Yesterday in the comments of Chris’s article on Brian Cashman and Kei Igawa, a discussion about whom the Yankees have traded in the past two seasons started. I’m of the opinion that with a few exceptions, the players Brian Cashman has traded have been nothing incredibly special and losing them will not hurt the team in the long term. So, let’s take a look at the last year and a half or so of Brian Cashman’s trades to see what the Yankees gave up.
Let’s start with the “deadline” deal of Ross Ohlendorf, Jose Tabata, Jeff Karstens, and Daniel McCutchen for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte. What did the Yankees give up here? With the exception of Tabata, nothing special. Though Ohlendorf pitched well for the Pirates in 2009, he would not have played a big role for the 2009 Yankees and likely would have had just as small a role for the 2010 Yankees. Karstens did poorly in 39 games–13 starts–with the Bucs. McCutchen held his own (98 ERA+) and showed decent control (2.97 BB/9) in ‘09, but like the other two pitchers in this deal, he’d have no real place on the Yankees moving forward. There are plenty of guys ahead of him.
Jose Tabata was really the only player of consequence the Yankees forfeited in this deal with the Pirates. At the time of the trade, his OPS in the Eastern League was a meager .630. He raked once joining Altoona (.964), but 2009 was less spectacular (.763 OPS between AA and AAA). In a system that’s hurting for position player prospects, losing Tabata hurt, but Jose’s production had dropped year to year and level to level with the Yankees and there were apparently character issues. Perhaps all he needed was a change of scenery. It’s worth noting that Tabata’s star has taken a bit of a hit in recent years; he was rated the 27th best prospect in baseball pre-2007, the #37 pre-2008, and the #75 pre-2009.
The next trade of any importance was the December 2008 trade fleecing of Kenny Williams in the Nick Swisher deal. Cashman traded away Jeff Marquez–who’d seemingly stalled in his development and subsequently bombed with the Sox AAA team in 2009–Wilson Betemit–who was eventually DFA’d–and Jhonny Nunez who did poorly in a 5.2 inning stint with the Sox, but performed very well in the minors. This deal was absolutely great for the Yankees. They bought low on a very good cost controlled player and payed an incredibly small price.
In February of last year, Cashman traded Chase Wright to the Brewers for Eric Fryer; Fryer was eventually included with Casey Erickson in a deal for Eric Hinske. While Hinske didn’t have a huge impact on the Yankees, he added much more than either player would have now, or in the future. It’s also worth noting that the Pirates paid for Hinske’s time with the Yankees.
In other relatively minor trades, Cashman traded Chase Weems to the Reds for Jerry Hairston, Jr., who proved useful off the bench down the stretch and in the playoffs. Again, what Hairston added last year was more than Weems would likely add in the future. Weems would have been stuck behind any number of Yankee catching prospects and it’s likely that he’d never even make the Major League team.
For literally nothing but money, Brian acquired Chad Gaudin, who could be useful as a swingman out of the bullpen in 2010.
A brief review: so far out of these trades, the only remotely useful piece given up was Jose Tabata, and he was likely still at least a year and a half away from being in the Majors at the time of his trade.
The trades of which we’re unsure are the ones made in this offseason. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t judge them now.
The first trade made in 2010 was trading Brian Bruney to the Nationals for a player to be named later, Jamie Hoffmann. It appears that the Yankees grew tired of giving the oft-injured and inconsistent Bruney second chances and tried to turn him into a useful bench piece. If Hoffmann doesn’t make the team and must be returned to the Dodgers, as he’s a Rule V pick, then this trade looks a little worse. If he does stick with the team, this trade looks about equal: marginal piece for marginal piece.
This post is running a bit long and the other, more “major” players traded early in 2010 require a separate post that I’ll put up tomorrow. That one will feature my thoughts on Phil Coke, Mike Dunn, Melky Cabrera, Arodys Vizcaino, Ian Kennedy, and Austin Jackson.
Last week, I wrote an article about Austin Jackson and Phil Coke and how they’ll fit into their new team in Detroit. Another place that former Yankees landed in the ‘09-’10 off-season is Atlanta. Three (technically four, but A-Viz is too far off to count) 2009 Yankees have been acquired by the Braves and will call Turner Field home in 2010.
User gondeee of Talking Chop recently mused on what he thinks the Braves 25-Man Roster will look like. Each of the three former Yankees–Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn, and Eric Hinske–are included on gondee’s provisional 25-man roster.
