As the baseball Hot Stove slowly builds from early embers, the Captain’s Blog will be busy identifying the top pitching targets that the Yankees should consider pursuing in a trade. In part one, a game plan to acquire Felix Hernandez was devised. Admittedly, such an acquisition probably falls under the heading of wishful thinking, so just in case that advice proves unsuccessful, one of two backup plans is now suggested (for a link to the other, click here).
Assuming the Mariners refuse to trade Felix Hernandez at any price, and the cost proves too prohibitive for the likes of Gio Gonzalez and John Danks, there are still several attractive options to consider. In particular, a trio of talented young right handers could all be made available by their respective teams, and Brian Cashman should be first line to kick the tires on each one.
Top-10 Right Handed Starters, Ranked by WAR: 2009-2011
| Player | WAR | W | L | IP | ERA | ERA+ |
| Roy Halladay | 21.2 | 57 | 26 | 723.1 | 2.53 | 163 |
| Justin Verlander | 18.3 | 61 | 23 | 715.1 | 3.06 | 140 |
| Felix Hernandez | 16.7 | 46 | 31 | 722 | 2.73 | 147 |
| Jered Weaver | 16.7 | 47 | 28 | 671 | 3.03 | 134 |
| Tim Lincecum | 14.3 | 44 | 31 | 654.2 | 2.87 | 138 |
| Josh Johnson | 14.1 | 29 | 12 | 453 | 2.64 | 159 |
| Ubaldo Jimenez | 13.7 | 44 | 33 | 628 | 3.63 | 126 |
| Dan Haren | 13.2 | 42 | 32 | 702.2 | 3.41 | 122 |
| Matt Cain | 13.1 | 39 | 30 | 662.2 | 2.97 | 134 |
| Zack Greinke | 12.9 | 42 | 28 | 621 | 3.33 | 126 |
Source: Baseball-reference.com
