MLBTR is publishing Offseason Outlooks for all 30 teams. Click here to read the other entries in this series.
The 2019 season didn’t end in ideal fashion for the Yankees, but there is no debating that they posted one of the most impressive years of any team in baseball. A litany of major injuries threatened to torpedo their campaign from Day 1, but the club seldom faltered in the face of that overwhelming adversity. Instead, the Yankees plugged in one surprisingly effective cog after another en route to 103 victories – the third-highest total in the game – and their first AL East title since 2012. The Yankees once again made easy work of the Twins in the ALDS, but just as New York has toyed with Minnesota in October, Houston has done the same to the Bronx Bombers. The Astros eliminated the Yankees for the third time since 2015, cutting them down in a six-game ALCS. Now, general manager Brian Cashman has to continue trying to figure out how to get his team over the Houston hump and back atop the sport.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Giancarlo Stanton, OF: $244MM through 2027 (including $10MM buyout for ’28)
- Aaron Hicks, OF: $61MM through 2025
- Aroldis Chapman, RP: $48MM through 2022
- Luis Severino, RHP: $34MM through 2022 (including $2.75MM buyout for ’23)
- Jacoby Ellsbury, OF: $26.1MM through 2020 (including $5MM buyout for ’21)
- Zack Britton, RP: $26MM through 2021
- Masahiro Tanaka, RHP: $23MM through 2020
- Adam Ottavino, RP: $18MM through 2021
- J.A. Happ, LHP: $17MM through 2020 (also has $17MM vesting option for ’21)
- DJ LeMahieu, INF: $12MM through 2020
Arbitration-Eligible Players (projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
- James Paxton – $12.9MM
- Tommy Kahnle – $3.0MM
- Tyler Lyons – $800K
- Greg Bird – $1.3MM
- Gary Sanchez – $5.6MM
- Aaron Judge – $6.4MM
- Chad Green – $1.4MM
- Jordan Montgomery – $1.2MM
- Luis Cessa – $1.1MM
- Gio Urshela – $2.2MM
- Jonathan Holder – $800K
- Non-tender candidates: Lyons, Bird, Holder
Option Decisions
- Edwin Encarnacion, DH/1B: Declined $20MM club option in favor of a $5MM buyout
Free Agents
The offseason is only in its infancy, but Cashman has already gotten a couple key orders of business out of the way. For one, there won’t be any question as to who will be closing games for the Yankees in 2020. The Yankees were facing the departure of star closer Aroldis Chapman, who had a chance to opt out of the last two years and $30MM left on his contract, but the two sides prevented that from happening last weekend. New York added a third year and $18MM to Chapman’s deal, giving him a pact worth $48MM over three seasons. It’s a reasonable deal for the Yankees, as Chapman – despite the series-losing home run he allowed to Houston – remains one of the majors’ premier relievers. Considering Chapman’s lengthy track record of excellence, it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see him break Wade Davis’ average annual value record for a reliever ($17.33MM per annum) had he gotten to free agency, but the Yankees managed to retain their game-ending southpaw for less.
Turning to the position player side, Cashman had noteworthy calls to make at shortstop and at designated hitter/first base the past few days. And he may have opted to say goodbye to two of the Yankees’ most recognizable players in shortstop Didi Gregorius and slugger Edwin Encarnacion. Gregorius is a revered Yankee who was one of the league’s elite shortstops from 2017-18, but he fell flat this year after sitting out the first few months while recovering from Tommy John surgery. As a result of the underwhelming production Gregorius mustered, the Yankees decided not to issue him a $17.8MM qualifying offer. He’s now on the open market without draft compensation weighing him down.
Whether to qualify Gregorius looked like the type of decision that could have gone either way, whereas it’s no surprise the Yankees pulled the plug on Encarnacion’s $20MM option in favor of a $5MM buyout. Encarnacion remains a serious home run threat and a formidable offensive player, but for a soon-to-be 37-year-old with no real defensive value, his option was unpalatable.
Now that Gregorius and Encarnacion aren’t on the Yankees’ roster anymore, it’s fair to wonder what the team will do to replace them. It’s entirely possible they’ll re-up either or both if their markets don’t materialize as hoped. But if not, the Yankees are seemingly in the luxurious position of having ready-made replacements on hand. They could slide budding star second baseman Gleyber Torres to short to replace Gregorius, thus leaving the keystone to versatile infielder DJ LeMahieu. Alternatively, if the Yankees want to make their latest enormous offseason splash on the trade market, they could at least inquire on the Indians’ Francisco Lindor or the Rockies’ Trevor Story. Finding a way to trade for either, albeit at would surely be a sizable cost in assets, would enable the Yankees to keep Torres at second and continue to move LeMahieu around the infield.
The Yankees may need LeMahieu at first and/or third, as there’s an argument their options there aren’t incredibly trustworthy. Third baseman Gio Urshela had an out-of-nowhere breakout season in 2019, but is it sustainable? And the player he replaced, Miguel Andujar, missed almost the entire season with a shoulder injury and wasn’t exactly a source of defensive brilliance as a rookie the previous year. The Yankees may be able to live with Andujar’s defensive shortcomings if he regains form at the plate, especially if they can rotate him in at DH on occasion, but who’s to say he’ll be the same hitter in 2020?
At first base, the Yankees have a pair of sluggers – Luke Voit and Mike Ford – who look capable of holding down the fort (that’s assuming the Yanks abandon their long-running dreams of a Greg Bird breakout and don’t make any other moves like bringing back Encarnacion). Voit’s coming off an injury-wrecked season in which he tailed off badly toward the end, though, and the 27-year-old Ford has just 163 major league plate appearances to his name. LeMahieu would continue to make for nice insurance at both corners, then, though how often he lines up there could depend on whether there’s a Gregorius re-signing or a different middle infield acquisition.
Are there any other splashy scenarios in which the Yankees could give their infield a boost? Sure, they could sign Anthony Rendon to play third base for $200MM-plus or maybe even Josh Donaldson for something in the vicinity of $60MM-$80MM. But if the Yankees, who are always mindful of the luxury tax, are going to spend an exorbitant amount on a free agent, it seems more likely to be a pitcher than a position player.
Meantime, it wouldn’t be remotely surprising to see the Yankees re-sign outfielder Brett Gardner, their longest-tenured player, to what should be another relatively affordable short-term contract. The 36-year-old stuck around on a $7.5MM guarantee last offseason and then proceeded to record one of the most productive seasons of his career. Gardner also showed he’s still capable of manning center, which is hugely important for a New York team whose starter, Aaron Hicks, recently underwent Tommy John surgery. With Hicks set to miss a large portion of 2019, the Yankees need a viable center fielder to slot in alongside corner options Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Mike Tauchman, Clint Frazier and, if he re-signs, Cameron Maybin. Free agency’s not teeming with appealing possibilities, though, and trading for Pittsburgh’s Starling Marte may not make sense with Hicks due back in several months and under team control for the long haul. With that in mind, it seems realistic to expect Gardner back in the Bronx in 2020.
Let’s shift to catcher, where Gary Sanchez is coming off another year in which he drew fan and media ire for his strikeout tendencies at the plate and his defensive troubles behind it. Could the Yankees now try to deal Sanchez and look for an upgrade? Possibly. But where would they get this upgrade? Sanchez is hands down a better choice than every free agent but Yasmani Grandal, who’s four years older and looks likely to command a guarantee worth more than $60MM. And unlike last offseason, there’s no J.T. Realmuto on the trade market. What does that mean? Expect Sanchez back in pinstripes next year, possibly with Kyle Higashioka as a backup to replace free agent Austin Romine.
And now we arrive at the pitching staff, a source of frustration for Yankees fans in 2019. The Yankees had to go through almost the entire year without their ace, Luis Severino, whose shoulder and lat injuries held him to 12 regular-season innings. The good news is that he should be ready to lead their starting staff again in 2020, while James Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka will continue to provide a pair of nice complements. But what about the rest of the rotation? There’s no more CC Sabathia, who called it a (Hall of Fame?) career. Meanwhile, unless they swap him for another bad contract, the Yankees are probably stuck with the aging J.A. Happ for the last season of a two-year, $34MM pact. There’s a chance they may never get another pitch from 2019 standout Domingo German, whose season ended in September when he landed on administrative leave under the MLB-MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence Policy. Deivi Garcia’s the organization’s No. 1 prospect, though he’s still just 20 and has thrown a mere 40 innings at the Triple-A level (where he posted a 5.40 ERA/5.77 FIP this year). Jordan Montgomery (a 2018 Tommy John patient) and Jonathan Loaisiga could be wild cards, but the Yankees might be pressing their luck by locking either of them into rotation jobs.
Frankly, if the Yankees want to go into Evil Empire mode and try to steal a high-priced free agent from the rest of the league, the rotation seems like the place for it. There happen to be a couple aces on the table in Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg, but whether the Yankees would crush the $200MM mark for the former and go well above $150MM for the latter is in question. While it’s well-documented that the Yankees have coveted Cole in the past, it’s worth noting they haven’t reeled in a free agent for anything close to the type of money he’s about to receive since they re-signed Alex Rodriguez to a $275MM deal entering 2008. George Steinbrenner was still alive at that point. That doesn’t mean today’s Hal Steinbrenner-run Yankees won’t sign Cole, Strasburg or at least someone like Zack Wheeler, Madison Bumgarner or Hyun-Jin Ryu, but it would be difficult to call the Yankees favorites in any of those cases.
It may be easier to envision a trade for a starter coming together, considering Cashman has swung deals for the likes of Paxton, Happ, Sonny Gray and Lance Lynn over the past couple years. Would he do it again, this time for someone like Corey Kluber or Matthew Boyd? It’s doubtful anyone but a Cole or a Strasburg would suffice for a high number of Yankees fans, but with Severino back at full strength, there’s a case the team doesn’t have to pick up a true front-line type before next season.
Regardless of how the Yankees fill out the rest of their rotation before next year, the offseason heavy lifting in their bullpen already appears to be done with Chapman staying in the mix. The Yankees doled out a combined $66MM in guarantees to Zack Britton and Adam Ottavino in free agency last winter. For the most part, those signings have worked out well so far. Those two will be back, while Chapman, Tommy Kahnle, Chad Green (if he doesn’t fill an opener role next season), Luis Cessa and Loaisiga are among holdovers who could or will join them.
At this point, the main concern centering on New York’s bullpen is whether its relationship with longtime force Dellin Betances is over. The Yankees showed they could succeed in 2019 without the four-time All-Star, whom shoulder problems stopped from making his season debut until Sept. 15. Betances retired both batters he faced that day in Toronto, but he suffered a partial left Achilles tear while hopping off the mound at the end of the inning. That brought a quick and cruel close to a Murphy’s Law season for Betances, and it was especially inopportune during a contract year. However, the injury’s not so severe that it will hinder the soon-to-be 32-year-old from faring somewhat nicely on the open market. MLBTR has Betances in line for a $7MM guarantee, and with the tax-minded Yankees paying close attention to every penny nowadays, they may deem that too expensive for a reliever coming off a lost season.
