WHY YOU WANT GIO GONZALEZ IN A TRADE

So, yes, we went for it here at Bleeding Yankee Blue and while the poll wasn’t exactly fair, we had to ask WHICH PITCHER WOULD YOU TRADE FOR? Out of the 161 that voted in this poll, 50 of you, that’s 31% said we needed to get lefty stud Gio Gonzalez. I love where your head's at.

Let’s face facts, with grumblings coming from Cashman recently on how Freddy Garcia may be the only guy we may get this winter to offer stability to our rotation, read HERE, it’s a bit depressing, especially if you’re a Yankee fan looking for more like we have for so many years. Things changed last year and while getting older, cheaper pitchers may help the Yankees in the short term, the long term like the playoffs and World Series, well, that needs to be the goal...winning it all. You need a team to flow together all year long and that means the rotation too. Needless to say, in our poll, you guys chose Gio (50), followed by James Shields (39) and then Matt Garza (30) and Dan Haren (21). Check out the poll below:

I’m sure if we told Gio that, he’d be flattered. Billy Beane on the other hand would have something to say about that. For instance, who would we have to give up? Beane would clearly want Jesus Montero and Manny Baneulos and that’s just not happening. Maybe he’d want Dellin Betances. Now, let’s be honest, I love the kid, but if you trade Betances, you’re getting a Major League Pitcher now in Gio for a minor leaguer that had a taste of major league experience. My thinking is, if the Athletics want Betances, we need to accept it.

Then Beane’s going to want another kid, and he’ll insist on Montero. Cashman needs to do his best shell game... no easy task when dealing with Beane, but he needs to suggest Austin Romine. I hate the idea, but our catching talent is deep and losing one of those guys won’t be the end of the world. If Beane accepts Romine, that’s great; if not, he may want Gary Sanchez. I draw the line… Sanchez is supposed to be better than Romine and we need alittle more time to see if that’s true.

So say Beane’s fine with Dellin Betances and Austin Romine so far, I’m ok with that. But Beane won’t be done yet. He thinks the world of Gonzalez and he’s going to want someone else. No doubt we can throw in a low level prospect, someone that he can develop over time. This kind of thing happens all the time and I think it should happen again here.

Would you stop there? I would, but Beane won’t and he’s going to want 1 more piece to the puzzle... he’s going to want a major league ready player, not a superstar, but someone MLB ready. Someone who’s been on the level for a few years and knows the day in and day out routine. Who would you give up? They clearly can’t be a top major leaguer, not with a package of Betances, Romine and a low level prospect, but who? Brett Gardner? Nick Swisher? Hell, would it be Eduardo Nunez? Would it be another minor league pitching sensation?

There are a thousand trade scenarios. Who would you pick to finalize a Gio Gonzalez deal or would you leave it at Betances, Romine and a low level prospect? Would it be another combination? If so, who? Comment below and if I get a lot of good ideas, I'll write about it and include your name in our next post. Tell me what you think we should do, I’d love to hear it.

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