Nady, Marte Traded To Yankees

Ah. I love it when players are pulled from the lineup. So ominous.

This better be fantastic. I really think he got traded.

Reid Brignac isn't playing in Durham.

Brignac not in Durham Bulls lineup, could be a Rays trade.

you son of a bitch, you beat me to it.

A's for mazzaro/cunningham...horrible deal if true. nady career season. mazzaro/cunningham great seasons in AA, ready early by 09.
look at murton and pre 08 nady stats, much different

nady is a local bay area guy went to cal, thats only thing i see

give me buck/murton/cunningham/robnett/putam/denorfia ...i'd take my chances with those than overpay for nady

Marte was seen in the dugout hugging players and shaking hands. Not trying to start a rumor, just speculating that he may be on the move as well.

arly-speculation? link?

I think the rumor mill got a boost when Tim posted that Nady is out of the lineup.

my sources say its to the yankees...for what i dont know yet

I am watching the Pirates broadcast right now on XtraInnings and the announcers are saying that BOTH Damaso Marte and X-Nady have been traded - but they don't know to who or for what...

Pirates broadcasters confirm Marte and Nady were traded.

The Pirate announcers just said Nady and Marte are involved in a trade but they can't make an official statement until medical review.

So the real question is who is first in line for saves in Pittsburgh now?

Arly2380:

Are you making A's rumors up in a different place?

You are always the Scout Dodgers Board pimping A's.

We've got confirmation Tim, GET ON IT!!!

Ian Kennedy and Austin Jackson i hope if it is to the Yankees.

Grawbow is new closer I'd put money on it.

So the real question is who is first in line for saves in Pittsburgh now?

John Grabow, no doubt

So, Marte and Nady in 1 deal or 2? Be interesting if Nady is going to Tampa for Brignac + something, given that it would be 2 guys with French names moving for each other.

If its Brignac, a Jack Wilson trade isnt too far away IMO

they can have ipk not Ajax

Guess we're about to find out if Huntington is qualified to play GM?

brignac is playing horrible lately

This is cool, I love the teasing factor in this trade - we know its happened, but who do the Pirates get? The suspense is killing me...

Breaking: Nady and Marte To Yankees.

per wil carrol at BP

Gotta be the Yankees. Out of my speculation. Who else has been hunting Right-Handed hitting OFer and a lefty for the pen.

ahhhh....please don't be a bad trade. i've had about 13 years of those.

I'm with you on that Chicago

From Pete Abe's LoHud blog:

UPDATE, 7:51 p.m.: Not sure what to make of this yet. But Phil Coke pitched an inning for Trenton (striking out the side) then was pulled from the game. Might he be on the move for somebody?

"In-Game Updates (LIVE from the ballpark): Something’s up after the first inning. Eric Wordekemper is already getting loose in the bullpen after Phil Coke rather efficiently struck out the side.

PHIL COKE PULLED FROM START AFTER ONE INNING. Eric Wordekemper in…he didn’t look hurt and the trade deadline is approaching. No clue what’s going on, guys."

http://thunderbaseball.wordpress.com/

"Ian Kennedy and Austin Jackson i hope if it is to the Yankees."

That would be bad for the Yankees. Kennedy will be good in the bigs. He's been pitching well in Scranton.

Jacknson has been great in Trenton and has a lot of potential.

"That would be bad for the Yankees. Kennedy will be good in the bigs. He's been pitching well in Scranton.

Jacknson has been great in Trenton and has a lot of potential."

Hey I know that would be bad for the Yankees but my two favorite teams are Boston and Pittsburgh so you can see where I would be ok with that.

I'm guessing Kennedy+Coke+no name for Nady+Marte.

Possibly Ohlendorf instead of Kennedy (I hope so).

I wonder who the players involved are? Nady and Marte in one package most assuredly required a pretty decent package of players. Further, where are they going to play Nady? Left?

I think it is great that this site is able to put all the pieces together and yet the big guy network cant get anything on the frontpage.

Good work Tim and everyone else.

If its Ohlendorf the Yankees just got a gift. God, I hate being a Pirates fan.

"Further, where are they going to play Nady? Left?"

Nady will probably play Left, 1st Base, and DH.

Ohlendorf, Coke, and more is being reported.

Looks like the Yanks might steal this.

"I think it is great that this site is able to put all the pieces together and yet the big guy network cant get anything on the frontpage.

Good work Tim and everyone else."

I agree. This is a great site they've put together.

I'm hearing possibly Tabata. If Tabata's included, Pirates won. If no Tabata, Yankees won.

The Yankees have given up Jose Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf and two minor league prospects.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/07/25/pirates.yanks.trade/index.html

The Yankees are on the verge of acquiring outfielder Xavier Nady and left-hander Damaso Marte from the Pirates, according to major-league sources.

