The New York Yankees have acquired 22-year old righty starting pitcher Michael Pineda and 19-year old righty starting pitcher Jose Campos from the Mariners for 22-year old righty swinging C/DH Jesus Montero and 24-year old righty reliever/starter Hector Noesi. The Yankees were getting a little antsy as far as starting pitching went with a little more than a month before spring training opened, which led to this trade. Michael Pineda made the All-Star team as a rookie last year and he was also #5 in the voting for the A.L. Rookie of the Year Award. He pitched in 28 games (all starts) for the Mariners last year and he was 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He whiffed 173 batters in 171 innings while only giving up 133 hits as he was dominating last year. Pineda will have the best arm of ANY pitcher on the Yankees’ staff in 2012 as he brings no-hitter stuff to the mound quite a bit. Fellow righty starter Jose Campos won’t be ready for prime time for a while. He pitched in 14 games (all starts) in A-ball last year and he was 5-5 with a 2.32 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. Campos has now pitched in 40 games (30 starts) in his first three years in the minors and he is 14-10 with 1 save, a 3.26 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.

The Yankees didn’t want to trade Jesus Montero, but they have depth at catcher in the organization and they can just go throw some cash to hire a new DH. Montero came into last season as the Yankees’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America. He played in 18 games for the Yankees in his first taste of the majors last year and he was 20 for 61 (.328 avg, .996 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 4 homers and 12 RBIs. He also played in 109 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 121 of 420 (.288 avg, .814 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 18 homers and 67 RBIs. Hector Noesi was another pitcher that the Yankees’ really liked. He pitched in 30 games (2 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 2-2 with a 4.47 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP.

In the end, the Yankees made a pure baseball trade here as it had absolutely nothing to do with money, which is kind of refreshing. I think this deal will help both teams as the Yankees needed help in the starting rotation while the Mariners are desperate for hitting.

The New York Yankees have signed 36-year old righty starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda to a 1-year, $10 million dollar deal. Kuroda pitched in 32 games (all starts) for the Los Angeles Dodgers last year and he was 13-16 with a 3.07 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He has now pitched in 115 games (114 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 41-46 with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. This was a good move for the Yankees as Kuroda has been a solid pitcher in the majors so far in his career. He will be facing tougher lineups in the A.L. and in a hitter’s park for half of his games….in Yankee Stadium. But, I think he is going to win a lot of games with the Yankees’ offense and bullpen backing him up in 2012. I love this move for the Yankees.