Thursday, December 13, 2012

Yankees Sign Gil Velazquez To A Minor League Deal


Filing this under the "nothing to see here" section of the off season is the Yankees recent signing of infielder Gil Velazquez to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Gil had 57 plate appearances in his age 33 season with the Miami Marlins and also has major league experience with the Angels and the Red Sox. Seems like nothing more then a depth move, maybe to replace Ramiro Pena in AAA, but there is nothing wrong with a minor league contract in my eyes.

Ichiro Updates

Some updates regarding the signing of Ichiro Suzuki...

Earlier today Joel Sherman tweeted that the Yankees were going to have to offer Ichiro two years, due to the fact that the Phillies had offered two years already. Personally I'm not crazy about that, as I didn't even want the Yankees to bring Suzuki back in the first place, but it's far from the only decision the team has made recently involving it's roster that I didn't like.

About an hour later Jon Heyman tweeted that the deal would be worth between $12 and $13 million. I really don't think Ichiro is an everyday player any more, nor do I think he'll put up similar numbers to the .322/.340/.454 we saw after the Yankees dealt for him, so $6-$6.5 million for a part-timer seems a bit much.

What Number Will Kevin Youkilis Wear


This did not hit me when he signed until just now, just what number will Kevin Youkilis be wearing in 2013 for the Yankees? In his years in Boston and last year in Chicago he wore his traditional #20, but that number unofficially belongs to Yankee great Jorge Posada. Surely the Yankees would not let him, and hopefully he would not want to, wear the same number as Posada, right? How sickening would that be to see a former hated Red Sox wearing Jorge Posada's number for the Yankees? What say you?


Yankees Sign Bobby Wilson To Minor League Deal


The Yankees catching situation just got more depth, less impressive, and even more confusing. The Yankees have agreed to sign free agent catcher Bobby Wilson to a one year minor league deal. Wilson is a defensive only kind of catcher and has been the back up for many teams in the last few years including being Jeff Mathis' backup in Anaheim. This is not the solution and is more of a depth signing to replace guys like Gustavo Molina.

Joba Has Called Youkilis To "Clear The Air"


As we all know, and probably loved, Joba Chamberlain has a history of trying to hit Kevin Youkilis with fastballs in his head. To be fair Kevin was a Red Sox at the time and there is the whole rivalry thing and the biggest eruption was way back in 2008 when Joba was suspended for throwing above Youk's head and knocking him to the ground. Joba has been unsuccessful so far in reaching Youk, only getting his voicemail, but it is nice of Joba to be proactive here. No reason to have tension in the clubhouse and on the road and such so I am glad this is being handled internally, not that it should be a huge deal to begin with. Shows some maturity on Joba's part though so kudos to him.

Former Yankees Update : Ramiro Pena


Former Yankees utility man Ramiro Pena has signed on with the Atlanta Braves for the 2013 season. He was named one of the top minor league free agents going into this off season and will be a back up utility guy for the Braves this season. Surprisingly Ramiro got a major league contract instead of a minor league contract to play for Atlanta next season. Thanks for the memories Ramiro.

Josh Hamilton Off The Board, Signs W/ LA Angels


Josh Hamilton just came off the Yankees board when he signed a five year deal to replace Torri Hunter in the Angels outfield. More details to come but Hamilton to the Yankees was unrealistic anyway so I am not all that disappointed. The deal has been announced as a 5 year $125 million deal for the Angels new outfielder. 

Ichiro Turns Down Generous Offer From Phillies

If/When the Yankees and Ichiro Suzuki hammer out this newest contract for the 2013 season and maybe beyond he would have turned down a significant offer from the Philadelphia Phillies. According to a plethora of twitter sources the Phillies had a two year deal worth $15 million on the table to keep Ichiro in Philly until he turns 41 years old. Why do we care? Makes you wonder what the Yankees offer is and all but cements the fact that Ichiro will be here in 2014. Ichiro = Austerity?

Predicting The Rest Of The Free Agency Class


I used the list from MLB Trade Rumors to predict where the rest of the free agents this off season will head up. Let's see how well I do. I obviously skipped over the guys that will probably get minor league deals and such and cherry picked the bigger names for times sake.


