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August 02, 2005
CF In 2006
I know there's about 4 or 5 months before this is an issue. But, that doesn't mean that one cannot wonder.......who will play CF for New York next season?
Andruw Jones or Vernon Wells would be nice. But, they both have two more years on their current contract after this year. Plus, the Yankees don't have the pile of prospects that would be needed to trade for one of them. This issue also takes up-and-coming players like Grady Sizemore and David DeJesus out of the trade pitcure.
In terms of "proven" fly chasers, which I think the Yankees would prefer, it comes down to less than a half-dozen "availables" to choose from (for next year).
And, the pick of that litter, albeit not that great, is Juan Pierre, Preston Wilson, Milton Bradley, and Johnny Damon. And, it's no lock that Pierre will be out there - I'm just assuming that he would be since he's salary arbitration eligible after this season, as a 5th year player with no contract.
I doubt the Yankees have any interest in Wilson - or else they would have traded for him this year.
So, it could be a two-man race: Damon and Bradley. Gosh, there's lots of baggage there with both of them. The whole thing is depressing. Maybe it is better not to think about it now?
Posted by Steve Lombardi at August 2, 2005 02:42 PM
Comments
The Yanks would do best, in my opinion, to resign Matsui to a reasonable deal and *consider* using him in CF. This would open up the search to include the possibility of acquiring a good hitting corner outfielder, rather than limiting their options to the handful of CF available. If a CF does come their way, then Matsui rotates back to LF. The Yankees also might try looking in their minor league system for a short-term option--perhaps Thompson (AAA) can fill the Shane Spencer/Chad Curtis role--again, basically platooning with Matsui in LF/CF.
The Yankees make mistakes when they decide they need a specific kind of player ("we need a CF" or "we need a back-up 1B"), because they have a remarkable ability to panic and overpay for the "proven veteran" that fits that role. It would be refreshing if they instead trusted their minor leagues (like the A's do), or at least acquired talented and relatively position-flexible players to experiment with (like the Sawx did last year).
Posted by: fronda at August 2, 2005 04:28 PM