Yankees Acquire Nick Swisher

I think the Yanks might still entertain Tex but that would require a deal being made for Matsui or Nady I think. I don't think he'll be a starting CF. But the Yanks have leverage now. If Tex price comes down to a $6 year $120-$130 mil range I can see them doing it and maybe playing Swish in the OF and moving Damon to CF (yikes).

Swisher is a great utility guy
all outfield positions + First

oh you're representing the point of view for the White Sox?

in this case yes, i would throw Getz in there and Dye and Vazquez for if i knew for a sheer fact that Kendrick will have no BS in being hurt and stay healthy
i'd make the trade

Dye, Vazquez and Gets
for
Figgins and Kendrick

Is it possible the Sox might be eye balling Texiera themselves?

nooooo, the sox don't wanna spend that much and they have Paulie I know he's getting old but he's still a reliable first basemen

he's my favorite player, he can't go =)
he's the reason why i play first
i'm not bias

Please dont classify a guy who plays multiple positions as a utility guy. Swish is far from being just a utility player. He can be a starter on just about every team.

you just basically gave the definition of utility

that's a legitimate position you can put down on a baseball application

haha wow

I won't argue with you about your opinion that the Sox won't sign Tex by why is such doubt?

They lose Cabrera, Griffey and Crede this year.

Bye, Thome and Konerko aren't getting any younger. Tex along with Ramirez and Quentin would give them a solid core to build on for the future. KQ has been none to do the unexpected. I wouldn't be as suprised to see them swoop in and make an offer.

Hilarious. Uribe is almost as good as swisher because they have had similarish averages. I did not think people like you still existed.

Of course I know what a utility player means by definition but most "utility" players don't play everyday. Swish, on this team, will play everyday, as long as his bat and defense produce the results they want. Now in comparison, Betemit would NEVER become a everyday player for the Yanks.

"Comparing Seattle trading the franchise player who is responsible for most of the butts in the seats along with international revenue dollars who just signed a monsterous extension to trading Jose Ceda is about as far as I need to read there."

*Sigh*

Seattle has a new GM, a new manager, and had one of their worst seasons in years last year. That entire franchise is in shambles. If the White Sox can round-up enough quality prospects, it's a definite possibility - I don't care how much money Ichiro brings in. To act like it's not even a possibility that the M's might move Ichiro is pretty shortsighted in my opinion.

Ummmm.....not sure what Jhonny Nunez you guys are talking about, but he's not that great of a prospect. He finished strong, but if you think he's gonna be a 3 or 4 starter you're gonna be disappointed.

yanks should place swish at first as most say and maybe trade for a matt kemp and get rid of kennedy melky and maybe if we sign man ram we could trade him back and get billingsley too (not gonna happen)

comment please

thehoagster,

Don't worry, I don't expect that. But that could very well be Nunez's ultimate upside, even if more realistically he's bullpen arm.

Swisher's contract is up just in time to sign Pujols.

I dnt think Swisher would block anyone from signing Pujols.
BTW I don't think this will ever happen, but what do you think Pujols would get on the open market?

by my exact calculationspojols would receive about eleventy billion dollars if he were a FA

"Seattle has a new GM, a new manager, and had one of their worst seasons in years last year. That entire franchise is in shambles. If the White Sox can round-up enough quality prospects, it's a definite possibility - I don't care how much money Ichiro brings in. To act like it's not even a possibility that the M's might move Ichiro is pretty shortsighted in my opinion."

Sorry. To say the Mariners would move Ichiro is just not understanding how simple economics work. The guy is as close to untouchable as it gets the way things are right now. The offer would have to be so ridiculous that no team would do it. That might change one day, but that IS the present reality. It is neither shortsighted, nor anything else, it is reality. I apologize if reality upsets you.

Looking good casn, god job.

With Swisher, I have always had suspicions:

Numbers drop since steroid testing

Numbers drop in the best hitters park in the majors

Numbers drop after he leaves the bay area, noted for doping.

Not that Swisher is huge (ie Barry Bonds big), but there is some circumstantial evidence.

"

2005-2007

hr/rbi/avg/obp
Uribe 19/70/.240/.281
Swisher 26/82/.251/.358

I'm not saying Uribe is as good as Swisher, I'm just saying if you compare Swisher to Uribe you'll see he's isn't going to be missed."

lol you're joking right?

I gotta say, KW looks like he got hosed on this deal. Swisher simply had an unlucky year and KW didn't get near enough in return. Betemit is ok, but he can't replace Swisher's production.

