All Talk But No Action...

Waiting for Santa Claus in the Yankees Universe…

My thoughts that this could be a busy week took a hit yesterday when it was very quiet in the Yankees Universe and around baseball.

One of The Greedy Pinstripes co-owners (Bryan Van Dusen) took it as an opportunity to make a compelling argument for the acquisition of Danny Duffy of the Kansas City Royals. I personally do not feel that the Kansas City Royals will trade Duffy. The organization actually received somewhat good news on Monday when the Boston Red Sox re-signed first baseman Mitch Moreland to a two-year, $13 million deal. The signing presumably removes the Red Sox from the first base market (they had been rumored as the favored destination for Royals free agent Eric Hosmer). There is now actually optimism in Kansas City that the Royals could re-sign Hosmer. The San Diego Padres have been mentioned as a possibility for Hosmer but they would have to move Wil Myers back to the outfield (defensively-speaking, Myers has been better at first than in the outfield) and they’d give up a second round draft pick as compensation since Hosmer received a qualifying offer from the Royals. The New York Mets and the St Louis Cardinals remain possibilities for Hosmer too, but if the Royals are successful in bringing Hosmer back to KC, they are not going to “tank it” for a major rebuild. This means they are not going to give up one of their best young pitchers in Duffy who is under team control for the next four years.  Duffy is also on record saying “Bury me a Royal” on Twitter in response to trade rumors. There’s no reason for the Royals to trade Duffy at the moment. Once they do trade Duffy, if they do, it will be a signal the team is ready to lose for the short term.  I don’t think they are at that point yet so I don’t see Duffy as a present alternative for the Yankees.  

The other TGP owner, Daniel Burch, has repeatedly said that the longer trade rumors persist about the Yankees acquiring Gerrit Cole from the Pittsburgh Pirates, the less likely it will actually happen. I agree with that assessment as GM Brian Cashman has a reputation for striking quickly in stealth mode. Hence, the Ninja reputation.  

Michael Fulmer does not presently appear to be an option since the Detroit Tigers are not motivated to make a deal. I am sure that every call between Tigers GM Al Avila and Cashman begins with “Are you ready to deal Gleyber Torres?” which abruptly ends the conversation.

So, at the moment, the frontrunner for rotation help appears to be Patrick Corbin of the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

The D-Backs would love to re-sign outfielder J.D. Martinez (who remains the primary target for the Red Sox) but they would need to move some salary to make it happen. It’s funny how every Yankees move is somehow tied to the Red Sox.  Corbin is arbitration eligible for his final year before free agency. He will get more expensive so now is the time for the D-Backs to make a move to ensure they do not lose the pitcher for nothing next off-season. He made a hair under $4 million last season. The D-Backs have a number of arbitration eligible players this off-season so moving Corbin would help control escalating costs while bringing back quality prospects. Corbin was terrific after the All-Star Break last year when he went 8-4 with a 3.26 ERA in his final 15 starts. MLB Trade Rumors is projecting that Corbin’s 2018 salary will be $8.3 million. The 28-year-old lefty would certainly represent an upgrade for the Yankees rotation and the cost shouldn’t involve the team’s best prospects. 2B/3B Brandon Drury has been frequently mentioned with Corbin’s name and he’d provide some help for the Yankees at those positions. Drury made $559,300 last season and is not arbitration eligible until 2019. The 25-year-old righty hit .267 with 13 HR and 63 RBI in 445 AB’s in 2017.  

However, this trade rumor has been hanging out there since the Baseball Winter Meetings so the “Burch Rule” is probably in play (less likely to happen with each passing day).  

As for third base options, I keep hoping that the Yankees can find a way to bring back Todd Frazier. A one-year contract with an option for one or two more years seems like the best team fit, but the player may feel that he can get more years elsewhere. Buster Olney floated the idea on Twitter yesterday that the Yankees would be a great fit for Mike Moustakas on a one-year deal which of course was met with laughter that Moose Tacos would actually accept one year (his agent is Scott Boras after all). But in theory, I love the idea for the player to build more value in the stacked Yankees lineup and an opportunity to exploit the right field porch before hitting the free agent market next off-season. It will never happen but it’s fun to think about.

Last Star out of Miami, Please Turn Out the Lights…

I feel bad for Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly who remains one of my favorite people in baseball. After the Giancarlo Stanton trade, he publicly made comments about his excitement for the youth movement in Miami. The Marlins have since traded Marcell Ozuna to the St Louis Cardinals and a couple of their remaining young stars (Christian Yelich and J.T. Realmuto) have expressed desires to leave. Mattingly will soon be fielding a team of minor leaguers at the Major League level. He deserves better. It’s a tough situation for the former Yankees captain regardless of the smile and positive words that he gives publicly.

Credit:  Charles Wenzelberg, NY Post

Well, let’s see what today brings. Go Yankees!

