Hold Your Ground, Brian!

As the trade deadline gets nearer (even nearer than the debt ceiling deadline, which is considerably more annoying), rumors continue to circulate that the Yankees might be interested in Ubaldo Jimenez of the Colorado Rockies. And while it would be nice to have another established starter in the rotation, especially with Phil Hughes continuing to look very shaky, so far Brian Cashman has not seemed willing to meet the Rockies' asking price.

And boy, is he right.

According to reports, in exchange for Jimenez, who is 6-9 with a 4.20 ERA in the National League, Colorado is asking for Dellin Betances, Manny Banuelos, Ivan Nova AND Jesus Montero. One starting pitcher who has already proven himself at least adequate in the major leagues, a hitting prospect who has awed a great number of scouts (although he probably won't come up as a catcher) and the two best pitching prospects in the organization.

6-9 with a 4.20 ERA in the NATIONAL League.

Cashman is completely right in not jumping at that kind of fleecing. For a guy like Jimenez, who has been an elite pitcher for exactly half of one season, and that was the first half of 2010, that's beyond way too much. Maybe you give them Montero, who's not having a fantastic year at Scranton/Wilkes Barre (some people say he seems "disinterested" in the minor leagues). Maybe you give them one pitcher, although probably not one of the "Killer B's." Hell, in exchange for Jimenez, maybe you give them Phil Hughes even up.

But you don't give away the farm (almost literally) for a guy who looked like he was going to be great a year ago. Keep in mind that Hughes was blazing his way through the American League at the same time and was on the 2010 All-Star team. What are we trading for?

Hold your ground, Brian. You're right.