Adios, Arrivederci, Au Revoir, Cheerio, and Goodbye to Stephen Drew

What a sad day in Major League Baseball and in the Greedy Pinstripes world, former Boston Red Sox player, New York Yankees player, and Major Leaguer Stephen Drew has announced his retirement from the game this week. We have given Stephen a hard time over the years after his short tenure with the Yankees and even have an award named after him in his honor that we give out here on the site. The news of his retirement hit me hard and it left me with just one thing to say… Stephen Drew still sucks.

On a serious note the former 15^th overall pick in the 2004 Major League Baseball First Year Players Draft has announced his official retirement from the game after not finding a job this winter. Drew had spent the last two seasons with the Washington Nationals in their organization where he enjoyed a strong 2016 season, before injuries robbed him of his 2017 and final season.

Drew was drafted and developed by the Arizona Diamondbacks where he spent parts of seven seasons with the organization. Drew was ultimately dealt to the Oakland Athletics in August of 2012 where he finished strong before hitting free agency for the first time in his career. Drew signed with the Boston Red Sox for the 2013 season where he put in a mediocre .253/.333/.443 triple slash. Boston extended Drew a qualifying offer for the 2014 season, but Drew declined the offer and ultimately sat out until June 1, 2014 when he was eligible to be signed without the signing team giving up draft pick compensation for his services. Drew ultimately went back to Boston on a one-year deal but was later traded to the New York Yankees where he finished his 2014 season.

Drew was back with the Yankees for the 2015 season further frustrating and infuriating fans of the Bronx Bombers slashing just .185/.257/.347 over the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Drew landed with Washington in a utility role for the 2016 season where he bounced back a bit slashing .266/.339/.524 with eight home runs before injuries robbed him of his 2017 season, and any chance of erasing his legacy with us here at the site.

Drew will coach his children now that his playing days are over. Never forget, and always remember… Stephen Drew Sucks. Enjoy your retirement, and no hard feelings. It is all in fun.

My Thoughts on the Aroldis Chapman Signing

The New York Yankees have signed closer Aroldis Chapman to a five-year deal worth a whopping $86 million this offseason. What are my thoughts? Well I am certainly glad that you asked. Keep reading…

I am 100% excited and so ecstatic about it if I’m being honest. The New York Yankees needed a closer if they are going to compete in 2017, and that is no longer a question in my eyes as I see the Matt Holliday and Chapman signings as “win now” type signings without mortgaging the future, the team needed a closer and they got just that in Chapman. Chapman pitching in the 9^th allows Dellin Betances to slip back to the 8^th, and sometimes the 7^th too, innings while Adam Warren, Tyler Clippard and the rest of the cast of characters handle the 6^th and 7^th innings for Joe Girardi. The bullpen may or may not be complete but if it is I have to say I’m quite happy with it.

The number of years I am not overly concerned with and the money never bothered me because this is a $3.4 billion company that needs to start acting like it. The Holliday signing and the Chapman signing are both smart for the “now” and for the future of the organization as neither deals will likely hamper the team for years to come, weren’t given as long term deals to players well outside their prime and weren’t astronomical in terms of dollars. I am quite happy with both signings to be fair.

The Yankees held onto their draft pick in the first round of the 2017 MLB First Year Players Draft as well signing Chapman after the lefty was ineligible to receive a qualifying offer after the Yankees traded him last winter which is also a huge plus for New York. The Chicago Cubs may have gotten a World Series out of it but the Yankees got Gleyber Torres for basically free, and I’m calling that a victory.

Great job Cash!

What About Mark Trumbo?

The New York Yankees want some pop added to the lineup while remaining youthful and versatile so why not add Mark Trumbo to the fold for 2017? Well like any other free agent there are some positives to adding him to the team while there are also some negatives so let’s explore both and you can decide whether the Yankees should make a run at the home run king from 2017.

The pros of signing Trumbo are obvious. The 2016 home run king is just 30-years old and coming off a season where he hit 47 home runs in a hitter friendly ballpark in Baltimore. Trumbo drove in over 100 RBI as he played 95 games in right field while the rest of his at bats came via the DH position, a positon that was recently vacated by the Brian McCann trade to the Houston Astros. Trumbo could slide in and out of right field if Aaron Judge were to struggle and he could also mentor the Yankees slugging prospect as Trumbo knows all about making adjustments and finding a way to win, see his years with the Arizona Diamondbacks as an indicator of this.

For every pro there is a con though and the biggest con is the fact that the Baltimore Orioles attached a qualifying offer and a draft pick compensation to any team outside the top 10 that signs him, including the New York Yankees. Trumbo’s home run numbers from 2016 are also inflated from hitting in Oriole Park and Camden Yards but he won’t be mentioning that when he goes to the negotiating table for his big money multi-year contract that the Yankees may or may not be comfortable handing out. Trumbo’s batting average (.256 in 2016) and defense in the field leave much to be desired as well but 40 home run power is almost non-existent at this point in the game.

So you have the pros and you have the cons. Do you sign Trumbo if you’re Brian Cashman? Leave your thoughts below in the comments section.

The Thought of Edwin Encarnacion in Pinstripes & How Toronto Closed the Door

The New York Yankees, depending on the Brian McCann situation and what happens with him this winter, may or may not have an “open” slot at the DH position in 2017 and many have already begun to speculate that the team should fill that spot with Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion. Encarnacion does not fit in with the Yankees new youth movement nor does he fit in with the team’s austerity plans presumably but if you needed one final nail in the coffin the Toronto Blue Jays organization may have just given it to you with the news that the team plans to extend both Jose Bautista and Encarnacion qualifying offers after the World Series ends this season.