Setting Our Sites On Another Trade Target

Not long ago I said that the Yankees should trade Clint Frazier for a good, young, starter such as Gerrit Cole or Michael Fulmer. The reaction to that piece has been a little mixed. Some thought like me and agreed that Clint Frazier was no longer necessary, and his value should be used to improve the rotation both now and for the future. Others didn't like the idea of trading Frazier at all, as they believe he has a bright future, and the Yankees may need a regular left fielder other than Stanton or Judge after all.

As a follow up to that post I started to write about teams that would like to add Frazier, as their own left fielders leave a lot to be desired. The first team that I started to research was the Kansas City Royals.

Back in January of 2016 Kansas City signed Alex Gordon to a four year deal that would pay him $72 million, and included a mutual option for a fifth year. The average annual value of the deal was a bit high, but certainly not ridiculous seeing that Gordon had been a very good player for the Royals over the previous five seasons.

Unfortunately Alex's offensive productivity took a nosedive right away. While Gordon hit .281/.359/.450 between 2011 and 2015, since then he's hit .214/.302/.346. I'm sure the Royals, and their fans, have gone from thinking left field was covered through the rest of the decade, to thinking "how do we get through this?"

That is where Clint Frazier would fit in very nicely. If they had to, the Royals could pay a chunk of Gordon's contract to trade him away, and pay Clint the league minimum to take over.

Thanks to plenty of talk about him, the name Danny Duffy came to mind. I started thinking, "is this a perfect match?"

Duffy's ERA+ was a very nice 117 last season, his first season in which he started in every appearance. Sure, he may have started 26 games in 2016, but he appeared as a reliever in 16 other games.

Another nice stat I saw on Danny's Baseball Reference page was his home run rate, which actually went down from 1.4 in 2016 to 0.8 in 2017. While that number is nice on it's own, when you realize that there were 495 more home runs hit in 2017 than 2016, that home run rate drop is even more impressive.

So it goes without saying that adding Danny Duffy to the Yankees' rotation would be pretty cool. But here's where it gets better, and ties into the Clint Frazier thing...

The Yankees wouldn't have to include Red Thunder in a trade for Duffy.

Before this past season Kansas City signed Duffy to an extension that pays him $60 million over the next four years (it was originally a five year extension for $65 million, but it only paid him $5 million in 2017). And that's why Frazier would not have to be included in a trade here.

Think about it... the Yankees have discussed using Frazier to get guys like Gerrit Cole, who will make around $7.5 million (his projected salary according to MLB Trade Rumors), while Duffy will get $14 million.

"Okay, you won't give me Clint Frazier. So now what?"

So what would it take to trade for Danny Duffy? Well, let's move on...

Now $15 million a year isn't a ton of money, but when you see that Kansas City had a total payroll just over $140 million in 2017, finished two games under .500, and had the 4th worst offense in the American League, saving that money could make life with Alex Gordon much more livable while allowing them to give somebody else a shot out there.

Furthermore, the Royals have some nice pitching prospects that are ready to debut in the big leagues now or very soon. Their #5 prospect started 19 games for AAA Omaha in 2017, their #6 prospect started 18 games in AA, and their #9 prospect started 15 games at AAA Omaha.

I'm sure the Royals would get a young, controllable starter in return for Duffy, too. No, I don't think it would take somebody like Justus Sheffield, Chance Adams, Domingo Acevedo, or Albert Abreu. But perhaps KC would like to add Dillon Tate, who saw some starts in AA last year. Heck, include another young starter who may be a bit further away from MLB, like Freicer Perez, Matt Sauer, or Clarke Schmidt.

What about a position player to add to the deal? The Royals may very well lose Eric Hosmer to free agency, so what about offering Tyler Austin?

With the Yankees having enough room under the Luxury Tax threshold to pay Duffy $13 million (the AAV of his deal), Danny being under team control through his age 32 season, and being able to hold onto Clint Frazier and other top prospects like Sheffield, Adams, and Esteven Florial, this trade seems like a no-brainer.

The only question remaing is would the Royals do something along the lines of Tyler Austin, Dillon Tate, Matt Sauer, and another small piece for Danny Duffy? sa

Returning for a Championship Run...

Credit:  Andrew Theodorakis, New York Daily News

CC’s back!…

The reunion seemed inevitable but the longer time passed, I was fearful that another team would entice CC Sabathia to trade in his pinstripes. He spoke with the Los Angeles Angels (a team desperate for starting pitching) and the Toronto Blue Jays. He never expressed an interest in the Oakland Athletics or the San Francisco Giants but I always felt that if they reached out to Sabathia, the appeal to return to his native Northern California would have been very strong. In the end, Sabathia opted to return “home” for some unfinished business.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com broke the story first yesterday that Sabathia had signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Yankees subject to a physical. Jack Curry of the YES Network reported later in the day that Sabathia had taken and passed the physical yesterday afternoon, thereby making the deal official. Welcome back, CC! We’re very glad to have you.

