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A Bat at the Deadline: To Go Big or Go Small?
I just invented a time machine and went back in time to a mere 3 weeks ago and had this conversation with my past self:
PastGaffney: “So, did we get Sabathia?”
Gaffney: “Um, no.”
PastGaffney: “Harden?”
Gaffney: “Yeah, not him, either. Listen, pitching isn’t the big problem right now.”
PastGaffney: “But Wang just went down and we’re TOTALLY screwed!! Who did we get to replace him - Burnett?”
Gaffney: “Shut up, no. God, you’re annoying. We’re using Ponson and Rasner, but we need a bat, now.”
PastGaffney: “WE’RE STARTING PONSON AND RASNER AND WE NEED A BAT!!!??? Oh, God, my future self is on crack. I knew this would happen.”
Gaffney: “Shut up, again, I’m not on crack. Ponson’s been decent, Joba’s been good, Moose and Pettite have been lights out, Kennedy’s due back soon, and McCutchen and Aceves look like they might give us something if one of the big guys falters.”
PastGaffney: “Acevedo’s a reliever, you crackhead. Geez, this is going to kill Mom. Drugs are BAD, man.
Gaffney: “I can’t believe I was this big a loser just 3 weeks ago. Not Jaun Acevedo, Alfredo Aceves. He’s… never mind, the point is that the pen’s been awesome, this kid Robertson looks REALLY good, Damon and Matsui are down and no one is hitting. Now we need to go out and get a bat.”
Crazy as it may sound, this is the situation we find ourselves in. We actually may need a bat a whole lot more than we need a pitcher. My question to you is this: do we go for a mega-deal and go after a major bat or do we try to fill a gap with a role player type guy who is relatively cheap? I’ll throw some of the major options out here and y’all can add your own, discussing who the best option is. Check out this article on MLBTraderumors.com for info on each guy.
Big Outfielders: Holliday, Bay, Nady, Colby Rasmus(AAA bat w/ big upside - rumored to be expendable), Griffey
Big 1b/DHs: Texeira, LaRoche (may be a small - not sure of price), Dmitri Young
Big Catchers: Saltilamochachino, Max Ramirez, Pudge, Barajas,
Small Outfielders: Giles, Dunn, Winn, Duncan Catalanotto, Nelson Cruz (AAA), Hinske, Teahen
Small 1b/DHs: Sexson, Aurilia, Overbay, Catalanotto, Chris Duncan, Juan Rivera, Bonds (big name, small price to pay - only$), Stairs
Small Catchers: LoDuca, David Ross, Gerald Laird, Greg Zaun, Torrealba, Paulino, Olivo
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27 Responses to “A Bat at the Deadline: To Go Big or Go Small?”
July 16th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
I would like to see the yanks get bay but if it means trading away the farm then nty, ill take brett gardner.
Yanks need a 1b for next year. I don’t know about texeira though…
getting off topic…
What if the yanks were to sign both sabathia and sheets this offseason along with texeira and who knows who else?
July 16th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Colby Rasmus and Max Ramirez are real enticing, except they’ll probably cost too much. But I doubt we get Rasmus if what the Cards are looking for is an OF. But Abreu….
July 16th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
I don’t see the cards looking for OF help - they’re already crowded there, with a young guy like Duncan not able to get any playing time.
July 17th, 2008 at 7:38 am
I think the best option at this point is Bonds. He will only cost small money as he will work for the minimum and has a high upside as a DH (OBP, SLG, etc.). The young guys are unpredictable and I don’t think they will be ready for the hall this year. Gardner could continue to play LF until Damon is back and then the decision can be made to keep Cabrera or Gardner on the roster (the other returning to AAA). Duncan, Ramus, etc. are all great, but not at the high prospect cost for a relatively unknown result. Duncan plays for a small market and we’ve seen what happens to a lot of small market players in NY. Bonds can handle the media and I solidify this lineup to had major depth after the depletion of Matsui. It’d be a one year thing, and if he doesn’t cut it or the Yanks fall out of contention, they can move on to their prospects to get ready for 2009.
July 17th, 2008 at 7:39 am
They only prospects the Yanks have worth trading are pitching prospects. Unless a team is looking for that, I don’t see much of a trade happening..
July 17th, 2008 at 7:40 am
I’m sure St. Louis wouldn’t trade Rasmus for anything less than a big time prospect and an MLB player in return, but if we could get him I’d be ecstatic. I’m sure he’d cost Phil Hughes, but if you could get St. Louis to go after Kennedy, Horne, Aceves, Tabata or someone like them that’d be great. Stilll I can’t see the Yankees landing him without including Hughes, Montero or Jackson.
July 17th, 2008 at 7:44 am
Wouldn’t Mussina look good in a Cards uniform? Send Mosse and Abreu over for Rasmus. lol talk about being delusional…
July 17th, 2008 at 7:52 am
Lets get some of that good young talent in Pittsburgh (Bay, McLouth, Doumit, and/or Marte). Pitt could certainly use some young pitchers the Yanks have in AAA or AA. Cashman has the players in the system for an impact deal.
