i'd rather have damon in there every day over matsui at this point, if i had to pick one of them. i'm perplexed as to what we'd get from SF, i bet something similar to the sheffield package of a few prospects.

that opens up putting damon in LF and giving us more options with the 1B platoon (GIVE ME MORE SHELLEY DUNCAN!! esp. against lefties!!)

if we end up trading Matsui that just means Giambi becomes the DH & Duncan & Betemit likely platoon at 1st... they better get back some good prospects for him then... dude's as consistent as they come... every year he's over 100 RBI's & they don't come any more professional & classy than Godzilla.

[Edited by - TMS on 12-06-2007 09:58 AM]

the royals are spending the yankees money (revenue sharing). boras has ruined the MLB.

If you can get Lincecum or Cain- then just do it. Those guys are flat studs- Hughes/Joba/Kennedy level.

I think Joba is definitely a rotation guy. That's what the company line has been. I think starters are always more valuable than relievers- especially someone with ace potential. Joba is a 4 pitch guy. My friend lives down near Trenton and watched him a bunch of times and kept raving about his changeup- which we didn't even see when he was in the pen last year. I think you absolutely have to try him in the rotation and don't even think about moving him back in the pen untill you can determine that's he's struggling and may not be a fit.

I think the Yanks feel that getting one of these guys from the Giants gives them some more flexibility to make other moves- i.e. Put together 2 guys to get Santana, trade a vet etc.

Still I'm not sure if its just San Fran asking and the Giants listening. Moreso than just being a very good hitter, Hideki Matsui is an absolute cash cow who brings in millions from the Japanese market. He's like Lebron James over there. San Fran is also a BIG Japanese market and they probably see the revenue potential in having him, as well as the fact that he can help out with the bat.

What the Yankees are doing is probably just listening and doing their due diligence. They don't want to trade that revenue stream either, but if SF comes in and knock their socks off with a Cain or Lincecum, how can they turn that down?

good points w/ regards to the revenue stream. i'm very interested to see what cashman does in the next 3 months, i think he has some tricks up his sleeve.

SF is desperate for position players and putting ppl in the seats with bonds gone, being able to get lincecum or cain for matsui, as good as he is and as much $ as he makes the yanks from japan, its a no brainer.

Posted by BigSm00th:

"3:45 p.m., from Jayson Stark
• A source says the Giants did call the Yankees about Hideki Matsui. They're offering their starting pitchers (Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain or Noah Lowry) for bats, but they are just exploring to see if there is a match. Matsui has a full no-trade clause, and it isn't known whether he would waive it to go to San Francisco or anywhere else."

TMS, i agree with you about matsui, dude is steady as hell and he plays hard every day, but if the yanks can get lincecum OR cain, this is a no-brainer. i don't know much about lowry and haven't seen him pitch, but cain and lincecum both have NASTY stuff, i'd love to get either of them.

the yanks search for another starter, to me, indicates they want to keep joba in the pen. if they get lincecum or cain, you're looking at pettitte, chien-ming, hughes, kennedy, mussina, and whoever they pick up as options, in addition to all those other guys in the minors (brackman, sanchez, ohlendorf, etc etc).

vdesai, tms, what do you guys think? keep joba in the pen (my choice) or move him into the rotation? i think its much more valuable to have a lights out bullpen and groom joba to replace mo given the yanks have so many guys who could be a #1 starter.

hell yeah, if u can get Lincecum or Cain, they have to go for it... i don't see why SF would give those kids up for a guy who likely has 2-3 more years left in him tho.

i like the idea of keeping Joba in the pen cuz there's no way i trust Farnsworth to setup for Mo... add to that the fact that Joba didn't even throw that many innings since leaving NCAA ball & i think another year of setup duty would do him well... i think the kid's gonna be an ace starter but i think it's unfair to expect him to throw a full innings load next year... the kid's still young & raw in terms of the amount of innings in that young arm of his... i feel much safer going w/a rotation of Wang, Andy, Hughes, Kennedy & Moose next year & slowly easing Joba into that starter's role after this season.

Yankees might be ready to shop Matsui
BY KAT O'BRIEN AND KEN DAVIDOFF | kat.obrien@newsday.com
kat.obrien@newsday.com
10:12 PM EST, December 6, 2007

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Brian Cashman left the winter meetings "not optimistic" about ongoing trade talks. He had, however, delved into new possibilities, namely one involving Hideki Matsui and the Giants.

