(Editor's Note: This post was written by Scooter Blake, one of our newer writer's from before renovation.)
With the trade deadline fast approaching, and in lieu of my (our) lingering disappointment about not getting Dan Haren or Cliff Lee, I want to quickly touch on the topic of a Mr. Adam Dunn for the Yankee fans out there.
For those of you unfamiliar with the man that, in my circle, is commonly referred to as The Masher, let me enlighten you.
He averages exactly 40 home runs and 98 RBI's a year. And though his .251 career batting average (to go along with over 150+ strikeouts a year) isn't fun to look at, I'll gladly take that trade off when he's getting on base at a .382 clip courtesy of 112 walks per year.
He's batting .275 in 2010, with an OPS of .915, while hitting in between the likes of Josh Willingham and Ryan Zimmerman. To put that into perspective, Alex Rodriguez is also batting exactly .275 this year, though his OPS sits at .836 even though he's sandwiched between a superior combo of 3-5 hitters in Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira. Interesting.
Currently, the White Sox look to be the front runners in the Dunn sweepstakes, but may not want to part with Dan Hudson or Gordon Beckham to get The Masher. The Giants and the Angels have also been linked to Dunn but “insiders” believe that neither of the boys on the west coast are in on Dunn enough to involve their bigger chips in a deal with Washington. The Rays have also kicked the tires but apparently didn't like the asking price.
My case for Adam Dunn rests on a few different facts.
First, and probably most obvious when talking about a power hitter from the left side, the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium. Dunn already has 23 home runs on the season to go with 27 doubles. Can you imagine the damage this cat could do at The Stadium? I can and it's scares me. There's no doubt that a handful of those doubles Dunn has been hitting would turn into homers if he comes to New York.
Secondly, Adam Dunn is slugging .589 off of right handed pitchers. That's better than Ryan Howard, Adrian Gonzalez, Robinson Cano AND Mark Teixeira. He'd also provide some serious protection to Robinson Cano who has already been intentionally walked 11 times this season. To put it simply, he's the ideal 6 hitter for us.
And last, but certainly not least, it would send yet another message to the rest of the contenders out there in the baseball world. We are here to defend our title. Lee and Haren slipped through our fingers but a premiere power hitter shall not.
I won't begin to try and examine who we'd send over to Washington, should a deal get done, because Brian Cashman's views on how he values Jesus Montero, Joba Chamberlain and Ivan Nova are beyond my knowledge. What I will do though is say that IF we do the right thing and bring Adam Dunn to the Bronx, we've GUARANTEED ourselves the comfort of knowing we will have the best offense in the game going down the stretch and into the playoffs. Bar none.
That fact alone is worth me losing sleep the next few nights, worrying if Cashman has something up his sleeve for The Masher. Let's cross our fingers.
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