The New York Yankees and $4 Million to Play With

The August 31^st trading deadline is a shade over a week away and the New York Yankees have roughly $4 million to play with while still staying under the luxury tax threshold of $197 million.

Andrew McCutchen has been placed on revocable waivers and, at the time of this writing anyway, he had yet to clear waivers. Assuming he does, and with his salary he should, the San Francisco Giants outfielder could come to New York along with his roughly $3.23 million left on his deal for the 2018 season. McCutchen would be a true rental meaning the Yankees wouldn’t give up anything of significance for the veteran outfielder. Personally, I’d love McCutchen in pinstripes and he would be my top trade target since Aaron Judge won’t be back any time soon.

Curtis Granderson is in a similar situation but has already cleared waivers and would eat up less of the Yankees available cap room with his $1.1 million in salary still to be paid. Acquiring Granderson instead of McCutchen would give the Yankees some wiggle room to add a relief pitcher if they deemed it possible.

If the Yankees decided to get Granderson instead of McCutchen the team could conceivably also acquire Kelvin Herrera of the Washington Nationals, who are now selling off veteran rental pieces. Herrera is a free agent at season’s end and is owed roughly $1.7 million for the remainder of the season. Herrera has not pitched well for the Nationals since the Kansas City Royals traded him to Washington this June, but he has a proven veteran track record that signals that he is more than likely to turn it around. He has to be better than AJ Cole, right?

Oh, and by the way I wanted to address something that really bothers me. To all the fans who say the Yankees are “cheap” and not committed to winning. Go root for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the New York Mets, the Miami Marlins, the Tampa Bay Rays or even a team like the Oakland Athletics who may have a good season or two of competing, but then see all their players leave via trades or free agency because their owners and organizations won’t spent $197 million and are too cheap to hold onto their good, young talent. Rant over.

So it Seems… August 31st Trade Deadline Day

Good morning everyone and happy August 31^st trade deadline day. While this deadline day is nothing compared to the July 31^st trade deadline day it is still a rather big deal nonetheless. Any player acquired today or before today obviously is eligible for postseason play with their new team while any player acquired after the trade deadline, because yes teams can trade up until the final day of the season if they would like, are not eligible for postseason play in 2017. Will the Yankees acquire anyone? It honestly seems very unlikely at this point and if they did it may be a third catcher for the month of September but probably nothing more than that. Don’t get too excited about today Yankees family because it is looking like it’s going to be just another day in the Bronx.

Every day with you is special though. HEY YOU. I love you!

So it Seems… Mayweather v. McGregor

Today is the day ladies and gentleman that undefeated boxing champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather takes on UFC star and champion Conor McGregor. Who ya got?

Me personally I find it hard to bet against Mayweather and that’s only because of the Manny Pacquiao fight. If that fight taught us anything it is that Mayweather doesn’t have to be dominant or even all that good to win a fight, not a boxing match anyway. This is exactly what I think is going to happen. Mayweather is going to dance around, jab and run for about five-or-six rounds. Just long enough for McGregor to get frustrated and start chasing him wanting to make something happen and then Conor is going to get tagged. Lights out, game over.

Conor used to be a boxer but he isn’t much of a boxer anymore. If you don’t believe that than I have two words for you… Nate Diaz. Diaz cleaned McGregor’s clock more than once and he did it by boxing. McGregor doesn’t stand a chance unless he catches Mayweather getting cocky or arrogant and catches him with a punch. Anyone can be caught at any time, even Mayweather.

I know it’s not the pick that everyone wanted to see but that’s just how I see the fight going down. It won’t be Miguel Cabrera vs. the Yankees but it will be entertaining nonetheless. Enjoy it and enjoy the weekend!

Especially you. I’m missing you. HEY YOU. I love you Kari. 

So it Seems… TODAY!!!

Good morning everyone and Happy Friday. TGIF, we made it through another week. This is a very special week for me and a very special day, indeed, as today is my big move. I am moving today. Today is the beginning of everything. Chapter one of my life has been written, the introduction, and Chapter Two starts tonight. I couldn’t be more excited. I couldn’t be happier. It’s our time baby. It’s finally our time. I love you and HEY YOU! It is today!

Have a great day Yankees family and a great weekend. The Yankees are in Boston this weekend in another big series for both clubs. Here’s to hoping the Yankees do some major damage tonight in Boston and begin their ascension towards the top of the American League East Division.

So it Seems There's At Least Three Words That Need to be Said

On a day like today there's only THREE words that matter. I, love and you.

Three more days!!!! HEY YOU. I love you to the mailbox and back. 

The Best August Trade the Yankees Can Make

The August 31^st trade deadline is quickly approaching and while we have seen more than a few teams take advantage of this month’s waiver wire trade deadline deals the New York Yankees have not been one of them. New York was said to be interested in the New York Mets second baseman Neil Walker before the team sent him to the Milwaukee Brewers while the team also thought they had a deal for Jay Bruce in place, also with the Mets, before he was shipped to the Cleveland Indians to solidify their playoff push. The good news for the Yankees though after missing out on two key players for their own postseason run is that the team can still make the very best trade they can during this month of August and it won’t even cost them all that much.

What do I mean? Well I don’t mean the Yankees can acquire another player from another team because of the payroll freeze set in place by Hal Steinbrenner but I do mean the team can get healthy, get some players off the disabled list and hit their stride right at the perfect time of the season. Currently the Yankees have a lot of big guns on the disabled list and many of them are getting close to coming off the disabled list including second baseman Starlin Castro, first baseman Greg Bird, RHP Masahiro Tanaka and LHP CC Sabathia.

Bird’s struggles have been well documented this season across the Yankees blogosphere but what many of those posts fail to address is the fact that Bird was trying to play through an ankle injury which could have absolutely led to him slashing just .100/.250/.200 in 60 at-bats. Bird is set to begin his rehab assignment tomorrow with the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders although his rehab could go the maximum time allowed since the left-hander has missed so much of the 2017 season already.

With Castro, a 2017 AL All-Star, and Bird the Yankees offense should be much better while having two veteran arms in Sabathia and Tanaka can only benefit a young team headed towards a potential playoff berth. This may be the best, and only, option for the Yankees this month to improve the team so let’s hope for the best and hope for the health and effectiveness of these four players.

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays 8/10

The New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays will finish off their three-game set today inside the Rogers Centre with the third interesting pitching matchup of the series. Happy Sonny Gray Day ladies and gentleman as the Yankees send their newest toy and acquisition to the mound for the second time in his Yankees tenure. It’s a shame Gray couldn’t pitch tomorrow as the Yankees begin a series with the Boston Red Sox but what can you do, right? Opposing Gray on the mound for the Blue Jays today will be Marco Estrada. Good luck to both teams.

Gray took the loss in his Yankees debut against the Cleveland Indians allowing four runs, just two of them earned, on four hits in six innings of work. In Gray’s final start as a member of the Athletics the Toronto Blue Jays tagged Gray for four unearned runs.

Estrada has been solid in his last two starts lasting at least seven innings in both. Estrada will be making his team-leading 24^th start tonight for Toronto and will look to play spoiler for the Yankees who are still in the hunt for a playoff spot.

The game will be played at 7:07 pm ET inside the Rogers Centre in Toronto, eh, and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along in your cars and on the radio by tuning into the WFAN broadcast with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. Enjoy the game and let’s get the hell out of Canada. Back to the states! Go Yankees!!

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays 8/9

The New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays are just about set to kick off tonight’s game and continue their three-game set this week inside the Rogers Centre. In the middle game of the series the Yankees will send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound, Happy Tanaka Day ladies and gentleman, to face off with Nick Tepesch for the Blue Jays. The game will be played at 7:07 pm ET inside the Rogers Centre in Toronto and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along in your cars and on the radio by tuning into WFAN.

Follow us on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes and enjoy the game. Go Yankees!!

So it Seems There Will Be Many Eyes on You Today so STAY STRONG!

Today admittedly will be a bit of a somber day and a difficult day for me so excuse me while I ramble on for a bit this morning.

Stay strong, be strong. Today will be hard but there will be many eyes on you today looking for various things. Some will look at you with worry and sadness but some will look at you hoping that you’re okay so they know that it will be okay. You are the rock and the foundation to many and those people will be relying heavily on you today. Not to say you can’t cry and you can’t show emotion, that’s totally healthy and normal, but overall you have to stay strong. Be there. Be available to those who need you. I know you know what you’re doing, you’re an amazing person and so kind-hearted, and you don’t need my advice but I’m here to give it regardless. I care about you and I love you. I’m here when you’re ready today, and I’ll be okay when you’re not. Always on my mind and always in my heart Kari Ann Burch.

Make the best of every day Yankees family because tomorrow is never promised. Stay well. 

So it Seems a Rough Week is Ahead

Well this past weekend didn’t go according to plan but here lately when does it ever? Life is so frustrating sometimes. Why can’t everything just fall into place and work for once? Ugh. Anyway, no doom and gloom and minimal sadness. We don’t have time for that and we don’t have room for that right now.

I hope everyone had a great start to their week and a great weekend. Remember this, it’s always going to rain. You can live with the rain but you can’t live without the rain. You have to get through the rain to get back to the sunshine. Same thing goes for life. It’s just a bump in the road.

HEY YOU. Good morning, and I love you. You are my rock, my constant and my heart. 

RANT: You Can’t Really Send Down Clint Frazier… Can You?

Okay so I teased with starting off the morning with a doom and gloom type post and I quickly turned things around but there’s something building inside of me that cannot be contained. I need to rant and personally I feel like I have a damn good reason to. The New York Yankees are expecting outfielder Aaron Hicks to be back from the disabled list as early as next week after starting a rehab assignment in Triple-A with the Scranton RailRiders  leaving the Yankees with an impending and very tough decision to make. Who goes down when Hicks returns from the disabled list, assuming everyone is healthy and intact between then and now? Is it a pitcher? The Yankees are already carrying 13 pitchers at the time of this writing, or will it be Clint Frazier? It can’t be Frazier, can it? I mean, it can’t be Frazier and if it is I have a feeling I might have to rage for a bit. Keep reading.

I get that this is a business and logistically it makes sense that Frazier would be the one to go down. Frazier is the low man on the hypothetical totem pole and he has a minor league option where many have not but the Yankees are in the heat of a pennant race right now. Would the Yankees not prefer to have their second best outfielder, albeit in a small sample size and second best outfielder according to OPS behind Aaron Judge, for that potential playoff push? Especially when the Yankees still have Jacoby Ellsbury on their active roster burning up a valuable spot and resources. You’re going to send down Frazier and keep Ellsbury? Yeah I can’t really justify this line of thinking in my head. I can’t.

I know it’s probably much easier said than done and I totally get that and probably agree with that, but still. It really just irks me to be involved in this youth movement from a fan’s perspective only to see a guy like Frazier go down, who just for the record has far exceeded expectations at the Major League level thus far to date, while someone like Ellsbury or even Chase Headley remain on the team. Phantom DL Ellsbury or Matt Holliday, do something. Just don’t send down Frazier. And I really don’t want to hear the load of crap about how the Yankees can’t move the Ellsbury contract. There’s been worse contracts moved with more money and years left on them than Ellsbury’s both in the month of July and in the month of August. Cashman can get it done, so do it.

I apologize for starting this Thursday off with a rant but I am just growing so sick and tired of seeing good, young players sent down to the minor leagues because they have options while mediocre or less-than-average players remaining on the team mooching playing time. This is a youth movement and a team trying to compete all bunched up into one huge ball of hard decisions but sending Frazier down shouldn’t be one of them in my opinion. 

Recapping the August 31st Trade Deadline in MLB

The Major League Baseball waiver wire trade deadline has come and gone and if you weren’t constantly clicking refresh on your MLB Trade Rumors app or webpage you didn’t miss much. In case you want to know what you missed here is a quick, and I mean quick, recap of all the “action” that went down yesterday before the deadline.

• The Cleveland Indians have acquired Coco Crisp from the Oakland Athletics for pitcher Colt Hynes and cash considerations.

• The Baltimore Orioles have acquired Kyle Lobstein from the Pittsburgh Pirates for LHP Zach Phillips. The Orioles then released Lobstein after claiming Drew Stubbs off release waivers from the Texas Rangers. Okay then. 

• The Yankees traded Ben Gamel to the Seattle Mariners for a pair of prospects and one rant from this guy right here. Don't worry, it's coming.  The rant is coming because the team then turned around and acquired Eric Young Jr. from the Milwaukee Brewers to be their stolen base specialist for the month of September. 

What a boring deadline. I guess it normally is traditionally but this one seemed to be especially slow for whatever reason. Oh well, anyone traded or acquired after the deadline yesterday will not be postseason eligible in 2016. Trades and moves can be made until the very last day of the season. Here we go boys and girls, it’s time to sprint. 

The 2016 Season is Officially a Sprint

Ladies and gentleman I touched on this a bit yesterday on the blog but today I want to really go over and showcase the importance of today. Today not only does the calendar change from August to September but I have also said that September 1^st marks the end of the MLB season being a marathon and this is where the regular season officially becomes a sprint.

Both the August 1^st and August 31^st trade deadlines are now in the books. September call ups are upon us. The pennant races in almost every division in both the American League and the National League are tight or competitive and the races for both Wild Card spots in the respective leagues are a jumbled mess, but in a good way.

Five months in the books, one more to go before things get really interesting. We have the entire month of September to go, two games in October and then the postseason. It is no longer getting late pretty early Yankees family. It’s late and it’s time to give it everything we’ve got.

We’re not in a marathon any longer. I can see the finish line in the distance. It’s time to sprint. 

USA Today’s Weekly MLB Power Rankings

Another week of baseball down and another week closer to the August 31^st trade deadline, which comes and goes tomorrow in case you don’t have a calendar handy, and another week closer to the playoffs. Whether the New York Yankees will be there in October remains to be seen but the team is doing everything they have to do in order to get there, but will it be enough? The Yankees are winning series, almost every series in fact, but at some point they have to start making up ground on the 900 (slight exaggeration) teams in front of them in the AL Wild Card chase and they do that by sweeping teams. Well that and by rising a bit in these rankings.

The Yankees despite have another great week of baseball rose just one spot in the rankings to the #16 position. I know I’ve said this a couple weeks in a row now but I think the crew over there is being cautious with this team and the first time they go on a three or four game losing streak they will drop them like they are hot in the rankings. Oh well, only way to prevent that is to keep winning I guess. The Yankees best bet to make the postseason may be to leapfrog the teams ahead of them in the division and win and to do that they would have to hunt down the #4 ranked Toronto Blue Jays, the #6 ranked Boston Red Sox and the #9 ranked Baltimore Orioles while holding off the #23 ranked Tampa Bay Rays.

The biggest rise of the week went to the Oakland Athletics who rose four spots to the #22 position while the biggest fall went to the Miami Marlins who are streaking in the wrong direction at the worst possible time. Miami slid five spots this week down to the #17 position in the rankings. Ouch.

The Top Five teams according to the rankings are the Chicago Cubs, the Washington Nationals, the Texas Rangers, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Cleveland Indians in order while the five teams that nobody wants to be in the league right now are the #26 Cincinnati Reds, the #27 San Diego Padres, the #28 Arizona Diamondbacks, the #29 Minnesota Twins and the #30 Atlanta Braves.

It will be interesting to see how tomorrow trade deadline affects the playoff chases and these rankings. Stay tuned for that and stay tuned to see if the Yankees continue to stockpile talent for their minor league teams and their future. 

August 31st Trade Deadline Looms, Is Anyone Safe

The August 31^st trading deadline will be here in just a few short days and while the Yankees cleaned house before the August 1^st trade deadline all signs point to this deadline being a quiet one. That could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it because in one corner Brian Cashman has done some of his best work while lurking in the shadows and none of us heard any rumors about it before it actually happened. On the other hand there just may not be any interest in what the Yankees have left that they are willing to trade.

The Yankees youth movement is in full swing so the potential list of trade candidates seems to be small. The list is headlined by Brian McCann who has seemingly lost his everyday job to Gary Sanchez and who has also cleared revocable waivers already this month. McCann was linked to the Atlanta Braves before the August 1^st trade deadline but Atlanta scoffed at the idea of taking on that salary and giving up good prospects in return but with a month of salary now off the books for McCann, a Matt Kemp deal since that showed Atlanta’s willingness to take on salary and the GM in Atlanta’s recent statements about having to “win games in 2017” due to the new stadium I’m sure these talks are still going on. Atlanta’s farm system is deep, it may be the best in all the land, so I expect a deal to be done either by Wednesday or this winter in the offseason. If New York wants it done sooner rather than later simply agree to eat some of the salary, simple as that.

Other players on the potential list include left fielder Brett Gardner (who reportedly received little to no interest in trades before the August 1^st trade deadline), Jacoby Ellsbury (who is owed a ton of money and has not lived up to the contract that included a no-trade clause), CC Sabathia (see my comments on the status of Jacoby Ellsbury), Mark Teixeira (also see my comments on Ellsbury and keep in mind that he announced he was going to retire after the season meaning if the Yankees traded him they may have egg on their face when it is all said and done), Chase Headley (surprisingly a movable contract after such a sluggish start to the season), Tyler Clippard and Adam Warren (two veteran relief pitchers and we all know how interchangeable relief pitching can be).

The Yankees have plenty of talent they could move but the problem is they aren’t likely to move any of it before Wednesday. Clippard and Warren fit in with their “win now” mentality for the 2016 season while only the contracts of Chase Headley and Brett Gardner are moveable without the players consent. Headley and Gardner could be replaced from within and both would likely draw interest from teams but if there was that much interest I feel like they would have been moved before the August 1^st trade deadline, wouldn’t you? All signs point to this being a slow and quiet trade deadline for the New York Yankees…. Which is just what “Ninja” Brian Cashman wants us to think. 

USA Today’s Weekly MLB Power Rankings

Another good week of baseball in the Bronx and another week that the USA Today really didn’t notice. What’s going on here? Is the publication simply waiting for the youth movement to fail and for the Yankees to fall? Do they not believe this team has a legit shot, and I am not saying I think they do or they don’t by this statement before I get flamed in the comments section and on Twitter, at making a run at the second Wild Card playoff spot in the American League? What’s really going on here guys? Explain…

The Yankees finished the week still at the #17 slot in the rankings, no movement whatsoever. To round out the rest of the American League East the Toronto Blue Jays finished 5^th while the Boston Red Sox finished 6^th overall in the rankings. The Baltimore Orioles finished the week ninth while the Tampa Bay Rays finished the week in the #22 spot.

The Top Five teams according to the rankings are the #1 Chicago Cubs, the #2 Washington Nationals, the #3 Cleveland Indians, the #4 Texas Rangers and the #5 Toronto Blue Jays. The five worst teams according to these same rankings are the #26 Oakland Athletics, the #27 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the #28 Minnesota Twins, the #29 Arizona Diamondbacks and the #30 Atlanta Braves. It’s always the Cubs at the top and always the Braves at the bottom. Always.

The biggest rise of the week went to the Kansas City Royals who rose Six spots to the #13 position, congratulations to them. The biggest fall of the week went to the Milwaukee Brewers who fell three spots to the #25, try to pick that up next week.

This is one of the final set of rankings before the August 31^st waiver-wire trade deadline so check in next week and the week after so we can diagnose just what went down, if anything, and how it may affect the potential playoff pushes this season. 

So Brian McCann Cleared Waivers, Now What?

The waiver wire trade deadline is set for August 31^st and unlike the August 1^st trading deadline this deadline is whole lot more complicated with a whole lot more moving parts. First a player must clear revocable waivers where he can be claimed, and revoked or brought back off waivers, before he can be traded and Brian McCann did just that this week. Will the Yankees trade him? Honestly, and I’ve written about this already this season, I don’t think that they should but for argument’s sake let’s say that they do. Here are a few teams presumably still looking for catching help that could bite on the right deal or a deal where the Yankees ate some salary.

