Meet a Prospect Special Edition: Zach Britton

The New York Yankees not only bolstered their bullpen for the stretch and postseason run on Tuesday, but they also kept two of their biggest rivals in the American League from doing the same all in one big move acquiring Zach Britton from the Baltimore Orioles for three prospects. While many may have thought that giving up a trio of young pitchers up in the deal others would argue that the fact that the acquisition kept Britton out of the bullpen for the Boston Red Sox and the Houston Astros make the cost worth it. Will Britton, a true rental, be worth the cost of RHP Dillon Tate, RHP Cody Carroll and LHP Josh Rogers? Before we begin to even think about answering that question we first have to meet the man, so let’s do it. This is Meet a Prospect Special Edition: The Zach Britton Edition.

Zachary Grant Britton was born on December 22, 1987 in California and was raised as the youngest of three brothers in Santa Clarita, California. Britton attended Canyon High School before his family moved to Texas. It was in Texas where the left-hander attended Weatherford High School and played as an outfielder and a pitcher for the school’s team. While pitching there the Baltimore Orioles drafted him as a starting pitcher in the third round of the 2006 MLB First Year Player’s Draft, 86^th overall. Britton had offer sheets for scholarships from Texas A&M University but ultimately decided to forego his commitment and begin his professional career with the Orioles immediately by accepting a $200,000 signing bonus.

Britton spent parts of the 2006 – 2010 seasons in the minor league system for the Orioles before finally getting a true shot with the club in 2011. Britton was sent down to Triple-A to start the 2011 season but an injury to starter Brian Matusz led the team to call up Britton to fill in for him. Britton spent time down in Triple-A later in the season, many wondered if it was because the Orioles were trying to manipulate his service time in order to gain an extra season of team control before he hit free agency but ended his season with 28 starts with the Orioles amassing a 4.61 ERA, a 1.45 WHIP and an 11-11 record.

Britton had to wait until July of 2012 before he could begin his sophomore season after heading to the disabled list with a left shoulder impingement. Britton suffered a bit of a sophomore slump in 2012 posting a 5.07 ERA in 12 games, 11 as a starter, with a 5-3 record. The Orioles optioned Britton back down to Triple-A to begin the 2013 season and would only pitch in eight games for the Orioles Major League club, seven of them starts, pitching to a 2-3 record in just 40 innings of work. The Orioles begun the process of converting Britton to a bullpen arm rather than a starter after another tough campaign for the young left-hander.

Britton made the Orioles Opening Day roster in 2014 as a relief pitcher and eventually as their closer where he converted 37 of 41 save opportunities while pitching to a 1.65 ERA. Britton would help the Orioles sweep the Detroit Tigers in the 2014 American League Division Series before losing in the American League Championship Series. After a strong 2014 season the Orioles and Britton agreed to a $3.2 million deal for the 2015 season thus avoiding an arbitration hearing. Britton rewarded the Orioles that season with 36 saves in 40 opportunities, a 1.92 ERA and his first MLB All-Star Game selection.

Britton once again avoided arbitration with the Orioles in 2016 after signing a one-year deal worth $6.75 million and once again earned a trip to the All-Star Game with Baltimore that season as well. Britton converted his first 33 saves to start the season setting a new MLB record for the most consecutives saves to start a season by a left-handed pitcher and matched the seventh longest stretch of all-time to start a season. Later that season Britton set the MLB record for the most consecutive relief appearances without allowing an earned run, 39 appearances at that point. Britton pitched in 43 straight appearances without giving up a run that season before allowing a run to the Washington Nationals on August 24. Britton pitched in 69 games that season and allowed just four runs all season, which equated to a 0.54 ERA. This mark broke the MLB record for the lowest single-season ERA by a pitcher with at least 50 innings pitched and helped the Orioles lefty convert all 47 of his save opportunities on the season.

In 2017 Britton saved his first game that season, a victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, which gave him his 50^th straight save dating back to October of the 2015 season. Britton would end up converting 55 straight saves to set an American League record before blowing a save on August 23^rd against the Oakland Athletics. Britton would only make 38 appearances in 2018 due to spending time on the disabled list with left forearm tightness twice and would ultimately suffer a ruptured Achilles tendon after the season which kept him out of action for six months.

Elite Sports Network NY credit image

Britton would ultimately sign a one-year deal worth $12 million to avoid arbitration in his final season of eligibility before beginning the season on the 60-day DL due to the Achilles tendon. Britton made his debut off the disabled list on June 12 and notched his first save 11 days later on June 23. Now Britton, a left-handed closer that possesses a 99 MPH sinker, a four-seam fastball that sits around 96 MPH, and a curveball that ranges in the 82-83 MPH range, is a member of the New York Yankees after being acquired by the team late on Tuesday night.

Welcome to the organization Zach and welcome to the family… even if it is temporary!

Hello… Phantom DL Gate

Good morning everyone and welcome back to the blog. Let’s put the final nail in this coffin and beat this dead horse one last time here on this beautiful Thursday morning. Gary Sanchez is injured. There are rules, regulations and processes put in place to keep a team from getting pissed off at a player for his lack of performance and simply placing him on the disabled list. Gary Sanchez may be lazy, or he may not be, but he is not on the disabled list because of it and he is not on the disabled list because of his lack of hustle on a passed ball and a ground ball that subsequently ended the game and gave the Yankees a loss earlier in the week. This is not Phantom DL Gate.

Also, I want to apologize for my lack of a presence on the blog. North Georgia had some major weather come through the area over the weekend that knocked out power in some places for five days due to rain, heavy wind and confirmed tornados. We were fortunate enough to not sustain any damage to our home, our vehicles or our families but some were not so lucky. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them with hopes and wishes of a speedy recovery.

And you, I love you and hope that you know that every single second of every single day.

Great Britton Has Joined the War...

