Meet a Prospect Special Edition: Brandon Drury

The New York Yankees and their General Manager Brian Cashman did what the New York Yankees and GM Brian Cashman do during the winter months, they stuck to their guns. What do I mean? In recent years the Yankees have presumably been difficult to negotiate with when it comes to offseason and hot stove trades because when Cashman says something, he generally sticks to his guns. Cashman made it very clear that he was interested in then Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Brandon Drury but refused to succumb to the demands of the Diamondbacks GM for much of the offseason. A few weeks back, though, the Tampa Bay Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks attempted to strike a deal that would have included Steven Souza Jr. going from Tampa Bay to the desert, these two teams could not make it work so they called into the Bronx for a little bit of help. Long story short, the Diamondbacks got Souza Jr. to replace JD Martinez and the Yankees and Cashman got their man in Drury for two good prospects who didn’t appear to have a future with the Yankees MLB team. Where I am from they call that a win, win, and win the Yankees will with their new infielder Drury. Let’s meet him. This is Meet a Prospect Special Edition, the Brandon Drury Edition.

Brandon S. Drury was born on August 21, 1992 and is currently playing third base for the New York Yankees, his second Major League team. Drury came over to the New York Yankees in a three-team trade involving the Arizona Diamondbacks, Drury’s former team, and the Tampa Bay Rays. New York gave up RHP Taylor Widener and 2B Nick Solak in the deal to acquire Drury who comes with four years of team control and a pre-arbitration salary through the 2018 season.

Drury attended Grants Pass High School in Grants Pass, Oregon where he played shortstop for the school’s baseball team. Drury caught the attention of the Atlanta Braves in 2010 leading the team to draft him in the 13^th round of the 2010 MLB First Year Players Draft. Drury signed with the Braves and almost immediately made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast Braves finishing his first season with a .198/.248/.292 triple slash with three home runs in 192 at-bats. Drury spent the 2011 and 2012 seasons in the Braves minor league system including the 2011 season where the infielder won the Appalachian League MVP Award where he hit .347/.367/.525 with eight home runs n 265 at-bats. The Braves loved what they had in Drury but in 2013 the organization decided they liked Justin Upton a little better leading the team to trade him alongside Martin Prado, Randall Delgado, Zeke Spruill and Nick Ahmed to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Upton and third baseman Chris Johnson.

Drury made a great first impression with his new team in 2013 batting .302/.362/.500 with 15 home runs in 134 games with the South Bend Silver Hawks leading the team to promote him to Double-A during the 2014 season. Drury was on the fast track to the Major Leagues, which was never more evident than it was when the team announced that Drury would be one of the team’s representatives in the Arizona Fall League following the 2014 season. Drury was on the radar with the big league club and his efforts both in the Minor Leagues and in the Arizona Fall League earned him an invitation to Spring Training camp in 2015, although Drury was eventually reassigned to a minor league camp back in Double-A. Drury eventually made his way to Triple-A during the 2015 season after being called up to the Reno Aces on June 23. Drury was added to the Diamondbacks 40-man roster and was called up to the Major Leagues on September 1, 2015 making his debut the same day.

In Drury’s MLB debut the right-handed faced the Colorado Rockies and Jon Gray who gave up Drury’s first MLB hit, a single. Drury would hit his first home run 21 days later on September 22, off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Adam Liberatore. Drury opened eyes with the Diamondbacks in 2015 and his efforts earned him another invitation to Spring Training camp with Arizona to start the 2016 season, an opportunity Drury took full advantage of. Drury made the team out of spring training and despite being listed as the team’s backup outfielder on the roster, Drury also found at-bats at second base and third base in order to keep his bat in the lineup. Drury did find himself back in the Minor Leagues for a week during 2016, the team needed to find a spot for Shelby Miller who was coming off the disabled list, but he was immediately called back after an injury to outfielder Socrates Brito occurred.

Drury spent the 2017 season with Arizona and did Brandon Drury things. Drury hit for a good average slashing .267/.317/.447/.764 while hitting 13 home runs and showing “doubles” and gap power inside what is considered to be a pitcher-friendly ballpark. Drury also spent time at three different positions including second base, third base and the DH position while the Diamondbacks were in an American League park. Drury had a Drury-type season showing consistency across the board and an ability to handle himself at any position and on all sides of the game.

The efforts of Drury caught the eye of Yankees GM Brian Cashman who sought his services for much of the winter via a trade. Arizona was quite fond of Drury and refused to part with him for less than a King’s ransom until the Tampa Bay Rays dangled outfielder Steven Souza Jr. in front of their eyes, forcing the hand of the Diamondbacks to include him in the three-team trade including the Yankees. The Diamondbacks got Souza Jr. in the trade to replace the recently departed JD Martinez and the Yankees, and Brian Cashman, finally got their man in Drury. Now Drury will be manning the hot corner inside Rogers Centre on Opening Day 2018 as the starting third baseman for the New York Yankees. No pressure, Brandon. I am sure you will do fine. Welcome to the team, welcome to the city and most importantly welcome to the family!!

Holding the Door to Victory...

Credit:  HBO

Yankees 6, Red Sox 2...

There was too much drama in the 9th inning but the Yankees persevered to defeat the Boston Red Sox in the opener of a four-game series in the Bronx.

