James Shields Signs With Padres

Until last night, with pitchers and catchers reporting to camp next week, one of the top free agent starting pitchers was still on the board.

Shields and the San Diego Padres finally agreed to a deal, after nearly a week of going back and forth. The contract will be worth $75 million over four years, and will include a club option for a fifth year (no word on the value of the option).

James is from the San Diego area, and wanted to return to the west coast. The Miami Marlins had actually offered a three year deal, with a vesting option for a fourth, for around $20 million a year. However, the allure of the west coast and more overall money, snagged Shields' services.

While some Yankees fans may be sad that their team didn't add another starter, as there are questions all over the rotation (Pineda's shoulder, Tanaka's elbow, Sabathia's elbow, Capuano and Eovaldi's effectiveness), I'm not one of them. For starters, James just turned 33 years old, and most players at that age are about to decline. And seeing his strikeout rate fall in each of the last two seasons is a concern too.

That's not to say Shields isn't good. The average velocity of his fastball has actually gone up in each of the last three years. And his FIP has been below 3.60 for the past four seasons. I just don't think it would have been wise for the Yankees to spend nearly $20 million a season, for the next 4+ years, to get him.

Sure, there are all those health questions surrounding the current rotation. And depth is always important, as injuries are bound to come up. But I really don't think a team should shell out big money for depth. That big money should go to players that a team needs, instead of players that a team might need. Adam Warren (pre-arbitration), Esmil Rogers ($1.48 million), Chase Whitley (pre-arbitration)... those guys are "depth". And don't forget that Ivan Nova is doing well in his rehab from Tommy John surgery, and should be available around the mid-way point of the season.

Besides, it's not like Shields is in Boston, or even the American League.

Meet a Prospect: Chasen Shreve

While most of the planet was watching the College Football Playoff, including myself, the New York Yankees were trading Manny Banuelos to the Atlanta Braves for RHP David Carpenter and LHP Chasen Shreve. This trade honestly had me scratching my head at first and while I wasn't happy to see one of my favorite pitching prospects traded away for someone I called "another Shawn Kelley(Carpenter)" the more I read the more I began to understand the trade. Let's find out why as we meet a prospect, Chasen Shreve.

Chasen Dean Shreve stands 6'3" and throws with his left arm hanging from his 190 lb. frame at 24 years old, 25 years old by July 2015. Shreve was drafted in the 11th round of the 2010 MLB First Year Player's Draft by the Atlanta Braves out of College in Southern Nevada. Shreve was a former teammate of Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper but the immediate success that Harper had did not follow Shreve at the beginning of his professional career.

Shreve struggled for much of his minor league career until his 2014 season where he found around 3-4 MPH in velocity on his fastball and did more blowing people away and less spotting the ball. Shreve's success led him to the MLB Braves in 2014 where he finished with a 0.73 ERA in 12.1 IP and 15 K's with just three walks.

Shreve is likely just behind Justin Wilson on the Yankees LHP depth chart and for now may be ahead of Jacob Lindgren and Tyler Webb. Welcome to the family Chasen!

Looking at the 2015 Draft: 20th Best Prospect

Continuing our look at the 2015 MLB First Year Players Draft we take a look at the #20 ranked prospect expected to enter the draft. As always we will include the mini scouting report from MLB.com as we introduce the #20 prospect, Cody Ponce. Ponce is a RHP from Cal Poly Pomona and is a Junior there. 

Here is the write up from MLB.com:

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Cutter: 55 | Curveball: 45 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 50Cal Poly Pomona has produced eight big leaguers, but never a first-round pick. That could change in June, as Ponce is a good bet to surpass Mark Wiley (second round, 1970) as the highest-drafted player in the program's history.
Ponce stands out primarily for his size and fastball. The 6-foot-5, 235-pounder sits at 91-94 mph and touches 96, though his heater gets hit more than it should because it tends to straighten out.
Ponce's secondary pitches are still a work in progress. His improving cutter is his No. 2 option, he's not afraid to throw his changeup and he also has a curveball that often devolves into a slurve. He does a nice job of using his height to drive his pitches down in the strike zone, not allowing a single home run during his first two college seasons.

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20. Cody Ponce
21. Riley Ferrell 
22. Chris Betts
23. James Kaprielian
24. Jake Lemoine
25. Beau Burrows
26. Richie Martin
27. Kyle Tucker
28. D.J. Stewart

ICYMI: Sanchez & Refsnyder Rank In Top Eastern League Prospects

Baseball America has been releasing their Top 20 prospects in every league in the minor leagues and this time it's time for the Eastern League to shine. In case you were wondering the Eastern League is Double-A where the Trenton Thunder play. Two Yankees made this list including Robert Refsnyder and Gary Sanchez. Luis Severino did not throw enough innings to qualify for this list unfortunately.

