Many will categorize 2019 as a failure for the 103-win Yankees. For the most storied franchise in the game, anything less than a World Series victory is sufficient cause for handwringing. Chalk up 2019 as a close-but-no-cigar season – just a few outs here or there and the Yankees could be readying to take on the Nationals instead of watching from home. In a game with only one ultimate winner, however, 2019 goes down as a failed season even if, objectively, the Bronx provided some of the most potent, resilient, and thrilling baseball of the year. Moving forward, they have one of the strongest talent cores in baseball. And yet, in an era that includes a dynastic force like the Astros, savvy, irrepressible units in Oakland and Tampa Bay, and bounce-back potential in Boston, the Yankees owe their due diligence to improving the roster wherever possible. Starting pitching may be New York’s advertised soft spot, but they should target Francisco Lindor first and foremost, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Defense, baserunning, and an opportunity for diversified offense make Lindor a perfect fit on a roster of sluggers (though a player of Lindor’s caliber is a perfect fit on every roster). Let’s check in on what else is being said about the Bombers this morning…
- ESPN’s Buster Olney also targets shortstop as a position of reflection for the Yankees, though he emphasizes settling on a bellcow more than finding a significant upgrade. Didi Gregorius is a free agent likely facing a qualifying offer decision, and Gleyber Torres remains on-hand as the future somewhere up the middle. Given the keys to the car, Olney would also seek more production from the Yankee starting staff and left-handed hitting to balance the right-heavy group of savages already on-hand in the Bronx.
- After not making the World Series for the entirety of the 2010’s, there may in fact be some urgency to New York’s offseason, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Gerrit Cole is the obvious answer, but there are legitimate questions as to whether the Yankees will shell out top dollar for a pitcher for the first time since Masahiro Tanaka prior to 2014. It’s also not entirely clear if Cole, a California native, has any interest in pitching for New York. Brian Cashman hasn’t been willing to move his line when it comes to free agents of late, with Patrick Corbin’s desire for a sixth contract year the most recent example, and it’s hard to argue with New York’s methods considering their recent success. On the other hand, Corbin will be playing in the World Series this week and the Yankees, of course, will not.
“On the other hand, Corbin will be playing in the World Series this week and the Yankees, of course, will not.”
Corbin had a great regular season, but in fairness, him playing in the WS is in large part thanks to his teammates this postseason. The Nationals have 2 losses this postseason, both by Corbin. And in his one win, the offense gave him 7 runs in the first inning.
If the Yankees had Corbin, they’re still not beating the Astros in LCS. Yankees offense failing with RISP cost them the series. And yes that is in large part to the Astros pitching (much like how the Yankees pitching did well against Houston when they had RISP).
It is really hard to say that since the Yankees would have used Corbin very differently. He’s largely been a bullpen pitcher, maybe that has thrown off his groove. He was good in his first postseason start
Cashman is living with his failure to acquire a stud pitcher over the last few seasons. He passed on Verlander, Cole, Corbin & Scherzer when they were traded/free agents. If Verlander goes to NYY instead of HOU, the Yankees might be looking at a 2nd WS in 3 years. He has built nice clubs, but hasn’t put them over the top. He almost has to get Cole or Strasburg this offseason at this point.
But do JV (and Cole for that matter) have the same success in NY as they do in Houston had the Yankees acquired them?
At a minimum, I think they both fare better than Sonny Gray, right? Verlander would have been just as good in NYC. He loves the big stage. Maybe not on Cole, but he’s a huge huge upgrade regardless.
Yeah it’s pretty hard to argue that Gray would have outperformed Verlander or Cole in NY.
Not to mention that the Astros gave up very little to acquire him, PLUS got the Tigers to each a nice chunk of the remaining deal.
Ohhhhhh……..
This is not computer baseball.
The Yankees problem is not trading for – or overpaying for – starting pitching.
The Yankees need to reevaluate how to work with their pitchers, as well as a new pitching coach.
THAT is the problem.
Look at how well Sonny Gray pitched in a bandbox ballpark in 2019.
How come the Yankees bring in guys like JA Happ constantly to start, and they fizzle within a year?
Wake up!
Verlander most definitely would’ve succeeded in NY. He’s an old school finesse pitcher who knows how to play the game.
That’s not the problem.
There’s just so much work you can do with a pitcher. The problem is the pitcher ‘type’ and makeup. Firstly, you can’t bring in a fly ball pitcher. He’ll get shellacked at Yankee Stadium. He’s gotta be a strikeout or ground ball pitcher. Secondly, he’s gotta be able to handle the big stage.
Yankees only have a few options in improving their rotation-
Sign a big ticket FA
Sign short term bounce back starters
Or
Trade for a starter or two (what you get Is what you are willing to give up).
@fljay73
Yankees only need #1 ace types. No others need apply. From Paxton, Severino, German, Tanaka, Happ and Montgomery the Yanks would have 6 other candidates to fill out the 2-5 slots. Unless Cash can get both Cole and Strasburg then I say just acquire 1 and chizzle out the starting 5 from the group of 7..
I wonder if the Yanks could move either Tanaka or Happ. They might want to hold on to Tanaka. Happ only has 1 guaranteed year left but his 2021 option could be triggered if he has a halfway decent year. He would be tough to move unless for another bad contract.
Kubler would be a nice addition. Say Kubler and Santana for German, Frazier, and Heller
Not a chance moving Happ, Montgomery takes his place next year with Happ a spot starter when needed.
You tried this trade in another thread and it did not make sense then.
Deal Happ to Toronto for Randal Grichuk. Jays would be stupid not to make that deal, allow Happ to start and mentor the young guys and get rid of Grichuk’s salary. Happ would be a simple stopgap.
Why would the Yanks want another outfielder much less one that can’t get on base?
everyone forgets Montgomery. he’s very similar to Andy. I’m really worried on German, all reports are pretty negative. I hope Abreu and Gil continue to improve. I expect Cash to do another trade opposed to signing anything. I dont see Cole coming in. Wheeler might be just another mid road. it’s possible they will target Robbie Ray again
Going to need, IMO to start doing something about the rotation other than Paxton and Severino. Tanaka can be counted on to anchor the rear, as can Happ, but both were counted on for a lot more than that in 2019 with that super BP doing the rest.
Think it was all about saving total cash outlay from future players they have coming up arbitration eligible, tho giving Happ 50m might have done better going towards trying to extend Paxton some, who walks after next season and is their best starter, sometimes injured or not.
Is it really Cashman though? Or is it Hal Steinbrenner?
Would Cashman really forgo signing Corbin if Hal had allowed the financial commitment? Would Cashman have really passed on trading for Verlander if Hal allowed that financial commitment?
I can buy Cashman being too tight fisted to trade for Cole, but then again, the Cole he was trading for is not anywhere near the Cole that’s pitching for the Astro’s. Hindsight is great and yes, the Yankees absolutely should have traded Andujar to Pittsburgh for Cole, but at the time it was seriously debatable and few people said the Yankees were dumb not to deal either Torres or Andujar at the time.
My concern is that Hal Steinbrenner (not Cashman) will squash the finanicial investment necessary to sign Cole…or even Strasburg.
I honestly don’t think it’s Cashman. Cashman has been with the Yankees and making decisions since 1998 and had no problem spending money at all so I doubt Cashman is suddenly the one turning into a relative miser when it comes to big name free agents or trade targets.
If Hal is the one telling Cashman he can’t spend, Yankee fans should be asking for his head. The Yankees will have made $650M in revenue in 2018 and will have likely surpassed $700M in revenue in 2019. There is no actual justification for a team making that much money to not want to spend a measly 10% tax for going over the luxury tax threshold.
You’d think a team making that much money on it’s own, without the owners involvement, would be able to say screw it and splurge to be the best.
The Astros have the best pitcher development program in baseball right now, and it’s not even close. Sonny Gray could have been a different story if he had gone to the Astros as well.
The Yankees need to snipe some talent from the Astros development team or get some spy reports.
Uh, they don’t though. They’re great with analytics, but they haven’t done anything to deserve the praise of having the best pitching development program in baseball until they prove their home grown pitching talent is actually worth something. I think the Rays are ahead of them, and the A’s are similarly just really good at the analytics and working to their strengths, acquiring guys and teaching them how to not just throw a ball but how to pitch and keep hitters off balance.
The Astros success has come through savvy trades and suggesting small but very impactful changes to the pitchers they acquire. As far as homegrown pitching talent goes, McCullers has been their biggest win so far in my opinion. Keuchel had that good year in 2015, but they didn’t go far into the postseason and Keuchel hasn’t replicated that success since. He was a solid pitcher, no doubt, but he was hardly some modern marvel the Astros developed. Urquidy is interesting, but he screams small sample size alert. Whitley has all the tools to be good, but there are issues with his attitude and work ethic that he’ll have to fight with and overcome if he ever hopes to be a fixture in that Astros lineup.
