The Yankees struck early over the weekend, lining up a deal with the Mariners to bring in slugger Edwin Encarnacion. It’ll reportedly cost the club a pitching prospect (Juan Then) and something like $7MM in salary obligations (approximately half of the remainder owed by the M’s this season and on a 2020 option buyout).
(I’d like to crow over the fact that I prognosticated EE as the next player to be traded in a recent chat. Unfortunately, I was also a bit dismissive in discussing the Yankees as a possible suitor.)
It’s hard not to love the potential look of the Yanks’ lineup with Encarnacion added to the mix. He was obliterating opposing pitching to the tune of a .241/.356/.531 slash line and 21 home runs in Seattle. With fellow righty sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on the mend, to say nothing of the players already on the active roster at the moment, the Bronx Bombers could have an otherworldly array of power bats down the stretch.
There’s certainly an argument that the New York organization should see starting pitching as its top priority. And that may well be the case. Adding EE hardly precludes further moves to add arms. The Yankees did take on luxury tax obligations and creep closer to the highest penalty level with this swap. But the deal also could help free the team to utilize young outfielder Clint Frazier in an ensuing move.
The Yanks hold the edge in the AL East at the moment, but it’s a precarious hold. The Rays seem to be here to stay while the Red Sox have steadily moved back into range. Adding Encarnacion provides an immediate boost, protects against further injury issues or setbacks, and creates immense lineup upside. On the other hand, it’s a costly move on an older player who joins a collection of defensively limited sluggers with Luke Voit already ensconced at first base and Judge & Stanton perhaps warranting some DH time when they return.
How do you grade the move? (Poll link for app users.)
This is definitely an F grade. The Yankees are trying to mimic the 1929 yankees team but yet have 0 pitching. They should take a play out of the mets playbook since we actually made it to the world series this decade.
Good to see you’re not bitter at all
Thank you.
Thank God Mets2020, we didn’t try to mimic your team, if any at all
The 1929 Yankees went 88-66 and finished 18 games out of first place. I don’t think the current Yankees are tying to mimic that team.
But the 1927 Yankees said to say hello…
Bingo!
Walls..
lolololol xoxo
Exactly, what a hater….
@Mets2020 shut up little brother
The Mets are the Meg Griffin of baseball
Ha lol
You’re forgetting something – unlike the Mets, the Yankees have the resources to make multiple trades, so this doesn’t preclude them from acquiring the starting pitching help they so desperately need..
Sometime not making a move, is the best move you can make…
You should have told that to Brodie before he got Cano.
Mets 2020, DO you hear yourself, pls stop for saving grace to your team, really, I cannot believe what your posting, save yourself.
You are blind to your own yankee privilege. Please stop.
AND METS2020,
Sometimes the best move is not to post!
C YA
And what a privilege it is, and I am 20 20 on the eye chart, but you might think that is a TV SHOW
Jed Lowrie also sends his regards.
You’re forgetting the greatest IL player on the Mets….Yoenis Cespedes….!
don’t forget Ellsbury drinking Bahama mamas getting paid,
I take offense to this one. No one of Jacoby’s age would drink a Bahama mama. He’s probably more of a Gimlet man.
The Mets absolutely have the means to make moves but their cheap owners choose not too, to the detriment of paying fans. The seats are just as expensive as Yankee Stadium. It’s a joke.
MR,
You’Re forgetting Cashman knows that!! He did that move also so Houston, Rays or Boston wouldn’t get him.
Geeze
Exactly, playing a good game of chess.
The RS & TB were likely out on salary issues alone. Not to mention that the RS already have a DH.
if those other teams really wanted EE they would have gotten him
Our pool of resources, in terms of prospects, has dwindled. But obviously there’s Frazier.
You forget they’re getting Severino back in the near future? He was a Cy Young contender last year. A top three of Severino-Paxton-Tanaka should be good enough at the head of the rotation, and the farm system is more than deep enough to add more pitching to the rotation.
