A report from the Boston Globe points out the Yankees had scouts in the building when they beat Dan Haren earlier in the week.

There have been no indications that Arizona is willing to trade Haren or the Yankees are interested in acquiring him. With the struggles of A.J. Burnett and the innings limits of Phil Hughes, the rotation looks thinner than just a few weeks ago.

Ken Rosenthal believes Arizona won’t be able to keep both Edwin Jackson and Dan Haren in a deal since combined they make $20 million and there are reports the team is in cost cutting mode. One surprise from Rosenthal is his sources stating that Haren isn’t “at the top of anyone’s list” and is “just another name.” If that is the case, knowing how hard lined teams are with prospects, will Arizona have to give away Haren? If so, this is a clear opportunity for either local team to swoop in and buy low on someone that has top of the rotation stuff.

The Yankees are “in” the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, but only if the price drops to an acceptable level. If they offered a couple of second tier prospects to Arizona for Haren would they bite? Would Burnett’s struggles amp up their interest in aggressively pursuing a starter?

Of course, there is always the Mets and their need for a pitcher. Johan Santana may not be as bad as Burnett, but his inability to recover from offseason elbow surgery is a concern. The one thing that could derail this team in a competitive NL East is the starting rotation as many are waiting for midnight to strike on R.A. Dickey and Hisanori Takahashi. I believe Dickey is here to stay, but Takahashi is another story. Besides, the team could use the lefty out of the bullpen where he held opponents to a .681 OPS and struck out 11 per nine innings, almost double where he is at now.

I still think if Arizona trades one player it would be Haren, who is signed through 2013, versus Jackson who has just another year at just over $8 million.



Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

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Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, Cliff Lee, Dan Haren, Hisanori Takahashi, New York Mets, New York Yankees, R.A Dickey, Seattle Mariners