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NEW YORK YANKEES
Team Audit | DT Cards | PECOTA Cards | Depth Chart

Back before joining Baseball Prospectus, I spent a lengthy portion of my winters writing for my own site, The Futility Infielder, systematically exploring the Yankees‘ options for rebuilding in the hope of restoring their championship luster. I first did this in the winter of 2001-2002, and if you’ve noticed a dearth of titles since that point (or the year before it, actually), you can blame Yankee GM Brian Cashman for not taking my advice.

My duties on the BP annuals have overtaken my attempts to remake the Yanks, but today I take the reins from Cashman and put forth my blueprint for the 2009 club. For the purposes of this exercise, I’ll assume there’s no turning back the clock. Colleague Joe Sheehan rightly upbraided Cashman for failing to offer Bobby Abreu and Andy Pettitte arbitration, and those decisions are in the books; I won’t cheat by hitting the magic “undo” button. We move on.

The Yankees won 89 games last year but finished third in the AL East, missing the playoffs for the first time since 1993. Their offense fell off dramatically, from 5.98 runs per game (best in the majors), down to 4.87 per game (seventh-best in the AL). Jorge Posada missed most of the season, Alex Rodriguez couldn’t match the previous year’s MVP-winning performance, youngsters Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano took major steps backwards, and the rest of the cast slid a year further away from their primes. It was not pretty.

The pitching staff actually improved slightly, from allowing 4.80 runs per game to 4.49 per game, both good for eighth in the AL. They did that despite Pettitte and Mike Mussina being the only pitchers making more than 20 starts. Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain both suffered season-ending injuries, and youngsters Philip Hughes and Ian Kennedy missed significant time as well while collectively failing to notch a single win. Grade-D fillers like Darrell Rasner, Sidney Ponson, and the undead Carl Pavano took up the slack, all with ERAs well above 5.00.

The rotation’s disarray was in part the result of Cashman’s failed gambit to rely upon the Chamberlain/Hughes/Kennedy triumvirate-none of whom had ever pitched a full major league season-while bypassing the opportunity to trade at least one of the latter two in a blockbuster deal for Johan Santana. As such, the rotation received much of the blame (which came from all sides, including within the organization) for the Yankees’ playoff, and their first major order of business this winter was a six-year, $140 million offer to free agent CC Sabathia, the most lucrative pact ever offered to a pitcher.

Sabathia’s arrival won’t solve everything, as the Yanks have several vacancies created by free agency. Abreu and first baseman/DH Jason Giambi are gone, as are Pettitte and Mussina, the latter having recently retired. They’ve made one major move this offseason, trading reserve infielder Wilson Betemit and two pitching prospects to the White Sox for Nick Swisher and a pitching prospect. Trading for Swisher is a move I actually advocated in a Hot Stove Preview piece that appeared just hours before the Yankees swung that deal. My thinking was that Swisher’s ability to play the outfield and first base would enable a more flexible approach to the winter market, and in particular their pursuit of its top hitter, first baseman Mark Teixeira. Unfortunately, Cashman appears to have settled for Swisher as his first baseman in the hopes of saving his money for Sabathia. For that, and for his arbitration transgressions, he’s been reassigned to the mailroom while I take over.

My regime is taking a different approach. Behind nominal staff ace Wang, the Yanks still have those three healthy young pitchers, along with more pitching prospects on the way, starting with reliever Mark Melancon. Improving the rotation is a priority, but given that the organization has only one prime hitting prospect with experience above A-ball-center fielder Austin Jackson, who’s coming off of a .285/.354/.419 season in Double-A as a 21-year-old-a long-term play to improve the offense is the more pressing concern.

As such, here is my plan:

  1. Withdraw the offer to Sabathia, which has been on the table since November 14. He’s got only one other bid in hand (five years and $100 million from the Brewers), but three teams from his home state of California, the Angels, Dodgers, and Giants, are all thought to be interested. None will outbid the Yankees, but it seems quite likely that while maintaining an impressive public silence on the matter, Sabathia and agent Greg Genske are working hard behind the scenes to find a West Coast deal with close enough financials that the big man saves face. If he’s not sprinting to New York, the money is better spent elsewhere.

