Shin-Soo Choo or Carlos Beltran?

So far the Yankees have been linked to pretty much every top free agent on the market for this upcoming offseason. Who knows what that means, but hopefully it means that the Yankees plan on being active in free agency this winter. 

The looming Alex Rodriguez appeal is an issue because it is not expected to pick up again for another three weeks. It will take at least another week after that to finish it, and then arbitrator Fred Horowitz will have 25 days to render a ruling. By that time all of the top free agents could be gone. 

Starting pitching, catcher and the left side of the infield are considered bigger needs than outfield, but the Yankees have been rumored to be interested in Carlos Beltran and Shin-Shoo Choo. Ichiro Suzuki or Vernon Wells are not suited to be starting in the outfield and either Beltran or Choo would be huge additions to the Yankees. Which one provides the better value though? 

In a vacuum Choo is obviously the better player than Beltran, but of course he will cost much more than Beltran. With the $90 million deal Hunter Pence got in San Francisco there is speculation that Choo could be in line for $100 million, since he is a better player than Pence. With the Yankees trying to get under the $189 million luxury tax they need to watch every dollar carefully. 

Choo is an on-base machine, as he was 4th in MLB with a .423 OBP this season. The Yankees are coming off a season where they had a hideous team OBP of .307, which was their lowest since 1990. The Yankees have always been known for driving up a pitchers pitch count and working walks, and Choo would help bring that element back to the Yankees. 

Overall, Choo had a fantastic season, as he had a .285/.423/.462/.885 slash line with 21 home runs and 151 wRC+. It is realistic to think that Choo could approach 30 home runs with the short porch at Yankee Stadium. Choo could combine with Brett Gardner to form one of the best top of the lineups in MLB. 

The problems with Choo are his platoon splits, his age and his defense. I think the defense is the least of his problems because you can hide a bad fielder in right field at Yankee Stadium. His -15.5 UZR was terrible last season, but center field in Cincinnati is a lot different from right field in New York.

Against lefties last season Choo had a slash line of .215/.347.265/.612 and against righties it was .317/.457/.554/1.011. Choo did not hit lefties at all, but his OBP against them did not make him completely useless. Gardner and Choo at the top of the lineup against a lefty would be an issue as would a manager bringing in a lefty late in a game to face Choo. 

Choo is 31, so he should still have some prime years left, but the end of his contract could be an issue. That is something that has burned the Yankees recently. 

Meanwhile, Beltran is tearing it up in another postseason for St. Louis. I am one who thinks postseason performance is a small sample size and is mostly random, but Beltran continues to defy me. At this point you have to come to expect Beltran to perform every postseason, even though past postseason play usually has no effect on future postseasons. 

Beltran was great in the regular season as well, as he hit .296 with 24 home runs, 79 RBI, a .830 OPS and 132 w RC+. He is 38 years old, which is an obvious concern, but he has shown absolutely zero signs of decline. Also, because of that age the Yankees should be able to get him on a nice discount. 

Beltran has always wanted to play for the Yankees and is a great clubhouse guy. Beltran being a switch hitter is also a huge plus. With the Yankees trying to get under $189 million he would probably be the better option due to how much cheaper he would come as opposed to Choo. 

World Series Week: Game 4 Of The 1999 World Series

Watch as the New York Yankees sweep their second consecutive World Series as they beat the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the 1999 World Series. The Yankees would win 14 consecutive games in the World Series before losing in Game 3 of the 2000 World Series. This is World Series week on The Greedy Pinstripes.

Poll: Yankees Starting Catcher For 2014

Yankees Starting Catcher For 2014?
	Austin Romine
	Chris Stewart
	Francisco Cervelli
	JR Murphy
	Carlos Ruiz
	Brian McCann
	Other -- Please Specify
pollcode.com free polls

Who do you think the Yankees starting catcher should be when Opening Day comes around in 2014? Should it be Austin Romine? Should we forgive Francisco Cervelli and give him another shot at it? Should we go out and get a big named free agent like Brian McCann or Carlos Ruiz? Or should we, no never mind on Chris Stewart. Go ahead and vote and the results are to follow. Thank you for your participation. 

Dustin Pedroia Wins Gold Glove For Second Base

The Yankees only finalist in the Gold Glove Award running was Robinson Cano at second base for the American League and the winners were announced last night and the Red Sox Dustin Pedroia beat out Cano for the award. Cano was the reigning champion and has two Gold Gloves already in his cabinet but this one goes to the one they call "Peddy."

This Day In New York Yankees History 10/30

On this day in 2001 President George W. Bush became the eight President to attend a World Series game and the first since Dwight D. Eisenhower to throw out a ceremonial first pitch. This all obviously came on the heels of the September 11th terrorists attacks. Bush brought the nation back together with his thumbs up and his perfect strike off the mound. 'Merica!