Yanks acquire elite Reliever for Stretch Run…

I am not sure how I felt when I first heard that trade negotiations were heating up between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles.  In 2016, there was not a more dominant reliever in baseball than Zach Britton. He was 2-1 with 47 saves and was virtually unhittable with 0.54 ERA (giving up only four earned runs in 67 innings pitched). He struck out 74 batters and was only touched for one home run. He thrust his name in the arena of elite closers, but then the last couple of years have been injury-filled. After accumulating 120 saves between 2014 and 2016, he has only 19 this year and last. By comparison, the interim closer for the O’s, Brad Brach, has 29 saves for 2017 and YTD 2018. 

When healthy, there are not too many pitchers better than Britton. Plus, he’s a lefty so that’s huge plus for Yankee Stadium. Hopefully this means that Chasen Shreve’s days are numbered. When Britton returned from the DL, he was generally effective although his ERA was torched by a bad outing in Atlanta on June 22^nd when he gave up 4 runs on 5 hits while recording only a single out. But in July, he’s been his dominant self, allowing no runs over 7 innings and striking out 13. He shut down the Yankees for an inning on July 10^th (the two-homer game by former Oriole Manny Machado), picking up the win on the walk-off single by Jonathan Schoop. He struck out the last two Yankees he faced (Miguel Andujar and Greg Bird). 

I am in favor of the Britton trade, but I think I was as grateful he wasn’t traded to the Houston Astros or the Boston Red Sox as I was with the thought of him restoring the three-headed beast in the bullpen that has been missing since the Yankees traded away Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman in 2016 (with no offense to David Robertson, who remains one of my favorite Yankees). 

Yesterday must have been weird for Britton.  His team was playing the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards in Baltimore. When the game started, Britton and the Orioles were 42 ½ games behind the Red Sox in the AL East Standings. By the time the rain-delayed game ended, Britton had gained 37 ½ games on the Red Sox, thanks to his new Pinstripes. Britton first became aware of the potential Yankees trade during the rain delay when he was met with countless messages and texts on his cell phone so it must have been bittersweet for him to watch his teammates defeat the Red Sox when play resumed. Part of me wished that the O’s had brought Britton out one last time (nothing better than to see him defeat the Red Sox), but the Orioles were not going to risk potential injury to jeopardize the trade. So Brad Brach came in to close it out and nearly blew the game in the rain-marred 9^th inning. But in the end, he left the game-tying and -winning runs stranded on base by inducing the great Mookie Betts to hit into a game-ending double play. The win allowed Britton to walk away from Camden Yards on a positive note. 

So, welcome to the New York Yankees, Zach Britton! Whether your stay is only for a few months or long-term should you decide to sign with the Yankees in the off-season, we are glad to have you. With Chapman’s knee issues, I am sure that there will be save opportunities for you. Looking forward to watching you send AL hitters home frustrated with that deadly sinker. 

Photo Credit: Getty Images (Rich Schultz)

As for the guys the Yankees gave up, the one I probably hated to see leave the most was Cody Carroll. I’ve liked the reliever for the last few years but the loaded Yankees pen has kept him at Triple A. Although he has been assigned to the O’s Triple A club in Norfolk, there’s no doubt he’ll soon be making his Major League debut for his new club. Former Yanks like Richard Bleier and Yefry Ramirez (the winner pitcher in Baltimore’s win over the Red Sox yesterday) have done very well for the Orioles and I expect no less from Carroll. The headliner was Dillon Tate who has restored his stock as a quality prospect this year after once being selected fourth overall in the 2015 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers. Tate, acquired in the trading deadline deal that sent Carlos Beltran to the Texas Rangers two years ago, may turn out to be a fine middle-of-the-rotation starter or a good setup reliever but he was never going to get that opportunity in New York. There are too many better guys in front of him. Josh Rogers has been a nice left-handed starter for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders but I agree with one Yankees beat writer that labeled him as a “poor man’s Jordan Montgomery”. With so many players needing protection from the Rule 5 Draft in December, I have no problem clearing the board of some of the fringe prospects. The fact the Yankees got an elite reliever without giving up a player from the cream of their prospects is incredible. The Yankees paid more for Britton than the A’s paid for Mets closer Jeurys Familia but it was worth it. Casey Stern’s famous quote (“Prospects are cool…Parades are cooler”) is very appropriate in this situation. If the Yankees win the World Series, I am not going to worry about future damage that Tate, Carroll and Rogers may do to the Yankees just like Cubs fans do not regret the trade that sent the very talented young Gleyber Torres to the Yankees. 

There’s now less than a week to go to the non-waivers trading deadline next Tuesday. I still fully anticipate a trade for a proven starter although I do not feel the Yankees will be making any surprise stealth moves to acquire premium starters like Jacob deGrom or Madison Bumgarner. At this point, I probably feel more strongly than ever that J.A. Happ of the Toronto Blue Jays has a future in the Bronx. Given the Yankees are responsible for the full pro-rated balance of Britton’s one-year deal, I think they’ll tread lightly for luxury tax avoidance purposes. So, Happ makes more sense to me than Cole Hamels even though the latter has the better post-season resume. Although Happ has generally been awful for his last few starts, he held the Orioles to 1 run on 4 hits over 5 innings in his most recent start, striking out 9. He has shown the ability to beat the Astros and Red Sox so I’d have no qualms about adding him to the rotation. Zach Britton represents huge insurance and protection for Happ’s addition. 

Lost in the Britton trade was the dominating performance of Masahiro Tanaka last night as the Yankees took down the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-0. Tanaka pitched a complete game shut-out, giving up only three hits and avoiding his usual obligatory home runs. He walked a batter and struck out 9 while throwing 105 pitches and lowering his season ERA to 4.09. After watching Luis Severino fall down against the Rays the night before, the Yankees needed a solid effort from Tanaka and they got it. 

Photo Credit: Getty Images (Mike Ehrmann)

The win allowed the Yankees (64-35) to pick up a game on the Red Sox (71-32). The Yankees are 5 games behind the Red Sox entering play today and they are 5 games up on the Seattle Mariners in the AL Wild Card Standings. 

