothing of interest to them, and the M’s dump unnecessary salary. As an added bonus, the Yankees would have him under contract for 2009 at the reasonable sum of $10.35MM. Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina are not automatic re-signs, so I take this as a plus and not a negative as many have claimed across the ‘Net.

The bottom line: Brian Cashman, go get ’em.