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Wandy To The Yankees As Cliff Lee Insurance?

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In a winter devoid of any meaningful news coming out of Camp Astros (oh, I'm sorry Ryan, Aneury and Lance...didn't see you guys standing over there), I've developed a fun new hobby. I throw out random trades or signings for Houston on Twitter and see what the reaction is. Few take the bait and discuss it with me, but I get enough interesting comments to make it worthwhile.

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Today, I had another brainstorm and wanted to expand upon it here. Why don't the Astros shop Wandy Rodriguez around to the Yankees, the Rangers and whichever team misses on Carl Pavano and Matt Garza? Wandy would presumably be cheaper in terms of return than Zack Greinke or Garza and he's a free agent after this season, so he could even net the team compensatory picks.

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Does that mean the Yankees would trade elite hitting prospect Jesus Montero for him? Would the Nationals give up Danny Espinosa and Jordan Zimmerman? What about Martin Perez for Wandy, reuniting him with Nolan up in Dallas?

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It's safe to say that Cliff Lee choosing the Phillies is the first domino to fall in the pitching market this winter. If the Astros don't lock Wandy up to a long-term contract, I imagine they will at least feel other teams out on Wandy's market. Montero for Wandy is a trade I'd probably pull the trigger on, even with Wallace blocking him at first. Montero could be a true impact bat in the lineup, and there's just not the evidence there yet that Wallace can do the same.

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What do you think? What would you give up for Wandy? Where does he fit in this trade market?

Images by eflon used in background images under a Creative Commons license. Thank you.