The deal is pending a review of medical records, sources say. The Pirates will receive a package of four minor-league players, expected to be Class AAA right-hander Ross Ohlendorf, Class AA right-handers Phil Coke and George Kontos and Class AA outfielder Jose Tabata.

I am NOT liking this trade if these rumors are true.

Ohlendorf, a middle reliever?

Coke, who BP is saying is the the Yankees #24th best pitching prospect? A soft-tossing Lefty?

We need ANOTHER soft-tossing lefty?

This looks terrible so far.

of course they will ... its the freaking pirates.

Huntington = Littlefield 2.0 if this deal is true.

"I'm hearing possibly Tabata. If Tabata's included, Pirates won. If no Tabata, Yankees won."

Yankees still win. 2+ months of Nady and Marte, along with 4 first (or second round) picks.

I am NOT liking this trade if these rumors are true.

Ohlendorf, a middle reliever?

Coke, who BP is saying is the the Yankees #24th best pitching prospect? A soft-tossing Lefty?

We need ANOTHER soft-tossing lefty?

This looks terrible so far.

Im thinking its Ohlendorf, Coke, and someone, not named Melky and Garnder. Reasoning, their in the lineup tonight.

Its not just two months... do a little research. Marte has an option for next year and Nady has one more year of arb.

These guys are not rentals so this is an AWFUL deal for Pittsburgh.

When will they make the deal offical. I know ther're waiting for medical results, but how long does that usually take?

Anyone?

This is probably the worst thing that could have happened. Marte with a cheap option next year and I think was probably gone but still would have entertained the idea of staying. I have to concur with the soft tossing lefty comment. Its a say day in Pittsburgh

Ohlendorf, Kantos, Coke and Tabata

Is Tabata still that highly regarded?

We can't even pull an Ian Kennedy in this deal??

"Is Tabata still that highly regarded?"

Slow year, but he is only 19 despite being in his 4th year of minor league experience. Actually profiles similarly to McLouth and will probably add power once he fills out.

Newark Star Ledger is rumoring that 4th player is Ian Kennedy, not Kantos

**** this trade. thats why we will always be the pirates!! we couldnt even get any legit prospects?????

"Newark Star Ledger is rumoring that 4th player is Ian Kennedy, not Kantos"

If they pulled Kennedy along with the other 3, this deal is a coup for the Pirates. Kontos himself has some nice upside, but Kennedy can help them right now.

Jose Tabata - Double A Trenton
.248 AVG, 3 HR, 36 RBI, 10 SB 79 Games

Ross Ohlendorf - Triple A Scranton
4.03 ERA, 1-1, 22.1 IP, 25 SO

Phil Coke - Double A Trenton
2.60 ERA, 9-6, 114.1 IP, 109 SO

George Kontos - Double A Trenton
3.77 ERA, 3-9, 107.1 IP, 103 SO

if i hear there's cash coming to Pittsburgh in this deal i swear to god i'm going to self-immolate in front of the Stargell statue.

I am not seeing Kennedy in the Star-Ledger report...

http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2008/07/new_york_yankees_to_acquire_pi.html

V, is right, if Tabata is in on the deal then the Pirates win, if not the Yankees win. Tabata may have injury problems but he's gonna be a star.

Huntingdon...Littlefield...Coonelly...Bonifay...is there a difference?? Doesn't look like it. I've been to 12 bucco games this year, was planning on going tuesday and wednesday, but this really frustrates me.

I have to say, if it's the four guys named in the post I am not impressed with the return. Would've passed on Tabata and hunted for a high probability young pitcher. Someone had to be offering one.

Since Brignac isn't in the lineup for Durham, maybe this is signaling a Rays Trade as well. Maybe for Street? I don't know, I'm almost positive more people will be moved tonight though.

Again, don't assume Kennedy is included until you see a link to an article from a solid journalist. Don't have that at present.

It was in there when i posted link -- must've changed it.

Anyone want to take a guess if the Pirates hurt themselves by asking too much from other teams and driving out a lot of the competition for their guys? I can't imagine anyone complaining if this was all it took to get both Nady and Marte. I have no idea if that's the case, but it certainly seems like a possibility.

I also had to laugh at the return the Pirates got on both Nady and Marte after the proposed deal ChicagoBucco was laying out last night...seriously, the Braves top 2 pitching prospects and two other good pitching prospects for Nady, when in reality they couldn't net nearly as much from both Nady and Marte.

Personally, I love this trade. Tabata hasn't really performed well lately. Sure, he's 19 years old, but I'd rather have Nady and Marte for at least this year and next.

we needed a legit pitcher (kennedy), not guys with 'upside'. we always trade for upside, and these guys could/should be good, but they are NOT worth nady/marte and the draft picks they may bring. congratulations NY on making 'the real deal neil' your bitch. END OF STORY.

"Again, don't assume Kennedy is included until you see a link to an article from a solid journalist. Don't have that at present."

