Please, no more Lowe talk
December 20, 2009, 2:00 pm by iYankees · 5 Comments
In his latest, Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports briefly wonders whether or not the Yankees would be open to acquiring Derek Lowe from Atlanta. The Braves, with an arm surplus, are actively shopping the 37-year old, according to multiple reports (and he’s not particularly happy about it). “Would the Braves take Melky Cabrera and a prospect for Lowe,” asks Brown. “They might,” he concludes. Adding to the idea of a Lowe acquisition, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders if the Yankees will “take on” Derek Lowe’s contract. Lowe is owed $45 million through 2012.
Given the Yankees’ frugal approach this winter (thus far), how in the world does adding Derek Lowe even seem possible, financially? That’s right, it’s not. Furthermore, if the organization wanted to pay another pitcher close to $16 million per year, they could have signed John Lackey, the best free agent starter available. Even if the Braves, who are desperate to move Lowe, were to eat a significant portion of the former Red Sox’s albatross, I doubt the Yankees would be willing to commit any amount of money to a 37-year old contact pitcher who has not collected innings in the American League since 2004. For that reason, I also doubt that they would give up anything of value, including Melky Cabrera “and a prospect,” for Lowe. As I have said before, this Lowe-to-the-Yankees idea is nonsensical.
In addition to Lowe, Brown mentions Aaron Harang as a possibility for the Yankees, however, while I like Harang, he too is not a move the club would make due to his contract (it would be a strategic incongruity). In the end, if Brian Cashman’s aim is to add starters, expect him to take fliers on cheap guys with abbreviated commitments, like Chien-Ming Wang, Ben Sheets, Justin Duchscherer, Kelvim Escobar, and maybe even Erik Bedard.
Photo by Kevin Cox/Getty Images
