Yankees Acquire Marte and Nady from Pirates for Prospects

On July 25^th the New York Yankees made their first move and step towards making a run this year by acquiring Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from the Pittsburgh Pirates for right handed relief pitcher Ross Ohlendorf and 3 minor leaguers including highly touted outfield prospect, Jose Tabata.

I have to admit I was a little shocked to see that the Pirates dealt Nady and Marte in the same trade. Marte was a big bargaining chip of the buc's and initially the Yankees had no interest in outfielder Xavier Nady. With Hideki Matsui out for most likely the remainder of the year with season ending knee surgery, the Yankees needed somebody to fill the whole in left field. Brett Gardner was playing in left field for the injured Matsui, he played in 17 games batting a dismal .153 with 7 RBI and 5 stolen bases. It was clear the Yankees needed more production from everybody including their left fielder. Gardner was optioned to the Yankees AAA team in Scranton Wilkes-Barre after the trade. I'm not taking anything away from the rookie left fielder but he just wasn't cutting it for the Yankees in left field, there's no doubt that the guy can flat out fly down the line, he's tried to lay down a bunt for a hit several times and sometimes succeeded, he just needs some more time in the minors before coming back up to the show.

Xavier Nady is going to fit in well in left field for the Yankees. Nady is currently in his best season batting .330 with 13 home runs, 57 RBI's and 51 runs scored. The 30 year old is currently in his 7^th season in the majors and has never played in the American League.

Left handed reliever Damaso Marte is currently in his 10^th season in the Major Leagues. Did you hear that? I said a left handed reliever playing for the Yankees. While the Yankees bullpen is doing the job lately, it has been a big concern that the Yankees have no body in the bullpen that can take away that lefty righty advantage. The Yankees needed a lefty badly and they finally went out and got one. When the Yank's collide with the Bo-sox, someone's going to need to pitch to big papi David Ortiz. This year for the Pirates, Marte is 4-0 with a 3.45 ERA, 48 K's and 5 saves in 47 appearances. Marte is the one big pieces the Yankees need in their bullpen, that piece is someone to keep the score the same until the ball finds its' way into Mariano Rivera's hands. The new weapon for Joe Girardi will surely get lots of innings and will be a big important part of the Yankees bullpen.

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman finally pulled the trigger on this one and brought in 2 guys that the Yankees organization could really use in Marte and Girardi. The former Pirates duo will impact the club instantly and hopefully help the Yankees to another division title.