Justin Duchscherer: Another New York Yankees Trading Possibility
July 23, 2009 · Doug Rush · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
With each passing day and the trade deadline coming up next Friday, it looks as if the Yankees won’t be major players in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes. It also looks like the Yankees won’t even be mentioned for Cliff Lee.
The Yankees rotation depth is so thin; with Phil Hughes being named the new setup man for Mariano Rivera, Alfredo Aceves’ new success as the long man in the bullpen, and not too many options in AAA Scranton/Wilkes—Barre, many feel the Yankees need to make a move.
I have a new idea to propose: Justin Duchscherer.
Duchscherer has missed most of the 2009 season and even was out for the second half of the 2008 due to elbow surgery. He is set on this Sunday to make a rehab start for Oakland. According to rumors, the Yankees are sending scouts to that game to see if Duchscherer is a guy pursuing.
Duchscherer might not be a familiar name to a lot of fans, but he should have been because of last year.
He was a member of the 2008 A.L. All Star Team. Before elbow surgery, he finished 2008 with a 10—8 record with a 2.54 ERA in 22 starts in 141.2 innings.
Before 2008, Duchscherer was a career reliever for the A’s. Because of trades to Dan Haren, Joe Blanton, and Rich Harden, plus allowing Barry Zito to leave as a free agent, Duchscherer was all but forced into the rotation. It turned out to be a good move in the first half.
If Duchscherer can recover nicely from surgery and continue his career to pitch well, he could be a good addition for the Yankees.
You can get him at a cheap price unlike Halladay and Lee, where Toronto and Cleveland want at least four solid players in return. He’s only making $4 million this season, so paying him would not be a problem.
He’s also only 31 years old, so with a full recovery from surgery he could have five or six good quality years left him.
Those same rumors that say the Yankees are sending scouts are also saying the Brewers are sending scouts out as well.
The only difference is, the Brewers are also heavily interested in Halladay and they may be willing to deal some of their guys, like Manny Parra, to get Halladay.
So if the Brewers are all—in on the Halladay sweepstakes, then the Yankees could swoop in and maybe get in on a deal for Duchscherer.
He’s not a strikeout pitcher, although last year he had 95 in the 141 innings he pitched. However, he’s a very good control pitcher with a low ERA and very few walks; just 34 last season.
If Brian Cashman is looking to add arms (aside from bringing up Sergio Mitre) and if he does not want to unload his top prospects, then this may be the best alternate route.
Oakland is clearly out of the race and they are possibly dealing Matt Holliday somewhere, so they are one of the sellers in the league. Hopefully if this is a guy the Yankees can land, you have to hope Oakland general manager Billy Beane will not be too greedy in an asking price.
Beane has been one of the most active GMs in years, dealing away top stars for young talent, so he knows how to get decent players back in return.
Now, Mitre was decent. I’m not saying he should be given up on but you can never have enough good starting pitching, especially when you are trying to make a good playoff run.
If those rumors are true that the Yankees are in fact scouting Duchscherer, lets hope they bring Cashman back good news. That will lead to him picking up the phone and playing “Let’s Make a Deal” with Beane.
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