As we kick off the fifth installment of this series, here are links to the previous team payroll projections:
Philadelphia Phillies
Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Angels
Atlanta Braves
If you have questions about financial information made available to the public and the assumptions used in this series, please refer to the Phillies piece linked above.
Today, we’re moving north to visit with the once and future biggest spenders in the game: the New York Yankees.
Team Leadership
The ownership portion of this section likely needs very little explanation, but a bit of history is actually instructive. Going back to the end of World War II, The Yankees were owned by Lee MacPhail, Dan Topping, and Del Webb from 1945-64. The team failed to reach the World Series in 1945 and 1946, then, improbably, played in the Fall Classic in all but three of the remaining years of their ownership run. CBS then purchased a controlling stake in the team in 1964 and the Yankees failed to make the playoffs during all 10 campaigns of corporate ownership.
Then, the Boss arrived. George Steinbrenner led a group of investors in purchasing the Yankees in 1973 for an unfathomable $10 million. While the team has had minority owners since then, the Steinbrenner family has held the reins with George relinquishing control to his son Hal and his three siblings in 2008, two years prior to George’s passing.
The baseball operations department is headed by senior vice president and chairman Brian Cashman. Cashman took control of the baseball operations department in early 1998 and promptly saw the team make the World Series five times in his first six years at the helm, winning three championships in the process. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Cashman’s job security has rarely been at issue despite the fact that the Bronx Bombers have won just one World Series title since 2000 (2009).
Historical Payrolls
Before hitting the numbers, please recall that we use data from Cot’s Baseball Contracts, we’ll use average annual value (“AAV”) on historical deals but actual cash for 2019 and beyond, and deferrals will be reflected where appropriate. And, of course, the value of examining historical payrolls is twofold: they show us either what type of payroll a team’s market can support or how significantly a given ownership group is willing to spend. In the most useful cases, they show us both. We’ll focus on a 15-year span for the Yankees, covering 2005-18 for historical data as a means to understanding year 15: 2019. We’ll also use Opening Day payrolls as those better approximate expected spending by ownership.
Fasten your seatbelts, the payroll figures are about to get gaudy.
The Yankees surprisingly began the 2000s with a payroll of just $107.6 million and that figure held true in 2001 at $112.3 million. Then the spending boon started in 2002 as the team increased payroll by $13.6 million, $26.8 million, $31.4 million, and $24.1 million in four consecutive offseasons causing payroll to soar to the 2005 starting point above of $208.3 million. Incredibly, payroll has been largely stagnant since 2005 with only modest dips and climbs over the next 12 years before a notable drop in 2018 that reset the Yankees luxury taxpayer status (more on that below).
The Yankees have been a model franchise when it comes to finding ways to use their financial might to improve their club on talent beyond the Major League roster. The best recent example of this spending acumen came in the international amateur market in 2014 when the Yankees zoomed past their bonus threshold to sign one third of the top-30 prospects that year. It is overwhelmingly likely that this bonanza spurred Major League Baseball to revisit and revise the international spending limitations in the next iteration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. To read more about this spending spree, check out this piece on Baseball Prospectus from Dustin Palmateer. Needless to say, if there is a way to use the club’s financial might to create a competitive advantage, the Yankees have done and will do it, even if significant taxes are at issue.
Speaking of taxes: since Major League Baseball instituted its first version of a luxury tax in 1997 through 2017, teams paid approximately $548,155,916 in taxes. The Yankees paid $329,519,651 of that amount, accounting for 60.1 percent of total luxury tax payments. Truly astonishing. Keep in mind that these tax payments do not include the taxes paid for overspending in the international marketplace. Simply put, the Yankees will spend and spend big, not that this is news to anyone.
Future Liabilities
The Yankees entered the offseason with a truly bizarre contract table: they had no guaranteed contracts with one year remaining, instead holding multi-year guarantees only. The recent re-signings of CC Sabathia and Brett Gardner added a pair of contract year players to the payroll table. Here are the guaranteed future dollars with club options highlighted in peach and player options — in this case, opt-out clauses — are highlighted in light blue.
We’ll start with Stanton. It was an imperfect debut season for the former National League Most Valuable Player, but on the whole, Stanton delivered what was expected: a whole bunch of home runs. His contract comes with two deeply intriguing facets. First, the Yankees enjoy a significant luxury tax benefit as a result of the inexpensive early year guarantees on his deal when with the Marlins and financial help Miami will send to New York in the mid-2020s. The Yankees should seek out players for whom they can pay exorbitant amounts while enjoying relatively depressed luxury tax figures. Stanton’s $22.7 million annual luxury tax hit is on par with the likes of Justin Upton, not befitting an in-prime superstar. Second, the 2026-28 commitments are comparatively very small given the influx of money from the Marlins. Assuming that the Yankees exercise their option on him in 2028, they’ll be responsible for just $49 million over those three years. In the meantime, obviously, they’ll pay an MVP level rate.
The other commitments are for the team’s three most recent marquee free agent acquisitions: Tanaka, Ellsbury, and Chapman. The returns for those three have been all over the place. Despite some control issues this past season, Chapman has largely excelled since returning starting with the 2017 season. At the other end of the spectrum, Ellsbury enjoyed a good first year with the Yankees in 2014, but he provided below-average production in 2015-17 before missing all of 2018 with a hip injury. Tanaka has occupied the space between stars and scrubs. He looked like an ace in 2014 and again in 2016. In the middle, he struggled with an elbow injury and since 2016, he has been a slightly above-average starter but not the ace that the Yankees hoped he would become. His value isn’t poor by any stretch, but he’s being paid at almost exactly his market rate.
