The Yankees signed Marcus Thames, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that it's a minor league deal worth $900K if he makes the team. Thames originally came up through the Yankees' system but was traded to the Rangers in '03 for Ruben Sierra.
Thames, 33 in March, hit .252/.323/.453 in 294 plate appearances for the Tigers last year, logging 125 innings in left field. He also has experience in right field and at first base in his career. He's a right-handed hitter with a .263/.326/.541 line against southpaws over the last three years.
Thames became a free agent in November, as the Tigers were not going to tender him a contract at a salary higher than 2009's $2.275MM.
so what is the deal with our left field? platoon of Thames and Gardy?
Thames and Winn.
Try Gardner with Winn. I doubt Thames sees more than 100 innings in the field. Seems to me he’ll be used more like a pinch hitter, occasional DH type (a la Jim Thome in Minnesota).
He might pinch hit for Gardner, then have Winn take his place in the field. Or reversed, PH for Winn, then give his position to Gardner.
All I can say is, That’s one crowded outfield.
Since Thames will be under a minor league contract, it doesn’t do much to change the look of their current OF. All it means is that if there’s an injury to Nick Johnson or one of the current OF, they have some insurance. If he does get called up, like I said, it’s just going to likely be the occasional fill-in through pinch hitting and potentially another DH candidate.
Not bad, not bad.
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PERFECT!!!!!!!!!
Fitting that this post comes right after the post entitled: “Did Boras Fail Damon?” This post is a big resounding “YES.” There were plenty of other capable options available, like Marcus Thames, and the Yanks were willing to look elsewhere after Damon rejected their generous offer.
Can I just say I am the biggest Ray King fan ever.
Man, I remember Ray King used to be tough against the Cubs. I hated when the Cards would bring him in.
Man, I remember Ray King used to be tough against the Cubs. I hated when the Cards would bring him in.
I’m sure you’ll notice no difference between Garder/Thames/Winn and what Damon does for his new team.
Why not give Gardner a shot? Yes, Damon will probably put up better numbers next year, but it’s not worth it to give him a 2 year deal at this point. If it was, why isn’t any other team rushing out to sign him?
I would probably choose noodle-arm Damon over Gardner/Thames/Winn for this upcoming year by a narrow margin, but not so sure about the year after that. That turns it into a one year, $16+ mil contract, and even the Yanks aren’t willing to flush away that much cash on an aging OF.
I’m not sure bjsguess was being sarcastic.
Why not give Gardner a shot? Yes, Damon will probably put up better numbers next year, but it’s not worth it to give him a 2 year deal at this point. If it was, why isn’t any other team rushing out to sign him?
I would probably choose noodle-arm Damon over Gardner/Thames/Winn for this upcoming year by a narrow margin, but not so sure about the year after that. That turns it into a one year, $16+ mil contract, and even the Yanks aren’t willing to flush away that much cash on an aging OF.
I’m sure you’ll notice no difference between Garder/Thames/Winn and what Damon does for his new team.
Ray King is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Ray King’s tears can also cure any disease. But Ray King never cries.
i love this signing
perfect bench player and the yankees needed some depth
Not to mention he brings some personality to the club. Hope he makes the team. A great veteran presence and he and Grandy are old friends.
I haven’t heard much about how he is in the clubhouse, as I lived in NY and now FL, however if he is a good clubhouse guy, then that makes this acquisition all the more better for the Yanks. I really like what they have been doing in recent years, going away from problem guys who only care about their own paycheck to the admirable, clubhouse guys who care about the team.
Don’t mind us, just getting all of these Tigers outfielders.
When looking at the remaining free agent OF’s let alone RH bats this is all the less surprising. This not only reads as the platoon of Gardner/Thames in LF but I’m sure cash doesn’t mind the idea of someone other than Swisher giving Tex a day off at first or even sliding him to right with Swisher at 1B and Gardner in LF. Clearly cash likes to have options and now it you have the relatively inexperienced Yankees bench staying anchored to it as opposed to trying to do their best Bret Gardner impression.
Has everyone forgot about Randy Winn?
no
Well eastcoastghost did. Randy hitting against righties while Marcus just the opposite. Seems like a crowded outfield. If Thames makes the team, Either Jamie Hoffmann is going back to the Dodgers or Brett Gardner will be traded. They would then have 6 OF’s if no one is gotten rid of.
