The Yankees have made another trade, this time sending reliever Kyle Farnsworth to the Tigers for catch Ivan Rodriguez. Rodriguez is hitting .295 with 5 HR, and 32 RBI this season, and has thrown out (18 of 50) 36% of would-be base stealers this season.
The Farns was having his best season as a Yankee, and even got some of his harshest critics off his back, myself included. He was 1-2 with a 3.65 ERA in 45 appearances for the Yanks this season.
With Farnsworth headed to Detroit, expect Brian Bruney to fill up the vacated bullpen spot. And maybe in a few weeks Mark Melancon could get called up. He was promoted to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre earlier this week.
Rodriguez will join the team tomorrow as they begin a big four game series with the Angels.
I'm not sure how I feel about this trade. Adding Rodriguez's bat will definitely improve the bottom of the order now, that's a plus. And the Yankees did need an everyday catcher with Posada out for the remainder of the season, but was it worth trading Farnsworth - a guy that has become so important to this team's bullpen - for him? I guess only time will tell.
So what do you think about this move?
It is actually seems to be one of the only fair trades that I can remember, other than Volquez/Hamilton. I like Pudge but Farns was finally good, so, I will stay in the middle. The one good thing is that Pudge is a gamer and has won some championships, so, he probably won't crack under the pressure.
ReplyDeleteFarns was a ticking time bomb. He would have blew up in a big spot. On Friday Mo saved his ass. Pudge is fiesty, scrapy player which we've gone away from since 01'. We all saw how good he was in 2003. We have one of the best defensive catching combos ever, IMO. These two are great behind the plate, and Pudge is hitting almost .300, with a chip on his shoulder with something to prove.
ReplyDeleteI really hope Cash made this deal with the intention of bringing up Melancon. From what I've heard he's lights out. Does this mean Marte is now the 8th inning guy?
This move, along with the Nady/Marte deal, gives us a much, much better lineup. Now we really only have one semi-automatic out in Melky, and sometimes he can get hot.
Do you think Manny to the Marlins can actually go down? If it did I would be ecstatic. The Yankee killer gone?!
If Manny gets traded to Florida I will have a party, and you're all invited.
ReplyDeletei like this trade a lot. it gives us one of the strongest benches in the league, with pudge giambi cano jeter a-rod damon cabrera and abreu, that leaves guys like nady, molina, sexson and betemit off the bench. i really hope that the yankees still go for a starter though, i think cabrera still has the trade value along with maybe a AA guy to yield us a quality starter.
ReplyDeleteYou forgot J Christian but that is okay. Nady will probably be the DH/LF on most days unless we make another trade which isn't likely since Tex went to the Angels. The only starter on the market that makes any sense is Washburn and who knows where there going with that with all these conflicting reports.
ReplyDeleteI love the trade. Although Pudge is older and out of his prime now, he is still a very good starting catcher. He adds more offense to the lineup and is just as good defensively as Molina. Farnsworth, although he has been good this year, cannot be trusted in a big situation. Look back at Friday night against the Sox, where Mo had to come in the game in the 8th to clean up his mess. Great trade for the Yanks.
ReplyDeleteGood deal...unless you're Chad.
ReplyDeleteI like the deal overall. While I've been in the "give Farnsy a chance" camp for quite a while now, and had been feeling somewhat vindicated, I still think this is the move.
ReplyDeleteWe have a very deep pen, with many potential 8th inning guys. We traded away a strength to fill a weakness. That's how you balance a team, and balance is always better than an overabundance of talent in one aspect and a weakness in another.
It was actually tough to see Farnsy getting choked up talking about being traded. I never really could get a handle on whether or not he liked being in NY - I guess now we know.
Still, I think these are the kinds of moves you make to shore up a playoff contender. It will help us now and (hopefully) when we make the playoffs.
I'm definitely in favor of this trade. My boy Nuke LaFarnsworth was finally good this year, but didn't live up to the $17 million over three years overall. If there is one place the Yankees could lose a guy and upgrade at catcher, the bullpen was it. That's still the deepest part of the team and organization, and Marte and Bruney can do the job. Pudge shores up the bottom of the order with Nady, he's thrown out 36% of base runners stealing, and handles pitchers great. So long, Nuke.
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