As for the arbitration projections, the Yankees figure to spend a good amount on controllable talent with less than six years of service time. The Yankees don’t appear to have any obvious non-tender candidates. Here are their arbitration projections (salary projections by MLBTR and Matt Swartz):
It’s likely Gray finds himself wearing a new uniform when 2019 kicks off, but the front office will nevertheless take pleasure in seeing both Paxton and Severino occupying only arbitration salary slots instead of monster eight-figure annual salaries.
There is one name that comes with oodles of intrigue: injured shortstop Didi Gregorius. Gregorius underwent Tommy John surgery on October 17, an operation that will keep him on the shelf for months. With a $12.4 million arbitration payday on the way, could the Yankees consider non-tendering him, especially if he won’t be available until late in the 2019 season?
I don’t see it. His middle infield partner, Gleyber Torres, underwent Tommy John surgery on June 19, 2017, but he was ready for Spring Training in 2018, participating fully and playing the entire 2018 regular season starting on Opening Day. Torres needed only about eight months to return to full participation, though it’s possible that he would have been ready even earlier. If Gregorius is ready to return in mid-June, he’s certainly worth his arbitration estimate. It’s also possible that the Yankees come to a multi-year agreement with him in lieu of playing out his final year in advance of free agency.
What Does Team Leadership Have to Say?
When asked about how the team will fill out its rotation holes early in November, Cashman unsurprisingly explained that the Yankees will take whatever path necessary to build a winning rotation. “I think we’ll just gravitate to anything that will make sense,” Cashman said. “It could be a combination; something could make sense via trade in the same category as free agency. I’m interested in adding more than one pitcher. I need to, I think, add multiple. If I can do so, we’ll see.” While commenting on his preference to remain south of the luxury tax line, Cashman admitted what we all already know: “…because of the market we’re in and the ownership we have I know that we’re capable of and it’s a decision they ultimately will make when they’re forced to make it…” Quite simply, Cashman has openly admitted that big spending is a viable option, even if he publicly states a desire to avoid doing so.
Are the Yankees a Player for Bryce Harper or Manny Machado?
Yes.
We could spend a long time explaining why this is viable for the Yankees, but for a team with revenue estimated at $619 million as of 2017, it probably doesn’t require much in-depth examination to see how this works financially.
The more interesting question with the Yankees involves the fit of these two young stars. Incredibly, the Yankees’ top seven players by WAR in 2018 were four outfielders (Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks, Stanton, and Gardner), two shortstops (Gregorius and Torres), and a third baseman (Miguel Andujar). Judge, Hicks, Gregorius, and Stanton all produced at star-level rates.
That said, it’s not terribly difficult to see the fit for Machado. Andujar’s rookie year defensive metrics were putrid. He could justifiably be moved to first base and/or designated hitter, or traded, opening up third base for Machado. Shortstop will be open to begin the season with Gregorius recovering from surgery and Torres also comes with Tommy John in his background, so Machado would be a safer bet to hold the spot defensively into the future, especially with Gregorius an impending free agent. Machado could easily cover shortstop or third base with minimal roster revisions.
But Harper? The Yankees would need to kick Harper to center field, enforcing a massive defensive downgrade for their outfield, move one of Judge, Stanton, or Harper to designated hitter, or trade one of their current corner outfield stars to clear a spot for Harper. Or they could do something even more surprising like moving one of Judge, Stanton, or Harper to first base, a risky defensive move.
I’m sure that Cashman would find a way for this to work. But the Harper fit is clearly tougher.
What Will the 2019 Payroll Be?
The standard disclaimer: ownership and management knows the actual budget whereas we’re focusing on historical data and other relevant factors to project future spending in the immediate and more distant years to come.
The Yankees’ payroll is going to go up. The only question is whether they sneak over the $200 million threshold or if they blow past it.
Assuming that Gray is gone but that Gregorius stays at his arbitration salary, the Yankees are staring at a cash payroll of $152.2 million with a luxury tax payroll of $164.9 million. There’s absolutely no chance that they’ll end the offseason with payroll figures that low.
They’re going to be major players for the elite free agents with cash, prestige, and a young core of premium talent to offer any players looking for a new fortune and a ring or two to go along with it…and that’s before we factor in that the Red Sox have won four World Series titles over the last 15 years while the Yankees have just one flag. Given their need for pitching, expect to hear plenty of Patrick Corbin, Dallas Keuchel, and J.A. Happ rumors, even after the acquisition of Paxton. And expect to hear Harper and Machado linked to the Bombers until the day they sign, be it in New York or elsewhere.
I could see them marrying Cashman’s desire to stay below the luxury tax line with a couple of impact additions, setting payroll above the $206 million tax line but below the maximum penalty threshold of $246 million. As a refresher, the Yankees will incur a 20 percent tax on amounts spent over $206 million and a 12 percent surtax on amounts over $226 million. Once spending reaches $246 million, the tax rate is 42.5 percent and the club would see its top draft selection lowered ten spots. Those penalties are tough to swallow.
I expect that the club will begin the 2019 season either in the first tax tier or narrowly into the second tax tier in order to maintain some flexibility for in-season acquisitions and to stay safely below that $246 million threshold. This will bring spending back in line with where it has been for much of the past decade and a half.
Projected 2019 Payroll: $220 million cash (approximately $232.7 million for luxury tax purposes)
Projected 2019 Payroll Space: $67.8 million
Yankees sign Harper and Corbin. Book it!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Cool. It will be fun to watch them field an entire All-Star team every day and still not get to the World Series.
