Yanks Preparing Late Strike For Heath Bell and Ubaldo Jimenez?
By Mike Silva ~ July 30th, 2011. Filed under: Rumor Mill.
A couple of interesting tweets that may give us a clue as to where the Yankees focus is at the trading deadline
#Yankees, like all teams, have scouts everywhere, but who is where is always key, and trusted Bill Livesey is watching #Padres relieversless than a minute ago via TweetDeck 
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Joel Sherman
Joelsherman1
Sherman indicates that a respected voice in the Yankees organization is watching the Padres relievers today. From the start, San Diego has been adamant about not trading Mike Adams (cost controlled through 2012) since they see him taking Heath Bell‘s spot after a potential trade. I have been told the Yankees prefer Adams over any other Padres reliever.
Scott Miller of CBS Sports sees the Yankees making a late strike for Bell since he is comfortable with a setup role.
Thinking out loud: I could see #Yankees making late strike for H Bell - especially with Bell open to idea of setting up rest of year.less than a minute ago via TweetDeck Favorite Retweet Reply
Scott Miller
ScottMCBSSports
It makes sense, as I doubt the Yanks feel comfortable with Rafael Soriano staying mentally and physically healthy the rest of the season.
Bell has played here before and has some unfinished business since he was buried in the Mets bullpen during the 2006 season.
Matt Thornton is another name that comes into play. The Yankees badly need another lefty in the bullpen, but their primary target- Randy Choate- appears to not be available as the Marlins want to compete in their new ballpark in 2012.Thornton is expensive ($6 million dollars a year through 2012). Historically he’s been good against LH (.654 career OPS). This could be more of a salary dump (Jerry Reisendorf wants to cut payroll) so it’s conceivable the Yankees will not have to give up a top prospect. The Yanks have also expressed interest in DH Carlos Quentin, but many believe Chicago’s preference is to send him to the National League (Atlanta?).
The big news is a rumor via Tim Kurkjian of ESPN that the Yankees are “all in” on Ubaldo Jimenez. We reported that Colorado is looking for Jesus Montero, Austin Romine, and two pitchers from the Yankees. These two arms do not have to be both Killer B’s (Banuelos/Betances). It appears the Yankees do not want to give up Manny Banuelos in any deal.
Another source informed us they believe that Cincinnati may be the frontrunner for Jimenez in a deal that would include a “major league arm” and Yonder Alonso as the centerpiece. That arm could be Edinson Volquez, who the Rockies scouted during his last minor league start. Other names rumored to be part of a potential Jimenez deal (via Troy Renck of the Denver Post) are top catching prospect Devin Mesoraco, Aroldis Chapman and Homer Bailey or Travis Wood.
I think a trade deadline where the Yankees acquire Heath Bell, Matt Thornton, and Ubaldo Jimenez makes them instant favorites to win the World Series. It lengthens their rotation and creates a bullpen that potentially will shorten games to five innings. A second lefty in Thornton is imperative to beat the Red Sox in a short series. The presence of Bell would also mean there would be no need to go two innings with Mariano Rivera late in the season. At his age, they need to manage his innings more effectively.
July 30th, 2011 at 2:03 pm
I don’t know where you get Montero, Romine, and two pitchers from, this is the only site I’ve seen it on. The widely reported asking price as of now is Nova, Montero, and Betances, which Cashman will work to reduce a bit.
July 30th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
If the Yankees acquire all those players, that would destroy the entire farm system. We go from having one of the best farm systems to all the way to the bottom. No chance this happens.
July 30th, 2011 at 4:45 pm
These deals will only happen if cashman is no longer in charge. could also point to the steinbrenners wanting to win once more and sell..
July 30th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
The 3 perfect guys.
July 31st, 2011 at 9:33 am
where do you get this stuff from