It's been rumored for a while, but today the Yankees acquired Nick Swisher from the White Sox, along with minor league pitcher Kanekoa Texeira in exchange, reportedly, for righty Jeff Marquez and some others who have not yet been named yet.
Jon Heyman reported on his regular radio spot on WFAN that the Yankees acquired Swisher mainly to play first base. This would mean that signing free agent Mark Teixeira would be pretty much out the window. But the Yankees do have options, as they could put Swisher in the position he played last season mostly, center field, in place of the Brett Gardner/Melky Cabrera tandem if the Yanks decided they had some money left for Teixeira after their pursuit of CC Sabathia. Swisher could also play right field if Bobby Abreu leaves via free agency.
Whichever hole Swisher fills in the field, the Yanks most likely acquired him to be the solid on-base guy he was in Oakland in 2006 and 2007. He had a horrid season getting on base with Chicago last season, but it was more his actual hitting than his batting eye that suffered, as he still waked 82 times last season. Swisher should see more pitches to hit batting behind Alex Rodriguez, so this is a very good get for the Yankees.
For the White Sox, this seems to be the beginning of a very interesting off-season for the A.L. Central champs, as now Swisher's gone, and the rumors continue to swirl around guys like Javier Vazquez, Jermaine Dye, and Bobby Jenks. There could be more turnover than you could ever imagine for a division champion.
The White Sox Dismantling Begins: Nick Swisher is a New York Yankee originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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