I haven’t heard yet when Britton will join his new team but I think it would be foolish to make him travel to Tampa, Florida for today’s game, particularly given its early start time. The Yankees bullpen is rested and they can afford to wait a day for Britton’s arrival. Therefore, I’d send Britton to New York in anticipation of Thursday’s game against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. It would give Britton a breather to adjust to the change and to make temporary living accommodations. I’ve wondered if third base coach Phil Nevin will give up #53 for Britton. It’s not like he is married to the number. I guess we’ll soon find out.

Luis Cessa (1-1, 3.00 ERA) makes his return to the Yankees today for the start in the series finale with the Rays. He’ll be opposed by former (and maybe future?) Yank Nathan Eovaldi (3-4, 4.26 ERA). The Yankees are expected to activate Gleyber Torres before today’s game. It will be interesting to see the roster move made to open a spot for Torres. Cessa’s spot was opened by last night’s demotion of Giovanny Gallegos to Triple A. The most likely guy to join him with the RailRiders is Tyler Wade although Brandon Drury could certainly be an option if he needs a stint on the DL following his hand injury yesterday. Test results on the hand were negative but Drury’s hand is bruised and he could miss a few days.  A short stint on the DL might be good for him. Inevitably, I see the road coming to an end for Neil Walker but I don’t expect to see his name on the transactions wire today. Getting Torres back might be the single greatest “acquisition” the Yankees make this month. The Yankees have done a much better job winning with Gleyber’s name in the lineup than not so his presence is tremendous for the team.   

Today is a great day for a Yankees victory. Cessa, please make it happen. Go Yankees!

Update: Nasty Nate goes to Boston. The Red Sox acquired Nathan Eovaldi this morning so Ryne Stanek (1-2, 1.91 ERA) opens for the Rays.  

The 2018 Trade Deadline & The 2019 Rule 5 Draft

A lot of people may think I am looking ahead just a bit when I begin discussing the Rule 5 Draft that will not occur until sometime in December, after the 2018 regular season, but that couldn’t be the furthest thing from the case. In fact, I bet you that Brian Cashman, the Yankees general manager, also has his eye on the Rule 5 Draft when discussing potential trades for prospects at the July 31^st trading deadline. The Yankees have a nice collection of prospects that will need to be protected this winter or that will be made available for anyone and their mother to select in the draft, so it might be imperative to look at trading a few of these guys now, if possible, to get something for them now rather than essentially and potentially nothing for them later.

Here is the list of players that will need to be protected after the season. Now while this is not a 100% complete list, I have hit the high notes and put down the most notable who need protection.

LHP Justus Sheffield

RHP Dillon Tate

RHP Chance Adams

RHP Cody Carroll

LHP Josh Rogers

LHP Stephen Tarpley

RHP Juan De Paula

3B/1B Dermis Garcia

C Donny Sands

INF Kyle Holder

The only person on this list who is untouchable in my eyes is Justus Sheffield. No, I would not trade him for Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard. No, I would not trade him for Madison Bumgarner. In fact, I am perfectly fine with adding him to the 40-man roster and calling him up on August 1^st much like the Yankees did with Luis Severino back in 2015, I feel that confident in his abilities. The rest of the list is expendable and trade bait in my opinion. I don’t believe that anyone would take Donny Sands or Dermis Garcia if the Rule 5 Draft were to go down today, but clearly a lot can change between now and December. I also have my doubts that anyone would take and be willing to give Dillon Tate a year on their MLB roster as well, but weirder things have happened in this game.

Adding Triple-A experienced and close to MLB ready caliber starting pitching like Josh Rogers and Chance Adams to a deal could make or break a blockbuster, while having a late inning reliever like Cody Carroll could also look useful to a team who is looking to rebuild, like the New York Mets or the San Diego Padres. Stephen Tarpley, originally acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Ivan Nova deal, and Juan De Paula, acquired in the Ben Gamel deal with the Seattle Mariners, could also be sold as potential options in the future for any team who has a couple years of rebuilding ahead of them.

Kyle Holder, while not a sexy name now, was considered Major League ready defensively when the Yankees drafted him, but he had some catching up to do offensively after fully committing himself to baseball. Holder could conceivably be a defensive replacement, pinch runner, and bench piece for a National League team today, and he could be especially attractive to a team that thinks they can wait out his development with the bat.

Now, keep in mind that none of these guys alone will net the Yankees that ace starting pitcher that everyone seems to want. Sheffield could, albeit not alone, but none of these other players could headline a blockbuster deal. If, and when, these players are traded they will be as a part of a package for a player in my opinion, so keep that in mind when tempering expectations this summer.

Jordan Montgomery To Miss 6-8 Weeks

Just now Aaron Boone, while on the Mike Francesa show "Mike's On", confirmed that Jordan Montgomery could be out up to two months due to a flexor strain. Jordan won't even be able to throw a ball for two or three weeks.

Earlier it sounded like Jordan would only miss a start or two, and therefore I had zero worry about just letting Domingo German start in his place. Now, I don't want to say I'm worried, but instead of a couple of starts for German we're now looking at around ten.

I'm sure German will start on Sunday, and no matter how he looks then will get one more later next week. But if he doesn't pitch well in either start there's a good chance the Yankees will look elsewhere.

So what else is there?

First of all, don't expect a trade for a big-time starter, or any starter, to happen soon. A big trade for a starter may go down eventually (assuming Gumby returns strong, and everyone else stays healthy, who would you remove from the rotation for a new guy?), but that would happen closer to the trade deadline.

If Domingo German isn't the answer while Montgomery is recovering, the Yankees will fill that role from within. But as for who that will be I have no idea.

Luis Cessa suffered an oblique strain a couple of weeks ago, and based on early estimates he could be ready to return in a week or two. But oblique injuries are tricky, and Luis may not be ready to start again for a while.

Before the season began if you told me the Yankees would be in this position I'd say that Chance Adams could be the answer. Unfortunately, here we sit on May 2nd, and Chance's ERA after five starts in AAA sits at 5.11. His strikeout rate is better than last season, but his hit and home run rates are significantly worse.

