Is creative just another word for desperate? In this case, I think not. Yesterday, there was a post on MLBTR about three things the Yankees are, apparently, not doing or haven’t done. We’re winding down the Hot Stove season and ideas are stretching pretty thin. So, I’m going to look and see if there are anyways those moves could make sense. Just bear with me here since the truth and the possible are being stretched very far.
The first item on the MLBTR docket was Carlos Delgado. It would seem, via Joel Sherman, that the Yankees have no interest in Delgado, and with good reason. He didn’t play at all in 2010, though he was good in 2009 when he last played for the Mets. There’s basically one way Delgado could make an impact on the Yankees, and it’s a nightmare scenario. It would involve Russell Martin being injured and/or ineffective, Francisco Cervelli being either of those things, and Jorge Posada forced into catching every day with Jesus Montero, for some reason, not being ready to take the symbolic reins behind the plate. Then and only then would Delgado make sense for the Yankees. He’d slot nicely into the DH spot and his lefty swing would be nothing but aided by the short porch in right field. Of course, that scenario is extremely unlikely. If the Yankees somehow wind up relying on Posada to catch rather than DH, I’d imagine they’d first go in house and use Alex Rodriguez as the most-of-the-time DH while searching for someone who’s better on defense to man third each day.
Jarrod Washburn, like the others mentioned (Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon), makes sense on a minor league deal. Hell, signing Ron Guidry to a minor league deal today would almost make sense. Minor league deals carry absolutely no risk. Of course, Mr. Washburn didn’t want a minor league deal. Adding him to the wall throwing fodder for the fifth starter’s spot would be fine with me, I guess, but I just don’t like Washburn at all. He’s on my irrational hate list, though he’s not as high as Aaron Hill or Ian Kinsler. I guess he’d be second on the pitcher’s list, behind Sergio Mitre. Though it’s worth noting that there are rational reasons to hate both players. But I digress…Imagining a Washburn-on-Yankees scenario is pretty easy, just because of the state of the rotation. Of course, he didn’t pitch at all in 2010, so that’s totally undesirable. Despite that, Marcel projects him to a 4.40 FIP (career 4.60) in 77 innings. Using our trusty WAR spreadsheet, that would give us 1.0 WAR. That’s worth taking a shot on. So, if Washburn changes his mind about accepting a minor league deal, he could be worth a shot.