On this day in 2007 the New York Yankees signed manager Joe Girardi to a three year deal worth $7,500,000 to replace longtime manager Joe Torre. Girardi was coming off of a Manager of the Year award with the Miami Marlins in 2006 and beat out coaches Don Mattingly and Tony Pena for the job. Girardi would be the Yankees 42nd manager in their storied history.

Current Arizona Fall League Standings - 10/30

The Scorpions are currently 4 games out of first place in the AFL East, as they are 7-11, not 7-10. Peoria's also 7-11, meaning they 4.5 games out of first in the AFL West, not 5. 

Scorpions fall to Javelinas for second straight day, 3-2

Tonight, the Scorpions traveled to Peoria looking to get revenge on the Javelinas after yesterday's defeat in Scottsdale. Going into this game, the Scorpions were just 7-10, having lost four consecutive games, while the Javelinas were 6-11, the worst record in the league. So, you can imagine that both teams wanted this game pretty badly. Unfortunetally for the Scorps, it appeares the team that wanted it more wasn't them, as they fell 3-2. 

The only Yankee who played in this one, Peter O'Brien, went 1-for-4 with a solo home run. But besides that hit, this game really was bad. This loss is their fifth straight after they won five straight. So basically, all the effort they put in earlier this month's by wasted by recent struggles. Right now, I think it's safe to say we won't see the Scorpions win the AFL East this year, much less the AFL Crown. But, they still gotta play some more games. So might as well keep following them. 

Yankees Rank 16th In Latest Baseball America List

Baseball America went around releasing their Top 20 prospects lists for every league and now those lists have been used to rank the teams with the best minor league systems with immediate reinforcements on the way. Basically this list and point system shows us who has the best and the most major league ready talent and the Yankees are ranked in the middle of the pack with a 16th ranking out of 30 teams.

The Red Sox are in first place followed by the Houston Astros and the San Diego Padres filling out the top three. The Milwaukee Brewers are the last place team, which I can agree with. With these rankings looking not only at the 2014 season but the 2015 season as well so I think the Yankees are ranked this high due to the fact that the likes of Slade Heathcott, Manny Banuelos, Tyler Austin, and maybe even Rafael DePaula may be ready by then.

Yankees Do Not Seem Interested In Kevin Youkilis Return

The New York Yankees do not seem willing or interested in bringing back Kevin Youkilis for the 2014 season and Youk's agent Joe Bick confirmed as much. Bick claims that Youk is healthy and ready to go and would have been if the Yankees had made the post season. Still Youk is 24 years old and has multiple seasons with back injuries, he is a huge question mark.

Youk only saw 118 plate appearances in 2013 and put up a weak .219/.305/.343 triple slash with only two home runs. Youk only saw 28 games after the back kept him out and missed a ton of Spring Training as well with another injury. Mark Reynolds gave us everything that Kevin Youkilis was supposed to last season so if anyone comes back it will be Reynolds and not Youkilis.

Trenton Thunder Named Minor League Team of Year

(TRENTON, NJ) MiLB.com, the official website of Minor League Baseball, has named the Trenton Thunder, Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, "Team of the Year" following a three week online voting period this month. The honor is part of the annual "MiLBY" Awards which are presented by MiLB.com each fall.

The Thunder were the champions of the Eastern League after earning the East Division Wild Card during the regular season. Trenton got hot at the end of the year and finished on a nine-game winning streak including sweeps of the first place Binghamton Mets in the Eastern Division Championship and the Western Division Champs, the Harrisburg Senators, to earn the title. Trenton became the first team to sweep both rounds of the EL postseason since 1991. 

The title is the franchise's third in its 20 seasons in Trenton, all under the watch of Manager Tony Franklin. In Franklin's seven years with the Thunder, he has led them to the EL Championship Series five times.

MiLBYs are the end-of-season awards that honor the best players, teams and performances of the Minor League season. For three weeks, fans chose their favorites in 13 categories at milb.com. The official website of Minor League Baseball announces Fans' Choice winners as well as MiLB.com staff picks for the major awards.

Trenton is a finalist for two additional MiLBY Awards that will be announced on Thursday, October 31. The Retirement Party for Chase That Golden Thunder is a nominee for "Promotion of the Year" and a tribute video for Chase is up for "Mascot Clip of the Year". 

The Thunder will begin the 2014 season on at home on Thursday, April 3. Season tickets, group outings, Pic-A-Plans, and Mini Plan renewals are on sale now. For more information about tickets, fans should call 609-394-3300 or visit trentonthunder.com.

Being posted with permission from the Trenton Thunder organization. The original article can be seen HERE.