Four Teams Inquire On Michael Young

I've wanted to see M. Young in a White Sox uniform for so long! I highly doubt they have the pieces, but they certainly have the payroll! For the love of all that remains Holy, KW make it happen!

The White Sox have already said Alexei Ramirez is their shortstop next year. He's younger, cheaper, and better than Michael Young at this point. Why would you want to pay Young $80MM?

I could see the Twins being the team that Tim Brown talked to, but I can't see them being seriously engaged in this unless the Rangers eat some of that $80MM.

Still, Minnesota doesn't have much in the way of shortstop prospects... Young will probably be a terrible contract by the end of this deal anyway.

At $16MM per, he's already overpriced.

Good luck finding a taker for that. I dont even think the dodgers would be interested in that.

bbxxj

i dont think so, i think with what we owe lugo, renteria still i think, we would probably just stick with lugo or the cheaper option of lowrie

besides, good luck prying away more then one good pitching prospect for the red sox, maybe buchholz and lowrie but i dont see even that going down

The Dodgers have enough issues to deal with.

They've got albatross contracts with Jones and Pierre. They're talking to Manny, Blake, Furcal, and still have some interest in Sabathia which appears to be mutual.

On top of that, they've got a starting rotation that consists of Hiroki Kuroda, Clayton Kershaw, and no one else with Billingsley's leg broken.

Michael Young isn't going to be a priority there.

Aside from the dollar value, the Twins really do make sense, but I don't see it happening. I suppose the Orioles could be interested, but I don't see that as a logical move whatsoever.

Young will probably stay put. No one wants that contract.

This rumor should probably be taken with a grain of salt. It would seem more likely that a team inquired about the availability of Michael Young rather than the Rangers "shopping" him around to other clubs.

wil gaunt,

Not only could it be them trying to dump salary, wasn't it last year that Hicks or someone in the Front Office criticised Young for either being soft or not being a leader?

After reading that, I thought they were close to trading Young away but it didn't happen.

Now, with a declining economy, I can see the "face" of the franchise getting traded.

"At $16MM per, he's already overpriced."

No, he isn't. He will be in 5 years now he's worth every penny.

A poor defensive SS who has seen his OPS decline in each of the past three seasons is worth every penny of his upcoming $16 million salary?

How so?

Sleepy,

Last year, Ian Kinsler wasn't the only guy getting on for Hamilton and Bradley to knock in, Young was also.

Move Young from SS to LF and put him in the line up ahead of Joey Votto and Jay Bruce and the Reds would be improved. Improved because Young would be better on Defense than Adam Dunn and improved because he would be getting on base more than Corey Patterson.

Last year with Patterson leading off and King Griffey Junior batting Third, you could almost count on the Reds NOT scoring in the first Inning.

With Dunn and KGJ in the Outfield, you COULD count on balls falling in for Hits (which should have been caught for Outs) and balls going to the wall for Extra Base Hits which should have been cut off.

With more guys getting on base for better hitters batting in the middle of the line up (Votto and Bruce instead of KGJ and Dunn), the REds Offense will be improved and mroe dangerous.

With better Defenders in the Outfield; guys who have more range and who can catch more balls for Outs, the Defense will be improved and the Reds pitching staff wont be as bad as in years past.

"Why not trade Lowell 24 mil., Lugo 18 mil., and Clay Buchholz for Young 80 mil. and Teagarden?"

Assuming the Rangers are serious about moving Young, this makes a lot of sense for both teams.

This shouldn't be that hard. Rangers should eat half the salary, making him more than reasonable to a team that really vaules/needs him.

"I've wanted to see M. Young in a White Sox uniform for so long! I highly doubt they have the pieces, but they certainly have the payroll! For the love of all that remains Holy, KW make it happen!"

I really hope KW doesn't go after him. Clearly the White Sox are fine with Alexei at short, and Gordon Beckham should be ready within two years max. Adding a declining player on a five year deal like Young makes absolutely no sense, even if his bat would be a nice fit for their lineup.

"You guys are idiots for saying he needs to be moved from shortstop. HE WON THE GOLD GLOVE!"

Gold gloves are completely meaningless. Do you actually believe that Nate McLouth was the best CF in the NL this season? Do you actually believe that Derek Jeter was once the best defensive shortstop in the AL?

Nearly every scout and metric available says that Michael Young no longer belongs at shortstop, and belongs more appropriately at second or third.

I think the Mets and Dodgers are the most interesting ideas, although I'd be surprised if any team took on Young's 5/80 contract.

ctownboy - your total offense statistic is just awful.

Bad enough to use runs OR RBI's to calculate value. Using them both? You just pointed out that Dunn was on base more, hit 4 times as many HR's and yet had less runs+RBI's than Young. That doesn't say anything about Dunn, it provides commentary about the respective lineups for both the Rangers and Reds.

"Why not trade Lowell 24 mil., Lugo 18 mil., and Clay Buchholz for Young 80 mil. and Teagarden?"

While Lowell and Bucholz make sense, getting Lugo back does not. I assume if they are trying to deal Young, they are gonna want to bring up Elvis Andrus. The rangers are also pretty high on teagarden and rightfully so, that might get done if it was salty.

Why not trade Lowell 24 mil., Lugo 18 mil., and Clay Buchholz for Young 80 mil. and Teagarden?"
i dont see the red sox as a fit for MY as the rangers are trying to cut payroll. taking on lowell and lugo would increase the payroll this year by 9 million. i think maybe someone like the mets would be a better fit for the rangers (assuming they dump castillos contract somewhere else) as the rangers have been emamored with heilman for awhile of coarse a heilman for MY trade straight up isnt likely but its a starting point.

