Trade Deadline Approaching; who has been linked to Yankees?

Well, with the trade deadline only a few days away, coming at 4:00 PM EST on Friday, the Yankees, as always, have been linked to a lot of different names. Lets go through the names, decide which we think are just 100% rumors, and see if we like any of the trades that could possibly happen.

The first name on the list of every team is of course Roy Halladay. Currently 11-3 with a 2.62 ERA, he will not be a Yankee. This is as close to guaranteed as you can get. He costs too much in dollars and in prospects. Get over it Yankee fans. All of you. Some people say we need him, others complain that the Yankees shouldn't even try because it becomes a joke if we have everybody. Either way, never say never, but he wont be a Yankee. Rumors said that the price tag for Hallday was either Huges or Joba, along with Austin Jackson and Jesus Montero (the only two decent offensive prospects above single A)

Another name linked to the Yankees is Cliff Lee. He too costs too much. Not in dollars, but in prospects. Rumor has it Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez are being packaged to try to pull off a huge blockbuster deal and pretty much get an entire farm system for a team. Unfortunately for the Yankees, the only two teams that have been interested in a blockbuster deal to acquire both Lee and Martinez are the Rays and the Red Sox with the Rays being the much more aggressive team.

Heath Bell, the closer for the San Diego Padres who has 24 saves and a 2.06 ERA has also been linked to the Yankees. He too, will cost too much as San Diego is trying to sell high on this guy. Some rumors say the Yankees want a reliever so they can transition Alfredo Aceves into a full time starter for the rest of the year. I think this is a bad idea. Aceves has been brilliant in the bullpen and subpar in his one spot start this year. As much as I am against Hughes being in the bullpen full time, he and Aceves have been fantastic there this year, making me think no bullpen move should happen this year. If anything, just acquire a starter. Don't get a reliever, so you can make your old reliever a starter, not to mention the numerous starts it will take to stretch out Aceves, and since he will be a starer, we wont have a long reliever when he is only allowed to throw 50 pitches in his first start.

Jarrod Washburn, who seems to always be linked to the Yankees, is again, linked to be going to the Yankees. The man with a career 4.03 ERA is having a career year at age 34 with a 2.71 ERA. This move makes no sense, the same way it hasn't in the past. He will require a lot in return because of his fantastic season but it wont last. Although he is a lefty, he is a fly ball pitcher which is obviously not a good thing for the new Yankee Stadium and lastly, he is expensive. This wont happen. Rumor had it, the Mariners wanted Melky AND Gardner, which would leave us without a CF by the way, but now that Gardner is injured, we no longer even have what they want. Doesn't matter though because it would not have happened anyway.

Two days ago, there were reports that Bronson Arroyo was about 99% a Yankee, but those seem to be overblown. The Yankees confirmed interest in Arroyo, but he was a little too pricey for them. He would slot into their 5th starter spot and cost them $4 mil this year and $11 mil next year, way too much for a back end of the rotation guy, especially one with a 5.21 ERA. I know a lot of people like this guy, especially Mike Francessa, and apparently the Yankees do as well, but I have never thought he was anything great. Again, this won't happen. It was close, but if it was going to happen, it would have been a done deal already I think, considering how close it seemed only a few days ago.

The final name the Yankees have been linked to is Ian Snell. Snell has always been a guy of potential. Years ago people thought he was going to be great, but it never seemed to happen. He had a career year in 2007 when he posted a 3.76 ERA, but since then he has had ERA's of 5.42 and 5.36 this year. After 15 GS this year, Snell was sent to AAA to see if he could figure something out, you have to remember, he is only 27. Since being sent to AAA, he has pitched 32 1/3 innings, letting in only two earned runs while striking out 43 and walking only 12. He does have $4.25 mil guaranteed to him next year, but the Pirates would pay some of that if a trade is done. Heck, they paid half of Erik Hinske's salary and he was only making $800,000. Of all the players linked to the Yankees, Snell would cost the least in prospects.

One thing that surprises me is that the Yankees have not been linked to a CF. With Gardner breaking his thumb, if anything was to happen to Melky, Hinske would have to be the everyday RF and either Damon or Swisher would be the starting CF, something nobody wants to see. The only CF in the minor league system is Austin Jackson and they want him to have a full year at AAA. Shelley Duncan, Ramiro Pena or John Rodriguez may get a call up soon, but two aren't CF's and the other is just learning the position, having only played 5 games there in his whole career, all within the past couple weeks.

Of all the names mentioned, I think Ian Snell has the best chance of happening, but I still would not say those chances are good ones. It does help that in the past two years, Pittsburgh and NY seem to be on good trading terms.

I would not be surprised if the Yankees picked up a back-end of the rotation guy and a CF who can either start of be put on the bench. I would be surprised if a bullpen arm was added. The one wild card name in all of this I think might be Cliff Lee, just because the Red Sox and Rays have shown so much interest, but again, I don't see that happening.

I prefer the lesser move, like a Snell type, because I do not want to give up any big prospects. The Yankees are not guaranteed to make a move and so many times the trades that are made are not rumored until 10 minutes before they happen so there is a good chance someone will be traded to the Yankees who has not been linked to them yet.

I know I wrote a similar piece a little while ago, but all of these names have been linked to the Yankees so what do you guys think? Do you not mind giving up a lot for Halladay? Do you not mind paying $11 mil for a back-end guy like Arroyo? Should they get a CF so they have depth on the bench? Or, the always dreaded final option, the boring method of staying put.

Let me know what you guys think!



Update- Wednesday, July 29th

Well, we can scratch two names off of this list. In a great move for the team, the Phillies acquired Cliff Lee and in a 7 player deal, the Mariners got Ian Snell.

According to Joel Sherman, this may be a quiet deadline for the Yankees, and although that is very possible, with the increased rumors that the Red Sox are trying to pull off something big (they have been linked strongly to Halladay, Victor Martinez and Adrian Gonzalez in the past few days), I will believe it when I see it.

Update- Friday, July 31st
It seems as though this may be a quiet deadline for the Yankees, especially now, with Jarrod Washburn being dealt to the Detroit Tigers. Not a big fan of Washburn in a Yankee uniform, but slotting him in the 3rd spot in the rotation behind Verlander and Jackson gives Detroit a very solid rotation.

More Quick Updates
One name the Yankees have been officially linked to is Brian Bannister of the Royals, but talks stopped when the Yankees asked the Royals to pay his remaining $650,000 on the year. Also, the Yankees havent been officially linked to him, but lots of people, myself included, think Justin Duchscherer would be a good addition and he has been scratched from his rehab start today, meaning that a trade could be happening soon.

Im going to the movies soon so I wont be back until after the deadline has passed so we will have more updates then.