Hello… Hypocrites and Bandwagon Fans

Good morning Yankees family and welcome to the blog. Never, and I mean never, join a Facebook group for the New York Yankees. It is pure poison, it will make your blood pressure rise and it will make you lose faith in not only all of humanity, but all Yankees fans alike. The hypocrisy and plain out ignorance is alarming, and it gets worse every day.

“Sonny Gray sucks! He can only pitch well against Triple-A teams like the Orioles!”

“Luke Voit is amazing, and Greg Bird should never see the lineup ever again. Look at what he has done against the Orioles!!”

So, let me get this straight… it is okay to beat up on the Orioles and their “Triple-A” pitching, but it is not okay to beat up on their “Triple-A” offense that includes Adam Jones, Chris Davis and others. Got it, thanks for clearing that up.

Hey you, I loves you. Every day with you is truly special, and I am incredibly lucky to still call you mine. I cannot wait until you are legally my Kari Ann Burch.

Predicting the 2016 Gold Glove Award Winners in MLB

Who is going to win the Gold Glove Awards in Major League Baseball this season? I truly don't know, I wouldn't have given Derek Jeter more than one personally but I guess that makes me a hater, but I am going to take a stab at it anyway. If I'm wrong tell me below in the comments section. FYI, just to get this out of the way early, I'm picking Brett Gardner no matter what the stats say. He is an amazing left fielder who should be in center field and that counts for something in my book.

American League



Catcher
James McCann
Carlos Perez
Salvador Perez

First Base
Chris Davis
Eric Hosmer
Mitch Moreland

Second Base
Robinson Cano
Ian Kinsler
Dustin Pedroia

Shortstop
Jose Iglesias
Francisco Lindor
Andrelton Simmons

Third Base
Adrian Beltre
Manny Machado
Kyle Seager


Left Field
Brett Gardner
Alex Gordon
Colby Rasmus

Center Field
Jackie Bradley Jr.
Kevin Kiermaier
Kevin Pillar

Right Field
Mookie Betts
Adam Eaton
George Springer

Pitcher
R.A. Dickey
Dallas Keuchel
Justin Verlander





National League
Catcher
Jonathan Lucroy
Yadier Molina
Buster Posey

First Base
Paul Goldschmidt
Wil Myers
Anthony Rizzo

Second Base
DJ LeMahieu
Joe Panik
Jean Segura

Shortstop
Brandon Crawford
Freddy Galvis
Addison Russell


Third Base
Nolan Arenado
Anthony Rendon
Justin Turner

Left Field
Adam Duvall,
Starling Marte
Christian Yelich

Center Field
Billy Hamilton
Odubel Herrera
Ender Inciarte

Right Field
Carlos Gonzalez
Jason Heyward
Nick Markakis

Pitcher
Jake Arrieta
Zack Greinke
Adam Wainwright



*NOTE in the first paragraph I stated who I thought would win, not necessarily who deserved it most. You know how MLB can get with their voting sometimes.

Brett Gardner a AL Gold Glove Finalist

Major League Baseball has released their finalists for the American League and National League Gold Glove Awards and one Yankee made an appearance, Brett Gardner. Here is your complete list including Gardner in the outfield. Also check out a game saving catch from Gardner during the 2016 season. Enjoy!