Otherwise, the Astros haven’t done a lot to develop their own pitching. Verlander, Cole, Greinke, Morton. All of those guys were the main fixtures of their championship teams, and they were acquired after they were mostly developed. They saw the stuff was there, they suggested the changes and the players themselves listened and both sides reaped the benefits.
Washington only is their because they are lucky Corbin is the worst pitcher in nationals rotation is overrated Sonny pitch a lot better 11-7 2.86 era, Milwaukee deserve more to be in the world series
John Smoltz is that you?
The Astros won in spite of not hitting with runners in scoring position. The Yankees relied too much on their bullpen who were overused. I can’t see going into an elimination game without a starting pitcher. The Yanks also struck out way too much, especially with runners on base. Ultimately pitching to Altuve with an open base and a weak hitting Marisnick on deck was a horrible non-move by Boone.
“and it’s hard to argue with New York’s methods considering their recent success.”
You started the article with failure.
yankees fans (eye roll).
Yanks post season vs top pitching showed that many of these “boppers” (Encarnación, Sanchez, Stanton) K too often and can’t even put the ball in play. Trade them for starting pitchers ! Catcher defense is a liability.
Get Lindor, need speed & defense plus a huge bat! platoon Urschela & Miguel at 3rd. DJ always starting somewhere as is Judge & Gleyber. Luke has to be on the roster all season.
Gotta think changes & backups b/c no reason to believe 2020 will be @ even 80% health rate.
You can’t trade Stanton or Encarnacion…..laughable ..Yank fans think everybody belongs in NY(Lindor..no, Cole..no). Cashman did not set up this team to win the WS, he built them to get in playoffs , and did that well, but the dominant starting pitching that shuts teams down wasn’t there.
I agree! Which is why I thought it was foolish to not go after stroman. Maybe he wouldn’t have made a difference but he could only have helped.
Stroman wasn’t the answer and his tendency towards pouting and finger pointing after not getting traded to the Yankees and going to the Mets showed how insecure and childish he really is……and from a performance standpoint, he was mediocre both before and after the trade.
Agreed, Rocky. Stroman’s talent is not only overrated, but his childishness is too frequently ignored. Stroman is a me-first guy – no thanks.
Could he swing a bat well? If not, then no, he would not have helped.
@Butch779988
Can we please attribute the idea of Lindor coming to NY to the media looking for clicks and not a reasonable expectation from Yankee fans? I think Cashman wouldn’t think allocating prospect resources for Lindor when he can just resign Didi makes sense. Not sure why ppl are dumping on Didi so quickly when it’s likely he just had a lot of rust coming off the TJ surgery.
Wake up – u can trade Encarnación – he is old now
@yankeemanuno23
You can’t trade him unless you pick up his option. They’ll just pay his buyout and let him walk. He’s not needed now. He was brought in when Stanton, Judge and Voit were all on the IL.. Judge may hve just returned. Not exactly sure but certainly Stanton and Voit.
You’re making all Yankees fans look stupid, and this is the biggest complaint people have about us. Stanton is impossible to trade due to his massively prohibitive contract, so unless the Yankees pay his ENTIRE contract, they’re not getting anything for him, not even a B-level prospect. At that point, if they’re going to pay him anyway, I’d rather they pay him to NOT play for them than to play for someone else.
Encarnacion has a buyout of $5MM. He’s as good as gone, there’s no way Cashman will be allowed to pay a glorified DH $20MM next year, not when there are clearly other needs.
If anyone is traded, it should be Andujar, packaged with a prospect not named Deivi Garcia, for a starter.
Andujar should stay and he has no value now.
Andujar won’t be traded right away he’ll have to come back from surgery and prove he is healthy, only then can NY explore trade possibi.ities
Unless you want to trade the Martian and Deivi Garcia (I would not) you’re going to have to give up some other high end assets. Andujar is still a high end asset. So is Frazier potentially. So is Sanchez.
The Yankees have a lot of flame throwing arms not named Garcia in their minors. I would look to package some combination (not all) of Andujar, Frazier (probably have to be routed to another team), Florial, whatever they can get for Sanchez, their hard throwing prospects Medina, Gil, etc. for Lindor, resign Romine (add another catcher via FA more seasoned than Higashioka like Jason Castro, Robinson Chirinos or Russell Martin). Then go after Cole.
Cleveland will not trade Lindor for just prospects as they plan to contend in 2020. They also will not trade Lindor for that very underwhelming package from a bottom half farm system in MLB>
With all the boppers in the lineup, trade Sanchez and give the starting job to Mike Zunino. His defense and ability to work with pitchers would add stability. And you will get some power. Sanchez is a defensive liability and we all know he can’t hit in crunch time.
Can someone clarify what this means?
“Brace yourself for lots of opinions on how to “fix” this hapless group of lemons in New York…”
Seems like a totally unnecessary and snide comment from the author. I mean if this were a political article, then I supposed the subjective and personalized jib would be ok, but it just seems totally unnecessary and this is probably the 2nd or 3rd times I’ve seen comments like this in recent weeks.
And it is true, many of us expected the Yankees to steamroll right over the Astros and anyone else with their prodigious offense. The Yankees made a couple mistakes, like any team did and would too, but make no mistake, I witnessed the Astros play some of the best of baseball I’ve seen in probably two decades. The Yankees got beat by losing to good baseball. Hardly a qualification of the so called “lemons” you describe. If you can’t be objective, don’t write blog articles, sir..
“many of us expected the Yankees to steamroll right over the Astros and anyone else with their prodigious offense.”
What? The Astros were heavily favored, rightfully so, and this series showed why, despite the Yankees maybe being a hit or 2 away from changing the entire series.
Yeah I don’t think anyone expected the Yankees to steamroll the Astros. The Twins? Absolutely.
who expected them to steamroll the Astros with that pitching???
I’m with you. Astros do everything really well. Defense, base running, and SP are all incredible. Their one downfall is the bullpen and theirs was better in this series. Ottavino looked like he was throwing meatballs.
You expected the Yankees to steamroll an Astros team that has Verlander and Cole pitching four of the seven games in a playoff series?
Outside of my Yankee fan friends, and the Yankee homers on TV, I don’t know anyone who expected the Yankees to be the Astros this year
@baseball365
Also, and I’ll offer the disclaimer that I won’t make any excuses for the loss, but not having Severino coming off of his rehab and not having German at all absolutely has to be factored into what went wrong. If they had a 3rd starter they could count on then there likely would’ve been less of a need to go with a opener in Game 6.
I wonder if Montgomery will play a factor in our rotation in 2020? I count six SP to fill out the 2-5 slots.
oh please. The Yankees did well given their circumstances. how many teams have won a world series with even half that many injures over the course of the year? id imagine probably none.
The Yankees had most of their team healthy for this series. They just couldn’t get it done. And it’s been that way for a long time now in the Bronx:
The Yankees have played 10 seasons without a trip to the World Series. Next season is year 20 and $4 billion spent on payroll to win 1 championship. Brian Cashman has to be the most overrated executive in the history of sports.
Wrong, Severiano could barely last long and Stanton and Hicks barely played.
Plus Betances
@The Yankees had most of their team healthy for this series.
Not using them as an excuse but they didn’t have Andujar nor Betances for the year and Stanton, Hicks, Severino, Voit, EE, Tauchman and Urshela were either still on the IL or had just come off of the IL in late-August/September. Some were obviously not 100%. I’m sure Houston may have guys with little nagging injuries too but not quiet guys off the IL.
Come on man. Stanton had been a bust so far. Tauchman would of never played without injuries this year anyway.
Only person the Yankees truly missed was Betances.
We got beat. That’s all that’s to it.
@Yankeepride88
Did you miss the first line where I said “Not using them as an excuse”.
My reply was to the guy who said they were all healthy. They clearly weren’t. And YOU might consider 38 hrs, 100 rbi and a near 4.3 WAR for a mostly DH a bust then so be it. That’s your opinion.
Fun fact…you know, those things you can look up. Small sample size aside, Stanton has a career OPS of 1.217 in 12 PA. Who knows what could’ve happened if he had 200 ABs under his belt coming off the DL??
But again, no excuses. But I was just replying to the guy who said the Yanks were all healthy.
Oh – gotta get more discipline on mental
Side of hitting : Tons of swings and misses to off speed low and away & taking fastballs down the pike = was the downfall of Yankee hitting, and a disaster with RISP.
Got so tired of seeing it on TV, plus you could anticipate it. live & learn guys !!
