The Yankees still aren’t pushing the market for Manny Machado, and probably never will, but also shouldn’t be counted out. That’s the word from Andy Martino of SNY.tv, who reports that the New York org is still keeping tabs on Machado in hopes that a golden opportunity will emerge. The Yanks aren’t interested in utilizing him at short, but would instead plan to put Machado at third while pushing Miguel Andujar across the diamond in the even of a signing. Of course, Martino cautions that it still seems unlikely that anything will come together.
- It’s interesting that the Yankees evidently wouldn’t see Machado as a factor at shortstop. That lends greater credence to the idea that the team really is committed not only to allowing Troy Tulowitzki to take the job there to open the season, but also to paying a big arbitration salary to Didi Gregorius in hopes that he’ll return in relatively short order (and in good form) from Tommy John surgery. As Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports, Gregorius has now begun his throwing program. There’s still a long road ahead, but he seems to be on track to make his anticipated summer return.
- In addition to the Blue Jays, the Twins and Rangers are looking into signing veteran righty Sergio Romo, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com (via Twitter). The Minnesota and Texas organizations, though, only seem to be considering minor-league offers. (Toronto’s offer level isn’t clear.) It’s a bit surprising to hear of such limited interest in the 35-year-old, who still gets plenty of swings and misses and comes with ample late-inning (and opening) experience.
- The Astros battled Gerrit Cole in front of an arbitration panel today, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Obviously, that indicates that the sides were unable to agree to a last-minute deal. The outcome is expected later this week. As MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker shows, there’s just over $2MM at stake, as Cole is seeking $13.5MM and the club prefers to pay $11.425MM.
I just hope someone signs them both since the talk about them both is nauseating. And I do hope Manny the slacker plays for the Evil Empire so it will make Boston’s job easier!
how does the Yankees adding a top 10 player help Boston ?
Culture matter a lot!
These are professional athletes, some of whom probably have known Manny for years. The idea that he can come to a team like the Yankees and affect the culture of the team or be a bad influence on the others is such an overrated idea that has no merit. You think Manny is the only guy that doesn’t run out routine ground balls when it’s almost a 99% chance of being an out? No. He was just too stupid to say it publicly. The only issue of concern about Manny’s personality is that he would be center stage in the largest media market and will have to field questions about what he said. But as long as the front office treats him the way they do the other players and show he’s not more special than Judge, Severino or whomever then things will be fine. He’s not going to flip a good player into a jerk or distract from playing the game.
That being said, I still prefer Harper.
Oh, there’s merit.
There’s also merit to the fact that he absolutely HATES the Red Sox. Culture or not, you don’t want someone who has had multiple run-ins with the Sox going and playing for the Yankees to help put them over the top.
It’s not that he doesn’t beat it down the line on routine grounders — but a player who deliberately spiked Aguilar in the NLCS is something the Yankees don’t need. Character matters. This guy has shown ample evidence of bad character. Let him play someplace else.
As for Harper – where would the Yankees play him? Already have two Right Fielders – one of whom generally plays DH.
I don’t think the Yankees need either of these guys — one more ace starter (Keuchel?) would be a better use of resources.
That’s beyond me. Yanks attain a top ten prospect and that gives Boston an edge?? Boston has had a good run for the past 15 years. However, the Eastern sports writers have run their dominance into the ground. I hope the Yankees blow that division away this season. Plus, all good teams hit their peak. Boston will fall in the standings this year.
Still bitter over ’04? Come on Cards! I know the Sox are honored to be chasing you for 2nd most World Series championships.
But on the topic, I understand what the above are saying. The wrong elements can bring even the biggest powerhouse team down. Remember when the Sox signed Crawford, traded for A-Gon, had Lester & Beckett and looked like a team primed to compete for the winningest season in baseball history? Well, we all remember the great collapse and the dismembering of that team as well as the encore of overperformers that won the world series 2 years later.
I think the whole “chemistry” element on a team is a bit overrated, but I definitely believe in culture destroying a clubhouse. His history with the Red Sox also primes the Yankees for distractions coming into big series. “Are you sorry for the dirty slide?” “Are you going to start to hustle?” The New York / Boston media is going to eat him alive. One wild pitch anywhere near Machado is going to lead to bench clearing brawls.
I’m not saying adding Machado makes the Yankees worse, like the above. I think that’s pretty far fetched. But it does present certain risks, which explains the Yankees tentative nature in their courtship of him. But guys like Sabathia and Gardner and Stanton, I think, will make Machado up his game if he responds to them.
Machado’s talent would help the Yankees for a few years; Machado’s attitude would hurt the Yankees for the term of the contract. It remains to be seen which outweighs the other.
Go rays
He didn’t scare Boston one bit last yr wearing any uniform. He did zero against them.
RS live rent free in his head..
Manny won’t listen to anyone, he marches to his own drum! Remember he put Peddy out for the last 2 yrs with his dirty slide. Yes I think he’ll be terrific in the Evil Empire.
And it’s not like he’s beat the s*** out of the Red Sox either overweight well kinda
Yeah! He really punished the Bosox in the WS…….LMMFAO.