There's an outside chance that either Dillon Tate or Justus Sheffield could be ready to join the big club soon, but I'm not at all keen on that idea. Their development is more important than a handful of starts this season. The fact of the matter is, the Yankees offense should be good enough to overcome some "so-so" starts while Monty is on the disabled list. They shouldn't have to rush a good prospect due to lack of good starting options.

At this point the best thing for the Yankees would be for Domingo to build off of his strong four innings last night, and put the team in a position to win when he starts. It would also help if Sonny Gray can build off of his last start and give the team some quality starts.

All in all, I'm happy that Montgomery isn't looking at Tommy John surgery.

Yankees Set Thunder Opening Day Roster

THUNDER ROSTER 4-5-18

The New York Yankees have set the Thunder roster for the 25th season of play at ARM & HAMMER Park.

The roster features three of the top starting pitching prospects in the organization with RHP Domingo Acevedo, LHP Justus Sheffield and RHP Dillon Tate lining up at the front of the rotation. All three rank in the top-10 of Baseball America's pre-season Yankees prospect list with Sheffield checking in at #3. RHP Will Carter and RHP Erik Swanson round out the starting group for the Thunder, a team that set the franchise record for team ERA (2.83) and shutouts (20). 

The bullpen features a number of strong arms including Rule V returnee RHP Jose Mesa Jr.. Righties Jordan Foley, Joe Harvey, Brian Keller, and Andrew Schwaab will be joined by left-handers Caleb Frare, James Reeves and Stephen Tarpley. 

Behind the plate C Jorge Saez returns after hitting nine home runs in 67 games for the team. Former Reading Fightin Phils catcher Chace Numata joins Saez as a catcher for the club. 

In the field, the roster features two local products. Council Rock South High School graduate Billy Fleming breaks camp with the team. He's joined by West Windsor Plainsboro South High School graduate, Ben Ruta; who will make his Double-A debut when he takes the field for the first time.

Rounding out the position players on the roster, infielders Chris Gittens, Bruce Caldwell, Vince Conde, Gosuke Katoh, and Mandy Alvarez join the team. Conde and Fleming are the only infielders returning to the team from 2017. In the outfield, Trey Amburgey, Rashad Crawford, and Jhalan Jackson join Ruta. Amburgey appeared in one game for the Thunder in the 2016 ELCS against Ak

The Possibilities Are... Nearly... Endless.

This one goes out to Scott...

The Yankees should trade for Chris Archer.

He'd look great in pinstripes, wouldn't he?

With that said, I don't believe the Yankees will strike a deal with Tampa to acquire Archer. It's not that we wouldn't be able to put together a package of players good enough to do so, I just don't see a deal that big happening between division opponents.

I had the same thought when there was talk of Baltimore trading Manny Machado during the offseason.

Even though I highly doubt either the Rays nor Orioles will compete for the AL East crown this season, I'm sure there are teams outside of the division... heck, outside of the American League... that could put a package of players together impressive enough to deal for Archer.

So while I don't believe the Yankees and Rays will get together and make a deal involving Chris Archer, I'm 99.9% certain that before August roles around the Yankees will trade for a big-time starter.

You remember when the Yankees dealt for Sonny Gray last season? Yeah... what's to come will be bigger than that.

One name that's been throw out there a bunch of times is Cole Hamels. The club option on Hamels' contract could become guaranteed, however he'd not only have to avoid the disabled list with either shoulder or elbow trouble at the end of the season, Cole would also have to throw 252 innings as well. Yeah... that's not happening. So knowing that Texas is unlikely to be a contender in a division including the Astros and Angels, and Cole's contract ends after this season, dealing away Hamels is almost a certainty.

But if what we've seen from Brian Cashman recently holds true, he's not going to trade away good to great prospects to rent a player for half a season. Brian is going to trade for somebody as good as Cole, if not better, who is also under team control for at least another year.

Let's start by looking at a list of players that could be traded...

Gleyber Torres - Honestly, I find this unlikely. Neil Walker was only signed for one year, so Torres still has a path to MLB for next season. But keep in mind that the possibility isn't zero.

Justus Sheffield - Another unlikely option, but an option none-the-less. The guy the Yankees trade for may very well be the pitcher some envision Sheffield could become. The only difference is the guy the Yankees trade for would be a year or two ahead of Justus, and already getting it done in the big leagues.

Miguel Andujar - I can see the Yankees extending the 28 year-old Didi Gregorius for two to three more years, locking up shortstop through the 2021 season. Add Gregorius with Brandon Drury (not a free agent until after the 2021 season), Gleyber Torres, and Tyler Wade, and that doesn't leave a clear spot for Miguel to get promoted into. Plus there's another guy, but I'll talk about him in a moment.

Estevan Florial - Another player I don't believe Cashman wants to part with, as he could be the heir apparent to center field and the leadoff spot in the lineup, but a possibility still. After all, Estevan may only play part of this season above A ball. And being that far away from Major League Baseball means he's far from a sure bet.

Chance Adams and Dillon Tate - While they aren't as highly touted as Justus Sheffield, both of these guys have high value, especially thanks to them being ready to step into a MLB starting rotation this year or next. And with Sheffield and the next guy I'm going to list around, neither man seems to have a clear path to a starting gig with the Yankees.

Albert Abreu - Albert may be two to three years away from the Majors, possibly making his loss more palatable than pitchers like Adams, Sheffield, and Tate. But a team looking to compete in two to three years would love to have a pitching prospect the caliber of Abreu.

Tyler Wade - Wade has shown during Spring Training that he's ready to start at the MLB level right now. Unfortunately that is unlikely to happen, at least regularly, on Opening Day. And it may never happen with the Yankees thanks to Gregorius, Drury, Walker, and Torres. Even a spot on the bench isn't certain due to Ronald Torreyes.

Thairo Estrada - There are many people, both in the organization and it's fanbase, that would hate to see Estrada dealt away. But he's in a similar situation as Tyler Wade... he has no clear spot to be promoted into.