July 17th, 2008 at 8:31 am
If I’m Cashman I throw an enticing offer at Colorado for Holliday and Fuentes. Sign CC in the offseason and we’re ready to compete with anyone in 2009. I may be wrong but isn’t Abreu a free agent after this season? We’re going to need a big bat for the heart of the order next year anyway. Plus Holliday and CC are only 28. Both have 5+ years left in their primes. I’d give up Tabata, Hughes, and another pitching prospects for the Colorado package. Then you have your set-up man/leftie for the pen too. Almost makes too much sense.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:07 am
Funny post. Good job.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Well Heyman mentioned that if they included him, they would be in a better position to land Bay, and undoubtedly Nady. Bill, I don’t see why Pittsburgh would trade Doumit and McLouth when they’re good cost controlled players.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Anthony, why make a package with someone who was deemed as Cashman as an untouchable?
July 17th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Why are any of these guys untouchable? When the hell are they going to contribute? 2015? We have a solid team in place right now, why not try and win now AND later? We’re certainly not winning a title with the team we have right now. The lineup stinks, we have no #1 starter, and I’m still not trusting Farnsworth or Veras late in games. We need to fortify all three areas and by waiting for Hughes and Kennedy to come around or the light hitting Tabata and Jackson to pay dividends in the next 2-3 years just isn’t realsitic. You see, the Red Sox can afford to wait on Buchholz and Masterson to come around because they have 4 solid frontline pitchers. Looking ahead to ‘09 I count two guys we can count on: Joba and Wang. Will Pettitte retire? 50/50 shot. Will Mussina be brought back and will he be this effective? Probably not. So you’re comfortable counting on Hughes and Kennedy being top of the rotation pitchers in ‘09 and ‘10? I think it’s overly optimsitic to do that. I’d rather use those chips and get two 28 year-old stars. You’re not getting old vets, you’re getting young, durable players. I roll the dice. I know what Cashman has said about his untouchable list, but the question on my end is, why is anyone untouchable when we’re struggling to win 81 games with a $200MM payroll? It makes no sense.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:18 am
I tend to think that we have an overabundance of good pitching prospects, so it would be great if we could engineer a deal trading one or more of our good young pitchers for a good, young bat (like a Ransom). I think that if you’re getting a prospect back in return, it would tend to cancel out the “untouchable” label and keep the build from within philosophy intact.
The trouble with that is that it’s pretty rarely done. I think that because you know your prospects better than the other team, you tend to either overvalue your own guy or distrust the other GM, thinking, “what does he know that I don’t.” It’s a tough thing to pull off.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:01 am
NYPost Joel Sherman writes that he feels Cashman won’t do anything. I hope he’s wrong and I hope that Hank and his father insist Cashman do something. The various issues with this team in the first half must force cashman to do something. Time to get creative Cashman !
July 17th, 2008 at 11:15 am
If the yankees do anything it should be selling off some veterens for some younger guys who can actually play defense. Sadly, I think the Yankees have as much chance of winning the World Series this year as Roger Clemens has of being picked as Barrack Obama’s running mate.
July 17th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Considering the source, I dont want to place much weight in this:
http://www.mlbnewsonline.com/2008/07/source-bonds-yankees-deal-imminent.html
July 17th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Teahen is a very good young player. If we could get hit it would be a monster pick up both for this season and the future.
July 17th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
ESPN.com is reporting that the Yankees have reached a tentative deal with 1B Richie Sexson to play for the remainder of the year.
Thoughts? Comments?
July 17th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Are you kidding me gianthinker……………..(I can’t put enough periods)…………Mark Teahen…………… a monster pickup……… he of the .323 career OBP……..
July 17th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I’d trade prospects, but only if it makes sense. The only person I would consider trading Hughes for is Justin Upton. But Anthony… are you serious with that argument?
July 17th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
.623 slugging vs. lefties and the fact that he can play OF & 1b, and the whole giving up of nothing to get himness made this pretty natural. Not a big move but he can certainly help off the bench. I’d rather have him pinch hitting than Betemit or Moeller and it gives Girardi a chance to mix and match a bit. Not sure about his ability to play OF - anyone ever watch him closely in that spot?
July 17th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Whoops - by him I meant Sexson
July 17th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
A lot of baseball guys do like Teahen but he’s never really produced. It’s possible that he’s more of a natural fit in a long lineup like the Yanks have (had?) and could find himself here. He has the reputation for putting together tough at-bats. But, yes, MONSTER pick-up may be overstating :)
July 17th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Anthony: I like Holliday, but his home/away splits scare the heck out of me. He’s the prototypical guy who’s probably much more valuable to his team than anyone else. I can’t imagine the Rocks giving him up for anything less than a Miguel Cabrera type deal but, if his splits predict him accurately, he’ll give you nowhere near that kind of productivity in Yankee stadium.
July 17th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Pete Abe declareth the Bonds thing false - http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2008/07/17/sexson-close-to-deal-with-yankees/
July 17th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Let’s say it again: it’s Mark Teahen….
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