Yankees trade options, part deux

Here are some more trade options that have popped up over the last few days. The Yankees' trade landscape has, of course, been altered significantly by yesterday's injury to Andy Pettitte. Yanks GM Brian Cashman has maintained all along that his main priorities are finding bench depth (presumably in the infield, since the team has a plethora of outfield depth on the roster and in AAA) and relief pitching. You'd have to think, though, that with the stretch drive shaping up, Cashman would much prefer a proven veteran arm in the rotation while Pettitte's gone, as opposed to Sergio Mitre or a rookie such as Ivan Nova or David Phelps, as talented as two are.

1. Get Ted Lilly from the Cubs. The Cubs' season was over long before the all-star break, and they are ready to begin selling off their higher-priced, higher-valued veterans. Lilly's been a Yankee before, he's as predictably consistent as the tide, and he's left-handed. He's no Cliff Lee--or Andy Pettitte, for that matter--but he leads the second-tier pitching market.

2. Get Cody Ross and Leo Nunez from the Fish. The Marlins are about ready to sell, as I mentioned in my last post, and a Ross/Nunez package would fill both the holes that Cashman wants to fill. Ross is a righty-swinging, versatile outfielder with decent power who will hit around .280 without embarassing himself in the field. Nunez is a hard-throwing reliever who is having a career year as the Marlins' closer but would make a solid setup guy for Mariano Rivera. The Red Sox are reportedly asking Florida about these two players as well, so we may see a deal swung sooner rather than later.

3. Get Jonathan Sanchez from San Fran. I should begin by saying that the Giants are likely not very motivated to move Sanchez. He's a young, hard-throwing, left-handed strikeout machine on a team that is built around pitching but struggles to score runs. They would probably want major-league hitters or top prospects for Sanchez and the Yankees don't really match up there. Our top hitting prospects are catchers and the Giants already have their catcher of the future in Buster Posey. But Sanchez is a starter with bullpen experience and is nearly unhittable at times.

4. Get Jayson Werth from Philly. Werth is a classic late-blooming slugger who finally came into his own with the Phils during their World Series run. Top prospect Domonic Brown is waiting in the wings at AAA and is nearly ready to supplant Werth in right field, so Philly will probably be taking offers. The Yankees could work a sort of platoon with Nick Swisher where he and Werth rotate through right field and DH so that both are always in the lineup. The main problem with making this deal is that the Phillies are looking for the same thing the Yankees are: pitching and infield depth.

5. Get Jason Vargas and/or Brandon League from the M's (yeah, right...). This trade will likely never happen for the simple reason that Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik made a verbal agreement to trade Cliff Lee to the Yankees. then shopped the deal around and used it to get a better offer from Texas, which he accepted. Brian Cashman and the Yankees do not appreciate being used and they will not forget. League is a hard thrower out of the bullpen, and is accustomed to the AL East, having been with Toronto prior to this season. Vargas is a veteran lefty having a career revival with Seattle. Both could probably be acquired on the cheap for mid-level prospects.

6. Get Scott Downs from the Jays. Downs is the closest thing to a sure thing as far as left-handed relievers go. His numbers over the last couple seasons have been outstanding and the Yankees are one of three teams considered to be seriously interested, along with Boston and Philly. He would instantly and dramatically improve the Yankee bullpen, and he'd give Joe Girardi a weapon he can be confident in against top lefty sluggers in the stretch run and postseason.

7. Get Fausto Carmona from the Tribe. The Indians will be sellers at the deadline, but it will be interesting to see what they do with Carmona. His trade value should be high, as he is a young starting pitcher with very good stuff, but he is signed to a relatively team-friendly deal for the next few years. Will Cleveland try to get something for him, or will they hold onto him and decide to build around him? Stay tuned...

8. Get Ben Sheets from the A's. Sheets' ERA is higher than normal this season, but you know what you're going to get from him, and he would likely benefit from having speedy outfielders like Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson chasing down fly balls behind him. He's due a little less than $4 mil for the rest of the season and could probably be had for a reasonable price. The biggest knock on Sheets has been his injury history.

Yankees options at the trade deadline

The MLB trade deadline is just two weeks away, and I'm wondering what the New York Yankees will be doing. They almost got Cliff Lee last week, but the Mariners shopped the deal around and sent him to Texas instead. The Yanks need help in the bullpen, on the bench, and at the DH spot. After some careful consideration, here are the options that I find most interesting.

