December 22, 2009 12:49 PM

A very different Javier Vazquez trade for Yankees

BY Jesse Spector

For a lot of Yankees fans, the acquisition of Javier Vazquez from the Braves this morning isn’t an easy idea to wrap your head around - the Bombers this winter have resuscitated the ghosts of 2004, adding Vazquez and letting go the guy who hit the grand slam off him in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS, Johnny Damon. What in the world is Brian Cashman thinking?

Vazquez

The Yankees are reportedly trading for Vazquez and Boone Logan, sending Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino to Atlanta, and this is a very different trade from the December 2003 deal in which the Yankees sent Randy Choate, the recently-returned Nick Johnson and Juan Rivera to the Montreal Expos for Vazquez, then signed him to a contract extension with the expectation that he’d be a No. 1 or 2 starter for years to come in the Bronx.

The 33-year-old Vazquez was 15-10 with a career-low 2.87 ERA for the Braves this year. He struck out 238 batters in 219.1 innings, joining Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke, Tim Lincecum and Jon Lester as the only pitchers in baseball to pitch over 200 innings and strike out more than a batter per frame. And Vazquez walked 44 for a career-best strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5.41 - among pitchers working over 200 innings, only Roy Halladay and Dan Haren were better.

That said, this was a career year for Vazquez, and expecting a repeat of that kind of dominance is folly, especially considering that Vazquez is coming back to the American League, where he’s gone 52-46 with a 4.52 ERA in his tenures with the Yankees and White Sox. But the Yankees aren’t asking for a repeat - they’re asking Vazquez to join a rotation that’s already fronted by CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte. The way that the Yankees have to look at this is that their No. 4 starter, whether you want to call that Pettitte or Vazquez, is better than most teams’ No. 2s.

The other benefit for the Yankees is that the addition of Vazquez pushes either Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes (likely Hughes, based on the fact that the Yankees have said that Chamberlain’s innings restrictions are a thing of the past, which is not the case for Hughes) to the bullpen as the eighth-inning man in front of Mariano Rivera, with some combination of Alfredo Aceves, Jonathan Albaladejo, Chad Gaudin, Mark Melancon, Sergio Mitre, Edwar Ramirez and David Robertson filling out the righthanded relief corps.

Logan

Logan joins Damaso Marte as the lefthanders in the Yankees’ bullpen. The 25-year-old has a career ERA of 5.78, including 5.19 for the Braves this year after spending his first three seasons with the White Sox, but you can’t evaluate Logan based on his ERA, as he’ll be used as a matchup lefty in the Bronx. This year, lefthanded hitters were 9-for- 39 (.231) against Logan, with an OPS of just .626 - basically, Logan turned lefty hitters into Yuniesky Betancourt, and the Yankees will be glad to add him to their bullpen in that role.

The Yankees have managed to make two big trades this winter, acquiring Curtis Granderson and Javier Vazquez, without giving up top prospect Jesus Montero.

From the financial side of things, 2010 is the last year of Vazquez’s contract, and he’s owed $11.5 million, while Logan is entering his first year of arbitration eligibility. The Yankees have to be thrilled to be able to add a big-time arm for $6.5 million less than the Red Sox will pay John Lackey in 2010, and to be able to do so without sacrificing future draft picks or giving up top prospect Jesus Montero.

Going the other way, Cabrera earned $1.4 million in 2009, and is arbitration-eligible for the second time in his career.

Cabrera

Cabrera, a 25-year-old switch-hitter, batted .274 with a career-high 13 homers this year, driving in 68 runs while posting a .336 on-base percentage and .416 slugging percentage. His OPS+ of 99, while right around average from a league standpoint, was the worst among Yankees regulars, and while Cabrera has more power than Brett Gardner, his on-base percentage was nine points lower than that of Brett Gardner, who is also a better defender than Cabrera.

Cabrera is a year younger than Gardner, but has had 2148 major league plate appearances, compared to 425 for Gardner, giving the Yankees more reason to believe in Gardner’s upside, while his on-base ability is his most important asset at the bottom of the order (assuming the Yankees don’t add another big outfield bat, of course, pushing Gardner back to his supremely useful role as a fourth outfielder and pinch-runner).

The only Braves who had more homers than Cabrera’s 13 this year were Brian McCann (21), Chipper Jones (18) and Yunel Escobar (14), though in-season acquisitions Adam LaRoche and Nate McLouth did have more for the season. Obviously, Atlanta’s hope is that Cabrera will continue to blossom, and putting him in left field, with McLouth in center and Matt Diaz in right, should make for a pretty solid defensive outfield - and the Braves, who keep Tommy Hanson, Tim Hudson, Jair Jurrjens and Derek Lowe in their rotation, remain all about pitching and defense.

Dunn

That’s what this deal was about for the Braves - saving money and getting a bit of a lineup boost while maintaining a strong starting staff. They also get Dunn, a 24-year-old who issued five walks in four innings as a September callup for the Yankees this year, posting a 6.75 ERA after going 4-3 with a 3.31 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 73.1 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. Vizcaino could turn out to be the real prize of the deal, but the 19-year-old Dominican is a long way away and no sure thing as he’s never pitched in full-season ball. His numbers in Staten Island this summer were mesmerizing, though, as Vizcaino went 2-4 with a 2.13 ERA in 10 starts, striking out 52 hitters in 42.1 innings while walking 15 and allowing just 34 hits. Baseball America last week ranked Vizcaino as the No. 3 prospect in the Yankees’ system, behind catchers Montero and Austin Romine.

Giving up a replaceable outfielder, an unproven-but-promising lefty reliever and a far-off prospect to assemble the best starting rotation in the majors, while also adding bullpen help, Yankees fans should be ecstatic about this trade, assuming they can get over those nerves about the ghosts of 2004 -- that's what Cashman is thinking. And it’s also a happy holiday deal for Atlanta, as the Braves have maintained a strong rotation, added a solid young outfielder in Cabrera to help challenge the Phillies and upgraded their farm system while gaining financial flexibility.

Can't get enough Touching Base? Have any suggestions for what you'd like to see me write? Follow me on Twitter and Facebook.