A rod, Manny, two of a kind. They both did zero against the Sox.
Same way adding Arod did
He’s a very dirty player, so yeah I want him in the Bronx to reinforce the Evil Empire.
The whole evil empire thing was born out of us exceeding the luxury tax and having the highest payroll. As Boston will have the highest payroll two years running…. having said that as a yankee fan I love that nickname.
Mlbtraderumors must be loving that they haven’t signed yet with all the extra traffic they been getting.
That’s pathetic. I love the rivalry but I have a real hard time with some of you Bosox fans.
Sorry, I’ll never buy any SNY source for yankee FA news
They are 80% owned my the Mets.
“Harper to Yankees” sounds about right. (Guess: Machado Phillies)
mlb.com/news/bryce-harpers-best-fit-is-with-the-ya…
owned by* the Mets.
Harper shaving every day for the next 10 years is a clown idea bro.
Him getting 400 mill is a clown idea as well.
You still bring that up? Everyone knows Harper or Machado isn’t going to get that.
I would not be shocked if Harper got close. Boras don’t lose.
Him getting 300 mil is a clown idea. Well maybe from the Nats , they just don’t understand money and math in D.C.
Its D.C. they’d just get in over their heads, overspend, lie about it, then have us bail them out. Isnt that the way Washington works?
Zappa for Prez would have been no clown idea, either. #CosmikDebris
Keep dreaming Yankees aren’t getting Harper. Maybe Machado. Still they won’t win the World Series no matter what they do.
Thank you for the information now into the lottery numbers
Saying one team won’t win the world series will only get you a lottery prediction as good as “that scratch off is a loser.”
How many more dozens of more times are we going to read that the Yankees have moved on from Machado….butttt; and the Indians are not going to trade Kluber….. butttt?
By the way – whatever became of LAUNCH ANGLE? It was in articles 10 times a day, and suddenly it doesn’t matter.
You’re right on here Xabial. The Yankees were, are and always will be the prime destination for Harper. This “there’s no room for him” is nonsense. Stanton and Judge both echo my thoughts which is, if you have a chance to have Bryce Harper on your team, you make it work. The Yankees have the finances, the market to maximize his marketing potential, etc.
How could they have made it happen?
1) If you don’t want Sanchez catching 4 out of 5 days, trade him and sign Grandal instead of letting him go to Milwaukee or trade for Realmuto before he wound up in Philly. DH rotation is now open for Bryce/Stanton/Judge as well as the corner outfield positions. Judge said he had no problem switching around to LF. I know Sanchez value is way down, but there’s no guarantees its coming back up. Another subpar year would give him very little value. He’d look like a flash in the pan.
2) Trade Hicks or use him as a 4th OF and let go of Gardner. Slot Harper (admittedly less comfortably) in CF. Hicks value was never higher then this off-season and probably will never be this high again.
3) Try to move Stanton’s contract in favor of Harper. This is the hardest idea to pull off, but would be the most rewarding.
The Yankees lineup is too righty heavy just like the Sox rotation is to lefty heavy. Its going to present problems in a lot of matchups. Getting that big lefty bat in the middle of that lineup, especially that bat being Bryce friggin Harper would absolutely decimate the AL East. I’d be scared and am so grateful the Yanks prefer Machado. Personal opinion.
As good a job as Cashman has done, he couldn’t have waited one year? The Stanton contract is why Harper is not in Pinstripes. I like Stanton and believe Harper is vastly overrated. He is however left handed and is a better fit given the stadium and the team already having Judge, Andujar and Sanchez as right handed pop (not to mention Voigt).
This surprised me also given their lineup composition. The deal was basically a contract handoff and Harper could have easily signed in Washington or the Yankees could have been “outbid”. They went with the move that posed less risk at the time.
I guess the mentality was its better to get something now then wind up with nothing later. But this is silly, because the Yankees could really outbid anyone given their revenue. Even the larger tax penalties like 30-40 million are pennies to them.
I disagree with you completely. You really think Cashman expected Harper and Boras to sign an extension with the Nationals? Cash knew Manny and Harper were likely going to hit the market. Either he had a preference of Stanton over both or he wants either of the two FA at HIS price and not the numbers initially being thrown out. I don’t think Stanton’s contract has a thing to do with their intent to sign a 2019 FA. I think most GMs base their decisions on what the payroll projections are over a 3-5 year span not year to year.
True with respect to budgeting out years in advance but from a power perspective, at the time the Yankees had Didi, Bird as an unknown and a switch hitter in CF. The team though has always been power dominant from the left side going all the way back to murderers row.
Why would signing Harper necessitate moving Hicks, a 5 WAR player who is our ONLY everyday CF, to a backup role? If Harper is signed then you have two corner outfield positions and the DH to rotate Harper, Judge and Stanton. It’s pretty simple. And what does Sanchez have to do with anything?
They are called SNY because they report on NY sports. All NY sports. Just because they air Mets games and are mostly owned by the Mets doesn’t mean they are closed minded and limit their viewership to only Met fans. Don’t be bitter because MSG doesn’t report anything
X, keep up the faith about Harper, because for one thing last Thursday Hal said he hasn’t ruled out Harper or anymore spending.
