Yankees acquire Nick Swisher

jpz17

Starter
NEW YORK -- Before setting their sights on the rotation holes that are sure to dominate their offseason agenda, the Yankees on Thursday made an acquisition unrelated to their pitching staff. Just hours before they can begin signing free agents, the Bombers instead made a trade, acquiring power-hitting first baseman Nick Swisher from the White Sox for three players. "I know one thing about Nick Swisher from afar," general manager Brian Cashman said. "He's a very competitive player. He's a grinder. He plays at one level at all times."
Swisher, 27, came to New York in exchange for utility infielder Wilson Betemit and Minor League pitchers Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez. The Yankees also received Minor League reliever Kanekoa Texeira from the White Sox.
"We're excited with the addition of Nick Swisher," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said in a statement announcing the trade. "We feel he has a ton of upside. He's a patient switch-hitter, adds versatility at a number of defensive positions, including first base and the outfield, and will be a positive presence inside the clubhouse."
What attracted the Yankees to Swisher was the versatility that saw him play at least 18 games at all three outfield positions, and split the bulk of his time between first base and center field. With Johnny Damon likely to start most games in left field and Xavier Nady in right, Cashman said he envisioned Swisher playing at first base nearly every day.
Despite playing 70 games in center field last season, Swisher, whom Cashman called an "average" defensive center fielder, is not likely to see much time there next year. He will instead play first base and fill in at the corner outfield positions, where the Yankees consider Swisher a "plus defender."
"One of the reasons we were attracted to Nick," Cashman said, "is that he's got the flexibility, the versatility to play left, center, right, first. We obviously have a vacancy at first base, but the winter is early."
It originally seemed as if the Yankees would attempt to fill that void by throwing money at Mark Teixeira, far and away the top free-agent first baseman on the market. And even though Cashman said that the addition of Swisher wouldn't preclude him from pursuing Teixeira, it stands to reason that Girardi's lineup is now all but set heading into 2009.
Instead of spending money on a first baseman, the Yankees can now focus almost exclusively on pitching -- their top priority all along.


That's not to say that the Yankees acquired Swisher for free. Marquez ranked among the organization's top pitching prospects heading into 2009, and one of a select few capable of stepping in and helping the big club right away. Despite missing nearly two months last season with a right shoulder strain, Marquez produced an 8-8 record and a 4.47 ERA in 19 games split between Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Double-A Trenton.
They Yankees also dealt away Betemit, a utilityman who saw most of his playing time at the corner infield positions, and Nunez, a reliever who struck out 26 batters in 19 1/3 Double-A innings following a midseason trade.
The Yankees received Texeira, who was 6-3 last season with 21 saves and a 1.33 ERA in 51 relief appearances between Class A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham. Those numbers included 20 saves and a 0.93 ERA with Winston-Salem, and a scoreless-innings streak that hit 22 straight appearances before the 22-year-old's promotion.
Yet from a Yankees perspective, the most intriguing numbers are the 26 homers that Swisher, a former first-round Draft pick of the Athletics, has averaged over his four full big league seasons. As impressive as that is, a steep drop in average and on-base percentage -- he fell more than 40 points in both categories from 2007 to '08 -- made Swisher expendable, and New York offered enough to pry him out of Chicago.
Cashman was the first to admit the risk of acquiring a player who hit .219 overall last season and .197 from the left side, though he pointed to past seasons for justification. In 2007, Swisher hit .262 with 22 homers, following a career year that saw him hit .262 with 35 home runs in 2005. He has also averaged 93 walks over the past three seasons.
"The fact of the matter is he had his worst Major League season as an everyday player," Cashman said of 2008, "which probably put him in play for an acquisition."
The Yankees attempted to acquire Swisher during their search for a first baseman last winter, but they could not convince the Athletics, his employer at the time, to bite. Swisher instead went to the White Sox for three Minor Leaguers, and seemed out of play until his subpar season forced Chicago to look at other options.
Swisher's reputation as a positive clubhouse presence also intrigued the Yankees, as did his baseball pedigree -- his father, Steve, played nine seasons for the Cubs, Cardinals and Padres. Add that to the fact that Swisher is just entering the prime of his career, and the Bombers seem justified in pursuing a player wholly capable of approaching Jason Giambi's numbers over the past two seasons.
If nothing else, the acquisition means one less void for the Yankees to fill come Friday, when they can begin to negotiate contracts with free agents.
"It's early in the winter," Cashman said. "Our main focus is to try to improve our pitching staff, and that has not changed."