The Pirates website mentions Ohlendorf/Coke/Tabata/Kontos. Then again, I don't consider Rosenthal a solid journalist ;-)

"Its not just two months... do a little research. Marte has an option for next year and Nady has one more year of arb.

These guys are not rentals so this is an AWFUL deal for Pittsburgh."

$6M is WAY too much to pay for 1 year of a reliever. He'll be offered arbitration, and the Yanks'll take the two picks.

And Tim - TYPEKEY SUCKS! Every time I post, two-three posts work, then I get locked out with errors until I sign out and back in.

What, no Kei Igawa? Maybe the Pirates didn't do so badly after all. At least, that's what I'll tell myself...

I don't think the Yankees are planning on dealing Kennedy before the deadline. They've had several chances to do so.

Yankees operate on a different budgeting system than most teams. Considering $5MM Farnsworth is coming off the books, $6MM Marte isn't that bad of an option.

Great trade for the Yankees. Don't understand the Pirates' point of view. I think they'd get a better set of players if they waited on the draft picks for Nady and Marte.

This trade lives and dies with Tabata because the other stuff is filler.

The only problem is Yankees always overhype and overvalue their prospects. That's why they always have to buy/trade for the Giambi's and A-Rod's..their farm system isn't actually that great at developing talent.

So, yeah, the fact we got "FUTURE SUPERSTAR!!! Top 3 Yankee prospect!" Tabata isn't as good as it seems to me.

Hope I'm wrong but this is a depressing day in Buccoland.

You really think scouts base their assessments off what the Yankees tell them to say? Maybe 20 years ago, not anymore. He's a projectable teenager; some pan out and some don't. We shall see.

Well looks like .500 is definatley out of reach for the rest of the decade...in happier news the real pittsburgh team reports in 2 days...thank god there is a light at the end of the tunnel till at least Feb.

"Hope I'm wrong but this is a depressing day in Buccoland."

You say depressing, but it's not like the Pirates were doing good with Nady and Marte. So it's not like they can get any worse.

I know they got the lesser end of the deal, but at least you got some players who might be able to help in the future.

The Yankees filled two holes without giving up Hughes, Kennedy, Austin Jackson, or Jesus Montero. That's a good trade for them. Tabata's stock has dropped dramatically this year, and while he's an interesting buy-low guy, this doesn't mesh with reports that the Pirates were expecting a ton in return for Nady.

I thought the Pirates' asking price for their players were really high.

And yet the Yankees of all teams manage to not give up that much for both Marte and Nady? Blah.

This is me sitting in a bath tub slitting my wrists...if this is any indication of NH's skills we are in for another 15 years of sucking

Any news on the Rays' Brignac???

another case of a team sitting down and giving up their a list players for trash from the yankees. tabata is all potential and ohlendorf sucks yet you give up your right field hitting .330 and your closer.

Give the trade time to pan out.

That said, it is hard to see how this trade equates to a corner being turned for the Bucs.

i agree... just give it time. any trade with prospects is not a sure thing. 2 years from now all 4 guys could be very good major leaguers or highly ranked prospects and we'll be saying what a great deal NH made. or they could all bust. who knows. this deal will not make or break NH, both nady and marte were not part of the pirates future. now trading bay for a poor return would break NH.

Whoa there CSIZZL3. Nady isn't A-List. Nady is a marginal starting corner player having a career year. Bay is A-List. Nady is a sell-high guy.

BuccoBrigade- agreed on the Bay comment. And Go Bucs. Down 6-4 in the 8th...but this year has been all about the 9th inning comeback, so we've got'em right where we want'em.

Side note- as for the closer of the Pirates- I don't see Grabow assuming that role- he's the default setup guy. My guess is Tyler Yates or Russell will go to whomever he feels most comfortable that night.

so much for huntington asking too much....but then again, he might have simply overplayed his hand and could no longer get the return he was hoping for or anything near it. as tim said, i would have liked to see them go after a pitcher with good upside. and certainly they could have gotten a better return elsewhere. not a good night for pirates fans. btw, yates has the stuff to close, but he has a history of control issues as i'm sure pirates fans have witnessed. he will likely get a shot.

New Yankee Lineup

Damon-DH
Jeter-SS
Abreu-RF
A-Rod-3B
Giambi-1B
Nady-LF
Cano-2B
Cabrera-CF (should consider trading)
Molina-C (should bring in someone else)

rays have to respond

street/murton for brignace + 3 prospets is the deal to make

everyone compare the pre 08 nady to murton...stats are not much different

Actually, Yankees should keep Melky. Moving him could make Cano unhappy.

But they do need to find a catcher.

Good call arly. The Rays need to make a move to prove that they are now buyers and not sellers, and that they are in it to win it ALL.

