Mike Cameron Yankees Rumors

As a baseball fan it would be sad to see a team that has done everything right and come so close to being a legit contender every year be forced to start over. Their bullpen is a disaster, but if they can address it without commiting 3-4 years and just get by the 09 season i think they will be right back near the top of the central in 2010.

Where is my boy YanksfanSince78!?!?!?!?!

Why do they pick up these trash players.I think its good for the brewers, maybe Melky will be better with out Cano.

Can we please look into Rick Ankiel instead of mike friggin cameron

Casanova...I agree!

ALL WERE GETTING IS MELKY??? He sucks. I hope that the report is wrong, and that we get kennedy. We'll Even throw in bill hall!

I like that move. Gave up a 4th OFer for a stop gap who is great defensively and has pop.

He obviously does NOT have ZERO trade value if they are trading him to the Brewers.

I don't understand why lesser teams trade MLer for throw aways to the Yankees.

Nady and Marte for throw aways, Swisher for throw aways, and now (maybe)Cameron for throw aways. If I was milwaukee with problems in my bullpen, I would trade for McAllister, Aceves, or even Kennedy before I need a 4th OFer.

Wow how Melky has fallen. From untouchable to being traded for Mike "strikeout" Cameron. Yanks had better hope for bounce back years from Cano, Swisher, Matsui and Posada or you could find teams pitching around them some.

Yes, its understood that its a stop gap. However there are a few problems with that.
First, who knows if Ajax will be ready next year. Yea, he is a top prospect, but I can give you a list of top prospects that never lived up to their billing.
Second, Cameron is "all or nothing". I can watch Melky or Gardner K for much less money.
Third..when you have the lineup the Yanks do, a #9 hitter batting .250 shouldnt make much of a difference. Gardner could play CF for the year, give us speed on the bases and a guy that can move runners over. If nothing else HE could have been used as the stop gap and then traded if he did well.
The idea was to get younger and adding a 10 million dollar 35 year old OF does not fit into that mindset.

All this means is that Austin Jackson is going to need at least a 1/2 a full season if not a full season before he is called up.

As far as the merits of Melky vs. Cameron, Cameron is the better defender, better power hitter, better OBP, and steals more bases.

Melky on the other hand, hits for a slightly better average and is younger, but out of options so all of is learning has to be done on the MLB roster...

Good deal, with Cameron only stuck in NY for 1 year.

I personally hate this move. Melky had the potential to be a great back of the lineup hitter, probably looking at around .275 to .285 with mid-teens home runs. He needed somebody on his ass to make him drop some of pounds and get quicker on the base paths, he was already playing fantastic defense. I don't buy into Austin Jackson, maybe I'm the only one, but he isn't looking like the next big thing. Sure, he will be a quality player, but I don't even see him as a future All-Star, let alone the next coming of Vernon Wells or Grady Sizemore. I'd much rather have Melky out there and using Jackson and all his hype to get us a real all-star, maybe a deal to bring in another starter so we can save that money we'd spend on Burnett/Lowe and get Teixeira...

You Yankee fans who think Melky Cabrera would actually fetch something of merit are delusioned.

I'm a huge Yankee fan. Cabrera is not a good player. He is a plus defender with no bat, whatsoever. Cameron is 3x the player Melky is and gives them an affordable, productive stopgap in CF until Jackson is ready.

This is a GREAT trade for the Yankees. I cannot believe how overrated Melky has become in NY. He is nothing more than a 4th outfielder/defensive replacement. Cameron is a guy who produces runs and plays great defense. I love this deal for NY.

I like the move by the Yanks. I'm sure it helped C.C. Just a little too. Pretty much like "hey C.C. Sign with us and we'll bring in Mikey for some company". I like the move by the Yanks as he can still hit 20 HR and save a few runs with the defense.

Fine...Melky really regressed last year. Cameron is an upgrade and good buddies with CC...

I am not disillusioned about Melky. However, I am also well aware of what Cameron brings, which is not all that much. I dont expect Melky to turn into anything but what he already is. However, other teams have inquired about him and he could have been packaged with others for something else.
Like I said above, Id rather see Gardner out there than Cameron.
Wait till Cameron gets up regularly with runners on and strikes out constantly, he will make Arod in Oct look like Ortiz.