  2. Sign Teixeira. The one thing this near-miss Yankee team needs the most is a 29-year-old switch-hitting first baseman who’s not only coming off consecutive seasons of hitting at least .300/.400/.550, but is also an excellent defender. Call upon the one resource that the Yankees have more of than any other team, cash, and crush the competition. Outbid the Red Sox, who not only have an interest in adding him to their lineup, but also a vested interest in bidding him up simply to force the Yankees to drain their resources. Outbid the Angels, who traded for him last year and are rumored to be preparing an eight-year, $153 million bid, mindful of the fact that he turned down an eight-year, $144 million extension offer from the Rangers prior to being traded to Atlanta in mid-2007. Outbid the Nationals and the Orioles, two teams hoping against hope to get a hometown discount from the Maryland native. Seriously, make it rain. Scott Boras is said to be looking for ten years and $200 million; I’m aiming for $160 over eight, but I’ll throw in a jet plane or an international airport to be named later. The contract is long, but it’s a risk the Yanks must take in order to modernize their offense.

  3. With Teixeira signed, Swisher becomes the primary right fielder. He’s a switch hitter who’s stronger against righties; much of his trouble last year was against lefties (.197/.359/.386). Luckily, I’ve got lefty-mashing Xavier Nady on hand to platoon (.262/.361/.444 versus southpaws last year, .308/.383/.470 career). They may not be as productive as Abreu, but at 28 and 30, respectively, they’re younger and more apt to improve than decline, plus their defense could hardly be worse than Abreu’s.

  4. Center field is still a problem. Cabrera hit only .249/.301/.341, including a pathetic .235/.280/.286 after May 6, and his defense slipped as well. Since his trade value is currently minimal, I’m keeping him as a reserve outfielder; he can sit in the corner and think about what he’s done. Johnny Damon isn’t suitable for center field anymore; he’s my left fielder now. Brett Gardner doesn’t cut it, and Jackson is at least a year away, so I need a stopgap.

    To get one, I’m proposing a swap of Hideki Matsui to the Giants for Randy Winn. Matsui is 35, and coming off of a .294/.370/.424 season. He’s owed $13 million for 2009 and has a full no-trade clause, but last winter there were reports he’d waive it for a trade to the Giants. Winn is also 35, owed $8.25 million, and has a limited no-trade clause in which he can block deals to up to 10 teams. I’m guessing that a shot at playing for the Yankees would be worth dodging another sub-.500 season. He’s only played 166 games in center since 2004, but the DT numbers show him as still above average out there. He hit .306/.363/.426 last year, and should meet his career .347 OBP while holding down the fort.

    To make this happen, the Yanks will pick up the difference in salaries, of course. Selling Godzilla’s ability to play the field might require the pot to be sweetened by taking an extra couple of million off the Giants’ plate or throwing in a live arm, but it’s doable. The Giants’ home-run leader, Bengie Molina, hit just 16 last year; Matsui should be good for 20-25 while carrying his typical .370 OBP, something a team that finished 13th in the NL in that category could sorely use.

  5. Time to deal with the rotation. Assume that Wang and Chamberlain are locks, that Hughes or Kennedy will take the number five spot, that Alfredo Aceves, who put up a 2.40 ERA in 30 late-season innings, is my seventh starter behind whichever of those two is sixth, and that at least one spare is stretched out at Scranton. That leaves a need for two starters.

    For one spot, I sign Derek Lowe, who made former Dodger GM Paul DePodesta look brilliant for inking him to a four-year, $36 million deal on the heels of an ugly 5.42 ERA in his farewell campaign in Boston. Since then, Lowe has ranked 10th in the majors in innings, 11th in SNLVAR, and 12th in ERA+, and he’s coming off the best of those four seasons. He hasn’t missed a start in seven years, and is the only active major leaguer with at least 10 years of service and no trips to the disabled list. After last year, that’s music to my ears.

