ANAHEIM – George Steinbrenner said he isn’t down on anybody after the Red Sox took two of three from his Yankees this past weekend in Boston. Yet that hasn’t stopped the Boss from calling a major sitdown of his inner circle today in Tampa, where Steinbrenner wants to know what’s available on the trade market before tomorrow’s 4 p.m. EDT deadline.
Steinbrenner has summoned both branches (Tampa and New York) of the Yankees’ dysfunctional family to the club’s minor-league complex. Team president Randy Levine and GM Brian Cashman are expected to represent the New York family. The Tampa mafia of VPs Gordon Blakeley, Damon Oppenheimer and Billy Connors will be on hand.
The top priority for Steinbrenner is this: Do the Yankees, who started last night’s action 1½ games ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East, have enough weapons to win a sixth straight divisional crown?
Steinbrenner, who ordered his inner circle to get Raul Mondesi from Toronto last year, will be updated on how serious the Marlins and Diamondbacks are about acquiring Mondesi before tomorrow’s deadline. Cashman said there was nothing hot with Mondesi or any other deal over the weekend, but things change quickly in the Yankees’ universe. And their bullpen, which was rebuilt in the off-season and again around the All-Star break, will be discussed in the wake of two meltdowns in Boston.
Despite denials by the Yankees that they are close to moving Mondesi, the Diamondbacks and Marlins believe they are in a bidding war for the right fielder.
Mondesi is a better fit for the Diamondbacks, who have told the baseball world they are searching for a right-handed bat to help them win the NL wild card. They began play two games behind the Phillies in that race last night.
The Yankees acknowledge that teams other than the Marlins and Diamondbacks have inquired about Mondesi.
The Diamondbacks are hearing the Marlins have more to offer even though they have Juan Encarnacion in right and converted 20-year-old third baseman Miguel Cabrera in left. The Marlins seem ready to make a change in the outfield; they also are talking to the Padres about former Yankee Rondell White.
The Diamondbacks aren’t looking to delete from their big league roster and don’t want to part with their top prospects, shortstop Sergio Santos, outfielder Josh Kroeger or infielder Scott Hairston. They also want the Yankees to pay some of $2.34 million left on the $7 million Mondesi earns this season.
Mondesi was expected to be in Joe Torre’s lineup last night when the Yankees opened a three-game series against the Angels at Edison Field.
The Marlins, who had a four-game winning streak and have won seven of 10, were one game behind the slumping Phillies in the NL wild-card race and might think Mondesi is an upgrade over Encarnacion.
While tomorrow’s trading deadline has some teeth to it (any player traded after it has to clear waivers), not many teams are expected to attempt to block a deal by claiming a player who makes significant money because they could get stuck with him.
The Yankees had chances to get Encarnacion in the past and passed. After making $3.45 million this year, he is salary-arbitration eligible next year.
A Mondesi-for-Encarnacion deal makes sense only if the Yankees’ brass believes Encarnacion is better than Torre being forced to mix and match between Karim Garcia and Ruben Sierra or promoting Juan Rivera from Columbus (Triple-A). Encarnacion is batting .277 with 12 homers and 64 RBIs.