Severino – German – Loaisiga- Montgomery will all be back. Chance Adams gearing up at AAA. They’ll still get another arm. (Probably trade Frazier). But the cupboards hardly bare.
severino is not coming back, they would be foolish to mess around with his rotator cuff
Severino, as always, remains a question mark. We could use one more arm.
This is silly.
They traded nothing and got one of the premier power bats in the game for $3.5M. This doesn’t stop them from adding a pitcher and if anything it makes it easier for them to deal Clint Frazier to get the arm they want.
The only downside to this deal is that he is a slightly awkward fit on the roster. The move essentially forced Stanton to play LF everyday and DJ LeMahieu to 3B. Stanton is certainly capable of playing LF but he’s also injury prone enough that I’d prefer to see him DH half the time. Before this deal, I thought that a Gardner/Urshela platoon (Stanton, DJL and the other infielders as moving pieces in the DH slot) provided enough offensive upside out of the 9 hole and good defense, but this makes the lineup even more scary than it was from an offensive perspective.
If this trade means the Yankee’s are going to split time with Stanton and Encarnacion at the DH position then it’s grade should be downgraded. Certainly the move on paper is a plus, but it complicates the outfield defensively, and makes the Yankee lineup awfully right-handed. Not sure how the playing time will be meted out, lots of juggling is my guess, which may work, but could could also spell issues especially against tough right-handed pitching.
They traded for the AL home run leader and only gave up a pitcher yet to pitch above Rookie Ball.
The Yankees are by far in a better position. They added a guy with 21 home runs and gave up nothing. It’s also insurance in case Judge or Stanton break down. More importantly it allows them to use Frazier as a trade chip as part of a package to acquire a front line starter.
Correct term is group, not package there not things. I don’t know why people keep saying package.
Lol
Probably best to delete this. Not a Yankees fan, but they are #5 in the AL in ERA with a bunch of injuries.
I will not delete. The mets went to the world series. The yankees have not and are jealous of the mets.
Wow…1929 Yankees….where oh where did you dig too get this one from?
@Mets2020 shut up little brother
@mets2020 ballbag, they got the AL home run leader for nothing. And now they can go get pitching using Frazier as a centerpiece trade bait for a solid starting pitcher. Oh, and Severino is coming back. Imagine the Yankees taking anything out of the Mets playbook. The Mets haven’t won a championship in over 30 years. Getting to the World Series but not winning it is as insignificant as your post. Congratulations on being content being a loser.
Uuhhh, that would be the 1927 Yankees.
Perhaps you should just grade this trade on its own merits for now. If you want to give them a bad overall grade with a month and a half left in the trading period that just seems kind of odd to me. Getting or not getting a pitcher should not affect whether or not you believe the Encarnacion trade is a good trade or not. Juan Then is not a prospect that will hold up any trade for a pitcher in the future
This made me lol. Haven’t won a WS in almost 33 years but take a page out of our book… Lol.
I think this version of the Yankees has been built more similar to the 1976-1980 Yankees
In truth, the Yankees have had a long history of window shopping teams. In the 1920s, the Yankees were supplemented with many high caliber players from the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia A’s, especially the pitching staff.
In the 1950s, the Philadelphia A’s were practically the Yankees developmental league. In fact, the New York Yankees – Kansas City A’s operated in a fashion similar to the Syndicate Baseball teams operated in 1898-1899 (Brooklyn Superbas-Baltimore Orioles, St Louis Perfectos-Cleveland Spiders and later Pittsburgh Pirates-Louisville Colonels),
When George Steinbrenner bought the team, the Yankees started buying veteran players via one sided trades. Teams were fearful of the upcoming free agency rules so they preferred to part with their veterans. By 1976, the Yankees became known as “The Best Team Money Could Buy” and has kept up that reputation except when George was suspended and when the Yankees were developing the “Baby Bombers”.
