Explaining Matt Holliday’s No Trade Clause

Matt Holliday was signed almost a week ago to the day now by the New York Yankees to be the team’s everyday DH while also filling in at first base and left field whenever necessary. The team gave Holliday, the former St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics and Colorado Rockies product, a one-year deal worth $13 million and a very interesting no-trade clause that I want to discuss here tonight. Why? Because it’s interesting and I think it needs explaining.

Matt Holliday can block trades to a whopping ONE team with his limited no-trade clause. What team you say? The Oakland Athletics. What’s up with that? Is he bitter? Does he not believe the team can compete in 2017 and does he want to be on a contending team? What’s the deal? Maybe one day we’ll find out. I just thought it was interesting and I wanted to bring it to you this evening.

Enjoy. 

What About Danny Duffy and/or Eric Hosmer?

The New York Yankees are building towards the future while one other team in the American League has their future in mind for an entirely different set of reasons. While the Yankees don’t plan on putting the World Series or bust mantra back on the team’s shoulders until at least the 2018 or 2019 season the Kansas City Royals are headed in an entirely different direction. While one window opens, the Yankees window, another one closes and that closing window belongs to the Kansas City Royals. Can and should the Yankees take advantage of that?

After the 2017 season the Royals will have three integral parts of their team, barring extensions between then and now of course, hitting free agency in outfielder Lorenzo Cain, first baseman Eric Hosmer and LHP Danny Duffy. Kansas City, being the small market team that they are, presumably does not want to lose these guys for nothing in return so I wonder if it’s worth making the phone call to see if they could be had not rather than wait until July.

You are playing with fire the longer you wait to make a serious phone call and have a serious discussion with Dayton Moore and company in my opinion because Kansas City may actually compete in 2017. If the team competes and is in the hunt for an American League Central Division title, which will be likely with the Chicago White Sox selling off pieces and the Detroit Tigers at least vocal about their willingness to sell off pieces, they will not be trading these players before the July 31^st trading deadline. If you ask their GM now though he may be willing to move one or two of them, preferably Hosmer and/or Duffy in the Yankees case, now rather than risk it later.

I don’t pretend to know what the exact needs of the Royals is when it comes to their minor league system and their farm teams but I know they would want salary relief and prospects in return and that is two things the Yankees have plenty of at this point in the game. Now would I give up Gleyber Torres, Clint Frazier or anyone in the Top 10 for one year of either Hosmer or Duffy? I wouldn’t personally, Brian Cashman might, but would I give them one or two prospects from the #11 - #20 spots? Sure, in a heartbeat I would. I would also try and extend a guy like Duffy as well but that’s another discussion for another blog post.

So should the Yankees and Royals begin talking? In my opinion, yes. It doesn’t hurt to ask because like the New York Lottery “hey, you never know.”

What Did the Yankees Lose in the Rule 5 Draft?

This is the busiest and most stressful, and wonderful of course as the Christmas song states, time of the year for me and my family. For that I apologize because I am a bit behind on my news so this morning and for most of today I’ll be trying to play catch up a bit. We begin with the Rule 5 Draft that happened on Thursday which saw the Yankees lose seven of their players to other teams, four in the Major League phase and three in the Minor League phase.

In the Major League phase the Cincinnati Reds took catcher Luis Torrens second overall and immediately traded him to the San Diego Padres, the Arizona Diamondbacks took RHP Tyler Jones 7^th, the Milwaukee Brewers took LHP Caleb Smith 9^th and immediately traded him to the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates took LHP Tyler Webb 13^th. Meanwhile in the minor league phase the Tampa Bay Rays took RHP Ty Hensley 4^th, the Kansas City Royals took RHP Kelvin Magallanes 15^th and the Chicago Cubs took infielder Kevin Cornelius.

