The Yankees are in the closing stages of Hal Steinbrenner’s rebuilding plan, and they should not deviate from it now, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. That means they must give young players the opportunities they need, both in the minors and in the big leagues. Sherman cites the example of Aaron Judge, a flawed but interesting player who might need extensive development time in the Majors before he hits his ceiling. The Yankees have a number of big-league players, like Greg Bird, Luis Severino and Luis Cessa, who will also require patience to develop, along with a very talented group of minor leaguers. Sherman notes that teams like the Cubs and Red Sox made their aggressive pushes only when it was clear they had a core of young talent that was ready to help. The Yankees should also be looking to accumulate financial flexibility, so that, in a couple years, when they’re a bit older and players like Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson and Shohei Otani are available as free agents, the Yankees will be in the best possible position to add them to their own strong core. Here’s more from the East divisions.
- Sean Rodriguez’s big step forward last year was propelled by changes he made to his plate discipline against righties and to his launch angles, Eno Sarris of FanGraphs writes. Even if he doesn’t retain all of his 2016 improvement next season, though, he’s a good match for the Braves, Sarris opines. Rodriguez’s abilities to hit lefties and play several positions give the Braves platoon options at second base (with Jace Peterson) and the outfield (with Nick Markakis). Also, the relatively cheap $11.5 million guarantee limits the Braves’ downside if Rodriguez fails to live up to his surprising 2016 performance.
- The Rays haven’t yet made any significant moves this offseason, and some of the deals made by other teams might have thwarted them to a degree, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times suggests. Jason Castro and Brett Cecil stood out as potential fits for the Rays, but other teams signed them at relatively high costs. GM Erik Neander, though, says the opportunities available later in the offseason might turn out to be better for the Rays. “Early offseason signings are typically the result of a very competitive market for those players,” says Neander. “Sometimes it’s difficult to contend with that, but not always. Our job is to be prepared, try to do our evaluations correctly, wait for the right opportunity to arise and be in position to strike when it does.”
RaysFan2021
Rays need to step it up
assumptions
Rays will always value the dollar over the talent every time. The owner is only entertained by a profit not by his ball club and unfortunately MLB doesn’t require owners to be baseball fans…
seamaholic 2
Their revenue stream is also a lot less than most other teams. You can’t require owners to be fans, but you also can’t require them to lose money.
slider32
Maybe he shouldn’t be the owner of the team, and maybe they shouldn’t be in Tampa where their are more fans of the other teams in their league. Time to change owners and move if what you say it true!
speedyclaxton
The Rays don’t play in Tampa, they play in St.Pete which has god awful demographics. Lightning sell out every game, Bucs have a huge fan base and always sold out every game until ownership stopped spending money for 5 years. Rays would do well in Tampa.
Valkyrie
Is it time? By your watch, it’s time? Where you going to move them to? Montreal, right. 5000 people per game. Oh but they sold out their exhibitions!!!
Who cares. 5000 per game.
yeahthatswright
Not at all the owners fault..hes in a terrible stadium with a bad fan base. Hes a die hard baseball guy first. Not even a rays fan but I live near st.pete and the sooner they get out of there the better.
kiermaier
If rays can get a new stadium they should be fine.
ducksnort69
He’s a Mets fan and he does not have any desire to spend whatsoever. Guy needs to sell the team. He could have paid Joe Maddon. Letting Joe go was really dumb.
Priggs89
Joe Maddon didn’t leave because of money. He was gone no matter what.
greiunfioewfm
Maddon gave the Rays a final offer $14MM over 4 years and the team said no
speedyclaxton
Not true at all.
therealryan
The Rays are the least valuable team, with the lowest revenue in the league. According to Forbes, they are also the 25th most profitable team, so I hardly say the owner is putting profits ahead of the product on the field.
We’re not talking about the Angels who make 5x as much profit, have the best player in the world and are still struggling or the Padres, who make 4x as much and consistently run garbage out there. Heck, even though the Giants have won several WS recently, they are the most profitable team and still have just as many division titles and playoff appearances as the Rays do over the past 10 years.
Valkyrie
You really and truly seem to know nothing about your subject matter. You appear to have gotten your information from Red Sox trolls.
TheMichigan
I’m telling you, us Tigers fans are really loving that Chad Green, Luis Cessa trade.
yankeefan63
Shane Greene? Really?!?
jonscriff
shane greene was traded for Didi, Justin wilson was traded for Cessa and green.
yankeefan63
Ahh right – thanks…
kimball0401
Yankee fans are loving it too. We didn’t need Justin Wilson
slider32
Funny I remember a lot of whinning among Yankee fans when they made those trades.
ucalex
But then Cashman traded for Aroldis Chapman, right?
MB923
That was before they traded for Chapman. No one, myself included, thought it was a good trade at the time. Shortly after things changed.
Valkyrie
Yankees fans whining? Nawww. Can’t be. The “youth movement” designed to revitalize the franchise is more likely designed to revitalize profit for the Steinbrenners. The Yankees have become the Tampa Bay Rays, cheap young talent that will be sold off when it gets too expensive.
koz16
The Yankees aren’t going to sell off when the young talent starts earning more. Right now they want to get under the luxury tax threshold for a season so that their penalty amount resets to zero. Then in a few years they can go after Machado/Harper/Kershaw/Donaldson and all the other top talent headed to the FA market. But if they don’t get to that reset it’s going to cost them too much to go after top FA’s.
ucalex
Seriously asking why Tiger fans are so happy with it? And if that’s the case, can’t this be considered a win for both sides?
MB923
WAR
Justin Wilson – 0.4
Luis Cessa – 0.6
Chad Green – 0.0
I guess it’s cool if you want to be happy with it, but it’s not like the Tigers won the trade as of now.
