New York Yankees fans are freaking out after trading struggling slugger Mike Ford to the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Rays have a habit or turning other teams’ trash into treasure. Does that mean they hit on every trade? No, not so much. Not every team is the Pittsburgh Pirates, dealing Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow for Chris Archer.
Brian Cashman has more sense than to trade anything valuable in-division, but the Rays seem to think Ford has something left in the tank. Ford is hitting just .133 on the season with the Yankees, with eight hits in 60 at-bats. At his best, he can provide some power from the left side.
So, how will the Rays employ Ford? It’s unlikely they’ll turn a Ford into a Ferrari, but they can hit him against righties, where he has a better chance at making contact.
MLB news: Yankees fans afraid of what Mike Ford will become in Tampa
Trading within the division is rarely a good idea. Cashman and every good general manager needs this, and the fact the Yankees merely acquired cash and a player to be named later isn’t a great look.
Do the New York Yankees really have money problems? If so, couldn’t they have dealt him…literally anywhere else outside of Boston and Tampa?
There were so many more, I assure you.
The Yankees likely won’t come to regret trading Ford. The odds are in their favor, given his relatively mediocre big-league career so far.
But why take the chance? Sure, New York traded Mike Tauchman…to the Giants. In all likelihood, that won’t come back to bite them.
However, if Ford hits one home run against the Bronx Bombers, that’s one too many.