And Now We Wait...

Credit:  Kevin Hagen, for The Wall Street Journal

The Dawn of a New Year…

The expiration date for 2017 is rapidly approaching. Soon, we’ll flip the calendar to 2018 and await the arrival of the latest Bronx Bombers in Yankee Stadium.  

As expected, the end of the year has been very quiet for the Yankees after their acquisition of slugger Giancarlo Stanton earlier this month. Gerrit Cole is still in Pittsburgh and Yu Darvish remains on his free agent tour.

In the words of both Yankees GM Brian Cashman and President Randy Levine, there is still work to be done. At this point, we’ll see what January brings. Honestly, I am tired of the Gerrit Cole rumors and wish the Yankees would end the speculation by saying there will be no deal. Same for the Darvish rumors. The Yankees are not going to sign him. I feel badly for guys like Clint Frazier who continue to twist in the wind wondering what the new year will bring for them and where they should report for Spring Training…Tampa, Florida or about 45 miles south via I-275 to Bradenton or some unknown destination.

With no deal in place for free agent slugger J.D. Martinez, the Boston Red Sox are starting to show up in rumors for a possible trade with the Baltimore Orioles to acquire Manny Machado. While you’d think the same intra-division challenge would face the Red Sox as it does the Yankees, Orioles GM Dan Duquette is a former Red Sox general manager and he used to work with current Red Sox President Dave Dombrowski years ago in the Montreal Expos organization. I’d really hate to see Machado go to Boston. Of course, the rumors could be Red Sox-originated to apply pressure on Martinez who appears to have limited options in the stagnant free agent market.  

One year after signing the most lucrative contract in history for a MLB reliever, Aroldis Chapman’s annual salary has been eclipsed by former Chicago Cubs closer Wade Davis. While the contract signed by Davis with the Colorado Rockies is only for three years, the average annual salary is $17.33 million whereas Chapman only makes a paltry $17.2 million. Chapman still holds the mark for most total contract compensation but it’s crazy how much relievers have been getting this off-season. The Rockies are using the Yankees formula of building a super bullpen (they previously signed Cleveland Indians reliever Bryan Shaw and re-signed their own Jake McGee to join holdovers Adam Ottovino, Chris Rusin and Mike Dunn). If unsuccessful, they should be able to trade relievers for a stable of quality prospects. 

For the San Diego Padres, what’s old is new again. After re-acquiring their former third baseman, Chase Headley, they’ve re-signed two former starting pitchers, Tyson Ross and Chris Young. Maybe free agents Andrew Cashner, Alexi Amarista, and Cameron Maybin should check in with Padres GM A.J. Preller.

Congratulations to Yankees GM Brian Cashman for being named as Baseball America’s 2017 MLB Executive of the Year!

Credit:  Reinhold Matay, NY Post

I felt bad for Yankees manager Aaron Boone yesterday. His beloved USC Trojans lost the Cotton Bowl to the Ohio State Buckeyes, 24-7, in Dallas, Texas. As an Iowa Hawkeyes fan, I have no love for the Buckeyes so I was disappointed to see Boonie’s team lose.  Hopefully, 2018 will be much more victorious for Boone’s “favorite” teams.

Jon Heyman of Fan Rag Sports Network reported yesterday that Giancarlo Stanton’s decision to join the Yankees will cost him an additional $29 million in taxes on the balance due for his contract if he decides to live in one of the five boroughs of New York. That’s a huge financial commitment on Stanton’s part to join the young and hungry Yankees. He can lessen his tax burden by living in New Jersey, but c’mon, if you are 28 and single, you gotta live in the City!

I am not a New Year’s Resolution kind of guy so I’ll leave it to others. Pete Caldera, staff writer for NorthJersey.com, has offered his 2018 New Year’s resolutions for the Yankees. It is worth checking out.  I think he nailed it.  

Not that I want to promote other sites, but Bronx Pinstripes ran a great story on Justus Sheffield and his path to Pinstripes yesterday that’s worth the time to read. I was already excited about Sheffield’s potential and this only fires me up more. I love Cody Carroll’s quote that Sheffield is “like a closer that starts”. Some guys have great stuff and some guys are just winners. Sheffield is a combination of both.  Excellent work by BP's Dom Muccilo.

I don’t know about you, but I am very anxious to see Tampa's Steinbrenner Field humming. Baseball can’t get back soon enough. Happy New Year to Everyone! It’s going to be a fantastic year for the Yankees and their fans…

Go Yankees! 

Let the Battle for Shohei Otani Begin

Like the title of the post says, let the battle for Shohei Otani begin. As we inch closer to September baseball and then the end of the 2017 season we also inch closer to Otani possibly leaving behind millions of dollars to come to the Major Leagues from the Japanese League a two years early. If Otani decides to come over, and many reports say that he will including a report from Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees are ready to bid, and bid big too.

According to FanRag Sports the Yankees and Red Sox are tied for holding the biggest allotments currently in their respective international spending pools. Both teams started with $4.75 million when the signing period opened on July 2 and both have obtained an extra $3.25 million according to the report giving each team $8 million to spend on international free agents.

If the Nippon Ham Fighters allow Otani to leave early the team will receive $20 million in a posting fee and all signs point to both the Yankees and Red Sox, among other teams around the league, being heavily involved in the talks and extremely interested in acquiring his services. This won’t be the first time the Yankees and Red Sox have battled it out for a free agent, or on the field as we will learn a little later today, and it won’t be the last but this one could have the most consequences for both clubs if they fail to sign him. Otani is that special and seemingly a once-in-a-lifetime type talent as both a hitter and as a pitcher.

The Texas Rangers ($2 million), the Atlanta Braves ($1.25 million), the Los Angeles Dodgers ($1 million), and the New York Mets ($1 million) have also acquired international money this season presumably to make a run at Otani so this could be a very interesting set of negotiations this winter if and when Otani announced his intention to come to the states. Stay tuned. 

So It Seems...

Sorry, I know that's a catch-phrase used by and probably trade-marked by Daniel Burch but I'm not feeling too creative on a late Friday afternoon.

A couple of quick updates...

ERNESTO FRIERI

Contrary to earlier reports that Ernesto Frieri had decided not to exercise his opt-out, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports tweeted earlier today that Frieri has, in fact, opted out of his Triple-A contract.  Heyman feels that Frieri should have other options.  I am not too disappointed.  He didn't bring anything to the table for me, and there was no upside.  I think the Yankees have some very quality relief arms coming up in the system and I'd rather go the "grow your own" route with middle relief.  If there was a dearth of young arms in the system, then I'd be all-in for a veteran reliever.  Clearly, that's not the case.

Credit:  Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders have not yet announced the move on their website.

AARON JUDGE

The little guy in right has been named AL Rookie of the Month for the month of May.  According to the press release, Judge batted .347/441/.642 (33-for-95) during the month.  He had 17 runs, 5 doubles, 7 home runs, and 17 RBI's in 26 games.  Judge led all AL rookies in batting average, runs, hits, home runs, RBI and on-base percentage.  He was second in slugging percentage.  

To the best of my knowledge, he was the only AL rookie to get his own special seating area in his home ballpark with The Judge's Chambers.  

Probably also led AL rookies saying please and thank you.

Congratulations to #99!  This is just another award on his way to a World Series championship(s).

Credit:  Bill Streicher-USATSI

Go Yankees!