As the Yankees inched through a sluggish offseason, general manager Brian Cashman admitted that he wanted to strengthen the starting rotation. Cashman stressed that he wasn’t hopeful about his chances, balking at the high prices for free agents and at the lofty requests during trade talks. But, on a frenetic Friday, Cashman revamped the rotation in a splashy way.
Cashman’s patience was rewarded when he acquired Michael Pineda from the Seattle Mariners for Jesus Montero in a bold, four-player trade. The Yankees also secured Jose Campos, a Class A pitcher, and moved Hector Noesi in the deal. While the Yankees valued Montero’s offense, they picked the elite, young pitcher over the elite, young hitter. That is usually a sound strategy.
Would the Yankees have rather included Montero, their premier prospect, as part of a package to get Felix Hernandez? Yes. But the Mariners weren’t going to let that happen, so Cashman honed in on Pineda, a 22-year-old pitcher with an intimidating fastball. Some baseball executives told me they were surprised that Cashman was able to obtain such a talented pitcher, especially since Pineda isn’t a free agent until after 2016. Pitchers like Pineda are typically considered untouchable in trade discussions.
In addition to the trade, the Yankees also signed free agent Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year deal that will pay him between $10-11 million. Kuroda, who refused to wave his no-trade clause last season because he preferred to stay with the Los Angeles Dodgers, grew more and more interested in pitching in New York as the offseason unfolded. Again, patience was a virtue for Cashman. Kuroda was seeking a deal for about $13 million, but the Yankees were able to get him for a lower salary. The Yankees haven’t officially announced the transactions yet because they are pending physicals.
So, finally, the questions about the Yankees rotation have been silenced because Cashman has acted. Cashman said he was content with CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia as the 2012 rotation, but he never stopped shopping for help. I think the trade for Pineda, while costly because of what the Yankees gave up, was a terrific move. Pineda averaged more than a strikeout per inning in 2011, though one scout said he needs to add a changeup to his fastball-slider combination. Getting Kuroda, a stable veteran, on a one-year contract was also a savvy decision.
Not only did Cashman dramatically improve the Yankees rotation, he did it while walking along a financial tightrope. The Yankees are intent on keeping their payroll under $189 million by 2014 because of the extreme monetary benefits they will reap from the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. So adding Pineda, who will only be an arbitration-eligible pitcher by then, and Kuroda, who isn’t likely to be a Yankee by then, fits neatly into that plan.
After the Yankees changed 40 percent of their rotation and dealt the player who was supposed to be their designated hitter, one Major League talent evaluator described them as “the team to beat” in the American League. With Sabathia followed by Pineda, Nova, Kuroda and either Burnett, Hughes or Garcia as the fifth starter, the evaluator said the rotation has “more depth” and a “higher ceiling.”
Although the Yankees were thrilled to get Pineda, they acknowledged that they traded a rare hitter in Montero. One Yankees official said Montero can and probably will hit 30 homers a year, but the organization has depth at catcher and felt it was sensible to use that surplus to improve an area of need in the rotation. Montero displayed how damaging he could be as a hitter and showed his opposite-field power last September, sights that Yankees fans hoped to enjoy for the next decade. Instead, Montero is now with the Mariners. The Yankees also lost an effective pitcher in Noesi, who could end up as a No. 3 starter in the Majors.
How come the Yankees aren’t doing anything this offseason? Everyone from C.J. Wilson to an American League manager to the guy on line at the bagel store asked me that question. I always said that Cashman had until July 31 to get pitching help, which I figured he would do. Cashman beat that deadline by six months. On a frenetic Friday, he added Pineda and Kuroda and made the Yankees a much better and much more interesting team.