Losing Torrens hurts a bit as he was once thought of to be the Yankees best catcher in the system, including Kyle Higashioka and Gary Sanchez. Torrens hasn’t hit much and he has missed parts or all of the last two seasons with shoulder injuries (torn labrum surgery) but he is still just 20-years old and was ranked as high as 17^th on Yankees Top 20 Prospects lists by MLB.com and Baseball America. I can’t see how a player who has played just 49 games in Low-A Ball can stick on a roster for an entire season, especially in the National League, and I can’t see why they would want him to as that would surely stunt his development in a huge way but there may be some sort of loophole or under-the-table type agreement where the Yankees are offered him back and refuse or something like that. Who knows?

Losing Webb, a MLB-ready left-handed relief pitcher, isn’t the biggest loss but that’s what I am saying now. Give the Yankees bullpen another injury or three and we may be all missing Webb here in a few months. He was almost a lock to be picked and he isn’t coming back without an injury or an implosion in Spring Training. Good luck to him in Pittsburgh.

Smith is also a left-handed reliever but he hasn’t pitched above Double-A during his minor league career. He is going to be a tough “stick” on the defending World Series champs roster but at this point in the game it doesn’t hurt to try. The Cubs obviously see something in him that other teams did not or they wouldn’t have used their selection on him.

Moving on to the minor league phase and the loss of Ty Hensley. As a fan and as a follower of his true determination, hard work and class this is crushing to me personally to lose him. I have the utmost respect for him and his family, especially his wonderful mother, but on the baseball side of things I don’t know whether to be upset or not. Since being drafted in 2012 Hensley has thrown just 42.1 professional innings and is not in the middle of rehabbing from his second Tommy John surgery since the draft. Throw a few other injuries on that pile including a hip and a hernia surgery and Houston, well now Tampa, we have a problem.

Magallanes is in Rookie ball and admittedly a name I had never heard before the draft while Cornelius is an organizational depth player at this point for the Cubs. They aren’t huge losses yet I hope they prove me wrong and get the playing time they need while in Kansas City and Chicago respectively.

As a reminder the four players in the Major League phase have to stick on the team’s 25 man roster all season long or they have to be offered back to the New York Yankees. This is not the case obviously in the Minor League phase, Hensley and company are no longer members of the organization going forward.

My Thoughts Following the Winter Meetings

The Winter Meetings are over and so is the Rule 5 Draft, more on the draft later as I wanted to focus on that in its own blog post today, so as I play catch up I want to leave you with my thoughts on the winter meetings as a whole. I have made it quite clear what I think about the pair of Yankees signings, although technically Matt Holliday was signed the night before the meetings kicked off but whatever, and the joy it brings my heart as a fan so this morning I will hit the high points and discuss the rest of the league and the signings that went down. Enjoy.

I find it shocking that Mark Trumbo, the Major League home run leader from 2016, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista are still free agents while players like Dexter Fowler and Ian Desmond have come off the board for big money. I do not find it shocking that Kenley Jansen is still on the board as once again teams are reluctant to give up draft picks due to qualifying offers for pitchers who are only going to give you 50-70 innings a season. And I don’t blame them.

The Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox trade was huge. Huge for Boston, huge for the rest of the teams in the American League East and huge for the entire American League as a whole. The Boston Red Sox are all-in while the White Sox have to presumably be in full sell mode now. Sale was the first, yet the biggest, domino to fall. Adam Eaton is already gone and Jose Quintana, David Robertson and Todd Frazier aren’t likely far behind him. Just hopefully not to Boston.

I’m shocked to see that Andrew McCutchen is still a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. I all but expected him to be traded last week. I guess Pittsburgh wanted him to make an appearance at PirateFest to boost sales and such first. And that was not a tongue-in-cheek type message, the Pirates are frugal like that.

Regardless of what anyone says, I’ve seen writers suggest the Cleveland Indians somehow won the Winter Meetings just by doing nothing at all, the Boston Red Sox won the meetings. Hands down. Yoan Moncada and a bunch of A-Ball players for one of the best pitchers in the American League? You do that ten times out of ten, no questions asked.

The Yankees? They did okay too. They improved for 2017 and beyond without mortgaging the future. Just what they said they were going to do. 

