Undies' EDITED Offseason Plans for 2023

I've looked at my original offseason plan a number of times and it just didn't sit right with me. I wasn't sure what it was for a while, but it turns out the problem was Carlos Correa. It's not that I don't like Correa, it's that I don't see it necessary to give someone that size of a contract. Of course, that goes back to Hal's freakin' budget, which my signing of Carlos was to say "screw Hal's budget". But I'm reminded of Sheldon telling Leonard that you don't screw the roommate agreement, the roommate agreement screws you. In that vein, you don't screw Hal's budget, Hal's budget screws you. 

Yes, what I propose the Yankees do instead actually leads to a higher team payroll, but the length of contracts and spreading out the money makes the spending make more sense.

I'm still letting the same guys go to free agency. I'm also still signing Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo. While this move already happened, I would have also still picked up Luis Severino's option. Finally, I'm also making the same three trades. But, besides not signing Carlos Correa, here are the differences...

1. I'm trading Domingo German. I decided not to look at a separate deal, as he could be added to the Donaldson or Hicks trade so the Yankees wouldn't have to kick in as much money. Heck, I have the Yankees taking back over $14 million for 2023 in the Hicks trade, so German going to LAA in that deal as well might be the way to go.

2. I actually am going to bring back Andrew Benintendi. But after reading around a bit more I think he can come a little cheaper, so instead of 3 years and $54 million, I'm bringing Andrew back on a 3-year/$48 million deal (I'm okay with a 4th-year option if necessary).

3. I completely understand a lot of Yankees fans wanting a new starter, but I didn't think that was necessary so I left the rotation as is for 2023. However, after reading about this guy I wanted him. Now, he's not someone that would go toward the top of the rotation like Carlos Rodon would, but I think he'd be a very welcome addition. 

I'm signing Chris Bassitt to a 3-year/$54 million deal (perhaps with a 4th-year option).

Here's what Keith Law has to say about Bassitt, "he doesn’t throw hard, but he limits hard contact, gets ground balls, and doesn’t walk too many guys. His sinker was one of the most valuable in baseball in the last two years, with 62 percent of balls in play off the pitch hit on the ground."

The stats back up Keith on this, too. Furthermore, Chris has been relatively healthy since 2019. I noticed that his slider wasn't very effective last year while his curveball was, so changing his repertoire up a bit might help make him even better. Plus, he knows what to expect in NY as he's said that he believes hearing the boos and such made him tougher. And we all know some guys do well and then fail in NYC, so I feel good about Chris.

This plan means Oswaldo Cabrera moves back into the infield, and actually moves to second base where he played the most in the minor leagues. Not that I didn't think Oswaldo could handle LF but seeing a middle infield of him and Peraza is pretty sweet.

So here is where I'm at as far as what I'd like to see the Yankees do now...

LF Andrew Benintendi* ($16m)
RF Aaron Judge ($38m)
1B Anthony Rizzo* ($17m)
DH Giancarlo Stanton ($25m)
3B DJ LeMahieu ($15m)
CF Harrison Bader ($5.2m)
2B Oswaldo Cabrera# ($.75m)
SS Oswald Peraza ($.75m)
C Jose Trevino ($2m-A1)

BE Ben Rortvedt* - C ($.75m)
BE David Fletcher - MI ($5.833m)
BE Estevan Florial* - OF ($.75m)
BE Ryan LaMarre - OF ($.75m)

SP1 Gerrit Cole ($36m)
SP2 Nestor Cortes* ($3.5m-A1)
SP3 Luis Severino ($15m)
SP4 Chris Bassitt ($18m)

SP5 Frankie Montas ($7.7m-A3)

RP Jonathan Loaisiga ($2.1m-A2)
RP Clay Holmes ($2.9m-A2)
RP Wandy Peralta* ($3.1m-A4)
RP Ron Marinaccio ($.75m)
RP Mike King ($1.2m-A1)
RP Lucas Luetge* ($1.7m-A2)
RP Hunter Harvey ($1m-A1)
RP Aaron Loup* ($8.5m)

MISCELLANEOUS SALARY INFORMATION
Money from Miami for Giancarlo Stanton: -$3 million
Paid to Washington for Josh Donaldson: $12.5 million
Paid to Los Angeles (AL) for Aaron Hicks: $3.33 million
Player Benefits: $16.5 million
40-Man Players in Minors: $2.25 million
0-3 yr bonus pool: $1.667 million

TEAM PAYROLL
$262.48 million ($259.31 million in 2021)