With Cliff Lee already traded to the Phillies, and Roy Halladay most likely off the table, Jarrod Washburn becomes the Yankees No. 1 target for a starter. Here’s the latest from Jon Heyman and Buster Olney (via MLBTR).
11:05 p.m: Executives from three teams that have spoken with the Mariners tell ESPN.com's Buster Olney that they get the sense the Mariners won't move Washburn. The Mariners made a request earlier today, without asking for Hughes or Chamberlain, but the two sides haven't spoken since.
10:33 p.m: Heyman says the Yankees and Mariners are now "talking Washburn." The Yankees won't part with Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Austin Jackson, Austin Romine or Jesus Montero, but with those exceptions, Heyman says the M's have their pick of Yankees prospects.
The last parts of both reports are almost conflicting, because Heyman says the “M’s have their pick of Yankees prospects,” while Olney says “the two sides haven’t spoken since (earlier in the day).”
I would hope the Yankees would be able to acquire Washburn without the prospects mentioned by Heyman, but at this point a deal seems unlikely to me. Why? Because the Mariners traded for Ian Snell and Jack Wilson on Wednesday, so it seems they aren’t sellers anymore.
If Snell and Washburn are now off the Yankees’ radar, that leaves starter Brian Bannister and Scott Downs as the best bets to join the team. According to Olney, the Royals and Yankees talked about Bannister but ran into trouble with money issues. Ken Davidoff reports that the Blue Jays increased their scouting of Yankees’ prospects, possibly having something to do with a deal for Downs.