The Nationals outfielder Michael Taylor topped the list followed by the Red Sox Mookie Betts and the Indians Francisco Lindor for the top three spots. Yankees prospects Tyler Austin, Bryan Mitchell, Manny Banuelos, and others presumably just missed the list. This was one of the more deeper lists that BA has released this offseason. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 2/9: Alex Rodriguez Apologizes

On this day in 2009, two days after the story broke on SI.com, Alex Rodriguez admitted to and then apologized for using steroids when he was a Texas Rangers shortstop from 2001 to 2003. A Rod conducted the interview on ESPN and told us that he was hoping to live up to his mega contract that he got with the Rangers for 10 years and $252 million.

Also on this sad day in 2007 Bernie Williams shared with reporters that he planned to decline the Yankees invitation to Spring Training on a minor league contract. Williams mentioned that he had been working out but has not ruled out retirement.

Also on this day in 2001, after 13 months of negotiations, Derek Jeter and the Yankees finalized a 10 year deal worth $189 million. Jeter would become the highest paid player in the game behind only Alex Rodriguez who was making $252 million over 10 seasons.

Finally on this day in 1980 the late Yankees catcher Thurman Munson is inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Kent State University. Munson was a college outfielder at Kent and was taught to play catcher by Hal Schoonover, a coach of the Ken Golden Flashes baseball team.

Yankees to give Refsnyder chance at starting second base job in spring training

Rob Refsnyder's chances at the Yankees' starting second base job certainly didn't look too great after the club re-signed Stephen Drew to a one-year/$5-million deal last month, but that doesn't mean they're not still there. 

Refsnyder will still get the opportunity to win the role at spring training, general manager Brian Cashman said Friday.

According to Cashman, Refsnyder isn't the Yankees' top choice for the position yet, but will be given time to develop his defensive skills during camp. Refsnyder, 23, is a converted outfielder struggling to adjust to the infield -- something clearly shown by the recurring issues he had with his glove last season. 

"We're going to see that develop in spring training," Cashman told WFAN radio. 

Refsnyder batted .318/.387/.497 with 14 home runs and 63 RBI in 137 games last year at Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but wasn't nearly as good on the other side of the ball. His fielding percentage at the two levels was just .977, and he committed 12 errors. 

Refsnyder will still be considered by the team, though, if Cashman and the Yankees notice improvement. 

"The bottom line is, he'll go into camp, and he'll compete, and he'll have a chance to potentially earn a spot on the roster," Cashman said.

Refsnyder is currently viewed as one of the Yankees' top prospects, and was often talked about by New York's fanbase last season when Brian Roberts was in the midst of his slump. Indeed, many wanted to see Refsnyder brought up to replace the weak-hitting Roberts, a plan Cashman didn't support at the time.

Now, however, the GM seems to be thinking differently. 

"He has a chance to be a regular offensive second baseman," Cashman, referring to Refsnyder, said. 

2015 New York Yankees Minor League Free Agents

When a minor league player spends seven seasons in a major league farm system they must be added to the 40 man roster or they become minor league free agents. None of these players were added before the deadline of January, 15 2015 and were not added to the 40 man roster, like Jose Pirela was this past September, so they became minor league free agents. Here is the list as a reminder as we inch closer and closer to Spring Training 2015:

LHP Jeremy Bleich (27)
SS Ali Castillo (25)
LHP/RHP Pat Venditte (29)
C Kyle Higashioka *signed back* (24)
RHP Joel De La Cruz (25)

Pulaski Yankees Release Logos/Uniforms

Just released by the @pulaskiyanks. Here is the logo's along with the uniform design. @PinstripedPros @RPimpsner pic.twitter.com/564HfR4pYF
— JW Gravley (@JGravley_PP) February 6, 2015

The newest affiliate of the New York Yankees, the Pulaski Yankees, have finally released their logo and their uniforms for their inaugural 2015 season. Enjoy the tweet above as we wait for the minor league affiliate to open up later this year. #ProspectsMonth.

Greedy Pinstripes Top 28 Prospects List: #21

Prospects Month is in full swing and we're already up to our 22nd best prospect in the farm system, Slade Heathcott.

