Did you know fishing is huge in Arizona? I sure didn’t. But apparently it is, at least in March. To wit, Ken Rosenthal’s lead this morning (via FoxSports.com):
Should Mariners Consider Trading Felix Hernandez?
If I'm Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik, I'm calling my Yankees counterpart, Brian Cashman, and saying, "Sure, I'll talk about Felix Hernandez."
I can think of two players in major-league history who should not have been talked about: Babe Ruth in the 1920s and Cal Ripken in the later 1990s. Otherwise, baseball men should at least talk about anyone.
Is Felix Hernandez untradeable? Gosh, I would sure hope not. What if the Yankees offered Phil Hughes and Jesus Montero? Don't you have to think real hard and then pull the trigger on that one?
Of course, the Yankees aren’t likely to offer Hughes in a deal, because the whole point of trading for Hernandez is to add a really good starter to your rotation, and removing a really good (and cheap) starter at the same time wouldn’t be worth the trouble.
Anyway, Rosenthal does throw a bunch of names at the wall: Montero (the Yankees' No. 1 prospect); MLB-ready starter Ivan Nova; Manny Buelos or Dellin Betances, perhaps the Yankees' two best pitching prospects; and a couple of lesser, but still interesting prospects.
Five for one.
Do you make that deal if you're Jack Zduriencik?
I think you have seriously consider it, with two key questions in mind:
One, is Felix Hernandez going to be a Mariner after 2014? Because if he’s not and you’re likely to trade him before his contract expires that year, you might as well get out while the getting’s particularly good. Hernandez will never be more valuable to another club than he is right now.
Two, is Jesus Montero going to be a catcher for five or six seasons in the major leagues? There are people who think he’ll soon shift to a less-demanding position. Like first base, or peanut vendor. There are people who think Montero’s defense will be good enough, at least for a while.
Jack Zduriencik is a scout from way back. This is his time to shine, man. Minor-league statistics are important, especially for guys like Montero and Nova with some Triple-A time. But if you’re thinking about trading for five players who haven’t made their bones in the bigs yet, you have to fall back on some things that just can’t (or haven’t been) measured.
I don’t believe ownership would allow Zduriencik to trade Felix Hernandez. But any general manager worth his salt should relish the chance to at least ponder, long and hard, such a thing.
For more on this story, visit SB Nation’s Lookout Landing.
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