Masahiro Tanaka’s opt-out clause following the 2017 season looms large over any Yankees decisions on the pitching front this winter, writes ESPN New York’s Andrew Marchand, as the team doesn’t have a reliable starter that is definitively under control beyond the current campaign. (Michael Pineda and CC Sabathia are free agents next offseason.) As Marchand notes, Tanaka’s situation illustrates the dangers that opt-out clauses present to teams; if Tanaka pitches well in 2017, he’ll have been a great four-year investment but will test the open market in search of a larger deal. If he performs poorly and/or gets injured, the Yankees will be stuck with the remaining three years and $64MM on the contract. And, of course, there’s no way to know which scenario will play out, thus making it more difficult to plan for the future as well. Marchand notes that the lack of arms locked in beyond 2017 could lead the Yankees to Rich Hill (though he comes with his own obvious uncertainties) but cautions that GM Brian Cashman is still not keen on using his newly bolstered farm to land someone like Chris Sale. Marchand also explores various bullpen scenarios that could play out for the Yankees this winter.
A few more notes out of the AL East…
- Aroldis Chapman tells NY Sports Day’s Ray Negron that he would “love to be a Yankee again,” expressing gratitude for the fact that the Yankees “took a chance” on him amid domestic abuse allegations. “The organization treated me first class, and the fans were like no other,” said Chapman of his time in New York. George A. King III of the New York Post reports that the Yankees have had multiple conversations with Chapman’s agent, Barry Praver, about a reunion, but to this point there’s been no formal offer extended by New York, nor has there been a proposal in terms of years and dollars from Chapman’s camp. It’s certainly possible that the Yankees — and many teams with serious interest in Chapman — are awaiting the results of the current wave of collective bargaining negotiations, which will reportedly bring a yet-unknown increase to the $189MM luxury tax barrier.
- The free agent market is presently flush with corner outfield/first base/designated hitter types, and the Yankees intend to closely monitor that market and take advantage, as the Orioles have done in the past, tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney. In recent years, we’ve seen the O’s wait out the first base/rightfield/DH market and land affordable contracts for players like Pedro Alvarez (one year, $5MM last winter) and Nelson Cruz (one year, $8MM prior to the 2014 season). With names like Carlos Beltran, Brandon Moss, Mike Napoli, Steve Pearce, Matt Holliday, Trevor Plouffe, Mitch Moreland, Adam Lind, Logan Morrison and Justin Morneau among the available corner names, is does indeed seem possible that the Yankees could end up with a bargain on their hands by exercising some patience. Olney tweeted last week after the Brian McCann trade that the Yankees’ focus was on pitching, though they would very much like to bring Beltran back to the Bronx.
The Yankees should go after Mark Trumbo , he can DH, play first and play the outfield and he is only 30??????
Except he can’t really play 1B or the OF
He plays an alright 1B, just always plays for teams that need corner OF more
Not to mention he is a righty
No way they sign him with that QO attached.
They could gamble by forfeiting that pick… MLB is getting more competitive nowadays and they Yankees need to spend money to attract more fans.. plus they a strong farm for years to come.
i don’t think he’s worth a first rounder and the money it’ll take to get him
And I wouldn’t wan that bat and judge’s bat in the same line up. You’re looking at the possibility of 400 ks.
Trumbo isn’t a guy you want on defense, even if it’s only once in a while. He’s a one-dimensional player, period.
opt outs = stupidity
Teams should just say ‘no’.
I agree, but it only takes one team offering an opt-out clause to a player, to make that a bargaining tool with the other suitors as well. And just like taxpayer funded stadiums, the opt-out clause won’t go away unless it’s outlawed across the board, by MLB in this case…we can only hope both those albatrosses go by the wayside.
The MLB players union will never go for that. Theyre the strongest union in the world
Unless you believe the player market doesn’t behavior at all rationally, opt-outs have to provide teams with some benefit, i.e., a discounted signing price. Both the player and the team fully understand the risk being accepted by the team in giving the player this option, just as both parties understand the risk proposition represented by contracts without opt-outs, and the various flavors of team and player options and buyouts.
Club options for players=stupidity. It works both ways.
Unless Tanaka suffers a career ending injury my guess is he will opt out. That said I doubt it’ll matter, the yanks will be prepared to make sure he never sees the open market. My guess is another 6-7 year deal with an opt out after 3 with some sort of raise depending on how he does during the season.
That’s a tough call on Tanaka. If he was healthy, I’d say no brainer bringing him back. I think letting him go might be the smart play. Eventually that elbow will need to be repaired. Let someone else worry about it.
If the yanks are in the same position as last season I would like them to look into trading tanaka at the deadline. Recoup some value.
Perhaps, but it doesn’t help that he has a full no trade clause (according to COT’s contracts.)
