New York Yankees’ Catching Depth Should be Used in Trades
By Christopher Gamble
@chriswgamble
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With many holes on the roster, a somewhat lackluster free agent crop when it comes to bats, and a surplus of serviceable catchers, the New York Yankees could potentially trade one of Francisco Cervelli, Austin Romine or John Ryan Murphy to fill holes elsewhere on the roster.
Cervelli is entering arbitration this season and comes with an injury history. Early projections have Cervelli making somewhere just north of $1 million this season. That isn’t a lot of money and Cervelli is still young enough so that he could be attractive to some team looking for a catcher with Cervelli’s talents.
Last season, Cervelli hit .301/.370/.432 with two home runs, 11 doubles, 13 RBI and 18 runs scored in 49 games. His best season came in 2010 when he hit .271/.359/.335 with 11 doubles, three triples, 38 RBI and 27 runs scored in 93 games, by far the most games he has appeared in in a season. However, a catcher with a career .278/.348/.381 slash line in 250 games could draw some serious interest. However, Cervelli’s injury history might be a huge red flag to some teams.
John Ryan Murphy will turn 24 in May and has 48 games across two seasons with the Yankees. He hit .284/.318/.370 with one home run, four doubles, nine RBI and seven runs scored in 32 games. His age and promise certainly make him attractive to opposing teams. It also makes him attractive to the Yankees who could look to save a few hundred thousand dollars that they could spend elsewhere on the roster by making Murphy the backup and trading Cervelli.
Austin Romine was once considered one of the Yankees’ top prospects but the shine on that star has worn away. That doesn’t mean Romine can’t be a serviceable catcher in the Major Leagues but right now it looks like he is destined to be a backup or third catcher shuttled back and forth between the Majors and Minors. Romine’s injury history could also raise a few red flags as a bad back and the catcher position don’t normally get along.
The Yankees also have top prospect Gary Sanchez knocking on the door as he should be making his Triple-A debut at some point this season. They could decide to trade Sanchez but maturity issues and questions about whether he can stay behind the plate long-term lower his trade value.
That leaves Murphy and Cervelli. If acquiring Chris Stewart cost the Yankees reliever George Kontos a few years ago then certainly the Yankees could get a higher return for Cervelli who has a lot more offensive upside than Stewart ever did and has proven to be reliable behind the dish.
Teams will want Murphy but Cervelli is the best trade chip the Yankees have outside of their young pitchers and Brett Gardner. The free agent catching crop is very thin this season with former Yankee Russell Martin being the best available. There are a few teams, like the Pittsburgh Pirates, who could be looking for catching help, especially if they don’t re-sign Martin. Cervelli is slated to become a free agent until 2017 and he shouldn’t get too expensive to be prohibitive cost-wise for any team. If the Yankees are going to trade anyone it should be Cervelli.
Related: Yankees Should Trade J.R. Murphy
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