When the offseason began in late October, the Yankees were a popular pick to become Manny Machado’s next team as he sought a record contract in free agency. As it turns out, though, the Yankees didn’t pursue Machado as aggressively as many expected them to, and he’s now a member of the Padres after signing a 10-year, $300MM guarantee with them this week.
On Friday, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman spoke about their decision to back off Machado, claiming the team’s league-minimum signing of oft-injured infielder Troy Tulowitzki in early January played a key part, per John Harper of SNY.tv. Tulowitzki was once an elite player, as Machado currently is, but he’s now a 34-year-old coming off a season lost to heel issues. Nevertheless, the Yankees are “ according to Cashman, who signed Tulowitzki after the Blue Jays released him and ate nearly all of the $38MM left on his contract. Tulowitzki was one of several offseason acquisitions for the Yankees, though the big-spending franchise didn’t break the bank on any of its pickups – something it often did under late owner George Steinbrenner, who passed away in 2010.
“Those days are gone,” Cashman said of his former boss’ reign, owing to the “” system the league operates under now compared to then. Cashman, who answers to Steinbrenner’s son Hal these days, contends that “t” As Harper points out, Cashman was likely alluding to the luxury tax, revenue sharing and the league’s capped spending on draft picks and international signings as detriments to the Yankees and other clubs of their ilk.
More from New York and a couple other AL cities…
- Luke Voit and Greg Bird are competing to be the Yankees’ Opening Day first baseman, and it appears to be an all-or-nothing battle. It’s doubtful the loser will crack the team’s season-opening roster, George A. King III of the New York Post relays, which seems to rule out a platoon between the righty-hitting Voit and the lefty-swinging Bird. It looks as if free-agent signing DJ LeMahieu, a second baseman by trade, could serve as the team’s backup at first, as manager Aaron Boone said Saturday, “I see [DJ] LeMahieu getting some reps there.’’ Boone also declared that Bird is a superior defender to Voit, Coley Harvey of ESPN reports. Still, given that Voit far outdid Bird at the plate in 2018, it would be surprising if the latter wins back his old job coming out of camp. Both players have minor league options remaining, though, so the Yankees wouldn’t have any difficulty demoting the runner-up to Triple-A.
- The Mariners have promoted Joe Bohringer to assistant general manager, per a team announcement. A special assistant to Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto since 2015, Bohringer will take over for Jeff Kingston, who left the M’s to become the Dodgers’ VP/AGM in December. Bohringer’s duties will include overseeing the Mariners’ analytics departments and acting as the primary liaison between their front office and medical staff, the club announced. Bohringer’s in his second run with Seattle, having previously worked as an area scouting supervisor with the franchise from 2002-06. Along with his Mariners stints, he has served in scouting capacities with the Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Cubs at the major league level.
- Longtime FanGraphs writer Jeff Sullivan announced Friday that he has taken a job with the Rays. His departure from FanGraphs is a blow to the many who enjoyed reading his excellent pieces, but it should be a boon for Tampa Bay. While it’s unknown which role Sullivan has taken with the Rays, he’s an intriguing addition to a front office that’s known for its use of analytics and willingness to innovate.
It may no longer run under the old rules of the boss but let’s see what happens if they don’t meet the expectations of the fan base, Hal has one championship and that’s not enough for the Yankee fans
Just remember Hal has the third highest payroll in MLB. That’s something the Yankee fans, players, Cashman, and union can chew on. It’s not his fault.
Hal has also spent much more than George ever did. Has George ever put up $200MM for payroll? No. I know in 2003 it was about $150MM or so. I think the numbers players demand today would make even George think twice.
Yea it’s not like inflation is a thing
Check your math. They are 7th…. stevetheump.com/Payrolls.htm
I apologize if I’m wrong, I was going off Sportac.
+Warning Track
Thats 2018 opening day payrolls. Its 2019 now. The numbers have changed. They are projected around $200MM already, they arent 7th in payroll anymore.
Yankees should be #1 in payroll every year. Reset for Lucey taxes every few years and go back to a high payroll.