As always, the Yankees will be one of the game’s most fascinating teams to watch this offseason. Are they a sleeping giant that could swoop in for Lindor, Cole or maybe even both? Perhaps. On the other hand, the Yankees are talented enough that they could mostly stand pat in the coming months and enter 2020 in better shape than just about everyone else. The avenue they take will depend on how much much Steinbrenner’s willing to spend on a roster that exceeded the luxury tax this year and already looks as if it’s on pace to breeze past the $208MM threshold for next season. Unless Steinbrenner’s OK with outspending the second penalty bracket ($228MM) or even the third ($248MM), this might not be a particularly eventful winter in the Bronx.
I don’t think the Yankees have enough assets to acquire Lindor or Story. Other teams will be able to outbid them for those two. The Tigers value Boyd very highly and would probably seek Garcia in any deal. As for Kluber, what is the asking price for him? He is coming off an injury-plagued season, but has been a top line starter. Would a package of Frazier & Andujar get a deal done? Not sure
Thanks for the laugh about Boyd.
I didn’t say that I value Boyd that highly, but the Tigers do. They view him as a top of the rotation pitcher. They showed that by their asking price at the trade deadline last season. They wanted top prospects, but the other teams valued him at a lower level & wouldn’t meet the Tigers’ demands. I don’t blame them. It doesn’t matter what you think of Boyd or I think of Boyd. It only matters what the TIgers think of Boyd and they value him higher than anybody else does.
Or were simply holding out, hoping a team would get desperate enough to pay their price at last year’s deadline. Made no difference to them then. Let’s see what happens this off season.
And that will be to the Tigers detriment.
Yankees won’t be able to get Boyd without sending Garcia and…
Tigers can keep him then. They value Boyd way too highly, he’s not worth a top prospect let alone a superstar (the ask for Torres still makes me laugh)
Frazier and Andujar for an old, high-mileage pitcher? Uhh, no thanks.
The Indians don’t want Frazier back. As for Andujar – he’d be nice but their top prospect is a 3B – and they have Reyes at DH and he’ll be learning 1B.
Where have you seen Reyes learning 1B?
Frazier and Andujar for an old, high-mileage pitcher? Uhh, no thanks.
————————————————————————-
Yup, because you can never have enough DH’s.
i dont either, nor do i believe they are willing to part with them for a shortstop.
I think it depends upon whether or not those teams want prospects only or MLB ready players. The Yankees have a lot of MLB ready depth that they can part with in addition to some decent prospects.
Kluber for who? Why would any team trade assets for him knowing he may not be a viable option? Also Boyd, Lol stop already.
You’re correct the only team that values Boyd as a guy that would command top prospects in return is the Tigers and that is precisely why he will still be on the Tigers come next season’s open.
They can afford anything they want.
I’d give serious consideration to signing Grandal and Cole so that they can trade Sanchez, Andujar, Luke and Garcia for Lindor.
Cleveland has the AL Gold Glove catcher and value defense at the catcher position. Why would they want Sanchez? Cleveland has a first basemen coming off a great season in Carlos Santana. Why would they want Luke? Cleveland values defense and has Reyes for DH in most games. Why would they want Andujar coming off a serious arm injury? Cleveland’s strength is starting pitching so Garcia does not fill a need.
Do you look at the needs of the other team when you propose trades, emac? Cleveland would not do that trade.
The Yankees have assets to get Lindor. The question is, would you trade “The Martian”, Jasson Dominguez for him? He is billed as the next Mike Trout and will come stateside in 2020 for the first time. He is slated to play CF because of his speed, but such a good athlete that he could catch. Don’t think the Yankees will give up a potential generational talent. They gave him over 5 million last year as a 16 year old. Can they put together a good enough package without him for potentially Kluber and Lindor? They have a lot of high end arms and Cleveland may like what they saw in Estrada or Wade as a cheap/young replacement for Lindor. Do I think it is likely? No, but not impossible. If you could pair him with Gleyber, you are talking about an all time up the middle pairing that would quickly make people forget Didi and Lindor is also a lefty bat that thrives in the spotlight.
Please, give me a break, Yankee Mike. Cleveland’s starting pitching is their strength. They are not looking for arms in a Lindor trade. Also, who are these high end arms that the Yankees have? Garcia is their best and some scouts see Devi as a bullpen arm due to his small stature. Estrada and Wade as a Lindor replacement was the funniest comment that I have seen on any baseball site. The Yankees will offer various parts and packages of players that they can afford to trade and the Indians will say no thank you. The Indians will ask for Torres and the Yankees will say no thank you. Discussions will then end. Lindor will not be a Yankee for an assortment of DH’s and bench players.
they making a move for Strasburg?
Chapman getting paid twice
And apparently Stanton’s contract ran out before New York even acquired him
Stanton is an albatross.
Remains to be seen. 2018 an adjustment year with strong though not gargantuan numbers. 2019: injuries. Who knows what’s in store for 2020 and beyond? Could get back on track for greatness, could continue on a pace slightly below that, or he could become injury prone. In my mind, too early to tell.
Altuve’s son?
Giancarlo Stanton, OF: $244MM through 2017 (including $10MM buyout for ’28)
2017 should be 2027?
I understand it’s not our team and all that jazz. But as Yankees fans, we’re paying customers who haven’t seen a ‘ship in over a decade. We pay an absolute premium to see them play. They just bought back the YES Newtork and by far have the highest revenue in all of baseball. So why is it that we’re being so cautious now over these tax breakdowns? We’re not the ones handing out stupid contracts (Ellsbury, Hicks) while missing out on premier talent (Scherzer, Cole). It’s almost like we’re paying to make Hal as rich as can be, and whatever product we have we’ll just take that to The Show and it’s almost like he doesn’t care what anyone thinks. Look, I get it. The talent is basically there. Injuries have played a huge part in this. But the ones injured are the same ones that lead to being just short of the ultimate goal. At some point, you have to stop worrying about lining your own damn wallet full of our hard earned money and spend it on premier talent to put you over the top. Yeah, that Stanton contract is a killer. But guess what? Nobody gives a crap when you have the monetary resources the Yankees have. Quit being selfish babies, go out, and help your team out. We saw what a shot in the arm a bonafide ace can be in watching Washington rally around Scherzer in game 7. Go get Cole. He’ll eat innings, win games, and save your vaunted bullpen for when we really need them. Know your strengths and compliment them, rather than being complacent. This is getting really annoying watching us be cheap bast**ds the past few years. Time to put up or deal with the consequences
“it’s almost like we’re paying Hal to be rich as he can be”…. being a pirates fan, sub Nutting with Hal… lol
@CuseYanksFan;
Wow! Front-Running, Entitled, Baseball Acumen-less Yankee fan in a nutshell.
First complaining about all the overpaid players on the roster – then demanding the Yankees spend more money. Thinking one big name free agent will put them over the top.
LOL
How did the Yankees get to the ALCS in 2019 without Manny Machado for $300m-plus?
The only way you people can figure out how to win a ” ‘ship ” is to buy it.
Hate to tell you this, but Cashman and his staff have been doing the right things. Rothschild and the Yankees pitching philosophy held them back. Put Cole in that environment and he’ll be pitching like he did his last 2 years in Pittsburgh (then you people will be on here complaining about him).
It’s not computer baseball. It’s people. Teams win when they get the players on their roster to perform better…..by coaching them up (including veterans) and utilizing them properly. The 2019 Washington Nationals epitomize that. So they rallied behind Scherzer in the 7th game because he’s a “bonafide ace”? Guess what – Strasburg was their stopper and Ace this year. Learn how the Nationals got to the 7th game of the WS – it was hardly one guy.
As for being “selfish babies” – pot meet kettle. Ever since free agency started all Yankee fans cry about every off-season is why they don’t overpay and sign the biggest name free agent(s). I looked at the headline of this article, and knew the comments would be full of clueless Yankee fans demanding the organization spend more money. When they spend the money that you demand they spend and the player gets hurt or goes south…..you people complain and demand they spend more. Geez – even when the team wins you guys complain.
His argument is that Yankee fans pay a premium to watch them play and we do. Yankee tickets were on average the second highest ticket prices after the Cubs this past season. Yankees generated the highest revenue among all 30 teams and a good reason for that was because of the fans. Fans are one of the reasons why they are the 2nd most valuable franchise in the world behind the Cowboys, over the likes of soccer titans like Man U, City, Barca, and Madrid. Before you complain about us being “selfish babies,” do some research on how much money fans actually put into this team and why we wish they should spend more to make this team better.
Hear, hear. The brand/tradition is win now, win often, Hal/Cash have been failing. Time to pony up and get the job done.
there are 30 teams. most havent won in the past decade.
there is no equity in baseball and the yanks don’t compare in any way to 90% of the 30 period.
The ones they do compare too have won or at least been to the series more often….
@fitsiqis65
In the last ten years. Add that please….
Lately… Long term it’s still good to be a Yankee fan. I’ve witnessed 7 WS in my life… I’ll take that over ANY other team’s performance.
I’ll amend to say in the last 15 years
and Mo4ever is correct. Its great to be a NYY fan. However, they need to get over the damn hump. they are so close..
The mariners have never made it to a world series
The Yankees also have quite a lot more expenses (MiLB team ownership, extenses U.S. and international facilities, global marketing, etc) and re-investments in their organization than any other team. It’s not all profit and probably not near the profit some think they make.
Milb teams are separately owned, except for the lowest levels. What they generated in their bottom line is totaled up after deductions of expenditures.
What? 2 believe it is dominican facility teams, which around half the league has anyway and 2 GCL teams which a few other teams will run off and on as well on occasion?
Agreed. And now when most “experts” talk about the yankees they mostly say oh the yankees won’t go pass the luxury tax take them out of the top free agents. The boss would be humiliated if he was still with us. To me its plain and simple it the yankees dont get Cole its a huge failure period. They already got rid of Sir Didi they did ok on Chapman’s deal we can’t keep acting like we are the A’s or Tampa fans are going to eventually wise up and stop spending money. Only then will ownership care.
After letting Corbin go and watching him help Wasington get the title instead of us I think they need to show that they aren’t going to skip the cherry on top every single year.
I don’t have much confidence that they will as Hal seems to put a lot of value on each deal having some level of financial prudence but the final ingredient is almost always way overpriced. (I’d argue that fact, combined with arbitration, is why the salary curve is so screwed up)
The Yankees more than any team I’ve seen is in a position to splurge on a true ace, get to the top of the hill and stay there a for a long time.
