Trade Rumor: O's Want Young SS for Wigginton

The trade deadline is barely over a month away and the Yankees, as usual, are expected to be buyers again this season. Thanks to an over $200 million payroll they really don’t have many needs, but they do need some bullpen help and another bat.

One player who is on the trade block who could help the Yankees is Ty Wigginton, but even though we don’t know if the Orioles would trade him within their division to the Yankees we do know what the O’s are expecting to get back for him thanks to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

Rosenthal has reported that the Orioles won’t trade Wigginton unless they are getting back a young shortstop.

This could be good for the Yankees depending on exactly what quality shortstop they are looking for. If they are looking for an elite young prospect then they are probably out of luck, but the Yankees might have a number of players that might interest Baltimore: Eduardo Nunez, Ramiro Pena, Kevin Russo, or Reegie Corona.

Again, the Orioles might be talking a top prospect type of shortstop. Or they might be talking a Nunez type. If the Yankees are really lucky they’d settle for Pena, but that seems unrealistic even if he were packaged with another prospect.

One thing you can be certain about, Andy MacPhail, the Orioles president, knows that Wigginton is one of the more attractive veterans that will be available. That means he’s going to wait, probably right up until the deadline, and get the best package he can for Wigginton. So if the Yankees do get him, it won’t be cheap.

Yankees Offensive Rankings

People have been bemoaning the Yankees offense for the past couple of days and even weeks. It’s true that their offense has been inconsistent of late, but with two of their biggest pieces Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez missing time that his to be expected. Overall though, their numbers look pretty good.

Tm	BatAge	R/G	R	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS ▾	OPS+
BOS	31.4	5.54	388	173	7	93	371	24	7	275	463	.279	.354	.469	.823	115
NYY	30.3	5.47	372	118	17	77	354	42	13	283	441	.276	.360	.440	.801	118
CIN	29.3	4.88	337	125	17	83	327	50	22	226	508	.276	.342	.449	.790	109
DET	29.7	4.57	306	143	11	60	287	27	8	235	447	.274	.343	.425	.768	104
MIL	28.6	4.82	328	131	15	83	311	40	10	248	502	.260	.336	.431	.767	107
MIN	28.6	4.78	325	132	15	59	305	30	7	271	388	.272	.348	.417	.766	106
	29.2	4.48	9181	3750	373	1907	8759	1284	481	6948	14210	.259	.330	.406	.735	97

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/20/2010.

These are the MLB offensive rankings entering today. As you can see the Yankees are second in runs scored, runs per game, and OPS slightly behind the Red Sox in every category. Their numbers are a deccent amount better than the rest of the league though. It is a little scary to see the Red Sox doing so well offensively being as that was supposed to be their weak point this season.

These numbers don’t tell the entire story though. Over the last 30 days these numbers have taken a hit. They have scored 135 runs (8th in MLB), 4.82 R/G, with an OPS of .774 (7th in MLB). Getting Posada and A-Rod back will help those numbers. If Mark Teixeira can stay hot (he’s hitting .300 with a 1.029 OPS over the past 11 games) that will also be a big boast.

They could add a bat to help sustain these numbers, but unfortunately they don’t really have an opening in the lineup. Their DH spot is open, but they may want to leave that open for Posada and they are still counting on Nick Johnson to return. Realistically their best avenue to add another bat will be on the bench where an upgrade over Ramiro Pena and Kevin Russo may be necessary.

A-Rod Will See Doctor After Leaving Game Early

Alex Rodriguez didn’t even get an at bat last night when the Yankees pinch hit for him in the second inning with Ramiro Pena of all people. After the game A-Rod said that he left because his groin, that he injured last week, was stiff. There was no pain, but it was stiff.

Here is more from Chad Jennings:

“It’s hard to describe,” he said. “I’m going to see Dr. Ahmad tomorrow in the morning in New York and see what he thinks.”

