The Value of a Trade

Courtesy: NY Daily News

The Yankees wanted Curtis Granderson to play centerfield for them after he averaged 29 doubles, 13 triples, 23 home runs, 16 stolen bases, and 103 runs over four full seasons for the Detroit Tigers from 2006 to 2009. Granderson had a pretty team friendly, five-year, $30.25 million deal from 2008 through 2009, with a team option for 2013 for $13 million or a $2 million buyout, which only sweetened the deal for New York.

The Yankees were getting a nice power and speed outfielder, but little did they know that Granderson was capable of erupting for the 84 home runs and 225 RBI that he has produced the last two seasons. However, Granderson’s total meltdown in the ALCS and the entire postseason makes you wonder what one player is worth, especially as the Yankees head home after being swept by the team that they acquired Granderson from.

Granderson was traded from Detroit to New York in a three-team deal on December 8, 2009. The Tigers traded Edwin Jackson to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Curtis Granderson to the Yankees. The Yankees gave Arizona Ian Kennedy, who has gone 45-26 with a 3.55 ERA in 98 starts since the trade. In return, the Tigers received Austin Jackson and Phil Coke from the Yankees and Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth from the Diamondbacks.

While the deal was centered upon Curtis Granderson and the Yankees receiving another dynamic talent, how much influence did the players that the Tigers received in the deal have on the postseason in 2012?

• Max Scherzer: 1-0, two starts, 11 IP, 5 H, 0.82 ERA, 18:3 K:BB
• Phil Coke: 7 games, 7.1 IP, 4 H, 0.00 ERA, 2 saves, 5:2 K:BB
• Austin Jackson: .297/.350/.514, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI
• Daniel Schlereth: Did Not Play; DL

It’s only been nine games for the Tigers this postseason, but with the lack of depth in the New York Yankees rotation the entire season, how nice would Ian Kennedy have looked in there? And, while Granderson provides power and produces runs, Austin Jackson has become a fantastic player. How different are the two players?

• Player A: 314 runs, 61 2B, 21 3B, 108 HR, 292 RBI, 47 SB, .843 OPS
• Player B: 296 runs, 85 2B, 35 3B, 30 HR, 152 RBI, 61 SB, .761 OPS

Austin Jackson

Considering his position in the middle of the order, Granderson, Player A, dominates in the power categories, which drives up his OPS, HR, and RBI numbers. However, since Austin Jackson is the Tigers’ leadoff hitter, he, Player B, has also impressed by posting a higher average (.280 to .247) and on-base percentage (.346 to .337) than Granderson the last three seasons.

The moral of the story here is that the Yankees gave up Austin Jackson, Coke, and Kennedy, and the Diamondbacks gave up Scherzer and Schlereth, all so that the Yankees could get Curtis Granderson.

When you go all-in for an individual talent and watch the players you gave up beat you…ouch.

Granderson finished the postseason 3-for-30 with 16 strikeouts, one run, one home run, and a lot of questions leading into the 2013 season, especially after being relegated to pinch-hitting duties the last game of the ALCS.

How Can You Rebuild the Yankees?

Keith Olbermann reported on his MLBlog on October 17 that the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins are already discussing a deal involving Alex Rodriguez once the season is over. This is big news due to the struggles of Rodriguez during the postseason, 3-for-23 (.103) with 12 strikeouts, and that fact that the quickly aging veteran is due another $114 million over the next five seasons.

Alex Rodriguez is taking a lot of heat for his struggles, as if he is the only player currently struggling during the club’s rotten postseason. Mind you, Robinson Cano is 3-for-36 (.083) and Curtis Granderson is just 3-for-29 (.103) with 15 strikeouts, so what is the deal with the hatred for the game’s highest paid player? The Yankees have bigger issues, including, how are they going to rebuild the franchise if the potential trade of Alex Rodriguez actually does happen?

Courtesy: Wikipedia

Moving Alex Rodriguez would signify a possible change in philosophy. While the Yankees have spent many hundreds of millions in payroll over the last decade, could this be the end of “buying” the talent, all because of an apparent very quick regression in some of their talent?

The Yankees have some things to look at with their current roster:

• Ichiro Suzuki, Russell Martin, Nick Swisher, Mariano Rivera, Freddy Garcia, Andruw Jones, Raul Ibanez, Eric Chavez, and David Aardsma are free agents after the 2012 season.
• Robinson Cano ($15 million or $2 million buyout), Curtis Granderson ($13 million or $2 million buyout), and Pedro Feliciano ($4.5 million with $0 buyout) have options for 2013, with Cano and Granderson nearly guaranteed to be picked up, if only to allow for a trade to get value in return for those players.
• Hiroki Kuroda, Phil Hughes, Brett Gardner, Boone Logan, Joba Chamberlain, and David Robertson are eligible for arbitration, so they will earn raises for the 2013 season.
• Michael Pineda, Ivan Nova, Clay Rapada, Eduardo Nunez, Chris Stewart, and Austin Romine are all pre-arbitration, so they could be renewed at or near the league minimum.