I’m a huge fan of Lindor. In fact, if i were to start a team, he would be my first pick as a position player. But it is gonna take a king’s ransom to get him from Cleveland. I’m not talking about players like Frazier as the headliner(s).
“In fact, if i were to start a team, he would be my first pick as a position player”
Over Trout??
Yessir. Trout is absolutely the best player in baseball, but Lindor plays a more vital position with GG defense, is a 5 tool player and 3 years younger. Plus, i can’t remember anyone who loves playing the game more than Lindor.
Lol are you saying Trout isn’t a five tool player at a premire defensive position who loves baseball?
Lindor wouldn’t even be in my top five to start a team.
Mike Trout is not a 5-tool player. He’s the best player in the game but he has a below average arm for a CF. He’s a 4-tool player.
Can you read? I said Lindor is a 5 tool player in a short list of why i’d want him. Plus, SS is and always will be a more vital position to fill than CF AND i said i can’t remember anyone who loves playing more.
You are merely looking to argue just to get your troll jollies.
Okay. I didn’t give my opinion on who i thought you’d start a team with.
There are more quality SS than CF nowadays. Passing up on Trout for Lindor is pretty dumb, m8
Calling me dumb because i prefer one player over another is childish, dude.
With two years on his contract left, I’d imagine it would be steep, but doable.
Yanks would need to include Garcia, Andujar, Frazier, and anyone else in their minors not named Dominguez.
Forget Lindor! Cleveland not trading him for anything less then a huge ransom and for two years of his service is it worth sacrificing that much?
Sign Didi to a 3-4 year contract. Sign Cole. Stick with the team and cross your fingers because the playoffs is a crap shoot.
We could use another high contact bat somewhere in that lineup but they don’t exist!
If NYY can pay the Cincinnati piper in cash and prospects, a Votto could be yours I would bet.
Votto won’t waive his no trade to any team, even his hometown Jays
@neo
The Yankees problem isn’t at 1B and Votto is clearly on the decline and owed too much money.
No Votto but maybe Kubler and Santana for Voit, German,and Heller
Santana is better than Voit. Kluber is a better option than German simply because Kluber won’t be suspended for part of 2020.
@keysox @hockeyjohn
Santana is slightly better than Voit but he’s also much older and more expensive. Why pay $35 mil for Santana when Voit is under control for 5 more seasons and was having a very good before the injury?
And in what world is 2019 Kluber better than German? Kluber had a significant arm related injury that led to a 5.00 + ERA and he hasn’t pitched since April. Then coupled with the cost of his two options at $35 mil total and it makes no sense..
I don’t think Kluber and Santana are going to give you enough of an upgrade over German and Santana to warrant the salary cost difference,
Just the idea of the Yanks trading Voit and German for two big name vets reels of something the Yanks would do in 86 not 2019. Bad idea.
And I don’t think German is going to miss much, if any, time next season. I think the police declined to charge him with anything.
German is not a need for the Indians as they have a strength of starting pitching. I am not willing to trade for a player that likely will be suspended for some amount of time and does not fill a need for the Indians Also Santana had a much better year in all areas than Voit and is a leader in the Indians locker room. So I repeat, This offer does not make the Indians better so no deal.
German alone is best player in that deal. Yes he’s a creep and deserved to be suspended but talent alone he’s the best player by far so Cleveland would be lucky to make that deal.
Billy, Cleveland does not need starting pitching, They need hitting and Santana is the best hitter in the deal. Please look at the needs of both teams before commenting. Any trade that the Indians make will be to improve their hitting. Also, German with his issues, is not a type of player that the Indians would trade for.
Cole has no desire to be a Yankee. He showed the world he doesn’t want to be here when he refused to sign out of high school, he isn’t coming here. Get over it.
Cleveland isn’t going to trade Lindor(or any other of their best players) to the Yankees. That’s ridiculous.
and cash won’t pay the price. Ya know cause he’s smarter than everyone else.
Are you being sarcastic? Do you realize what the cost for someone like Lindor would be? Might as well ship Judge over
This was an article back in 2009 on Cole not signing with the Yankees and instead going to UCLA…
“But Cole doesn’t regret that decision. Actually quite the opposite and something that Alex Rodriguez said during the conference is what really made him feel like he made the right choice in choosing UCLA over the fast track to the Bronx.
“He said the one thing he regrets most is being so young and going into Major League Baseball,” Cole said. “He said he wished he would have gone to college and grown up.”
Cole is an 18-year-old who can throw a fast ball up to 97-MPH and has a plus slider and a changeup that put his ceiling as high as anyone in the Yankees system right now.
But the maturation process of college is something that he feels he couldn’t get pitching professionally at 18. And ultimately, three years in college shouldn’t be what keeps him from fulfilling his potential as a pitcher.
“Time and time again, you hear kids trying to impress teams and wanting teams to like them,” Cole said. “They do everything in their power, like the draft is the end, the highest honor you can get. It’s really only the beginning of the road.”
So if you want to blame anyone blame Alex Rodriguez LOL.
But just to be clear. You have no proof what Cole does or doesn’t want. He grew up a Yankees fan. His family is from Syracuse NY. The notion that him just wanting to go to college equating to him not wanting to be a Yankee is a bit absurd and presumptious.
Cole went to high school a couple of miles from Angels stadium. His family has had the same front row season tickets to Angels games for 22 years. His own Astros teammates think he will end up with the Angels. They won’t even have to be the high offer, but just be close and they get him.
@AllRiseForTheJudge
Since he himself stated he was a Yankee fan I doubt that was the reason. What he did say publicly at the time was that he wanted to have the college experience. His family has money too so he wasn’t pressed.
Doesn’t mean he’ll sign with the Yanks but I don’t think he has any hate or ill feelings towards the Yanks.
“Many will categorize 2019 as a failure for the 103-win Yankees.” What are you talking about? The talk around baseball is how the Yankees managed to do so well with so many injuries. If you told anyone before the season that the Yankees would have so many injuries and this pitching rotation and made it to game 6 of the ALCS against the most loaded team in baseball they would take that.
I think he is referring to the younger vocal Yankees fans. There are a large group of fans that grew up in the 90’s and early 2000’s that were used to George Steinbrenner and his all in spending and trading and you could say they were spoiled by that. They grew up in a time when the Yankees were THE big fish and everyone else was behind them in terms of payroll and they were almost always the AL favorite for the World Series. They are still a top spending team but times changed and there isn’t that gap between them and other teams like before so the players have more options for where to go. Not all of them but a large part of that group still thinks that every top player is a future Yankee when that isn’t the reality anymore.
@indiansfan44
People need to stop associating the mid 90s-2009 Yanks with George. His way of building the roster is in direct opposition of how those championship teams were built. He had little to do with baseball operations during that period.
Just about any kid in High School now can’t remember the Yankees winning a title. They’ve under-achieved for a long time now. When you’ve spent billions of dollars on payroll to not win a WS, “it was a fun ride” just isn’t good enough.
Under achieved for a long time? You are clueless and bias my friend. Since 2011 they were on a downward rebuild spiral even if they refused to do so with high prices vets! They had high salaries but were never the most talented.
They rebuilt quicker then anyone could imagine and the last two years before this season they were underdogs at best and over achieved. This year there was only one team better then them and that team beat them in the ALCS. Next year if they sign Cole which I think is a long shot they will finally be favored in the AL!
Question: What’s better, winning the WS one year and not making the playoffs the next or making the playoffs both years but not winning the WS in either year?
Winning of course and it’s a silly question. The playoffs are a crap shot and more times then bit the best team doesn’t always win.
Yankee standards and expectations are different. Making it to October is not the goal. With their resources, being competitive should be more routine than not, and in fact history has proven that out.
However, winning through October is a different beast of burden. The Yankees don’t need to overhaul anything. They just need a more sensible strategy of building from the front end to the back end and not vice versa.
real quality SP, and batters who make contact over a pen and homer or bust bats. That philosophy alone explains the the gap between the Stros (the gold standard) and the perennial bridesmaids (Cashman’s Yankees).
This is fact and this is the number 1 change that needs to made ASAP.
@fitsiqis65
I don’t think this team is homer or bust. If one took the time to look at the team;s actual numbers they’ll see the difference. Part of that has to do with Stanton being out most of the year.
Team Bat avg went from.249 to .267
Team OBP went from .329 to .339
DJ and Urshela are two examples of guys who are more contact oriented.
The team still struck out 22.7% in 2018 (12th highest) and 23% in 2019 but the trend didn’t really effect them as they struck out less than the rest of the league. They ranked 19th over all in 2019.