CC Sabathia, reinforcing his reputation this year as the Yankees' stopper, got the win in a strong performance.  The first inning started a little rocky, but Sabathia made his pitches and avoided putting the Yankees in the early hole like they had with the Cleveland Indians the last couple of games.  After easily retiring lead-off hitter Rajai Davis, Eduardo Nunez, in a move that would draw CC's ire, bunted toward the pitcher.  Sabathia retrieved the ball but his throw to first base pulled Greg Bird off the bag.  Two subsequent walks and the bases were loaded.  Sabathia struck out the next two batters to avoid what could have been a very big inning for the Red Sox.  

Credit:  Craig Ruttle-Associated Press

There were a few challenges in the game.  The first one occurred in the top of the 2nd.  Rajai Davis was at the plate with a runner on first and two outs.  He was awarded base on a hit by pitch, but replay showed that the ball hit the end of the bat and not the player.  So, Davis, who had taken first with his acting performance, had to return to the plate.  He proceeded to strike out to end the inning.

Top of the 3rd and more challenges.  Eduardo Nunez led off the inning for the Red Sox with a single up the middle.  Next up was Andrew Benintendi who hit a liner to left field.  Nunez went around to third, and Benintendi slid into second at the same time as the throw.  The call on the field was safe but the Yankees challenged it and Benintendi was ruled out upon review (in a very close call).

Credit:  Rich Schultz-Getty Images

Mookie Betts walked to put runners at the corners.  Xander Bogaerts hit a grounder to short that appeared to be turned for a double play, but it was Boston's turn to challenge.  Betts, sliding into second, was ruled safe ahead of the throw from Didi Gregorius to Starlin Castro, so Bogaerts was the only out and Nunez scored on the play.  1-0, Red Sox.  Betts subsequently stole third and the Sox had runners at the corners when Rafael Devers walked, but Sabathia, continuing his bend but not break outing, induced Hanley Ramirez to hit into an inning-ending ground out.  

The Yankees finally got on the board in the bottom of the 3rd to tie the game.  Brett Gardner led off with a single to left, but he was erased when Aaron Hicks hit into a double play.  So, the bases were empty when Gary Sanchez came to the plate.  El Gary hit a high fly off Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez that carried into the right field stands. It was Gary's 28th home run of the season and his 12th in August.

Credit:  Craig Ruttle-Associated Press

Sanchez always takes heat for the passed balls and wild pitches that get past him, but his arm is a thing of beauty.  In the top of the 5th, with Andrew Benintendi on first and Mookie Betts at the plate, Benintendi broke for second on a called third strike on Betts and El Gary's throw to Starlin Castro was easily in time to nail the sliding runner for the strike-em out, throw-em out double play.

In the bottom of the 5th, the Yankees took the lead.  With one out, singles by Brett Gardner and Aaron Hicks put runners at the corners.  Gary Sanchez hit a high fly to shallow right that looked like it would be the second out but Eduardo Nunez went too far and couldn't reach back to make the catch over his shoulder so the ball fell in.  Sanchez was awarded a single in what appeared to be an error.  No matter, Gardy scored on the play and it was 2-1 Yankees.  The Yankees subsequently loaded the bases for Aaron Judge with two outs but he weakly popped out for a missed opportunity.

While Sabathia was holding the Red Sox in check, the Yankees broke through with more runs in the bottom of the 6th.  Chase Headley started the inning with a double off the center field wall.  Greg Bird, who can be a huge asset down the stretch, ripped a Rodriguez pitch deep into the right-center field stands for a two-run home run.  After Todd Frazier singled to left, the Sox pulled Eduardo Rodriguez and replaced him with Fernando Abad.  Abad struck out Brett Gardner, but Aaron Hicks reached first with an infield hit.  Gary Sanchez lined out for the second out, however, Didi Gregorius singled up the middle to center field to score Headley.  The Yankees had taken a 5-1 lead.  The Sox replaced Abad with Heath Hembree who got the final out when Starlin Castro hit a grounder to short, forcing Didi out at second.

David Robertson took the mound to start the 7th inning so it closed the book on CC Sabathia.  It was a very gutty performance by Sabathia.  He could have easily broken and allowed the Red Sox to take advantage of their scoring opportunities but he held the door.  DRob easily set down the Red Sox for three quick outs to send the game to the bottom of the 7th.  The Yankees had an opportunity for a big inning but they were only able to score a single run.  Aaron Judge started things by working a walk on four pitches.  Chase Headley singled to center, a fly that dropped in, with Judge moving to third.  Greg Bird singled to left on a grounder through second and short to score Judge.  The Yankees were up 6-1.  Todd Frazier subsequently walked to load the bases with no outs.  The Sox went to the pen and brought in Robby Scott.  Sadly, Brett Gardner hit a liner at Eduardo Nunez and his throw to Xander Bogaerts beat Bird sliding back into second for the double play.  The Yankees challenged the play (replay did appear to show Bird's hand reaching second base just ahead of Bogaerts' foot) but the umps felt otherwise and stood by the call on the field.  Aaron Hicks followed by striking out for a huge missed opportunity.  I know that I didn't feel comfortable with a five-run lead at that point against the dangerous Red Sox lineup.

Robertson evaded trouble in the top of the 8th when the first two batters reached base, the second on his own fielding error.  Fortunately, he retired the next three batters to end the inning unscathed.  Moments like that make me appreciate that Big Papi retired last year.

