Could the Yankees Take a Prospect in Rule 5 Draft?

The 2015 version of the Rule 5 Draft goes down on December, 10 and the New York Yankees recently added three of their own prospects to the 40 man roster to protect them from the draft. Adding Johnny Barbato, Ben Gamel and Rookie Davis to the roster filled up the 40 man roster but the Yankees have plenty of time to make a trade and plenty of players they can potentially outright off the 40 man roster or designate for assignment. Long story short the Yankees could make a move and actually take a player in the Rule 5 Draft... but who would that be?

Corey Black is the right-handed pitcher that the Yankees sent to the Chicago Cubs in the deal that brought Alfonso Soriano back to the Bronx. Now the circle can complete after Chicago left Black unprotected and off the 40 man. Black throws hard and is a big strikeout guy, which the Yankees like, but his walk totals are troubling.

Reymin Guduan is another mid-to-high 90's heat thrower that struggles with command and was left unprotected by the Houston Astros. The Yankees have so many left-handed relief pitching options though so I can't see this happening.

Throw Sam Selman of the Kansas City Royals into that category as well as he can hit 97 MPH on the gun.... he just doesn't always know where it's going.

The final piece, and one of the more notable pieces in my opinion, is the New York Mets shortstop prospect T.J. Rivera. Rivera has hit well in the minor leagues but has yet to reach the Major Leagues. The issue that intrigued me most is that Rivera is that he has experience at all four infield positions and plays them all well. Upgrade over Brendan Ryan?

Jesse Chavez is no David Price for Toronto… Thankfully

You’ll have to excuse me as I have been sick for almost a week now and I haven’t been writing much at all. Thank goodness for my back-logged stuff and all the content I had saved as a draft or the site would have likely gone quiet, and it’s never been quiet for a full day since its inception almost four years ago now. One of the key tidbits of news that I missed regarding an American League East rival of the New York Yankees was when the Toronto Blue Jays acquired Jesse Chavez, a right-handed starting pitcher from the Oakland Athletics. Chavez is a nice piece but thankfully for the Yankees he’s not David Price.

The Blue Jays sent Liam Hendricks, a now full-time relief pitcher who went 5-0 with a 2.92 ERA in 58 appearances in 2015, to Oakland in exchange for Chavez. Hendricks trade value has never been higher after a switch to the bullpen not only saw his ERA, WHIP, FIP and peripherals go down but his fastball velocity spike leading to a career-best 9.9 K/9 ratio. Hendricks is under team control through the 2020 season while Chavez is a free agent after the 2016 season.

Chavez has made 26 starts over the past two seasons as he has bounced between the A’s bullpen and rotation and has posted a combined 7-15 record with a 4.18 ERA. Chavez is 32-years old and is a former member of the Blue Jays as recently as 2012 so he’s no stranger to Toronto. Chavez was last seen sporting an 8.44 ERA in a Blue Jays uniform before being acquired for cash from the Athletics. Chavez is a definite win-now move for the Blue Jays but will he be enough? Will he be enough to replace the man he is essentially, for lack of a better word, replacing in David Price?

Price was money for Toronto posting this stat line:

Year	Tm	W	L	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA+	FIP	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9
2015 ★	TOT	18	5	2.45	32	220.1	190	70	60	17	47	225	161	2.78	1.076	7.8	0.7	1.9	9.2
2015	DET	9	4	2.53	21	146.0	133	50	41	13	29	138	156	3.06	1.110	8.2	0.8	1.8	8.5
2015	TOR	9	1	2.30	11	74.1	57	20	19	4	18	87	172	2.22	1.009	6.9	0.5	2.2	10.5

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Chavez on the other hand was anything but “money” in 2015:

Year	Tm	W	L	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA+	FIP	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9
2015	OAK	7	15	4.18	30	157.0	164	78	73	18	48	136	96	3.85	1.350	9.4	1.0	2.8	7.8

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Even with Marcus Stroman coming back last September to lead the Blue Jays to the ALCS Toronto doesn’t go as far without Price. Price was a godsend for Toronto and led the team down the stretch with clutch performance after clutch performance, especially against the New York Yankees. Toronto may have likely still made the playoffs without Price but bet your bottom dollar if the Jays have Chavez starting everything fifth day in the second half of the 2015 season and not Price they aren’t winning that AL East Division. Not by a long shot. 