"Gave up a 4th OFer for a stop gap who is great defensively..."

Is Cameron still great defensively? Serious question."

Well, probably not as good as he once was. But he's still well above average.

"Cameron is a guy who produces runs"

No Cameron is a guy that strikeouts in clutch moments. We saw it way too many times in Milwaukee last season. You can have him. We'll take the flier on Melky and hope he turns our to be half of what he was originally projected.

Besides, that's another $10 million off the books to hopefully sign an ace.

Why Mike Cameron??

Answer: He cost us nothing but Melky Cabrera. That is a steal.

If you wanted Ankiel, you have to part with Kennedy as well. You want to do that? And then have Ankiel hit free agency in a year? No thanks. I'll take a rental of Mike Cameron, an 800 OPS player with plus defense in exchange for a bench warmer.

"If you wanted Ankiel, you have to part with Kennedy as well. You want to do that? "

Yes, add Kennedy to the list of pitchers who dont have the balls to pitch in NY.
If I could get Ankiel for Kennedy and Melky (which I seriously doubt) I do that 100 out of 100 times.

Gardner can't hit.

I'm not sure why you can't see how adding an .800 OPS guy won't improve the lineup, when he's replacing Melky or Gardner, who can't hit a lick.

"Yes, add Kennedy to the list of pitchers who dont have the balls to pitch in NY. "

Because he pitched for half a season while one of the youngest pitchers in the majors. Right. Clearly we have evaluated a top prospect enough there to decide he doesn't have the balls to pitch in NY.

I don't think that us Yankee Fans are over-estimating Melky, it's that you guys are apparently over-estimating Cameron. Cameron is by far nothing special, Melky may be better suited as a 4th outfielder, but I'd still rather have him than Cameron. For one thing, I just thought about how many said that Cano's early season struggles came because of the loss of his buddy Larry Bowa. 2009 projects a team without his best friend or his favorite coach.

But aside from that, I'd still rather have Melky because he has better defense, is younger, cheaper, and the better clubhouse personality. Anyone that has paid attention to the Yankees over the last few years has seen the veterans like A-Rod or Jeter or Rivera talk about enjoying having Melky around. Yeah, he isn't the Bernie Williams presence we used to have in Center Field, but Melky ain't such a bad player. If you take out a horrid June, Melky batted .263 with fantastic defense. He has been working on becoming more athletic and becoming more of a base running threat, so you have to imagine he would be increasing his steals and had did have nine steals last season. He had as nearly many hits in less at bats, struck out three times less, and Melky was a Red Sox killer last season when he batted .370.

Personally, I think all Melky needs to do is become more patient to become a pretty good player. His pitch selection is what killed him most of the time. If he worked on that and shed some weight (200 lbs at 5-11 ain't exactly lean you know) to become quicker on the base paths, I'd take him over Cameron any day of the week. And from what we hear, that's exactly what he has done this offseason.

Not just from what I saw, but from what I read, things he says. Kennedy will be a good pitcher, just not for the Yanks.
Kennedy was NEVER a top rated prospect. He was great in AAA and very good as a Sept call up, facing other Sept call ups.

If its a straight up Cameron for Melky trade, then its good for the Yankees. But to throw in Kennedy would definitely be a Dumb move. I would rather hold on to Kennedy for a while & see him excel in the Minors, then when July Comes & we need someone good we could then Trade him when his stocks are high.

"We'll take the flier on Melky and hope he turns our to be half of what he was originally projected."

The problem is that he HAS turned out to be half of what was originally projected. For all this talk about New York Melky-hype, he was never talked up as a great bat. He was supposed to mature into a slightly above-average hitter, which would be pretty valuable coming from a solid defensive CF with a howitzer for an arm.

Cabrera at "half of what he was originally projected" is absolutely blown away by Cameron's bat.

Aj..

