The Yankees turned down this trade yesterday. I think it was a mistake. Gardner is a good little ball player but his base running skills (or lack of) drives me crazy. I think Phillips would have been a plus in the line up & a fair replacement for Cano. since he became a starter 8 years ago he's averaged 20 HRs, 83 RBI & a 277 average. And unlike Cano can steal a base. averaging 19 SBs a year over that span. He's got 4 years & 50M remaining on his contract (12.5M per) Not a whole lot by today's standards. IMO I think the Yankees dropped the ball on this one.
Phillips is ok but he seems to be trending downword the last few years and also had some issues with ownership and management. I would rather get a younger 2nd baseman and or pitching for Gardner.
he has put the yanks on his no trade list, therefore he will be looking for the yanks to rip up the current contract and give him a bigger one....not going to happen I think
I agree with what bigdaddy said. If Phillips wants more money I don't think the Yankees would be interested in adding to his 50 million dollar salary.
Okay, I was unaware of the contract issues. I heard Infante is looking for 4 years at 40M & that the Yankees were more in line of 3 at 24M
Per Johnny Bench this am on Hot Stove the Reds are best to keep Phillips and give him a raise. And Big Daddy is right heard on MLB yesterday that no trade clauses are a scam by players to get more money. If the Yankees were to trade Gardner I'd hope it would be for pitching help.
Yeah Infante does want 4 and 40 but Yankees do not want to do that NOW. In the end I wonder if they cave and go to four years. It depends on the next few days as far as I am concerned. Is there another option out there that is better?
I would see a 3 year deal with a club option for a 4th year with a decent buyout if the 4th is not exercised
I've got to agree. He really is the best option at this point. I mean the FA pool for 2nd baseman is garbage. Santiago, Casilla, Ellis & Getz. I know not exactly house hold names. C'mon Cashman do it one more time.
At this point infante gone and I could live with kelly johnson at 2nd who imo hits 20 plus homers as the full time second baseman and patch up third with nunez and reynolds unless a headley trade is possible
...I really wanted Infante over the others because of his versatility and ability to play most anywhere. He could have made a couple of uncertain positions much more manageable. ...I still think that an upgrade at 2B or 3B is needed and since at this point we simply don't know what ARod's future may be, a 2B upgrade would seem to make the most sense. I know that people keep pointing to the pitching as being a crucial concern but the fact is we just don't know which versions of Nova, CC, and Kuroda we're going to get. If all 3 pitch up to their abilities, the pitching will be fine but that's a big "if". I'd like to see one more starter acquired to help take some of the responsibilities of the younger arms and in case of injuries to the others. ...not sure on which way to address the bull pen.
I for the life of me I can't figure where a quality starter is going to come from. The Mariners need to trade one of their 3 second baseman. but we don't match up, Maybe a 3 way is possible. Barney from the Cubs is no answer offensively. I would love to see us put a package together for Gyorko from SD. I also like the Rutledge kid from Colorado but I don't know what they would want or even consider it. But we need a Willie Randolph type trade.
...there doesn't appear to be a whole lot out there in the FA market that would make a huge difference over the youngsters the Yanx have...if they can get a solid starter in return for Gardner, fine. Otherwise keep him. ...the Yanx need to also remember that next year's FA starters will be a much better crop so giving out multi-year deals could inhibit them this time next year.