It won’t happen. The Yankees don’t have roster flexibility to field an entire all-star team, even if they sign Harper. They’re stuck with Gardner and Hicks in the OF. Voit and Bird will platoon at 1B. Who knows that Sanchez is at this point? I think at most they get 3 position players in the all-star game in 2019.
Gardner is a part time corner OF, at this point. He was replaced by Cutch after trade deadline
Hicks is enshrined in CF (and a dam good CF) Harper signing doesnt affect Hicks whatsoever
Gardner and Hicks are entering the final years of their contracts.
As though one of those four couldn’t be moved?
They could have Judge and Harper swap LF/DH everyday, Stanton in RF. Hicks/Gardner CF/backup and all 3
Let Voit and Bird play first with Harper eventually moving there.
Sanchez can get a start at DH whenever someone needs a day off, or he himself can get days off. Also, injuries happen.
They absolutely can fit Harper into the mold and none of Harper, Stanton, or Judge would need to play center.
Gardner, Hicks, Bird, or Voit could also, easily, be flipped for a defensive minded CFer if they wanted one.
You wouldn’t move Judge to Left, you’d have Harper play Left. Occasionally you would have Stanton play right/Judge DH. Hicks is the CF with Gardner occasionally filling in at LF/Cf. Hicks is a “defensive minded CFer”.
Yanks are “stuck” with Hicks, who had a 4.9 WAR and played excellet defense, hit for power and drew 90 walks? They’re “stuck” with him? Hicks had the 6th highest WAR among all outfielders. He should’ve been an all-star in 2018.
Yeezus.
Bird? Yeah he could land us a defensive minded starting center fielder
Maybe we could get the rights to Garry Maddox, Paul Blair or Cesar Geronimo
You sir need to re-evaluate your analysis. Stanton in RF over judge?? Ha!!! Don’t you know judge is a gold glove caliber RF?
Yup
Lol haters
Rather they field an all-star team and not win a title, than field a team of scrubs and never sniff competitiveness like the Marlins, Orioles, Mets, or White Sox. At least Yankee fans get entertaining games all year long and into the post season. Many MANY other teams can’t say the same.
And I don’t care how much they spend. As long as i’m watching meaningful games into September, i’m a happy fan.
You got that half right. It will be fun to watch them field an All-Star team every day. They are going to spoil the other half for you though.
only Houston can keep them from the Series next season if they sign Corbin and Harper
and even that would be a surprise
X, Happey Turkey Day to you also!
Those moves should definitely be a given.
Add the Gray trade with hopefully a respectable return.
I don’t necessarily think a BP arm is needed now that I’ve had time to look at the arms they have, and maybe that Gray return could be a BP arm.
Finally, how about Josh Harrison on a reasonable one year deal?
I’d rather have Marwin or Murphy.
They both would probably cost more on AAV, and more years. There’s a kid in Oakland that was left unprotected, Richie Martin they might be able to grab.
I don’t think Richie has even played in aaa yet and this was his first good season. Great defense though.
Yea, he did do well at AA last year, and should be in AAA at the start of the year. The Yankees need to replenish middle infielder depth in the minors, due to all those trades.
they’ve got Wade and Estrada
Gray for a BP arm. Hmmmm
Does BP mean batting practice? If so i agree with you.
And please no mas on Harrison. He can’t hit, never takes a walk and is terrible defensively
It’s not like teams are clamoring for Gray, the return the Yankees get will be most likely okay and nothing more than that.
Another commenter says “no” to JHay because he “cannot hit,never takes a walk,and is bad defensively.”
The Pirates dropped him because the contract called for $10M next year.
I think that he could do a good job as a utility man at about $5M per year.He has never taken any walks,but is still a fairly good clutch hitter.He gets hit by pitches a lot,and has other injury problems also.He is still a pretty good defensive second baseman.I think that for a short to medium turn he could still start,but his best years are behind him.He has followed mediocre years with good years,so a good team may be willing to take a chance on him as long as they do not have to overpay.His enthusiasm would be a good fit on most teams.The Pirates just decided to move on with younger players.
Harpers going to the Phillies or Giants.
Fella, eat some Turkey today with a pinch of sanity, and common sense.
and don’t forget the cranberry JELLY!
In a Chronicle interview at the general manager meetings Wednesday, Boras said Harper likes San Francisco and explained why.
“I think he likes the absolute feel of the ballpark and the fans,” Boras said. “It’s a great fan base. You know you’re at a ballgame, and he loves the enthusiasm and their success.”
Asked whether the 24-foot right-field wall separating the field from McCovey Cove is intimidating, Boras said, “Not when you have Bryce Harper.”
Bryce Harper on favorite food:
“Favorite food? Chicago. They got great food. I like this place called Steak 48, it’s really good.”
“Anywhere in New York of course you know you can always go out there and eat good food. That’s huge for us.”
Harper said his favorite food Chicago and NY, trust that more than agent creating leverage -)
Yea, was Boras supposed to trash the city.
Let’s go by trivial things such as..Harper’s dads love of Mantle, Being childhood friends with Bryant, naming his dog Wrigley, and being a youth ball teammate with Joey Gallo. If we’re gonna assume stuff, but..
Harper has never said anywhere about the great history of the Giants or Phillies. Nowhere has he talked about the monuments anywhere other than Yankee stadium. Never have you read where his dad wanted him to be a Phillie or Giant, and not to play on the biggest stage in the world.
Cereal… Harper’s agent is Scott Boras. Any player that hires him is after the most money as absolutely possible.