The Mets idea is interesting to say the least. I'm actually ok with Castillo being our 2B for next year. He can still be a good 2B and we are pretty much stuck with him. I'm sure he wants to prove to the fans and the organization he can be asset to the team.

Plus that money still owed to Young scares me quite honestly. The Mets aren't in dire need of his offense anyway.

ya'll are out of your minds. young is going nowhere, and if he does, the return is going to have to be insane, as he really is the heart of the team (and the fanbase). its simply not gonna happen.

the only way i see it is if they think andrus is ready and MY has said he won't change positions. but the mets idea from RIPShea is interesting.

The Twins should at least explore this, at a discounted price.

This is exactly the kind of move they can afford to make with the new ballpark opening. Signs (2008 payroll, nothing in late '08) point to Twins fans and the county being sold a steaming pile of dung instead.

"i dont see the red sox as a fit for MY as the rangers are trying to cut payroll. taking on lowell and lugo would increase the payroll this year by 9 million. i think maybe someone like the mets would be a better fit for the rangers (assuming they dump castillos contract somewhere else) as the rangers have been emamored with heilman for awhile of coarse a heilman for MY trade straight up isnt likely but its a starting point."

Dude, Michael Young is probably one of the worst 10 contracts in the game right now due to the massive nature of it. You're not dumping him without taking back a bad contract, and maybe even more then.

I wonder if the Rangers would be willing to take Pierre in a deal for Young.

I just say pierre because he is a big contract, but not nearly as big as Young's.

Or really if not him, then one of Schmidt or Jones, which would just be one season, but maybe even still worth it on the Dodgers side.

Of course, not just one of these terrible contracts, there would obviously be other prospects involved.

i could see them taking on lowell and prospects but not lowell and lugo is more of what im saying
plus they really wouldnt be interested in lowrie i wouldnt think b/c the only way they would trade my imo is if they thought andrus is ready.

I believe Pierre has a no trade clause, but not Andruw Jones. How about a Jones+DeWitt for Young+Byrd+2B prospect (Vallejo perhaps). Jones contract runs out at the end of next year to go along with Cat's and Blalock's. The Rangers could offer a FA pitcher like Sheets a back loaded contract using the money saved from those expiring contracts.

"lets see i can think of several that are worse
zito
juan pierre
andruw jones
lugo
castillo
they all might not be as mcuh for as long but atleast MY produces even if its not worth the 16 mil. "

That's the thing though, Castillo's contract is modest in comparison to Michael Young's. Castillo is due 18 million over the next 3 years, Young is due 80 million over the next 5 years.

Just for the sake of argument, would Michael Young make 62 million over 5 years (The difference in the contracts) as a Free Agent right now? I highly doubt it when Furcal just turned down 36 million from the A's.

That should read reasonably priced at 16M.

wil_gaunt wrote:

While Lowell and Bucholz make sense, getting Lugo back does not. I assume if they are trying to deal Young, they are gonna want to bring up Elvis Andrus. The rangers are also pretty high on teagarden and rightfully so, that might get done if it was salty.
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It makes perfect sense for the Rangers to take Lugo in a deal. Lowell and Lugo only have 2 yrs/42 left collectively where as Young is owed 5/80. In winter of 2010 the Rangers will be done with their obligations to both while Boston will still have Young at ages 34-36 for 3 yrs/48 million. This way Texas may take an upfront hit but they save tons in the long run and they get a SP with upside on the cheap in Bucholz.

so its only 60 mill over 5 years, now.

Definitely not so bad. Makes me less weary of wanting to trade for him.

They do still have Andrus in the minors, though, and he's still a couple of years away, so I agree, they probably won't seriously consider trading Young any time soon...

Unless they get offered a couple of good arms. Wouldn't it be crazy if the Rangers packaged Salty and Young to the Red Sox for Buchholz and a few other prospects?

"Wouldn't it be crazy if the Rangers packaged Salty and Young to the Red Sox for Buchholz and a few other prospects?"

Only really works is the Sox have the Rangers take Lugo in the deal... they'd probably need to throw in at least half his salary. And even then probably a 3 team trade. Something where the Red Sox get Young and Salty, a third team gets Lowrie, the Rangers get Buccholz, a prospect from the third team, Masterson or Bowden, and then another good prospect, and probably a B prospect as well.

While his numbers are certainly pretty good for a SS, his 2008 season was below his career averages and his power has taken a hit every season. Despite his GG's, he's not that great of a fielder. Overall, $12 mil per season over the next 5 seasons would be a huge mistake for any team.

Sorry Tmoney, you cant even dream about something like that :P

Interesting YanksFanSince78 but the Rangers have Blalock slated to DH for 1 year. Although it's not out of the possibility that they trade Blalock to someone like the Giants. For the Rangers to agree to your trade, they would have to have a Sheets contract in hand first. Of course the Rangers would probably prefer if you remove both Millwood and Pierre

No actually it's Ho...he sleeps around a lot. :)

I get what you are saying, but the fact that jones is completely useless would probly stall the deal.

young's remaining deal is 12 per for 5 years because of bonuses he has already been paid.

thats not a salary dump at all; thats a decent contract for an all-star gold glove shortstop who is the leader of his team. and to all the people who say he is on the downside of his career... he's 32! i had no idea this was the NFL. young has at least 4 more 180+ hit seasons in him (especially with kinsler and hamilton to protect his bat)

09-13:$16M annually (total of $15M deferred)

If Young gets moved it would be for him to play 2nd he is not a SS. With 20 mil paid up front and 3 mil deffered his contract is about 9-10 mil a year. I like Mike but if him being traded is a precursor to Hicks selling this team I am all for it. I would love to see an infield of Chris Davis, Justin Smoak, Elvis Andrus and Ian Kinsler in 2010 after GW has bought the team back from Hicks.