Red Sox reliever Blaine Boyer easily set down the Yankees in the bottom of the 8th to send the game into the 9th inning.  Dellin Betances replaced DRob and then proceeded to scare the h**l out of me.  After Chris Young walked, Betances hit the next two batters (Christian Vazquez and Brock Holt) to load the bases with no outs.  He finally got the first out when Eduardo Nunez struck out swinging.  But a walk to Andrew Benintendi scored Young.  The Red Sox had two chances with the potential tying run at the plate and two hitters very capable of hitting the long ball.  Mookie Betts was first and he popped up for the second out.  Mitch Moreland, pinch-hitting for Xander Bogaerts, was next.  Moreland has done some damage against the Yankees this year, but Betances got him to fly out to left for the final out.  Whew, game over!  Yankees win!

Credit:  Paul J Bereswill-NY Post

The Yankees (71-62) moved to within 4 1/2 games of the Red Sox with the victory.  They maintained a one-game lead in the Wild Card standings over the red-hot Minnesota Twins.  The Baltimore Orioles finally lost, 11-8 to the Toronto Blue Jays, so they fell 3 1/2 games behind the Yankees.

CC Sabathia (11-5) got the much-deserved win.  He walked too many (five) but he held the Sox to four hits and one run despite what seemed like multiple run-scoring opportunities.  He struck out six.  I was so fearful that Dellin Betances was going to blow the big lead in the top of the 9th but credit to him for his recovery to get the outs when he needed them.  My preference, not shared by Joe Girardi, is to keep Betances in a setup role and use David Robertson as the closer until Aroldis Chapman can right the ship.  

I like what I am seeing out of Greg Bird.  He is clearly showing signs of being the tremendous hitter he exhibited in spring training before injuring his foot.  He was 2-for-4 with 3 RBI's.  Gary Sanchez was great with his home run and 2 RBI's but it's a little bittersweet given the impending suspension. 

The Judge's Chambers featured a true Judge with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor in attendance.

Credit:  Craig Ruttle-Associated Press

Hopefully the Yankees can continue their success against the Red Sox tonight when Sonny Gray takes the hill in perhaps his most significant Yankees start yet.  He'll be opposed by journeyman Doug Fister.   

Odds & Ends...

While we continue to await word on the suspension appeals for Gary Sanchez and Austin Romine (it is my understanding that Gary's appeal will be heard today), it sounds as though the Yankees will be able to stagger the suspensions so that the team is not without at least one member of its top catching tandem.  It's disappointing that Kyle Higashioka remains on the DL since it will most likely result in the loss of a 40-man roster spot for another player in order to create room for a back-up catcher.  It was looking like career minor leaguer Eddy Rodriguez might get the call, but the Yankees acquired veteran catcher Erik Kratz yesterday from the Cleveland Indians for cash considerations. The Yankees will soon make a roster move to add Kratz.  Kratz is 37 and has logged 225 MLB games since 2010 for various teams.  By comparison, the 31-year-old Rodriguez has only played 2 MLB games (for San Diego in 2012).  Any way you look at it, there's going to be a noticeable drop-off from the team of Sanchez and Romine to whomever fills the interim backup role.  

Prior to last night's game, the Yankees recalled RHP Giovanny Gallegos.  He takes the roster spot vacated when LHP Caleb Smith was optioned to Triple A after Wednesday's double-header loss to the Cleveland Indians.  DH Matt Holliday is expected to be activated soon.

Former Yankees Assistant GM and now Angels GM Billy Eppler is getting aggressive in helping his team track down the Yankees and the Twins in the Wild Card chase.  Eppler made a bold move yesterday to acquire OF Justin Upton from the Detroit Tigers.  Upton is batting .279 with 28 HRs and 94 RBIs. Solid move for the Halos.  They gave up young pitching prospect RHP Grayson Long.  To make room for Upton, the Angels placed much-traveled Cameron Maybin on waivers.  He was subsequently acquired by the Houston Astros.  Later in the day, the Angels acquired 2B Brandon Phillips from the Atlanta Braves and the Astros, in a move that could solidify their chances for the World Series, picked up pitcher Justin Verlander from the Detroit Tigers.

There has been much talk about Shohei Otani this week with GM Brian Cashman's trip to Japan, but it is too premature for me to read anything into it. The Yankees do not have an advantage over other clubs should Otani decide to come to the United States other than they'd have more dollars to spend on some future contract that would have absolutely no bearing on the dollars that will be present for Otani's first contract.  It's a level playing field for the most part in terms of the international bonus pool money, with the slight increases for those teams like the Yankees that have added money through trades.  Still, the cap on those dollars can be reached by any number of teams.  I'll get excited if there are signs that Otani is actually considering the Yankees, but until then, it's a pipe dream.

Have a great Friday!  Hopefully the Yankees won't have to "labor" too hard for victories this weekend!  Go Yankees!

Looking Ahead to 2018: Potential Free Agent Offensive Additions

So we saw who the Yankees could be potentially losing via free agency this coming offseason so let’s once again look ahead to 2018 and see who the team could potentially fill those holes with. Let us first take a look at the potential offensive upgrades that the Yankees could add this coming offseason and at a later time we will look at the pitching. Keep in mind that this is all hypothetical and as it stands today, everything is subject to change in a moment’s notice.