American League

Catcher
James McCann
Carlos Perez
Salvador Perez

First Base
Chris Davis
Eric Hosmer
Mitch Moreland

Second Base
Robinson Cano
Ian Kinsler
Dustin Pedroia

Shortstop
Jose Iglesias
Francisco Lindor
Andrelton Simmons

Third Base
Adrian Beltre
Manny Machado
Kyle Seager


Left Field
Brett Gardner
Alex Gordon
Colby Rasmus

Center Field
Jackie Bradley Jr.
Kevin Kiermaier
Kevin Pillar

Right Field
Mookie Betts
Adam Eaton
George Springer

Pitcher
R.A. Dickey
Dallas Keuchel
Justin Verlander

National League

Catcher
Jonathan Lucroy
Yadier Molina
Buster Posey

First Base
Paul Goldschmidt
Wil Myers
Anthony Rizzo

Second Base
DJ LeMahieu
Joe Panik
Jean Segura

Shortstop
Brandon Crawford
Freddy Galvis
Addison Russell


Third Base
Nolan Arenado
Anthony Rendon
Justin Turner

Left Field
Adam Duvall,
Starling Marte
Christian Yelich

Center Field
Billy Hamilton
Odubel Herrera
Ender Inciarte

Right Field
Carlos Gonzalez
Jason Heyward
Nick Markakis

Pitcher
Jake Arrieta,
Zack Greinke
Adam Wainwright

The Blue Jays Pitching vs. the Orioles Hitting

Earlier today we looked at what the mighty Toronto Blue Jays offense has done in their careers against tonight’s Baltimore starter Chris Tillman so it’s only fair that we look at what the likes of Manny Machado, Chris Davis and Matt Wieters have done in their careers against tonight’s Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman. There’s a lot on the line tonight including the right to fight another day in another series in another city as the winner tonight moves on to face the AL West Champion Texas Rangers in the ALDS. No pressure Stroman but here is what you have done against the Orioles offense in your career. After seeing each other over 20 times a season there will be no secrets tonight inside the Rogers Centre so good luck to all involved. Enjoy.

All photos and stats courtesy of ESPN.com 

Most Popular Article of the Week: Buster Olney Suggests Trade Involving Brian McCann

The best thing that ever happened to Major League Baseball viewing in my opinion was the inception of MLB Network. I may be overreacting a bit as I pull the "poor pitiful me" routine but for a long time it seemed like ESPN was pretty anti-Yankee and it was getting to me more and more blatant and more and more obvious. I stopped watching for the most part but I continued to read some of their analysts including Buster Olney who made a mock trade proposal on Baseball Tonight that I really, really like. Olney suggested that if the Yankees deem themselves out of it in 2016 that they should call the Texas Rangers, who need lots of help at the catching position, and offer their catcher Brian McCann for a Rangers top prospect.

Olney suggested the Yankees call Texas and offer McCann and his two-plus years of team control for Joey Gallo, the Rangers top prospect and third base prospect. While the Rangers would be unlikely, well no it isn't going to happen, to trade Gallo at all let alone for a catcher on the wrong side of 30-years old it is worth the call to see if that could be the beginning of a deal.

Now the Yankees fans in general would never accept a fire sale but if a fire sale brought back a top and recognizable name like Gallo then you have to make the deal. Gallo's left-handed swing and power already reminds many of Baltimore's Chris Davis and would be an enormous upgrade over Chase Headley who currently mans the hot corner. This also allows the team to bring Gary Sanchez up and allows them to give him the baptism of fire as the every day starter with Austin Romine as the backup.

Would the Rangers do a straight up deal? Lord no. Would the Yankees? Hell yes. But could these two teams add a little here and take a little there (the Yankees throw in someone else and agree to pay some of McCann's salary down for instance) to make a deal work? I think so, yes. Make it happen.

Buster Olney Suggests Trade Involving Brian McCann

The best thing that ever happened to Major League Baseball viewing in my opinion was the inception of MLB Network. I may be overreacting a bit as I pull the "poor pitiful me" routine but for a long time it seemed like ESPN was pretty anti-Yankee and it was getting to me more and more blatant and more and more obvious. I stopped watching for the most part but I continued to read some of their analysts including Buster Olney who made a mock trade proposal on Baseball Tonight that I really, really like. Olney suggested that if the Yankees deem themselves out of it in 2016 that they should call the Texas Rangers, who need lots of help at the catching position, and offer their catcher Brian McCann for a Rangers top prospect.

Olney suggested the Yankees call Texas and offer McCann and his two-plus years of team control for Joey Gallo, the Rangers top prospect and third base prospect. While the Rangers would be unlikely, well no it isn't going to happen, to trade Gallo at all let alone for a catcher on the wrong side of 30-years old it is worth the call to see if that could be the beginning of a deal.

