Fixing a Hole

Not much has been said about trade rumors on here yet and it's still too early to know what trades are likely to happen in baseball. Every year there are teams that are contending for the playoffs and trade for a player to make that extra push or there are teams that know they're out of contention and either rebuild or have a firesale or there are teams somewhere in the middle that stay on the sidelines and don't trade at all. The Red Sox fit the profile of the first description and the Yankees somewhere in the middle bewteen the last two.

Before getting into the rumors, there are a few teams likely to shake it up: the Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, Florida Marlins, Houston Astros, and Cinncinati Reds. The White Sox, who won the World Series only two years ago, are struggling and looking to unload a few players. The likely candidates are Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras, and Jermaine Dye. For the Rangers who are in last place, Mark Teixera, Eric Gagne, and Akinori Otsuka. In Florida it's Dontrell Willis their ace. Houston Brad "What Happened to Me after the Pujols HR in the 2004 NLCS" Lidge and in Cinncinati Adam Dunn, Griffey Jr, and someone in their bullpen.

And then there's the Red Sox and Yankees, 11 games apart in the AL East. In previous years these two would often be interested in the same player and try to out do each other with offers or try to block trades (for example, last year the Yankees tried blocking the Red Sox effort to get Doug Mirabelli back which then caused the Red Sox to offer up Cla Meredith and Josh Bard). Obviously the Yankees would unload any and all prospects because that was the Steinbrenner philosophy, but today we're living with the Cashman philosophy of rebuilding. The Red Sox on the other hand haven't had such a drastic change of course and made smart trades that have kept the team mentioned as World Series contenders.

With that in mind, what do the Yankees and Red Sox need this year and who are they looking to trade from their team?

Red Sox
Holes: SS, CF, SP
On-the-block: Crisp and Lugo, probably minor league prospects that I don't know
Of interest: Buerhle

In the Red Sox case, two of the holes are also the bait. Lugo has been aweful at SS and Crisp started off very slow only to be hampered by another hand injury like last year. If the Red Sox trade Lugo, they will have to eat a lot of his contract, so it'd be like Edgar Rentaria redux. Considering how bad Lugo is (currently batting .190), they will have to sell low, so look for Lugo to be part of a packaged deal. I doubt the Red Sox will trade for a SS and will just hand the job over to Alex Cora for the rest of the year. In Crisp's case, he's looked like an average major league outfielder. Nothing flashy and certainly not doing what Damon did as a Red Sock. Again, the Red Sox could switch the OF up and put Pena in CF for the remainder of the year or try Ellsbury out (or platoon the two). They would have to eat some of Coco's contract as well.

The only player of interest I've seen for the Red Sox is Mark Buerhle. While Tavarez has been better than anyone expected, it was inevitable he would go back to the bullpen. Although Jon Lester is getting himself back to full strength, the Red Sox seem to be on the side of caution and will make him part of the rotation next year. Going after Buerhle, who's a free agent after this season, would strengthen the rotation (Beckett, Schilling, Dice-K, Wakefield and Buerhle), give them a left handed starter they don't have, and give the Red Sox the opportunity to sign him to a deal. This would be huge considering Wakefield's age (and if Wake stays, he could go back to the bullpen--he's always been their utility pitcher) and Schilling's uncertain future.

Yankees
Holes: 1B, bullpen
On-the-block: A-Rod, Clippard, minor leaguers
Of interest: Shea Hillenbrand, Mark Teixera, Adam Dunn, Otsuka, Gagne, Octavio Dotel

The problem the Yankees have always had since 2002 is they are locked in with either long contracts and very expensive ones that no other team can take on. This has not allowed them to have a lot of flexibility and they would turn to their "farm system" to make some deals. But now that Cashman has the reins (while on the hook), he's been able to trade some of the expensive players (Sheffield, Johnson) to restock the "farm system" (I hear none of the prospects the Yankees got are working out). The 800 pound guerilla in the room right now is A-Rod. He's putting together a MVP caliber season and has the opt-out option in his contract this year. Considering who his agent is (Scott Boras), my bet is that he opts out and pulls a JD Drew, becoming a free agent. Unless the Yankees trade A-Rod--teams of interest are the Angels and the Dodgers--both in the playoff chase. Depending on the negotiations either A-Rod would agree to opt out and re-sign with his new team or the Yankees front load eating the rest of his contract. And besides A-Rod, they could do one of those quantity for quality type of deals and unload a few prospects (but not the top ones).

The Yankees need a full-time 1bman and bullpen help. It's more likely they'll go after someone in the bullpen considering the continued Torre treatment. Of top interest is Otsuka or Gagne from Texas. Gagne is playing in his first full season since 2004. He's definetely not the same Eric Gagne that won the Cy Young in 2003. Otsuka may be a better option, but likely need a better deal to get. There is also some talk of bringing Dotel back. At first base, things are a mess though Cashman would disagree having said, "First base, clearly, is a spot that we can play with. I'm not looking for anything major." Mientkiewicz and Phelps began the season platooning until Torre favored Mientkiewicz. Then Mientkiewicz went down with a bad injury and Phelps got his turn, but the difference in defense was quite stark. Phelps was then sent to the minors then picked up by the Pirates off waivers. While this was going on, Cairo, Damon, and Posada filled in until Andy Phillips was called up. Now that's a mess, maybe one you can play with, but it needs to be cleaned up. I've mentioned on here that the Yankees haven't had a realy full-time first baseman since Tino in 2001 (as in 140 or more games). Giambi never worked out and became the full-time DH and they they've had a long list of platoons and pick-ups that played there (Tino being one in 2005). Teixera would be a nice option, but would come at a cost--though the Yankees would get a player in his prime who they could lock up for several years with a new deal. The other decent option would be Adam Dunn, who is an OF, but who's career would benefit from moving to first (he's a terrible OFer). He has played first though, would benefit from the short RF porch, and Mattingly would work with him. Still a costly player to get. A final option, linked above, is to get Triple-A Shea Hillenbrand from the Angels. Hillenbrand who's always been overrated and is now a journeyman of sorts is currently in the minor leagues, but would just add to the mess at 1b this year.


Guess Who's Coming to Beantown/Bronx?

Doug and I will keep an eye on the trade rumor mill and talks will certainly heat up after the All-Star Break. We're not insiders though, so you'll hear any trades from another source, but we'll analyze what our teams did on here if anything happens.