The move presumably does not alter the Yankees plans to add another quality starting pitcher although they now have five starters on staff. Realistically, I do not expect Sabathia to match his 2017 season when he went 14-5 with 3.69 ERA. He’ll turn 38 in July. But the veteran knows how to win and is a team leader. With an inexperienced manager and bench coach, the value of Sabathia’s leadership cannot be understated.  

It’s very interesting that the 2005 Cleveland Indians roster featured the Yankees manager (Aaron Boone), the Yankees Bench Coach (Josh Bard), the Red Sox manager (Alex Cora), and  a very young Sabathia. Boone was there for the early years (CC was only 24 during that 2005 season) and now he’s back for what may very well be Sabathia’s final year. If the Yankees win the 2018 World Series, I have no doubt that Sabathia will ride off into the sunset.  I cannot imagine a better Yankees career than starting and ending with World Series championships.

Competition for the 2018-19 Free Agent Market…

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ front office showed their brilliance when they unloaded the bloated contracts of Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy, and Adrian Gonzalez plus infielder Charlie Culberson on the Atlanta Braves. It is the same trio that the Dodgers tried to pawn off on the Miami Marlins for Giancarlo Stanton. Sure, they had to take back former Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, but the deal effectively reduced Dodgers payroll for the coming season by approximately $23 million which helps the team get under the $197 million threshold to reset luxury tax penalties. Gonzalez will never wear an Atlanta uniform. As part of the negotiation to waive his no-trade clause, Atlanta will release Gonzalez tomorrow, making him a free agent. It is also very questionable if Kemp will ever wear the Dodgers uniform again.  

The move helps to ensure that the Dodgers will be prime players next off-season when Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Andrew Miller, Craig Kimbrel, Clayton Kershaw, Dallas Keuchel, Josh Donaldson and others hit the open market. Everybody had presumed the Yankees would sign Harper but the Dodgers have emerged as the leader for Harper’s services. Fortunately for the Yankees, they were able to acquire Giancarlo Stanton which gives them reason to pass on Harper and the $400-$500 million that it will take to sign the Las Vegas native. 

Credit:  USA TODAY Sports

Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi can thank Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos, who served in the Dodgers front office last season. From the Braves perspective, they are free of the two-year obligation for Kemp, and the heavy contracts they acquired expire at the end of the upcoming season (making Kazmir and McCarthy desirable “rentals” at the trade deadline next summer).

While I don’t believe that the Dodgers sudden emergence as a major player in the 2018-19 free agent market will adversely impact the Yankees desire to add Manny Machado (the Dodgers have great players at third and short, Justin Turner and Corey Seager), it will add significant competition for other players. I’d really love to see the return of Andrew Miller to the Bronx but the Dodgers almost certainly will be aggressive in their pursuit of quality bullpen arms.  

If at Third…

With no offense to Miguel Andujar and his questionable defensive skills, I remain hopeful the Yankees can find a way to bring back third baseman Todd Frazier. Andujar would benefit from another year at Triple A. Frazier was signing autographs in Toms River, New Jersey yesterday. Every time I see off-season pics of Frazier, it reinforces to me how much I’d like to see him back in Pinstripes.  

Hey Cash, make it happen!

Finally…

The MLB Network has been replaying past Home Run Derbys and I have to say…man, I love watching Giancarlo Stanton hit home runs.

Credit:  Denis Poroy, Getty Images

Go Yankees!

Baby, It's Cole Outside...

Credit:  Daniel Decker Photography

What’s Next?…

After two successive weekends starting with a bang (first the word about Aaron Boone’s hiring as the replacement for Joe Girardi and then the stunning deal that brought the great Giancarlo Stanton to the Bronx), we enter this weekend on a quiet note.

There have been rumors for days (actually the ongoing discussions have lasted for years) the Yankees have been talking to the Pittsburgh Pirates about starter Gerrit Cole. Personally, I am in favor of Cole’s acquisition. I know, he basically sucked last year. 12-12, 4.26 ERA. 31 home runs allowed. It was easily his worst season and he is now a couple of seasons removed from his dominant 19-win 2015 season. You’d be bringing him into the pressurized AL East which isn’t going to help anybody’s ERA, particularly for a pitcher prone to give up the long ball. But maybe I continue to see the upside of the pitcher and feel that he can be an effective middle-of-the-rotation starter. There’s the intangible that he was a childhood Yankees fan so it’s possible that he could have the reverse Ivan Nova effect (pitching much better in New York than Pittsburgh). I know, that one is a stretch but I’d really like to see what pitching coach Larry Rothschild could do with Cole’s arm.  