1. Get Carlos Zambrano from the Cubs. He's become a headache in Chicago, but he's a former all-star and he's still in his prime years. When healthy, he has electric stuff, and the Cubs might be willing to eat salary just to get him off the roster. Before suspending him, Lou Piniella was using him out of the bullpen, which is where the Yankees could plug him in, then maybe use him as a back-of-the-rotation starter next season if Andy Pettitte retires and/or Javier Vazquez is wearing a different uniform. Oh yeah, and Zambrano is a tremendous hitter, too, which would help in the World Series.

2. Get Adam Dunn from the Nats. ESPN reported this week that Dunn is getting sick of waiting for an extension from Washington and will probably leave after the season, so they are probably more motivated to trade him than what they are letting on. But the Yanks could really use a classic power bat in the middle of that lineup, and that's exactly what Dunn is. His bat would play perfectly to Yankee Stadium's short right-field fence, and he'd DH, so he wouldn't be hurting all of our eyes with his awful defense.

3. Sign George Sherrill. The lefty reliever was just placed on outright waivers by LA, meaning he can be claimed by anyone, or signed as a free agent in a couple days. He's been terrible this season, but was an all-star as recently as '08 and is another candidate to rebound with a change of scenery. The Yankees need a lefty in the pen...actually, they need somebody, ANYBODY in the pen, and there's really nothing to lose by giving Sherrill a shot.

4. Get Dan Uggla from the Fish. Marlins owner Jeffery Loria may finally be realizing that his team is going nowhere fast this season, and it may be time to jettison some of their larger contracts. Uggla is a power bat who's a natural second baseman but has the power and body type to play third. The Yankees could rotate him between DHing and spelling A-Rod at third on his off-days.

5. Get Ty Wigginton from the O's. Wigginton can hit, shows a decent amount of power, and plays all over the infield. The Yankees' current utility infielder is Ramiro Pena, he of the sub-.200 batting average. Pena's main two skills are his glovework and looking a little bit like Ralph Macchio...Wigginton's versatility and skills with the bat would be a tremendous upgrade.

6. Get Prince Fielder from the Brewers. He'd be DHing, of course, with Mark Teixeira manning first base in the Bronx for six and a half more years, but his lefty power bat is perfect for Yankee Stadium, and the Yanks can afford him. He knows CC Sabathia from CC's half-season in Milwaukee, and who better to give Fielder the Teixeira-esque contract he desires but the team who actually signed that very deal? This deal would definitely require trading top prospect Jesus Montero, so the Yankees would likely want a negotiating window to make sure they could sign Fielder for years to come before actually pulling the trigger on a deal.

7. Get Joakim Soria from KC. Soria is the closer in KC, and the Yanks already have a pretty good one of those-- see Rivera, Mariano-- but he'd be a darn good setup guy, too, and you'd have to think he'd be willing to give up closing to be able to set up for someone like Mo and pitch for a winning team after spending his whole career in Kansas City. The Royals, however, may not be especially motivated to trade Soria unless they receive an offer they can't refuse. His contract is affordable and he's a fan favorite.

8. Call up Jonathan Albaledejo from Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Albaledejo has been mediocre in his few major-league appearances, but so far this season, he's been dominant as Scranton's closer, and you'd think the Yanks would give him a shot in the bigs before making a trade for a reliever.

9. Get Ivan Rodriguez (again) from the Nats. Pudge is enjoying something of a renaissance this season in DC, and acquiring a solid-hitting, gold-glove caliber catcher like Rodriguez would enable the Yankees to play Posada more often at DH, which is where his future probably lies anyway. Plus he would be a short-term stopgap at the position until Montero, or more likely Austin Romine, is ready to take over as the Yankees' catcher.

10. The deals I don't think they'll make. Houston's Roy Oswalt and Arizona's Dan Haren are both available, but the asking price for either will be steep. Arizona is reportedly asking for two starters and a reliever in exchange for Haren, and the Yankees will most likely be hesitant to trade that much young pitching depth. Dealing for a pitcher of Oswalt's caliber would almost certainly require dealing Jesus Montero, but at Oswalt's age, and with the fact that he's never pitched in the AL, it would be smarter to hang onto Montero and deal him for someone they will have for years to come.