Why on earth would anyone want the Yankees to sign Harper? Hitting is not an area of need for the Yankees. They won over 100 games last year based on their hitting and bullpen. They flames out in the playoff based on their starting pitching and they are headed in that same direction. Besides Severino, who can be hit or miss, the rest of their starters would not scare anyone. That’s the one area they need to address not the outfield or offense in general. Silly yankee fans…
Who is out there for the Yankees to sign or trade for that would make an impact? If there was a trade proposition that the Yanks favored it would be done.
Honestly, health risk is an issue. But the Yanks now have 5 starters that had a 2.5 WAR last year and there was only 41 of them. 22 of them are likely to return to the AL and the Yanks have 5 of them. They replaced Gray and the injured Montgomery for Happ and Paxton. How is that an improvement?
As for Harper he addresses an obvious need. A left handed power hitter in a ballpark that rewards left handed pull hitters. If you can’t get a Kluber type of pitcher then improve the offense and the bullpen.
I don’t think Cashman is interested in giving up the draft pick he got from the Reds.
Just be the mf yankees and sign Harper. I mean wth lil Steinbrenner’s ur dad rolling over in his grave. Judge Harper Stanton enough said
There was not a luxury tax in George’s day. Combine that with the salaries of today and even George would be thinking twice. It’s not one contract, it’s the number of contracts that overall, the more you pay, the less value you get. Assuming no trades involving expensive players and in three years, the Yankees could have $120m+ tied up in five players (average, Machado or Harper + Stanton, Judge, Severino and another top pitcher). Even if all are healthy, such is only 20% of your 25 man roster. Red Sox have the same type problem. Team’s today have to think ahead in terms of budgeting (weird mentioning budgeting here). Injuries, misreading the market or simply not getting your expected free agents can impact a team for years. I still propose the league adopt a system that rewards teams, players and fans by discounting the tax base by 50% after year four when teams keep their own talent. For example, Harper might have gotten a $400m/10 year offer from Washington if for years 5 -10, only 50% counted against the tax threshold. Would also make expiring contracts more valuable to trade if the receiving team is trading for that benefit. The Dodgers for example might have offered more and chose to re-sigm Machadobif that benefit was available. Alternatively, the Phillies might have offered more last year with the knowledge they’d have that benefit available when negotiating today.
Never heard this idea. I like it. The thing I hate about the NFL right now is that players staying on their original teams is a thing of the past. You can’t get excited about any individual player because they may be gone the next season. I’m hoping this doesn’t happen in baseball.
Exactly. The sports today are so fantasy driven, they forget the impact of having your idol play his entire career for one team. Who knows if I would have bought so much Red Sox clothing if Yaz had signed with the Yankees after 67 when under today’s terms, he’d have been a free agent) I became a lifetime Sox fan in large part because of him.
Add take the red Sox problems with therefore world Series championships and I’m obviously not a red Sox fan
CBA conditions being different and all that… blah blah what the heck are any of us saying?!
Don’t downvote a guy because he’s stating a fact. George would never, absolutely never, let Bryce Harper wear another jersey. This is the type of free agent that with George at the helm would have been locked down by December.
The CBA can change all it wants. George Steinbrenner never would have. Luxury Tax be damned.
You can stop with the George Steinbrenner bromance. If you wish to assume he’d have the same fervor for flashy FA then he would likely still have the penchant to trade away top prospects for vets in their declining years. It’s silly to ignore his track record as a whole. He absolutely would NOT have been gun-shy about trading away some of Judge, Severino, Sanchez, Torres and Andujar. That was his nature. The only way we kept Jeter, Rivera, Pettite, Posada and Williams was because George was banned from baseball operations and when the ban was lifted relegated the player decisions to those in charge during his absence from the game. Not sure about you but I don’t reminense about those 80s teams George put on the field that finished 3rd to last most years and saw 10 different managerial changes in a 10 year span.
Bingo!
George signed marque players to exorbitant contracts for over 10 years and never made the playoffs.
The other side of the coin – if the Yankees sign Harper or Machado to long-term $200m-plus contracts, there is going to be a revolt from small and mid-market teams over the ridiculous disparity in local TV revenues.
Example –
When the Yankees play the Orioles or the Dodgers play the Pirates, 2 teams are performing for the cable paying viewers. Why is one team getting more then 8 times the revenue of the other?
Well according to Marcus Stroman, a “certain AL powerhouse” is close to signing a “Gold Glove SS/3B”. It’s pretty easy to deduce who he’s talking about
Jose Iglesias to the Rays.
Hechavarria to the O’s
Adeiny isn’t a starting shortstop even on a bad team. He is depth. Jose Iglesias is a starting shortstop and likely can be had at a relatively low cost,
Someone cant understand sarcasm, huh? The original comment is obviously insinuating Machado to the Yankees is imminent. So, for ironic purposes, MB923 and I listed other possibilities that fit the category of good fielder (term used there was Gold Glove SS) to an AL East powerhouse.
