The addition of Javier Vazquez to the Yankees rotation may be the single most important move of the off-season so far.

The New York Yankees won the World Series with a 3 man starting rotation. Granted, the three men were named Sabathia, Burnett and Pettitte-none of them below average starters. Now consider that they have added Javier Vazquez to the mix, a pitcher many, many clubs would have at the top of their rotation. For the Yankees he will probably slot between Burnett and Pettitte.

The Yankees pulled off the deal of the winter without really giving up any of their core players and without mortgaging their future.

While the media spent months and months debating the merits of Roy Halladay going here, there and everywhere, the Yankees swooped in and took advantage of the Atlanta Braves need to shed payroll. One day we woke up and learned that the World Champs had yet another arm in their arsenal. And not just any arm. An arm that can log 200 plus innings and strike out 200 or more hitters. The price? A 4th outfielder, and two promising but unproven pitchers. Oh, and I failed to mention that the Yankees also pick up lefty reliever Boone Logan in the transaction. He can probably replace the departed Phil Coke in the bullpen. Although I am not sold on Logan. I am sold on Coke.

It's true that Vazquez has had a rather spotty history in the big leagues. And yes, it's true that Vazquez did not fare well in his first stint in the Bronx. But that was in 2004. Vazquez is a different pitcher today than he was earlier in his career. Those 5 years have made a world of difference. This version of Javier Vazquez has a refined breaking ball-something that wasn't in his arsenal back then. Today's Vazquez is much more a pitcher than a thrower. He can bring the ball to the plate in the mid to high 90's and he has a change-up to compliment the repertoire.

Vazquez doesn't get the attention of some other outstanding starting pitchers and he doesn't have as high a profile as many, but he is outstanding. It's a real shame the Braves had to trade him. That part later in this piece.

There are certainly some caution signs regarding Vazquez and his return to the American League in general and specifically the New York Yankees. We all have seen what the right field porch has done to pitchers in Yankee stadium. I think Javier Vazquez will fall victim to the short porch in the same manner as other pitchers. It's that new and improved model of the spinning and weaving breaking ball that could increase his home run total with his new club. But I still see him winning at least 15 games with that lineup behind him. He will be facing tough lineups that include one additional hitter day in and day out. He will no longer have the comfort of a forgiving Atlanta ballpark in which to work his magic. But his ground ball ratio has been improving. His command is excellent and he'll just have to miss bats and strike out even more hitters to equal his Atlanta numbers. That said, I believe his pitch count, and as a result, his arm fatigue may increase.

For all the warning signs and potential negative aspects, Javier Vazquez is an outstanding addition to the Yankees rotation. Especially at playoff time. Especially with an aging Andy Pettitte. Vazquez is 33 himself and he now has a chance to pitch on the biggest stage in the prime of his career.

Why was Vazquez even available? The Braves made every attempt to reduce payroll by moving the contract of Derek Lowe. No takers. They shed the salary of Kelly Johnson when his price became higher than his worth to the club. They said adios to Rafael Soriano and brought in the oft-injured Billy Wagner to close games. And they also lost Mike Gonzalez, a solid arm with upside remaining as a back end of the bullpen guy. They have made a commitment to mixing some young prospects such as Jason Heyward and possibly Freddie Freeman into their starting lineup. They have a young rotation now with Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson firmly entrenched. And they think Tim Hudson can come back from his arm miseries.
Instead of building on their success of last year and adding one or two parts to the equation, they have really changed the faces of their pitching staff and have begun to alter the look of their everyday position playing lineup. We'll see if they have success in the last year with Bobby Cox as their Manager. They have made lots of changes to a promising club.

Melky Cabrera? With plans to start Heyward in right, I believe Cabrera becomes a platoon player once again. He would share left field with Matt Diaz. If Heyward should falter in any way, Cabrera becomes a candidate to play left with Diaz moving full time to right---or the Braves go get another outfielder they can afford, which may be the case anyway.

Michael Dunn- Left-handed pitcher obtained in the deal by the Braves. He pitched well mechanically in the Arizona Fall League. He has a power arm and he has a fairly wide repertoire of pitches, but he gets hit. Sometimes very hard. I like him more than his stats tell me to like him. I do think he has potential to work out of the Braves pen sometime soon if not this season. He throws nice and easy, but he gets too much of the plate. Refinement of his pitches and repetition will help him close the gap between being a minor league pitcher and a member of the Braves bullpen.

Arodys Vizcaino- Right-handed pitcher obtained in the deal by the Braves. He may be the biggest prize of all. I have not seen him pitch in person. I have seen video and I'm impressed. He's very young (only 19 in November) so it's difficult to get too amped about his future at this early stage. However, he throws strikes. He has good velocity and he got hitters out this past season in the NYP League. He's a definite prospect.

Boone Logan? Ask the White Sox. They ran out of patience with him. I like Phil Coke better. Logan may take Coke's spot in the Yankee pen, but that probably hasn't been decided with certainty. My guess is that he will audition in spring training.

The transition of the Braves has turned out to be a very rewarding holiday gift to the New York Yankees. Think about it. What did the Yanks need most in the off-season? Right. At least one more starting pitcher. They got more than that. They got a top of the rotation starter to pitch in the middle of their rotation. The Yankees lost Matsui and Melky for sure. Possibly Damon. But they now have a solid Designated Hitter in Nick Johnson (if he remains healthy), a very good center fielder in Curtis Granderson and Vazquez. Happy Holidays Brian Cashman.