I totally agree with you, and if I was a player he’d be the agent I’d hire. That being said Harper is not gonna go to a team like the Giants. I can see Philadelphia trying to throw big money at him, but at the end of the day I see the Phillies with Machado.
….because no other agent has that goal.
Wow Boras wants the most money for his client. Not like those other agents who I assume you are claiming do not.
Harper wants to play with the Yanks, if the offers are close he will sign with the Yanks.
Lay off the kush, bruh.
I really would like to add one of Harper or Machado to the offense but it’s hard to see a seamless fit. I think the Yankees need to get Andujar off of 3rd because he’s frankly atrocious. But beyond a DH, I don’t see a spot for him. That’s why I’d prefer the Yankees trade Andujar for their final pitcher instead of signing Corbin. Then you can use your remaining cap space before the upper levels of the luxury zone to sign both Harper and Machado. Is this wishful thinking? Of course. But I don’t think it’s that ridiculous
I still wonder if there is a chance to deal Elsbury, Gray, and Adams plus maybe another ok prospect for a Zach Grienke. I would love to swap Romine for Avila in this trade idea also.
Sign Daniel Murphy because he is that high contact lefty bat we desperately need in the lineup. Sign Andrew Miller and DRob to keep the bullpen a strong weapon.
Sign Patrick Corbin to add another lefty arm, he is no ace but has above average stuff and right now is no worse then a #3 but can be better.
After all those moves then see what the market is for a Harper.
I think no one will take Ellsbury at this point. If Ellsbury stays on the DL the yanks will have insurance cover Ellsbury’s contract. Yanks will probably sign Marwin over Murphey to have that super utility player with power. As nice as it would be to get Greinke, I dont see that happening at all.
Taking Ellsbury would be no different than eating some of Greinke’s salary so I think the possibility is still there depending on all the no trade clauses being waived. Ellsbury can’t stay on the DL for the remainder of his contract.
Why do people bring up insurance? Yes it covers some of the teams overall expenditures, but it has nothing to do with payroll.
Exactly. Who F’n cares about any teams actual expenditures if it doesn’t effect the team they field. Great way to sound like a mark when trying to talk baseball.
I’m not sure I follow. What’s in it for Arizona if they have to take back Ellsbury’s contract? They’d be better off trading him to the Yankees for a hot dog and a beer. Yankees get an ace and AZ gets the entire contract eaten.
I don’t see the point of giving up an ace for modest financial gain.
If Greinke gets moved they are getting young, inexpensive talent back not an albatross that they then can’t trade.
Greinke is owed over $100 mil for 3 years. They are never going to get a team to take in the entire $35 mil per season. They would need to pay that salary down to around $25 mil. Taking Ellsbury’s contract would be the same as eating money. Yes the Yanks would also have to add a prospect or two but it would be no different than eating money with any other team.
I wonder if maybe something isn’t possible with the Phillies. Maybe Ellsbury and a prospect for Carlos Santana? Yanks could use another option at first. Phillies need OF help and are trying hard to unload Santana. Salaries are basically equal and could be worth the gamble for Philly.
Santana was a huge mistake for the Phillies. All he does is walk when you need him to swing the bat. They need to move him so Rhys Hoskins can play where he belongs.
In the outfield they have Altherr, Williams, Odubel Herrera and Roman Quinn. Harper can easily slide into either right or left. Not sure if Philly has the guts, but they sure have the need.
Same thing with Machado.
I love how Yankee fans actually believe any other team is dumb enough to take their mistakes on for anything less than a top prospect. **eyeroll**
an EYeroll!
I like that!
3rd times the charm!!!
Ellsbury is untradeable until his last year if at all.
Also a deal that swaps Ellsbury for Greinke would end up being 10 mil cheaper than signing Corbin.
You know what else would save $10 million
Ellsbury to Boston for mookie betts, chris Sale and Boston throw in some cash
And both deals have the same likelihood of happening
Since Arizona is actively shopping Greinke and Ellsbury has extremely stong ties to Arizona and goes there every year, I believe your comment to be the dumbest thing I’ve read all day and not based on reality or facts.
They are shopping Greinke as a salary dump. he is still a terrific pitcher but expensive.
So they will logically trade him to a contender (likely) for a batch of prospects or they could trade him for a young player (s) with multiple years of control..
Both are viable options for Arizona.
Please explain why they would trade him for a guy who is constantly injured, brings no value when he isn’t and then saddles Arizona with a non trade high dollar contract that they will never be able to move. How does that address their salary dump?
And I’m aware of his AZ ties – that explains why he may be willing to go there but I see no reason why they would want him but I look forward to your response. Then my comment will likely drop to the second dumbest of the day. 🙂
Let’s just remember that Greinke won’t waive his no trade clause to pitch in New York, he’s already stated that in the past. He does not want to play for the Yankees.
Past is not the present. Who knows where he’ll accept a trade to now, later in his career, still without a ring. Only he knows the answer to that.
That said, a deal sending him to the Yankees is still unlikely.
No this comment is great. I just think comparing this option to a trade with Boston was a bit ridiculous.
I don’t believe I ever insinuated a one for one swap. That would as insane as trading with Boston 🙂
If Cashman were ever able to pull this off he would have to include a few prospects. At least one of those prospects would have to be one of the Yanks top 100 (possibly two).
There are 0 teams out there who would take Greinke for the full $35 mil per year for three year. Whichever team did would require the Dbacks to eat some cash. The more cash they eat, the better the prospects. I figure that if they paid down the contract to about $20 to $25 mil then they’d have a few teams willing to trade 1 or 2 good prospects with a few lower level guys thrown in.