-MLB.com

I don't know about this move, it's not huge, not like he will be mvp, but he could be a solid backup, not like Yanks gave much up


NickSwisher.jpg
 

Paul1355

All Star
I wasn;t high on this move either but he is a switch hitter who can play multiple positions and he is better than Wilson Betemit. Swisher will get 200 at bats next year playing 1st base and the corner outfield spots.

ONE HUGE PROBLEM is that he is another Jason Giambi...meaning he sucks with runners in scoring position. His average is barely above .200 in any form of situational hitting meaning clutch hitting.

We have so much talent in the farm system so giving up that guy Marquez isn't a problem. Just that we could have gotten a better back up. I'd rather use Brett Gardner than Swisher...at least Gardner can steal 60 bases a year if he starts and is a good, fast fielder with C average hitting. Swisher is a D+ hitter who hasn't been good since his days in Oakland.
 

KBlack25

Starter
This is a fantastic trade. Swisher is a switch hitter which in the lineup the Yankees have is an absolutely critical amount of flexibility. In addition, he can play all three OF positions and 1B.

Last year Swisher lead all switch hitters in HRs and RBI. He's a fantastic fielder, which is important on this team. The Yankees already have a ton of power and hitting ability between Damon, Cano, Jeter and of course Rodriguez. It is likely Abreu will re-sign as well. Hopefully Posada and MAtsui will bounce back from injury. Giving up Wilson Betemit who added nothing to this team besides a servicable utility guy (who are a dime a dozen) for a guy who is a good fielder with decent power and can be a role player for this team is a fantastic trade.
 

Paul1355

All Star
This is a fantastic trade. Swisher is a switch hitter which in the lineup the Yankees have is an absolutely critical amount of flexibility. In addition, he can play all three OF positions and 1B.

Last year Swisher lead all switch hitters in HRs and RBI. He's a fantastic fielder, which is important on this team. The Yankees already have a ton of power and hitting ability between Damon, Cano, Jeter and of course Rodriguez. It is likely Abreu will re-sign as well. Hopefully Posada and MAtsui will bounce back from injury. Giving up Wilson Betemit who added nothing to this team besides a servicable utility guy (who are a dime a dozen) for a guy who is a good fielder with decent power and can be a role player for this team is a fantastic trade.

WHAT? lol

Swisher lead all switch hiters in HR's and RBI's....false. Let me explain. I agreed on everything else but here are the facts about Nick "has been" Swisher.

First off Chipper Jones, who played only 128 games, has 75 RBI's beating swisher for RBI's by a switch hitter. Also Lance Berkman beats Swisher in Hr's as a switch hitter with 29. It's okay, people think Swisher is what he was in Oakland, he isn't.

But this is the real problem. He is another Jason Giambi.

He had a batting average of .225 with RISP and .205 with runners on base. He hit great with no runners on base and when the runs didn't even matter. And he hit a lot of solo homeruns just like Giambi did.

People look at the HR's and RBI's and think that a person is good. Swisher is a choke artist in the clutch. For a backup it's a decent move. If Betemit started he would have popped over 20 hr's, that guy has power.
So it's not like Swisher really stands out as a great move.

Betemit was also a switch hitter and we traded him for Swisher. It was an equal trade with us also giving up a minor league prospect. Swisher can play outfield, thats why this move was done.
 

KBlack25

Starter
Wrong. If you listened to Brian Cashman, the Yankees GM, he said that they made the move for his flexibility in the OF and his ability to play first base. My friend who is a White Sox fan says Swisher is one of the best fielding first basemen in the league. I guarantee Swisher is the opening day starting 1B, and can thrive in the Yankee lineup. He's better than Betemit, that's for sure.

"Swisher, 27, batted .219 (109-for-497) with 86 runs, 21 doubles, 24 home runs, and 69 RBI in 153 games with the White Sox in 2008, leading all American League switch-hitters in home runs and ranking second in RBI." My apologies, he lead the AMERICAN LEAGUE for switch-hitter HRs. And was second in RBI.

The Yankees gave up a minor leaguer, but they also GOT a minor leaguer, a minor leaguer who had a 1.33 ERA in single A this year, and is only 22.