As expected, neither Hinske nor Cabrera is in the starting lineup. The former is blocked at first by new acquisition Troy Glaus at first base, all-time-great Chipper Jones at third base, and both Matt Diaz in LF and ultra-prospect Jason Heyward in right. Cabrera is blocked at the corners by those same two players and in center by Mike Francesa’s favorite, Nate McLouth. Gondee on Hinske and Melky’s spots on the bench:
With Heyward in the everyday lineup and Melky and Hinske on the bench I really like how strong our bench becomes. Both strong and extremely flexible. Flexible not only in the positions that can be played, but also in the combination of power and speed and good defense. This could be the strongest bench the Braves have had since the days of Gerald Williams.
I agree with Gondee’s assessment here; we’ve all always said that Melky is a perfect fourth OF–he can play all three positions and has (at least) the skill to not embarrass himself completely at the plate–and his status as a great fourth OF won’t change just because he’s changing leagues. Despite a respectable .749 OPS against RHP last year, Matt Diaz’s career OPS vs. RHP is only .722, so if he continues to struggle, Melky could get a chance to start again. It’s worth noting, though, that his OPS vs. RHP is only .730. As for Hinske, he represents corner flexibility and good pop off the bench for Atlanta. I think most of us would take a bench player with a career .336 OBP and a .184 IsoP
All in all, Hinske and Cabrera should do very well for the Braves’ bench in 2010. They may not put up monster numbers, but they’ll be among the better bench players in the National League.
Interestingly enough, the author has Mike Dunn making the Braves out of Spring Training. He would join Billy Wagner and Eric O’Flaherty to be third LHP out of the bullpen. As the third lefty–and seventh man overall–Dunn probably won’t get much action, at least early on, but I’m not sure if starting Dunn in the Majors is a great idea. Like Austin Jackson on the hitting side, Dunn probably needs another half of a season in AAA.
A converted outfielder, Dunn needs to work on his control. In a very small sample size in ‘09, Dunn walked five batters in just four innings and has a career BB/9 of 4.0 in the Minors. The latter is not that bad, especially considering the 9.4 K/9 in the minors (as well as five ML K’s in ‘09), but he could still use some work. One has to wonder if getting consistent work for Atlanta’s AAA affiliate for the sake of polish would be better than infrequent work for Dunn, even if it is at the highest level.
A variety of news in recent days regarding some potential and former Yanks, so I decided to put it all in one handy-dandy post for all you fine folks. Here goes:
Randy Johnson to retire-Start the countdown to 1st ballot Hall of Fame induction. He wasn’t the most charming fellow that’s passed through here, and his time as a Yankee was disappointing all around. But he played his ass off for us. Never begged out of a start despite nagging chronic back pain. Anyone who takes an epidural to make a playoff start is someone I’ll never say a bad word about. Check out Tyler Kepner’s ‘appreciation’ piece on the Big Unit.
Eric Hinske signs with Braves-The King of Queens body double has found yet another home for himself, this time with Atlanta. This will be his 6th team in the past 4 years. This of course means that the 10′ Braves will be in the World Series (07 Red Sox/08 Rays/09 Yanks).
Jason Giambi likely to return to Rockies-The infamous golden thong wearer has garnered little interest as a free agent this off season, so it appears likely he will return to Colorado, who has expressed a desire to bring him back for 2010.
Shelly Duncan signs with Indians-Girardi will have to find a new henchman to do his dirty work for him. How cool would it be if Jonny Gomes ends up with the Tribe as well?
In other news, Aroldis Chapman appears ready to make a decision within the next few days. The Angels, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Marlins all appear to be in hot pursuit, but don’t count out the Yanks. This is a classic case where they’ll stay quiet, allow the market to set itself and swoop in with a last minute offer. That is, if they liked what they saw enough to give him 20-25 mil, which appears to be what it will take to land him.
Finally, for those of you still lighting candles for Johnny Damon, Brian Cashman was quoted by Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record saying “Our team is set” and “We have a left fielder. We do like Brett Gardner”. He’s just looking for bench players at this point.
