Monday, January 11, 2016
Joe Girardi Confirms What We Already Knew
Joe Girardi confirmed that Aroldis Chapman will be the Yankees closer in 2016. Basically what the Yankees manager is saying is the sky is still blue, the grass is still green and I'm still not going to win the Powerball on Wednesday. We all knew Chapman was going to be the closer, it was basically announced weeks ago when Andrew Miller told the media he was willing to pitch the 7th or 8th. Anyway the news is slow so people are latching onto this so I felt compelled to post it. Enjoy?
The Boring Winter Ahead: Watch the 1999 World Series Game One HERE
Game One of the 1999 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves.
ICYMI: The Huge One-Year Deal for Justin Upton That Needs to Happen ASAP
The New York Yankees have been hiding in the dark corners and murky alley's all offseason long while they do their work in relative secret and with stealth. No one saw the Aaron Hicks for John Ryan Murphy trade coming and no one saw the Jose Pirela for Ronald Herrera trade with the San Diego Padres coming either. The Starlin Castro trade was mentioned in passing, although nothing was considered to be close, while the Yankees absolutely shocked the world with the Aroldis Chapman trade. Brian Cashman earned the name Ninja Cashman because many of his deals come together without you reading about it on MLB Trade Rumors for six weeks in advance and Cashman should be thinking about landing his next target, Justin Upton.
Upton is attached to a draft pick after declining a qualifying offer from the San Diego Padres this offseason and the Yankees should do whatever they can to hold onto that pick, unless it's worth it. Who is worth it? Jason Heyward was, David Price was too and Justin Upton likely is too. Upton is so unbelievably underrated it's not even funny. Upton is just 28-years old and is coming off a 26 home run season in 2015 while playing half his games in the MLB equivalent of Yellowstone Park, Petco. Upton is a former first overall pick, ahead of Alex Gordon, and he actually has the best WRC+ over the last three years. Upton has a higher WRC+ than Jason Heyward did, than Yoenis Cespedes has and more so than Alex Gordon as well. Upton steals bases, 113 stolen bases in the last eight season, he's durable, he's played in at least 149 games in each of the last five seasons, and he's great defensively, he's finished third in the NL Gold Glove race in each of the last two seasons.
The market for Upton has been remarkably quiet, this should give the Yankees the opportunity to pounce. This free agent market is absolutely stacked and the next two offseason's are pretty thin following this season, Upton and the Yankees can take advantage of this. New York should offer Upton a one-year deal, maybe even add a player option or second year to the deal, and give him an incredible AAV. Pay the man $30 million for one season or $25 million for each of the next two season's, who cares? The plan is to wait until after the 2017 season to get under the luxury tax anyway and this makes the team exponentially better with another right-handed power bat being added to a thin lineup.
Upton can take advantage of a weak free agent market in a season or two as the top free agent and the Yankees can get his best seasons on a small risk. It makes sense, but will it happen?
Upton is attached to a draft pick after declining a qualifying offer from the San Diego Padres this offseason and the Yankees should do whatever they can to hold onto that pick, unless it's worth it. Who is worth it? Jason Heyward was, David Price was too and Justin Upton likely is too. Upton is so unbelievably underrated it's not even funny. Upton is just 28-years old and is coming off a 26 home run season in 2015 while playing half his games in the MLB equivalent of Yellowstone Park, Petco. Upton is a former first overall pick, ahead of Alex Gordon, and he actually has the best WRC+ over the last three years. Upton has a higher WRC+ than Jason Heyward did, than Yoenis Cespedes has and more so than Alex Gordon as well. Upton steals bases, 113 stolen bases in the last eight season, he's durable, he's played in at least 149 games in each of the last five seasons, and he's great defensively, he's finished third in the NL Gold Glove race in each of the last two seasons.
The market for Upton has been remarkably quiet, this should give the Yankees the opportunity to pounce. This free agent market is absolutely stacked and the next two offseason's are pretty thin following this season, Upton and the Yankees can take advantage of this. New York should offer Upton a one-year deal, maybe even add a player option or second year to the deal, and give him an incredible AAV. Pay the man $30 million for one season or $25 million for each of the next two season's, who cares? The plan is to wait until after the 2017 season to get under the luxury tax anyway and this makes the team exponentially better with another right-handed power bat being added to a thin lineup.
Upton can take advantage of a weak free agent market in a season or two as the top free agent and the Yankees can get his best seasons on a small risk. It makes sense, but will it happen?