Again, Kennedy was NEVER even on our radar as a top prospect. He exceeded expectations in the minors and was brought up out of necessity (too early I might add, along with Hughes). He has some early success and then reverted to what he always was, an ok pitcher. Maybe he will end up being a good back end guy, but that can be said about Chase Wright too, and I dont want to see him on the mound either. I have been watching the Yanks and baseball for 35+ years and can tell you, there is a certain mindset ot be able to pitch in NY and for the Yanks, some have it and some don't. So far I havent seen anything from IPK that says he does. Could I be wrong? Sure and if I am and we keep him Ill be happy to have been wrong, but as of right now I cannot see him as part of the rotation.

ajgdrums7814,

I'm not lost in the hype there pal, what I'm not lost in is the hype for Austin Jackson. Every person that I've heard about him from, prior to 2008, said he was a project. That he'd be a 'quality outfielder'. Now, all of a sudden, for no reason at it all it seems, he is some kind of super-star.

In 2008 at AA, Jackson hit .285 with a .354 OBP, 9 HR, 69 RBI, and 19 SB in 131 games. Overall (meaning between 60 games at Low-A, 67 games at High-A, and 1 game at AAA) in 2007, he hit .304 with a .370 OBP, 13 HR, 59 RBI, and 33 SB in 128 games.

Now, while those aren't bad numbers, he ain't jumping out and screaming super-star to me. Not when a player like Evan Longoria hit like a fiend (.299 with a .402 OBP, 26 HR, 95 RBI, and 4 SB in 136 games between AA and AAA).

So, with all of that floating around my head, and knowing that someone as talented as A-Rod can go from a MVP season in 2005 and then to a very sub-par season (for him) in 2006 and then back up to an MVP season in 2007, well, I just think I'd rather hang onto Melky and see what he can do. Because while he is no A-Rod, he did bat .273 with a .327 OBP, 8 HR, 73 RBI, and 13 SB in 150 games in 2007 at the Major League Level. And with the kind of defense he plays, and the fact that in 2007, he struck out only 43% as much as Cameron did in 2007, well, I think I would be happier with Melky as my nine hitter than Cameron as my 6, 7, or 8 hitter.

"If you take out a horrid June, Melky batted .263 with fantastic defense."

If you take out a great April, Mleky hit .235 with an OBP well under .300 and a slugging percentage of .299! We could play this game all day.

Cameron posted an .809 OPS in 2008 compared to Melky's .641. Cameron's UZR was 9.7 and Melky's was -0.5. Yeah, Cameron strikes out a lot. But he will play better defense, provide more power, and the Yankees are only committed to one year with him. Gardner would have pushed Melky for a job anyway.

So now we're comparing A-Rod's fluctuations with Melky Cabrera's? Come on dude. Cabrera AT HIS BEST was mediocre offensively. Cameron at his best is a plus bat in the lineup.

If A-Jax busts, the Yankees are going to have to find another CF in a year anyway, because Cabrera/Gardner is NOT the answer.

Oh and AJ..
You said Melky was never a GREAT hitter..and I agree, BUT..
when was Jackson a great hitter? He hit .345 ONE time in single A ball. Other than that he is in the mid .200s, never hitting more than 10 home runs.
Most recently in Arizona he hit .245 with an OBP of .298.
Sorry, but I am not annointing him a great anything just yet.

Blomberg must have given the Yankes more money.

LMAO

WHY are you comparing Cabrera with JACKSON? I'm talking about CAMERON. Cameron is a massive offensive upgrade over Cabrera. Thus, the 2009 Yankees are much improved with Cameron manning CF.

If Jackson is a bust, NY is going to have to find a CF anyway. Cabrera/Gardner sure as hell isn't the answer. And neither of those two have enough value to NET you anything that's going to be the answer. So what the hell are we debating?

Hey now, I said that Melky was no A-Rod, I'm just saying that people have down years and bounce back. I believe Melky would be better, assuming he bounces back, because of everything he does other than the OPS and the HR, which is not how I'd prefer to win the game.

Relying on HRs are what made us miss the World Series the last 8 years, we need to get back into an RBI and flat out getting on base style. We haven't had the grinder style that we had in the late 90's, nobody on those teams hit more than 30 home runs (other than Tino in 1997, but the next in line was Bernie WIlliams with 21). They used RBI's and good old fashion getting on base and driving each other in to win ball games.

You don't prefer to win the game through OPS? Then how, praytell, do you expect to win?

Runs are created through OPS. You're making the grave mistake of assuming that HR and OPS are similar. They aren't. You don't have to be a homerun hitter to have a good OPS. And you can be a homerun hitter and not have a good OPS.

I meant I didn't want to win through HR, not OPS.

Mattch..
Im with you on this.

I dont get why people are so quick to dismiss Gardner but quick to defend Kennedy. Gardner has a small sample size as well, how do we know he wont grow into a good hitter.
After all he has a .291 batting average with a .389 OBP in his minor league career.

Dodgers...I never said Id rather have Melky than Cameron. In fact I want neither. Like I said before, the idea was to get younger, especially in the OF. No reason why with a 1-8 like the Yanks have, they cannot carry a #9 that hits for low average but brings other things such as defense and speed.

I'm with you too, I can't stand Kennedy, I always thought he was coasting on luck anyways for the short while he had success. I'm big on Gardner, having one of those two in CF with the other as your fourth outfielder is a good deal in my mind. I would much rather have one over Cameron, so both of them is the obvious choice to me. One of them will catch on with .270 + offense with great defense, and both are 25 or younger. Much rather have that than old ass Cameron.

And hey, Dodgers Bruin, the last ten years is very different from right now. If we cared what somebody did in the past, we'd be bringing John Smoltz over, or signing Barry Bonds, or giving Ken Griffey Jr our center field job.

He also brings a 35 year old body and a 10 million dollar contract (which I really dont care about, but others do).

We can agree to disagree.

I can't believe how many people are enamored with the likes of Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner. Wow. What is so attractive about speedy defenders who produce nothing offensively?

And in this scenario, you're not even LOSING any of the speedy defense. Wow.

I can understand getting younger. But if I'm forced to choose between a player who is 15% below average offensively for his career (84 OPS+) and a player who is 5% better offensively for his career (106 OPS+, 114, 121, 103, 110 for the past 4 seasons), I'd rather have the guy who is 20% better offensively. The difference in their defense is negligible, if there is any at all.
Why would you want someone that is horrible offensively just because your other 8 players are good offensively? Injuries occur. Those 8 won't always be playing. You'll be forced to play some scrub (like Gardner played this year) next season and you'll be glad you have an above average offensive CF playing every day.

People are complaining about getting younger but Cameron is only for one year, its not a multiyear deal. This gives the yankees a better lineup in 09 and takes pressure to rush Ajax into centerfield. Seriously how can you not like this deal???????

Mac, I'm not saying Melky is better than Jackson, fact of the matter is that Melky gave us what we needed at the MLB level, and when they do that, stats from the minors fly out the window. Right now I'm just saying that Melky has given us some good stuff, and we shouldn't throw him aside for either an old, past his prime guy like Cameron or a guy that has never done anything at the Major League level and as we saw with our 'big three' last season, you can't count on minor league stats to show up on the big league level.

Ajgdrums7814, I will admit Cameron has above average defense. I don't consider it better than Melky's though, and as for his speed, I can concede that too. The numbers say he is better on the base paths. But Cameron is aging, and just like all of a sudden Ken Griffey Jr fell apart defensively, I am not prepared to say that I expect the Mike Cameron we've seen over the last five years. I'm too much of a realist for that, I'm saying that Cameron had a worse range factor than Melky, had less than half the assists, and a much worse Zone Rating. And while Melky is still young at 23 years old, Cameron is 35 years old and declining quickly. There is a reason why he ended up having to sign with the Brewers...

"Why would you want someone that is horrible offensively just because your other 8 players are good offensively?"

You wouldn't necessarily WANT a bad hitter in your lineup, but you might think that upgrading somewhere else was a higher priority if you thought you were going to score 900 runs anyway. The problem with yankeegirl's and mattchu's analysis is that they're over-rating the rest of the Yankee offense.

I see this a the Yanks helping the Brewers after getting CC. They help them get payroll flexibility so the Brewers can get a few starters.

About Melky, well you can't expect anything big from him b/c he was never projected to be. Both him and Gardner are just 4th OF. Gardenr a little bit better b/c he can run, but thta is it.

Hilarious that someone as awful (and don't fall for the overhype, Melky is an AWFUL offensive player...no average, not a little below, but AWFUL) is capable of landing someone like Cameron strictly on the ESPN media hype machine for the guy.