Yankees Trade Rumors: Montero for Pineda the Right Move for Yankees and Mariners

Both the New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners have been quiet this off season. It looked as if both teams were content to go into the season without making any major moves.

Then it was reported that the Yankees and Mariners have agreed on a deal that will swap two of the top prospects in the game. The Yankees will send catcher Jesus Montero to Seattle in exchange for pitcher Michael Pineda.

This trade is a perfect move for both teams: The Mariners were in need of an offensive catcher and the Yankees needed another starter. This move helps each team fill their needs.

Jesus Montero has been one of the best offensive prospects in baseball for a few years. He is a catcher, who is recognized as a player whose offensive skills will make up for the lack of defensive skills. He will most likely ultimately end up as a first baseman or designated hitter.

Montero was called up at the end of last season and in 61 at-bats, he hit .328 with four homers and 12 runs batted in. If you stretch those stats over a full 162 game season, Montero would have hit 36 homers and had 108 RBI's.

The Yankees were on the verge of sending Montero to Seattle in 2010 in order to acquire Cliff Lee, but that trade fell through. That trade would have also sent Ivan Nova and Eduardo Nunez to the Mariners. Nova is probably going to be the No. 3 starter in the Yankees rotation this season.

The Yankees felt very high about Montero however there was no room on the Yankees for him. His defensive limitations hinders him from being an everyday catcher and Montero will most likely have to play first-base and designated hitter half the time.

The Yankees have Mark Teixeira at first base and have older players like Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, who will need the designated hitter spot available. 

The Seattle Mariners were one of the worst offensive teams in baseball last year, and Montero will immediately get a chance to be a key player in their lineup. 

Michael Pineda will be 23 years old next season and is coming off a strong rookie season. He had nine wins and 10 losses and had a 3.74 earned run average. His record is deceiving because he was on a bad Seattle Mariners team.

The Yankees' rotation has been a question mark behind C.C Sabathia. With the emergence of Ivan Nova and now the addition of Pineda, the Yankees' rotation is less of a concern now.

Pineda is also a much cheaper option for the Yankees, as he only made $414,000 last season. He will not be able to be a free agent until 2017, which means the Yankees have a potential front-end starting pitcher in their rotation for a significant amount of time.