When asked if he’d return to the Yankees in 2015, Ichiro Suzuki told reporters (including NJ.com’s Brendan Kuty) via an interpreter, “That might be a question you shouldn’t ask right now.” Suzuki said he intends to continue his career, though other comments hinting at some clubhouse drama seem to imply that his time in the pinstripes could be over. “Obviously there’s a lot of things that go on that the fans and the media can’t see, that goes on inside (the club),” Suzuki said. “But what I can say is that the experiences I had this year, those experiences are going to help me in the future. It’ll be somewhat of a support for me because of the experiences I had this year.”
Here’s some more Yankees news…
- While the Yankees will keep an eye on free agents Jon Lester, Max Scherzer and James Shields, “the early industry vibe is the Yankees aren’t going to spend big money this winter,” George A. King III of the New York Post reports. It makes sense that the Yankees would take a step back after spending over $550MM on player salaries last offseason, though by the Yankees’ standards, what they consider “not big money” could still result in a significant cash outlay.
- Also from King, free agent shortstop J.J. Hardy is “the early favorite” to take over the shortstop job in the Bronx next season. Hardy will draw a lot of attention on the open market, though there’s also a chance he could stay in Baltimore — MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski made the point in August that the O’s could see Hardy as a long-term answer at shortstop if Manny Machado’s injuries prevent him from eventually switching positions.
- Was Derek Jeter’s 10-year, $189MM deal actually a bargain for the Yankees? CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa believes it was, given Jeter’s consistent production from 2001-10 and his immense off-the-field value to the organization in boosting everything from TV ratings to merchandise sales. Jeter’s deal also has a case as the best completed $100MM+ contract in baseball history — Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez topped Jeter in terms of WAR, but Jeter’s role as a franchise icon may trump those three in terms of overall value to his team.
I hope the Yankees stay away from Hardy.
I’d rather them get Hardy short term than Hanley long term.
And I can say the same about Shields over Lester/Scherezer.
Hardy & Shields combined will probably make the same amount, if not Less than Lester, Scherzer and Hanley individually.
I don’t see Hanley getting that huge deal to be honest. I would expect Hardy to get in the range of $60 million and Shields at least $80 million, and no way Hanley gets $140 million considering he’s not really a shortstop. Lester and Scherzer though could easily top that.
Nobody is paying $60 million for Hardy. I can see Shields getting close to $80 mil, maybe even more, but Hardy probably will be lucky to get $40-$45 mil.
And if you add them together that’s $120 million. Lester, Scherzer and Hanley all will top that.
Yeah Hardy shouldn’t get anywhere close to 60mill considering he’ll be 33 soon.
He just turned 32 last month.
And he’ll be 33 next August your point?
Yeah maybe, but Hanley has averaged 116 games played the last four years and he’s not a shortstop. Hardy just turned 32 and given that Peralta got $53 million last offseason coming off a PED suspension, who knows. I’d probably guess $50 million for Hardy, $100 million for Shields, and then $150 million+ for Lester and Scherzer.
If I was a Yankee fan I want Lester more than Shields even if it means paying more money over more years. Lester has own throughout his whole career that he can pitch really well in the AL East, while Shields hasn’t pitched as much in the AL East and I don’t know if he can live up to the expectations that I feel Yankee fans would expect for him. Whereas Lester, could meet or exceed those expectations.
Keywords you said More Money and More years and that equates to yet another albatross contract for the Yankees (or any team)
“while Shields hasn’t pitched as much in the AL East ”
I don’t know how much is much to you, but Shields pitched 7 seasons with Tampa and Lester pitched 8.5 season with Boston so the difference, IMO, isn’t much.
I feel like the Lester contract won’t seem like an albatross depending on the amount of years. If he gets any more than 5 guaranteed with a club option for a 6th it will be an albatross. I think that Lester can keep up his production for the next 3 or 4 years and then he will probably drop off from there.
I guarantee Lester gets at least 6 years Unless he went back to Boston on a discount.
