Pirates Willing To Go 3 Years With Russell Martin

I know that I said yesterday that I thought the Pittsburgh Pirates were the front runners for Russell Martin's
services and i feel a whole lot better about that prediction today. The Pirates announced today that they knew they would have to pay more in years and dollars to sign Russell and they proved it by their willingness to go a third year on a potential contract. No way the Yankees should go three years after Russell's 2012 season in my opinion so this will be worth keeping an eye on at the winter meetings.

Happy 43rd Birthday Mariano Rivera

A very happy 43rd birthday goes out to Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. He is not officially signed yet but is expected to be before weeks end.

BJ Upton Signs With Atlanta Five Years $75 Million

The Atlanta Braves and BJ Upton have announced that the two have agreed upon a five year deal in the $75 million range that will make BJ the highest paid Braves player in the history of their franchise. The deal is pending a physical and there is no word yet of a potential no trade clause or anything yet. Why do we care? The Rays, on paper, just got worse until they call up their next uber prospect.

Ryan Madson Comes Off The Board

One of the two formerly elite closers that underwent Tommy John surgery last year came off the board, as the Angels came to terms on a 1 year contract with Ryan Madson worth $3.5 million, with another $2.5 million in roster bonuses (meaning how many days he's on the active roster) and yet another $1 million based on incentives (games finished).

This is a good sign for the Yankees, and for fans such as myself that want the team to bring Joakim Soria on board. Soria has already said that he's willing to set-up for Mariano Rivera, and seeing that it could simply take a one year deal I really hope Brian Cashman and Co. is looking hard at the guy. Joakim had a poor 2011 campaign, in which he put up an ERA of 4.03, but that could have been due to his elbow as he had an ERA of 2.01 over the previous 4 years.

Yankees Designate Eli Whiteside For Assignment

Just days after avoiding arbitration with Eli Whiteside just days removed from claiming him off waivers from the San Francisco Giants the Yankees have designated Eli for assignment. Was it the gray hair? Do they have someone targeted in the Rule 5  draft? Did Francisco Cervelli find those damning pictures that Andruw Jones had that kept him in the lineup? The world may never know...

Yankees Have A Good Problem To Have

All of a sudden a big question mark and concern for the Yankees in what was a slow and boring offseason has become a good problem to have in New York. The Yankeea have filled huge holes in their rotation with the signings of Hiroki Kuroda and Andy Pettitte and with Mariano Rivera presumably on the way the bullpen is looking better and better by the day as well. Not that it has to be said but here is the rotation as it stands right now.

CC Sabathia
Hiroki Kuroda
Andy Pettitte
Phil Hughes
Ivan Nova or David Phelps

Michael Pineda, Adam Warren, Mark Montgomery, etc waiting in the wings to fill spots in the rotation or bullpen never hurts either I guess.

The Yankees have a great problem to have because if need be a David Phelps or Ivan Nova or (as much as I am against this) Phil Hughes could be made available to fill the void left by Nick Swishers departure by trade, can you say Justin Upton?

Russell Martin Seeking Four Year Deal

Russell Martin has been linked to many teams this off season in what is a weak class for catchers but has expressed interest in returning to the Bronx. He may have just talked his way out of the Bronx today when he announced he wanted a four year deal this off season, sonething the Yankees would be insane to do. The Pirates have expressed interest in his services and would be willing to go four years in my opinion so they just became the front runners in my eyes. I would rather give AJ Pierzynski a one year deal and hope for the best with Austin Romine then give Russ four years.

Andy Pettitte Officially Back In Pinstripes

Andy Pettitte and the Yankees have agreed upon a one year deal worth $12 million. No word on incentives or anything like that yet but I will keep you posted.

The Return of Mo

Ken Rosenthal and Joel Sherman both report that the Yankees are closing in on a deal with Mariano Rivera. The deal is said to be worth at least $10 million, and possibly a bit higher than the $11 million Andy Pettitte is close to signing for.

The Yankees have already re-signed Hiroki Kuroda, so if they are able to solidify the rotation with Pettitte and the bullpen with Rivera, then this would free up Cashman to concentrate on Nick Swisher's replacement during the Winter Meetings.

How About Shane Victorino?

This plane may carry our new outfielder.

Jon Heyman reported last night that the Yankees are interested in Shane Victorino, and went further by saying several teams are willing to go 3 years for the center fielder. In the same article it's noted that Shane is willing to move to a corner outfield spot, as he's played center field in nearly 80% of the innings he's played in his career (Victorino has never been a DH, having played his entire career in the National League).

Before the 2012 season the idea of acquiring the Flyin' Hawaiian was a good one. Shane's batting line up to that point in his career was .278/.334/.438, and he'd averaged 15 home runs and 26 stolen bases a season between 2009 and 2011. On top of the offense he provided, Victorino was considered a good defender in center field, and a very good corner outfielder.

However, 2012 did happen, and Shane had a poor season at the plate hitting .255/.321/.383. He was able to steal a career-high 39 bases, but only hit 11 home runs, and tripled 7 times after doing it 39 times over the previous 3 seasons. So the desire to see the guy in pinstripes went down a bit.

No! That's not what I wanted for Christmas!

I'll repeat... My desire to see the guy in pinstripes went down a bit. At 31 years I believe the guy has plenty left in the tank. Taking Shane's age into account, and the fact his poor 2012 should bring down his price in free agency, I'm cool with the Yankees possibly signing him.

Shane Victorino's walk and strikeout rates in 2012 remained around his career averages of 11.6% and 8.2%, as his rates were 12% and 8%. Nor is he watching more strikes, or swinging at more strikes, than he has throughout his career. Shane also put 34% balls into play, just as he's always done. Finally, Victorino has been pretty healthy in his career, having missed 97 games in 9 years.

The only thing that truly concerns me about Victorino is the fact that his line drive percentage has gone down in each of the last 4 years. It went from 20% in 2009, to 19% in 2010, to 16% in 2011, and finally 15% this past season. Perhaps a BABIP of .278, which is 21 points lower than his career mark of .296, was the problem. Not to mention that he hit a few more balls on the ground this past season than he has in years.
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Like anything else it comes down to just how much the player will cost. Shane will likely command more per year than the $14.7 million Fangraphs figured he was worth in 2012, but as long as it's not much more than that, and only for 3 years, then I'd be happy to invite him into our world.