Having been told “no” by the Diamondbacks didn’t stop the Yankees’ pursuit of Randy Johnson yesterday. The Yankees placed 10 calls to Arizona management hoping until the last nanosecond before the trade deadline that the Diamondbacks would relent and trade Johnson instead of keeping him.
They could have saved the cell minutes because the Diamondbacks didn’t change their mind and held onto him.
“They were not trading him unless it was a king’s ransom, no matter where he was going,” said GM Brian Cashman, who settled for Esteban Loaiza for Jose Contreras in a move Cashman hopes bolsters the Yankees’ rotation.
When the Yankees learned Arizona did not like their prospects, they made the Diamondbacks aware of six teams that did. They told Arizona to provide prospects from those six clubs that it liked, and the Yanks would try to get those prospects to complete a trade. Arizona initially said it was interested in that process but never provided a single name to the Yankees.
Had the Yankees been willing to include Javier Vazquez and their top five prospects, the Diamondbacks may have bit. But trading a 28-year-old pitcher for a 40-year-old one with a bad knee and $22 million left on a contract that runs through next season isn’t good policy. Even for a Hall of Fame lock who likely was angling to come to the Yankees with the thought of a contract extension for the 2005 season.
The Yankees were among many teams stunned the Diamondbacks didn’t unload Johnson, who made it very clear he wanted out of Arizona and was rumored to be L.A.-bound late Friday night. Many executives wondered if the Diamondbacks ever were serious about moving Johnson. Some surmised that Arizona would look to deal him in the offseason, when they won’t take as big a public-relations hit.
“Randy Johnson will remain a Diamondback, which has always been our choice and desire,” owner Jerry Colangelo said. “I will have more to say about it Monday.”
GM Joe Garagiola Jr. said there simply wasn’t a deal to be made. Late Friday night the Diamondbacks decided to keep Johnson.
“The talent level we had to get back, we didn’t see it there,” Garagiola said.