| Andrew Perna. 6th August, 2008 - 12:44 am
 The Yankees pulled the trigger on a trio of sizable moves over a two-week span at the end of July in hopes of increasing their chances of making the postseason this fall.
It all started on July 18th when New York signed first baseman Richie Sexson, who had been released by Seattle after a disappointing first half of the 2008 season. At that point in time the Yankees were six games over .500 (51-45) and 5.5 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East.
Sexson has appeared in fifteen games so far, recording just eighteen at-bats in pinstripes. However, he is hitting .278 in those select few at-bats, a higher average than we’ve seen since he played for the Brewers in 2002.
He hasn’t had a substantial effect on the Yankees yet, but he’s drawn four walks and has a nice .391 on-base percentage through his first three weeks with the team.
Signing Sexson was a low-risk move for New York from the start. He’s a nice insurance policy for a team that has suffered through a significant amount of injuries in 2008, and not someone that will ever be expected to single-handedly earn victories for the Bombers.
Grade For Sexson Signing: B-
Next, the Yankees acquired outfielder Xavier Nady and reliever Damaso Marte from the Pirates in exchange for pitchers Jeff Karstens, Dan McCutchen, and Ross Ohlendorf and outfielder Jose Tabata.
New York pulled off this trade in the midst of a surge. On July 26th they stood thirteen games over .500 (58-45) and just three games behind Tampa Bay for first place.
Of their three moves, this one ranks the highest because they killed two birds with one stone.
Nady has helped fill a hole in the outfield left by the Hideki Matsui. The Yankees have been tip-toeing around his status as of late, and the completion of this deal could reveal just how worried Brian Cashman is about possibly having lost the leftfielder for the remainder of the season.
For the time-being Nady has made the Yankees forget all about Matsui’s bat as he has tallied a .400 batting average with four home runs and eleven RBIs in his first nine games with New York. It’s unlikely that he’ll maintain such a torrid pace over the final fifty or so games of the season, but the .330 average he brought over from Pittsburgh will be just fine, as well.
Marte has gotten off to a rough start with six earned runs in just 4 2/3 innings, but he’s a much better pitcher than he has shower thus far.
He has a career ERA of 3.29 and has always shown decent command with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.39 over his 459.0 innings in the Majors. Marte also becomes the lone lefty in the bullpen for New York, with starter Andy Pettitte the only other southpaw on the roster.
In addition, Marte (33) brings a veteran presence to a bullpen that aside from Mariano Rivera (38) is relatively young.
The Yankees sent Pittsburgh some nice young talent in the deal, with Tabata and McCutchen embodying the kind of promise the Pirates are always looking for in a midseason trade.
Tabata was considered to be one of New York’s best prospects entering the season, but a hamstring injury momentarily derailed him in Double-A Trenton. He was hitting only .248 through 79 games, and many fans held him in higher regard than he deserved. Since he entered the Yankees’ minor league system in 2005, he has hit .291 with 199 strikeouts and just 105 walks.
McCutchen had a microscopic ERA in Double-A ball, 2.41 and 2.55 at the end of 2007 and beginning of 2008 respectively, but struggled after a promotion to Triple-A ball this spring.
His ERA spiked to 3.58 in 70.1 innings for Scranton-Wilkes Barre, and through his first twelve innings with Indianapolis (Pittsburgh’s Triple-A club) he has a 5.25 ERA and a pair of losses.
While Tabata and McCutchen have yet to even have a cup of coffee in the Majors, both Karstens and Ohlendorf have enjoyed time in “the show”.
Karstens has started ten games in sixteen appearances for the Yankees since 2006, posting a 4-5 record with a 5.12 ERA and more walks (24) than strikeouts (23). Ohlendorf was solid for New York in six brief appearances in 2007 (a 2.84 ERA with 9 K’s and 2 walks over 6 1/3 innings), but looked horrible in extended time this season.
Ross pitched in twenty-five games early in 2008, logging 40.0 innings and 6.53 ERA as he averaged more than a hit per inning (1.25).
Broken down this way, the Yankees appear to have gotten some instant help for a pair of players that haven’t shown they can consistently contribute in the Majors and a duo that have promise, but appear far from ready for the big time.
Grade For Pittsburgh Trade: A-
Upon learning that Jorge Posada would have season-ending surgery on his troublesome shoulder; the Yankees pulled the trigger on a deal with the Tigers to land catcher Ivan Rodriguez for pitcher Kyle Farnsworth.
Farnsworth has always had tremendous stuff and been durable, but his high heat either produces a thrilling strikeout or a deflating home run. He was actually having his best season as a Yankee in 2008, with a 3.65 ERA and 2.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio, but eleven of his eighteen allowed runs came via the long ball.
On July 30th, when they swapped Farnsworth for Rodriguez, New York was eleven games over .500 (59-48) and four games out of first place.
Rodriguez’s reputation speaks for itself. Quite simply, he’s one of the greatest all-around catchers to play the game of baseball. His fourteen All-Star appearances, thirteen Gold Gloves and seven Silver Sluggers are evidence of that.
His bat has slowed down ever-so-slightly in his “old” age and he can’t catch more than 140 games a season anymore, but he’ll serve as a nice replacement for Posada as the season wears down. If he can hit just below .300, be patient at the plate and smack a few timely round-trippers, New York will be much better off than they would have been with Jose Molina as their full-time backstop.
It doesn’t hurt that the Yankees will be able to part ways with I-Rod after this season, opening the lead position up for Posada once again in 2009. Farnsworth, who will also hit the free agent market this winter, was likely done in New York whether he finished out the season in pinstripes or not.
Grade For Detroit Trade: B+
Heading into their second game of a four-game set against the Rangers on Tuesday night, the Yankees sat ten games over .500 (61-51) and were ironically 5.5 games back of the Rays for first place – exactly were they stood a little less than three weeks ago.
After storming out of the gates with eight-straight wins after the All-Star break, the Yankees have stumbled and lost six of their last nine contests.
On paper it appears as though the trio of moves New York made in a span that lasted less than two weeks will help them extend their postseason streak, but with a number of players hobbling around the clubhouse only time will tell if these four new faces will be enough.
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM. Please feel free to contact him via e-mail with comments or questions on this piece: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com. |
