Sunday, November 2, 2014

Should New York Take a Flyer on Ryan Ludwick?


The New York Yankees will need to replace both Chris Young and Ichiro Suzuki this season as the team searches for a fourth outfielder and a bench option, is that option Ryan Ludwick? The Cincinnati Reds recently declined the team option part of the contract of the right handed batter. Stats generally don't lie so let's look there.

Year Age Tm G PA R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
2002 23 TEX 23 88 10 19 6 0 1 9 7 24 .235 .295 .346 .641 66
2003 24 TOT 47 175 17 40 8 1 7 26 12 48 .247 .299 .438 .737 93
2003 24 TEX 8 30 3 4 1 0 0 0 4 9 .154 .267 .192 .459 20
2003 24 CLE 39 145 14 36 7 1 7 26 8 39 .265 .306 .485 .791 108
2004 25 CLE 15 54 3 11 2 0 2 4 2 14 .220 .278 .380 .658 74
2005 26 CLE 19 48 8 9 0 0 4 5 7 13 .220 .333 .512 .846 125
2007 28 STL 120 339 42 81 22 0 14 52 26 72 .267 .339 .479 .818 110
2008 ★ 29 STL 152 617 104 161 40 3 37 113 62 146 .299 .375 .591 .966 151
2009 30 STL 139 542 63 129 20 1 22 97 41 106 .265 .329 .447 .775 105
2010 31 TOT 136 553 63 123 27 2 17 69 48 121 .251 .325 .418 .743 104
2010 31 STL 77 314 44 79 20 2 11 43 24 64 .281 .343 .484 .827 123
2010 31 SDP 59 239 19 44 7 0 6 26 24 57 .211 .301 .330 .631 78
2011 32 TOT 139 558 56 116 23 0 13 75 51 124 .237 .310 .363 .674 90
2011 32 SDP 101 425 42 90 18 0 11 64 32 87 .238 .301 .373 .674 90
2011 32 PIT 38 133 14 26 5 0 2 11 19 37 .232 .341 .330 .671 90
2012 33 CIN 125 472 53 116 28 1 26 80 42 97 .275 .346 .531 .877 130
2013 34 CIN 38 140 7 31 5 0 2 12 10 29 .240 .293 .326 .618 71
2014 35 CIN 112 400 28 87 20 0 9 45 31 94 .244 .308 .375 .683 93
162 Game Avg. 162 606 69 140 31 1 23 89 52 135 .260 .330 .451 .781 110
Ludwick is not a Plan A by any means but he is right handed bat in the outfield so he is an option nonetheless. This may all be a moot point anyway as he holds a club option for $9 million that he can exercise.

2015 Free Agency Royal Rumble – Shortstop


Ladies and gentleman welcome to the 2015 Major League Baseball free agency Royal Rumble brought to you by The Greedy Pinstripes. Tonight we have all the potential shortstop options for the New York Yankees heading into this winter in one ring vying for the contract of a lifetime, let’s go down to the ring.


In the red corner stands former Yankee Stephen Drew, in the blue corner stands Asdrubal Cabrera, in the green corner stands Jed Lowrie, and in the black corner stands Hanley Ramirez. Let’s get it on!

Ok I have had some fun writing these but this one really is no contest. New York is in the position where they have to sacrifice defense for offense if they want to compete in 2015 and 2016. Hanley can handle shortstop for a season or two before switching to third base or first base when Alex Rodriguez's and Mark Teixeira'sz contracts are over. Hanley, the other guys wouldn't even get in the ring. 

Angels Likely To Trade Kendrick or Freese


MLB Trade Rumors wrote this week about the fact that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim may have to trade wither second baseman Howie Kendrick or third baseman David Freese this winter. Should the Yankees be interested in either of them? Both of them? In a word, yes.

Neither will come cheap in terms of prospects or in salary but both are obtainable without giving up Top 10 talent. Kendrick is slated to make $9.5 million next season after posting a 2014 slash of .293/.347/.397 while Freese is scheduled to earn more than his $5.05 million he did in 2014 in his final season of arbitration after hitting .261/.321/.383 last season.

The Angels need a starting pitcher and/or a left handed relief pitcher for next season while also trying to get their spending under control. A trade for either Kendrick or Freese and only giving up a Bryan Mitchell, James Pazos, Tyler Webb, or someone not named Manny Banuelos, Shane Greene, or Jacob Lindgren makes sense for both clubs.

This may be what the Yankees need to pull off to help ease the 40 man roster crunch and Rule 5 Draft problems the team is likely to face this winter. Get it done Cash.

Yankees Arizona Fall League Update


I wrote this yesterday with hopes of taking at least some of my birthday off so the stats may be a little outdated but you get the point I am trying to make here, the Yankees offensive players are doing wonders in the Arizona Fall League this winter. Here is a quick statistical update for you guys:

Greg Bird:

.342/.400/.632 - 6 HR 19 RBI

Aaron Judge:

.296/.418/.574 - 4 HR 13 RBI

Dante Bichette Jr.:

.240/.310/.240 - 0 HR 6 RBI

Tyler Austin:

.322/.394/.492 - 2 HR 13 RBI

Kyle Higashioka:

.438/.500/.688 (16 at bats) - 1 HR 2 RBI

Comparing the 2014 and 2015 Top 10 Prospects Lists


I thought it was be interesting to compare the pre-season 2014 Top 10 prospects list from Baseball America to the list that came out before the 2015 season on Friday. Looking at the lists I have come to the conclusion that the Yankees system definitely took a step forward in 2014 and that is evident by the amount of depth on the list. No longer is "all" of the talent three to five years away and none of the talent in the International market that was signed this year really made the list. Things are looking up for the Yankees and their farm system finally but anyway, on to the list.

2014 List:

1. Gary Sanchez
2. Slade Heathcott
3. Mason Williams
4. John Ryan Murphy
5. Eric Jagielo
6. Aaron Judge
7. Ian Clarkin
8. Greg Bird
9. Luis Severino
10. Gosuke Katoh

2015 List:

1. Luis Severino
2. Aaron Judge
3. Jorge Mateo
4. Greg Bird
5. Gary Sanchez
6. Ian Clarkin
7. Robert Refsnyder
8. Jacob Lindgren
9. Luis Torrens
10. Miguel Andujar

I think the most encouraging thing on this list is the fact that Gary Sanchez dropped four slots. Sanchez did not have a "fall off the Earth" type season, was not injured, and played pretty well. It goes to show you the extreme strides that the men in front of him took.

This Day in New York Yankees History 11/2: A Legend is Born!


On this day in 1985 a great Yankees fan Daniel Burch was born in Lebanon Hospital in the Bronx, New York. He would go on to co-own and create the "greatest Yankees blog ever" in his own very humble and biased opinion. Hey it was a slow day in New York Yankees history, sue me.

Also on this day in 1964 the Columbia Broadcasting System becomes the first corporate owner of a Major League Baseball team when they bought 80% of the New York Yankees. Dan Topping and Del Webb sold the stake in the Yankees for a staggering $11.2 million at the time. The Yankees would reward CBS with a sixth place finish in the American League and a second place finish in the American League East in their first year of ownership with a 77-85 record.