October 30, 2007
WE'RE LOVING THE LITTLE STEINBRENNERS:
M. Cabrera to Yankees? It's possible (CLARK SPENCER, 10/30/07, MiamiHerald.com)
The vacancy at third base for the New York Yankees could pave the path for trade discussions with the Marlins involving third baseman Miguel Cabrera, who is gradually pricing himself out of Florida's moderate budget. [...]If the Marlins trade Cabrera, the asking price will be steep. They would almost certainly demand top, young prospects in return for an All-Star hitter on a Hall of Fame career trajectory. One possible trade piece could be Melky Cabrera, the Yankees 23-year-old center fielder.
But the Marlins would likely want pitching help thrown into any trade involving Miguel Cabrera, who has averaged 31 home runs, 116 RBI and a .327 batting average over the past three seasons.
Bad as it is to trade Melky and Phil Hughes, putting Miguel at 3b would require going with five lefthanded starters, because no groundball to the left side would ever be fielded between him and Jeter. Plus, you can't sit him and Joba on the same side of the plane or it will just keep doing barrel rolls... Posted by Orrin Judd at October 30, 2007 4:30 PM
Agreed. Jeter was even more of a butcher at ss this year. And Miguel is a great hitter, but he's shaping up as a dh at the age of what, 24? As mediocre to bad as he is at 3rd, he's apparently even worse in the of.
And whatever they do, the Yanks can't part w/ any of the big 3 young pitchers, at least for a position player. Santana I'd do.
Melky? I'm torn. He's a very good fielder, even with the eccentric routes he takes, but hitting-wise it's difficult to tell. He has a slap-hitter's stroke, so it's doubtful if he'll ever have much power. At best maybe he gets to .800 ops via .300/.375/.425, but he could be as bad as .700 ops. He actually looked worse at the plate this season, since he was much less selective. And the Yanks have a great athletic centerfielder only 2 years away in the system in Austin Jackson, who tore up High A-ball this season, so . . .
Posted by: Jim in Chicago at October 30, 2007 9:51 PMI'm dubious about Melky -- his inability to slug .400 bodes ill for the idea that he can be a star -- but ecstatic about the rumor that the Yankees have soured on Hughes and think Joba is their big gun.
Posted by: oj at October 31, 2007 6:17 AM