Yankees To Pass On Gagne?
Jon Heyman wrote yesterday that the Yankees appeared to be the frontrunner for Texas closer Eric Gagne, given the Yanks’ need and Gagne’s lack of veto power.
However, today Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger says the Yankees’ involvement on Gagne is exaggerated. Apparently the Rangers wanted Melky Cabrera in return. Joba Chamberlain has been switched to relief at Triple A; he could be 90% of Gagne without the cost.
Yankees Focused On Gagne, Wheeler, Qualls
It seems highly likely that the Yankees will make a move to upgrade their bullpen before the Tuesday trade deadline. They appear to have three main targets.
Kat O’Brien of Newsday says the Yanks have had serious discussions with Texas regarding Eric Gagne. Though Gagne wants to close, remember that he can be traded to New York without his consent. A Rivera-Gagne combo would essentially turn every game into seven innings. O’Brien names righthanders Ian Kennedy and Jeff Marquez as two pitchers the Rangers might be after. Kennedy is definitely more highly regarded. The Rangers also like Melky Cabrera but the Yankees are resisting.
Meanwhile, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tells us that the Yankees have "narrowed their sights" to Dan Wheeler and Chad Qualls of the Astros. The Astros control Wheeler through 2009 and Qualls through 2010, so the asking price will be significant. Jayson Stark says Houston is looking for a young MLB-ready position player; Cabrera seems to fit the bill.
Another Yankee-related note from O’Brien’s article – the Yankees are not pursuing Ty Wigginton anymore. Other writers do not agree. Dan Graziano indicates that Wiggy is still in play and the Yankees might try get Al Reyes added to the deal as well. Peter Abraham talked to an AL exec who expects the Yanks to get Wigginton. Graziano adds that the Yankees have had recent discussions about Octavio Dotel and Jon Rauch.
Giants Interested In Melky Cabrera
According to Peter Gammons in his blog, the Giants are considering shopping a starting pitcher. Not only do they have Tim Lincecum debuting tomorrow, but Jonathan Sanchez was raised mostly as a starter and hasn’t worked out in the bullpen so far.
Gammons says the Giants would target a young position player, and they like Melky Cabrera of the Yankees. He does not think the Yankees would be interested in a Cabrera for Noah Lowry swap. If it was the Lowry of 2005, it would be a different story. But the southpaw seems to have lost his strikeout rate at age 26.
The Giants could also peddle Matt Morris, who’s 4-1 with a 3.20 ERA. This is probably the high point of Morris’s season, so shopping him makes sense. The Orioles are one of several teams in need of an innings eater.
Pirates/Yankees/Braves Deal About Complete
Bucco Blog is reporting tonight that the oft rumored three-team trade between the Yankees, Braves, and Pirates is all but complete.
Mike Gonzalez is taking a requested physical for the Yankees today and, if he passes, it looks like he will be a Yankee for Christmas. The Pirates will be getting Adam LaRoche and the Braves will get Melky Cabrera and at least one unidentified Pirate who is thought to be either Nate McLouth or Jose Castillo. There are a couple versions of this trade running according to Bucco Blog so more as we hear it.
Latest On Yankees and Mike Gonzalez
A baseball source indicated to MLBTradeRumors.com that the Yankees and Pirates are working on a trade that could be Mike Gonzalez and Nate McLouth for Ian Kennedy and Melky Cabrera. This is backed up by our good friend Jake at Bucco Blog, where Gonzalez, Kennedy, and Cabrera were mentioned in a recent podcast.
Of the four, the player with which I was least familiar was Kennedy. The right-handed starter celebrates his 22nd birthday today. Baseball America ranked Kennedy fifth among Yankee prospects. BA’s John Manuel indicates Kennedy has excellent command with an upper 80s fastball and a sinking changeup. He manages to keep the ball down. Kennedy is still a ways off from the bigs and should start ’07 at high Class A.
I should note that as a 2006 draft pick, Kennedy can’t be traded until one year after he signed, which would be approximately July 15, 2007. Given that a player to be named later must be named six months in advance, the Pirates and Yankees would have to wait about a month to make such a deal official. After speaking to a couple of baseball guys, I can tell you for a fact that there is precedent for agreeing to trades in December involving June draft picks from the same year. Kennedy is fair game for discussion.
Melky Cabrera To Braves?
Ken Davidoff of Newsday has amended yesterday’s Melky for Mike Gonzalez rumor. The latest one is Melky Cabrera to Atlanta, Mike Gonzalez to the Yankees, and Adam LaRoche to Pittsburgh. See, everyone’s happy. Melky could handle LF for the Braves in 2007 and then switch to center after that.
Davidoff mentions that such a deal could pave the way for one more year of Bernie Williams. Not sure if the Bucs could get more, but I think snagging LaRoche and his 35 HR potential would be a fine return. LaRoche would still have three years of service time under the Pirates’ control. The team could return to contention in 2008 if the young pitchers come along.
Melky Cabrera For Mike Gonzalez?
John Perrotto of the Beaver County Times reports that the Yankees is the most likely destination for southpaw reliever Mike Gonzalez. Apparently Brian Cashman is willing to part with 22 year-old outfielder Melky Cabrera straight up.
Cabrera held his own as a rookie, batting .280/.360/.391 in 460 ABs and playing the fourth best defensive LF in baseball, according to Bill James’s panel of experts. What’s more, Baseball Between The Numbers indicates that a typical player can be expected to improve his offensive output by about 15% from his age 22 to age 23 season. Even in dealing Cabrera, the Yanks would retain the real prize among their position-player prospects: Jose Tabata. Tabata could be patrolling right field in New York by the second half of ’08.
Gonzalez could be groomed as a possible successor to Mariano Rivera; he has three years of service time left before free agency. However, Perrotto indicates that the Pirates want more than just Cabrera for Gonzalez.
Meanwhile, Bucco Blog thinks the entire rumor is bunk. Jake makes a fine point – that Dave Littlefield is in no rush to trade Gonzalez and will simply sit back and wait until the unbeatable offer comes along.