06/17: Barry Zito? Preston Wilson?
Posted by: Patrick
From Ed Price's piece at the star ledger:
Via Pride of the Yankees who suggest the following trade possibilities:
Both deals are intriguing.
On Wilson: He'll turn 30 in under a month and (I believe - might be wrong) he is in the last year of his contract. He is having a decent offensive year (low OBA, as he always has), but that could, of course, worsen when he leaves Colorado. He used to be quick (36 SBs in 2000), but his SB totals have dropped off a bunch (read: basically zero) in the last two years. I haven't been watching him, so I don't know exactly how good his defense is.
Being the last year of his contract, he'd be our "adequate" CF to get us through this year, then we let him go and find someone next year, presumably. Bernie is backup OF and DH while Giambi is backup 1B and DH.
On Zito: Last year, 11-11 with a 4.48. This year, 3-7 with a 4.47. A bit removed from his Cy Young season of 2002 where he went 23-5 with a 2.75. I haven't been paying too much attention to him, either. Is there a problem? Is it because the A's aren't doing well? Losing Womack doesn't bother me as he's hitting .240 something. Wang has been good and I like him. So, the question is if he is performing above himself or not... who knows, really. Could be. And then you have another prospect in Henn. Henn's 24, Wang's 25. Zito is only 27, of course. And he's a lefty, as is Henn. From what I've read, Zito is signed to his modest deal through 2006, so we'd have him for two years at least (obviously the idea of the trade is for him to pitch well and then we extend his contract... some of the 15 million that Brownie opens up next year could go to that).
The issue with the trade, for me, is mainly Wang because of the way he's pitched. But, it's not like we'd really be getting that much older. Zito 27, Wang 25. Zito has a Cy. Zito is an "ace", although he hasn't been pitching like one in the past 2 years. Wang's ERA is only 3 points lower than Zito. If Zito was in NY, would he have a better record/a lower ERA?
I don't want to trade Wang, as I've said before, but if he is tradeable, this is the kind of deal we need to trade him in. A deal for a top, young/reasonably young SP. Are there many Zito's available out there? Probably not.
I don't think I'd be complaining if both deals went through, although I'm not sure just how good Wilson is or why Zito has had some trouble in this and last year.
Thoughts?
A person who spoke to Cashman recently confirmed Cashman is pursuing a significant deal.
"It sounded like he was close on some stuff," the person said. "He's working it."
"It sounded like he was close on some stuff," the person said. "He's working it."
Via Pride of the Yankees who suggest the following trade possibilities:
1. Andy Phillips and any medium-grade minor-league pitching prospect for Preston Wilson. The Yanks need the outfield help desperately and Wilson's stock is low and ceiling is high. His salary is $12.5 million for 2005, but almost half of that is already paid for. The Yanks' willingness to pay the rest of Wilson's deal could allow them to get him on the cheap. And Wilson's presence in the outfield would clear the way for...
2. Tony Womack, Chien-Ming Wang, and Sean Henn for Barry Zito. It sounds like a lot to give up, but Wang may be overachieving and Henn may yet not amount to much. Also, picture this: Randy Johnson, Zito, and Mike Mussina going 1-2-3 in a playoff series. In the meantime, while Wright is hurt Tanyon Sturtze can undoubtedly become the fifth starter if the Yanks fail to obtain another starter in a trade. We should qualify this deal by saying that Zito is the only player for whom Wang should even be considered packaging for.
2. Tony Womack, Chien-Ming Wang, and Sean Henn for Barry Zito. It sounds like a lot to give up, but Wang may be overachieving and Henn may yet not amount to much. Also, picture this: Randy Johnson, Zito, and Mike Mussina going 1-2-3 in a playoff series. In the meantime, while Wright is hurt Tanyon Sturtze can undoubtedly become the fifth starter if the Yanks fail to obtain another starter in a trade. We should qualify this deal by saying that Zito is the only player for whom Wang should even be considered packaging for.
Both deals are intriguing.
On Wilson: He'll turn 30 in under a month and (I believe - might be wrong) he is in the last year of his contract. He is having a decent offensive year (low OBA, as he always has), but that could, of course, worsen when he leaves Colorado. He used to be quick (36 SBs in 2000), but his SB totals have dropped off a bunch (read: basically zero) in the last two years. I haven't been watching him, so I don't know exactly how good his defense is.
Being the last year of his contract, he'd be our "adequate" CF to get us through this year, then we let him go and find someone next year, presumably. Bernie is backup OF and DH while Giambi is backup 1B and DH.
On Zito: Last year, 11-11 with a 4.48. This year, 3-7 with a 4.47. A bit removed from his Cy Young season of 2002 where he went 23-5 with a 2.75. I haven't been paying too much attention to him, either. Is there a problem? Is it because the A's aren't doing well? Losing Womack doesn't bother me as he's hitting .240 something. Wang has been good and I like him. So, the question is if he is performing above himself or not... who knows, really. Could be. And then you have another prospect in Henn. Henn's 24, Wang's 25. Zito is only 27, of course. And he's a lefty, as is Henn. From what I've read, Zito is signed to his modest deal through 2006, so we'd have him for two years at least (obviously the idea of the trade is for him to pitch well and then we extend his contract... some of the 15 million that Brownie opens up next year could go to that).
The issue with the trade, for me, is mainly Wang because of the way he's pitched. But, it's not like we'd really be getting that much older. Zito 27, Wang 25. Zito has a Cy. Zito is an "ace", although he hasn't been pitching like one in the past 2 years. Wang's ERA is only 3 points lower than Zito. If Zito was in NY, would he have a better record/a lower ERA?
I don't want to trade Wang, as I've said before, but if he is tradeable, this is the kind of deal we need to trade him in. A deal for a top, young/reasonably young SP. Are there many Zito's available out there? Probably not.
I don't think I'd be complaining if both deals went through, although I'm not sure just how good Wilson is or why Zito has had some trouble in this and last year.
Thoughts?
Seamus wrote: