Deals leave Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees reaching for antacid: Major League Baseball Insider

Deals leave Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees reaching for antacid: Major League Baseball Insider

Time has proved that the Indians were burned to a crisp in the Cliff Lee trade. The Yankees, to date, have merely had their fingers singed in the acquisition of Michael Pineda from Seattle. Burned is burned, but the pain comes in degrees.

During the winter, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman sent Jesus Montero, a promising young hitter and so-so catcher, to Seattle for Pineda, a monster starting pitcher. On the same day, Cashman signed free-agent right-hander Hiroki Kuroda. It looked as if New York's fragile starting rotation had been given a shot of spinach.

Last week, it was announced that Pineda, who hasn't thrown a pitch for the Yankees in the regular season, will miss the year with a torn labrum in his right shoulder.
For perspective, there are Indians fans still complaining about the return their team received when Lee was traded to the Phillies in 2009 for Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, Lou Marson and Jason Knapp a year after he won the American League Cy Young Award. Carrasco will miss most, if not all, of this year following Tommy John surgery. Donald and Marson are reserve big leaguers, while Knapp's career could be over.

Knapp, the key to the deal from the Indians' perspective, has already had two operations on his right shoulder since the trade. He didn't pitch last year and he may not pitch again. The Indians expected him to come to spring training in February ready to go, but he's been doing his rehab work in New York under Dr. David Altchek, who performed last year's surgery.

The 6-5, 242-pound Knapp won't be 22 until Aug. 31, but he has yet to advance past Class A ball. The chances of him reviving his career don't look good.

So while Yankees fans are grumbling that Cashman received damaged goods in Pineda, imagine what they'd be saying if they had to deal with the returns for Lee?

Cashman doesn't think Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik slipped him a mickey.
Pineda went through a physical, including an MRI exam, right after the trade and passed. When his velocity dropped in spring training, he had an MRI exam and no tear in the labrum was found.
The tear was discovered last weekend, when Pineda cut short a rehab start because of pain in his shoulder.

The Indians couldn't say the same about Knapp. They made the deal knowing that Knapp was on the disabled list with biceps tendinitis. Knapp made four starts at Class A Lake County after the trade before he needed his first operation.

No one with the Indians ever publicly said the Phillies stiffed them, but the relationship between the two teams has cooled considerably.

Cashman has been the Yankees' GM for 15 years. He knows what awaits him.
"This is a massive decision gone wrong right now. So all scrutiny is fair," he told
What about Pineda being damaged goods?

"How can you not ask a question like that?" Cashman said. "It's a fair question, but I can tell you, we did everything possible to be sure Michael Pineda was healthy."
The two trades share a common thread. After the Indians traded Lee to the Phillies, Philadelphia shipped him to Seattle after reaching its second straight World Series so it could have enough money to work a deal for Roy Halladay.

When the Mariners faded in 2010, they put Lee on the market. Cashman thought he had a deal in place for Lee, but at the last minute, Zduriencik sent Lee to Texas. Montero was a key part of the package the Yankees were offering, but Zduriencik liked Texas first baseman Justin Smoak more.
After Lee helped the Rangers reach the World Series in 2010, he became a free agent. He turned down a bigger offer from the Yankees to return to the Phillies.

Pineda, 23, went 9-10 last year with a 3.74 ERA in 28 starts for the Mariners. If all goes well, he's expected to pitch for the Yankees sometime next year.

Carrasco could rejoin the Indians sometime late this year. Donald and Marson are decent spare parts. Knapp, however, will probably never make it to the big leagues with the Indians.
All trades are built on risk. When pitchers are the key components, the risk multiplies because anything can happen.