Now the Yankees fans in general would never accept a fire sale but if a fire sale brought back a top and recognizable name like Gallo then you have to make the deal. Gallo's left-handed swing and power already reminds many of Baltimore's Chris Davis and would be an enormous upgrade over Chase Headley who currently mans the hot corner. This also allows the team to bring Gary Sanchez up and allows them to give him the baptism of fire as the every day starter with Austin Romine as the backup.

Would the Rangers do a straight up deal? Lord no. Would the Yankees? Hell yes. But could these two teams add a little here and take a little there (the Yankees throw in someone else and agree to pay some of McCann's salary down for instance) to make a deal work? I think so, yes. Make it happen.

Recap: Yankees 7, Orioles 0

With his club sinking ever so further into the basement of the American League, CC Sabathia needed to give the Yankees some hope Wednesday night.

And for at least one game, the big lefty earned all of his $23 million salary.

Sabathia yielded just six hits across seven scoreless innings, and though it took a while for their offense to catch on, the Yankees cruised to a 7-0 victory over the Orioles at Camden Yards.

Sabathia found himself in trouble throughout the contest, but the Orioles were never able to capitalize. Ultimately, Baltimore finished just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, leaving eight on base.

The home team's struggles opened the door for the struggling Yankees' bats to pull away.

The Yankees jumped ahead with three runs in the sixth, putting an end to Tyler Wilson's shutout bid. Carlos Beltran kicked off the rally with a sac fly to center, and from there, an RBI single from Brian McCann and a throwing error by Wilson put New York in the driver's seat.

The Yankees had stranded runners at third twice in the first five innings, but once they grabbed the lead, their lineup didn't let up.

The Yanks added four more off the O's bullpen in the eighth, courtesy of another clutch knock from McCann -- this time a two-run double -- and RBIs from Didi Gregorius and Brett Gardner.

Lead-off man Jacoby Ellsbury did an excellent job setting the table on the evening, going 3-for-3 with two walks and a run. Dellin Betances, meanwhile, escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam upon entering in the eighth -- striking out Chris Davis on three pitches before Mark Trumbo popped to third.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Yankees snapped their six-game losing streak, improving their record on the year to 9-16. They remain last in the AL East, 5 1/2 games behind the first-place Red Sox.

NEXT UP: The Yankees look to salvage this series on Thursday. Masahiro Tanaka (1-0, 2.87 ERA) and Kevin Gausman (0-1, 2.45 ERA) are slated to be your starters, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. ET.

Brian Cashman & The "He Sucks At Drafting" Myth?

I knew my post about Brian Cashman and comparing him to other general managers around the league would be like comparing apples to oranges would get the discussion going but I had hoped it had been on the Yankees LoHud blog as a pinch hitter. I had it saved as a draft forever just waiting for Chad Jennings to contact me for a third straight year and I realized it was not going to happen so I released it. It caused a stir and it created discussion here on my blog for both the Brian Cashman apologists and the Brian Cashman "haters." One "hater" in specific, and notice that I had the word hater in parenthesis as I use the term loosely and not literally, questioned Cashman's tenure as the Yankees and specifically his ability to draft MLB caliber players. Hmmm, that sounds like a great idea for a blog post.

I told Mr. Hans, someone I have the utmost respect for, that I would humor him sometime this weekend with a comment of some of the guys that Cashman has drafted during his tenure with the Yankees (1998-present) and I decided to do it in a blog post rather than a comment that may not be seen by all. All of these players that I will list below were drafted by Cashman during his tenure, granted not all of them signed with the Yankees unfortuately and not all made their names with New York. It should not be held against Cashman in my opinion to draft a top talent only to trade him later, you cannot hold onto them all.

