I must say—if the Yankees don’t keep Nick Swisher around, I don’t know what I’ll do. Apparently, he’s an awesome person with a superior bat and, to top it off, he’s a versatile player and an athlete. Keep the guy around, please.
Also, while I’m at it, keep Joba Chamberlain in the rotation, OK? That’s where he wants to be…
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2 Responses to Late Bits: Swisher, Joba
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TIQ IQ
The Yanks definitely need to keep both Nady and Swish. To me, the biggest weakness we have right now is the bench, and trading one of those two only serves to weaken it. I’m all about the spring training battles. You can never have too much depth and the competition is good for an athlete. Let Nady and Swisher battle for the RF starting role. Whoever loses can fill in occasionally in right, left, DH, or be the main contingency plan in the event of an injury to Damon, Matsui, or Tex.
Given that both Matsui and Damon are risks for injury, it would seem foolish to trade away our depth. If there’s one thing we should have all learned from 2008, its that a series of injuries can devastate a team without the proper depth.
From a trade perspective, Swisher wouldn’t bring back anything much better then what we got him for (Marquez, Betemit types). Remember, he hasn’t played at all since the trade, his value is the same. Would we really want to give up our depth for a fringe pitching prospect that probably wouldn’t get much of a chance to contribute to the MLB club and a half-decent utility infielder?
Same goes for Nady. He’s going to be an FA next year and he’s a Boras client, which hurts his value. He also had a career year last year and he needs to show that it wasn’t a fluke.
Now if everyone is healthy come mid-July and Nady and Swish are both playing well, sure, deal one of them if we get blown away by an offer.
But the bottom line is that we most likely won’t get blown away with an offer. There is even less of a chance of that happening this winter, so the only smart baseball decision is to keep them both.
I agree, Justin. It would be nonsensical for the Yankees to move Swisher. I’m also thinking about 2010, when the Yankees won’t have an OF. A guy like Swisher—a strong player with a cheap contract—would be nice to have around.