To be honest I have a feeling that the Red Sox don’t want Lester back. I am from the NE region, just to throw that out there. I followed the negotiations and it seemed like Lucchino, Werner, and Henry did not want to pay big bucks again. I think the 2012 and 2013 really could have screwed up the FO. I don’t think they want to give out 100+ contracts anymore because of the Crawford contract and 2013 hurt us because now the FO could think that hey we should be signing these cheap clubhouse guys to short term deals and we can win a championship. I personally think that you need a balance. You need some high played and those cheap clubhouse guys.
Or part of it is that Lester got way overvalued. He is a good solid pitcher, but look at his recent history. I doubt they want to give him $130MM based on that one good year.
To be honest I have a feeling that the Red Sox don’t want Lester back. I am from the NE region, just to throw that out there. I followed the negotiations and it seemed like Lucchino, Werner, and Henry did not want to pay big bucks again. I think the 2012 and 2013 really could have screwed up the FO. I don’t think they want to give out 100+ contracts anymore because of the Crawford contract and 2013 hurt us because now the FO could think that hey we should be signing these cheap clubhouse guys to short term deals and we can win a championship. I personally think that you need a balance. You need some high played and those cheap clubhouse guys.
I think Lester is going to be an albatross of a contract. Do people not remember long term? This is like Lester’s best year ever, and he is 30 already. Sure I think he will be dependable, but you shouldn’t be expecting a 2.50 era over 220 innings again.
Also important: signing Jon Lester will not result in forfeiting a draft pick and the Yankees are now locked into the #19 pick next year which is incredibly high for them. They’re usually more locked into #23-30 range.
I think last year, after the regular season ended, they were 18th. But that all changed once they signed McCann.
That’s true, but you almost have to figure the Yankees will probably sign SOMEBODY that will come with a QO. Hardy, Scherzer, Shields, Hanley, etc. And at that point, once you have given up the first, you might as well give up the second. Kind of like how the O’s did with Cruz once they signed Ubaldo.
Hardy–I worry about his back and his health going forward; this year’s power drop is disconcerting.
Scherzer–is going to get crazy money after this season; Yankees can’t afford to do that and get desperately needed help for the offense this off-season.
Shields–similar to Scherzer plus age concerns; plus, if you’re going to shell out the cash for one of these two, why not just shell out a little more, take Lester (lefty in a Yankee Stadium–huge plus and the only lefty they currently have is C.C.)
Hanley–I admit, his bat would be a welcome addition but he’s a 3rd baseman going forward and the Yankees hope to have that covered with a combination of A-Rod/Prado and hopefully, Headley. Plus, when you buy a season of Hanley, you’re buying 120 games of him at this point. Yankees already have enough of that problem with Teixeira/A-Rod/Beltran.
Just saw the numbers–Yankees only have about $20 million to spend this off-season. So I wouldn’t bet money on them signing any free agents who receive a qualifying offer.
Let me add, I also hope they don’t pursue Shields (unless they get him for no more than 4 years) but out of everyone I hope they stay clear away from Scherzer unless the intent is to drive the price up for someone else. But I agree I’d rather take Hardy (short deal) over Hanley which i have an inkling the Yankees have interest.
We have Prado already and I wouldnt mind brining in Headly on a one year deal with a club or player option for 2016. The infield would be set then if Brendan Ryan stay and Robert Refsnyder coming up maybe getting a chance. I don’t really Drew back unless then can get him at maybe 10million per but even that’s more then I’d spend on him.
I”m actually glad the Yankees traded for Drew, because now they know not to sign him to a big contract (unless it’s for pennies, and in baseball pennies that’s about $1-$2 million).
Good point, I could see them having interest had they not got a good first hand look at him. It would be nice if we got a big name pitcher but we really don’t need one. Even with all the injuries the pitching held up. I’d say we’d be fine if Kuroda stays but if he leaves/retires then I’d go after Shields or Lester just to anchor the top of rotation and I’d like to bring back McCarthy. They should give Warren a chance to start in spring training.
I think the team needs a lefty in the rotation, ok, Sabathia is there but it’s not the same CC as he was few years ago.
I think he still has a chance to come back, he could post mid rotation starter numbers. I think the weight loss was a big factor in his down numbers but I wouldnt be surprised the Yankees encouraged him to loose weight for getting that extension or of course he could have done that himself to up his perceived own long term value. But Lester would compliment the rotation certainly.
