Heyman's Latest: Epstein, Cano, Hudson

A Cano for Jonathan Sanchez deal has been mentioned prior. Could the rumor re-kindle?

Ya know, i actually started to think A-Rod had a pair and respected, but Boras a good guy??? He's the biggest d-bag in sport, accept maybe Barry.

Cano is worth way more Jonathan Sanchez. The guy will be 26 next season, and in his only season as a starter he's posted a 4.47 ERA, although his peripherals indicate he's pitched better. But the fact of the matter is that before this season, Cano looked like he was going to become a monster, a (very) high batting average hitter who could slap doubles all over place as well as have 25-30 homer potential, all from a middle infielder. He was one of the best 2B in baseball the past two seasons at ages 23 and 24. Now this year he's fallen off a lot, but there are no reports of diminishing ability, and he seems to be fully capable of bouncing back. The Yankees would likely want either another quality minor league arm (Henry Sosa?) or like Fred Lewis, and I just don't quite think it makes sense for the Giants. Not with Kevin Frandsen coming back from injury next season, as well as other options like Eugenio Velez, Emmanuell Burriss and maybe later Nick Noonan.

I think the Giants are more likely to go after a Mike Jacobs kind of bat that should charge some power into their lineup but won't cost them any top young players.

I still like the Dodgers going after him, a core of Kemp/Cano/Ethier/Martin/Loney could be scary. A guy with his kind of ability would get looks from any team with a second base vacancy though.

Pirates need to go after Cano I don't know how many times I have said this in other topics. He is a perfect fit for them.

On another note: Peter Gammons just said that Matt Cain may be able to net the Giants Prince Fielder AND J.J Hardy. That seems a bit much...

If the Brewers trade Fielder AND Hardy for Cain fans will burn down miller park.

Not even close to enough. Why would the Yankees want a SS? Especially one that can't hit. Also, Paul has minimal power and Ellis is a 27 year old catcher (although he actually could be a decent catcher.)

The Dodgers don't get Cano without at least one of Kemp or Ethier.

"I think Cano is worth something like Hu + Elbert or Xavier Paul (why is this guy constantly overlooked?) + A.J. Ellis"

The dodgers accept

"The Dodgers double accept. Hu has proven he's not too good with the bat, and some solid pitching prospects are nothing special. I think people forget that Cano was a guy that some people thought could be a .330 BA, 30 homer hitter before this season."

1) Cano is not Albert Pujols, or even Jeff Kent circa 2000; 2) Those trades both address needs the Yankees have (Hu can play second or they can move Jeter over there) and offer a fair talent exchange; 3) As for Hu, he hasn't proved anything other than that he was rushed out of necessity.

Remember that Hu hit very well in the minors last year, even showing rather significant power for his position (14 HR, 40 2B, .507 SLG). Also, when he went back down this year, he hit at a .295 clip, despite spending some time injured. I'm not saying he will be a masher, but I don't think a .275/.350/.400 line is out of his reach either. Also, his glove is of the game changing variety, which certainly makes up for some of the hitting growing pains.

That said, the Yankees have a real need at catcher and in the outfield, so why not give a chance to 2 Dodger prospects who are hopelessly blocked? Ellis probably won't hit like he has at AAA in the majors, but he has shown the ability to put up a consistent OBP of .350 and play good defense. Paul is a power/speed threat with a huge arm (was voted better than Matt Kemp's for frame of reference) who could probably step right in for a traded Cabrera.

"I just don't think you're realistically thinking about Cano's value. I just think the Yankees could get WAY more than a Hu/Ellis/Paul package."

I disagree. Cano isn't worth a Kemp or Ethier and I think you under value the guys I mentioned, especially based on the needs the Yankees have. Perhaps there are teams stupid enough to trade more for Cano, but the Dodgers shouldn't be one of them.

AA- Hu put up those numbers at arguably the minor's BEST hitting home park. Las Vegas tends to inflate numbers of hitters. Just a note.

I never said that Cano was worth Ethier or Kemp. Ethier probably won't ever play much better than he has this year, but he should be able to duplicate it and he's been great this year. I would never even consider moving Kemp for Cano. I never said that.

What I did say is that some other team would almost assuredly offer more than the package you brought up. I probably should have clarified that I meant the Yanks could get WAY more on the market from a different team. They could not get much more from the Dodgers, as their core of young players is already a group of players superior to Cano. Ethier/Kemp/Martin/Loney is an awesome core. No way you break that up unless its a lopsided deal and those aren't so easy to come by.