I just think it was a case of choking and facing more dominant SP like Verlander and Cole. Yanks can usually knock most starters out the game by the 6th inning. Not so much vs the Astros.
Ok- if its choking and I revise my criticism of who Cashman acquires to read,-They need to build the team starting with Front-line SP and Hitters with cohones who don’t just tee off on bad Baltimore pitching, would that amendment work?
I’m not sure i agree with what you suggest but given that it gets you finally a step closer to the root of the yankee problem right now i’ll run with it.
However, my general point is not really up for debate. Cashman, the anointed greatest GM genius out there completely erred in building this team. He is the one who has turned down the price in $$$ or talent for the ace and he is the one who doubled down and built this we can win with the bullpen and homer mentality. It is on him…..
read what Randy miller posted on nj.com about his mistakes. Even Lupica and Sherman are comparing him to the knicks of the 80’s/90’s. That is not good.
@Hitters with cohones who don’t just tee off on bad Baltimore pitching,
How does one find cohones on a scouting sheet? The problem is that we are all judging things after the fact. Both DJ and Torres missed RBI ooportunties that could’ve won the two games we were tied.
Here’s my point. GMS GO AFTER PLAYERS THAT INDICATE THEY SHOULD DO WELL.
Both the Astros and Yanks saw their best hitters fail to hit in the post-season. DJ and Torres came up lame a couple of time too. A lot of these players played below their norm. Not the Gms fault.
I think that with a full up to speed Severino and German being availlable the Yanks were good enough to beat the Astros. They choked. Players have to their jobs and when they fail it shouldn’t be on the GM. Paxton, Tanaka and Severino pitched relatively well. Tanaka had a a 2.45 vs Astros. Paxton had a 2.16 and Severino had a 4.15. I wonder what Severino could’ve done if he had another 10 starts headed into post-season or had German for a couple of starts. This series wasn’t a blowout where the Astros proved they were in another atmosphere vs the Yanks.
The Rays played HOU tougher than the Yankees did. I find that troubling.
your living in an illusion if you are comparing the philosophical constructs of the 2 teams. In the 2 games the yank sp went more than 5 IP they won. If the 4 they didn’t they lost. I count the BP game b/c they chose not to start their terrible 4th SP.
Stop with German. He is not an ace or difference maker and would not have mattered. He would not even make the rotation on a championship team. You’re not being impartial about the Yankees staff one bit and are buying the hype.
If the anointed genius acquires the players and the players fail- he has done a poor job finding the right players. There is a reason DJ succeeds and Encarcnacion doesn’t. BUT ITS HIS JOB. its what he is supposedly paid to do. He has failed.
@Bernie’s Dander
Not really true. Both series had a run differential of +1
Astros 19 to Rays 18
Astros 22 to Yanks 21
Aside from Game 1 where the Yanks won 7-0 and game 4 where the Astros won 8-3 the rest of the 3 games were decided by a avg difference of 2 runs or with Houston scoring14 and the Yanks 10 Aside from the blowout 10-3 the Rays won the differential in the other games were Houston scoring 16 to the Rays 8. I think the Yanks played the Astros tougher.
@fitsiqis65
“Stop with German. He is not an ace or difference maker and would not have mattered. He would not even make the rotation on a championship team.”
Wow…by no means is anyone anointing him as a #1 ace but you are CLEARLY biased. I love how stats matter, unless you’re talking about the Yanks.
German did 3 things that I look for in a SP.
-Fewer hits than IP
-More Ks than IP
-Allowed less than 3 walks per 9
The glaring weakness was giving up too many homers. But he did somehow manage to excel at YS with a 2.16 ERA at home (8-1) yet a horrible ERA on the road 10-3 with a 5.45 ERA.
But he has a lot of potential. He could be a #3 on a lot of teams and at least a #4 or #5 on every team.
I don’t think that’s homerism to say he can be a good #3. I don’t know why your so biased? What’s their to gain from that? No one should say he’s a stud off of his win total but to say he couldn’t be a #5 on the Astros or Nats is a joke.
And as for EE he had as good of a season with the Yanks as he did with the Jays. He had .888 OPS before the trade and a .856 with the Yanks. How is Cash going to know he would disappear in the playoffs?
By your logic, players have no responsibilities to how they perform and the GM has a magic crystal ball that forecasts the future.
The yanks will buy themselves into the playoffs like they’ve done for over 20 years.
What team are you a fan of?
i’d place a cheeky fiver that he is a Dodgers fan
Cash… I think the time has come.. trade Sanchez trade bird.. trade Andujar and frazier. I know I’m crazy.. but we won this year by slugging our way to wins. Sign Cole and wheeler. Gio can play 3rd and get a catcher that can actually catch. Ala Joe Girardi type. So we have the ability to bounce strike 3 every now and then. But please.. if I see Bird and Sanchez and Frazier this spring. It’s gonna be a long year and another missed World Series
Yes, trade Bird for Lindor and the Yankees are on the way.
@Fg-3
Bird is not even a factor for 2020. He will be in AAA some where. And why trade Andujar and Frazier now? Their value is low and neither had anything to do with the team under-performing in the playoffs
Cashman is Hal Steinbrenner’s puppet. All the Yankees have to do is spend 200 million a year to make Yankee fans happy then they pocket the rest. They’ll be outbid on Cole.
The Yankees don’t need any more freaking position players. They need to balance out their roster with better pitching. The stooges who write these articles know this, but pander to the non-thinking Yankee fans. I hope they do get Lindor. It’ll guarantee they don’t get to another WS anytime soon, which is good for the game.
Why would getting Lindor mean they won’t get to another WS? Because they won’t spend the money on a SP for example? Just want to know your rational for that statement.
Adding Lindor won’t get them past the Astros or Rays. They currently have a championship caliber hitting lineup with barely average pitching rotation. Common sense tells me adding an ace to their rotation should be the priority if they want to win a WS. I hope they don’t… can’t stand the Yankers.
No
If Betances is healthy and if Severino came back a week or 2 earlier yankees win imo.
No team on the planet would have beaten Cole at home in Game 7.
Every dog has its day
The Yankees shouldn’t have to settle for dogs considering they make more money off their team than any other team in the sport (and honestly just about any sports franchise on the planet) is the problem.
If the goal is to win 100+ games a year and make the playoffs, the Yankees have it working just fine.
Thats fine dude, I was just saying that its not a 100% guarantee that Gerrit Cole beats any team on the. I mean, it might be like 95% chance he does, but thats besides the point i was making.
Contrary opinion from a Yankees fan: Yes, it was a bummer they lost to Houston, but I had a terrific time this season watching young talent continue to emerge and the team constantly (and successfully) scramble to fill in holes with overachieving subs. Pitching is a problem, but if money can’t solve it, then they will have to try to duplicate the Paxton move, and that could certainly mean overpaying in prospect talent, and they no longer have a top-tier farm system.
The Yankees didn’t really overpay for Paxton though.
Justus Sheffield was always projected as a middle of the rotation starter and he’s struggled with the Mariners. Erik SWanson is a 26 year old reliever that also struggled with the M’s allowing 17 home runs in just 58 innings. The other prospect (Dom Thompson-Willaims) was just pure filler.
If they can manage another Paxton then by all means.
I’m not sure Sherman is being realistic with what he thinks it will take to land Lindor. Dominguez is 16 year’s old. Garcia, right now, is fringy top-100, and Andujar is a DH coming off of surgery.
And he has Cole’s minimum bid as $250M/8, and doesn’t appear alarmed at $300M. This is Cole’s first great season. And he’s had two excellent seasons, and good seasons. The certainly makes him a #1, but I wouldn’t call him elite. For that type of money, to age 37, he seems very risky.
Dominguez is also being called the latin “Mike Trout” is regarded as the best international amateur free agent in a long, long time (some scouts have said he’s the best looking international prospect they’ve ever seen, and these are guys that saw Tatis Jr, Vlad Jr and Acuna Jr). So if you are going to use the “age argument” how about also mention the other things that I just did? There is A LOT of value in a player like this or the Yankees and every other team wouldn’t have been lining up willing to give him essentially their entire international FA spending money.
Deivi Garcia is ranked as no. 25 by Baseball Prospectus mid season rankings, no.29 on Keith Law’s mid-season ESPN list, no. 62 in MLB pipeline, no. 39 by Sporting News, no.45 by BR, So not sure about that whole “fringe top 100” prospect statement.
Andujar is also just 24 years old, was a hitting machine and who should have won ROY depending on who you ask.
If you take a look at what the Red Sox traded for a 27 year old Chris Sale (then arguably one of the top starting pitchers in baseball in his prime) it’s actually a very similar package. Moncada was Dominguez like. Kopech was the Sox top hard throwing SP prospect. Luis Basabe wasn’t near what Andujar was.