The only two players out of those I just listed that are likely to still be with the organization after the trade deadline are Torres and Sheffield. No... they won't be the only ones, it's just that the other six could be elsewhere.

And let's not forget that Brian Cashman may absolutely love Manny Machado (the guy I was referring to when speaking of Miguel Andujar), and has already put together a contract to offer Manny as soon as Game 7 of the World Series is over with.

The point is the Yankees can very easily put together a package of players that can't be matched. The Padres, White Sox, and Braves systems may be better, but they don't have a young core like the Yankees have with Judge, Sanchez, Bird, and Severino. Oh, and they don't have a Giancarlo Stanton, either. So, unlike the Yankees, those other teams need to keep some of the big prospects they have.

Oh... and money. Those other three teams don't have the ability to buy players like the Yankees do.

So you may be able to cross off great young pitchers from contenders like the Red Sox, Indians, Astros, Nationals, Cubs, and Dodgers. And you can probably cross off great young starters from the rest of the teams in the American League East. But it's likely that any other pitcher in Major League Baseball is in play.

Anyone.

So I'm not going to give you a list of targets, because the fact is that list is way too large. Just imagine a great young starter from any team not listed above, and smile because they could be on their way to the Bronx soon.

What About The Other Top Free Agent Starters?

Naturally, after Yu Darvish was signed by the Chicago Cubs, Yankees fans started looking at some of the other top free agent starters. Well, let me just say.... stop.

If the Yankees bring in any starter for this season it should be a top of the rotation type. That means guys like Andrew Cashner or Tyler Chatwood should not even be considered. Mind you, those two would make fine additions to a team looking for a solid starter for the middle of their rotation, but the Yankees have plenty of guys for that. Heck, with Sonny Gray as their #3 starter, the Yankees may very well have the best "middle of the rotation" in baseball.

That may make some fans think of the other "top" free agent starters that are still available. That being Jake Arrieta, Lance Lynn, and Alex Cobb.

Let's start with Arrieta. On the surface he may seem like a guy you'd like to see added to the rotation. Even if you throw out his 2015 Cy Young season by considering it an outlier, he still posted a 3.30 ERA, including an ERA+ of 129, in 61 starts from 2016 to 2017. But when it comes to guys like Jake, who will very likely sign with a team for five years, you have to consider how a contract would end. And seeing as how his home run rate has gone up in each of the past four seasons (0.3 HR/9 to 0.4 to 0.7 to 1.2), he gave up more hits per nine innings than he has since 2012, and his WHIP has gone up in each of the past three years, I think this should be a definite "pass".

Then comes Lance Lynn. After a little less than a thousand innings thrown in MLB, Lance's ERA has never been above 3.97. And for those worried about him having had Tommy John surgery a couple of years ago, he bounced back very well last season and started 33 games. But did you know that his strikeout rate was lower than it's ever been in his career, while his walk and home run rates were never higher? Sure, that could be a hangover from missing all of 2016, but it seems like an unnecessary gamble for a team that already has a pretty good starting rotation.

Finally there's Alex Cobb. Like Lynn, Cobb had Tommy John surgery as well, but he had it a year earlier in 2015. After missing the vast majority of the 2016 season while recovering Alex didn't bounce back quite so well in his five starts at the end of the year (8.59 ERA, along with giving up 15 earned runs over his last 4.1 innings). Then came last season when his ERA dropped down to a very nice 3.66. But what scares me away from Alex is that he's no longer able to use his best pitch... the split-finger fastball. He improved his curveball to give him a good complimentary pitch to his four-seamer, but am I willing to gamble on even a four year deal here? Not if I'm Brian Cashman and already have a full rotation and some nice prospects knocking on the door of MLB.

And let's talk about those younger guys.

Jordan Montgomery would likely be the odd-man out of the rotation, and I don't like that. Jordan may not be a future ace, but I wouldn't want to hold back a 24 year-old starter that had an ERA of just 3.88 last season, along with a very respectable strikeout rate of 8.3 per 9 innings. If we were talking about a 34 year-old then this would be a totally different conversation, but in the case of Monty we're talking about a guy that could very well get better. And better than 2017 Montgomery is as good as you can hope to get out of those three guys I talked about earlier.

Then you have Chance Adams and Justus Sheffield. Now, I'm not a big Adams fan, as I think he is destined for the bullpen, but you have to give the guy a shot as starter. And while Sheffield may begin the season in AA, he could very well get some starts in the Majors by the end of the season. By the way, every "expert" I've read ranks Sheffield ahead of Adams.

You can't forget that signing one of those three top free agent starters could lead to not seeing younger guys like Albert Abreu, another youngster that many people are high on. Or Dillon Tate, who... like Chance Adams... may be destined for the bullpen, but has earned a chance to be a MLB starter.

At this point I hope that Cashman sticks with what he has. I hope he gives things a couple of months to see how his current rotation pans out while seeing how his top prospects start the 2018 season. If an injury occurs, and neither Adams or Sheffield can be counted on to help, then Brian can use the Yankees nice crop of prospects to pull of a trade for a top of the rotation starter by the trade deadline, like they did for Sonny Gray last year.

Look... it's tough. Since Giancarlo Stanton was traded for this offseason has been a total bore. Well, it's been a "bore" for all of Major League Baseball, but for Yankees fans it's been nearly unbearable. Thankfully the "keep in mind we did trade for Stanton" memes help. But we must stick together and stay the course.

Setting Our Sites On Another Trade Target

Not long ago I said that the Yankees should trade Clint Frazier for a good, young, starter such as Gerrit Cole or Michael Fulmer. The reaction to that piece has been a little mixed. Some thought like me and agreed that Clint Frazier was no longer necessary, and his value should be used to improve the rotation both now and for the future. Others didn't like the idea of trading Frazier at all, as they believe he has a bright future, and the Yankees may need a regular left fielder other than Stanton or Judge after all.

As a follow up to that post I started to write about teams that would like to add Frazier, as their own left fielders leave a lot to be desired. The first team that I started to research was the Kansas City Royals.