Or maybe donate to those in need? The average Venezuelan lost 26 pounds last year. I wonder how much miggy lost?
U.S. backing the wrong pony down there. May not even be a ‘right’ pony though. Our Prez wants to invade and take over their oil fields. Sounds about par. Miggy has been paying big money to crime syndicates not to kidnap his kin. The average Venezuelan is only a pawn in the game.
No joking matter.
I wasn’t trying to, it’s a complete mess down there. I just think it’s crazy how worried these players and owners are about their contracts and money, when nearly 10% of the mlb family is in some way touched by all of this. This is a huge problem that needs attention & the MLB has a great platform for a peaceful exploitation. Sorry if I come off joking. I would love to see this get resolved.
Cashman, after signing Tulo: “This doesn’t change our outlook on singing Machado at all. Cashman now: “Signing Tulo changed everything.
Hal and Cash can’t keep their lies straight!
There’s lies and then there’s gamesmanship. In negotiation for a star player, you don’t want him just walking away, and you want other teams to think you’re in on him to drive up the price.
As a Yankee fan, of course we want to win ever year. However, most people should be smart enough to know that when you spend what they’ve spent, have a 100 win team, that it’s more on the players to perform. Spending $300mil on Manny or Harper could help but it’s not a must. I wish they had signed Harper for reasons most have mentioned already but by no means do I think they aren’t committed to winning.
For people who wish for the days of Steinbrener just understand that it likely would’ve meant not all of Severino, Judge, Sanchez, Andujat Torres would be on the Yankees right now and we would have a couple of Pujols and Cabrera contracts on our roster. The Boss was all about the huge names and it would be incredibly stupid to selectively wish for the old “George” when it comes to Manny and Harper and NOT think those potential signing would likely be proceeded by a bunch of huge mistakes like signing a big named future HOF in their early 30s to an absurd contract. We would likely have a payroll closer to $300 mil and may not have a WS to show for it. Keep in mind the drought from 1981-1993. A lot of big named stars and not a single post-season appearance.
I like the current front office. They built a great front office that allowed us to spot some “diamonds in the rough” in Hicks, Green, Voit and Didi. We scouted better and built a deep farm and we are still players for big time FA. Cashman spread the wealth around this year and we are deeper for it. I still want Harper, and thought if not him then Markakis or Brantley but I’m not mad. This is still a much better team on paper than last year’s team.
Cashman is either very stupid or lying when he says the Yankees are counting on a 34 year old player that has played 60 games in 2 seasons to be effective out of the gate and lock down shortstop until Didi returns. At the end of the 2019 season Didi will be a free agent and Tulo will be 35, by far the oldest SS in the majors.
I am going to go with lying since Cashman has proven to be a very intelligent GM in the past.
If Tulo isn’t the solution, it isn’t hard to slide Torres to SS and play LeMahieu at 2B. The “problem being fixed” doesn’t mean it’s Tulo or bust. They have several IF options.
He sure is wording it like Tulo made all the difference.
Agreed. It sure sounded like Tulo was the answer. But there’s no way Cashman would be that reckless. Chicks Dig Longbombs has the right answer.
Yes, agreed. Very curious to see how Tulo looks as a Jays fan. Afterall, we are supporting the overwhelming majority of his salary. Always need to keep an eye on investments!
He only needs to be league avg for a couple months for that considered to be a success. They paid nothing for him. Plus he’ll have 10 bombs by the end of May playing in the Bronx
He won’t make it to the end of May.
He can’t come out and say his owner wouldn’t meet Machado’s demands so of course he’ll say that Tulo is the answer.
Very telling that Cashman blew up the structure of the league by basically alluding to its socialists brand of rewarding bad teams and paying them in all different ways to suck and hurting teams that succeed. Cashman gonna be in trouble with these comments from the league!
Not necessarily. I think the Big Boys have just about had it with the “poorer” teams collecting welfare checks and putting it in their pockets. The other day Nutting (Pittsburgh) said he was spending his extra money in “the International market”. Pure BS. Bonuses are capped now, so the only extra money you can spend there is to toss those poor kids another fajita.