Credit:  Charles Wenzelberg, NY Post

The issue, of course, is cost. Any trade is almost certain to be headlined by outfielder Clint Frazier. The Pirates will also demand a top pitching prospect in a deal that would most likely cost the Yankees at least four young promising players. Many believe that Chance Adams may be better suited for relief and I’ve heard concerns about the at-times violent delivery of Justus Sheffield (and concerns about his durability). Between the two, I’d probably be more willing to sacrifice Adams although I have enjoyed his progression through the Yankees farm system. I saw one Pirates blog clamoring for Jordan Montgomery.  That’s a deal-breaker for me. I would not include Montgomery under any circumstances with the concerns that accompany Cole. I have a tough time justifying Frazier but the Yankees have an abundance of outfielders and Frazier is better suited for left field than center. Until they can clear out room by trading Jacoby Ellsbury (please!) or Brett Gardner, there’s simply no room for Frazier. The job of fourth or fifth outfielder can easily be handled by Jake Cave or Billy McKinney, with Estevan Florial a season or two away. Pittsburgh wants to contend again by 2019 so they are not going to settle for Single-A prospects or guys with no potential to reach the bigs until after 2020. This is a dilemma and I am sure that’s a primary reason the talks have gone on for so long with no resolution.  

I know everyone prefers Michael Fulmer of the Detroit Tigers but there’s no indication that the Tigers are willing to trade Fulmer. Even if Fulmer was available, I think the cost would be substantially greater than what it would or should take to get Cole.  

Credit:  MLB.com

We know that the Boston Red Sox will respond to the Yankees addition of Giancarlo Stanton. They’ve been rumored for weeks to be the possible destination for both first baseman Eric Hosmer and outfielder J.D. Martinez. With their pitching staff (assuming that David Price can return to ace status), they will be strong contenders for the AL East championship next season. I was glad to see one possible fallback option eliminated yesterday when former Cleveland Indians slugger Carlos Santana signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. Martinez has indicated he wants to play the outfield and at the moment, the Red Sox outfield is full with Mookie Betts (arguably one of the best players in MLB), Jackie Bradley Jr, and Andrew Benintendi. It’s possible the Sox could trade JBJ but he’s one of the best defensive centerfielders in the league. Neither Benintendi nor Betts are going anywhere. Therefore, I hope Martinez continues to take a stand against becoming a full-time DH.  

The trades of Chase Headley and Starlin Castro opened starting roles for the Yankees at second and third. At the moment, Gleyber Torres is destined to take second. However, there is greater value in starting him at Triple A to open the season for a few weeks to delay his free agency by a year so it makes more sense to use the combo of Ronald Torreyes and Tyler Wade to man the position until Torres is ready. At third, Miguel Andujar is presently at the front of the line although I still suspect the Yankees will acquire a short-term veteran. This one is tough. I’d love to see the Yankees bring Todd Frazier back on a two-year deal, but the Yankees are probably looking at no more than one year which is not in sync with the player. One possible destination for Frazier was eliminated yesterday when the Los Angeles Angels signed Zack Cozart, former shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds, to play third (Andrelton Simmons is entrenched at short and the Angels just acquired second baseman Ian Kinsler from the Tigers).  I keep hoping that the price tag for Frazier drops low enough for the Yankees to grab him but that’s not something that I am counting on. I guess the Yankees need to find their next Scott Brosius off some unsuspecting MLB roster.

If anything is going to happen, it will probably be next week. Otherwise, I don’t see any significant baseball activity until after the first of the year.  

I am sure that GM Brian Cashman and company are hard at work as I type this post.

Hopefully there is a quality starting pitcher out there who dreams of joining Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, Sonny Gray, and Jordan Montgomery. Run support may not have been Gray’s friend in 2017 but in 2018, I don’t think it’s going to be a problem. As a pitcher, I’d love to be backed by a lineup that features Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gary Sanchez, Greg Bird, Didi Gregorius, Aaron Hicks, Brett Gardner and others. They’ll just have to get used to the extended wait between innings while the Yankees are batting.

Oakland A’s Outfielder Sues the White Sox…

Former Yankees outfielder Dustin Fowler has sued the Chicago White Sox and the state agency that manages Guaranteed Rate Field (Illinois Sports Facilities Authority) as a result of the devastating knee injury he suffered in his Yankees debut last summer in Chicago. The suit, filed in the Cook County Circuit Court, claims the White Sox and the state agency acted negligently by not securing the knee-level electrical box that Fowler collided against when he hit the low side of the wall chasing a fly ball in foul territory. The suit indicates by failing to pad, guard or cover the electrical box, the defendants showed “an utter indifference to or conscious disregard” for Fowler’s safety.

Credit:  Pete Caldera, NJ.com

Fowler, part of the trade that brought Sonny Gray to New York, is expected to be ready for A’s training camp next spring but time will tell if the knee injury has lasting ramifications on the former Yankee’s career. I agree that the parties at Guaranteed Rate Field should be held liable. At the time of the injury, then Yankees manager Joe Girardi was very critical of the exposed electrical box. It is a hazard that could have been prevented. 