    Lowe is also the majors’ most extreme ground-baller this side of Brandon Webb, and while the middle infield of Cano and Derek Jeter isn’t well-suited for that, I’m banking that the second baseman can bounce back and return to competence in the field. Besides, with Wang in the rotation, I’ve already bet on the infield defense to some extent, and with Teixeira replacing Giambi, I’ve at least made one upgrade. If Cano doesn’t work out at the keystone, he’s headed for left field, DH, or the glue factory in 2010 so long as this is my team. I’m prepared to go four years on Lowe, even though they’re his age 36-39 seasons, and assuming I’ll need to spend around $16 million a year, again mindful that the Red Sox may bid him up too.

    Having signed Lowe, I’ll go high-risk/high-reward for the other spot. I’m not touching A.J. Burnett‘s shaky track record with a 10-foot pole; instead I’m going to sign Ben Sheets to a two-year, $30 million deal with a vesting option for a third year. Sheets threw 198 1/3 innings last year, his most since 2004, but tore a flexor muscle in his elbow in late September and finished the year on the DL. I’m betting that will hamper his ability to get a long-term deal, and I’m willing to pay more for less, to go as low as 300 innings in 2009-2010 to vest the option, and to include escalator clauses that increase the value of that third year based on innings, All-Star appearances, Cy Young voting, or whatever else it takes.

  6. With Matsui traded and Damon in left, my DH spot is vacant. I’ll need to use Posada there once or twice a week to preserve his 37-year-old body and surgically repaired shoulder. Additionally, I’ve got Cabrera to play an outfield slot and give someone an occasional half-day off, and whomever isn’t playing out of Nady and Swisher as another option as well.

    Now that Betemit is history, I need some backup infield options as well. Having already locked up two members of the fin de siècle Holy Trinity of shortstops, I’m intrigued by the possibility of bringing Nomar Garciaparra back east to be a part-time jack of all trades. He’s experienced at both infield corners, and in between some 17 stints on the DL last year, played a passable shortstop for a few stretches while hitting .264/.326/.466. At around 250-300 plate appearances, many of them coming as DH, he might actually hold up over the course of a season. If Nomar chooses not to come east or to hang up his spikes entirely, Eric Hinkse, who bopped 20 homers for the Rays in just 432 PA, would make for a fine fallback, adding an extra outfield glove in exchange for Nomrar’s largely redundant one at short. Either way, I can’t imagine either player costing more than $4 million.

    I’d still need a backup second baseman, and may as well find someone competent at both middle-infield slots. Chris Gomez, Ramon Martinez, and Craig Counsell are all capable of providing a .325 OBP in that role, which will do nicely; Counsell’s lefty bat makes him the first choice. Since I’ll deploy Posada at DH sometimes and be stuck with Jose Molina‘s weak bat, an offense-minded third catcher would be nice. Greg Zaun or Javier Valentin, both switch-hitters, would be my top choices there; since Joe called dibs on Valentin for the Dodgers, I’ll take the former, and work him into the DH rotation as well.

With my work completed, the Yankees would look something like this:

Lineup:
LF-L  Damon
SS-R  Jeter
1B-S  Teixeira
3B-R  Rodriguez
 C-S  Posada
CF-S  Winn
RF-S  Swisher
DH    (open)
2B-L  Cano

Bench:
 C-R  Molina
 C-S  Zaun
INF-L Counsell
INF-R Garciaparra
OF-R  Nady
OF-S  Cabrera

Rotation:
S1-R  Wang
S2-R  Chamberlain
S3-R  Lowe
S4-R  Sheets
S5-R  Hughes

Bullpen:
CL-R  Rivera
SU-R  Bruney
SU-L  Marte
RP-R  Veras
RP-R  Ramirez
RP-L  Coke

That’s a lot of flexibility in the lineup with so many switch-hitters, but the rotation tilts entirely to the right, which may provide a reason to do something like sign Oliver Perez (oy vey), or bring back Pettitte instead of Sheets, thereby saving some money. The bullpen I’m reasonably satisfied with, enough to skip a major move, given that shuffling through the young arms in front of Mariano Rivera was an area for which first-year Yankee manager Joe Girardi demonstrated an above-average knack. With Kennedy, Aceves, Melancon, Humberto Sanchez, Chris Britton, Dan Giese, and David Robertson, the farm will be brimming with other options besides those above.

