Yankees Cannot Trade Beltran to the Red Sox
The Yankees have begun their first rebuild since before the days of Derek Jeter. While this is understandable, even discussing a Carlos Beltran trade to the Boston Red Sox sends the wrong message.
For the first time since I became a Yankees fan, way back in 1994, my beloved Bronx Bombers lack an identity. Years and years of bad free agent signings and lopsided trades for aging stars have gotten us to this point.
That’s why the recent week that was, which saw two-thirds of the dominant Yankees’ bullpen dealt away, was bittersweet. OK, maybe Miller more than Chapman, because Miller honestly wanted to wear pinstripes.
He loved the city, the fans, his teammates. Miller embodies everything that makes watching professional athletes so great. He is the reason fans spend their hard-earned money. Why I spend hours upon hours writing about this storied club.
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Unfortunately, being swept by the last-place Tampa Bay Rays was the final nail in the proverbial coffin. So as Miller packed his bags, headed for a Cleveland Indians team hungry for a pennant race, level-headed Yankees fans knew Brian Cashman and company made the right move. How often have we said that since 1998?
An hour or so later, word came down that the organization traded for relief pitcher Tyler Clippard from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Interesting. Didn’t the Yankees have this guy in 2007? Clippard, 31, is signed through 2017 at $6,150,000 per season. Adding a pricey journeyman reliever with a 2-3 record, and a 4.30 ERA is exactly what I thought the Yankees were trying to avoid.
While I understand you need bullpen arms to survive the rest of the season, wouldn’t they have been better served to keep 24-year-old Vicente Campos, who is 9-3 with a 3.20 ERA in 20 starts across three levels of the Yankees’ minor league system in 2016?
I absolutely despise trades that fuel questions in which no one has great answers for.
Then there was the breaking news that the Yankees are discussing Carlos Beltran with the Astros, Red Sox, and other teams. I’m sorry, did I read that correctly? The Boston Red Sox?
How could you, Brian Cashman, even entertain the idea of trading anyone, let alone your 2016 team MVP, to your most hated rival! I don’t care how bad the Yankees ever get, the day I accept the idea of swapping players with those facial hair wearing heathens from Beantown, is the day I question my loyalty to the cause.
Whether you’re rebuilding your organization or not, you never help your enemy win. Would the Rebel Alliance trade Luke Skywalker to The Empire because the rebellion needs a restart? Hell no!
I mean, it’s not like the Red Sox are going to offer the Yankees Yoan Moncada, Andrew Benintendi, or Rafael Devers. If they did, maybe, just maybe I’d alter my stance. But the Sox wouldn’t entertain such a trade, so get this talk of potentially dealing Beltran in the division, to a club you’ve had a rivalry with since 1919 out of here!
Next: Reaction to Trading Andrew Miller
As of right now, the beginning phase of this brand reconstruction has been a success. Don’t screw it up now, Cashman and friends. Stay the course. You do not help the Red Sox win–ever.