Although this is a little early, I was thinking about the make up of our rotation going into next season. We have Sabathia, Burnett and Joba locked, while Pettitte will become a free agent, and the 5th spot will be open. Its likely that Hughes will be asked to fill that role. Whatever road the Yankees want to take they should really consider one Scott Kazmir. The Rays made Kazmir available for trade at the deadline, and no doubt they were guaging the interest in him. He's having a rough season this year. As of today he stands with a 6.50 ERA a 6-7 record and 70 strikeouts in 91.1 innings. My guess is that Kazmir is injured, or suffering the residual effects of his previous injuries. The Rays would be smart to move him seeing as he's due $22.5 million over the next two seasons (that includes a club option pay out). If Kazmir is ineffective, that's a lot of money the small market Rays will have wrapped up in him. The Yankees would be smart to take a gamble on him, because of how succesful he's been in the past, and because $22.5 million over two years really isn't a risk to them. I know they want to decrease payroll, but there is a lot of potential in that arm, and may be worth the risk. Of course, to determine whether the deal is worthwhile, we would need to know what the Rays want in return for Kazmir. If the cost in prospects isn't too high, I think it would be a worthwhile investment.
On the other hand, the Yankees will be on the market for a left fielder, and as one commenter posted in an earlier post, the Rays may want to move Carl Crawford who would become a free agent in 2011. Perhaps there is a deal to be worked out here. Perhaps not. All I know, is that those are two players to take into consideration. Personally, I like Damon, but that will depend on his asking price and years.
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6 comments:
Kazmir is better than his numbers show this year.
I think the OF is covered. I want Damon back, and with Melky, Gardner, Swish and Hinske and Jackson, playing time is going to becompetetive.
But just losing Matsui would pay for Kazmir. And allow a nice rotation in the DH.
Kazmir would be costly, though.
Joe
Yeah, the real question is what will Tampa Bay want in return. Kazmir should draw interest from several team even as ineffective as he's been. So it depends what prospects they're asking for. We may have to let him pass if they're asking for too much.
And really the only reason I would say we shouldn't keep Damon is if he wants a 4 year deal or if he wants too much money in the deal.
Johnny Damon has been GREAT at the plate, but he's been HORRIBLE in the field these last two years (at least!!) so, if anything, he can take Matsui's spot at DH, but keep him out of the field. Maybe give him a 2 year deal, if they even offer him that. With Jeter's eventual move and he, Posada, & ARod getting up there in baseball years, the DH needs to be reserved for those guys too....
Kazmir was lights-out last year, hurt this year, and I think he's pitching hurt. He'd be a fantastic pick-up, but like everybody else said, depending on who they want in return.
The sad truth is the Yanks don't have enough decent prospects to make a trade.
Yanks have the prospects but I don't think Tampa will deal him in the division. I said it on the other thread but I guess it's more relevent here but I think Tampa has about 2-3 years left where they have the players to contend at a decent price. After that I think too many of their players are going to start hitting arb & FA where they will not have the money to keep them.
If you buy that then it would be silly for Tampa to deal him to hte Yanks and make it tougher to get to the playoffs.
People call the Yankees a win now team because of the payroll and age but I think tampa's clock is ticking as well but for different reasons.
That's true, trading within the division is just not an option unless they're getting back something worthwhile in return. This means the Yankees would have to give up some top guys if they think of landing him.
I agree with your take on the years left for Rays contention, though, they do have a young crop they will hold onto for longer including David Price and Evan Longoria.
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