Trade of Javier Vazquez for Jayson Werth Makes Sense, Could Help Land Cliff Lee

Bronx Baseball DailyJul 8, 2010

Mike Axisa of River Ave Blues came up with a crazy idea for a trade that I don’t think is so crazy: Javier Vazquez to the Phillies for Jayson Werth . Furthermore, the trade would open up a spot in the rotation for the Yankees to land Cliff Lee .

It all started with these (two ) tweets from Buster Olney of ESPN:

"
Heard this: The Phillies are casting a wide net and talking with a lot of teams about possible matches for Jayson Werth. They continue to look for a proven starting pitcher who could be a No. 2 or No. 3 type of guy.
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That lead to the idea that the Yankees could trade Vazquez for Werth. The Phillies need a pitcher and Vazquez fits the bill as they are not looking for an ace type. The Yankees don’t necessarily need to give up Vazquez, but they do have four strong starters to fall back on and a need for a bat.

This could also net the Yankees a pair of first round draft picks at the end of the season. Both Werth and Vazquez are Type-A free agents, but the Yankees aren’t likely to offer Vazquez arbitration. On the other hand, the Yankees have three solid outfielders and Werth will likely look for a multi-year deal. That could lead to an arbitration offer rejected and draft picks for the Yankees.

Cliff Lee could tie into this entire thing because with an open rotation spot ,the Yankees might be more motivated to deal for Lee. If they thought they could get a pair of draft picks for Werth it might make the idea of dealing prospects for Lee easier to stomach.

This is a longshot, both trading Vazquez for Werth and trading for Lee. It will also cost the Yankees a lot of prospects, but with Werth and Lee added to this roster the Bombers would be one mean team when it comes to the playoffs. A 28th World Series might just fall into place.