Tim Dierkes Q&A

We did a Q&A with Tim Dierkes back in December of last year. With the trade deadline in the not to distant I figured now would be a good time for another, so enjoy..

C2C-There have been some early reports saying the Yankee's have no room to add more payroll. You buying it?

Tim D-I'm not. I'd have to see what reports you're referring to, but I cannot see them spending all that money in the offseason and then drawing the line at a few million bucks to add a reliever in June.

C2C-This trade deadline might be the biggest buyers market we've ever seen come the trade deadline. Do you see the sellers being disappointed in their returns, due to the surplus of elite talent that will be available? Peavy, Berdard, Halladay, Holliday, and Hawpe just to name a few.

Tim D-I don't think the sellers will be disappointed. I don't see it as a surplus of elite talent. Take the starting pitching market: Peavy's suitors are greatly restricted, and Halladay probably will not be available. So if you want to bring in a #1-2 starter you have to roll the dice on a few months of Bedard. As for available high quality bats, I don't see too many impact guys either. It looks like a typical trade deadline in terms of talent available.

C2C-There have been a lot of reports that Stratsburg will be seeking a 50 million dollar signing bonus. It’s pretty clear he'll break the record, but do you see him actually getting the 50 million?

Tim D-No...I think most people see him landing in the $20-25 million range. I do think the Nationals will get him signed on August 15th, but over the years we've seen Scott Boras pull every trick in the book.

C2C-The Yankees rotation has been shaky at best so far. With Wang, Joba, and Hughes being somewhat of question marks right now. I know there was a lot of talk about Washburn last trade deadline could you see those talks being revived again?

Tim D-The Yankees don't have a strong need for starting pitching unless they decide to move Joba to the bullpen or someone gets hurt. If one of those things happens then I could see talks for Washburn revived.

C2C-Favorite Weezer song?

Tim D-I will go with My Name Is Jonas...but there are a lot of contenders from their first two albums.

C2C-Any crazy predictions you want to throw out there for the trade deadline?

Tim D-There will be many more rumors than actual trades. Wait, that's not too crazy. OK here's a prediction: Jake Peavy stays put. It wouldn't shock me if the Padres couldn't find a match and wait until the offseason.

C2C- Thanks Tim

Tim Dierkes Q&A

I asked Tim Dierkes if he would answer a few questions on the Yankees for the blog, he gracefully accepted. For those of you who don't know, Tim runs a wonderfull blog called MLB trade rumors.

Alex H- The Yankees have spent about a quarter of a billion dollars on AJ Burnett and CC Sabathia, is there any hope of signing a bat like Mark Teixeira or Manny Ramirez?

Tim D-I see Teixeira as highly unlikely for them, with maybe a 10% chance for Manny if he settles for a two-year deal in the $50MM range.

Alex H- If the Mike Cameron trade actually gets completed, do you see someone like Brett Gardner moved to the bench, or maybe involved in a trade to acquire a reliever, starter or even a utility guy?

Tim D-I don't think he would be terribly appealing to other teams; the Yankees would probably just use him as a bench guy.


Alex H- Any chance the Yankees risk signing Ben Sheets to be their 5th starter, or is there too much risk having both AJ Burnett and Ben Sheets in the same rotation?

Tim D-That would be a lot of injury risk...it seems that they prefer Derek Lowe, who usually makes all of his starts. Still, Sheets for two years with Hughes on standby isn't a bad idea.


Alex H- Any chance of Hideki Matsui getting traded away this offseason, who would be his suitors?

Tim D-Seems unlikely...$13MM player, full no-trade clause, 35 in March, coming off knee surgery. It'd have to be a situation where the Yankees ate significant money (or took back a bad contract) and a team was looking for a DH. The Royals, Angels, A's, or Mariners could be fits if he'd go there...but Matsui has negative trade value right now.


Alex H- What do you feel the Yankees plans are for Phil Hughes now? He had a miserable 08, plagued by injuries, and it seems that they don't want him to be a part of the rotation in 09. Do they let him develop more in AAA and unleash him in 2010 or are they planning to trade him?

Tim D-I think they will let him re-establish health and success starting at Triple A in 2009, and he'll be the sixth man when someone goes down. The Yankees will certainly need a sixth starter at some point.

Alex H- I was hearing alot of talk about a Robinson Cano for Matt Kemp deal before the Winter Meetings, what's the update with that trade?

Tim D-Every time that rumor crops up it seems that it gets shot down. The last word was that those two teams have not spoken for quite a while. Keep in mind that Kemp's trade value is significantly higher than Cano's right now.

Alex H- Thanks Tim.