Yankees Trade Talk: David Phelps & Adam Warren

Off the top of my head I cannot remember if Pinstripe Alley has ever had a Yankees Trade Talk section or headline or anything like that. Since I don't think they did, I'm going to claim it as my own in today's IGYARticle. If you actually read the headline, you should know the two players who will be the subjects of today's Yankees Trade Talk; David Phelps and Adam Warren. I'll be honest, I've been thinking that they should most likely be traded for a while now, but I did have a little hope that this Spring Training they might show the Yankees something that might warrant giving them a chance on the mound sometime this year. However, with the recent news of Andy Pettitte coming out of retirement, I think it's pretty clear that Phelps and Warren have little chance in any role on the Yankees except for injury replacement starter or long relief bullpen status.

More Yankees Trade Talk after the jump...

Reasons Not To Trade

Pitching depth is always a nice thing to have. If the Red Sox had a shred of it last year, they probably would not have had that orgasmic, euphoric collapse to end their season last year, a collapse I really like to bring up as much as possible. One main reason not to trade Phelps and Warren is because they do provide us with pitching depth in case god forbid one of our starters do get injured and are going to be on the DL for some time. The thing is though, with Andy Pettitte now back on the Yankees, unless he is absolutely unplayable after his Spring Training/Minor League sessions, he will be called up before Phelps or Warren will be because Pettitte is an absolutely beloved New York Yankee. I know I love Andy.

The other reason not to trade them is because they can be used in the bullpen as long relief, in case something happens to a starting pitcher like a minor injury or a seventeen run inning or two. Hector Noesi was pretty much used in this role last year and he was pretty good at it for the most part. It's always good to have a long relief guy who can keep the runs down so that the vaunted Yankees offense has a chance to come back, score some runs and hit some dingers! Phelps and Warren could definitely provide that for the Yankees and that might be more valuable to the team than trading them.

Reasons To Trade

The main reason to trade Phelps and Warren is the simple fact that there are a lot of teams out in the MLB that need starting pitching. Rather than list the ones that do, it'd be simpler to list the ones that don't and the teams that come to mind that do not have a pressing need for pitching are the Yankees, Rays, Braves, Phillies, Rangers, and Angels. That leaves 24 MLB teams that could use starting pitching, and Phelps and Warren could be just the starters they are looking for, even if they might be nothing more than back of the rotation starters. Teams still need those as well. Hector Noesi might very well be that guy for the Mariners this year, and it was clear that on the Yankees he would pretty much be nothing more than bullpen help.

The follow up reason to trade them is that while the Yankees do not really need help in the pitching department currently, they could use some more decent bench players, as well as perhaps some minor league replacement fielders here and there. It's definitely unclear what the Yankees could get for Phelps or Warren in terms of minor league players or bench players, but come the trade deadline there could be many a team out there who would be willing to part with someone in order to receive pitching help. Nothing is set in stone as anything can happen, both to the Yankees and other teams out there, but it's not so farfetched to believe that we could get back some key components the Yankees might need for either now or the future. Keep in mind, Raul Ibanez continues to show how awful he could very well be for us, so come the trade deadline we could very well need a DH to replace him.

Closing Thoughts

There are definitely pros and cons to either keeping or trading Phelps and Warren. Personally I don't think they really have a place on the Yankees other than the lesser roles I mentioned, and as a baseball fan I just find it kind of sad. I was happy when I found out that Hector Noesi was traded because now he actually had a chance to shine on another team where he would not have the same pressure to succeed or get demoted like he would on the Yankees. Again, with Pettitte back and the Yankees nostalgia just itching to get him back up to the majors as a starter, I am a bit concerned about Hughes, Nova, and Pineda in the beginning of the year. I just don't feel that any young starter should not have a chance to learn and grow and on the Yankees, it really is a "WIN NOW AT ANY COST" mentality, so Phelps and Warren would probably have to come up and be Roy Halladay in order for the Yankees brass to give them any serious consideration. My guess is that the Yankees will keep one and trade the other this season. With Pettitte back, the Yankees really already have an abundance of pitching depth so they really do not need both Phelps and Warren. Which one is traded will remain to be seen. Honestly, I think everything regarding pitching is kinda up in the air right now. Except for CC and Kuroda, there are quite a few question marks with our pitching abundance. I think the coming weeks will be very interesting indeed.

However enough about what I think. What do you think, Pinstripe Alley?

Should Phelps and/or Warren be traded?

If so, when do you think the most ideal time to trade them would be?

If not, is there any pitcher you might trade in their place?

Which teams would you consider trading them to and for who?