Yankees Trade Rumors: Stick a Fork in Yankees' Bid to Acquire Ubaldo Jimenez

The New York Yankees continue to be linked with Colorado Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez....but why?

The asking price for the 27-year-old is simply way too high for the Yankees, or any other team for that matter. Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd has recognized the Rockies are not going to make the postseason in 2011, so why not field potential offers to gauge how much interest players on your team get?

It makes perfect sense for Colorado, but it has sent fans and media members alike into a frenzy trying to calculate a way to acquire a pitcher who was 15-1 at the All-Star break in 2010.This year he has struggled to find his velocity, but he had been pitching extremely well before Sunday's loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

On the season, he has a 6-9 record with a 4.20 ERA and 1.34 WHIP. Those aren't eye-popping numbers by any stretch of the imagination, but the biggest reason Jimenez has been so highly courted is his contract. Next year he will make $4.2 million, and he has team options for both 2013 ($5.75 million) and 2014 ($8 million).

The Yankees pay the bat boy more than that.

The Cincinnati Reds and Yanks are the two teams that have the need and the farm system to meet the demands. Yet it's very hard to see a scenario where a deal gets pulled off.

Troy Renck of the Denver Post talks about how much it will take to wiggle Ubaldo out of Colorado:

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Jimenez remains the most intriguing Rockies piece. O'Dowd created parameters a week ago when he told me it would take a "Herschel Walker-type deal" to move the Rockies' ace. In talking to multiple executives and scouts, it's clear the Rockies want three players in return for Jimenez. They have talked up nearly everyone, including the Royals, to see if they would part with some of baseball's most prized young players.

The price is so high, it's left some executives questioning whether any deal will get done. But the Rockies haven't pulled Jimenez off the showroom floor. So until they do, nothing can be dismissed out of hand.

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Do the Yanks want to turn into the Minnesota Vikings? That franchise will forever be remembered for essentially gift-wrapping three Super Bowls for the Dallas Cowboys after giving up so much to acquire Walker.

Jesus Montero has been the prized prospect in the Yanks organization for seemingly forever now, and trading him right before he gets the call up just doesn't seem right.

There are plenty of lesser options that will not sacrifice the future to bring in. Ted Lilly, Jeremy Guthrie and Hiroki Kuroda are just three examples of guys on bad teams with good stuff. All three of those players would be a big help to the Yanks.

Sure, Ubaldo is better than them...but not by that much.

Fans in the Big Apple are always looking for the blockbuster trade, but the Yanks are best served to not fall to the temptation.

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