I call it unnecessary
Madbum for Frazier? We could have Ramos, Bishop, and Frazier out there by 2021 and Bart catching. Still need to revamp infield too.
We? The yankees do not care what fans think,
Clearly from a Giants perspective…
Yankee fans were begging for a pitcher. Too bad there were non available June 1st /s
Ok Mets, now I see you are just a kid, I understand…
Frazier is too much for MadBum. Zaidi might be saying they want a big haul but MadBum is not that great nowadays and I don’t think any team will pay a haul for a rental, especially when he’s closer to an average pitcher these days than an ace
Statistically, this fabled decline of Bumgarner just doesn’t really play out. Aside from ERA (up three quarters of a run), everything else is well within standard deviation of his career averages. And factor in that he’s the most dominant postseason pitcher in recent history. Long story short, it will take more than just Frazier to land Bumgarner.
funny you say that, because xFIP and SIERA both see an average-ish pitcher and DRA sees a below average pitcher.
This some kind of attempt to make BS sound better by saying things like standard deviation? That’s nothing but a word you pulled out of your college stats class and regurgitated here. Mad Bum’s hard hit % this year is 46%. A figure that has been trending north since last season. Well above his career 30%. He’s an extreme flyball pitcher, which works in the cavernous stadium he plays in but how will that work in NY or another hitter friendly confine? His FIP/xFIP and SIERA all peg him as a pitcher around a 4 ERA. And statcast has his xWOBA at.333. All of those numbers show decline. Which is why it’s being talked about….
Long story short, if you’re hoping for more than Frazier you’re going to be left hoping all year long because more talent than that isn’t coming for MadBum alone.
MadBum is not the same. He’s no ace anymore. He’s s mid rotation arm in the weak NL pitchers park which makes him what in the AL East? I would not deal Frazier for a pitcher who can walk after the season.
“The weak NL” compared to….?
Forget 2021, Frazier would be the Giants starting left fielder and cleanup hitter today.
Absolutely. In fact, Frazier hit cleanup for the Yankees literally just yesterday.
What’s not to like? Minimal cost both in terms of prospects and dollars, adds one fo the great power bats in the game to an already great lineup, and keeps him away from AL rivals. Yes, he is not a pitcher, but I do believe it’s not July 31 yet so they still have plenty of time for that and this doesn’t preclude them from getting one. It probably makes it more likely they get one actually because now they can dangle Frazier if they want to. This is a no brainer for the Yankees
They gave up very little and it makes their lineup even deeper. E5 will hit 6th. I find it very surprising to see this considered anything other than an A graded deal for them. They will still address pitching, that isn’t relevant to this deal.
This is the start of strategy Cashman is creating. The team look as of today will not be the same team on July 31st. Sit back and enjoy the ride. In Cashman we Yankee fans trust!
They basically gave the Mariners one of their own low-level prospects back for the American League home run leader and got them to eat half the contract. How is that not an A grade? Is there any grade higher than an A we can give?
It’s an A if Encarnacion produces.. If he doesn’t, then they burned a bridge with a young rising star in their organization for nothing and added more of the same player they already have. At that point it would be an F.
It is a C because they need pitching. They had enough hitting.
Dobt judge it in a vacuum. More trades will come, you’ll get your pitching.
Please don’t say your and the Yankees to me. I hate the Yankees.
its not burning a bridge at all. what’s he going to do, refuse to report to AAA?
I think for the right price the prospect would happily forget any grudge associated with being traded…
lol
When Stanton and Judge comes back they are going to need the DH spot open as rest days for those 2 as they are easing their way back from injuries. Did not make sense to me to clog the DH role like that but looks like the Yankees are trying to slug their way to a title which usually never works.
OK let’s see who can come up making the best Line Up..
Boone is in his glory.
Do you guys think just coming back, Judge should still hit #2,
I don’t think he should..
