Thursday, November 9, 2017

My 25 man roster for 2018



Well folks it’s that time of year again.  The World Series has come and gone. The cold air has set in, and hunters got their orange on.  The turkey, ham and all the trimmings are on the way.  And now…  it’s Free Agent Time!!

This off season the Yankees will see a new manager take the helm.  Now let’s be greedy and break down the 25 men I would like to supply him with and how I think we could get them here if they’re not already here.  I’m not going too crazy and will try to stay realistic.  I have the luxury tax goal in mind here, however I won’t get into numbers during this post. 

We will start with the rotation.  Back after a good year is Severino.  Tanaka is still around after not using his opt. out, and with the addition of Grey, I only have two changes.  I feel both greatly improve the starting rotation and here they are…  
  1. Luis Severino
  2. Sonny Grey 
  3. Masahiro Tanaka
  4. Shohei Ohtani:  Sign him!!!  I don’t care what the rules are regarding his signing, I would go all out and do whatever it takes to bring this man to the Bronx 
  5. Jordan Montgomery*** If Adams is ready, then Jordan becomes my lefty out of the pen.  He can also be used as a 6th starter, however I see Justus Sheffield banging on the door and may just fill this roll at some point anyway.  Non-the less, Jordan is on the roster. 
  6. Chance Adams:  Simply call this kid up, he is ready for the big club.  He will be a solid back end starter if not more.

Now on to the bullpen… 
     Closer:  Aroldis Chapman
     Set up:  David Robertson
     7th:  Dellin Betances
The other guys in the pen would be Tommy Kahnle, Chad Green, Adam Warren, and if all goes right, Jordan Montgomery*.  There are no real changes here.  Tommy may over take Dellin, but spring training is still a few months away.  No, I’m not trading Dellin now.  We keep him, rebuild his value, and then maybe I consider a trade.  However, I do feel the pen is as dominant as one can ask, don’t change it.  

Here is the starting and defensive line-up.  This is where I’ll get a little crazy…

  1. Bret Gardner LF/CF:  Like it or not, he is a Yankee and at this point I don’t see him being traded. 
  2. Gray Sanchez C:  I know, I know what about Judge?
  3. Aaron Judge RF:  After my big trade, Judge slides to 3.  Look who is his new-found protection.
  4. Giancarlo Stanton DH/OF:  Of course you got to give to get here so I’ll send Aaron Hicks, Chase Headly, Albert Abreau, sadly Miguel Andujar, Tyler Wade and a lesser prospect to the marlins.  May have to sub out Tyler or Albert for other prospects but we can make it happen.
  5. Greg Bird 1B:  Got to split up all the righties, and the Birdman has the pop to protect Stanton.
  6. Clint Frazier CF/LF:  Staying lefty righty here.
  7. Didi Gregorius SS:  This goes to say how deep this line up now is with Stanton.  Didi in the 7 hole?  Sign me up!
  8. Gleyber Torres 2B/3B:  Like Chance Adams, the time is now, he will be ready to go for spring training.  He was tearing the Cover off the ball at every level.  The AFL MVP from last year makes his way onto this team.
  9. Todd Frazier 3B:  A New Yorker in our hearts even though he’s from New Jersey.  A life-long Yankee fan who wants to be here.  He’s better then Starlin and Headly.  I say, bring back the Toddfather!!!

The bench grabs the last 4 roster spots.  Let’s Keep it easy to start, Austin Romine grabs the 1st bench spot as the back-up catcher.  He’s good with the pitchers we have, if it isn’t broke don’t fix it!  Yes, his offense could be better, but we are taking about a back-up, let’s just stick with him.

Next up is the 23rd spot on team.  That goes to Starlin Castro.  I keep Starlin around because he can play 2B, SS and in a pinch 3B.  He can still hit the ball, gives you the ability to have a starting caliber player on the bench and can play a few times a week without hurting the lineup.

Spot 24 goes to Ronald Torreyes.  In my opinion, Toe gives the most effort of anyone on the team and does whatever is asked of him.  He has also come through in big spots when asked too.

The final bench spot is for the 4th OF.  Now being I traded Hicks in the Stanton deal, I’ll keep it simple and go with a competition here.  Jake Cave and Billy McKinney both have a lot of up-side and offer a spark of the bench. 

I do understand my trade for Stanton may take more than mentioned but as long as it doesn’t take away anyone else on my 25-man roster, let’s get this deal done Cashman!!! As for the not mentioned Jacoby Ellsbury, ship him to any team.  All I ask for is a bag of balls, we can even pay down some of the contract.  He must go!!

