Michael Young is officially available to be dealt. The Philadelphia Phillies have been toying with the idea of making the infielder available and have officially gotten over the first hurdle as Young cleared the waiver wire on Thursday. Now the lone issue is that small no-trade clause sitting in his contract.
FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports that Young is officially available to dealt to any team as long as the infielder approves of the trade. It was almost a guarantee that Young was going to be sent packing by the MLB trade deadline, but was only willing to waive his no-trade clause for three teams: the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. Nothing worked out and Young remained part of the team.
With Young available once again, where could he land? New York was originally interested until Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro turned down the trade deal. The Phillies are now desperate to trade away the 36-year-old and would likely listen to the Yankees' offers for him. However, now that Alex Rodriguez is back for the remainder of the year, Young is not really needed.
The Boston Red Sox could still possibly be an option. The team showed little interest during the trade deadline, but they are still in need of a third baseman. As of right now, Young is hitting .276 with eight home runs on the season. He would be a welcomed addition in Boston. The Red Sox are in need of depth on the roster.
Young was targeting a return to the Texas Rangers. Like the Red Sox have not really shown any interest in bringing Young back into the fold. The infielder is currently earning $16 million this season with the Rangers paying $10 million of that. While Young's defense is skeptical, he can always add quality depth to any team in need.
At this point, Young's best destination is New York, but it is likely too late for that. The Yankees are just one game above .500. Young is not really an upgrade from Rodriguez, Jayson Nix or Vernon Wells. Brian Cashman is smart to hold off on any moves.
Young has been pulled from the Phillies lineup so anything is really possible at this point. Philadelphia was hesitant to get rid of Young at the deadline. They were 12 1/3 games back in both the National League East and Wild Card race. Now, they have lost their last 14 of 16 and things are just getting worse. They are sellers at this point.