With that said here we go with the player, the year they were drafted and their career WAR in parenthesis:

1998 - Mark Prior (16.5)
1998 - Nook Logan (3.0)

2000 - Chris Dickerson (3.4)

2002 - Phil Coke (2.0)

2003 - Tyler Clippard (11.6)
2003 - Jeff Karstens (3.2)
2003 - Daniel Bard (4.3)

2004 - Phil Hughes (12.3)
2004 - Mike Dunn (2.5)
2004 - Chris Davis (yes that Chris Davis... 14.9)

2005 - Brett Gardner (26.9)
2005 - Doug Fister (19.4)
2005 - Austin Jackson (22.2)
2005 - Justin Turner (Los Angeles Dodgers version.... 8.9)

2006 - Ian Kennedy (10.5)
2006 - Joba Chamberlain (7.5)
2006 - George Kontos (2.0)
2006 - Dellin Betances (7.2)
2006 - Mark Melancon (7.0)
2006 - David Robertson (11.5)

2007 - Drew Storen (5.7)

2008 - Gerrit Cole (7.6)
2008 - David Phelps (2.2)

2009 - Adam Warren (5.1)
2009 - Jake Petricka (3.5)

2011 - Greg Bird (0.9)

Is Cashman the mad magician in the draft? Nope, not at all. It is worth mentioning though that unlike a GM like Andrew Friedman, John Mozeliak, Dave Dombrowski or others who pick at the beginning of the draft more consistently Cashman had to deal with many of his picks being traded or used as compensation to sign free agents without his consent. Sure many teams find talent late in the drafts as much as teams see busts in the first two rounds but still, it doesn't hurt having the better odds at the more talented players in your favor.

Will this convince Mr. Hans that Cashman has had a better tenure as a Yankes GM and a better draft record than he originally thought? Probably not, this was still fun to do the research and to write though and that's all that matters. After my little rant from Saturday about getting my feelings hurt and feeling disrespected I decided I'm going back to doing this because I want to, because it's fun.. and that's what I did here. I hope you all enjoyed.

Fantasy Baseball: So You Need a First Baseman?

So you want to build a snow… wait, wrong blog. Sorry about that. So you want to build a strong fantasy baseball team this year but you’re not quite sure who to choose as your first baseman? Don’t fret and keep reading as I try to rank and educate on the first baseman across the league much like we ranked the catchers around the league earlier this month. First baseman are usually a lot easier to find than catchers are but the right first baseman can give your offense and team the lift it needs when facing tough competition in a close week. 

Obviously at the top you have the Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt but if you’re not lucky enough to have one of the top two or three picks (FYI he should never fall to three) then you may want to consider, in this order, Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs, Edwin Encarnacion of the Toronto Blue Jays, Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers and Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox. Rizzo is something special and may be playing with one of the best offensive teams in the league giving him plenty of RBI and runs scored opportunities while the same can be said for Encarnacion. Encarnacion was fantastic last season and may only be the third best hitter on his team, let that sink in. Meanwhile I like Abreu better than Cabrera if I am building an All-Star team but Cabrera has the better offense and more protection around him while Abreu will get his fair share of intentional walks in 2016. For those reasons these are my Top 5 first baseman in the league.

To take that list one step further I would have to with Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles sixth, especially since he’s hitting in Camden Yard again, Eric Hosmer of the Kansas City Royals seventh, Joey Votto of the Reds eight, Adrian Gonzalez of the Los Angeles Dodgers ninth and Brandon Belt of the San Francisco Giants 10^th. I like Votto, I like him a lot actually, but he has nothing around him in Cincinnati and will likely receive a lot of the same treatment Jose Abreu will receive in Chicago. I also wanted to put Freddie Freeman on this list somewhere in the Top 10 but could not justify it for the same reasons leaving me to add Belt, Hosmer and A-Gon. 

If you miss out on any of these Top 10 or 11 first baseman there are still true options out there but the risk factors start to show their ugly heads. Players like Albert Pujols, Carlos Santana and Lucas Duda always have injury concerns following them around while Mark Trumbo of Baltimore and Byung-Ho Park of Minnesota come attached to huge question marks and unknowns. And then, for the Yankees fans reading, there is Mark Teixeira. Who knows what to expect out of Teixeira? Will he need a DL stint or three? Will he push for 40 home runs again or will he miss more games than he hits home runs? I have no idea so unless you just need a first baseman and need to take a chance it may be wise to stay away from Teixeira unfortunately.

And there you have it, your first baseball rankings from across the league. If you are unsure of what first baseman to take in your draft then keep this bookmarked as a point of reference. I hope it helps, enjoy!

