Writings on baseball by Matt Barnard and Dan Stein.

 
Vazquez for Johnson and Rivera

New York Yankees get: Javier Vazquez.
Montreal Expos get: Nick Johnson, Juan Rivera, Randy Choate.

Like many Yankee fans, I'm sorry to see Nick Johnson go. Dan and I haven't discussed the matter yet, but I have a feeling we're of the same mind on this one: it sucks to give up a player as young and talented as Johnson, but if you're going to do it, Vazquez is the kind of guy you'd like to get back. While money is a factor in this trade, it really doesn't make a whole lot of sense to get into that from the Yankees' perspective. Sure, it's great for the Expos that they'll be able to keep their costs down and improve the team in certain areas - Rivera's not arbitration-eligible yet, while Johnson is for the first time this year - but money clearly has very little bearing on what the Yankees do. Vazquez made $6 million last season and is in line for a raise, as he's coming off an excellent year. Whether it's $8 million or $10 million in 2004, the Yankees have acquired an excellent 27-year old starting pitcher who is likely to remain in pinstripes, at whatever cost, for quite awhile.

While this deal substantially improves the Yankee rotation as it stood before the trade, I'm far from certain that this is a better staff than the one the team featured in 2003. Mike Mussina is a very legitimate ace and will return and anchor the staff, but Roger Clemens is gone and David Wells likely is too. Bringing back Andy Pettitte would certainly help, and a Mussina-Vazquez-Pettitte rotation with some combination of Jeff Weaver, Jose Contreras and Jon Lieber bringing up the back end would be the envy of most teams. The resigning of Pettitte, however, is crucial, something the Yanks apparently realize and are focusing their efforts on, particularly now that they've done some initial reshuffling.

From the Montreal perspective, there's no reason to believe that Nick Johnson won't be able to continue his excellent production barring injury, which is a risk with his history. At 25, he's got plenty of time to improve, will play everyday in Montreal and be an integral part of a nice nucleus in (at least) Jose Vidro, Brad Wilkerson, Orlando Cabrera and Johnson.

Losing Juan Rivera really doesn't phase me. He's been talked up as a Yankee prospect for some time, and while he went through stretches last season where he was effective, it's hard for me to believe that the time will come in the near future where the Yankees won't have a better option to trot out to rightfield. Right now, with the signing of Gary Sheffield imminent, his value to the team is as little more than a fourth or fifth outfielder. He's also not that young (25 right now), so if he's ever going to be a legitimate starting major league outfielder, this is exactly the kind of opportunity he needs to prove himself. I'd imagine he'll get some serious playing time in Montreal, as there's really not much competition for the right field job should Vladimir Guerrero be allowed to walk (and this certainly points in that direction). He's a cheap, sensible option for the Expos, and a guy it makes a lot of sense to acquire.

Randy Choate may get some run in Montreal, but realistically, there was very little chance he'd ever have a meaningful role in the Bronx. It's kind of a shame on some level, even as a Yankee fan, to realize that the days of organizational filler coming in and holding down important spots are largely over omfor the time being, but that's the way it is and I can think of worse situations to be in as a fan. The Yankee bullpen is going to be substantially better in 2004 than it was last year, with guys like Felix Heredia, Tom Gordon, Paul Quantrill and hopefully our boy from Queens Steve Karsay and Gabe White around for the full season to keep games close and set up for the Hammer of God, guys like Choate aren't particularly necessary.

I'm really torn about this. It's going to be great to see a pitcher of Javier Vazquez's caliber in pinstripes next year, and I think this is an excellent counterstrike to the Red Sox' acquisition of Curt Schilling. While Schilling might be the better pitcher over the next year or two or three (and I'm far from conceding that point), Vazquez could well excel for the Yankees for the next decade. The package the Yankees had to give up here is more substantial than that surrended by the Red Sox for Schilling, but the deal certainly has it merits. Losing Johnson hurts in that it leaves a hole in the lineup where a highly productive bat was last season. Jason Giambi will likely have to take on more of the first base duties, and while he'll probably be fine, he's not a sure thing at the moment due to injury concerns. It seems possible to me that the Yankees will now go out, once the market settles down a little, and sign another first baseman - perhaps Rafael Palmeiro or someone like that - to take some of the load of Giambi defensively and contribute to the lineup.
posted by VZW Watcher at 1:33 AM -