You guys need to quit your whining! I am a huge Bucs fan, and I think you guys are completely over valuing Nady and Marte. This is the first really good season he has had in his first 5 seasons! Marte has been excellent for us, but he is a reliever after all. As far as Ian Kennedy goes, if the Twins couldn't net him for Santana then you can't realistically think you are going to get him for Nady and Marte! This is actually a very good trade I think. The number 3 and 9 prospects plus 2 rising pitchers is a good haul. By the way, Ohlendorf is not a middle reliever he is a starter with a 97 MPH sinker. Plus you guys need to look at the stats for both Coke and Kontos. They are pitching outstanding with almost 1K per inning. Again, I think Huntington did a fine job here.

Whoa, I'm shocked, I knew it was goin to happen but i was possitive Kenedy was goin to get traded.

Too bad, i liked Ross but the Yanks had to give him up. Dont worry Bucs fans Ross wil be solid and Tabata will turn out okay.

As a yankee fan I'll be the first to say this guarantees the Yankees NOTHING. I'm not saying there definently goin to the playoffs now just cause they got a few guys. alot could happen in 80 days. They need there whole offense to start going.

By the way, Kontos and Coke have very good numbers. Coke is 26 though but George "The GreeK" is 23.

One question I have is why an outfielder? Tabata is good, but they have their outfield set with Bay/McCutcheon/McLouth. Perhaps they see Tabata as Bay's long term replacement?

"Molina-C (should bring in someone else)"

Molina is fine. With the staff they have, they need a guy who handles pitchers well, and Molina's bat control makes him valuable in the 9 slot.

Well said pen76.

"Molina is fine. With the staff they have, they need a guy who handles pitchers well, and Molina's bat control makes him valuable in the 9 slot."

I know he is a great catcher, from a defencive stand point. And i have nothing against him. He makes a great backup catcher, and has nothing to give on offence.

He's only batting .219 in 183 AB's with just 11 RBI's.

Ohlendorf has great stuff, but i don't know what his problem was.. Maybe he'll end up like Edwin Jackson - incredible stuff, just never became that shut down pitcher he could be...

Molina's is very valued because of his defense.. That guy is VERY solid behind the plate. With all the offense we SHOULD have, I can deal with a great defensive catcher... that hits in the mid 200's

Also agree on Ohlendorf. Yankees probably didn't have the ability to develop him in the rotation but he could very possibly slot in as a nice #4 or a good bullpen guy. Good arm and a real good sinker.

(And by "ability", I meant the time and games to risk, not acumen)

You can't judge Ohlendorf by reading a scouting report on Wikipedia. He doesn't work at 97, he hits 97 once in a blue moon and he can't maintain his velocity as a starter. He 's going to be a reliever at the major league level...possibly a set up man, more likely a middle reliever.

Kontos and Coke are dime a dozen guys, C or D level prospects. They probably each have about a 5-10% chance of doing anything of note at the major league level...they are most likely cup of coffee guys.

Tabata probably winds up becoming a fourth outfielder. He's an overhyped, lazy headcase that tried to quit baseball a few months ago. He has an exceptionally high bust factor.

WHy would the Yankees want to find a catcher to start ahead of Molina?

Check the team ERA since he started full time behind the dish.

With the acquisition of Tabata I think you can definitely assume that Bay will be traded by next Thursday or at least before next spring. On the other hand, Huntington is trying to add depth to the Farm and may use him as trade bait in the event they sign Bay to an extension. Tabata has been one of the most inquired about players in the Yankees farm system after all.

So negative CBZ. LOL

Those guys arent as bad as you're saying.

HOOOOOOOOOOORRIBLE TRADE for the Pirates (sorry to channel the Bill Walton there).

3 crap pitchers, a toolsy OF we didn't need (with attitude problems as a bonus) for Nady and Marte?

Huntington is just as awful as Littlefield. This has Nutting written all over it. Dump contracts, buy another yacht/mansion/car. Pay back the Yankees for all the revenue sharing money the Pirates have received over the years.

Terrible, terrible, terrible.

Steeler training camp starts in less than 48 hours. Pirates are doomed again.

If I had the guts to do it, I'd fly to Pittsburgh and shoot Nutting, Huntington, and Coonelly in the head. Just awful. Losing season #16 in a row guaranteed, with seasons 17-20 likely guaranteed as well.

You're welcome, Yankee fans.

I would like to congratulate Huntington for going for the only record he could possibly grasp this year by guaranteeing the Pirates and solidifying them as the worst team ever after this year and seasons to come. So much for hope - we trade for prospects that have "Littlefield scouting department" written all over them. I hope at least the Yankees offered to pay Huntington's salary for the rest of the year and gave him a big foam finger and some pinstripes to wear. I understand the need to build up a weak minor league system - but you can't expect to win when you put more AAAA ball players into the system. The worst part is Tabata is struggling and plays CF - if there is one place the Pirates have some depth it is in the outfield and at CF - Duffy - McCutcheon (Other OF Pearce - maybe Walker if Alavarez signs). Thank you Yankees for your version of our Bullington's, Burnett's, and Van Bentenschoten's.

