Discussing the Swisher Deal

So far, the biggest move made by the Yanks in the still very young 2008 Hot Stove League has been to trade a few assorted prospects for Nick Swisher of the White Sox. Good move, bad move, or "eh" move? Despite a quick glance at Swish's 2008 batting line (.219/.332/.410), it was definitely a good move. Here's why:

Swish may have only hit .219 this year, but in all fairness, it was a down year. Swisher is more of a .250-.260 hitter (Giambi-esque) that hits for power. Despite his poor batting line, Swish still hit 24 homers and knocked in 69 runs. Swisher is capable of hitting 20-35 homers a season and can knock in close to 100 runs, as shown by his career lines (he has averaged slightly over 25 homers a season for his career). Swisher also provided better defense that Giambi at first, and has the flexibility of playing a corner OF position and occasionally CF in a pinch. Swisher is still young (27) and a former first round pick. He has good speed, he's athletic and is reported to be a great clubhouse guy. Swisher also takes a lot of walks and despite his poor BA, his OBP remains strong. At least now we have an option at first in the event Teixeira signs elsewhere.

Not to mention that we hardly gave up anything. Marquez was a decent prospect, but he got roughed up for most of the 2008 season. To be honest, Marquez had no shot of making our rotation in the near future. With guys like Wang, Joba, Hughes, and Kennedy ahead of him on the depth charts a potential Sabathia signing, a potential Lowe/Burnett signing, and a plethora of minor league pitching talent below the AAA level (McCallister, Betances, Brackman, etc.), Marquez became expendable. Jhonny Nunez was basically a spare part that filled a roster spot on a minor league affiliate...no biggie there. We also gave up Wilson Betemit...oh no, not Betemit!!! Haha seriously though. We have guys in AAA that can come up and be the utility guy. Betemit will be easy to replace.

Now the pluses in terms of the Teixeira hunt: Swish gives us insurane if we don't sign him. He also gives us leverage in contract discussions with Boras and Tex...we don't NEED Tex now. We have somebody else who can legitimately play 1B for us. This could strengthen our position now that Boras can't convince the Yankees to give Teixeira a blank check.

And depth. We all saw what happened when we lost Posada and Matsui. Coupled with a down year from guys like Cano and Melky, we just didn't have the depth to plug those holes. Swisher gives us a versitile, relatively cheap player that can provide us that depth as well.

All in all, it was a great deal, and Brian Cashman is the man. Most GMs were shocked that Cash got Swisher for so little. Some experts were saying prior to the trade it would take an Ian Kennedy to get Swish. So kudos to Cashman, and keep the solutions coming!