Ohh and CubbyFan23 is right, theres no way Ichiro or McLouth is going anywhere.

i am ecstatic about this deal i mean we got Nick Swisher for Wilson Betemit!!! and we also traded a prospect we never would have had along(Nunez came from Washington) with a prospect who gets injured quite often (Marquez) for a player with a great era so far in his minor league career... plus his name is Teixeira ... hopefully better things to come in the upcoming days like maybe CC Sabathia tomorrow....

I think the bottom line here is the yakees are getting a decent player off a horrid year for a few players they can live without. I think KW would have done better waiting to shop him to losers in the Tex sweepstakes but maybe he has other plans already in place. I wouldn't have minded sending Ceda and maybe Cedeno for swisher instead of 1 yr of gregg - wonder if Hendry even got a call.

I meant Pena may never come close to hitting 48 again

swisher is a good investment becuase he can easily play a corner out feild position, soemthing very important after next season when matusi nady and damon are all gone.
With that said, the yankees will still pursue TEX (mark) because he is a long term solution for the 1st base situation.

All I got to say is this, if the Red Sox are after Texiera the Yankees are, enough said.

Didn't testing begin at the start of 2005, before Swisher had ever played a full year in the majors?

"To say that Swisher could have been a user is "silly" is burrying one head in the sand and ignoring a rather marked change in stats since testing begin."

And what marked change would that be exactly? That his line drive rate increased last year? That his HR/FB rate increased last year from 07? That his ISOP last year was almost identical to 07? That his contact rates all increased?

The only marked change in stats is that his average dropped, which is entirely due to his BABIP being incredibly low or, in other words, luck.

"Didn't testing begin at the start of 2005, before Swisher had ever played a full year in the majors?"

That's when the real penalties started. 2003 was the survey testing. 2004 was the joke penalties.

2001 is when minor league testing started, starting out with significant penalties.

Swisher was drafted in 2002, had a brief callup in 2004, and played his first full season in 2005. So he's had steroid testing his entire career.

Barry Bonds had testing his whole career, so he must be innocent too.

shamrockyoass,

I live in Anaheim and have tickets to the angels, and in reference to Konerko, i can tell you that no, we don't want him.

As for GMJ, i would gladly let the sox have him lol.

The only thing that i am kinf of iffy about is trade Figgins AND kendrick. I mean, the angels had a chance at Miguel Cabrera, but did not want to give up Howie. So if there is a trade for Vazquez and Die, it would have to be Figgins and someone else.

And even if the angels got vazquez in a deal, it would be to trade for some one else, cuz thats about 6 or 7 major league starters they would have.

"Barry Bonds had testing his whole career, so he must be innocent too."

That's just simply incorrect.

Except he's had 3 good years and 1 bad year. By that logic, Konerko should have been left for dead after his age 27 season. It happens.

WOW..

if the 28 other gms knew they could give up their second tier crap im sure somebody would of given up something a little nicer to get swisher.. crazy trade

i dont see how this can even be even.

you gave up a utility player for someone who can give you a 270/35/95 line with a obp around 380.. KW makes terrible trades. who can play all 3 of slots and 1st..

and then you trade one of their better arms for 2 of the yankees filler arms.. maybe nunez develops.

Best Case Scenario for Yankees:

LF Johnny Damon (L)
SS Derek Jeter (R)
1B Mark Teixeira (S)
3B Alex Rodriguez (R)
DH Hideki Matsui (L)
RF Xavier Nady (R)
CF Nick SwisherS)
C Jorge Posada (S)
2B Robinson Cano (L)

SP CC Sabathia (L)
SP AJ Burnett (R)
SP Chien Ming Wang (R)
SP Joba Chamberlain (R)
SP Andy Pettitte (L)

SU Damaso Marte (L)
CP Mariano Rivera (R)

you may be able to switch out Burnett for Peavy

GeneralManager
I just read that too in the Peavy column... if so then the Yankees would be stacked heading into 09... but its a big if...

Why do people think the Sox gave up a lot to get Swisher from the A's? Gonzalez can't find the strike zone with 2 hands and a flashlight. Sweeney is a slap-hitting 4th outfielder with no speed and De Los Santos had Tommy John. Doesn't seem like a lot to me.

Judging by his stats, Swisher sure will love that short porch in Right. His splits last season:

Vs LHP: .197 BA, 25 R, 6 HR, 16 RBI, .359 OBP, .745 OPS
Vs RHP: .227 BA, 61 R, 18 HR, 53 RBI, .321 OBP, .74 OPS

Definitely better vs. RHP, although OPS is pretty similar for both. Obviously more looks from the L side of the plate though.