If their is any hope left for the Pirates it rests on signing and a heathly #2 pick Tanner Scheppers, and them deciding to up the offer and grab #5 Wilson to upgrade the minor leagues

All I have to say is go RAYS!!! and GO RED SOX!!!

"3 crap pitchers"

I don't think that is fair. Everyone of those guys has the potential to be a 2-4 starter.

Will someone please drive over to PNC Park and yank Huntington's phone out of the wall? Confiscate his cell phone while you're at it.

Horrible trade, and a horrible precedent being set by NH (we want top prospects, we'll hold on to these guys and take the picks... oh hell, we'll take a 6 pack of Iron City and a Primanti's sub).

Craig Wilson brought a better return.

Here we go Steelers, Here we go!

Why is everyon blaming the Yankees. It's not they're fault Huntington is a horrible negotiator.

And anyways, it's not like you were going any where with Nady and Marte there.

Now Boston fans will start crying and whining again for the first time since 2004, even though there is no reason to.

A’s closer Street to Dodgers?
A new rumor regarding A’s closer Huston Street seems to surface daily, and Friday’s speculation du jour, courtesy of a scout working Oakland’s game against the visiting Rangers, had the A’s sending Street to the Dodgers for third baseman Andy LaRoche “and change.” LaRoche

http://trades.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/07/as_closer_street_to_dodgers.html

Am I missing something? From the sound of the whining Pittsburgh fans, it's like the Yankees landed Bay+Marte.

Nady is nothing special. He fills a need for the Yankees, but there's no way the Pirates were getting a Tabata level talent elsewhere.

"A new rumor regarding A’s closer Huston Street seems to surface daily, and Friday’s speculation du jour, courtesy of a scout working Oakland’s game against the visiting Rangers, had the A’s sending Street to the Dodgers for third baseman Andy LaRoche “and change.”"

Ugh. LaRoche is overpaying, albeit slightly, for Street. Adding "change" makes the deal worse, unless they are sending over someone really unlikely to be anything but a minor league filler. Further, if the Dodgers do pick up Street, I hope he sets up Broxton, not the other way around.

"The only problem is Yankees always overhype and overvalue their prospects. That's why they always have to buy/trade for the Giambi's and A-Rod's..their farm system isn't actually that great at developing talent."

with all due respect, Yankees can hype their prospects all they want, GMs are not stupid. Kontos and coke are performing very well in the Eastern League, and Jose wast starting to hit more for average (.348) in the last 10 games before the quad? injury. and

Olhendorf can be MR and A SP. Arizona tried him as both too; has 4 or more pitches; 5 if you include 4 seam. Jose makes or breaks this deal. Pirates maybe could have gotten more, but he didn't; live with it

"I also had to laugh at the return the Pirates got on both Nady and Marte after the proposed deal ChicagoBucco was laying out last night"

Hell yeah. I love it. This Chicagobucco guy was going around putting down everybody elses team as if the Pirates are some model franchise. Time for him to eat crow.

Because we all love Baseball and we love our teams our first reaction is to either be insanely upset or insanely happy about a trade... History shows that most trades never work out the way we think... usually the guys everyone thinks are great are never that great and the guys we think are crap turn out to be good sometimes really really good so there is hope here for both teams... from my initial reaction I'd say the yankees did really well ... well enough that I feel bad for the pirates fans who lvoe their team... I hope that the deal works out for both teams... especially since the Pirates aren't in my teams division... i also hope that the Pirates can rebuild themselves into the team they once were... the only way for them to do that is by going after young talent and hoping, praying that one of them is in some way distantly related to a guy named Clemente...Go Yankees ...Go Pirates.

V,

People are railing on the trade because:

1. Two out of the three pitchers in the deal project as relievers, not starters. When you're as far out of contention as the Pirates have been, relievers serve a mop-up function and little else.
2. Coke is 26, and Ohlendorf will be very soon.
3. Only Kontos has a career minor-league WHIP under 1.25.
4. Tabata has shown up to camp overweight, had multiple disciplinary issues, is coming off wrist surgery with obvious lingering effects, and has not had success at any level. He's young, but he's all upside (plus the baggage).

In short, the Pirates didn't pick up a single can't-miss prospect even though they surrendered two independently coveted players in a year when there are a lot of teams in contention and looking to upgrade.

Meanwhile, the Yankees get Marte and Nady (an above-average hitter even before this year) through the 2009 season, if they so choose. If all goes well, they may even get draft picks out of it.

I think the problem with the deal as some people have stated, if this is the package why not just hold onto them? I mean Marte and Nady are both Potential type A free agents. Thats 2 first rounders and 2 1.5 picks as well.

I find it hard to believe that even with 1 type A and 1 Type B you couldn't draft a better package.

