Most Popular Article of the Week: Yankees May Still Terminate Alex Rodriguez's Contract

Stay tuned, I think this may become a weekly post for us now as we article revisit every Monday the most popular article of the week on the blog. 

Just think Yankees fans in a week or so there will be nothing left for us to talk about except for Alex Rodriguez and his return to Major League Baseball and the New York Yankees. I can't wait, can you? I personally like to be a trend setter rather than a follower so I will begin the A Rod talk now after reading that the Yankees may still be able to terminate the remaining three years of Alex's contract. With the new developments in the Biogenesis case and the new set of court cases Alex may have not only been a user but a steroids pusher and dealer as well.

Anthony Bosch, Yuri Sucart (the cousin of A Rod), and Jorge Velazquez (a known A Rod associate) have already been indicted in this knew round of indictments. In THIS article from the Daily News the following regarding terminating his contract was brought up:

If A-Rod is indicted, the Yankees could conceivably invoke Clause 7(b)1 in the CBA (under Termination options), which states that a “club may terminate this contract upon written notice to the Player . . . if the Player shall at any time: fail, refuse or neglect to conform his personal conduct to the standards of good citizenship and good sportsmanship . . .” The club could cite the damage to the club’s brand and reputation resulting from an indictment and argue that the damage constitutes grounds for termination; Rodriguez could still appeal.

Remember that the last contract to be terminated in Major League Baseball was Shawn Chacon when he was a member of the Houston Astros. Chacon choked then GM Ed Wade before his contract was terminated so history is definitely on A Rod's side right now.

Until next time...

Joel Sherman Predicts Top 10 Free Agent Salaries

The New York Yankees are expected to once again be active in the Hot Stove and free agency market, even if it's a one and done type winter, so I found it interesting when Joel Sherman of the New York Post predicted the salaries of the Top 10 free agents this winter. Should this keep the Yankees away?

Max Scherzer

Projection: 7 years, $175 million

Jon Lester

Projection: 6 years, $145 million

James Shields

Projection: 5 years, $100 million

Yasmany Thomas

Projection: 7 years at $100 million

Pablo Sandoval

Projection: 5 years, $90 million

Hanley Ramirez

Projection: 5 years, $80 million

Nelson Cruz

Projection: 4 years, $72 million

Victor Martinez

Projection: 4 years, $60 million

Melky Cabrera

Projection: 4 years, $52 million

Russell Martin

Projection: 4 years, $52 million

TGP Daily Poll: Someone WILL Accept Qualifying Offer

For some reason I have a feeling that someone, any of the free agents, will accept a qualifying offer this season after watching Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales sit out for half a season.

Vote in our poll!

This Day in New York Yankees History 11/3: Enter Paul O'Neill

It was on this day in 1992 that the New York Yankees finally acquired right fielder Paul O'Neill. The Cincinnati Reds traded O'Neill and minor league player Joe DeBerry to the Yankees for Roberto Kelly. This trade works out for the Yankees as O'Neill was an integral part of four World Series championships before retiring after the 2001 season.

Also in this day in New York Yankees history that we probably don't want to remember a pair of World Series milestones happened against the Yankees in the World Series. On this day in 2001 in Game 6 of the World Series the Arizona Diamondbacks collected 21 hits in the first six innings establishing a new record for most hits in a World Series game. Also on this day in 2009 Chase Utley tied Reggie Jackson's 1977 record with his 5th home run of the World Series.

Should New York Take a Flyer on Ryan Ludwick?

The New York Yankees will need to replace both Chris Young and Ichiro Suzuki this season as the team searches for a fourth outfielder and a bench option, is that option Ryan Ludwick? The Cincinnati Reds recently declined the team option part of the contract of the right handed batter. Stats generally don't lie so let's look there.

Year	Age	Tm	G	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
2002	23	TEX	23	88	10	19	6	0	1	9	7	24	.235	.295	.346	.641	66
2003	24	TOT	47	175	17	40	8	1	7	26	12	48	.247	.299	.438	.737	93
2003	24	TEX	8	30	3	4	1	0	0	0	4	9	.154	.267	.192	.459	20
2003	24	CLE	39	145	14	36	7	1	7	26	8	39	.265	.306	.485	.791	108
2004	25	CLE	15	54	3	11	2	0	2	4	2	14	.220	.278	.380	.658	74
2005	26	CLE	19	48	8	9	0	0	4	5	7	13	.220	.333	.512	.846	125
2007	28	STL	120	339	42	81	22	0	14	52	26	72	.267	.339	.479	.818	110
2008 ★	29	STL	152	617	104	161	40	3	37	113	62	146	.299	.375	.591	.966	151
2009	30	STL	139	542	63	129	20	1	22	97	41	106	.265	.329	.447	.775	105
2010	31	TOT	136	553	63	123	27	2	17	69	48	121	.251	.325	.418	.743	104
2010	31	STL	77	314	44	79	20	2	11	43	24	64	.281	.343	.484	.827	123
2010	31	SDP	59	239	19	44	7	0	6	26	24	57	.211	.301	.330	.631	78
2011	32	TOT	139	558	56	116	23	0	13	75	51	124	.237	.310	.363	.674	90
2011	32	SDP	101	425	42	90	18	0	11	64	32	87	.238	.301	.373	.674	90
2011	32	PIT	38	133	14	26	5	0	2	11	19	37	.232	.341	.330	.671	90
2012	33	CIN	125	472	53	116	28	1	26	80	42	97	.275	.346	.531	.877	130
2013	34	CIN	38	140	7	31	5	0	2	12	10	29	.240	.293	.326	.618	71
2014	35	CIN	112	400	28	87	20	0	9	45	31	94	.244	.308	.375	.683	93
162 Game Avg.			162	606	69	140	31	1	23	89	52	135	.260	.330	.451	.781	110

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Ludwick is not a Plan A by any means but he is right handed bat in the outfield so he is an option nonetheless. This may all be a moot point anyway as he holds a club option for $9 million that he can exercise.