Yeah, a few more Giancarlo Stantons should do the trick.
I think the Yankees are in a financial bind with binary options and it’s unfortunate they’re finally there and it seems like those only two options are to categorically under spend until Ellsbury, Tanaka etc are off the books or face the music that Washington sung after signing Corbin and remember what they themselves did to get their 2009 title and spend spend spend. I think if they pick up 1 front line starter on an expensive contract swap (say, Kershaw for Stanton?)for $32M AAV on a Cole, they could get a complimentary back of the rotation guy on the cheap on a pillow contract or coming up in their walk year or on an affordable long term deal (like Bumgarner for Happ money) and then put Happ in the bullpen which sets him up to walk after 2020 to save money for their offensive core and the next batch of best available pitching options. It could help them plow into a 2020 WS and set them up to seriously contend in 2021-2022 with their pre-FA core all getting to their late 20’s, thus probably peaking.
Please everybody get the Stanton to the Dodgers trade fantasies out your heads , because it ain’t never gonna happen. Kershaw for Stanton..Come-On-Man. No NL team is gonna get saddled with that albatross contract especially LA, not to mention the defense limitations , and injury concerns. Yanks are unfortunately stuck..thanks boy blunder.
I could see Stanton to LAD happening, but not for Kershaw. I’d say a more likely scenario would be for Pollock, with other players being added on both sides to balance the deal.
Last thing the Yankees need is another RH bat who’s 31.
typing truth again my friend!
there is fantasy and there is reality. Stanton of the Marlins is an attractive player. Stanton of the Yanks not so much… Plus people forget his no trade clause…
Stuck indeed
good call Steve
No real serious defense limitations in RF. It’s when you put him in left in Yankee Stadium which is allot of ground to cover.
Wow…how did Stanton thrive in the NL with all those defensive limitations? Oh right. He won NL MVP and is 6th in WAR from 2010-20187, the entire span he spent in the NL.
People forget that he was actually a pretty decent RF. If Judge wasn’t already locked in to RF, and a better defender, then he would likely play in RF. His injuries are a concern but if he hadn’t been hit in the face back in 2016 then he would likely have had 3 consecutive seasons with 150 + games played.
I say that to say, he’s young enough where he should be able to contribute well for the next 4-6 seasons. Clearly, he may have to adjust his off-season regimen to stay off the IL. Let’s not be so quick to call him a bust or an albatross so quickly.
For the record, I don’t understand why they traded for him when IMO, they should’ve put that money towards Harper who’s LH bat made more sense in YS and stuck him in LF. But the deal is done so it makes no sense to keep harping on it. But it wouldn’t shock me to see Stanton return back to form in 2020.
Also, let’s get past this idea that Stanton’s contract is keeping them from spending money. That would be complete bull if that was an excuse Cashman or Hal used, But they haven’t. People are assuming one issue is effecting the other. Yanks still went out and paid up for Ottavino, Britton, DJ, etc. Yanks are still the Yanks if they want to be. We’ll see but stop using Stanton as an excuse.
FO’s don’t publicly declare those mistakes bro. How can you actually say one issue isn’t effecting the other when their payroll is where it’s at, and they desperately need a #1 starter. Oh plus other holes to fill.
@Steven Chinwood
Because the refusal to go over a certain limit is a self-prescribed discipline as opposed to teams that have real limitations. What are people basing this off of? Not signing Corbin, Harper or Manny? Well maybe Cashman figured that he had Andujar and Torres and felt going the extra year for Corbin was his limit.
The only possible “mistake” I referenced was maybe Stanton. But they did that (acquired) him knowing that Manny and Harper were both going to be on the market one season later. So for whatever reason, they felt compelled to acquire Stanton. Teams don’t acquire guys with just the next season to consider. They knew what they were doing. Whether it was the right move will be evident years from now. I think it’s too soon to call Stanton’s contract an albatross. And an albatross used in sports vernacular means a financial burden. Stanton’s contract isn’t so much as a burden as much as it limits what they do in terms of the OF and DH IF he sustains more injury riddled years or significant regress.ion. The injuries sustained were more to do with oblique and hamstring. Those are conditioning issues which they will hopefully focus on preventing by changing his workout regimen. His 2018 season was pretty good imo. He may not have been “clutch” but 38 homers and 100 rbi aren’t bad. If he can produce 35-45 homers. maintain a slash of .275/.350 then I’ll take that. The strikeout are an issue but it’s always been somewhat of an issue.
Yanks continued to spend with Ellsbury’s contract. They continued to spend when Corbin rejected them. He refused to give in to the demands of Pittsburgh back when Cole was a SP with a 4+ ERA coming off of 3 consecutive years of posting ERA’s of 2.60 to 3.88 to 4.26. I still think he shoudl’ve made the trade but most are knocking him for not doing it because of what Cole TURNED INTO with the help of the Astros’ staff and mentoring from Verlander, who himself revitalized his career with the help of the Astros. He said it several times.
Everyone accuses me of defending Cash. It’s not about defending him. It’s about understanding the thought process behind the deal. I guarantee you, had Happ signed with any other team and had a succesfull year then they would blame Cashman for letting him walk as a FA. I get it. Being a GM means accepting the blame for the results. But there’s a difference between making bad moves in which he should have known better (Ellsbury and trading for Stanton instead of going after Harper) vs deals which.ended poorly despite being logical and dependable moves (acquiring Grey, Paxton and Happ). Even resigning Sabathia to be a 5th starter after he posted a 3.45 ERA and 4.16 FIP. Again, for a 5th starter Sabathia’s numbers in 2018 were fantastic especially considering the depth of the pen.
Now, Cole isn’t the pitcher coming off of a 4.28 season. He is a bonafide big game #1 ace. Cash has Tanaka, Happ and Paxton all going into 2020 in the last year of his deal. Cash and Hal know it too and my guess is, if Cole doesn’t sign in NY it will not be because the Yanks didn’t put an incredible offer on the table. My guess is it will be an offer that beats the David Price deal in terms of total dollars but also besting Greinke’s aav of $35 mil. I can see 6/$240 or 7/$252.
Yanks will take the lux tax hit hoping that winning a WS will bring in more revenue. After 2020, Yanks can let Happ and Ellsbury walk. That would off-set Cole’s salary. Depending on how they perform in 2020 they can decide what they want to do with Tanaka or Paxton. They might wish to resign one of the two and have an above average rotation with Cole, Severino, one of Paxton or Tanaka (more likely Paxton), German and Montgomery who will likely start the season in AAA.in 2020.
Agree with many of your points but 1) while Harper would have made more sense (LH) than Stanton, I would vehemently disagree in signing him at anything near $330MM. I just don’t believe in $300MM+ ballplayers with the sole exception of Trout. They are simply too large a % of any team’s payroll to be justifiable. 2) Ottavino, Britton and DJ were peanuts compared to the kind of acquisition people are clamoring for while expecting they will not get from Hal/Cash, who seem entirely focused on taxes instead of being drawn like a laser to finally clinching the deal, a WS. They don’t seem to value the brand/tradition of the Yankees and are willing to be also rans indefinitely.
@Mo4ever
My point in mentioning Ottavino, Britton and DJ was to say that while they passed on Corbin because they refused to add on the extra year they did end up reinvesting that money and those three Britton ($13 mil), Ottavino ($9 mil) and DJ ($12 mil) combine for $34 mil annually which is more than what Corbin will earn for the next 3 years annually. If they were cheap and it all came down to concerns over the lux tax then they wouldn’t have signed those three at all.
Add Happ into the equation because they resigned him after Corbin moved on to the Nationals.
Ottavino, Happ, Britton and DJ = $46 mil per for the next 2-3 years (Happ and DJ signed 2 year deals). The Yanks will pay more annualy on those 4 than what they would’ve spent on Corbin.,
To me that spells not so much about them being cheap but simply not wanting to pay Corbin that extra year. Whether that was wise or not remains to be seen. Short term says it may have been a mistake but they reinvested that money on more in the other 4 players. If they had signed Corbin then certainly they would’ve passed on Happ and maybe 1 or 2 of the other 3.
But now, Yanks really don’t have to make any major additions to the position players nor the bullpen. Other than retaining Didi, Bets and Gardner, Cole and Stras should be their only true targets. Grandal would be a nice addition too but where do you move Sanchez and what’s his trade value right now?
I’m sorry man, but your errors in your articles are pretty distracting and takes away from your pieces. Just double check your work
Oh the humanity.
You could just..go read articles on some other free fan site. That way those of us who do have the ability to read, understand and not be concerned with trivialities like this dont have to get “distracted” by stupid posts like yours.
Absolute best case scenario for the Yanks would be to try and deal Stanton to a big-market team in a contract-for-contract swap. Someone like the Giants, Dodgers, or Cardinals, comes to mind. Those markets would allow Stanton to get out of the NY media that, if rumors are true, he isn’t a fan of after his struggles the last two seasons.
For the Giants, maybe Samardjza or Cueto coming back to NYY? Yanks would likely prefer Shark, considering next season is his last on his contract.
Dodgers: Maybe someone like Pollock? Would provide the Yanks with the insurance they need for CF. LA has flexibility for players that can man center without him.
Cardinals: Matt Carpenter would be the ideal target. He can still be productive, is versatile between the corners (and has experience at 2B if needed). Fowler is an alternative if Cards don’t want to deal him, but that’s another OF that hasn’t produced much over the last few years. He would only be under contract thru 21, though, so not horrible.
Giants would be the best fit, in my opinion. They targeted him strong two years ago when Yanks acquired him. They went after Bryce last year. They are craving a star OF. Also helps fill a void for the Yanks in SP with Shark/Cueto. If the rumors are true about his feelings about NY media, he would likely approve a deal to a west coast team with a more laid back media.
Are either of those three likely to happen? Highly doubtful. But it would definitely solve some problems for the Yanks, and potentially one of those three teams.
If that is not feasible, It’d be nice to see the Yanks focus on their pitching for once. Obviously I would love to see them sign either Cole or Strasburg, but who knows if thats possible. Wheeler is already familiar with NY media, so would be a good fit. Only one year removed from a great season. Trade wise, they should stay away from Boyd. Tigers will request far too much for a player that had one good half of a season in his career.
What makes Stanton stuck in pinstripes are the number of years left. As amazing his body is, it’s breaking down for baseball. Only way I see a trade possible is if the Yankees pay the last two years or so. I’m not sure if they average that money out yearly against the cap but no one wants $30m+ dead money already on the books for those last years. Well maybe no one. Boston and NY will never trade together but another team if there is one might pull an Atlanta-Dodgers type swamp’. For example, Boston theoretically might take on that contract value if another team takes Price, Eovaldi and Pedroia which in turn would net a $30m gross payroll reduction. Pedie isn’t going anywhere but the idea does work if a partner can be found. Minor league and young talent would be also needed.
