Yankees Have Inquired About A Matt Kemp Trade

The New York Yankees have inquired about a potential Matt Kemp trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kemp would be an absolute beast in Yankee Stadium if healthy and would represent the biggest potential upgrade we could have over the Ichiro Suzuki and Vernon Wells duo.

Kemp is entering his age 29 season and is owed a ton of money going forward, $128 million through 2019 and an AAV hit of $20 million per season, but a deal would be really tough to get done. First the Dodgers would presumably want the Yankees to take on all of the remaining salary where we would want the Dodgers to eat somewhere up to $5 million per season AAV wise if possible. Also the Dodgers are a very win now team so unless we can fill their third base void with David Adams, their pitching void with Adam Warren or David Phelps, then the deal is going to get hairy.

The Dodgers have four outfielders in Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Andre Ethier, and  Carl Crawford and the Dodgers are looking to trade one of the four to make full time room for Puig. Kemp is not without his questions marks with his health as evident by his ankle surgery this offseason, his shoulder surgery last offseason, and various other injuries including some lost time due to a hamstring this season but the upside, if proven to finally be healthy, is insane.

Imagine a Yankees lineup with Kemp's bat in the middle of it, Robinson Cano, and the recently acquired Brian McCann:

Gardner

Jeter

Cano

Kemp

Teixeira

Soriano

McCann

Nunez

Ichiro(DH)

Jhonny Peralta Comes Off The Yankees Board

If Jhonny Peralta was on the New York Yankees board, I know he was on my board, he is now officially off of it after signing a free agent deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. Peralta received a four year deal worth $52 million which is pretty steep for a guy coming off a 50 game steroid suspension. $13 million AAV only fits in with us if Alex Rodriguez is suspended.

A Look At Brian McCann In New York Yankees Pinstripes

Just for fun here is a photoshopped picture of our new catcher in Yankees pinstripes courtesy of Rob Abruzzese from Bronx Baseball Daily. Glad to see him back and posting again and glad to have a sneak peak of our new toy in Yankees Stadium. Just pretend like he doesn't have a beard.

Robinson Cano - Someone Else’s $300 Million Dollar Man

The more and more I read about this debacle that is going to be the New York Yankees and Robinson Cano negotiating thing the more I am thinking that we should just let Cano get his way and get his $300 million 10 year contract, with someone else.

Think of it this way is Robbie ever going to be able to live up to that kind of contract, probably not, and he is going to be vilified for holding out and being greedy, something we can appreciate here. Cano thought he was doing good putting Jay Z on the map as a sports agent but in reality, if this remains on the same path that it has been on, Mr. Shawn Carter is simply going to bring Cano down with him. I already hear the clamoring from Yankees fans on Twitter to simply let Cano go and spend that money elsewhere and it got me thinking that the Yankees would probably be better off if Cano left anyway to be honest. Let’s put this is dollar terms because most people understand those the best, Robinson Cano wants 10 years and $300 million to be a lifetime Yankees player. What could the Yankees do with $300 million to improve the team if they did not have Cano in the fold for 2014 and beyond you ask? Let’s look…

Obviously the first question is who would replace Cano on the roster at second base, take your pick. We have been interested in Stephen Drew, Jhonny Peralta, Omar Infante, Kelly Johnson, we could trade for Dan Uggla on the cheap, the options are plenty. None of them will be as good as Cano but none of them, outside of probably Drew, will cost more than $20-$25 million on a short term deal in my opinion. The Braves are willing to eat a ton of salary off of Uggla’s contract to get him moved and would require very little in terms of prospects to acquire him. Uggla seems like the type of trade that the Yankees and Brian Cashman specialize in and usually win taking on salary for prospects that I, a self-professed “prospect humper,” have never even heard of or know about. Omar Infante would be nice because he hit’s for a great average and has a nice glove to go with it but as a Plan B if the Yankees are willing to look at a Raul Ibanez return simply for some pop in the lineup then Dan Uggla would suit us just fine in Yankee Stadium.

