MLB rumors: Yankees and Mariners talking Brett Gardner trade
The New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners are rumored to be having discussions around trading Brett Gardner to the West Coast.
Boca Raton, Florida is the place to be this week. It’s where the 30 MLB General Managers are uniting together and discussing, among other things, potential trades.
New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman stirred the pot earlier this week when he let it be known that he is “open to anything” when it comes to improving his ball club.
During the 2015 MLB season, the team finished in second place of the American League East with a record of 87-75 – six games behind the Toronto Blue Jays. Cashman angered a lot of fans in the Bronx who saw the Blue Jays making a plethora of trades prior to the July 31 trade deadline and catch fire in the season’s second half. The Blue Jays made it all the way to the playoffs for the first time since 1993, before losing to the Kansas City Royals in six games of the American League Championship Series. The Yankees also made the postseason, but lost in the Wild Card Game against the Houston Astros.
Cashman needs to make up for his lack of transactions last summer and show fans that he is willing to improve this baseball team.
According to Joel Sherman, via Twitter, Cashman appears to be having discussions with newly anointed Seattle Mariners’ General Manager Jerry Dipoto about possibly dealing outfielder Brett Gardner to the West Coast.
ICYMI Column https://t.co/YPQ8JmBvtI Cashman has said open to anything, @Mariners like Gardner, is there a deal to make? #Yankees
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) November 11, 2015
Gardner is coming off a 151 game season, where he hit 16 home runs, drove in 66 RBI and hit .259 for the year. He was primarily used in left field for the Bronx Bombers, with occasional time in center field. He has been a valuable addition to the Yankees since 2008 rookie year as a 24-year-old. He is now 32, still has three years left on his contract and has a rather large salary still on the Yankees’ books at $39.5 million.
The Mariners have not had successful seasons lately. They finished the 2015 campaign with a record of 76-86 and a whopping dozen games behind the division leader Texas Rangers. Adding Gardner to an already potent lineup would be perfect for the team from the northwest.
The Yankees have routinely been called “old” or “slow”; however, they constantly amaze fans and are at least always in discussions for the playoffs each season. An area of significant weakness for New York has to be their pitching. The only certainties in this starting rotation are Adam Warren and Luis Severino, as the rest of rotation has question marks and is a concern that needs to be addressed.
Before anyone goes ridiculous, the Yankees are not going to be receiving ace starting pitcher “King” Felix Hernandez in any potential Gardner deal, and they probably are not going to get Taijuan Walker either.
This is definitely something to watch for during the winter months, as both teams are not afraid to make significant improvements to their lineups.