Jul

25

Yankees Acquire Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte

Posted by M. Patel under News, Prospects 

Just like always, the Yankees aren’t willing to settle for less than a championship this year. Thank god we have management that always wants to win. With the trade deadline approaching, Cashman’s crew was busy once more despite some suggestions not too long ago that it was time to call it quits for 2008. What they came up with will certainly be a nice help for this year and thankfully not too big a hit for the future.

First off I want to say that Cashman hasn’t sold out. He is still sticking by our young prospects and the fact that we still have Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes shows that. This move does send away prospects, but without them the farm system is far from depleted. We still have good depth at their positions and it really shouldn’t be a big hit. Add that with the fact that Nady and Marte are in their prime and not on the downhill just yet, and this move makes a lot of sense for us.

The prospects we will part with are Jose Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf, Phil Coke, and George Kontos. Kontos and Coke aren’t likely to become anything special, although Tabata and Ohlendorf certainly seem to have a future. Tabata is considered one of the best athletes in the organization, but he is an outfielder, a position that we have a huge abundance at. Add that with the fact that he is struggling this year and that Nady is also an outfielder, and it doesn’t seem that bad to let him go. Nady will be a great addition to the squad, as he will certainly help the struggling lineup. He bats right-handed as well, which is a big plus since most of our bats are lefties at the moment. He will also be some good insurance should we choose to let Abreu walk next year.

Ross Ohlendorf showed some good potential this year, but the Yankees have a lot of good arms in the farm system, but most just aren’t ready yet. Marte gives us someone who can help the team right now, in a bullpen that will welcome him. With a cohort of young pitchers and the extensive resources we have, I am not too worried about our pitching situation in the future.

So, that’s basically what the trade is all about. Of course everyone won’t agree with my views, but I believe that letting go of these prospects was worth it, especially considering what we got in return and what we have left. Don’t get me wrong, I am all about keeping a strong farm system, but sometimes you just have to let some guys go if you want to win in the present (if we did a deal like IPK for Fuentes, as the Rockies are supposedly seeking, then I would be 100% against it, but looking at who we lost and who we got, it certainly isn’t bad.) Although the 2008 Yankees have received a lot of scrutiny this year with predictions that we wouldn’t make it in the ultra-competitive AL East, I think that we do still have a chance and I am glad to know that the organization feels similarly.

Update: Instead of George Kontos and Phil Coke, the Pirates will be receiving Dan McCutchen and Jeff Karstens. Apparently they had a choice of two players out of a pool of several (including Kontos and Coke) and decided to go with Karstens and McCutchen. It really isn’t that big a deal because none of them are anywhere near big prospects and chances are none of them will have a big impact in the future.

Comments

One Response to “Yankees Acquire Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte”

  1. Financial Planner on July 29th, 2008 11:44 am

    This was a good trade. Marte is solid, and I like that they added to the pen.

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