Back in January of 2016 Kansas City signed Alex Gordon to a four year deal that would pay him $72 million, and included a mutual option for a fifth year. The average annual value of the deal was a bit high, but certainly not ridiculous seeing that Gordon had been a very good player for the Royals over the previous five seasons.

Unfortunately Alex's offensive productivity took a nosedive right away. While Gordon hit .281/.359/.450 between 2011 and 2015, since then he's hit .214/.302/.346. I'm sure the Royals, and their fans, have gone from thinking left field was covered through the rest of the decade, to thinking "how do we get through this?"

That is where Clint Frazier would fit in very nicely. If they had to, the Royals could pay a chunk of Gordon's contract to trade him away, and pay Clint the league minimum to take over.

Thanks to plenty of talk about him, the name Danny Duffy came to mind. I started thinking, "is this a perfect match?"

Duffy's ERA+ was a very nice 117 last season, his first season in which he started in every appearance. Sure, he may have started 26 games in 2016, but he appeared as a reliever in 16 other games.

Another nice stat I saw on Danny's Baseball Reference page was his home run rate, which actually went down from 1.4 in 2016 to 0.8 in 2017. While that number is nice on it's own, when you realize that there were 495 more home runs hit in 2017 than 2016, that home run rate drop is even more impressive.

So it goes without saying that adding Danny Duffy to the Yankees' rotation would be pretty cool. But here's where it gets better, and ties into the Clint Frazier thing...

The Yankees wouldn't have to include Red Thunder in a trade for Duffy.

Before this past season Kansas City signed Duffy to an extension that pays him $60 million over the next four years (it was originally a five year extension for $65 million, but it only paid him $5 million in 2017). And that's why Frazier would not have to be included in a trade here.

Think about it... the Yankees have discussed using Frazier to get guys like Gerrit Cole, who will make around $7.5 million (his projected salary according to MLB Trade Rumors), while Duffy will get $14 million.

"Okay, you won't give me Clint Frazier. So now what?"

So what would it take to trade for Danny Duffy? Well, let's move on...

Now $15 million a year isn't a ton of money, but when you see that Kansas City had a total payroll just over $140 million in 2017, finished two games under .500, and had the 4th worst offense in the American League, saving that money could make life with Alex Gordon much more livable while allowing them to give somebody else a shot out there.

Furthermore, the Royals have some nice pitching prospects that are ready to debut in the big leagues now or very soon. Their #5 prospect started 19 games for AAA Omaha in 2017, their #6 prospect started 18 games in AA, and their #9 prospect started 15 games at AAA Omaha.

I'm sure the Royals would get a young, controllable starter in return for Duffy, too. No, I don't think it would take somebody like Justus Sheffield, Chance Adams, Domingo Acevedo, or Albert Abreu. But perhaps KC would like to add Dillon Tate, who saw some starts in AA last year. Heck, include another young starter who may be a bit further away from MLB, like Freicer Perez, Matt Sauer, or Clarke Schmidt.

What about a position player to add to the deal? The Royals may very well lose Eric Hosmer to free agency, so what about offering Tyler Austin?

With the Yankees having enough room under the Luxury Tax threshold to pay Duffy $13 million (the AAV of his deal), Danny being under team control through his age 32 season, and being able to hold onto Clint Frazier and other top prospects like Sheffield, Adams, and Esteven Florial, this trade seems like a no-brainer.

The only question remaing is would the Royals do something along the lines of Tyler Austin, Dillon Tate, Matt Sauer, and another small piece for Danny Duffy? sa

My Thoughts on the Yankees Arizona Fall League Participants for 2017

The New York Yankees are sending some heavy hitters to the Arizona Fall League this winter and as a self-professed prospect humper, trademark pending, I am so damn excited for it. The Yankees organization announced that they would be sending one of their top outfield prospects Estevan Florial to the Scottsdale Scorpions as well as Justus Sheffield, Dillon Tate, Thairo Estrada, Chris Gittens and Kyle Holder. All these rosters are preliminary and subject to change and the Yankees have a couple extra slots they could add some players to, usually pitchers are the late additions to the team.

Florial was the subject of trade rumors this summer as the Oakland Athletics were asking for the 19-year old left-handed hitting outfielder in the Sonny Gray deal so the fact that he is still with the team and getting a chance to play for the Scorpions and represent the Yankees excites me. Florial represented Team World in the All-Star Game Futures Game this season and is currently the Yankees 4^th best prospect according to MLB.com. Florial hit well in A-Ball splitting time with the Charleston Riverdogs and the Tampa Yankees and with his inclusion in the AFL the lefty may be on the fast track to the Major Leagues. See Gleyber Torres and the rocket he road to Triple-A after his breakout AFL campaign in 2016 before scoffing at that statement.

Right behind Florial on the MLB.com Yankees prospects rankings is Sheffield and the lefty starting pitcher will be right behind Florial as well as his teammate down in Scottsdale. The Yankees likely want to give Sheffield some additional innings since the southpaw is currently rehabbing an oblique injury with the Gulf Coast Yankees but the team also likely wants to see what Sheffield can do against some advanced talent. Sheffield pitched 90.1 innings in Double-A this season before the injury and is slated to be in Triple-A as soon as the beginning of next season with his current progression. Sheffield may be the top Yankees pitching prospect in terms of projectability and if he isn’t he is right behind Chance Adams and Freicer Perez.

The Yankees have some 40 man roster decisions to make this offseason before the Rule 5 Draft which likely explains why Estrada, Holder and Gittens are on the roster this winter. It isn’t uncommon for teams to get an extended look at prospects they deem to be “on the bubble” in terms of 40 man roster protection so expect Estrada, Holder and Gittens to get extended looks, especially Estrada. It seems unlikely that any team would take Gittens or Holder at this point, although Holder’s defense and versatility could fit well with a rebuilding team in the National League like the San Diego Padres, but in my opinion Estrada would be chosen in the first round if left unprotected.

