Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Russell Martin Was Willing To Sign One Year Deal


In the latest version of Brian Cashman being a complete idiot we heard news today that Russell Martin was interested in signing a one year deal with the Yankees worth $9-10 million. For some reason the Yankees did not take him up on this offer and instead allowed him to walk to Pittsburgh on a two year deal. This would fit in with our off season plan of one year deals only and would also help us get under the 2014 luxury tax thresh hold of $189 million. Brain scratching to say the least. Instead we will see Stewvelli behind the plate for the Yankees in 2013.

Yankees Officially Acquire Vernon Wells


It is FINALLY official and Vernon Wells is officially a New York Yankee and will be in the starting lineup and in left field tonight on YES against the Houston Astros. The Yankees gave up pitcher Kramer Sneed and Exicardo Cayones, who they acquired last winter in the AJ Burnett trade, to get Wells. We have conflicting reports that either David Adams was released and/or designated for assignment to make room for Wells on the 40 man roster. As against  the trade as I am I want to officially welcome Vernon, the secret Yankees fan, to the club.

Yankees Release Prospect David Adams


UPDATE 8:21 

The Yankees have a straight release of David Adams, not the original DFA. This means that the Yankees will likely re-sign David to a minor league deal this week.

The New York Yankees have announced that they have designated third basemen David Adams for assignment in what is a huge shock to me. David Adams had a legit shot at making the big league roster before a back injury set him back this spring. David will be entering his age 25 season and is generally considered to be major league ready so I cannot see him clearing waivers and getting off the 40 man roster. This is a real head scratcher to me...

New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros 3/26


The Yankees will host the newest team to join the American League tonight as they play host to the Houston Astros at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. The game will be televised at 7:05 pm ET on YES and on MLB Network.

Here is the lineup


Brett Gardner CF
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Kevin Youkilis 3B
Travis Hafner DH
Vernon Wells LF
Juan Rivera 1B
Eduardo Nunez SS
Chris Stewart C
LHP CC Sabathia

Yankees Sign Lyle Overbay

That didn't take long.

This morning the Red Sox released Lyle Overbay, after he hit .220/.327/.341 in 49 plate appearances during Spring Training. After putting up a line of .259/.331/.397 in 2012, the Sox didn't feel compelled to keep Overbay around, not with Mike Napoli, Daniel Nava, and the newly acquired Mike Carp sitting 1-2-3 on the depth chart at 1B.

Well, the Yankees have already pounced on Lyle and signed him to a minor league deal. No harm in seeing what the guy could do, I guess. After seeing that the Yankees will pay $100,000 to keep Juan Rivera around, though, I don't see Overbay's stay with the Yankees being a long one. We will either see him in Scranton soon, or will waiver goodbye to him for good.

EDIT: Overbay can opt-out of of his contract on Friday, giving the Yankees a few days to figure out what they want to do. Seeing as how Lyle has done little this spring, I don't see him overtaking Juan Rivera for the 1B gig. However, I guess it's possible Overbay could end up on the bench.

Yankees Add Dan Otero

Earlier today the Yankees claimed recently released Dan Otero.

Otero has only thrown 12.1 innings in Major League Baseball, which came last season with the San Francisco Giants, after having thrown to a 2.12 ERA in 6 seasons in the minors. Dan spent most of 2012 in AAA Fresno, putting up a 2.90 ERA in 48 appearances. His 1.2 BB/9 is pretty nice looking, but seeing a low 6.5 K/9 doesn't excite me. But what do you expect from a guy claimed off of waivers?

It'll be interesting to see what the team does with Otero, since he had to be added to the 40-man roster with the move, and the Yankees' 40-man is already really tight. The assumption is that the Yankees will place him on waivers, and hope that he clears them and can be sent to AAA. I see no way Otero is added to the MLB bullpen.


Big Day For Juan Rivera

The Yankees either had to add Juan Rivera to the Active/25-Man Roster or pay him $100,000 to keep him around. Seeing as how Rivera has yet to hear about his roster status, he can start thinking about how he's going to spend that money.

With that in mind, I believe we can assume Juan will be with the Yankees on Opening Day.

Vernon Wells Will Save The Yankees Money

Although it's been known for more than nearly two days now, the Yankees have finally made the trade for Vernon Wells official.

My initial thoughts on the acquisition were the same as most people's, landing in the "WTF" category. Wells has had an OPS+ at or below 91 in three of the last four seasons, with a very nice 127 thrown in there from his last season with the Blue Jays in 2010. Vernon's batting line of .218/.248/.412 in 131 games in 2011, followed by .230/.279/.403 in 77 games last season, is quite troubling as well. So what would possess Brian Cashman to want to pay the guy around $13 million over two years, on top of giving up a couple of prospects?