And then the Cubs gave up a bigger package for an arguably worse pitcher, so it’s hard to tell what fair packages mean nowadays when teams value players differently.
Andujar is coming off a major injury and is horrible defensive player. He is likely a DH which limits his value and Cleveland’s interest in him since they have a DH. Garcia’s size is a concern. Some fear that his size will likely send him to the bullpen. Dominguez is 16 years old and years away from the MLB. Cleveland won 93 games this season and has the starting pitching to contend in 2020. Again, how does a likely DH coming off a major injury, a possible relief pitcher, and a 16 year old make the Indians better in 2020? Please take off your Yankee glasses and see things from the other team’s eyes. For a trade to happen, BOTH teams needs need to be met. This does not meet the Indians needs. Chicago was rebuilding so Boston’s offer met their needs. Cleveland is not looking to rebuild. That makes a difference.
Fair enough, but I don’t think you can compare Moncada to Dominguez. This article is dated from 2011, but these were the 10 largest bonuses ever given out:
1. Michael Ynoa $4.25 million
2. Miguel Sano $3.15 million
3. Gary Sanchez $3 million
4. Adonys Cardona $2.8 million
T-5. Luis Heredia $2.6 million
T-5. Ariel Ovando $2.6 million
7. Rafael Rodriguez $2.55 million
8. Yorman Rodriguez $2.5 million
9. Wily Mo Pena $2.44 million
10. Joel Guzman
That’s not a who’s who of MLB stars. Sano & Sanchez have done okay, but the other 10 are relatively unknown. Moncada was the #2 prospect in the country, while Dominguez doesn’t have an AB yet.
“Dominguez is also being called the latin “Mike Trout” is regarded as the best international amateur free agent in a long, long time (some scouts have said he’s the best looking international prospect they’ve ever seen, and these are guys that saw Tatis Jr, Vlad Jr and Acuna Jr).”
You do realize that those same scouts missed on both Tatis Jr. and Acuna Jr. as international prospects, right? Tatis Jr. signed for under $1 mil, and Acuna Jr. signed for a whopping $100,000 – both in the old system. Neither player was regarded as anything close to a top international prospect at the time.
@JoeBrady
I’m not asserting that Garcia can be the main piece on a Lindor trade (which is more of a media pabrication than something the Yanks are considering) but Garcia isn’t a “fringy” top 100 guy. Forget about your personal feelings about what he will be as I’m not arguing that. Fringy is someone ranked in the bottom of a top 100 (80-100). If I remember correctly he’s already appeared on mid-season rankings somewhere in the top 60 for his debut.
When will sportswriters accept that a decade is not years 0-9, but 1-10. Just as this millennium started in 2001, not 2000.
Are you saying the year 1980 took place in the decade of the 70’s?
Yes, unless you want to start counting from zero as the start. It’s not not a novel concept. Most sports fans(not above average IQ)and many sportswriters are less likely to embace basic math, when was the last time you went to a birthday party for a 9 year old, but celebrated as the kid’s 10th birthday? Year 1 AD is not year 0. So, the end of a decade actually has a different number in the tens place then the previous 9 numbers. It’s not complicated, unless you struggle with critical thinking.
Even with Houston’s vaunted pitching the Yankees actually pitched better overall and it took great defensive plays by HOuston to even get thru the Yankees and on to the World Series. Yankees issue was that Boone kept making mistake after mistake the Yankees won so many games during the regular season using the Mantra Next Man UP so what happened in the Playoffs and against Houston, Boone went away from the Mantra he didn’t utilize Maybin, & Romine when Gardner was scuffling, Sanchez was whiffing and making defensive miscues whom couldnt even bat with a damn guitar. They kept Stanton on the roster when they should have ended his season and therefore they could have put Voit whom could have spelled Edwin Encarnacion that looked very much his age in this series.
Another mistake Boone did was opening up with Green when Houston had already seen him number of times and then he didn’t bring the infield in down 3-2 in the 6th inning with Kanle pitching these were the reasons the Yankees didn’t win and why would you pitch to Altuve with Jake the next batter and two outs? They held a pretty good Houston team and aside from altuve & brantley that lineup didn’t produce and was out-pitched by the Yankees overall.
Boone was outmanaged by Cora last year and by Hinch this year. Any of us could win 100 games with that Yankees roster. Boone still doesn’t know what he’s doing as manager.
@Bernie’s Dander
So any manager can win 100 games with their ace on the IL for most of the season and his starting CF (Hicks), RF (Judge), #B (Andujar), 8th inning set up uy (Betances), $325 mil DH/OF (Stanton) on the IL for most or all of the year and his starting C and 1B on the IL for weeks at a time?
Give Boone credit. He did a much better job during the regular season and most of his moves worked out, during the post-season. How did Hench out maneuver him? By starting Verlander, Cole and Greinke and waiting for his regulars to hit homers to win games in the 9th or extra innings??
You are right, Bully, Boone has a pretty good regular season. But he was out managed in the playoffs. Boone did some dumb things like not playing his infield in at the right times. He also shouldn’t have started Green in Game 6 and his lineups were pretty awful throughout the series.
Look, I know that most Yankees fans are delusional and think we can just “get” anyone because they’re the Yankees and blah blah blah, so let me inject some common sense into this thread from the perspective of a Yankees fan.
On the subject of Cole: He’s shown since high school that he has no desire to be a Yankee. He wouldn’t sign when they drafted him and decided he was better off languishing in Pittsburgh on low-dollar contracts and arbitration, and is hitting FA for the first time. He’s going to command $20MM-$25MM annually for probably 7-8 years, and he has no desire to leave the Left Coast now that he’s pitching in warm weather and having arguably his best year. Cole is either staying in Houston or going to a California team – the Dodgers or Angels are where my money’s at, unless the Padres swoop and offer him the most money.
If Cole is only looking at dollars and the Yankees offer him the most money, I still don’t think he’d want to be here and I don’t want a guy who doesn’t want to play here and disappears when it’s cold.
On the subject of Lindor: look, I get that it’s the definition of “not going to happen”, but he’s in line to nearly double his money through arbitration this winter. Short of signing him to a long-term extension, I don’t see Cleveland being able to afford him beyond 2020. They’re not a big-market team, they missed the playoffs this year and their run of success is very much at its end with Minnesota challenging them and teams like Tampa on the rise. Lindor has more value now to kick off a rebuild than he will at the deadline in 2021 if the Indians aren’t competing for the division. I could see them moving Lindor for the right package of prospects, but I also don’t see the Yankees having those prospects. We’re not getting Lindor even if he is traded.
On the subject of starting pitching: I would much rather Strasburg AND roll the dice on Bumgarner who, despite freak injuries and a couple of down years, is still a massive upgrade over the now-retired CC and pitching in meaningful games for a World Series contender might reinvigorate him. Short of signing BOTH of those guys, I’d take my chances with Bumgarner and package Andujar with a prospect (Florial while he still has *some* upside?) or two for a #2-quality starter who can easily slot in as a #3 for the Yankees. A rotation of a healthy Severino, Tanaka, (insert trade acquisition here), and Bumgarner gives the Yankees a better 1-4 on paper than any other team in baseball. I do think the Yankees need to acquire two starters via some means this winter because I expect German to be suspended all of next year and Hal and Cash would be stupid not to prepare for life without him.
What I’d really like to see, more than signing Cole for the sake of making a big splash knowing he has no desire to be here and would only be here for the money, is to sign Bumgarner and Strasburg, or one of the two and trade for a pitcher while seriously pursuing Anthony Rendon to take over at 3B. His bat and defense are an instant upgrade over anyone who would start there next year, and that would justify letting Didi leave and slotting Torres in at SS while DJ starts at 2B. I’d also like them to move on from Betances and find a bullpen piece to replace him, he’s not worth the $8MM-$10MM a year he’ll want.
Cole is going to command a lot more than $20-$25 million annually.
35-37
The Rays don’t play in Tampa.
lol Thats what you take from that?
Lmaoo. Cole has actually grew up a Yankees fan and he had no say in where he was traded. Cole is making far more than 25 million and he’s 99% signing with either the Yankees or Phillies. Both will outbid the cheap Angels and offer better teams. Even with Cole the Angels are behind Houston and Oakland.
Angels: Cole, Ohtani, Heaney, Canning Baria?
Astros: Verlander, Greinke, McCullers, Urquidy, Whitley?
A’s: Montas, Luzardo, Manaea, Puk, Fiers?
Everyone knows the A’s and Astros know how to get the best out of their pitching. Do the Angels? And will the Angels invest in a defense minded catcher to help those young pitchers through the season? We’ll have to see.
