It’s a hefty to price to pay for Rangers’ GM Jon Daniels. He’s giving up a player who they view as an annual 30-40 home run hitter for a three month rental. Evidently Daniels is worried about the pending bankruptcy of the team and may feel this is the Rangers lone shot at a title.

But it also makes me think of  a 2006 Rangers deal.  Adrian Gonzalez, Chris Young, and Termel Sledge for Aki Otsuka and Adam Eaton”.

Now Cliff Lee is a much better pitcher than Eaton or Otsuka, the latter of which was to fill the closer role at the time. But Gonzalez was a can’t miss prospect and he has proven all the scouts right. Smoak may make Daniels regret this deal as well.

The Yankees and Mariners had agreed to deal in principle that would have sent Jesus Montero, David Adams, and Zach McAllister to Seattle, but the Mariners decided to look for a better off.  They certainly got one.

* * *

With all of the hoopla (pun very much intended) over LeBron James last night, I was shocked to see he was not the subject of conversation on Twitter this morning.  No sooner had my computer booted up then my brain got a jolt as well.  The NY Post’s Joel Sherman reported that the Yankees are in deep conversations with the Seattle Mariners for Cliff Lee.

Say what?

By 10 a.m. Sherman had tweeted and written that the teams were on the brink of getting the deal done.  Jesus Montero, the Yankees number one prospect, would be the centerpiece of the trade.  Montero has struggled at the plate for much of his first full season at Triple-A, but is still highly regarded around baseball.  This would also indicate that the Yankees front office is higher on catching prospect Austin Romine for the future.

The Mariners are also said to be intereted in 2nd base prospect, and UVA product, David Adams.  Sherman says a third prospect will also be included in the deal.

With Lee’s free agency on the horizon, you have to wonder if the Yankees will demand a window to negotiate a long term deal with the prized left-hander.  Though the Yankees would be giving up prospects, acquiring Lee would preclude losing draft picks if Lee went elsewhere and the Yankees then signed him as a free agent.

Some feel this deal would be overkill since the Yankees roll out CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes, and Javier Vazquez on a regular basis.  Though three of the pitchers are All-Stars, Hughes has an innings limit and Burnett and Vazquez have struggled at times.  It’s possible once he nears the innings limit, Hughes could bolster the bullpen for the remainder of the season as he did last year.

While there are mixed feelings about giving up a top prospect, Cliff Lee is the type of player you give him up for.

Update: 11:20 am ESPN’s Buster Olney tweeted that since Lee is set to face them tonight, the Yankees told the Mariners they have to have answer soon.

Joel Sherman has now reported that the Yankees will not ask for a negotiating window to get a long term deal done with Lee.

Update: 3:45 pm Sherman says the deal is off – he just tweeted:
“To repeat the Yankees aren’t getting Cliff Lee. Mariners concerned about David Adams ankle plus apparently another team has jumped in hard.”

Update: 4:20 pm According to several people involved with the Yankees, the deal is definitely dead (for now) with Seattle.

It look the Texas Rangers are the team that has re-entered the fray.  Rangers’ Hall of Fame beat writer T.R. Sullivan says “…the Rangers won’t do (Justin) Smoak”.  Possibilities are Jared Saltalamacchia, Engel Beltre, Derek Holland, Omar Beltre and Blake Beavan.

Stay tuned for updates.

6.   JR Murphy – John R. Murphy is the second member of the 2009 Draft class to be named to the Top 10 Prospects.  Murphy was selected in the second round of the draft out of high school.  The 6foot 190 pound catcher then made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast Yankees where he hit .333 in 9 games with a homerun, a double and 7 RBIs. 

Murphy is a good athlete and has good hitting ability which is above average for catchers but he also has the potential to become a strong defensive catcher also.  His good arm and the Yankees’ sudden depth at the position may prompt a position change in the future, however for now Murphy will continue to develop as a catcher and would most likely start the 2010 season in the shadow of New York City with the Staten Island Yankees and former major league catcher Josh Paul.
2010 Prediction: Short Season-A – Staten Island Yankees

5.  Zach McAllister – Zach McAllister was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 3^rd round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft and made his professional debut later that season as a piggyback starter with fellow draft pick Dellin Betances.  In the Gulf Coast League he was 5-2 with a 2.83 ERA in 11 games, striking out 28 in 35 innings.

In 2007 he made his New York debut pitching for the Staten Island Yankees where he was a NY-Penn League All-Star before he struggled in the second half.  He finished the season with a 4-6 record and a 5.17ERA and 75 strikeouts in 71.1 innings.