Stanton already blocked trades to the Giants, and the Cardinals. The Dodgers are set in RF, and have so many cheaper options to man the other outfield slots. Plus Pollack more than likely has a NTC, and is injury prone himself.
I realize he already blocked trades a couple seasons ago to the Giants and the Cardinals. However, rumors have been circulating that he is unhappy in NY due to the media, so it’s possible he could welcome the opportunity to go to a less stringent media market.
Pollock does not have a NTC on his contract. Yes, he is injury prone the last season. Just throwing ideas around. Also, Stanton can play LF, not just RF.
“However, rumors have been circulating that is unhappy in NY due to the media” Where exactly are getting these circulating rumors from? Stanton is horrible in LF. Yankees are to RH dominant as is. “Yes, he is injury prone the last season” Pollock’s career has been riddled with injuries, he’s never been able to stay on the field.
Decent points. But why would the giants take on that contract If they’re not contending in the near future? They would be wise to unload and rebuild, a 10 year contract doesnt help u with payroll flexibility. Keep shark hes only owed a year or 2 instead of 10.
A few opinions:
1. $60 – 80 million for Donaldson? Lololol
2. Yanks aren’t acquiring Lindor. They didn’t offer Didi the QO because, altho it’s possible he re-signs for less $, they saw Torres is more than capable of manning SS if he doesn’t.
3. I don’t see Hal giving Cole $240 – $250 million, especially over 7 or 8 years, and I don’t blame him. I see the Yanks going after guys like Wheeler or Bumgarner, instead.
4. I don’t think the Yanks are going to give up on Bird quite yet. He’s still cheap and Voit isn’t exactly Mattingly in his prime. If Bird sustains one more injury, they’ll cut ties, but I think they’re willing to give him one last shot at naking an impact. They desperately need a lefty bat that can do some damage.
5. I don’t think they’re signing Betances. He has made a huge number of appearances the past 6 years, he’s going to be 32 and he was injured all last season. His time as a Yankee is up.
6. Not expecting much from Garcia in 2020. He’s still very young and struggled at Scranton initially. I see him more as a 2021 possibility.
7. Yanks should look into getting Paxton and Tanaka locked up on multi-year deals past 2020. 4-years for Paxton, 2-years for Tanaka.
8. Definitely bring back Gardner. Try and play him less to keep him fresh by splitting time in CF with Tauchman. I don’t see them bringing back Maybin.
9. Sanchez is fine defensively…when he feels like it. His issue is laziness, not lack of ability behind the plate. He’s very hot and cold with the bat, too. I wouldn’t necessarily trade him this offseason, but I certainly would before he becomes a free agent. He’s too inconsistent to give him a big money, long-term deal.
10. Hopefully they bring Cone in as pitching coach. I think it’s way too risky to hand that job over to a college pitching coach, especially one- the guy from Michigan- who has jumped from job to job the past 5 years.
@southpaw2153
Bird will be in AAA. In no way shape or form should be given the job or even be in a competition with Voit or DJ. Bird needs to stay healthy and show he can still hit and it’s best he does that in AAA. If Cashman were to entertain him competing for the 1B job then he’s letting his personal bias towards Bird get in the way. 1B isn’t broke.
And people need to think about what they’re saying. You don’t need to be a LH hitter to take advantage of the short porch in RF. 16 of his 21 homers were to RF/CF. He is a great opposite field hitter, Same as DJ ho hit most of his to Right/Center field.
Betances has been one of the best relievers in baseball during his career, From 2014-2018 Bets has been 2nd in WAR behind Chapman only. In ST Cashman said he wanted to extend both Bets and Didi. I would not be shocked if the Yanks resigned both. Neither has a ton of leverage anyway. I don’t think anyone is going to give Bets a multi-year deal without seeing him on the field. As long as his arm is sound, I think Cash will keep him.
In my heart, I think Hal flexes and reminds people of the Yanks might. Any financial restraints are self-imposed and I really can’t think that Hal is putting money saved over winning. Why else acquire Stanton if he was being budget conscience? He could’ve saved that money and put it towards multiple players or simply back in his pocket.
For the right player….a Cole or a Stras + couple with a team that won 103 wins I can’t see Hal being cheap. But if all they do is resign Gardner, which they should, and then don’t make a serious attempt to get a true #1 then I’ll be the first to question them. I don’t see any true #1’s avail thru trades this winter.
They should non-tender Bird. If they want to accelerate the Andujar to 1B idea or give Ford a shot there is no room for Bird. Save a million dollars and a million headaches.
A Urshela, Torres, Lemahieu, Andujar/Ford/Voit infield is not bad.
Deal Happ for Randal Grichuk. Grichuk replaces Gardner and Ellsbury after his atrocious contract runs out. That shaves around $6-mil on the luxury tax for 2020.
Package a deal involving Sanchez and Frazier for an arm better than Boyd. Then sign Grandal. We can talk up Sanchez’ work behind the plate. Truth is he isn’t good enough. Grandal is pricey but he’s better. Adding another lefty bat with power in that lineup would also help.
Looking for a backup INF? Iglesius.
A healthier team in 2020 automatically puts the Yankees in the postseason, division or the wild card.
Yanks aren’t replacing a still cheap Sanchez with an expensive Grandal. Toronto isn’t taking Happ back. Not to mention, no thanks on Grichuk.
Yankees already have a backup infielder in Wade. I don’t know exactly what he did at AAA, but when he returned late in the season, he looked like a different player in the batter’s box. He plays great defense, he has game altering speed and he’s cheap.
Where has this talk of Andujar to 1st base come from? I’ve never heard it from anywhere. 1st base is a lot more difficult to play than 3rd. It’s laughable how people think you can just throw anybody over there.
I wish they would trade Voit and go with Ford/Bird at 1st. I think the Yanks made a huge mistake leaving Ford off the postseason roster, especially after Encarnacion struggled. Ford makes solid contact and works the count very well.
“1st base is a lot more difficult to play than 3rd. It’s laughable how people think you can just throw anybody over there.”
–
@southpaw2153;
I don’t believe it!
I wrote this all last year when Yankee fans wanted to move Andujar to 1st so they could overpay Manny Machado and then complain about his salary in a year or two.
1B not only has far more responsibility then 3B (along with LF, places management used to hide good-hit /no-field guys pre-DH), the 1B handles the ball more then any player other then the P and C. In doing so he needs to be aware of not just the game situation every pitch, but exactly where his teammates are playing and where they will move depending on where the ball is hit. Heck, holding the bag with a runner on is difficult – jumping off a split second after the pitcher throws home (careful not to let the baserunner know the pitcher is going home), and knowing how all the pitchers on the staff throw to 1B on pick-off attempts.
Wow! You must have played baseball on a field as opposed to on a computer!
If 1b is harder then 3b how come players as they get older move from 3b to 1b.Joe Torre and Miguel Cabrera come to mind. I’ve never heard of a 1b whose getting old switching to third. It just doesn’t happen. Nolan Arenado would turn into an amazing first baseman given some time Paul Goldschmit would never be a great third baseman.While learning 1b is somewhat difficult it is very doable.You can’t learn the speed necessary to catch smashes while playing in at 3b. You can’t learn how to handle a slow groundball down the line… Plus you have to have a great arm at third something you don’t need at first
It’s all about lateral Mobility. Third Base you got to move around. First base is equally tough.. maybe even more so, as pointed out above, but at least you don’t have to get your body flying to the left or to the right with the grounders coming off bats as much. At first you’re often stuck holding guys on base.
In Andujar’s case he’s had throwing issues in the past. That is 1 less issue solved moving him to 1B. Again, the Yankee hacks didn’t understand that Ford/Voit would have a shot. Both Andujar and Stanton should be taking ground balls at 1B in spring training and/or practice in the event that something were to happen mid-season in 2020.
Another option is Andujar 3B, Urshela SS, Torres 2B and Lemahieu 1B. From a glance some might want to re-consider Urshela 3B, Torres SS, Lemahieu 2B and Andujar/Ford 1B.
@Vandals Took The Handles
There is no position in baseball where you can just switch there without some sort of training and learning the nuances. It doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Trying him out at 3B over the winter and seeing what he looks like in ST would be the right thing to do. Trying him out in LF makes sense as well. Andujar isn’t a lumbering nonathletic player. He as the athleticism to make it work.
It’s amazing how good DJ has been at 1B considering he’s played the position all; of 4 times before 2019. Once a year in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
It’s far more then lateral ability at third base it’s also arm strength. First base is far easier athletically then third base and it’s not even close. I do agree that first base sees way more throws and it has a different skill set but it easier, at the big level, to learn first then be a third baseman.
Great point about arm strength !
No one but internet scouts have Andujar moving to first.
The Yankees certainly aren’t replacing Sanchez. They should. They won’t.
Grichuk probably goes 2019 Urshela. Because 2018 Urshela was Japan material. You want Happ off the team and save money? That’s the type of move to make. Don’t want to? Keep losing in October. The Blue Jays should absolutely look to get Happ and get rid of that waste of time in Grichuk. Yes, Grichuk would flourish, potentially, at Yankee little league Stadium.
Wade? Sure. Sounds good.
Congratulations, you are the first human being to believe 1B is harder than 3B. All those long throws to first base from first base takes a serious toll. Regardless, Andujar can’t be any worse at 1B than 3B. Nonetheless the Yankees have Ford and Voit, and the great Greg Bird.
Why trade Voit and keep TWO lefty 1B sticks? Are you kidding me?
Little league stadium? Putz.
Triggered again?
Whats laughable is pretending that anyone would throw Andujar over to fist base as though it’s a surprise in the middle of the night. If you have a real point don’t hide it in a pile of garbage.
Andujar isn’t terrible on the defensive side of the ball. He just doesn’t have as much range as a quality defensive 3rd baseman. He’s a very natural shift to 1st who would be a plus defensive 3rd baseman given a lot of practice. When you look at guys like Ford and Bird playing first and then pretend Andujar playing first isn’t realistic it’s just silly.
As for Signing Grandal and trading Sanchez I think you’re missing something. If you sign Grandal and then trade Sanchez for something that saves you money you can balance out the dollars or even make it a money saving move if that’s all you care about but Sanchez has crazy trade value and Grandal is better and available for cash alone.
I think you could trade Sanchez, Happ and Stanton for a cheap left fielder who is better than Stanton. Do that while signing Grandal and you upgrade 2 positions while saying money.
Please, just no on Wade. He doesn’t belong in the ML, at least not on a WS contender.
