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Grading The Deal: Johnson Goes Back To Arizona

Authored by Brandon Contest - 11th January, 2007 - 11:06 pm

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The Yankees have traded Randy Johnson back to Arizona ending the future Hall of Famer's very disappointing career in pinstripes. The Yankees sent The Big Unit and $2 million to Arizona for reliever Luis Vizcaino and three minor leaguers.

Vizcaino is a 32-year old right hander who went 4-6 last season with an ERA of 3.58 in 70 appearances. He has a career record of 25-23 and a 4.24 ERA in eight seasons. The three minor leaguers included in the deal were right handed pitchers Ross Ohlendorf, and Steven Jackson, and shortstop Alberto Gonzalez, all of whom are 24 years old. Ohlendorf, went 10-8 with a 3.29 ERA at double A Tennessee, and Jackson went 8-11 with a 2.64 ERA also at Tennessee. Gonzalez, a right-handed hitter, batted .290 with six homers and 50 RBIs.

Johnson pitched for the Yankees for two years and was a disappointment to say the least. In his first season in pinstripes, Johnson was 17-8 with a 3.79 ERA, and last season he went 17-11 with an ERA of 5.00. He was a disaster in the playoffs, going 0-1 with a 6.92 ERA in three starts. After dominating in Arizona, both in the regular season and playoffs, New York had high expectations for Johnson coming to the Yankees and he did nothing but disappoint.

The Yankees were able to pull off a great trade by unloading Johnson, getting prospects in return, and having to pay only $2 million. The Yankees would have had to pay $16 million for a pitcher who was no longer producing.

Bringing Johnson back to the National League may help him, but don't expect the Johnson of old especially after the decrease in velocity as his fastball now only hits the low 90s.

The Diamondbacks will pay Johnson $14 million for the upcoming season, and I believe even with his decreased performance he will probably prove to be worth that amount because of the increase in attendance that he will bring. I do not however think he will be worth the $14 million plus the prospects that Arizona gave up, as well as the extension they signed him to.

Arizona: C

The D-Backs gave up too much for an aging pitcher who does too little.

Yankees: A+

They unloaded a huge disappointment, received prospects in return, and have to pay only $2 million of Johnson‚s salary. There is absolutely nothing wrong with their side of the deal, and this is coming from a die-hard Mets fan.

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