Remember when I, and many Yankees fans, clamored so hard for Justin Upton in Yankees pinstripes? Well that didn’t happen but the beating of the drum could happen again in 2018 if the Tigers outfielder opts out of his six-year deal with Detroit with four-years and $88.5 million remaining. The Tigers are looking to rebuild and Upton has continued to produce which means even if he doesn’t get a pay raise the right-hander would get on a better team and that alone is worth its weight in gold. I don’t think the Yankees need an outfielder though so cross Upton off the list for New York.

Greg Bird is the first baseman of the future but let’s just assume that Bird isn’t healthy heading into the offseason and let’s assume the Yankees want a bit of insurance at the position for the 2018 season. It isn’t really all that far-fetched since the team signed Chris Carter this past offseason to platoon with Bird so who is to say the team won’t again in 2018? There’s many free agent first baseman expected to be available including Yonder Alonso, Lucas Duda, Logan Morrison, Mitch Moreland, Mike Napoli and Mark Reynolds to name a few. Presumably the Yankees would prefer a right-handed option to compliment Bird meaning that Reynolds, a former Yankee, and Napoli move to the front of the line. Neither are ideal, Reynolds strikes out a lot and his defense is mediocre while Napoli is aging and is more of a DH-or-bust at this point in his career, but the Yankees have been dealing with a less than ideal situation at the position all season long anyway. Could it get much worse? You could also throw Todd Frazier into the mix here although I believe the third baseman will prefer to stay on the other side of the diamond as he hits free agency this offseason.

Sticking with the first base position but looking in areas that will likely exceed what the Yankees are willing to pay you find the bats of Carlos Santana of the Cleveland Indians and Eric Hosmer of the Kansas City Royals. Santana has taken a step back in 2017 after posting 34 home runs and a 3.7 WAR in 2016 but his walk rate has been steady and his stats this season have been in line with his career norms. The problem is Santana is going to want to cash in after that strong 2016 season, even if 2017 hasn’t gone exactly according to plan, and even in a stacked free agent pool there should be plenty of money to go around for Santana. Meanwhile Hosmer is not someone who has ever really impressed me much. Sure his bat is nice and he is just 28-years old but advanced metrics show Hosmer as a very limited fielder and his -0.2 WAR in 2016, a season in which he made the All-Star team for the first time in his career, doesn’t exactly make me want to run home screaming to mom about him. Hosmer is durable and Hosmer can hit but his career wRC+ (109) is lower than Lucas Duda’s (124) who can also be had on the free agent market and if I were a betting man I’d say Duda gets significantly less than Hosmer in 2018 in terms of both years and dollars respectively.

The final player I want to showcase here is a bit of a “Get Greedy” kind of player. This player isn’t a player that the New York Yankees necessarily need but is a player that could rotate in and out of the outfield as well as the soon-to-be vacant DH position. J.D. Martinez has somehow flown under the radar for years now and that was never more evident than when the Arizona Diamondbacks acquired the outfielder from the Detroit Tigers without giving up a single blue-chip prospect. Since the start of the 2014 season only Mike Trout, Nolan Arenado and Giancarlo Stanton have put up higher slugging percentage numbers than Martinez, and keep in mind that Martinez was doing this inside Comerica Park in Detroit which is historically a pitcher’s park, yet somehow still Martinez is not what I would consider a household name. Now the teammate of another player, Paul Goldschmidt, who isn’t really a household name but should be, Martinez is gearing up to cash in on the free agent market in 2018. If anyone notices that is. If no one does notice it would behoove the Yankees to not make a run at him on a shorter term deal in my opinion to see if they could snag a great free agent option for less. Dare I say, Ninja Cashman. Martinez is not going to win you a Gold Glove out there in the outfield, hence why I said he could split time as the DH as well, and has been a bit injury prone throughout his career but he is just 30-years old and would likely only command a three-or-four year deal while having the same wRC+ (145) as Miguel Cabrera has had over the past three seasons.

Get Greedy and get Martinez if you can. If not and if the team wants a platoon and an insurance option at first base then sign a Mike Napoli and call it a day. Either way it looks like there won’t be much offensive help coming or much heavy lifting to be found in the Bronx before the 2018 season on the free agent market. Or I could be completely wrong, that’s happened more than once. 

So Your Fantasy Teams Needs a Little Power?

So you have a plan. Spend the All-Star break wheeling and dealing and scouring the free agent market looking for talent for your fantasy baseball team. The team hasn’t lived up to the preseason hype. Injuries have happened and so have down seasons and you, like a lot of your league mates, need power. I may not have the sleeper that you can get as an unknown that will turn your season around and bring you a championship but I just may have a couple guys you can maybe buy low on and watch as they turn around their season in the second half. What do you have to lose? You wouldn’t be reading this if you were in a good position now would you?

Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox is a better hitter and a better home run hitter than he has shown thus far in 2016. In Abreu’s first two seasons in the big leagues the slugger had at least 30 home runs and 100 RBI or more but to date Abreu has just 11 home runs in 2016. Abreu still has a ton of protection in that White Sox lineup and his contact, line drive and power indexes are still above average so sabermetrics suggest he is due to break out in a big way very, very soon.

Brian McCann is one that I watch on a daily basis. For that reason I don’t feel the need to throw fancy sabermetric stats at you but instead I will use the eye test. I know the back of his baseball card says he is a 25 home run type guy every season, especially inside Yankee Stadium, but he has been anything but that this season. I’m thinking he will wake up a bit in the second half and climb much closer to 20 than he is now and anyone can use that sort of power at the catcher position.