Most Popular Article of the Week: Jacob Lindgren the Forgotten One

Major League Baseball is a thankless job, isn’t it? It’s almost like parenting, you work your tail off and you’re still expected to do a little more. Give a little more. Do a little better. It’s a large weight to carry on your shoulders every day but like parents MLB ball players do it. Again, much like parenting, there are times that you succeed but the first time you fail it’s all washed away. I said all that to bring to light exactly what is happening right now to a Yankees prospect, a Yankees prospect that is being severely overlooked this offseason. Jacob Lindgren.
Lindgren was taken with the first pick the Yankees had in the 2014 MLB Draft and was expected to move through the Yankees system rather quickly. Lindgren made his MLB debut early on in 2015 but an elbow injury derailed the beginning of his MLB career. Lindgren has bone spurs removed from his left elbow and missed the remainder of the 2015 season with surgery. While in the majors Lindgren did well and seemed to be slipping his way into Joe Girardi’s Circle of Trust but now it seems like no one remembers the name or mentions him anymore. Jacob Lindgren, the forgotten one.
Lindgren was not listed on either of Baseball America’s or Baseball Prospectus’s Top Yankees prospects list, although he did make my personal list, and was not listed in the Top 10 on MLB.com’s Pipeline list of prospects either. Lindgren is not being mentioned anywhere but here on The Greedy Pinstripes and that may be a good thing for him.
Lindgren went into the 2015 season with high hopes and expectations, entering the 2016 season he is the forgotten one. That’s a lot of weight off his shoulder and his left elbow and that may allow Lindgren to relax and do his thing like he did for Mississippi State or for the Yankees farm affiliates.
Don’t forget Jacob Lindgren ladies and gents or he’s going to make you regret it.
If Not Justin Upton then Who?
The New York Yankees are in a bit of a unique situation this
offseason. The team has needs, every team does, but the team lacks a true
position where they can upgrade the offense and team easily. There are at least
seven players vying for the starting rotation and another 10+ vying for the final
bullpen slots on the team. The offense is seemingly full and will see breakout
rookies like Greg Bird and Robert Refsnyder starting the season in Triple-A
while there’s little to no room to improve the defense without a chain reaction
of trades. I have said many times this offseason that the team should be at
least willing to discuss a potential trade of an outfielder to make room for
Justin Upton with little traction coming from my blog posts, if not Upton then
who else would make sense for the Yankees this offseason?
If not Upton then what Yoenis Cespedes? This is the obvious
answer if the Yankees are looking for some right-handed pop in the lineup and
another outfielder that can play in all three outfield positions. Cespedes,
unlike Upton, would not require the forfeit of a first round draft pick though
as he was not linked to a qualifying offer this offseason. The list of teams
said to be interested in Cespedes is dwindling, especially after San Francisco
signed Denard Span to a three-year deal, so you have to wonder if the one or
two year pillow contract we discussed for Upton earlier last week would apply
to Cespedes as well and whether he would take it or not. All signs point to no
since teams like the Chicago White Sox and others have been willing to give
Cespedes a three-year deal but you would have to think the window to win in New
York is better than that of Chicago.
If the Yankees want to go back to #TooManyDamnHrs they could
always shock the baseball world and go after Chris Davis as well. Davis,
although better suited as a DH at this point in his career, has played at first
base, third base and the outfield although none were considered to be adequate
attempts defensively. You don’t acquire a player like Davis for his defense or
his batting average though you acquire him for his 50+ home run power, which
may translate to 60 home run power inside Yankee Stadium, and the Yankees may
decide his bat is worth finding at bats for. New York would presumably have to
beat Baltimore’s $154 million offer they have left on the table for Davis
though which may be the biggest obstacle.
The final piece could bring a pitcher back to New York and
that pitcher could be Wei-Yin Chen. I would hate to lose the draft pick for a
pitcher that’s not an ace but Chen has a proven track record not only in the
American League but in the AL East, which counts for more than people realize I
think. Chen is just 30-years old and has a career 3.72 ERA pitching in the East
while throwing in at least 185 innings in three of his first four seasons.
Chen, like former teammate Davis, won’t come cheap making him unlikely to ever
don pinstripes under this current regime but he’s the only pitcher out there
that may be actually worth the risk and worth the reward.
Meet a Prospect: Donovan Solano
The New York Yankees found themselves this winter pretty
thin at the middle infield positions in Triple-A forcing Brian Cashman to look
outside the organization for help. Despite already signing Pete Kozma to a
minor league deal and Robert Refsnyder destined for second base in Scranton the
Yankees were looking for depth up the middle after trading Brendan Ryan and
Jose Pirela this winter. In an attempt to fill the depth chart back up the team
made a minor league signing with an invite to spring training and offered it to
former St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins product Donovan Solano. Today we
meet him and officially welcome him to the New York Yankees family and
organization. This is Meet a Prospect: The Donovan Solano Edition.
