The Yankees have expressed interest in both the Rangers' Gerald Laird and Royals' Miguel Olivo, according to major-league sources. New York's current catchers, Jose Molina and Chad Moeller, both are career backups.Laird was hitting .306 with 4 HR, 25 RBI, and an OPS of .797 before going on the DL.
Laird, 28, has been on the disabled list since June 21 with a strained left hamstring, but he began a rehabilitation assignment Tuesday night at Class AAA and is expected to be activated this weekend.
The Rangers would want young pitching for Laird, sources say, and the Yankees might consider that too high a price. However, Laird is capable of playing every day, and he is not eligible for free agency until after the 2010 season. His acquisition would enable the Yankees to eventually use Posada as more of a first baseman/DH.
Olivo, 30, is being aggressively shopped by the Royals, and would come at a lower price. He has hit nine home runs in 200 at-bats, and the Yankees might consider him more of a threat than Moeller
Olivo is hitting .255, with 9 HR, 29 RBI, and an OPS of .751.
Laird would probably be the better pickup to me, he's better offensively, and he's younger. The one major plus with Olivo is his arm, he's 47 % of baserunners this year, Laird has only throw out 30 %. Either one would be better than Moeller.
Update: Here's some more info regarding catchers the Yanks are interested in from MLB Trade Rumors:
(Paul )Lo Duca, 36, will be a free agent after the season. He's got about $1.9MM left on his contract this year. He understands that he's a strong trade candidate.
(Rod) Barajas, 32, is slumping currently. He has a $2.5MM club option for '09. Eddie Bajek took a stab at projecting the Elias rankings for catchers, and Barajas seems to be right on the border of Type B status. However, he might choose to accept an offer of arbitration.
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