SI.com’s Jon Heyman had a new post in the wee hours of the morning today. The Yankees seem to be the frontrunner for Eric Gagne, while simultaneously trying to unload Kyle Farnsworth.
Gagne would set up Mariano Rivera in New York. Gagne can’t veto this trade, even though working as a setup man would cause him to miss some of his incentives. Heyman talks about the Yankees accomodating this problem, although they are under no obligation to do so.
The Yankees are being very possessive about their pitching prospects. Beyond Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes, they’ve deemed Ian Kennedy and Alan Horne off-limits. Jeff Marquez and Tyler Clippard are two who could go to Texas for Gagne. Not bad, but not the big names we’ve been expecting.
The Mets might pay some mind to Gagne, whose price couldn’t be higher than Chad Cordero’s. The Mets are the other contender to can trade for Gagne without his approval.
As for Farnsworth, we’ve already heard the Tigers and Rockies have some interest. Heyman adds the Dodgers to the mix; they inquired on him as a Plan B if they can’t get Octavio Dotel.
