The Yankees announced on Friday that they’ve signed free-agent first baseman/outfielder Adam Lind to a minor league deal with an invite to Major League Spring Training. Lind, who is represented by ISE Baseball, would earn $2MM in the majors with $650K in possible incentives, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter).
The contract also includes a pair of opt-out opportunities — on March 22nd and June 1st — which will allow Lind to test the open market if he is not added to the MLB roster. The Yankees view the contract as an “insurance policy,” Cashman adds, so it sounds as if the opt-out clauses could well come into play.
Lind, 34, is coming off a strong season with the Nationals in which he slashed a hearty .303/.362/.512 with 14 homers in 301 plate appearances. That marked a nice rebound effort from a down season with the Mariners in 2016 and served as evidence that Lind is still plenty capable of contributing at the big league level. That he had to settle for a minor league pact this offseason speaks to the manner in which corner bats have been devalued throughout the league as a whole; Lind has posted an OPS+ of 123 or better in four of the past five seasons, batting a combined .282/.348/.473 through 2142 plate appearances in that time.
Of course, Lind is not without his limitations. He’s logged a disastrous .217/.263/.329 slash against left-handed pitchers over the course of 12-year MLB career and is largely limited to first base on the defensive spectrum. The Nats did trot him out to left field for 197 innings last season, though that marked his first work on the outfield grass since 2010, and he unsurprisingly did not rate well there.
It’s possible that Lind will simply spend camp with the Yankees before finding a better opportunity late in Spring Training. New York, after all, doesn’t have much of an opening for him with Greg Bird healthy and expected to man first base on a daily basis in 2018. Tyler Austin is on hand as a backup option for Bird and figures to make the team in a bench capacity as well, though he does have a minor league option remaining. Still, given Lind’s success in 2017 it would hardly come as a surprise if he landed with a club looking to deepen its bench later this month or perhaps finds a greater role in the wake of an injury elsewhere.
Good depth signing. Had a good season last year.
I agree, nice move here
.875 OPS last year and he can only get a minor league deal.
He’s a corner infielder/DH who mainly hits for power. The FA market this year was flooded with players like him.
Morrison and Duda are comps though, Probably prefer Lind over Duda.
And if you think about it, is Hosmer really THAT much better than any of those guys? I’m not saying Hoz isn’t better overall, obviously he has a better glove but it just seems ridiculous to me how he signed that mega deal and guys like Lind are relegated to these peanut MiLB contracts. Just saying the difference there strikes me as odd.
Hosmer is younger than all of Duda, Lind, and LoMo
Hosmer’s deal is a very poor business decsision. Way to long and way to much AAV for this kind of player. He’ll do okay for 5 years or so, but they’ll regret the last years of that contract.
It will hamstring ownership and longterm winning. It is very much shortterm thinking at the expense of longterm competativeness.
I’m the biggest hater of Hosmer you’ll ever find but Hosmer is a way better overall player than any of the guys who were available last week. Now with that said he certainly wasn’t 180 mil better than Lind. The game is always filled with a plethora of bat only 1b/DH types there is no reason to ever sign a 1b to 8 years unless he’s Pujols in his prime.
Yeah that’s what I was getting at. He’s definitely better (and younger as Tyler pointed out), I just don’t think he’s 180 mil better like you said.
It can’t really hamstring them because what else is there to do with the money? Hosmer was one of the top five free agents this year. If you don’t want your team signing a top five free agent, who do you want them to sign? This mystical group of future hall of famers who will be free agents in a couple of years in their mid twenties and your team should just wait and sign all of them…this isn’t a real thing that happens.
I 100% disagree. I personally think it was a great signing considering the contract details
Agreed, if money was no object Hosmer is better, but only modestly so. Given the price tags, I’d rather have Lind, Duda, Alonso, maybe even Morrison
And with a .8WAR you would have to believe that he is an upgrade for at least 10 teams
He will probably make the majors if Greg Bird isn’t the word.
Bird is the word.
Good signing. I think he’ll play a similar role to when he played with The Nationals, back-up 1B/LF.
interesting signing
Love this deal as a Yankee fan.
we still dont know who Greg bird is…..so may as well
You could, uhhh, google it.