Potential Black Friday Deals for the New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are preaching austerity once again and the general consensus is the team is not going to be one of 30 trampling over each other to get the next “great deal” via free agency. New York could be looking at adding a starting pitcher, another bullpen piece or maybe even another middle infielder to either upgrade over Brendan Ryan or to fill in at second base if the team doesn’t have the utmost confidence in Robert Refsnyder and Dustin Ackley like I do. New York will be present and accounted for when Black Friday (free agency) really kicks off and rush is on but instead of trampling over people for the latest and greatest toys (David Price, Jordan Zimmerman, Yoenis Cespedes), they will likely be content with these lesser known deals. 

Nobody wants Doug Fister after one bad season in Washington, nobody. If it weren't for the absolutely deep free agent market Fister would still be in high demand. That's baseball and it could be the Yankees gain if they truly want a starting pitcher. Fister may be forced into taking a one year deal to build value and that's right up the Yankees alley. Fister had forearm problems that set the tone for much of his season and if those are behind him the Yankees could get a decent middle-of-the-rotation starter for relatively nothing.

Steve Pearce is a name I keep linking to the Yankees because it makes so much sense. He'll likely come on a one year deal and can play the outfield, first base and second base. Pearce is a right-handed bat with pop potential that pretty much finishes out the Yankees bench. Well, if they didn't have Brendan Ryan and a platoon at second base.

Yovani Gallardo is getting ground balls on nearly 50% of his pitches thrown, that's huge. He doesn't strike out as many batters as he used to but he doesn't give up home runs either. Gallardo proved he could pitch in a hitter friendly ball park after pitching for the Texas Rangers last year so I can't see him pitching inside Yankee Stadium being the problem. You know what is the problem though? Texas offered him a qualifying offer. 

Hal Steinbrenner Seemingly Has a Plan for the Yankees Offseason

If you’re a fan of the New York Yankees or have been for any length of time you have probably seen the same old song and dance for most of the winter’s and offseason’s you’ve experienced. The Yankees see a shiny new toy, the Yankees overpay for that shiny new toy despite their age, track record or injury history and the Yankees let that contract work for the now and worry about it later when it begins to burden them. Not anymore, at least that is my opinion based off what I have seen thus far this winter, as it looks like Hal Steinbrenner finally has a plan for the direction of the New York Yankees.

Now I know what you’re thinking, Hal is the Yankees owner and not the GM so who cares if he has a plan. That’s a valid and correct statement but at the end of the day Hal writes the checks and whether they admit it or not Hal has the final say in any and all deals and free agent signings. Most management driven deals are not initially reported as such but I’d say most of them, or more than we as a fan base should be comfortable with to be honest, come out eventually. See the Rafael Soriano signing or the Ichiro Suzuki trade and signing as examples of this.

In every interview you hear from Hal Steinbrenner it’s the same three or four lines that are likely on a tape recorder that he’s just playing back. The Yankees will look at everyone, it’s called due diligence, but the team is likely to stay out of the big free agent pool. That means no David Price, no Zack Greinke, no Jordan Zimmerman and no Ben Zobrist. Why? Because the team just doesn’t have the salary coming off the books before the 2016 season. Just $12.5 million is off the books from the 2015 season and all of that and then some will be eaten up by arbitration raises. In years past the team has taken that money and reinvested it, see the Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran signings along with the Masahiro Tanaka sweepstakes and the Brett Gardner extension.

Steinbrenner loves to name drop the names of the Yankees top prospects. James Kaprielian, Luis Severino, Greg Bird and Aaron Judge specifically. Steinbrenner believes building a farm system and building from within will not only allow the team to cut costs and get under the luxury tax threshold but will also make the team more “likeable” to fans. He’s got a point, whether anyone wants to admit it or not. Steinbrenner is going to spend, not spend wildly like his father mind you, and he’s also going to invest in the future, something his father rarely to never did. 

It sucks now to watch the team miss the postseason in two consecutive years and lose in the Wild Card Game in 2015 but if this means the team can get back to being a perennial powerhouse as soon as 2017 and beyond I think I’m okay with that. That’s the plan, at least that’s what I think the plan is, and if it’s allowed to achieve fruition I think a lot of Yankees fans will be “okay” with it too. 