Rodriguez said he feels no pain, only a nagging stiffness. He’s felt it the past few days, but it’s always gone away after he’s warmed up. Before today’s game, he told Ramiro Pena to be ready, and when Adam Jones singled through the left side of the infield in the first inning, Rodriguez knew he was done.

“Not only do I make the play, it’s a routine play,” he said. “It’s a play that you make 10 out of 10 times. I just locked up. At that point, I pointed at Nino.”

Rodriguez wouldn’t speculate on whether the problem is related to last year’s hip surgery, but it is on the same side. He said he’s still hoping to play tomorrow.

This sounds like it could be nothing or it could be something really bad. Expect Kevin Russo to start at third base over the next couple of days. Even if nothing is seriously wrong with A-Rod, manager Joe Girardi is sure to be cautious because without A-Rod there is a gaping hole in the lineup. He said he hopes to play tomorrow, but I find that hard to believe.

If A-Rod misses significant time the Yankees might not have to make a trade to fill his spot at third base. Obviously it would still be an enormous drop-off, but third base prospect Brandon Laird is doing well this year hitting .310 with a .891 OPS. That would probably take something drastic. Most likely it’ll be Russo handling third base if A-Rod misses any games.

Jorge Posada's Career Will Never Be The Same Again

Yesterday I wrote about the Yankees sending IF/OF Kevin Russo down when Jorge Posada was activated, but that’s not what ended up happening. Instead they demoted 1B/DH Juan Miranda and the reason is because Jorge Posada is more of a DH than ever before.

See, I knew that Posada was going to come back as a DH and not a catcher, but I thought that was only going to be through the weekend. Instead this sounds like something that could happen for a couple of weeks. Even after he returns to catching it is likely that we’re to see Francisco Cervelli catching his fair share too.

So with Posada expected to be the every day DH there is no real need for Miranda. Thames is the bat off the bench and Russo is the backup first baseman. Also Chad Moeller is going to be the backup for longer than we thought.

“I know that I can catch and I know that I can be out there,” Posada said. “But a lot of circumstances have come. I’m going to have to be smart about it. If I’m in the lineup, I’m happy. I would like to catch here and there sometimes, but I understand what the future holds.”

He also said: “Two or three weeks from now, I’m probably going to be 100 percent.”

The Yankees say that they want him to be their everyday catcher as soon as he’s ready, but in reality there is no rush.

With Nick Johnson out until July or August they do need a DH so keeping Posada in that role makes sense.

Cervelli has also done a great job as the everyday catcher in his absence. Why not let him keep playing?

That’s not to say that Posada won’t catch. He will. But the days of him being this team’s primary catcher are over. At least until Johnson returns Cervelli won’t be riding pine.

Even beyond this season Posada won’t necessarily be the primary catcher. Between Posada’s four injuries in the last two years and Johnson’s own injuries the Yankees aren’t likely to resign the impending free agent. Instead they’ll likely use Posada as the full time DH and split time behind the plate between Cervelli and top prospect Jesus Montero.

So it’s too early to tell right now, but it seems like Posada the catcher is poinsed to become Posada the catcher/DH.

Activate Posada -> Send Russo Down -> DFA Moeller -> Call Up Curtis

The Yankees catcher Jorge Posada is probably coming off the DL today, but there is no clear choice of whom the Yankees will send down to the minors when they activate him.

It could be back-up catcher Chad Moeller, but because of the nature of Posada’s injury and the position he plays that’s probably not a smart idea. Especially as Posada is expected to DH through this weekend.

It could be Juan Miranda as his at bats will take a big hit with Posada taking up space as the team’s DH for at least the next week. The problem here is that Mark Teixeira is day-to-day after leaving yesterday’s game early because he fouled a ball off his foot. If Miranda is sent down than there is no insurance at first base while Tex is questionable.

No, the person the Yankees should send down is Kevin Russo. Russo is doing well for himself since coming up despite some mediocre numbers because he has come up with some timely hits and has played three different positions for them and he has done well at all three.