So what are my thoughts on this cast of Yankees players heading down to Arizona? I love the roster. I am so looking forward to seeing Sheffield pitch, Florial play the outfield, Dillon Tate make his second consecutive appearance and continue his climb back to being a top prospect in Major League Baseball and I look forward to watching the trio of Yankees infielders making progress as well. I’m a prospect humper, what did you expect me to say about this roster? Who wouldn’t want to see Tate, Sheffield and Florial on a big stage? It’s a no-brainer. Enjoy your day Yankees family.

For your information here is how each team is made up in the Arizona Fall League:

AFL club	MLB clubs
Glendale	CLE, CWS, LA, PHI, PIT
Peoria	ATL, BOS, SD, SEA, TOR
Salt River	ARI, BAL, COL, MIA, MIL
Surprise	KC, MIN, STL, TB, TEX
Scottsdale	CIN, LAA, NYM, NYY, SF
Mesa	CHC, DET, HOU, OAK, WSH

So it Seems Dillon Tate is Good Again & We’re Remembering Alex Rodriguez Today

Good morning everyone and Happy Saturday. Another rainy day here in North Georgia but I guess I’ve gotten used to that by now. It seems like any day now all the people who get all sparkly in the sun are going to move down from Forks County here to my neck of the woods….. yeah I used a Twilight reference at 7:00 am on a weekend. I would un-bookmark the site too, so no hard feelings.

On this day in 2016, as we saw in our aptly named post this morning, Alex Rodriguez played his final game in Major League Baseball and with the Yankees so I want to take a chance to look back at his career a little bit one more time today. I also want to praise Brian Cashman once more because it seems like he may have found a diamond in the rough with Dillon Tate.

Tate was traded from the Texas Rangers last year at the August 1^st trading deadline for outfielder Carlos Beltran and Tate came with many question marks. Tate’s velocity was down and so was his production but either the Yankees coaches, a change of scenery or a little bit of both have seemingly turned Tate around and turned the young right-hander and former first round pick into a beast once again.

At the time of the trade Tate was sporting a 5.12 ERA for the Low-A Texas Rangers affiliate. His velocity was down and not even he knew where the ball was going when it left his hand after being the fourth overall pick in the 2015 MLB First Year Players Draft but the Yankees have seemingly turned him around. Tate was recently called up to Double-A Trenton and will make his debut there today after posting a 6-0 record and a 2.62 ERA in nine starts with the Tampa Yankees. Tate’s velocity is back up to 94 MPH and his slider is devastating to opposing batters… just like Brian Cashman knew it would.

And a special good morning to you my love. I love you and I hope you’re doing well this morning. It was a tough week but it’s getting easier and better all the time… and it’s getting closer and closer to forever too. I love you. HEY YOU.

Every Significant Brian Cashman Trade

With the July 31^st trade deadline looming it only seems fitting for the blog to cover Brian Cashman and his resume in the trade market. I will tell you that Cashman has made some clunkers when it comes to trades but he has also come out on the right side of things more times than many would like to admit or imagine as well. With that in mind let’s look at every, in my opinion anyway, significant trade that Cashman has made since taking over as the team’s GM in 1998 and determine if we should be worried or excited as fans about this season’s July 31^st trade deadline. Remember, history is always an indicator of the future.

February 6, 1998 traded Cristian Guzman, Eric Milton, Brian Buchanan and Danny Mota to the Minnesota Twins for Chuck Knoblauch

February 1, 1999 traded Mike Lowell to the Florida Marlins for Ed Yarnall, Todd Noel and Mark J. Johnson

February 18, 1999 traded Homer Bush, David Wells and Graeme Lloyd to the Toronto Blue Jays for Roger Clemens

December 22, 1999 traded Hideki Irabu to the Montreal Expos for Ted Lilly, Jake Westbrook and Christian Parker

June 29, 2000 traded Ricky Ledee, Jake Westbrook and Zach Day to the Cleveland Indians for David Justice

July 12, 2000 traded Ed Yarnall, Drew Henson, Jackson Melian and Brian Reith to the Cincinnati Reds for Denny Neagle and Mike Frank

March 21, 2001 traded Wily Mo Pena to the Cincinnati Reds for Drew Henson and Michael Coleman

December 7, 2001 traded David Justice to the New York Mets for Robin Ventura

July 1, 2002 traded Scott Wiggins to the Toronto Blue Jays for Raul Mondesi

July 5, 2002 in a 3 team trade sent Ted Lilly, Jason Arnold and John-Ford Griffin to the Oakland Athletics for Jeff Weaver from the Detroit Tigers

June 6, 2003 traded Marcus Thames to the Detroit Tigers for Ruben Sierra

July 16, 2003 traded Jason Anderson, Ryan Bicondoa and Anderson Garcia to the New York Mets for Armando Benitez

July 29, 2003 traded Raul Mondesi to the Arizona Diamondbacks for David Dellucci, Bret Prinz and Jon-Mark Sprowl

July 31, 2003 traded Brandon Claussen and Charlie Manning to the Cincinnati Reds for Aaron Boone

July 31, 2003 traded Robin Ventura to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Scott Proctor and Bubba Crosby

August 6, 2003 traded Armando Benitez to the Seattle Mariners for Jeff Nelson

December 13, 2003 traded Jeff Weaver, Yhency Brazoban and Brandon Weeden to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Kevin Brown

December 16, 2003 traded Nick Johnson, Juan Rivera and Randy Choate to the Montreal Expos for Javier Vazquez

February 16, 2004 traded Alfonso Soriano and Joaquin Arias to the Texas Rangers for Alex Rodriguez

May 15, 2004 traded Brian Myrow to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Tanyon Sturtze

December 3, 2004 traded Kenny Lofton to the Philadelphia Phillies for Felix Rodriguez

December 3, 2004 traded Felix Heredia to the New York Mets for Mike Stanton

January 11, 2005 traded Javier Vazquez, Brad Halsey and Dioner Navarro to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Randy Johnson

March 29, 2005 traded Bret Prinz to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Wil Nieves

July 2, 2005 traded Paul Quantrill to the San Diego Padres for Darrell May and Tim Redding

