New York Yankees: Rafael Soriano Signing Should Have Been a Sign-and-Trade
February 11, 2011 · Larry Barnes · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Something struck me while reading Joel Sherman’s latest 3UP blog entry in Friday’s New York Post.
Sherman mentioned that the New York Yankees were interested in Grant Balfour earlier this offseason. In fact, there was so much interest that New York, according to Sherman, had the Arizona Diamondbacks (and their new GM/longtime Cashman friend and recent Yankees employee Kevin Towers) “lined up as a sign-and-trade partner” for the free agent reliever.
The reason for the sign-and-trade was to prevent the Yankees from having to give up their first-round pick to acquire Balfour—a type-A free agent. Unlike the Yankees’ pick, Arizona’s is in the top half of the first round, meaning it’s protected.
So while the Yankees, had they signed Balfour, would have been forced to give up their first-round pick, Arizona would only have to give up their second-round selection. So Arizona agreed to sign Balfour for the Yankees, then trade him to New York for some system pieces Towers both knew and liked.
BANG! Yankees get the player they wanted AND keep their first-round pick.
Additionally, Sherman has previously reported that Towers and the DBacks were all set to play the same role for the Yankees had they been able to come to terms with another type A free agent—starter Carl Pavano.
So here’s my question. IF this is true, and Arizona was ready to do those sign-and-trades with New York, why on earth was a similar deal not done when the Yankees signed type A free agent Rafael Soriano? The player and the contract are immaterial as both are ending up property of the Yankees in each of these scenarios.
So why would Arizona and the Yankees be willing to essentially trade DBacks’ pick A for Yankees’ prospect B when Pavano and Balfour are the free agents in question, but NOT be willing to do it when Soriano is the guy ending up in New York?
This makes NO SENSE!
One of three things happened here: 1) Sherman is wrong. 2) Cashman so washed his hands of the Soriano deal, he either refused or wasn’t afforded the opportunity to engage the would-be Arizona sign-and-trade option that would have saved the Yankees their first pick. 3) Towers and/or Cashman changed his mind.
I have a hard time believing option three is true.
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good info!!…