Thursday, December 5, 2013

Yankees Offseason Will Be Incomplete Without Cano

The Yankees have started out this offseason with a bang by signing Brian McCann and Jacoby Ellsbury for a combined $240 million.

However, that will all likely be for naught if they let Robinson Cano leave, and that is looking more likely than ever at this point. Cano has flown out to Seattle to meet with the Mariners, who are reportedly prepared to make him a 9-year, $225 million offer. The Yankees have only offered Cano a 7-year, $165 million contract.

McCann and Ellsbury are huge upgrades. and will be huge additions to the Yankees. McCann was a no-brainer player to sign given the Yankees' catching woes, and the fact that catchers like him do not often hit free agency.

McCann hit .256/.336/.461/.796 with 122 wRC+ last season, while Yankees catchers hit .213/.287.298/./.585 with 42 wRC+. He should approach 30 home runs with the short porch in right field. Also, McCann is a hard nosed type of leader that should be good for the clubhouse.

The Ellsbury signing was much more controversial. In my opinion the Yankees overpaid Ellsbury with their $153 million contract. However, it is their money to spend and Ellsbury can be a very good player for them. The Yankees can afford to overspent, so what Ellsybury looks like in five years does not really matter. He is one of the best players at his position, so in that sense he was a very good signing.

Ellsbury's value comes with his speed and defense. He led MLB with 52 stolen bases last season and had a 10.0 UZR last season as well. His only elite offensive season came in 2011 when he hit .321/.376/.552/.928 with 32 home runs and an incredible 9.1 WAR.

The Yankees have a similar player to Ellsbury in Brett Gardner, which was another reason that I was surprised by the signing. Gardner's value gets greatly diminished in left field since so much of his value is his defense. The Yankees should be looking to shop Gardner for a starting pitcher.

Ellsbury has had injury issues, but those were more of freak accidents than anything that can be considered worrisome going forward. If Ellsbury can produce a WAR in between the 9.1 he posted  in 2011 and the 5.8 WAR he posted last year then this deal would be worth it. However, his 2011 remains his only elite season.

Why the Yankees gave Ellsbury a $153 million deal and continue to play hardball with Cano I do not know. Cano has consistently been the much better player and is a homegrown player. Cano is by far the best player at his position in MLB, while Ellsbury can certainly not say that. Despite claims of being lazy by some ignorant Yankee fans, Cano plays every game of every season and Ellsbury certainly can not say that whether his injuries have been freakish or not.

After going all in on McCann and Ellsbury the Yankees would be foolish to let Cano go. What is the point of taking two steps forward but one big step back? Without Cano the improvement from their anemic lineup from last year will not be enough, especially with the current state of the Yankees pitching staff. The infield would have question marks at all four positions. Not good.

The Yankees need stop fooling themselves and realize how much they need Cano to come back.







2 comments:

  1. I believe after Cano reads my open letter he will undoubtedly reconsider and accept the Yankees proposal...a hometown discount if you will...well as hometown as a Dominican can get in MLB...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Really wouldn't feel like we accomplished much if we dont bring back Cano.

    ReplyDelete

Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)