Trades

The Yankee offense may need a few more bullets, and lots of names are floating around. Alfonso Soriano. Carlos Lee. Names which are out of reach for the Yankees without them destroying whatever minor league depth that Brian Cashman has built over the past few years.

But even a guy like Craig Wilson, inferior to either Soriano or Lee, could be pricey. The Pirates asked for Anthony Reyes, a top major league ready prospect of the Cardinals organization, for Wilson.

Carlos Lee gets a lot of press, but what of his teammate Geoff Jenkins? Unlike Lee, Jenkins is not having a good year. He is a 32 year-old career .297/.347/.501 hitter coming off a .292/.375/.513 season currently batting .250/.315/.401. His stock is low, and the Brewers may be willing to vacate his 7 million dollar salary for this season and 2006.

He's a strong left handed pull hitter who has hit 25 home runs in every year where he has played a full season in his career. He would be a huge upgrade in RF and could come relatively cheap. Plus, he would be more than a rental. Maybe Matt Smith will be dangled.

Some other teams are going to be conducting fire sales in the coming month. Minnesota. Kansas City. Washington. Chicago. Pittsburgh. Names like Lew Ford, Reggie Sanders, Jose Guillen. Names that the Yankees should stay away from. All three are having horrible seasons.

Personally, if I were Yankee GM I would offer Robinson Cano for David DeJesus and Mark Grudzielanek. I know that we lose Cano, but we get in return a replacement 2b for the year and an excellent young outfielder who is under contract through 2010. I'm not saying that Kansas City would take that deal, but it's worth a try.