Yankees Trade Sheffield to Tigers for Prospects

The second trade of the 2006-07 off-season generated a little more buzz than the first, with the New York Yankees shipping disgruntled outfielder Gary Sheffield to Detroit for three minor leaguers. This is an intriguing deal on many levels, and one that potentially solves problems for both clubs.

Sheffield, who turns 38 next week, missed most of 2006 due to injury and hit just .298/.355/.450 in 39 games. Prior to last season, he’d had a slugging percentage higher than .500 in eight straight seasons. He also walked more than he struck out every year from 1994 to 2005.

Odd as it may seem, with a career line of .297/.398/.525, and just 45 homers shy of the magical 500 mark, Sheffield is positioning himself as a legitimate candidate for the Hall of Fame. And although he clearly is in decline, he remains quite productive when healthy. Think of Sheffield now as, say, you thought of Frank Thomas last winter.

Seems to me the key for the Tigers lies in finding a way to keep Sheffield happy. I have no idea what the recipe for that might be, but if they can concoct one, they’ll have a mighty fine hitter on their hands.

On the other side of the coin, the Yankees get prospects (isn’t it usually the other way around?). Right-hander Humberto Sanchez, thought to be near-major-league-ready, is the prize in this trade. Two other right-handers, Kevin Whelan and Anthony Claggett, also come to New York in the deal. Both are 22 years old and pitched in A-ball last year.

Here’s what others are saying:

• Detroit Tigers Weblog — Billfer is lukewarm: “It is a little more than I would have liked to see the Tigers give up for Sheffield given his age, but it isn’t unreasonable.”
• Tiger Tales — Lee Panas shares the opinion that the Tigers gave up a lot for an aging hitter, but overall thinks it’s a risk worth taking.
• Baseball Think Factory — Chris Dial sees this trade as making sense for both teams, although he wonders why the Tigers didn’t make a run at free agents J.D. Drew or Carlos Lee instead.
• Baseball America — Chris Kline covers the prospects. He notes that Sanchez’ fastball tops out at 97 mph, but cites injuries and weight issues as potential downsides.

Once again, we have a trade that probably helps both teams. C’mon, can’t we have a ripoff deal here? Maybe the Reds and Nationals can work something out — I’m thinking Brian Schneider for Adam Dunn. Let’s pick it up, folks; this is boring.