The willingness of owners to begin to shut off a team like Oakland from Revenue Sharing should sound the alarm in those offices that have been getting rich on the efforts of other teams.
The great Revenue Golden Goose isn’t dead, but it’s hurting, and that doesn’t figure to change. The owners might WANT expansion, but may very well threaten compression. Or (more likely) do some serious ownership changes.
At some point the question needs to be raised about agents pulling down $100M+ a year in commissions. For that type of money, agents could at least be doing a better job marketing their players.
I’m from Dallas, and if Altuve and Verlander (without his wife) were to walk into a packed restaurant I’d be surprised if more than 10% of the tables could name who they are. Yet if Harden or JJ Watt walked in, the place would go nuts.
You lost me with the recognition of stars point. How is that on the owners? Those guys are legit stars in baseball. I would also say that they NBA has a much smaller roster so it’s easier to identify a player and for their PR people to build on their brand.
He is right baseball agents should do more with recognition but baseball players get longer guaranteed contracts so once they get the money the don’t care anymore.
Last time I looked JJ Watt played Football..so.
So having the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, and Cubs sign every free agent and draft pick is a better alternative? At least this system has a bit of parity.
Not what he’s saying at all. What he’s saying is that the revenue sharing money should either be spent or stopped. OAK, PIT, TB, etc all receive cash that iS supposed to be spent on improving the team, but the system is so loose that many owners basically pocket the cash and then get bonuses for losing more games.
Your argument would have more merit if big contracts weren’t handed out by Texas (Choo, ARod,) Detroit (Fielder, Upton, Zimmerman) Arizona (Johnson, Greinke) Giants (Bonds, Cueto, Samardzija) Padres (Hosmer, Machado) Marlins (Reyes, Chen) Mariners (Cano, Silva) etc. etc. Yes, the big clubs have signed an overwhelming majority of the big name free agents but to insinuate the rest of baseball is stuck picking up the scraps is extremely misleading. If the Padres (Machado) and The Rangers (ARod) can hand out massive contracts to players they are infatuated with any team can.
If you get rid of all the spending rules, how many of those players would’ve ended up where they did?
Those teams u named above were not signing every available draft pick 2011 and prior.l Go ahead and look. NYY, LAD didn’t even spend that much on the Rule 4 draft, not as much as the KC Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates, 2 small market teams did.. Small market Oakland and Tampa however? They cheaped out back then even and Tampa had *10* top 100 picks from all the old compensation picks, yet paid less than old type (unforced) slot to every one of them and most all those kids were really non, or fringe prospects.
Forcing a draft, salary slotting system didn’t help teams. it just hurt some.. like Boston, Pittsburgh and sometimes KC, who as remember would spend 10-15m annually on the draft. Cheap teams, being Miami, Oakland and Tampa won’t spend and didn’t before. It was made to stop the ones, even small markets to slow down or why stop them from doing it also?
Socialism rewards failure and the unproductive. Why work to succeed when you can live off the hard work and success of others?
Where the power is even more in the hands of the government. Say goodbye in any kind of tax return.
Don’t know about you but I went from a roughly $500 return to a $1000 owe this year.
I think you just described hyper-capitalism, not socialism.
Rays vs Padres would be a nice WS for FG readers.
That wouldn’t be good for anybody
I would thoroughly enjoy that.
That would be the lowest rated WS of all time. They may not even air it on television.
If I watched the entire postseason, and both Tampa and SD were great teams to watch and knocked down some stud teams, I’d be all in for that. Unfortunately, Shield is correct about the ratings. People probably won’t care. It proves the World Series is more than just the game.
Agreed, not saying I wouldn’t enjoy it. I love watching good baseball no matter the team.
But it’s very obvious via past ratings that west coast teams and small market teams get awful ratings. The Giants 3 wins in the last decade are all bottom 5 for example.
Yep. I knew and understood exactly what you were saying.
Teams like the Yankees and Red Sox don’t have to go over the LT to win. But they will remain big spenders compared to most teams. This notion, that some have, that they always have to outbid rivals to win is nonsense. I believe it was smart on the Yankees part not to get Machado at all costs. They have players that will soon require bigger contracts already, and their need for SP will also come soon.
