Should the Yankees Trade A-Rod?

Teams will be calling Yankees GM Brian Cashman this off-season about the availability of SS/3B Alex Rodriguez. And they should.

Perhaps Alex Rodriguez is not a New York kind of guy (although his numbers were better at home than on the road in 2006). Perhaps the media pressure finally got to him this season (although September was his best month offensively in 2006). Perhaps 2006 wasn't Rodriguez's greatest season as a professional (he still hit .290 with 35 HR and 121 RBI). But none of these statements should ever persuade anyone from thinking that Alex Rodriguez is still one of the best (if not the best) baseball players on the planet.

He has hit at least 35 home runs or more every season since 1998. He has batted at least .285 every season since 1996. He averages (per 162 games played) .305, 43 home runs, 125 RBI with an OPS of .959 per season. How is those numbers a negative impact to a team? Is he playing out of position at 3B? Perhaps. 2006 was his worst season in the field, with a career high 24 errors. But what Alex Rodriguez brings to a team is so much more than he takes away. Plus, he is only owed, either by the Yankees or any team acquiring him, $66 million over the final four years of his contract - with the Texas Rangers paying the rest, as part of the deal when Alex was shipped to New York. That an average of $16.5 million a season. That's Bobby Abreu/Mike Mussina/Carlos Beltran type money. For a slugger of Alex's magnitude and for the position he plays, its almost a bargain.

So if the Yankees were to consider dealing Rodriguez, who figures to be in on the bidding? ESPN's Buster Olney reported that several teams could offer packages built around young starting pitching:

• The White Sox could offer a package built around either Mark Buerhle or Brandon McCarthy, along with Brian Anderson and Juan Uribe.
• The Angels could start with young promising pitcher Ervin Santana.
• The Padres could offer a deal involving Jake Peavy, although I find this highly unlikely.
• The Giants could offer a package built around SP Matt Cain.
• The Dodgers would almost certainly have to include Chad Billingsly in any deal for A-Rod.
• The Tigers could perhaps put something together involving Jeremy Bonderman.

There are possibilites if Yankees want to expunge Alex Rodriguez. But Alex Rodriguez is not to blame for the Yankees first-round exit in the 2006 playoffs. It was a lack of good starting pitching. So if the Yankees are to trade Alex Rodriguez for starting pitching, that would be one thing, but if they trade A-Rod thinking its going to be addition by subtraction, they are in for a rude awakening.

Other rumors, news & notes:

• ESPN's Peter Gammons reports that Lou Pinella would not have been the Yankees choice to replace Joe Torre, had he been fired.
• Reportedly Alfonso Soriano turned down a 5 year/$70 million offer from the Nationals. There are a lot of teams willing to spend a lot of money this off-season and Soriano is one of the most intriguing players available.
• The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the White Sox will gauge the market value of reliever Neal Cotts. But with an above-average crop of free-agent middle relievers (Jamie Walker, Chad Bradford, Darren Oliver) the value of a trade would likely be lessened.
• The LA Times reports that GM Ned Colletti will be looking to sign/acquire a power hitter and a front-of-the-rotation starter (Barry Zito?) while re-signing Greg Maddux.
• The San Francisco Chronicle reports that DH Frank Thomas has been offered a two-year deal to stay in Oakland.
• The San Diego Padres, who tried to trade for a top-tier 3B at the deadline, will talk to the Seattle Mariners about Adrian Beltre this off-season.
• The Toronto Sun reports that the Blue Jays will not pick up the option on C Benjie Molina, making him a free agent. The Jays will stick with a catching tandem of Gregg Zaun and Jason Phillips for 2007.