Washburn Still An Option

Although the Yankees addressed 2 of their biggest issues today, picking up a right-handed bat in Xavier Nady and a left-handed reliever in Damaso Marte, they’re still looking for a starting pitcher and Jarrod Washburn fits the bill (for now). Ken Rosenthal reports that the Mariners spoke with Washburn about waiving his no-trade clause and the Yankees are willing to trade for J.W. as long as the move is seen as a salary move. The Yankees have indicated that they will not offer any extra money to Washburn for him to waive the clause and that they’re not willing to trade major prospects or even minor prospects for the lefty. It’ll be up to the Mariners to make the move and I’m sure they want to make it. It’s a matter of the market and right now, I don’t see any other takers for Washburn outside of the Yankees.

With that said, I’m done for the night. Go out and have some fun Yankee fans.

YANKS GRAB NADY AND MARTE

Will Carroll broke the news, but there’s no word on the details (although Phil Coke may have been moved).

UPDATE (8:17): It is believed that the Yankees have traded Jose Tabata, Phil Coke, Ross Ohlendorf (expendable now with our bullpen performing the way it has been), and George Kontos. That’s a great trade for the Yankees. Tabata was the “blue chipper”, but he has a long way to go.

UPDATE (9:10): The deal is pending upon physicals, so it’s pretty much in the bag. This is a great deal for the Yankees. You don’t know what you’re going to get from Tabata, who has had attitude and injury problems in the past (and he’s struggling, but he is just 20). Plus, Kontos and Coke, they’re really very expendable when you look at the depth chart and who knows how they’ll perform down the line. Ohlendorf isn’t even needed anymore and was acquired through the Randy Johnson trade, so it’s not like we groomed him for years. This is a big deal for the Yankees because Nady can slide into RF next year and the Yankees can let Bobby Abreu go. They’re saving money left and right and are going to be ready, financially, to sign some big stars next year (Tex, CC, Sheets, etc.).

UPDATE (9:53): With the addition of Nady, the Yankees can tell Jorge to go through with his surgery.

Yanks Scouting Winn

Ed Price reports that the Yankees are scouting Giants outfielder, Randy Winn. Winn is a serviceable player and he’s solid offensively. It’ll probably cost the Yankees money and nothing more, so it could work. Right now, he’s just another name to think about.

(Thanks to MLBTR).

Quick Thanks

It’s a busy time for Yankee blogs with the trade deadline approaching, but I just wanted to offer a quick thanks to all our readers. I just noticed that the blog has over 100,000 hits, and that’s pretty cool. You’ve all been nice and supportive and I hope I can keep delivering some timely and accurate information. Thanks everyone!

Yanks Looking At Adam Dunn, Washburn Update

From Jayson Stark:

Even with the trading deadline less than a week away, the Reds have had very little action on Adam Dunn. But one club that spoke with the Reds says the Yankees have explored what it would take to plug Dunn into their revolving outfield/DH vacancies. The Reds, however, are continuing to ask teams for one top-of-the-line prospect and one second-tier prospect. And that’s probably more than the Yankees are inclined to give up for Dunn.

Another Yankees update: Despite all sorts of reports about the likes of Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner being included in a deal for Jarrod Washburn, indications are that the Yankees view acquiring Washburn strictly as a good-will mission to take Washburn’s money (over $14 million) off the Mariners’ books. So the Yankees aren’t even willing to offer low-level prospects unless Seattle A) agrees to eat some of the money and/or B) is willing to take Kei Igawa. So far, there’s no sign that the Mariners are interested in either option. The Yankees also have deflected all Scott Boras efforts to extract an extension or relocation bonus if Washburn waves his no-trade clause to the Bronx.

OK, so two things. I think Adam Dunn would be a nice fit for the Yankees at DH. He can’t hit for a high average, but he walks a ton and hits a lot of homers (.943 OPS!!). He’s like Jason Giambi except with more power and I’d take that for 2 months. I like the way the Yankees are holding onto their prospects too. I don’t think it’s a matter of overvaluing, I think it’s a matter of knowing what the market is. There’s not much interest in Dunn, so they can dictate a package. Also, he’d only be a rental since he’s heading for free agency. He’s no Mark Teixeira, so no top tier prospects should be given up for him.