Cashman strikes again. Good backup if Bird misses time again.
Something is disastrously wrong with this market
Its GMs not giving in to ludicrous demands. Its not so much the market is wrong but the agents representing the players are over-pricing the players. People dont like handing out Ellsbury and Heyward-esque contracts.
Adam Lind was never going to get one of those and likely was not asking for one. The fact he accepted a minor league deal tells me he was looking for something reasonable like 1 year and in the single digit of millions.
Right, and thats because the market doesnt value these types of guys anymore. Whether it’d be an oversaturaturation of these types of players or a realization that these players arent all that important, they arent worth as much. You also have to consider that contending teams are probably against giving lind an MLB contract since it lowers their flexibility with that player that isnt even garunteed to deserve a bench spot and that teams out of contention have no use in signing him. In this case, I would say that this came down to roster flexibility than it did the dollar figure, since it was to be low regardless.
But Im not saying Lind was asking for an Ellsbury contract but I was saying that teams are tired of overpaying in general and thats why you are seeing the market play out like it has. Especially when they are trying to save money for next year.
Only Cashman gives Ellsbury a contract like that when the Bodox declined to jo that route along like they did with Damon demon. Always depend on the NYY to over pay since they played well against them.
What? Ellsbury is not the only overpaid player in the MLB. I even gave another example in Jason Heyward in the post you replied to
Breath Begamin this guy pasha2k is a uneducated Red Sox troll.
The Red Sox will have baseball’s highest payroll in 2018
Sandoval? Ramirez? Price?
There is nothing wrong with the market. Just because you look and see a bunch of guys you perceive to be good doesn’t mean MLB value them. 1st base is and has and will likely always be the easiest position to field in MLB. This is where all the least athletic guys go. Now more teams have correctly figured out they don’t need to waste a roster spot on a DH only because for every Edgar or Ortiz there’s 100 guys who weren’t very good DHs at all. MLB teams also use 1st always a position to move overpaid has beens they were duped into signing. All teams sign guys to ludicrous contracts figuring somehow their guy has drank from the fountain of youth and will continue to be a above average defender. Reality sets in usually within the first two yrs of the deal that they’re already breaking down and need to be moved down the defensive spectrum. Teams particularly in the NL value defence as you can’t DH guys. That’s why Zimmerman moved to 1st in Washington, Braun will see a lot of at bats at 1st in Milwaukee, posey will likely play more 1st base for the rest of his career than catch, the Rockies signed Desmond to play 1st originally they knew they had flexibility.
You can say well the Adam Lind’s mark Reynolds or Napoli’s of the world could all hit 25 HRs! You are right they could, but it’s you haven’t been paying attention so can everyone else in the league and you’ve probably got someone in the minors who is younger, cheaper and plays better D who can hit 25 HRs too.
Wow… Another great deal for cashman! I’m really surprised he didn’t get guaranteed money from a team like… well, everyone.
Starting 5 pitchers
Bets/Green/Chap/Warren/Robertson/Kahnle/Shreve
Bird/2nd/Didi/3rd/Sanchez/Judge/Stanton./Hicks/Gardner
Romine/Drury/Ellsbury
So the Yanks have 1, maybe two spots available, if they drop the 7th guy in the bullpen? So I guess Torreyes, Frazier, Lind and Tyler Austin battle it out for the last openings.s.
It looks like there are three open spots. at 2B, 3B, and then one bench spot. 2nd could very well be filled by Torres though and 3rd could very well be filled by Andujar.
If only we could trade Ellsbury. Hes not bad enough to release but hes not good enough to start, so effectively he is just blocking prospects. This is also kind of why I was against the Drury trade because, although I like Drury as a player, now there is a glutton of infielders battling it out for the same spots and some good players are to be left out.
I dont see Frazier making the MLB club unless Ellsbury is moved/an OF gets injured. Can Drury play 1B? If so, i dont see Tyler Austin or Lind making the MLB roster unless Bird gets hurt. But if Drury cant play 1B then I would assume that the last spot comes down to Tyler Austin or Lind. Wish there was room for Torreyes.
Don’t think its a matter of whether Drury “can play” first base….he probably can, but he’s not a first baseman.