I don’t think anyone is going to look at Hanley Ramirez as a shortstop moving forward. The business seems to agree: his future is third base.
Who else they got? Hardy’s pretty good.
Gardner for Reyes.
That makes it only a $12m/year increase for 3 more seasons, which would be the cheapest option, especially considering the 50% luxury tax.
Reyes is guaranteed 3 years/$66 million. The Yankees could get Hardy for half that amount and obviously keep Gardner. I’m not saying Hardy > Reyes, but Hardy + Gardner >>>>>>>>> Reyes
But the next 3 years of Hardy and Gardner are going to be worth at least $75m, with another $25m or more remaining. Just Reyes means $70m and done.
Last 2 seasons in WAR
Hardy – 6.7
Gardner – 6.5
Reyes – 5.2
Again, I think it’s better the Yankees keep Gardner and sign Hardy than swap Reyes for Gardner.
But you’re getting better value for your money with Hardy and Gardner. While you might be spending less money for just Reyes, when you look at dollars to production, Reyes alone is a far worse deal than Gardner + Hardy.
I think we have made it clear Gardner is going nowhere. Consistently our best player and grew up in the system. Still haven’t figured out why is yankees fans would be so willing to part. He plays left field not right field. It’s ok that he doesn’t hit 30 plus. At left he isn’t expected too
Definitely not half that amount, but your point stands.
I can’t expect Hardy getting much. Maybe $40-$45 million. His defense is excellent but his bat is actually below average. His Highest OBP in 1 seasons the last 4 years is only .310
But his power, outside of this year when he battled back issues, is better than most SS. So it’s now like he is a slap hitting low OBP guy.
I think he probably gets something close to what Peralta got. The Yanks and the Dodgers will presumably be in on him.
The Yankees need to add some defense to their middle infield. Hardy gives them that and a little pop, and won’t be nowhere near as expensive as Reyes. Why trade Gardner when you can get a better deal on the market?
But it’s not a better deal overall. They save at least $6m (including the luxury tax) each of the next 3 years, and then even more after that. The Yankees have guys like Williams, Heathcott, Austin and Flores coming, maybe not starting the year, but sometime over the next 18 months. Sign a non-tendered guy, or someone like Colby Rasmus who is trying to rebuild value and would take a cheap one year deal to play on the Yankees. After that, let the kids play.
You don’t trade away a guy that you pay to basically be a 2 WAR player but is a 4 WAR player, for a guy that really doesn’t have a ton of value on his contract. Reyes is a 3 WAR player making 22 million. Only the worst GM in baseball would take a contract that has A LOT of value on it, and trade it for a contract that doesn’t.
If the Yankees are having payroll problems, they will find ways to fix that. But the point is to maximize the amount of money you spend in terms of production. Gardner is a far better way to do that. And so is Gardner + Hardy.
Why don’t they sign a shortstop that is trying to rebuild their value than taking on a bad contract?
All great points. Thanks guys
I like Aaron Judge and Flores might be worthy of a bench spot in the next couple years. However the trio of Austin, Williams and Heatcoat have shown nothing that suggests any of the three should ever show up in the Bronx wearing a Major League uniform. They are not prospects nor should they be called prospects. Gardiner however is quite good and relatively cheap. The Yankees would never trade him straight up for Reyes.
Why? You’re talking about a contract that will be 3 to 4 years at 38 to 48 million. That’s not a huge contract for the Yankees, and Hardy will probably produce at a level near the contract.
At that price point, the Orioles will gladly bring Hardy back. The Yankees are going to have to go 4/60 to get him to leave. He likes it in Baltimore, Buck loves him, he’s a fan favorite, and the O’s have just as much upside for future success as the Yankees do, if not more.
I don’t think the Orioles are going to go 4 years, which is what I think Hardy is going to look for. And at 3 years, the O’s won’t match the money per year that the Yankees will give him.
I usually agree with Mike and respect everything he writes, even that argument there, but the $100+ mil contract of Pujols trumps all of them easily. And I’d also put A-Rod’s first contract (from 01-07) and Manny ahead of Jeter’s as well.
