Benitez to Yanks? Say it ain’t so!

According to reports seen on ESPN.com and other sites, the Mets and Yankees are in deep negotiations over a trade that would send closer Armando Benitez to the Yankees.

Apparently, the Yankees are willing to pay the rest of Benitez’s 3 million dollar salary for the remainder of the season, which means that the Mets will only be getting “B-level” prospects in return.

I’m not quite sure about this one. Benitez is a proven choke artist. However, an argument can be made that in being a set-up man for Mariano Rivera and not the closer, it could ease some of the pressure Benitez has been feeling, thus making him a more effective pitcher. It’s an interesting theory, but one I don’t relish putting into practice in the middle of a pennant race.