I wish Fowler the best with his suit and hope that he is able to reach the potential and stardom that he seemed destined for prior to the injury.   

The Tampa Yankees are no more…

I will miss the “TY” logo as the Yankees’ High-A affiliate have changed their name to the Tampa Tarpons. I immediately saw tweets about tampons after the announcement of the name change, but the Tarpons name has history in Tampa. It was the name of a previous Florida State League team for over thirty years. The old Tarpons club was sold and relocated in 1988. The new team was placed in Tampa by the Yankees in 1994. Welcome back, Tarpons!

I am sure the Tampa Bay Rays are glad to see the removal of “Yankees” from the Tampa name even if the minor league team remains affiliated with the Pinstripes.  

Speaking of the Tampa Tarpons, I continue to hope that their manager, Jay Bell, is named as Al Pedrique’s replacement at Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre although former Yankees coach Tony Pena would probably be a very solid option too.

59 days to Spring Training. Go Yankees!

Minor League Ball’s Top 20 Yankees Prospects!!

My apologies for the completely unprofessional “!!” at the end of the post title but I can’t help it, I’m me and I love Yankees prospects. Who needs professionalism anyway? I highly doubt you’re here reading my work because I am the most professional writer, you are here because you like my work and you like the way I do things. When I started this blog I always said I would do things my way and if that meant never making it “big” or being well-known that I would be okay with that, and those words still ring true today. So, without further ado, Minor League Ball’s Top 20 Yankees Prospects List!!! There, I did three exclamation points that time. Ban professionalism.

1.       Gleyber Torres

2.       Chance Adams

3.       Estevan Florial

4.       Justus Sheffield

5.       Miguel Andujar

6.       Domingo Acevedo

7.       Jorge Guzman (not updated since the trade)

8.       Albert Abreu

9.       Freicer Perez

10.   Thairo Estrada

11.   Nick Solak

12.   Dillon Tate

13.   Domingo German

14.   Billy McKinney

15.   Luis Medina

16.   Matt Sauer

17.   Trevor Stephan

18.   Taylor Widener

19.   Nolan Martinez

20.   Nestor Cortes (TAKEN IN RULE 5 DRAFT)

For the complete write-ups on the prospects and such head over to Minor League Ball and check out their post. They put in a lot of work over there and provide a ton of great content and they deserve all the views they get and many more. Head over there, be the good guy, and give them some clicks for their awesome content. Thanks in advance guys and girls. Go Yankees!!

Gleyber Torres is Your Opening Day 2nd Baseman, Deal With It

I think I was just one of many that either stayed up late the night the news broke that Giancarlo Stanton was coming to the Yankees via trade or one that woke up to utter shock that the reigning National League MVP was Bronx-bound. We all as a fan base waited anxiously to see what the Yankees would be giving up, how much of the Stanton contract they would be paying etc. but while most waited I began to brainstorm. I am always looking ahead and when we learned that Starlin Castro was going to be involved in the deal my immediate thought was not whether the Yankees would set an MLB record for home runs by a team in 2018, but who would play second base replacing Castro? I’m weird, I know. My immediate thought went to Ronald Torreyes or Tyler Wade as they finished the 2018 season healthy, are both on the 40-man roster and with Torreyes specifically had success at the MLB level in a small sample size. Torreyes filled in admirably for an injured Didi Gregorius at the beginning of the 2017 season but I don’t see him doing it again here in 2018, not with a healthy Gleyber Torres on the roster that some inside the Yankees organization wanted to start the season at the MLB level last season. Those same personnel members will push for Torres being in the Bronx on Opening Day 2018 assuming the Yankees still need a second baseman then and this time I think they will get their wish.

Gleyber Torres will be the Yankees Opening Day second baseman in 2018, deal with it. I said “deal with it” because to my surprise I was roasted on Twitter the day of the Stanton trade for saying so. You would be surprised to read some of the responses that I got to that tweet. Many said I was crazy, that Torres was still injured (no he’s not), not ready (yes he is, he was last season), or that it just wasn’t going to happen but I am not buying it just because you said so. Not many had Aaron Judge starting in right field at the beginning of the 2017 season because of his strikeouts, his inexperience and because of his lack of a blockbuster September call-up the season prior. How did that work out? The Yankees have the offense and the veteran leadership in the infield with Didi Gregorius to deal with and survive the growing pains for Gleyber, and they should. Don’t wait until June, don’t wait to save a few dollars. We are the New York Yankees and we are back to being the New York Yankees again, after 2018 I don’t want to hear about money or the budget or the luxury tax ever again. Ever.  

