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August 1, 2008 Trades Joe Janish

Trade Analysis: Ivan Rodriguez

Yankees get: Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez
Tigers get: Kyle Farnsworth

How does Brian Cashman do it? Say all you want about the Yankees having the highest payroll and the deepest pockets, but you cannot discount the extraordinary job that Cashman has done — especially since given more control of the organization in the past few years.

Jorge Posada goes down for the season, and Cashman pulls a rabbit out of his hat — a bonafide future Hall of Fame receiver who is a proven winner and still has gas in the tank. And he obtains him in return for an inconsistent, enigmatic middle reliever. Yes, Kyle Farnsworth is pitching well lately — this is what’s termed “selling high” in economics courses.

Tell me, as a Mets fan — would you have been happy if the Mets traded Brian Schneider or Ramon Castro for Farnsworth? I bet there are some of you who would have been upset had the Mets sent Robinson Cancel to the Yankees for the flukey Farnsworth. Yet here is Brian Cashman, once again in the right place at the right time, dealing away excess at the height of its value, and getting an All-Star to put somewhere at the bottom of the lineup.

Here’s what gets my goat: the fact that Dave Dombrowski was supposedly demanding Aaron Heilman for a crappy fifth outfielder, then gives away a superstar for Kyle Farnsworth. Yes, I know Pudge’s best days are behind him, but he’s hitting his usual .300 with some pop — and I’d take him over Marcus “Strikeout Machine” Thames in a heartbeat. The combination of New York City and the pennant race is going to rejuvenate I-Rod, who is far from running on fumes. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see the Yankees re-sign him for ’09.

The rich get richer.

Next analysis: Arthur Rhodes

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. isuzudude August 1, 2008 at 2:10 pm
    I think a lot of general managers around baseball are similar to the general managers amongst our fantasy baseball leagues. And the similarity is that only a select few actually know what they’re doing. Take Dombrowski, for example. Demanding Heilman, a legitamite setup man with starting potential, for Thames, a backup OF with a gigantic hole in his bat, is craziness – especially considering that demand was made prior to the start of the season when Heilman’s value was even higher than it is now after a slow start to 2008. But then the same GM agrees to send his starting, HOF-bound, .300 hitting catcher in I-Rod to the Yankees – a division rival, no less – for an all but washed up “thrower” in Farnsworth who has shown time and time again of melting down under pressure. Obviously this guy needs to get a clue, and it’s no surprise he got hosed on several offseason trades this past winter, namingly the Cabrera/Willis blockbuster with Florida and the Jurrjens-for-Renteria swap with Atlanta. I’d imagine Dombrowski would be the same GM in a fantasy league who would rather hold on to a streaking Russell Branyan when proposed David Wright for him, but would trade Albert Pujols for Joey Votto after Pujols failed to homer in back to back games.
  2. joe August 1, 2008 at 3:41 pm
    I like that comparison!

    Strangely enough, Dombrowski has built some nice teams in the past … certainly did a marvelous job in building up Detroit from 2002-2006.

    Either this was a panic deal, or Dombrowski was drunk, or I-Rod did something to tick someone off.

    After seeing this trade go down, I’d demand Miguel Cabrera in return for Heilman, and convince Dombrowski it would be a smart salary dump decision on his part!

  3. Micalpalyn August 1, 2008 at 5:14 pm
    Interesting trade. at first i was upset that the Yanks could pull this off. Then after i toned down i hoped Omar might spin Schneider to detroit (with Sho) for Farnsworth (and Willis?).