My IBWAA Hall of Fame Ballot

Ladies and gentleman I know you have been waiting on the edge of your seats for me to release my Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) Hall of Fame ballot but wait no longer. What I lack in some areas I more than make up for with tongue-in-cheek and sarcastic answers and steroid users on my ballot. Please check it out and enjoy.

Keep in mind that the IBWAA has already inducted Tim Raines, Jeff Bagwell and Edgar Martinez on our ballots in previous years so this is why they are not present on this ballot and why they are present on the BBWAA ballot.

Thoughts and arguments below in the comment section por favor. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 12/10: Carston Charles Sabathia

On this day in 2008 the Yankees went on a crazy spending spree and gave out the fourth richest contract in Major League history when they handed a seven year contract worth $181 million to left handed free agent starting pitcher CC Sabathia. This was the largest contract ever handed down to a starting pitcher and included an opt out clause after three seasons for the then 28 year old. This AAV of $25 million was just ahead of the Mets deal with Johan Santana that he had signed in February of 2008.

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!

Ten Years of #1 Yankees Prospects

The New York Yankees have added to their farm system like no other team in the last calendar year and that has seemingly positioned the Yankees not only for the 2017 season but for beyond as well. In a word, the Yankees farm system is stacked. Let’s take a look at the last ten years of Yankees #1 prospects... you know… just because. Enjoy.

2017: Gleyber Torres

To be continued.

2016: Jorge Mateo… then Gleyber Torres… then Clint Frazier

The year of the prospect returned for the New York Yankees and it began with Jorge Mateo, who had a down season by all accounts, continued with Gleyber Torres who was acquired in the Aroldis Chapman deal and ended with Clint Frazier who the Yankees brought over in the Andrew Miller trade from the Cleveland Indians.


2015: Luis Severino

Great first season but took a huge step back in 2016.

2014: Gary Sanchez

Likely the team's back up catcher after having a strong 2015 season and an even stronger Arizona Fall League this season.

2013: Mason Williams

On the 40 man roster and made his Major League debut this season. Likely to miss out on the Major Leagues on Opening Day due to the roster crunch but will be one of the first to be called up if/when an outfield injury occurs.

2010 - 2012: Jesus Montero

Traded to the Seattle Mariners for Micahel Pineda and Vicente Campos. Benched, optioned to the minor leagues multiple times, came to camp overweight multiple times, attitude problems reported and apparently he takes offense to being offered a ice cream sandwich on a hot summer day. Brian Cashman win?

2009: Austin Jackson

Part of the trade that brought Curtis Granderson to the Bronx and sent the man they call A Jax to the Tigers. Jackson has since been sent to the Seattle Mariners before hitting free agency this offseason. Jackson is still one of the better defensive center fielders in the game although his bat never fully came around in the majors.

2008: Joba Chamberlain

From one of the best young set-up men in the game to midges to mediocre. Chamberlain has seen time with the Detroit Tigers, the Kansas City Royals and recently signed a minor league deal with the Cleveland Indians. It was Cleveland where he was attacked by the midges. Can you say full circle?

2007: Phil Hughes

From hyped prospect to 18 game winner to gopher ball giveaway days at Yankee Stadium. Hughes had a roller coaster ride of a tenure in the Bronx before leaving for Minnesota via free agency. Hughes had a great first season in Minnesota before coming back down to Earth a bit in 2015. Hughes still has that rising fastball and some of the best command in the game. Hughes is an ace, he just wasn't an ace for the Yankees.

Meet a Prospect: Aroldis Chapman (Again)

For the second time in just about a calendar year the New York Yankees have acquired “The Cuban Missile” Aroldis Chapman to be their everyday closer in the Bronx. Woo hoo! The first time, for whatever reason, we did not officially introduce him to the Yankees faithful but this time I have a feeling he might be sticking around a little longer… so without further ado let’s meet Mr. Chapman again. This is Meet a Prospect: The Aroldis Chapman Edition.