@Mo4ever
If Wade is on the team he’s 100% a utility player and having him isn’t a big deal. He’s all glove and some speed. He can probably muster a .240/.330 bat/obp with a few homers he might run into as a lefty. But as of now, I’d rather retain Didi and use DJ as a super utility guy. One injury and he’s back to manning a position for a few weeks or so. He can still see .500 AB easy.
How many times are you gonna suggest this Happ for Grichuk trade idea? Yankees don’t need a RH bat, especially when they have Frazier.
And how many times was Frazier utilized last year in an injury-riddled Yankees season? Save the Frazier talk. Until the Yankees commit to him he is a non-factor.
And Grichuk is a non-starter.
Neither is Happ on this staff. One non-starter for another. That’s usually how it works.
I raised that question last year. They NYY paid a decent amount of salary to have EE as their DH. The fact that they didn’t want to use Frazier means, imho, that they lacked faith in him.
Hello JOE-
Time to do a simple google search rather than make a simple minded statement.
The Yankees paid petty cash for EE. Do the research; the Tampa Bay Rays paid a large amount of his salary.
“Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic is reporting that the Yankees and Mariners are essentially splitting the $15 million still owed to Encarnacion for the rest of this season.”
That’s what I found on Google. If that’s true, that is $7.5M. Plus a $5M buuyout for 2020. Plus Juan Then. For 3.5 months. I know it is the NYY, but that’s a lot of petty cash, if they had any faith in Frazier.
If I were Boston, I’d consider signing Betances if the money listed is right. They certainly won’t be spending more in the pen and if his surgeries have healed, he might be the best shot to take. His recent injuries have certainly rested his arm and the question is, is he fully recovered or are his best days behind him?
Higashoika will be the heir apparent to they backup catcher job in perpetuity.
If Hal holds to a 228 mil type of budget (which is plenty adequate), then Cash has to be creative.
Yes I know its hard for many to accept that Cash can’t do with 228 mil what others have done with less, and yes many can’t accept that much of the reason why he can’t get to the WS with 228 mil is because HE traded for Stanton (which in all fairness looked good at the time), signed Happless, and signed Els etc..
However, its pretty clear the nucleus is there- what seems to be needed is contact bats, a legit #1 and a legit #2/3. If that means not bringing back the overrated Didis and Gardy of the team and having to deal some other pieces (Not Gleyber)- so be it.
However, even the most devout Cashman lovers here have to see the wiring on the wall if a year from now we are in the same boat.
“However, even the most devout Cashman lovers have to see the writing on the wall” Brother we know too well they won’t, they’ll just keep on swallowing what Cashman shovels. Chapman was another waste of funds needed to be used to get that much needed horse!
I see an incentive laden deal for betances, possibly with some vesting mutual option attached.
Stanton isn’t going anywhere. He wanted NY from the start, and he knows that if his body crashes on the tail end of the deal the mighty NY payroll books can carry him and still compete ala ellsbury money. So in 2027 he can win a championship by sitting on the bench, and he knows it. Thays a nice thing to have.
As for pitching, I’m reluctant to think they take Cole due to the raises coming in arb the next few years. If the price is right maybe Strasburg but I pick them to shop trades or the next tier down -madbum and co.- or both.
Given the Pads issues with rule 5 and 40 man space look for cashman to go shopping in SD and pull off another no-name out of nowhere for the IF.
Finally I’d see Gardner back in CF at a relatively low cost on another year, maybe with vesting option for following season.
I’ve suggested in the past the Padres would be a great trade partner.
I think Frazier would be extremely appealing to SD.
They need a known quantity for the OF and 1) I don’t see a place for clint in the NY OF mix, and 2) I can’t imagine his conduct after being sent down last year did much to endear himself to the FO. He swings a decent stick, and thats something SD needs.
While there are questions about defense, a team like SD is the perfect place to work it out.
Where is he going to play in SD. He absolutely cannot play CF, and SD has Myers & Renfroe at the corners. And they also have Naylor & Cordero looking for playing time.
Padres would have to get rid of at least two OFs to make room for Frazier. Find another trade partner, internet GM, or exchange “great” for the word “possible”.
@were – Pads moving 2 OF wouldn’t be hard at all. Look at SF, I’d expect they’d be interested in someone. Baltimore may be a good fit to try working one into something more as well.
Then you’ve got numerous teams who could use a 4th OF for depth… as long as Myers isnt one of the guys you expect to trade, I bet they could move 2 of the others without much difficulty.
Not hard? Yes I agree. Will they do it for Clint? That’s the question. Not expecting anyone to take on Myers. SD opted to spend money on FA’s because they did not want to part with some of their young OFs just a year ago.
@WereAllJustGuestsHere
Why would they have to get rid of two OF to make space for Frazier? He’s earning nothing so money isn’t an issue. He can only play 1 position at a time. What’s the problem again?
Cashman has done a the job putting the pieces in place the last 2 years,, he has built a solid team. This is the winter they make a move for a top end starter. He will land one of Cole, Strasburg, or Wheeler to the rotation. After that I think he resigns Betances and Gardy.
Sorry, Cole to angels, Strasburg to Nats or Padres, and Wheeler stays with Mets
@Baseball dude
And what are the lottery numbers oh wise one? Of the three, I think Wheeler is the least likely to return to his old team. Mets aren’t cheap but I doubt they are going to tie up that much money on Wheeler or another starter.
But Wheeler is not a “top end starter.” And Stras has injury issues, something the Yanks cannot afford to take on. That means their only target for a “top end starter”, since Severino is not a lock, is Cole. That’s it. They need Cole, Betances, and Marte, and plan to use Hicks as a number 4 OF until he re-establishes his value, then trade him.
@Mo4ever
I don’t see the Yanks trading for Marte. He’s another RH bat. Makes more sense to bring back Gardner for 1 more year. He delivered 28 homers., most on the road so his homers weren’t just a byproduct of the short RF porch. Marte was considered a good defensive CF until this past year, which could be an outlier. But Gardy has been above average consistently. With our farm being lighter from all the trades and graduations it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to trade top prospects for a position player, especially a RH one.
And I doubt the Yanks are going to use Hicks as a 4th OF when he returns or try to trade him. Gardner’s poor post-season notwithstanding, he wasn’t the main culprit that sucked in the post-season.
So, that Ellsbury contract really does have an end date.
Enough with this Gardner “ move on”
Anoter Fn year of Gardner out in the outfield every day is gonna KILL this team ONCE again come the Playoffs
Move on from Brett Gardner and get a CF that could hit lead off Yanjkees don’t have a lead off hitter
Yankee fans: Why is your owner/GM so cheap when it comes to starting pitching, but will take on a Stanton contract in a heartbeat, no questions asked? Im actually interested in why he wont make the move. If you ask me, the trade for Stanton was useless. you already have a Stanton type of player in Judge, so that money should have been used for pitching.
Stanton would have went to Boston he would have been a yankee killer like big poppy was .
instead hes on the Yankees playing maybe 30 games? makes no sense.
Nice assessment for such a simple mind.
If he went to Boston Stanton would simply spend all that time on the Boston IL rather than the Yankees and further Boston would be hamstrung by that contract.
You do not trade for a $300 million dollar contract to keep him away from any other team.
It was simply a bad deal that the Yankees are now stuck with while RedSox Nation laughs their rear ends off.
Yeah certainly no bad contracts there in Boston right?
Hey Sandoval was a godsend!
@oldtimeyankee6242
There is ZERO evidence to go on that he would’ve approved a trade to Boston. I seriously doubt the Yanks took on $325 mil just to keep him from Boston. Arod, yes. Arod was across the board, the best or at least available mega star at the time he was traded.
@thatdude07
It’s a continuing narrative that is only based on them not signing Max nor Corbin. Doesn’t mean it’s true. But I agree that the Stanton trade boggled my mind when Harper was avail the next season. Maybe he had dreams of Stanton and Judge pairing together to dominate a HR race each year?
because the genius GM has a chart somewhere that an ivy league stats dweeb put together that says bats don’t regress or run the risk the way arms do.
Of course the chart next to it assembled by a baseball guy gets ignored. That’s the one that says good pitching beats good hitting every time and great pitching win championships…
So… the genius GM goes cheap on the SP pitching, looking at the peripherals of young guys, who are cost controllable and have the capacity of be an ace but fail miserably. Think Vazquez, Pineda, Evoldi, Gray, etc…. So far Pax has been the best of the lot and he’s despite what some claim far from an ace right now…
@fitsiqis65
Right….because Sabathia’s contract wasn’t the highest issued to a SP and Tanaka was signed for $22 mil p[us.
It seems like one or occurrences makes for a pattern for some people. Yeezuz this is silly.
A relatively small period of time, 3-5 years, where Hal expressed an interest to get away from the highest lux tax penalty and all of a sudden they’re the Pittsburgh Pirates.
1. Actually if you read anything I’ve written recently I’ve argued that they are far from the Pirates as possible and that Hal is anything but cheap. which makes the SP deficiency more of an an eye sore
2. My comment was specific to @thatdude07 post as to why he spends more $$$$ on bats than on SP. Cash’s outlay of coin to SP was CC and tanaka. on several others like corbin he has cited the cost of it. That didn’t stop him from signing happless though to 17 a year. nor passing on other legits studs along the way because of coin
3. I will only once again point out that Cashman has won once in 15 years and has had more resources in that span that anyone else. You think he has done a good job, b/c we make it to October every year. I think that’s weak given as you say we are not the Pirates.
@fitsiqis65
Are you really comparing signing Happ to a 2/$34 mil guarantee to Corbin’s 6/$140 mil? And from what I read it was that he was unwilling to offer a 6th year.
But again, Cole is NOT Corbin and I will be the first to complain if there isn’t a signifgant offer made to Cole and by that I mean something that surpasses what Price signed for. Of course, what’s offered will be speculated since team’s seldom disclose their offers.
-I happen to agree with you that they are not comparable and corbin is no cole. he is however better than much of the Yankkee staff. However, i took the cheap shot b/c 17 mil is apparently a lot of coin for the yanks these days.
My issue with it was that Cashman said he did not want to pay for corbin for the last 3 years of the deal 23 mi (ages 32-34) due to age and regression. hence a 4 or 5 year deal at 100 mil was what his analytics guys valued him at…yet signing an aging 36 year to essentially a 3 year deal at 17 per was ok? its stupidity and a waste of resources.
How can you not see where Cash falls short? how can you not see his failure to get this team over the hump?
I agree that the players did not perform, but he hand selected them.
I just don’t get it when you think about teams like the A’s and Rays who seem to maximize on so little.
Now you will watch Chaim bloom run circles around cash too.
