Monday, October 10, 2011
NY Post: Yankees must add lefty starters and make big push for Beltran
The Yankees must lean more left-handed in their pitching staff and be more diverse in their lineup.
This is the starting point for their offseason. That is right after they take a deep breath to regain their equilibrium following a five-game Division Series loss to the Tigers. In the days under George Steinbrenner, the Yankees tended to make decisions with the raw pain of season-ending frustration still fresh. Heck, when the Yankees last lost to Detroit in the first round in 2006, The Boss wanted then-manager Joe Torre fired instantly.
The Yankees remain championship-or-failure under Hal Steinbrenner. But the son tends to be more analytical than the father; less rash. So the Yankees will proceed in orderly fashion, which means getting general manager Brian Cashman re-signed (very likely) and then doing the same with CC Sabathia (also likely, but not as certain as Cashman’s return).
Must? Whatever.
Beltran’s probably better than Swisher in terms of talent, but I’d be wary of thinking he’ll be healthy enough to out-value him over a full season. I’d have no problem with the Yankees signing Beltran depending on the terms. If they do, they could explore picking up Swisher’s option and trading him. If they do that, they’re going to need a fourth outfielder good enough to be a full-time outfielder, because there’s a very good chance Beltran will miss a non-trivial amount of time.
Or sign Beltran, keep Swisher, rotate everyone through DH, and make Jesus Montero the primary catcher.
Which will never happen.
Page 1 of 1 pages: