All Quiet on the Yankees Front...

Photo Credit: The NY Times (Uli Seit)

Nothing But Crickets From Yankee Stadium…

Friday was an explosive day for Major League Baseball but relatively quiet for the New York Yankees.  

I would like to send best wishes for a fast recovery to CC Sabathia who, it was announced, recently underwent an angioplasty, a procedure used to open clogged heart arteries. The procedure was combined with the permanent placement of a small wire mesh tube called a stent to help prop the artery open and decrease its chance of narrowing again. CC is expected to be fully ready by Spring Training but he is in our thoughts as he recovers. It’s a fairly common procedure but 38 seems incredibly young. Get well, Big Man!

The news of the day was the blockbuster trade between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds that sent Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Alex Wood, Kyle Farmer, and $7 million to the Reds for Homer Bailey and prospects RHP Josiah Gray and infielder Jeter Downs. It seems to me that Downs is destined to play in Miami for his namesake. Maybe he is a chess piece to help the Dodgers land Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto. As part of the agreement for Bailey to waive his no-trade provision, the Dodgers will release him. He is owed $23 million for next season (carrying a $17.5 million cap hit) with $5 million 2020 buyout. No, I do not want the Yankees to sign him even though he can be picked up for minimum salary.  

The immediate speculation is the Dodgers are clearing space and room for Bryce Harper.  Admittedly, that does not seem to be the Dodgers’ MO under baseball head Andrew Friedman. For a player so concerned with his legacy, Dodger Stadium would certainly be an attractive place to play for Harper if the team in the Bronx is not interested in his services. Harper in a Dodgers uniform would look better than the White Sox or Phillies although he’d still look best in Pinstripes.  

No doubt the Dodgers have more moves to make. The trade is curious for the Reds who are a better team today but not a contender. I guess with so many teams tanking it, it is refreshing to see a bad team trying to get better for its fans. Although there would still be room for the Reds to drop Sonny Gray into their starting rotation, the likelihood the Reds will move second baseman Scooter Gennett seems remote if they are trying to win a few more games. 

It’s wild that the Yankees can’t rid themselves of Jacoby Ellsbury’s contract yet the Dodgers have moved Matt Kemp’s excessive contract not once but twice. I guess it helps when the player stays healthy and can at least take the field now and then. 

Friday also saw another former Yankees prospect on the move. Seattle traded OF Ben Gamel to the Milwaukee Brewers, along with RHP Noah Zavolas, for outfielder Domingo Santana. For Gamel, he joins the team that once employed his brother, Mat. I’ll miss seeing Gamel when the Yankees play the Mariners. He may not be a great player but he was always playing high energy against the Yankees. Seattle’s certainly not going to seem the same without James Paxton, Robinson Cano, James Pazos and Gamel.  

I was a little sad to see the Texas Rangers trade infielder Jurickson Profar to the Oakland A’s. Profar, long a Yankees target, would have been a valuable resource with the impending absence of Didi Gregorious. While I do not necessarily want to see Gleyber Torres slide over to short, Profar could have covered second base until Didi returns. I’d really like to see Gleyber stay at second to perfect his craft at the position, but given there are better second base options available than shortstop, the Yankees may have no choice. If the Yankees lose out on Manny, perhaps they should try to sign former A’s second baseman Jed Lowrie, currently a free agent, since he’s clearly out in Oakland now. Lowrie was a big part of the A’s success last season.

I suppose we could see some activity today but we’re entering the quiet zone of Christmas to New Year’s Day so it’s time for the Yankees Universe to relax and enjoy the holidays before we begin obsessing about trades and free agent signings again. The relaxation should be helped by the news Manny Machado has told the Yankees, White and Phillies that he does not intend to make a decision until after the first of the year. So relax, just breath…

At this point, Max Wildstein has summed up on Twitter how I feel about Machado:

Before the year is out, I would like to see the Yankees fill at least one of the holes in the bullpen. David Robertson, Adam Ottavino or Zach Britton would be just fine.  Cash, please make it happen. All I want for Christmas is a Super Bullpen.