I know Hechavarria is depth. He is a very good glove, though. Really surprised you couldnt put two and two together when I referred to the O’s as a powerhouse lol
Iglesias on a short term deal to the orioles. Not the rays. The rays have the young Willy adames at short. He is young with tons of upside and looked good last year, the Orioles are projected to start a rule 5 draft pick at short in Richie Martin who has yet to reach AAA at 24 years old and who hit over .237 for the first time last year in the minors
Why not Hechavarria back to Tampa?
I’d pay to see Manny Machado and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. occupy the left side of the Blue Jays infield for the next 7-8 years. Ditto for Bryce Harper and Eloy Jimenez as the White Sox #3 and #4 hitters.
That wouldn’t be that exciting. Maybe it’s better to have Machado at 3rd and Vlad at DH. Vlad’s defense is reportedly not great at all.
Machado isn’t a GG SS, only 3B. He’s very good, but not worth more than the Yankees offered. Good bye.
Cal Ripken’s joining the Jays organization as an advisor?
Stroman clarified his comments. He read an article at “The Score”. He had no further inside information.
12up.com/posts/6292531-marcus-stroman-makes-mlb-fa…
The Score reported that the Yankees have offered $220 mil to Machado.
Again, take from this what you will. I looked up Stroman’s comments because I was intrigued. I think even the signed players are as confounded by this market as the unsigned ones. Stroman’s like come on already! I need to know if I need to prepare to face Machado for 12-15 ABs!
Could also theoretically be Boston with an extension for Boegarts. Some thought their rumored extension talks a few weeks back were him and not Bettintendi.
I wish the Angels would sign Romo. Be there 8th inning guy.
I hate that the implication that Romo is getting only minor league offers with invites is totally on the teams. Any player who is not a star is likely to see that at this time of year. Rosters are full. Teams have been shedding lesser players all offseason, and whats left on the roster has value. Its not that these teams dont want Romo.
They just dont want to waive a prospect to make room for him. Maybe, just Maybe, these players should not have waited until spring training started to accept an offer. if they wanted a Major league contract.
If the Yankees don’t sign Machado, Tulo isn’t the only option they have at short. They signed Lemahieu & if he starts at 2nd, that moves Torres to short. Tulo starting at short isn’t a given
Houston is a little odd, taking star players they should want long term, to arbitration. I see yanks lineup as Torres at SS and LeMathieu at 2b as well, Eric. Tulo is Tulo. Does anyone think he makes it through spring training without an injury. Wouldn’t be shocked if he never plays an inning for the Yankees.
Yea I’ve been confused by these comments as well. Everything I’ve seen has talked about shifting Torres to SS and DJ taking over 2B. Tulo will play SS when Torres needs rest or DJ needs rest and Torres shifts to 2B for the day.
I’d be surprised barring injury if Tulo plays every day. He’s likely to get in 3-4 games a week though at some level and I think he will always be at SS rather than 2B.
How it happens is to TBD but Cashman stated they brought Tulo in with the intent of him being the starting SS and DJ as a super utility guy. Clearly, if Tulo under-performs or is injured then moving Torres to SS and making DJ the starting 2B.
Sure. Point here is that if Machado falls in their laps, per the report, he wouldn’t step in at short.
Enough of this Machado smoke cloud already! The Yankees have been on Harper from day 1. They are just waiting quietly for the market to devalue him and they come in with a last second bid to get him
Are people that naive? The Yankees showed the world they weren’t after him with the signings of Tulo and LeMahieu. It’s been Harper all along
It’s been no one all along.
Agreed. Theyve shown much more interest in Machado than Harper. And theyre barely showing interest in Machado. There hasnt even been a peep about Harper from the Yankees side. With Machado, the Yankees at least met with him and presented him with a value (reportedly, the Yankees offered him $220MM at 7-8 years, but Machado turned it down. not sure if it happened but at least there are rumors that it did)
My prediction is that they let Machado and Harper go somewhere else. If they werent willing to pony up for Corbin, their biggest positional need and the one they ranked highest out of all FA SP, they arent going to pony up 300M for Harper of Machado.
There was little mention of the Yanks being interested in Tex as a FA or Arod and Stanton as trade targets until it was done. I’m positive the Yanks and Boras have had some discussion of Harper and it’s likely a “this is where we’re comfortable, if interested, then circle back to us before you make a final decision” mode.
Right. Everyone is niave because nobody thought Tulo, the guy who put up a 678 OPS in 2017 and didn’t play at all in 2018, was the Yankees telling the world that they are out on Machado. Is your head screwed on right?
That’s why he added the LeMahieu part. Combine those two with the fact that Torres can play short and DD will be back mid season and that’s one crowded infield even without Machado.
Tulo is signed for the league minimum. The Yankees would just release him if they signed Machado. Its not a hard fix. Oh no! They lost $580k!