Finally you have Justin Upton. Yes I know he plays in a big yard in Comerica Park and yes I know his home run numbers have been down but hear me out. He is hitting fly balls over 40% of the time and he’s hitting them hard, some of them have to start falling in and falling over the fence soon. It’s simple mathematics and science. Upton is used to playing in pitching friendly ballparks in Atlanta, San Diego and Arizona and that never slowed him down. Comerica won’t either.

Trade from a strength, fill a hole and win your league. You’re welcome in advance. 

Fantasy Baseball: The Undervalued & the Unappreciated

By now a lot of you have already had your fantasy baseball drafts but if you haven’t then I have some last minute crunch time additions for you to read over as you prepare. Over the course of the winter we have gone over the players that many don’t know about, many call them sleepers, but today we will go over some of the more recognizable names around the league. These names are recognizable in most households but in my opinion they are truly under-appreciated and undervalued as far as fantasy baseball goes. Well they were before today anyway. 

We begin with Justin Upton who has been playing in some of the most pitcher friendly ballparks in all of Major League Baseball over the past few seasons. While Turner Field in Atlanta is far from the spacious outfield in Petco Park it’s still tough to hit a home run there and Upton still has 26-plus home run seasons in four of his last five seasons. Him moving to Comerica Park in Detroit shouldn’t affect him too much in the power department and shouldn’t affect his 20 stolen base capability per season either. 

Like many positions the first base position is pretty top heavy but near the bottom of the upper tier is Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Quietly A-Gon consistently puts up 20 home run and 85 RBI seasons every single year and not many people talk about it. Must be all those West Coast games. 

We’ve said it many times before and we’ll say it again, even the worst teams in the league that lose 100+ games per season will get you 30-50 saves in a year. While the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox are far from the worst teams in the league and while neither will lose 100 games in my opinion they will both struggle to compete in their divisions. That doesn’t mean Zach Britton won’t strike out another 10 batters per nine innings and save 35 games again and that doesn’t mean David Robertson wont strike out closer to 12 batters per nine innings and save you 40 games in 2016. 

Matt Wieters enters 2016 in his second year removed from Tommy John surgery. I know the surgery doesn’t affect position players the same way it affects pitchers but it also affects everyone differently. I truly believe that many of his struggles in 2015 were due to the elbow ligament replacement surgery and in his second year removed I think we see more of the 22-ish home run power we saw from 2011-2013 and less of the product we saw in 2015 going forward. 

Most people only spoke about the first half Yordano Ventura that struggled with his command and effectiveness and not enough people noticed his second half correction. Ventura went back to striking out guys at an alarming rate during the second half of the 2015 season due in large part to a spike in first pitch strikes. If he can harness some control and keep batters off the base paths his defense and Kauffman Stadium should help him finally harness that huge potential in 2016. 

The final player is Jason Hammel. Hammel is living in the shadow of Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester and now John Lackey but Hammel has all the makings of being one of the best fourth or fifth starters in the major leagues this season. He is a consistent 9.0 K/9 ratio and a below 4.00 ERA every single season with a ton of innings. With this Cubs offense behind him he may win 15 games, all he has to do is keep it close. 

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.

Justin Upton, the Tigers and Fantasy Baseball

If you leave defensive metrics out of the discussion the best offensive free agent this winter may have been Justin Upton and not Jason Heyward. Obviously both players will play the outfield for much or the duration of their contracts so you have to include the defensive metrics but still Upton was a catch and the Detroit Tigers got him on a huge six-year deal. Upton, who is no defensive slouch himself mind you, will join the lineup in Detroit that already showcases Miguel Cabrera and Ian Kinsler which should help the Tigers immensely as they look to climb back to the top of the American League Central Division. Upton will help the Tigers both offensively in defensively when the team plays this season but how much will he help your fantasy team?

Last season while hitting in Major League Baseball’s equivalent of Yellowstone National Park (if you don’t get the reference Petco Park, like Yellowstone, is HUGE) Upton managed to hit for just a .251 batting average and .790 OPS with 26 home runs and stole 19 bases in what many deemed as a down year for the 28-year old. While the batting average isn’t exactly where you’d like it the home runs, defense and stolen bases is where you get your value out of Upton. Upton’s 26 home runs in 2015 marked the third consecutive year he hit at least 26 homers and the fifth time in the last seven years he has done so. His power is consistent, even inside the biggest parks around the league.

Upton has not been on great teams over the past few years and has seen his RBI total shrink to about 80 RBI per season with 85 runs scored but that’s a product of the team around him and not him as much. Playing with a stacked lineup around him in Detroit should help with both of those numbers as they both likely climb above 100 during the 2016 season. Upton strikes out a ton, more so than ever actually, but he takes his walks, hits for power and hits it to the gaps. You can live with the strikeouts if a player does that making Upton a second or third round pick in my opinion.

Upton will be the second hottest Upton commodity in Detroit this season behind the beautiful Kate Upton but he should be first on your fantasy team. If you see him then get him as early as you can. I wouldn’t let him slide past the second or early third round personally but I expect big things out of him inside Comerica Park in 2016. Hitting behind Anthony Gose and Ian Kinsler and hitting in front of Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and JD Martinez will only help Upton even if Comerica will likely hurt him just a tad. 