Hows Tulos 1B game? I think they’ll be acquiring a 1B by the deadline. EE is available, but you probably are only trotting him out to 1st for 20 or 30 games. Not ideal.
I highly doubt 1B will be an area the Yankees address at the trade deadline. Even if Voit’s OPS drops 200 points over the course of a full season he will still be a productive hitter
Why would they get EE? If Voit doesnt work, they have Bird (and vice versa). They wont have room for three 1B only players on the 25 man, maybe not even 2
Bird will likely be in AAA at the time.
Then just call him up. Sorry, I dont see a scenario where the Yankees trade for their third 1B only guy.
Because Greg Bird is an AAA player, will never amount to be a serviceable player in the bigs. And if Voit isn’t performing it only makes sense.
And EE can’t play 1B more than part time. He’s been a DH forever. Nor does anyone want him for 25MM per. SEA’s going to be keeping and paying him until June or July at minimum.
Z-A….watching Tulo in 2017 his legs aren’t there range-wise at SS. However, his glove and arm are still legit and his routes to ground balls are on-point. He’d be fine at 1B because he’s a disciplined defender.
Justin Smoak will save more $$$ at the deadline and is better defensively than EE. However, I love EE as a Jays fan.
Cashman loves Bird and he and or his analytics team also liked Voit. He gave them ever reason to confirm they were right. I simply can’t see Cashman would hand over the 1B job to Bird simply because of what he does in ST. All things ARE equal if they both get equal number of at-bats, but still., Voit has the most recent history of success vs mlb pitching. I would have to assume that an injury or a completely horrible (sub .500 OPS) would be the only way that Bird enters the regular season as the starting 1B. I say that as a big fan of Bird who want;s him to succeed as a Yankee but also as a rationalist who feels you should reward the rookie that earned it vs MLB pitching as opposed to the won who’s talent barks but doesn’t quite bite. Send him to AAA unless those two reasons transpire.
One thing in Bird’s favor is he is a lefty bat that can break up the righty’s when he is hitting…
I get it with the lefty but he still has to prove himself. Besides Voit has hit a lot of homers to RF and his ability to hit opposite field with power was one of the things that factored into the valuation made by Cashman;s scouting/advanced analytics team.
If Voit hits like he did last year, handedness goes out the window.
This. I believe a healthy Bird can put up some good numbers, maybe even better than Voit (not better than Voits SSS he put up in his 2018 appearances with NYY, but better than a cooled off and normalized Voit). I agree that a good ST may not be enough. It definitely wont be enough for the a lot of the fan-base. However, I’ve seen weirder things happen. Tbh, i dont think the Yankees FO care much about what the fans have to say about what moves they should make. If they did Harper, Machado, and Corbin would be in pinstripes. For that reason, Im not ruling out that Bird could open the season as the 1B per internal analytics
Cash would be a moron to NOT play Voit considering his 2018 campaign. Unless he’s ridiculously bad or injured in ST then it should be his job and Bird has to rip it from him.
Considering how unsettled LF is I wonder if Cash would consider starting one of Judge or Stanton there and opening up the DH role to sneak Bird’s bat into the lineup should he have a good ST? Frazier might need more time in AAA and Gardner might be best suited as the 4th OF.
+south
I mean, i agree that it would be a dumb move, but again their analytics team has made a bunch of moves i initially disagreed with and ended up realizing they saw something that I didnt.
But i think Frazier and Gardner contesting the LF spots really hampers the possibility that he puts Stanton or Judge there. I dont really see a scenario where Cash doesnt like Gardner and Frazier at LF. I feel like he is just going to pick one or the other there.
Cashman isn’t going to let Gardner get in the way of having a corner/dh/1b combination of Judge, Stanton, Bird and Voit if Bird is killing it in ST and Voit plays well too. Gardner is best suited as a back up. i see the winner of Frazier vs Bird being an integral dynamic to watch.
