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The dilemma: Sosa or Gonzalez?
Posted: Tuesday June 13, 2000 05:57 PM
The trading of Sammy Sosa seems inevitable now that the Cubs have publicly acknowledged they are inviting offers for him (how do they possibly retreat from that position and keep him long term?) and that the vagaries of the market have swung in their favor. They have a seller's dream scenario: the Yankees, Mets and Red Sox bidding against one another. You thought Yankees GM Brian Cashman caught flak for letting Jim Edmonds go to St. Louis? Imagine his life under George Steinbrenner if Sosa ends up across town (and on the back pages) with the Mets or in Boston with the hated Red Sox. The big winner here may turn out to be the Detroit Tigers. Once Sosa is traded, the value of Juan Gonzalez goes up. That's because the two teams who don't get Sosa will be in the position of having to counterpunch. And that leads to a fascinating question: Whom would you rather have for the next seven years, Sosa or Gonzalez? The two players have been compared ever since they climbed through the Texas minor league organization together from 1986-89. Sosa is 31. Gonzalez is a year younger. Sosa has 355 career home runs. Gonzalez has 349. The Yankees are struggling with this very question at the moment. Steinbrenner loves what Sosa can bring him: another marquee player alongside Derek Jeter. The Boss is also positioning himself for another cable contract -- if not his own regional network built around his control of the Yankees, Nets and Devils. Sosa is one of the top five drawing cards in the game. Some of Steinbrenner's baseball people prefer Gonzalez, who is marginally better defensively, hits for a better average (.294 lifetime entering this season; Sosa was at .267) and is the tougher out. Sosa's strikeout numbers are alarming to the Yankees' front office, which worries he can be shut down by frontline pitching in the postseason. Sosa also is more likely than Gonzalez to make a Jose Canseco- type concession and settle into a comfortable life as a DH. The Yankees prefer to have a two-way player for the money they'll be spending, especially if rightfielder Paul O'Neill retires after this year or next. How would they fit in New York? Friends of Gonzalez say he doesn't like the spotlight of the Big Apple. Sosa, who loves attention and endorsements, may like it a little too much for the low-key Yankees clubhouse. Both players will cost in the range of $16 million per season, though Gonzalez, in a down year with Detroit, will be slightly less costly than Sosa. Alfonso Soriano and Ricky Ledee almost surely would be included in a package, but the Tigers and Cubs each need to load up on pitching. The one pitcher the Yankees need to keep is Ramiro Mendoza, an invaluable bullpen gem in the postseason and protection against the advancing age of starters David Cone and Roger Clemens. All prospects are available, including Ed Yarnall, Ryan Bradley, Jake Westbrook and even El Duquecito Hernandez. In any scenario, the Yankees will wind up with someone. Only the Tigers have scored fewer runs or drawn fewer walks than New York. With the emergence of the Chicago White Sox, Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics, the Yankees now face the scary proposition of not even making the playoffs. The Big Three of the Yankees, Red Sox and Indians have plenty of company this year, and one of them may get squeezed out. Steinbrenner will not allow that to happen. The Yankees, who overall have a terrific track record on player evaluation, have misfired a few times in recent years on tough calls like these. They signed Kenny Rogers rather than Chuck Finley. They traded David Wells for Clemens. They chose to stick with Ledee and Shane Spencer over acquiring Edmonds. Steinbrenner allowed his baseball people to talk him out of Edmonds, believing they had plenty enough offense. Well, now it's clear that the Yankees don't. This call is up to George: Sosa or Gonzalez? Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci covers baseball for the magazine and writes a column for CNNSI.com every Tuesday. Click here to send a question to his mailbag.
The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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