Six Possible Destinations for Yoenis Cespedes

Just as I was about to head off to bed on Monday night my phone rang with news of the Justin Upton signing. Upton signed a huge six-year deal with the Detroit Tigers to add another potent bat to an already potent lineup leaving one main cog standing alone at the top of the free agent heap, Yoenis Cespedes. I predicted that once Chris Davis signed the outfield market would get moving and it was just days after the DH re-signed with the orioles that the Tigers came calling after Upton. I also predicted that not long after Upton signed that Cespedes would find himself a new home as well so here are six possible destinations for Cespedes in my eyes right now.

The Chicago White Sox are the team I always come to first when thinking of possible destinations for Cespedes. They have a strong Cuban presence already on the team and a strong history of signing Cuban-born players and they have a need for another power bat in the middle of their lineup. Chicago was last in the AL in runs scored in 2015 but I bet they wouldn’t be in 2016 if they had Cespedes protecting first baseman Jose Abreu.

The Houston Astros are a team that is mainly homegrown and one that could benefit from a big draw as far as ticket holders go. Cespedes could be that big guy and would be especially interesting to the Astros since he is not tied to any draft pick compensation.

The St. Louis Cardinals have tried to spend big this winter and they specifically tried to spend big on outfielders, namely Jason Heyward, with no success. The Cardinals could use a replacement bat and a right fielder, both of which Cespedes could be.

The Atlanta Braves have become one of the most backwards organizations that I have seen since the 1997-1998 Florida Marlins. It would be right up their alley to sell off any and every major piece they had not named Freddie Freeman (he was smart enough to tie himself down beforehand) and then go out and sign a guy like Cespedes and push him as a “new stadium draw” to the fans.

The New York Mets would love to have Cespedes back, he did his best work as a Major Leaguer in Queens in my opinion. The problem here is the Mets don’t want to go beyond say a three-year deal and Cespedes will likely want more than that. If every team is only offering a three-year deal though, which is extremely unlikely, then Cespedes would likely return to the Big Apple.

The Miami Marlins are already pushing Marcell Ozuna in trades and the team has not been afraid of the major signing, they recently just signed Wei-Yin Chen and Dee Gordon to fat contracts, but most importantly the team is as unpredictable as they come. You never know what they are going to do. One thing is for certain though the Marlins are going to have to have support from the community and the fans to justify not trading away these high-priced players or before signing any more after posting the 28^th best attendance record in Major League Baseball in 2015 out of the 30 teams.

The final team is the Toronto Blue Jays. How stupid, stupid meant in a good way, would the Toronto Blue Jays offense be if they added Cespedes over Michael Saunders in left field? I don’t even want to think about it. Jose Bautista, Troy Tulowitzki, Edwin Encarnacion and Yoenis Cespedes hitting in some combination 2-5 in the batting order is disgusting, in a good way for Jays fans.

There you have it. The way things are going for me lately Cespedes will likely sign before this post even goes live, but that’s okay. As long as he signs with one of the teams I predicted above I will still take solace in being right, not first…. The key to journalism. 

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

ICYMI: The Huge One-Year Deal for Justin Upton That Needs to Happen ASAP

The New York Yankees have been hiding in the dark corners and murky alley's all offseason long while they do their work in relative secret and with stealth. No one saw the Aaron Hicks for John Ryan Murphy trade coming and no one saw the Jose Pirela for Ronald Herrera trade with the San Diego Padres coming either. The Starlin Castro trade was mentioned in passing, although nothing was considered to be close, while the Yankees absolutely shocked the world with the Aroldis Chapman trade. Brian Cashman earned the name Ninja Cashman because many of his deals come together without you reading about it on MLB Trade Rumors for six weeks in advance and Cashman should be thinking about landing his next target, Justin Upton.

Upton is attached to a draft pick after declining a qualifying offer from the San Diego Padres this offseason and the Yankees should do whatever they can to hold onto that pick, unless it's worth it. Who is worth it? Jason Heyward was, David Price was too and Justin Upton likely is too. Upton is so unbelievably underrated it's not even funny. Upton is just 28-years old and is coming off a 26 home run season in 2015 while playing half his games in the MLB equivalent of Yellowstone Park, Petco. Upton is a former first overall pick, ahead of Alex Gordon, and he actually has the best WRC+ over the last three years. Upton has a higher WRC+ than Jason Heyward did, than Yoenis Cespedes has and more so than Alex Gordon as well. Upton steals bases, 113 stolen bases in the last eight season, he's durable, he's played in at least 149 games in each of the last five seasons, and he's great defensively, he's finished third in the NL Gold Glove race in each of the last two seasons.


The market for Upton has been remarkably quiet, this should give the Yankees the opportunity to pounce. This free agent market is absolutely stacked and the next two offseason's are pretty thin following this season, Upton and the Yankees can take advantage of this. New York should offer Upton a one-year deal, maybe even add a player option or second year to the deal, and give him an incredible AAV. Pay the man $30 million for one season or $25 million for each of the next two season's, who cares? The plan is to wait until after the 2017 season to get under the luxury tax anyway and this makes the team exponentially better with another right-handed power bat being added to a thin lineup.

Upton can take advantage of a weak free agent market in a season or two as the top free agent and the Yankees can get his best seasons on a small risk. It makes sense, but will it happen?

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. 

