Bomber Bites With Jumping Joe–The All In Trade

The Yankees have been upgrading their team via trades for the last few weeks acquiring Brandon McCarthy, Chase Headley and Chris Capuano.  All three were moderate upgrades at their position and all three came at little cost.  However, none of the three made the Yankees the team to beat in the American League East.  The Yankees are currently in third place and have lost three straight.  The trade deadline is Thursday.  Why not made the ultimate all-in trade?  Why not trade for Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez from the Rockies?  Before the comments coming trolling in, I know that this trade will never happen.  But it’s fun to think about.

The Yankees would have to literally sell the farm to get Tulowitzki and Gonzalez in the same deal.  Anyone in the system who is even remotely good would probably have to be included.  But I think the Yankees could realistically put together a pretty decent package for the two All Stars.  First, we add the major league ready talent of which the Yankees are thought to have a very finite supply.  Unless of course you count All Star Dellin Betances and John Ryan Murphy.  Murphy and Betances would have to be included.

Mandatory Credit: Chad R. MacDonald.

Next we add several raw high ceiling guys, such as Luis Severino, Gary Sanchez, Manny Banuelos, Aaron Judge, Ian Clarkin, Eric Jagielo, and Peter O’Brien.  Probably need at least four or five guys from that list.  But that still might not be enough, so the Yankees will also take on not just all of the remaining money owed to Tulowitzki and Gonzalez but all take Matt Belisle and the rest of the money owed him this season.

In theory, it seems like a plausible scenario and even a workable trade.  Of course, it’s also unique trade that actually weakens each teams hope for future success.  Without Tulowitzki and Gonzalez, by far their best two players, the Rockies are a bad team with no reason to show up to the stadium.  The prospects they receive in return may or may not pan out.  None of the prospects are top 25 prospects; they are banking on quantity over quality.  Both their immediate and long term futures appear bleak.  The Yankees on the other hand are immediately better in the short term but sit in a very perilous position for the future.  They would essentially not have a farm system left.  The few once promising outfield prospects, Mason Williams, Tyler Austin and Slade Heathcott would remain but very precious else around them.  They would have Jeter’s heir in Tulowitzki and a fearsome outfield of Gonzalez, Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner but they would still be an old team susceptible to injury, just like the last few seasons.

The question for the Yankees in such a deal is whether it sets you over the edge in the chase for a championship.  If it opens a window for a championship this season, do you mortgage the next five years to win it?  For the Rockies, are you ready to throw in the towel for the next 3-5 years and adopt the Astros rebuilding plan of scorched earth, opting to be the worst of worst for a time in order to completely rebuild?  For me, I can’t see either team agreeing to those limitations.  But it’s not impossible.  Baseball is a strange sport and things get weird around July 31st each season.  After all, it wasn’t really that long ago that a respected GM like Omar Minaya thought it was a good idea to trade Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips for seemingly washed up Bartolo Colon.