Great, great trade by the Yankees and Cashman. It was a gutsy trade by both teams, giving up quality to get quality, which I like. New York has two top notch catchers on the way, superior by a large margin defensively. Montero, by all reports, did not show the work ethic to become a better catcher, had slow feet and that will not get better over time given the toll catching takes on most guys. Yes, his bat is strong but they did give him 60 plus comfortable, high margin of safety at bats. Safeco is one of the worst, if not the worst, fields for hitters, so his power numbers will drop. It is a park for pitching and defense. His GU stuff is going to drop significantly if you are looking at it as an investment piece too. Seattle got a great hitter that they desperately need, but NY got two hard throwing,(high K to BB ratio) high strike throwing, young pitchers under team control for 5 years, I believe. Good, young pitching is hard to develop and hard to get. The reaction of other AL executives definitely sided with the Yankees on this one and is usually a good barometer.
It is on the surface a good trade for both, to a degree, but it is a huge coup for the Yankees, especially in terms of need.

Ben