Vazquez to Yankees

[Invader3K]

Sounds like this is about a done deal.

 

Jon Heyman reporting Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan to the Yankees in exchange for Melky Cabrera and Mike Dunn. Possibly another prospect involved.

 

I know some on here will be disappointed, since Vazquez was a name banded about on here a lot as a possible Brewers target.

[Funketown]

After a quick glance at the numbers, only Aroldys Vizcaino looks like a big loss for the Yankees. Only 19 years old, but in 42 innings (10 starts) in A-, struck out 52 and walked 15. Melky we all know, and Dunn looks like a solid mid-level prospect.

 

This rotation will be solid, to say the least:

 

1) Sabathia

2) Vazquez

3) Burnett

4) Pettite

5) Joba/Hughes

[crewcrazy]

A little disappointing, but I was uncomfortable with the idea of giving up a guy like Gamel for Vazquez, and it looks like the Yankees didn't really feel comfortable giving up much, either. In the end, the salary probably took the Brewers out of contention.

 

Kind of a disappointing deal from the Atlanta standpoint, but apparently they were one of the teams that fell in love with Melky Cabrera. In the end, I'm not sure the Brewers had the pieces Atlanta would've been interested in, anyway.

[JohnBriggs12]

This could be good news for the Brewers because the Yankees were looking at the FA crop and this move should take them out of that market. With Nats settling on Marquis, and Yanks dealing for Vazquez, the number of potential suitors for the middling guys left has dwindled and the likelihood one could drop into a range the Brewers could afford increases.

[pingman]

Braves fan (1a) & Brewers fan (1b) weighing in on this trade....

 

From the Braves perspective I'm not happy....didn't get a much needed power hitter in return....however, this move gives the Braves some wiggle room under their salary budget to make a move for a couple of bats (Nady & DeRosa????) ....Arodys Vizcaino at 19 is the Yanks #3 prospect (and top pitching prospect) per Baseball America so the Braves are stockpiling some quality arms.....Dunn has the best slider in the Yanks org per BA....he had good numbers in AAA & AA last season so he could be in the mix for the last bullpen spot although I'm not counting on that

 

This is good news for the Brewers because it gets Vazquez out of the NL ....

 

I still like the Braves rotation of Jurrjens, Hudson, Hanson, Lowe & Kawakami....hard to beat that!!!! ....and a bullpen of Wagner, Saito, Moylan, Medlen, O'Flaherty should be one of the best in the NL too.....if Chipper can stay healthy this is a dangerous team

[joepepsi]

A little disappointing, but I was uncomfortable with the idea of giving up a guy like Gamel for Vazquez, ..

See this is what bugs me about MLB. The Brewers are expected to give up Gamel for Vasquez, but the Yankees only have to give up Melky and some propects? It's like every teams just bends over the Yankees.

[JohnBriggs12]

pingman,

 

Since Cabrera is a switch hitter and better from the right side and figures to play RF, I would think the Braves could expand their search for another bat to include both RH and LH hitters. Which begs the question why not just bring back Adam LaRoche?

[chadomac]

I understand the salary crunch, but I think given what the Braves actually got... Melvin dropped the ball on this. Vasquez, Gallardo, Wolf, Parra, Bush/Suppan would've been a really nice upgrade from what we're actually going to have going into 2010.

[makwaloon]

It must be nice to be a Yankee fan. The farm system has taken a hit this winter but I'm sure they'll buy more prospects this year on the international market (it must be nice to essentially have 2 drafts) or give ridiculous signing bonuses to some later round "tough signs" in the upcoming draft.

[pingman]

pingman,

 

Since Cabrera is a switch hitter and better from the right side and figures to play RF, I would think the Braves could expand their search for another bat to include both RH and LH hitters. Which begs the question why not just bring back Adam LaRoche?

 

Good observation JB ....IMHO the Braves will platoon Cabrera & Diaz in LF....AND use Cabrera in RF against tough southpaws until Jason Heyward gets his bearings....Cabrera could also spell McLouth in CF should he need a rest.... the unknown is will Heyward be ready coming out of spring training? or will the Braves let him play against AAA pitching for 4-6 weeks before bringing him to the majors (much like how they handled Hanson last year)

 

LaRoche? .....he recently demanded 3 years & $31 million or something like that....the Braves only want a short term deal (at less $$$) to bridge the time until Freddie Freeman is ready..... the latest rumor is the Braves want to bring DeRosa back to the ATL ....he could play 1B & also some 3B when Chipper needs a day or 15 off.... personally I'd prefer to bring 'Roche back for two years but I'm not Frank Wren or Bobby Cox....

 

....another target appears to be Xavier Nady

[JohnBriggs12]

LaRoche is unrealistic in his "demands". He's not going to get that from anyone. But if I'm the Braves, I prefer him over DeRosa even though DeRosa can spell Chipper.