Congratulations to former Yankees prospect Rob Segedin. The 30-year-old third baseman, who was traded to the Dodgers in the 2016 trade that originally brought Ronald Torreyes to the Yankees, has apparently brought an end to his playing career. Segedin had a few cups of coffee with the Dodgers in 2016 and 2017 but could never show the promise he held when drafted in the third round by the Yankees in 2010. Segedin is reportedly joining the Philadelphia Phillies as a minor league hitting instructor. I had held out hope he would achieve his Major League dream as a player but now I’ll wish him well as he embarks in a coaching career. Perhaps this leads to be a full-time opportunity in the Show. 

I don’t know about you but this off-season seems like one of the longest in recent memory. The Yankees started fast with the trade that brought James Paxton to New York but it’s been a long, slow burn ever since. I guess I should just find a new hobby for the next few weeks to get my mind off baseball.

Enjoy the pre-Christmas weekend! I am sure it is a last minute scramble for many. Well, sadly, maybe not for GM Brian Cashman.  

As always, Go Yankees!

Returning for a Championship Run...

Credit:  Andrew Theodorakis, New York Daily News

CC’s back!…

The reunion seemed inevitable but the longer time passed, I was fearful that another team would entice CC Sabathia to trade in his pinstripes. He spoke with the Los Angeles Angels (a team desperate for starting pitching) and the Toronto Blue Jays. He never expressed an interest in the Oakland Athletics or the San Francisco Giants but I always felt that if they reached out to Sabathia, the appeal to return to his native Northern California would have been very strong. In the end, Sabathia opted to return “home” for some unfinished business.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com broke the story first yesterday that Sabathia had signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Yankees subject to a physical. Jack Curry of the YES Network reported later in the day that Sabathia had taken and passed the physical yesterday afternoon, thereby making the deal official. Welcome back, CC! We’re very glad to have you.

The move presumably does not alter the Yankees plans to add another quality starting pitcher although they now have five starters on staff. Realistically, I do not expect Sabathia to match his 2017 season when he went 14-5 with 3.69 ERA. He’ll turn 38 in July. But the veteran knows how to win and is a team leader. With an inexperienced manager and bench coach, the value of Sabathia’s leadership cannot be understated.  

It’s very interesting that the 2005 Cleveland Indians roster featured the Yankees manager (Aaron Boone), the Yankees Bench Coach (Josh Bard), the Red Sox manager (Alex Cora), and  a very young Sabathia. Boone was there for the early years (CC was only 24 during that 2005 season) and now he’s back for what may very well be Sabathia’s final year. If the Yankees win the 2018 World Series, I have no doubt that Sabathia will ride off into the sunset.  I cannot imagine a better Yankees career than starting and ending with World Series championships.

Competition for the 2018-19 Free Agent Market…

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ front office showed their brilliance when they unloaded the bloated contracts of Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy, and Adrian Gonzalez plus infielder Charlie Culberson on the Atlanta Braves. It is the same trio that the Dodgers tried to pawn off on the Miami Marlins for Giancarlo Stanton. Sure, they had to take back former Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, but the deal effectively reduced Dodgers payroll for the coming season by approximately $23 million which helps the team get under the $197 million threshold to reset luxury tax penalties. Gonzalez will never wear an Atlanta uniform. As part of the negotiation to waive his no-trade clause, Atlanta will release Gonzalez tomorrow, making him a free agent. It is also very questionable if Kemp will ever wear the Dodgers uniform again.  

The move helps to ensure that the Dodgers will be prime players next off-season when Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Andrew Miller, Craig Kimbrel, Clayton Kershaw, Dallas Keuchel, Josh Donaldson and others hit the open market. Everybody had presumed the Yankees would sign Harper but the Dodgers have emerged as the leader for Harper’s services. Fortunately for the Yankees, they were able to acquire Giancarlo Stanton which gives them reason to pass on Harper and the $400-$500 million that it will take to sign the Las Vegas native. 

Credit:  USA TODAY Sports

Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi can thank Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos, who served in the Dodgers front office last season. From the Braves perspective, they are free of the two-year obligation for Kemp, and the heavy contracts they acquired expire at the end of the upcoming season (making Kazmir and McCarthy desirable “rentals” at the trade deadline next summer).

While I don’t believe that the Dodgers sudden emergence as a major player in the 2018-19 free agent market will adversely impact the Yankees desire to add Manny Machado (the Dodgers have great players at third and short, Justin Turner and Corey Seager), it will add significant competition for other players. I’d really love to see the return of Andrew Miller to the Bronx but the Dodgers almost certainly will be aggressive in their pursuit of quality bullpen arms.  