The Yankees as it stands right now have the 17^th overall draft pick in the upcoming 2017 MLB Draft so you have to judge any and all potential free agent signings by that if they have draft pick compensation attached to them. Remember, and this is probably the exception and not the rule but it still happened so stay with me, the Yankees landed a potential Top 10 or even Top 5 pick last year in Blake Rutherford due to signability concerns with the 18^th overall pick and there is no reason to think that possibility doesn’t still exist for 2017 as well. Is an aging and presumably expensive Encarnacion really worth the 17^th overall pick plus whatever contract demands that come with him?

If the Yankees planned on competing for not only a playoff spot but potentially a World Series spot in 2017 then yes, you sacrifice the draft pick for the one missing piece and hope for the best. The Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians both did it this July acquiring Yankees relievers Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman and it has seemingly worked out well for both. The Yankees, though, are not at that level yet in their rebuild. They may compete for a playoff spot in 2017 but only because of the Wild Card and 2^nd Wild Card. As it stands right now this is not a team that is going to make a serious run at a World Series in 2017 so for that reason, among others including aforementioned points about the cost of Encarnacion and the fact that he does not fit in with the new youth movement in the Bronx, I cannot see the Yankees inking a deal and bringing the slugger to the team.

So if the Yankees and their fans had plans and hopes of signing Encarnacion to fill their DH and occasional first base positions the Toronto Blue Jays may have just closed the book on the whole ordeal, and that’s not exactly a bad thing.

What About Edinson Volquez for 2017?

The 2016 season is all but over at this point and there's nothing left but putting in the work as far as the players are concerned. As far as upper management and Yankees GM Brian Cashman is concerned it's time to start planning for the 2017 season and while the positional players look to be better than they've been in quite some time the pitching will need some work, especially the starting pitching. The free agent market as it stands right now looks to be bleak with none other than Ivan Nova quite possibly left as the best available starter. Well, unless somehow Edinson Volquez of the Kansas City Royals finds his way to the free agent market.

Volquez has a $10 million mutual option for the 2017 season and while he has expressed an interest in returning to Kansas City next season he has also announced his intentions to decline his side of the option. If he does the Royals have to decide whether to buy-out his contract for $3 million, pick up the $10 million tag, decline the option and offer him a qualifying offer or simply let him hit free agency for any and all to have. Let's look at why the Royals more than likely want to keep him and why the Yankees would want him.

PROS:

-Volquez is a durable, veteran innings-eater that has American League, playoffs and World Series tested.

- Volquez would make an ideal 3rd, 4th or 5th starter on the Yankees. Especially if he returns to his first half form from this season in 2017.

- Volquez is a ground ball pitcher who gets over 52% of his outs via the grounder. Pitching in a home park like Yankee Stadium this could be the difference between being that 3rd starter or being that 5th starter.

- If he hits the free agent market it likely won't be after being attached to draft pick compensation as I see him accepting the option if it's offered.

- Volquez could mentor some of the younger guys along with CC Sabathia.

CONS: 

- His second half pitching has left much to be desired. Is it fatigue? That's hard to say but while sabermetrics paint a different story his ERA, BABIP, line drive percentage and other stats have not been pretty lately.

- In a weak starting pitching market and free agent market in general Volquez will command a butt-load of money. A butt-load.

- Volquez barely strikes out over six batters per nine innings.

- Volquez has also seen his walks slowly creep up lately and in this season.

- Did I say a butt-load of money? Ivan Nova wants $70 million. What would Volquez get? $100 million? Probably and without the team blinking an eye.



Should the Yankees sign Volquez if the right-hander hits free agency? Honestly it depends on the number of years in the contract. He's 33-years old and the Yankees are in the midst of a rebuild and youth movement so giving Volquez even four years may be a bit counterproductive. Yes, Michael Pineda is set to hit free agency and so is Nathan Eovaldi and CC Sabathia while Masahiro Tanaka could opt out of his contract after the 2017 season but the way I see it those are merely roster spots for more youth and an ace. Volquez for three years? Yes. Volquez for four years? Honestly, I probably would but I wouldn't exactly be happy about it. Volquez for five seasons? No thank you.

Yankees Off Day Walk Up Music Recommendation for Greg Bird

The New York Yankees learned this weekend that Mark Teixeira would be calling it a career at the end of the 2016 MLB season. Many wondered if New York would bring Teixeira back on a cheap one-year deal or even offer him a qualifying offer after Greg Bird went down with a shoulder injury in spring training before the season but with that option now off the board I believe the Yankees are now all-in on Bird, whether they really want to be or not.

To be fair Bird has already resumed baseball activities including throwing, swinging a bat and such so he should be more than ready, or at the very least the Yankees should know one way or the other the status of that shoulder, by spring training 2017. Since the Yankees now presumably have to rely on him so heavily next season, and since we haven't talked much about him this season to be fair, I wanted to use this off day as an opportunity to look ahead a bit and listen to the music we will hear every time the lefty steps up to the plate inside Yankee Stadium next season.

When Bird steps to the plate inside Yankee Stadium the song "Right Above It" by Lil Wayne can be heard blaring through the speakers in the Bronx... and that same song can be heard blaring through your speakers now on this off day. Enjoy.