What Would I Buy w/ Tonight’s Powerball Jackpot?

I don’t play the lottery, I think it’s a foolish waste of money and time… well unless it gets to above half a billion dollars like it is tonight with the Georgia Powerball. I’ll throw down a couple of bucks on that and put my ethics and belief aside for greed, I am the Greedy Pinstripes after all but I digress. Let’s just throw a nice round number out there, after taxes, and assume that if I won tonight’s drawing I would take home $500 million in cash. If I were running the Yankees what could I do with said winnings? And spoiler alert, you won’t be calling me the cheap owner when it’s all said and done.

$500 million can buy a lot but I would want to be smart with it. Justin Upton is smart money and is easily the best positional player and best fit left on the free agency market. I personally like him more than I did Jason Heyward so if Upton wants $200 million Upton gets $200 million from me. At 28-years old and with the stats he has put up in pitching friendly parks in Atlanta and San Diego I think he will live up to the contract and then some. Upton hits right-handed, hits for both power and average, will take a walk, steals bases and plays some stellar and underrated defense.

My next thing to do would be to eat the contracts of Jacoby Ellsbury and CC Sabathia. I am personally big fans of both but honestly there is just better ways of spending your money than on oft-injured and under-performing stars. As a fan that hurts but on the business side of things it simply makes sense. I am reluctant to eat the Ellsbury deal with a shade over $100 million left and the Sabathia deal with around $50 million left but that’s business. It’s six of one and a half dozen of the other if you’re paying them on the disabled list anyway. With my final $150 million I would throw a contract to a starting pitcher and/or a relief arm. Wei-Yin Chen and Antonio Bastardo maybe? Chen and Doug Fister? Who knows what it would take but I would improve the pitching in some way, shape or form.

Releasing Ellsbury allows Brett Gardner to slide back into center field and Upton to slide into left field. Releasing Ellsbury and adding Upton balances out a very left-handed heavy lineup and ultimately makes the lineup 100 times better in my opinion. Releasing Sabathia and adding a proven AL-East veteran and bullpen arm finishes out the roster and the pitching staff and all because I bought a stupid $2 lottery ticket and won the Georgia Powerball. You’re welcome Yankees family!

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. 

The Huge One-Year Deal for Justin Upton That Needs to Happen ASAP

The New York Yankees have been hiding in the dark corners and murky alley's all offseason long while they do their work in relative secret and with stealth. No one saw the Aaron Hicks for John Ryan Murphy trade coming and no one saw the Jose Pirela for Ronald Herrera trade with the San Diego Padres coming either. The Starlin Castro trade was mentioned in passing, although nothing was considered to be close, while the Yankees absolutely shocked the world with the Aroldis Chapman trade. Brian Cashman earned the name Ninja Cashman because many of his deals come together without you reading about it on MLB Trade Rumors for six weeks in advance and Cashman should be thinking about landing his next target, Justin Upton.

Upton is attached to a draft pick after declining a qualifying offer from the San Diego Padres this offseason and the Yankees should do whatever they can to hold onto that pick, unless it's worth it. Who is worth it? Jason Heyward was, David Price was too and Justin Upton likely is too. Upton is so unbelievably underrated it's not even funny. Upton is just 28-years old and is coming off a 26 home run season in 2015 while playing half his games in the MLB equivalent of Yellowstone Park, Petco. Upton is a former first overall pick, ahead of Alex Gordon, and he actually has the best WRC+ over the last three years. Upton has a higher WRC+ than Jason Heyward did, than Yoenis Cespedes has and more so than Alex Gordon as well. Upton steals bases, 113 stolen bases in the last eight season, he's durable, he's played in at least 149 games in each of the last five seasons, and he's great defensively, he's finished third in the NL Gold Glove race in each of the last two seasons.


The market for Upton has been remarkably quiet, this should give the Yankees the opportunity to pounce. This free agent market is absolutely stacked and the next two offseason's are pretty thin following this season, Upton and the Yankees can take advantage of this. New York should offer Upton a one-year deal, maybe even add a player option or second year to the deal, and give him an incredible AAV. Pay the man $30 million for one season or $25 million for each of the next two season's, who cares? The plan is to wait until after the 2017 season to get under the luxury tax anyway and this makes the team exponentially better with another right-handed power bat being added to a thin lineup.

Upton can take advantage of a weak free agent market in a season or two as the top free agent and the Yankees can get his best seasons on a small risk. It makes sense, but will it happen?

Yankees Edition:What I Want for Christmas, The Offense

The starting pitching list is officially in Santa's hands and he's passed it down to his elves and workers but I'm not done. This is the Greedy Pinstripes, not the happy with whatever or the frugal pinstripes. We, the fans, now have the starting pitcher we need on the way but the offense could use another punch in the arm. In my personal opinion relying on Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez to replicate their 2015 seasons would be foolish for New York. The problem is where would they play a new player? It almost has to be the outfield, doesn't it?

The outfield market still looks appealing with a lot of talent out there. One of the more underrated outfield bats out there is still available as well in Justin Upton. Truth be told Upton is probably a better all-around player than Jason Heyward if you leave out the advanced defensive metrics and is not getting nearly the attention he deserves. If the Yankees jump on it now they may be able to show Upton the attention he deserves without having to give up the monetary "attention" that many originally though Upton would command.

