A number of interesting notes on the Yankees today, mostly to do with shoring up their offense.
Brennan Boesch, who the Tigers released earlier today, is said to be one possibility for the team. Boesch is a corner outfielder with a career .259/.315/.372 slash line and a 96 wRC+. As a 28 year old lefty-hander, he would be more of a project than a replacement, and the Yankees have plenty of those.
Joel Sherman also believes that the Yankees are looking at first baseman David Cooper, formerly of the Blue Jays. The former first round pick has struggled to stay on the field with back problems, but when he has, he’s posted a career 103 wRC+ in 226 plate appearances. His minor league numbers are more impressive, but over the last two years, Cooper has spent his time in a hitter friendly park in the PCL.
According to George A King, the Rangers have been scouting Joba Chamberlain, which opens up some interesting speculation. The Rangers have a number of expendable players if they consider their prospects Major League ready. Mike Olt probably fits the Yankees’ needs best, and the Rangers might be willing to trade him with Adrian Beltre under team control through 2016.
Finally, Derek Jeter will lead off and play shortstop tonight! Here’s tonight’s starting lineup courtesy of LoHud.
Derek Jeter SS
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Kevin Youkilis 3B
Juan Rivera 1B
Ben Francisco RF
Matt Diaz DH
Chris Stewart C
Melky Mesa CF
Gil Velazquez 2B
Amongst Jeter, we also get a look at Ben Francisco in right field and Gil Velazquez, who could be a utility option come April, if everything goes wrong.
Your starting pitcher is Andy Pettitte, so make sure you catch this game on YES at 7:05 pm.
It would take a lot more than Joba to get Olt. Just how much more is a matter of speculation.
Thinking Heathcott and Joba gets it done.
Mike Olt is a consensus Top-25 prospect. He's rated higher than any player currently in the Yankees' minor leagues — higher than Gary Sanchez, Mason Williams, or Slade Heathcott. Even if he's blocked by Beltre (and I'm not sure that he is, given that Texas doesn't have a long-term 1B), he's one of Texas's most valuable tradeable commodities.
Joba Chamberlain, on the other hand, is a reliever with a career 3.73 ERA who will be a free agent at the end of the season.
What would you say if someone proposed that the Yankees trade Sanchez to the Indians for Matt Capps? Presumably, at least one of those words would start with "f", and at least nine of them would be synonyms for "crazy."
Anyway: that's what suggesting the Rangers would trade Olt for Joba is.
See my previous comment. No one is suggesting Joba for Olt straight up. I think Heathcott and Joba might work, but Rangers might hold out for more.
And if that happens, the Rangers SHOULD hold out for more. A good, ML-ready prospect for a middle reliever (who hasn't pitched a full season for awhile) and a lower-rated prospect in high-A wouldn't be a great deal for Texas.
Heathcott may have just spent his season in high-A, but Olt is only one level higher and two years older. Meanwhile, Heathcott spent his season in one of the hardest ballparks to hit in, and Olt one of the easiest. Heathcott is also very close to major league ready defensively and projects very well, while Olt's defense at third base has been questioned. When you throw Joba into the mix, it's a lot more even than you'd think.
The Rangers don't have a long-term answer at 1B, and even if they did, 29 other teams in baseball all covet — drool over — Mike Olt. So, here's what I would say are some likely possibilities for the Rangers, in descending order:
1. The Rangers keep Olt and use him at 1B.
2. The Rangers keep Olt and use him at 3B when Adrian Beltre, age 34, gets hurt.
3. The Rangers trade Olt as part of a package for a superstar, like — I don't know, spitballing here — David Price.
4. Mayan Apocalypse.
5. A bunch of other tremendously unlikely things.
6. The Rangers trade Mike Olt for one season of a league-average middle reliever, plus a CF prospect who isn't any better than the CF prospect the Rangers already have (Leonys Martin).