MLB: Should The Yankees Pursue Matt Holliday?
July 17, 2009 · Doug Rush · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Everyone knows Matt Holliday is a free agent at the end of the 2009 season.
Holliday is one of the top young outfielders in the game. He helped get the Colorado Rockies to the 2007 World Series.
Before 2009, he was traded to the Oakland A’s because Colorado knew they couldn’t afford to keep him after 2009.
Oakland is 37-50 and in last place in th A.L. West, which makes Holliday a nice candidate to get traded before July 31st.
Here’s the first question to ask: Should the Yankees trade for Holliday before the trade deadline?
Most will probably say no, and I think I will have to agree with them.
If the Yankees trade for Holliday, it will more than likely cost them top prospects like Jesus Montero, Austin Romine, Austin Jackson and maybe even major leaguers like Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes.
If the Yankees make a trade for him, the type of deal A’s General Manager Billy Beane will ask for will more than likely wipe away any possibility of a deal for Roy Halladay.
Plus, Holliday will be a free agent and not only will the Yankees have traded their best prospects while losing out on Halladay, they have to hope Holliday would want to re-sign with him.
So I don’t think it’s the best idea to trade for him in July. Unless Oakland was willing to accept a much lesser package of players like Ian Kennedy, Melky Cabrera, Kei Igawa. OK, I’m getting ahead of myself, Beane would have to be drunk out of his mind to trade Holliday for Igawa, but hey, like the New York Lottery, you never know.
Now, even if another team deals for Holliday, when the off season comes, he will be a free agent and he will be testing the market. After all, Holliday’s agent is Scott Boras, and we know what kind of deals he gets for his players. Current Yankees Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Johnny Damon are some of Boras’ clients who got big-time free agent contracts.
Now, the other question, should the Yankees spend the money to get Holliday as a free agent. That answer, I think, should be yes.
Holliday is going to be 30-years-old next January, so he is in the prime stages of his career. He is a lifetime .315 hitter. Now granted, he did play most of his career in Colorado and Coors Field, where offensive numbers shoot right up.
Holliday is still having a good year, hitting .280 for the dismal A’s. He only has nine home runs and 45 RBI, but those numbers should be a lot better by the season’s end.
The thing that impressed me most about Holliday was his ability to take over as a leader, especially in 2007. He finished second in the NL MVP voting to Jimmy Rollins. In the 2007 playoffs, he was a near .300 hitter with five home runs and 10 RBI, so we know his bat didn’t disappear during the most important games.
Also, he is a younger left fielder than our current one, Damon. Damon, who turns 36- years-old in November, is a free agent at the end of the year. While Damon’s offense is strong, his defense has not been, so many feel if the Yankees do re-sign Damon, it would be as a designated hitter.
So if they were to sign Holliday, they will have gotten a younger fielder by six years with all-star ability. Holliday is a three time all-star.
With two weeks left until the trading deadline, the Yankees might have to ask themselves the same question I posed; is Holliday worth trading for in the next two weeks, or do they wait until the winter time?
Since there is a possibility of the Yankees to get Halladay, my money would be on the Yankees waiting until the winter when Holliday hits the free agent market.
The Yankees have a decent relationship with Boras, which could help in negotiations and land Holliday the big bucks in New York for 2010.
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