@AllRiseForTheJudge
Can we please stop the narrative that Cole has a problem with the Yankees???
He was the clear shot top 5 prospect the year the Yanks took him #1 with the 28th pick. The Yanks weren’t geniuses and the only team that saw his talent. He fell into their laps at #28 and the Yanks, knowing that he was a long shot to sign WITH ANYONE, thought enough of him to draft him anyway. Everyone knew he would be a difficult sign coming out of HS that’s why he was there at #28. He said he wanted to experience college life and when he was ready to come out he went wherever he was drafted. If the Yanks had the #1 overall and drafted him our of college I doubt he wouldn’t sign.
bleacherreport.com/articles/127260-cole-defends-re…
““Time and time again, you hear kids trying to impress teams and wanting teams to like them,” Cole said. “They do everything in their power, like the draft is the end, the highest honor you can get. It’s really only the beginning of the road.”
Cole seems like one kid who really understands what they are going through. If he’s going to pitch in the big leagues, he feels he can do that regardless of whether he goes to school or not and going to school, he feels, will only make him a better person.”
Cole and Boras made it clear he was going to college regardless who drafted him but Cashman, knowing how hard it was to get prospects like Cole because they seldom drafted in the top 10 took a chance using their 28th overall. So let’s stop this silly narrative that the same kid who went to NY to watch the Yanks play the Dbacks with pics showing him holding a sign saying “Yankee fan, today. tomorrow forever” suddenly at age 18 had this hate towards the Yanks. That narrative isn’t true. Doesn’t mean he will sign with the Yanks but their is no indication that he has any grudge against us.
Cleveland’s window is open now. The Twins lack pitching and loses Pineda, Gibson, and Odorizzi to free agency. Who pitches for them other than Berrios?
Cleveland has Bieber, Clevinger, Civale, Plesac all that had success in 2019 and add Kluber and Carrasco back into the mix. A Lindor trade now must address their 2020 team and the future or they will just keep him for 2020. A package of prospects is not what they would be looking for. They would be looking for a trade like their deadline trade of Trevor Bauer where they received Reyes and Puig for the current season with Reyes and 3 prospects for the future. Yankee fans like to peddle Andujar, Frazier, and Sanchez. None of those pieces meet the needs of the Indians who value defense. All three of those players will eventually be DHs. Cleveland, like the Yankees, do not need DHs. The Yankees are not a match with the Indians in a possible Lindor trade.
Since the Yankees aren’t interested in trading for pitchers to help them beat Houston or Boston they may as well go after Lindor. Fills a void, under contract, better (and younger) than Didi. Great fit, great idea, Yankees have the pieces to get it done.
Or how about we keep our farm and get starting pitching not a SS we don’t need?
@WereAllJustGuestsHere
Traded for Grey, traded for Paxton and traded for Happ and Britton..but let’s not let facts interfere. Continue.
Sorry, meant to say Starting Pitchers. Nonetheless you have made my point; Astros acquired a future Hall of Famer (Verlander), a Hall of Very Good (Greinke) and a former 1st overall pick with ace stuff (Cole).
Yankees settle for #3s with a chance to be #2s. Houston’s all about winning, the Yankees are all about hoping to win. Big difference kid. Yankees have become the team of settling with the exception of their stellar bullpen Boone continues to run into the ground. I don’t blame him since his starting pitching is inferior.
At one point or another the yanks had s chance to acquire Verlander, Cole. Scherzer and Corbin …but ultimately passed on each
Now they will all be pitching in the world series
@robluca21
Passed on a player and not giving the team what they want in a trade isn’t the same thing. And let’s all agree that neither Verlander now Cole were the same when they were traded to when they became Astros. I think that’s a point many miss.
We can argue that Cashman should’ve traded for Verlander but what was being asked for? Was is Judge, Severino, Sanchez? I’m sure it was some combination of whoever the top 5 were at the time. Judge, Andujar and Torres were all among our top prospects and Verlander was a 34 yo with a ERA in the 3.80s at the time with an ERA well in the 4’s in March-June.
And Cole had 3 consecutive years of a rising ERA/FIP with both being in the 4’s the season he was traded.
One can argue that the Yanks should’ve moved heaven and earth to get either but neither were giving indication they were anywhere near what they turned out to be once they went to Houston. I honestly believe that there’s a secret sauce Houston posses that the Yanks don’t have. Maybe Cashman did see it but thought it made sense to pay for what they were at the time and not what they could be. However, Corbin and Scherzer were FA and you can blame Cash or Hal for not getting either. But I think context is needed to know what the nature of those trades they passed on.
If the Tigers wanted Judge and Severino for a then 34 yo Verlander who had a 4.73 ERA in the first half (prior to trade deadline) and a 4.00 + ERA away from Comerica Park then maybe that trade sounded crazy at the time. It’s too easy to look back now. Is it realistic to know that a 34 yo would suddenly post a 2.45 ERA after being traded at age 34???
Verlander was a salary dump for DET. They didn’t even get top prospects back from HOU.
@Bernie’s Dander
Trade was made in 2017. In 2016 Daz Cameron was a top 75 prospect on 3 different lists in 2016. In 2017 and 2018 Franklin Perez was top 100 on 3 different lists with BA having him at #35 and #54. Rogers has never been a top 100 prospect but he did happen to be coming off of a break out season in his 2nd year. Besides, what they ask for from different teams vary and a top 100 list doesn’t dictate whether your a good prospect or not. Robinson Cano, Mo Rivera, Jorge Posada and Pettite were not on any top 100 lists either. But you’re wrong. They may not have turned into anything but they were considered prospects. Not elite but not scrubs either.
Bully, bottom line is that the Yankees could have matched/beat that Astros package for Verlander if they chose to. The Yankees had a deep system at that time and could have had him for about the same or less than Sonny Gray cost them. If the Yankees HAD made that trade, they might be working on a 2nd title in 3 years rather than a 10 year WS drought.
whoa- south beach and the genius cash’s mind just blown….
Verlander had a full no-trade contract with the Tigers. He was not going to waive it at all, until the Astros GM, Manager, and coaches proved to him he would fit in well with the rest of the players, and the WS was within grasp. He finally gave in with a minute left in the deadline, but every other team that had approached the Tigers and Verlander had been told no.
Gerrit Cole did not have such a clause, and neither did Zack Greinke, they just accepted their trades.
Mistake #1 Playing Brett Gardner in the Post Season
Mistake # 2 Signing CC
Mistake # 3 Signing Happ
Mistake #4 Not signing Corbin PERIOD! or any other FA SP.
Mistake #5 Not trading for SP at the trade deadline.
Mistake #6 Running the same thing out here and expecting different results.
Mistake for me 0. Do you know why. I have not watched one Yankees game all season. I refuse to watch Brett Gardner day in and day out and I refuse to watch him in the playoffs. I already knew they’d be out by the second round of the playoffs. One happy Yankee fan
take your meds m8. when are you buying your Mets season tickets, btw?
The F do I need meds for? Every ting I said was going to happen happened. Actually I thouigh Gardner was gonna bat .155 I was wrong what was it .133?
Recent success of not making the world series for a decade or of constantly being almost good enough.
I think you can point to Corbin as representative of a refusal appreciate the difficulty of being the very best and refusing to put the required cherry on top.
Cole is going to sign with a national league team. Giants/Dodgers.
It’s not Cashman that’s unwilling to move his line, it’s him having to work with the payroll that Hal gives him.
It feels like they’re on the opposite end of the spectrum when George was alive George would trade every prospect while these Yankees seem unwilling to part with them for the big upgrades. I would tend to believe that prospects are more highly prized because of their control and low cost compared to FAs but the Yankees haven’t found the right balance of supplementing their big league squad with reinforcements by trading prospects.
@InvalidUserID
Let’s delve into what you said. George would’ve trade away prospects for upgrades. What he actually did was trade away top prospects for the likes of over the hill vets. Yanks were horrible from 1982-1994. If George was around we may not have a Judge, Torres, Sanchez, etc. I don’t know why ppl keep talking about the Glory days of ole George. The late 70s and early, early 80s and that’s it. He wasn’t charachterized on Seinfeld because he was a smart owner.
And I disagree about Cashman and his trades. He traded for Didi, Hicks, Voit, Happ, Chapman (Reds), Grey (A’s), Stanton, Paxton, Britton, Green and others and thus far hasn’t traded a single prospect that he likely regrets. Of those traded Nick Solak might be the only one that looks like a mlb keeper.
Where he has had trouble was trading for Grey and resigning Happ but I don’t blame him for their regression. Both were sound acquisitions and there’s nothing about the 2018 to indicate Happ would have a brain fart of a 2019 season.