@southbeach…
That’s it, though. Hal/Cash will make a solid offer to Cole, call it good and let him walk on to a better deal. Just like at the trade deadline last year, he’ll say all the top end pitching deals were too expensive. He’ll risk another WS.
The Yankees have resources IQIS, Cash spends what they tell him too.
So STOP playing politician and offering a tilted perspective. That’s the definition of weak, along with taking part of someone else’s name and inserting IQIS.
Own up and man up time
What are you talking about mr. the yanks are way better than Houston and will win the World Series.
What is tilted? The Yankees budget? Resources? Cash’s one ws in 15 years?
@fitsiqis65
You only look at things in hindsight and that’s what frustrates me about some of you.
Let’s use some common sense.
Happ had a recent history of success in the AL East:
2016, 2017 and 2018:
11th in WAR
9th in innings pitched
8th in ERA
18th in FIP
A record of 15-7 at Yankees Stadium with a 4.17 ERA. Keep in mind most of those games were vs the Yanks and include his horrible 2018. I can’t say what it was up to 2018 but I imagine his ERA was below 4.
A career record of 6-2 at Fenway with a 2.61 ERA.
Once we traded for him last year he was 7-0 with a 2.69 ERA in 11 starts.
With the Corbin off the table you had Happ and Morton on the market. Both about the same age, Morton spent most of his career in the NL, in the last 9 years has pitched over 150 IP only twice at that time. Offering Happ a 2/$34 mil was a sound move and it’s one I would’ve made too. Yes, he’s 36 but coming off of a strong 2018 there was no sign of regression. Again, Cash is on the record for signing him but I’m not blaming him for doing it. How would he know that Happ would be healthy and still have such a bad year? It’s like he forgot how to pitch. So you can judge him after the fact but the signing was logical, especially with Corbin off the market.
Anyone who has a problem with a short term deal for a “measly” $17 mil for the Yanks to bring in a guy with his credentials is insane. He was a perfect #3 or #4 behind a healthy Severino, Paxton and Tanaka.
I agree that winning is all that matters but to consider we won 103 games with Severino missing 90% of the season, with Happ pitching so poorly and all the injuries previously discussed and NO significant additions at the deadline is amazing. And the fact we took the Stros to 6 games, 2 of which were tied going into the 9th and no German is amazing to me.
This team is much closer to winning than most seem to believe. Run it back one more year with what we have and add a Cole or Stras then I think we can do it in 2020. Shoot…even a Severino, Paxton, Wheeler/Bumgarner, Tanaka, German is a team, if healthy, can win in 2020.
And to those saying Severino isn’t a number 1 I say this. Sevy needs to stay healthy in 2020 and mature into an ace. But if numbers mean anything then look at his 2 years as a starter.
2017-2018 among all pitchers.
5th in WAR with back to back 5+ WAR seasons.
11th in ERA
5th in FIP
9th in K/9
13th in BB/9
1st in FB velocity
8th in strikeouts
Right now, I think he’s more of a thrower. He needs to become more of a pitcher who can get a strikeout when needed. His change up is solid but could use some improvement. I would also like to see him incorporate a sinker or cutter to induce more GB and not rely on strike outs as much.
@Mo4ever
Dude what top pitchers were available this past season? Stroman? Ray? Bauer? Kluber was on the IL most of the year? None of those guys were front of rotation guys. And aside from Stroman the others blew up after they were traded. He was right to pass on them rather than acquiring a mid rotation guy with control issues in exchange for our best pitching prospects who MIGHT be able to help in the near future.
He should’ve traded for Cole if Frazier was the hold up but I don’t blame him for passing on the options mentioned. It appeared the Mets were just dangling Syndegard and Wheeler. I don’t think they would trade with the Yanks unless something stupid was on the table and something stupid is exactly that.
@south beach. I think you continue to miss my points, b/c you seem to feel like you have to defend Cashman at all costs. The Yanks are close. But the genius GM does not make the moves to get them over the hump. That is his fault.
Yes the yanks won 103 games. Sadly, b/c baseball is so inequitable more teams win 100 games and lose 100 games than ever before. I am glad the the Yanks are on the winning side, but given their resources I expect them too. They won 17% of their games alone against Baltimore. Against the Playoff teams? barely over .500 and that is b/c in their first 11 games against Tampa they won 8 or 9 of em. Their last 11 i think we won only 3 or 4……
The regular season is meh. October matters.
I’ve been truly entertained sitting back over the last few weeks reading this guy southbeachbully feeling it’s his obligation to reply to everything negative about Brian Cashman, and God does he drone on, and on. It’s almost like state tv.
Eventually he will get it or cash will figure it out.
Something’s gotta give. I hope.
When you look at all of the money coming off the books / potentially coming off the books after next season (Ellsbury, Tanaka, Happ, DJ, Encarnacion’s buy out) we’re talking more than 80mil. Sure, replacing or resigning a guy like DJ and extending guys like Judge will be a priority; but otherwise, there is a lot of starting pitching money there to be utilized elsewhere. There is no reason that Cashman can’t plan a year ahead of time and allocate that money to a Cole or (more likely) a Wheeler or Strasburg.
@David V
I agree. This is the perfect time to snag an ace. Tanaka, Happ and Paxton are all FA next year. I can imagine if Pax and Tanaka have good 2020 they might wish to extend one or the other. Tanaka on a short term 1 or 2 year deal. And Pax maybe on a 4 year deal. But if they sign Cole then paired with Severino, German and perhaps Montgomery that’s a pretty good 1/2 combo and then you find a #3 and where good.
There are no true aces in the 2021 class. You have a middle aged Kluber and guys like Stroman, Robby Ray, Mike Minor and Trevor Bauer who are very “eh” and might start to slide considering their 2019 performances.
Cash MUST go hard. If Cole doesn’t sign with the Yanks it must be because of something other than money. Meaning, Cash has to go all out and force them to say know to a top of the market offer. If he passes then it’s not on Cash although I know he’ll get roasted. But if he makes the best offer Cash can’t force him to sign it. But it better be above both Price and Greinke in aav and total. If Cole can give us 4 years as an ace and the rest of the contract is a 3 or 4 then so be it.
Decent points. But why would the giants take on that contract If they’re not contending in the near future? They would be wise to unload and rebuild, a 10 year contract doesnt help u with payroll flexibility. Keep shark hes only owed a year or 2 instead of 10.
Hal is Scrooge McDuck.
Here are my thoughts on the Yankees.
Sign Mousatkas to 2 year deal and play him at 2nd Base.
Good club house guy above average defense.
Maybe catch lightning in a bottle like LeMaheui.
His swing was built for Yankee Staduim short right field porch.
Have Andujar work out at LF and 1st Base. He could also back up Urshela at 3rd Base.
His bat is too good to not have him in the Line Up. 25+ homer potential. And he is young and affordable yet.
Love Voit but i think Ford is the man. Trade Voit for a bullpen piece maybe ?
Frazier – I am not sure what to do with him. Enormous potential but….
As far as rotation.
Yeh who would not want Cole or Strasburg.
But maybe use that money spent on Bumgarner and Maybe Wacha or Kuechel.
Even bring Pineda back or Miley. All short term deals. 2 starters instead of one Huge $$$.
Nothing spectacular here but they will keep you in the game for 4 or 5 innings.
Then let the bullpen take over..
Now to the bullpen.
If they sign 2 starters from above then Green goes back to long relief.
Then sign Doolittle or Harris from Astros or Will Smith from Giants. Sign 2 short term deals. Even Daniel Hudson from Nats.
Also give Devi Garcia a shot to relieve. Great stuff for one to two innings. Think young version of Betanances. Let Betanaces walk. Love the guy but time is up.
Definately sign Gardner. He is the ultimate professional if not the veteran Captain of this team. Eventually Judge is the man if not right now.
So here is my team opening day.
C – Sanchez / Higgie or resign Romine.+++
1B – LeMaheiu/Ford
2B – Mousatkas
SS – Torres
3B – Urshela
Utility Players – Andujar 1st 3rd LF and Wade or Estrada.
LF – Tauchman
CF – Gardner / Then maybe Hicks when healthy later on.
RF – Judge
DH – Stanton
Utility OF – Resign Maybin for one year. He played well last season. Good Guy.
SP – Sevy/Paxton/Tanaka/Bumgarner/Wacha or Kuechel / Montgomery or
Happ.
RP – Chappy / Britton / Otto / Kahnle / Green / Garcia or Harris,Smith, or Doolittle.
Well i think that is it.
And finally the Ellsbury albratross contract will be off the books next season. Would be nice if he could prove healthy in Sping then trade him away and eat some of that contract.
Probably better with Moose at 3B and Urshela at 2B.
Your OF is exactly why I suggest the Happ for Randal Grichuk deal. He can play RF moving Judge to CF without having to re-sign Gardner plus save a few million under the luxury. Or re-sign Gardner, no Maybin. You get 30+ bombs from Grichuk entering prime years, adequate D. At least 30 in that ballpark.
I don’t get it….why would you take great defense at 3rd in Urshela and put him at 2nd where he hasn’t played at all and you really don’t know what you get forward. Now what do you do with DJ? He has to play every day.
Don’t think moving Judge to center is a good idea again because you’re taking arguably the 2nd best right fielder in baseball and putting him at a position that he neither has experience at, nor most probably the speed to man that huge left center field gap.
Finally, while Grichuk has shown power, he also is another clone of Stanton…hitting bombs in exchange for a .240 average and being a rally killer as an all or nothing player.
Rocky is that a trick question?
Let’s play would you rather: Moose at 2B and Urshela at 3B? Or the other way? Urshela is a better defender than Moose at 3B and 2B, and a case could be made Urshela should play SS and Torres stays at 2B.
I agree, DJ should be playing everyday. I simply used Snyder’s example, and if it were up to me I wouldn’t bother with Moose and keep Urshela at 3B and DJ at 2B. Urshela is slick and can any INF position.
As for Judge, yes he’s a good RF. The Yankees need to cut some payroll and need an OF. That is what a Grichuk for Happ deal would give the Yankees. Grichuk covers decent ground in RF and could play CF in a pinch. When Hicks returns you have a very strong LF in Grichuk.
I gave a short-term solution to save $6-mil and change, get rid of Happ and cover an OF position. That is the price you have to pay for what value the Yankees have in Happ.
Did you actually suggest moving Judge to CF. What in Judge’s playing history suggests he could play CF or should I assume you think MLB is like fantasy baseball and you can just get 3 outfielders and play them at any position. Also whats the fascination with Grichuk who had a 280 obp last year and a 301 obp the year before that. Those not only are not starter numbers they are barely staying in the pros numbers. Yes he hit 31 hrs last year but this is not a guy who should be starting for a contending team.