If at Third…

With no offense to Miguel Andujar and his questionable defensive skills, I remain hopeful the Yankees can find a way to bring back third baseman Todd Frazier. Andujar would benefit from another year at Triple A. Frazier was signing autographs in Toms River, New Jersey yesterday. Every time I see off-season pics of Frazier, it reinforces to me how much I’d like to see him back in Pinstripes.  

Hey Cash, make it happen!

Finally…

The MLB Network has been replaying past Home Run Derbys and I have to say…man, I love watching Giancarlo Stanton hit home runs.

Credit:  Denis Poroy, Getty Images

Go Yankees!

If the San Diego Padres Start Selling.... Part II

We have done quite a few of these "If the fill in the blank team starts selling" posts this offseason including one for the San Diego Padres already. The thing about the offseason is this though, you have to constantly keep up on these things. Things are constantly changing and so are team's directions and plans as moves are done and plans are revealed. Many probably thought the San Diego Padres would go for it again in 2016 much like they did in 2015 but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. The Padres have already traded Yonder Alonso and others while the team is also losing Ian Kennedy, presumably, to free agency leaving many to wonder who is next?

We've already written a post wondering if James Shields would make sense for the Yankees but honestly I cannot see that happening anymore. The Yankees have added payroll in the Aroldis Chapman trade and the Starlin Castro trade meaning that Hal Steinbrenner's checkbook is tucked away in his purse for the winter making the deal unlikely. The good news for New York is that San Diego has the young pitching that the Yankees desire this winter, and they may be selling.

It would make sense for San Diego to sell. They aren't a complete team, far from it in fact, and teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks have surpassed them in the division. San Diego should look at trading the likes of Yangervis Solarte, Dustin Norris, Matt Kemp, Will Myers, James Shields, Odrisamer Despaigne and the two that would interest New York the most, Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross.

New York would not be able to pull off a four "C" type prospects for either Cashner or Ross but I don't believe they would cost the team Jorge Mateo, Aaron Judge or Luis Severino types either. Ross is just 28-years old and would be under team control for the 2016 and 2017 seasons while Cashner enters the 2016 season in his age 29 season with just one year left of team control. Cashner would come cheaper for obvious reasons and could be offered a qualifying offer after the season to counteract the price tag but Ross is obviously the more ideal candidate. He's under team control for longer, he's younger and truth be told he's probably the better pitcher of the two.

Cashner is coming off a 16 loss season to be honest, although his peripherals are much better than his traditional stats, while Ross continued to struggle with his command. Ross walks a lot of guys and throws a lot of wild pitches but with a 2.98 FIP (in 2015) and 212 strikeouts you can live with that. If the Yankees give up a lot they should also find a way to get the once promising Brett Wallace in the deal as well. Wallace was once a top prospect that can play both first base and third base, both needs for the Yankees, despite the fact that he hits left-handed.

San Diego is probably selling, maybe not as aggressively as they were buying at this time last season, and the Yankees need to take advantage of that. They want young and cheap starting pitchers that can be controlled beyond this season and San Diego has at least one of them. Make the call, get the job done and don't give up too much. Sounds easy, right?

My Thoughts on the Winter Meetings

Just a few random thoughts on Day One of the Winter Meetings as I think out loud a little bit.

• The Chicago White Sox are in on David Robertson and that worries me. The team has right around $68 million in committed money in 2015 and have the revenue to go well above that. Not to mention the team looks ready to add veteran pieces to their young core to aid in the rebuilding. I fear Chicago more than I do the Houston Astros or the Detroit Tigers.

• Earlier in the offseason I mentioned bringing Jason Hammel in as either a 5^th starter candidate or a backup plan to Brandon McCarthy if he didn’t sign. Hammel signed a two year deal worth a $9 million AAV with the Chicago Cubs after the club traded him to Oakland this July. Maybe he asked for a no trade clause this time around.

• Why in the world does San Diego want to acquire an outfielder so bad and why does it have to be Matt Kemp? I understand the “addition by subtraction” from the Dodgers but does he really help? Are the Padres that close to winning that they would reach for an injury plagued player with five years and in excess of $100 million left on the books?