I’m not defending Cash but a lot of the moves he made were sound decisions that just turned out the wrong way. Some say they should’ve gone after Morton instead but why? Because of the end result? That’s Monday morning Qbing.
It seems as if Cashman makes pretty good decisions about position players but but doesn’t seem to have the same success when it comes to pitchers….is it possible that teams like Houston just have better evaluative methods and people who understand how best to put them to work for the Houston Astros than the Yankees and most of not all the league…..Verlander, Cole, and now Greinke….all players who were acquired when their performance was deemed too be slipping or lacking and presto, once Astros they became super human….
it cashman’s damn job. he has more resources at his disposal than anyone else.
why do you two guys plus begamin not get it?
No matter what you say, no what matter what stat you provide. his team has lost again. He passed on those guys…. It was his judgement… he didn’t want to trade…. he didn’t want to pay….yada yada yada. its irrelevant
It’s him, he is responsible again. Cashman. its his damn job.
@rocky7
I would say there’s something special about what Houston has done. Yanks need to look at it too. That doesn’t mean they are to blame for Grey and Happ tho. It’s hard to tell. But I absolutely believe that Cole benefited from having Verlander on the roster. I compare it to when LBJ went to Miami. He was any better of a performer but mentally something changed playing with Happ and under the aura of Riley and how he ran his teams in practice.
The Yanks have a long history of good pitchers coming to NY and under-performing and then blossoming elsewhere. Going way back to Randy Johnson and Javier Vazques. How much of it is NY or the Stadium is debatable. Different pitching coaches as well.
It’s not Cashman that’s unwilling to move his line, it’s him having to work with the payroll that Hal gives him.
———————————————-
If that’s the issue, then Cashman’s signing of Ellsbury and the Stanton trade and the $50M BP become part of the problem.
@JoeBrady
And I don’t think anyone will fight you if you think the Stanton trade or Ellsbury signings were poor choices that Cashman (or Hal or Levine) made. I heard he was pressed by Levine to sign Ells and I knew that was a bad move the moment the ink dried. Why have two over 30 OF’s who;s game is speed dependent? And Ells had shown an inability to stay healthy year to year too, If his decision then Cash should take the blame for those moves.
I disagree that Stanton’s a bust right now. If not hit in the fact in 2016 h likely would’ve had 3 consecutive years of 150 games +. I also am not one who feels 2018 was a bust either. Hitting 38 hrs and not 50 isn’t a major problem. If he can stay healthy I still think he can have a few 35-45 homer seasons. His Ks are what they are. It’s who he’s always been. I also don’t see splurging on the BP as a problem. Had he passed on Corbin and just put the money back in Hal’s pocket then yes. But he used that money to sign Happ, DJ, Britton and Ottavino. 3 out of 4 had great seasons. Happ regressed.
Why have two over 30 OF’s who;s game is speed dependent?
—————————————————–
LOL! I thought the exact same thing.. They already had their own Ellsbury. Stanton is not bust, but the issue I have with him is that he was always a DH in waiting. And that was going to be Sanchez’ position.
And this goes back to the Ellsbury comparison, they already had Gardner to play LF. Stanton is better, but not so much better that they needed to incur a $250M liability to his age 37-38 season. Even discarding the injuries, Gardner’s WAR/650 is higher than Stanton’s over the past two years.
Pretty sure Yankees don’t care about going over the luxury threshold but the money is going to low budget teams and Hal is tired of seeing his team’s revenue going to the Rays and Pirates.
Lol, so he’s willing to let his team not be as good because the Rays and Pirates will get $3M each? That’s a really dumb justification to not make sure your team has everything it needs to win a world series title.
Let Didi and Encarnacion and Brett Gardner go.
(Did not see them producing in the playoffs offensively)
Use money to extend Lindor
Go for it Yankees!
RHSP Mike Cevlinger and SS Francisco Lindor to the NYY
Sign Lindor to an 6 year extension
Andujar, Frazier Deivi Garcia, Montgomery, Florial and some other minor league prospects to the Indians.
to the Indians.
Pick up a few more clutch WS utility players/hitters…
Start printing WS tickets for 2020.
I love how you guys still view Frazier as having a lot of value. The Indians already gave him up once, too. What makes you think they want him back?
That package won’t get Lindor let alone Lindor and Clevinger. The Yankee farm system is a bottom half system. Remember the Indians are a contender as well. Why would they trade Clevinger and Lindor for prospects and two DH’s. You really over value the Yankee system.
@hockeyjohn
A) Not advocating for a Lindor trade. Yanks don’t need him and a poor use of prospect recources
B) I agree that the Indians could likely get higher rated individual prospects elsewhere.
C) Please don’t use farm system ranks decide whether a team has prospects or not. Yanks have a ton of prospects they are all mostly in the lower parts of the system and just about every evaluator has said the same thing. Ton of talent but most are 2 or 3 years away.
Yanks have guys like Canaan Smith that look every bit legit but he’;s not ranked inside their top 10 despite having a great season yet a kid like Dominguez who’s 16 is located as high as #1 or#2 in their system and I think he’s appeared on some mid-season top 100 lists too. In general, I’m against such dramatic ranking for guys under the age of 18 and recently drafted prospects who haven’t played yet. Obvious exceptions can be made for some of the top 5-10 in the 1st round but in general I like production over potential.
You Yankee fans are so delusional its funny. You guys think its a privilege for other teams to make deals with you and you can just buy whatever you want. There is ZERO chance the Indians trade Lindor to the yankees. Your farm system is trash no one wants Frazier or damaged goods in Andujar. The Indians would probably tradr Kluber though but the price would be steep.
@Indiansfan13
No offense at all. Your crazy if you think Kluber’s trade value is anywhere near what it was in 2018. He had a 5.00+ ERA and hasn’t pitched since April. He isn’t exactly cheap either considering his health. I love how you call Andujar “damaged goods” but don’t see Kluber as the same.
It’s entirely reasonable that Andujar’s trade value has lowerd due to his injury. He has to show he;s healed and can be the same hitter when he returns. AND I’M NOT SUGGESTING HE CAN BE A CENTERPIECE TO A TRADE ANYWAY. The same apples for Kluber. Why would anyone pay a “steep price” for a pitcher who’s going to be 34 in April coming off a signifigant arm injury that hasn’t pitched since April and had poor results prior to going on the DL??
Kluber injury was freak accident. He got hit with a line drive and broke a bone. Freak accident just like madbums injury. He didnt do any kind of ligament damages that would cause long term damage to his arm. Just a broken bone. Andujar tore his labrum which is a major injury with potential long term effects. Plus the 5 ERA YOU are talking about is common for kluber early in tje season he always starts slow and gets on a roll in May to early june. He had a ERA over 4 in 2017 though april the year he won his second cy young.
The goal isn’t to win 100 games it’s to win the world series so yes this season was a failure for the Yankees.
@fitsiqis65
“Stop with German. He is not an ace or difference maker and would not have mattered. He would not even make the rotation on a championship team.”
Wow…by no means is anyone anointing him as a #1 ace but you are CLEARLY biased. I love how stats matter, unless you’re talking about the Yanks.
German did 3 things that I look for in a SP.
-Fewer hits than IP
-More Ks than IP
-Allowed less than 3 walks per 9
The glaring weakness was giving up too many homers. But he did somehow manage to excel at YS with a 2.16 ERA at home (8-1) yet a horrible ERA on the road 10-3 with a 5.45 ERA.
But he has a lot of potential. He could be a #3 on a lot of teams and at least a #4 or #5 on every team.
I don’t think that’s homerism to say he can be a good #3. I don’t know why your so biased? What’s their to gain from that? No one should say he’s a stud off of his win total but to say he couldn’t be a #5 on the Astros or Nats is a joke.
And as for EE he had as good of a season with the Yanks as he did with the Jays. He had .888 OPS before the trade and a .856 with the Yanks. How is Cash going to know he would disappear in the playoffs?
By your logic, players have no responsibilities to how they perform and the GM has a magic crystal ball that forecasts the future.
IMO based off of what they did in 2018 and the roles they were expected to play in 2018 resigning Happ, CC and Gardner all made sense. How does a GM in need of pitching with the ability absorb mistake NOT sign C with a 3.45 ERA in 150 IP as a 5th starter or NOT bring back Happ who has a proven track record of success in the AL East and had a 3.65 ERA in 2018 including a 7-0 record with a 2.69 in 11 starts when we acquired him? It’s easy to say what shoulda/coulda after the fact.
