Anyone Worth a Gamble Left on the Free Agent Market?

Pitchers and catchers are in full swing and full team workouts are happening all around the league as we inch closer and closer to Grapefruit League games and MLB games that actually count in the win/loss column. All winter long teams have made a plan and seemingly stuck to it whether it be acquiring the top free agent talent available like the Red Sox did with David Price and Craig Kimbrel, selling off all their talent to jump start a rebuild like the Atlanta Braves did or sign nobody at all, literally, like the New York Yankees did. The Yankees did not sign a single major league free agent this winter but they have not shied away from handing out the minor league deals for depth down on the farm, is there anyone left on the free agent market worth that gamble?

Well yeah, Dexter Fowler is still out there on the free agent market but I strongly believe he isn’t going to settle for a minor league deal. There’s almost 0% chance of it. He may sign a one-year pillow contract with a team and test a no-so-stacked free agent market again in 2017 but there’s absolutely no chance he signs a minor league deal. The same can likely be said for starters Tim Lincecum, Cliff Lee and Alfredo Simon. Also Ian Desmond is another one of those names to add to the “no way, no how” list when it comes to signing a minor league free agent deal this winter. We know the names of who won’t sign a minor league deal but who conceivably could or would?

David Freese is a solid third baseman with a track record of hitting in the postseason but for whatever reason not many are knocking down his door to sign him this winter. New York needs a capable third baseman and a true third baseman, apologies to Starlin Castro, and if Freese is willing to sign a MiLB deal, however unlikely, I think the Yankees should pounce. The longer the winter drags on and the closer the spring comes closer the more likely other players like Juan Uribe, Justin Morneau and Pedro Alvarez may be willing to defy the odds and the doubters and sign a minor league deal as well with an opt-out clause simply to get into a spring camp and show teams they are still capable of playing at the Major League level. If the Yankees want to take advantage of any of those three I would also be willing to sign off on those deals.

Finally you have a laundry list of players including Rickie Weeks, Jimmy Rollins, Tommy Hunter, Matt Thornton, and others who would likely jump at the opportunity to sign a minor league deal in New York but I just can’t see any of them being true fits for the Yankees. I have always said there is no such thing as a bad minor league deal and I will stand behind that today as well but there are some I’d be willing to write a “Meet a Prospect” for and there are some I may just let slide and move on with, you know what I’m saying? 

Beating the Dum Once Again for Juan Uribe

Back this winter, long before most publications, blogs and newspapers were running the story and long before Greg Bird underwent season-ending shoulder surgery, we here on the Greedy Pinstripes beat the drum for signing Juan Uribe to a small one-year deal or a minor league deal for depth. Uribe is seemingly the perfect fit for this team, he’s a veteran right-handed bat who has not only been there before but can also play a multitude of positions including third base, first base and the outfield. Now that Bird is down and the popular publications and media outlets are jumping on the Uribe wagon I figured I would bring up the idea as well… again.

Reportedly the Cleveland Indians have been in talks with Uribe and are the only team to publicly announce directly or indirectly that they are interested in the 15-year veteran’s services. Uribe is a leader and has been called a great clubhouse presence everywhere he’s gone in his career and would presumably fit in well in a Yankees clubhouse that seems loose and that likes to have fun while winning games. See Alex Rodriguez snatching helmets off of home run hitters, Slade Heathcott’s fist pumps and Didi Gregorius’s million dollar smile for recent examples of this clubhouse mentality in the Bronx.

Uribe has played 556 career games at third base, 215 games at second base, four games at first base and 917 games at the shortstop position, all positions the Yankees could use a backup or two at, and along the way has found the knack for hitting in clutch situations, something that never hurts for a potential playoff team. Uribe hit .253 with 14 home runs and 43 RBI in 119 games last season as a part-time player and it will simply come down to, in my opinion, whether the Indians offer him a starting job or whether he would rather “chase a ring.”

Uribe has played for six teams in his career (the Rockies, White Sox, Giants, Dodgers, Braves and Mets) after being signed as an international free agent back in 1997 and it looks like he’s destined for his 7^th MLB team this upcoming season. Will that be in New York, Cleveland or with some other mystery team we don’t know about yet? I honestly have no idea, stay tuned. I will leave you with this though, when you have such an obvious need and upgrade available for whatever reason Cashman doesn’t usually sign these players so I’m not getting my hopes up. 