I don’t think you want to subject your infield to a defensive deficiency over the coarse of a long season with a fill in at a key position.
A competent first baseman can make the entire infield better.
I wasnt suggesting starting Drury to be the starting 1B. Thats Birds spot. I was suggesting that if Drury is good enough to play 1B he would likely negate the need to give a roster spot to Austin or Lind since Drury can play several positions and that he would play 1B occassionally when Bird needs rest.
I did say that if Drury cant play 1B then Austin or Lind will battle it out for the last spot. You must have misunderstood me. I know that if you put a guy at 1B who doesnt play 1B well is not a good idea and i wasnt suggesting that we should entertain the idea of putting somebody who isnt efficient at 1B at 1B.
Lind was clearly brought in to compete with Tyler Austin.
That and emergency depth. Austin has had a number of injuries as well. I wouldnt be surprised if Austin wins the MLB spot and then you see Lind come up from the minors after Austin sustains an injury
Righht now it looks like the Yanks will go with Drury at 3rd, and either Wade or Torres at 2nc to start the season. Both Torres and Andujar could move up after a few weeks in the minors. Andujar is pushing the isue right now, he looks ready, but remember what happened to Bird last year and Bradley a few years ago. They both had great springs and played poorly to start the season.
Drury will play 2B or 3B, and the team will still need a backup IF, so I would guess Torreyes makes it, barring any additional moves. Unless he has options left, in which case they might wants to promote Espinosa and keep Toe as depth in AAA
even if the two kids don’t win jobs in camp they will be up by memorial day. Long term Drury is going to split time with those two and torreyes and whomever will be in the minors or not on the team.
Drury will start the season at 3rd or 2nd which makes Torreyes the utility infielder. Don’t see them carrying 5 (or in their case 6) OFers so that makes Frazier the odd man out unless Ells gets released.
So it might come down to Austin and Lind for the opening day spot.
Of course after about 2 weeks Torres could get the call and boot someone.
Lol calm your ass Lind is getting cut
Andujar, Torres, Frazier and Austin all go down to start the season. Lind gives you another lefty hitter with a ridiculous OPS. As the “older” guys under performance and/or injury’s happen guys come up or get traded.
How do people not see what cash is doing? To build a dynasty you need to trade some prospects, Cash is building as much value for Andujar and Frazier as possible. They will be traded for pitching. As much as I would like to see how Andujar progresses in a Yankees uniform the team needs to maximize its return for him, starting pitching. They are going to send out a package of players for an ace caliber pitcher and hopefully add Ells to it.
Next offseason the Yankees are going sign Machado and Keuchel. The rotation will be solidified and the minors will be used for midseason upgrades/secondary needs moving forward.
But why trade Andujar just to pay Machado? Wouldnt you want to keep Andujar and then pay a SP? Considering 3B is a position of need for the Yankees, and Andujar could very well fill that need, why trade him? You would just have to find a way to fill that need again, which is most likely shedding out a huge contract for Machado. It just doesnt make business sense. The Yankees lineup is stacked anyway and there is no real need to spend a lot for Machado. If Andujar is the real deal I see no reason to trade him just to have to buy Machado. You could go deeper in the farm system with players like Florial to make trades with. You could just sign a SP too. Also, Machado wants to stay at SS from what I recall, so that also complicates things, doesnt it?
I could see Cash dealing Frazier since they have so many OF’s, but Gardner and Ellsbury arent going to be on the squad as long as Frazier would (considering he doesnt get moved) so it allows for you to have an OF of Frazier in LF, Hicks in CF, and then Judge/Stanton rotating between CF/RF/DH for the foreseeable future. With that being said, it makes me have my doubts that he will get traded as well.
If Cash trades prospects for pitching I believe it would be players deeper in the farm. So people like Florial, McKinney, Estrada and the like. Maybe Austin too, since Bird has solidified his spot at 1B. However, its not wise to trade away all your prospects. Having a depleted farm is not a good long-term decision and I would argue that bad long-term decisions are not ways to build a dynasty.
