The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Good - It appears that Roy Halladay is moving to the NL in a three team trade with the Phillies. This takes the best pitcher of the decade and moves him out of the AL East which can only be good news for the Yanks heading into the 2010 season.
The Bad - The Mariners appear to be getting Cliff Lee in that three team trade. This gives them Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee as their one-two in the rotation and that spells trouble for opposing teams. Lee pitched a little better in the NL so my only hope is that he struggles a little more in the more powerful AL.
The Ugly - The Red Sox signed John Lackey, the best free agent pitcher available, to a five year deal which gives them the best one-two-three pitchers in the game of baseball. Lackey, John Lester, and Josh Beckett are power pitchers and high strikeout guys which can only make AL teams cringe at this signing. Also, the BoSox have Daisuke Matsuzaka, Clay Buchholz, and Tim Wakefield to finish off the back end of the rotation. This is not good. Our only hope is that CC can make Halladay, AJ and Beckett are equally wild (which they both tend to do every so often), and Pettitte can pitch like he did five years ago to match Lester, who was the ace of this staff last year. God help us all if they sign Beltre to play third base, Mike Cameron to play left field, and complete the trade that send Mike Lowell to the Rangers. Estimated number of wins for them next year if all that happens: 104.

Rule 5 Draft

The Rule 5 Draft took place this morning and the Yankees acquired 25 year old Jamie Hoffmann from the Nationals as compensation for sending Brian Bruney to them earlier in the week. The rules of the Rule 5 Draft state that Hoffmann must stay on the Yankee active roster for the year or else he would be offered back to the Nationals for half of the price the Yankees paid for him ($50,000). According to reports, the Yankee front office has had interest in Hoffmann for a few years. At this point, Hoffman would compete with Brett Gardner for the fourth outfield spot.
There are a couple wrinkles that could effect the look of the outfield next season. The Yankees are apparently negotiating with Johnny Damon on a contract to bring him back next season. Damon would likely DH and could play the field occasionally to give others a break from the field. Also, teams are contacting the Yankees about possibly trading Gardner or Melky Cabrera, as they currently have five outfielders and would have six if Damon resigns. A likely move would be a trade of Gardner for a minor league prospect because the Yanks do not need another big league player and Gardner became the odd man out after he got hurt last season. The only problem is that he was our fastest player and we would lose that weapon off the bench. I guess we'll see what happens in the following days and weeks.

Three team trade

The Yankees are involved in a three team trade in which they would send Ian Kennedy to Arizona, send Phil Coke and Austin Jackson to Detroit, and they would receive Curtis Granderson in the deal. Other players are involved between Arizona and Detroit but they don't matter. Essentially the Yankees will get a new starting center fielder for a Triple A starter in Kennedy, a so-so bullpen lefty in Coke, and their top outfield prospect in Jackson. The 28 year old Granderson is a solid center fielder with great defense, some speed, and enough pop to match or exceed Damon's homerun total with the short porch in right. However, he strikes out too much and struggles against lefties at times. His struggles might force the Yanks to play Melky in center against lefties, as he is a switch hitter, and Gardner can slide into either left or right. My guess is that Granderson would bat second behind Jeter because Jeter gets on base better than Granderson and Jeter also hits into more double plays. AJax, who's 22, was a top prospect in the Yankee system so my hope is that we didn't give up our future for nothing. Only time will tell if this move was a good one or another flop.

Winter Meeting update

The Yankees have traded relief pitcher Brian Bruney to the Washington Nationals for a player to be named later. Bruney had an up and down tenure with the Yankees and had recently been erratic which isn't a great quality for a late inning reliever. The Yankees have a lot of relief pitchers and many can throw high heat just like Bruney so his departure isn't terrible. The only down side is that he was only 27 years old and could have improved his control. It will be interesting to see who the Yanks get in return.

This just in...

Today is day one of four of the winter meetings and there is already some good news for the Yanks. Sources say that Andy Pettitte has decided to return for another season and will simply need to work out some contract details. This is great news for Yankee fans but I'll wait for the contract signing and confirmation before I completely jump for joy.

"Doc" Halladay a Yankee?

Rumors are spreading that the Yankees are discussing a trade with Toronto that would give the Yanks the 33 year old ace. However, the Yankees would have to give up one of their top prospects from the list of Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Jesus Montero, or Austin Jackson. The Yankees have been hesitant in the past to part ways with their top prospects but in this case I would make an exception Halladay has been a dominant pitcher for years and he has shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon. He continues to pitch late into games, he throws a lot of innings, gets a lot of strikeouts, and he can help younger pitchers develop their skills.
The Yankees could pass on the deal not only to keep their prospects but also to avoid a Kevin Brown or Carl Pavano type deal. "Doc" has thrown a lot of innings in recent years, mostly because Toronto's bullpen is weak, and he will be 34 before the start of the 2010 season. Pitchers that throw a lot of innings and pitch late into games eventually have a drop off but Halladay hasn't shown any signs of this happening. Plus, he is a workout demon, keeps his body in great shape, and is dedicated to his craft.
Here's what I would do: make the trade. It isn't often that a pitcher of this caliber becomes available so the Yankees need to look long and hard at the deal before they pass or accept. Within the organization I think the consensus is to hold on to Montero and Jackson so the deal would include either Hughes or Chamberlain. Montero is viewed as the catcher of the future and Jackson will compete for an outfield spot during spring training at the age of 22. I would be okay with letting either Hughes or Chamberlain go because I think the both of them have their faults and might not live up to the hype. Chamberlain is showing a streak of inconsistency without the ability to pitch his way out. With the problems AJ has had with the one "bad inning," the Yankees do not need two pitchers like that in the rotation. However, he did show signs of life as a relief pitcher and has been touted as a possible replacement for the immortal Mariano Rivera. Hughes pitched very well as a relief pitcher during the season but struggled in the postseason. Also, relief pitchers come and go and unless Hughes becomes a starter and continues to improve, there is no real reason to hold on to him just because he pitches one good inning at a time. It will be interesting to see what happens by the end of December because I have a gut feeling that a deal, whether to the Yankees or not, will be done involving Halladay by then. Keep checking in as I'll let you know what happens when it happens. Cheers!

Arbitration Time

The Yankees declined to offer salary arbitration to all of their eligible players. This is the second year in a row they have done this and it worked out pretty well last year. This does not mean that these players cannot be resigned but it does mean that their salaries will not be determined by an arbitration group, which will favor the player if they have had a significant impact on the team. The most notable of the arbitration eligible players are Damon, Matsui, Pettitte, and Nady. I would still like to see the Yanks bring back Pettitte and possibly Nady on an incentive deal but I think it is time that Damon and Matsui move on to greener pastures. For now, the Yankees have remained quiet this offseason but they can make a splash at any time. Look for signings and trades to pick up for all teams after the winter meetings take place around Dec. 7th-9th. Thanks for reading!