Catchers
Rod Barajas (37) - New York Yankees #puke
Henry Blanco (41) - Retirement
Jesus Flores (28) - Pittsburgh Pirates
Miguel Olivo (34) - Detroit Tigers
Ronny Paulino (32) - Miami Marlins
A.J. Pierzynski (36) - Chicago White Sox
 

First basemen
Lance Berkman (36) - Houston Astros
Miguel Cairo (39) - Retirement
Jason Giambi (42) - Retirement
Aubrey Huff (36) - Tampa Bay Rays

Dan Johnson (33) - Houston Astros
Casey Kotchman (30) - Pittsburgh Pirates
Adam LaRoche (33) - declined qualifying offer - Washington Nationals
Carlos Lee (37) - New York Yankees

Carlos Pena (35) - Cleveland Indians
Nick Swisher (32) - declined qualifying offer - Cleveland Indians
Ty Wigginton (35) - Baltimore Orioles

Second basemen
Yuniesky Betancourt (31) - Los Angeles Dodgers

Kelly Johnson (31) - Arizona Diamonbacks
Ryan Raburn (32) - Detroit Tigers
Ryan Theriot (33) - San Francisco Giants

Shortstops
Jason Bartlett (33) - San Diego Padres

Stephen Drew (30) - Oakland Athletics


Third basemen
Miguel Cairo (39) - Retirement
Mark DeRosa (38) - Retirement
Chone Figgins (35) - New York Yankees

Placido Polanco (37) - Chicago White Sox
Scott Rolen (38) - Cincinnati Reds 
Ian Stewart (27) - Colorado Rockies
Ty Wigginton (35) - Baltimore Orioles


Left fielders
Bobby Abreu (39) - Retirement
Endy Chavez (35) - Baltimore Orioles

Johnny Damon (39) - Kansas City Royals
Mark DeRosa (38) - Retirement
Matt Diaz (35) - Atlanta Braves
Kosuke Fukudome (36) - Miami Marlins
Scott Hairston (33) - New York Mets
Bill Hall (33) - Philadelphia Phillies
Josh Hamilton (32) - declined qualifying offer - Texas Rangers
Raul Ibanez (41) - Seattle Mariners

Ryan Raburn (32) - Cincinnati Reds
Cody Ross (32) - Seattle Mariners
Delmon Young (27) - Tampa Bay Rays

Center fielders
Rick Ankiel (33) - St. Louis Cardinals
Michael Bourn (30) - declined qualifying offer - Seattle Mariners
Josh Hamilton (32) - declined qualifying offer - Texas Rangers
Nyjer Morgan (32) - New York Mets

Grady Sizemore (30) - New York Yankees

Right fielders
Endy Chavez (35) - Baltimore Orioles
Mark DeRosa (38) - Retirement

Kosuke Fukudome (36) - Miami Marlins
Scott Hairston (33) - New York Mets

Nyjer Morgan (32) - New York Mets
Ryan Raburn (32) -Cincinnati Reds
Cody Ross (32) - Seattle Mariners
Ryan Sweeney (28) - Kansas City Royals
Nick Swisher (32) - declined qualifying offer - Cleveland Indians

Designated hitters
Bobby Abreu (39) - Retirement
Johnny Damon (39) - Kansas City Royals
Travis Hafner (36) - Cleveland Indians
Raul Ibanez (41) - Retirement

Hideki Matsui (39) - Retirement
Jim Thome (42) - Tampa Bay Rays
Delmon Young (27) - Tampa Bay Rays

Starting pitchers
Erik Bedard (34) - Baltimore Orioles
Dallas Braden (29) - Chicago Cubs

Ryan Dempster (36) - Boston Red Sox
Freddy Garcia (37) - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Rich Harden (31) - Chicago Cubs
Roberto Hernandez (32) - Miami Marlins
Edwin Jackson (29) - Baltimore Orioles

John Lannan (28) - Colorado Rockies
Francisco Liriano (29) - Cleveland Indians
Kyle Lohse (34) - declined qualifying offer
Derek Lowe (40) - Cleveland Indians
Shaun Marcum (31) - Kansas City Royals
Daisuke Matsuzaka (32) - Seattle Mariners

Jamie Moyer (50) - Retirement
Brett Myers (32) - San Diego Padres
Roy Oswalt (35) - Retirement
Carl Pavano (37) - Kansas City Royals
Mike Pelfrey (29) - New York Mets
Anibal Sanchez (29) - Detroit Tigers
Jonathan Sanchez (30) - Colorado Rockies
Joe Saunders (32) - Baltmiore Orioles

Chien-Ming Wang (33) - Washington Nationals
Carlos Zambrano (32) - Arizona Diamondbacks

Closers
Matt Capps (29) - Toronto Blue Jays
Brett Myers (32) - San Diego Padres
Rafael Soriano (33) - declined qualifying offer - Detroit Tigers
Jose Valverde (35) - MIlwaukee Brewers
Brian Wilson (31) - Los Angeles Dodgers

Right-handed relievers
Mike Adams (34) - Milwaukee Brewers
Jose Contreras (41) - Retirement
Kyle Farnsworth (37) - Kansas City Royals
Francisco Rodriguez (31) - Texas Rangers
Takashi Saito (43) - Retirement
Jose Veras (32) - Milwaukee Brewers
Cory Wade (30) - New York Yankees

Left-handed relievers
Pedro Feliciano (35) - $4.5MM club option
Mike Gonzalez (35) - New York Yankees