Yankees Arbitration Eligible Players

The Yankees go into the long winter with a very uncertain roster and an even more uncertain future heading into 2013. The first flashes of clarity came down when the Yankees picked up options on Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, and David Aardsma and now we are close to having even more clarity. The Yankees have a total of seven arbitration eligible players next season and how much they earn will have a big impact on what the Yankees do in 2013 and beyond.

Phil Hughes heads up the list after making $3.2 million last season for the Yankees in the starting rotation. Hughes has had some inconsistency to say the least in his big league career so I wouldn't expect him to make much over $5 million a season.

Casey McGehee came over in a mid season trade after making $2.5 million last season for the Pirates and the Yankees. His value severely dropped and so did his playing time so I cannot fathom a way that he makes over $3 million next season.

Brett Gardner had a total of 31 at bats for the Yankees in 2012 after making $2.8 million for sitting on the disabled list most of the season. After missing most of the season I cannot see him making any more then what he is currently making.

Boone Logan threw a career high in innings pitched, games, and K/9 while making $1.9 million for the Yankees in 2012. I could see Boone's salary almost double next season after this being his fourth arbitration eligible season.

David Robertson has been the shut down set up man that we have been lacking since Mariano Rivera was John Wetteland's setup man in 1996. Robertson made $1.6 million in 2012 and if Robertson had not missed a month with an injury he could be sitting at around $3.5 million but I would probably see it settle more around $3 million for 2013.

Joba Chamberlain had the exact definition of a roller coaster up and down season in 2012. He went into the season where he made $1.67 million and rehabbed a dislocated ankle and his Tommy John surgery to have a nice month or two, including the post season. I still do not expect him to get a raise but if he made under $2 million next season I think it would still be a steal.

Jayson Nix was a steal at the league minimum for the Yankees bench in 2012. Nix's value is his ability to play multiple infield positions and the fact that he is not a slouch with the bat never hurts either. If we could keep him and give him more of Eric Chavez's role from 2012 then he would be a steal for $1 million or less.

Thoughts & Prayers To Those Affected By Hurricane Sandy

Never take a single day for granted because you are not promised tomorrow...

I just wanted to take a minute to tell everyone affected by or who has family or friends or loved ones affected by Hurricane Sandy that you are in our thoughts and prayers. At last check we had a confirmed 16 deaths due to the storm and countless numbers of homes, buildings, and cars affected. To the nearly 2 million people without power right now in New York and to all those affected, again, you are in my thoughts and prayers.

2012-2013 Winter Calendar

River Avenue Blues posted a beautiful article outlining the calendar of events ahead for what looks to be yet another busy and exciting offseason for Major League Baseball. If you want to know anything from how long teams have to pick up options, offer contracts, how long players have to negotiate with their former teams exclusively, when players are officially free agents, when the Winter Meetings are, etc just check out the write up on RAB. Enjoy!

Martin, Teixeira, & Cano Named Finalists For Gold Gloves

The finalists for the Gold Gloves were announced today and three Yankees names were on them, Mark Teixeira, Russell Martin, and Robinson Cano. The winner will be announced Tuesday 10/30 on ESPN 2 at 9:00 pm ET. I am especially surprised to see Cano and Martin getting recognition for these awards finally as Cano has always been considered to be lazy in the field and lackadaisical. The rest of the finalists can be seen here just in case you were wondering.

Cano, Granderson, and Aardsma's Options Picked Up

I just posted about the Yankee free agents, and noted that Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, and David Aardsma could join them should the team decline their 2013 options. Well, not one minute later I read at MLBTradeRumors (via Mark Feinsand's Twitter) that the Yankees did exercise those options.

Now it's time for the team to sign Cano to an extension!

Yankee Free Agents

The free agent season is officially upon us, although a free agent's former team has exclusive negotiating rights for the next 5 days. Not that you should expect anything close to "big" news, as any free agent that's worth anything is going to wait until all teams can negotiate... thus driving up the price for his services.

Twelve Yankees are included among the 137 total that filed for free agency...

Eric Chavez
Pedro Feliciano
Freddy Garcia
Raul Ibanez
Andruw Jones
Hiroki Kuroda
Derek Lowe
Russell Martin
Andy Pettitte
Mariano Rivera
Ichiro Suzuki
Nick Swisher

Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, and David Aardsma could join those twelve players, should their options for 2013 not be picked up (highly unlikely). Rafael Soriano will probably be the 13th Yankee to be a free agent, as he's expected to decline his player option for 2013, but after the news that Rivera may retire the Yanks could re-sign him.