@WereAllJustGuestsHere
Why move Judge who’s a gold glove caliber player in RF to CF and add all that wear and tear to his body?
And Grichuk rates as a below average defender. Also, he’s far worse of a hitter than Stanton. With Stanton at least he’s been a .250-280 hitter with a obp in the .340-.380 rank. His career slash is .268/.355 and he usually walks around 11% of the time. If he HAD to play the field I would rather see him in RF and move Judge to LF. Or at least see if Judge could handle it. That’s better than down grading the RF and CF positions just to save money. I’d rather have Happ be a long man out the pen and spot starter than make that trade.
And let’s relax with this idea of trading Stanton. No one is making that trade until they at least see one or two MVP caliber seasons. He had a good 2018 and an injury plagued 2019. Before that he played 155 games in 2017 and 2018 and likely would’ve had 150 + games in 2016 when he played 119 games before Mike Fiers broke his jaw with the HBP. So saying he’s injury prone is not exactly accurate. He had an oblique injury and then a calf problem. New conditioning can help him stay healthy. Too early to say his contract will go unearned. He could easily rebound with a 40 homer season and change the narrative somewhat. Doesn’t mean teams will trade for him but maybe he stays and earns his pay?
Sorry Southbeach, didn’t get to this….
First, I don’t expect Stanton to be moved with that contract. That sits on the Yankees for a long time. They have to work around it.
Second, if you’d like to keep Happ as the longman then the only way the Yankees can win the World Series is if ownership is willing to spend – I mean REALLY spend. Doesn’t seem like that’s likely to happen. Now we are back to square one. Yankees do not have the team at this point to definitely win.
Third, I actually thought Judge played more CF than he has at this point in his career. The purpose is to have a stopgap until Hicks returns.
Wow
you serious Clark?
@RSnyder
It doesn’t make sense for the Yanks to bring in another 2nd baseman and it doesn’t make sense for the Yanks to limit DJ to one position. Also, I don’t get how people had all this doubt about Voit but are ready to trade him because of what Ford did in a relatively small sample size. I like the kid but we shouldn’t just dump Voit to put him in the line-up. Voit has tremendous opposite field power so he takes advantage of the short porch just the same as Ford can.
I have no idea what Didi is looking for but I can’t imagine it’s much. Even when Didi was headed towards TJ surgery Cash expressed he wanted to extend him. I think Didi’s 2019 was decent given what he was recovering from.
The configuration is to have Urshella/Didi/Torres/Voit with DJ moving around the infield. I love Andujar but Urhela’s glove should play ahead of him. With all the injuries we went thru I would rather keep all the depth we have and focus more on the pitching. After all, Voit. Ford, Andujar, Torres and Frazier are all still pre-arb. Doesn’t make sense to move them unless it improves the team. And honestly, aside from Torres and MAYBE…maybe..Andujar, none of those guys can center a trade for a true ace. And I’m not even sure a “true” ace will be on the market.
Injuries have a way of exhausting a teams’s depth.I’d rather be in a position where we have too many healthy IF to give at bats to and trade mid-season and not before ST. Who know what can happen between now and April.
I agree that, if Didi is willing to take a 1 year deal or a reasonable multi-year deal to stay with the Yankees, than they should extend him.
I think 3B should be Ursehla’s to lose. Andjuar should be in camp for ST, but should probably start the year in AAA (I’m assuming he has options left, but haven’t actually verified that) until he proves he is healthy and can produce. Andjuar had major shoulder surgery and it is not a given that he returns to what he was before the injury.
I think they need to go find 1 more starting pitcher, but I doubt it will be Cole or Strasburg. Both will command more than the Yankees are willing to tie up and they will probably be looking at the 2nd tier starting pitchers. They have Severino, Paxton, Tanaka and Happ probably slotted into the rotation with Montgomery and a few others as depth or if one of them surprises everyone coming out of ST.
To be honest if the Yankees don’t go out and acquire at least two serious starting pitchers good luck selling next season to the fans. The entire baseball world knows what the Yankees need it’s no secret so let’s all stop with this Francisco Lindor fantasy it’s not happening. They can play stupid all they want but any off season that doesn’t end with Cole and another free agent arm in pin stripes is a huge fail. At all costs is how I would describe their impending pursuit of Cole. They have plenty of money coming off the books within these next two years so paying Cole should not be an issue. Ellsbury’s $26 million alone is coming off after this next year not to mention this season’s subtractions. Oh and Angel’s fans please don’t bother telling me that Cole is going to Anaheim because the Angels don’t sign expensive quality arms they sign projects with no upside and will continue to do so.
Two starters huh?
Severino (if healthy borderline)
Tanaka (solid 3)
Paxton (great number 2)
German (when he returns he could be a big wild card)
Happ (trade him, if not a nice 5 eat up innings)
Devi Garcia
Jordan Montgomery
Jonathan Losiaga
Mike King
And plenty still coming including that number 1 pick (Clark Schmidt) few years ago with nice stuff.
Some teams would love that pitching staff.
One top of rotation is all we truly need and Wheeler is not the guy so if no Cole or Strasburg then I have no idea who it could be because Aces are not abundant around the league.
Tanaka is a solid 3? Since when?
Well what is he? Is he a 2? An Ace?
He’s better then a 4 that’s for dam sure. So what is he?
@FattKemp
If you use WAR just as a overall idea of value then Tanaka’s ranking as #31 over the last 3 years means he’s at least a #3. starter. Obviously some teams he would be higher (Baltimore, etc) and some teams he would be lower (Astros, Dodgers, etc). But definitely a mid rotation starter.
About the time you were born
Plus he’s a great postseason pitcher. Something the Yanks need more of not less of.Also based on the number of teams in the league someone rated number 31 of the last 3 years is at least a two on most teams
With a strong pen (which you have) you can get by with a staff of #2/3 type guys.
Because of what’s behind them, someone like madbum on a short deal (age) or Stras/Wheeler would be a big loft for the staff. A Cole at the prices being tossed around really isn’t needed, as nice as he would be in any rotation
Why would you think that? that strategy has failed for many years. So…I’m not sure why you think that way.
Only if your goal is losing in the playoffs every year.
No ace on your rotation. How does that work in the postseason? 2 to 3 losses per Series. That’s why Cole is a must if you really mean Win Now. And Loaisiga and King, etc. shouldn’t be on any serious rotation list, certainly not for a #1 contender.
@Mo4ever
Wait…Severino isn’t an ace? He may not be a Max, Verlander, Cole level right now but he would be an ace on half of the teams in baseball and the metrics show it. He does have room to improve and it would be nice to have a Cole or Stras ahead of him to take some of the pressure off and to perhaps mentor him but his numbers indicate he;s been a top 10 guy in 2017 and 2018.
Well Mysteryteam prepare to be disappointed then.
They need money in 2021 for Sanchez & Judge, which will be around $30M is Arb salaries, so that eats up the $21M for Ella (since they owe him a $5M buy out in 2021). So they don’t have a ton of money to play with after next season.
@Dorothy_Mantooth
After 2020 they will have
Tanaka @ $23 mil, Ellsbury ($16 mil after buyout), Happ ($17 mil), DJ ($12 mil) and Paxton ($13+ mil) off the books. They might try and resign Pax and maybe DJ but they can afford to let them walk.
After 2021 they will have
Britton ($13 mil) and Ottavino ($9 mil) off the books.
Stanton would be the only non-arb player earning anything more than the $17.5 Chapman will earn in his last year. So the Yanks can figure it out. And again, their the Yanks. I think they don’t mind being over the lux tax they just want to avoid being on that 50% on the dollar penalty rate.
I know a lot can happen between now and 2022 but why was Sevvy’s contract listed with the buyout?
Forget about Cole and Strasburg, it ain’t gonna happen !!!
Stanton options:
Everyday DH if he stays healthy is not ideal as it clogs up the lineup and guys like Sanchez, Andujar, Voit, maybe Frazier cannot get DJ time.
Stanton seems to like playing in the field and before being traded he was a very decent RF with a big arm. Now he’s below average LF.
Rumors abound on twitter from unverified sources stating he’s not happy with how he’s been treated by fans and some of the
Media.
He was willing to go to LA D but the Dodgers who can use RH power bats are up against the cap.
The other potential option is maybe he waives for LA Angels who may try and go all in if they sign Cole.
Maybe a Stanton and Voit or Ford for Pujols and a prospect can be something that can be put together? Not sure why the Yanks would want a 40yo Pujols but that’s what it will take to get out of this contract. Otherwise this trade will come back and haunt the Yanks as he’s gonna be a contract albatross for years to come.
Who knows, maybe he returns healthy and hits like an mvp and many of us forget about how much we want his contract moved.
Bruh the Dodgers have zero need for a RH power bat, because that’s not the way they’ve built their team, and if they wanted a RH power bat there’s Rendon. The Dodgers have a terrific farm with players on the cusp of contributing, one being a RH power bat in DJ Peters.
Stanton wouldn’t fit with the Dodgers for reasons more than money. Bruh the Yankees trading Stanton to the Dodgers is never, ever gonna happen. No room on the Angels either. You might want to look at other teams needs before making these wishes of pawning off Stanton on them.
Unless you find a complete loser GM in the NL, no one is trading for Stanton to be an outfielder. He’s a bit like a JDM clone. You can put him in LF occasionally, and he owns a glove, but I doubt you’d want to do so fulltime, and I doubt you would do so for more than a year or two.
The NYY target would be an AL team, with real money, that needs a DH.
@JoeBrady
The reasons to keep Stanton as a DH have more to do with avoiding the wear and tear on his body not because he isn’t a viable RF option. For the years in the NL (2010-2017) he ranked 2nd among all RF in DSR (+45), his UZA was 2nd (+31), his UZR/150 was 17th (+4.8) and his UZR/150 ranked 11th (-11). He was not a gold glover but we was at least average and some years slightly above average.
Now he might regress after he enters his mid 30s but he was no hack in the NL. In comparison his numbers were better than Harper. If he were still in the NL and still hitting 40 plus homers then his defense would be passable.
But doesn’t mean anything. He’s not going to be traded. I doubt Cash is even shopping him. It’s two years into the deal and we’ve seen bat first DH types earn coin as long as their bat held up and that’s the key with Stanton. If he can average 35-40 homers, keep his bat/obp in the .260/.350 range and stay healthy then he’ll be fine ala Edgar Martinez, Ortiz, EE and Nelson Cruz who all aged well as DH types.
LAA will have the same issue as the NYY. For value purposes, Pujols is due $59M and should be released. Including the Miami money, Stanton is owed $214M/8. Netting off Pujols, Stanton’s cost to LAA would be $155M/8. I doubt anyone would come close to paying Stanton that type of coin. JDM is better, and even he didn’t think he could get more than $63M/3.