PS I meant to say I don’t because, you know that wonderful expression,
IF IT AIN’T BROKE, DON’T FIX IT
Terrible move. You ruin Frazier’s confidence who has been your best hitter most of the year. Gardy is gone after this year. Andujar is going to get dealt in offseason because defensively he is horrible and DJ has been great. Stanton will be injures on an off the next 5 years. Terrible deal
by Yankees to tie up space on him. Frazier gives them youth and incredible offense. Edwin is another hr or bust player. F
They’ll bring back Brett Garbage because they can’t get away from this guy
Obviously your no Yankee fan calling Gardner garbage plus this is his last season and then left field is open for Frazier and Stanton occasionally covering it next season. Florial is years away and Frazier is our only outfield depth. He cannot he dealt.
Unless I missed an announcement, Gardner isn’t retiring. And if he’s available, they’ll bring him back.
I’m a Yankee fan and I appreciate everything Gardner has contributed over the years, but I have to agree with Louiebeans that they can’t quit him.
+billy
Louie hasnt even watched a game this season so I doubt he understands that he was brought back to be a backup player.
The Yankees will get another another starting pitcher and maybe another bullpen piece. The dealing aint done.
Well.. as a ms fan I’m used to getting raped over the coals
I think they saying is “raked over the coals”, but they would both suck.
not sure what the big deal is here. Unless the prospect turns out to be a stud, this is a decent gamble. The other potential negative which is unlikely is that the additional expense of Edwin negates the ability to add a legit top flight starter (as opposed to the happs and lynns).
That Frazier went down was a given, It just feels like they are looking to keep him down for some reason (defernse? tude?). Think about it, they have given gardy and tauchman first dibs over Frazier all year.
I don’t think I’ve seen anyone on MLBTR mentions this but DiPoto traded Juan Then to the Yankees for Nick Rumbelow. I believe that was last year. The cycle continues.
There has to be a next step here, so I’ll judge this trade once I see what the Yankees do with their surplus. But, in all honesty, I’m going to have to be convinced this was a good idea. I’d have stuck with Frazier
This is a brilliant move by cash. Basically have 6-30 hr bats back to back. Plus 2 good back ups on bench.. not a lot of speed but last time I checked you don’t need to run out homers
Really, folks, I never heard a GM say he was worried because he had too many good players. Ya, EE’s a “clumsy fit”, but I’m sure Boone will figure out something.
There isn’t a MLB team that EE doesn’t make better. That he cost a low-level prospect, and a financial commitment of about 4M, makes it a slam-dunk no brainer.
And ya, Frazier for MadBum is about right. A prospect with some obvious warts for a pitcher with declining performance. I like the guy too, but he’d find the ALEast a bit less friendly than the NLWest.
A good trade benefits each club … this trade may have accomplished that.
Seattle had little use for Edwin Encarnacion as the Mariners aim for the 2021 season. Juan Then is a lottery ticket that may pan out … or not.
The Yankees get immediate help as 2019 contenders.
The return for the Mariners may appear light but Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto almost certainly contacted many clubs before finding this offer to be the most attractive.
Win-win.
How could this be anything but an A+?? They gave up a low level prospect who will more than likely never do much at the Major League level. They got a power bat that will make an immediate impact, scare the hell out of Boston and Tampa, forcing them to make moves, and it cost them chump change, relatively speaking. Win-Win for NYY, stupid for Seattle. Shoulda waited a few more weeks.
The R Sox have a 3 game set with the Twins then a couple of games head to head against the Yanks in England the end of the month. They will have Eovaldi and Wright available the end of the month.
If they can stay within 6 of the Yanks and Rays–they may make a move for Bum or Stroman.
If they go further south–they will keep their two young starters and Dalbec in hand. and go after the 2 nd WC.
With 90 games left a lot can happen.
May make a move for Bum or Stroman….with what….who do they offer….please don’t say Jackie Bradley and a couple of minor leaguers!
And who said Eovaldi will be back by end of June….maybe wishful thinking…except for the playoffs, he was a .500 pitcher! And you’re waiting for Wright the Knuckerballer?
