Yankees Lose Huff, Miss Arruebarrena

The New York Yankees let left handed reliever David Huff go this offseason as Brian Cashman continued to stockpile bullpen arms, especially those who throw from the left side, and Huff has found a new home. That home is with the Los Angeles Dodgers who signed the lefty to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. Huff threw 59 innings last season between the Giants and New York and while his numbers were less than impressive with San Francisco but he really turned things around with New York. 

With the Yankees Huff pitched to a 1.89 ERA in 39 IP and quickly became part of Joe Girardi's "Circle of Trust." Huff will now try and latch on with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the same Dodgers team that recently designated Erisbel Arruebarrena for assignment. Arruebarrena would have been a great fit for the Yankees but apparently he cleared waivers and was assigned to minor league camp as he is also listed on the Dodgers invite to spring training list. 

Two guys the Yankees really could have used are now potentially on the Dodgers.

Ignoring the $$ Arruebarrena is Better Than Ryan

Jeff Levin and I had a lengthy discussion in the comments section of the site, which by the way I personally recommend you check out because some of the best minds across the web that don't write for a blog are in there in my very humble and bias opinion, about Erisbel Arruebarrena, Brendan Ryan and the last Yankees bench spot. I was on the side of the 24 year old Cuban defecting shortstop that still has four years and $20 million on his contract that the Dodgers gave him in 2014. On the other side Mr. Levin had a combination of Cito Culver and Ryan as suitable options. While I respect and thoroughly enjoy talking to Jeff, and this is in no way mean't to bash him, call him out etc., I think a lot of the information was missed by many since it was not in a formal blog post. I am basically going to go over the information from both sides here and leave you, the reader, to make your decision on who your pick would be.

Jeff mentioned the Yankees have Ryan and Culver who could hit for the low batting average and play a slick defense in the minor leagues that won't cost $4 million a season. Agree. My response was by playing Devil's advocate and asking who we would rather see on the field 81 times a year (if a platoon were to happen while using an even number for simplicity sake) or on the field if Didi Gregorius were to go down, Ryan, Culver or Arruebarrena.

Jeff replied with the fact that like Arruebarrena, Culver is just 24 years old and has upside and room to grow offensively although I quickly dismissed that Arruebarrena cleared as many minor league stops, four, in one season than Culver has since being signed out of High School. Culver's offensive upside has stalled if that term is even applicable with the amount of production that Culver has provided. Jeff replied by mentioning Ryan's minor league stats which immediately made me think of Arruebarrena's numbers in Cuba (which was a much larger sample size then his time in the USA's minor leagues since he was being rushed by LA). Many consider Cuba to be the USA's equivalent to Triple-A or AAAA so I thought it was fair to make the comparison, maybe it wasn't though.

Ryan hit .300 multiple seasons in the minors, sure, but never did above A Ball. Ryan's career minor league average in Double-A in parts of four seasons is .291 which is still good but falls off dramatically when he hit Triple-A. Again in parts of four seasons Ryan has managed just .252./303/.341 in Triple-A while it also worth mentioning that Ryan's career A and AA numbers are skewed however slightly by his rehab assignment with New York in 2014. Arruebarrena's numbers looked a little something like this in Cuba:

2010-2011 - .280/.314/.484

2011-2012 - .320/.367/.520

2012-2013 season cut in half due to WBC - 

first half: .275/.324/.366 

second half: .317/.415/.495

.375/.444/.375 in the latest WBC

With numbers like this I personally believe it's a lot easier to take Arruebarrena's upside and age on the Yankees bench while ignoring his 41 MLB at bat sample size and $4 million price tag then the "sure thing" in Ryan or the relative unknown in Culver. What say you?

Join us in the comments section and we can do a lot more posts and banter like this here on the blog. I thank Jeff for his opinion and for him sharing it here on a daily basis. I'm not saying I am right or he is wrong or vice versa with this post, we're all opinionated and none of us would know until the season played itself out. I just want the information out there because it was a fun and respectful debate and I hope it leads to more here on the blog with some new blood.

Erisbel Arruebarrena Makes a lot of Sense

The Los Angeles Dodgers have designated Erisbel Arruebarrena for assignment to make room for their fifth starter Brett Anderson on the 40 man roster. Speculation around the league suggests that the Cuban born shortstop will clear waivers and either be traded or can be had for "free" after signing a deal that still has four years and $16 million remaining. Arruebarrena signed a deal just this year with Los Angeles and slashed .259/.304/.417 across four minor league stops in 2014. Even after slashing just
195/.244/.220 in 45 plate appearances with the Dodgers he may still be a better option than Brendan Ryan.

Arruebarrena plays a strong defense up the middle and keeps with the Yankees theme of getting younger and more versatile. While Arruebarrena is just 24 years old he would have a higher AAV, $4 million, than Ryan's $2 million the cost is marginal, the team gets four years of team control, the Yankees get younger and honestly the Yankees get a lot better too.

Arruebarrena is still considered a rookie heading into the 2015 season and would personally make me feel a lot better if he were filling in for a Didi Gregorius if an injury occurred rather than Ryan. I'll take Arruebarrena's upside over the "sure thing" of Ryan any day and I hope the Yankees would too.