Did A-Rod Recruit Sosa?

A reader emailed me with an interesting trade rumor nugget that I hadn't noticed before.  He directed me to the sidebar of a recent ESPN Deportes article by Enrique Rojas:

"Sammy Sosa, who has been mulling retiring from baseball after receiving only a non-guaranteed contract offer from the Washington Nationals, received an unexpected visitor Sunday at his home in Miami: Alex Rodriguez.  The New York Yankees third baseman called on Sosa in order to find out from the slugger himself how the "Caribbean Bambino" is doing, according to Tuesday's edition of the Hoy newspaper in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

A source close to Sosa told Hoy that Rodriguez was not there as a "messenger" for the Yankees, but that he just wanted to find out what was going on with the 1998 National League MVP, and what his plans are for 2006.   In the past, the Yankees have used star players as "advance scouts" in some key trade and free agent negotiations."

Alright, so this looks like a non-rumor based on Hoy's information.  But for the sake of my own amusement, let's take a look at the Yankees' depth chart.

First off, you've got the 37 year-old Gary Sheffield without much backup in right field.  Admittedly, he's been very healthy for the past three seasons.  But how much do the Yanks want to push their luck that he plays 154 games again?

Second, Bernie Williams is listed as the primary DH.  I'm not sure if Sosa could outdo Williams's .249/.321/.367 line.  But this is a ballclub that gave 170 ABs to Ruben Sierra last year.  Sosa can probably still hit lefties reasonably well (.841 OPS in 2005 though just 104 ABs), and he might swallow his pride for a team with the Yankees' stature.  I'm just saying is all.

UPDATE:  Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune thinks Sosa should use the WBC as an audition, assuming he can pass the steroid test.

Comments

[A-ROD]

Sorry about all this...I just wanted to see if by any chance if Sammy had any good rum lying around...I mean really do we really need another DH on my team.

[RumorMonger]

It's OK dude, we've been hurting for rumors so I'm glad you paid him a visit.

[JuJu]

I'm sure the Yanks would love Sosa to hit his 600th HR in a Yankees uniform.

[Benny Blanco from da Bronx]

Sosa hitting #600 in a Yankee uniform? I could see the "Yankeeography" now... ewww.
I don't hate Sosa, and I don't neccisarily truely HATE the Yankees but I do hate that channel and that Yankeeography would be vommit inducing.

They would also play it as a "Yankee Classic".

I love it when they play random, regular season games and call it a "Classic".

[bobo]

I think leaving Bernie as the primary DH is totally by design, and a great move by the Yankees:

1) They get to keep an extremely popular player, and for the Yankees, his salary is worth it just for the mentorship he'll provide

2) They give Andy Phillips a shot.

3) When Bernie's not DHing (a pretty decent amount of time, given the fact that in addition to Phillips, Giambi and Sheffield will both get time there), being a switch-hitter he's valuable as a pinch-hitter.

4) Most importantly, it gives them flexibility in their acquisitions. Of course they're most likely to need pitching, but if they decide that the offense isn't working, they can acquire any hitter they want to play DH. Contrast it to last year, when they basically had to find a CF who could hit AND field.

So all that said, I don't think they need Sosa now.

[Vince]

There isn't any team in the league that needs Sosa now

[A-ROD]

Don't worry about Sammy being in pinstripes...I told him we already have Gambino, Bernie, Philips, Sheff, Godzilla, and even myself to fill in that spot. Sammy hitting #600 in pinstripes ain't happening...Trust Me, Sammy as a Yankee is no more than a pipe dream!

[xxJamesxx]

I knew A-rod was a Red Sox operative all along.

[Darin]

There's got to be something better going on than this......it's almost sad that in 2 years Sosa goes from being feared to being a non-factor.

[rayoftruth]

Quitting steroids will do that. Oh, did I say that out loud?

[Vince]

Yet another reason to hate major sporting new outlets

Here are some clips from this great in-depth look at the Yankees this off-season from an article on SI.com from the AP. God I hate national media outlets. So here goes:

"He (referring to Posada)planned to shave Wednesday"

"Jaret Wright and Shawn Chacon arrived and played catch"

WOW. Thank you for that info. I couldn't sleep last night I was so worried about when Posada was going to shave

Rumor is Jeter got out of bed this morning at 7:15, but is telling reporters it was actually 7:00. I will let you know more info as this story unfolds.

[Mets fan]

Hellooooo,,,,,what about the mets lets get something going on that. They need a second baseman, a better rightfielder, and a 3rd starter ( wells, or clement) and they need to bring royce ring up from the minors because atleast he has what it takes to be a met, meaning he has guts and no showboat.

[RumorMonger]

I can't see how Sosa would be better than Victor Diaz...

[AAA]

Yo Mets Fan:

im a huge mets fan as well...but disagree with u...victor diaz is our right feilder...hes going to put up about 25 homers around 75 to 80 rbi's and have a .280 average....i agree with getting clement but not wells...hes too old and fat....and anderson hernandez needs a chance

[AAA]

Sammy Sosa is retiring according to his agent

[diehardcubbiefan]

Sosa did indicated earlier in the season he would retire before the age of 40. Its too bad his career had to end at a bad note. But, if i were Sosa, i wouldve signed with the Nationals for less money.

[Andy Kesner]

Sosa is a joke. With Baltimore last year, he admitted not being able to get around on the inside fastball. Brilliantly, he decided to move 2 feet farther away from the plate. I think for the next 3 weeks, he failed to even make contact with a pitch, watching fastball after fastball hit the outside corner. Sammy doesn't have a clue.