Wouldnt it have been quite a story if Pujols stayed in St. Louis his whole career? He was quite productive that first $100 million + contract.
Him making 30 Mil in 2021 will be crazy…
It seems that way now of course but come 2021, 30 million might be cheap for a player salary the way rates are going. But I’m in no way saying he’ll be worth even close to it.
30 million will not be a cheap salary in 2021 unless there is another TV deal signed that is guaranteed to bring another 12 billion plus dollars to be distributed among the 30 teams. That is one main reason why these contracts are going up in price because last offseason there was a new TV deal signed that brought in a lot of money, around 12.4 billion. And after researching to see what that number was I saw that the deal runs out in 2021. So there is a small chance that 30 million could be cheap but it is still unlikely. I think that 10-15 will definitely be cheap by 2021 and maybe even up to 20-25 million in AAV. But 30 will probably be considered in the same way as 20 million in AAV right now.
Let’s assume that there is no deterioration in Pujols’ hitting ability over the next seven years. $30MM for a DH with a sub-.800 OPS is not just a bad contract, but potentially team crippling even with the financial reserves that Arte Moreno has. And this assumes that Pujols doesn’t have even more physical problems that sap his skills.
But he only made $12MM in his first year, that was a bargain. Since the value of a dollar erodes over time they much better paying that money out on the back end, rather than paying his value eveyr year.
A-Rod didn’t complete his 10-year contract. He opted out. Axisa was talking about the best completed 10-year contract.
I know but that contract is the one mentioned in the article. I assume he’s using A-Rod’s 2001-2010 seasons even though 08-10 is under his current contract
And he’s talking about the best $100 million contract, not 10 year contract.
Ichiro’s time with the yankees ruined his chance at 3000 MLB hits
Ichiro is at the end of his career. He is no longer a full time MLB starter, and the only reason he started many games for the Yankees was because of Soriano being DFA and Beltran getting hurt. He’s had over 1100 AB as a Yankee in 2.5 seasons, I’d say that’s quite a large number for a player in his late 30’s with an OPS+ of 93 or lower in 4 straight seasons.
He’s also only 156 hits away from 3000 which will take about 2 seasons and I can certainly see him getting that amount in 2 seasons, even as a part time player.
Not really. Ichiro was pretty bad his last year and a half in Seattle. Aside from that one half season in 2012, he has been the same toasted player for 4 years.
There seriously needs to be a salary cap. All major sports have a salary cap except baseball, and I’m sure I’m not the only one that’s getting annoyed by the amount of money these guys are making just to play a kids game. Now I’m not saying baseball doesn’t have any wear and tear on the body, because it does, I know, I played baseball too, but this amount of money is just ridiculous. It should be like the NBA where they have maximum contracts based on their service time. The players making $30 million or so are the franchise players, the ones that are irreplaceable.
I don’t oppose a salary cap, but the league seems to be doing just fine without it. Are the players overpaid? Of course, but you can agree to disagree with me on this, I think All athletes are overpaid in all sports.
Oh I agree completely that all athletes are overpaid, but you know they are going to get a lot of money, but for a single player to be making $20-30 million is stupid, especially when that player is a starter like Kershaw or Greinke, they only appear in 32 of the teams 162 games. If there was only one player per team that made that amount or near that amount, I would be fine with that, but when the Yankees and Dodgers have enough to make up at least the starting nine and most of the rotation, there’s definitely something wrong.
But it’s what happens in a free market. These workers are highly specialized, thus they can’t easily be replaced. They also bring in the money. Fans pay big bucks to see big stars, they do tend to create profit for the teams.
Doesn’t the NBA have the highest average player salary out of all the major professional sports?
I’m not sure, but the cap is $63 million, and the tax line is $76 million, with a lot of those teams going above that, but mostly because they resigned their own players, which I would be fine with, but when the Yankees sign every big free agent every year, it gets real annoying, especially when good players are going to crappy teams in the NBA and good players in MLB all flock to the winning teams.
The Yankees don’t sign every big free agent every year and have missed the playoffs two seasons in a row.
