Trade Rumors: Is Francisco Cervelli The One To Go?

While Joel Sherman of the NY Post continues to play Yankees’ GM, he’s not very realistic about the targets and the possible destinations of some players he’s mentioned. He wrote an article yesterday, stating that Yankees’ back-up catcher Francisco Cervelli could land in either Chicago with the White Sox for John Danks, or in Colorado with Rockies for any number of players.

Here’s the problem with that. Yes, the Yankees have 5 catchers on the 40-man roster, but John Danks is garbage, and everyone knows it. Cervelli has shown, when healthy, to be a more than capable backstop, one who can hit, play pretty solid defense, and can even slide over to man first base if needed. If teams are going to hold the Yankees hostage to part with needed parts, why would the Yankees EVER part with a valuable catcher of Cervelli’s caliber, for a dumpster fire like John Danks, or any other trash that the Rockies would want to throw away? If a player isn’t good enough to play for the Rockies, he’s certainly not good enough to play for a Yankees’ team battling for a Wild Card and AL Eastern division crown. Once again, Sherman is way off the mark.

Should the Yankees shop Cervelli? Absolutely. When the type of depth the Yankees have at catcher can fetch some much-needed parts, you shop from your strength. That doesn’t mean giving pieces away. As Scott Alfano wrote about earlier today, the Yankees need an upgrade at second base, and Aaron Hill is not on the market. Why not offer up Cervelli to the D-Backs as a viable back-up to Miguel Montero?

The Mets have recently come out and said they’ll pay some of the freight on Bartolo Colon. I’ve discussed this previously, about how Colon could be an innings-horse this season, and slide to the back of the rotation next year. Why not Cervelli as a back-up or utility option at first base, who can prove he can handle New York? The point is, Cervelli is not an All-Star, but he’s a pro. He’d solid, and he’s worth more than John Danks and the once-promising arm that is Brett Anderson. Colorado wants a sizable catch for Jorge De La Rosa, and while he’s been pitching well recently, he’s not the difference maker the Yankees need. He is certainly not worth much more than a Cervelli/Shane Greene package at best. He’s on the wrong side of 30, and is not in his prime. De La Rosa is a stop-gap answer, and he’s the wrong answer. If the Yankees are going to deal Francisco Cervelli, and entrust the future back-up role to John Ryan Murphy, or Austin Romine, they better get something useful and valuable in return.