Trade Deadline Prep Week: The Rumors

(Do teams still really want this guy?  Courtesy of the AP)

We know what they want and we know who they're after.  Time to get to what's being said about both of those things out on the market.  The Yankees have been connected to a number of players and teams in the last week, most of them already mentioned in the previous posts.  What's being said out there on the rumor mill might lend some clues as to what moves the Yankees are trying to make before the deadline or it could be smoke, mirrors, and shadow games.  That's the fun and frustration of the pre-deadline rumor mill.  What stories are floating around out there right now involving the Bombers?  And more importantly, what do they mean?


Yanks "Aggressively Pushing" Hughes & Joba

This is what basically kicked the Yankee portion of the rumor mill into gear last week when Ken Rosenthal reported it.  It involves 2 players that any intelligent Yankee fan already knew the team was going to try to move and the "aggressively" part indicates the Yankees are willing to listen to all offers and might be willing to sell low.  Based on early reports about what Cash is asking for in return and the Yankees' reported backup plan with Hughes, I think it's an effort on his part to smoke out the teams truly interested.  If he can engage them about return players that are good for the Yankees, that's time better spent than fielding every cold call and half-assed offer.

Rockies Interested In Hughes As a Reliever

This is another one that Rosenthal turned up this past weekend and an example of the type of offer that Cash probably shouldn't waste too much time on.  The Rockies and their ballpark are a horrible match for Phil Hughes' skill set, which is why they likely only view him as a relief option, and they aren't going to want to give up much of value to get him.  That doesn't work with Cash's demands for Hughes, nor do most of the younger talented position players on the Colorado roster.  Lotta money and a lotta years.

Market for Joba Going Down

No matter how aggressive the Yankees are in moving him, Joba Chamberlain's horrid performance could seriously hurt their chances of getting something good back for him.  George King recently reported that the Phillies had questions about Joba and were no longer interested, and there are whispers starting about the Yankees possibly releasing Joba to clear 40-man roster room later in the summer.  If Joba's value is tanking that badly, Cash might have to bite the bullet and trade him for cents on the dollar if he really wants to move him.

Michael Young May No Longer Be Available

Peter Gammons had this one, and it creates a tough situation for the Yankees with the player they seem most interested in acquiring.  Philly has had a decent runs of games in the last few weeks and sits only 6 games out of the NL Wild Card.  Like New York, they are floating somewhere between contender and prime rebuild candidate and they can't seem to make up their mind on whether they want to go for it or not.  How long the Yanks stay involved here should give some insight into how many backup targets they have and how badly they really want Young.

Yanks Haven't Called About Kendrys Morales

Reported by Jon Heyman last week, this one rings as the biggest potential smoke screen from Cash.  Morales makes too much sense as the type of bat the Yankees need in their lineup right now and he's the type of cheap, expiring contract they'd be willing to take on.  To have not even called to check on his availability, regardless of what Jeff Z. says, would be irresponsible on Cash's part.  Not to mention the long recent history of trades between these two teams.  Although maybe the still-very-painful sting of the Pineda-Jesus trade may be enough to kibosh any potential deal.

** Coming up tomorrow- The Pipe Dreams. **