Jarrod Washburn’s Value Goes Up at Deadline With New York Yankees Interested
July 29, 2009 · Doug Rush · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Jarrod Washburn may have thrown his last pitch in a Seattle Mariners uniform.
Making his last scheduled start before Friday’s trading deadline, Washburn pitched a gem of a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night.
Washburn’s line: Seven innings, five hits, one run, one walk, three strikeouts and a no decision.
Washburn is 8-6 with a 2.64 ERA on the season. These numbers drew scouts from the Yankees, Brewers, Phillies, and Rangers to Safeco Field to check on Washburn, because according to sources, the Mariners have officially become sellers for 2009.
Washburn will be 35 next week, but has a lot of experience in his 12 years as a big leaguer, especially going back to when he was with the Anaheim Angels.
He was one of the key starters for the Angels in their 2002 World Series championship run and pitched in the 2004 and 2005 playoffs for Anaheim before getting a four-year deal with the Mariners in 2006.
The trade winds were swirling last year on Washburn to the Yankees, especially when Chien-Ming Wang went down with a foot injury for the season. It’s almost like de ja vu all over again, because here we are in 2009, the Yankees are linked to be interested in Washburn and it was just announced that Wang would be under-going season-ending shoulder surgery, so Wang’s return to the Yankees is indefinitely unknown.
Washburn has logged 133 innings pitched. He only has 81 strikeouts, but has only allowed 31 walks, so he has great control of his pitches. He’s not going to blow you away with his stuff, but it’s been good enough to win games in his career.
With Wang’s surgery, Sergio Mitre’s inability to be impressive and a heated pennant race, the Yankees are in more need for a starter now than ever.
The prices for Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee are too much. Erik Bedard is now on the disabled list again. There is Justin Duchscherer, but who knows what Oakland general manager Billy Beane wants for him.
There is Ian Snell from Pittsburgh, but any guy who demotes himself to get out of playing in the majors seems a little gutless and may not be able to handle the big situations of September and October.
This leaves Washburn as the potential favorite for the Yankees to pursue within the next two days. Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik is in his first season at the helm and, has made Seattle look representable in 2009 after Bill Bavasi did a horrible job in 2008.
Zduriencik traded away shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt after many felt he was a lazy player and a bust. He brought back longtime hero Ken Griffey, Jr. and has added leadership to the locker room for the Mariners. He also traded J.J. Putz when he was having arm issues, so up to now, Zduriencik has made small moves, but smart ones.
If he is going to re-build the Mariners, Washburn may be out the door. He’s a free agent at the end of 2009 and un-likely to resign because of Seattle’s youth movement. This makes him a likely trade candidate.
With the Yankees need for a dependable starter to put in the back-end of the rotation, Washburn looks like a nice candidate for the Yankees to make a move for.
You do have the Brewers, Phillies, and Rangers involved, but those teams are still occupied with Halladay’s services. And with the Yankees unlikely to get Halladay away from Toronto, the Yankees and general manager Brian Cashman probably know he has to swoop in and get someone else, like Washburn.
What’s always impressed people about Washburn is his composure in big games. The YES announcers always notice this in the Yankees-Mariners game in the past where Washburn is locked up against the Yankees, and even if the Mariners are a horrible team, Washburn pitched well enough to keep them in the games and keep the Yankee lineups from exploding for big numbers.
Washburn might be exactly what the Yankees are looking for in the back end of the rotation. It would certainly be an upgrade over getting guys like Darrell Rasner an Sidney Ponson, moves made by the Yankees last season in the rotation.
Hopefully Cashman will not make those same mistakes again in 2009.
Hopefully he will make smarter moves this year and Washburn could be one of those smarter moves.
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