End Of The World Music Recommendation

With the Mayans prediction of the world ending tomorrow I figured I would get this in as one last ditch effort to whore up some views for the blog. Enjoy the song and hope for the best tomorrow!

Omar Luis Having Visa Issues

According to Ben Badler of Baseball America, Omar Luis is having trouble obtaining a visa after using documents claiming permanent Haitian residency. The problem is that Haitian documents are notoriously unreliable, and it's common knowledge that Omar has lived and trained in the Dominican Republic.

Luis is the 20 year old Cuban left-handed pitcher that the Yankees signed for $4 million, before the new CBA came into affect... which limited spending on international free agents. Here is Ben Badler's scouting report...

Luis, 19, has a five-pitch mix, stands out for his pitchability and scouts have lauded him for his competitiveness on the international circuit. His fastball ranges from 86-92 mph and touched 93 at a recent workout with solid sink and run. Luis doesn’t have a knockout pitch, but he mixes his stuff well, attacks hitters aggressively and throws strikes to all quadrants of the zone, though he does have a head whack when he finishes his delivery. His 73-78 mph curveball flashes average and he’ll use it against both lefties and righties, though some scouts prefer his changeup. He’ll mix in the occasional slider and cutter as well. Luis is listed at 5-foot-11, 205 pounds, and he’s a stocky guy who will have to always stay on top of his conditioning…

Given his age and experience level, Luis would likely report as high as low Class A Charleston, though he still must be able to acquire a visa, so it’s not certain when Luis will be able to begin his career. Luis, like Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler, is represented by Bart Hernandez of Praver Shapiro Sports Management.

AJ Pierzynski Comes Off Board, Signs W/ Texas

AJ Pierzynski and the Texas Rangers have agreed upon a one year deal for the 2013 season and yet another Yankees option comes off the board. I guess there might actually be some validity to the "Austin Romine to start for the Yankees" reports and rumors from earlier. No details on the money and such so check back for that update.

The 2013 Starting Catcher: Austin Romine?

UPDATE: After doing a bit of digging I was able to find this tweet from Jon Heyman...

#yankees still cant get excited about pierzynski (looking to go with romine), so #rangers may be best bet. aj hit 27 bombs
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 19, 2012

I can't find any sources for this information, but I read that the Yankees are currently thinking about having Austin Romine be the starting catcher.

This isn't news that makes me really excited, but I would look forward to seeing what the kid could do. Austin hasn't torn up AAA ball, but he wouldn't be the first guy to do well in the majors after a lackluster minor league career.

Prospect : Dugas, Segedin, Butler, Pope & Johnson

My friend over at Pro Sports Daily forums posted five guys that he really likes that are not really well known names down in the Yankees system. I really enjoyed reading this so, with his permission, I figured I would share with you guys as well. I encourage you all to click HERE and check out the original post to show him some love and to check out the stats that he posted that are not copying over here well. Enjoy the list!

5 non-prospects (more than likely organizational guys) that I like

1- Taylor Dugas - 5'8 / 170 lbs / 23 / Bats: Left, Throws: Left

8th round pick of the Yankees this year. Plus K-Zone discipline, advanced approach at the plate, solid hit tool (career .360 hitter in college as well in the SEC) carry him offensively. He has little to no power. Defensively, he has above average speed and arm strength. He has a ceiling of a 4th OF, maybe a starter on a lower-tier team. His intangibles and competitiveness are all off the charts. He's probably an organizational guy but I really like his game.

2- Rob Segedin - 6'3 / 220 / 24 / Bats: Right, Throws: Right

3rd round pick of the Yankees in 2010. Segedin played 3B/LF/RF this year in Hi-A and AA ball. He's a contact oriented hitter. He has an advanced approact at the plate and takes the ball the other way pretty well. He has a strong throwing arm and is an an average defender at both 3B and in the outfield. He doesn't have the necessary power to play either a corner OF or INF position which limits his ceiling.

3- Saxon Butler - 6'2 / 239 / 22 / Bats: Left, Throws: Left

Drafted by the Yankees in the 33rd round of this year's draft. The guy can mash. He makes consistent contact with the ball and hits it hard. No value on defense or in the running game. His numbers took a hit after he was promoted to Charleston mid-season. 

4- Ryan Pope - 6'3 / 205 / 26 / Bats: Right, Throws: Right

Time's running out for him. He had some bad BABIP luck in 2012. Gave up a bit too many hits. His other peripherals (specifically K/9, BB/9 ratios) were elite. Fastball sits 91-93 and he commands it well. Has a change-up and curveball that he commands well, though neither are anything more than average pitches. He might have the best pitching deliver in the entire system. Quick, effortless, efficient.

5- Cody Johnson - 6'4 / 240 / 23 / Bats: Left, Throws: Right

Former 1st round pick of the Braves in 2006. He has tons of power from the left side, especially against right handed pitching (.512 SLG and .864 OPS against RHP last season in AA). Still fairy young. Doesn't offer anything else though especially defensively or on the basepaths. Needs to improve plate discipline. Pinch hitter / platoon player is his ceiling.

