Yankees Trade Rumors Deadline is July 31

June 29, 2008

By DailySkew

Will Melky Cabrera be traded?

The word on the street is that Yankees GM Brian Cashman will be staying put, and not making any blockbuster trades or give up any important prospects before the July 31st trading deadline. Of course, this does not mean that he won’t try to tweak the bench or bullpen in a minor move.

Anyway, what are the Yankees weaknesses?

1) The bench. I long for the days of Chad Curtis, Homer Bush, Ruben Sierra, Luis Sojo, and company.
2) The starting rotation is waiting for Phil Hughes (mid-late August) and Chien-Ming Wang (September) to come back to join Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, and Joba Chamberlain. In the meantime, Darrell Rasner and Sidney Ponson are expected to hold down the fort. Carl Pavano (!!) says he is ready to return in August. Another in-house option is Dan Giese or someone from AAA.
3) Inconsistent hitting/weakness against left-handing pitching. Since Cashman can’t trade anyone in the starting lineup besides Melky Cabrera, this is a moot point.
4) Bullpen? The MEDIA likes to point at the bullpen as a glaring weakness. However, as roles are being settled in, I don’t see it as a weakness. Brian Bruney may come back in August! Cashman may want to trade LaTroy and Farnsworth, and maybe someone else from AAA to try and get a reliable arm, but for me, it’s not an issue.

Anyway, what types of players are on the trading block or unemployed (besides Barry Bonds)?

David Wells is still waiting for the phone to ring.
So is Freddy Garcia.
And Jacque Jones.
And Shawn Chacon.
The Indians aren’t decided if they want to keep or trade C.C. Sabathia.
A.J. Burnett always wants to be traded from the Blue Jays.
The Mariners are rebuilding and want to unload Erik Bedard.
The Angels may not have money to extend ace closer K-Rod.
Rockies closer Brian Fuentes is being mentioned in trade rumors.
Texas may be looking to unload Milton Bradley.

Looking at that list, I don’t see Cashman making any major deals.

Now, why is Melky always mentioned in trade rumors? After all he is one of the best defensive CF in the game. Well, like I said, it’s not like Cashman could or would trade guys like Giambi, Damon, Derek, Jorge, Cano, Godzilla, A-Rod, or Abreu. Melky is the only guy in the lineup that he would move. Melky doesn’t hit for power, average, or walks. Will Melky ever develop into a Bernie Williams-type player (it took Bernie a few years to become a superstar)? No one knows. Melky has a couple of guys in AAA and AA who- according to experts- have higher potential than he. They go by the names of Brett Gardner and Austin Jackson. In other words, the Melk Man is expendable in Cashman’s eyes.