As a long time Yankee fan for the last 63 years, if Cashman and the Steinbrenners don’t know by now that the road to any Championship, goes through your Starting Pitching, they have no business owning a team like the Yankees. They have passed on so much talent just in the past 3 years, its hard to understand how I could know this, yet they seem to ignore it. The worst example is passing on Verlander in 2017. And their reasoning was that at 34 they considered him too old to sign. But what did they do this past year? They signed Happ who was already 36 and not half the pitcher at this stage that Verlander is. They also passed on the likes of Garrett Cole, Dallas Keuckle, Cole Hamels, Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin and others stating that they had many prospects” that they were cultivating and would ride it out by going with a strong bullpen. This is a team that is valued at $4.8B so its not like they don’t have the money to sign top shelf starting pitching. Keep in mind that Verlander in 2017 helped the Astros win the World Series and once again they are favored to win it in 2019. So I can’t really feel sorry for these idiots who think they can rest on a farm system that is simply comprised of “Prospects”. A Prospect is nothing more than potential and nothing you can bank on. Look at Gary Sanchez. He was supposed to be the next Babe Ruth but plays like Ruth Bader Ginsberg. He has proven to be nothing more than a “maybe” and after seeing him play over the past couple of seasons, I don’t see this guy as being anything close to a super star. He swings at bad pitches. He never will hit for average because it’s either a Home Run or a Strikeout. He’s a lazy catcher with poor defensive skills. He’s a slow and poor base runner. He’s injury prone. So I think people have seen enough at this point and maybe its time to move on to looking for another more capable catcher, maybe of the caliber of a Realmuto. Then there’s Greg Bird who just can’t stay healthy and is taking a spot on their roster of someone who could play everyday. Sometimes you have to know when to pull the plug. The bottom line is that this Free Agent Market will include some great starting pitchers like Garret Cole, Stephen Strasberg, Madison Bumgarner, Zack Wheeler, just to name a few. The biggest problem I see in the short term is what do you do with contract players like Stanton. What were they thinking taking on such a large monetary long term contract like that? For that kind of money, they could have had 2 front line starters. We miss you GEORGE!
Can you imagine where the Yankees would be today if they had signed Scherzer
and then traded for Verlander in 2017?!
FYI Yankees Ownership: Don’t Whine to us about the luxury tax penalties
(a 3-4 M per or even 5 -10M to go over the penalty multiple times
is pocket change for a franchise worth 5-6B that grosses over 700M per year?!
You don’t think you could have made that up from profits from a couple of WS Titles?!
Suck it up billionaires.
Your penny pinching is getting old.
Yankees are starting to sound like the Mets/Wilpons lite….
The budget cash gets should be plenty to win a World Series. But when you spend 18 mil for happ and 8 for cc and still have 23 in els plus a GDP on the pen cause you still don’t know how to assemble a staff……
Knew that CC was a bad investment after last year.
Great guy, great player, but too many injuries..His time had passed.
Was not too impressed with Happ either.
Giancarlo?!
If something is “on sale”, it is not wise or prudent to “buy it:
if your garage/team is already loaded with Outfielders.
Then, you have no money to spent on top of the rotation starters?!
Pass the Whine and Cheese Cash!!!
No excuses for NYY.
They have been playing this tired old tune for years.
Penny pinching on the rotation.
Lindor yet this isn’t under the Indians? Ok…
Yankees > Everything else… It was kind of funny how when the Astros were up 3-1 on the Yankees, most articles were about the Yankees. “Down but not out!” “How Yankees can still win ALCS!” “What’s wrong with the Yankees?!”
Despite Gerrit Cole growing up in SoCal, I remember him stating many years ago that the Yankees were his favorite team growing up. Interestingly, the Yanks drafted him out of HS but he turned them down to go to UCLA. It paid off as far as signing bonus goes, BUT, his disappointment about ending up with the Pirates was evident throughout most of his time in the Pirate organization. The Yankees may not offer the highest bid; and they may be 3,000 miles from his “hometown,” but I’d imagine he at least somewhat has his eye on “righting” that situation. I would peg the Yanks as the favorite to sign Cole for this reason.
The Yankees have a chance, but they are not the favorites. In the Astros last series at Anaheim vs the Angels, the Astros field reporter interviewed Cole’s family at the game. Were they sitting on the Astros side with tickets Gerrit left for them? No, they were by the Angels dugout in front row box seats. The same seats the Cole family has had season tickets to for 22 years. His family lives near the Angels stadium. Cole’s wife’s entire family lives nearby. In an interview this year, Cole expressed what a great feeling it was to drive by Anaheim stadium and seeing the large A out front. These are compelling reasons to favor the Angels. But now add, that Cole and his wife own an active California Vineyard where their signature “Cole 45” red is bottled. Gerrit is also a master chef and in the off-season, he has numerous dinner parties with he and his wife’s several hundred friends and family. Gerrit is the chef, and Cole 45 wine is served. This in their Southern California mansion.
He and his wife both commented that one of the best things about leaving Pittsburgh and moving to Houston, was that with the Astros in the AL Western Division, they could make numerous trips to California.throughout the season.
The Yankees have a chance, but will have to outbid the Angels and/or the Dodgers. The Angels have freed up a sizable chunk of salaries to easily afford Cole, want him, and have asked new manager Joe Maddon to assist with this.
As an Astros fan, I want him back in the NL, or at worst for the Yankees to get him. Adding Cole, and getting Ohtani’s 103 mph FB back, could take the AL west away from Houston.
But I don’t think the Yankees will get this Southern California beach boy.
If I’m Cleveland, I’m requiring a Kong’s ransom for Lindor. Plus, I’m not punting 2020-2021, so I expect major league pieces in return.
The obvious starting point is a Lindor-Torres swap. Before Yankees fans get all upset, Fangraphs did have them ranked back-to-back in their trade value series. That being said, I doubt New York would do it. Maybe make it weird: Lindor/Kluber for Torres/Paxton maybe?
The Yankees and Indians don’t really match up well.
The Yankees should instead have their eyes on Trevor Story. Another (cheaper) star at SS that is controlled for the next 2 seasons.
Nobody knows WTF the Rockies are doing. Trading Story opens up a sport as SS for their top prospect Brandon Rodgers which opens up 2B for either Garret Hampson or Ryan McMahon.
Maybe Story for Sanchez makes some sense given the Rockies black hole at catcher.
If the Yankees don’t want to give up Sánchez, we’d be talking serious prospects. Like Dominguez,Garcia, and Frazier. Alternatively, if the Yankees don’t want to give up that much, they could always eat $15M left on Wade Davis deal. Story should command a lot as several teams should be looking into him, especially the Cubs,Reds,Brewers…etc
That being said. The Yankees have quite the logjam.
If the Rockies are willing to trade Story, I would love to trade him for Sanchez. But i would be interested in Story and Gray. Maybe Sanchez and Frazier? I am sold that Sanchez will never get it, he is lazy. He doesn’t seem to prepare, he doesn’t seem to adjust, always tries to hit a HR instead of driving the ball. In short, I’m done with Sanchez and his passed balls.
Keep Romine at C and get another serviceable C. Maybe trade for McCann or save prospects and sign Yasmani.
Infield would be:
1B DJ
2B Gleyber
SS Story
3B Urshela
C Romine/Grandal
Outfield would be:
LF Stanton
CF Hicks
RF Judge
DH Andujar
Please stop pretending that Frazier is a top trade chip at this point. He’s not. He looks to be a league average player and hardly someone that would get a major return for the Yankees. The fact that every Yankees fan is so eager to include him in every deal tells me all I need to know here.
I agree. He has less value with his poor defense and questionable attitude. He is a likely DH which really limits his value.
uhmmmm….That’s why I said, “Maybe Frazier”. Leaves room for replacing Frazier with another prospect. Maybe Andujar?
Andujar’s also profiles as a DH as his defense is horrible. Teams are not going to trade high value for DH type players.
Andujar is going to have to prove that he has recovered from his injury and that he play a position in the field to a league average level for him to have the value that some Yankee fans think he has.
As far as Sanchez, Jonathan, if you are done with him due to his poor defense, don’t you think that other teams will see the same and not have an interest in him as well dropping his value.
Simply. Yankee fans, Frazier, Sanchez, and Andujar do not have the value that you think they have.
I think a team like the Rockies would love to have Sanchez because they don’t have a good C. Sanchez is still a great bat with average defense, he puts up great numbers for a C. The biggest thing about Sanchez is age and control years. He is 26 with 3 more years of control.
Some players aren’t built for NY and it seems like Gary is having a hard time playing under the NY lights during the playoffs. Look at Ian Kennedy, terrible with us and a 20 game winner in AZ, smaller market.
Average defense? He is quite a bit below average defensively and other than home runs, has not hit well for over a year. Sanchez will not come close to getting you Story.