The New York Yankees were having such a quiet offseason that some of their nonsensical fans were complaining they were being complacent. Well, I guess Yankee fans will stop complaining now because the Yankees just pulled off a blockbuster trade to bolster their rotation.

Montero is headed to the great northwest

The Yankees acquired RHP Michael Pineda and RHP Jose Campos from the Seattle Mariners for C/DH Jesus Montero and RHP Hector Noesi. The deal was first reported by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

I think this is a very, very good trade for the Yankees.

In Pineda, the Yankees get a potential front-line starting pitcher. Pineda, who will turn 23 next week, had a 3.74 ERA, 9.1 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, and a 3.4 WAR in 171 innings for the Mariners in 2011. Despite falling off in the second half (most likely due to the amount of innings he was logging), Pineda was a stud last year and should fit in nicely in the Yankee starting rotation.

There will be some Yankee fans who will complain about trading Montero, but anytime you have the chance to acquire a front-line starting pitcher, you have to do it. Guys like Montero are a dime a dozen. The Yankees will be able to replace Montero without a problem in 2012 (Johnny Damon perhaps?), but the Mariners won’t be able to replace Pineda. Elite pitchers like him do show up on a team’s doorstep everyday.

In Montero, the Mariners get the prize of the Yankee minor league system. Like Pineda, Montero is going to be 23-years-old this year and in his brief Major League stint in 2011, he hit .328/.406/.590 with four HR’s in 69 PA’s. His breakout game was on September 5 against the Baltimore Orioles. He went 3-for-4 with two HR’s and a walk and became the next big thing in New York.

Montero was slatted to be the Yankees’ primary DH in 2012 and I am guessing he will doing the same thing for the Mariners. Since the Mariners already have Miguel Olivo in place behind the plate, I will assume they want the better defensive player behind the dish.

That’s why I believe the Yankees win in this deal. If Montero excelled at a premium position like center field, shortstop, or even catcher, then I would say okay, I get it. But Montero is a DH at this point of his career. I don’t care how much the Mariners need hitting, never trade a big time pitcher for a DH.

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By The Baseball Index