Paying down the contract for a team like the Cubs would be the same as taking on the Ellsbury contract with the Yanks. The Yanks would of course need to add prospects in addition to Ellsbury.
Doesn’t he have a history of anxiety? One month in NY and it would be like watching Sam Kenison on the mound.
Actually I searched that out and to my knowledge he never said that. That was just a theory based on his past struggles with anxiety issues. If you could find that interview I’d love to see it.
Right now Greinke is a mid thirties future HOFer who has only a few years left to win that WS ring.
Yes I agree it’s still unlikely but plausible.
Bonus points for a Sam Kenison reference.
BOTH players have no trade clauses. Why would anyone want Ellsbury at this point(let alone for a stud like Greinke)? Give me a break.
The talk of Grienke being unable to play in a big market due to anxiety issues was when he was 25 and on the Royals. Since then he’s played on the three other teams, including a major market, and aged 10+ years.
As someone who has struggled with anxiety and depression in his youth i can say that a lot can change in a decade. I wouldn’t count on any of those things being necessarily relevant anymore.
Again, the only person who can answer these questions is Mr. Grienke himself, but I think it’s foolish to assume that because there was this kind of talk in 2008 that it will apply in 2019.
As a person who has CAUSED a lot of anxiety and depression I say – good point
Where did you get the mushrooms?
I’m a Yankees fan but I often just shake my head at Yankee fans. Let’s review your trade proposal- ellsbury is terrible, constantly injured and washed up and has a boat anchor contract. He’s a singles hitter being paid like a Stanton. And he has a no trade contract to boot. If Elsbury was hit by a bus they’d throw a party at Yankee stadium. Mind you – if he was hit by a mosquito while playing shuffle board at the old folks home he would likely be on the 60 day DL
Grey was a disaster
And we all know that the once awesome prospect Adams looks pretty damn ordinary in the light of day
Why on earth would any team give up an absolute ace starter for the Yankee dumpster?
I can think of many teams who would swap bad contracts with the Yanks for Ellsbury, where a long term contract is exchanged for Ells’ shorter term, thereby saving them some money.
It still won’t happen though, and certainly not with Grienke, unless the Yanks throw in some really good ML-ready prospects.
It would take sometime like Loaisiga and Florial added to Ellsbury to solidify the deal.
Na, you can think of a few teams you hope Would do that.
Probably more than that.
You forgot about Hicks in the OF discussion. Harper would not bump him from CF. Harper and Judge would be the corners, with Gardner and Ellsbury on the bench. Stanton DH
Not sure if they wanna pay +$70 mill a year for an outfield, (Ellsbury,Stanton,Harper,Judge,Gardy) unless someone like Hicks is moved for a ace which I highly doubt. Also i dont think theyre gonna pay a guy $350 mill and make him play a position he never played b4 (Harper at 1st base).Machado makes much more sense.
Machado makes much more sense to fill a position, but the lefty bat of Harper makes much more sense in the lineup. They already have Stanton and Judge as righties. They could use Harper to balance that out.
Happy thanksgiving all. I just happened to light on before I visit relatives. I think you guys should be with family and give thanks. Instead of trolling on the internet.
What the HELL is “light on”?
Perhaps he meant log on?
It’s code for something.
A stoner term I bet!
Isn’t it a verse to a Smuckers Jingle?
I think he meant “light up”
(cue bong bubble sound)
Some of us live on the west coast, where it’s 10:00 AM and most of us are just drinking our cups of coffee. Most thanksgiving plans don’t start at 10:00 AM.
So about 10:30 am west coast time as I post this and you slept in until 9:30 or 10 am?
You’ve never slept in before?
Lol it’s amazing how much Yankee fans despise me. All because I say Harper isn’t going to NY, I’m public enemy #1. Beautiful.
You sleep until 10.
Get up early & Carpe Diem!
It’s the holidays…. today was my first day off work…. what do you expect me to do? Wake up at 6:00 like I would usually do? Haha, no.
One World Series in that span, with that payroll is failure. The Red Sox have 3. The minimum accepted World Series wins is 4 for the Yankees. They should always be one step ahead of Boston, that should be the standard.
Not anymore, Boston’s payroll is now *much* higher.
Yes for one year it was but the previous 20 not so much.
Kind of hard to argue. The Yankees were consistently first or second and Boston followed the Yankees each year.
And look what is about to happen again in the Bronx. So far back they need to add another SP, maybe Machado, maybe Harper. Climb right back to top 2-3 and #1 as soon as they have to start paying their arb guys.
Harper to NY, Machado to the Phillies, World Series rings to the Braves
Book it
In for all the down votes
I donated a DV..your welcome
I gave you a down vote for poor grammar. Purchase a clue.
You were good with me until you made the Braves prediction
I would have agreed until you said the Braves, now that’s funny.
NYY fans, a group who struggles with reality. You are correct. Its funny to a NYY fan.
I gave you a downvote for poor grammar. Now purchase some knowledge about MLB. -2
More downvotes just because you are an idiot. How does that fit you? Now you are -3. Enjoy.
You’re the idiot, because you had no idea what the -2 was about. Now go join the rest of the home for some pie.
Upvoted. Boldness. Enjoy the upvote for the rest of your day, sir.
Down vote
“But Harper? The Yankees would need to kick Harper to center field”
Er, no. He could easily play in LF instead of Gardner, with Stanton mostly DH’ing like last year. Gardner would get playing time when Harper/Hicks/Judge/Stanton get days off or are injured.
