Brace yourselves Yankees fans because more trades are coming
and one of those trades will likely include Yankees second base prospect Robert
Refsnyder. The New York Yankees acquired Starlin Castro from the Chicago Cubs
for Adam Warren and Brendan Ryan at the Winter Meetings leaving the Yankees
with their second baseman for at least the next four years, five years if the
Yankees pick up a very team friendly option for the 2020 season. New York has
concerns about Refsnyder’s defense and are not going to let him play a bench
role on the team unfortunately, eventually he will have to be traded.
Refsnyder is Major League ready now despite what a lot of
fans say. His defense is adequate and his bat is getting better all the time.
Refsnyder looked poised and relaxed in his small shot in the big leagues in
2015 and teams would be heavily interested in his services I would think. But
who would New York send Refsnyder to in a hypothetical trades? There are a few
teams actually.
The Cincinnati Reds come to mind immediately as they are
shopping their third baseman Todd Frazier, first baseman Joey Votto, outfielder
Jay Bruce and second baseman Brandon Phillips. Frazier would interest the
Yankees the most at third base and would cause the team to make yet another
trade involving Chase Headley but it could work with Refsnyder and a whole lot
more. Frazier is a pipe dream, I know, but what Brian Cashman is doing right
now goes to show you that even a pipe dream is a possibility at this point.
The second base market is quickly coming together with Ben
Zobrist going to the Cubs and the Mets getting Neil Walker so many teams are
now scrambling for former Met and postseason hero Daniel Murphy. All the teams
that lose out on Murphy’s services could be interested in Refsnyder as a backup.
Another option could be a team like the San Diego Padres or Atlanta Braves who
are seemingly rebuilding and would be willing to send either Julio Teheran or
James Shields, Tyson Ross or Andrew Cashner back to the Bronx.
If the Yankees don’t trade Refsnyder, and they will
eventually, he will begin the season back in Triple-A and back at second base
for the RailRiders. Rest assured though, a trade is coming and Refsnyder will
be a part of it. It may be this winter or it may be in July, but it is coming!
I am a big supporter of Refsy and would have liked him to stay as our 2nd baseman but, they didn't get Castro to sit on the bench. So, the writing is on the wall...Refsy must go! And as of now, unless they got Castro to flip with someone else in a trade...logic says he is gone and I say good, he will get to play somewhere.
ReplyDeleteThat's me too, it is bittersweet. I want to see Refsnyder play every day, even if its not with the Yankees. My personal preference is here though and I think he could outperform Castro (his recent numbers anyway).
DeleteOh well, stay tuned.
It gets to be a big disappointment to see very good players get traded year after year and become stars (or close to it) on another team. Not to say Refsy would become a star but they never gave him much of a chance.
DeleteNow fans are ok with trading away our best overall player (Prospect) Mateo! He has every tool except a power bat at the age of 20. Hell, for his baserunning alone he should be a kept. With his talent, IF he continues to harness it, he could become the best SS/2nd baseman the Yankees ever had...there is that word again -IF! A prospect is the future a major league player is now...I know that is the prevailing thinking but, I have a thing with thinking inside the box, never did like that way of doing things...mainly because, the box was made by others and therefore, everyone knows the rules of said box.
Speaking for myself, because others don't like it when I speak for them, I'd be okay with trading Mateo should the return be good. The middle infield could be set for a while with Didi and Starlin. Before Starlin came aboard, it didn't seem the Yankees were keen on Refsnyder, so I would have been about keeping Mateo. Now? He becomes more expendable, however Didi and Starlin are not sure things either. So the return for Mateo would have to be really good right now, but this time next year he could be totally expendable.
DeleteJudge is #1 and Mateo is rated #2 in our system. The word is they won't consider trading Judge, but they will trade Mateo?
DeleteIF it is for a real TOP of the LINE YOUNG player with a digestible contract, fine but, IF they have to over pay...as history has shown they do...what do we do IF anything goes wrong with our two middle guys? Mateo will be 21 in June(?) and the worse that can be said of him is, he has Happy Feet, Which will be corrected when he starts playing 2nd base.
Happy feet are usually because of getting to the ball with time to spare. Which tells me he is an instinctive player, reads the ball and very quick to the ball...as well as very fast.
As I have never seen him play in person, I must place a caveat with my judgement on how well he will progress in the future.
I just hate to see some other team get a guy with his upside...again!
I am also okay with trading Mateo but only if the deal is good. A deal for a guy with a ton of team control, cost effective, etc. I'm not okay with Mateo for a half year rental or a year rental.
DeleteAs much as I like Mateo it's hard NOT to trade a guy who has never been above A-Ball. You hold onto the guy who hit well and played well in the AFL and AAA, Judge although he did struggle some in Scranton, and always trade the A-Ball player while you hope it doesn't come back to bite you in the butt.
That's such a big point...
DeleteRegardless of what ranking he has in the system, the fact is Mateo is in A-ball. So should Cashman pass up on being able to acquire somebody good in order to roll the dice on such a young prospect? I don't think so.
I understand that getting a good middle infielder is tough, so letting somebody like Mateo go would not be easy. I think that's where the middle ground of a cost-controlled, top of the rotation starter, comes into play. Somebody that fills a need, and is under team control for more than a few months.
A young under control top of the order (#1/#2) starter would be fine with me. But I still like the idea of keeping him as I have said time and again, "A young game changer is worth finding out IF he can be all he can be", or only good! Players with the tools he has going for himself are far and few between...I don't want to see him given away.
Delete