Deadline Rumors: Yankees asked the Cubs about Justin Ruggiano and Jake Arrieta

One team at a time, Brian Cashman is looking around the league at possible upgrades for his team with the trade deadline coming up on Thursday afternoon.

According to reports, the Yankees recently asked about Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta, as well as outfielder Justin Ruggiano. The Cubs told Cashman that it would take a large offer to pry Arriet away from Chicago, and regarding Ruggiano, it was a simple no and that he's not on the market.

Ruggiano would have been a nice upgrade in right field for the Yankees, who simply can afford to have Ichiro Suzuki running out there anymore. The 32-year-old is hitting .293/.358/.449 with the Cubs this season after coming over from the Miami Marlins during the winter. He only has four homeruns this season, as he's showing far less power than he did a year ago when he hit 18 with Miami.

Ruggiano can play all three outfield spots, and is great against lefties. It's a shame that he's not on the market, because he would be a good upgrade in the lineup over Ichiro any day of the week.

As for Arrieta, he was traded to the Cubs last July in the trade that sent Scott Feldman to the Baltimore Orioles. A prospect with a high upside, Arrieta was a big disappointment for the O's, and the Cubs hoped that he was turn things around in their system.

The 28-year-old right-hander has a 2.18 ERA with a career-high 9.8 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 with the Cubs this season. Maybe it's that he's no longer pitching in the AL East, but Arriet has looked a lot better. It's because of those struggles that I wouldn't risk giving up a ton of talent for him, and think Cashman will be better off staying away from that deal.

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Yankees made trade proposals with Cubs for Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel

It's not a secrete that the Yankees have an obvious need to add a starting pitcher or two in order to make a run for October. CC Sabathia is likely done for the year, joining Ivan Nova, and Michael Pineda won't be back until probably August.

The trade deadline is still a few weeks away, but Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman hasn't been sitting around, rather is is trying to get deals done.

As you may have heard by now, the Oakland Athletics pulled off a big blockbuster deal on Friday night, acquiring both Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel from the Cubs last night, sending a couple of top prospects the to Chicago, including MLB.com's 11th ranked prospect for 2014.

The A's weren't the only team going after either one of those pitchers. FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports that the Yankees and Cubs swapped proposals regarding both Hammel and Samardzija, but in the end, Oakland came out on top with Addison Russell, the centerpiece of the deal.

There was never really a sense that the Yankees would be able to pull off a deal surrounding Samardzija given how much less talent their farm system has compared to other teams, like the A's, but Hammel was a much more realistic for the Bombers, who, like I said, really need to add at least one starting pitcher before the trading deadline, but two would be nice -- and a reliever, and an infielder.

Adding on to that, since Russell is a shortstop, that gives the Cubs more than enough of those in their system, putting him in line with Javier Baez, and the team's current big league shortstop Starlin Castro.

With Derek Jeter retiring after the season, and the Yankees also needing to add an infielder, Joel Sherman of the NY Post says that the Yanks have checked in with the Cubs on their shortstop surplus, but Chicago is currently planning to hold onto all of their infield players, and thus nothing is going to happen right now -- at least this season -- between the two side regarding that.

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Which team really needs Masahiro Tanaka the most?

We all want things in life, but that doesn't mean we really need it. Sure, you may want to get the new iPhone 5s, but you're not going to die without it.

The same thing can be said about baseball players and Major League teams.

The Yankees always want to sign everybody on the market, no matter the cost, but a lot of time, they just want to buy out that certain player because they can, not really because they need to. But Masahiro Tanaka is different.

The Yankees actually need to sign Tanaka. Without him, they will likely go into the season with a rotation filled by CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova and Hiroki Kuroda. Sabathia is a question mark, Kuroda is 39-years-old, and Nova can go either way.

Michael Pineda might also be in the Yankees' rotation, but he hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2011 with the Seattle Mariners, and you really don't know what kind of pitcher he is going to be.

Even with all the money the Yankees have spent this offseason -- over $300 million to be precise -- I can't consider them a legit World Series contender if they don't address the issues in the rotation, and it all begins with Tanaka.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a perfect example of Need vs. Want. The Dodgers really don't need Tanaka as much as the Yankees or some other teams. They only want him.