Because they only have to pay 15 players per team, so they can have the highest AAV while having the lowest total payroll of any major sport.
NBA and NFL also play way fewer games than Baseball.
NBA and NFL players also work harder than MLB players. NBA players are running almost non-stop for 60 minutes and NFL players are getting demolished on most plays.
By that logic soccer players work the hardest, they run for 90 Min straight and the premier league plays more games than the NFL or NBA.
But they are short on providing entertainment value to the fans.
You think soccer players are short on providing entertainment value to fans? The vast majority of the global consumer sports market seems to disagree.
I assume he was talking about American fans.
It is popular in third world countries because all it takes is a ball to play.
Ok, but still, baseketball, soccer, and football all work harder than baseball. I know training and stuff is hard work for baseball, but not as much as the other sports.
Okay but no one is arguing that and I think that’s pretty much common sense anyway.
Is about the amount of money they are able to bring back to the company, not the work. Is being a ceo of a large company “hard work”? probably not. But any little shred they are better than anyone else is millions more for that company.
True but the best players are paid accordingly. Seven of the top ten pro sports payrolls are in Soccer. The other three are MLB teams.
You haven’t seen enough of the NBA then. And for NFL there may be some hard tackles, but it’s only 16 games a season, and there is like 65 plays a game. How many of those is one individual getting slammed to the ground? Many of those are missed plays or run out of bounds. It’s not the shoving that hurts, it’s more the hard tackles.
Still they’re always running and and trying to out-do the other guy, but I put the NBA above the NFL in terms of wear and tear and stuff.
Which MLB players making 30 MM a year are not franchise players that are irreplaceable?
I meant to say the only players that SHOULD be making $30 million or so are the franchise players, the ones that are irreplaceable. Irreplaceable might not have been the best word to describe them, but some like Ortiz, Jeter, Kershaw, Hernandez.
Well Cabrera, Kershaw and Trout are the only 30 MM dollar players I know of and they all fit that description.
Sorry forgot about Cabrera and Trout, I was just thinking of some names that have been a key factor in their teams success and stuff.
In baseball it’s rarely the best player who makes the most due to the six years of team control players are held to. Players almost always make their highest salaries after their most productive years. You would need more than a salary cap to remedy that. Teams would need to cut back on player control and you would need to put more stringent controls on guaranteed contracts like limiting them to 3 years. That would cause one check of a labor war in MLB.
And in the NBA its the same teams winning/playing for the NBA championship every year. Bulls in the 90’s. Lakers, Spurs, Heat. MLB seems to have a pretty good turnover in terms of teams winning and getting to the playoffs. Maybe that’s because it’s more “market” oriented?
And the NBA players have how many fewer games? They only play like 40% of the games of a mlb player.
Why should there be a salary cap?
Is not like it would change the prices of anything for the fans. There would simply be more money flowing into the owners pockets, so why would you take away the free market?
Actually they play 51% of MLB games, and they are working a lot harder than baseball players, they are running almost non-stop for 60 minutes.
Carmelo Anthony lead the league last year with 38.7 minutes per game.
Still, for most of the game, MLB players are just standing around while NBA players are always moving, running up and down the court, except for a few minutes here or there when they subbed out.
So because they aren’t spending a lot of their time running, they shouldn’t be paid as much?
Is not about how much effort they exert though. They get paid based on the value they provide to the company. Is the same in any other place. A pro athlete provides way more value to a company than a teacher, which is why the argument many try to use is invalid. It’s not about what’s “fair” it’s about value, you can’t replace a mlb player even close, but you can fill many other jobs at least adequately.
Salary cap just leads to more money in the owner’s pockets. I’d rather the player that I’m rooting for gets my money than the person that owns the team.
If you don’t want the players to make the kind of money they are making, stop sending dollars to the product.
Otherwise, I see no particular reason why the player’s share of revenue should be hard capped since they are the reason people go to the games in the first place.
I do not disagree with you as I think a salary cap would be good for the integrity of competition. However it will never happen as the Players Association will never agree to a measure that will suppress their salaries. We’d be looking at one of the longest labor fights in the history of modern professional sports.