As always, thank you for reading and have a great day!  May you all be blessed.  Feel free to drop me an email and let’s chat.

Fun Time: I want to hear from you!! Please send me your 25 man roster and how you get the Yankees! I will post the winning roster and analyze it. Winner will also receive a free Yankee T-Shirt. The one Rule is the roster needs to be somewhat realistic. We won't have 25 All-Stars. 


James C Palma 
The Greedy Pinstripes 

40 comments:

  1. My 2018 roster is a tad different
    Gardner LF
    Headley 3B
    Bird 1B
    Castro 2B
    Judge RF
    Sanchez C
    Didi SS
    C.Frazier DH
    Ellsburty CF

    Bench
    Romine C
    Hicks OF
    Torreyess IF or Torres ( Good time to trade Toe)
    Wade or Austin

    Starting Pitching
    Tanaka
    Severino
    Gray
    Montgomery
    Otani
    Adams ( Creativity here with staff can pitch Tanaka and Otani on 6 days)

    Bulpen
    Warren Longman
    Green
    Kahnle
    Betances
    DRob
    Chapman

    No way trade for Stanton , hard to move Ells and CC only at 5 million max on 1 year.I would prefer 1 year at 3 million with incentives to reach 5 million total salary.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Here is mine...
    2018 Batting order,

    Gardner LF/CF
    Gleyber Torres 2B
    Didi SS
    Judge RF
    Bird 1B
    Sanchez C
    C.Frazier LF/CF
    Todd Frazier 3B
    Everyone DH

    Bench
    Romine C
    Hicks OF
    Tyler Wade IF
    Austin 1B/OF

    Starting Pitching
    Severino
    Tanaka
    Otani
    Gray
    Sheffield/Montgomery
    Adams


    Bullpen
    Chapman
    Kahnle
    Betances
    Green
    Domingo "Ace" Acevedo
    Sheffield/Mongomery
    Warren

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kenneth....Love your line-up / staffing.
      BUT, how did you solve the Ellsbury thing ?
      Where is Castro ?.. And if traded, what is the return ?..CC ?

      Stand tall, and give me a manager pick.
      You don't have to, but a real man would ! Don't be a Nancy.

      Delete
    2. patrick, "Don't be a Nancy"????!!!
      I haven't heard that in years!
      Anyhow I will take a shot at answering you!
      Ells would have to be given away, with some money for anyone to take him.
      Castro is good enough to bring us something more than a headake! Actually, he is ok as a 2nd baseman but that is it...not quick enough for SS and his arm is not up to playing 3rd base let alone SS.
      I would rather see Gleyber Torres at 2nd base and let Todd F and M. Andujar fight for the 3rd base DH spot. Torreyes can hold down the 2nd base job until Gleyber is ready for the Big Show!
      Manager is !!!!!!?????

      Delete
    3. Hi, Kenneth...So many speculations ! I may be the Nancy !

      The manager list is now at 54 hopefuls left to interview. Seems like it grows by the hour.

      Castro's name is all over the place this weekend. Giants
      where the team thrown around. I like Castro.

      NYC papers had the Yankees trading for Stanton down in Fla,
      five to six young players for his gigantic salary. Crazy.

      Ellsbury ? I like him too, but he must be moved. Stupid signing.

      Stay well my friend. Talk soon.

      Delete
    4. Not for nothing, but........
      That photograph of Eric Wedge ? Looks just like the
      guy that repaired my roof.
      Why was he interviewed anyway ?

      Delete
  3. I really hope you're not holding your breath on Stanton, because I don't believe there's much of a chance of him in pinstripes. If the Yanks needed that slugger to push them from where they are to a serious World Series contender, then the chances would be greater. But being just one win away is not enough.

    Furthermore, the ways to improve the team are not difficult nor expensive. Get Ellsbury out of there (another easier said than done, thing... but I believe it's possible), and give his at bats to Clint Frazier and/or Aaron Hicks.

    While I think there's a chance the Yankees clear either 3B or 2B for Torres, I don't think both spots will open so that Andujar has a spot. In fact, I lean towards Headley getting dealt due to his lower cost (yeah, it's only like $2m, but still... every little bit could count). Also, I don't know for sure, but I believe I read that few teams are in need of a 2B. That could mean Andujar gets 3B out of Spring Training, while Torres gets things going again in AAA to start the year. Then the Yankees will figure things out from there. But overall I think the team's improvement in this area will be minimal to non-existent (Headley was really good except for one awful month). Don't forget that overall Castro was not bad either. So any changes in the infield will likely have little to no effect on the team's production.