The Red Sox have enough prospects to get Bumgarner. Stroman? No. Bumgarner is not going to be prohibitively expensive.
We couldn’t trade JBJ anyway. We have no backup at almost any position.
IRT Eovaldi, it wasn’t just the playoffs. He also carries a career 1.53 against the NYY. Kind of overpaid, considering his injury history, but having someone that can beat your primary competition cannot be overlooked.
If the RS have Eovaldi back, they’d have no need for Bum or Stroman. I wouldn’t get into a bidding war anyway. I like our A and AA prospects, but we have nothing in AAA, and no payroll to add any type of salary.
Having said that, I’m confident with the team we have.10 of our remaining 14 games with the NYY at home (including London). If we can take 7 of the 10, it’s a virtual tie. OTOH, if we go 5-5 (or worse), then it is probably not our year, and I’d have no problem selling.
How does one “obliterate” opposing pitchers while hitting a paltry .241? Yes, he hits with power. Yes, many don’t put stock in BA anymore (shame on them). When baseball becomes like Bowling where the only highlight is a strike/homerun, the game has lost a lot. Pitching will dominate when the opposing team is bunch of .240 hitters. I miss the Carews, Bostocks, Madlocks, Gwynns, Boggs and Ichiro’s of the world. None of them would make the team today because of their lack of power.
We get it, you love watching singles and hate walks.
I do not believe that you actually believe that the players you mentioned wouldn’t make a team today because of lack of power. There are plenty of players that aren’t power hitters that are excelling in the majors
Lmao exactly. Acting as if Ichiro did not play through the steroid era where guys like Bonds and Sosa juiced there way to all kinds of crazy power numbers
All hits are not created equal. That is why OPS is more important than BA. Take a look at run expectancy. A double is not worth just twice as much as a single in creating runs. It is worth 4 times as much. A HR is even more valuable in terms of creating runs.
Are Yankee fans even considering that Madison Bumgarner is who you want pitching in October against most likely the LA Dodgers? All I read is “rental” “not an ace anymore” “Frazier is too much” etc etc. WTF
MadBum has consistently pitched very well against the LA Dodgers, with a era under 2.00. The Dodgers will more than likely represent the NL in this year’s World Series.
If the Yankees are serious and committed to winning this year’s World Series , you NEED a pitcher that knows the Dodgers and excels in October.
Their is too much upside in trading for Madison Bumgarner if you want a real shot at winning it all this year. My two cents…
I gave it a ‘C’ (disclaimer-I’m a RS fan).
The biggest issue I have is the roster fit, as others have mentioned.
Essentially, the play becomes:
EE-DH
Stanton-LF
Gardner-bench
Instead of
Stanton-DH
Gardner-LF
Frazier-bench
I’ve always liked Gardner, and like defense, but the latter grouping sounds better for a couple of reasons. I think Stanton as DH gives you more flexibility since you can start Stanton in LF and DH Sanchez as the need arises.
There is also the question of Stanton’s health. Calf, biceps, and shoulder issues suggest that maybe Stanton would be better off as a DH.
Unless there are injury issues that I am unaware of, I don’t think this upgrades the NYY that much.
Well said, these reflect my own feelings on it. In a vacuum, trading Then for EE is a good trade but you really have to factor in how it impacts the roster and the team
He wasn’t traded for anyone special. Low A or rookie ball player. Gave it a C frade
Such a weird thread. Sometimes I feel like I’m in Bizzaro world.
It’s not a perfect trade. That would have been filling an obvious lineup need (which the Yankees simply do not have). It creates a bit of a crunch. But it also allows for more rest. If Stanton/Judge/Sanchez needs a day off they can take a day off (vs having to DH). If Boone really wants them in the lineup they give EE the day off. It’s not that complicated folks. This makes the team better and gives them greater flexibility.
On the other hand, the M’s got about what was expected. Some salary relief and a middling lottery ticket. EE was never going to return a great haul given his cost and defensive limitations.