Stop babying prospects and stop coddling the young guys. Let them play with the young guys around them and figure it out on their own. Derek Jeter wasn’t handled like a porcelain doll, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams and Andy Pettitte weren’t either. Robinson Cano wasn’t. Chein-Ming Wang wasn’t. Aaron Judge wasn’t. I can keep going but I think you get my ultimate point, that Gleyber Torres shouldn’t be either so say hello to your Opening Day starting second baseman and also wish him a Happy belated Birthday as well.

#EnterGleyber

Is Jabari Blash a Part of a Bigger Plan/Deal for New York?

When the New York Yankees traded away Chase Headley and Bryan Mitchell to the San Diego Padres for outfielder Jabari Blash I think most thought that this was simply a salary dump for the Bronx Bombers. The Yankees sent $500,000 in cash considerations along with Mitchell, Headley and the former Yankees third baseman’s $13 million in salary but I don’t think this was simply a salary dump. Why would Cashman take on ANOTHER outfielder, especially an outfielder that is 28-years old and hasn’t excelled at the Major League level to date? I think Blash is part of a much bigger plan and deal and I am wondering if that bigger plan and deal has anything to do with the Chicago White Sox and their presumable acquisition of Orioles third baseman Manny Machado.  

George A. King III reported this week that the Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos would never trade Manny Machado to the New York Yankees, but the Chicago White Sox owner and GM would. The White Sox have been one of the most aggressive suitors for Machado’s services despite being in the middle of a total rebuild. This deal doesn’t make sense for the White Sox as Machado is just one year away from free agency unless one of two things happens, Machado signs an extension, or the White Sox ultimately flip Machado either now or in July before the trade deadline for prospects to speed up the rebuild. I am personally leaning towards the latter being more likely than the former, you have to think Machado wants to hit the free agent market at just 26-years old, and with that thought process and the Yankees need for a third baseman the stars may be aligning.  

Why does it make sense for the Yankees? I mean, besides the obvious as Machado is an incredible talent. Machado is still under a team friendly deal that will pay him an estimated $17.3 million in his final year of arbitration according to Baseball Reference and their estimations. Adding Machado, CC Sabathia for $10 - $12 million on a one-year deal, and Gleyber Torres to second base and the Yankees can still get under the luxury tax threshold while calling it an offseason before Christmas. Not bad for a team that couldn’t seemingly find a suitable manager just a few weeks ago.  

Blash would be just one of the many prospects the Yankees could trade to the White Sox if they were to acquire and then flip Machado to the Bronx. Clint Frazier could be another. I am not an expert on the Chicago White Sox and I am not sure of their needs, but you have to think they will at least ask for Frazier, Chance Adams, Justus Sheffield and others. If the White Sox give up some of their elite prospects to acquire Machado, and they would likely have to give up at least one, then the Yankees would have to compensate them for that in the deal. Would Frazier, Blash and Adams be enough? That’s a good question, I would hope so. I know one thing though, Machado won’t come cheap like Giancarlo Stanton did.   

The kicker here? The Yankees could conceivably trade Machado in July for even better prospects then they will theoretically and hypothetically give up to the Chicago White Sox in a deal while sliding Miguel Andujar into the third base position. This screams Aroldis Chapman all over again and if it happens, especially if the Yankees then turned around and signed Machado via free agency next winter, I will be the first person in line to kiss the feet of Yankees GM Brian Cashman. Something is brewing here; the Yankees didn’t just acquire Blash because they liked him. Stay tuned. 

So it Seems… Brian Cashman the Hall of Famer

Good morning everyone and what a Winter Meetings week this has been for the New York Yankees. With the Winter Meetings now done, and maybe the majority of the Yankees heavy lifting done, you have to look ahead and wonder what this means for the future of Brian Cashman. Cashman took over for Al Watson back before the 1998 season essentially walking into a dynasty and now has all the pieces to start another dynasty, this time all on his own. Cashman, even now in my opinion, has to be a Hall of Fame General Manager, doesn’t he?

Cashman’s led 1998 Yankees, again he didn’t really build this team and I totally understand that, won an American League record 114 games en route to their second World Series Championship in two seasons. Cashman and his Yankees would then win the 1999, 2000 and 2009 World Series Championships while also winning the American League Pennant in 2001 and 2003. Cashman also put the team on the field that made it to the AL Championship Series multiple times including the 2012 and 2017 seasons.

Sure, Cashman has had the money to throw at players and sure, talent can overcome a lot of bad decision making sometimes but no one can deny that the Yankees GM has been an absolute wizard in the trade arena. I mean, come on. Cashman essentially turned Brendan Ryan into Giancarlo Stanton player wise and turned Chase Headley and Starlin Castro into Giancarlo Stanton money wise. That’s genius and the scary part is after signing a new five-year deal, Cashman is far from done.