In addition, you guys can talk all you want about clutch hitting or whatever. The fact is clutch hitting is a non-existant anomaly. Any statistician who knows what they are talking about has shown that clutch hitting happens so rarely or with such little carry-over from year to year that it isn't even worth discussing. http://sabermetricresearch.blogspot.com/2008/07/clutch-hitting-why-do-some-studies-find.html

Any statistican that has found clutch hitting ability has found it in extremely small quantities.

Edit: In addition, even is Swisher IS another Giambi (even though Giambi is a lefty and Swisher is a switch hitter), it's not like the Yanks are paying Swish Giambi-money. Swish made 3.6 mil last year to Giambi's 23.6 mil. Seems like a bargain to me if they get the same guy for 3.6 that they used to get for 23.6.

Edit 2: Here's some more info on the minor leaguer the Yankees got: "Texeira, 22, was 6-3 with 21 saves and a 1.33 ERA in 51 combined relief appearances with Single-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham, ranking second among White Sox minor leaguers in saves. He was selected as a Carolina League mid- and postseason All-Star, posting a 3-1 record and a 0.93 ERA with Winston-Salem, while recording 20 saves in 23 opportunities. Over his final 22 appearances with the Single-A club (23.1IP), he did not allow an earned run and held opponents to a .176 batting average (15-for-85)."
 
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metrocard

Legend
Good post for the faggot.

Positives about Swisher
Good fielder
Only 27
Not expensive
Takes a lot of walks (97 in 06', 100 in 07, 86 in 08)
Averages around 150 games a season.

I want to see him bat 8th or maybe 7th, depends on well Cano comes back.

Negatives
Strikes out a lot
Terrible batting average at .240
 

Paul1355

All Star
Wrong. If you listened to Brian Cashman, the Yankees GM, he said that they made the move for his flexibility in the OF and his ability to play first base. My friend who is a White Sox fan says Swisher is one of the best fielding first basemen in the league. I guarantee Swisher is the opening day starting 1B, and can thrive in the Yankee lineup. He's better than Betemit, that's for sure.

"Swisher, 27, batted .219 (109-for-497) with 86 runs, 21 doubles, 24 home runs, and 69 RBI in 153 games with the White Sox in 2008, leading all American League switch-hitters in home runs and ranking second in RBI." My apologies, he lead the AMERICAN LEAGUE for switch-hitter HRs. And was second in RBI.

The Yankees gave up a minor leaguer, but they also GOT a minor leaguer, a minor leaguer who had a 1.33 ERA in single A this year, and is only 22.

In addition, you guys can talk all you want about clutch hitting or whatever. The fact is clutch hitting is a non-existant anomaly. Any statistician who knows what they are talking about has shown that clutch hitting happens so rarely or with such little carry-over from year to year that it isn't even worth discussing. http://sabermetricresearch.blogspot.com/2008/07/clutch-hitting-why-do-some-studies-find.html

Any statistican that has found clutch hitting ability has found it in extremely small quantities.

Edit: In addition, even is Swisher IS another Giambi (even though Giambi is a lefty and Swisher is a switch hitter), it's not like the Yanks are paying Swish Giambi-money. Swish made 3.6 mil last year to Giambi's 23.6 mil. Seems like a bargain to me if they get the same guy for 3.6 that they used to get for 23.6.

Edit 2: Here's some more info on the minor leaguer the Yankees got: "Texeira, 22, was 6-3 with 21 saves and a 1.33 ERA in 51 combined relief appearances with Single-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham, ranking second among White Sox minor leaguers in saves. He was selected as a Carolina League mid- and postseason All-Star, posting a 3-1 record and a 0.93 ERA with Winston-Salem, while recording 20 saves in 23 opportunities. Over his final 22 appearances with the Single-A club (23.1IP), he did not allow an earned run and held opponents to a .176 batting average (15-for-85)."

My arguement was that Nick Swisher is not a great player, and that he use to be a great player. He is a power hitter that chokes in the clutch. LOL hold on Kblack, clutch doesn't matter? Did you watch the Yankees this year? The Yankees blew so many games with RISP and Giambi was a huge part of that failure. Swisher is the same player, failure when the game is on the line.