DJ is playing 2B. Torres is playing SS. Tulo is the extra insurance piece in case they don’t get Machado. But the market played right into their hands with this whole Tulo signing. For $580k, they reduced their perceived urgency for Machado by a huge margin. Now they can hold steady at $200-220 without increasing their offer, knowing they are Machado’s preferred destination. They probably saved themselves $50 million dollars by spending $580k. Its pretty friggin genius. I just put it together last night and even as a rival, I’m ready to start the slow clap when Machado signs with NYY. Well played Cash…
At one point I thought Yanks were going to grab Machado they appear to be waiting this one out, not going over 165. Harper not coming, Yanks done with 10 year deals
umm easy….yanks singed to stay under tax with hoping some surprises as reward. obvious it will take time to see results however yanks will not sign any of this duo unless the price is right.
When will Yankees fans come to the realization that the kids are not like King George. They are NOT going to spend, spend, spend. They only got Stanton because it didn’t cost them a lot in prospects and they cleared off payroll to stay under the tax.
They may make a run at Trout because Didi, Sabathia, Gardner and Hicks are all up. That would clear 38 million in payroll. They can move Torres back to short and have LeMahieu start at 2B. They have to resign Betances.
I still don’t understand why they aren’t going for a more proven starter to pair with Severino at the top of the rotation. People are slobbering over Paxton but the guy can’t stay healthy and what does Tanaka and Sabathia have in the tank at this point.
Here inlies the issue, and I think its fairly obvious.
The new CBA’s have been trying to force more competitive balance. The Yankees and Red Sox have an expectation from their fan base to be in it every single year. In the past, the Red Sox have played 2nd fiddle while the Yankees spent freely and blew everyone else out of the water. Now, under the newest CBA, you have 2 options. Overspend paying a ridiculous amount on taxes every year to stay competitive (with diminishing returns given your lack of a system aka the Red Sox right now). Or you can take risks on some down”ish” years to get under the luxury tax threshold and pick your moments to win.
This is the longest championship drought in most Yankees fans lives. 1 championship in like 18 years with the Sox winning over and over is a tough pill to swallow.
I have to say, as a Sox fan, I feel your pain. That was us my whole childhood. Never quite wanting (or being able) to keep up with King George. Very few Yankees fans have ever dealt with this before and those that have are too old to care at this point. Lol.
Why is “being like George” looked at as a good thing? I truly think some of my Yankee fans are either too young or too stupid to remember how bad the Yanks were under George after 1980. If the prevailing thought across baseball is that issuing multiple long term deals is a bad thing then why would we want to have a “George-like” mentality? I mean the Yanks CAN afford a $300 mil deal but once you cross that line it’s difficult to reverse it and you end up being position locked with little flexibility. Shorter term with a higher aav seems to be the smarter way to go. Offer high salary but limit the contract length.
Trade Cole to the Cardinals for Carlos Martinez.
I don’t believe Yankees are signing Machado or Harper unless their price really bottoms out.Yankee’s mgt.habe major $$$$$ decisions upcoming next year on their current roster.
enough with all the high and mighty Yanks fans saying “haha! i know they have been in on Harper all along!” what room do thay have for him, both under the cap and on the field?
Ummm….LF? The only Yankee FA that they should look to bring back are Betances, Hicks and Didi. They can let Tanaka, Happ, Sabathia, Gardner and Ellsbury walk once their deals are done over the next 2 seasons.
With the advent of opt outs and front loaded deals, looking at contracts in terms of total money value is a fallacy.
Let’s say the Yankees (who have every reason to try and work around the luxury tax with a funny contract structure) offer 3 years, 105, player opt out, and then six years 145. The way I see it, a contract structured like that is worth basically the same as a straight up 10 years, $300M. Here’s why:
– if 2018 is a sign of things to come, and Machado is a 6 WAR guy for the next three years, he can bump the total on that up to above $350M. With the bad 2017 season in the distant past, his stock will go up by a lot.
– if he’s let’s say a 4-5 WAR player (like he’s been in the last two years, he can still get seven years, $195M when he opts out, giving him $300M over 10 years in total
– if he gets hurt badly, or for inexplicable reason his performance drops off, he has $250M guaranteed.
Those are good odds, for a 26 year old to bet on himself. I think that, between the two offers, he would take the front loaded $250M with the opt out, over10 years $300M straight up. Especially if it came from the Yankees.
Both Machado and Harper are terrific players, but, from my perspective, imperfect fits for the Yankees, who, like most other teams, have not had good luck with ultra-long contracts. Let someone else sign them, and focus on the development and acquisition of new talent. The most exiting Yankee players are the kids. I’d like to see more of them.
Right now the whole baseball world is waiting not only on Harper’s and Machado’s decision but now everyone is waiting to see what Nolan Arenado is going to do as well if he resigns now with Colorado on a new contract then you have Harper’s/Machado’s agent with ammo to ask for more.
The other subplot is whom will blink first Harper or Machado because whomever blinks first the other one will be in higher demand to those teams that missed on the first one.
Then you have teams hoping that a player like Arenado,Betts or Mike Trout don’t agree to an extension with their respective teams to go after those players but then any GM looking to not sign a caliber of player like Harper or Machado because they are waiting on the above of Arenado,Betts & Trout is setting up for failure as you can’t put all your eggs on a basket that may not be filled.