Trade Deadline News & Notes

Joel Sherman is reporting that the Yankees will indeed trade away Ivan Nova before the Trade Deadline.

They will not extend the qualifying offer to Nova, which makes total sense. Ivan is not worth the estimated $16.5 million that the QO would give a player, which means that the Yankees would lose him and get nothing in return.

And when you look at the fact that the team will have Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia, Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Pineda, and Luis Severino in 2017, there's no reason to spend that much on a middle to bottom of the rotation starter.

To put that another way, the Yanks already have Eovaldi, Pineda, and Sabathia to fill the 3-4-5 spots in the rotation, and Nova is certainly not a 1 or 2. And when an injury pops up next season, the Yankees will have either Chad Green or Luis Cessa to fill in.

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Yesterday I was thinking that a player about to hit free agency would probably love to be traded. That way they can not be given a qualifying offer, which could very well hurt their chances of a contract since the team that signed him would lose a draft pick. That's especially true for a guy like Ivan Nova, who is not good enough for a team to disregard losing that draft pick.

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The Yankees are about to run into a problem. Mind you, it's a nice problem to have, but a problem none-the-less.

The manager of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders says that Aaron Judge is about four or five days from being activated from the disabled list. That means there would be quite the logjam in the outfield, with Judge, Ben Gamel, Jake Cave, Mason Williams, and Cesar Puello. And that's not including Tyler Austin, who the Yankees would probably like to keep putting out there to get familiar with the position.

Furthermore, that's not counting on the fact that newly acquired Billy McKinney and Dustin Fowler are right there in AA, about ready to make the jump to AAA.

Like when it comes to losing Nova, the Yankees should find a trade involving one or more of these prospects to clear things up. Perhaps they could package one of them with Ivan Nova to get a stronger return.

The Case For and Against Trading Aroldis Chapman

If the New York Yankees are going to trade Andrew Miller, Carlos Beltran and Nathan Eovaldi (hypothetically since those are the players we have covered thus far in this series) then you almost have to trade Aroldis Chapman as well, right? The Yankees basically stole Chapman away from the Cincinnati Reds with a lesser prospect package this winter because of his ties to a domestic violence case and have rode out his 30 game suspension. With that now behind him and the club and after enough of a sample size that shows Chapman is healthy, back and can handle closing out games in the Bronx the Yankees could lose Rookie Davis, Eric Jagielo, Tony Renda, Caleb Cotham and others and turn them indirectly into a whole lot more. That’s only if it makes sense to trade him this summer.

 

The case for trading Aroldis Chapman:

His contract expires after the season and the Yankees aren’t going anywhere in 2016. 

He would likely fetch much more in a July trade than the Yankees gave up to acquire him this winter. 

I’ve said it four times now but it’s true, the Yankees would finally admit to rebuilding. 

Brian Cashman could buy a couple brownie points back by buying low and selling high. 

The case against trading Aroldis Chapman:

If the Yankees compete for a Wild Card or make a historic second half run the bullpen would be thin and weaker without Chapman. 

The Yankees can’t offer him a qualifying offer after the season and get a draft pick as compensation. 

This may affect a potential and completely hypothetical chance for him in free agency before 2017. 

I can’t think of all that many reasons not to trade the Cuban Missile this summer as long as the Yankees are out of it. His contract is expiring, he’s making a ton of money for a relief pitcher and he would presumably fetch much more than the Yankees gave up for him this winter. If the Yankees continue to fall I can absolutely, 100%, see Chapman packing his bags and wearing his third ever uniform in his short MLB career. 

Has Anyone Seen Mark Teixeira?

Extra! Extra! Read all about it. Yankees first baseman missing offensively for weeks now and no one has taken notice. If you’ve seen this man return him to Yankee Stadium and/or call Brian Cashman at 1-800-GoYanks1.

In all seriousness though while much of the attention has been on Alex Rodriguez, until recently, Chase Headley and guys like Jacoby Ellsbury and Aaron Hicks the real question that Yankees fans need to be asking themselves is where has Mark Teixeira been for the past couple of weeks?

The Yankees don’t have Greg Bird to fall back on if Teixeira cannot perform or gets hurt and the team is really banking on a huge contract season from their first baseman for a plethora of reasons. One being that the team wants to compete in 2016 and the other being the presumable qualifying offer coming his way after this season. If he has a huge season it’s unlikely, even as he inches towards 37-years old, that he accepts it where as if he struggles or has a mediocre season he may be back in the Bronx for one more go around to give Bird all the time he needs after offseason shoulder surgery.

I can tell you one thing though, Teixeira’s stats to date have been neither mediocre nor have they shown any inkling of a monster season. Sure Teixeira has three home runs and 11 RBI as he entered Camden Yards last night for the series with the Baltimore Orioles but one must remember the old adage of “what have you done for me lately?” Remember that Teixeira hit two of those three home runs in the opening series of the season against the Houston Astros and his third home run came on April 14^th of this year. Since that home run Teixeira has had just one extra-base hit and a whopping three RBI. This is not middle of the lineup caliber and this is not a great trending sign for a free agent to be whom wants to play for “four or five more years.”