McAllister split the 2008 season between the Charleston RiverDogs and the Tampa Yankees where he had a combined 14-9 record with a 2.09 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 151 innings.  He started the year with the RiverDogs and pitched to a 6-3 record and a 2.45 ERA in 10 games and was even better after the Yankees promoted him going 8-6 with a 1.83 ERA in 15 games, including a complete game and a save.

The 2009 Season saw McAllister’s jump to the high level minors where he excelled as a member of the Trenton Thunder’s pitching staff.  In 22 games with the Thunder he had a 7-5 record and a 2.23 ERA while striking out 96 in 121 innings.  He missed sometime after the All-Star Break with an injury but returned to his successful ways soon after and even earned himself a late season promotion to Triple-A for the playoffs.

McAllister profiles as a middle of the rotation starter and as a guy that will eat innings.  He is one of the better command pitchers in the organization and has a fastball that is in the low 90s with a slider and changeup.  He is a lock to begin the season with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees and could see a September call-up if he has success.

2010 Prediction: Triple-A – Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees

4.   Slade Heathcott – One of the two members of the 2009 First-Year Draft class who made our Top 10 prospect list is outfielder Slade Heathcott.  Although he appeared in only 3 games during the season with the Gulf Coast Yankees he is a talented young player with a plus arm (reached 94MPH as a pitcher) and raw power.  The Yankees see him as a future centerfielder and is expected to rise through the system similar to former Yankee prospect Austin Jackson.  Injury concerns allowed him to drop to the Yankees in the 2009 draft but as in years passed the Bombers took a risk.
 2010 Prediction: Class-A – Charleston RiverDogs

Later on we will take a look at numbers 3-1 and then join us in the BaseballDigest.com Bleachers Forum to view and discuss the rest of our Top 30 prospects.

The following year the young righty made his professional debut as a 17 year old in the Gulf Coast League going 3-2 with a 3.68 ERA in 12 games, six starts.

In 2009 he started the season in Extended Spring Training to prepare for the coming short-season leagues.  He promptly earned his spot as the ace of the Staten Island Yankees’ starting rotation.  As an 18 year old in a league dominated by 21 year olds he was nothing short of spectacular.

Pitching in front of sold out crowds and in New York did not seem to slow down Vizcaino as he struck out a total of 52 batters in just 42.1 innings for the Baby Bombers while just walking 15. He had himself a 2.13 ERA in 10 games and pitched in 2 less innings then the previous year due to his season being cut short because of tightness in his back.  He struck out 7 batters in three consecutive games to open the season and tied his career high of 9 strike outs on July 22.

Scouting Report

Arodys Vizcaino pitching for the Staten Island Yankees - Credit: Robert Pimpsner

Vizcaino currently posses a three pitch arsenal.  He dominates with his fastball which sits in the low 90s and has topped out at 96MPH.  As he gets older and fills into his body he could add some velocity.  He has a plus curveball which kept the NY-Penn League batters off balanced as well as a changeup that is still developing.  He posses great control for someone at his level of development and has been favorably compared to Pedro Martinez.

2010 Outlook

Arodys Vizcaino will most likely split the season between Low-A and High-A in the Braves system.  It would not be surprising to see him reach the Braves’ High-A team by the end of the season.  The Yankees were with a one year one level approach with Vizcaino that was similar to how they handled pitcher Zach McAllister which would most likely continue with the Braves.

The Trenton Thunder host tonight’s Eastern League All-Star game.  Thunder team members, and Yankees prospects, Jesus Montero, Zach McAllister, Mike Dunn, Josh Schmidt, Reegie Corona, Eduardo Nunez, and Jorge Vazquez will represent the Northern squad.   Trenton manager Tony Franklin will be at the helm of the North along with his coaching staff.

The Yankees begin a 10-game homestand beginning Thursday night with Detroit.  After 3 games with the Tigers, the Orioles come to town for 3 before the A’s finish the homestand with a 4-game set.  The Tigers series includes Old-Timer’s Day on Sunday, July 19.

When the Chien-Ming Wang’s spot in the rotation comes up, the Yankees will probably go with Sergio Mitre and move Al Aceves back to the pen.

The Yankees will also look elsewhere for a starting pitcher.  According to the NY Post, Pittsburgh’s Ian Snell is among those who have piqued the Yankees interest.  The Bombers are also looking into Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman.