Nady/Marte trade reworked

The Yankees have sent Jeff Karstens and Dan McCutchen to the Pirates for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte instead of Phil Coke and George Kontos. Jose Tabata and Ross Ohlendorf are still in the trade as well.

I don't consider myself to be an expert on the minor leagues. However, I know that McCutchen has a higher upside than Coke and Kontos do. That said, the Yankees had to make this move if they were serious about contending this year.

Any way you slice it, it's a great trade for the Yankees. Not sure when Nady and Marte will be here. The lineups haven't been posted yet.

Nady and Marte for Tabata, Ohlendorf and two minor league pitchers

It's now being reported that the Yankees have traded Jose Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf, Phil Coke and George Kontos for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte. The Yankees haven't confirmed this and physicals need to be taken, but Nady was pulled from the Pittsburgh lineup, and Coke was pulled from his scheduled start tonight.

What the Yankees gave up

Tabata has been a highly-touted prospect since being signed a few years ago (I'm actually older than him by a couple of weeks), but he's had some behavioral issues and has been on the disabled list with a wrist injury since the beginning of the month. He has a .630 OPS in 294 at-bats with Double-A Trenton.

I've liked Ohlendorf since the Yankees acquired him in the Randy Johnson trade, but if the Yankees could get Nady and Marte without giving up players like Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy (for now) or Austin Jackson, they had to pull the trigger. Ohlendorf recently began starting again, and now it looks as if it were simply to showcase him.

I don't know much about Coke or Kontos. Coke is a 26-year-old lefty who was having a solid season for Double-A Trenton. He was recently called up to Triple-A. He struck out 109 batters while walking 38 in 114 1/3 innings for Trenton. Kontos is a 23-year-old righty. Pitching for Trenton, he posted a 3.77 ERA in 20 starts, striking out 103 and walking 43.

What the Yankees got

Nady, the Pirates' starting right fielder, is having a great year. He is batting .330 with 13 home runs and 57 RBI. He also has a .919 OPS. He's never had more than 431 at-bats in a season (he is already up to 327), so that is a bit of a concern. However, he provides the Yankees a solid right-handed bat from the corner outfield spot and force Brett Gardner back to the minors.

Marte wasn't as much of a need as some would lead you to believe. Historically, lefties don't hit well against him (.198 BAA vs. .241), but this season, lefties are hitting him at a .255 clip. Righties, on the other hand, are hitting .200 against him this season. If he can regain his dominance against lefties, he'd be a solid addition to this Yankees bullpen. Other numbers this season: he has struck out 47 batters in 46 2/3 innings while walking 16. He has allowed four home runs and 38 hits.

Tentative lineup

C: Jose Molina
1B: Jason Giambi
2B: Robinson Cano
3B: Alex Rodriguez
SS: Derek Jeter
LF: Xavier Nady
CF: Melky Cabrera
RF: Bobby Abreu
DH: Johnny Damon

This trade probably signals the end of Hideki Matsui's and Jorge Posada's respective seasons.

Money

Nady has $3.35 million due to him this season, a contract he signed during the off-season to avoid arbitration. Marte has a $6 million club option for 2009. He signed a two-year, $4.7 million extension in November 2006.

Matsui to the DL, Igawa up

Some roster moves after this afternoon's wonderful performance:

Hideki Matsui has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with the left knee injury. Sidney Ponson is on the active roster in time to make tonight's start.

Also, Ross Ohlendorf (1.1 IP, 6 ER today) has been optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Kei Igawa (7-4, 3.47 ERA and 77 K in 93 1/3 IP for Scranton) has taken his spot on the roster.

I think in the coming days, the Yankees will option Justin Christian and call up Brett Gardner. Johnny Damon can slide to the DH spot and Gardner can man left field. That's what I would do, at least.

See what happens when they play decent teams?

If the Yankees want to make the playoffs this year, they will have to make at least one trade for pitching. With all of the help they need, that probably won't even be enough.

Is it worth it to mortgage the future to get the playoffs and lose in the first round again? Probably not. But with the payroll that the Yankees have, they shouldn't have to rely on pitchers like Dan Giese, Edwar Ramirez and Ross Ohlendorf to pitch against the Mets.

You know that triumvirate is great when Carlos Delgado goes 2-4 with six RBI (thus far).

I don't know about you guys, but I'm so excited to see Sidney Ponson start tonight. Sad thing is that he can pitch a terrible game and it wouldn't even be as bad as this afternoon's performance.

I'm glad a sell-out crowd got to see Chien-Ming Wang run the bases, though.

Congratulations to Dan Giese

Dan Giese recorded his first career victory this afternoon, pitching a stellar 2 2/3 innings while striking out three batters.

In 6 1/3 innings with the Yankees, he has given up five hits and one earned run. He got the loss his first time out, but had a nice outing overall. Today he was rewarded for his good performance.

I was extremely quick to call him "awful" during his first appearance, and I'd like to retract that statement once again. If he can keep turning in performances like he has been thus far, this will be quite a find for the Yankees.

It's nice to have a legitimate long reliever for once. Hopefully this will push Ross Ohlendorf into a more defined role in the back end of the bullpen.

(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Bullpen injuries

I've already mentioned that Brian Bruney will be in New York sometime today to get his foot checked out. The disabled list remains a possibility.

It doesn't end there. Kyle Farnsworth injured his elbow during the seventh inning of last night's 7-6 loss in Chicago. Farnsworth slipped on the mound after throwing his final pitch of the inning. While he doesn't believe it's serious, Farnsworth would have gone out for a second inning of work. The team will find out more today.

With Ross Ohlendorf throwing 49 pitches in two innings, the team will need to make some sort of move with the four-game series in Cleveland beginning tonight.

ALDS Roster and Game 1 lineup

As reported by Peter Abraham, the Yankees released the ALDS roster today.

Ross Ohlendorf and Jose Veras are on the roster. Edwar Ramirez, Ron Villone and Chris Britton are not on the roster.

Bronson Sardinha made the roster to be used primarily as a pinch runner.

This really isn't shocking. Ohlendorf and Veras performed well towards the end of the season and the three who didn't make the roster didn't pitch well. The only thing that's somewhat surprising is that they didn't go with a lefty out of the bullpen. I find the whole idea of having a lefty specialist to be overrated, but Joe Torre usually doesn't.

Now, the lineup:

Johnny Damon LF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jorge Posada C
Hideki Matsui DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Melky Cabrera CF
Doug Mientkiewicz 1B

This is ridiculous

Brian Bruney and Edwar Ramirez have no business wearing Major League uniforms.

This dynamic duo managed to blow a 5-0 lead in the sixth inning. Lovely.

Everyone (myself included) wanted to see Ramirez have his chance. He has been given a shot, and he has failed. It's time for someone new - someone like Ross Ohlendorf.