Sure Teixeira is historically bad in April and he may just be priming up for a huge May, June, July etc. but until it happens I just can’t see it. The Yankees pitching staff has been inconsistent and horrible outside of the bullpen and Masahiro Tanaka for the most part and the pressure of being behind in almost every single game is spilling over to the offense. It’s obvious and it’s going to take a village to raise this child and at the head of that village has to be Mark Teixeira or the Yankees are in serious, serious trouble. 

Hypothetical 2017 Yankees Club Staying the Course

The Yankees have a plan for better or worse and dammit, they are going to stick to it no matter what. Brian Cashman has a plan and he’s either going to look like a genius at the end of it all or him and manager Joe Girardi are going down with the ship. The Yankees did not sign a single free agent to a major league contract this winter and, for the sake of this fun and hypothetical post, they aren’t going to get in the deep water of the free agent market after this season either. New York has three major free agents coming off their books after the season in Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran and Aroldis Chapman and their plan to get younger and more flexible will continue when they let all three of them walk via free agency. What will the team do to replace them though while sticking to the plan? The answers are actually easier to come by then you think.

No more Teix messages in New York and Greg Bird had offseason shoulder surgery, what are the Yankees going to do? Are they going to sign Teixeira to a one-year deal and/or offer him a qualifying offer after this season or will the team find a stop gap via the free agent market? Neither. I can see New York, assuming the health of Greg Bird, sending the Birdman of New York to the Arizona Fall League and any winter league they can this winter to evaluate his shoulder and the health of it before the season. Bird is a young guy and he had a similar surgery that Luis Torrens had last season and has come back from without any major issues. Torrens is a catcher and has to throw the ball back to the pitcher 150+ times a night, Bird is not. Bird will be fine and will be the Yankees starting first baseman on Opening Day 2017 saving the Yankees over $20 million in salary and bringing the average age of the club down significantly.

No more Beltran belts one in New York and Aaron Judge struggled in Triple-A at the end of the 2015 season, what are the Yankees going to do? Leave the past where it belongs, in the past. That’s what they are going to do. Aaron Judge is a special talent and he has a lot of talented coaches and managers surrounding him not only in Triple-A but he will in the Bronx as well. Judge will have another year under his belt heading into next winter and barring an injury or a catastrophic fall off he should also get his MLB debut out of the way at least before the season ends, if not sooner. Judge is the future in right field in my opinion and not even Aaron Hicks, a potential Yoenis Cespedes free agent signing or anyone else is going to stop Judge. That’s my verdict. The Yankees save another $15 million, give or take $500K, and they get a whole lot younger in the process.

No more John Sterling home run calls to reference and no more snazzy one-liners to mention, the Yankees are going to lose Aroldis Chapman to free agency. The good news for the Yankees is the team and the organization has seemingly an uncanny ability to produce high ceiling and talented relief pitchers out of their farm system. Dellin Betances, Jacob Lindgren and Johnny Barbato are recent examples of this and this will continue in 2017. Bryan Mitchell should be fully healed and ready from his toe injury, Lindgren should be a staple in the MLB bullpen and the Scranton Shuttle will still be a thing in 2017 so I see no reason to go out and blow money on an experienced relief pitcher who will want anywhere from $5 million to $15 million when the team has plenty of hungry and young fire ballers willing to throw 100 MPH and strike out two batters an inning for $525K. Save the money, get younger and keep the flow of dominant young arms coming through the Yankees system.

Stick to the plan. Get cheaper, get younger and get better. Get under the luxury tax for a season and give Hal Steinbrenner no excuse not to dip his feet into the free agent waters again.

Ian Desmond Wants Free Agency to Change

The Texas Rangers got some of the worst news possible at possibly the worst possible time this year and the organization was left scrambling for help. The team learned that Josh Hamilton, shocker I know, was injured and would likely begin another MLB season on the disabled list leaving a huge hole in their lineup and in their outfield. Thankfully for Texas and thankfully for the former Washington National Ian Desmond that he was still on the free agency market. The former shortstop and second baseman signed a one-year deal to play the outfield in Texas thus ending his free agency experiment, an experiment that he wants to see changed before next season.

Desmond wants free agency changed after turning down a seven-year deal worth $107 million contract extension and a qualifying offer worth one-year and $15.8 million to sign a one-year deal with Washington worth $8 million. Sure Desmond said all the right things in front of the media with his new teammates in front of his new locker but he also expected these things to be fixed before he hits free agency again admitting a certain frustration and an anger towards the whole system. Desmond admitted that something needs to change and wants something to change and who could blame him?

Desmond, despite being one of only six players with at least 100 home runs and 100 stolen bases since 2010, at a historically offensively anemic position mind you, along with three Silver Slugger and one All-Star nomination to his belt, basically lost $100 million over the course of a calendar year. Who could blame him for wanting to change free agency? Then again who could blame him or turning down a guaranteed $107 million and a guaranteed $15.8 million on separate occasions either? Me personally I don’t feel bad for the guy, he made a business decision and it didn’t work out. Try again next year pal. You didn’t hear Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales screaming when they sat out until June because of the same process, did you? I think not. 

Mark Teixeira & the History Behind a 37-Year Old Receiving a Qualifying Offer

The New York Yankees and their fans were chomping at the bits waiting for the likes of Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira’s contract to come off the books after the 2016 and 2017 seasons and watch the youth come rolling in. New York has a nice farm system now and can fill in those gaps with their own for once as Aaron Judge seems ready to take over in right field and Greg Bird seems ready to take over at first base, well he was ready before his shoulder surgery this week. Now the Yankees are faced with the option of either going out on the free agent market and signing a one-year deal with the devil they don’t know or re-signing and/or offering Mark Teixeira a qualifying offer to keep the devil that they do know.