    They will already have Sonny Gray to keep somebody like Michael Pineda from getting 17 starts like last season. They don't need Jaime Garcia to start 8 games for them either. Adams is ready, and Sheffield is not far behind him. And all that's without getting Shohei Otani, who I believe is a very strong possibility to join the club.

    Since Mike Axisa brought him up again, I'll give my two cents on Christian Yelich. While Yelich won't cost as much money as Stanton, that's what'll keep him in Miami. Somebody will pay the price for Stanton, so the Marlins can free up much more money. I suppose if they couldn't move Stanton, then Yelich could be a backup plan, though not a great one considering the cost difference. Besides, Yelich has a team-friendly deal through 2022 (assumming his team option is exercised), it's not like he's only under team control another couple of years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nah. If I were ever to become a woman I'd choose a different name.

      Delete
    2. Bryan, nice comment above! I believe Castro can bring something back in a trade as can Hicks. My problem with Castro is he is puts style over the job, he takes his time on his throws to 1st base...if it is a drop or a bad enough throw to pull the 1st baseman off the bag for a quick 3 count he can't get back to the bag for the out.
      Hicks is a mystery for me, good arm, speed and glove just has to many real bad at bats and weeks of such. I know Torres will need time in AAA to get his arm and such in major league shape, thus inters Torreyes.
      I think I would keep Headley at 3rd/1st base back-up along with DH and (as you said) give the job to Andujar too loose or keep.

      Delete
  4. Van Dozen, and two others.
    Yes, Bryan Van Dozen is a Nancy. From the get go.
    Lets get that out of the way.

    Am I nuts, or are the Yankees wasting their efforts interviewing
    third level candidates? Try the latest....

    Aaron Boone....Walks into a slider in a playoff game, and now he
    is being brought in this Thursday, to be interviewed.
    No resume, dumb hair cut....but ex-playboy wife. Hans has more upside !

    Next !..Hensley Meulens. I referred to him as the
    man with the 'Iron glove', while I was serving time at
    'Yankee Fans Unite' site. AKA..'People with brains, need not apply'.

    His big qualification ? He speaks four languages. A shoe in if it was six.
    Find this guy a job at Kennedy Airport.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Damn patrick, let us know how you feel about the candidates for manager, will you?! LOL!
      Some of the names banished about are not good enough for High School coach. What is this a smoke screen of Cash's'? Crazy as it sounds, one of the commenters here(?) had the idea it could be A-Rod as the next guy in the fishbowl.
      I hate what A-Rod did, but he not only had baseball talent of the greats but also knows how to communicate with the players very well.
      It may be to soon for him to be manager and he may not want it. After-all he has a lot of irons in the fire now.
      Oh, well...it's anybody's guess!
      Keep the sun at your back!

      Delete
    2. I wanted to let you guys know first that I am interviewing on Friday. Wish me luck.

      Delete
    3. Patrick I just got the phone call from the elf. I'm interviewing after Bam Bam as I must be the pebbles lol

      Delete
    4. If you get in to see Cashman...I'll re-up for the Rangers! LOL
      Hell, if they were to accept you (or any of us) for manager...the Army will take back an 80 year old ex-Ranger.

      It does seem exceedingly melodramatic even for an opera, but then again they are the Yankees!

      Delete
    5. Fridays Yankees interviews !

      Go get'em Daniel & Hansel, you'll be fine.

      Daniel...mention Twasp's name to Brian, then talk about
      bobble head dolls. It will confuse Cashman, but not as
      much as Meulens will have done.

      Hans...Calling him the Elf will not help your cause.
      Let him know you were a towel boy in a Hoboken bath house.
      Then get into sabermetrics.
      Get it done boys !


      Delete
    6. George Steinbrenner...For those of us that remember what he was about for so many years. A force.

      Giancarlo Stanton would of been a Yankee by this Christmas. Imagine ?

      The great showman.
      The fine human being......Mr. Steinbrenner.

      Delete
    7. Steinbrenner, and I will preface this by saying there wouldn't be a blog here if it weren't for George as I was one of his biggest fans, also operated the Yankees in the red every single year. Now as a fan I couldn't care less, but I understand somewhat why Hal wants to future proof his investment where as his father did not.

      I'd love Giancarlo being here, it's the ultimate Get Greedy move.

      Delete
    8. We are meeting at Applebee's to do my interview, and I was told that Hal and Brian would not be fitting the bill for my check so order wisely. What has the world come to?

