WHY I WANT CHAD BILLINGSLEY IN PINSTRIPES

Here at BYB, we've thrown around a lot of trade and free agent candidates for a potential starting pitcher. Not all of them are top choices, but the ideas behind them are smart, even if some of you think they'll never happen. Bottom line, it's good to look at all the options.One option that I like is Chad Billingsley of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Although Billingsley signed a new 3-year contract extension with the Dodgers last May, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports suggests that Billingsley could be on the move. Read about it HERE.

Time will tell if the Dodgers are willing to part ways with Billingsley, but if they do, he could be a pretty decent option as a mid-rotation guy for the New York Yankees. He's pretty durable, as he's pitched at least 188 innings in each of the last four seasons for the Dodgers. And in that four year span his numbers look like this:

2008-2011:

131 games, 127 starts, 51-43, 3.73 ERA, 776.2 innings, 1.34 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 3.7 BB/9

At 27 years old, Billingsley could be just hitting his prime. Sure, it will be a big transition from the National League West to the American League East, but maybe he can make the adjustment. To me, none of the B's (Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances) or Jesus Montero should be involved in the trade. I'm not a GM, but I wouldn't give up any of those guys for him, maybe Austin Romine and some other fillers will do. If the Yankees miss on some of their top starting pitching plans, they could target Billingsley at the right price.




--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




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