Christmas Day stunner - Randy wants out

It may not be Christmas Day anymore, but 48 hours ago, when it was, Yankee fans were shocked by the news that the Yankees and Diamondbacks were locked in talks over moving lefty Randy Johnson to the desert.

Since then, it has become clear that Randy, whilst not requesting a trade, and told Yankees GM Brian Cashman that he wouldn't mind a move out west, this has caused the Yankees to open up talks with the D-Backs (who are said to be heavily interested in the Big Unit) Padres, Dodgers, Angels and Giants, although it is thought that the major players are the D-Backs and the Padres.

With Randy having a full No Trade Clause, Cashman is only talking with the teams that fulfills Randy's west coast criteria. Despite coming off a disappointing 2006 campaign, it seems as though teams are genuinely interested in Johnson, who is coming off back surgery and has as much cartilage in his knee as there is alcohol in a Lemonade Shandy.

The Yankees are keen to shed the $16m salary off the pay roll and are being potentially greedy by wanting top prospects in return. This sounds too good to be true but with a couple of teams looking genuinely interested in the lefty, it somehow make not be totally unrealistic.

Of course as it stands, should Randy be moved on, it would mean that the Bombers are relying on Carl Pavano and Kei Igawa in the rotation, but it opens up room for either Barry Zito or Roger Clemens, two players that would certainly be an upgrade over Johnson in the AL East in 2007.