Upton is a Top 5 left fielder in all of Major League Baseball, defensive metrics or not, and would be an immediate upgrade over the Top 10 left fielder the Yankees already have in Brett Gardner. Whether the Yankees trade Gardner or shift him (or Upton preferably due to arm strength) to right field and trade Carlos Beltran, that's for Brian Cashman to decide, but Upton makes this offense exponentially better and he's one of the few left on the market that would.

It's unlikely, or nearly impossible, for Upton to join the Yankees this season. I know this. This is also the time to dream and reach for the stars and I am. Upton hitting third in front of Jacoby Ellsbury and Starlin Castro with Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Brian McCann, Chase Headley and one of Brett Gardner or Carlos Beltran hitting behind him makes this lineup one of the best in the league.

Make it happen Santa, I mean Cash.

Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes and Brett Gardner Sitting in a Tree

W-A-I-T-I-N-G. The MLB free agency market for the outfielders has been slow to develop this winter despite the fact that Jason Heyward, the top overall free agent and far and away the top outfield free agent on the market, signed with the Chicago Cubs for $23 million annually. Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes are far and away the best remaining free agents in the outfield on the market and they will likely have to be signed before the New York Yankees can even think about trading one of their own, Mr. Brett Gardner.

I believe that the Yankees and their GM Brian Cashman have made both Brett Gardner and Andrew Miller available for trade this winter and I believe that the Yankees are likely to move Gardner, but not for a while it seems. The way the market is shaping up many teams are waiting for the top-tier free agents to sign before the secondary market begins to take shape. Gardner, as much as we love and adore him as Yankees fans, may lead the secondary market as the best outfielder available but I find it hard to place him in the upper-echelon of outfielders with Upton and Cespedes.

When we begin to see Upton and Cespedes come off the market teams will begin to scramble for talent, we have seen it many times over the years. The dominos always fall and those dominos are holding up much of the market right now. If the Yankees really want to get the ball rolling they can sign one of them themselves, preferably Upton over Cespedes for obvious reasons, but Cashman is not one to get in a hurry during the offseason. Cashman will continue to wait the market out and then pounce, or not, with Gardner. The price is only going to go up on him the closer we get to January and February.

New York has made trades that shocked many as late as spring training, they really don’t mind making additions to the club at any point in the season, so I’m not getting impatient and I’m far from worried yet. I’m just going to sit back, relax and wait for the bigger chips to fall before I start planning my new 25 man roster predictions and lineup predictions without Brett Gardner. 

Best of What's Left on the Free Agency Market

The big names and the huge checks are being written this winter and the run on the second tier players is probably going to begin soon. Who is the best of what's left on the free agency market at every position?

C: Hector Sanchez
1B: Chris Davis
2B: Howie Kendrick
SS: Ian Desmond
3B: Daniel Murphy
OF: Dexter Fowler
OF: Alex Gordon
OF: Yoenis Cespedes
DH: Justin Upton

SP: Kenta Maeda
SP: Mike Leake
SP: Wei-Yin Chen
SP: Scott Kazmir

CP: Tyler Clippard
RP: Antonio Bastardo
RP: Fernando Rodney
RP: Ryan Cook

The Luxury Tax, the Yankees and Getting Greedy

We learned this week that the New York Yankees would have to pay another $26 million in luxury tax penalties for the 2015 season. The Yankees are once again preaching austerity, and why wouldn’t they after spending more money than I will ever see in my lifetime every single season in luxury tax for basically nothing. If the team was winning playoff series and World Series rings that would be one thing, but they aren’t lately. I can’t believe I’m saying this as the owner of a Yankees blog donned “The Greedy Pinstripes” but for once I agree with Hal Steinbrenner. Cut the payroll.

The two highest paid teams in Major League Baseball, the Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers, both made the postseason in 2015 and both were gone after one game. The Yankees lost the AL Wild Card Round to the Houston Astros while the Dodgers fell in the NLDS to the New York Mets. In fact, none of the top nine payrolls in all of Major League Baseball won a playoff series in 2015, the Chicago Cubs with the 10^th highest payroll in baseball won a series in the National League as the second Wild Card winner. To take it one step further the Yankees have paid the tax in every season of its existence and haven’t won a World Series since the 2009 season. To take it even one more step forward the Yankees haven’t won a playoff game since Derek Jeter’s ankle snapped in Game One of the 2012 ALCS. That’s a lot of money for, if you believe in the World Series or bust mantra, a whole lot of nothing.

Imagine if the Yankees had $26 million to spend last winter, would Max Scherzer or Jon Lester be Yankees right about now? What if the Yankees had an extra $26 million to spend this season? Would we be seeing a Brett Gardner trade and a Jason Heyward or a Justin Upton? Maybe a David Price? Jordan Zimmermann is 29-years old and only got $22 million annually and he was considered to be one of the Top 3 best starting pitchers on all of the free agent market.

Every single season the Yankees take one of those big names and high-priced free agent acquisitions that we as fans demand and enjoy and flush it down the toilet labeled “Major League Baseball Luxury Tax.” Let that sink in for a minute. Getting under the cap for just one season allows the Yankees 100% resets on their taxes and allows them to not only Get Greedy but to own the free agency market once again if they see fit. I think I could handle one season with a payroll under $200 million, the rumored luxury tax threshold limit after the 2016 collective bargaining agreement expires this season, in order to once again wear the Greedy Pinstripes crown but maybe that’s just me.