I would be OK if the Yanks signed JJ for 2 years…though I would prefer Asdrubial Cabrera
For 2 years Hardy would just stay in Baltimore.
I think Hardy gets at least a 3 year deal
Power is declining and is climbing into the downside of 30, still think Cabrera would be a better option as he is also a switch hitter
Cabrera is basically a platoon guy whose future probably is better suited for second base. At some point the Yankees should also be worried about “winning.” Cabrera doesn’t move the needle.
I think ultimately it comes down to Hardy or Hanley, guess we will see. However, I would rather have Hardy seeing as Hanley would be more expensive
Especially with the ground ball oriented pitchers the Yankees have. Guys like Greene, Tanaka, McCarthy (assuming they resign him) would really benefit from Hardy holding down SS compared to a guy that is probably better suited for 3B.
Would probably make Refsnyder (who I hope is the 2B) next year feel more comfortable knowing he has a gold Glover to work DPs with
But depends on the contract. Hanley is someone you could stick in the middle of the lineup, and having Gardner/Ellsbury, then Beltran,McCann,Teix,Arod behind him you have a pretty good lineup.
Hanley’s glove isn’t good, but it’s not like Jeter was any good this year. If you can snag him around Choo’s contract I think it’s something you do. Maybe only play him at short for 1-2 years, but within the next 2-3 years they shed Arod/Beltran/Teix so there is room for him to move around.
Add in Prado too, who hit a HR every game with the Yankees it seemed, he sure does love those AL ballparks..I could see him hitting at least 20 next year, would you prefer to have Hanley over everyone else?
Who would Hanley push out though? They need a shortstop, they need a part time 3b, they need a part time rf. Prado can stick at 2b, RR can come up when the injury happens.
My only worry is signing Hanley would mean yet ANOTHER long term contract on the books for probably the next 5 years, and will be 31. He also has not been healthy over the last few years.
Hardy hasn’t had any health problems until this year with his back tightening. He did have some health issues before he joined the O’s.
Which is why I would prefer Hardy
All I’m trying to say is there should be a salary cap for MLB. I think teams would be more equal because the teams wouldn’t be stacked like they are now with the Yankees, Dodgers, and Angels, even though some of their players might be injured or having down years. A team like the Astros could still sign someone like David Price or Hanley Ramirez because other teams might not be able to afford them.
Of you get like the Heat, and all of the players decide to go play for the Yankees, since all of the teams would have the same financial strength, and offer the same contract.
But as players are signed, there less and less cap space for teams, pretty much forcing players to go to those other teams.
Quick example…
Say the cap is $100 million, and you’re at $80, but you sign Lester to a $15 million dollar deal, I’m pretty sure Price isn’t gonna sign for $5 million when he could get at least $15 million from another team.
Why is this “good”?
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have a handful of teams still fighting it out in the final weeks of September rather than just a couple. I’m tired of seeing the same teams in the playoffs and the same teams at the bottom of the standings every year because no body wants to sign with them. Plus I think it would make teams really look at their farm system to see what they have because they wouldn’t be able to sign every player they want. A team like the Yankees have Gary Sanchez and some outfielders that most teams would have already called up, but because they signed guys like McCann, Beltran, and Ellsbury, they can’t.
I’m just tired of seeing huge market teams sign every big free agent type, and other teams just get crapped on because nobody want’s to sign with them. I’m fine with teams resigning their own players or making trades for other players like the Dodgers did with Gonzalez and Crawford. I think if a team like the Astros had a few other higher caliber to go along with Altuve, Springer, Carter, and Castro, they would actually be a competitive team.
Gary Sanchez has been inconsistent in the minors and is 21-years old. No team in the majors would have called him up yet. And you keep crediting the NBA and then talk about how you don’t want the same teams in the playoffs every year. Huh?
The Nats, Royals, Orioles, Angels and Giants were all not in the playoffs last year and are this year. Only the Cardinals and Dodgers have been in the playoffs the last two years in a row.
Meh. All this parity is wearing me out, and it’s not even that my team is out of it. There aren’t any real good teams left, offense is pretty low around the league.
