Yankees Unlikely to Deal for Starter Before Trade Deadline

With a little less than a day remaining before the non-waiver trade deadline, the Yankees will most likely pass on any opportunities to improve their beleaguered rotation. With the big names of CC Sabathia and Rich Harden off the board and mid-rotation starter Joe Blanton also being dealt, the remaining pitchers up for grabs leave much to be desired.

The Mariners Jarrod Washburn, the Reds Bronson Arroyo, and the Blue Jays A.J. Burnett had headlined the remaining list of names thought to be dealt before tomorrow’s deadline. Yet, none of those names seem to be destined for the Bronx. The strongest trade winds out of Yankee Stadium seem to be circulating around Mariners lefty Jarrod Washburn.

However, Washburn’s 5-9 record and 4.50 ERA do not give the Yankees any reason to believe the lefty would be much better than whoever he would be replacing in the rotation.

The $13.6 million left on his contract for next season also make Washburn an unlikely addition. Burnett seems a likely candidate for being dealt before the deadline. However, the odds do not seem to favor him being dealt within the division.

Although the Yankees have to have liked what they saw out of Burnett the last time they faced him (8.1 IP 8K 1 ER), the hard throwing righty’s constant control issues will not warrant his price tag. Bronson Arroyo appears to be the least likely of the three to be dealt as the Reds are believed to have pulled Arroyo off the trading block after growing frustrated with the quality of the offers being made for 31-year-old pitcher.

The two years and $23 million left on Arroyo’s contract left many teams unwilling to part with prospects of any significance for the 6‘5” right-hander, despite Arroyo’s 4-1 record over the last month.

Instead, Cashman and the Yankees seem resigned to solving their pitching problems internally by relying on the two pitchers they had hoped to stabilize the rotation from the beginning of the season. Both Phil Hughes (broken ribs) and Ian Kennedy (lat muscle strain) had both provided nothing, but disappointment for Yankee fans before both landing on the disabled list.
 
Yet, with both young hurlers having begun making their rehab assignments the Yankees find themselves again having to rely on the pair of unproven prospects. Alternate internal options exist for the Yankee team, but seem less likely to come to fruition.

With sinkerballer Chien-Ming Wang (mid-foot sprain) having his cast removed Tuesday, the Yankees are hopeful that their ace can return to the rotation for the final month of the season. However, the team is likely to take it slow with Wang in fear of re-aggravating the injury they had once feared might be career threatening.

Injury/disaster plagued rightie Carl Pavano (elbow) has also made his first rehab assignment since undergoing Tommy John Surgery last June. However, organizational frustrations with their fragile $39.5 million investment make it unlikely that Pavano will be seen in a Yankee uniform this season or ever again.

The three consecutive poor pitching performances of Ponson, Mussina and Rasner could not have made Brian Cashman’s life any easier heading towards tomorrow’s 4 p.m. deadline. However, after dealing the once highly touted prospect, Jose Tabata, last week, the future conscious GM will not readily give away another one of his blue chippers.

Instead the Yankees will revert to their pre-season mindset of depending on the two youngsters many had predicted to anchor the rotation for years to come. It is a risky move that is sure to be considered by Yankee ownership when Cashman’s contract runs out this off-season.