More On The Sheff Deal

was reading a post over at BoSox Banter. To sum it up, Jeff was surprised that the Yankees got 3 prospects instead of any major league ready talent. Personally I don't think they really needed to acquire any major league talent with this deal. It was a smart move to stock up the farm system with talent that can step into the shoes of Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina, and Mariano Rivera in the next few years. The Yankees have a great core of young pitchers that is likely going to be the nucleus of the Yankee pitching staff in the future. Add the 3 newbies to a list that includes Tyler Clippard, Phillip Hughes and Chien-Ming Wang, and what you have is a young, solid staff that is going to be around for many years.
The Yankees weren't going to get a solid starter from any MLB club in exchange for Sheffield. Best case we would have gotten another Jaret Wright type. Why trade a first baseman to get a first baseman? Now assuming that Mussina comes back, you're looking at Johnson, Wang and Mussina as the anchors of the rotation. Who knows how Pavano and Jaret Wright fit into the Yankee plans? And then there are free agent pitchers. The Yanks now have a little more cash to spend. Sheffield's 13 million is gone. Let Wright go and you free up about $4 million. $17 million could get you 2 solid pitchers, both of which would be better than what you'd get in a trade for Sheffield. The Yankees weren't going to get a quality pitcher better than what they currently have or what they could get, plain and simple.
Jeff responded to a comment I left and mentioned maybe they could have got a MLB ready reliever. The bullpen does need help, but I wouldn't call it a top priority as they have a lot of arms they can work with. And if you were to get an MLB ready pitcher, starter or reliever, the quality of the prospects would drop. I know there is never a guarantee that a prospect will pan out. You can say the same about a lot of MLB ready talent. Take a look at Wright and Pavano. This deal brought the Yankees quality and quantity and the future of the Yankees pitching staff looks very, very bright. Cashman made the right move by landing 3 quality pitching prospects.
Excuse me while I do my happy dance. If anyone watched Yo! MTV Raps back in the day, think Ed Lover.
J