Quick Hit: Juan Uribe for the Yankees Bench?

The New York Yankees are getting younger and their getting more versatile this offseason thanks to a plan put in place by the team’s GM Brian Cashman. Cashman has added Starlin Castro to the Yankees infield to seemingly shore up the starting infield but the trade also created a bit of a hole on the bench. The Yankees included infielder Brendan Ryan in the deal as a player to be named later leaving the Yankees without a suitable third base option off the bench. I know this doesn’t make the team any younger but it does make the team more versatile and much better in my opinion, would it make sense for New York to sign Juan Uribe?

Uribe can hold his own at third base, especially when it comes to just an occasional day off the bench to give Chase Headley a breather, and can also play the outfield adequately. Uribe can play second base or first base as well but that would be a Plan C or below option only, he’s not great there. Last season between three teams Uribe hit 14 home runs as a part-time player and was part of that New York Mets squad that went all the way to the World Series in 2015. He’s clutch, he can play the positions the Yankees need, and he can hit for right-handed power off the Yankees bench thus improving the team’s lineup against left-handed starting pitching.

The Yankees could always use Castro at third but that mindset is less than ideal since he has only played in seven games there, all in the minor leagues. Playing in the minor leagues is a lot different than playing in the Major Leagues and not that I don’t think Castro could handle it but having an option you know you can trust that can also fill in the gaps elsewhere is ideal for any team, especially this team.

Why didn’t I think of this sooner? Sign Juan Uribe to a one-year deal and put him on the Yankees bench. He wouldn’t command much money and the Yankees already have a 40 man roster spot open.

Chase Headley for James Shields?

How did we ever make it back even in the 1990’s without cell phones, the internet at the touch of our fingers and social media? Honestly I’ll never know but I know one thing for sure, I don’t want to go back. Facebook is nice, Google+ was okay for a minute but I truly cannot get enough of twitter. The absolute interaction and user interface just gets me and I love it. I love interacting with everyone who reads the blog. You float me your thoughts on my articles and you, either directly or indirectly, float ideas for articles there as well. Much like this article I am about to tackle as one of my good friends, Michael Brogna, suggested trading third baseman Chase Headley back to the San Diego Padres for right-handed starting pitcher James Shields. Would it work?

My immediate question to Mike was who would play third base and replace Headley? Currently the only Yankees player I would “trust” at the position defensively is Brendan Ryan, yuck. Sure it’s easy to just say “add Yangervis Solarte” in the deal or “take on Jedd Gyorko’s salary (who has since been traded to the St. Louis Cardinals) and play him there” or even “just trade for Trevor Plouffe” but the league doesn’t work like that. Solarte was one of San Diego’s better hitters in 2015 and it’s going to take a lot more than just Chase Headley to pry him away, again. Jedd Gyorko is not a third baseman, never has been and likely never will be. He held his own at shortstop last season but he’s not going to get better the more he ages, he’s going to get worse. He was used as a shortstop out of necessity and out of desperation, not because his bat dictated him being there. Finally, simply trading for a young and controllable guy isn’t that easy. Especially for a young team that plans on contending as soon as the 2016 season. It’s just not that easy.

Looking at the third base market I don’t see much available right now for the Yankees to acquire. The most attractive pieces are Juan Uribe, Will Middlebrooks, David Freese and Mark Reynolds. No, on a minor league deal then maybe, interesting but still probably a no and who wants 15 home runs and 200 strikeouts this season with defense that will make Headley’s look Gold Glove caliber? And while we’re on the subject who wants James Shields and that incredibly back loaded and overpaid contract? Isn’t this team trying to get away from deals like these?

Mike, I love you bro and I appreciate and respect your input and opinion on this but I just can’t back you on it. Only way I’m taking Shields is on a salary dump where the team loses nothing. This plugs a hole that wasn’t really a problem to begin with and makes a huge hole at third base and in the lineup. As it stands today I have to say no thank you.