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.