Bald Vinny
Cessa Hr allowed: 16
Green Hr allowed: 12
Wilson Hr allowed: 17
.
.
.
.
His entire career.
greiunfioewfm
Because Wilson is a groundball pitcher… it’s not hard to find stats that say an established major league reliever is better than two prospects, you can do better than cherry picking that one
MB923
K that’s nice. Rich Hill led the majors last year in HR/9. By your analogy , he was the best pitcher in baseball last year.
dwhitt3
Wilson is also a reliever, who’s been a lefty specialist most of his career, which relievers typically give up less HRs, and that’s not getting into the fact that Wilson is a GB pitcher
slider32
Sherman and Verducci are 2 of the most knowledgeable baseball minds in the game, the Yanks will continue to build their team while remaining competitive. If they can dump salary and trade either Headley or Gardner or both they will add to their DH and possibility trade for a big bat and big time pitcher. The problem with free agency is you always have to overpay for past performance.
pinballwizard1969
Just my opinion of the group: Harper, Machado, Donaldson and Otani that might at some point become available unless something changes the the Yankees should only be interested in Machado and Otani.
Phillies2017
Donaldson is already older. He’s a bad contract waiting to happen. I agree.
Gambit1193
Agreed. Though you can say Machado could be a worry with his 2 knee surgeries.
slider32
All these guys will be free agents, which means they will be over payed , some past their prime, and will never live up to their contracts. Harper would be the worst of them all to me., and Ohtani will be the best. deal. These guys could ruin their teams chances moving forward.
Priggs89
Harper would be the best to me, especially playing his home games at Yankee stadium. 50 homers definitely within reach.
davidcoonce74
Harper is going to be a free agent at age 26. That’s unprecedented. He’s a tremendous player. Even in 2016, playing the entire season injured, he had a 20/20 season, drew 100 walks. He’s absolutely the guy the Yankees should be zeroed in on. I mean, look at it this way: Gary Sanchez is two months younger than Harper. Sanchez has played two months in the majors, while Harper is entering his fifth season, with an MVP award already.
yankeefan63
Agreed – Machado and Otani – don’t over pay for Harper
slider32
They will all be over pays!
BoldyMinnesota
Otani is going to be a huge risk
geejohnny
I’m a Rays fan but I have to admit that they are yearly bottom feeders. What’s left come February they will sort through as usual
Michael Macaulay-Birks
Tell Steinberg to invest some money in payroll, then you’ll fill some seats….another owner proven to not reinvest revenue-sharing money in talent
Michael Macaulay-Birks
**Sternberg
Valkyrie
You understand how revenue sharing works right? Obviously not.
slider32
Sherman and Verducci are 2 of the most knowledgeable baseball people in the game.I think the Yanks will continue to improve their team with free agents while keeping most of their prospects. unless they get a deal they like. There is no one way to do things in baseball, you have to be versitle. As far as the young players, I would put may money on Severino,,Bird, Torres,Fazier Sanchez, Rutherford, Kaprelian, and Sheffield.
benharvey26
I think we all have the collective feeling in our balls that Harper will be a Yankee
Yankees2425
Rather have Machado in my opinion.
thetruth 2
Harper is a lot better than Machado.
davidcoonce74
Harper is absolutely better than Machado, although Machado is pretty good. Biggest concern with both is injury– Harper played all of 2016 through injury, and there’s something going on with MM – we know about the two serious knee injuries, but isn’t it odd that he didn’t steal a single base in 2016?
padam
Harper/Yanks just a matter of time.
slider32
There is something to be said to making the playoffs, it gives you team some juice and helps your fan base. The Yanks are used to making the playoffs, they say making the playoff can increase your revenue up to 20%. The Yanks revenue is 500 million, that’s a 100 million increase. So it might be better to spend more to make the playoffs. I see the Yanks adding Chapman, EE, and a starting pitcher over the winter. This will give them a chance of contending in 17. To stay under the cap they will move both Gardner and Headley salary.Right now they are at 135 million for 17.
josuf
Sherman: Judge needs ‘development time in the majors.’
Me: That has got to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard. He needs a full year at Scranton, before he needs anything else. This kind of nonsense just really reeks of the Yank-Mes paying for press coverage so that they can gauge the fan outrage that bubbles up in response.
Development time in the majors, indeed.
bronxbombers
What more can he prove at triple A he mashed that league already no point in sending him down like rangers did with Gallo and the next year he only got worse. He needs to adjust to major league pitching and can only do that in the major leagues let him hit we are rebuilding anyways it can’t hurt!
slider32
You never know Jackie Bradley wasn’t good when he first came up, Some of these prospects will make it, some won’t.
theruns
In 580 AAA at bats Judge has an OPS of .786 with 172 whiffs. He’s also going to 25 years old when the season starts, so he’s not a kid.
To say he has “nothing to prove” in AAA is a little ridiculous. He is a legit prospect but not even close to a lock and he has significant holes in his game.
therealryan
While Judge struggled in his first taste of AAA back in 2015, this past season he performed much, much better. In 410 AAA PA last season, he had an .854 OPS and 147 wRC+, which both ranked near the top of his league. He also cut his K% by 4.6% while increasing his BB% and ISO. As you said, he’ll be 25 next season, so it is time for the Yankees to figure out what they have with him. The only current OF with proven MLB ability are Gardner and Ellsbury. For a team that is trying to reset their luxury tax and only one exciting FA OF on the market, why not plan on Judge being your everyday RF and finding out if he is a part of the next great run that they plan on starting in 2018-19.
morg6969
So where does Rodriguez fit with the Braves exactly? Don’t we already have a few utility guys? His hitting projects to regress next year and beyond. Seems like a pricey option to fill a nonexistent need. JMO obviously