Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Changing The Plan Surrounding Miguel Andujar

When writing my postseason plan I had originally written that the Yankees should trade Andujar for a pitcher and sign Manny Machado. But I changed my mind and decided that the lineup with Andujar in it, especially after I said I wanted the Yankees to sign Bryce Harper, was just too good to pass up.

Of course, at the time, I thought signing Patrick Corbin was a foregone conclusion. But now that Corbin will pitch for the Nationals, and other free agent pitchers are good but don't really do it for me, I believe the Yankees should go with my first plan.

As I've said, the Yankees would have to bring in Manny Machado if Andujar were traded. The offense is very good, but I do not want to see the offense hurt by replacing Andujar with anyone else. Sure, Mike Moustakas would be interesting as a power-hitting left-handed batter at Yankee Stadium, but the bottom line is the offense would get worse.

So what do you do? Sign Manny Machado before working out a trade involving Andujar, or trade away Andujar and then sign Manny Machado?

I think the answer is clear.

Sure, if the Yankees signed Machado first, I understand that other teams may demand more since Andujar is an obvious trade candidate. But not making sure you have Manny on the team first could create a much bigger, and a very real, problem.

There's no guarantee that Manny would sign with the Yankees after Miguel was dealt. Let's say the Yankees have a backroom deal in place with Machado before the trade for 9 years and $288 million (AAV of $32m). But after the trade, and before Manny officially signs, the Phillies call up Dan Lozano and offer 10 years and $350 million (AAV of $35m). I don't see Machado giving up that extra guaranteed year, as well as $62 million, to live up to a backroom deal. And I wouldn't blame him. Sure, it's kind of a shitty thing to do as you're going back on your word, but that's a huge chunk of change.

Furthermore, I don't buy the argument against signing Machado first, which is that another team would want more as they see Miguel Andujar as expendable. We see it all the time where it's clear a team is willing to trade a player, but the return for said player is still good. In 2016, with Aroldis Chapman set to become a free agent after the season, it was no surprise when the Yankees were willing to trade their closer. But did the fact the Yankees were willing to trade Chapman make them have to accept less? Seeing that Gleyber Torres has become a star, and Billy McKinney was key in trading for J.A. Happ last season, I'd say they still got a pretty good return.

So if this is Brian Cashman's plan then I firmly believe he has to have Manny Machado in the fold before trading Miguel Andujar. Otherwise, while the team's starting rotation would greatly improve, the hit they take on offense could make the overall team worse. Because while the offense will affect every game, a new starter would only directly affect 32 or 33 (his indirect effect on the rotation would certainly not change much about the other 129 or 130 games).

4 comments:

  1. Sign Machado and move Andujar to 1B. It get's rid of his defensive weakness (a less athletic position) and keeps his consistent bat. While Didi is out Machado at SS (which I'm not crazy about) and Andujar stays at 3B. When Didi returns, Andujar to 1B and Machado to 3B.

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  2. Machado is not needed. Bring in Gonzalez or murohM until Didi returns.

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    1. Jesus christ you people. 1. Didi had tjs and is out half the year, and this is his final season. So technically, we can keep andujar at third, Machado at ss. So it won't reduce the price of andujar.

      And I wouldn't move andujar to first and have him involved in more plays....

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  3. And nothing is "needed." but I guess you forgot the embarrassing alds. Patrick and I surely haven't.

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)