I’m not saying I agree with teams tanking, but I find it laughable when Cashman and other GM’s/Players with 200 million + payrolls lecture & complain about smaller market teams taking advantage. I understand these are individual businesses, but sometimes it’s the only way these teams can establish a short window to contend. Teams like the Dodgers have complained about the current system yet they often accrue so many players that they can practically field another competitive team with utility players/pitchers. It’s their prerogative to do so and many of these franchises are some of the most successful in sports. It’s just rich for Cashman and others to complain about teams utilizing the current system to their advantage. No one is interested in watching a rebuilding team tank, but how else are teams like Tampa Bay to realistically compete with the Dodgers.
He is not complaining about small market teams taking advantage of the system. He is complaining the system.
As I read his comments he was stating the realities of the current structure. It does penalize teams that spend over the luxury tax tiers. The next CBA will require the MLBPA to align on their position regarding pre-Arb, Arb, and Free agents rules (not to mention non-union MiLB pay). While owners will need to align on the difference between high and low payroll and competitiveness. It will be interesting even before negotiations begin. Also FG is losing their top talent a top talent once again.
In 3/4 years Machado will be traded to the Yankees
Nice throwback picture!
WAAAAY off topic by why do the Yankees love Aaron Hicks so much……would you trade Harper for Hicks ?
Hicks statistically is a top 3 or 4 CF in the game. Just the other day MLB listed him 4th behind trout bel longer and cain.
He’s basically had 1 healthy season…
Harper isn’t a CF so it shouldn’t be either or. If Harper were signed to play the OF it would be as a corner OF with some DH time too.
what’s not to like about Hicks? when healthy he gives you elite CF defense, great OBP, power and he’s a switch hitter without funky splits and he’s done it in NYC.
i just wonder if xabial thinks bryce harper is going to be a yankee?! hmm…….
Love the yankees, and trust in Cashman, but Tulo won’t make it to June 1st. Hope I’m wrong
I am very pissed off that the team brass think the infield problem is “solved” with Troy freaking Tulowitzki. The man will be hurt by May and we dissed the chance to sign a superstar instead.
if Tu… when Tulowitzki goes down they can slide Torres to SS and start DJ at 2nd.
Fortunately he’s only needed until Didi gets back.
bird is a backup. in a Sox fan and voit earned his dues. Batista 2019?
Jeff Sullivan is a great get by the TB Office. A very, very clued up baseball mind who will be a huge asset.
Yeah; he’s finally also going to have access to the internal stats he has always craved. His work with launch angle and hit distribution is pretty innovative; I’m glad for the Rays but sad I won’t get to read his work anymore.
If Tulo starts and performs the first month of the 2019 season, it makes the Blue Jays look really bad.
Still think the Yankees will declare Torres the starting SS and DJ the starting 2B if all are healthy heading to Opening Day.
As for Voit/Bird….some have talked about moving Stanton or Judge to LF to open the door for both guys. I’ve mentioned this before, but if Bird is the starting 1B why not begin having Stanton take ground balls at 1B to learn the position? Is it that out-of-the-question for Stanton to learn how to play 1B eventually? That would be the solution to the Clint Frazier problem (IF Clint is ready).
Really? He didn’t go after Machado because he thinks Tulo is the answer? Did he not go after Harper because he thinks Ellsbury is the answer? How dumb does he think Yankee fans are?
Well Mr Smarts, Cashman didn’t go after either because of obvious signals that neither really fit the current and future team and would have diverted money to already improve on a team that won 100 games last year… brainiac!
Machado wanted to play short, and later this season they should have DiDi back who plays a better short than Machado does. Gleyber if necessary can hold his original position down very nicely until DiDi comes back.
And when DiDi comes back its a game of Dominos pushing him back to third which could have been a real issue with him. Let alone what now to do with Andujar. Teams would never give them value for a guy without a position regardless of how he plays it.
And as far as Harper….his lefty swing would have looked good in Yankee stadium but its a bit crowded in the Yankee outfield already with the 3 studs already playing there.
Who are the three studs already playing there?
Hes a yankee fan… gardner is his stud. Or maybe ellsbury?