Cashman is a Hall of Fame GM right now, in five years we may be talking about possibly the best GM in the history of Major League Baseball. Especially if he can swing a trade for Manny Machado from the Chicago White Sox, but more on that later and so much more.

Speaking of the Hall of Fame, you my Kari are definitely a Hall of Famer. No woman has ever been more beautiful, more awesome, more caring, more kind or more generally awesome as you. And somehow, someway, you are mine. I thank God every day for you multiple times a day, usually after looking into those gorgeous blue eyes. I loves you, always have and always will.

Have a great day everyone!

The End of the Winter Meetings...

Lots of Sun in Florida for the Yankees…

The Baseball Winter Meetings are always my favorite time of the off-season and this year did not disappoint.  

I just returned from a trip (hence, my silence on the site for the past few days). As I was departing on Saturday morning, I first read some tweets that the Yankees had been talking aggressively overnight with the Miami Marlins. By the time, I reached the airport, Twitter was exploding with tweets that the Yankees had pulled off the trade that brought the great Giancarlo Stanton to the Bronx. 

Credit:  Willie J Allen, Jr, Associated Press 

I hadn’t really thought about Stanton in pinstripes until recently when Bryan Van Dusen had  raised the possibility on The Greedy Pinstripes website. At first, I dismissed the idea, thinking there was no way to fit Giancarlo into Hal Steinbrenner’s budget for 2018. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Still, I thought either the San Francisco Giants or the St Louis Cardinals, with negotiated trades in place with the Marlins, would be successful in their talks with the slugger to get him to waive his no-trade clause. I also kept thinking the Los Angeles Dodgers were waiting in the weeds to make their strike.  Much to my surprise, Stanton’s representatives announced on Friday that the Cardinals were out, followed later that he would not be going to San Francisco. We didn’t know it at the time, but the Yankees had already been making headway in their talks with Miami and Stanton had rejected St Louis and San Francisco because he had knowledge that he would be headed to one of his original four desired destinations.  

I had a strong feeling that the Yankees were going to trade Starlin Castro this winter based on some reports that I had heard. Perhaps he would have stayed in Pinstripes if Stanton hadn’t fallen into GM Brian Cashman’s lap. But regardless of his faults, I am sorry to see Castro go. There were a lot of jokes about how the Yankees fleeced the Marlins and got Stanton for nothing, but I disagree. The Marlins landed an All-Star second baseman and an all-around good guy in All-Starlin. The two prospects acquired by the Marlins were lower level but we’ve all heard about the 100 mph arm of Jorge Guzman (one half of the return, along with Albert Abreu, for former Yankees catcher Brian McCann from the Houston Astros last winter).  Guzman has a chance to be a quality Major League arm. The other, infielder Jose Devers, is only 18, and is a cousin of Rafael Devers, the young Boston Red Sox third baseman. Granted, the Yankees didn’t relinquish any of their top prospects but they still paid a good price to take Stanton’s contract. If Stanton doesn’t exercise his opt-out in three years (his agent has already said that he will not), the Marlins will send $30 million to the Yankees to help pay down the contract. There’s no doubt this was a trade the Yankees had to make and any of us would have pulled the trigger on it, but it does carry a sense of loss for those players the Yankees sent to South Beach. So, I am tired of hearing that the Yankees acquired Stanton for nothing. 

Credit:  Joseph D Sullivan

From a roster standpoint, I really like that it opened second base for super prospect Gleyber Torres. I’ve felt that second or short would be a much better fit for Torres than the previously projected third base. Shortstop Didi Gregorius is not going anywhere anytime soon so second is the next best spot. There’s no doubt that Torres could have been special at third base but I like him better as the team’s second baseman. I doubt we see Torres at the start of the season as the Yankees will delay his service time for a few weeks to gain an extra year of control. This means we’ll have patchwork at second until Torres arrives…most likely some combination of Ronald Torreyes and Tyler Wade.  

It’s probably too early to speculate how the Yankees will use Stanton and Aaron Judge. At first, I thought Judge would probably be moved to left to make room for Stanton in right, but Judge’s defense is too valuable. There’s the speculation that the outfield will be a rotation with the DH spot which makes sense, but I think we’ll have better clarity in the coming days and weeks.  Both Stanton and Judge are too young to be used exclusively at DH. It would be huge if the Yankees could somehow find a way to move Jacoby Ellsbury’s contract along with oodles of the cash it will take. 