As for the case of the Yankees there are many questions they are truly to RightHanded on offense which although will hurt them against the leagues it helps them against Boston whom are too LeftHanded in pitching.
Best case scenario for the Yankees is that Bird wins the battle at 1st Base the Yankees trade Ellsbury to SF or Cleveland for their best food dish of that city and both Harper/Machado go unsigned thru spring training to lower their demands and the Yankees can sign Harper whom will be a better fit overall not only because he is a Lefty but he plays with more passion than Machado.
Now the Yankees are also counting on the fact that Didi will come back like the Didi they are accustomed too because what if he doesn’t fully recover then this is why I feel Cashman signed DJ to play 2nd base and Torres will be the SS in case Didi never comes back the same or does not resign with the Yankees then the Yankees can have their infield of Andujar,torres,dj & bird in the OF Harper,Judge,Frazier with Stanton as DH in 2020 .
Yankees can trade Hicks or see if he will resign with them or let him walk and if he walks Yankees can slide Harper to CF or play Clint Frazier.
We need pitching!!!we have enough big bats.
It’s amazing how the Yankees are the longest commented blog subject on this feed- awesome #1 alwAys !
I repeat my position since last year winter meetings: Yankees have never won a World Series without a power producing left handed bat in the starting lineup! Harper is the top get cause NYY don’t have one yet. So now what Hal?
Gerritt Cole has been crying about his salary since breaking into the big leagues. He is nothing but an overgrown child who needs to be babysat. His career will tank as soon as he doesn’t have Verlander around to change his diapers anymore.
Lineup- starting positions so far: 1b Voit, 2nd DJ,
SS Torres, 3rd Andújar , C Sanchez, Rf Judge, LF Stanton &/w Harper (rotate DH), CF Hicks
Rest of roster fills around needs.
Going to World Series baby !!
and losing.
Romo would fit well the Twins, but I’d still like to see them get another closer candidate. I say we either sign Bud Norris to a cheap 1 year deal or trade Gonsalves/Blankenhorn for Jose Leclerc.
If the Yankees signed machado (unlikely) I don’t think they would push a guy who’s never played first base in Andujar and I guess send down Voit, a guy who they love and his projections this season look solid. I think they would put Andujar at DH and Stanton to the field or just play machado at ss and forget about Tulo. I think this is just more fake reporting by martino, who has done that a lot this offseason
As for the Yankees needing pitching all teams need pitching but if you look closely the yankees building up more ammo for the bullpen shows the direction they are going when it comes to pitching because the likes of Dallas, Gio, Edwin Jackson all are looking to be handed a starting rotation job and not be the 6th man this is where either the yankees tap back into a Luis Cessa, Domingo German, Chance Adams with a good spring showing being the 6th man and long relief option.
Or this Is where maybe if they are not keen on the above the Yankees can go after a Bartolo colon or Doug Fister as their 6th man in the rotation at a cheap price and both can provide long relief.
Again the Yankees if they forged ahead their better option is Harper for many reasons that I had stated prior he fits their need on all cylinders and nothing is guaranteed that Didi will come back as before or be resigned or that Hicks will be resigned/traded I can see that happening due to the reason that the Yankees are looking ahead to when they have to pay big to Judge,Severino,Sanchez therefore swapping Harper for Hicks and Torres/DJ for Didi gives the Yankees the flexibility when their big 3 are up.
Also, if Stanton puts up great numbers this year and next he can opt out for a bigger contract which is likely or he may not like NY after experiencing it for 3 years and then eventually you swapped Harper for Stanton and the yankees will still have Clint Frazier and down the road Florial waiting in the wings as OutField depth while the infield will be relatively young across the diamond. .
Stanton is not getting a bigger contract , especially length.
As much as I despise them, the Yankees are one player away from a WS win. No, that player is not Machado. The Yankees need trade for a high caliber starting pitching with playoff experience before the deadline. Like a Kluber or a resurgent Bumgarner if he’s healthy. THE YANKEES DO NOT NEED MACHADO OR HARPER.
100% agree, but cash the genius just urinated away over 48 mil on studs like gardy, cc, happ and DJ. hence Hal’s whining they are not cheap (they aren’t cheap just not smart).
The more creative long term view would be to have realized the free agent market is in flux, when didi, judge, and sanchez for example become FA they will all be at least 4 years older than manny and harper now (plus who knows how much he will pay those guys). Thus if he signed them (harper and/or machado) now to reasonable contracts would that have given him the flexibility to utilize assets differently in acquiring the missing piece which you correctly point out is a number 1 SP?
besides is there any Yankee fan who really wants to see happ or CC on the mound in October backed up by DJ and Gardy in the field? of course not. what a waste of coin….
Out of those four I would agree with you on three, Gardner, CC, and DJ.