I'm predicting a stat line (assuming he starts 150+ games) around: .257 BA, 85 R, 94 RBI, 33 HR, .375 OBP, .835 OPS

Ok. I like this deal. I always thought the Yankees needed pitching more than hitting anyway. Now they can can pay a bloated contract to CC and Lowe? / Burnett?.

I also want to hear in the next few weeks that Theo is trading Lowell and going hard at Mark Teixeira. Then he can go into next season replacing Manny with a combination of Bay and Tex.

"I'm predicting a stat line (assuming he starts 150+ games) around: .257 BA, 85 R, 94 RBI, 33 HR, .375 OBP, .835 OPS"

That might be a bit much in the HR department (although who knows how the new Yankee stadium will play), but I could see him easily putting up that kind of OBP and OPS with about 85-100 runs knocked in with that lineup around him.

I'm not a big fan of this trade, but I wasn't a big fan of the Freddy Garcia for Gio Gonzalez/Gavin Floyd trade either. Or the Brandon McCarthy/Paisano(sp?) for John Danks/Nick Masset either.

In fact, most so-called experts believed Williams got too little in return in those deals. But, KW trusts his scouts, and they generally do a good job locating pitchers that, with some coaching, can live up to their potential.

That holds true for other moves too. Esteban Loaiza for Jose Contreras. Joe Borchard for Matt Thornton. Plucking Bobby Jenks off waivers and converting him to a reliever, etc. He grew from being a bonehead GM (Todd Richie, anyone) to somebody that I trust in moves such as these. He (and his scouts) have proven they have a good eye for arms.

Everybody is always quick to jump on Williams. Especially fantasy baseball obsessed statheads that usually frequent message boards such as these. And I don't even mean that in a derogatory way, necessarly. Stats are important, but no more important than good scouting. Baseball cube and google searches won't tell you everything...nothing is more valuable to a GM than trustworthy scouts.

Anyways, point is, I'm not a big fan of the move. I have my questions, as I should. But I'm not going to blast KW for making the trade. He's earned at least a bit of trust.

"Why do people think the Sox gave up a lot to get Swisher from the A's? Gonzalez can't find the strike zone with 2 hands and a flashlight. Sweeney is a slap-hitting 4th outfielder with no speed and De Los Santos had Tommy John. Doesn't seem like a lot to me."

Agreed. Someone show me 1 guy that KW has traded away that has come back to bite them in the ass. Heck the way Chris Young has been playing in Arizona, even that is looking like a wash. Th truth is the sox farm system has been a joke for awhile. KW made some changes and things will probably turn around. But I have yet to see anyone they have traded over the past few years really turn into anything great.

As a white sox fan I like this move, Swisher was a non-clutch waste of a bench seat and why we got him in the first place was beyond me, no one ever gets betemit credit, i live in NY and i have seen him play he's a respectable player and deserves to be a starter. Good Riddance to swisher he can go hit bombs with a-rod when the yanks have an 8-1 lead and strike out in the clucth somewhere besides chicago this year.

Even though the white sox did get burned by picking up swisher, and some feel that KW deals many of their good prospects, look at what those prospects have done, how many times have the white sox gotten burned. That fact is that while Williams makes some strange trades he will always redeem himself with player like Quentin, Danks, Floyd, etc.

I wonder if the NYY mgmt will allow Nick to use his homemade bat that he made as a kid? What did he name it?....

All I gotta say is 6mil is a deal. Even if he is halfway between 07-08 Swisher 10mil is a reasonable price, but I think he will bounce back the way Dye did this year. They asked Swish to leadoff most of the year which is unbelievable. They took stationary hitting to a new plateau of rediculousness. He obviously never fit in there not from a personality standpoint but from a playing standpoint. This trade makes me excited to be a Yanks fan for the first time in yearssssss. Finally a star player that they arent overpaying!!

"Why do people think the Sox gave up a lot to get Swisher from the A's? Gonzalez can't find the strike zone with 2 hands and a flashlight. Sweeney is a slap-hitting 4th outfielder with no speed and De Los Santos had Tommy John. Doesn't seem like a lot to me."

You are missing the point. That package had a heck of a lot of value last off season and could easily have brought in a quality player. The fact that Williams gave up on Swisher after one below par year for a bunch of spare parts and trash is pretty bad.

FamousGrouse -- until Carter makes it to the bigs and hits that 'potential' 40 home runs

it's a major steal in the Sox case
Quentin won an award for himself already
Silver Slugger
Carter is still farmin around in the minors

Headline:

Yankees still persuing World Series through money

NEW YORK -- Yankees, yet again, fail to bring New York another World Series...

pursuing*
my bad

did you get the message though?

you did get it right?
you know what i was saying?