Happy Thanksgiving from The Greedy Pinstripes

Good morning everyone and a very Happy Thanksgiving to you all. In years past I have loaded down the site with content like I have every other day on holidays such as today but you know what? Today as I sit here watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade with my two boys I simply just don’t feel like it, you know?

So enjoy the day off from listening to me ramble on about this and that and instead enjoy the day of food, family, football and fighting for stuff on sale at your local department stores. I joke about the latter, kind of.

Enjoy the day and a very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from everyone here at TGP. Much love.

Daniel Burch

This Day In New York Yankees History 11/24: Happy Thanksgiving 2016

Thank goodness for Thanksgiving today because that's the only set of news I can report to you on this day. No MVP Awards were handed out, no big trades were made and no free agents were signed.

Carry on and everyone have a great day!!

Let’s Discuss the 2017 Hall of Fame Ballot

Every winter when the hot stove begins to sizzle the Hall of Fame debate and vote heads to the center stage which always makes for a good discussion. This year will be no different with first-timers and former All-Stars Manny Ramirez and Pudge Rodriguez along with Vladimir Guerrero.

Let’s start with the new guys first. Manny Ramirez failed a steroid test in 2009 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and served a 50 game suspension for it only to fail another test in 2011 with the Dodgers as well. Rather than face his 100-game suspension Ramirez decided to ultimately retire to avoid the suspension. The next winter he applied for reinstatement and served another 50 game suspension for the failed test before riding off into the sunset for good after spending the 2012-2014 seasons in the minor leagues. Ramirez won’t make the ballot and he shouldn’t make the ballot. Period.

Pudge Rodriguez never officially failed a steroid test but he was named in Jose Canseco’s tell all book on steroids that was released in 2005. That shadow of a doubt alone will likely keep Pudge off the ballot in 2017 whether he really injected Canseco with steroids or not while a member of the Texas Rangers.

Vlad Guerrero was a nine-time All-Star in Major League Baseball and a 2004 AL MVP Award winner with the Anaheim Angels. Vlad finished his career with a .318 batting average, 449 home runs and 1,496 RBI in 16 seasons. If Vlad had reached that magical milestone of 500 home runs I don’t think this would be a discussion but at this point this looks more like a very solid career and less of a Hall of Fame career in my eyes. With the whole steroid era thing and Vlad being presumably clean though those 449 home runs as a clean player in a dirty era may look like 549 home runs to some of the voters.

Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds also have steroid allegations surrounding them and will likely miss the Hall of Fame for the fifth time. Jorge Posada also joins the ballot along with Tim Wakefield, Jason Varitek, Edgar Renteria and others but none of them seem likely to make the hall unfortunately. Most will likely not even be on the ballot this time next year. Someone else who won’t be on the ballot next year, either way, is Tim Raines but you know what? I think, and especially after getting 69.8% of the vote last year, Raines will finally get in on his final shot.

What say you?

Yankees Release 10 Minor Leaguers

According to Robert Pimpsner and Pinstriped Prospects the New York Yankees have released 10 minor league players from their contracts already this offseason. The Yankees have released now 11 minor league players according to Pimpsner including the release of RHP Jeris Casanova earlier in the month. All but two of these players played in the Dominican Summer League while two were from the GCL Yankees.

The list includes RHP Luis Rosario and  RHP Juan Escorcia, both from the GCL Yankees, and RHP Juan Rodriguez, RHP Arcadio Campusano, LHP Orby Tavares, LHP Eduardo Peluso, LHP Carlos Diaz, LHP Edintson Naranjo, 3B Kleiber Maneiro and SS Holman Miranda.

Check out THIS link from Pinstriped Prospects as Mr. Pimpsner has some information and write ups regarding the prospects that were released. Enjoy.

http://pinstripedprospects.com/yankees-release-ten-minor-leaguers-18221

What About Mark Trumbo?

The New York Yankees want some pop added to the lineup while remaining youthful and versatile so why not add Mark Trumbo to the fold for 2017? Well like any other free agent there are some positives to adding him to the team while there are also some negatives so let’s explore both and you can decide whether the Yankees should make a run at the home run king from 2017.

The pros of signing Trumbo are obvious. The 2016 home run king is just 30-years old and coming off a season where he hit 47 home runs in a hitter friendly ballpark in Baltimore. Trumbo drove in over 100 RBI as he played 95 games in right field while the rest of his at bats came via the DH position, a positon that was recently vacated by the Brian McCann trade to the Houston Astros. Trumbo could slide in and out of right field if Aaron Judge were to struggle and he could also mentor the Yankees slugging prospect as Trumbo knows all about making adjustments and finding a way to win, see his years with the Arizona Diamondbacks as an indicator of this.

For every pro there is a con though and the biggest con is the fact that the Baltimore Orioles attached a qualifying offer and a draft pick compensation to any team outside the top 10 that signs him, including the New York Yankees. Trumbo’s home run numbers from 2016 are also inflated from hitting in Oriole Park and Camden Yards but he won’t be mentioning that when he goes to the negotiating table for his big money multi-year contract that the Yankees may or may not be comfortable handing out. Trumbo’s batting average (.256 in 2016) and defense in the field leave much to be desired as well but 40 home run power is almost non-existent at this point in the game.

So you have the pros and you have the cons. Do you sign Trumbo if you’re Brian Cashman? Leave your thoughts below in the comments section.

Yankees Leave Several Good Prospects Available for Rule 5 Draft

The New York Yankees finalized their 40 man roster last week by adding six prospects to the 40 man roster and shuffling around a slew of others. Jorge Mateo, Miguel Andujar, Dietrich Enns, Ronald Herrera, Yefrey Ramirez and Giovanny Gallegos were added to the 40 man roster but there are a ton of talented players who were left unprotected from the Rule 5 Draft.

