The more the day goes on, the louder the trade drum will beat. George King of the New York Post tried to do a little beating of his own over the weekend. He speculated on Carlos Beltran, Michael Cuddyer, and Vladimir Guerrero as potential trade targets for the Yankees.
I wholeheartedly agree on Beltran. I think he could be a near perfect acquisition for the Yankees. He could fit a need if Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada don’t start producing as he would be able to DH or play right field. The other two I don’t agree with at all.
The Yankees’ DH already offers them zero flexibility and acquiring either one of Cuddyer or Guerrero wouldn’t help that. While Cuddyer can physically stand in a few different positions, he’s not good at any of them and definitely not an upgrade over any current Yankee fielder. As for Vlad in the field, that isn’t really worth discussing much, is it?
I’m content with waiting out Swisher and Posada, but my patience is starting to wear a bit more thin as the season finishes up its second month. While Cuddyer and Guerrero probably wouldn’t be good fits, Beltran would. Are there any other potential offensive trade targets? Going by the potential free agent list, it wouldn’t appear so. It’s rare when the Yankees need a major offensive upgrade, but it’s definitely a possibility for 2011. The outside options don’t seem all that great. Luckily, there’s always Jesus Montero waiting in the wings, and he doesn’t cost anything.
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6 Responses to More trade speculation–hitting edition
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TIQ IQ
Well, Swisher’s option likely won’t be picked up if things keep going this way, so the “change of scenery” question will be raised, especially for fringe contender teams in the NL. It seems more likely that if the Yankees trade for offense, it will come from the farm anyway. Posada isn’t going anywhere. No shot at being traded or released, so if either of them would be traded, it would be Swisher and likely for pitching.
As for somehow corralling Alderson into giving up Beltran, one reason I think it is unlikely is because the Mets need to win just enough to keep attendance from completely plummeting. I think he would trade Beltran to the Yanks, but for a loftier price than the Yankees would be willing to give up, especially for what would essentially be a rental, as the Yankees would not be re-signing him.
Do the Yankees really need an offensive upgrade or do they just need Swisher to be decent, if not mediocre? The way I see it, if his numbers were more like .240/7/25 with an OPS of say .780 and an OBP of .360, combined with his P/PA that would be more than enough. His sketchy fielding doesn’t help his cause, though. His popularity along with his good year last season and the fact he was on the ’09 squad are what is keeping him here, in my opinion.
I’m willing to wait for Swisher to snap out of it-but he’s younger than Po and plays a position and is likely to start producing at a rate near his career numbers.
Posada is a different story-he’s just as likely to continue as he has been, and finding DH’s isn’t as hard as finding OF. There’s a couple guys at AAA that would likely produce at a significantly higher level (tho’ that’s still not saying much) than he has or is likely to.
If the Yankees did acquire Beltran, would you make room for him by releasing Posada, or Jones?
Beltran makes me EXTREMELY nervous.
Im done with posada (as I watch him k).
But I honestly and truly believe a mid june mintero call up is the answer.
Trade cervelli, plus for a GOOD LOOGY, bring up montero, and wait on swisher. Beltran is an upgrade, and swish is normally a quick stsrter so im getting nervous. But im more interested in a loogy and an sp
Cervelli wouldn’t get you anything on the trade market, he’s a decent backup catcher, but he has no trade value.
Eh, a decent young cost controlled backup catcher is about as valuable as a pretty decent loogy. Both are limited role specialty players. cervelli and a c rp prosprct should net a loogy. The real purpose of the trade is to get something for what is probably the single most expendable player in the organization.