Donovan Solano Preciado was born on December 17, 1987 in
Columbia along with his brother and fellow Major League player Jhonatan Solano.
It was in Columbia that Donovan caught the eye of the St. Louis Cardinals
leading the team to sign him as an international free agent in 2005. Solano
spent the next seven seasons inside the Cardinals organization as a backup
infielder before his eventual release from the only professional organization
he’s ever known. The Miami Marlins came calling in 2012 and invited Solano to
spring training camp as a non-roster invitee after signing him to a minor
league deal and this is where Solano’s MLB career began.
In 2012 Solano made his MLB debut with the Marlins after
losing out on the spring competition to Donnie Murphy. Solano began the season
in Triple-A with the New Orleans Zephyrs before getting the call to the majors
on May 20, 2012. Solano became just the 12th Columbian-born player
to reach the Major Leagues and he singled in his first career at-bat. His
brother Jhonatan, also with the Marlins, became the 13th
Columbian-born player to make his MLB debut in that same magical 2012 season.
Some highlights from Solano’s 2012 campaign included a 2-4
night against the San Francisco Giants in his first career MLB start on May 26.
This was also the season that Hanley Ramirez was traded to the Los Angeles
Dodgers in July giving Solano, Murphy and Greg Dobbs ample playing time at
third base for the fish. Solano finished his rookie campaign with a .295
average in 285 at-bats with a pair of home runs, 11 doubles, three triples, 28
RBI, 21 walks and seven stolen bases. Solano followed up his rookie campaign
with three more average seasons with Miami before becoming a free agent this
winter.
The Yankees scooped up Solano and will give him a shot to
win the last bench spot for the team in 2016. If he doesn’t win the spot, and
the odds are not forever in his favor here in my opinion, he will presumably
begin the season in Triple-A with the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders. Either
way he’s part of the Yankees organization and the Yankees family so Donovan,
welcome! Enjoy your stay. ---
Quick Hit: Mike Piazza vs. the Yankees
The newest members of the Hall of Fame according to the
Baseball Writers Association of America are Seattle Mariners center fielder Ken
Griffey Jr. and New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza. We have taken a
disheartening look at how Griffey Jr. terrorized the Yankees during his career
so it feels only right to do the same with Piazza. Piazza played his entire
career in the National League with the Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers so the
amount of times he saw the Yankees were limited but there was the Subway Series
in Interleague play and the 2000 World Series matchup between the Yankees and
Mets. Did Piazza make Yankees fans tremble before every interleague season?
I | Split | G | PA | R | H | 2B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | BAbip | tOPS+ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York Yankees | 41 | 176 | 27 | 46 | 10 | 8 | 26 | 0 | 20 | 26 | .301 | .381 | .523 | .904 | .314 | 97 |
Roger Clemens sure didn’t fear Piazza, he threw a splintered
bat “in his general direction” in the 2000 World Series but it did look
like many of the Yankees pitchers were scared of him. Piazza finished his career against the Yankees with a .300 average with eight home runs and 26 RBI in just 41 games. Multiply that by four for roughly a full season total and you have 32 home runs and 108 RBI with 80 walks, 40 doubles and 184 hits. Ouch.
This Day In New York Yankees History 1/11: ARod Suspended 162 Games
On this day in 2014 arbitrator Frederic Horowitz reduced Alex Rodriguez's doping suspension from 211 games to 162 games. Rodriguez had appealed the suspension handed down by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig that included any potential postseason games.
On this day in 2001 David Cone agrees to a one year contract with the Boston Red Sox leaving a $500 K guaranteed offer by the Yankees. Cone would make between $4 million to $5 million with Boston with incentives so who could blame him for being a traitor.
On this day in 1983 Billy Martin was hired as the manager of the New York Yankees for the third time. The third time will not be the charm as he would be replaced by Yogi Berra in 1985. Martin would be moved to the front office though so it was not a total loss for Billy.
On this day in 1915 Colonel Jacob Ruppert and Colonel Tillinghast L. Huston buy the New York Yankees from Frank Farrell and Bill Devery for $460,000. Ruppert considers renaming the Yankees the "knickerbockers" to promote his product from his brewery but thankfully doesn't after pressure from newspaper men.
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