• Speaking of the Padres the team has also floated a Ian Kennedy for Yoenis Cespedes trade with the Boston Red Sox and Ben Cherington is at least considering it. The Sox think they can get a better pitcher than Kennedy for Cespedes, and I agree with that line of thinking, but the deal does make some sense for both teams. It’s the classic my strong suite and depth for yours kind of trade.

• The New York Yankees did not sign anyone significant today, fire Brian Cashman. That is all. 

CC Sabathia & The History of Pitchers After Micro-fracture Surgery

CC Sabathia had his shortest season of his career in 2013 after undergoing treatments for a degenerative knee condition that ultimately required micro-fracture knee surgery. Earlier we looked at comparisons for Mark Teixeira and his wrist surgery as an indicator of what to expect from Teixeira in 2015 so I decided to try and do the same for Sabathia and his surgery. Unfortunately only four players in Major League Baseball history have had the same or similar micro fracture surgeries and two of them were positional players. Matt Kemp the Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder and the Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore both had the surgery and so did the Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Jeff Clement. The Texas Rangers southpaw Derek Holland missed the entire 2014 season with the surgery so unfortunately there has never been a pitcher in the majors to date to have the surgery and return to a MLB mound to compare to.

Wikipedia states that the surgery is a quick and minimally invasive surgery that only lasts between 30-90 minutes. In patients under the age of 45 years old there is a reported 75%-80% success rate with the surgery. The problem with those stats are they don't include a player who has to put extreme pressure on the joint and the repaired cartilage 300 or so times a week on a pitchers mound.

The team doesn't know what to expect from CC next season, CC doesn't know what to expect from CC next season, none of us know what to expect from CC next season. All the more reason for the Yankees to bring in depth and stability to the starting rotation for 2015.

Looking Back: My Predictions For Comeback Player of the Year in 2014

My original picks for Comeback Player of the Year were Grady Sizemore for the American League and Matt Kemp for the National League. While we know for 100% sure that Sizemore will not win the award in the AL, he is currently with the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL, Kemp still has a shot. See below for the original post made back in March of this year. 

Grady Sizemore of the Boston Red Sox, as much as this pains me to say, will be the Comeback Player of the Year in the American League. Grady is finally healthy, for real this time, and has the chance to shine in Boston replacing Jacoby Ellsbury in center. While in Cleveland Grady had to be the man, the face of the franchise, and had to carry the team on his back. In Boston he can blend in and relax, as crazy as that sounds, and get back to doing what he does best. It kills me to write it but Grady Sizemore is going to be a great pickup for the Red Sox, one I have been clamoring for the Yankees to make for the past two offseasons.

For the National League I predict the Comeback Player of the Year will be Matt Kemp. Kemp is finally healthy and now has some competition in the Dodgers outfield with Yasiel Puig, Andre Either, and Carl Crawford. Kemp may actually have to earn his spot this time around, sort of anyway, and that should be motivation enough to bring back #BeastMode.

Yankees Hot Stove Update

Yankees also in discussions with Rockies involving Jorge De La Rosa who is red hot 3-0 with a 1.78 ERA and 1.105 Whip in July #Rockies #NYY
— JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) July 25, 2014

The New York Yankees and Brian Cashman are extremely active this week as we head towards the trading deadline of July 31. Instead of writing 100 posts detailing all the potential deals I thought one nice and neat little post would be more efficient.

The Yankees are said to be discussing a trade with the Colorado Rockies for Jorge De La Rosa.

yankees are interested in kennedy but not in clarkin plus jagielo for kennedy.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) July 25, 2014

New York is discussing an Ian Kennedy trade with the San Diego Padres

Both the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox have shown some interest in acquiring backup catcher Francisco Cervelli. I have seen the names of De La Rosa, Brett Anderson, and Wilin Rosario thrown around from Colorado and John Danks name mentioned from the White Sox.

Yanks are currently not in on Matt Kemp, according to a source.
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) July 25, 2014

The Yankees are not said to be interested in Matt Kemp. That's a shame, his talent would be amazing in New York.