Hyun-Jin Ryu To Be Posted

I posted an article regarding Ichiro Suzuki this morning, and now there's another Asian player making the news.

The Yonhap News reported that Hyun-Jin Ryu, who plays for the Nanwha Eagles of the Korean Baseball Organization, will be posted by his team. The Eagles had originally said they would not post Hyun-jin, as they wanted him for their rotation the next season, but apparently they will give in to Ryu's wishes. However, the team seems a little more willing to reject an offer, should it not live up to their expectations. Unfortunately they are not making their expectations known.

Mike Axisa at River Avenue Blues suggested that it could cost $20-$25 million to cover the posting fee and contract for Ryu, but he admits that it's just a guess. Just keep in mind that we're not talking about the next Yu Darvish here. The KBO is not on the same level as Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. But Hyun-Jin is only 25 years old, and is a lefty with four average to above average pitches, so he's at least intriguing to the Yankees.

Offseason Decisions: Ichiro Suzuki

And I tip my hat to you, sir.

I wouldn't mind if Ichiro Suzuki returned as a part-time player, but I don't want to count on a guy that had an OPS+ of 86, 95, and 84 in his last 2+ seasons in Seattle, as a regular player. I understand the idea that a player can become disinterested and unmotivated being on a bad team, but I just don't buy into it. When we acquired Ichiro I hoped that a move to a contender made a difference, but I'm not going to lie and say I expected it to. The fact of that matter is, if the game itself can't motivate them, not to mention a salary of $17 million, then I can't help but question that player's ability and/or makeup. I'm not a professional athlete, so I could be totally off on this point, but it's really hard for me to believe in somebody like that.

Another thing that gives me pause about Ichiro being an everyday player is that he just turned 39, which to be honest isn't that big a problem since he'd only command a one year contract... two at most. But we're talking about a guy who's value is largely wrapped up in his legs. I mean, if Ichiro can't steal 30+ bases in a season, and cover as much ground in the outfield, then his value to a team goes down quite a bit. And we mustn't forget that Brett Gardner should be healthy next season to pick up that part of the game for the Bombers.

Although Suzuki is unlikely to bat .300+ again, he still hit .272 and .283 the past two seasons. So there's certainly reason to like him in that regard. But look at his on-base percentage the past two seasons... .310 and .307, which is way off from his career OBP of .365. Looking at his numbers you may think his walk rate was the issue. Ichiro's career BB% is 5.9%, and his 2012 number was a major outlier at 3.3%. If he'd had the same BB% in 2012, his OBP would have been .321 thanks to walking 14 more times. So walks were not the only issue.

When I said "walk" this is what popped into my head.

The other 44 points missing from his OBP simply come from not getting as many hits. Unfortunately his batting average on balls in play, along with his line drive percentage, tells me that it wasn't a matter of being a unlucky. To be frank, age is catching up to him, as it would to any professional athlete (except for Derek Jeter, apparently). So even if Suzuki was able to increase his walk rate to normal levels, would you really want a guy that hits .280/.321/.390 (.390 was his slugging percentage in 2012, which was higher than in 2011) in the regular starting lineup? I mean, Eduardo Nunez hit .292/.330/.393 this past season, and he even played a bit in the outfield, so he could be almost the same guy as Suzuki anyway... and Eddie is already in the organization in 2013.

Ichiro has apparently said that he'd like to return to the Yankees, and that money is not an issue. The question in my mind is "would he come back as a part-time player?" If he's looking for a full-time gig in New York then perhaps he should see if the Mets are interested, because at that point I'd rather thank him for what he did in 2012 and wish him the best elsewhere.

No thanks, I think I'd rather retire.

Adams & Montgomery Added To AFL Rising Stars Game

The Arizona Fall League has a Rising Stars Showcase game that is less like an All Star game and more like what is sounds like, a showcase for the bigger named prospects. The Yankees will be well represented with David Adams and Mark Montgomery attending the game for the Scottsdale Scorpions. Congratulations to them both!! In other AFL news Dellin Betances has not pitched in the league in over a week due to a groin injury. This injury does not seem serious and has nothing to do with the shoulder injury that ended his season prematurely.

Yankees Resign 4 Minor Leaguers, Release Another

The Yankees wasted no time in trying to lock up some of their minor league systems yesterday as they announced that the resigned LHP Juan Cedeno, LHP Francisco Rondon, OF Abe Almonte, and OF Cody Johnson. The Yankees also announced that they released OF Bill Hart. These are nothing but depth moves but you have to consider that Juan Cedeno and Abe Almonte could be Spring Training invitees in 2013 so the re signs make sense.