Thursday, December 4, 2014

The Chase Headley News Robert Refsnyder Has Been Waiting to Hear

Jeff Passan may or may not have given Yankees second base prospect Robert Refsnyder the news that he is waiting for, the news that incumbent third baseman Chase Headley is too expensive for the Yankees blood. The Yankees could easily slide Martin Prado in at third base while giving either, or both, Jose Pirela and Refsnyder a shot at second base. This isn't likely to be a short term solution either with David Freese being the best free agent at third base in the 2016 class and a 37 year old Adrian Beltre in the 2017 class.

The tweet, seen above, does not state which team gave Headley such a substantial offer but it may or may not be the Yankees and that may or may not be okay.

Yankees' Utility Man Prado Was "Destroyed" By September Appendectomy

Yankees infielder Martin Prado has finally broken his silence on his recent emergency appendectomy.

The 31-year-old veteran said Wednesday having to undergo the season-ending operation September 16 was upsetting to him, and that he was enjoying his time on the field prior to it. The night before finding out he'd miss the last two weeks of the Yankees' schedule, Prado reported stomach aches while participating in a 1-0 loss to the Rays, yet still managed to record two singles.

“It destroyed me,” Prado told The Star Ledger's Brendan Kuty. “I wanted to play.”

Prado had been one of the Yankees' most consistent performers throughout the later part of the year, batting .316 with seven home runs and 16 RBIs in 37 contests. When in their lineup, he started at second base, third base and both of the outfield corners, helping him prove his worth.

And apparently, he had fun doing so.

“I was so excited when I went to bed every day when I got up to go to the field and play baseball,” Prado said. “Sometimes there are things you can’t control. It’s not like I was trying to not play. Of course not."

Prado added he's completely healed now, even beginning his offseason program in late October.

He's preparing for his first full season in pinstripes, having not joined the Yankees until July 31. He was traded from the Diamondbacks to New York in exchange for catching prospect Peter O'Brien that day, quickly making an impact on his new team.

Trenton Thunder Manager Tony Franklin Fired

Per Dan Pfeiffer, you know the guy who got us all excited because we thought Max Scherzer was on his way to the New York Yankees on a six or seven year contract.

Jeter Could Be Future Part-Owner of Miami Marlins?

From Hardball Talk and NBC Sports:




Just a tour, right? Dude lives in Florida and wanted to check the place out. Buster, however, speculates more:

Jeter, whose home is in Florida, has never made a secret of his desire to buy into a team someday, and perhaps he’s looking into the possibility of owning a share. Additionally, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has always been enamored of the Yankees.


Could you imagine Derek Jeter aligning his baseball interests with Jeff Loria? His business interests, perhaps. His art interests, maybe. But if Derek Jeter knows anything he knows about image and branding and the idea that a huge, huge part of his legacy is owed to the association with the Yankees, which is in turn associated with class and winning and all of that.


Which isn’t to say that Jeter would never become involved with another team. To the contrary, there are a lot of teams which have winning legacies and class and and all of that. But I have a really, really hard time seeing him associate himself with a Jeff Loria-owned Marlins team. Because that’s about as anti-Jeter as it comes.

The Case For/Against Everth Cabrera


Tuesday night was the deadline for teams to offer or non-tender players and the San Diego Padres made an interesting move by not offering a contract to shortstop Everth Cabrera. Cabrera is a 28 year old switch hitting shortstop with three years of team control left and a whole lot of baggage. Just like any free agent, and non-tender candidate, Cabrera would come with pros and cons and we plan to try and list those here.

Pros:

  • ·         Switch hitter
  • ·         28 years old, youthful
  • ·         Three years of team control
  • ·         Doesn’t gut the farm system to acquire
  • ·         Made less than $2.5 million in 2014
  • ·         Above average league rating per 9 and per game defensively
  • ·         Has 40 stolen base speed


Cons:

  • ·         Coming off a down 2014 season and a Biogenesis suspension
  • ·         Had a DUI charge last season questioning his character
  • ·         Walked only 20 times in 2014
  • ·         Low BA, OBP, and OPS



As you can see Cabrera is not the complete package and would not bring the dynamic to the infield and the lineup that say a Troy Tulowitzki would but in the same breath is more than a simple band aid or stop gap. The farm system does not have a shortstop closer than three years away and the free agency market looks bleak for the foreseeable future at the position and Cabrera could fill the position until a more attractive player becomes available via free agency, in a trade or through the farm system (here’s looking at you Jorge Mateo). Cabrera is not Plan A but he is better than Stephen Drew or Brendan Ryan so if the team doesn’t have plans on acquiring Tulowitzki or a Starlin Castro type they may want to take a long and serious look at Cabrera in 2015. 

Expect Heathcott and Campos Back, Maybe Huff


I was shocked a bit when I heard the news that the Yankees had non-tendered outfielder Slade Heathcott and pitchers Jose Campos and David Huff but history got me thinking that we may see Heathcott and Campos back in Yankees camp soon. In recent years the Yankees have done the same to third baseman David Adams and to some extent Nik Turley, Francisco Rondon and Corban Joseph to get them off the 40 man roster but still with the organization.

New York quickly brought these players back on minor league deals without the 40 man roster obligation presumably on some kind of verbal agreement. I can only speculate here that a similar issue is going on with Heathcott and Campos this season. Both players have often been injured and run very little risk of being claimed on waivers by other teams or picked up by other teams. Huff on the other hand could be doing the same but after a strong second half with the Yankees may be looking to latch on elsewhere.


Don’t panic Yankees fans all this means is the team has three more open 40 man roster spots and could have all three back in Spring Training or back with the team in some capacity in 2015. 

TGP Daily Poll: Yankees Will Sign Evereth Cabrera



The New York Yankees need a shortstop and a decent one just became available on the free agency market after the San Diego Padres non-tendered the 28 year old. The Yankees will pounce and sign him.


Vote in our poll!

This Day in New York Yankees History 12/4: Free Agent Draft


On this day in 1964, in an effort to prevent teams like the New York Yankees from locking up all the talent in Major League Baseball, the owners voted to start a free agent draft. The team with the worst record would pick first and the team with the best record from the previous year would pick last obviously and this draft would happen every four months.