My guess is that if he indeed opts out, and asks for a long term deal such as you suggest of 6-7 years, the yanks will simply say no thank you….see Sabathia and his performance of late.
I agree, that most likely, sooner or later his elbow goes and why get stuck with that issue even if insurance helps ease the blow.
That arm/elbow will never last another 6-7 years
I pray he doesn’t opt out (which will never happen) and if he does the yanks give him a qualifying offer and look elsewhere
There is a chance there will not be a qualifying offer in the next CBA.
If there’s no QO, there will be some other form of team compensation for losing quality FA.
Yankees 1st round pick isn’t protected. They lose their first round pick.
This was in response to someone who must have deleted their comment saying the Yankees would only lose a second round pick if they signed Trumbo.
How do you delete a comment?
Win the election
You can’t from the app (or at least not the iOS app), but you can from the web. On the web you Click to Edit and then Delete.
?????
It’s true. During the five minutes you have to edit your comment, you can also delete it.
Hahahahahaha, well played
Thanks!
Thanks, it was a genuine question, I don’t know how many times I wish I could have deleted something I accidentally posted
Likewise. Wish there was a way to delete from the app too.
The fall out from this recent opt-out clause frenzy will soon become an annoyance for everyone…
They make the signing team look desperate. They make the player look selfish, and calculating. If they underperform, they hang around? Sure that’ll go over well with the fanbase…and if they perform well, they enter the market again and the FO is stuck scrambling to fill a position that may be thin on the FA market that particular year.
It would be better if they had to exercise their opt out a year in advance like some team options require.
I guess I prefer the honesty of an opt out to the silliness of a mutual option that will never ever get picked up.
Evidently I’m in the minority here, but I like the opt-out. I think it can be mutually beneficial. Obviously it’s more beneficial for the player, but it allows the team to reduce overall money guaranteed as well. I think it’d be silly to outlaw. I’d rather have the MLB reduce their influence on the free agent market
I agree with you. If a team has to offer a 30 year old top free agent 6-7 years to get him signed, but can include an opt out after 3 years, that can be a win-win for both sides. The player performs great for the first two years and good for the 3rd year, he’ll opt out. Now the signing team isn’t on the hook for the back end of his contract, gets a draft pick when he signs elsewhere and also is now ready to sign the newest 30 year old top FA.
I think the opt-out is bad for the team all other things equal. The team would be better off giving a 6 year-deal without an opt-out than a 6 year-deal with one, because it’ll be an albatross if the player sucks either way. But if the team can choose between a 6 year contract without one and, say, a 4 year guarantee with an opt-out, it becomes mutually beneficial
I agree. The only downside is if you sign a deal with a guy who costs a draft pick and give him an opt out after the first year
That’s fair, although it’s not a huge problem if he’s good enough to receive a QO the next year. It pushes your pick back a year and down a few choices, but it’s probably still worth it. I know Ian Desmond didn’t get an opt-out, for example, but I doubt Texas minds punting the draft choice given the year that he had and that they’ll get one back this year if he leaves
The basic fact not always accepted in these discussion is that both sides in these contracts understand the value propositions they represent. It’s kind of silly to argue that teams give away opt-outs for nothing, but we hear that a lot. Just like we hear that virtually every free agent contract is an overpay,
At the end of the day if the player and the team both want it, great. Go for it.
It wouldn’t absolutely shock me if the Yankees are secretly hoping for a strong year from Tanaka, then an opt-out, and then he signs elsewhere. There has to be an injury concern on any long-term contract, and they might be relieved–especially in light of CC’s contract. The harder situation for the team is Tanaka is mediocre, decides to stay, and then gets injured.
One word on why Tanaka stays: Otani
Sorry but I don’t think that’s relevant in the slightest
I guess the Cubs like giving up prospects to rent closers for 3 months.
No, they like giving up prospects to win the World Series. Which they did
Gleybar Torres and Billy McKinney aren’t worth anywhere near that World Series win, no matter what they end up doing. I’d make that trade a million times after seeing the end result. Nice try tho.
You must also want to delete your comment like person that asked ^^^, because you made absolutely no sense in your comment.
I think the Yanks spending this winter will depend on whether they trade Gardner or Headley or both. If they don’t I see them getting Chapman, and either Beltran or Pearce, and a starting pitcher like Hammel or Hill. If they trade them then EE is in play and maybe a trade for a front line starter like Sale, Quintana, or someone else.
Wow the Cubs win their first ws title in 100 plus years and now the Cubs fans are all gloating about it. Please even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then
Even a blind squirrel who finds a nut deserves to eat it.
Haha get real, dude.
The Cubs were a blind squirrel and now they aren’t blind anymore and are the scariest squirrel in the league with no end in sight for….10 years?
Yes and we still are floating. The best part we have a real shot at repeating again, with the team we have. While you can just hope for that 1 win every time Chris Sale pitches, if he decides to wear the jersey.