Tuesday’s trade that sent Chase Headley and Bryan Mitchell to the San Diego Padres surprised me. The biggest surprise was San Diego’s willingness to take Headley’s contract. The Yankees paid half the assignment bonus (or $500,000 in this case) but did not have to ship cash to accompany the monies still owed to Headley. I figured that Mitchell’s time was coming to an end. I really like the pitcher but he’s been very inconsistent in his limited opportunities in the Bronx. If he hadn’t been traded, he was probably a candidate to be designated for assignment at some point in the upcoming season to free up room on the 40-man roster. I think Mitchell will thrive in San Diego and will achieve the potential we had projected for him (which is obviously the reason that the Padres were willing to take Headley’s contract). Last night, there were strong reports that the Padres could possibly trade Headley to the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels had acquired second baseman Ian Kinsler from the Detroit Tigers earlier in the evening as they attempt to rebuild the talent around Mike Trout and newly signed two-way Japanese star Shohei Otani. Angels GM Billy Eppler was behind the Yankees’ acquisition of Headley from San Diego a few years ago so he’s a Headley fan.   

Coming to the Yankees organization from San Diego is outfielder Jabari Blash.  Blash hit .213 with 5 HR and 16 RBI in 164 at-bats for the Padres last year.  His numbers at Triple A were much better (.285, 20 HR, 62 RBI in 235 at-bats).  Outfield is a position of redundancy in the Yankees organization so this leads me to believe that some of the congestion will be relieved in a future trade.  

The Yankees now have openings on both sides of Didi Gregorius. I find it unlikely they’d go with rookies at both second and third, but stranger things have happened. Ideally, it would be great if the Yankees and Todd Frazier could come together on a short time deal. However, the Toddfather has earned a multi-year deal opportunity which probably removes the Yankees from the equation.   

The Yankees are expected to make a play for a starting pitcher but I hope that it doesn’t result in the loss of free agent CC Sabathia. There’s room to add a starting pitcher and bring back CC, the team’s leader.  Sabathia’s camp has talked with the Angels and the Toronto Blue Jays. It would be difficult to watch Sabathia go to either of those teams. The longer the Yankees put off Sabathia, the greater the chance he goes elsewhere. If one of the Bay Area teams came calling, it would probably be hard for Sabathia to pass up the chance to go home to play for his final season(s).  

Regardless of Josh Bard’s qualifications, I was disappointed with his selection as the Yankees new bench coach. Last year, the Yankees had a wealth of experience with Rob Thomson sitting next to Joe Girardi. When Thomson left after not getting the manager’s job, I was hoping that the Yankees would find someone with commensurate experience. The toughest part for new Yankees manager Aaron Boone to master will be in-game action and I was hopeful that he’d have someone who has served time on the battle lines to help his learning curve.  Granted, Boone has managerial experience with pitching coach Larry Rothschild and new third base coach Phil Nevin but Bard will be the chief lieutenant on the bench. I hope that ‘smart’ and ‘confident’ help yield the right in-game decisions. As expected, the Yankees promoted minor league coaches Reggie Willets and Carlos Mendoza.  Willets will take first base (replacing long-time Yankees coach Tony Pena), while Mendoza will serve as infield coach/quality control and will be in uniform during games. Marcus Thames (hitting coach) and Mike Harkey (bullpen coach) are expected to return.  

I knew the Rule 5 Draft was going to be difficult in terms of potential losses and it was.  In the first round of the Major League Phase, the Yankees lost RHP Anyelo Gomez (Atlanta Braves), LHP Nestor Cortes (Baltimore Orioles) and 1B Mike Ford (Seattle Mariners). In the third round, the Orioles grabbed RHP Jose Mesa, Jr. I don’t think any of the names are a surprise as  all of them had been cited as potential losses. Of course, they have to stick on their new team’s MLB roster for the entire year or they must be offered back to the Yankees. Last year, the Yankees lost C Luis Torrens to the San Diego Padres when he stuck the entire year on their active MLB roster. I am expecting at least one of this year’s draftees to stick. Nestor Cortes is probably the one that I wanted to keep the most as quality left-handers are hard to find. I thought RHP J.P. Feyereisen would be taken but he was not. In the Minor League Phase, the Yankees lost RHP Yancarlos Baez (Minnesota Twins) and C Sharif Othman (Miami Marlins). These are permanent losses. The Yankees grabbed a Single-A outfielder, Junior Soto, from the Cleveland Indians. In 2017 for Single A-Lake County Captains, Soto hit 9 home runs and 17 RBI’s in 52 games while batting .172.  He struck out 61 times in 174 at-bats, while taking only 6 walks.

  

The Winter Meetings have come to an end but the Yankees still have much work to do. There are rumors that the Orioles have Manny Machado in play but I seriously doubt the O’s would trade him intra-division. To me, it would make sense. The O’s will lose Machado at some point and why not grab top prospects from a key division rival. But O’s owner Peter Angelos is 88 and I am sure that he does not want to spend his final years watching Machado star for the Yankees. All things considered, I’d rather use the prospects to grab another frontline starter and then potentially sign Machado after next season when he is a free agent. But of course, the “greedy” side of me would love to march both Machado and Stanton out onto the field at Yankee Stadium next year for simultaneous debuts along with another quality starter to join the rotation.

I wonder what Joe Girardi thinks about all this?…

Go Yankees!