Post#15 » by Chach » Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:17 pm
If Hughes and Tabata are untouchable, the Yankees stand no shot at landing Zambrano. Even though the Yankees have this tremendous depth in terms of pitching prospects, they don't have a lot of movable parts right now.
Hughes and Tabata:You guys said he can't be touched
Joba the Hut:Currently injured and has yet to throw a minor league pitch in the Continetal United States. Also, can't be traded until 12 months after he signed so he can't be traded until September. You MIGHT be able to get around the rule by having him as a PTBNL, in which he might be eligible but by July, he will have had two, maybe three months of minor league experience for teams to judge him on. Not a lot to work with in terms of being the centerpiece of the trade
Melancon-Coming off TJ surgery
Betances- is pitching well but in the GCL
Kennedy- has pitched well thus far but is in the FSL and has the same "too soon" rule at Joba
Garcia- has pitched well in FSL. Not much to complain about other than youth and being in the low minors
Clippard- scuffled a bit at AAA and has always outperformed his tool. not a great centerpiece of a trade
Cox- undergoing some sort of nerve related elbow surger, not TJ surgery
Gardner-really struggled thus far at AA and is 23 years old already
So there is your Baseball America Top 10 prospect list. You can't trade Joba or Kennedy without some trickery and with Joba's injury history/current injury status, I doubt that he would get included. That leads me to conclude that, out of your top 10,
Betances
Kennedy
Garcia
Clippard
Gardner
are the only guys truly available for a trade. Betances is still in GCL rookie ball so he won't be a centerpiece (and I think he's lumped in with Kennedy but I don't know when he signed) and Gardner is a questionable prospect. So your trade would center around Kennedy, Garcia, and Clippard. Not really sure that's enough to get Zambrano but that's just my take. mahalo
~Chach~
Edit:Wrong Gardner