Albertin Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz was born on February 28, 1988 in Holguin, Cuba. Chapman had a boxing trainer for a father and two sisters in his three-room house in Cuba (rooms, not bedrooms) and as a young child Chapman was taught to box, not play baseball. When Chapman finally did begin playing baseball it was as a first baseman, not as a pitcher. It was in 2003 when a coach noticed Chapman’s arm that he was converted to the pitching mound full time.

Chapman joined the Holguin Sabuesos of the Cuban National Series League in 2006 as a starting pitcher and was a part of the 2007 Pan American Games representing the Cuban national team as well as the 2009 MLB World Baseball Classic before defecting from Cuba in 2009. Chapman had tried to defect from Cuba in 2008, an act that kept him from participating in the Summer Olympics that year, but then President Raul Castro gave him a conditional reprieve.

Chapman was signed by the Cincinnati Reds after declaring his citizenship in Andora to a six-year deal worth $30.25 million with bonuses worth $16.25 million paid over the next 11 years. Chapman set many records for the fastest pitches thrown for the Reds while mowing down MLB ready hitters. Chapman worked as a starter for the Reds in 2010 and even made a playoff appearance for the team before switching full time to the relief role we know him in today before the 2011 season.

Chapman earned his first All-Star Game trip in 2012 as a closer for the Reds and followed that up for Cincinnati with a return trip in 2013 as well. Chapman and his blazing 100+ MPH fastballs were here to stay and nothing could stop them it seemed. Well maybe except for a line drive off the bat of Kansas City Royals star Salvador Perez. Perez hit Chapman with a line drive off the bat in a spring training game on March 19, 2014 causing a skull fracture above Chapman’s left eye and a metal plate to be inserted into his head to stabilize the fracture.

Chapman began the 2014 season on the disabled list due to the fracture in his skull and did not return to the baseball diamond until May 10^th of that season. Chapman’s 2014 season and 2015 seasons went off without a hitch until the left-hander was almost traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the winter before the 2016 season. Apparently Chapman had a domestic violence case pending against him from earlier that winter which kept the Dodgers from acquiring him. The New York Yankees came in with a lesser package of prospects and acquired the left-hander giving up Rookie Davis, Tony Renda, Caleb Cotham and Eric Jagielo. Chapman missed the first 30 games of the season due to his domestic violence incident from the offseason and by July 25^th he was no longer a Yankee.

The Yankees traded Chapman to the Chicago Cubs for Gleyber Torres, Billy McKinney, Adam Warren and Rashad Crawford with hopes that New York could rebuild their farm system while the Cubs could win a World Series. Success and success as the Yankees have one of, if not the, highest touted farm systems in all of Major League Baseball in 2017 due to this trade and trades like it while Aroldis Chapman helped lead the Cubs to their first World Series victory since the Curse of the Billy Goat was cast in 1908.

Chapman, World Series ring on his finger, hit free agency after the 2016 season ended and has now found a home back in the Bronx. For the next five seasons Aroldis Chapman will be closing games inside of Yankee Stadium and that makes me very, very happy. Welcome back Aroldis, the family missed you!

This Day in New York Yankees History 12/9: Andy Pettitte Returns, Again

On this day in 2015 the New York Yankees shipped left-handed relief pitcher Justin Wilson to the Detroit Tigers for a pair of starting pitching prospects, Luis Cessa and Chad Green.



Also on this day in 2009 Yankees starting pitcher Andy Pettitte receives a one year deal worth $11.75 million to return for one more season. This is fresh off of winning all three clinching games in the playoffs including the World Series at age 37. Pettitte finished with a 4-0 record in five postseason starts against the Phillies, Twins, and Angels.



Also on this day in 2008 Tony Kubek would become the first person to ever receive the Ford C. Frick Award which honors broadcast members in the Hall of Fame. The former Yankee and Blue Jays broadcast personality has not watched a single game on television since he signed off in 1994.


Finally on this day in 1988 the New York Yankees signed a twelve year television deal with the Madison Square Garden television network. The Yankees would stay with the MSG network until 2002 when they would start their own network, the YES Network. This move is generally accredited with starting the trend of getting more games on regional sports networks.