Let the Free Agency Black Friday Deals Begin

Thanksgiving is over. The turkey is cooked, the ham is eaten and the stuffing has me stuffed. What better way to follow up a day of gluttonous eating and showing our thanks for everything we have in this world than to trample over people in a retail store for our own greed and pleasure. In America we call this “Black Friday” where you can risk your life and get in a fist fight over some cheap and flimsy Wal Mart towels all to save a couple hundred bucks. Me personally, I prefer to stay home under the covers and do all my Christmas shopping online, something that many teams around the league are likely doing right about now in free agency.

The first major free agents have yet to fall off the board this season and with the family functions over and the endless traveling back and forth for this dinner and that dinner the wheeling and dealing (you know, to burn calories and such) can begin. We’ve all seen these offseason’s before, it just takes one of these major free agents to pick a destination and the rest of the league scurries to grab up the remaining talent before it’s gone. Free agency is just like Black Friday, and these deals could be going fast.

Ben Zobrist is likely the most highly sought after 34-year old on the entire free agent market. When teams like the New York Yankees and the New York Mets are interested in your services you can understand why the switch hitting utility player is taking his time but until Zobrist comes off the board you are unlikely to see Howie Kendrick, Alexei Ramirez, Ian Desmond or any of the middle infield free agents specifically come off the board.

The Yankees are dangling Brett Gardner out in any and all trade offers this offseason and may have log-jammed the entire outfield market. Until Gardner is secure either in the Bronx or elsewhere it may be a while before we see a Denard Span or a Dexter Fowler come off the free agency board.

The Cincinnati Reds know how to get us all worked up just to let us down as fans. Last season we all thought Aroldis Chapman was going to be traded before the deadline and he wasn’t. Then recently a report surfaced that Chapman was going to be moved again and by that weekend. Chapman is still in Cincinnati which means no one is looking at trading for the Yankees Andrew Miller or any other closer until Chapman’s 2016 home is secure, even if it’s still inside the Great American Ball Park.

David Price despite being older than and presumably more expensive than Jordan Zimmermann is likely going to set the tone for the starting pitching market this winter. Until Price comes off the board Zimmermann, Johnny Cueto and others may simply sit by and wait idly while the left-hander makes up his mind.

And finally the relief pitching department, as fickle as it can be, may be at a standstill until former Baltimore Orioles right-hander Darren O’Day makes up his mind. O’Day is likely the best and most sought after free agent in the bullpen that’s not already a closer and is said to have much of the league interested in his services. Tyler Clippard, Ryan Madson and maybe even Joakim Soria continue to sit in limbo until someone grabs O’Day off that Black Friday pallet and brings him home this Christmas.

I hope everyone had a great and Happy Thanksgiving, an even better and a safe Black Friday and a great weekend.

This Day in New York Yankees History 11/27: Enter Graig Nettles

On this day in 1972 the Indians and the Yankees hooked up for a trade that saw Graig Nettles and catcher Gerry Moses head to New York for John Ellis, Jerry Kenney, Charlie Spikes, and Rusty Torres. Nettles would be a huge part of three American League pennants and two World Series titles in the late 70's, ask any Dodgers fan about him.


Also on this day in 1947 the Yankees Joe DiMaggio edged out Ted Williams to win the American League Most Valuable Player award by one point. Williams won the Triple Crown this year posting a .343 average with 32 home runs and 162 RBI's but DiMaggio's .315 with 20 home runs and 97 RBI's would take the award. This would be the second time in the 40's, the other in 1941, that DiMaggio narrowly won the award over a more deserving Ted Williams.

Trenton Thunder: Holiday Purchases Will Benefit The Children's Home Society of New Jersey

The 11th annual Trenton Thunder Gift of Baseball program begins today, giving fans the chance to share the experience of cheering on the hometown team with underprivileged families in our community. For each Season Ticket, Pic-A-Plan and Mini Plan purchased before December 24, the Thunder will provide tickets for families in the Holiday Gift Outreach program run by the Children's Home Society of New Jersey to attend a 2016 Thunder game.