How Did MLB Trade Rumors Do on Their Predictions?

Quite often on this blog I have shown how humble I am when not only showing my predictions before major dates around Major League Baseball like the season, the award winners and the World Series predictions but I have also not been afraid to show how terribly bad I am at these predictions as well. I don't want to be the only one being shown with egg on my face so I decided to recap MLB Trade Rumors Top 50 Free Agent Predictions post now that most of the major free agents are now off the board. SEE HERE for the complete and original post on MLBTR.

I won't go through all 50 free agents, you can click the link and see that for yourself, but what about the Yankees related predictions and the rest of the Top 25? Sounds good to me.

1. David Price - Cubs (Red Sox)
2. Jason Heyward - Yankees (Cubs)
3. Zack Greinke - Dodgers (Diamondbacks)
4. Justin Upton - Nationals (Tigers)
5. Chris Davis- Cardinals (Orioles)
6. Yoenis Cespedes - Angels (Mets)
7. Jordan Zimmermann - Blue Jays (Tigers)
8. Johnny Cueto - Red Sox (Giants)
9. Alex Gordon - Royals 
10. Ian Desmond - Mets (NOT YET SIGNED)
11. Jeff Samardzija - Giants
12. Mike Leake - Giants (Cardinals)
13. Wei-Yin Chen - Tigers (Marlins)
14. Kenta Maeda - Diamondbacks (Dodgers)
15. Matt Wieters - Nationals (Orioles)
16. Dexter Fowler - Mets (NOT YET SIGNED)
17. Daniel Murphy - Angels (Nationals)
18. Scott Kazmir - Orioles (Dodgers)
19. Ian Kennedy - Angels (Royals)
20. Yovani Gallardo - Tigers (NOT YET SIGNED)
21. Ben Zobrist - Yankees (Cubs)
22. Howie Kendrick - White Sox (NOT YET SIGNED)
23. Byung-Ho Park - Rockies (Twins)
24. John Lackey - Cubs
25. Hisashi Iwakuma - Mariners

46. Chris Young - Yankees (Boston Red Sox)

MLB Trade Rumor predictions with actual team they signed with in parenthesis. Bolded = correct.

Chris Davis & Fantasy Baseball

The last time a member of the Baltimore Orioles did not lead Major League Baseball in home runs was the 2012 season. In 2012 Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers hit 44 home runs while Chris Davis led the league with 53 home runs in 2013. In 2014 it was Nelson Cruz who led the league in home runs for the Orioles with 40 dingers while Davis led the league in home runs once again in 2015 when he finished the season killing the New York Yankees hitting his 45th, 46th and 47th home runs of the season. Davis hit free agency following the 2015 campaign and ultimately returned to Baltimore on a huge seven year deal giving the Orioles a legit home run threat in their lineup but what will it do for your fantasy team?

Davis is a legit first round pick in my opinion. He has 50 home run power and especially has 50 home run power inside of Oriole Park in Camden Yards. At Camden Yards Davis is a career .270/.352/.575 hitter with 159 home runs in four seasons in Baltimore and is now entering the peak of his prime at 30-years old. Could these numbers conceivably get better in 2016?

Davis should have plenty of protection in this year's Orioles lineup as Adam Jones, Mark Trumbo, Manny Machado and Matt Wieters and Davis adds versatility to your fantasy team as he is eligible at first base and the outfield. Davis is still going to hit around .250 and he's still going to strike out 200+ times a season but the 40-50 home runs are damn near impossible to find right now. For that alone I would take Davis early if you can, you can get your batting average elsewhere. You can't get home runs elsewhere. Get Davis if you can.

Chris Davis is Gone, Now the Outfielders Can Be Too

Chris Davis officially came off the board this weekend when the Baltimore Orioles seemingly bid against themselves to sign the DH to a seven year deal worth $161 million deal. Davis turns 30 years old this season meaning this deal will take him almost to his age 37 season which goes to show you how expensive 50 home run power has become across the Major Leagues. I say the Orioles bid against themselves because at least publicly no other team showed much interest in Davis. Not for seven years, not for over $150 million and not for the draft pick. If I'm wrong I'll be the first one to say I'm wrong but I don't think I am this time but anyway that's a discussion for another post. This post focuses on the fact that Davis, indirectly anyway, was holding up the outfield market so now the outfield market can get a move on.