As for the price tag on this, with the Yankees moving into their new cash cow of a stadium, money is hardly their biggest concern. Even so, this is actually relatively restrained by their standards. Using the worksheet at the excellent MLB Trade Rumors, and contract data at Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the 25-man roster above comes in at $189 million before the raises due Wang, Bruney, and Nady, and generously assuming straight average annual value figures for the big-ticket free agents. Right there, that’s $20 million less than last year’s Opening Day payroll, and even if the free agent figures creep up a million here or there, the 2009 Yankees will be cheaper than their predecessors-and hopefully more successful.

Thank you for reading

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grbalcom
12/05
There\'s at least one error in the above piece. The Angels did NOT offer Teixeira an extension after they acquired him. In fact, they have yet to make him an offer of any kind.
jjaffe
12/05
My bad. \"Outbid the Angels, who traded for him last year, and were rebuffed after offering him an eight-year, $144 million extension\" was incorrect; it was the Rangers who offered him that pre-trade in 2007.
baho11
12/05
Yesterday, you had the Mets bidding 4/$62M for Derek Lowe\'s services and today it\'s just 4/$36M? Besides, if you have every team go after Lowe, you\'re just going to drive up his salary demands.
jjaffe
12/05
Please read those grafs again as that\'s not at all what I said. 4/36 was his Dodger deal, I\'ve offered 4/64 as a starting point.

And I was unaware of Joe Sheehan\'s proposal to sign him by the Mets until after this was submitted. He already signed him by the Dodgers, too!
TADontAsk
12/05
The 4/$36M was describing Lowe\'s previous contract.
vtadave
12/05
The offer was 4/64 for Lowe.
jrathkey
12/05
The 4/$36M was Lowe\'s prior deal with the Dodgers. Jay suggested $16MM per year for Lowe (which would be 4/$64M).
ostrowj1
12/05
A few comments. Don\'t you lose the favorable Nady / Swisher platoon if you have them both in the lineup? Swisher will DH against lefties (.197/.359/.386)? Given his performance last year, do you think there would be a team willing to give Hinske at least a shot at a starting role? I cannot see him signing with the Yankees if they also sign Tex. I love the Nomar idea. I would love to see that.
And I agree with baho11... Lowe stops being a great deal when every team realizes how good of a deal he is.
jjaffe
12/05
Oh, I\'m not pretending Lowe is a bargain; he ain\'t exactly a secret. I\'m paying beaucoups $ for predictability and consistency at an established level of performance.

Nady + Swisher in the same lineup is merely one of many options, one that acknowledges that Swisher\'s performance vs. lefties has plenty of room for recovery given his track record prior to 2008. After all, he was .291/.406/.504 vs. LHP in 2006, .291/.458/.464 in 2007. Bad luck + minor injury, or more likely bad swing mechanics can lead to cratering like that, but it doesn\'t mean it\'s permanent.
chabels
12/05
Have you though about signing Orlando Husdon to play 2b and using Cano in the DH/extra OF spot instead? While Hudson will cost more than your ~$4m DH options, the defensive boost should be worth a win or two, no? And for a club at the margin of the playoffs, those wins are very valuable.
jjaffe
12/05
I thought about Hudson and mentioned him as an option in a fun little four-part video series done over at Bronx Banter (http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2008/11/25/musical-chairs-the-outfield-and-dh) with Friends of BP Alex Belth and Cliff Corcoran.

The O-Dog is indeed a defensive boost, but is rumored to be looking for a longer-term deal; five years was floated by his agent, which certainly means \"more than two,\" and suddenly that means committing $30-40 million to a second baseman who\'s already entering his Age 31 seson showing evidence of decline afield and who\'s leaving a good hitter\'s park to go to a more neutral environment in the tougher league. Add to that the fact that Cano\'s path to LF would have meant trying to trade Johnny Damon and thus leaving an outfield with no plus fielder at any starting position, and I found it tough to justify that sequence.

Plus I had already blown my word count.