Now, with Washburn, again, I have to commend the Yankees. This is a smart move and I haven’t heard much interest for Washburn outside of what the Yankees have shown. If the Mariners want to move his salary, and let’s be honest, that’s the only reason they’re trading him, then they should just move him without asking for prospects. The Yankees are one of the only teams out there that are not only willing but able to take on that salary, as well. If the Mariners are willing to eat some of J.W.’s money or take Kei Igawa off our hands, then maybe you deal some of your lower level prospects. But, I don’t think the Mariners will walk away with anything of value, other than dumping a contract onto the Yankees.

Masks Are Funny

The Yankees kick off a big series tonight against the Red Sox and the future of both franchises will be on the bump, as Josh Beckett faces off against everyone’s favorite fist pumper, Joba Chamberlain. It’ll be Joba’s first start at Fenway and I’m sure he won’t be welcomed with open arms. Another Yankee who is never welcome in the Fens is Alex Rodriguez.

Remember when A-Rod was greeted at Fenway by Boston fans wielding plastic masks of a blond bombshell during that strippergate situation? Well, the Sox & Dawgs Blog (Boston people like to spell “Dogs” this way, because it’s supposedly clever and cool, or at least it was in 1997) offers up a new and inevitable mask for this weekend’s series–the Madonna mask, and boy is it hideous. It was bound to happen and it should be funny for exactly 10 seconds. In order to counteract this mask nonsense, I’ve come up with my own mask that Yankee fans can wear for next month’s series–the Julio Lugo mask. While it may not be as ugly as Madonna (debatable), it sure is funnier. Say what they may, Sox fans hate Julio Lugo and will hate Yankee fans even more for reminding them (mockingly) of Lugo’s presence on their team. So, let’s start a dueling mask movement of our own. Don’t worry, all Julio Lugo masks come equipped with a confused look upon his face (of course).

Here’s a preview. I’ll repost when the next series nears.

Yanks Mulling Options After Meeting

From Kat O’Brien:

The Yankees’ brass convened in Tampa Thursday to talk about every possible way to improve their team down the stretch. Even Barry Bonds was on the table.

As he left the meetings at Legends Field after about three hours of talks, Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner told The Associated Press: “We talked about everything, including Bonds.”

Neither Steinbrenner brother — Hank or co-chairman Hal — nor general manager Brian Cashman could be reached for comment Thursday night. But signing Bonds likely is a very long shot for the Yankees. Cashman is not believed to be enamored of the idea of adding Bonds, who turned 44 Thursday and has not played all season.

A source, who called the meetings “due diligence,” said: “He was discussed … I think it’s highly, highly unlikely that that would happen, but he was discussed.

“There were three areas of need on the table: a hitter, a lefthanded reliever and a starting pitcher. According to a source, none of those needs takes priority over the other two. It’s a simple matter of what presents itself on the trade front and whether anything makes sense.

A pretty good chance exists that the Yankees will not make a major move before the July 31 non-waivers trade deadline.

Sure, they might trade for a lefthanded reliever such as the Rockies’ Brian Fuentes or the Royals’ Ron Mahay; neither would cost a ton, though the Rockies want a solid prospect back for Fuentes.

But unless the asking price drops significantly, fans probably won’t see the Rockies’ Matt Holliday, the Pirates’ Jason Bay or the Braves‘ Mark Teixeira in a Yankees uniform next weekend when the Angels come to town.

Scratch that last part. Given the Yankees’ surplus of first basemen, there’s virtually no chance Teixeira winds up in pinstripes this season.

Hank Steinbrenner told the AP after Thursday’s meetings that there are a couple of interesting trade possibilities. The Yankees discussed all kinds of names, from Mariners starter Jarrod Washburn to Dodgers starter Derek Lowe, from Bay to fellow Pirates outfielder Xavier Nady, from Fuentes to Pirates lefthanded reliever Damaso Marte. But a source familiar with the discussions said there is “nothing close.”

The Yankees have a lot of work to do, whether it’s waiting it out to see how the trade market unfolds or going to see Freddy Garcia’s audition on the 5th, there are a variety of options available to them. I think Bonds would be a decent choice, but he hasn’t seen live pitching at all this year. If the Yankees don’t make a move, I’d expect them to recall pitching from their own farm system. Ian Kennedy has been pitching well and Alfredo Aceves has been solid since his promotion (plus Hughes is rehabbing), so it’ll be interesting to see what the Yankees do in order to improve their ball club.