Ichiro Suzuki vs. Dewayne Wise

The trade that brought Ichiro Suzuki to the Yankees is now more than a month behind us. So was it worth it?

It's not enough to look at Ichiro's numbers with the Yankees in that span. You also have to look at what the Yankees lost in the trade, and we're not talking spare parts like Danny Farquhar and D.J. Mitchell (the two players the Yankees gave up to get Ichiro). We mean Dewayne Wise.

The Yankees officially released Wise on July 31 to make room for the newly aquired Ichiro. Wise had been designated for assignment several days earlier, and at the time I wrote this regarding the Ichiro trade:

"If the Yankees wanted to capture lighting in a bottle, they had to look no further than their own bench. Dewayne Wise, a career journeyman, was serving as a spark for the team. He was used to spot starts and being a defensive replacement. He was used to batting in the lower part of the lineup. He was coming up with key hits. But instead he was designated for assignment when Ichiro came aboard."

Wise had performed well (in a small sample size) with the Yankees, and was costing them the major-league minimum salary. Ichiro cost $2.25 million and two players. The argument was that the Yankees were better off standing pat.

Wise signed with the White Sox on Aug. 3. Here are how the two players performed with their new teams:

It's a mixed bag. Ichiro has better percentage numbers but Wise has better counting stats. It's worth noting that while Wise and Ichiro have the same number of home runs and stolen bases, and are very close in runs and RBIs, Wise has produced his numbers in 54 less plate appearances than Ichiro.