MLB - 2009 Regular Season Thread!!

[Arrian]

I think Imran may have meant a quick trade for a 3B because, yeah, Grudz is a free agent last I checked.

I'm sure Cashman is trying, but the pricetag on anybody remotely good has to be high. They're going the surgery route (apparently, there are 2 surgeries coming - one now, one after the season) and ARod is going to be out at least 8 weeks.

-Arrian

[Imran Siddiqui]

Um, Grudzielanek is a 2B. He hasn't played 3B since 1995. And he's an average bat.

[snoopy369]

You think they're going to go trade for someone's starting 3B for two months' of work? They're the Yankees, not Man U ...

[Imran Siddiqui]

Why not?

There are a host of lower level teams who have, basically, average starting 3B. I'm sure you can grab someone like Edwin Encarnacion from Cincy for cheap.

'Cause the Yankees HAVE to realize that in the division they are in with Boston and Tampa, losing Alex Rodriguez for 2 months (and slowed down probably for another month, at least, after that) means your season is over. Two years ago, when they barrelled into the playoffs after a horrid early start, they were kept afloat by A-Rod. They won't have one of baseball's best players to do that this year.

A-Rod's backup right now is Cody Ransom.

[Arrian]

Um, Grudzielanek is a 2B. He hasn't played 3B since 1995. And he's an average bat.

The thinking with Grudzielanek is either: a) he can still play a decent 3B; or b) he can play 2B and you slide Cano over to 3B.

And yes, he's averageish. That's a helluva lot better than replacement level, which is what we're staring down.

The ideal upgrade, IMO, would be Beltre. There are problems with this, however. Namely:

1) Seattle isn't stupid anymore. The pricetag will be harsh.
2) Beltre's a legit starter, so what do you do when ARod comes back?

Now, if the Yanks suspect ARod may be out longer, I hope they are looking into a trade for Beltre. Also, if they suspect Matsui won't be much use due to not having any knees, they should look into it (b/c they could stick Matsui on the 60-day DL and thereby get some flexibility back allowing ARod to DH when he comes back, leaving Beltre at 3B).

-Arrian

[snoopy369]

Why would Cincy sell their 25 year old 3B for anything reasonable? If NYY are going to give up good prospects for a two month rental, they're even stupider than I think they are...

[Imran Siddiqui]

Oh, and going another direction, the US looked pretty sweet in taking down Venezuela 10-3 in the WBC. It was close for a while, but the one thing the US has going for it that a lot of other teams don't (aside from a few, like Japan) is depth. Once the starter was taken out for Venezuela, they had nothing (Victor Zambrano was the first one out from the pen... really?!)

[Imran Siddiqui]

Why would Cincy sell their 25 year old 3B for anything reasonable? If NYY are going to give up good prospects for a two month rental, they're even stupider than I think they are...

The history of the Yankees (and Cincy's) front office indicates that they'll deal some lower level prospects that amount for nothing for good players.

[Arrian]

If it happens, though...

Not that I've even looked at Encarnacion's stats. The problem with getting a 25 year old is... well, ARod's signed for like forever. How does it make any sense to go get a young 3B, unless Cincy really is absurdly stupid about it?

-Arrian

[Imran Siddiqui]

It's Cincy. These are the people who ran Adam Dunn out of town...

Regardless, if the plan is to replace A-Rod with Grudz for 2-3 months, the Yankees should just play for next season.

[Arrian]

I think the Yankees are a legit WC contender w/o ARod (or w/o him for 2-3 months). I agree that they would be behind the 8 ball, though.

If Cincy is really stupid enough to give up a good young player for nearly nothing, by all means. But I doubt they would.

Beltre strikes me as a better target, even though Seattle has gotten smart. He's in the last year of his contract. He makes a lot of money. Take on the full salary and give up some 2nd tier prospects... yeah, right. Seattle would probably smile and indicate they'd like to have Hughes, or, failing that, Montero.

-Arrian

[Imran Siddiqui]

There is no way in Hell the Yankees get Beltre. He's a far better player than Encarnacion for one and would require more in trade.

[snoopy369]

Oh, and going another direction, the US looked pretty sweet in taking down Venezuela 10-3 in the WBC. It was close for a while, but the one thing the US has going for it that a lot of other teams don't (aside from a few, like Japan) is depth. Once the starter was taken out for Venezuela, they had nothing (Victor Zambrano was the first one out from the pen... really?!)

That's pretty much been the case for most of the smaller nations (Venezuela being a larger smaller nation, but still). They have one good starter, but once he's gone they're pretty much toast.

Once we face Cuba and Japan, though...

[Imran Siddiqui]

Venezuela is definitely an up and comer though. Some pitching depth and they are right there with the biggies (maybe a step behind).

[snoopy369]

They're certainly on their way up, but it'll be a while before they can compete with the big 3 regularly.