Are They Better?
The Yankees have apparently pulled off two trades tonight. Lance Berkman and Austin Kearns are headed to the Bronx and Mark Melancon and some other guys are headed to Houston and Cleveland.
Let's start with Berkman. In many ways this is a switch-hitting version of Nick Johnson, but his abilities against LHP are a thing of the past. And while his slugging percentage has diminished from the left side, his line of .245/.372/.436 is certainly adequate in a platoon with Thames. Throw in his 4.13 pitches per plate appearance and Berkman will do a solid job of mimicking Nick Johnson for the Yankees.
Is that enough for Mark Melancon? If you had asked me that at the start of the 2010 season, I would have said no. At this point, I am not sure. Melancon has taken a step back this season, but despite the 3.67 ERA his BABIP of .367 at Scranton points to bad luck. And, he has still stuck out over one batter an inning. However, he has also walked 31 batters in 56 innings, which is not encouraging.
Melancon could still turn into something, though his AAA regression this season is discouraging. If I were in charge of the Yankees, I would have had the Astros pay less of the freight on Berkman and included a lesser prospect, but Berkman is an upgrade over Juan Miranda or Colin Curtis. I'm not thrilled with the final price, but the bench/DH just got a lot better and that's the bottom line.
The other trade the Yankees made was for Austin Kearns in exchange for the infamous PTBNL. Kearns is better than Colin Curtis because he is a righty bat. Other than that, there isn't a lot to get excited about here. His results this year may have a lot to do with his .335 BABIP than anything else. But, if the Yankees deploy his line against LHP (.720OPS) in the lineup over Granderson's (.538OPS) they have upgraded the lineup.
What will be interesting to watch is how the Yankees fit these guys onto the roster. Melancon comes off the 40-man, but someone else will have to as well. (Golson?) But what about the active roster? I would assume Miranda is gone with the Berkman addition, but who will bite the dust for Kearns? I would hope it isn't Thames, but it certainly could be. Demoting Curtis would be a mistake as well. Here's a thought, with all the pitchers on the roster who can throw multiple innings, how about an 11-man pen?
Comments
I too was trying to figure out who was departing with the arrivals of Berkman and Kearns. Two of the following will be gone: Thames, Curtis, Pena, Miranda.
My guesses are Curtis and Miranda. I'd rather they let go of Pena instead of Curtis, except they seem to value Pena's glove. Miranda? I think Miranda gets traded for an arm, which arm allows Park to be released. Or maybe that's just me "projecting" some of my fonder wishes. :-)
About Kearns? He's reportedly decent as a RFer but so-so as a LFer and has insfficient range to be in CF. So when Kearns is in the OF - what then? Swisher takes a seat? That's a mistake with the way Swisher's been hitting from both sides of the plate. Swisher DH's and Berkman gets the night off? Nah, he's the DH and doesn't need to rest (I hope). Or maybe Swisher moves to LF with Gardner in CF and Grandy takes a seat? Seems like alot of moving around to me. Would get kind of confusing ...
Side note: my hope is that Berkman reverts to his former glory for the next 3+ months, that would be great.
And about your last few words, Peter? I don't think that Girardi is capable of only having 11 arms to call on. He's just too much a fan of mix-n-match moves. I think his head would explode if he didn't have all 12 arms to use.
Posted by: Mitchell![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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July 31, 2010 12:28 AM
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Kearns looks ok from a #'s standpoint in left. He has an above-average range factor. His zone rating is actually higher than Carl Crawford and his UZR is -1 (Thames is -19.5) So I think he will get the starts in left against a LHP with Gardy moving to center.
I'd rather let Pena go as well, but then they wouldn't have anyone backing up the infield. Perhaps that is an addition we will hear about today as Jack Curry said on the postgame that the Yankees weren't done.
Posted by: Peter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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July 31, 2010 09:28 AM
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