As a Pirates fan, I'm not blaming the Yankees in any way for this mess. They made a great trade and Brian Cashman deserves a contract extension for spinning nothing into 2 viable players who fill 2 big needs (RH bat, LH relief).

The Pirates are just being, well, the Pirates again. Now when they don't sign Pedro Alvarez and Tanner Scheppers it will only guarantee another 15 years of misery. And you know they won't, because Bob Nutting won't spend money. We all hoped NH would be a good GM, but he's either A) an idiot or B) under orders to cut salary (a la the A-Ram trade in '03). Actually, he's probably both.

Ohlendorf is not going to make it as a starter. Coke should be in AAA but can't even get there. Kontos might turn out OK, but he could easily flame out. And Tabata is a mess right now, another overrated player from Venezuela with "great tools" and absolutely no clue how to use them.

And what do the Pirates have too many of already? Oh, right, OUTFIELDERS.

T-minus 36 hours till the Steelers start and we all forget about the Pirates for another year...

Sorry to the few Pirates fans out there, but you got RIPPED in this deal.

cjax, dbacks fan? keep in mind, jose got to AA on his hitting tool alone; has an above average mlb arm, has lost some speed through his teenager years; (in Tampa, FL) seems the hamate surgery set him back in the power department; def a prospect, still.

Now the Yanks have to make a deal for a starter. I know Washburn is the front runner right now, but the Yanks should'nt be forced to give up too much for him. There is a lot more in the market and shouldn't just be focused on Washburn.

Any thought of who they could get?

From what I have been hearing, Ohlendorf was the key piece for NH. Tabata is 1a.

Ross has the potential to be a bottom of the rotation starter for most clubs...let alone the Pirates. He doesnt have much service time on his arm for being 26 yrs old. The guy has the stuff to be a starter in the bigs.

Lets evaluate what the Pirates got rid of:

1) An injury prone Xavier Nady whom has NEVER hit more than 20 HR's in one season. And is having a breakout yr in part because of the offensive ability that has surrended him in the pirates lineup. (In 2-3 yrs their is a very good chance that Tabata will be putting up similar numbers.) I for one dont have superstar expectations out of Tabata.

2) Damaso Marte, who is, well...lights out.
He is a bigger loss to the club than Nady. (With McCutcheon or Pearce in waiting) But he did have a 6 mill option that would have limited NH's ability to pickup
1-2 Free Agents. (Assuming Marte accepted the offering at arbitration.)

All in all, the pirates could have gotten more due to the interest for both players. But, I seem to think we landed 1 above average SP, 1 above average future bullpen guy, 1 organizational pitcher, and 1 big question mark in Tabata.

The smart thing to do is sit back, be patient, and see how things pan out.

I feel we are still moving in the right direction to get the franchise in order.

But if he is smart, he should NOT try and move Bay...the few fans remaining would most likely lose their minds.

This draft pick talk is driving me crazy.

Nady is not FA eligible until the end of next year. No draft picks for Nady in this off-season. He is far from being a slam dunk type A either. This year he has been money but if he reverts to his career norm or experiences reduced playing time in 09 then the odds increase that he will be a Type B.

I couldn't find a source on club options BUT I am fairly certain that this is how it works with Martes situation. Marte has a club option for 2009. If the Yankees choose to NOT exercise that option they will void any compensation that would have been awarded based off Marte's Elias rankings.

If that's the case then the Yanks would receive zero draft picks in this off-season for either player. Faced with that potential situation it would make sense for the Yanks to pay Marte in 09 his $6m and then let him walk to reap the picks.

Not a fan of either club. Just don't see this as lopsided as other fans.

Nady is a fringe 3rd outfielder. You can count on an OPS near 800. Not horrible, but nothing special either. This year he has played way over his head. The Yanks can hope that he continues the recent trend. I wouldn't bet on it. Moving from the NL Central over to the AL East is going to sting a bit.

Also, I'm not sure where they are going to play the guy. Between the OF, 1B and DH they have:

Giambi
Posada
Damon
Abreu
Cabrera
Matsui
Sexson
Gardner

Add in Nady and you now have 9 players for 5 spots. I know that Gardner and Sexson can easily be dropped and reassigned. You also don't know what you will get from Posada and Matsui. Still, this just doesn't seem to be a glaring weakness - especially to have it filled by a LA player.

Marte, on the otherhand, does fill a nice whole with the Yankees. With Joba in the rotation now the Yanks do have a need for a solid set-up guy. Great fit there.

It's hard to be down on Tabata. Writing off a kid with his tools who is only 19 seems a little premature. The others have some upside but are hardly impressive. They most likely didn't have a future in NY but could help out a cost conscience Pirates team.

All in all this was a good trade for both teams. Pirates fans are just a little tweaked because the rumors for Nady and Marte sounded so promising.

Dempsey is totally right.

There is so much over-reaction to this. The Pirates are not the best run organization in baseball. Agreed. But don't put the dagger in them over this trade.

