Ubaldo: Is he worth the young guns?

As many of you know, Ubaldo Jimenez was recently "put on the market" by the Rockies. The Rockies claim to be seeking four players, preferably two "blue chip" prospects, an additional prospect, and a Major League ready player that the Rockies could immediately plug in. The Yankees are one of the prime candidates to offer this kind of talent. Yet, this wouldn't come without emptying a large part of the farm system.

Yesterday, as per Jon Heyman, the Rockies released who they would potentially want in a deal with New York. Colorado was supposedly seeking Jesus Montero, Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances and Ivan Nova. Yet today, it was made known that  Colorado doesn't have any interest in Montero as they only view him as a future first baseman... so that leaves us with Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances and Ivan Nova.

Colorado would ideally want to acquire all three of those guys in a deal, with an additional player coming along too, possibly Corban Joseph or David Adams.

But if I were Brian Cashman, it would be tough to make a trade like that and deal three of your top young pitchers, even for such a premier arm like Jimenez. Yes, Jimenez has been nothing short of great during his career, averaging a 8.08 K/9 and 3.83 xFIP throughout his career. Jimenez is also good at drawing ground balls, as he has a 50.2% career ground ball rate. Furthermore, he is 27 and about to enter his prime, and we all know how valuable young pitching can be, especially when signed to a long term cheap deal.

As we know, Jimenez wouldn't come without a hefty price tag. Dealing Banuelos and Betances would likely be a deal breaker for Cashman, even for a guy who is arguably one of the top ten best pitchers in Major League Baseball. Cashman would, however, likely pull the trigger on a deal that only includes one of Banuelos/Betances, plus Ivan Nova and other prospects. This would clearly be Colorado selling low on Jimenez, which is something that isn't likely to happen. Which leads me back to my original point...

Being "put on the market" is a funny thing. When such a premier player is placed on the trading block, with a team friendly contract, it can be tough to gauge how interested said team would be in actually dealing him. Most of the time, that team is only looking for someone to completely overwhelm them with an offer. If they aren't overwhelmed, they are almost guaranteed to hold onto the player.

Brian Cashman is a smart guy. He knows what Colorado is thinking and who they want from the Yankee system. And most importantly, he knows when a deal doesn't become worth it anymore.