Dec 26 2008
Yankees Interested in Moving Two Outfielders
Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News reported that the Yankees are looking to trade 2 of 3 outfielders out of the group of Xavier Nady, Hideki Matsui, and Nick Swisher. It is said that the Angels, Rangers, A’s, and Braves have interest. The Angels have stated that they are not going to pursue Manny Ramirez and could use some pop in that lineup behind solid pitching. The Ranger’s and A’s always could use help in the division with the Angels, giving them another hitter to go along with Josh Hamilton and Matt Holliday, respectively. The Braves originally tried to get Swisher from the Red Sox so now with Teixera signing, it would seem like he would be available.
The report did not mention what the Yankees were interested in obtaining, but my guess would be either young prospects or a veteran pitcher. It would seem that Nady would have the best value having a career year last year, and having only a few million on his contract for this year. Compare that to Matsui, coming off knee surgery, making 13 million and has a no trade clause. It will be tough to move the high salary of him in these tough economic times, so Nady might be the one to go, although I hope to see Nady hitting behind Alex Rodriguez this year in the order. I do not know what good Swisher will be now that Texeira is in the mix, but with Damon and Nady, Swisher might fill the other spot as Matsui would become the DH.