Running tally - $25 million for Infante/Peralta and around $10 million for Uggla

*note - this was written and scheduled before McCann signed for $85-$100 million last night*

If the Yankees take less production at second base then they will have to upgrade elsewhere to make up for it and why not start where we had our worst production in 2013, the catcher position. Enter Brian McCann and ignore the rumors that McCann is getting $100 million because he isn’t. When are people going to learn that free agents ask for the moon at the beginning of free agency, teams low ball, and they generally meet in the middle. NO ONE is going to give McCann $100 million on the wrong side of 30 coming off of multiple years of injuries, NOBODY. The Yankees could get him somewhere in the range of five years and $75-$80 million, not that I want it to go that high and for that many years but I am trying to be realistic, and give guys like Gary Sanchez plenty of time to develop in the minors and gives us the opportunity to DH McCann in years four and five.

Running tally - $105 million

The Yankees got crap for production out of third base last year as well before the return of Alex Rodriguez, and this is assuming that he is suspended for most or all of the 2013 season, so why not make that out next priority? Enter Jhonny Peralta who we learned is seeking a four or five year deal in the $56-$75 million dollar range. Peralta has had up and down numbers over his career, especially recently, but can play both the shortstop position and the third base position which adds depth and versatility. Peralta has the potential to hit 20+ home runs, and did in big stadiums like the one in Detroit, and can hit at the top, in the middle, or at the bottom of a lineup. If the Yankees need a substantial upgrade from their 2013 production then the man from Detroit, Biogenesis ties or not, should be our man.

Running tally – $180 million

The Yankees need a big shot in the arm in right field because the Vernon Wells and Ichiro Suzuki duo is not going to cut it. What we need is a guy like Corey Hart or even Carlos Beltran If he comes off his high horse named “four year deal” at age 37. Hart and Beltran are scary identical when you look at their stats the last three or so years, obviously not counting Hart’s lost 2013 season, and when you look at their games and their baggage they are similar as well. Both have concerns with knee issues and a history of injuries, both play right field although Hart could fill in at first base and give the Yankees the opportunity to rotate their outfield again like they did last year, and both should be signing shorter term deals. The difference between the two is money as Beltran will probably receive a $15 million AAV over the course of his contract where I believe we could get Hart for somewhere around $8 million AAV. I would even be willing to go two years on Hart if that was what kept him from returning to Milwaukee in 2014.

Running tally - $188 million

The pitching is going to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and either makes us or breaks us in 2014.  Enter Masahiro Tanaka who, not counting the posting fee, is going to cost in upwards of $75 – $90 million. There is no way Tanaka is going to go back to Japan for 2014 and it may take a while, much longer then we expected, but he will be posted ultimately at the end of the day. With teams like the Texas Rangers spending big money and posting themselves out of the Tanaka sweepstakes it can only be good news for us the longer we can be patient.

The Yankees are looking for two pitchers and, for the sake of keeping these numbers under the $300 million that Cano is asking for, my thought process is the Yankees will have to sign a Kuroda type one year veteran deal to shore up the rotation. Enter Roy Halladay who not so long ago was the best pitcher in the world. He did not look like himself for much of last year but seemed to get better with every start and stronger with every start which I think is important. I think on a one year deal in the neighborhood of $10 million gets the job done and gets us an absolute steal and upgrade for the rotation.

Running tally with Tanaka- $278 million

Running tally with Roy Halladay- $288 million

So for the low low price of $288 million we could improve our team in five or so different areas as opposed to giving Robinson Cano a mega deal that does not improve us whatsoever over the 85 win team that we all saw in 2013. That also gives you an extra $12 million to throw Joe Nathan's way if you are silly enough to believe that David Robertson is not ready to replace Mariano Rivera as the Yankees closer.

 Take a look at the rotation and the starting lineup we would throw out there as well:

Brett Gardner

Derek Jeter

Mark Teixeira

Alfonso Soriano

Brian McCann

Corey Hart

Jhonny Peralta

Ichiro Suzuki

Omar Infante/Dan Uggla

CC Sabathia

Masahiro Tanaka

Roy Halladay

Ivan Nova

Michael Pineda

The longer this goes on and the longer that this drags out the more I believe that Robby Cano is going to be the next $300 million man, just not for us.