I would put more money on Hoffmann going back to the dodgers than Gardner getting traded. His speed is a valuable asset off the bench.
I sure did, which actually is a pleasant surprise. I really think BG is best served in his usual role off the bench. This makes a suspect bench a fairly decent one thought I do see Hoffman and Golson starting in Scranton.
It was my understanding though that if Hoffman was not selected to the Major League Roster for the whole season (barring any rehab assignments in the event of an injury), he had to be returned to the Dodgers as part of the Rule 5 draft stipulations?
0-2 today for me, your right, unless he finds a way to resurface some of that pop he has I don’t see Hoffman taking a roster spot with his athleticism and D alone. Miranda and Montero shouldn’t be threatened by too many for spots though hopefully they challenge the starters for PT, cash loves competition.
Yeah, he’d have to be on the roster for the whole season. He’d almost certainly not be an improvement over Gardner, so I expect him to go back to LA.
Yeah the Yankees should have selected Zack Kroenke with the first pick than Jamie Hoffmann.
follow up question, i’ve always been an NL fan, so i haven’t watched a lot of games featuring Marcus Thames…. are we supposed to say his name “THAYMES” or “TIMS”?
its pronounced like TAMES
TEMS.
uhthankyou.
TIMS
He’s got it. ‘Tims’, like the river.
Yeah you’re right it is “TIMS”. Definitely not “TAMES”
It’s Tims.
I don’t like the Winn or the Thams signings.
to paraphrase the onion: you’re right, a mere 8, 8-figure contracts on the field at any given time doesn’t show a real commitment to winning.
It’s about spending the money wisely. Neither Winn nor Thames are so good that signing them makes more sense than waiting out Damon to see if his asking price drops.
a) where not talking about huge financial commitments to either Winn (1/$2 mil) or Thames (minor league deal, $800k if he makes the team).
b) How long are the Yanks expected to wait? When Winn was signed it was what, lat Jan? Was their any indication that at that point Damon would settle for $5 mil or less?
I wanted JD back just as much as anyone but Cashman could not wait around for them (Damon/Boras) to come back to him days before ST. What if he did find a sucker who offered more than what the Yanks were willing to spend? Then what? With Winn at least they had a solid option to back up or replace Gardner if he struggled.
a) Financial commitments matter if they are intent on keeping the budget at or near $200m.
b) Until Damon signs. Winn, Thames, Gomes, Baldelli are basically fungible assets.
I don’t view Winn as a solid option, although granted, his LD% was high last season, and his BABIP was low v. LHP.
Rich, you certainly know what you are talking about. If they waited another week or two, Tim would have posted a post such as this:
“Damon and Yanks reunite”
Thames is going to get released 2 months into the season. Yankee fans will cry about his poor plate discipline.
Someone is going somewhere because if Thames makes the team, the Yankees would then have 6 OF’s on the 25-Man Roster which is unacceptable.
Not really sure if I understand this deal. Why? I’m more than happy to have Gardner as my starter with Winn as the 4th OF and replacement to Gardner if he falters. Thames doesn’t really resolve any issues. So what he’s a RH batter. His line last year was only .257/.350 w/ 1 hr per 25 at bats and 1 ko for every 4 AB. Not exactly good. His defense is poor as well. So now the Yanks have 6 OF’ers in Gardner, Grandy, Swish, Winn and Thames. Out of that group, the majority of them have a propsensity to strikeout a lot, and aside from Swisher, an inability to post a bat avg or obp above .260/.340 in recent history. How is that great? I hope it’s a minor league deal with a ST invite. If he’s being brought in as bench player then I would’ve preferred Rocco Baldelli over Thames all day, everyday.
The Yankees signed Marcus Thames, tweets SI’s Jon Heyman. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that it’s a minor league deal worth $900K if he makes the team.
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(phew) Ok, I feel much, much better now. No problem with it being a minor league deal. If he makes the team then my guess it’s because Hoffman failed to impress. Simply wouldn’t make sense to trade Gardner to start the like of Winn or Thames. Baldelli still would’ve been my 1st choice but seeing as how he’s a Boras client I doubt he would’ve signed a minor league contract.
you bet.
That makes it much better in my opinion. I was worried it was a guaranteed deal with how many OF we already have. The fact that it’s minor league, you might as well give him a shot.
Playing in a platoon he’ll slug over .600 at Yankee stadium.