How attractive could a 37-year old oft-injured first baseman be as he enters free agency for one of the last time presumably in his career? Well there have only been two cases of a 37-year old player being offered a qualifying offer and one player re-signed before accepting or declining it and the other went elsewhere at the expense of a draft pick. David Ortiz was offered a qualifying offer in 2012 at age 37 before eventually re-signing with the team avoiding the whole process while the other player was Carlos Beltran formerly of the St. Louis Cardinals. We all know how that story ended with Beltran signing a three-year deal with the club back before the 2014 season.

It’s quite possible in a weak free agent market that Teixeira could receive a few suitors for his services, at least for his defense in a worst case scenario, giving the Yankees a bit of competition for their first baseman since the 2009 season. The qualifying offer is expected to be worth around $17 million in 2017 if the new collective bargaining agreement is not in place before the qualifying offer process begins, it expires on December 1^st of this year, so no one really knows what the future holds in that department. One thing is for certain though the Yankees face more uncertainty heading into the next season than they thought they would. 

The second question facing the Yankees is whether Teixeira would accept the qualifying offer or not. Teixeira has been here since the 2009 season and seems comfortable playing in the Big Apple. Teixeira has a business and charity contracts in New York so you would think he would accept it and stay where he has spent the last eight seasons rather than up and moving him and his family once again before he retires. These are all questions and not nearly enough answers though so I guess we'll all just have to stay tuned. 

Yankees Edition:What I Want for Christmas, Starting Pitching

It's almost Christmas Day people, get excited. While many are scrambling to get their shopping completed, their presents wrapped and their plans and work week's done I am just over here scouring the free agent market wondering what I would want for Christmas if I were the New York Yankees. The Yankees presumably are interested in many starting pitchers and some have even gone as far to say that the team with six starting pitching options already "needs" another pitcher. Since it's the holiday season and it's time to reach for the stars I'm going for it with this Christmas list I'm sending to Santa this year.

The starting pitching market is absolutely stacked so take your pick. Ian Kennedy, Wei-Yin Chen, Doug Fister, Scott Kazmir, Kenta Maeda was available through the posting system, Henderson Alvarez before the Oakland A's snatched him up, Cliff Lee, Mark Buehrle, Yovani Gallardo, Kyle Kendrick, Mike Minor and a slew of others but one guy is probably better than them all, and younger than most of them too. Mike Leake

Leake is a 28-year old starting pitcher that pitched for the San Francisco Giants and the Cincinnati Reds last season. He's not the ace the Yankees "need" but he is a durable arm that can give you 200 innings every single season. Leake was traded mid-season 2015 meaning he is not attached to any draft pick compensation making all the more attractive, even more so than Chen who recently announced he wanted $100 million or Gallardo who in my opinion is just average.

Leake  has posted a 3.0, 1.5 and 2.9 WAR in each of his last three seasons respectively and would be an obvious upgrade over Ivan Nova, CC Sabathia or maybe even Michael Pineda who battles with consistency year in and year out. If I'm the Yankees I'm asking for Leake or a Leake clone. Young, durable, a pitcher that allows the team to keep the 20th overall Draft pick and a pitcher that can make the team better.

Santa, make it happen dude.

FYI: Nine Teams Can Help the Yankees Draft Status

The New York Yankees have all signs pointing to holding onto their first round draft pick this winter rather than sacrificing it to sign a high-priced free agent. This would likely take them out of the bidding for the likes of Chris Davis, Wei-Yin Chen, Yovani Gallardo and others leaving the other 29 MLB teams to bid and sacrifice their picks. The Yankees have a total of nine teams that can help them improve their draft status in 2016 and all they have to go is go out, go big, spend big and bring in a big name to excite their fan base all at the expense of their draft pick.

Just as a reminder, the first 10 picks in the draft are protected so the best the Yankees could do conceivably, although highly unlikely, is the 11^th pick in the draft in a perfect world. New York started out 22^nd overall and have seen two first round picks sacrificed by the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks leaving the Yankees in the 20^th position.

These nine teams can help the Yankees and here they are in ascending order: 

Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Houston Astros.

Did New York Dodge a Bullet Not Signing Shark?

We learned last week before the Winter Meetings even kicked off down in Nashville that the San Francisco Giants signed Jeff Samardzija to a five-year deal worth $90 million. The Giants wasted no time after missing out on Zack Grienke who signed that legendary contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks but did they do the Yankees a favor? Did New York dodge a bullet by not signing the man known as "Shark?"

First and foremost the Giants will have to surrender a draft pick for Samardzija's services. Samardzija was offered a qualifying offer by his former team the Chicago White Sox and declined forcing San Francisco to sacrifice the 19th pick overall. With the Greinke signing and the Samardzija signing the Yankees now own the 20th pick overall in the draft, is that worth a pitcher with a live arm that hasn't put it all together yet?

