Back to the Past: 2 Moves I've Been to Lazy to Post About

Last week the Yankees made a seemingly minor move and a fairly significant move.

First, they traded for OF Greg Golson in exchange for Mitch Hilligoss., adding more outfield depth to the system. Then they sign OF Randy Winn to a 1-year/$2 million dollar deal, basically ending Johnny Damon's time in the Bronx.

Greg Golson (from BaseballAmerica, via WasWatching):

With the deadline to add players to the 40-man roster staring them in the face Thursday, the Phillies and Rangers arrived at an inspired decision as they contemplated the organizational futures of Greg Golson and John Mayberry Jr., their toolsy but slow-moving outfielders. They traded their prospects straight-up for one another.

Philadelphia sent Golson, its first-round pick (21st overall) in 2004, to Texas for Mayberry, the Rangers’ first-rounder (19th overall) in 2005. Both players are on their new clubs’ 40-man rosters, making them exempt from December’s Rule 5 draft.

Golson, 23, offers huge speed, arm strength and range in center field, but his hitting tools and pitch recognition remain unrefined. A product of Austin’s Connally High, he batted .282/.333/.434 for Double-A Reading in 2008, chipping in 13 home runs, 18 doubles and 23 stolen bases in 28 attempts. The righthanded batter struck out 130 times in 426 at-bats, a rate that was in line with career norms, while drawing 34 walks. Even with a low contact rate, Golson’s power plays as average, and Eastern League mangers named him the league’s most exciting player. He’s batted .265/.309/.406 in 2,101 minor league at-bats, and he went 0-fot-6 for the Phillies as a September callup.

Clearly, if Golson rebounds he could have some potential. However, it is entirely possible that he ends up in the same roll that Freddy Guzman was in.

Randy Winn is also coming off of an off-year. With the Giants he hit .262/.318/.353 with 2 homeruns, but the previous two years had a batting average of .300 or above. BABIP and line drive data suggest that he was very unlucky last year, so I think this move is a very good one. And if he can't hit the way that he used to be able to, he'll still be a very good fielder and baserunner.