Cabrera for Cameron Makes Sense

Various reports have the Yankees trading Melky Cabrera to the Brewers for Mike Cameron:

The acquisition of Cameron would give the Yankees a veteran center fielder to hold the position until prospect Austin Jackson is ready for the big leagues. Cabrera had been seen as the Yankees' center fielder of the future. But he hit .249 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs in 129 games last season before being demoted to Triple A in mid-August. Cameron hit .243 with 25 HRs and 70 RBIs in 120 games last season in Milwaukee. He missed the first 25 games of the season due to a suspension for violating baseball's banned substances policy.

A lot of people are going to be upset to see Melky go, but it's not going to be because of his performance.  Cabrera started getting regular playing time in 2006, a year after his good friend Robinson Cano became the starting second baseman for the Yankees and placed second for 2006 Rookie of the Year.  "The energy!" people exclaimed.  "Youth in the Bronx!  Just what the team needs!" Well, sure.  Youth is great when youth performs.  Cano has performed despite a lackluster 2008.  Cabrera... not so much.  After the 2008 season, Cabrera is sporting an 84 OPS+ with 2008 yielding a 68 OPS+.  The good news for Cabrera is he's only 24 this year.  The bad news is, his batting average and OBP have been in a three year downward trend, while his SLG has never broken .400. That could turn or it could not, but the Yankees aren't waiting to find out.  Once Cabrera was demoted to AAA Scranton last summer, his career as the Yankees centerfielder officially ended. The Brewers are willing to take the risk because he's dirt cheap and they get to drop a large contract in the name of Mike Cameron.  Cameron doesn't exactly come in lighting the world on fire, but he's basically a known commodity who will play a decent centerfield and be about a league average hitter.  He's right-handed, which helps, and he's shown decent home run power despite having a career .448 SLG. The Yankees aren't looking for Cameron to play there for five years.  They're looking for some consistency in a position that would otherwise have been a battle between a fledgling Melky Cabrera and speedy but powerless Brett Gardner.  After watching the offense collapse in 2008, Cashman doesn't want to gamble at the position and I don't blame him.  The hope is that Cameron will solidify the position until prospect Austin Jackson arrives, hopefully by 2010. It's a shame that the Brewers have quickly gone from Sabathia contenders to salary shedders, both at the hands of the Yankees.  Their 90 wins in 2008 was four above their pythagorean Won-Loss so losing Sabathia leaves them with a huge hole.  Adding Melky Cabrera is a cheap gamble that likely won't pan out, but it leaves them the resources to look in other places.