The Yankees made a bold trade this offseason that was hard, but necessary at the time as they tried to both improve their rotation and plan for the future. However, a shoulder injury to Michael Pineda has made it a deal that the Yankees are likely to ultimately regret.
The fact that the injury occurred so soon after the trade has lead some Yankees fans wonder whether Mariner’s GM Jack Zduriencik sold the Yankees damaged. That isn’t likely though as Brian Cashman pointed out, the Yankees did extensive physicals on Pineda before the trade was made official and even gave him a MRI on his shoulder.
Still, Ken Davidoff of the NY Post caught up with Zduriencik, who is in town for the weekend, and asked him about the trade.
“Pitchers get hurt. There’s no way to get around that,” Zduriencik told Davidoff. “That’s just the way it is. It’s the nature of the business. You’ve got to have them to win.
“… I feel bad for Brian. I feel very bad for the Yankees. I wish this thing would’ve been a little different. But again, the fact that [Pineda] is so young, the fact that he’s strong, he should bounce back from this. They’re just going to have to wait a little bit for their rewards.”
It might be tough to hear, but Zduriencik is absolutely, 100 percent right. Pitchers are risky. It’s why some levelheaded fans questioned a good trade even from the start. Jesus Montero didn’t have a clear position, but there is a good chance that he eventually fulfills his potential at the plate. With Pineda – not only did he have to fulfill his potential, but he had to stay healthy to do it which is something that he obviously wasn’t able to do.
It’s important not to blame Zduriencik though. This wasn’t his fault, it was just a bad turn of events. The Yankees knew they were taking a risk but made the trade anyway because of the high cost of pitching and the fact that they had been trying for years now to upgrade the rotation in a similar way with no luck.
We don’t know how this deal will end up. Pineda could return in a year or two and be effective and Montero might end up just a DH. The reality is though that the Yankees are likely to regret this for a long time. It happened, it’s part of the game. Now Yankees fans just need to hope that Pineda doesn’t end up like most pitchers who have had shoulder surgery.
Related Stories
- April 26, 2012 -- Cashman: I still make the Pineda trade 10 times out of 10
- April 25, 2012 -- The Yankee beat: Pineda trade, Yu Darvish, & the bullpen
- April 3, 2012 -- Montero hit in face with a pitch
- March 31, 2012 -- In hindsight Pineda trade was not necessary
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May 12, 2012
