| Paul Merchan. 22nd July, 2006 - 12:45 am
 Should the Yankees pull a trade before the deadline to help themselves remain in contention? Should the trade be for a solid bat in the outfield or a reliable arm in the bullpen? These are questions that every team needs to answer before July 31 every year, but the concerns for the Yanks are a little more pressing this year.
Big names have come up in recent weeks that are potentially available for the whole league to salivate at. Bobby Abreu, incredibly enough, is supposed to be on the trading block, and so is former Yankee second baseman-turned Nationals outfielder Alfonso Soriano. Considering the recent futility of Alex Rodriguez, Soriano doesn’t sound too shabby to Yankee fans, since the Yanks swapped those two players back in 2004. Fans all over the league still remember Abreu’s performance in the 2005 homerun derby and he still has the ability to change the outcome of a game with one swing. That being said, can the Yankees really afford not to deal for one of these guys?
Perhaps a big trade like that is something that GM Brian Cashman and manager Joe Torre just can’t risk at this time. Torre said on the WFAN Radio Station in New York yesterday that his current platoon of reserve outfielders “might just be the guys that can get us through this.” What the team has to “get through” are those devastating injuries to Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui, two superstars that will likely be out until September. Until now, Jason Giambi has carried the bulk of the power for the team, with A-Rod contributing sparsely. As far as he corner outfield possibilities, they currently consist of Melky Cabrera, Aaron Guiel, Bubba Crosby, Kevin Reese and an aging Bernie Williams. These aren’t exactly your MVP candidates for the year, but each has provided some big hits this season and although they can’t make up for the power numbers of Matsui and Sheffield, they can be effective enough to save the Yankees of a risky trade for a bat.
To sum things up, the Yanks need to sit still through July 31. If the team waits it out and puts trust in these guys that have lifted them on many occasions this season, they’ll remain in contention and get their big bats back in time for the stretch run of the season. Getting a middle reliever might be a better option and Joe Torre said on the same interview yesterday that he would prefer that over an outfielder. However, the market has always been sparse for middle relievers and that can be another potential risk for the Yanks if the pitcher they trade for implodes under the Bronx pressure.
Having Abreu or Soriano would be nice, but it would be an experiment that would result in a big shakeup once the injured starters return. Even with all their woes, the Yanks are still only a few games out of first and the wild card. Their chemistry is just starting to develop, and messing with that right now could prove disastrous for the season. |
