As the days go on, it appears that the end of Brian Fuentes’ time with
the Colorado Rockies is approaching sooner and sooner and many teams have
expressed interest in the lefty reliever.  According to espn.com’s MLB
Rumor Central, the  teams that are interested are the Angels, Cardinals, Cubs,
Athletics, Red Sox, Mets, Marlins, Phillies, Rays, and Yankees.

Adding Fuentes to any team’s bullpen would instantly improve their
pitching.  Fuentes has a 3.15 ERA, which is considered a little high
for a closer, but is a very good number when you take into
consideration all the games he pitches in Coors Field.

Talented lefty relievers is a rare commodity to come across.  In fact,
there are only two lefty closers in the top 10 list of saves (George
Sherrill and Billy Wagner).  A south paw reliever is extremely
beneficial to bullpen’s due to their scarcity.

The Rockies have expressed their strong interest in acquiring Yankee
pitcher Ian Kennedy but the Yankees have constantly stated that they
aren’t going to deal him.  This a big mistake.  The Yankees are holding
on to Kennedy like he’s an All-Star pitcher.  Well guess what, he’s
not.  Kennedy is 0-3 this season with a 7.41 ERA.  What are the Yankees
thinking?

Sure the Yankees are changing their ways by building up their farm
system and sure Kennedy is a top prospect who has a good chance of
being a good pitcher, but the fact of the matter is, the Yankees can’t
wait for that time to come.  One key piece they’re missing on the team is a
strong set-up man.

They can deal him to the Rockies for Fuentes then sign C.C. Sabathia in
the off-season.  Sabathia is a free agent after this year and there is
no way the Brewers can afford him.  And there is no doubt in my mind that Sabathia will be wearing Yankee pinstripes next season because no matter what, they will top every other team’s offers.  Honestly, they should just hand him a blank check.

It doesn’t appear that Kennedy will make another appearance for the
Yankees this season, so what is the reason they won’t trade him?  What
Yankee fan would seriously rather have Kennedy on the team, who hasn’t
done anything yet, instead of Sabathia, who is a proven dominant
pitcher and last year’s AL Cy Young winner?

The Yankees know they made a huge mistake by passing on Johan Santana;
there’s no way they can make the same mistake of passing on another ace
again.

Let’s just say the Yankees do in fact sign Sabathia this off-season. 
If they do, their 2009 starting rotation would look like this:
1. Sabathia
2. Wang
3. Chamberlain
4. Mussina (he has earned a new contract)
5. Hughes

Sounds pretty good to me.  Notice how Kennedy doesn’t fit into the
rotation.  Now  I ask you, would you rather have Kennedy serve as a 6th
pitcher and only start occasionally with Kyle Farnsworth and LaTroy
Hawkins as the set-up men, or have no Kennedy and have Fuentes and the
set-up man?  If you ask me, there is no debate.

People, especially those in the front office of the Yankees, feel that
Kennedy is so important to hold on to because he is so young.  Sure
youth is very important, but it’s not a good excuse to not want to
improve a pitching staff.  Come to think about it, the fact that
Kennedy is 23 years old is the only reason the Yankees are so attracted to him.  He doesn’t have a good resume this year and is not ready to be a MLB pitcher.  The numbers that Fuentes could put up in the next few years would be way more beneficial than the lack of numbers Kennedy puts up while the Yankees wait for him to become the pitcher they hoped he would be.

To make a long story short, the Yankees must trade Kennedy for Fuentes.  Kennedy isn’t playing now so the Yankees don’t need him.  Acquiring Fuentes would be a huge transaction, a transaction that could make the difference in the Yankees playing in October versus watching the playoffs on TV.