Jake Cave has been left unprotected once again after being taken with the second selection overall in the Rule 5 Draft last season by the Cincinnati Reds. Cave had another good season in Triple-A in 2016 and can play all three outfield positions so expect another team to take a waiver on him as their 4^th or 5^th outfielder this Rule 5 Draft as well.

Tyler Webb, I thought anyway, would be one of the reasons that James Pazos was traded this offseason but for whatever reason the Yankees have left Webb, another left-handed reliever, available to lose in the draft as well. Webb is 26-years old and has all but mastered Triple-A hitters pitching to a 3.59 ERA in 2016 so expect him to be in someone else’s bullpen in 2017.

The decision to leave Brady Lail out there also surprised me a little since Lail is one of the closest and better Yankees pitching prospects in the system. Lail is just 23-years old but he did struggle in Triple-A a bit this season so he is on the line of whether he will be chosen or not in my opinion.

Cale Coshow is one of the many Yankees pitchers that are drafted as relief pitchers only to be converted into a starting pitcher once in the Yankees system. For that reason Coshow is a bit behind on the curve reaching just Double-A this season. Coshow struggled some with the Trenton Thunder leading me to believe he will be with the Yankees in 2017 as well.

There are others but none of them, again in my opinion, has a shot at being taken and sticking on other roster. This is the list of potential Yankees prospects that could be taken this winter in the draft. Who do you see being taken? Leave it down below in the comments section. Thanks!

Weekly AFL Check In: James Kaprielian

James Kaprielian finished the Arizona Fall League without a hiccup, success for the New York Yankees. The Yankees top pitching prospect and right-hander got his innings in, worked on a few things, tested out the elbow and made it out alive. Again, success.

Here is the final stat line for Mr. Kaprielian as he continues his path towards the Major Leagues in 2017: 

This Day in New York Yankees History 11/23: Enter Steve Sax

On this day in 1988 the New York Yankees signed free agent Steve Sax to a three year deal worth $3.75 million. The fan favorite Willie Randolph was the player that the former NL Rookie of the Year Sax would be replacing which came with a whole new set of responsibilities. The Yankees signed Sax to replace Randolph and the Dodgers countered by signing Randolph to replace Sax.

Meet a Prospect: Zack Littell

The New York Yankees finalized their 40 man roster over the weekend designating players like Nick Rumbelow and Nathan Eovaldi for assignment, releasing players like Dustin Ackley and trading players like James Pazos to the Seattle Mariners for new prospects for us to meet like right-handed starter Zack Littell. Let’s meet him. This is Meet a Prospect: The Zack Littell Edition.

Littell is a 21-year old right-handed starting pitcher the Seattle Mariners drafted in the 11^th round back in the 2013 MLB First Year Players Draft. Littell was drafted out of High School back in 2013 and has progressed to A-Ball as recently as the 2016 season.

Baseball America listed Littell as the owner of the best curveball in the Mariners system at the time of the trade while MLB Pipeline had him ranked as the 14^th best prospect in the Seattle farm system. MLB.com had Littell as the Mariners Prospect of the Year after taking a big step in two Class-A Ball affiliates this season.

Littell owns a low-90’s MPH fastball and as previously stated he has a great curveball to go with it. Littell is also developing a changeup that he hopes to keep batters off-balance with. Not a bad pickup at all for a left-handed reliever with little MLB experience and a marginal stat line in a small sample size, huh?

Littell posted a combined 13-6 record with a 2.66 ERA in 28 games, 27 of them starts, in two stops in Class-A Ball in 2016 striking out 156 batters in 165.2 innings. Just another arm that could potentially reach the Major Leagues in a season or three for New York. These are never bad to have, especially for a pitcher like James Pazos who posted pitched well in stretches in 2015 and 2016 but could easily be replaced in the “Circle of Trust.”

Littell will begin his Yankees career down in Low-A Ball with the Tampa Yankees. Welcome to the family.

I Want To See Your Sources Jim Bowden

The Yankees didn't sign a free agent to a Major League contract last offseason, they have cut bait with overpriced veterans and are giving promising rookies a chance to play. They have a bevy of tantalizing prospects knocking on the door and are focusing on getting below the luxury tax (likely for the star-studded 2018 class.)

All this information seems lost on Jim Bowden who recently stated he expects the Yankees to land at least one of Edwin Encarnacion and Yoenis Cespedes if not both. You can check out the exact quote here. The Yankees have supposedly checked in on each of those players, as they should have. The Yankees have money and as long as they do they should check in on top free agents. Checking in on a player does not equate legitimate interest, however. In 2011 when Carl Crawford was a free agent the Yankees had not intentions of signing him but met to psyche Boston into increasing their bid.

The Yankees and Encarnacion connection seems at least somewhat plausible, they have a hole at DH and could use a complement to Greg Bird and Tyler Austin at first base. With Encarnacion being 33 he'd also be looking for a shorter contract than Cespedes so he wouldn't necessarily block younger players. Cespedes, on the other hand, seems like an odd fit. The Yankees have no hole in the outfield at the moment. They are rumored to be interested in dealing Brett Gardner possibly for starting pitching, but the Yankees would be swapping Gardner's two years left on his deal with Cespedes having 5+ years on his new deal. That would be an odd fit considering Ellsbury is going to have to move to left field to make way for Clint Fraizer as soon as the 2017 season. The Yankees could also look to make a bad contract swap and move Ellsbury, but that is a lot of moving pieces.

The free-spending days of the Yankees are in the past and despite what analysts think. I think a reunion with Aroldis Chapman is likely but I don't envision the Yankees investing a large amount of money and years into a hitter. The Yankees prospects are too close and the 2018-2019 free agent class is too tantalizing to throw that away.