The problem is that up until this season Russo was primarily a middle infielder. He never really played third base or any outfield positions which is how the Yankees have been using him. In fact, he probably never would have been called up if Colin Curtis had not been on the DL.

So the Yankees should send Russo back down to Scranton when they activate Posada. There he can continue his development defensively in the outfield (he’s already spent an entire season at Triple-A so his bat is probably about as ready as it’s ever going to be).

Meanwhile, when the time comes and Posada is ready to step back behind the plate full-time Moeller will no longer be necessary. At that point the Yankees will have to DFA him and if he clears waivers they’ll send him back down to Scranton. To take his spot on the roster the Yankees will then call up the outfielder Curtis.

Curtis is after all, not Russo and not Greg Golson, the outfielder the Yankees would have called up in the first place had he not been on the DL. That gives the Yankees a halfway decent bat off the bench, somebody who can play all three outfield positions, and it will give time for Russo to become the super-sub that he probably needs to be to stay in the Bronx for good.

Cashman Made A Mistake Signing Winn

Last offseason the Yankees were in the market for an outfielder that could hit lefties. The tricky thing was that Johnny Damon was a free agent.

The Yankees didn’t want Damon though. They didn’t want to deal with the hassle of dealing with his agent Scott Boras and certainly didn’t want to give in to his multi-year contract demands. The Yankees had long term plans that Damon’s multi-year deal would have interfered with and had a young outfielder named Brett Gardner who had such flashy defense that they felt compelled to give him a shot.

So the Yankees tried to make it clear that they weren’t interested in Damon, despite the fact that nobody believed them myself included. At the same time they were looking for a bat that they could platoon against lefties. Part of the thing they did to do this was establish very publicly that they were only looking to spend $2 million tops.

Their net was not cast wide enough for Damon, but it turned out that it was wide enough to catch Randy Winn in. Understand, Winn is somebody that Brian Cashman has liked for years. He’s been trying to trade for him ever since his days with Seattle. Winn had just come off a year where he was getting paid $8.25 million and Cashman has been dealing with a stubborn player all offseason. My guess is that he couldn’t believe that Winn, with all of his experience, was so willing to take what was obviously a low-ball offer.

The Yankees said all offseason that they were searching for an outfielder who could hit lefties and signed Winn instead. Winn had been good throughout his career against lefties, but in recent years he has become over-matched by them. He was 0-for-11 against southpaws as a Yankee. Winn’s contract was loaded with incentives for plate appearances against lefties and in the end he faced them 11 times.

Luckily for the Yankees they were able to nab Marcus Thames on a minor league contract and he’s worked out pretty well. But it does say a lot that the Yankees cut Winn before it’s even June. It signals that even they realize they made a mistake. Keeping Kevin Russo around, a guy who until this season had never played a single game in the outfield, in Winn’s place is another sign that they realize they’ve made a mistake.

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Another related note, with Russo on the roster and the Yankees in the market for an outfield bat (ESPN’s Jayson Stark reported this yesterday) Ramiro Pena should be very worried about his spot on the roster. If Russo keeps playing well and the Yankees do trade for a bat then it could be the end for Pena.

Yankees Notes: Roster Moves, Scranton, and Protests

The Yankees are coming off of a rather tough stretch where they went a disappointing 4-8. Now that the Red Sox and Rays are behind them they will start rolling against some weaker competition. I’m not sure if that includes the Mets who have been both up and down this year, mostly down. The two teams start the first of two Subway Series tonight.

First, here is some news bits:

• The Yankees have been juggling their roster quite a bit lately. Before yesterday’s game they put Jorge Posada on the DL and called up catcher Chad Moeller. To make room for Moeller on the 40-man roster they put Nick Johnson on the 60-day DL.
• RHP Mark Melancon was also sent back down to the minors, if you are looking for directions from Scranton to the Bronx he is your man to ask. In his place the Yankees recalled infielder Kevin Russo who is becoming more of an outfielder too.
• Brian Cashman also told Chad Jennings that if he were not on the Scranton DL, outfielder Colin Curtis would likely have gotten some major league time by now.
• The Yankees have signed 26-year-old catcher Rene Rivera, according to Mike Ashmore, who will take Moeller’s place as the backup in Scranton. This could be a very temporary relationship ended when Posada comes off the DL.
• Speaking of Scranton, the Yankees announced that they have extended their relationship to keep Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as their Triple-A affiliate through the 2014 season.
• Finally, as expected, the Yankees lost their protest of Tuesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox. I don’t think anybody really thought it would hold up.