Most importantly, the Yankees still have plenty of options to upgrade the rotation. Losing Then is without consequence. If anything, it increases the probability that Frazier is traded.
I was diagnosed with acute hypertension after being exposed to the sodium content of the comments under this poll.
After taking on Encarnacion’s salary and pushing past the $226 million level in payroll, the Yankees only 1st round pick will now be a 2nd round pick. It moves down 10 slots and those slots do not include the sandwich picks and competitive balance picks. So they will effectively go from somewhere in the high 20s-30 to around pick 49-51. They will also lose the $1 million difference in value of the picks.
On top of that, their luxury tax penalty will go from $4 million to $15 million.
Hope Encarnacion is enough to get them into the WS, because otherwise the long term cost of taking on that extra $3.4 million to their luxury tax number will be a huge price to pay.
This didn’t push them over the tax
None of that is true about their payroll.
I get that EE has over 20 homers, but with Stanton and Judge coming back aren’t homers the least of their concerns? They really needed SP more and they were very interested Keuchel. On top of the $7 million they owe EE through the rest of this season they also have to pay him a $5 mill buyout for next season. That’s $12 mill total. Why not keep Then and spend an extra mill to get Keuchel (who signed for $13 million) instead of EE… or at least do both. It makes no sense for a team like the Yankees to say they would rather have EE and a million dollars over Keuchel and Then. They need pitching more than anything and last I checked trading away prospects for a team that is not known for having a great farm system isn’t the smartest thing ever. Why would a team that needs prospects and pitching but is loaded with cash and poor defensive sluggers basically give up 2 good pitchers (one of which was a prospect) in exchange for another poor defensive slugger and the ability to save $1 million.
My fear, as a RS fan, is that they NYY add more starting pitching. I’m being honest when I say that the Yankee lineup of Gardner in LF and Stanton at DH, is just as good as Stanton in LF and EE at DH, imho.
I gave it a C. I just felt as though it wasn’t necessary. Does it help, certainly, but how much, marginally I would say. I think they wouldve been better off saving the $ and Then, using Maybin and Frazier who are excelling, and getting a pitcher.
Its not a bad move, just not what I wouldve considered necessary.
Wow, MLBTR really loves them some yankee jerk sessions. EE “obliterated” opposing pitching? Really? How would you describe the dozen or so hitters that have been better than him? When you talked about him as a mariner it was very casual… hes having a decent season. Now that hes a yankee…WOW! The lineup is “otherwrldy”… how does it compare to the red Sox from last year? Dodgers? Astros? Are they all “otherworldly”?
This is just absurd, seriously. I have absolutely no reason to prefer the Yankees to any other team. Heck, I grew up being annoyed when their fans invaded Camden Yards.
Encarnacion has been one of the 25 best hitters in baseball to this point. I have described his output in various ways, all sensibly, over the past few weeks. The idea that I’d change how I present it after he was traded to New York is ridiculous.
This is a poll. I was giving the different angles on the move so that readers could consider it and then vote. I also wrote that it was “a costly move on an older player who joins a collection of defensively limited sluggers.” Do I hate the Yankees, then?
+Jeff Todd
Melchez is either a pathetic and bitter fool or a troll. He is a Red Sox fan so by default he goes into conspiracy mode anytime anyone mentions the Yankees. He has accused multiple writers on this site for a bias that doesnt exist. If they simply say that a player has done well, especially if that player is or is going to be on the Yankees, he types up some absolute drivel. For example, he went out to say that there was a bias since one of the writers said that Morales’ was a solid hitter in 2018 while another article said Castellannos wasnt hitting much so far in his 2019 season (in which at the time of this accusation, Castellanos had an OPS+ barely over league average at 101).
I’d simply ignore him. I doubt he will just stop behaving like that.
One of the 25 best hitters in baseball was traded for Juan Then and the Mariners paid half the salary? Really? So, can Florial bring them Mike Trout?.