You really think Gardner and Sabathia on 1 year deals to be the likely 4th OF and 5th starter is a problem? They’re getting paid a whopping $16 mil total. I guarantee you they aren’t an impediment to signing either Manny or Harper and honestly, to suggest they are is completely moronic. And as for DJ, it did shock me too, but it’s obvious that DJ is plan B if Tulo can’t handle the SS job. They slide Torres to SS and move DJ to 2b. If Didi returns then they reverse it and Torres moves back to 2b.
and how much do think it will costs to keep didi at age 30? judge at 30? and money is money. I know you love cash but he does this every year. 20% of the payroll on these 4 is inexcusable when difference makers are out there and assets need to be utilized differently.
i noticed you didnt mention happ. perhaps b/c his 10 regular season games with the yanks has value to do you. Well…it doesn’t for me. In a league where the yanks, sox, stros, and Indians are near mortal locks for October in an era where the league is wholly divided between really good and really awful only October matters. look up how he did against Boston.
I repeat waste of 48 mil if your goal is the WS, excellent use of 48 mil to make it to October (which is cash’s MO every year) and then want to roll the dice
“Machado prefers to play in NY”
“Harper wants to be on the left coast”
“Machado, Harper hate Philly, Chicago, etc”
Bull cookies!
Provide just one link that has them quoted, not someone else’s view. Doesn’t exist!
No one has a clue what is happening.
The bottom line is they will go where they get the best deal. Period! Could be anywhere.
The Yankees are waiting out Machado and I’m guessing Machado will be a Yankee.
The Yankees can say all they want about Andujar but the fact is the guy was historically bad at third defensively. A team that has aspirations of winning the division and the World Series cannot have that guy at third.
There has never been a guy as poor defensively as Andujar was remain at third for any length of time. I know he has a great work ethic and he is working with Beltre and he will be much better next year but I doubt Cashman is willing to take that chance.
In the end the Yankees will probably sign Machado and he will play third. I do think the Yankees can really use Harper but they have a much more pressing need at third defensively and I’m sure that Cashman knows this.
If the Yanks saw Andujar as a big of a problem as you think he is then Cash would’ve handled that already as opposed to waiting until ST in hopes that Manny falls in his lap. No way does he go this deep into the off-season with that unaddressed if he valued Andujar the way you do.,
It is still to early to rule out Andujar not being serviceable at 3rd base after 1 year if everyone judges on 1 year Jeter, Beltre wouldn’t have manned their positions for many years to come and become HOF Players not to say Andujar will become a Hall of Famer but give the kid a chance to see if improvements are made, also a lot of of his errors were throwing errors which the kid is working hard on correcting that and the rest is how the Yankee coaches position their infield and finally on the pitcher pitching it to the spot where the coaches have aligned their positional players.
Right now the Yankees trust Andujar then they do Bird whom has more potential but you can’t count on him either mentally or health wise.
Cashman has taken a chance on Andujar hence why he was not dangling him to Miami or even to Cleveland because Cashman knows he is controllable at a bargain that can rake and no matter how anyone wants to slice it you can’t count on Voigt (is he Shane Spencer or Kevin Maas),Bird (Nick Johnson 2.0) , Gardner (starts fast fades quickly) ,Hicks (gets hurt a lot), Tulo (gets hurt a lot & hasn’t played in 2 years practically) for offense so the onus will fall on the two kids Torres, & Andujar with Judge,Stanton,Sanchez.
Yankees are more in need of a Lefty hitter to balance that Lineup even if it’s a crowded OutField right now many different directions the Yankees can go if Harper is signed because they can rotate thru the DH to keep the big 3 fresh (Judge,Stanton,Harper) while putting Gardner on the bench where he belongs at this stage of his career.
The Yankees roster is stronger than last year with replacing DJ for Walker but it will be so much stronger if Gardner as well comes off the bench if Harper was signed.
Please don’t compare Beltre to Andujar. While Beltre did have a ton of errors there was never a question about his defense in fact even with the errors he never was a negative defensively. Comparing Andujar to Beltre is completely silly and not even close to a good comparable.
It’s not errors that are making Andujar so bad defensively at third, by the way.
Beltre actually put up a negative dWAR in 2 different seasons, and a barely positive dWAR in a few more. The point isn’t that Andujar will become a gold glover like Beltre did. If he can improve to league average defense after his rookie year with a well above average bat, the Yankees would be thrilled.
I’m sure they are hoping for that but if he does he will be the first that was as bad as he was defensively to do that. Maybe he will be the first that was that bad defensively to stick at third but the odds are against that. I’m sorry but Beltre is not a comp for Andujar. His worse defensive season wasn’t even in the same breath as Andujar. A better comp would be Braun who was a little worse but not too much and he didn’t sniff third after that first year.
“He can do things at third base,” Naehring continued. “Is he a finished product? No. But he’s got the tools to be impactful on the defensive side. And obviously if you watch him taking batting practice and you look at his physical size, I think he’s a guy that can hit for average, hit for power and use the whole field, so I’m really excited about him.”
I think I would take a former 3rd baseman’s take and scouting development to pose that it is silly to compare to Beltre whom made 296 errors in 19 years also note that Andujar in the minors has improved on his errors and footwork slowly he is still a young player that has improved in every facet of the stage he climbs the ladder.
one has to give a chance and for the Yankees it is impediment for him to show improvement because if he can display that along with Torres and finally Bird the yankees can have that payroll flexibility.