Harper is not as good a fit as Machado, but it is not difficult to put him in LF.
Won’t matter until you get a proven big game pitcher with mettle like Bumgarner. Paxton has proven nothing on the big stage. The Astros and Red Sox are still light years ahead.
To be fair, Paxton has never had the opportunity to be a big game pitcher. He could be a postseason monster for the yanks now that he’ll actually be on a good team.
Not true, Harper plays leftfield , some frist, and DH. Gardy becomes the 4th outfielder.
Didi had TJ on his throwing arm, Gleyber had it on his non throwing arm, there is a difference…
I know. Everytime I see a writer make that comment I bang my head against the wall. I will soon need to repair the wall
And Didi is a SS to boot. That is a long aggressive throw on a healing elbow. He will not be back in eight months.
Love this series, when you guys are done, would you mind creating a table with the projected payrolls and payroll rooms?
The Yankees need to make a serious play for Madison Bumgarner. He’s still young, cheap, loyal and an absolute beast come playoff time. Even to this day, I’d want MadBum on the mound in a must win game. Keep signing more offensive players, won’t matter until a pitcher like MadBum is on the mound. He single handily won the Giants three WS rings.
Can I please ask this question again? Why do people limit where Harper might play position-wise to RF, CF or 1B? Why isn’t LF an option? It boggles my mind. LF is usually where you hide less athletic defensive players. Why couldn’t the outfield alignment be Harper/Hicks/Judge with Gardner being the 4th OF and Stanton the DH? Does anyone really think Cashman is going to go in 2018 depending on Gardner, Frazier and Ellsbury, especially considering Gardner’s 2nd half and the fact they gave him a pay-cut this offseason? Add to it that they need a lefty bat and despite the fact he’s being treated as the invisible man, they do have Voit who I think deserves the right to flat out be the full-time 1B. Shouldn’t even be a mention of platooning him as his splits indicate he can hit both lefties and righties, small sample size notwithstanding.
meant 2019
Gardy won’t keep Harper from playing lf if Hal decides to pony up for his contract. He’s an easy fit.
I agree on Voit. What more could he do to be deserving of a shot at playing first.
I also agree that Harper playing left makes much more sense than playing first. The thought of giving a guy 300+ million to play a position he’s never played is stupid. All that said, I still think the Yankees should not sign him unless his market doesn’t develop like expected. Or front load his contract enough to give him a good chance of an opt out after about three years.
Front load his contract up until age 30 season for the opt out. That way he can go sign with the Giants and @baseball1600 can be right, just four years late…
BAM!
We’ve got a 3rd fave now. I think you’ll know who.
Exactly
I’m so tired of hearing how there isn’t a place for Harper. Gardner would be a useful bench guy. He works a pitcher if he came in to pinch hit, he can still run and he plays good defense and can cover for center when needed. And he’s a good club house presence.
He and his .236 average are no longer needed in the starting lineup. Harper could play left, a little in center and occasional DH. Meanwhile you spend some time getting him accustomed to first base which is a vulnerable position.
Yanks aren’t signing Harper. Enough with the projections. I hope they don’t sign Machado, either, but I admit that’s a possibility.
I don’t think the Yanks are getting anywhere near $232 million. I think they’ll be right around $200 million, but they won’t go over the luxury tax threshold.
Wrong, wrong, wrong & wrong.
Have a nice day.
That’s four strikes, and not the 3rd.
Yankees will not win anything meaningful without a big game pitcher. Wild Card game, who’s your guy? Paxton? No way. Yankees are crazy not pursuing Bumgarner. Another bat won’t matter.
Well, right now, our big game pitcher is Tanaka. He has been a big game pitcher for us for the past two years (1.50 career playoffs ERA, and under 1,00 ERA and under 0.700 WHIP in the last two years, which I’m pretty sure is a historical achievement in 25 straight playoff innings….the dude has ice in his veins).
We also have Sevy, who is an undisputed regular season ace: 140 ERA+, even higher FIP+, makes him top 10 among starting major league pitchers, easy. He’s bound to grow up and start performing in the playoffs.
So no, it’s not Paxton. We got Paxton to be the no. 3 guy, behind our top tw0. And please don’t interpret that to mean we’re done. We’re still likely to add Corbin (who would be our new no. 3, and bump Paxton to no. 4). But we have the youngtalent to also make a solid bid for Kluber (I imagine that the Indians would be intrigued by Andujar and Clint Frazier…both proven major leaguers, both making minimum wage…in exchange for Kluber and Kipnis).
So there’s a good chance Paxton (who served as the Mariners’ ace) ends up no. 5 in the Yankee rotation next year, and CC Sabathia (who has a 121 ERA+ over the last two years, which ranks top 25 in the majors) starts 2019 as the sixth starter.
Who says they haven’t tried? The Yankees can’t simply demand SF trade him. They can’t right? Because if they can I’d like Trout too.
I’d give up a lot for Trout. Not so sure about renting MadBum for an unreasonable price, though.
And deGrom.
Normally you might be right. But with the Red Sox winning the WS this year the Yankees will spare no expense for 2019. It will probably come back to bite them in the form of some crappy contracts, too.
The Steinbrenners are in a bidding war for the YES network. And YES’ value depends on Yankee spending.
So, until this issue is resolved, they’re gonna pretend the luxury tax is too much of a barrier to spend anywhere significantly north of it, to try and drive the price down on YES.
