The topic came up during the meetings last week in Tampa, Fla., and met with some approval, mainly because Posada is one of the few veteran Yankees whose contract does not include a no-trade clause.
“It would have to be a major, major deal,” the official said. “But Posada does give (the Yankees) some flexibility.”
To replace Posada, one of four Yankees who have been with the team continuously since Joe Torre took over as manager in 1996, the official said the team would look into acquiring Pittsburgh catcher Jason Kendall or — in a move that would give team owner George Steinbrenner a way of sticking it to the World Series champion Red Sox — try to sign Bsoton free-agent catcher Jason Varitek.
Kendall is available to any team willing to take on the three years and $34 million left on his contract. And Varitek is represented by agent Scott Boras, who always seems to get top-dollar for his clients and would love to see the Yankees and the Red Sox in a bidding war.
It’s a long shot, sure, but the fact that it even has come up internally illustrates the Yankees’ situation. They are desperate to add a front-of-the-rotation starter like Johnson, and they were unable to acquire him for prospects in July. Should they offer Posada and/or right-hander Javier Vazquez, and offer to pay part of those players’ salaries, their offer might suddenly become appealing to the Diamondbacks.