New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman bided his time on the sidelines all offseason, until Friday. And their pitching rotation went from a weakness to a strength in a matter of hours.
First came a somewhat controversial and surprising move that will likely be debated for years. The Yankees dealt promising catcher Jesus Montero -- tentatively scheduled to be the team's designated hitter this season -- to the Seattle Mariners for 22-year-old Michael Pineda, who was an All-Star last season before going on a little slump in the second half.
Losing Montero certainly made some Yankees fans mad. The 21-year-old has been groomed as Jorge Posada's replacement for years, and was perhaps the team's most ballyhooed prospect since Derek Jeter. Or at least Joba Chamberlain. Montero hit .328 with four homers in 61 at-bats last September.
Said Cashman, to Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record (on Twitter): "To me, Montero is Mike Piazza. He's Miguel Cabrera." But Cashman still traded him.
The Yankees dealt from strength -- they have catchers waiting in the wings, and still have Russell Martin, too. And by adding the hard-throwing right-hander Pineda -- who at 6-foot-7 gets comparisons to his new teammate, CC Sabathia -- it's actually a frugal move, because he's under team control for five more years.
Then, a couple hours later, the Yankees signed Hiroki Kuroda, the former Japan League and Dodgers ace who will make $10 million. And all of a sudden, the Yankees have seven pitchers who would be in the rotation of just about every team in the league: Sabathia, Pineda, Kuroda, Ivan Nova, Freddy Garcia, A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes. Hughes seems destined for the bullpen, and Burnett and Garcia will duke it out for the No. 5 spot.
The Mariners had to pick up a middle-of-the-order young slugger. They haven't had one since Adrian Beltre. Heck, they've never even really replaced Edgar Martinez.
Meanwhile, the Yankees will be everybody's pick to repeat in the AL East.
No comments:
Post a Comment