They get rid of salary, for one. I don't think they are going to be big players in the free agent market, but this could allow them to lock up Malholm, McLouth and Doumit longterm.

They open up roster spots, for another. Steven Pearce is not "the answer", but deserves a chance to make a play for the RF job going forward. This gives them an opportunity to evaluate younger players against MLB pitching before the roster becomes crowded with the September callups.

They cash in on a career year. I think people forget that Nady is just a couple months from his 30th birthday, and that he has never displayed the 30+ HR power projected for him as a stud prospect in San Diego. His speed is gone, too, and he's no better than above-average in the field.

Let's just sober up a bit and remember that Tabata is still shy of 20 years old and already playing in Double-A. His ceiling is no lower than it was 4 years ago, despite injuries. There is no way the Pirates get a guy like this from anyone else in exchange for Nady.

Marte has value for sure. But his value is a lot greater for the Yankees than for the Pirates. What good is a top bullpen guy if your starter gives up 7 runs? The Rauch trade did nothing to help in this regard either. At least the Pirates walk away with more than a mid-tier second baseman with only one skill.

The Yankees get help for the stretch run, bullpen depth, and a morale boost for adding a piece now. The Pirates get a potential future star, 1 or 2 decent arms, and a lot of flexibility.

Can we please just call it "even"? (I don't like even, or win/loss language when evaluating trades because of the infinite number of variables, but ... whatever.)

"Also, I'm not sure where they are going to play the guy. Between the OF, 1B and DH they have:

Giambi
Posada
Damon
Abreu
Cabrera
Matsui
Sexson
Gardner

Add in Nady and you now have 9 players for 5 spots. I know that Gardner and Sexson can easily be dropped and reassigned. You also don't know what you will get from Posada and Matsui. Still, this just doesn't seem to be a glaring weakness - especially to have it filled by a LA player."

I think this trade is the Yankees admitting that Matsui's done for the season. Nady gets LF for 2008, Damon DH's (his shoulder is not great, and let's face it, he's nothing special defensively).

Posada's also out for the year.

In 2009, either Abreu or Nady's gone.

Not too impressed by the players the Pirates got. Marte will probably end up netting two draft picks at the end of the year.

In an armchair Gm league, I had Colon on this team. Does anybody think this would have been a realistic trade to Boston:

Damaso Marte
Bartolo Colon

to Boston
for

Daniel Bard
Josh Reddick
Charlie Zink

Keep in mind, in this scenario the Red Sox don't have Colon and Marte is a good bet to net a top draft pick next June. I think that is realistic and would have been a better trade for the Pirates. Of course, in that league I also draft Porcello instead of Moskos and traded for Dellin Betances earlier, so my starting pitching prospect tree isn't as barren as the real Pirates system.

Thoughts?

"Damaso Marte
Bartolo Colon

to Boston
for

Daniel Bard
Josh Reddick
Charlie Zink"

I think the Red Sox have begun to like Reddick too much to move him for a rental reliever and a injured older Colon.

I could see Bard, Zink and Brandon Moss though, but I think that Reddick is too good of a prospect now.

Oh, oops. Nevermind.

Still, I think Bard/Zink for Marte would have been enough since Marte will net some top draft picks come next June.

This trade reminds me a bit of the trade the Yankees made a few years back when they stole Bobby Abreu from the Phillies.

I'm not saying that Tabata won't be a good player, but I think he's far too unproven to be the centerpiece of a deal where, in my opinion, the Pirates could have gotten more. In the Abreu trade, C.J. Henry was the centerpiece based on his tremendous upside and how did that work out for the Phils?

I don't know guys. Does the league switch mean that Xavier Nady reverts back to the real Xavier Nady? The old Nady is a pretty unspectacular player. Marte, I like, but this deal just doesn't look as lop-sided as it's being portrayed, at least in the long term which is where the Pirates F.O. heads are at.

Kennedy / Ajax / Montero

2 of these three guys are most likely gong to go in the trade with Seattle whent they geet the details of the trade worked out .

Local sportstalk this morning in Ohio said even though the Yankees made the trade with the Pirates that rumors are they are still about to pick up Washburn and Ibanez even with just picking up Nady.

Rumors are thought to be that the Yankes would send Kennedy / Montero / Gardner and 1 lower A Ball Pitcher. For the pair.

Looks like the Yankees are loading up not only for this year but next also .

If the Yankee fail to get CC in the off season I'm sure they will be hot and heavy after Sheets and Burnett.

CC is building a hugh home in southern california right now so it looks like he's heeded to the West Coast.

But the yankees starters even next year is pretty much set in stone .

Wang
Free Agent ( Sheets most likely )
Burnett ( Is a most likely signing )
Joba
Hughes - Washburn

They should be able to get Sheets and Burnett for about the same money it would take to get CC .