"Is it Satan?"

Sure, Wells has had a nice spring, hitting .361 with four home runs and a double in there. But come on... it's Spring Training. How many of his 41 plate appearances were against pitchers that will actually play a significant role with their team? I'm willing to bet that it's not a lot. David Phelps, Ivan Nova, Adam Warren, Vidal Nuno, and Brett Marshall are the top five pitchers as far as innings pitched for the Yankees this spring, and only one of those five will be in the starting rotation (at least a healthy one), and I don't see any of them playing a big part out of the bullpen either (again, a healthy one). That tells you how much the "top" pitchers have thrown this spring. So forgive me for not seeing Wells' numbers in the Cactus League and getting all giddy about this trade.

But there are a couple of things to keep in mind regarding this deal, the second of which is not something to disregard.

One, the players the Yankees gave up were low-level prospects. And the word "prospect" is used pretty loosely in their cases. The first guy was acquired in the AJ Burnett trade with the Pirates last offseason, and that is outfielder Exicardo Cayones. Cayones hit .228/.374/.291 in 200 plate appearances with Short Season Stanton Island last year, and that's includes drawing twice as many walks in 2012 than he did the year before (33 to 15). The second guy the Yankees gave up for Wells is Kramer Sneed, a pitcher the Yankees drafted with the 32nd pick in the 2010 draft. Sneed had an ERA of 5.37 in high-A Tampa last season, and almost walked as many batters as he struck out (38 to 40). So I think the farm system is going to be just fine without those two.

"Let's go, the team doesn't need us anyway."

Secondly, and this is the key... the team will save about $2 million towards the Luxury Tax in 2014. Although, in reality, the team will end up paying Wells a little over $2 million next year, as far as the Luxury Tax is concerned Wells is not only free, but the Yankees will basically get paid to have him on the roster.

You see, Vernon's contract is for $126 million over 7 years, making the average annual value $18 million. That $18 million is what counts towards the Luxury Tax. Meanwhile, the Collective Bargaining Agreement makes it so the money the Yankees receive from the Angels does not get averaged between the two years remaining on Wells' contract, and can be allocated however the teams wish. So while the Angels will give the Yankees $9 million for Wells in 2013, they will give the Yankees $20 million for Wells in 2014. Take the contract's AAV of $18 million for 2014, subtract the $20 million the Yankees will get from the Angels, and voila... the Yankees will have freed up $2 million to help them reach their goal of $189 million.

"So what have you got to say now, punk?"

The only questionable thing about this trade is how much Wells will help or hurt the team this season. When it comes to money, though, it doesn't matter. The Yankees weren't going to lower the payroll to the point where they'd save anything, and it's not like they're hurting on the financial side of things. So in my opinion the only place Wells can hurt the team is on the field, and that's by playing poorly... a definite possibility. But at this point the Yankees are screwed anyway, so why not make a move like this. People are calling it the ultimate sign of desperation, but to be honest... the Yankees are desperate.

Spring Training 3/26/13 Lineup

Brett Gardner CF
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Kevin Youkilis 3B
Travis Hafner DH
Vernon Wells LF
Juan Rivera 1B
Eduardo Nunez SS
Chris Stewart C

LHP CC Sabathia

2013 Predictions : MVP


The 2013 season is right around the corner and I wanted to take a stab in the dark at who will win the MVP Awards in both the American and National Leagues. These are rarely ever right so my guess is as good as anyone's I guess. Here goes:


My prediction for the American League MVP will be, as much as it kills me, King Albert Pujols. He will not have a month or so of a powerless drought and does not have to adjust to a new team, a new league, etc etc etc. I expect him to start early and often and not stop until October. I fully expect the old Albert Pujols to show his face in 2013 and bring home yet another MVP award.


My prediction for the National League MVP will be Matt Kemp. Matt had to deal with injury after injury last season after a huge 50/50 season prediction around this time last year. Kemp will be healthy this season and actually have some legit protection in the lineup. I expect him to have a monster season and lead his team to the NL West title. #BeastModeNeverSleeps


Morning Bits: Wang excited to be back with Yanks, Mariano, AL East Rivals

mug3Good Morning all..... Not many spring training games left.   Let's get right to the links....

-- David Waldstein of The New York Times writes that Wang hopes to get back to where he started.

-- Andrew Marchand of ESPN NY asks over/under 36 saves this season for Mariano Rivera.

-- Danny Knobler of CBS Sports writes that the Yankees have looked bad, but not to their AL East rivals.