You may be asking how a DH that has spent minimal time in the outfield and at the corners in the infield can affect the likes of Justin Upton (who has since signed with the Detroit Tigers since this was written) and Yoenis Cespedes, well I'll tell you how. The Baltimore Orioles were said to be interested in Upton a huge deal but there is no way the team could afford both Davis and Upton, they were only going to get one and it seems like they preferred Upton. Also the Orioles had shown at least marginal interest in Cespedes as well but at the end of the day there is one less team for the agents of Cespedes and Upton to use against each other.

Now we have teams like the Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves and New York Mets interested in Cespedes while not many teams have come out publicly and said "Upton is our guy" just yet. But they will. The Davis signing will be the straw that finally breaks the camels back, the last domino to fall before they all start fall,  and that Jenga piece you just shouldn't have pulled out. The outfield market is coming to an end and so is the offseason. Both Upton and Cespedes will have jobs before the calendar turns to February, write it down because I just did.

Most Popular Article of the Week: 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.

Predicting the Rest of the Top Free Agent Destinations

Before the MLB Hot Stove season began I predicted all the top free agent destinations with varying degrees of success. When I say varying degrees of success I mean I did terrible, see HERE. I have seven correct and none of them were the top free agents on the list, so is life I guess. There are plenty of these top guys remaining including Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes, Wei-Yin Chen, Chris Davis, Ian Desmond, Yovani Gallardo, Ian Kennedy and Howie Kendrick. I predicted them once without a single free agent coming off the board but we have a much clearer picture now so I'm going to take a second stab at it.



Justin Upton

Original Prediction: San Francisco Giants
New Prediction: Baltimore Orioles



Yoenis Cespedes

Original Prediction: Chicago White Sox
New Prediction: Chicago White Sox



Wei-Yin Chen * predicted before he signed, left up to show I'm humble :)

Original Prediction: Boston Red Sox
New Prediction: Washington Nationals



Chris Davis

Original Prediction: Washington Nationals
New Prediction: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim



Ian Desmond

Original Prediction:New York Mets
New Prediction: San Diego Padres



Yovani Gallardo

Original Prediction: Texas Rangers
New Prediction: Texas Rangers



Ian Kennedy

Original Prediction: Baltimore Orioles
New Prediction: San Diego Padres



Howie Kendrick

Original Prediction: Chicago White Sox
New Prediction: Arizona Diamondbacks

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. 

Free Agent Market Quickly Becoming too Rich for My Blood

Remember a week or two back when we were all complaining about how slow the MLB free agency market was moving? Well yeah, I almost miss those days now. As a Yankees fan I guess it shouldn’t bother me either way, Brian Cashman has already said the team would stay out of the free agent pool and would rather stick to the trade market instead, but as a Yankees fan I also struggle to take the Yankees GM at his word sometimes. Part of me wants to see Cashman’s plan, or “plan” because who knows the truth besides him, all the way to fruition and another part of me wants to see a big free agent splash like Justin Upton or Wei-Yin Chen. After a slew of signings around the time the 2016 Hall of Fame class were announced though I may be singing an entirely different tune.

Irony aside, as the owner of a blog called the GREEDY Pinstripes, this free agent market is quickly becoming too rich for my blood. There are three signings in particular that kind of made me shake my head and wonder what in the wild, wild world of sports is going on here? First Alex Gordon returned to the defending World Series Champion Kansas City Royals for basically $18 million a season (yes I know some of the payments are deferred and the deal is a bit front-loaded but the AAV remains the same) before Neftali Feliz signed a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates for $3.9 million. Finally Chris Davis, all 200+ strikeouts a season and 50 home run power of him, turned down $154 million on the free agency market. Seriously.