"Families attending baseball games together is one of the oldest pastimes in our country and we're thrilled to continue a program with a great partner like the Children's Home Society," said Thunder GM/COO Jeff Hurley.

In the first ten years of the Gift of Baseball program, the Thunder have donated 6,980 tickets to CHSofNJ.

"Trenton Thunder continues to be a strong and caring community partner," praised Donna Pressma, President & CEO of CHSofNJ. "The Children's Home Society of New Jersey is honored to have the opportunity through their generosity to offer the Gift of Baseball to so many of our children and families.

The emphasis on family values that the Thunder and CHSofNJ shares has remained a high priority for both organizations throughout their ten-year partnership.

"Family outings are often too rare for our children," said Pressma. "Spending a day at the ballpark watching our home team play with determination and heart gives hope and makes memories that our children will keep for the rest of their lives. Thank you Trenton Thunder and all of your caring fans who make this possible."

2016 Mini Plans are on sale now. Mini plans include five or six of the most popular games on the schedule, free food at each a game, a free Thunder pint glass, a complimentary ticket to Opening Night and start as low as $60. More information about Mini Plans can be found here: MINI PLANS
Pic-A-Plans allow fans to choose any 10 or more games that best fit their schedule. This flexible plan also includes free ice cream, a $1 savings on every ticket, a free food option, free tickets to Opening Night and a limited edition Thunder pint glass. More information can be found here: PIC-A-PLANS

Season Tickets are available as either a full (71 games) or half (36 games) and include added value like early entry, a picnic with the players, bus trips and more. More information about Season Tickets can be found here: SEASON TICKETS

The Children's Home Society of New Jersey provides at-risk children and their families with a range of services that empower them to achieve their potential. They are child-oriented, family focused, community based and outcome-oriented.

The 2016 season, the 23rd in franchise history, will begin at ARM & HAMMER Park on April 7 when the Thunder host the Erie SeaWolves (Detroit Tigers) at 7:00 p.m. Single game tickets will go on sale in March 2016. For more information on the Thunder, visit www.TrentonThunder.com or call609-394-3300.

Torii Hunter Gives Advice to Aaron Hicks

The New York Yankees acquired a young and talented center fielder by the name of Aaron Hicks this offseason in the trade that sent John Ryan Murphy to the Minnesota Twins. Already we’ve heard rave reviews of Hicks in regards to his defense, his speed and his up-and-coming back. Hicks credits his turnaround season in 2015 to a phone call from one Hall of Fame player, Rod Carew, and now the young switch-hitter may be able to look back and credit his 2016 season success to a discussion with a potential future Hall of Fame player, Torii Hunter.

Hunter, a longtime Twins player, revealed this winter some advice that he gave who he called an “immature” Hicks in hopes of helping him for the remainder of his career. Hicks has played in the majors for three seasons now and it is likely not a coincidence that his best and breakout season came in 2015 with Hunter as a teammate.

Torii signed a one year deal with the Twins knowing that 2015 was his final season and opened himself up to any and all questions that the young Minnesota players may have had. Hunter notes that no player was more receptive to the advice and help than Hicks. Hunter took Hicks under his wing and in an interview with the New York Post Twins manager Paul Molitor even noted that Torri “took it personally to help Aaron.”

Hunter focused more on the mental side of the game rather than the physical side with Hicks. The tools are there are Aaron, Hunter thought the mental aspect needed some help. Hunter would tell Hicks to “be warm before it was time to be warm” and “be loose before it was time to be loose” so he could pay attention to who was pitching and look at the game with a “third eye.”

Hicks is trying to be the 2016 version of both Nathan Eovaldi and Didi Gregorius. With all the Yankees coaching staff, trainers, staff and teammates by his side and the wisdom of a Torii Hunter and a Rod Carew in his head how could he not succeed?

Why Would We Want Cano Back????

