A Bold Move For Mariners; A Weighty One For Yankees

The Internet is all a-twitter with news that the Mariners are trading pitcher Michael Pineda to the Yankees for catcher Jesus Montero.

Pineda went 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA last year as a rookie, striking out 173 batters in 171 innings and being selected to the All-Star Game as an injury replacement. Montero played just 18 games after being called up to the major leagues, but the past two seasons he combined to hit .289 at Triple-A with 53 doubles and 39 homers in 232 games.

Going into 2011, Montero was rated by Baseball America as the third-best prospect in all of baseball, while Pineda was No. 16. Montero will turn 23 in November, while Pineda turns 23 next week. All of which means that it’s a risky-but-reasonable trade for the Mariners.

As for the Yankees, they now can swallow the rest of the American League whole. Literally. Just with their pitching staff. Their projected rotation:

— CC Sabathia, “listed” at 6-foot-7, 290 pounds, leaving unanswered the question of how much he would weigh if he put both feet on the scale;

— Pineda, 6-7, 260;

— Freddy Garcia, 6-4, 250;

— Ivan Nova, 6-4, 225;

— And either Phil Hughes (6-5, 240) or A.J. Burnett (6-4, 230).

That’s three-quarters of a ton from six guys. Like, when they pose for a group photo, the moon’s going to start orbiting around them. When they sit around the clubhouse, they’ll really sit around the clubhouse. When a Yankees starter takes the mound this season, he’s going to show up on radar. (bu-dum-tish)

We could say the Yankees are really hungry for a pennant this year. But that would be too easy.

As for the Mariners, we’ll just say they’re starving for some runs.