You have every reason to talk glowingly of the Yankees… look at the responses to Yankee threads… you get hundreds of replies when a Yankee is talked about.
It’s probably a matter of pedantics, but I would not have described him as ‘obliterating’ either. I’m a RS fan, and I wouldn’t call JDM obliterating the baseball either. Anything can happen, but I am no more scared of him than I am of Judge, Sanchez or Torres (assuming baserunning still counts).
IRT ‘otherworldly’, this is not directed at you, but it does seem to used a lot in reference to the NYY. After 2017, they acquired Stanton and were upgraded to ‘unworldly’, and went from 2nd in scoring all the way up to 2nd in scoring.
After 2018, they replaced Robertson & Britton with Ottavino & Britton, and were once again upgraded to ‘otherworldly’, and subsequently went from 3rd in BP ERA all the way up to 4th in ERA, so far. I was particularly irked by that since, as I told several writers, Ottavino, as good as he is (and yes, I wanted him for Boston), was unlikely to be a lot better than Robertson was in 2018.
Alls we need now is an ‘otherworldly’ acquisition for the rotation, and the NYY win the Triple Crown of Otherworldlyness.
I can’t lie. Joebrady just made some good points.
Instead of giving up that prospect to acquire EE (whom Frazier proved wasn’t “needed”) they could have kept Then and acquired Keuchel for the mere price of $1 million. No one can say the Yanks didn’t want Keuchel either. They were the front runner until it was announced he was gonna sign with atl. Why would the Yanks want ANOTHER poor fielding slugger when they have so many and they could’ve had a Cy Young award winning lefty starter that they wanted more than anyone else in the AL?
Good point. If he was “obliterating pitchers” regardless of his .241 batting average, why were no other teams willing to offer more that a low level injury prone relief pitching prospect and $7 million in salary relief? It seems like a batter that obliterates MLB pitchers would get more than a 1 year $7 million contract even if there were draft compensation involved.
Because the trade market considers time of control, age, defensive ability, positional needs, among a ton of other factors.
Why didn’t the Yanks just save the prospect and spend the $ on Keuchel though? Don’t they need SP more? It would save the prospect and only cost them about $1 million extra since EE has a $5 million buyout for next season. That is the only thing I’m wondering. I can’t agree with what anyone else says but I know the Yanks were heavily interested in Keuchel because they were the front-runners to sign him 2 days before he signed with the Braves. The presence of Frazier makes it even more baffling.
I felt the same way about the Stanton trade. Some of the writers fell all over themselves about what a great trade it was. But the fact no one else was overly interested means something.
If you looked only at the 59 HRs in 2017, it looks great. But only if you don’t look at the 31 HRs/year in the previous 6 years, or the average of 121 games. He’s a fine player, but not a lot better than just being a younger version of JDM.
I don’t think Stanton ever even hit 59 HR’s (which makes it worse and bolsters your argument even more). Maybe 49?… or so. I will check. 59 is a lot.
He hit 59HRs in 2017. Did you forget about his MVP season?
Correct me if I am wrong but wouldn’t that make him the only player in MLB history to hit exactly 59 home runs?
Ruth hit 59 HRs in ‘21
People generally overrate acquisitions. I find this particularly true on my side with the RS. For all the crying some fans do about Vazquez & Leon’s bats, even if we made a trade that added 100 points of OPS, assuming a factor of 10% for any position, that increases our overall OPS by 10 points. That in turn would move us from 3rd place in OPS all the up to 3rd place in OPS.
In the Ottavino case, assuming he maintains his 1.74, and assuming he pitches the 69.2 IPs that Robertson had last year, the difference in team ERA is 0.06. The only time you get a material bump is when you replace someone awful with someone great.
Of course, on the press’ side, saying that the NYY improved modestly, doesn’t sell as well as saying ‘the NYY now have the best BP of all time, and one of the best BPs in the American League this year’.
