Hot Stove Coal: Randy Winn and Tim Raines - Similar but Different

When the Yankees traded for Randy Winn yesterday, the reaction among Yankees fans was pretty mixed. Most were upset that Johnny Damon was gone and some were upset that he wasn't replaced with a more productive player--or at least one better from the right side. I wrote my opinion here yesterday and although it hasn't wavered much, I do feel that if Winn is really a 4th OF, it's fine, though not terribly exciting. In the winter of 1995-1996, the Yankees picked up a switch hitting veteran OF as well: Tim Raines. While Winn will never be confused for Raines in his overall production or career, there are some similarities there.

1996 and 2010 are very different years for the Yankees, but there are similarities. In 1996 and 2010, the Yankees were coming off of a year in which they reached a point they hadn't in a few years (the playoffs in '96 and the World Series in '10) and said good-bye to popular players (Don Mattingly and Mike Stanley in '96 and Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon in '10). The Yankees, looking to fill a hole in the outfield, went out and acquiring a switch hitting OF who was expected to mostly play LF and hoped that he would improve on his previous season. Both OFs will be 36 in their first season in the Bronx and while All Stars in the past, their best days were definitely behind them. The Yankees were hoping for some leadership, some speed, and some solid defense from the veteran players. And for the first time in both their careers, they both had to settle in backup roles.

That's where some of the similarities end. When the Yankees traded for Raines in December of 1995, he was actually coming off a productive season the year before, although his speed numbers were down (hitting in front of Frank Thomas as he's winning MVPs can do that to you). Raines was brought to a Yankees team who managed just 50 stolen bases the season before and was expected to leadoff and run. But even he acknowledged that he was a solid, but not spectacular OF. The Yankees used a bunch of guys to man LF, including Gerald Williams, Ruben Sierra, Darryl Strawberry, Ruben Rivera, and appearances by Mike Aldrete, Dion James, Jim Leyritz, and Mariano Duncan. Although Raines was technically a bench player, he got the most starts out of that group in LF.

Randy Winn won't be confused with Tim Raines on the basepaths, but he actually has developed into a very reliable baserunner. He's successful 71.3 % over his career (209/293) but in the last three years, he's been excellent at 88.9% (56 out of 63). Tim Raines stole 808 bases over his career at a 84.7% clip and Brett Gardner--the Yankees current speedster--runs at an 86.7% clip. Winn even referenced Raines' efficiency on the basepaths in a 2008 interview.

I think that what Winn will allow Girardi to do is to have a bench player he feels comfortable using as a pinch runner (something that I think kept Gardner on the bench last season more than needed) and a defensive replacement in the OF (for Nick Swisher in the late innings). Winn can provide a day off at times to the three OF and allow everyone there to stay fresh and give Girardi a solid bench player that he lacked last season until Jerry Hairston, Jr and Eric Hinske showed up. And as Steven Goldman of Pinstriped Bible pointed out as one of his (few) positives of the Winn signing, an OF of Granderson, Gardner and Winn on a day a flyball pitcher like Javy Vazquez is pitching would be very good defensively.

And for $2 M, it's a solid bet for Winn that he could have a bounceback year--as FanGraphs shows has been predicted--especially hitting in a better lineup. And if not, it's only $2 M for a guy who, as I said, can provide much more than just his bat. As River Avenue Blues points out, we can basically expect Melky Cabrera's 2009 production from Randy Winn in 2010 and pay less to get it.

The truth is that Gardner never needed a platoon as Chad Jennings wrote for LoHud today, but if Winn can show a little more against lefties, he could spell Curtis Granderson every once in a while against a tough lefty like Jon Lester or Cliff Lee and give the Yankees solid production. I would have rather had--in some ways--Reed Johnson or Rocco Baldelli, but judging by the contract that Xavier Nady got after not playing for a whole year, it may have cost much more to bring them in. And let's be honest, the Yankee roster on January 28th is not going to be the Yankees roster on September 1st.

As much as I'm upset to see Johnny Damon go, I am equally as anxious to see what Brett Gardner can do every day as a starter and I'm happy the Yankees have a player on the bench who is capable of starting every day if Gardner can't cut it (or if an OF gets hurt). The Yankees can go out and trade for an OF bat if they need it. But the Yankees of the 90s won with guys like Raines, Chad Curtis, Ricky Ledee and others manning LF. Sometimes you need a gritty guy in your lineup and GGBG is certainly that.

As some have pointed out, Randy Winn is an older version of Brett Gardner in some ways. But having more guys like this on the team is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as Girardi uses them correctly. And if he does, we could be looking back on Winn's tenure in the Bronx with the same fondness we recall from Raines. In 1996, Raines made the World Series for the first time in his career; let's hope the same thing occurs for Randy Winn.

Update: Ed Price of FanHouse asked on Twitter: @ed_price: Would you trade Damon, Matsui, Melky, Coke for Granderson, Javy Vazquez, Nick Johnson, Winn? #Yankees

I have to say yes to that, though there positives and negatives of each (and health/performance in 2010 will go a long way to determining whether this is good or bad). The Yankees traded other prospects to get that done, but for additions/subtractions from a Major League lineup, I think you have to like that deal. What are your thoughts?