Agent For Carlos Lee Reads TGP, Contacts Yankees

Okay so maybe the agent for Carlos Lee does not exactly read The Greedy Pinstripes even though I have been clamoring for him to be in pinstripes for months now but he did contact the Yankees today about their vacant first base position. Carlos Lee did block a trade last year with his no trade clause that would have brought him to the Yankees but now apparently he is willing to play for the Yankees, I guess not having a job in mid March will do that for a guy. Carlos Lee will be entering his age 36 season and while he sucks in the field, lets not mince words here or sugar coat it, and has basically lost all of his power he is still a decent option for a stop gap. Carlos is a right handed hitter that can play the outfield, first base, can be a designated hitter, will sign a one year deal for very little money, and can easily be designated for assignment when Mark Teixeira comes back. I do not see the Yankees making this happen because they would have before reaching out to Scott Rolen or Chipper Jones because I guess it makes too much sense.

Revisiting The Idea Of Carlos Lee In Wake Of Teix Injury

Back in the off season I posted an article pleading with Brian Cashman to look at signing Carlos Lee for our then vacant designated hitter spot. Since then we have obviously filled that spot with Travis Hafner but with the Mark Teixeira wrist injury and the middle of our lineup severely lacking power and pop I wonder if it is worth looking back into Carlos Lee. Carlos Lee would surely accept a minor league deal or a one year deal this late into the spring if I had to guess and he makes more and more sense for the Yankees. With Dan Johnson throwing away, literally in this case, any chance of making this team I think we may need to look outside the organization to replace Mark. Even if we had to DFA Carlos when Teixeira came back it is not like we would be losing out on much fiscally. Here is the original article making my case for Carlos Lee to don pinstripes in 2013.

Carlos Lee is a contact hitter who rarely strikes out, something that is overlooked in the day of the long ball in my opinion, with a strike out rate of only 8.0%. To go with this strike out rate is a pretty nice 89.5% contact rate from the right side. Carlos Lee, in a pinch of course, can also play first base and a little bit of left field which makes him much more versatile then say Raul Ibanez was last season, not that I would want Carlos in the field any more then we would have to. Entering his age 36 season (turning 37 in late June) I would also think that he would be willing to accept the one year deal that the Yankees seem to be only throwing out this off season, which makes him make even more sense for the Yankees. Now while I admit that his 2012 season was a horrible season where he only hit 9 home runs between two teams he did play in 147 games, get on base a respectable 60 points higher then his batting average (.264/.332/.365), managed 77 RBIs for two terrible teams the Marlins and the Astros, 145 hits, 27 doubles, and even managed enough outfielders to fall down in one play for him to get a triple. While he will not be a stolen base threat, 3 stolen bases and wasn't caught stealing in 2012, he could really fill out and balance the lineup in the Yankees 6th or 7th slot in the lineup.

Carlos Lee is durable, more flexible then any of the DH options we had last year or could have this year barring a trade, is right handed, can still hit for power regardless of his 2012 numbers, would probably take a one year deal, and would make us one step closer to being competitive in my opinion. This makes too much sense to me at this point in the game. I will note that I am not a fan of having Carlos Lee on the team but he is the best of what is left and would help the team the most in my opinion so I think Cashman should get it done now.

What About Carlos Lee For The Yankees 2013 DH?

It is no secret that the Yankees need a right handed hitter, a designated hitter, and some power to replace the home runs lost by Nick Swisher, Russell Martin, etc etc etc. I wonder if the Yankees have considered Carlos Lee for their opening. Before you start throwing popcorn at the screen hear me out and let's look at this statistically.

Carlos Lee is a contact hitter who rarely strikes out, something that is overlooked in the day of the long ball in my opinion, with a strike out rate of only 8.0%. To go with this strike out rate is a pretty nice 89.5% contact rate from the right side. Carlos Lee, in a pinch of course, can also play first base and a little bit of left field which makes him much more versatile then say Raul Ibanez was last season, not that I would want Carlos in the field any more then we would have to. Entering his age 36 season (turning 37 in late June) I would also think that he would be willing to accept the one year deal that the Yankees seem to be only throwing out this off season, which makes him make even more sense for the Yankees. Now while I admit that his 2012 season was a horrible season where he only hit 9 home runs between two teams he did play in 147 games, get on base a respectable 60 points higher then his batting average (.264/.332/.365), managed 77 RBIs for two terrible teams the Marlins and the Astros, 145 hits, 27 doubles, and even managed enough outfielders to fall down in one play for him to get a triple. While he will not be a stolen base threat, 3 stolen bases and wasn't caught stealing in 2012, he could really fill out and balance the lineup in the Yankees 6th or 7th slot in the lineup.

Carlos Lee is durable, more flexible then any of the DH options we had last year or could have this year barring a trade, is right handed, can still hit for power regardless of his 2012 numbers, would probably take a one year deal, and would make us one step closer to being competitive in my opinion. This makes too much sense to me at this point in the game. I will note that I am not a fan of having Carlos Lee on the team but he is the best of what is left and would help the team the most in my opinion so I think Cashman should get it done now.