Here is the write up from Kyle McDaniel on Heathcott:

Slade Heathcott, CF Video: Heathcott has been on these lists for awhile and seems to move up or down 5-10 spots every year, as he shows flashes of breaking out, then gets injured or doesn’t perform as well.   He was a huge makeup question out of high school (which you can Google for details) when he signed for $2.2 million in the first round. He’s now married and has settled down a lot, but he’s having trouble getting over nagging leg injuries, with the most recent being a knee problem that kept him out most of 2014. When he’s right, Heathcott is a 65 runner with an above average arm and at least 50 raw power from the left side, so you can see why that’s exciting if he’s hitting and healthy, though his plate discipline has always been just okay.

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22. Nick Rumbelow
23. Jose Ramirez
24. Ramon Flores
25. Gosuke Katoh
26. Chasen Shreve
27. Taylor Dugas

28. Johnny Barbato

Meet A Prospect: Dellin Betances

Dellin Betances was born on March 23, 1988 in Washington Heights, Manhattan in New York. Dellin was born to parents Jamie and Maria Betances after they emigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic. Jamie was a boxer and drives for a car service to support Dellin and his two older brothers and younger sister. The Betances family moved to the Lower East Side of Manhattan when Dell was ten years old where Dellin attended many Yankees games with his family. One of those games he witnessed firsthand at age 10 was David Wells perfect game in 1998 while sitting with the Bleacher Creatures. This, according to Dellin, was the reason that the 6’ 9” right hander chose baseball over basketball and forces him to play summer baseball in the Youth Service League. Betances spent his High School years at Grand Street Campus School in Brooklyn, New York and could throw an 85 MPH fastball as a freshmen. By his Junior year in 2005 Betances was up to 90 MPH on the fastball while towering over his competition at 6’ 4” on his way to being named an Aflac All-American, the first player from New York City to receive the honor. Betances also played for the Team USA Junior National Team that season. By 2006 Betances was  6’ 9” and was rated as the tenth best High School prospect in all the land by SchoolSports.com.

Betances went into the 2006 MLB First Year Players Draft expecting to be chosen in the first round even though he was committed to Vanderbilt University on a full baseball scholarship. His commitment to the Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team as well as him coming out and asking for a high signing bonus made him fall in the draft and fall fast. The New York Yankees finally took a shot on the local kid in the eighth round of the draft giving him a $1 million signing bonus snatching him away from College Baseball. Dellin used that money to buy his family a house in  Teaneck, New Jersey as a thank you for all that they did. Great kid with a great makeup, local kid, seems destined to be a great Yankee, no?

Betances spent his 2007 season with the Staten Island Yankees in the New York Penn League as the Yankees third best prospect and made it all the way to Low A with the Charleston Riverdogs by the 2008 season began. Another year and another promotion for Dellin in 2009 as the Yankees fifth best prospect according to Baseball America went up to High A with the Tampa Yankees, although struggling with a 2-5 record and a 5.48 ERA in 11 starts before suffering an elbow injury in early June of that season. Betances had surgery late in 2009 which was a ligament reinforcement procedure and not the dreaded Tommy John surgery that so many power pitchers have to receive. Betances began the 2010 back in Tampa but quickly received a midseason promotion to the AA affiliate the Trenton Thunder pitching so well the Yankees added Dellin to the 40 man roster after the season. Another season another promotion for Dellin as he started the 2011 in AAA with the Scranton Wilkes Barre team. Betances was called up to the majors for the first time that season on September 8, 2011.

Betances had a pitching sessions in the street in front of his Teaneck, New Jersey home with his brother before joining up with the Yankees in Anaheim to face the Angels. Betances and fellow prospect and “Killer B” Andrew Brackman both made their Major League debuts on September 22, 2011 and Betances only saw one other appearance for the Yankees that season. Betances was sent back down to AAA for the 2012 season and after struggling in the rotation the Yankees moved Betances to the bullpen on May 10, 2013. Betances was brought up to the majors when Ivan Nova went down last season with an injury but was used very little and sent back down when Nova came off the disabled list in May. Betances pitched to a 1.46 ERA with 63 strikeouts in 49.1 IP as a reliever in AAA and was recalled back to New York on August 11, 2013. Betances spent four days with the big league club before being sent back down on August 15 and brought back as a September call up on September 1^st. Betances was seldom used for whatever reason and spent most of September sitting on the bench rather than gaining valuable experience. Most of that may have been the fact the Yankees were in a dog fight for the second Wild Card.

Dellin absolutely went off during the 2014 season setting the strikeout record for a Yankees reliever in a single season, passing Mariano Rivera, and may have had the torch passed to him from David Robertson as the closer in 2015.