5 questions for... Nelson Figueroa
Q: What would your advice be for Mickey Callaway after a disastrous first half ?
A: It’s difficult. The same thing you would do as a player. You have to use the All-Star break to look in the mirror and see what the mistakes were. You have to learn and make sure they don’t happen again. That’s one of the things we’ll be looking at in the second half very closely, how he makes the adjustments and could he have done better.
Q: Would you be stunned if deGrom is traded?
A: Only because the offer would have to be unbelievable. The Dodgers got a rental player in Manny Machado for five prospects, which to me is an incredible amount to give up for a guy you are only going to have for two months. You’ll have Jacob deGrom for three postseasons. To me his value has to be higher than this Machado deal.
Q: Would you be OK trading deGrom to Yankees, if they made the best offer?
A: It seems like a perfect marriage. The most major league ready prospects seem to have Yankees uniforms on right now. … There’s a lot to be weighed out. I am not sure if the Yankees would give up that top-tier talent, but, of course, he would fit nicely with the Yankees’ plans and the way they want to do it. It’s a difficult spot for the Yankees because they can win 107 games and be in a wild-card game.
Q: If not deGrom, then who for the Yankees?
A: When you look at the Yankees, the starters haven’t really been the issue. When it comes to a short series, you won’t need five good starters. If they can get by, and I mean winning 100 games, with getting a reliever, someone like Zach Britton would be tremendous. He would be a huge upgrade, another lefty with dominant stuff that they have enough resources to give up without going after one of those top-tier guys like a deGrom or a (Blake) Snell. Q: What is best path forward for Amed Rosario and Dom Smith? A: With Rosario, it’s tough. He came up touted as a five-tool player and we are not seeing all five tools on display right now. So, he’s working on a bunch of different things as he’s playing in the major leagues, which makes it a little difficult to do everything well at this point. … When it comes to Dom Smith, it’s probably going back to playing every day at the Triple-A level. His at-bats are not even competitive at this point. Once Smith goes back, it’ll give him a chance to get his confidence back because I think you could see with every swing he’s a frustrated young man right now.