The Yankees Are Scouting The Cubs?

Considering that there are three weeks before the July 31 Trade Deadline, teams usually spend the first week or two in July scouting other teams. That does not mean that those teams have interest in any particular player on the team they are scouting, but just to send reports back to the general manager. From there the general manager along with his top scouts will go through the team reports and determine what players fit their area of need. The New York Yankees throughout the entire season have been believed to be scouting the Cubs. Originally, it was believed that the Yankees were looking to acquire Carlos Zambrano or Ryan Dempster to bolster their rotation. But it appears the Yankees have little to no interest in either one of those pitchers. Instead, the Yankees may have interest in three other players on the Cubs roster.

Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago reports that the Yankees may have some interest in relief pitcher John Grabow, third baseman Aramis Ramirez, and left fielder Alfonso Soriano. Levine notes that the Yankees are going to need add some reinforcements before the deadline if they intend to compete with the Boston Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays. Improving the pitching staff appears to be the top priority for the Yankees as the deadline nears. A veteran pitcher like Grabow, could be what the Yankees are looking for. Though it should also be noted that the Yankees also have an interest in Nationals reliever Sean Burnett, who appeared in tonight’s game against the Cubs.

If ESPN Chicago was not at the top of the website, sometimes you would think that Levine writes for ESPN New York. For whatever reason, Levine seems to always speculate that the Cubs could make a trade with the Yankees involving one of their high priced players. This time those players are Ramirez and Soriano, instead of Zambrano. Though unlike the Zambrano rumors, the latest batch of rumors from Levine regarding Soriano and Ramirez appear to be more speculation on Levine’s part instead of actual fact.

The Yankees are one the league’s top run producing offenses this season, and there does not appear to be a drastic need to improve their offense. Even though Levine opines that the Yankees would want to improve their offense to keep pace with the Red Sox, the Yanks are already right up there with the Red Sox as far as producing the most runs of any other team in the league. So I find it hard to imagine that the Yankees would be willing to trade for Ramirez or Soriano, no matter how much the Cubs are willing to absorb from each of their contracts.

As much as I would like to see the Cubs trade both Ramirez and Soriano, it will be difficult for general manager Jim Hendry to move the pair of veterans considering their contract statuses.