When did you think up the idea that clutch stats don't matter? It makes all the difference, when you have runners on base, you have to drive them in. Guys like Swisher failed to do that too many times last year. You proved my point of "some" people just looking at the wrong stats. You can observe the Hr's and RBI's all you want but if the guy has a horrible batting average with RISP, then he might as well bat 8th in the order because the clutch hitters are the ones that teams pay big bucks for. And those are the guys that make a difference.

Starting at 1st? Not if we get Mark Texeira or if we start Cody Ransom at 1st base which is a 50/50 because Ransom has barely any at bats last year but has shown to have power as well.

The reason why i jumped on you is because the yankees don't need a power hitter that can't come through with RISP. They have plenty of guys like that. They need contact hitters that can come through with runners on. An example is when The Redsox should have won the ALCS againt the Rays, but they hit so bad with RISP that it forced them to lose.

Jhonny Nunez and Jeff Marquez were also thrown in this deal to go to the Whitesox for Kanekoa Texeira.

Nunez: fastball/slider pitcher with a 94 MPH sinker, in 2006 when he first came up with the Dodgers he struck out 56 batters in 57 innings.

Marquez:
In 2007, Marquez played for the Double-A Trenton Thunder and was an Eastern League midseason All-Star for the team that year. Marquez went 15-9 with a 3.65 ERA for the Thunder and was top in the Eastern League in numerous categories. He led the league with 15 wins, was tied with 27 starts, was tied for second in innings pitched (155 1/3), tied for third in complete games (2), and was tenth in ERA (3.65). (from Wikipedia)

So we traded Wilson Betemit...a switch power hitter just like Swisher, two pitchers were one showed to be pretty good his first minor league year in Nunez and Marquez was an all star pitcher in AA......for some top A pitcher.

Looks like the Sox got the better deal on this one.
 

jpz17

Starter
I saw Marquez in Scranton, he had good stuff... But I think this guy the Yankees got with Swisher could be good... He has good potential, a right handed reliever who destroyed A
 

KBlack25

Starter
I never said clutch hitting doesn't matter. I said it doesn't exist. Statistically the "clutch" statistic is too varied and too volatile to have any statistical reliance from year-to-year. Looking at "Mr. Clutch" David Ortiz's "clutch" statistics they vary too widely to have any sort of reliable pattern. Just because somebody is not clutch in one situation or even over the course of one season provides no reliable basis for the next.

Additionally: I think what the Yanks need is a good fielder, their offense is fine comparatively to every other team in the league. Defensively, they are not. Look at what Tampa did with phenomenal defense, none of their guys finished hitting over .300 I believe. THAT'S the importance of Swisher.
 
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Paul1355

All Star
I never said clutch hitting doesn't matter. I said it doesn't exist. Statistically the "clutch" statistic is too varied and too volatile to have any statistical reliance from year-to-year. Looking at "Mr. Clutch" David Ortiz's "clutch" statistics they vary too widely to have any sort of reliable pattern. Just because somebody is not clutch in one situation or even over the course of one season provides no reliable basis for the next.

Additionally: I think what the Yanks need is a good fielder, their offense is fine comparatively to every other team in the league. Defensively, they are not. Look at what Tampa did with phenomenal defense, none of their guys finished hitting over .300 I believe. THAT'S the importance of Swisher.

Yea Tampba didn't hit over .300 but how about with RISP?
 

Akamu

The King
The Yankees traded for Nick Swisher for flexibility purposes.

If they are not able to obtain Mark Teixeira then they will have Swisher play first, or if they happen to get Tex and need someone to fill an out field position then Swisher is a decently safe bet.

-His average is mediocre but posses that home run power.
-He's a Switch Hitter.
-He can play all outfield positions.
-Plays first base
.

I think the trade was decent, we lost Wilson Betemit but that only means that this is a gain Lol-
 

th3realicon

Rotation player
I think we got the best out of this deal. Betemit was a worthless piece of trash. Seriously we got Swisher at that price only because he had a down year. I expect him to be some sort of Scot Brosius. He too got traded to NY when he was struggling and turned out to be a steal.

Nick will be fine, as far as he gets rid of that hideous goattie. lol
 

jpz17

Starter
I'm switching sides on this deal.. Bad deal now.. Marquez is good Nunez is good... Betemit was an expiring contract. Bad move, but not terrible
 
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