Checking Out the Pitching Market

Its pretty clear that Yanks definitely have to be scoping out the market for starting pitchers in the days leading up to the trade deadline. Sergio Mitre comes with no guarantees and Joba Chamberlain is getting close to his innings limit. Not to mention the ever present threat of injury. You can't really trust Wang to come back and give you a late season surge either. It seems like Cash is shying away from the idea of giving up a truckload of prospects and Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee will be playing elsewhere August 1. However, I'd be surprised if the Yankees didn't do anything bigger than trading for Eric Hinske. So here's a quick look at some of the pitchers that could be available. I skipped a few guys who I didn't see as realistic options for the Yankees.

• Jarrod Washburn - If it weren't for the supreme idiocy of Bill Bavasi, he'd be pitching for the Yankees right now. Instead, he's having the year of his life and has lead the Mariners into competition. I honestly don't see him being traded and I'm always leery of trading for a guy having a career year anyway. Besides, his ERA (2.87) is much lower than his FIP (3.77) and that would correct itself if he were to move into the Bandbox in the Bronx and had to suffer from the Yanks defense.

• Ian Snell - At first glance, his numbers are awful and have always been. However, look a little closer and you'll see an extremely inflated BABIP and a reasonable FIP, consistently in the low fours. The Pirates are just looking to be rid of him on somebody so he could probably be had for virtually nothing. He's dominating in AAA right now and has experience in the bullpen as well. On the other hand, do we really need a Pirates reject to put us over the top? Not to mention the attitude problems he's had.


• Brian Bannister - You know, I had though that he was pitching terribly but he's actually having a very solid, under the radar year. He's rebounded from an awful 2008 by increasing his GB% by about ten points. He doesn't strike guys out much but we're just looking for a back end guy, not an ace. The Royals would do well to sell high on him now and he's been rumored to be on the move. He could be a solid option.


• Doug Davis - Davis has been very good this year for the D'Backs. His traditional stats are great. However, theirs a few problems with him that would make me avoid him. First is the fact that his DIPS stats show a major correction is about to occur in Davis' ERA. Second is that Arizona seems to be looking for some real prospects, rather than treating it as the salary dump it should be. Finally, he'd be going from the absolute worst division in baseball to the best if this trade got made. The Yanks can do better than this.


• Paul Mahom- Mahom may be the most interesting guy on the list. I'll have a longer post on him later but to make things short and sweet, his FIP has been on the decline for basically his whole career. Its now down all the way to 3.57. However, his ERA is much higher and the Pirates seem to be willing to move anybody on the team. The 27 year old could be a perfect fit for any team.


• Aaron Harang - I'm a big fan of Aaron Harang and I think if the Yanks took him on as a salary dump, he could push them over the edge. He's rebounded from a terrible 2008 to put up a typical Harang year. He's a solid #2 guy that I like to compare to vintage Wang in terms of what quality of a pitcher he is. He may not even be on the block but the Reds could still decide to sell and dump Harang's big contract on a team like the Yankees.


• Justin Duscherer - Its really tough to know what to think about this guy. He's put up fantastic numbers but has been hurt year after year and I'm not even going to touch his other problems. For the final two months of the season though, he could be a nice option in either the bullpen or the rotation. He's a free agent after the year and the A's should be willing to deal him to save a few bucks and try and get something for him.