Can you say World Series in 09 . with nearly 80 + mil freed up to sign guys and the players available make the odds very good for 09 .

And they could even use a spare parts like Rasner and Melkey if Ajax shows he's ready in spring , to fill any needs you see by way of a trade in Spring Training .

Giambi gone and Matsui getting up there and injuried often maybe move Matsui by way of trade in the offseason
let Giambi go by way of Free Agency and if Boston doesn't pick up Manny's option and everybody knows they won't . Then the Yankees bring Manny into the fold. To DH for the rest of his career were he can focus on hitting only .

This way a couple of get Manny years and suddenly he is aproaching the HR record as a yankee.

One thing you guys haven't mentioned is: what if Matsui can't come back? He'll be 35 next year with 2 knee surgeries back to back -- that's rough to come back from.

Next year also; they won't have Sexson and they were talking about dropping Giambi's option to resign him at a lower rate. It's possible you see Nady or Damon/Melky or Garnder/Abreu in LF/CF/RF.. Along with a DH rotation like they were doing this year:

Posada: C, 1B, DH
Nady: playing LF/1B/DH
Giambi: 1B/DH
Damon: LF/DH
Matsui: Retired/LF/DH

This way Girardi gets to keep the old guys nice and rested for the year... Matsui hasn't proved to be someone we can count on to be healthy the last 3 years, Johnny and Nady can use the days off and Posada is an older catcher.

I think this could work fine. I for one hope Abreu stays in NY; when he's hitting he is great in front of Arod...

I don't know why we would need Ibanez, except to try to flip him to another team. But, I don't think a trade for Kennedy, Gardner and 2 other prospects is worth Washburn/Ibanez. Kennedy I still think is going to be a great pitcher in the majors once he remembers how to attack the strike zone in Yankee stadium. And I think we need Gardner for the speed threat; and I think he's going to develop into a strong hitter.. If he hits 280-300 and steals 50 bases a year - i'd be happy with him; better then what Melky is doin...

Whoever said the Yankees are trading Kennedy/Montero/Gardner + 1 for the crap pile that is Ibanez and Washburn are dreaming.

The Yankees aren't giving up anything for Washburn. It's a salary dump, and if Seattle doesn't want to free up cash, that's up to them. No way in hell were the Yankees offering Kei and Melky unless Seattle were not only taking on Igawa's entire contract, but also picking up a hefty portion of Washburn's contract as well.

I can't believe people actually believe the Yankees are going to give up Kennedy and Montero, two of their top five prospects, for utter crap.

"I couldn't find a source on club options BUT I am fairly certain that this is how it works with Martes situation. Marte has a club option for 2009. If the Yankees choose to NOT exercise that option they will void any compensation that would have been awarded based off Marte's Elias rankings."

Joel Sherman and SI are reporting that Karstens and McCutchen are rounding out the Nady/Marte deal (in place of Coke and Kontos)?

http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/yankees/

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/07/25/pirates.yanks.trade/index.html?eref=T1

I didn't read all 150 or so posts to see if this was mentioned or not but reading some message boards this morning, some people are saying other media outlets are reporting different prospects going to the Pirates. Someone said on Sickels' site that the NY Post and WFAN both reported that Daniel McCutchen and Jeff Karstens are being sent to Pittsburgh in this deal, not Coke and Kontos.

Anyone who updates the site hear anything like that?

Beat me to it! :p

We don't even know if Burnett will opt out of his contract let alone put him in a Yankee uniform already.

http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/yankees/archives/2008/07/mccutchen_and_k.html#more

There's your link to McCutchen and Karstens instead of Coke and Karstens. I still like this trade a whole hell of a lot for New York; Karstens and McCutchen are both 26 already and Karstens has had poor results in the bigs so far (and McCutchen has the steroid stigma).

Instead of Washburn, has anyone heard about Padilla?

I know he's another righty... but he isn't to bad himself.. Vicente strikes out more guys, better ERA and has given up more then 3 runs in 6 of 20 starts vs Washburns 5 in 20 starts... and he has averaged 6 innings a start vs Washburns 5 1/2... without much difference in $$...

Love the acquisition of Nady! ... not so hot on Marte when the bullpen is firing on all cylinders without him (and I want to see more Ramirez). Sad to see Ohlendorf go ... his power sinker will net 10+ wins for someone for 6 to 8 years.

Switching gears, I think casper was talking about Abreu's spot in the order ... Wouldn't you rather have Robbie hitting 3rd? The pitches he would see in front of A-Rod!!! Who cares if he never walks, he'll bat .400!

PS - Isn't Washburn a Yankee killer? How have other Yankee-killer acquisitions done when they've gotten them?

Ross-

I only want Cano hitting in front of Arod during the 2nd half of the season...

freakin guy!!!!! I wanna kill em sometimes!

This second half stuff is not going past this year. I think Cano will get a regiment to train in different climates during the offseason. He's too good to slump so long.