Five teams immediately come to mind when I think of potential landing spots for McCann because these are the five teams that were most notably looking for catching help before the August 1^st trading deadline but did not pull off a deal for one. That list includes the New York Mets, the Atlanta Braves, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Indians. All these teams are playoff contenders with the exception of the Braves of course but Atlanta could want McCann for the same reasons I laid out over the weekend, you keep a veteran catcher during a rebuild to work with your young pitchers and to build relationships and confidence.

The Mets currently employ Travis d’Arnaud at the position but judging by their attempt to acquire Jonathan Lucroy before the deadline you can see the team is not sold on him. The problem is the Mets system is pretty weak by all accounts, especially with MLB ready or close to MLB ready prospects, while the team is likely to also want the Yankees to eat some salary in any potential deal. The Yankees needs either salary relief and less prospects or good prospects for McCann and I can’t see the Mets giving the Bombers either unfortunately.

The Atlanta Braves are in the same boat as the Mets when it comes to the ability and willingness to eat salary. The Braves talked to the Yankees prior to the deadline about McCann and basically refused to take on the salary of their former catcher thus closing the door on any potential deal. The Braves have the prospects to get this done but the difference here is the Braves don’t have to get it done, and that will affect what they are willing to and will ultimately pay if a deal were to take place. I consider Atlanta to be a Plan B, Plan C or lower if the Yankees are simply motivated to move him just to move him.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are listed here because the Los Angeles Dodgers are always listed as interested for every available free agent and trade target. They are greedy like that and I can appreciate that personally. Anyway, the Dodgers do have some genuine interest in improving their team and especially improving their catching situation as they find themselves in a dog fight with the San Francisco Giants atop the NL West Division race. McCann makes their catching situation better and their offense much better almost immediately if a deal is made, and a deal could be made due to the fact that the Dodgers can afford to absorb the salary and they also have enough in their farm system to make the Yankees happy. Just no Yasiel Puig, please?

While the Dodgers are chasing down the Giants the Astros are going in the opposite direction in both the division standings and the Wild Card standings as well. Currently at the catcher position the Astros have a DH acting as a part-time catcher in Evan Gattis and a defensive-minded and defense-only catcher in Jason Castro so the need for an offensive catcher is extremely apparent. McCann would be a huge upgrade and a shot in the arm for Astros playoff push and Houston could absolutely afford to take the hit both in terms of salary and in terms of prospects.

Finally you have the Cleveland Indians, the Yankees couldn’t pillage their farm system one more time this season. Could they? The Brewers agreed to trade Jonathan Lucroy to the Indians before Lucroy refused to waive his no-trade clause and Cleveland never acquired a catcher before the deadline leaving these two teams once again a match for a potential trade. Brian Cashman has to be familiar with the Indians farm system and the Yankees seem to be motivated to move him so this could also be a potential landing spot for the Yankees catcher.

The Yankees have at least five potential landing spots for McCann now that he has cleared revocable waivers. McCann would obviously have to accept any trade because of his no-trade clause but the Yankees have options here. Does that necessarily mean a trade will happen? Lord no. That’s a lot of money left on the table and nothing is ever easy when a full no-trade clause is involved but the options are there and that is at least encouraging. 

Weekly Prospects Check In: Clint Frazier

The New York Yankees trading before the non-waiver trade deadline is done and for now the Yankees top prospect is named Clint Frazier. Now the Yankees could add another significant piece before the waiver trade deadline of August 31st and Frazier could be potentially pushed to second, I’m not counting out Brian Cashman at this point, but for now he’s the Yankees top prospect.


Yesterday we got to know him in our Meet a Prospect series and today we check in with him and see what he brings to the table stats wise. Enjoy.

Year	Age	Lev	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2016	21	AA-AAA	94	412	58	99	25	13	48	13	41	92	.273	.350	.461	.811
2016	21	AA	89	391	56	94	25	13	48	13	41	86	.276	.356	.469	.825
2016	21	AAA	5	21	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	6	.238	.238	.333	.571

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table