The difference between Hudson and Cano might conceivably one win defensively; the bet is that at six years younger, with a higher offensive ceiling in his past, Cano\'s chances to make up that difference with his bat are good.
mattymatty2000
12/05
\"Plus I had already blown my word count.\"

Jay, I understand the concept of a word count for a magazine or a newspaper, but what is the purpose of having one for a website where the space is really unlimited? Speaking only for myself, I have no problem with a two or three or four thousand word disertation on the Yankees (or Red Sox! How bout that?) off season.

Thanks, and keep up the great work.
jjaffe
12/05
I appreciate the kind words.

The piece is to be mirrored at SI.com, as with the other GM for a Day pieces, and while I personally don\'t think length should be an issue on a website - particularly on a hot topic - they reserve the right to cut nonetheless, so I pay lip service to the notion that there\'s a word count in there somewhere.

Kind of like a speed limit sign on an interstate - easy to ignore, but it stinks when you get busted for it.
jjaffe
12/05
On that note, the SI version (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/12/05/bp.yankees/index.html?eref=T1) not so deftly cuts the first graf and first sentence of the second, beginning, \"For the purposes of this exercise...\"

Charming, but oh-so-inevitable.
rotorueter
12/05
Why on earth would the Giants trade their 790 OPS/decent CF for a 790 OPS/lousy LF?
jjaffe
12/05
Ummm, because you can\'t go on one year of OPS alone to analyze a trade, maybe?

Or try this: because that decent CF is playing an OF corner where the offensive bar is higher, because Matsui\'s offensive upside is significantly higher (24 point career edge in EqA, .299 to .275), and because it would save the Giants money in a year where they\'re unlikely to contend?

On that note, I neglected to factor in the $4.75 million salary difference between those two into my final payroll number.
marcento
12/05
Still no way the Giants would do that. The defensive hit would negate any offensive gain, not to mention Matsui\'s injury problems. Plus, if they\'re going to trade away Winn, they\'d be better served doing it to get PT for Schierholtz.
aquavator44
12/06
And because if Matsui does well, the Giants would have the opportunity to flip him for prospects mid-season, and probably better ones than Winn would bring, considering their respective track records.
johnpark99
12/05
Sign a backup 2B with a .325 OBP??? Heck, make him the starter. He\'ll get on base more often than Cano.
mattymatty2000
12/05
It might take you more than a day to get all this done.
llewdor
12/05
Zaun has 3 Gs in his Gregg.

And his bat appears to have gotten very old very quickly. Which is a shame, because I really like the guy. And he\'s the one who managed to get Slash to play the national anthems at Toronto\'s home opener in 2007.

He\'s also had some really big concussions, and those can age you pretty quick.

He\'s got a decent career ahead of him as a studio analyst, too.
hrcoll99
12/05
Matsui for Winn? The Giants aren\'t a team in need of salary relief as they are one of the more wealthy teams in all of baseball. Not to mention exchanging Winn\'s 30 VORP for Matsui\'s 16, on top of the injury risk associated with Matsui, I doubt the Giants would be looking for a \"straight swap.\" This seems like something you would see on a Yankee fan site due to its lunacy.
patrickclark
12/05
The thing that hits home is what a staggering amount of money the Yankees have to spend: Texeira, Lowe, and Sheets to payroll that already touts Arod, Jeter, Posada, Damon, Rivera...we\'re talking $8+ million a roster spot when all is said and done.

Given what they can spend, the only way they should ever miss the playoffs (granted, it\'s only happened once in the last thirteen or so years) is if they spend superstar money on guys who turn into pumpkins (or rather, simply average or above-average players: Giambi, Damon, Matsui, etc.). All the more reason to sign the athletic first baseman over the 300 pound starting pitcher...
mandamin
12/05
Good stuff...I\'m rooting hard against Nomar joining the Yanks for at least two reasons:
(1) it\'s a good idea and would actually help the Yankees; and
(2) the Holy Trinity, united in New York? Think of all the TV spots you\'d see (about three a day on ESPN) about what happened to each of them since those days, how they\'re getting along this week, how this fits in to the Yankee legacy, etc., etc. Let\'s just avoid that, huh?
sbnirish77
12/05
You duly noted the the real problem with the Yankees last year was more offensive than pitching. But then you propose a lineup with Randy Winn, Nick Swisher, and ? at DH to replace Matsui, Cabrera, and Giambi? That\'s an awful lot for TEX to make up.
jjaffe
12/05
Presumably Posada over Molina would count as a gain. I\'m banking on some amount of improvement from Cano, and Swisher being Swisher pre-2008.