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I could careless how short the porch is in RF, you still have to make contact with the ball to get it over the fence. Seeing as how Thames ko’s once ever 3.5 AB and would be coming off the bench, I’m not that impressed.
So what bench players make the big league roster?
Randy Winn, Marcus Thames, Francisco Cervelli, and Ramiro Pena.
Very strong bench. I love what Cashman has done this offseason.
Randy Winn and Marcus Thames are going to platoon. Jamie Hoffman will go back to the Dodgers most likely.
I was hoping they’d make this signing, or at least one similar. We needed some pop off our bench, like Hinske last year, but since we have more left handed hitters now, it had to be someone who could hit lefties well, especially with Granderson. Obviously is this isn’t a very big move, but its a solid and cheap one. I think he takes the last spot away from Hoffman on the bench, and the roster is set now.
Bench:
1B/OF Thames
IF Pena
C Cervelli
OF Winn
Winn and Thames will platoon.
Yeah I think that Hoffman guy is going back to LA like many of those Rule V picks end up doing, returning to their old teams.
What’s more the Yankees can make defensive replacements for Swisher in Right Field late on in games, with Gardner or Winn on the bench and have a late inning defense of Winn/Granderson/Gardner in the outfield.
Winn or Gardner can be used as pinch runners as well depending on the situation and who is on the bench that day.
As someone said competition is a good thing and gives more options if one guy is not getting the job done.
I’m surprised at folks worrying about Granderson against lefties the majority of the Yankees lineup can hit lefties, on those days other guys just have to pull their weight when a lefty is going.
Jeter – .395 vs lefties
Johnson – .316 vs lefties
Teixeira – .305 vs lefties
Arod – .277 vs lefties
Posada – .290 vs lefties
Cano – .309 vs lefties
That leaves Granderson, Swisher and Winn/Gardner/Thames platoon
Swisher never hits for high averages against anyone but still gets on base, he had a .393 OBP against lefties
The Yankees are more than deep enough to deal with lefties, plus I imagine Granderson working with Long will improve against lefties even if its in the .240+ range of average, its going to be better than what he did last season at .183.
I understand everyones gripe with Thames’ production but honestly, how does everyone envision BG being anymore than a platoon starter. Aside from last year Winn’s numbers outweigh BG in almost everyway and Thames hits for basically the same avg with much more potential for power. Thames can’t come close to Gardner’s D but Winn can. Also the 3 of them don’t make 13mil combined….
a) Financial commitments matter if they are intent on keeping the budget at or near $200m.
b) Until Damon signs. Winn, Thames, Gomes, Baldelli are basically fungible assets.
I don’t view Winn as a solid option, although granted, his LD% was high last season, and his BABIP was low v. LHP.
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If it were reasonable to think that Damon would’ve signed for $2.85 mil then yes you would be correct. But realisticaly, as of Jan 27th (when Winn was signed) or today, it’s unlikely he would’ve come back at that price. And I think the Yanks may have offered him about $5 mil prior to signing Winn. That being said it’s incumbent upon Cashman to fill the holes with the best of the rest.
And honestly, I think most are reading this incorrectly IMO. Winn and Thames are not being brought in to replace Damon. Gardner or Granderson are replacing Damon and Winn is replacing what the role of Cabrera or Gardner would have been had Damon signed already. I think it would be insane NOT to give Gardner every opportunity to win/earn/hold on to, the starting LF/CF job. He’s shown flashes of what could be a very productive player. IF…IF he can hold a .275/.350 average, play solid to above avg defense and steal 40-50 bases then he would’ve had a fine, fine year.
Hey, Tigers? We’ll take Verlander too, mmk?
JOKING.
can we also take Porcello, Miguel Cabrera, and maybe we can ask the Indians for Sizemore. What about the Cards letting us borrow Albert Pujols?
Dude, I thought you were a Tigers fan? I understand we talked about you liking just baseball in general, but these allegiances to every team in all these different articles and posts gets confusing.
Hey man, I got love for all 30 Major League Baseball teams. I’m just a huge Baseball fan.
I know man I’m just saying… it doesn’t really make sense when you get pumped up for a move like the Tigs locking up JV, and then talk about the Yanks getting even more of the Tigers players. And when you refer to the Yankees you use the terms “we” and “us”, so is it safe to assume they are your favorite team or what?
