• Yanks should keep Gardner, deal Cabrera

  • By Rob Neyer | March 26, 2009 6:55:40 AM PDT
In case you haven't noticed, the New York Yankees have too many outfielders. And according to Ken Rosenthal, one of them's on the block:
    The Yankees are telling clubs that they are open to moving outfielder Melky Cabrera, who would be a perfect fit for the White Sox.Cabrera trails Brett Gardner in the Yankees' center-field competition. By trading him, the team could open at-bats for Nick Swisher, who was beaten out by Xavier Nady in right field but also plays center, left and first.The Yankees have talked about trading either Nady or Swisher, but potential suitors might be more willing to part with young talent for Cabrera, who is 24 and four years away from free agency.Jerry Owens, Brian Anderson and Dewayne Wise have been competing for the White Sox's centerfield job. Cabrera almost certainly would hold greater appeal.Angels outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. could be another possibility for the White Sox, but a source with direct knowledge of the team's thinking refuted a previous item, saying that the club was not interested in acquiring him.The Angels recognize that they cannot trade Matthews unless they pay the vast majority of the $33 million remaining on the final three years of his contract, another source said.
A few points …One, it's never made any sense for the Yankees to keep both Cabrera and Gardner on the 25-man roster. Gardner offers defense along with maybe the ability to reach base, while Cabrera offers little defense and just maybe the ability to hit for some power, someday. Gardner bats left-handed, while Cabrera's a switch-hitter who has (to this point) fared particularly poorly against left-handed pitchers.Two, if you're going to get rid of one of them, Cabrera's probably the guy. At least Gardner's demonstrated that he can do something (run and field) and might do something else (reach base). At this point, it's not clear that Cabrera can do anything. And I say that having written -- just two or three years ago -- that by now Melky would be one of the 10 best center fielders in the majors (not one of my more brilliant predictions).Cabrera's upside might still be higher than Gardner's … but the Yankees can't worry about upside. They're trying to win right now, and Gardner gives them a slightly better chance of doing that.Three, the Yankees aren't going to trade Nick Swisher because they need him. If Joe Girardi can't somehow get Swisher nearly 500 plate appearances this season, then he's not a good enough manager for this club. I'm at the front of the line criticizing the supposed decision to make Nady the everyday right fielder, but I'm willing to cut Girardi just a little slack for the moment. There just isn't any justification for Nady getting more playing time than Swisher in the long run.And four, while my predictions might not be the best, I did nail Gary Matthews. When the Angels signed Matthews for five years and $50 million, I was incredulous. But then again, so was every other adult I know.

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