This is why Beltre is working with him because even in Dominican Republic Beltre stated that Andujar reminds him of himself when younger the potential is there and the hard-work and dedication is already there he is on the field Andujar for over 2 hours plus before anyone is reporting on the field and after.
FYI im Dominican and watch the news and reports coming out of Dominican Republic from the ballplayers and their progress in the winter leagues and more and no one has ever questioned the kid’s dedication to get better which is why in Dominican Republic he was working hard once the Yankees were eliminated to improve his defense on his footing ability..
You are mentioning Braun but at what point in Braun’s career was he ever mentioned to be a hard worker? What separates players is the dedication to become a better overall player again I mentioned Beltre because of the physiques and throwing and raw potential and again even Beltre in Dominican Republic has taken a liking to this kid because he reminded him of himself when younger not given a chance to amount to something because of scouts or the team not believing in them.
Again, Andujar has made strides every step he has taken up the ladder he will improve and if he becomes a serviceable 3rd baseman the Yankees would in fact be thrilled with him because his hitting is major leagues right now. All I’m saying is don’t dive too much into analytics either because numbers say he was the worst defensive 3rd baseman and what if this year he improves and is mid-pack for a starting 3rd baseman that would mean in two years manning 3rd base he would go from worst to mid-pack which means more improvements could continue and should continue as long as the player is putting in the effort to improve.
This narrative that Machado not hustling makes him a clubhouse problem and therefore makes the Yankees less of a threat is nonsense. Robinson Cano hasn’t run down the first baseline hard in his life and the Yankee fans never booed him for it and they won a world series. Now, can we also not forget the Yankees won 100 games last year with a weaker starting rotation and without Judge for almost two months not to mention Gary Sanchez’ disappearance offensively. I think they win the division last year if those things don’t happen but hey everyone deals with injuries. Let’s also not forget that as of right now Boston has no bullpen and the yankees have the best one in the league arguably.If they do that sign Machado or Harper they’ll be more than fine, adding either one makes them better. Oh and Craig Kimbrel still hasn’t signed either and we all know how cashman loves his relievers. He would be my choice out of all three of the all stars still on the market. Mike Moustakas could fill that third base or first base issue and would hit an extra 15 home runs by accident playing 81 at Yankee stadium in lieu of signing a Machado to play the same position
Turtlejay hittin’ the crack pipe early.
What, if anything did I say here that isn’t fact. Also, I take pills, crack is wack
“What if anything did I say here that isn’t fact” Yankee fans never booed Cano for not running it out down the line. I was at a game against the Red Sox they did, and there’s been more bro.
Machado not hustling is not that uncommon but I don’t think it has much to do with him being a clubhouse problem. The ones I remember are needlessly spiking Pedroia on a bad slide, hitting a catcher in the head with his backswing, charging the mound, spitting on umpires, the many bat flips and conflicts with past team members. He’s a solid player but many are leery of him because of his history of antics.
Tulo won’t make it past May m. I hope Cashman is right about trusting him at SS til Didi is back
Hopefully he proves everyone wrong.
The Yankees aren’t pushing the market, never will, but shouldn’t be counted out. Hahahahahha. Is that a serious statement?!?!? Nothing like literally covering every possible outcome to say that you are right in 1 sentence.
Didi is the man hopefully he comes back healthy and productive and we can lock him up to an extension
Still mentioning machado??? Amazing how to media controls the human population how ever they want to. Because they say Yankees are more interested in machado, it must be true! Use your own minds and let’s break down their real needs. They have a ROY playing third base. They signed LeMahieu to play 2b for Torres to move over to his natural position SS. Tulo at this point of his career will back both players for days off as needed. Tulo, hopefully will play well enough in his part time role to be traded for a prospect when DiDi returns. You might have 1 1/2-2 months left of DiDi left in a yankees uniform. They won’t pay him what he will be asking next season. Now for their NEEDS. Mr left hand hitter Harper! Your outfield will consist of Harper, Judge and Hicks with Stanton at DH. Gardner and Stanton can give the guys days off in the field as needed. There is your lineup for 2019!
They will resign hicks before DiDi next year as Gardner call it a career and Frazier( which I hate) steps into the backup role
I wish these two clowns would just sign already with the Phil’s and White Sox. Tired of hearing about both of them.
Machado posted a photo of baby shoes with the White Sox logo and the #7 on twitter this morning. He deleted it, but Sox fans hold on to your butts.
Is there any other media market we could hear about? East coast …… The hell with it anymore,let’s talk about the rest of baseball.
Looks like Romo is headed to the Marlins. He’ll be happier there and won’t take a roster spot on the Twins. The Twins have several young pitchers who are at least as good as Romo, If the Twins want to add veteran pitchers, they need to add someone better than Romo is at this point in his career.
Would Cole and Boras agree to a 6 yr 145 deal before 2019 season starts? Gets him another 10 this year that he may not get on the market next year. I’d think he’d get 5/125 on market next year so that would amount to 6/139.6.
With the new hesitation to sign pitchers to long deals, testing the 2020 market might not be a good idea.