Friday, October 11, 2013

Qualifying Offers Will Be Worth $14.1 Million This Year


We finally have a number to put with the qualifying offers that the Yankees will likely to be offering to free agents like Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, and Hiroki Kuroda. The qualifying offer will be set at $14,100,000 for the 2014 season on one year deals. Last year the qualifying offers were worth $13,300,000 which is a $800,000 increase from last season.

Just as a reminder you must offer your own free agent a qualifying offer and he must decline it to get a compensation draft pick for him. The team that signs him will relinquish their first round pick, unless it is in the top 10 because those are protected, and the Yankees will get a pick at the end of the first round.

Also worth noting that you must be with your team the entire season, this is for you Matt Garza, to be offered a qualifying offer. Anyone acquired at the trading deadline cannot be offered a qualifying offer and the team who had them can lose their free agent and get nothing in return.

No RailRiders Make Top 20 Prospects List


Baseball America has been going through every level of the farm systems around the league and ranking their top 20 prospects list and the AAA International League is today's list. The Yankees AAA affiliate the Scranton Wilkes Barre Railriders did not have a single player make the top 20 list to what should be nobody's surprise in my opinion.

The Red Sox Xander Bogarts tops the list and is followed by the Rays Will Myers and Gerritt Cole of the Pirates. The best Yankees options were probably Austin Romine, JR Murphy in limited time, Zoilo Almonte, Dellin Betances, and maybe Thomas Neal and that is it. If Chase Whitley pitching the way he did in July and August all season long he probably makes the list but what can you do.

List Of Players We Must Protect In The Rule 5 Draft


I know we are a long way away from having to worry about the Rule 5 Draft that will happen sometime in the general time frame of the 2014 spring training but it is never too early to start planning. The Yankees have quite a few notable prospects that need protecting this season that if left unprotected will probably be taken. Here is a list, and honestly I am probably over looking a guy or two here so bare with me, of the notable household names that will need to be protected from the draft next year:

Gary Sanchez
Slade Heathcott
Shane Greene
Bryan Mitchell
Tommy Kahnle
Danny Burawa
Chase Whitley

Adding Gary Sanchez to the 40 man roster all but spells the end of Chris Stewart and also means that the Yankees will not be in the market for Brian McCann, or any catcher for that matter, this season. Sanchez, Austin Romine, JR Murphy, Chris Stewart, and Francisco Cervelli is a log jam and a 40 man roster handcuff and something will be done about it.

Slade Heathcott is an obvious no brainer to be added to the 40 man roster now that Melky Mesa was released at the end of the 2013 season. Shane Greene led the Trenton Thunder championship squad this season, especially down the stretch and through the playoffs. He is an emerging name that would probably stick elsewhere in a place like Miami or Tampa Bay.

I believe that Bryan Mitchell, Tommy Kahnle, and Danny Burawa would probably go without being drafted and if they did would be returned quickly after not sticking on the selecting teams 40 man roster. Mitchell has not really pitched much outside of High A although he did finish in Trenton with the Thunder pitching well with a sub 2.00 ERA. Chase Whitley on the other hand would be gone in a heartbeat and we would never see him again. Whitley was strictly a reliever before this season when he dabbled in the starting pitching game. Whitley made five starts in August putting up a 1.64 ERA after throwing 17.1 scoreless innings in July as a reliever so expect his name to go early if he is left unprotected.

Divison Series Wrap-up

Hey guys! I am alive and well, in case anyone was wondering; been swamped during midterm season. Ok, let's talk about the past week:

We've seen guys that have to win pitch out of their minds. Mike Minor winning Game 2 for Atlanta, Sonny Gray shutting out one of the best offenses in baseball in his Game 2 for the A's, Garrett Cole in another Game 2 for the Pirates!

The Dodgers pitching otherwise owned the Braves. Medlen started out well in Game 1, but the Dodger offense shut him down behind Clayton Kershaw. The Braves lineup just isn't good at all; no real solid .300, .310 hitters. Tim Hudson going down in July really killed their pitching.

Now I'll comment on a couple controversial decisions. First, before Game 4 in LA, everyone was divided over Kershaw starting on three days rest. It actually hurt the team in the long run, because they can't start Kershaw Game 1 in St. Louis, plus he gave up two runs anyway. The real bad decision was not putting Kimbrel in the game. Carpenter was devastated after that game, and I was listening to a little of the press conference on TBS. I didn't hear any of the soft Atlanta media ask Gonzalez why the hell he didn't put Kimbrel in. Your back's against the wall, you put your stud out there!

At least Leyland got that, but at first, putting Scherzer in relief looked like the dumbest move in the world in Game 4, giving up a run almost right away, but Oakland did this to themselves. They had the Tigers and Miguel Cabrera against the fence and they couldn't get it done. I knew they wouldn't recover after that fan interference call.

