W-A-I-T-I-N-G. The MLB free agency market for the
outfielders has been slow to develop this winter despite the fact that Jason
Heyward, the top overall free agent and far and away the top outfield free
agent on the market, signed with the Chicago Cubs for $23 million annually.
Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes are far and away the best remaining free
agents in the outfield on the market and they will likely have to be signed
before the New York Yankees can even think about trading one of their own, Mr.
Brett Gardner.
I believe that the Yankees and their GM Brian Cashman have
made both Brett Gardner and Andrew Miller available for trade this winter and I
believe that the Yankees are likely to move Gardner, but not for a while it
seems. The way the market is shaping up many teams are waiting for the top-tier
free agents to sign before the secondary market begins to take shape. Gardner,
as much as we love and adore him as Yankees fans, may lead the secondary market
as the best outfielder available but I find it hard to place him in the
upper-echelon of outfielders with Upton and Cespedes.
When we begin to see Upton and Cespedes come off the market
teams will begin to scramble for talent, we have seen it many times over the
years. The dominos always fall and those dominos are holding up much of the
market right now. If the Yankees really want to get the ball rolling they can
sign one of them themselves, preferably Upton over Cespedes for obvious
reasons, but Cashman is not one to get in a hurry during the offseason. Cashman
will continue to wait the market out and then pounce, or not, with Gardner. The
price is only going to go up on him the closer we get to January and February.
New York has made trades that shocked many as late as spring
training, they really don’t mind making additions to the club at any point in
the season, so I’m not getting impatient and I’m far from worried yet. I’m just
going to sit back, relax and wait for the bigger chips to fall before I start
planning my new 25 man roster predictions and lineup predictions without Brett
Gardner.
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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)