Hail to the Chief

Word is that Jaret Wright has been traded to Baltimore along with 1 million dollars for Chris Britton.

There are reasons why teams fail. Money is usually not the prime reason. Making trades like these? Thats a prime reason. Chris Britton is a big fat flamethrowing right handed reliever who had an excellent rookie season and turns 24 next month. He has an excellent minor league record, and a decent record of health. Jaret Wright is going to be with Baltimore for one more year and barely pitched over 5 innings in a start last season, while posting a league average ERA.

It was a good trade. I can't seem to find any information on what else Britton throws, but I do remember seeing him throw a 94-95 mph heater. Update: Turns out he has a nasty curveball. His numbers are ridiculous. He was promoted from AA in the middle of 2006, after throwing 16 innings of 2.81 ERA ball, striking out 24 while walking 6. He posted a 3.35 ERA in 53 major league innings, striking out 41 and walking 17. It gets better though. In 2005, he posted a 1.60 ERA in 78.2 innings, striking out 110 while walking just 23. He will be under our control for six years.

He is basically Brian Bruney without the terrible control. He could step in and be our best set up man right now. This is a major coup on Cashman's part, but it also signifies something important. Currently, we have Mariano, Farnsworth, Proctor, Myers, Bruney, and now Britton under contract for 2007. The Yankees are not going to start the season without at least one long reliever. Unless we make the mistake of going with a 12 man staff again, someone has got to go in favor of Karstens or Rasner to eat innings. It would be interesting to see what kind of return Farnsworth or Proctor could bring.

The trade market is certainly a seller's market right now. If I am Cashman, I take advantage.