I know what you're thinking, "But the team just did that with Nathan Eovaldi this season why couldn't they do that with Samardzija next season?" They could, or they couldn't. I don't know. I fully acknowledge that Samardzija was a bit late to the party obviously and is still, for lack of a better word, raw, in terms of pitching with the sky as the limit. The Yankees essentially gave up a guy that wasn't good enough to be in the rotation and not really valuable in the bullpen plus Martin Prado, who don't get me wrong was very valuable, for Eovaldi where it would only cost money and a pick for Samardzija. The difference here though is that the Yankees had four potential starting rotation spots at that time and the team probably has about seven at this point, Samardzija would be an upgrade but he'd also be a bit redundant at this point.

Samardzija is 30 years old and had a pretty bad season when all final tallies were made. Shark finished with a 4.96 ERA and a 4.23 FIP to show that the ERA was an accurate representation of his struggles. Shark did throw 214 innings despite it all and pitched like an ace in 2014 posting a 2.99 ERA and 3.20 FIP, but that was in the National League. This is the American League and this specifically the American League East, that's a totally different ballgame.

Samardzija would have been nice, and if you believe in Larry Rothschild's ability as a miracle worker and pitching coach he would have been a great signing, but he wasn't a signing that made sense for the New York Yankees. I know he's 30 years old and got a late start to the show, meaning in development he may only be around 27 years old or so, but the Yankees may need the draft pick and the $90 million more than yet another project and yet another question mark in an already crowded rotation.

Jordan Zimmermann is Why New York Won’t Sign a Starting Pitcher

The New York Yankees, no matter what the current makeup of the roster is currently, are always in on starting pitching on the free agent market. Whether they really are interested in these guys or if guys like Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman are just including them to get the biggest fan base in Major League Baseball to click on their articles remains to be seen but history would indicate that the latter is the more likely scenario. That brings me to this offseason and the Yankees “need” for a starting pitcher despite having six or seven options already inked on the roster. Sure the Yankees could get better via free agency, almost every team would have a better pitching staff with David Price leading it, but if the Yankees had any inkling of interest in any starting pitching this winter they may as well forget it. After Jordan Zimmermann got a $22 million AAV for drastically declining numbers that are sure to only get worse after a switch from the National League (in a division with three of the worst teams in Major League Baseball mind you) to the American League.

If the starting price for Zimmermann is $22 million annually, and by the way I love the fact that it was only a five year deal and I think that was a great move by Detroit in that aspect, can you imagine what the cost for Johnny Cueto is going to be? Or David Price? Cueto may get $25 million annually and Price may have a higher AAV than Clayton Kershaw, baseball’s highest paid pitcher. This is about to get out of control and these players are about to get very, very expensive. Zimmermann is a $22 million #2 pitcher behind Justin Verlander, not that Detroit has been shy about stockpiling pitching at any cost.

Zimmermann posted career-highs, although still solid numbers, in ERA (3.66), WHIP (1.20), hits allowed (204) and home runs allowed (24). Again, and this is worth reiterating, Zimmermann did this facing off against three of the worst teams in MLB almost 20 times each in the Miami Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves.

Zimmermann will cost Detroit their second round pick since the Tigers first pick, ninth overall, is protected. It’s a good deal but the Tigers and it’s a great deal for Zimmermann, it just sucks for the rest of the league that may have been interested in a deal or two on the free agent starting pitching market. That’s not happening anymore. 

Forget Wei-Yin Chen, What about Scott Kazmir?

The New York Yankees are linked to almost every single free agent almost every single season, it comes with the territory and it’s the nature of the beast. The Yankees could have four Giancarlo Stanton’s on the roster and if a fifth one became available someone out there would list the Yankees as interested. Whether that someone is the player’s agent who is trying to milk every penny he can out of a team, the columnists like Jon Heyman who want you to click their articles thus keeping them in a job or if it’s the crew over at ESPN, MLB Network and the equivalents but if you want me to be frank about it, it’s annoying.

It’s annoying when a marginal player or a marginal upgrade to the team is linked to the Yankees just because. For example, Wei-Yin Chen. Chen received a qualifying offer from the Baltimore Orioles this season after spending the last few campaigns as the team’s ace. Chen was the ace of the Baltimore Orioles but on about 90& of the playoff contending teams in 2015 he would not be an ace and would not be considered an ace on the Yankees. Despite being at best a #2 or #3 starter Mark Fiensand and others have linked Chen to the Yankees, a team full of middle-of-the-rotation starters that are much younger and that have more upside. Oh yeah, and none of the six or seven options the Yankees already have in their rotation will cost them the #22 overall draft pick in the 2016 Draft.

If you are hell-bent on signing a left-handed starter to balance out the rotation, or a starter in general, then what about Scott Kazmir? He’s also American League East tested, he’s a veteran, he’s left-handed and he’s shown some durability recently after battling the injury bug for much of his early career with the Tampa Bay Rays. Would Kazmir, using the last two seasons as an example, be better statistically than Chen inside Yankee Stadium and for the New York Yankees?

Chen:

Year	W	L	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA+	FIP	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9
2014	16	6	3.54	31	185.2	193	77	73	23	35	136	111	3.89	1.228	9.4	1.1	1.7	6.6
2015	11	8	3.34	31	191.1	192	78	71	28	41	153	124	4.16	1.218	9.0	1.3	1.9	7.2

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Kazmir:

Year	W	L	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA+	FIP	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9
2014 ★	15	9	3.55	32	190.1	171	81	75	16	50	164	105	3.35	1.161	8.1	0.8	2.4	7.8
2015	7	11	3.10	31	183.0	162	77	63	20	59	155	130	3.98	1.208	8.0	1.0	2.9	7.6

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Well according to Baseball Reference I have to think the answer would be yes. While Kazmir enjoyed pitching in spacious ballparks out in Oakland and Houston he is also better suited to pitch in a historically hitter’s ball park in the Bronx. Kazmir induces more ground balls and garners more strike outs than Chen does and would come on a deal less than the five or six year deal that Chen is thought to be asking for this winter despite being attached to draft pick compensation. If you’re just not going to be happy without signing a starting pitcher this winter then just make sure it’s a guy like Scott Kazmir and not Wei-Yin Chen. 