July 28, 2005 traded Ramon Ramirez and Eduardo Sierra to the Colorado Rockies for Shawn Chacon

August 27, 2005 traded Justin Berg to the Chicago Cubs for Matt Lawton

November 16, 2005 traded Ben Julianel to the Florida Marlins for Ron Villone

December 8, 2005 traded Tony Womack to the Cincinnati Reds for Benjamin Himes and Kevin Howard

July 26, 2006 traded Hector Made to the Philadelphia Phillies for Sal Fasano

July 30, 2006 traded Matt Smith, C.J. Henry, Jesus Sanchez and Carlos Monasterios to the Philadelphia Phillies for Bobby Abreu

July 31, 2006 traded Shawn Chacon to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Craig Wilson

November 12, 2006 traded Jaret Wright to the Baltimore Orioles for Chris Britton

January 9, 2007 traded Randy Johnson to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Luis Vizcaino, Steven Jackson, Ross Ohlendorf and Alberto Gonzalez

July 21, 2007 traded Jeff Kennard to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Jose Molina

July 31, 2007 traded Scott Proctor to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Wilson Betemit

November 10, 2007 traded Gary Sheffield to the Detroit Tigers for Humberto Sanchez, Anthony Claggett and Kevin Whelan

December 4, 2007 traded Tyler Clippard to the Washington Nationals for Jonathan Albaladejo

July 26, 2008 traded Jeff Karstens, Daniel McCutchen, Ross Ohlendorf and Jose Tabata to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady

July 30, 2008 traded Kyle Farnsworth to the Detroit Tigers for Ivan Rodriguez

July 30, 2008 traded LaTroy Hawkins to the Houston Astros for Matt Cusick

July 31, 2008 traded Alberto Gonzalez to the Washington Nationals for Jhonny Nunez

November 13, 2008 traded Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez to the Chicago White Sox for Nick Swisher and Kanekoa Texeira

February 4, 2009 traded Chase Wright to the Milwaukee Brewers for Eric Fryer

May 16, 2009 traded Eric Hacker to PIT N for Romulo Sanchez

June 30, 2009 traded Casey Erickson and Eric Fryer to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Eric Hinske

July 31, 2009 traded Chase Weems to the Cincinnati Reds for Jerry Hairston

December 7, 2009 traded Brian Bruney to the Washington Nationals for Jamie Hoffmann

December 8, 2009 traded Phil Coke, Austin Jackson and Ian Kennedy to the Detroit Tigers for Curtis Granderson

December 22, 2009 traded Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino to the Atlanta Braves for Boone Logan and Javier Vazquez

January 26, 2010 traded Mitch Hilligoss to the Texas Rangers for Greg Golson

July 30, 2010 traded Zach McAllister to the Cleveland Indians for Austin Kearns

July 31, 2010 traded Mark Melancon and Jimmy Paredes to the Houston Astros for Lance Berkman

July 31, 2010 traded Matt Cusick and Andrew Shive to the Cleveland Indians for Kerry Wood

November 18, 2010 traded Juan Miranda to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Scott Allen

March 25, 2011 traded Sergio Mitre to the Milwaukee Brewers for Chris Dickerson

January 23, 2012 traded Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi to the Seattle Mariners for Vicente Campos and Michael Pineda

February 19, 2012 traded A.J. Burnett to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Exicardo Cayones and Diego Moreno

April 4, 2012 traded George Kontos to the San Francisco Giants for Chris Stewart

July 23, 2012 traded Danny Farquhar and D.J. Mitchell to the Seattle Mariners for Ichiro Suzuki

July 31, 2012 traded Chad Qualls to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Casey McGehee

March 26, 2013 traded Exicardo Cayones and Kramer Sneed to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Vernon Wells

July 26, 2013 traded Corey Black to the Chicago Cubs for Alfonso Soriano

July 6, 2014 traded Vidal Nuno to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Brandon McCarthy

July 22, 2014 traded Rafael De Paula and Yangervis Solarte to the San Diego Padres for Chase Headley

July 31, 2014 traded Kelly Johnson to the Boston Red Sox for Stephen Drew

July 31, 2014 traded Peter O'Brien to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Martin Prado

November 12, 2014 traded Francisco Cervelli to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Justin Wilson

December 5, 2014 traded Shane Greene to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Didi Gregorius

December 19, 2014 traded Martin Prado and David Phelps to the Miami Marlins for Nate Eovaldi, Domingo German and Garrett Jones

December 29, 2014 traded Shawn Kelley to the San Diego Padres for Johnny Barbato

January 1, 2015 traded Manny Banuelos to the Atlanta Braves for David Carpenter and Chasen Shreve

June 11, 2015 traded David Carpenter to the Washington Nationals for Tony Renda

November 11, 2015 traded John Ryan Murphy to the Minnesota Twins for Aaron Hicks

December 8, 2015 traded Brendan Ryan and Adam Warren to the Chicago Cubs for Starlin Castro

December 9, 2015 traded Justin Wilson to the Detroit Tigers for Luis Cessa and Chad Green

December 28, 2015 traded Caleb Cotham, Rookie Davis, Eric Jagielo and Tony Renda to the Cincinnati Reds for Aroldis Chapman

January 12, 2016 traded Rob Segedin to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Tyler Olson and Ronald Torreyes

July 25, 2016 traded Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs for Rashad Crawford, Billy McKinney, Gleyber Torres and Adam Warren

July 31, 2016 traded Andrew Miller to the Cleveland Indians for J.P. Feyereisen, Clint Frazier, Ben Heller and Justus Sheffield

July 31, 2016 traded Vicente Campos to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Tyler Clippard

August 1, 2016 traded Carlos Beltran to the Texas Rangers for Nick Green, Erik Swanson and Dillon Tate

And you can now include yesterday's trade with the Chicago White Sox that brought in Tommy Kahnle, David Robertson and Todd Frazier to the Bronx for Tyler Clippard, Ian Clarkin, Blake Rutherford and Tito Polo.

Leave your thoughts below in the comments section. Source credit goes to Baseball Reference.