They just signed Clayton Kershaw to a monster contract extension. They signed Zack Greinke to a big contract last offseason. And they just signed Korean left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu last winter, too. Realistically, their rotation will be just fine without Tanaka. Adding him would put it over the top, though.

The Chicago Cubs, if anything, don't really need him for the next years or so, but in a couple years down the road, the Cubs are going to have a large crop of their prospects reach the big leagues, and that's when they finally become championship contenders.

I would imagine that it was pretty tough for the Cubs to convince Tanaka of coming to Chicago considering, well, it's not New York or Los Angeles, and the team isn't going to be a contender right away as it would be in the Bronx and LA.

However, because so much of their future is tied into young players, the Cubs have enough money to throw around, and even with the great group coming up in a few years, pitchers aren't really a part of that, and adding Tanaka, who is only 25, would be a great fix to that problem.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have appeared to be in hot pursuit on Tanaka throughout the winter, and though they don't really have much of a shot to land him.

The D-Backs could really use him to go along with Patrick Corbin and Trevor Cahill in the rotation, and who better than Tanaka? They have shown that they have the money by going hard after Shin-Soo Choo, but that might not be enough to get Tanaka in Arizona.

We're days away from finding out who will win the Tanaka Sweepstakes. The latest rumors have him deciding between the two teams that need him the most -- the Yankees and Cubs. Although the Yankees really, really, really need him. Much more than the Cubs.

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Nikkan: Clubs have submitted formal offers to Masahiro Tanaka

Nikkan Sports in Japan has reported that all clubs interested in signing Japanese right-hander Masahiro Tanaka submitted their formal offers by January 16th. Tanaka has until this Friday, Jan. 24th, at 5pm EST sign with a Major League club.

The list of teams that have reportedly made an offer includes the Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks.

All offers made to Tanaka are in excess of $100 million, and Nikkan reports that the D-Backs have offered six-years, $120 million. The Yankees and Dodgers are believed to have offered similar deals, but the terms and money amount are unknown.

According Bruce Levine of WSCR-AM in Chicago, one of the biggest keys for where Tanaka signs if that he ends up being very close to a large Japanese-American community. New York and Los Angeles are both very big in that department -- both the Yankees and Dodgers and also, reportedly, the leading favorites to sign the righty, with the Cubs trying to make a big push, and willing to throw a ton of money at him.

“I think a lot of teams are interested,” Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said at the owners meetings this past week in Arizona. “This is a great, young pitcher. I’m sure he’ll come here and do great things with someone. We certainly have an interest. I believe we need another starter. But we’ll see what happens.”

Tanaka is the top starter on the Yankees' radar. There hasn't been much interest in any of the other top starting pitchers on their market. A report from Newsday in New York on Wednesday, the Yankees don't plan on making anymore moves until the Tanaka situation is resolved.

“I can only tell you we’re in the market for another starting pitcher,” Steinbrenner said, “and (Tanaka) is certainly going to be one we’re looking at.”

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Yankees will meet with Masahiro Tanaka while he's in America

Masahiro Tanaka was posted by the Rakuten Golden Eagles almost two weeks ago, but the party is just getting started.

Tanaka is now in the United States, reportedly in Los Angeles, to start meeting with any clubs interested in his services – and there are a lot of them.

The Yankees are among at least a dozen teams that Tanaka is expected to meet with over the next couple weeks, and it’s no surprise because he is their top free-agent target, and the player that could make or break the Yanks’ offseason.

After spending almost $300 million so far on Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran, but the Yankees have yet to spend on a starting pitcher – which they currently need more than anything.

The Yankees have not shown much interest in the current free-agent pitching market, and should the fail to sign Tanaka, it would seem that trading for a starting pitcher is the only other way. However, some MLB general managers think the Yanks could end up with Ubaldo Jimenez.

The Seattle Mariners could be the biggest threat to the Yankees landing Tanaka. If they can convince ownership to let them spend the money on him, Seattle might be able to steal Tanaka away from the Yanks just like they did with Cano.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs are probably the other two team with the best chance to land the 25-year-old. The Dodgers seemingly have unlimited funds to throw at him, and the Cubs are expected to go after him hard in hopes of setting up a solid rotation when the rest of their prospects become big league ready in a couple of years.

The Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels are among the other teams interested, and expected to meet with him. 

Tanaka, because of the $20 million posting fee that will be paid of two years -- $13 million in the first and $7 million in the second -- is expected to command a contract upwards of $100 million over at least six years, and there is no doubt that he will get it.

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Yankees showing interest in trading for Cubs' ace Jeff Samardzija

We've been talking about it a lot now, and the rumors are starting to ramp. The possibility of the Yankees trading outfielder Brett Gardner is becoming more and more likely now that the Yankees have six outfielders after signing Carlos Beltran and Jacoby Ellsbury.

The signing of those two still leaves a couple holes in the starting rotation, which the Yankees believe they could patch up by dealing Gardner for a starting pitcher or bullpen arm.

A source told Robert Murray of SportsInjuryAlert.com that the Yankees are interested in trading for Chicago Cubs right-hander Jeff Samardzija. Tom Loxas of Chicago Now has confirmed the report, and also notes that the Yankees would likely have to get a third team involved to get a deal done.

Obviously Gardner would be one of the main pieces the Yankees include. Behind him, it's hard t figure out where the actual value is. You would have to think Ivan Nova has some value, but I wouldn't see the Yanks wanting to move him. Possibly Jose Campos, J.R. Murphy and Gary Sanchez would be a couple other top pieces.

Samardzija would not be anything more than a No. 4 starter for the Yankees, with CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda and Ivan Nova ahead of him, as he went 8-13 with a 4.34 ERA for the Cubs last season. But his 214/78 strikeout-to-walk ratio certainly does add some interest as a pitcher that could be a decent backend of the rotation starter.

By the way things have been going this winter, it's been sounding like the Cubs will almost certainly move Samardzija at some point this offseason, but at the same time, Chicago has been discussing a possible extension with the 28-year-old.

Earlier in the day, the idea was also brought up that the Yankees could get talking with the Cincinnati Reds about a deal that would bring promising right-hander Homer Bailey to the Bronx.

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Soriano Officially Traded To The Yankees

It's official, Alfonso Soriano is a Yankee...again! Soriano waived his no-trade clause this morning for the deal to finally become official.

The Yankees are expected to be giving up a low-level prospect in return and the the Cubs are also planning on eating a large sum of the $25 million, while the Yankees will pay around $7-$8 million of what Soriano is owed through the 2014 season.

Soriano was scratched from the Cubs lineup Thursday night after team president Theo Epstein requested that he be removed from the lineup, saying that a trade involving Soriano was close to being completed.

Soriano will be a big upgrade for the offensively challenged Yankees lineup, adding some much needed power that the Yanks haven't seen in awhile. Soriano has hit eight homeruns this month, while the Yankees as a team have hit seven, and haven't had a homerun from a right-handed hitter in 27 games.

For the season, Soriano, 37, is batting .254 with 17 homeruns and 51 RBIs. His numbers would put him at second on the Yankees in both homeruns and RBIs, trailing only Robinson Cano, of course.

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Yanks "Close" To Acquiring Soriano From The Cubs

While many of you were tucked away in your beds, the Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was busy trying to find solutions to the vastly struggling offense.

As reported by George King of the New York Post, the Yankees are close to acquiring Alfonso Soriano from the Chicago Cubs for what would most likely be a mid-level prospect, along with paying for a bulk of his large contract.

Soriano is owed $25 million through 2014 and the Yankees would likely pick up around $6 million of the remaining money owed this season, while the Cubs would pay for most to all of the $18 million in 2014.

Though, of course, according to sources, Soriano has a no-trade clause and he would still have to waive it if a deal gets done between the two sides.

Soriano, 37, rejected a trade to the San Francisco Giants last season. He recently said he would approve a deal to the right city and team. He played for the Yankees from 1999-2003.

In his four years with the Yankees, Soriano hit .284 with 98 HR and 270 RBI before being part of the deal that sent Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees in 2004. The 15 year Major League veteran is a career .273 hitter with 389 HR and 1,086 RBI.

In 2013 for the Cubs, Soriano is hitting .259 with 17 HR and 51 RBI. He's been swinging a hot bat lately, batting .296 with 10 home runs and a 1.066 in his past 20 games.

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