Yankees Considered Moving Tyler Austin To Third Base

The Yankees originally drafted now super prospect Tyler Austin to be a catcher but quickly moved him to the hot corner for his first professional season with the team. Last season, Austin's breakout season that saw him get all the way to AA Trenton, the Yankees moved him to right field where he played a lot of in high school and college. With the Alex Rodriguez hip injury, Dante Bichette Jr's disappointing sophmore season, and nobody else really worth talking about besides David Adams and Corban Joseph down the pipe line the Yankees have considered moving Tyler back to the hot corner. Austin, entering his age 21 season, is coming off of a break out season where he saw a .322/.400/.559 triple slash over three minor league affiliates. Personally I would like to leave him in the outfield for a while and not have him switching positions every year as he also has to adjust to better pitching but I guess Mark Newman and company knows better then I do.

Jim Miller Designated For Assignment For Ichiro

As predicted here on The Greedy Pinstripes the Ichiro Suzuki deal became official today and the Yankees designated Jim Miller for assignment to make room for him on the 40 man roster. There is a very small chance in my eyes that Jim Miller is NOT claimed this time but I was frankly shocked that he fell to us last time too so we will just have to watch and see.

The Yankees Are Speaking With Ibanez

I'm probably not the only Yankee fan that has reacted like this often this offseason.

Day by day I grow more frustrated this offseason. It started off just fine, with the Yankees picking up the options on Cano, Granderson, and Aardsma. Then things moved right along the way I'd expected and hoped, as the team brought back Kuroda, Pettitte, and Rivera on one year deals. However, at this point things went south.

The team found out that Alex Rodriguez was going to miss a large chunk of the season, so they were left scrambling to find somebody to fill in. ARod may not be the MVP-caliber player he was years back, but his loss still stings quite a bit, so it was important to make a move. Kevin Youkilis is not the most ideal fill-in, but I don't really have a problem with the signing. $12 million is a bit much, though, especially when I see that Fangraphs had him worth less than half of that ($5.7 million). It is only a one year deal, so it doesn't bother me much at all.

Looking at Kevin's face, I don't think Jorge whispered sweet nothings into his ear.

One move that does bother me is the signing of Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro turned 39 this past October, and the last 418 games he played for Seattle were far from impressive (his OPS+ during those 2+ years was below 90). The .322/.340/.454 he put up for the Yankees after the trade was great, and Suzuki can still play pretty good defense, but you'd have to be a fool to believe he could hit like that all season long. I suppose it wouldn't bother me if Ichiro was looked at as the 4th outfielder, but as of right now he's penciled into the starting lineup.

And what do I hear now? The Yankees may want to bring back Raul Ibanez, who will turn 41 next June. The same man that hit .248/.319/.492 vs. right-handed pitchers, and only .197/.246/.246 against lefties. Hardly numbers one should be drooling over going into 2013. On top of that the Yankees already have a bit of an issue with all three current outfield starters batting from the left side, so adding another left-handed bat seems dumb. Lastly, although Raul played quite a bit of left field in 2012, with some right field thrown in there, he's a below average fielder.

The team does need a designated hitter, so Raul must be looked at as a DH against RHP. But why? Chris Dickerson is not only a much better defender, but outside of Raul having a bit more power, Dickerson's career line vs. RHP of .269/.354/.424 is more attractive. Add on the fact that outside of a loss of power, Chris hits just as well versus same-sided pitching (.253/.344/.316). Finally, that doesn't take into account that Ibanez would likely make twice as much money as Dickerson would.

"Mr. Ibanez and I may look alike, but I could probably hit better than him."

It's not surprising that the Yankees would want to bring back another aging player who's well past his prime, but frankly I'm getting tired of it. I still believe Cashman has a trick or two up his sleeve, but already being an impatient man doesn't help one bit.

Injury Updates

My current feelings on the Yankees isn't too optimistic, so going over a few injured Yankee players doesn't make me feel much better. Although there is light at the end of the tunnel for these guys.

Jose Campos, perhaps better known as the lesser half of the two players the Yankees received for Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi, made only 5 starts in low-A Charleston last year before being shut down with an elbow injury. Luckily, unlike Manny Banuelos, Campos will evidently not need surgery. He's currently throwing off of flat ground, and is expected to be ready for Spring Training.

The "greater" half of that trade, Michael Pineda, didn't throw a single pitch for the Bombers last season after a tear was found in his right/throwing shoulder. He's also throwing on flat ground, but at long distances, and the belief is that he'll be ready sometime around May. Keep in mind that he'll have to be stretched out at that point, so I wouldn't expect Pineda to contribute until at least June.

Finally... Mason Williams. Mason tried to make a diving catch last season, and ended up hyper-extending his non-throwing shoulder. He'd been promoted to high-A Tampa not too long before the injury, and was shut down the rest of the season. Vice President of Baseball Operations, Mark Newman, said that Mason is swinging the bat, which tells me he'll be ready to go by Spring Training.

Kevin Youkilis Added To "Wives & Girlfriends" Section

Newly acquired Kevin Youkilis has been added to the Wives and Girlfriends section of The Greedy Pinstripes, seen HERE, so go over and check out him and his wife Enza Sombataro. I am personally a big fan of this one, although she is not as hot as Russell Martin's girlfriend. Welcome to the WAG section Youk!