      Delete
    9. Of all you have said about your interview, that makes it seem more real.
      I want to be the bench coach...I use a cain to get around with. Hans Solo can be infield coach. patrick as the 3rd base coach. Bryan pitching coach. Jeff as outfield coach. The Rev. as 1st base coach.
      Now that is a coaching team for the ages...you think?
      You couldn't have any better! LOL

      Delete
    10. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    11. I'd be better suited as the bat boy.

      Delete
    12. You said it Bryan....A bat boy, in a gay bath house. Hmm?

      If that is what you think you are suited for. Go for it.
      Hans hands out towels for tips, while you linger in the steamy darkened shadows tending to the bat rack.
      The life of a bat boy, in Hoboken.

      Delete
    13. Just a heads up:...For those of you that live outside of
      New York city, this was today's inside scoop on the top
      candidate to take over the helm.

      No, not Bryan the bat boy, in the Hoboken gay brothel.

      But, none other that one that speaks two languages,
      and shows leadership skills....Carlos Beltran.
      I put him at the front of the list tonight.

      Bat boy / Nancy...what difference ?

      Delete
  5. Patrick I love it...towel boy at a bath house in Hoboken. Now I know what retirement will truly look like for me. I have to tell you all kidding aside I am not impressed with any of these candidates and the elf is making a major mistake in my humble opinion. Cone or Flash are probably two of the smartest guys in the game and not to have them interview shows me that the elf besides being a womanizer is an ego maniac and wants all the glory in this latest run. He's trying to show he is smarter than everyone and I truly believe he is making a major mistake with this latest charade

    ReplyDelete
  6. The longer this drags on I think the more likely that someone like Al Pedrique gets the job. And honestly I wouldn't be terribly upset with that move.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My hands are up, no not as in "hands up don't shoot."...Just,
      that I have no handle on the selection for mgr.

      Al Pedrique ? To me, who is he ? He manages young player in
      triple-A. Maybe the players hate him ? I have no clue.

      Boone got warm hugs today from the NYC sports shows.
      As if they know any more than us. But they say he gave
      good responses. Who knows ?

      Delete
    2. I stand with my pick above: With Daniel as Manager...

      "I want to be the bench coach...I use a cain to get around with. Hans Solo can be infield coach. patrick as the 3rd base coach. Bryan pitching coach. Jeff as outfield coach. The Rev. as 1st base coach".

      Hay, anyone voting for Paul O'Neil as Manager Yet? Now that would be a zoo keepers job!

      Delete
    3. Kenneth...You just gave all the good jobs to your side kicks ?
      What does that leave for Brian, Hanzel, and I ?
      Brian Dozen should be the ballboy. But it may be too challenging.
      Hanzel the shower room attendant.
      I'll work one of the beer stations.

      Delete
    4. patrick, you ain't read'en what I be writen, u'ter wise you be on de same page as I be!

      Hans Solo can be infield coach.
      patrick as the 3rd base coach.
      Bryan pitching coach.
      Jeff as outfield coach.
      The Rev. as 1st base coach".

      Delete
    5. Damn Patrick you given me the short end of the stick dude

      Delete
    6. Why not, you and Daniel, are the only ones that were SS in the day...and can still walk/run around! I thought you said you played SS, I know Daniel did.

      Delete
    7. As an intelligent Irish man sees it....re: The managers selection.

      It changes daily, and still a few more interviews to go. Perhaps.
      So, with five down. This is my take.

      Hensley Meulens in the front. Great comments directed towards him today, from Buck Showalter. Nice words.
      In second, Aaron Boone. Very smart. Tempting choice.

      Three, four, and five ? There can only be one leader.
      Stay tuned.

      * No Hanzel, from towel boy to shower room attendant, is a upgrade.

      Delete
    8. I guess I'm like George Jefferson... Moving on up

      Delete
  7. How is Bryan, Jeff, The Rev, James and Daniel my side kicks?
    They don't comment on my stuff very often, if at all! Of course they have different opinions about things, which is a good thing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kenneth...DUH !
      They sure look like side kicks. Where is anyone else mentioned ?
      Surprised that Fishjam was not on your list of honor.
      Watch your six o'clock

      Delete
    2. I did put you and Hans on the list, what, you didn't wan't to be 3rd base coach with Hans as infield coach?

      "Hans Solo can be infield coach. patrick as the 3rd base coach." is what I wrote!

      You up to your old tricks again patrick? Have fun youngster, you will be old some day!
      May the sun be at your back, when it counts!

      Delete
  8. Nice prediction on Giancarlo Stanton! I thought you were nuts when you wrote this.

    ReplyDelete

Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)