MLB Trade Talk: Will New York Yankees Deal for Dan Haren?
November 22, 2011 · Chris Sbalcio · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
So far it’s been a quiet offseason in the Bronx. There hasn’t been much activity from the New York Yankees since they re-signed ace CC Sabathia to a sparkling new contract extension. Yankees GM Brian Cashman has poked around a bit, meeting with a few agents and calling some GMs about potential trades, but nothing has yet to come to fruition.
There has been speculation the Yankees will be in the mix for some of the top starters in this year’s free-agent class, including C.J. Wilson, Mark Buehrle, Roy Oswalt and Edwin Jackson. However, all of these pitchers have their drawbacks. Wilson has only been a starter for two years and wants ace money (SI‘s Jon Heyman has tweeted that he is thought to be seeking six years and $120 million), Buehrle might be overvalued due to the thin market, Oswalt has had recent injury issues, and Jackson has been about as consistent as A.J. Burnett, and I don’t think the Yankees have any interest in signing another Burnett.
They will likely also be in on the bidding for Japanese phenom Yu Darvish. However, in a silent auction, as is the custom for the Japanese posting system, any team could submit the winning bid, so there’s far from any guarantee that the Yankees will even be able to negotiate with him. A team like Texas or Toronto could easily submit a marginally higher bid and win the auction, and it has been speculated many teams will submit bids on Darvish, increasing the odds even the Yankees could be outbid.
That leaves the trade market as the only other means for Cashman to acquire a front-line starter. I personally have already discussed potential trades for Felix Hernandez and James Shields, and now I am going to throw one more name out there: Dan Haren.
Haren is the Los Angeles Angel’s second starter, but would be most teams’ ace. Jered Weaver steals the spotlight in Anaheim, leaving Haren to quietly put up incredible numbers and receive little to no credit whatsoever. In fact, Haren was one of this year’s more prominent All-Star snubs, not making the team despite his 10-5 record and 2.61 ERA at the All-Star break. In total this season, Haren went 16-10 with a 3.17 ERA and 192 strikeouts.
Haren’s arsenal of pitches is very fastball-heavy, including a four-seamer, two-seamer, splitter, cutter and a spike curve. He has fantastic control and is predominantly a swing-and-miss pitcher that can really rack up the strikeouts. While no pitcher is perfect, and some just can’t handle the pinstripes and the AL East, Haren is the kind of guy that could. He has experienced success in both the AL and NL, showing he can handle different environments and different opponents with equal levels of dominance.
Acquiring Haren would solidify the Yankees’ rotation, finally providing Sabathia with some trustworthy reinforcements. Now, that’s not to bash on Ivan Nova, who had a fantastic rookie year in New York, finishing fourth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. It’s just that after watching Phil Hughes fall apart with an awful year in 2011 following an All-Star season in 2010, you will have to forgive me if I’m a little skeptical that Nova can continue to, well, never lose.
Adding Haren to the roster would give the Yankees a rotation of Sabathia, Haren, Nova, Burnett, and Hughes, with young studs Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances waiting in the wings if someone should falter. It would oust the sense of fear and uncertainty the Yankees have suffered through for the past few years, hopefully allowing them to relax and just focus on winning ballgames. And if they can improve at all on last season, they’ll be in good shape, as they were able to win 97 ballgames with a makeshift rotation and some subpar seasons from some of their best players (Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada).
Now, what would the Yankees have to give up to persuade the Angels to part with their second ace? Well, considering the catching situation in Anaheim, they would likely demand that top prospect Jesus Montero be included in any deal for Haren. They would also likely want Betances and either third baseman Brandon Laird or shortstop Eduardo Nunez. My guess is that a package including Montero, Betances, Laird, corner infielder Jorge Vazquez and a player to be named later would probably be enough to land Haren, so the question now becomes “Is he worth that much?”
Cashman has repeatedly said he is unwilling to give up Montero, Betances and Banuelos unless it’s for a definite ace. Haren is an ace, but at age 31 with only two years left on his contract, is he really worth a package so large? Only time will tell, but it is starting to seem more and more likely with each passing day that the Yankees will use the trade market to plug the hole in their rotation, and Haren would definitely be a nice fit in the Bronx.
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