"Ethier probably won't ever play much better than he has this year, but he should be able to duplicate it and he's been great this year."

If Ethier duplicates a .880 OPS for the next 7-8 years, along with his defensive ability, I think Dodger fans can "settle" for essentially a left-handed Carl Furillo with more power.

"damnit typekey."

I'm with you there.

"What I did say is that some other team would almost assuredly offer more than the package you brought up."

The question is, would that package actually be worth more, especially if it involved the unknowns of young pitching prospects, and given the Yankees' needs. I agree with you that Cano probably brings higher rated prospects than I said, but that would have to be the deal the Dodgers set out for things to make any sense.

How about Cano and Hughes for Ethier and Hu? Or something to that effect... Put Dewitt at 3rd and re-sign Furcal and Manny and the Dodgers still have a hell of a team.

any deal for cano right now would probably work out for the receiving team because you would be buying low after this off year (maybe because he played way more last year than previous years and he got off to a terrible start this season). I would definitely do sanchez for cano as a giants fan and then go sign a decent pitcher for a couple of years to have while the great looking young talent comes along (bumgarner, alderson, etc). A well above average hitting second baseman fits for them because velez and frandsen couldnt handle an entire year and burris will be at short. Meanwhile obviously the yankees could use a good young left handed arm that strikes people out every time he takes the mound.

I would trade Cano for Kemp and Loney.

The Dodgers probably wouldn't trade even one of those guys for Cano. Maybe Loney, just maybe.

TruDru, Cano is only overpaid if you consider this season the norm and the other 3 seasons of his career a fluke. Otherwise, he's a good value.

I think it would be silly for the Yanks to trade Cano. First off with his downfall so quick after signing a contract, his value is even worse than if he simply had a bad year, it can be infered that he's as stated in the article, on cruise control. Secondly, as the article says, very few people notice a weak fielding second baseman if he's batting over 300 with a good slugging percentage.

What the yanks really need to do is bite the bullet, put Jeter in center, sign a glove for shortstop even if he's only a number 8/9 hitter. Then some of the vets need to sit Cano down and make sure he understands the responsibilities of being a starter for a team like the yanks.

And I completely agree that the veteran Yankees, guys like Jeter, A-Rod and Damon, need to get on Cano more. It seems pretty clear that his issues are mental, and on such a veteran team he should get more guidance

How about Cano and Kennedy for Loney and Kemp?

B4 the dodgers go spend a lot of prospects for cano, why not look into dan uggla? uggla will probably cost the same, i believe they r similar age, uggla is already hitting at a consistence pace, and he seems to work hard. imagine a core of kemp,ethier, dewitt,uggla,loney,martin, billingsley, broxton, kuo, elbert, mcdonald, kershaw. trade hu, ellis, paul, and 1 more, all holes the dodgers can afford. sign manny, furcal, and blake or have dewitt at third with someone of a nomar role, w/ less injurys, to fill in when he needs a rest, and also sign cc and either lowe or maddux to solidify the rotation

"would anyone be suprised to know that Dewitt has been more valuable than cano this season? 85 ops+ to Cano's 82."

Not to mention that DeWitt has been an OBP dynamo since coming back up, and all this was in a season where he was supposed to start the year in Jacksonville.

"why not look into dan uggla? uggla will probably cost the same, i believe they r similar age, uggla is already hitting at a consistence pace, and he seems to work hard."

Mr. Owl is 2 years older than Cano, is an average-below average defensive player on a team that relies on good defense and would probably cost more than Cano if the Marlins were smart about it. That said, I wouldn't mind seeing Uggla on the team if they can't resign Blake and don't move any of the core of players.

"'How about Cano and Kennedy for Loney and Kemp?'

I seriously hope you're joking. Cano couldn't get Kemp on his own and Kennedy couldn't get a career minor leaguer with the way he pitches in the majors."

compare stats
uggla .262 30 86 .362 .524
cano .262 13 61 .295 .398
cano is a lefty in yankee stadium, w/ a 314ft pourch down the line and has only 13homeruns, uggla has 30 with dimensions of LF: 330' CF: 434' RF: 345'. uggla is 2yrs older, but he has continued to work hard and probably would cost about the same, maybe 1 more prospect. if i were the dodgers and i could pick, id go with uggla