Aug
14
Olney: Igawa sticking around Scranton
ByWith the Yanks and Padres facing a 2 p.m. deadline to complete a deal, Buster Olney is reporting that the Yanks plan to withdraw the disappointing Kei Igawa from waivers. While most talent evaluators feel Igawa won’t succeed in the AL and is a better fit for a team like the Padres and a park like Petco, the Yanks aren’t quite yet ready to give up on a pitcher in which they invested $26 million in posting fees. I think the Yanks should just cut their losses, but so be it as long as Igawa doesn’t get starts next year over Ian Kennedy or Joba Chamberlain.
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While my initial reaction from reading that SD was interested in Igawa was excitement, i’m also not sad to see him staying in Scranton. His salary is so low that even if he continues to struggle in a spot start next year someone is going to take a flyer on him. This also gives him another year to get acclimated with the US, learn a different pitching style and maybe tweak some things in the offseason (like learning to throw low in the zone so every ball isn’t a fly ball). Right now we would be dealing him at the ultimate low point
It’s not an issue of the $26M per se, it’s the fact that he’s still a relative bargain at $4M per season. The $26M is a sunk cost and the Yankees know that. But he still has a chance to be an ok 5th starter, which these days is worth much more than $4M.
The way I see it, they don’t have any glaring needs for this year that the Padres could fill, at least in exchange for Igawa. They’re better off seeing if he does alright in spring training next season, and trying to trade him when they are allowed to negotiate with more than one team.
We know we can never have enough starting pitching. Even if he’s our 7th starter next season, it’s worth the gamble to hold on to him for a few months and either trade him or in the worst case, use him because of injuries to the rotation.
Just get rid of him. If it is a matter of economics, which it should not be, let him pitch in Scranton and learn how to place first base or get a room with Ankiel and learn his tricks.