Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Yanks Get Pudge

In an effort to shore up the offense in the wake of Jorge Posada's season ending surgery, the Yankees dealt Kyle Farnsworth to Detroit for Ivan Rodriguez. Pudge will instantly improve the offensive production behind the plate compared with Molina and Moeller. Chad will probably be designated again although no one picked him up last time he was on waivers.

The deal makes sense for the Yankees, who have really struggled with the tail end of their lineup. Both Rodriguez and Farnsworth were in the last years of their contracts, so the Yankees didn't really give up a long term player. Kyle had been pitching well lately, but really, how many of you out there really thought professor Farnsworth had turned his game around?

Kyle throws hard and gets hit hard. You never know which Farnsworth is going to show up and he can't be relied on in a clutch situation. Veras and Ramirez have emerged as the core of the bullpen (with Rivera as the obvious closer). Despite a rocky outing recently, David Robertson has been impressive as well. Dan Giese gives another option and can handle the long relief duty. To top it off, newly acquired southpaw Damaso Marte can be extremely versatile, coming in as a situational reliever, or throwing two full innings.

With the bullpen as solid as it is, Farnsworth was easy to let go. Rodriguez should add some instant offense, and should help the team start winning more games right away.

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