According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Yankees reached a tentative agreement with first baseman Richie Sexson. The idea is that Sexson will improve the team’s performance against left-handed pitching.
There’s little risk, so you can’t blame Brian Cashman for the move. However, it should be noted that Sexson didn’t hit lefties much in 2006-07 and only faced them 70 times this year.
By the way, the Yankees aren’t interested in Barry Bonds.
Random links for the day…
Here’s a look back at the biggest stories MLBTR covered for the week of July 6 – 13:
Buster Olney’s blog post is overloaded with rumors today. Here’s a rundown:
Over the next 10 days, the Yankees will determine whether they are buyers or sellers. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, if they think they are still in it then they will target "a lefty reliever and a secondary starting pitcher." That starting pitcher could be Eric Milton, however he’s 6 weeks away from starting. I’ll add a right handed bat to that list as the Yankees need help against lefties.
Sherman says the Rockies are interested enough in Ian Kennedy to deal Brian Fuentes for him and the Yankees will need to choose both whether they’re in it and how much they want to retain Kennedy. A cheaper option they’re considering is Damaso Marte, says the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Dejan Kovacevic. The fact that Marte is now closing in Pittsburgh may have either decreased his availability or increased his price tag, or both. The Cardinals, Mets, Rays and Red Sox are all in the hunt for the lefty.
Kovacevic says the Yankees are suitors for Xavier Nady as well. Nady is a career .320 hitter against lefties and has played in New York before. And then there’s Richie Sexson, who Tim discussed here, and who George A. King III of the New York Post says the Yankees could sign if/when he clears waivers this week.
A compromise of sorts could be to make a move for A.J. Burnett. The opt-out risk at the end of the year is alarming, but the Yankees could use his services this year and beyond, as well as manage his salary and the upside is still tremendous.
From Joel Sherman of the New York Post:
The Yankee problems against lefty pitching are so dire that they will meet in the next day or so to determine whether to make a play for Richie Sexson, Hardball has learned.
The Yankees have a .729 OPS against southpaws this year, which ranks 7th in the American League. Sexson has a 1.045 OPS against lefties this year, but it’s only been 70 plate appearances. He was nothing special against lefties in 2006-07. Peter Abraham offers his take on the idea of signing Sexson over at his blog.
In a long-awaited move, the Mariners released first baseman Richie Sexson today. They’ll eat about $6MM in salary for the rest of the year.
Sexson, 33, is hitting .218/.315/.381 in 292 plate appearances this year. Perhaps someone could pick him up as a lefty-masher; he’s fared well against them this year (not so much in 2006-07 though).
So it’s been a bit Mariners heavy today at MLBTR. It makes sense, though. They currently own the worst record in baseball, yet have some chips that could be valuable to contending teams. Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times takes a look at a few teams that might be interested in buying what the M’s are selling.
Must-read alongside your bowl of Cocoa Pebbles is Buster Olney’s Saturday morning blog post:
If the C.C. Sabathia trade rumors were a horse race, he writes, as of today these teams would be the favorites:
The problem is, he notes, some of these teams may or may not be in contention by the trade deadline; and/or could be bluffing.
On more serious note, all the recent managerial changes in Seattle have clouded Richie Sexson’s future with the Mariners. Olney points us to Seattle Times writer Larry Stone’s notebook, and the not-so-secret rumblings that Sexson’s days with the M’s may be numbered.
Stone reports the Mariners may be thinking about releasing Sexson or DFAing him. Before Friday’s game with the Braves, when asked if he expected to be with the team after the weekend series, Sexson told reporters:
"I don’t know. I’m just going to play. I really can’t worry about that, and I’m not going to worry about that. I know if things don’t work out here, there’s a lot of other teams out there. I know I can still play the game. I’m not worried about never playing again. It doesn’t concern me."
Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Rumors? Comments? Email me: alexo05 [at] umpbump [dot] com.
Time for another link roundup.
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