Thursday, December 20, 2018

I Was A Yankee For A Day...


12/19/2018, A Day in Pinstripes for Manny Machado...

Yesterday was Manny Day and I have to admit, after weeks of angry and very bitter comments on Social Media, I am still surprised how divided the Yankees fan base is over the potential signing of shortstop/third baseman Manny Machado to a lengthy and very lucrative contract to wear the famed Pinstripes. I personally have supported Manny from the start. When he was first traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers last summer, I bought a Dodgers cap with Manny’s signature etched into the side while walking The Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. It remains a staple in my hat collection.  


Blogger's Note: Not my hat.

Manny spent 90 minutes at Yankee Stadium early Wednesday afternoon which Yankee fans, of course, immediately dissected as both good and bad. I didn’t really read much into it. Of the three teams chasing Machado, Manny is most familiar with Yankee Stadium and the team is very familiar with him.  One doesn’t really need to sell the other. They just have to address the concerns raised during the past post-season about Machado’s “Johnny Hustle” comments. I am sure Manny got a tour of Yankee Stadium from an insider’s perspective, but really, I don’t see why the meetings should have taken all day. I doubt contract negotiations took place which would have been the most time-consuming element.  

Jon Heyman later reported that Manny and his wife, Yainee, and his agent, Dan Lozano, had dinner in a Manhattan restaurant with the Yankees last night. I guess the Taco Bell near Yankee Stadium was out of the question. No names about who attended the dinner were mentioned but you’d assume that both Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone (and his lovely Playmate wife) were there.  I didn’t see any reports of Hal Steinbrenner’s presence but it would be understandable for him to miss the meetings since his family is preparing for his mother’s funeral on Friday in Tampa.   

The Manny Caravan moves to Philadelphia today to talk with the Phillies. It’s being reported that Manny’s consideration lies solely with the White Sox, Yankees, and Phillies, and no potential mystery teams as previously reported. In the end, it’s going to come down to money. It doesn’t matter that Manny’s brother-in-law is a first baseman for the White Sox, Carlos Beltran is a special adviser to Brian Cashman, or that the Phillies front office includes a few ex-Orioles employees. The team that is willing to pay Manny the most money will be the winner. Perhaps if all offers are equal, the tie goes to the Yankees, but I am prepared for this to go either way. I would love for Manny to pull on the Pinstripes and I’d love to see Alex Rodriguez give his blessing for Manny to wear Number 13.  




Bryan Van Dusen wrote a great piece yesterday on The Greedy Pinstripes blog about why the Yankees should sign Bryce Harper instead of Machado. I do not disagree with Bryan. There are many reasons why Harper would be a great fit for the Yankees, most notably his left-handed bat in a predominantly right-handed lineup. What’s exciting about Harper and Machado is the upside of both young superstars. The best is yet to come. If the Yankees sign Harper instead of Machado, rest assured I’ll be very excited. My support of Machado in no way means that I would not gladly accept Bryce’s presence on the Yankees roster. The Yankees can easily find an interim second baseman/shortstop type to help cover Didi’s absence as he recovers from Tommy John surgery and I have no problem with Miguel Andujar continuing to work on his defensive skills at third base. While many fans do not want the Yankees to sign Machado for his potential adverse impact on Andujar, my main overriding factor is I want Didi Gregorius on this team beyond 2019. If signing Manny means the Yankees do not pursue an extension with Didi, I think my desire to sign Manny lessens considerably. Didi is my shortstop and that’s not going to change regardless of who is standing at short on Opening Day. If Manny told the Yankees yesterday that he is only going to play shortstop, it’s a hard pass for me. I am not interested. Manny would have to be willing to move to third base. I don’t care what it means for Andujar. Manny is the better player. Either Andujar learns another position like first base or left field or moves to DH or is traded in a package for an elite starter. I like Andujar but when you have an opportunity to get better, you do it. We have a World Series window in front of us right now. Do what it takes to get better. I am so ready to end Boston's reign in the AL East.

I am anxious for Machado and Harper to sign so that we can end the excessive speculation and over-analysis about the young superstars. Frankly, I am getting a little tired of their names. I’d also like to see the Yankees move onto other pressing matters, like filling the voids in the bullpen. It was reported the Cleveland Indians are still talking Corey Kluber in potential trades, but the Yankees have not been connected with the latest rumors. I’d still love to see the Yankee re-engage the Indians to see if there is a fit, although Cleveland’s ability to shed payroll in recent trades has lessened the need for them to part with a member of their starting rotation. At this point, it’s looking like any potential upgrade for the current starting rotation will be a trading deadline decision next July. 

On one more Harper-Machado note, it's too bad that Bryce's wife Kayla is not named Laurel. I would have really loved to have seen the Yainee versus Laurel debates. 

Yesterday morning, TGP’s Daniel Burch was tweeting his interest in Troy Tulowitzki as a potential infield solution, given the Blue Jays are paying the freight on the $38 million owed to Tulo and he can picked up for minimum wage. While I may or may not agree with his opinion, it was funny to see many beat writers picking up Daniel’s mantra throughout the day. I know it was spurred by Tulo’s showcase this week in front of multiple teams, but credit to Daniel for being a step ahead of a few others who, unlike Daniel, are paid to do this for a living. 


By now, we all know the Yankees designated pitcher Parker Bridwell for assignment when they re-signed LHP J.A. Happ and added him to the 40-man roster. No disposition has yet been given for Bridwell, but it's a little bit sad that his recent waiver claim by the Yankees cost Ronald Torreyes his job. In retrospect, it wasn't really worth it to claim Bridwell, particularly given there is nothing in his numbers that suggests anything special. Perhaps the plan, all along, was to try to sneak Bridwell through waivers since he is out of options to send him to Triple A for depth, but still, it seems like there were other and better sacrificial lambs on the roster, like Luis Cessa and A.J. Cole. At this point, I don't really see a trade of Sonny Gray until closer to or during Spring Training. Despite some who have started to write that they'd like to see the Yankees retain Gray, I think he'll be gone by Opening Day. I've certainly seen enough of him to last a lifetime.



I was a little underwhelmed by the Yankees' decision to sign lefty Rex Flowers on a minors deal. I know it was just a depth move but I don't see him adding any value at the Major League level. I probably liked Boston's addition of righty Zach Putnam on a minor league deal better.  Putnam hasn't pitching any significant innings since 2016 due to Tommy John surgery early in the 2017 season, but he was once an effective reliever for the Chicago White Sox. I think he has more upside for the Sox than Flowers has with the Yankees. While Boston is still without a closer, they've quietly been collecting minor bullpen pieces with Putnam and others like Colten Brewer, who previously spent a season in the Yankees' farm system, and former Seattle pitcher Erasmo Ramirez. The Sox also grabbed former Yankees prospect RHP Anyelo Gomez in the Triple A Rule 5 Draft which means that Gomez is theirs for good. Gomez still has the potential to be a breakout for the bullpen. Hopefully, GM Brian Cashman begins looking at the Yankees bullpen soon. I remain fearful that we'll lose David Robertson to the Red Sox and would really like to see him return to the Bronx.  

Well, today's a new day. Let's see what it has in store for us.  

As always, Go Yankees!