That’s all for now. We’ll have more later today on the Yankees struggles and we should have a Subway Series preview up at some point too! So make sure to check back here at Bronx Baseball Daily throughout the day for the latest Yankees news.

One more thought, if it’s not too late when you are reading this, there is a Yankees game on the MLB Network from 1990. Yeah, that team sucked but it features a Deion Sanders vs. Bo Jackson match-up and vintage Don Mattingly (actually 1990 was probably the worst year in Mattingly entire career). It started at noon, so be quick like a bunny.

Injury Bug Continues to Plague Yankees

Photo Credit to Getty Images

After a 10-3 drubbing of the Red Sox last night, the talk of the town was on the health of the Yankees instead of the fantastic pitching by Phil Hughes.  Coming into this series the Yankees had their share of dings and dents, but after game one the list has gotten longer.

In the 5th inning, last night, Marcus Thames pinch hit for Nick Johnson, which promptly raised a few eyebrows.  It had appeared that nothing serious had become of NJ, but as the game progressed news broke that NJ was battling a wrist injury and it forced him from the game.  Johnson is going to be put on the DL.  Utilityman Kevin Russo is being called up to take his spot on the 25-man roster.  Russo plays all over the infield and has even seen some time in the outfield this season in Scranton.  With various Yankees being dinged up, Russo’s positional flexibility will be very helpful.

Later in the game Boston starter Josh Beckett really struggled with his command and hit Robinson Cano on the inside of his left knee.  It was definitely unintentional, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Robbie was forced to leave the game.  Cano is not expected to go on the DL, but he is not in the lineup today and probably will sit again tomorrow.  Ramiro Pena will start at second while Cano is out. UPDATE: According to Mark Feinsand, Cano will take batting practice and may play in today’s game.  If I were Girardi I would err on the side of caution and let Cano have a day to rest, but that’s just me. UPDATE (2:55): Cano is the DH today and will bat 5th.

Joe Pawlikowski at River Ave Blues did a great job breaking down the Yankees possible roster moves to counter their injuries.  I’d say the best option is for a rainout today; the Yanks could use a day off to recover.

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On a positive note, did everyone thoroughly enjoy the Phil Hughes show last night?  I sure did.  I really can’t get over how great he has been this season.  Last night’s line was 7IP 7H 2R 1BB 7K.  Always great when a start like that raises his ERA to 1.69.  Let’s just sit back and enjoy watching him develop right in front us.  From Ben Shpigel, “Phil Hughes is youngest Yankee to win first four decisions of a season as SP since Whitey Ford (21) began 1950 at 9-0.”  That’s not too shabby eh?

Yankees Notes: The What Did I Miss? Edition

Hey BBD readers, if you haven’t noticed I have been gone since Sunday, I was off getting engaged, so I haven’t paid any attention whatsoever to the Bombers. The crew here has done a great job keeping you updated on the daily ins-and-outs and what-have-yous, but for my own sake, and the sake of anyone else who might have missed the last couple of days, I figured I’d run down some of the recent happenings.

