10 Years Later....
It was just over ten years ago that the Yankees traded their top pitching prospect to Minnesota as part of a package to get Chuck Knoblauch. Eric Milton was highly-rated at the time and though he had some good years, he never turned into what scouts thought he could turn into. Why the walk down memory lane? Well the Yankees just signed Milton to a minor league deal.
I am not sure that Milton can help the 2008 Yankees, he is recovering from TJ surgery, but his history is a good one for the Yankees to review at this point. As Sickels says in the article above, he would have given him an initial grade of "B" and then upgraded it to "B+" before the '98 season "comparing him to Andy Pettitte". Take a look at Sickels 2008 rankings. Hughes wasn't a prospect anymore on his scale, so he didn't make it, but all the other names you know are there. Notice that only three names rated higher than a "B". Notice that one of those names absolutely flopped in 2008 (so far). I am not saying go back to the old days of trading every young player in the system, but the Yankees need to be aggressive with their pitching assets and take some risks. Trade some of these guys, the one thing you can bank on is a lot of them won't turn out to be stars.
Comments
Good point. Yes, Hughes and Kennedy and Cabrera for Santana is a deal you make, but if you can't sign Santana to a deal that makes economic sense given the cap, it's a moot point.
Not that I think the Yanks should throw in the towel, but the White Sox may be desperate for a closer and they love to deal. What do you think the Yanks could get for Farnsworth? He's been pitching great lately and has maximum trade value. Plus, I doubt the Yanks will sign him again after this year. And maybe promoting Veras to the 8th inning is a good thing anyway.
So, my recommendations for the second half:
1. Consider trading Farnsworth.
2. Don't sign Sexson
3. Bench Melky; Play Gardner
4. Hope that Damon, Matsui come back and that Jeter & Posada start hitting.
5. Don't panic. If there is a good deal at the end of the month, fine. They don't have to make a deal to win. They have to play better
Posted by: Corey | July 14, 2008 01:48 PM |
I am all for trading Farnworth and you are right that his value will probably never be higher. But, I think Bobby Jenks may return as early as Friday so I don't know if the White Sox are a match.
Posted by: Peter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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July 14, 2008 07:12 PM
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