Now, a lot of people including Mad Dog totally disagreed with the decision to put Sonny Gray on the mound last night. Listen, if I'm Melvin, of course I'm gonna pick a guy who shut out the Tigers rather than a vet who's had an iffy career at best. Let's put Colon in perspective; who cares if he's 40, if he's pitched for 15 years. Yeah he won a Cy Young, but he's no Verlander. He gave up a three-spot right away in Game 1!

Aces: Verlander came on and pitched like a man; A's had no answer. Good effort from the Pirates, in the most dramatic of the four series. Game 4 couldn't have had a better script; McCutchen as the series-winning run in the bottom of the ninth with two down. But the Pirates had to win Game 4. Clint Hurdle made a terrible decision not keeping Cole in the game. He pinch-hit while his starter was pitching a gem, sans a bad pitch to Freese. The bullpen isn't as good as advertised, and maybe those couple of lucky hops in the seventh tie the game at two, instead of being down 3-1.

Oh yeah, I forgot. Red Sox: SPEED IT UP PLEASE! I cannot stand that team in the playoffs because they are literally slower than whatever analogy you wanna use: my grandma, molasses, a snail, take your pick. The Rays didn't keep it interesting at all, even if they won a home game. Hats off to Tampa though for braving that two-game road trip just to get to the playoffs!

'Till Next Time!

Neil Dwyer @neildwyer1993

Do I Stay Or Do I Go Now? - Yankees Edition


Joe Girardi is back in the fold and while the Yankees try and finalize some deals with the rest of the coaching staff I thought it would be a good opportunity to look ahead to free agency. The Yankees have a number of free agents leaving this season, some will stay and some will go, so let's see who will be donning pinstripes in 2014 and who will not.

Phil Hughes - Goes

I hope he goes and goes to a land far, far away and never comes back, not even as a visitor. Well scratch that he loves to give up home runs in Yankees Stadium so as a visitor would be okay.

Hiroki Kuroda - Stays

Yes he has fizzled out the last two seasons now in late August and through September but that is something the Yankees can monitor and control by limiting him a tad during the season. All told he has still been our best and most underrated pitcher on the team in the last two seasons and we are in trouble without him in 2014.

Robinson Cano - Stays

Robinson kind of priced himself out of everyone's budget besides the Yankees when he asked for 10 years and $310,000,000. Also I think he loves being a Yankee and the Yankees love him so I think this deal gets done eventually and I think this is all posturing to make a name for Jay Z as a sports agent.

Curtis Granderson - Stays

I think ultimately Granderson does not want to leave the Yankees after missing 101 games due to injury. He is a proud man and a loyal man and I think he takes the one year qualifying offer that the Yankees are rumored to be entertaining and builds free agent status for the 2015 offseason.

Kevin Youkilis - Goes

Buh.Bye

Travis Hafner - Goes

See Kevin Youkilis

Brendan Ryan - Stays

Defensive wizard at short stop, gives us a more than capable backup for Derek Jeter entering his age 40 season, and allows us to move Eduardo Nunez over to third base if and when Alex Rodriguez is suspended.

Derek Jeter - Stays

I think in the end Jeter exercises his players option for the 2014 season and makes his $9,500,000 before riding off into the sunset after the year. At the very least I see Jeter going year to year after a season that saw him placed on the disabled list four times.

Boone Logan - Goes

I think with Cesar Cabral finally healed and healthy along with the Yankees attempt at getting under the $189,000,000 luxury tax threshold we will see the end of Boone's time in pinstripes. While Boone pitches his butt off for us we just do not have the room on the roster for another $4,000,000 reliever, especially one coming off of elbow surgery.

Joba Chamberlain - Goes

Goodbye. Adios. Say it in as many languages as you want, just go.

Andy Pettitte - Goes

This is it, there is no Brian Cashman talking him out of it. End of an era and it ends in 2014.

Mariano Rivera - Goes

Same as Andy, I cannot see Mo coming back for one more year, even if God tells him to.

Alex Rodriguez - Meh

I can see Alex getting suspended but I see no way that the arbitrator keeps a 211 game suspension with no failed test, no previous suspension, and proof coming from a guy who just got $5,000,000 given to him in a restaurant by major league baseball. At this point Alex would be lucky to get 50 games, although I find that to be the likeliest of options.

This Day In New York Yankees History 10/11


On this day in 1946 the Yankees traded second basemen Joe Gordon to the St. Louis Cardinals for Allie Reynolds. Gordon finished his Yankees career playing in exactly 1,000 games and collecting 1,000 hits before being elected into the Hall of Fame when he retired.


On this day in 2000 the Yankees banged out eight hits in Game 2 of the ALCS setting a new record for hits in an inning in a post season game. The Yankees beat the Mariners 7-1 and would win the series and eventually the World Series this season.


On this day in 2006 recently acquired Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor Tyler Stanger would die as their four seat airplane crashes into a Upper East Side high rise building. Manny Acta, the Mets third base coach at the time, was living in the Belaire Condominiums that Lidle crashed into at the time.


On this day in 2009 the New York Yankees would beat the Twins 4-1 to advance to the ALCS behind a strong series from Alex Rodriguez. What makes this day and game significant is because it is the last game that will ever be played at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.