When the offseason began, baseball fans assumed that the New York Yankees, with a knack for making more of a splash in the winter than any other team, would somehow spin a trade for five-time Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson. Yesterday morning, that deal -- a complicated transaction involving three teams -- appeared imminent.
But last night, Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager Paul DePodesta said there would be no deal for Johnson involving his club, a stunning development that kept outfielder Shawn Green with the Dodgers, left Johnson with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and kept the Yankees still seeking a dominant starting pitcher who could help New York to its first World Series title since 2000.
Randy Johnson is not leaving Arizona just yet as the Dodgers withdraw from a three-team trade that would have landed the pitcher in New York.
(Paul Connors - AP)
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"As we sit here right now, the deal is no more," DePodesta told reporters on a conference call. "I've been saying all along that we weren't going to do the deal unless it made sense for this club in 2005, and that was not the case."
Earlier in the day, approval of the three-way trade seemed a mere formality. A source with intimate knowledge of the trade said paperwork had been submitted to baseball Commissioner Bud Selig for his approval, that Johnson was willing to waive his no-trade clause, and that it appeared Green would do the same. Johnson and the Yankees would have then had a 72-hour window in which to negotiate a contract extension. Johnson, 41, is due to make $16 million next season.
The commissioner's office, however, said that more documentation about the trade had to be submitted before it could gain approval. While addressing reporters, DePodesta spoke of the deal in the past tense -- as if it was off completely. For Johnson to end up in New York, the Yankees and Diamondbacks would have to work out a deal between themselves or find another third party that's interested in being involved.
"There were specific things in this deal that didn't work out," DePodesta said. "There were a lot of things to work out, a lot of things that were tentatively agreed on, but still details that we needed to work through."
The Yankees had already instituted an overhaul of their starting rotation, thought to be the team's weak spot and one of the primary reasons it couldn't overcome the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series. New York signed Carl Pavano, who went 18-8 for Florida last season, to a four-year deal worth nearly $40 million, and Jaret Wright, who went 15-6 for Atlanta, to a three-year, $21 million pact.
But Johnson would have been the centerpiece. The lanky left-hander went 16-14 with a 2.60 ERA for an Arizona team that lost 111 games last season. Though the Diamondbacks have signed right-hander Russ Ortiz and third baseman Troy Glaus this offseason, Johnson wants to move to a team with a chance to win the World Series, something he did in 2001 with Arizona.
The proposed deal would have included 10 players. Los Angeles would have received right-hander Javier Vazquez, once a prized prospect with the franchise that is now the Washington Nationals, as well as two of the Yankees' most promising minor leaguers, catcher Dioner Navarro and third baseman Eric Duncan. The Dodgers, who would have also received pitcher Mike Koplove from Arizona, in turn, would have sent pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii, along with $1 million, to the Yankees.
The Diamondbacks would have received Green, a two-time all-star, and pitchers Brad Penny, Yhency Brazoban and Brandon Weeden.
News services contributed to this report.
