Friday, July 9, 2010

Cliff Lee to the Yankees? (UPDATE: Or Not)



UPDATE: Well, so much for that. Over the course of the afternoon, talks between the Yanks and M's broke down, with the Mariners concerned about the health of David Adams. According to Joel Sherman the Rangers are set to acquire Lee (and reliever Mark Lowe...who is injured and will not pitch at all this season. God knows why he was included) for 1B Justin Smoak and three other prospects. I'm guessing the Mariners will pay his salary, given that the Rangers have no owner at the moment. At least the Yankees don't have to face Lee tonight.

We all know that whenever a big name player is available, be it via trade or free agency, the Yankees are always attached. But I never once believed the Yankees were truly interested in acquiring Cliff Lee in a trade. The pitching rotation is very solid right now, with AJ Burnett seemingly back on track. Sure, Hughes is scuffling a bit, but that is to be expected with a young starter. And Javy Vazquez has really picked it up after an awful start. So it came with great surprise when I read this morning that the Yanks were "on the verge" of acquiring Cliff Lee from the Mariners (Link Here.)

Supposedly, the deal involves highly touted catching prospect Jesus Montero as well as 2nd base prospect David Adams. It's a bit tough to lose a prospect like Montero, especially with Jorge Posada's days behind the plate numbered. But the Yanks do have a lot of depth in the minors at catcher, including Austin Romine and Gary Sanchez, and I have read that the Yankees don't consider Montero much of a catcher. And considering what the Yankees get in return, it's a bit of a no-brainer (and I see no way that they aren't able to sign Lee long term).

The big question this trade brings up is who leaves the rotation. I have read that Vazquez would be traded somewhere, perhaps to the Phillies for Jayson Werth. But according to Ken Davidoff of Newsweek, the Yankees aren't close to trading Javy, and may even keep him until the trade deadline. Putting Hughes in the bullpen would be a mistake, in my opinion. They should learn from Joba that constantly changing a starter's role from year to year is not a good idea. It worked last year, but Hughes needs to finish this year as a starter. If anybody is going to go into the bullpen, I would put Javy. He could work as a good long man, I think. I know it's tempting to put Hughes in the pen, given his success last year and the trouble they have had this year with the pen, but I just think that would be a terrible idea.

Regardless, this should make for an interesting day (and here's hoping this trade gets done before the Yankees have to face him tonight!)

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