So I have to say I had a little bit of a mini heart attack this week when my phone lit up that so and so, this follower and that follower etc. had retweeted a tweet put out by Andrew Marchand of ESPN.com. When I swiped and opened the tweet the tweet said, to paraphrase, that Ellsbury had a no-trade clause and would have to approve any deal to Seattle. Immediately I began scouring Twitter and the internet to see what I had missed only to notice that Marchand, like many writers (and no I don’t blame them for it if this is their profession), was putting some click baits out there to push his newest article covering how the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners could pull off a Jacoby Ellsbury for Robinson Cano swap. The story was not only unoriginal and already done by myself and others a month ago but it got me thinking, why would the Yankees even want Cano back at this point?

We all know the back story at this point. Robinson Cano signed a 10-year deal worth a whopping $240 million with the Seattle Mariners back in 2013. At the time Cano, a Yankees farm hand and second baseman, was 31 years old and coming off another strong season in the middle of the Yankees lineup. Since the deal Cano has delivered the Mariners just 36 home runs in two seasons including a .300 average and .807 OPS. Cano has gone from being the “lazy” Yankees star that never legged out ground balls and never turned singles into doubles and doubles into triples to a perennial slow starter and a struggling player with a crippling contract. 

Ellsbury’s contract is no walk in the park with five seasons left but there is still some upside with it. Ellsbury showed, if healthy, he can at least be a weapon in the Yankees lineup. Is he overpaid? Sure he is, a defensive center fielder who is never going to hit you 32 home runs again like he did in Boston in 2011, but his contract is far from a disaster at this time. If he has another 2015 type season rather than a generally healthy 2014 season next year then we can talk but just two seasons in and with a deal that pays him until he is just 37 years old, not 41 years old like Cano’s deal, is far better bang for your buck in my opinion. 

Also, did you even head the Andy Van Slyke comments? Come on guys, there is some truth there. The only people that tell the truth and nothing but the truth are drunk people, children up to a certain age and people with nothing to lose. Van Slyke may have fit into two of these categories but still, there’s definitely some troubling truth there. 

I don’t care how much money Seattle kicks in or how much money is offset by another “bad” contract in Ellsbury. Unless Seattle is willing to kick in a few years or a the fountain of youth I simply don’t want to see another player well into his 40’s and long past his prime making an uber amount of money in a Yankees uniform. Those days began with Alex Rodriguez and they need to die with Alex Rodriguez. No more 10-year contracts to players past 30-years old, no more potentially franchise crippling contracts that will become a burden sooner rather than later and no more contracts, period, for historically “lazy” players. No more. Enough! Why would we want Cano back anyway? We wouldn’t, well we shouldn’t anyway. 

What I’m Thankful For: The New York Yankees Edition

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! While I truly love this day I also can see the irony in it all, especially having a significant amount of Native American blood in my body. We, and I say we as a society, spend Thursday praising each other and showing thanks for everything we have and have received and then later that night the greed and avarice is right back in our blood for Black Friday. This post isn’t about society though and what I think is wrong with the world, it’s about what I am thankful for when it comes to the New York Yankees.

The New York Yankees, in my very humble yet biased opinion, is the greatest sports franchise in all of the major North American sports. Once donned the “Evil Empire” the Yankees do what they can to compete year in and year out. While many complain about the owner of the team or the team’s GM you haven’t, at least during the current regime, seen the Yankees fall that far. Even in their worst years New York is in the hunt for a Wild Card, no tanking is allowed in the Bronx. That is something, that while it frustrates me sometimes because it leads to ill-advised deals and free agent signings, I can truly appreciate.

The team understands that you need the big names, the marquee players and the veteran players to make it in New York and despite having a “cheap” owner we still as a fan base get to enjoy the Masahiro Tanaka’s, the Mark Teixeira’s, the Brett Gardner’s and the Andrew Miller’s just to name a few. Speaking of the players I am also thankful for Brian Cashman’s willingness to not only make the plan to build the farm system and build from within but finally stick to it. Thank you for Greg Bird, thank you for Luis Severino, thank you for Gary Sanchez, thank you for Dellin Betances, thank you for Aaron Judge, thank you for Jacob Lindgren and thank you for Robert Refsnyder.

I’m not hard to please and I’m easy to get along with, especially during the holidays. Even more important is the fact that no matter what I am a fan of this team and that will never change. 100-62 record and a World Series or a 62-100 record because of too much World Series of Poker watching, I just love the New York Yankees and I am truly thankful that I get to not only watch them on a daily basis but write about them as well.