From George King III (NY Post):
Pittsburgh had two scouts at last night’s game, Jim Benedict, a former Yankees scout, and Larry Corrigan. Their presence fueled speculation the Yankees have an interest in 30-year-old lefty reliever John Grabow.
With Damaso Marte’s return from shoulder problems looking less likely by the day, the Yankees could use a second lefty to complement Phil Coke, who has done very well.
Interestingly, King notes that the scouts “fueled speculation that the Yankees have an interest” in John Grabow, however, I think I’m the only one who has written about it as of late. Anyway, given the likelihood that Wang’s injury may eat into a significant portion of the bullpen’s depth, acquiring a lefty like Grabow—or a late-inning arm, in general—could become a must for the team. However, the Pirates don’t necessarily have much left-handed depth from which to replace Grabow, therefore, despite the speculation, they may choose to hold on to him once the trade deadline nears.
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4 Responses to Going after Grabow?
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I don’t understand why we’d be giving anything for Grabow. A 103 ERA+ for a 30 year old career relief pitcher is MLB average or worse (relief pitchers tend to have higher ERA+ than starters).
I thought we had all of these great young arms in the minors. If that’s true, why not give one of them an opportunity. But even if we don’t, Grabow was pretty ordinary even as a loogy. I don’t think he adds anything to the BP at all.
I agree in that I don’t see the need to acquire Grabow, specifically. If you’re going to give up something to get something, get something good, right? Grabow is a mediocre arm. I think the Yankees should get another bullpen arm but they should aim higher than Grabow.
Maybe the pirates will take a few good prospects for Ohlendorf.
Ha, imagine reacquiring him? That trade definitely made sense at the time but as the months have passed—with Nady and Marte probably out for the season—the trade actually looks pretty terrible (or it looks worse since the Yankees re-upped with Marte). Of course, Tabata hasn’t done much since then, though, which softens the blow a bit.