Official: What Should the Yankees do by the trade deadline?

[Jitpal]

Let's keep all of that stuff in here. Here are my possible targets for trade:
Ryan Freel: Solid bat, good speed, good OBP, good defense and can play at nearly every position. Wilson Betemit without the pop but actually good. For now, he can play some LF or CF for us. Next year, he can backup the infield. He has had 70 games in LF, 99 at 2B, 104 at 3B, 106 in RF, and 216 in CF. They have Jay Bruce in CF now so we might be able to get him at a decent price. He is coming back from a hamstring injury but he should be back by the end of the all-star break or maybe a few days after that. He kills lefties, nearly a .340 BA but he isn't anything special against righties.

Xavier Nady:Solid hitter with a little pop. We can play him in the corner OF spots and 1B. The key problem is that Pittsburgh is very hard to negotiate with. He could help us offensively but probably not too much, if at all, defensively. He should be able to handle the NY pressure because of his time with the Mets but he didn't have a great average in 2006.

Casey Blake:Another solid hitter. The indians aren't going anywhere and he will be a free agent at the end of the year. He probably won't be the type of player to get any sort of compensation pick. He is 34 so he would not be a long term solution, or anything more than a stopgap for the year. He can play solid defense at 1B and 3B. He has played some RF before. He does strike out a lot but he wouldn't cost much to get.

Adrian Beltre:He is having an off year and there probably isn't a huge spot for him right now but I think he would be a great pickup. He can easily convert to a 1B and take his slick glove there. He can pinch hit against lefties this year. He will be in a walk year next year, so expect him to have a very good season. Last time he was in a walk year, he had 48 home runs. He has $12 million owed to him next year and I think he could be had for a salary dump.

So thoughts? Anyone else have any ideas? -Jitpal

[Jitpal]

I wanted to add one more name to the mix.
Brett Myers: The Phillies want him to be a starter, and he wants to be a bullpen guy. We bring him in, he sets up for Mariano. Still fairly young. He provides us a great insurance policy just in case Mariano can't get it done next year otherwise he can be the primary setup guy. We have a few guys like Veras, Robertson and Melancon who may or may not be able to handle that role full time, this guy we know can. He would be the heir to Mariano's closer position. We would probably have to give up Horne or McCutchen and a little more to get the deal done but it might be worth it. He did have some shoulder issues last year but a very good year still. -Jitpal

[Relentless88]

Do the Yankees need pitching? If so AJ Burnett is available...and would be pretty cheap.

[bishnykfan]

Yanks need a bat and maybe another starter. They really need a right handed hitting outfielder. It sounds like they are gonna sign Richie Sexson. He could help against LHP's.

[Pharmcat]

bonds, fuentes, and dont hoard prospects if any good starter comes on the market

[VinnyTheMick]

Fuentes wants to play for us anyway.

[HCYanks]

I'm jumping on the anti-Fuentes bandwagon. We don't really need him, he's not really all that good anyway--he's an above average RP getting overhyped because of SAVES!!!, and there's a good chance someone will overpay for him.

Bonds i'm all for.

[PR07]

Here's Who I'd Add:

Jarrod Washburn: Washburn has about $14.4MM left on his contract, which runs through '09 with limited no-trade protection. The M's would trade him for salary relief rather than prospects.[1] Jarrod Washburn tossed a complete game Monday, but allowed four runs in a loss to the A's [July 8].
Washburn had gone five straight starts without allowing more than two runs, but couldn't keep the A's in check after being handed a 3-0 lead in the first inning. With five strikeouts and zero walks he pitched relatively well, but hung a breaking ball in the fifth inning that Wes Bankston turned into a two-run homer and then gave up the go-ahead single to Ryan Sweeney four batters later.[2] Washburn is a lefty and is battle-tested having won a World Series with the Angels as a key member of that pitching staff. I think he'd be a solid 4th starter, and we'd essentially have to just absorb his salary which really isn't that bad. Perhaps, the Yankees could get Arthur Rhodes with him, who's having a nice year as their lefty in the pen.

[1]http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/07/mariners-rumors.html
[2]rotoworld

Raul Ibanez: A solid veteran who can play the corners in the outfield, and even some 1B. He's not stellar with his glove, but he's passable. He's batting .273 right now with 11 HR's and 55 RBI's. The New York native is hitting .299 against lefties.
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I think the Yankees could get a pretty reasonable deal for a package of Ibanez, Washburn, and Rhodes. Does it make them a contender? No, but I think it would help this team without giving up a whole lot. It would give us a bat, a solid starter, and a lefty reliever.

Don't like Fuentes all that much. He's having a good year, but I've never been overly impressed with his stuff. I really like the Brett Myers idea, but I think the Phillies would be stupid to sell when his value is so low. Ideally, I think we should trade for Damaso Marte and Nady, but Pittsburgh is tough to trade with as mentioned earlier, and it would probably take more than they're worth. There is a blurb saying they like Ohlendorf for Marte or Nady. That is a deal I'd highly consider, and I like Ohlendorf a lot.

Mark Teixeira: He's been my pipe dream for the Yankees' 1B position for the past 3 seasons. He's a gold glover and a big bat in any lineup. At 28, he still has a lot of huge years ahead of him. Right now he's hitting .271 with 17 HR's and 69 RBI's. I wouldn't give up the farm for him, but if Atlanta gives us a reasonable proposal, I'd take it.