Did you think I didn’t check first? One of the positive things about having a lousy memory is that I am forced to fact-checking prior to posting.
+JoeBrady
I was responding to jasonjennings when he asked if Stanton ever hit 59
or wait maybe you were responding to him too lmao this site can get confusing when it comes to whos responding to who
“or wait maybe you were responding to him too lmao this site can get confusing when it comes to whos responding to who”
I was going to say the same thing. It’s kind of difficult to see who is responding to what.
Sorry. I was wrong. According to Baseball Reference he did hit 59. Man… I thought only Ruth, Maris, Sosa, McGuire and Bonds ever hit more than 58. I get your point though. Complete outlier and will never come close to happening again. Not even within 10.
Giancarlo gets a HR every 13.78 ABs. That is the 5th most of all time. If he can put up more healthy seasons dont be surprised if he hits 50+ in one of those seasons.
The main thing you should look at is how many ABs it takes Stanton to get a HR to judge how good his hitting ability, rather than HR totals of injury shortened seasons. Yes, whether or not a player is injury prone is important to look at, but Stanton is one hell of a hitter and if he was healthier he’d put up more seasons like his 2017 campaign.
At the end of the day it still was a great trade for the Yankees. Just because there might be better players than Stanton doesnt mean that it wasnt a great trade. JDM can exist and the Stanton trade can still be a good one simultaneously. Same precedent goes with the EE trade. The Yankees giving up one prospect in the lower levels of the minors for a good hitter is still a good trade even if there are better players than EE out there and even if no one wanted to trade for EE. The only thing that can make this trade a bad thing is if EE falls off the map completely and Then produces himself into an above average pitcher in the majors.
One way to analyze the trade is to ask yourself if the NYY would’ve been better off trading for Stanton or signing JDM. The NYY will pay $245M (net) for 10 years, to age 37, 3-4 years past prime. The RS will pay $110M/5 to JDM to age 34, about the borderline of post-prime. That effectively means that the NYY are paying an additional $135M/5, or $27M, for mostly post-prime years.
That’s the primary reason I didn’t care for the trade.
In addition, all they did was to upgrade from Gardner to Stanton, essentially replacing a good player with a better player. Gardner’s bWAR/650, since the trade is 3.1. Stanton’s fWAR/650 is 3.8. Certainly better, but hardly a difference maker.
And, lastly, assuming Stanton morphs into a DH about halfway through, is he taking a slot that might better fit Sanchez in 3-4 years?
You do have a point about JDM. I think Stanton is miles ahead of Gardner though, especially now. Gardner has fallen off quite a bit and should only be thought of as a backup OFer.
He is possibly taking away a DH spot from Sanchez but in all honesty I dont see Sanchez’s defense as much of a liability as most might. He has certainty improved from last season (blocking at the plate is better) but even last season’s numbers had him post a positive DRS
I dont know what to grade the trade since I dont know how good Then is. I know he was in the top 30 of the Yankees system but thats about all i know.
I actually have to agree with you. I think a lot of readers (this time proving myself occasionally included) get caught up in MLBTR as a brand and less as a collection of writers with their own opinions. If one person on the site says, “it’s a great cost saving move for the club” while someone else on the site points out that a player is a great hitter, sometimes people get lazy and don’t take the time to pay attention to who wrote it. They think of it all coming from the exact same source. I also think the .241 BA is hard to swallow for some people. It shouldn’t be for Yankees players though. They have the right field porch. Yankees players are routinely asked my management to ignore BA and concentrate on home runs. They did it with Texiera, Granderson, and McCann. I am sure they did it with many others as well. They can afford to do that in that stadium. I actually think Encarnacion’s power will increase with the Yanks.
While I’m not on the side that things batting average is a completely useless stat, I’d much rather look at .SLG, .OPS, .OPS+ to see what kind of impact the player is making. Right now, EE is putting up an OPS+ of 140. He also walks at a good clip, which helps make up for his low BA a bit. These factors make the low BA an easy pill to swallow