What the Yankees Could Put on the Field for the Price of Jason Giambi

Middle Relief- Hideki Okajima, Boston Red Sox- $1,275,000-  A 2.22 ERA last season propelled Okajima to the Red Sox set-up man.  He puts up solid strikeout numbers for a reliever and has proven he can nab a save if needed.

Middle Relief- Matt Capps, Pittsburgh Pirates- $435,500-  The closer for the Bucs last season from June on, Capps notched 18 saves while holding a 2.28 ERA.

Middle Relief- Tony Pena, Arizona Diamondbacks- $405,500-  Arizona's new closer was a lock in 2007, holding a 2.17 ERA through the first half last season.

Middle Relief- Chad Billingsley, Los Angeles Dodgers- $415,000-  Has made quite an impression on the Dodgers in each of the last two seasons and has yet to post an ERA above 3.80.  He brings enough versatility to the table to make an emergency start when needed.  In fact, in 20 starts last season, Billingsley averaged 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings.  This guy has all the makings to be a stud.

Long Relief- Brian Bannister, Kansas City Royals- $421,000-  Floyd's boy proved to be a hit before getting traded from the Mets last season.  His stats this season?  He's already 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA.  Phenomenal.

Bench- (OF) Hunter Pence, Houston Astros- $396,000-  Try to find a team with a better fourth outfielder than Pence.  In my opinion, he's a lock for 20 homers, 80 RBIs, and a .300+ average when starting.

Bench- (MI) Howie Kendrick, Los Angeles Angels- $432,000-  If it wasn't for two broken fingers last season, Howie Kendrick would be close to a household name.  Not much power here, but a great average guy who doesn't strike out much.

Bench- (CI) Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres- $875,000-  What kind of lineup has a 30 homer guy on the bench?  This guy puts up huge numbers in runs, homers, RBI, and average.

Bench- (C) Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs- $401,000-  Entering his rookie season, Soto saw some action in September last season.  In eighteen games he hit 3 home runs and knocked in 8 runs, batting .389.  He'll be a top catcher by the end of this season.

Well, that's the 25 man roster.  How does that work out financially?

Total of 25 man roster:  $14,160,900

Money still left over:  $9,267,671

If worse comes to worse, the Yankees can always invest that extra $9 million into another washed up pitcher if they'd like.

Jason Giambi is not worth $23 million dollars.  If the Yankees were to spend this money wisely, they could put their current team to shame as shown above.

For now, however, the Yankees will have to send an SOS to the baseball gods to put a spark in Giambi's bat.  If manager Joe Girardi continues to protect Alex Rodriguez with him, they'll need him to start producing quickly.

If not, they can always think "what if?"

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