 

Haven't been a Braves fan since 1965, so just a "neutral" observation on my part, but isn't Freddie Freeman at least 2 and more likely 3 years away and hardly a sure thing at this point?

[dlk9s]

It must be nice to be a Yankee fan. The farm system has taken a hit this winter but I'm sure they'll buy more prospects this year on the international market (it must be nice to essentially have 2 drafts) or give ridiculous signing bonuses to some later round "tough signs" in the upcoming draft.

Hey, let's give them a break. They went 10 whole years without winning a World Series.

[TooLiveBrew]

The Brewers were actually a team I saw praised or noted quite a bit for signing guys at above slot value this past draft. The Yankees have done a nice job developing young talent the past few seasons, and while it's easy to point out their financial advantage, it's also easy to overlook the nice job they've done in not just trading everyone away for veterans.

 

The addition of Vazquez is an absolutely ridiculous one. Kudos to Brian Cashman on this one. As previously noted, it doesn't even look like they had to give up anything of premium value. What a rotation.

[BREWERPRIDE]

I hateeee the Yankeeeessssss.

 

No fair.

[JoeHova]

This is another great move for the Yankees. Obviously they might miss Vizcaino down the road but the Yankees don't have to worry that much about that kind of thing compared to other teams. They can fill holes with proven talent if they choose so they don't need to count on 18 year-olds developing. A great luxury.

[brewmann04]

We can't hate them just because they spend their wealth to stay on top.

we have to come to realize the brewers and other teams will never be able to compete w/o a salary cap.

[RyDogg66]

Hopefully Vazquez works out as well for the Yankees this time as he did last time around.

[trwi7]

Don't hate the Yankees, hate the Braves for settling on this. The only worthwhile piece is Vizcaino and he hasn't been above A ball.

[endaround]

I don't get what the Braves are doing. Either go for it or don't, don't make trades that might pan out in 4 years while having the rest of the team in or past their prime.

[TooLiveBrew]

Vazquez would have to fall on his face to not be a Type A after 2010. There is no way the Braves offset the value of the comp picks they'd have gotten with this return imo. Guys like Cabrera are available on the FA market every year.

[rluzinski]

I don't think the Brewers were financially in a position to take on Vazquez's $11.5 mil salary. That's pretty much a given, no? Of course, based on his projections, he's probably worth closer to $18 mil. You would have throught the Braves could have gotten more for him.

[trwi7]

I don't think the Brewers were financially in a position to take on Vazquez's $11.5 mil salary.

Well not now obviously, but we were before we signed Wolf and Hawkins.

[bklynbrewcrew]

Good thing Melvin is off in Spain while a great pitcher gets traded for garbage. The Brewers could have easily beaten this offer without including Gamel. Id really love to know what the appeal is with Melky Cabrera. Once again Melvin is showing that he is overmatched. The reason we dont have enough money to add a good starting pitcher is because Doug insists on having a 15 million dollar bullpen. Trades like this just have me scratching my head.

 

We could have offered a package of Hart/McGehee and an A ball pitcher like Odorizzi plus a bullpen arm like Coffey and that would have been a far better package than what Atlanta received. Maybe Melvin did offer more than Hart but I just find it hard to believe that we couldnt beat this extremely underwhelming package. Melvin just seems to have no creativity whatsoever when it comes to improving this team.

[TooLiveBrew]

Good thing Melvin is off in Spain while a great pitcher gets traded for garbage.

 

As has been mentioned, the Brewers don't have the payroll room for Vazquez at this point. And I'm pretty sure Doug has a phone with him, and access to the web. Good grief, if the POTUS can run the country while on vacation, I'm absolutely certain Melvin can handle anything that might come up with regards to a baseball team.

 

Not to mention the fact that Gord Ash & Co. are very capably running things on the home front. It's also been reported that Doug contacted the Braves about Vazquez, & didn't want to meet their price. Given this trade, apparently their demands have come down, but that's after Melvin had to move on & sign Wolf.

[bklynbrewcrew]

There are always excuses as to why we add mediocre talent like Wolf while an ace like Vazquez gets traded for a bunch of fluff. Melvin always takes the easy way out signing the average free agents like Wolf and Hawkins instead of making a trade to acquire a far better pitcher. This offseason has been a huge disappointment thus far and that likely wont change. We have marginally improved our rotation while we have weakned our lineup significantly by replacing Cameron with Gomez. I just dont see how this team is better right now than it was when we ended the 2009 season.

 

If Melvin hadnt decided to spend 15 million plus on our bullpen we could have had enough money for two starting pitchers instead of one plus a extreme long shot like Mulder. Listen if Vazquez was traded for meaningful value I wouldnt complain but when the headliner of the deal is Melky Cabrera all I can do is scratch my head in disbelief. Seriously cabrera isnt even as good as Corey Hart and Im sure a deal with Hart/McGehee, Odorizzi and Coffey would have been a far better haul than what Atlanta recieved.