Monday, August 25, 2008

Catching Up: The Nady/Marte Trade

Yanks give: Jose Tabata (OF), Ross Ohlendorf (RHP), Jeff Karstens (RHP), and Dan McCutchen (RHP). Yanks get: Xavier Nady (OF), Damaso Marte (LHP)

The Yankees dealt Jose Tabata at the rock-bottom of his value, after a bad season in AA and a host of disciplinary problems that had resulted in suspensions; the Pirates dealt Nady at the absolute top of his value (the X-man was leading the Pirates in EqA at the time of the trade). The fact that this trade comes out looking pretty even is a minor miracle--the Yanks had been in need of a righthanded outfielder and a lefty reliever for quite a while, and aside from Tabata, the Pittsburgh package is pretty low-ceiling. Folks love Ohlendorf's stuff, but it didn't translate to results this year or last. Karsten's looked pretty good over the past month in the steel city, but that's an illusion created by an incredibly low batting average on balls in play (.218 BABIP). The Yanks just need to keep Nady's career season in perspective--sure, he could be a Luis Gonzalez or Raul Ibanez-style late bloomer, but do you really want to bet on it?

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