But, once they own YES, they will have no problem spending $300M on payroll (because, again: spending big on payroll means big revenues for YES…and the League can’t tough those revenues,, those all go to the Steinbrenners, since YES is a separate entity; btw. the Red Sox already run this scam, that’s why they’re able to spend so much).
And even if they the Steinbrenners lose out and Bezos (the other notable bidder…he’s the richest man in the world, so that’s a tough rival to have) ends up buying YES instead, they’ll probably go up to $250M payroll. That much likely still makes sense for them, financially, even though they’re getting taxed on it both through revenue sharing and luxury tax.
a $30mil a year DH & LF, Last year trading for the K King Stanton was going to get them to the W/S & now Harper who couldn’t take his team to the 2ed round or the Playoff this yr is going to do that. The Nats were going to run away with the east BUT Harper has a half azzed first half. I’m not a NYY fan but fix your C issue, GARY(he’s Kyle Schwaber who was drafted as a C) LEAD MLB IN PASSBALLS IN 81 GAME. JT is the C the NYY should be trying to get-even if it for Gary & more. Your OF is fine. Also you can not trade a play on the DL-so Elsburied(misspelled for a reason) is done-a package of Elsburied, Gray & Adams gets you a box of donuts-.Did Houston/KC/CUBS win with already made stars(only Verlander) Boston added 1 but before that the ones they bought didn’t get them to the W/S.
Go crawl into your Tebow jammies, because it’s bedtime sweet prince.
So you’re going to ignore that most of the Yankee team were players that came from their system or were traded for? You’re acting as if they’ve splurged on big FA the last 4 years. Who was the last big named FA they signed? Chapman, Tanaka and Ellsbury? And what the Yanks did is MUCH more impressive than the Cubs, Royals and Astros because the Yanks didn’t tank to get those top draft picks. They built a great thru draftings, international free agency and trades (Hicks, Stanton, Didi, Green, Voit and Torres) and still managed to stay above .500 in the process and it didn’t take them 5 years to return back to the playoffs,
$30 for the next 10 years of Stanton is splurging. They already had the next Winfield in RF. Why get a RF who ends up as a DH. How did the Yankees do more than 2015 champs/KC, 2016 champs?Cubs, 2017 champs/Houston-HOW??? I guess you feel if you come close that giving the fans hope. those seats behind home cost $2500 & up A GAME. Or buy A tv PACKAGE THAT HAS TO HAVE YES which now doesn’t show all the games becasue of the MLB package. How’s that giving to the fans. Take your whole summer praying & paying for nothing.
The envy of the pinstripes is strong in this one.
I don’t live in NY so I don’t go to games. There’s a cost to having some of the best talent in the game. My whole point is that ANYONE who points to the Astros, Royals and Cubs and how they won 1…single….world series, in some cases, in there entire existence, or at least the last 60 years is flawed. The Yanks simply can not tank for 5 years hoping to hit on their picks and anyone claiming those examples as a “blueprint” for every other team are idiots. You can say what you want but your a Met fan and the Mets have a history of missing on their FA acquisitions and of late, have been way too frugal for a big market team.
I’m just going to leave this here, based on the entire comment section. This is what will really happen:
Harper – Giants
Machado – Phillies
Ellsbury – Yankees
Grienke – any team besides Yankees and Mets
Corbin – Yankees
Matt Adams – Yankees
There you have it, now quit arguing
P.s. I know Matt Adams wasn’t brought up but I’m willing to bet that’s who the Yankees sign.
Harper – Phillies
Machado – Yankees
Ellsbury – Yankees because NO ONE WANTS HIM
Grienke – Atlanta They have the prospects and are a contender
Corbin – Yankees
Matt Adams – left handed HR hitter you may be right
Any thoughts on when and where Bumgarner goes if traded? I’m missing baseball already. Happy Thanksgiving to all, enjoy the evening and drive safe.
The problem with most Yankee haters is they have superficial knowledge of baseball and it’s history and they fall into the camp of – Yankees just bought the World Series.
But because I’m so much older than most of you I remember the real story. The most revered passenger on the Mayflower was an industrialist named Jerimiah Rockerfeller Steinbrenner (later of Standard Oil acclaim). Well his direct descendant Billy Bob Stenbrenner founded the Yankees and they went on to be the greatest and most valuable sports franchise in the history of the solar sytem. There are some in Andromeda who dispute this but their arguments go stale after 2.5 million light years. But I digress.
So … the Steinbrenner clan is noted for their compassion and in the history of MLB virtually all super star players wanted to fulfill their dream of wearing the legendary pin stripes. So through the generations Billy Bob, Marvin, Marvin Jr., Samuel, Haratio, George and Hal honored their make a wish dream and allowed them to finish their illustrious careers with the blessed Yankees. Through their benefactor generosity they shared their wealth in true Robin Hoodesque ways with these grateful stars and thus ballooned their payroll.whereas other franchises horded their wealth in a most scrooge like manner.
As a result, over the decades, the most informed, intellectual and sophisticated fans naturally became Yankee fans. Reading the many comments here today just confirm my hypothesis.
Happy Thanksgiving all.
George purchased the Yankees from CBS because Mike Burke asked him for a loan to buy them. So George purchased the NNY and 2 years later kick Mike to the curb.
So you’re saying he waited two years. I agree that’s pretty decent
If I’m Cashman, I’m signing Harper because I feel like the teams that draft best find the best player on the board and roll the dice that they will figure out the positional issues. I like Harper’s ceiling more than Machado and I like the way he plays the game. Harper is a winner and wants to be part of a winner. I think we will see his game elevate on the biggest stage versus other guys who may take a step back and be bothered by the attention (David Price for example). I can’t see him playing for the losingest franchise in sports or the Giants, who for the last few years have been stuck in the worst place, that middle ground between having stars and not wanting to rebuild and not having a team that any one player elevates past the Dodgers, even one as good as Harper. I see Boras using their spending power as leverage to maximize a deal to New York or LA. NY and LA may have other plans so he will keep these in his back pocket for sure, but these are not Harper’s top choices. I don’t care what Boras says.