Yankees Have Inquired About A Matt Kemp Trade

The New York Yankees have inquired about a potential Matt Kemp trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kemp would be an absolute beast in Yankee Stadium if healthy and would represent the biggest potential upgrade we could have over the Ichiro Suzuki and Vernon Wells duo.

Kemp is entering his age 29 season and is owed a ton of money going forward, $128 million through 2019 and an AAV hit of $20 million per season, but a deal would be really tough to get done. First the Dodgers would presumably want the Yankees to take on all of the remaining salary where we would want the Dodgers to eat somewhere up to $5 million per season AAV wise if possible. Also the Dodgers are a very win now team so unless we can fill their third base void with David Adams, their pitching void with Adam Warren or David Phelps, then the deal is going to get hairy.

The Dodgers have four outfielders in Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Andre Ethier, and  Carl Crawford and the Dodgers are looking to trade one of the four to make full time room for Puig. Kemp is not without his questions marks with his health as evident by his ankle surgery this offseason, his shoulder surgery last offseason, and various other injuries including some lost time due to a hamstring this season but the upside, if proven to finally be healthy, is insane.

Imagine a Yankees lineup with Kemp's bat in the middle of it, Robinson Cano, and the recently acquired Brian McCann:

Gardner

Jeter

Cano

Kemp

Teixeira

Soriano

McCann

Nunez

Ichiro(DH)

Looking Back At My 2013 MVP Predictions

2013 Predictions : MVP

The 2013 season is right around the corner and I wanted to take a stab in the dark at who will win the MVP Awards in both the American and National Leagues. These are rarely ever right so my guess is as good as anyone's I guess. Here goes:

My prediction for the American League MVP will be, as much as it kills me, King Albert Pujols. He will not have a month or so of a powerless drought and does not have to adjust to a new team, a new league, etc etc etc. I expect him to start early and often and not stop until October. I fully expect the old Albert Pujols to show his face in 2013 and bring home yet another MVP award.

Finished with a .258 BA, 17 HRs, 64 RBIs, and missed 63 games due to injury

My prediction for the National League MVP will be Matt Kemp. Matt had to deal with injury after injury last season after a huge 50/50 season prediction around this time last year. Kemp will be healthy this season and actually have some legit protection in the lineup. I expect him to have a monster season and lead his team to the NL West title. #BeastModeNeverSleeps

Finished with .270 BA, 6 HRs, 33 RBIs, and missed 89 games due to injury

Wrong and wrong... wrong by a lot. Both of these players missed significant time in 2013 due to injuries and I take personal responsibility for it. The NFL has the Madden Curse and now MLB has The Greedy Pinstripes curse. These guys had a combined 23 home runs, 97 RBI's, and missed a combined 152 games this season. We will see who will win the award tonight at 6:00 pm ET on MLB Network and, spoiler alert, it won't be either of these two guys. 

2012 State Farm Home Run Derby

Your 2012 Home Run Derby Champion

It is that time of the year again. It is time for the 2012 State Farm Home Run Derby. Four of the best home run hitters from both the American League and the National League will go head to head and hopefully put on a show for the fans. Our very own Robinson Cano is the team captain for the American League and the defending Home Run Derby Champion.

The Home Run Derby will begin at 8 pm ET on ESPN (which really means like 8:45 after all the "festivities" and Chris Berman rants). The Home Run Derby would not be the same without him though so I cannot complain too much. 

 Here is the field of players.

American League

NYY Robinson Cano - 0 HRs

DET Prince Fielder - 5 HRs

TOR Jose Bautista - 11 HRs

ANA Mark Trumbo - 7 HRs

National League

COL Carlos Gonzalez - 4 HRs

PIT Andrew McCutchen - 2 HRs

STL Carlos Beltran - 7 HR's 

LAD Matt Kemp - 1 HR

I am going to go ahead and put my predictions down here on paper so everyone can see just how horrible I am at predicting these sorts of thing. I am going to pick Toronto's own Joey Bats Jose Bautista to beat out Cano to represent the American League in the finals. For the National League I have Carlos Gonzalez beating out Carlos Beltran to represent the National League in the finals. In the end I think Joey Bats puts on a show and wins the 2012 State Farm Home Run Derby.

The first round totals are above. I will try and keep up with the 2nd round below but I make no promises because I have a job (blogging does not pay? what???) and have to be up in like 7 hours and we're on the 3rd batter.