Well I’ll tell you what. Being a Baseball fan, I get pumped up whenever teams do their things. I do live in NY and I am a Yankees fan but I really like the Tigers, Diamondbacks, Royals, Twins (yes Twins), Marlins, Reds, Cubs, and every other team because it’s Baseball. And being a Baseball fan, obviously there are teams that I like more than others but I love the game so much that I get pumped up when any other Baseball team does something. I’ll tell you what though. Next time the Tigers make a move, I will personally sort through all of the comments and find Tigers22 to let you know that I’m very pleased with the state of the Tigers and how much I like and respect their team. And hey, It’s Baseball time!!!! (it is Baseball time every day of every year for Baseball fans like us) It’s time to celebrate every team’s off-season success (even the Mets) and say, Let’s this get this season started!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alright man, you didn’t have to go get all sarcastic and smart with me. It was a legit question. It didn’t have anything to do with your caring how the Tigers are doing at all. It was simply me wondering how you have so much conflicting interest in teams, and who you liked over each other.
I wasn’t being sarcastic man.
Yeah, okay man. Sounds good then!
See that, I wasn’t being sarcastic either.
You got it bro
Ok how about a hug then? lol
Dude, I thought you were a Tigers fan? I understand we talked about you liking just baseball in general, but these allegiances to every team in all these different articles and posts gets confusing.
To me – it looks like they are stocking up on smaller trade chips to get in on Crawford mid-season. They could package 2/3 of them + cash. All of these guys look like players that Tampa Bay would be interested in. We all know that they will look to move Crawford if they arent in on the playoffs by the deadline.
*I could care less how short the porch is in the whole stadium.’ Earlier you said he struck out every four at bats, which is it? The point is, as you also said in a different post, the Yankees are getting a lot of all or nothing type hitters. Which, based on the stadium they have, the Yankees will be leading the league in HRs by a wide margin. It’s probably not even a bad idea. You don’t need to be as much of a fielder while covering less ground in a smaller outfield and guys who always swing for the fences will receive a nice little boost to their HR totals. And it allows the team to perform very well at home where the real money is. Probably struggle a bit on the road though, especially against talented strikeout pitchers.
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Is there much of a difference between striking out once every 4 at bats vs ever 3.57? Anyway, so what he might hit a few hrs? Yanks led the AL in that category last year. However…they did so as once of the most patient teams in baseball with a lineup of guys that work the count and didn’t strikeout a lot.
Yanks led the AL in HRS, BB, OBP and # of pitches seen. I’m not too worried about the 2010 offense but Marcus Thames, and to a lesser extent Winn and Granderson, don’t exactly fit the mode of the “professional, patient Yankee hitter”. Now, both Grandy and Winn bring other attributes to the table which make up for their lack of patience and OBP but what does Thames offer other than the ability to a couple of hrs? This signing could easily be a non-issue but all in all….why? Why not Baldelli seeing as how he hit’s LF pitching much better than Thames, has some speed and can play all 3 OF positions?
Baldelli career vs LHP (.295/.346) and 2009 vs LHP (.290/.343).
Thames career vs LHP (.256/.329) and 2009 vs LHP (.257/.347).
wow the yanks are loaded with outfielders now alot of depth is good i guess lol
Reminds me of the dynasty teams when it came to the outfield (left field primarily)
Bernie and O’Neill were stable in center and right, with guys filling out at bats over the season in left field.
The dynasty teams would have guys like Tim Raines, Chad Curtis, Ricky Ledee, Shane Spencer, with no one guy having to get the job done, but a team effort.
Between Winn/Gardner/Thames in Left Field there will be plenty of at bats to go around and chances to contribute and earn more at bats based on going out and performing.
Nice job by Cashman of sending Damon packing when he and Boras thought they could hold the Yankees for ransom. Moreover Cashman brought in
Nick Johnson at only 5.5 million
Randy Winn at 1.1 million plus incentives that could bring it up to 2 million
Vazquez is at 11 million and a free agent after the season, so he will want to perform well for a contract on the market
Granderson is at a manageable contract for the next few years as well
Now Thames comes in at a minor league deal.
Excellent moves by Cashman to create a roster of
Lineup –
1. Jeter – SS – R