Crazy outside the box idea to solve the SS problem and I don’t know enough about Torres arm, but he seems to have the range. What about making a move for Gennett and sliding Torres over to SS? He played a few games at SS and 3B in the minors as the Yanks considered their options in early 2018. Both Gennett and Gregorious are free agents after the season and the Yanks could decide what to do about SS/2B next season when they can decide whether or not to resign Gregorious and they may even get a discount on him given he will have more to prove on his return.
Or go a simpler route with Asdrubal Cabrera or a defensive specialist like Iglesias who goes on the occasional tear. I just really like Harper’s bat in that lineup. I hope the Yanks sign Machado, but I’d be worried seeing what Harper does to transform that lineup putting that kind of lefty between Stanton and Judge.
I’m a Giants fan, and I agree Harper shouldn’t go there. The Giants are a multi year fix and would waste his prime years.
Not only for Harper’s sake, but for the Giant’s sake its a bad move. It puts them further into the middle ground where they already stand and makes it harder to climb out. Its a tough time to be a “good” team, because there are 2 other “good” teams in that division and one pretty great one. This is the perfect time for the Giants to pull the trigger on a MB deal. Hold onto BP because his value is always going to be higher to the Giants then to other ballclubs (not to say he doesn’t have value). I know they hate the word, but its time to utter it. Rebuild.
I think they’ve been waiting for this off-season for years and felt they’d be in a better position to make a run with Harper or Machado, but then Kershaw resigned, some guys underperformed, Mad Bum got hurt, the Dodgers went on to another World Series birth, and the Giants are not really in that prime position I think they expected to be in. It stinks. Management is in a really tough pickle with a fan base that expects them to strive for success.
How many rings does Harper have- 0. The Nats have/had a very good team but he couldn’t get them past the 1st round. And they have 2 stud pitchers. And where is he going to play-LF, RF, CF. Also LA has Lefty hitter all over the place, 1B, 2B, lf, rf, cf. Why do they need another Lefty hitter. You can’t go just be #s. Player have to fit the team’s need.
Torres was naturally a SS switched to second by the Yankees.
I also liked the idea of Iglesias. I don;t care what he hits if he catches everything from the dirt to 250′ out..
Interesting Darryl. Thanks for that. Was not aware.
As a Sox fan, I can tell you Iglesias is one of those guys that just made me go “wow” all the time. I always said if this kid’s bat comes around, watch out. Sadly it never really did, but he does go on the occasional tear where he hits like .350 and blasts 3 or 4 homers over 2-3 weeks. Then he drops back to normal.
Sox did the right thing trading him when they did, but I definitely miss the wizardry at SS. Bogaerts isn’t too shabby himself, but Iglesias was special defensively.
The Yanks need a lefty bat and I was wondering if the could find a SS replacement that bats lefty. I had no idea how unique it is being a lh SS. Didi and Brandon Crawford are the ONLY ones in mlb. Wow.
How many W/S have the NNY won since the TAX was put in. Also you hurt your sport when you KNOW you can BUY a W/S. why would people come out to see The Brewers knowing they can’t BUY a W/S. And SF won 3 W/S when their payroll was in the midpoint. Last year they tried to BUY players by taking on old high paid players-(taking on a contact by trade is the same; if you give up low/no talent) Any you’re wrong, in 2016 Yankee fan saw the start of them becoming good, 2017 brought more excitement because again they didn’t BUY player.-Yankee Stadium was still full. I lived on 170th st, The Stadium is on 161st st. It was one time the poorest neighborhoods, with hooker working outside the stadium, people would run from the stadium to the train/car to get out of there. SO NO, THE YANKEES WILL DRAW AS LONG AS THEY HAVE PLAYER WHO PLAY HARD. The fans BOOed Stanton, Sanchez, Torres for not hustle. The fan LOVE Didi, Voit, Garner, Hicks because they HUSTLE, PLAY HARD. Of course they want to win a W/S but will love a team that HUSTLES. Look at how they treated Jeter vs. A-Roid.. And what kind of FAN are you when you don’t even know what SS hit LH. Stay in southbeach because THE BRONX WILL EAT YOU ALIVE. You’ve never been to a Yankee Game. Were you a Marlin fan who never went to a game even when they won 2 W/S (1 against the Yankees). Both of the Marlin W/S were as WILDCARD team.
Wow – that left handed comment is pretty judgmental
I thought he made an astute observation.
Whom are you referring to? Let’s make this clear. No one can “buy” a world series. You acquire players and the star players usually earn the most money. The Yanks have put there team together in the best way possible. They developed the majority of their best players thru their system, made shrewd buy low trades for Hicks, Didi, Volt and others, they used their might to acquire Stanton but offset some of that cost by trading Castro as well as getting the Marlins to cover 30 million and now they are poised to supplement what they lack via trades and free agency. Don’t get upset because the Mets haven’t leverage the NY market effectively and have signed plaudits on the downside of their careers.
it hurts to read these comments oh my lord
I’m not sure why Gleyber’s TJ surgery on his non-throwing arm is being equated to Didi’s surgery.
Machado and Madbum along with a lefty reliever and the WS knocking the door.