After that, the Yankees have some payroll concerns:

• Alex Rodriguez, as mentioned before, is owed $114 million over the next five years.
• C.C. Sabathia is due $119 million (counting his $25 million 2017 option) over the next five years.
• Mark Teixeria is going to make $90 million over the next four seasons.
• Derek Jeter will make $17 million in 2013 and either $8 million in 2014 or a $3 million buyout.
• Rafael Soriano is guaranteed $14 million in 2013.

The problem with trading Alex Rodriguez is that the Yankees would have to eat a huge portion of the $114 million that he is owed. Since 2007, A-Rod’s OPS has gone from 1.067 (his MVP season) to .965, .933, .847, .823, and finally .783 in 2012. At the age of 37 (turning 38 next July), why would anyone give anything of value for the declining future Hall of Famer?

Dealing Rodriguez to the Miami Marlins for Heath Bell and Logan Morrison would be a solid deal, even paying $50-70 million of his deal, so that the team gets more bullpen help and a potential replacement in an outfield corner with Swisher and Ichiro both headed to free agency. However, that deal probably would not sit well with fans.

Should the club let all of their free agents depart, will they go after Josh Hamilton in free agency? Could Hamilton’s previous off-the-field issues, which he still admits to battling, become a huge issue in the largest media market in the world?

Should the club trade Granderson and/or Cano on top of dealing Rodriguez, just to allow the franchise to make a fresh start, like the Boston Red Sox deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, which included the contracts of Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, and Adrian Gonzalez?

For what it is worth, dealing Alex Rodriguez would open up third base in one of the weakest years for free agent third base in recent memory, including: Miguel Cairo, Mark DeRosa, Alberto Gonzalez, Brandon Inge, Maicer Izturis, Jose Lopez, Scott Rolen, Drew Sutton, and, if their options aren’t picked up, Ty Wigginton and Kevin Youkilis.

Courtesy: NY Times

Would the club really go into the season with Eduardo Nunez at the hot corner? General Manager Brian Cashman would have to look in the mirror and commit to a potential rebuilding mode if that is the case.

While Alex Rodriguez has struggled and his value and stock has plummeted, the unfortunate facts are that the Yankees would be and will be better with him at third base in 2013 than they would be by making a trade. Unless the Bronx Bombers were able to trade Robinson Cano to Baltimore for Dylan Bundy and Manny Machado after trading Rodriguez, starting to make trades to change the structure of the team just does not make sense.

Cashman would have to make several trades involving star players and huge contracts, just to fill the several holes that would remain from the various deals. If you trade Rodriguez, he would need to trade for a third baseman. If he traded Cano, who would play second? If he traded Granderson, he could possibly get Hamilton, but what if the Red Sox or Rangers outbid him?

You can’t rebuild the New York Yankees. Brian Cashman is in a situation where he needs to win, in a market and a fan base that wants to win – see the attendance in the ALCS. The club will rebuild by reloading, like they have done, through free agency. They will acquire a top-tier or solid starting pitcher and a solid outfielder, and they will be right back where they were. They will probably have the veterans mentioned in potential deals, as well, because it is not worth the potential hassle of dealing the contracts and taking so much less in value, just to make a change.

Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…Yankees Stink!

Sure, they made it to the ALCS, but what is the deal with the New York Yankees? For the millions upon millions of dollars that they are paying their superstars, the team has scored just 13 runs since scoring seven in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Baltimore Orioles. They’ve played six games since then!

If you take away Jose Valverde‘s total implosion in the ninth inning on Saturday night, the Yankees have scored ZERO runs on 11 hits in the remaining 20 innings in the ALCS against the Tigers. The Yankees are hitting just .200 in 50 at-bats with runners in scoring position during the playoffs, including .167 in 18 at-bats against the Detroit Tigers.

While Alex Rodriguez is getting a lot of the negative publicity for the Yankees struggles offensively, he is not alone. Along with Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano, ARod is  just a part of the larger problem. The three stars have combined to hit just .099/.161/.160 in 81 at-bats, with two doubles, one home run, five RBI and 30 strikeouts. The three are 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position (.111) with three RBI, all from Cano.

With Derek Jeter‘s devastating ankle injury, can Raul Ibanez carry this team? He has to this point, hitting a robust .438/.550/1.063 in just 16 at-bats, smashing three home runs and saving the Yankees against the Orioles in Game 4 of the ALDS, while helping extend the Game 1 loss to the Tigers on Saturday night. Mark Teixeira has walked seven times this postseason, while posting a .320/.469/.360 line, so will opposing pitchers continue to pitch around him and take their chances on the other struggling Yanks?

With so many Yankees possessing a great amount of postseason experience, the struggles that have been ongoing are quite worrisome for Yankee fans. The bigger question is, can ESPN sleep at night without their moneymakers giving them much to talk about? No worries…Tebow threw a pass on Sunday and actually got a first down. Gotta love New York!