The Chicago White Sox traded Nick Swisher to the New York Yankees on Tuesday for Jeff Marquez and role player Wilson Betemit. At first blush, this is a questionable move for the Yankees, as they gave up a solid pitching prospect in Jeff Marquez for a player without a set position (Swisher splits time between the outfield and first base) and one who had the lowest batting average, .218, in the major leagues last year among all players with at least 500 at bats. While Swisher did hit 24 home runs, the low batting average is clearly a problem. He had much better years in 2006 and 2007 with Oakland, but mostly failed in Chicago.

But this move gives the Yankees a tremendous amount of flexibility, both on the field and in their free agent negotiations this winter.

This promises to be the most interesting hot stove league that the Yankees have had since the end of the 1995 season. There are a number of factors lining up that will almost certainly make this a 'perfect storm' of a Yankees spending binge.

With consideration of the approximately $80 million coming off the payroll, the expectation of far greater revenue generated by the new Yankee Stadium, missed playoffs for the first time since 1993, and with the remnants of the last championship club aging, the club will almost certainly spend as never before and put major building blocks in place for what it hopes will be a new era of Yankees dominance.

The Yankees are universally expected to be a major player, and many would say prohibitive favorite, to sign the prized pitching free agent, CC Sabathia to a mega contract. It is the worst kept secret in the league that the Yankees will try to make him an offer that they believe cannot refuse, despite his well publicized desire to stay in the National League and pitch for a west coast team.

After bolstering the pitching staff, however, the two major considerations for the Yankees this winter is to find better answers for centerfield and first base. The Yankees recently declined Jason Giambi's option, and while it is not inconceivable that he could re-sign at a lower cost, Giambi's Yankees days are most likely over. His defense, inconsistency and advancing age have made him little more than adequate. In center field, the Yankees were very disappointed in Melky Cabrera's output, or lack thereof, (.249, 8, 37) through 129 games and banished him to the minor leagues for the last third of the season.

These needs will not be easy to fill, despite the considerable resources the Yankees have. There is very little available for solid center fielders. As for first base, Mark Teixeira is the most attractive non pitcher free agent on the market this winter. Teixeira, a gold glove fielder, hit .308 with 33 home runs and 121 RBI's in 2008 while splitting time between the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

On many levels, Teixeira would fit perfectly at first base. His defense would be a huge upgrade over Jason Giambi, he's only 28 years old and is a consistent hitter and run producer. But there are some drawbacks. Teixeira is represented by Scott Boras and will undoubtedly negotiate hard for every last dollar. While the Yankees are not inherently opposed to that, Boras' negotiations are almost never easy or efficient. But the other drawback is a bit more subtle. Given that catcher Jorge Posada will return from shoulder surgery the same year he turns 38, there are obvious questions as to how much he will be able to catch. While Posada wants to catch and has made no secret of that fact, his arm may not prove up to the challenge of the 130 or so games that he would catch if healthy. But his bat is too valuable, and his contract too rich, to sit. The Yankees may well need to keep DH and first base as options to keep him in the lineup. For the kind of money that Teixeira will command, he must play every day. And if the Yankees need to put Posada at DH, Hideki Matsui is out of a position.

Furthermore, as Swisher can also play center field, the Yankees will have the option of platooning him with Cabrera or the other center field candidate, the good field and no hit Brett Gardner.

So the acquisition of Swisher, despite his flaws, gives the Yankees roster and lineup flexibility, and a bit more negotiation leverage with Bobby Abreu. Abreu, while a solid and consistent hitter, must be offered arbitration if the Yankees would like to keep him and may well be rewarded more than Yankees would like to spend. This also may well signal that the Yankees believe that they can spend more money on pitching.

As for the White Sox, there have long been rumors that Swisher did not get along well with Manager

. Whether they were true or not, the White Sox have plenty of help to replace Swisher, and got a 24 year old solid pitching prospect in Jeff Marquez along with a useful utility man in Betemit.

While overall the Yankees got the better of this deal, the best trades help both teams and the White Sox likely view it as 'addition by subtraction' (particularly in light of the $22 million that Swisher is owed over the next three years), and were able to secure a good pitching prospect in the deal. The Yankees, however, have set themselves up for a flexible and 'option rich' offseason and a deep and versatile lineup in 2009.