But it\'s a not-unreasonable point, one that could be remedied by scrapping the Zaun idea and instead going for another hitter.
HRFastness
12/05
That rotation is absolutely fierce.
rogerb
12/05
glad you agree with me on the nady/swisher platoon. nady isnt good enough to run out in the lineup everyday on a championship caliber team. a nady/swisher platoon should have decent offense potential while playing an acceptable right field (certainly better than abreu).

does damon have a no trade? i think its unlikely he\'ll match last years numbers and cashman could dangle him to someone in need of a leadoff hitter, perhaps for starting pitching depth.

the yankees simply need starting pitching depth, as the injuries last year proved. it doesn\'t all need to be aquired by spending big money in the free agent market.

adam dunn could be had for half the price of manny. nobody seems to want him, sign him!
offbase99
12/05
Guessing what the Yankees are more likely to do:

1. Sign Teixeira, Ramirez, Sabathia, and Burnett.
2. Make do with a crappy CF situation.
3. Win with a $300 million payroll and clear $500 million.
4. Not care that half of their 2009 signees are going to suck in a couple of years.
caprio84
12/05
Until Brian Cashman (or Jay in this case) addresses team defense in a meaningful way, you could bring Cy Young in and the offense would need to carry the team.

According to BP, in 2008 of pitchers who pitched at least 100 innings, 4 of the Yankees starters were in the Top 35 in BABIP (Batting Average of Balls in Play).

That could mean that they were terribly unlucky, or that too many balls fell that shouldn\'t have. (Ranked 25th in defense should answer that)

The reality is that if you sign Tex, then you should sign Lowe (GB Pitcher); if you don\'t, I would sign a FB or K Pitcher like CC, Sheets, Burnett.

With Jeter locked in at SS and ARod at 3B, my suggestion would be to keep Swisher at 1B; trade Cano + for a CF with range and good bat (Matt Kemp), sign Hudson and platoon Matsui and Nady, and try and sign two of CC, Sheets, Burnett, Pettitte.

Since Hughes and Kennedy are very flyball \"heavy\", the focus should be on OF defense.



HRFastness
12/06
Where does this Cano for Kemp stuff come from? This isn\'t happening, hasn\'t happened and won\'t ever happen.
Vyse0wnz
12/08
He said \"Cano +\", meaning \"Cano and more,\" presumably \"Cano and whatever else extra it takes to get him.\"

Of course, after they get Kemp they probably won\'t have Hughes anymore.
webcor1
12/05
Sorry, Jay, but your plan leaves much to be desired, and doesn\'t even make sense.
First off, you mention the Yankees spending less, while acknowledging the new stadium as a \"cash cow.\"
Since the Yanks have a ton of dough, and will have even more as a result of the \"cash cow,\" bypassing CC Sabathia for financial reasons makes absolutely no sense at all.
Second, by any measure, the Yanks would be better off with Matsui as a DH and a CF platoon of Gardner/Cabrera than they would be with ? at DH and Winn in CF.
Third, Mark Texieria is a fine player, and all, but the Yankees need to start thinking long term. If they give Tex an 8 year contract, what happens in four years, when A-Rod needs to move off of 3B? And what about Jesus Montero?