Cashman would not acknowledge any names, including Matsui's. But when asked about such trade talks, Giants general manager Brian Sabean said: "We're having general conversations."

The biggest name the Yankees sought at the meetings, Johan Santana, remained a Twin. In a phone conversation Thursday night, though, senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner did not rule out revisiting trade talks on Santana, saying, "You never close the door completely."

Steinbrenner placed a Monday deadline on Santana trade talks, which he extended until midday Tuesday. But he said Thursday night, "The reason for my deadline is I didn't want to get caught up in the bidding circus at the winter meetings."

For now, though, the Yankees' focus is not on Santana. A more viable option might be trading Matsui to the Giants.

In an e-mail, Matsui's agent, Arn Tellem, refused to say whether Matsui would be willing to waive his full no-trade clause, which would be necessary even if the teams could agree upon the parameters of a deal.

The Giants desperately need offense and may have pitching to spare. Potential matches for Matsui in a trade would be lefthanders Noah Lowry and Jonathan Sanchez. Lowry, 27, went 14-8 with a 3.92 ERA this season. In his career, he's 40-31 with a 4.03 ERA. Sanchez, a 25-year-old reliever, was 1-5, 5.88 in 33 games.

A source familiar with the early discussions said Matsui and a prospect might be enough to net Lowry or Sanchez. Giants righthander Tim Lincecum is considered untouchable.

Matsui, 33, has two years and $26 million left on the four-year extension he signed in November 2005.

He had an uneven season, performing very well in May, July and August, but not so well in April, June and September. Matsui hit .285 with 25 homers, 103 RBIs and 100 runs.

The Yankees discussed trading centerfielder Melky Cabrera to the Twins in a blockbuster deal for Santana, but those talks flamed out this week. If that had happened, the initial plan would have been to return Johnny Damon to being a fulltime centerfielder. Damon and Matsui are available to play leftfield, and to DH along with Jason Giambi and Shelley Duncan.

Cashman acknowledged he is engaged in trade talks on several fronts, but would not discuss Matsui. In general, Cashman said, "I'm always skeptical, so I assume [trades] won't play out."

The Yankees would prefer trading Matsui over Damon, whom they like in leftfield, and would rather keep Cabrera, who is only 23. But besides the Giants, teams have greater interest in Damon and even more in Cabrera.

Although the Yankees were unable to get Santana, the Athletics' Dan Haren or the Orioles' Erik Bedard, they still want to improve their rotation, but only if the price is right.

They would like to add depth, however, because Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy and Joba Chamberlain have minimal major-league experience.

"These guys are high-end players," Cashman said of the Yankees' top pitching prospects, "and they're ready to transfer from prospects to contributing major-league players that are helping us compete for a championship."

The Giants also reportedly have interest in 26-year-old Blue Jays outfielder Alex Rios, who batted .297 with 24 homers, 85 RBIs and 114 runs in 2007.

Posted by VDesai:

Jonathan Sanchez' numbers don't look that good, but he has brilliant stuff for a lefty. He has a mid-high 90's fastball. But still, I don't know if that is the best trade for Matsui.

That was my reaction too. A 3.92 NL ERA is probably like a 4.40 ERA in the AL. We'd need more than that for Matsui IMO.

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by VDesai:

Jonathan Sanchez' numbers don't look that good, but he has brilliant stuff for a lefty. He has a mid-high 90's fastball. But still, I don't know if that is the best trade for Matsui.

That was my reaction too. A 3.92 NL ERA is probably like a 4.40 ERA in the AL. We'd need more than that for Matsui IMO.

Sanchez had a 5.88 ERA, I think you are talking about Lowry with the 3.92. Obviously both are still expected to get better. Matsui is expensive and getting to that mid-30s range which is why i can see why the yanks would shop him. That and they don't know what they are getting from Kennedy, Joba, or Mussina yet.

See, what the hell? Cashman has been bringing in all these bullpen players who turn out to be unreliable, like Farnsworth, or Viscaino in the playoffs, yet he's still bringing these guys in. Not that I don't like Hawkins. I wanted to get him like 5 years ago, when he was a free agent and went to the Cubs, but that's a long time ago. It seems like nothing goes right when it comes to our bullpen. To top it off, we can't keep assuming Mariano is gonna be superdominant and that he'll be lights out. He's 85 years old.

Also, some people are advancing the theory that the Twins want a lefthander and Lowry might be bait to get back in the Santana talks without giving up Hughes, which is interesting. Just speculation though.