Just an Idea… May 18, 2008
Posted by Pablo Zevallos in Uncategorized.trackback
Note: This is just an idea, NOT an established rumor from anywhere.
The Brewers have bullpen needs, with free-agent acquisitions David Riske (4.71 ERA, 1.43 WHIP) and Eric Gagne (6.27 ERA, 1.87 WHIP) not pitching as expected. The bullpen owns a 4.39ERA, and the only dependable piece, Solomon Torres, is 36 and has pitched in almost half the team’s games. They also have top 1B/LF prospect Matt LaPorta, who is hitting .313/.428/.619 with 10HRs and 38RBI and 25BB:25K at AA and is, by all accounts, almost Major League-ready. The Brewers have star 1B Prince Fielder and also capable starters in CF–Mike Cameron for this year, Gabe Kapler, and top prospect Corey Gillespie hitting .273/.359/.531with 8HRs and 31RBI at AA as well.
The Yankees have two relief pitcher prospects rising through the system–Mark Melancon and J.B. Cox. Cox is already at AAA and Melancon is at AA. Both will be Major-League ready soon. Moreover, the Yankees have two relievers, RHP Kyle Farnsworth (4.05 ERA, and it was 2.84 before yesterday, with a 1.45 WHIP)and RHP LaTroy Hawkins(6.05 ERA, 1.35 WHIP), both whom are unreliable and one (Hawkins) who is old and on the decline. However, both have had recent success in the National League. In 2005, Farnsworth had a career half -year with the Braves (he was also excellent with the Tigers that year), pitching 27.1 innings and posting a 1.98 ERA, allowing 15H and 7BB while striking out 32. Hawkins pitched last year for the NL Champ Rockies, posting a 3.42 ERA in 55.1 innings, allowing 52H and 16BB while striking out 29, but also posting a 65% GB rate.
You might think, well, two spare part mid-30s relievers and a blocked top prospect might not match well together. Here’s where our new farm system comes in:
If the Brewers truly believe that Cameron, Kapler, and Gillespie aren’t enough to play CF for a contender, then they may ask for a CF in return. In that case Brett Gardner, who has found some power to go along with blazing speed and solid defense, may be offered.
Or the Brewers may find that they need more pitching prospects in the organization, as Carlos Villanueva, Manny Parra, and Dave Bush aren’t doing well, and top prospect Jeremy Jeffress is in his umpteenth drug supsension. Then we may offer Jeff Marquez, whose value is better than it really should be. He is having a career worst 5.60 FIP, 41% GB rate (bad for a sinkerballer), and only 4.9 K/9. While I think this is his true self, maybe the Brewers think they can fix him up and make him something useful–a back-end starter or perhaps relief help.
At this point we have Farnsworth, Hawkins, and Marquez/Gardner for LaPorta. That may not seem like a lot, but if Farnsworth pitches well he could snag Type B FA status and a supplemental 1st round draft pick.The match-ups present financial problems, as the Brewers are a small market payroll team coming in at $80.9M, and Farnsworth and Hawkins make $8.75M, nearly 10% of their current payroll. We can assume that the Yankees can eat $4-$5M dollars, and that makes everyone happy. It should be noted that Farnsworth and Hawkins are on one-year deals, so there is no long-term commitment.
Information from FirstInning.com and Cot’s Baseball Contracts was used in this post.
A few questions about this….In this scenario they DON’T go after Teixeira right? Do they need to hold onto Gardner for a post-Damon/Matsui world? What are the odds Farnsworth even qualifies for a Type B? Seems that FA pools are drying up.
He already is a Type B (and Joba was one slot away from being a Type B as well). And yes, they don’t go after Texeira, and they’ve given up on Duncan and Miranda. It’s best to hold on to Gardner, but it’s not like he’s indispensible.
I don’t know why you say they’ve given up on Duncan. He never plays, or barely.
We need to keep Gardner, with Abreu leaving next year, we’ll have a spot for a 4th outfielder. Or maybe we can move Melky to RF, and give Gardner a shot at CF. Gardner is better defensively than Melky, but Melky has better arm. I think Gardner should be called up on August.
I like that post, trading Farnsworth and Hawkins sounds like a good idea. I don’t think they’ll want LaPorta. They’ll be aiming for Teixeira right away. But if there’s a trade the Yankees should get rid of Farnsworth and Hawkins right away. We have David Robetson comming soon, and Marquez and maybe Horne, will get a call up.
What do you think of getting a trade for Bucs Damaso Marte? He’s a lefty, he pitches excellent against leftys and he can pitch very well agaisnt rightys too. vs. Left: .179 vs. Right: .226. The Pirates won’t keep it, because he’s a free agent at the end of the year. And he’s kinda expensive for them. So if we trade guys like Shelley Duncan and something else. We might get this excellent reliever. We need a lefty.
I was referring to Eric Duncan, anyway.
I don’t think Robertson comes up until September. He has finally hit a bit of a wall at Scranton, and the Yankees would be wise to keep him there just for him to sort things out, particularly with control. I don’t like the idea of Marte. He’s overpaid at $6M, he’s 33, and the Pirates will ask for king’s ransom for him anyway. He’d net us a Type B at the end of the year, but I’d pass.