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Note: While I am in the middle of writing this article, I find that Matt Connor of SBN posts a similar articlelooking at trading Billy Butler for Phil Hughes.
With the Yankees trading for Michael Pineda and signing Hiroki Kuroda this past weekend, Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett look to be the odd men out of the Yankees rotation. With the Yankees having an excess of starting pitchers, I propose the following trade with the Yankees.
Kansas City gets:
- A.J. Burnett
- Phil Hughes
New York gets:
- Joakim Soria
Why I think this trade works for both teams:
Kansas City's Perspective:
- Kansas City is shallow on starting pitching and any help would be greatly needed. The Royals get two starting pitchers that they have control of for the next 2 years as some of their young pitchers develop. While neither pitcher is lights out, they have had better season than any starter currently on the Royals staff.
- A.J. Burnett's best run with the Yankees came when the Royals new pitching coach, Dave Eiland, was the Yankees pitching coach.
- The Royals have a little salary flexibility now and can be able to absorb Burnett's $16.5M salary. The Yankees may have to throw in some cash (around $5M to probably) to make the deal work.
- They are buying low on Hughes and Burnett.
- The Royals bullpen in a strong point and their are plenty of young relievers ready to join.
New York's Perspective
- With Freddy Garcia already signed, they have their 5 man rotation set for the season.
- The Yankees are going to need to replace Rivera a some point and Soria could easily be that guy.
- Yankees are buying low on Soria.
- No more A.J. Burnett.
Thoughts?