We’ll start with the big fish, Gordon. Gordon is not a huge power guy and is instead an average hitter with pop and great defense in left field. He has been one of the best, if not the best, left fielder in all of the game for many years now but is he really worth $18 million a season? According to the VALUE stat on Fangraphs.com he was worth $22.3 million in 2015 and $49.9 million in 2014 leading his team to the World Series. Obviously those numbers are skewed by his defensive metrics but still, I'm not buying it personally. He is a great fit for the team the Royals have built specifically but if I was the Yankees organization I couldn't bring myself to give Gordon $18 million annually no matter how good defensively he is. 

We’ll continue with Feliz who just a month or two back was thought to be waiting on a minor league deal with incentives for the 2016 season. Here we stand today in mid-January and he signs a deal with the Pirates for $3.9 million guaranteed. Say what? Isn’t this the same guy that posted a 6.38 ERA in 2015 and a 1.99 ERA in just 30 games 2014 while his Fangraphs VALUE was $3.0 million and -$1.6 million in those same years respectively.

Finally, Chris Davis and the mountain of money he turned down already from the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles left a $154 million deal on the table that is either still on the table or has since been retracted depending on who you ask. Davis is a rare commodity these days that can give a team 50 home runs a season and a .250 batting average or less. Is that worth $154 million? Well that depends on the length of the deal, and I presume it would be 7-8 years in length, and the makeup of your team. In a world where Jason Heyward is getting over $200 million for defense and sabermetrics Davis is absolutely worth $154 million or more. You can’t win games when you don’t score making your defense a moot point. I just don’t feel like I would be comfortable with the Yankees giving him that kind of commitment for those sorts of stats. That’s my personal beliefs and they get more severe the closer to $200 million that potential deal gets.

And speaking of strikeouts don’t even get me started on what the Milwaukee Brewers just gave Chris Carter after the guy was designated for assignment and left out on the free agency market for two months. All strikeouts and power, no average and no defense is not worth $2.5 million. Sorry, it’s not.

So in closing it looks like once again Brian Cashman knew what he was doing all along in tackling the trade market early and often. He won’t get the credit for knowing what he is doing, goodness no, except for here on TGP but that’s ok. I don’t think he needs nor wants your approval anyway. 

Chris Davis the Gate Keeper

The 2016 offseason began with a bang as teams began to cash in and get some “bang” for their buck. Craig Kimbrel came off the trade market pretty early while David Price and Zack Greinke’s families presumably had some great Christmas holidays after the free agent contracts they signed. Since then though the market has slowed down and has been slow to develop in many areas, especially the outfield department. Why? Jason Heyward, the top overall free agent and the top outfield prospect, has already signed and the dominos were expected to fall by now… but they haven’t. I know why, its former Orioles slugger Chris Davis’s fault.

Chris Davis is the gate keeper to the entire offseason, let me explain why. The Baltimore Orioles are interested in at least one outfielder this offseason but in their market they have to make a choice. Do they want Davis to come back or do they want one of Yoenis Cespedes or Justin Upton. Baltimore has put out a deal worth $150 million to Davis and have since retracted the deal supposedly but I’m not buying it. If they had they would have jumped on an outfielder, Upton specifically since his family ties run to the Virginia area, but they haven’t. Why? Because they are waiting on Chris Davis to make up his mind.

Upton is a better outfielder than Cespedes and unless a sweetheart deal comes around, like the three year deal the San Francisco Giants or Chicago White Sox would like to sign Cespedes to, he will likely wait until Upton comes off the board. Why? Because this is going to be the biggest and presumably best contract that the Cuban-born outfielder gets. He is going to milk it dry for every penny possible and teams won’t get desperate until Upton signs.

So this is a Yankees blog, how does Chris Davis, Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes affect the Yankees? Brett Gardner. The Yankees aren’t going to have many takers for an outfielder, especially a 32-year old outfielder like Gardner, when there is such talent out there on the free agent market. Some teams may shy away from Upton since he declined a qualifying offer this winter and will be attached to draft pick compensation but that is not the case with Cespedes. Cespedes was traded to the New York Mets this season and is ineligible for the qualifying offer. No one is going to give up good prospects for Gardner with Cespedes out there on the market.

So Upton isn’t signing until Davis does and Cespedes isn’t signing until Upton does and the Yankees couldn’t dream of trading Gardner until Cespedes signs. Get it? Confused? Me too. That’s the baseball offseason though. Enjoy it. 

Join us on 9 Innings Manager

The offseason is here, the Winter Meetings are over and many of the top tiered free agents are already off the board. What in the world are we going to do all winter long? Binge watch shows on Netflix? Catch up on school/work/house work? Spend time with family? Nah, probably not. Playing video games on your phone instead of doing school work or house work or your actual work is always an option though. I spend most of my time on 9 Innings Manager.

Basically you can draft players, trade players and build your team from an expansion team to the Major Leagues. You can fight for playoff spots, MVP Awards and face off against the AI or a friend. You are the manager though, you don’t actually get to play the simulation. It’s still fun though and I have built a pretty beast team. Join us!

Download the free app and search for HiveID DBurchHero to help us pass the time this winter. 

FYI: Nine Teams Can Help the Yankees Draft Status

The New York Yankees have all signs pointing to holding onto their first round draft pick this winter rather than sacrificing it to sign a high-priced free agent. This would likely take them out of the bidding for the likes of Chris Davis, Wei-Yin Chen, Yovani Gallardo and others leaving the other 29 MLB teams to bid and sacrifice their picks. The Yankees have a total of nine teams that can help them improve their draft status in 2016 and all they have to go is go out, go big, spend big and bring in a big name to excite their fan base all at the expense of their draft pick.

Just as a reminder, the first 10 picks in the draft are protected so the best the Yankees could do conceivably, although highly unlikely, is the 11^th pick in the draft in a perfect world. New York started out 22^nd overall and have seen two first round picks sacrificed by the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks leaving the Yankees in the 20^th position.

These nine teams can help the Yankees and here they are in ascending order: 

Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Houston Astros.

Comparing the Yankees & Orioles Lineups

The Baltimore Orioles may have been the biggest underachieving team in the entire American League in 2015. Many had the defending American League East champions not only winning the division again in 2015 but many had the team making a deep run into the postseason despite the loss of Nelson Cruz at the DH position. Chris Davis bounced back in a big way and Manny Machado had a relatively healthy and productive season while Adam Jones battled injuries for much of the second half. Matt Wieters though did not bounce back from his Tommy John surgery the way the team had hoped and JJ Hardy didn’t really either. The injuries piled up and the underperformance did as well leaving Baltimore in third place in the division and on the outside looking in at the postseason. Baltimore was left looking up at the Yankees and left watching the Yankees play for the American League Wild Card. Now Davis is gone, Wei-Yin Chen is too and a slew of others but Wieters is back on a qualifying offer, will he and the core in Baltimore be enough to catch the Yankees and the mighty Toronto Blue Jays in 2016? Well it all starts with the offense…

Catcher

Brian McCann/ Matt Wieters

First Base

Mark Teixeira/ Ryan Flaherty

Second Base

Robert Refsnyder/ Jonathan Schoop

Third Base

Chase Headley/ Manny Machado

Shortstop

Didi Gregorius/ JJ Hardy

Left Field

Brett Gardner/ Nolan Reimold

Center Field

Jacoby Ellsbury/ Adam Jones

Right Field

Carlos Beltran/ Junior Lake

Designated Hitter

Alex Rodriguez/ Mark Trumbo

Looking at the final tally I have the New York Yankees “winning” six spots out of the nine. Remember, bolded player wins. Baltimore is going to miss Chris Davis and his home run power more than they think they will in my opinion. I can see the Orioles adding a bat via free agency, maybe even a Justin Upton or a Jason Heyward to be honest, but as it stands today this offense needs a lot of help. Big names are gone but so are the role players like Steve Pearce that are not mentioned nearly enough but are maybe just as important to the team as the Davis’s and Chen’s. Baltimore has some work to do and Dan Duquette is likely to put in that work but as it stands today the Yankees lineup, again in my opinion, is far superior to Baltimore’s at many key positions.