2015 Free Agency Royal Rumble – Shortstop

Ladies and gentleman welcome to the 2015 Major League Baseball free agency Royal Rumble brought to you by The Greedy Pinstripes. Tonight we have all the potential shortstop options for the New York Yankees heading into this winter in one ring vying for the contract of a lifetime, let’s go down to the ring.

In the red corner stands former Yankee Stephen Drew, in the blue corner stands Asdrubal Cabrera, in the green corner stands Jed Lowrie, and in the black corner stands Hanley Ramirez. Let’s get it on!

Ok I have had some fun writing these but this one really is no contest. New York is in the position where they have to sacrifice defense for offense if they want to compete in 2015 and 2016. Hanley can handle shortstop for a season or two before switching to third base or first base when Alex Rodriguez's and Mark Teixeira'sz contracts are over. Hanley, the other guys wouldn't even get in the ring. 

Angels Likely To Trade Kendrick or Freese

MLB Trade Rumors wrote this week about the fact that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim may have to trade wither second baseman Howie Kendrick or third baseman David Freese this winter. Should the Yankees be interested in either of them? Both of them? In a word, yes.

Neither will come cheap in terms of prospects or in salary but both are obtainable without giving up Top 10 talent. Kendrick is slated to make $9.5 million next season after posting a 2014 slash of .293/.347/.397 while Freese is scheduled to earn more than his $5.05 million he did in 2014 in his final season of arbitration after hitting .261/.321/.383 last season.

The Angels need a starting pitcher and/or a left handed relief pitcher for next season while also trying to get their spending under control. A trade for either Kendrick or Freese and only giving up a Bryan Mitchell, James Pazos, Tyler Webb, or someone not named Manny Banuelos, Shane Greene, or Jacob Lindgren makes sense for both clubs.

This may be what the Yankees need to pull off to help ease the 40 man roster crunch and Rule 5 Draft problems the team is likely to face this winter. Get it done Cash.

Yankees Arizona Fall League Update

I wrote this yesterday with hopes of taking at least some of my birthday off so the stats may be a little outdated but you get the point I am trying to make here, the Yankees offensive players are doing wonders in the Arizona Fall League this winter. Here is a quick statistical update for you guys:

Greg Bird:

.342/.400/.632 - 6 HR 19 RBI

Aaron Judge:

.296/.418/.574 - 4 HR 13 RBI

Dante Bichette Jr.:

.240/.310/.240 - 0 HR 6 RBI

Tyler Austin:

.322/.394/.492 - 2 HR 13 RBI

Kyle Higashioka:

.438/.500/.688 (16 at bats) - 1 HR 2 RBI

Comparing the 2014 and 2015 Top 10 Prospects Lists

I thought it was be interesting to compare the pre-season 2014 Top 10 prospects list from Baseball America to the list that came out before the 2015 season on Friday. Looking at the lists I have come to the conclusion that the Yankees system definitely took a step forward in 2014 and that is evident by the amount of depth on the list. No longer is "all" of the talent three to five years away and none of the talent in the International market that was signed this year really made the list. Things are looking up for the Yankees and their farm system finally but anyway, on to the list.

2014 List:

1. Gary Sanchez
2. Slade Heathcott
3. Mason Williams
4. John Ryan Murphy
5. Eric Jagielo
6. Aaron Judge
7. Ian Clarkin
8. Greg Bird
9. Luis Severino
10. Gosuke Katoh

2015 List:

1. Luis Severino
2. Aaron Judge
3. Jorge Mateo
4. Greg Bird
5. Gary Sanchez
6. Ian Clarkin
7. Robert Refsnyder
8. Jacob Lindgren
9. Luis Torrens
10. Miguel Andujar

I think the most encouraging thing on this list is the fact that Gary Sanchez dropped four slots. Sanchez did not have a "fall off the Earth" type season, was not injured, and played pretty well. It goes to show you the extreme strides that the men in front of him took.

This Day in New York Yankees History 11/2: A Legend is Born!

On this day in 1985 a great Yankees fan Daniel Burch was born in Lebanon Hospital in the Bronx, New York. He would go on to co-own and create the "greatest Yankees blog ever" in his own very humble and biased opinion. Hey it was a slow day in New York Yankees history, sue me.

Also on this day in 1964 the Columbia Broadcasting System becomes the first corporate owner of a Major League Baseball team when they bought 80% of the New York Yankees. Dan Topping and Del Webb sold the stake in the Yankees for a staggering $11.2 million at the time. The Yankees would reward CBS with a sixth place finish in the American League and a second place finish in the American League East in their first year of ownership with a 77-85 record.