If the outfielders were ready then they would have been called up when Beltran got hurt. Sanchez is 21 and has 110 PA in AA. Most teams wouldn’t have called that up. Yankees are actually regularly very rushed with their prospect development. Look at Hughes, he was a 27 year old free agent starter, how often does that happen?
Why would elite players want to have to take less top end money just to achieve the parity you are mistakenly intimating does not exist?
And outside of Robert Refsnyder, who was moved to 2B and began the 2014 season at AA, I’m not sure what NYY OF you’re talking about.
If the NYY front office/ownership chooses not to spend a lot of money this off-season, I don’t think I could find much fault with it. Not sure this particular group of players is worth heavily investing in at this point.
The Yankees aren’t that far off. Get Tanaka back, resign Headly and McCarthy, and that’s a pretty good team, but with holes. Add a guy like Hardy at SS, maybe a guy like Markakis in RF or perhaps a bat with even more impact or a guy like Shields, and I could easily see that team winning the AL East.
That’s the big dilemma of the Yankees. They probably need to slow down the spending, but their current team isn’t THAT far away, and it doesn’t have any young players to fill the holes, so spending does make sense.
The offense was atrocious. Absolutely atrocious. I’m not sure the options are there to significantly improve the middle of the order, because Beltran, Teixeira, and McCann are all locked in, and I’m not sure how much significant improvement can be expected out of them.
This isn’t even factoring in if Gardner and Ellsbury don’t repeat the years they had in 2014.
If the team wants to seriously compete, I think they probably need to try and land at least one of Shields or Lester, or possibly both, and hope they don’t start to break down as soon as the ink dries. Realistically, Tanaka is the only guy in the rotation who can be counted on to provide elite innings, and he’s essentially in countdown mode to Tommy John surgery.
Pitching wasn’t a problem at all this year. You say the offense was atrocious but you’re suggesting we sign both Shields and Lester. They need offense and MAYBE one of those 2 pitchers.
No, the pitching wasn’t the problem this year — but going forward it isn’t clear you’re going to get a significant amount of elite innings out of Tanaka before or if he gets hurt. I’m not sure Shane Greene can be expected to repeat what he did and Kuroda probably isn’t coming back.
The main point about the offense was that I am skeptical that there are free agent options available that will significantly improve it and much of the middle of the order, which was bad, is locked in with high-dollar, no-trade contracts.
But everybody’s offense was bad this year. The Yankees had two problems. They didn’t score a lot, AND their defense was so bad they gave up more runs than their pitchers should have. They don’t need to become world beaters for their run differential to get better. Resign McCarthy and Headley. Add a guy like Hardy who gives you more offensive pop and great run prevention. Sign Shields. And maybe sign an impact bat like Cruz or somebody. Bank on a bounce back from McCann. Does it make the Yankees a LOCK for the WS? No. But could you see the Yankees winning an unknown AL East? Yes.
Where does Headley play when Alex comes back? Because if you’re signing Nelson Cruz, that means Beltran is the DH, right?
Ichiro, thank you for the past 2+ years but for the Yankees, it’s time to move on. Not even the superb athlete that is Ichiro can hold off Father Time forever. Hiroki Kuroda, all of those sentiments are expressed to you as well.
Other than roster tinkering, of which there could be plenty, the Yankees need to take a breather this year on FA contracts. They are carrying too many dead contracts as it is, they don’t need to start signing more 30+ players. Keep your draft picks, see what you can develop, and if there are some lower-profile FA’s who can fill holes, fine, spend the money. But long/big money/old is a near guarantee of more of the same–or worse.
I imagine when he heard the Yankees wanted to get rid of him for a bag of balls during that Houston trade leak, it left a sour taste in his mouth.
Sorry, Albert Pujols’ intial contract with the Cardinals still the best. He was their icon during that time, brought them World Series titles, and when he left, the draft pick they received was spent on a guy named Michael Wacha. The gift that keeps on giving.
Jeters 10 million deal then was equivelant to a 10/350 million deal today. His best year was behind him (153 OPS+) despite being relatively young at 27. He put up a 117 OPS+ in those 10 years (decent, not great), got 1 ring, and his combined runs above average for defense, bat and running was 100 runs (exclude the position adjustment) which is less than 1 win a year.