For months, the Yankees knew exactly what they needed for the stretch drive. They had holes in the outfield, the starting rotation and the bench. General Manager Brian Cashman studied the market and waited.
The Yankees’ players gave Cashman the leverage of not seeming desperate, playing well despite gaps on the roster. So when the prices of the missing pieces finally came into range before yesterday’s nonwaiver trading deadline, Cashman pounced.
A day after trading for right fielder Bobby Abreu and starter Cory Lidle from the Philadelphia Phillies, Cashman acquired Craig Wilson, a first baseman and outfielder, from the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitcher Shawn Chacon.
The deal developed in the hour before yesterday’s 4 p.m. deadline, after the Pirates traded starter Kip Wells to Texas. The Pirates would not part with Salomón Torres, a reliever who interested the Yankees.Continue reading the main story
The Yankees had asked for Wilson all season, concentrating on him for his ability to hit left-handed pitching and his versatility in the field. Only at the end did the price make sense to Cashman, who essentially traded a player with no role (Chacon) for a player who fills a need.
Cashman said it was not a calculated strategy to wait out the Phillies, who were eager to dump Abreu’s salary, and the Pirates.
“You just do what you’re comfortable doing,” Cashman said. “If something was comfortable earlier, I would have done it. There was nothing that was comfortable. It’s more luck than anything when you make a good deal, and I’m not saying these are going to be good deals. You just have to wait and see.”
However the players perform, the Yankees have improved on paper. Lidle said he would start Thursday, replacing Sidney Ponson, who agreed to shift to the bullpen, according to Cashman. Abreu and Wilson will give the lineup a jolt.
Abreu, who was en route to New York yesterday, will take over in right field for the Bernie Williams-Aaron Guiel platoon. (Guiel was optioned to Class AAA Columbus yesterday.) Wilson will probably see significant time at first base.
Wilson, 29, batted .267 with 13 homers and 41 runs batted in for the Pirates, but Cashman said his numbers against left-handers stood out. Wilson is batting .307 against left-handers this season, with high on-base and slugging percentages.
“He’s a weapon Joe can utilize as he sees fit,” Cashman said, adding that Wilson could also be an emergency catcher. “It’s not like he can’t be an everyday player, and it’s not like he can’t be a role player. It just provides Joe with some flexibility, and there’s a lot of value there.”
Wilson hit poorly in July, at .211, but Andy Phillips’s slump was deeper. With more at-bats in July than any other month of his major league career, Phillips hit .165 (15 for 91) with a .208 on-base percentage. Wilson seems likely to supplant him at first base, though Cashman would not acknowledge that.
“Andy’s on the team,” Cashman said. “As we move forward, Andy Phillips is definitely a part of this team.”
Chacon helped save the Yankees last season by going 7-3 in the second half, then pitching well in his playoff start. But a shin bruise derailed him in May, and in eight appearances (four starts) since coming off the disabled list June 11, his earned run average was 9.72.
Chacon lost his starting spot in early July, and Ponson eventually replaced him. Now Lidle has replaced Ponson in the rotation, and he sounded excited to be leaving Philadelphia.
“I’m the kind of player that goes to the field every day expecting to win,” Lidle said on a conference call with reporters. “Unfortunately, the last few years, I haven’t had a clubhouse that expected to win with me. It was almost a coin flip to know if the guys behind me were going to be there to play 100 percent. I know that’s not going to be the deal here in New York.”
Lidle, who played for playoff teams in Oakland in 2001 and 2002, said he expected his performance to rise in a pennant race. The Phillies, he said, did not provide him with a winning environment.
“It was a mixture of veterans and young players, and sometimes there were mixed signals,” Lidle said. “Sometimes it seemed like winning was all that mattered, and sometimes it seemed like winning didn’t matter at all. That was the opinion I had. I don’t know how true that is.”
Lidle spoke highly of Abreu, suggesting he was not one of the players whose attitude he questioned.
“He got a bad rap from some of the Philly fans, but every time I heard that, it kind of made me upset,” Lidle said. “They don’t know him. They don’t know how important this game is for him. He’s not going to be that guy who’s going to sacrifice his body running into walls, but he’s there, 160 games, ready to play.”
Abreu has an apartment on the Upper East Side, though it is only for investment purposes and he has never lived in it. His new home address is Yankee Stadium, where he will join a team fortified for the pennant race.
Right fielder Gary Sheffield visited the hand specialist Charles Melone yesterday and was told the torn ligament in his left wrist was healing well, according to Sheffield’s agent, Rufus Williams. The Yankees have a $13 million option on Sheffield for next season, and Williams reiterated his stance that the addition of Bobby Abreu should not cost Sheffield his job. “Gary is a phenomenal player, and I believe it’s Gary’s position to lose,” Williams said. “He’s put up tremendous numbers for the club. He should not be written off because you bring in someone else for now. It really shouldn’t be considered that way.” The Yankees insisted they had made no decision on Sheffield, who applauded the trade for Abreu, according to Williams, because it could help the Yankees’ chances this season.Continue reading the main story