According to Peter Abraham, Chien-Ming Wang will be out for at least 10 weeks with his foot injury. This is a big blow for the Yankees, losing their best pitcher. The Yankees may be forced to look outside the organization to fill the void created by Wang’s injury. Here are some possibilities:
- C.C. Sabathia – He will probably be the most popular choice among Yankee fans. Except that it will cost the Yankees and arm and two legs to trade for him. Plus, he will be a free agent at the end of the season and he could be a three month rental. (Although I can’t imagine the Yankees would let him sign elsewhere if they gave up lots of prospects to get him.) Sure he’s the best pitcher that will be on the trading block. But Sabathia comes with a great deal of risk. He is almost certain to land a $100 million contract this off-season and those deals often blow up in the team’s face. (See Zito, Barry; Hampton, Mike; and Brown, Kevin.)
- A.J. Burnett – I’m more likely to join Red Sox Nation than Burnett is to get traded to the Yankees. There’s is no way that the Jays will trade such a talented pitcher to a division rival. But his name may get thrown around, because the Jays are looking to shop him and the Yanks may be looking for a pitcher. If this happens, I would be in shock.
- Rich Harden or Joe Blanton – The A’s are always looking to deal. But the price will be high for either of these guys, as A’s G.M. Billy Beane almost never gets ripped off. He will be asking a lot for both of these guys, probably more than they’re worth.
- Freddy Garcia – I’ve said multiple times that I think the Yankees should make a move for Garcia. He’s coming off a major injury and is still unsigned, but he does not carry much risk. He’s not likely to command a lot of money and since he’s a free agent the Yankees would not need to part with prospects to obtain Garcia’s services. He’s no sure thing to succeed, but why not go for it? There’s not much to lose here, so it’s worth a shot.
- Randy Wolf – I like this option a lot. He’s a solid yet unspectacular pitcher who wouldn’t cost much in terms of prospects. He’s a lefty, which plays well in Yankee Stadium. The Yanks have a good trade history with the Padres and could definitely work something out with them. He’s having a good year for the Padres so far and could be an attractive option for the Bombers.
- Paul Byrd - A scrappy right-hander who would come at a low price. He’s a solid innings-eater who gets by with junk. Byrd’s not a guy who could carry the Yanks to #27, but he could be a useful pitcher for a contending team. Of course, Cleveland is only 5.5 games out of first place in the AL Central, so they may not be looking to sell.
The Yankees may decide not to go outside the organization for pitching, because there are still some in-house options. The problem is that none of them are sure things. Ian Kennedy is close to returning from an injury, but he was awful this year. The Yankees can’t rely on him for much of anything. Dan Giese pitched great in Scranton and has looked good in his brief time in the bigs, but he’s a 31 year-old journeyman. Dan McCutchen is pitching very well in Scranton, but is he ready to make an impact in the majors? I’m not convinced. Kei Igawa stinks and I never want to see him in Pinstripes again. The most probably in-house option is Jeff Karstens, who seems to finally be healthy. He’s not a DY-NO-MITE pitcher, but could be serviceable, maybe a Darrell Rasner type guy.
Only time will tell what the Yankees would do, but Wang’s injury is the latest devastating blow to a team that has encountered many of them so far this year. I just hope that the Yankees will be able to weather this latest storm.
Happy Birthday to Adam Smith, Roberto Duran, The Ultimate Warrior, Wally Joyner, Phil Mickelson, Chris Gomez, Tupac Shakur and Kerry Wood
Filed under: MLB - Yankees, Writer - Bill Slattery
I noticed you didn’t mention Erik Bedard, who most likely will be on the block with Bavasi now out as GM. I know he will also cost you an arm and a leg, and is slightly injury prone, but I’d say it is still worth investigating.
Also, what about an Aaron Harang or Bronson Arroyo? The Reds are stacked with young pitching, and while the price could once again be high for Harang, Arroyo could come on the cheap. The guy is a workhorse, and you know he is playoff tested.
Lastly, even a guy like Derek Lowe could potentially be a target for you guys. LA has been floundering in the west, so I’d assume he’d be available.
I think what it comes down to is whether you are looking to sell the house for Sabathia (not likely), or make a cost effective move just to get you through 10 weeks. In that case, I’d say an Arroyo or Lowe will get the job done.
I hope they stick with one of the 2nd-tier type of guys, and avoid going overboard for someone like Sabathia. I don’t know why, but to me he just seems like a likely candidate for the cliche ‘good with another team, stinks when he comes to NY’ result. I like the idea of Garcia – I had actually forgotten all about him.
One of the Reds’ guys would be a good move as well, so long as we could get one of them without giving up too much.