Plus, with Ohtani at DH, Stanton has to play LF, which is dangerous for his health.
OTOH, I don’t think he is disabled. I think he has at least 2-3 more JDM-level seasons in him.
Isn’t Joe Adell athletic enough to play left and then Stanton has RF? Who on the Angels is a better RF option then Stanton???
Think about your answer before start blurting out nonsense and money. I’m talking strictly talent wise. If the Angels are going for it Stanton would be a huge addition. But I agree with some of the points made by Joe Brady.
As far as Bruh man Pope Marley, I wasn’t aware the Dodgers has a tremendous amount of RH power outside Turner and since they have Turner why go after Rendon. Also you know Rendon would sign with the Dodgers? I’m just confused with Bruh man ideas of what his Dodgers needs are?
Bruh the Angels are currently paying Upton top dollar to play LF. Meaning..If the Dodgers wanted to add a high salaried RH power bat they could just sign Rendon, he’d be able to fit their mold easier than Stanton.
I get where you as a Yankees fan one would have a team centric view of flexibility this offseason for obvious reasons. But it’s honestly not in the cards. The Dodgers had little interest in obtaining Stanton coming off an MVP season, in part because they don’t value COFs the same and in other part due to the severely backloaded contract with extended years attached at an extended age, unless the backend came at a steep discount.
So what’s changed; Dodgers still have no shortage of COFs. Some pretty good ones none the less, as Bellinger’s legs will be saved for playoff time and Verdugo is coming back from an injury. Before mention of Pollock and Pederson along with the cast of depth mates.
The Dodgers pressing needs this coming offseason reside in the SP category and a RH/(S) on the left side of the infield.
In asking why the Dodgers would move Turner to 1st, it’s pretty evident watching Turner day in day out. Not only has he lost a step or two, but it’s more about preserving his bat and keeping him healthy. Turner is a pretty intelligent guy knowing teams are going to value him as a bat first 1B come next offseason along with understanding it’s a plus for the team. Add onto that, 3rd is one of the two weak spots on the farm that has no one close to ready and you get the perfect spot to use that flexibility on both need and a plus on both sides of the ball.
On the other hand, please let’s not compare Peters to Stanton. Yes they have many similarities huge dudes, tools galore, but they aren’t in the same stratosphere. Peters has some major red flags if we’re being honest. Offensively he’s had two good months in the last two years, accumulating a 32% K rate. That’s not even Pederson level contact concern that’s Kyle Russell level of contact concern. And yes I’m not in the stat line scouting category, but he got exposed in the AFL AA. He set the AAA world ablaze for a month and then pitchers made adjustments. Peters is the type of flyer guy that is a toolsy lotto ticket in a package where he may develop with an extended opportunity he probably doesn’t get with the Dodgers.
The LA Angels need to spend their money on starting pitching or it won’t matter at all. That is where they will spend their money. They won’t spend it bailing out the Yankees with Stanton. The Yankees are stuck with Stanton.
This guy billy makes these absurd trade ideas of Stanton going to the Dodgers every other Yankees article. He concocts these trades with other teams, but mostly the Dodgers.
FYI in no way was I comparing Stanton to Peters. My Rendon reference was strictly saying that, if the Dodgers were gonna add a high priced ticket RH bat they could just add Rendon who’d fit much better. I’m not in anyway suggesting the Dodgers will go after Rendon.
Billy expects every team to take the Yankee’s scraps for their star players. He does not look at the needs of the other teams. Whatever fits the Yankees is what he will argue for. The sad thing is that he actually believes that his trades are fair.
You said the Dodgers didn’t need RH power because they have Peters?
Lol that’s your words.
Stop crying Hockeymom, I mean John. Your the guy that attacks people on other threads and gets called out constantly and all o did was agree with the people calling you out. So zip it already.
Keep making up stories, Billy. You are a good fiction writer.
Number 1 – You are a poster that stoops to name calling and attacks frequently. That is not me.
Number 2 – You are the only person who attacks me just because I disagree with your trade proposals. I have a right to post my opinion, just like you do.
Number 3 – Often, you don’t try to look at the needs of the other team when proposing your Yankee trades. The whole world does not run around the Yankees.
Billy – We just don’t agree on your trade proposals. Try having a normal discussion for a change. Instead you argue and name call others frequently, hence my comment above. Perhaps, you should learn some manners.
Have a nice day, Billy.
Always wondered why the Yankees never moved Sanchez to 1B after Teixiera retired. Romine is serviceable and better defensively. If Sanchez played 1B 4 times and caught 2 times per week he might be a much better player offensively and defensively.
Of course, I get that y’all have crushes on Greg Bird and Luke Voit so who am I kidding?
Do you not realize how valuable Sanchez is as a catcher and how much less valuable he is at 1st?
For fantasy baseball purposes, absolutely.
As a Red Sox fan, I look back to our 2018 run and we often sacrificed Catcher offensive output for defense. Blake Swihart was obviously the best bat we had behind the dish, but Vazquez and Leon showed excellent defensive capabilities which I think is comparable to the Sanchez – Romine tandem.
@hpafs
Man everything is so easy to analyze after the fact isn’t it?
2016,was the last year with Tex on the roster. In 2015 Tex missed 50 games and Bird was called up and was super hot hitting 11 homeruns in 46 games with a promising ..261/.343/.529 in the bigs and a career minor league slash of .281/.396/.485 with patience and a great lefty stroke made for YS. Unfortunately, he missed all of 2016 (Tex’s last year) with a shoulder injury.
In 2016 Sanchez looked like a guy that could stick at C, especially with an arm that threw out 40% of SB attempts. He shows flashes of PB being an issue but he also was a monster with the bat. It’s a mistake to NOT see if he can improve back in 2016 at age 23 especially when he hit 53 homers in 172 games. If you can have a C with that kind of offensive production and just be an average to slightly below average C then you give the kid time to improve. He obviously hasn’t improved a lot although FG has him as an above average defensive C as it comes to def war. This year he was a flat -0.1 but they had him at +8.9, +6.6 and +4.6 the 3 years before; I guess they like some of the other things he does defensively.
But again, you’re judging after the fact instead of understanding what the players were doing back in 2015=2016.
Not sure why you even bring up Voit since he didn’t come to the Yanks until years after Tex left. And he’s been nothing short of great as a Yankee
:
157 games, 658 PA with 26 dbls, 35 hrs, and a .280/.384/.517 slash and .901 OPS with a healthy walk rate around 12%. I doubt Sanchez would’ve been that much better defensively at 1B so his glove isn’t an issue.
Agreed, it is one of my pet peeves when people look back and say things that couldn’t have been foreseen (such as Mike Trout being drafted in the later part of the 1st round).. Certainly not saying he shouldn’t have gotten his chances behind the dish, I did state in my original post that he could have caught a few times per week. I just picture a situation such as what the Giants has with Posey, but a bit more 1B. If you have that great of a bat, you may as well try to get it in the line up 162 games. 1B would have helped that cause. Also I only brought up Voit to encourage that even though this is my thought, it won’t happen because they are “set” at the position, even though it’s not a traditional Yankee type fit at 1B
I respect all the research you did to prove me wrong, but I agree with the majority of what you said!
All this talk about going for it in 2020 but everyone is forgetting about the HUGE pay raises coming to Judge, Torres & Sanchez in 2021. Judge will command $20M in arbitration in 2021, Sanchez $10M+ and Torres has one more reasonable ARB salary before he goes through the roof. With only Ellsbury & Happ coming off the books after 2020, the Yankees can’t commit to multiple LT contracts in 2020 if they want to keep their young nucleus intact.
happless has a chance of being around. There is a 3rd year vesting option for him based on starts and IP. So if he pitches as frequently (27 starts or 165 innings) this upcoming season as he did last year than not only we will have an aging expensive happless pitcher with an era over 5, but giddy up as we get him for 2021 as well.
Stop with the cheap hapless reference and own up to hijacking a posters’ name and inserting IQIS in the middle. So rather than calling Cash and the Yankees on the carpet and asking for them to man up, stop being a little wimp and own up yourself.
Just cash not the Yankees. Get it right or quit posting away.
Read the barstool sport article about happless having. the worst yankee pitching season and then come back with something befitting you IQ
This is the third month of hyjacking another posters name and inserting IQIS in the middle. It’s time GEESON to stop your pretend and man up.
Dorothy, Ellsbury and Happ aren’t the only contracts coming off the books after next season though. Tanaka and Paxton are also free agents after next season, and even Britton has an opt out after next season as well.
As a fan, I wish the Yankees would start acting like the Yankees again. Sign Cole and Strasburg. Pay luxury tax. You only get $10 for second prize in a beauty pageant.
It’s truly Amazing how Gullible so many fans are.
The Yankees’ Revenue 2 Years Ago was $714 Million, the most in MLB, according to FORBES Magazine.
That means after subtracting approx. $220MM for player salaries & $100MM more for misc. expenses, Hal & his siblings, along with Levine, split at least $394 Million two years ago!
So why are so many fans siding with the owners when they’re pocketing OUR Millions?
I’d rather pay Cole $30MM/year than see Hal pocket that $30MM. After all, that Money is coming from U$.
Wake Up, Yankee fans.
Hal, his siblings & Levine are Laughing their butts off at those of you who are foolish enough to defend management for NOT blowing through the salary cap.
According to one article I read (based on the previously mentioned FORBES article), the Yankees spend a SMALLER % of their revenue on player salaries than ANY TEAM in MLB.
Hal only cares about winning just enough to ensure he can personally pocket $100MM+ a year of the money we pay for tickets, YES, and team merchandise.
Who cares what they do with there own money?
The guy wants to run the team by not blowing through the cap every year. What’s wrong with playing by the rules of the cap system?
Even with a cap the Yanks are always a top spender.
Rather then attack Hal and Yankee ownership like a bunch of cry baby millennial zero knowledge fans why not attack baseball itself for imposing this salary cap system but not attaching a floor cap to it where certain teams never spend and reap the benefits of those who go over by collecting the overage at seasons end? What they created is rewarding a system of failing or better yet tanking. I’m sure that’s right up many of you crybaby snowflakes ally rewarding failure?
imposing this salary cap system but not attaching a floor cap
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1-MLB didn’t impose a cap, it was part of the CBA
2-It isn’t a hard cap, no matter what Steinbrenner says. The RS managed to spend more.
3-The players have been offered a hard cap/hard floor before, and have declined.
Tired of this Mantle536 crying about the Yanks not spending enough. Be more pissed about how they allocated the money they spent rather then how much they spent for a change! That Stanton trade will be an albatross for years to come. The best thing they’ve done is rebuild the farm and build from within and hire top scouts who know which players are worth keeping and which can be dealt.