With all the talk with the Rangers lately about re-signing Cy Young Pitcher Cliff Lee lately, one fact has surfaced lately— it will cost an arm and a leg to sign him to a long-term contract.
So with that said, the Rangers are believed to be looking to shed some salary in an attempt to have funds available to sign Lee. It appears third baseman Michael Young may be their prime candidate for trade as a result according to Fox Sports Columnist Ken Rosenthal.
Young, who recently signed a five year extension with the Rangers worth $80 million, which will keep him with the ball-club until 2013.
On the surface, Young’s contract is a tad pricey, but in the grand scheme of things, with the free agent market today, Young’s contract in comparison to other free agents available (Adrian Beltre), seems just about right.
A .300 career hitter, Young was the AL batting champion in 2005 at .331 while hammering 24 home runs and adding 91 RBI’s, and was the All-Star game MVP in 2006.
Last season, young enjoyed a sub-par year by his standards only hitting .284 with 21 home runs and 91 RBI’s.
Two years ago Young moved from shortstop over to third base for the incumbent Elvis Andrus, and Young never missed a beat with the move. A career .978 fielder, Young at third is a .960 career defender, compare that to Adrian Beltre, a gold glove third baseman himself, is a .957 career fielder.
While Young’s contract is ugly to say the least, it’s nothing the Jays and their new found owner Rogers can’t afford.
Having dropped significant salary this summer, the Jays are in line to add some salary to make up for the players that left them so far (Lyle Overbay, Edwin Encarnacion, Scott Downs and so on).
With a no-trade clause in his contract, it remains to be seen whether Young would waive his clause if he were traded to Toronto, but his strong relationship with friend and Jays center-fielder Vernon Wells could have a huge say in what he does.
What would it cost the Jays to get Young?
It looks like they will definitely be wanting pitching and catching, which the Jays have in droves. While Young is a great player, he’s already 34 years old and may be on the decline, so giving away too much young talent seems unlikely for any major league team.
The Rangers could agree to a deal if they got a good catcher and a decent pitching prospect. Maybe a deal centered around Carlos Perez and Henderson Alvarez could be enough for the Rangers to bite. It also could be a massive overpay for the Blue Jays as well. I’ve never been a fan of predicting deals like this because you don’t know what the GM’s are thinking.
The one fact remains— Young’s professional bat and good defence would be a welcomed addition at third, but especially in the batting lineup which really lacks any consistent contact hitters outside of Yunel Escobar.
It’s up to Anthopolous now if he believes Young would be a good fit on this team if he is indeed available.
Thoughts on a potential Michael Young to Toronto deal? Let me know.
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