Phillip Hughes

In a comment to my Matt Kemp post, ray g notes the Dodgers had a scout at Phillip Hughes' recent AA start.

I read the same thing and thought it odd given the Yankees have stated 1. they are not trading Phillip Hughes and 2. the Yankees need starting pitching - the same as the Dodgers.

ray g also smartly notes the Dodgers could be offering one of their excess outfielders to the Yankees, and the Yankees could defintely use an outfielder of J.D. Drew's caliber with Gary Sheffield and Bernie Williams being free agents at season's end. (I see no way the Yanks pick-up the $13 MM option on Sheffield's contract. Drew's 3 years/ $33 MM seems more likely.)

I doubt Drew is a NY kind of guy and would hope the Yanks did not deal Phillip Hughes for Drew. However, I could see Drew being dealt with the wealth of young outfielders the Dodgers posess - Kemp, Ethier, and Guzman along with breaking-out-until-injured Jason Repko.

The Dodgers could conceivably make a prospect for prospect deal with the Yankees for Hughes, but there are so few of these made, I do not know how it would be configured.

Certainly, a top starting pitching prospect is worth more than a hitting one, but how much? Hughes for Guzman wouldn't fly, but I bet Hughes for Guzman/Navarro would have gotten the Yankees brass thinking.