Machado is that good that’s why, there is no way you can even compare the two at this point. You’re right from a business perspective it’s smarter to not add another mega contract to the books when you still have to pay all these young guys but thats why they’re called the Evil Empire. In a perfect world you can hold onto Andujar and he turns into Manny 2.0 but what happens when he doesn’t? What happens if he gets hurt or turns into a DH? Value is gone. The Yankees have the main roster filled out minus 3B, roll players and unforeseeable injuries. Torres is the second baseman of the future, Hicks can hold down the fort until Florial comes up and Drury will get his shot. Ideally you trade Frazier, McKinney, Estrada and whomever else to dump Ellsbury while adding a pitcher this year.
Next year having Andujar will help you negotiate with Machado but again the trick is maximizing his value and I believe that means trading him this year. I do think the first thing the Yankees do next offseason is over pay for Dallas Keuchel which is okay. He is a true lefty ace and they would be hurting the Astros at the same time. I firmly believe they will both get 25M signing bones and 7-10 year contract from the yankees.
You make some good points. I think its worth mentioning that Andujar doesnt need to be Manny 2.0 to make a Manny signing a bad idea. As long as he does above average i think it would be more valuable to spend your dollars elsewhere than to trade Andujar and then sign Manny. Only thing that worries me about Andujars chance to be a longterm 3B is his defense. I would also like to point out that, while they are the Evil Empire for a reason, I think the Yankees have learned to be smarter with their money. I think A-Rod filled the value of his contract but it still stung to take his salary hit when he is not on the team and that would make any team wary of dishing out a big contract. The Yankees are the team they are today by fully embracing the produce of their farm and I dont see why Cashman will really change course unless he has a hint that Andujar is a bust. I can see Cashman making a big splash on a FA SP next offseason but Manny seems unlikely to me. Especially since Manny wants to be a SS from here on out.
Since the Yankees squad is already filled to the brim with great MLB talent, you would think itd be smart to hold on to the prospects instead of trading them for even more MLB players. Thats going all in, which i believe to be a bit overkill, and doesnt set up your future well. Because of that I think you may see one prospect package be dished out for a SP but i dont think you’ll see Andujar or C. Frazier included. I can see them trading some of their pitching prospects/middle infield/outfield prospects though. Theyre in a weird spot because the best trades for them would be the ones to stock up the farm to ensure the team stays good but their best trade chips are in the farm. I think unless Hicks forces the Yankees hands over the years that he’ll eventually be shipped off for prospects but it would be silly to trade him now.
Wish the Yankees kept Garret Cooper, but getting Lind on a minor league deal isnt too shabby. I would assume hes the 3rd 1B on the depth chart, behind Bird and Austin.
What is it with Austin anyway? One day he seems to be honing in his talents and the other he is either injured or practically non-existent. Oh well, I still have a lot of faith in Bird.
Lind is a better hitter than both Austin or Cooper.
Really surprised he was still available given the fact he had a solid year for Nats. Too bad for Lind that ending up on the Yankees roster would mean that Bird either is injured or goes completely sideways offensively.
Nice signing for the Yanks and further proof how power bats who only play 1B/DH have lost a ton value to MLB teams. LoMo and Duda get small deals, Lind can’t even find an MLB offer, and yet I’m sure somewhere on these boards is still a Brewer fan convinced that they can get something of value for trading Jesus Aguilar….
The value of one dimensional first basemen has never been lower. If things keep trending in that direction these guys will have to be posted on eBay next winter.
Love this minor league signing. My monies on he opens the season as the Yankees 1B back up. With Austin, McBroom and McKinney starting the season in the minors. After all it’s not like Austin has been all that impressive offensively when he’s gotten his chances.
Great depth signing. Cashman strikes again. Cashman is a genius.
Absolutely agree. I think it will wind up more than just a “depth” signing.
That’s a great deal for Yankees.
Bird getting traded I’d do bird and Andujar/Florial (gotta factor in WAR, VORP, OPS here, I’m a smart guy.) for Anibal Sanchez
How high are you?
lol you dont want to trade your best prospects for a guy with an ERA of 6.7?????
Umm. What?
So ridiculous, not even worthy of a comment.
He’s not an outfielder by any means.
Lind is a better hitter than both Austin or Cooper.
Cooper was traded
Cooper was traded to the Marlins though
Lind is a .959 career OPS pinch hitter. He’s one of the best at coming in cold and giving you a quality at bat.