The 2016 Draft Order Before the Big Free Agents Come off the Board

First Round

1. Phillies
2. Reds
3. Braves
4. Rockies
5. Brewers
6. Athletics
7. Marlins
8. Padres
9. Tigers
10. White Sox
11. Mariners
12. Red Sox
13. Diamondbacks
14. Rays
15. Orioles
16. Indians
17. Twins
18. Nationals
19. Giants
20. Angels
21. Astros
22. Yankees
23. Rangers
24. Mets
25. Dodgers
26. Blue Jays
27. Royals
28. Cubs
29. Pirates
30. Cardinals

Competitive Balance Lottery Round A

31. Reds
32. Athletics
33. Rockies
34. Diamondbacks
35. Braves (from Marlins in three-team Alex Wood trade with Dodgers)
36. Dodgers (compensation for failing to sign 2015 first rounder Kyle Funkhouser)
37. Pirates

Second Round
38. Phillies
39. Reds
40. Braves
41. Rockies
42. Brewers
43. Athletics
44. Marlins
45. Padres
46. Tigers
47. White Sox
48. Mariners
49. Red Sox
50. Diamondbacks
51. Rays
52. Orioles
53. Indians
54. Twins
55. Nationals
56. Giants
57. Blue Jays (compensation for failing to sign 2015 second rounder Brady Singer)
58. Angels
59. Astros
60. Yankees

Deciphering & Predicting the MLB Qualifying Offers

SD - Ian Kennedy

Kennedy is no longer the 20 game winner he was with the Arizona Diamondbacks but he's a good enough pitcher to decline the is qualifying offer and not think twice about it. Kennedy, the former Yankees prospect, will not regret it either. 

SD - Justin Upton

Upton fits the same mold as Kennedy in my opinion. He isn't a 30 home run threat anymore but he's an essential lock for 20-25 home runs and 100 RBI in the right lineup. Upton is on the right side of 30-years old and will likely receive the biggest contract of his career to date this offseason. That all starts with the decline of the qualifying offer. 

TEX - Yovani Gallardo

Gallardo fits the borderline mold of accepting or declining the qualifying offer, although I'm leaning towards him declining. Gallardo isn't an ace but he is an essential lock for 180+ innings and at least a 2.0+ WAR. That's not one-year deal material, he declines ultimately. 

SEA - Hisashi Iwakuma

Iwakuma actually wants to stay in Seattle, reportedly, or at least on the West Coast as close to his home land of Japan as possible. At 34-years old, 35-years old shortly after the 2016 season begins, Iwakuma may opt to take the almost double amount of salary on a one-year deal to stick in Seattle and close to home. ACCEPT. 

WAS - Ian Desmond

Desmond struggled for much of the 2015 season but he has the ability to be a plus offensive weapon at shortstop, traditionally an offensive anemic position. Desmond will reject the offer and some team will give Desmond a good contract, either as a shortstop or a second baseman. 

WAS - Jordan Zimmermann

Zimmermann is likely the best pitcher on the market, he denies it and cashes in huge. 

TOR – Marco Estrada

Estrada had a breakout season in 2015 and seems unlikely to accept a contract offer. Truth be told I’m not sure if anyone expects Estrada to replicate his 2015 season in 2016 and beyond, looking at his stat page it looks to be more of the exception than the rule, but there will be a few teams willing to go three years or longer on him leaving the decision to decline the offer an easy one to make.

CHW – Jeff Samardzija

Samardzija will most definitely decline the offer. When teams like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox desperately need top of the rotation type pitchers and are willing to bank on his live arm while ignoring the stats you will sign more than one year and $15.8 million.

KC – Alex Gordon

Alex is fresh off a World Series victory and is coming from a team where he could boast that he was one of the main and better offensive contributors on the team. Gordon, along with Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer, led the Royals offense to two consecutive World Series trips and to one World Series title making his decision to decline the offer an obvious one in my opinion.

STL – Jayson Heyward

Heyward is potentially looking at 10-years and $200 million or more. He’s the most obvious player to decline the offer in my opinion.

STL – John Lackey

Lackey is a man of his word and pitched without making trouble for only $500K this season with the St. Louis Cardinals. The raise from $500K to $15.8 million is a substantial one and I think it is one that Lackey will make when he is the first ever to accept a qualifying offer.

CHC- Dexter Fowler

This one I am truly on the fence about. I want to say that Fowler declines the offer but a part of me, maybe a gut feeling, believes he accepts the offer. The other 29 teams won’t be exactly beating down his door to sign him, not that he’s a bad player by any means, especially at an AAV approaching $16 million. Am I allowed to call for a push?

NYM- Daniel Murphy

Murphy went from the goat of the New York Mets to the G.O.A.T of the Mets in about eight at bats this postseason. He’s declining that offer and some sucker will sign him expecting similar results, look at the regular season and postseason splits for Pablo Sandoval and look at the contract the Boston Red Sox gave him. He declines.