Brian McCann Contract Details

First off I want to say that the Yankees handed down a great free agent deal to free agent catcher Brian McCann last night to give us a huge offensive upgrade at the plate. Good catchers never hit the open market, period, which is why we have been stuck with Chris Stewart the last couple of years, so the Yankees may have actually got a bargain here if you can believe that.

McCann's contract details include a five year deal worth $85 million with a 6th VESTING option for $15 million to bring the entire contract up to a possible $100 million. I predicted he would get a five year deal in the neighborhood of $80 million so I was not all that far off. As much as I wanted him I figured the Texas Rangers would acquire him, obviously before they got Prince Fielder, and I am glad the Yankees got him.

Brian gets a full no trade clause, which could be fun in years four, five, and six, but we have the designated hitter spot just waiting for him. Also Mark Teixeira is all but gone after the 2016 season so we could also work Brian out at first base if we had to.

This is the third highest contract ever given to a catcher followed by Joe Mauer's eight years and $184 million and Mike Piazza's seven year deal worth $91 million. Also this is the biggest free agent catching contracted handed down since the Yankees gave Jorge Posada a four year deal worth $52.4 million, thus proving good catching does not hit the open market.

AAV impact is $17 million per season before the 6th season vests.

With now, once this is official, five catchers on the 40 man roster the Yankees have some work to do. Gary Sanchez was just protected and looks to be ready by the time McCann will be ready to DH or play first base most of the time so he is safe. Francisco Cervelli is a good right handed compliment and backup if he is truly tendered a contract so I see him being safe as well. Chris Stewart is all but a goner here and he may even be the roster move that clears a spot for McCann when that time comes. The fate of JR Murphy and Austin Romine may be trade bait for the Yankees to acquire that starting pitcher, closer/set up man, right fielder, third basemen, etc. Bad news for them is though I cannot see a scenario where the Yankees carry four catchers on the 40 man roster so they both WILL go.

This Day In New York Yankees History 11/24

Nada, Rien, ingenting, ei mitään , niente, nihil, niets, nashim, nai, gar nichts, nothing.

Not a single MVP Award, Rookie of the Year award, free agent signing, trade, death, just another day in Yankees land.

Carry on.

To My Friend...

Most of you have probably learned that my friend, and co-founder of The Greedy Pinstripes, Daniel Burch had a baby yesterday. I couldn't be happier for him, as he's not only an incredible guy, but an amazing father. Hayden Alexander, like his older brother Evan, are two lucky kids.

I met Daniel online years ago. You see, I live in Columbus, Ohio, so you can imagine that there are very few people to talk about the Yankees with. So I was looking around the internet for message boards, and there was this "DBurch" guy. Honestly, I can't remember what his exact username was, but I do remember having some great conversations with him.

I may not remember his username, nor can I remember the message board we met at, but I can say without any BS at all that he's made me a better Yankees fan.

Congratulations, Daniel.

My Reaction To Signing Brian McCann

I think it's safe to say that other Yankee news has been put on hold for a bit.

"Robinson who?"

The team obviously needed an upgrade at the catching position for 2014, and they certainly got one. Last season Yankee catchers hit a combined .213/.289/.298, along with only 8 home runs. Meanwhile, Brian McCann hit .256/.336/.461, to go along with 20 homers. And keep in mind that Brian's batting average was twenty points lower than his career mark in that department. In fact, all three of his triple-slash numbers were lower than his career marks. While I didn't include McCann in my "What I'd Like To See For 2014" roster, it certainly wasn't because I didn't like him as a player.

But what about the contract?

While $17 million a year is a lot of money, that's hardly my concern. I'm not the one paying these guys. My concern when it comes to money has revolved solely around how it affects the team. The Yankees have talked about getting under a payroll of $189 million in 2014 for a couple of years now, but the team has made it clear that it's a goal... not a mandate. So if putting a winning team on the field means spending more, then so be it. It's not like 2014 is their only chance of saving money when it comes to the Luxury Tax.

