You a Yankee fan and you want them to make a trade? Well, Phil Hughes here will be what everyone asks for. Still want a trade?

I love it when the trading season gets going in baseball. I know that the trades that happened this week were not very exciting, but I will take what I can get. You might get the idea (especially after reading that bio box to the right) that I am waiting for a blockbuster move by the Yankees for maybe Mark Teixeira, but you would be wrong. Making a move like that would more than likely require the Yankees to move one of their stud pitching prospects and that is the last thing I want. I want to see Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain in the big league rotation with Chien-Ming Wang. In fact, I can probably blow your mind by telling you a little secret that you have never heard escape the lips of a bomber fan before – I wish the Yankees would dump their older stars for prospects. I will wait for you to pick yourself off the floor before I continue...ready?

Can you imagine the haul the Yankees could bring in? This would not be any Pirates’ style five-year rebuilding plan (five years in Pittsburgh is like 12 in New York). It will never happen because the Yankees never want to appear to give up but please forgive me while I play GM for a minute. The Yankees trade the soon-to-be-opting-out Alex Rodriguez to the Los Angeles Dodgers for first baseman Nomar Garciaparra and third base prospect Andy LaRoche. “Never happen,” you might say. However, I say it could. The Dodgers are already drooling over giving A-Rod and agent Scott Boras the big bucks they want. A trade like this would allow them to do it with an exclusive negotiating window. Then Roger Clemens goes to Boston for Wily Mo Pena and Kason Gabbard. “Blasphemy,” you say! Not really, in my dream scenario, the Yankees are dumping and Rocket Roger would have to move on to a contender. Since the Houston Astros have little hope of sending him off to retirement on an up-note, Boston would be the only other team Clemens could go to without forcing his retirement. The Yankees could get away with it by portraying it as doing something nice for good ol’ Roger. The Red Sox would not have to explain it – they get the Rocket back, and Boston would go nuts. Similar trades of Johnny Damon, Mike Mussina, Bobby Abreu, and bullpen spare parts like Mike Myers, Jose Vizcaino and Kyle Farnsworth would net the Yankees two handfuls of second-tier prospects and the financial room to get under the luxury tax threshold.

Okay, I better clean up my drool and move on to this week’s transactions before Mark Haverty has a conniption due to all this Yankee talk...

The Main Event

The big move of the week was the trade of catcher Jason Kendall and the always popular cash considerations to the Chicago Cubs for catcher Rob Bowen left-handed pitcher Jerry Blevins. Jason Kendall has been a shell of his former self this season. His power disappeared years ago and his speed has been in a steady decline for years though I am sure being on the no-run Athletics did not help. However, Jason Kendall can still work a count and draw a walk when necessary. He calls a decent game and has all the leadership ability that Michael Barrett did not. As long as the Cubs are not expecting miracles, they should be largely happy with their side of the trade.

In Oakland, the idea behind the trade was primarily to get Kurt Suzuki behind the plate and in the lineup. Suzuki is a catcher that fantasy owners will like. The Cal State Fullerton product was a second round pick of the Athletics in 2004. That year, Suzuki was the Big West Conference Player-of-the-Year, Big West Conference All-Star, and Johnny Bench Award winner (best college catcher). He is definitely a .300 hitter with decent power (for a catcher) and the speed and ability to steal the occasional base if given the chance. If you are in an on-base league, he is an even better find, as he should regularly approach a .400 OBP. 

The Athletics also collect minor league lefty Jerry Blevins and catcher Rob Bowen. We have talked about Bowen before – you remember, back in that Michael Barrett trade. Fantasy owners can ignore Bowen unless you are just plain desperate, but Blevins is having a very good season. In 23 games with Double-A Tennessee, Blevins had a 1.53 ERA in 29 and 1/3 relief innings. He struck out 37, walked eight, and posted a .215 BAA. This was after destroying Single-A Daytona for 23 and 2/3 innings with just a 0.38 earned run average. This could be evidence of Billy Beane once again grabbing the overlooked and underrated prospects from big money teams that either just do not care or prefer to have a veteran at every available position. I am sure Billy Beane will not encourage them to do anything differently. 

The Other Notable Transaction...

The other trade worth looking at is not very sexy for fantasy owners but worth pondering for pure baseball reasons. The Pirates sent a player to be named later to the Cubs for shortstop Cesar Izturis. Izturis has had a few productive moments but there probably is not a fantasy player on the planet that believes a trade to the Steel City is going to revive his career. He is still a quality defensive player – better than Jack Wilson is – and could probably deliver a few stolen bases if the Pirates were looking for speed. However, I am guessing the primary reason he is now a Pirate is manager Jim Tracy, who happens to have managed Cesar during his longest sustained moment of productivity.

I can see the Pirates trading Jack Wilson if anyone wants to take on his stupid contract and overrated glove. Izturis is probably Wilson’s equal with the bat when he gets to play on a consistent basis and the upgrade in the field could not possibly hurt the Pirates. However, if the Pirates do not trade Wilson then I will be forced to chalk this up as another stupid move in a long legacy of stupid moves made by the Pirates. Without moving Wilson, Izturis becomes an expensive utility guy whose bat is not worth playing anywhere but at shortstop. That said, isn’t it just like the Pirates to hoard a bunch of limited players that no one else wants?

Jon is predicting plenty of trades in the coming week, but none involving the Yankees. You can send your comments to him at JonWilliams@SportsGrumblings.com