Here\'s MY dream plan:
1) Sign CC
2) re-sign Pettitte
3) Trade Phil Hughes, Brett Gardner, David Robertson, and Ian Kennedy to the Royals for Zach Greinke and David DeJesus.
4) sign David Eckstein

Rotation: CC/Wang/Greinke/Pettitte/Joba
Bullpen: Bruney/Marte/Melancon/Coke/Ramirez/Aceves/Rivera
Lineup: Damon/DeJesus/Nady/A-Rod/Jeter/Cano/Swisher/Matsui/Posada
Bench: Cabrera/Molina/Eckstein/Miranda

\'Mo bettah, no?
montanabowers
12/06
Okay, I\'ll accept your love fest for the Yankees under one condition - and this comes with the added caveat that I love this website: Please tell me why you and the rest of the staff \"hate\" the Angels so much. I\'m a long-time suffering fan who is enjoying the winning culture of the last 6 seasons. However, rarely is there an article that is exclusively about them. And more often than not, the sidebars are less than flattering put-downs. Who is it that you don\'t like? Moreno? Scioscia? A lack of a writer from/with West Coast perspective? What gives?
HRFastness
12/06
I would imagine it has everything to do with those invalid reasons and nothing to do with perfectly valid reasons.

/sarcasm
jjaffe
12/06
Sheesh, whoever said anything about me hating the Angels? I have a healthy and hearty respect for them myself, wrote very nice things about them in the BP06 essay, and I as well as my colleagues have acknowledged numerous times that there\'s more than one way to skin the sabermetric cat. Their track record in the AL West speaks for itself. Joe Sheehan has written about them regularly, and earlier this year, I devoted an article to their setting a record for exceeding their third-order projected record, and was the godfather of Mike Scioscia\'s youngest child. Ok, maybe not that last part, but seriously, you haven\'t been paying close enough attention if you think we\'ve been dissing or avoiding the Angels.
giantsrainman
12/06
As A Giants Fan I would be both extreamly pissed and suprised if Sabean was dumb enought to trade Winn for Matsui. Matsui is a DH and an injury risk DH at that. Now of you want to offer Swisher for Winn then we can talk.
BeplerP
12/06
Jay, thank you, this is what BP is all about! So, my differences with you:

1. What the Yankee rotation needs are a few innings eaters beyond your rotation; I\'d see what it took to get Matt Cain and /or Aaron Harang. Probably both could be had for a good deal less than CC; if you get Lowe, you only need one of the two.
2. 2B is more of a problem than anyone will concede, and I just don\'t trust head cases- that\'s what Cano is. A low cost option: Mike Fontenot. He\'s a free agent, the Cubs didn\'t offer him arbitration, high OBP, good pinch hitter, and I don\'t believe the knock on him that he\'s not an everyday player.
3. Package up Matsui, Cano and a young pitcher or two- Ian Kennedy? Aceves?- and go for Curtis Granderson, who\'s not \"available\", so the field should be clear. Granderson is easily affordable- in fact his deal is cheap- for the Yankees, anyway. He\'s younger than Winn and a more complete ballplayer. And the lack of a solid CF solution for more than a year or two is a prime weakness of your plan.
4. Finally, catching. This needs to be a long term solution, not an aging 2nd tier guy like Zaun. I\'d see if Billy Beane would deal for Suzuki.

Love your overall plan though. The only other initiative I might take- see if A-Rod and Jeter would switch positions. Jeter is more suited to third- his reflexes haven\'t gone, just his legs, and he has the arm. I think it would revitalize his value to the team.
Love my BP!
DWrek5
12/06
This seems to be a common theme among some Yanks fans. \"We hate Cano, so lets trade him\". If you guys dont like him, what makes you guys think someone else will fall over the guy?
Also its a good idea to trade Matsui, but I cant imagine him having any value. Hes 35 and his games played over the lat 3 season are 51, 143, and 93. I cant imagine getting anyhting major league in return for that.
toanstrom
12/10
Yeah...the Tigers are not going to trade Granderson and certainly not for the washd up, overpriced spare parts your suggesting. Honestly I doubt the Tigers would trade Granderson straight up for A-Rod at this point.
TonyMollica
12/07
How about doing the Indians? They need all the help they can get!
scareduck
12/07
Jay -- no way would I sign Sheets after the Yanks just unloaded Carl Pavano. I understand the reasoning behind the move, but it would create a public relations nightmare, plus it means you really, really need to have a good sixth starter in the wings -- and maybe two.
dryice
12/07
Since when did Wynn win the freakin greatest player award. CF and don\'t even play him there..kind of crappy at the corners. Look at what they need, kind of players they like.. matsui comes to mind, especially with other speed outfielders to cover his defensive deficiencies and money back