Mike Cameron Trade for Melky Cabrera, Kei Igawa in Works

The Yankees are again talking to the Brewers about Mike Cameron, and this time it looks like a deal could be done involving both Melky Cabrera and Kei Igawa.

This seems like a very polarizing deal. On one hand, there are those who would rather have the veteran center fielder, like Peter Abraham, who said,

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"If Brian Cashman can get Mike Cameron for what amounts to two AAA players, they should name the new Stadium after him."

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Then there are others who just don’t like Cameron, like Joel Sherman, who made his case against him today:

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"The biggest reason for me is the strikeouts. Cameron struck out 142 times last year. That marked the ninth time in Cameron’s career he had struck out at least 130 times in a season. The only players who have done it more often are all 500-homer men: Sammy Sosa and Jim Thome (12 times each) and Reggie Jackson (10 times).

"Cameron, at 35, becomes the oldest starting center fielder in the majors if Jim Edmonds does not come back and get another starting job. He is a terrific athlete who keeps in top shape. But age has been a problem for the Yankees the past few years, specifically last year.

"If the economy continues this way, we are going to see a lot of salary dumping during the season. Right now, the Yankees do not have many appetizing options for a veteran center fielder. But that could change during the season."

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I tend to agree with Sherman in this case. I think strikeouts are overrated, and I don’t really care about his age, but he’s right. The Yankees can do better. If they can’t, I don’t believe that Brett Gardner is that much worse than Cameron. Both are probably .250 hitters, but one has speed and the other has power.

Although if they can shed the $12 million they owe Kei Igawa, shouldn’t they?