I’m pretty sure Machado is playing third for the Padres. I guess the yankee brainiac thinks urias is better than didi… forcing Machado to third and all.
I hope he’s not including Stanton in that trio of studs, because that’s their overpaid DH.
Stanton is the DH because we have Judges in RF not because he can’t hold his own defensively. he’s been a decent RF his entire career and started the uo until the trade to NYC. If Judge is willing to move to LF (as he stated when asked about Harper coming to NY) then maybe he does anyway if Bird and Boit each perform better and they decide to start Frazier in AAA.
These issues usually work themselves out in ST.
Stanton can’t play an expansive LF in Yankee stadium adequately, and their only LH option is Gardner who’s on his last legs.
I doubt Harper can play that LF too
Amazing how when Yankee and Yankee fan lose a player to free agency it is because they “ didn’t fit the current and future team”. I guess the 19 version is the 2nd coming of the 27 Yankees. Hey we did sign a 34 year old Shortstop who should be collecting Medicaid. He will lead us into the promised land. Throw in Bird at first and Didi at short Ellsbury and you have an all time “ IR TEAM”. Headcase at catcher and shaky pitching at best we might as well not even play the season and go ahead and just give it to the Yankees now. “ Cash” is so much smarter than all other GM’s so smart they haven’t won in 10 years. I think the Giants have 3 since then.
Careful you’re venturing on sacred ground here, although you’re mostly right.
FYI Yankees didn’t “lose” a player to FA. That implies they had a former player of theirs leave.
To your point regarding Manny and Harper. Can you really lose in a game you were never really playing? It’s well documented that both players were seeking $300 mil guaranteed. The Yankees reportedly offered something in the $240 range to Manny early in the off- season. They knew he wouldn’t accept it. There’s been no indication they put an offer on the table for Harper. You really, really think the Yankees wouldn’t of put a more competitive offer on the table to beat the one that SD gave him? You really think that? Just because yankee fans wanted one or both it doesn’t mean the Yankees felt a need to do so.
For whatever reason, they felt they didn’t want either bad enough to spend $300 mil. There was no battle lost. Can’t box with the FA Gods son. If compelled, they could easily sustain a payroll, at least short-term, payroll in the $240-270 range.
They also lost Corbin. They couldn’t pony up the big bucks. Cashman is always looking for someone to give him a discount. He’s shopping for Gucci at the Dollar store. Instead, he overpays for players no one else wants… CC, Gardner, Ellsbury, Tanaka, DJ… Who pays $24 mil for a 2B Jose Iglesias? Come on.
there is something to be said about Cash who is constantly held as a genius despite putting together ONE WS champ (he does not get credit for the core 4 and late 90’s teams).
he is most guilty of allowing legit #1 SP to go by the wayside (in order-Scherzer, Sale, and Verlander) and wasting payroll on aging back-ups none of us want to see in October (think happ, cc, gardy, and DJ for a cool 48 mil). Lzate season acquisitions costs prospect capital and bring back players who make no material impact like gray and todd frazier……
He seems to fail to make the one maneuver this team needs to get over the top.
Overall he gets a c+ (the current crop of youngsters are on his watch). Imagine for example what the Ray’s GM could do if he had a 230 mil budget…….
Just a thought. What if the Yankees traded Stanton to Dodgers (they were his first choice since that is his hometown) for Bellinger. Yankees then sign Harper. One big contact for another and a first baseman who can also play outfield. Takes care of too many right handed hitters in lineup and who is playing first base. This is an awesome lineup.
Hicks SH cf
Judge R rf
Harper L lf
Sanchez R c
Bellinger L 1b
Andujar R 3b
Gregorius L ss (when he returns)
Voit R dh
Torres R 2B
Think this is a possibility?. Stanton gets to go home and Harper goes to the team he wants.
dodgers are not trading for stanton….
Why would the Dodgers trade Bellinger and his salary for a mistake the Yankees made for a player that would cost 60X times more a year and who has every chance of becoming a better all around player?
Now I’ve seen it all..lofl Besides Harper will be a Phillie this week, but keep on dreaming.