BAL – Matt Wieters

Wieters is an interesting case. Wieters missed a significant chunk of time in 2014 and 2015 after having Tommy John surgery and never truly recovered from it in my opinion. His defense and specifically his ability to limit would-be base stealers has decreased along with his offensive production. About the only thing working in Wieters favor though is the fact that the catching position is basically anemic offensively across the league with a few obvious exceptions. Wieters will likely decline the offer and will likely land a modest deal in the neighborhood of three years but one thing we know for 100% fact, Wieters will not go to the New York Yankees as Buck Showalter predicted. I just love bringing up instances of Showalter being wrong, don’t mind me.

BAL – Chris Davis

Chris Davis led the world in home runs in 2015 putting to sleep all the rumors, allegations and questions regarding his power and output after being suspended for illegal drug use in 2014. Davis was suspended for Adderall use in 2014 and responded in a big way in 2015. No way he accepts it, Davis is going to get paid for every single one of those home runs he hit this season and then some.

BAL – Wei-Yin Chen

Chen is not an ace. Chen is left-handed and likely a middle-of-the-rotation type starter for most American League teams. The thing working in Chen’s favor though is that he’s been the ace for the Baltimore Orioles for two seasons now and is American League East and postseason tested. That alone will net him more than one year and $15.8 million. He’ll likely get a deal somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-years and $85 million in my opinion so he will decline.

HOU- Colby Rasmus

When I predicted the qualifying offers on the blog before the season officially ended one of my Twitter followers actually called me an idiot for saying that Rasmus would get one. He didn’t use those exact words, and I’m not going to quote it because they don’t deserve the attention for being a douche bag but I didn’t delete the tweet so it’s out there somewhere if you want to look hard enough, but it was something along the lines of “only an idiot would think Rasmus deserves a qualifying offer.” Well there’s at least two idiots in the world, me and the owner of the Astros. Rasmus would be an idiot to decline it, but he’s an idiot and will (he’s not an idiot, I was being tongue in cheek to stick with the “idiot” theme).

LAD – Zack Greinke

So let me get this straight, he opts out of his deal worth three years and $71 million to accept a qualifying offer? No one really thought that, did they? He declines and receives a Clayton Kershaw-esque deal. Just not from the Yankees.

LAD – Howie Kendrick

Kendrick plays a position that is dryer than the Nevada desert in the middle of the day in July offensively. Kendrick, as far as this free agent class goes anyway, is the Babe Ruth of second baseman so there is no way he accepts the qualifying offer. No way.

LAD- Brett Anderson

Another one I caught flak about when I predicted him receiving a qualifying offer and another one notched in the victory belt for the Greedy Pinstripes. Anderson has a live arm, he always has, and finally put it all together on the mound and in the training room. Anderson will try and bank on the fact, literally, that he had a contract season and he absolutely should. Anderson declines and some team, maybe even the Dodgers, signs him to a longer term deal around three years or so. 

The Inevitable “Stephen Strasburg to the Yankees” Blog Post

The Washington Nationals made a bit of news this week when the team announced that they would at least be willing to listen to offers on right-handed starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg. Strasburg, a former first overall pick in the MLB Draft, was supposed to be the future and the ace of the Washington Nationals staff but inconsistencies and injuries have forced him closer to mediocre than the God status he was expected to garner inside Nationals Park. With just one year left on his current deal the Nationals may be looking to get whatever they can out of him in a trade so you knew this post was coming, should the New York Yankees be interested?

When I first heard the news I was ecstatic. This seems like the type of deal that Brian Cashman pulls off recently. Cashman stays away from the high priced free agents, pitching wise anyway, and has either built his rotation from within, from Japan or via trade. The first thing that popped into my head when it was announced that Strasburg was said to be available was a similar deal to the deal that brought Nathan Eovaldi to the Bronx. Obviously there would probably need to be better pieces than David Phelps and Martin Prado, whether Strasburg is worth more than Eovaldi with all that team control and 100 MPH fastball or not, but a similar deal nonetheless with Major League talent heading to and from both clubs in the deal. Then I started to do my research.

Strasburg is an injury concern, no one can deny that, and we haven’t been able to see his true potential because of it. Those injury concerns, mixed in with the fact that he will be a free agent at the end of the 2016 season, would likely keep the price for Strasburg down, but only by a little. Washington would still likely command a substantial haul for him, especially after the Tigers snatched the Blue Jays top prospect and others for half a season of David Price. If we’re talking Gary Sanchez and filler for Strasburg then you make the deal, anything more I might not be so sure. The only saving grace for the Yankees would be that they could offer him a qualifying offer at the end of the season since he wasn’t traded during the middle of the season and recoup some of that prospect package back in the 2017 MLB Draft.

Strasburg has missed close to two years of games due to injury in his career, obviously much of that coming from his Tommy John surgery, which has seriously affected his career pitching line. His regular season numbers are straddling the mediocre line and his postseason numbers are worse than that but one thing is important here, his age. Strasburg is just 27-years old and has plenty of time to figure it out, he just has to have the coaching and has to put the work in. Larry Rothschild is the coach, I just worry about whether he will be worth it even if he puts the work in. I’m on the fence, and of course it depends on the deal, but at the end of the day I think I may still want him wearing Yankees pinstripes on Opening Day 2016.