According to the NY Post, the Yankees have added Brian Bruney and Eric Hinske to their World Series roster. They’ll replace Francisco Cervelli and Freddy Guzman. I think most would agree that these additions are good moves. Hinske is a solid bench bat that can help out at Citizen’s Bank Park and, although you never know with Bruney, at this point, he’s more useful than Freddy Guzman. I’m also assuming that Jose Molina won’t catch Burnett this series, making him the backup for every game (meaning Cervelli is expendable).
Here are two quick international items to chew on before the game.
- Apparently, the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, a Japanese team (Pacific League), are interested in signing Eric Hinske this offseason. They like Hinske for his left-handed power against righties (enjoy New York while you still can, Eric) and reportedly tried to sign him a year go.
- In addition, NPB Tracker notes that Yusei Kikuchi, the young lefty who is torn as to whether or not he should pursue a career in Japan or the MLB, has scheduled a press conference for tomorrow. The conference will likely serve as the forum for his decision, which, to this point, is still unclear.
According to Chad Jennings, speedster Freddy Guzman has been added to the Yankees’ ALCS roster in place of Eric Hinske. Nice move by Girardi.
From Mark Feinsand (Daily News):
With Eric Hinske’s arrival and the strong play of both Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner, Girardi plans on using all three in addition to Johnny Damon and Nick Swisher during the second half, setting up a crowded group in the outfield.”I told all the outfielders, ‘We have five guys who are playing pretty good,’” Girardi said. “Everyone is going to play; it’s all about winning ball games.”
X-Men Origins: Wolverine buy Mission: Impossible III buy Damon figures to be in the lineup in left field most days, while either Cabrera or Gardner will play center. That leaves Swisher, Hinske and Cabrera to play right field.
Is anyone worried that Girardi will fall in love with Hinske in RF? Swisher has earned the majority of those starts yet I suspect that RF may develop into some sort of platoon with Swisher against lefties (career .249/.393/.426) and Hinske against righties (career .263/.347/.456). Hinske is useful in the OF and he should be used to give Swisher and Damon days off, however, his value is intimately tied to his ability to play third—not RF—when A-Rod needs a day off. Even if his defense isn’t great there, shouldn’t that be his primary role with the club? I thought the Yankees traded for Hinske for that reason, because he was versatile and could play 3B and the OF?
Acquiring Eric Hinske from the Pirates made sense for the Yankees for one particular reason—he’s versatile, meaning he can play 3B, 1B, RF and LF. Playing 3B is especially important, though, as the Yankees intend to give A-Rod a few off-days, here and there, so that he can remain healthy throughout the season. When asked why the Yankees didn’t promote Shelley Duncan when Xavier Nady went down, rather than bring in Hinske, Brian Cashman noted that Hinske could play 3B while Duncan could not—so, for those wondering why Shelley didn’t get the nod, now you know. It’s all about 3B and A-Rod. Ultimately, Hinske looks to be A-Rod’s regular backup with Cody Ransom, who is hitting .200 and is not a good defender, slowly fading out of the 3B picture (he’ll likely fill-in at SS and 2B).
Already, though, there is some question as to how good Hinske can be at 3B.
For instance, from Peter Abraham, we have the following:
Both Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman were quick to say yesterday that Eric Hinske can play first base, third base, right field and left field.They are correct in the sense that he has played those positions in the past. But as far as third base goes, he should not.
Hinske has played 68 innings at third base since the start of the 2007 season, making two starts for the Pirates this season and four for the Rays last season. Based on the metrics, it is by far his weakest position. Most of his time at third base came early in his career.
Said one exec to Joel Sherman for his blog:: “If the Yanks think he can play third base one time a week for A-Rod, they are crazy. He stinks there.”
That’s pretty blunt. Probably pretty accurate, too.
To be honest, according to UZR Dead & Breakfast video , yes, Hinske isn’t the best at the hot corner, but he did have a particularly bad defensive year in 2003 (-11.9 UZR) at the position which seems to skew his overall numbers (he was better in 2004). I mean, he’s definitely below average there and that was even the case this year with the Pirates, however, with limited time he probably won’t be a terrible third baseman. Also, Cody Ransom, who would have been manning third whenever A-Rod was out, doesn’t figure to be any better there, either (and Ramiro Pena was only slightly above average there, defensively).
In the end, Hinske will be a below average defender at 3B, yet his bat—which is significantly better than Ransom’s (and Pena’s)—will hopefully make up for his defensive shortcomings (Cashman obviously didn’t acquire him for his defense). For that reason alone, he was a worthwhile addition and a smart pickup.