Even if the team pushes to stay under $189 million, this deal for McCann does not destroy it. Even if the team were to bring back all of their arbitration eligible players, which is highly unlikely, then the payroll is currently around $104 million. Add Robinson Cano for $25 million, Masahiro Tanaka for $10 million, and Carlos Beltran for $15 million, and that brings things to $154 million. You can also add $12 million for the team's portion of league bonuses, as well as players not on the active roster, bringing the total to $166 million. So the team could add $14 million more to the payroll, and leave themselves about $9 million for mid-season additions.

Of course, the Yankees still have to think about third base. I mean, they could probably get by with the tandem of Vernon Wells and Ichiro Suzuki in left field, along with Alfonso Soriano getting some time out there too, but Eduardo Nunez is the only option currently on the team for the hot corner. And nobody wants that.

On top of that, the Yankees could use somebody good to pair with David Robertson to finish off wins. As of right now Shawn Kelly would be slotted into the set-up role, and although it's not as bad as starting Nunez at third base, that's still not a very attractive option. Thankfully relievers, even good ones, can be had without spending a ton.

Putting payroll to the side for now, should we be concerned about the length of the contract?

Brian McCann's contract is guaranteed for five years, and with his injury history it's highly likely that he'll either become the regular DH in a few years or will move to 1B once Mark Teixiera's contract ends after the 2016 season.

The only real concern is how effective a player McCann will be down the road. He will be 35 in the final year of his deal, which is not that old. If we were in the National League, and Brian would have to catch more often than in the AL (thank you, DH), then I'd be more concerned. But I believe the team can keep him healthy. And if he's healthy, I see no reason why he can't continue to hit 20+ home runs a season, and bat around .270. Which is better than what Jorge Posada produced on average in his final three years.

Speaking of Posada, I have every reason to believe McCann will be at least as valuable as Jorge was at the end of his career. And while Jorge made $39 million in his final three years, McCann will only make $12 million more over his final three years (not a lot comparing 2009-2011 payrolls to what 2016-2018 payrolls could look like).

Ah, but speaking of the future!

Some people have expressed concern about the future of youngsters JR Murphy, Austin Romine, and Gary Sanchez. Honestly, the only player whose future with the team is truly in jeopardy is Austin Romine. Well, I'm sorry to be so blunt, but that doesn't bother me. Romine could turn out to be a solid MLB catcher, but I don't think he's going to be anything special. He's certainly not the type of player/prospect that should keep a team from getting a player the caliber of Brian McCann.

While Romine is ready for MLB, Murphy and Sanchez will likely spend one and two more years in the minors. At that point, one or both of them will be able to "sit under the learning tree" for a couple years before taking over behind the plate, while McCann becomes the regular DH or first baseman.

On that note, I do believe at least one of Romine, Murphy, and Sanchez will be traded in order to avoid spending more money in free agency to fill holes on the team. It would be great if the team could keep as many catchers as possible, as there's really no such thing as having too much depth, but the Yankees likely don't have that luxury. However, I wouldn't expect a big-name player in return. What's more likely is that Romine, along with a couple others, is traded to get a good set-up man or closer.

So, in conclusion, the Yankees greatly improved their offense, didn't hinder their ability to get under $189 million for 2014, and didn't hurt the future of the team. Brian McCann's contract may be for a lot of money, and five years is a long time, but I think they did a pretty good job with this signing.

"Thanks, bro."

Brian McCann Is A Yankee!

The New York Yankees are on the verge of signing free agent catcher Brian McCann. The reported deal is somewhere in the neighborhood of five years and worth around $80 million. This all but means the end of Chris Stewart and is hopefully just the beginning for the Yankees shopping spree.

Details to follow as they become available. 

Brian McCann About To Sign With The Yankees

UPDATE: We're now hearing the deal is official, pending a physical. It will apparently be worth 5 years and $85 million (An AAV of $17 million).

The details of the contract aren't clear, but the Yankees are apparently on the verge of signing Brian McCann.

While Ken Rosenthal has said the deal is worth 5 years and around $80 million, others have said that it will be a 4-year deal,with a vesting option for a 5th year, worth around $89 million.