2. Johnson – DH – L

3. Tex – 1B – S

4. Arod – 3B – R

5. Posada – C – S
6. Granderson – CF – L

7. Cano – 2B – L

8. Swisher – RF – S

9. Winn – LF – L
Bench –
Gardner – OF – L
Thames – OF – R
Cervelli – C – R
Pena – IF – S
Starters –
Sabathia – L

Burnett – R
Pettitte – L

Vazquez – R

Joba – R
Bullpen –
Gaudin – R (Long Relief / Spot Starter)

Aceves – R (Swingman who can work Long or Short relief)

Boone Logan – L – secondary lefty or Mark Melancon – R
Robertson – R – 7th inning power arm to bridge to setup man

Marte – L – primary lefty out the pen

Hughes – R – setup man

Rivera – Closer
I would think Hughes to the rotation and Joba to the pen. Joba is so much more dominant as a reliever and doesn’t have the durability for a full-time starting job.
Difference is Joba pitched 157 innings last season and barring him being awful in Spring he will likely get the nod. The Yankees invested too much Joba rules and all that went on with that to not allow him the opportunity to pitch without any rules and restrictions and constant questions about how many innings, etc.
They’ll allow him to start and like every other starting pitcher in the majors, sink or swim on his performance with no limitations built in.
Chamberlain is also a year older than Hughes, Joba is 25 in September of the upcoming season.
Hughes on the other hand is 24 in June of this coming season and Hughes will have innings limits on him ala Joba last season.
The Yankees invested too much time in Chamberlain to not allow him to get a crack at starting before making any final decision about him in the bullpen.
Next season he can give them more innings than Hughes, is a year older and will have no rules, the rest is up to him to go out and perform.
The eventual goal is for both Hughes and Chamberlain to be in the rotation for years to come. Everything else is secondary.
David Robertson’s emergence and hopefully Mark Melancon replicates his minor league success and high hopes the Yankees have for him in his next big league go around, gives the Yankees options in the bullpen, that doesn’t have to limit Joba or Hughes in the long term, unless they prove they can’t start when all is said and done.
Uh-oh. Floodgates opened for a Joba vs. Hughes Starter vs Reliever argument!
Kidding of course. Agree with you, btw.
Winn as LF? An outfield of Granderson, Swisher and Gardner would be better with Gardner’s speed, range, and defensive abilities. Cashman also signed Winn as an outfielder off the bench.
Well even though I have Winn staring that position will be rotated all year between Gardner/Winn/Thames etc.
You could easily have plugged Gardner in where I put Winn in the order, just a matter of more established experience that I put Winn in there ahead of Brett, but that is a revolving position.
Either way most nights the Yankees will wind up with Winn/Granderson/Gardner in the outfield in some combination and replacing Swisher in late innings and leading because that is going to be their best defensive ballclub.
For all we know maybe Granderson shifts to left when Gardner plays. Lots of options for the Yankees in the outfield to maximize the strengths defensively.
The outfield defense is much better than what we had last season. Last season it was
Damon / Cabrera-Gardner / Swisher, this coming season its
Winn-Gardner-Thames / Granderson / Swisher
with the option to move Granderson to left on days Garnder starts, if the Yankees want to do that and also replace Swisher late on when leading in close games with Winn or Gardner, depending on who is on the bench that day.
Winn as LF? An outfield of Granderson, Swisher and Gardner would be better with Gardner’s speed, range, and defensive abilities. Cashman also signed Winn as an outfielder off the bench.
Depth, Depth, Depth. You can never go completely wrong with cheap depth.
All we need now is for the Yanks to sign Chad Curtis… oh boy, here we come again playoffs!… uh… wait…
¬_¬
Oh wow. My question is, whos gonna be the DH? i think it might be Brett Gardner. Who do you think it might be?
its gonna be nick johnson
they signed him to be only the dh and 2 give tex a break once in a while at 1st
Wow Braves really?! Don’t want a hitter with crazy power for cheap?
Wow Braves really?! Don’t want a hitter with crazy power for cheap?
i think thts good. depth always helps thames can hit more or less, and im still not happy about nick johnson over matsui or winn over damon but u cant always get everything but this offense is so good it wont matter
i think thts good. depth always helps thames can hit more or less, and im still not happy about nick johnson over matsui or winn over damon but u cant always get everything but this offense is so good it wont matter
I have no problem with this signing. I also would have loved to see Damon back and then signing Thames would not have made sense obviously but since the Yanks already signed Winn I like the idea of getting a guy like Thames as well. The reason I like the idea is because Winn and Gardner will give each other good competition and they are both similar type players with speed & decent contact but no power. Thames is inconsistent batting average wise but he has pretty good power which makes him a good guy to platoon with Gardner & Winn because he brings an a tool they do not. This gives the Yanks different options for different situations.
“This gives the Yanks different options for different situations.”
Thus the key, if one guy isn’t cutting it, the other guy will get his shot, no one of them will have to or is expected to excel.
Winn brings solid defense, speed, lots of doubles (33+ doubles the last 8 seasons)
Gardner brings terrific defense, excellent speed on the bases and in the field
Thames brings righty power off the bench
What did Marcus Thames do in his first at-bat in the majors?
Wow….a Biggie reference. Nice.
Gotta love it.
I still wish that we would have resigned Damon, instead of signing Johnson. :/
Marcus Thames is a great pickup. Brings power to the bench, and will get some starts here and there.
Not a bad signing, seems like a crowded outfield though… can’t wait for the season to start.
im suprised this guy doesnt have starting job and a major league contract he would be a great dh he has tremendous power