Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Yanks Acquire Hinske *UPDATED - Pena to AAA*

Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsuburgh Post-Gazette via MLB Trade Rumors is reporting that the Yanks have sent Eric Fryer and Casey Erickson over to the Pirates for Eric Hinske. According to Joel Sherman the Yankees will also be getting $400K to cover about half of what Hinske is owed for the remainder of the season. He will be in uniform at the stadium tonight. No word on any corresponding moves to make room on the roster, but I have to believe Cody Ransom or Ramiro Pena will be going to make room for him, and as I said earlier today I hope it's Ransom.

The 31-year-old is hitting .255/.373/.368 with a homer and 11 RBI in 54 games this year for the Pirates, and has played first, third, and the outfield this year.

In 21 games for Single-A Charleston, the 23-year-old Erickson was 3-3 with a 2.25 ERA, and in 44 innings allowed 11 earned runs on 51 hits, walked 13 and struck out 37. Playing for High-A Tampa, Eric Fryer, 23, was hitting .250/.333/.344 with 2 homers and 24 RBI in 59 games.

I don't see the need but it's an interesting move, I guess.

UPDATE 12:37 p.m.: This just popped up on Joel Sherman's Twitter page: "Interesting that Yanks are sending R.Pena to T-A to also play OF to become Omar Infante super-utility type for later this season."

So they're adding Hinske and optioning Ramiro Pena to Triple-A so he can play everyday and get some time in the outfield.

28 Comments:

Anonymous said...

whose place is he taking...

Greg Cohen said...

No word on that yet.

Margo said...

has to be Ransom or the Yanks are idiots

Kevin said...

YAY!!! another DH.in my opinion he is a below average fielder..i dont get this move at all..

Greg Cohen said...

I feel the same way Kevin... strange and very unnecessary move if you ask me.

Unknown said...

Add me to the list of people confused by this move. I guess it's alright if he takes over for Ransom, but was that really a move we needed to make right now? Why give up a young pitcher for this guy? Especially if he ends up doing nothing. Looks like another silly move at the moment. Hopefully it'll pay off somehow.

Greg Cohen said...

It just seems pointless, especially with guys like Shelley Duncan and John Rodriguez in the minors who are crushing the ball. Why not give them a shot before making a trade for this bum?

Also, this move will probably lead to Pena being sent down, which really pisses me off.

dan said...

i like it, dont love it.. Hinske can play multiple positions, not great but ok. He's played on every team in the AL East other than the O's, so he's familiar with the league, and he's won with the Sox and Rays. good bench player, but I dont want Pena to be sent down.

Greg Cohen said...

Dan, check the update on the bottom of the post for some bad news.

dan said...

wow.. wtf is that?.. i dont even know what to think

dan said...

hopefully it works out, if it doesnt they're gonna look retarted

Greg Cohen said...

I wouldn't mind it so much if we weren't talking about Eric Hinske. How does he make this team better?

Plus, one thing Cashman has never understood is that this game has a heartbeat to it (Sorry to take a line from Joe Torre). It seems that every time this team starts to find a good mix of players he shakes things up with a trade and then things are never the same. Just look at last year with the Farnsworth trade.

crossfire said...

Absolutely not in love with this move.

I do like the idea of what they are doing with Pena although I hate not having him on the team. Getting him some outfield time to become a very versatile sub is good. I really like the kid and i can see him fitting in well in that role.

As for the trade, I was really hoping for real outfield help. An everyday player.

Not Hinske.

Man am I disappointed with this move. Hope he proves me wrong but his history isn't exactly anything to get excited over.

This trade is like getting up on Christmas morning and the only thing under the tree is a #2 pencil.

dan said...

great point Greg... Pena was fitting in perfectly. he accepted his job and was doing a great job.

with that said I do think Hinkse will be a good teammate.. he seems to fit in where ever he goes. but i agree theres not much a need for him

crossfire said...

One plus... I just saw that Hinske was 8 for 24 pinch hitting this year.

I'm looking for a bright side here. I know Hinske has a little pop too but I still want the Yanks to go out and get a good right fielder.

Anonymous said...

Maybe A-Rod needs to DH and now they need an everyday third baseman?

rob said...

i guess this is the Yankees solution for the cardinals aquiring DeRosa.

Anonymous said...

Another dumb move by Cashman. What a retard.

Whodini said...

Great point about Cash and the heartbeat Greg....

Why move Pena? IMO, Pena has been very good for team chemistry. Same with Cervelli, these guys should stay with the team everyone likes them and they have pleased the fans and performed up to snuff...

I get it we dont have an all star outfielder but Damon is having a good year, Garnder and Melky showed up motivated and have played well.

Melky is only 24 I know hes been on the team for years now and ok so he didnt break out at 21,22,23 but hes still got a great major league body, best outfield arm on the team, one of the best arms in the division maybe the whole league, I like Melky and Gardner to feel pressure to perform, I with that but Pena should stay on the team and Hinske? Hes nothing whats he going to do Swisher is fine, get Hinske a few at bats lets see what we can get out of him and i see the concern over an outfield injury, but Greg made another good point about Duncan who is BOMBING in triple A!

I get the move, in terms of getting a back up, but considering what we are getting out of Pena on the field and in the clubhouse, and considering that Im happy with what Swisher, Gardner and Melky have done, I wouldnt have made this move...we have Duncan and I cant speak on who we gave up b/c i didnt know anything about them but Im going to miss Pena sorely. Hes really fun 2 watch and hes got lots of talent whats Hinske got that Duncan doesnt and if we do get another outfielder injury who says we cant find a suitable replacement thats up to par with Hinske, Hinske does nothing for me on paper and I have no memory of him ever doing anything impressive in the past few years of watching the yankees and he was on Toronto for awhile....

Anonymous said...

I think Cashman just likes sending our prospects to Pittsburg.

crossfire said...

I think most Yankee fans agree that Pena is a nice player. So as I said before, I don't have a problem with what the Yanks are doing... as long as they actually do it. I want to see this kid back up here as soon as possible.

Let Pena get in some work in the outfield and by becoming more versatile, he will actually get a lot more playing time in a variety of roles.

Anonymous said...

cashman knows what he's doing, look how much he has improved the minor league system since 2006. 2 AA and 1 AAA championships and young Yanks are making big impacts on the big league club.

Bruce Beckett said...

I thought this was a misprint when I first read this story. Shouldn't it read New Yor Mets sign Eric Hinske? Right now, he might be of use to them but I see him being of no value to the Yanks. I love having young players like Pena on the bench. Bad move Brian.

Unknown said...

The Yankees ARE aware that their problem is the bullpen, not the lineup. Right?

Anonymous said...

Yea, Cashman even said so remember? LOL, he's an idiot.

Yea, Cashman has done a great job wiht our farm system, he traded four players away for Marte (terrible) and a .260 hitter in Nady when they could have gotten Bay. Yup, Cahsman is a real genius. He messes with our team chemistry. What a gm!

We dont need anymore old friggin men who can't field and DH. We need young guys like Pena, Cervelli and we need to get rid of old players like Posada. Retarded with a capital R. Taht's Cashman.

Anonymous said...

Yeah Hinske is not a good fielder if he was a good fielder I would have no problem with this trade. If you needed some pop off the bench you might as well call up Shelly Duncan. Hinske is also a left hander if you needed to replace Nady you needed a right hand bat like Shelly Duncan.

Odd trade by Cashman.

Unknown said...

I'm scratching my head at this move

Anonymous said...

noo not pena, he's my new favorite