A Flurry Of Activity Before Final Rosters Set

UPDATE:  Yankees signed 29 yr old SP Ramon Ortiz to a minor league deal after he was cut yesterday from the SF Giants.

Today the Yankees have made a bunch of roster moves before officially setting their final rosters, expected to be announced at 5:00 pm ET today.

The Yankees traded 27 year old left handed starting pitcher George Kontos to the San Francisco Giants for their back up catcher, and former Scranton Wilkes-Barre catcher, Chris Stewart. This was a baffling move because we already have Francisco Cervelli set to back up Russell Martin. Cervelli has options left and Stewart does not so Cervelli was sent down to Empire State to provide depth for the injured Austin Romine down in AAA.

I understand that we basically "had" to trade Kontos because he trade value was not going to get any higher, he is out of options, was only holding a spot in AAA that could be used for someone useful to the majors soon, and was not going to make the big club. I understand , and for the record I think we stole Chris Stewart if all we had to give up was George Kontos, but I do not understand why we made the move. Im not exactly convinced that the move made us THAT much better and I also find it hard to believe that SF was the only suitor for Kontos. This is one of those deals you do not get terribly upset by but you do not understand at the same time. Maybe Cervelli's injury history was a concern and the Yankees wanted to strike while the iron was hot.

The Yankees also designated Justin Maxwell for assignment today. The Yanks hands were basically tied as he was having a great Spring Training and Maxwell was out of options. As much as I would love to have Maxwell stashed down in AAA I am excited to see if he can finally put it all together on another team. There is absolutely no chance that he comes back to the Yankees so let me be the first to say (on this site, lol) Thank You Justin Maxwell.

Bill Hall did NOT have an opt out clause on his minor league contract with the Yankees but the Yankees released him today anyway, per his request, after not making the big league club. His hopes were to make the big league club and still hopes to latch onto someone else's big league club. I am disappointed that he did not make the team because after following him on twitter I learned that he was overly excited to be a Yankee and had worked hard all spring to elongate his career, lose weight, and do everything he can to improve his defense, speed, stolen bases, and hitting attack. He is genuinely a good guy and I hope he latches on with a big league club soon.

Spring Training Day 3

"Injury" Is The Word

Today Joe Girardi announced that Joba Chamberlain would throw from a full mound for the first time tomorrow and remains on schedule to be back before the all star break, a mere 12 months since Tommy John surgery. For those that do not know 12 months is way ahead of schedule for a guy to be back in the big league after a Tommy John surgery so I think that should show everyone just how much Joba has worked hard to get back to the team. 

George Kontos felt some stiffness in his oblique while throwing a bullpen session which is not good for him since he was in line for the last bullpen slot, which is wide open right now. He is going to sit and rest it for a week and see how it feels after that and hopefully that does not set him behind schedule too much because he is already 27 years old, holds a valuable 40 man roster spot, and not earning it thus far. The clock is ticking for George Kontos and this season is definitely his last hurrah. He knew this also and it shows because he came into camp ahead of about everyone else since he has been throwing for months before camp. 

Bill Hall and Chris Dickerson were the two newest Yankees to arrive at Yankees camp for spring training. While I wrote here that I was not crazy about the signing of Bill Hall I do follow the guy on twitter and he has a great attitude, especially about being a Yankee. According to his twitter he has lost 20 pounds this offseason so he can be better in the field and specifically he wants to steal more bases for the Yankees. He is also a great person to interact with, retweeting his fans and talking to them. He seems to be quickly becoming a fan favorite (on twitter anyway) although I do not really see a position for him on the team when Eric Chavez signs. He does have the ability to go to the minors for a very short time but I do see him exercising that opt out clause if he is not called up by May 1.

Yankees Sign Bill Hall, May Not Be Done

Via MLBTR.com

Yankees Sign Bill Hall

By Tim Dierkes [February 7, 2012 at 3:24pm CST]

3:24pm: Hall will earn a base salary of $600K in the Major Leagues and can earn more incentives based on plate appearances, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.  Hall can opt out of his deal if he isn't on the Major League roster on April 4th.

2:51pm: The Yankees have signed utility infielder Bill Hall, based on his tweet, "IT'S OFFICIAL IM A YANKEE!!!!!!!! #IwannaRing!!!!"  He signed a minor league deal, tweets Erik Boland of Newsday.  Hall is a client of Gaylord Sports Management.

Hall, 32, posted a .211/.261/.314 line in 199 plate appearances for the Astros and Giants last year, playing mostly second base.  In more of a utility role for the 2010 Red Sox, Hall managed 18 home runs in 382 plate appearances.  Hall works out with Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long during the offseason.

The Yankees don't seem like they are done since this is a minor league deal. This still leaves the door open for Raul Ibanez, Johnny Damon, Vlad Guerrero, etc.