• First of all, we had our Free Ticket Giveaway officially end Thursday/Friday night. We had close to 300 people enter the contest which I think is pretty good for my first attempt at a contest like that. Give me a couple of days and I promise I’ll officially announce the winner by this Friday.
• Curtis Granderson landed himself on the DL and could miss a month or more with a strained groin. Mark Melancon was called up in his place which is odd considering that the Yankees are short an outfielder now and are carrying 13 pitchers with the least used bullpen in all of baseball.
• It’s also odd since Jorge Posada left Monday’s game with a calf strain. It doesn’t look like he’s DL bound, but as long as they’re calling people up it would make sense to call catcher Chad Moeller up.
• Although, according to Donnie Collins of the Scranton Times-Tribune, the Yankees are actually expected to make a roster move soon, but it won’t be for Moeller. Instead outfielder Greg Golson is expected to get the call.
• When reading about Golson getting the call up I came across another interesting bit, infielder Kevin Russo is actually filling in for him at center field. He’s never played there before, but I really like to hear that potential bench parts give themselves more options like this. The Yankees don’t have a lot of outfield depth in the minors and if Russo can pick up a new position he could have an easier path to the Bronx.
• Mariano Rivera also sat last night as Joba Chamberlain picked up his first save of the season. We were not aware of this until after the game, but apparently he was sitting last night thanks to some tightness on his left side.
• Of course there is also Javier Vazquez getting his next start skipped and Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira received their gold gloves. So don’t miss those stories.

I think that’s all of it. Was there anything else I missed?

David Adams Not Helping Minor League Logjam

Entering spring training this season it was generally regarded that Ramiro Pena had the inside track to win the Yankees utility infielder position, but despite the experience he received in 2009 it was hardly a given that the job was his because the Yankees had three other possibilities on their 40-man roster – Reegie Corona, Eduardo Nunez and Kevin Russo.

All four are near major league ready and even though the Yankees went with Pena, they easily could have picked any of them. Corona was probably the least likely just because he is so similar to Pena, but his glove is just a tick below Pena’s. Nunez and Russo don’t have Pena’s glove, but Pena can’t touch their bats. It leaves the Yankees with an interesting question for the future.

One thing is certain, none of these players are going to get a legit shot at a starting infield job without a major injury because of Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Mark Teixeira. Even Robinson Cano seems to have a lot of job security, he’s 27-years-old, just entering his prime, batting no. 5 for the Yankees, and has batting title and gold glove potential. He might start getting expensive, but you don’t just trade away somebody with that potential.

So what are the Yankees going to do when they need to promote David Adams who is hitting .500 so far this season?

Adams, 22, is the starting second baseman for the Double-A Trenton Thunder. He’s not going to be able to keep up his .500 batting average for long, but if he continues to hit at the Double-A level at some point the Yankees are going to have to promote him. Just look at what he’s done through four games, 16 at bats, 8 hits, 4 runs, 3 doubles, 1 homer, 5 RBI’s, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, a 1.250 OPS. Like I said, it’s impossible for him to keep up those numbers, but based on early returns he’s handled the jump from Single-A to Double-A, often thought of as the hardest leap in the minors, with relative ease. If he keeps it up a promotion will be necessary.

So what do you do? The Yankees have to make a trade and they’re going to have to involve at least one, if not two, of their infielders currently on the 40-man roster (that includes Juan Miranda) in this deal. Hopefully it is not Adams himself they are trading away because he seems like he’s got real potential.

Brief scouting report on Adams: Adams is a thick second baseman who has always been compared to Jeff Kent body wise. He’s strong defensively, but nothing spectacular. He has above average pop in his bat for a second baseman, 20 home runs a year is not out of the question for this kid. He’s also focused on hitting for average as he hit .286 across two levels in the minors last year. With all of that his most impressive skill might be his base running, where he is very aggressive, but smart. He’s definitely not a 20+ stolen base guy, but he will never be considered a bad base runner and will not be a station to station type guy.

This is a good problem for the Yankees to have, but one that is going to need a solution sooner rather than later. Maybe the solution is to move Adams to the outfield, but then he’d really have to focus on his power to still be considered a strong prospect. Maybe the solution is to move Cano to the outfield, but then you think about the way he turns the double-play and you think that is unlikely.

The Yankees can put off those decisions until 2011 though, for right now they just have to identify which of their four infielders on the 40-man roster, Pena, Corona, Nunez, and Russo is a AAAA player and try to find somebody who is interested in trading for them.