The Yankees 2020 season was a success by most measures – except for the 2nd-place finish behind Tampa Bay. The Rays took them out in the postseason as well, which was particularly galling with a payroll that (for a full season) floated around $265MM. The Rays, by contrast, fielded a payroll of around $73MM. As opposed to the old days, when the Yankees division rivalry with the Red Sox might prompt a spending spree to put them over the top, the Rays pose a new kind of threat. The Yankees cannot delude themselves into thinking their loss in 2020 has anything at all to do with money. The Yankees have to explore the possibility of doing more with less.
If there’s a model for the Yankees to mimic, it’s the Dodgers more so than the Rays. Though, considering that Andrew Friedman – the architect of these Dodgers – came from the Rays, one could argue that modeling oneself after the Dodgers is mimicking the Rays. The Yankees – lest we forget – are no slouches themselves when it comes to roster construction. Besides, it’s not any easier to become the Rays overnight than it is to become the Yankees overnight. Still, signs point to the Yankees facing a dramatic cut in payroll, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Sherman suggests the Yankees will want to steer clear of exceeding the $210MM luxury tax line, which means taking a significant step back payroll-wise. Making it easier for GM Brian Cashman will be a whole slew of contracts coming off the books: James Paxton ($12.5MM), Masahiro Tanaka ($23MM), DJ LeMahieu ($12MM), J.A. Happ ($17MM), Jacoby Ellsbury ($5MM), and Brett Gardner ($7.5MM).
Taking into account potential arbitration raises, Sherman pegs the Yankees current 2021 payroll to be around $171MM, which leaves probably a little more than $30MM in payroll space if the Yankees do intend to stay south of the luxury tax line. Non-tendering or trading Gary Sanchez would save $5MM, but they would need to fill his roster spot in that case.
Otherwise, they need a middle infielder – or to bring LeMahieu back. If LeMeahieu leaves, they could explore the possibility of finding a glove-first shortstop to shore up the defense while moving Gleyber Torres to second. While it’s not fun to consider the possibility of losing LeMahieu, they could probably withstand his departure, especially with Clint Frazier looking like a viable starting outfielder. Not to diminish LeMahieu’s importance – he is the batting champ, after all – but the Yankees would otherwise return most of a crew that scored the 4th-most runs in the majors in 2020.
As much as the Yankees like LeMahieu, they have greater need in the rotation – and the money crunch is real. If Tanaka were to, say, accept a qualifying offer, their available money gets cut in half pretty quickly. LeMahieu, meanwhile, is looking at a contract that nets him $20MM per season, if MLBTR readers are to be believed.
Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, Deivi Garcia, Jordan Montgomery, Clarke Schmidt, and Domingo German provides manager Aaron Boone with a better group of rotation arms than many teams have, but they’re largely unproven (or coming off lost seasons in the case of Severino/German). Especially returning to a full 162-game season, depth is key in the rotation, a lesson Yankees’ fans know well. Without any additions, the Yankees would lean heavily on Cole for the second consecutive season. As good as he was this year, he can’t win a pennant all his own.
All that said, there could be some real bargains on the free agent market this winter. It’s an offseason unlike any we’ve ever seen before. With teams planning to cut payroll almost across the board because of the revenue losses caused by the pandemic, it’s hard to pinpoint any specific club that’s definitely going to spend big money. New York could explore moving some of their committed money – like the $13MM owed to Zack Britton and his 1.89 ERA in his final season on the books – but again, given the revenue losses all across baseball, there aren’t likely to be a lot of places to dump payroll.
FredMcGriff for the HOF
Cashman needs to go.
davidk1979
Y
billysbballz
Cashman is the reason the rebuild was as quick and painless as it was.
Yep it is
Rebuild ?? Now going on 12 years. The only reason Cashman is talked about is because he is in NY. Easy to be a GM when all you do is spend, spend, spend.
PiratesFan1981
Maybe Cashman isn’t the problem. He is as of right now, a top 5 GM in all of baseball. You let him go, someone will be glad to hire him. I am sure Angels, Mets, Rangers, Cubs (if Theo departs), and Giants will be jumping on the phone and giving him a call. Heck, throw in the Red Sox too.
yankees500
Ahh yes. Urshela, Tauchman, Chad green, judge, voit, hicks (pre-extension), German, etc and their massive contracts!
bradthebluefish
Who should replace Cashman?
koz16
Ridiculous. The Yankees have also developed a number of players and Cashman and his team of uncovered first rate talent in guys like Urshela and Voit.
Last year the team was besieged by injuries, some that carried over into this season.
Almost every single season, Cashman has assembled more than enough talent for the Yankees to win a World Series. But in the end it’s up to the players to stay healthy and perform on the field.
NEsports
Might be the manager? Lmao
Paul Winkler
Oh I don’t know…pretty much anybody with a brain.
looiebelongsinthehall
Agree. Yanks draft towards the bottom each year yet they’ve developed Judge, Severino and yes Sanchez ((who has been disappointing and overrated but still smashed initially) to name a few. Bad signing in Ellsbury but great finds in Urshela and Ford. Solid (or better) trades for Voit and Hicks. Plus job for developing, trading and/or signing the bullpen. I know I’m missing a lot but he’s done exactly what ownership has wanted other than put together a team than has recently won the big one. As long as the team continues to print money, Cash will stay. If the pandemic continues and it continues to hit the bottom line, the team could be foolish and move on. If they do, he’ll jump across town and lead the Mets (Anderson is a short term Mets move) and Yankee fans will pull out whatever hair they have left.
julyn82001
Expenditure is just traditional with the Yankees. George Steinbrenner didn’t hesitate too much pulling out the check book bringing the best players to New York. Staying competitive was and is the idea. Going into the WS every single year it’s just different. I don’t think Georgie care to distinct either way…
themayor
If they don’t bring DJLM back they will have a big step back in 20201
Marvels MagaMan
So theyll regret it in 18,180 years? Damn, that’s calling your shot.
Old User Name
Nostradamas would be impressed.
BobGibsonFan
We will just have to wait and see then now won’t we?
CrookedAsstros
“You know, Quasimodo predicted all of this.”
kevnames42
Oh right. Notre Damus!
Philliesfan4life
If they lose DJ then their in big trouble
DarkSide830
As shown, dont need to get rid of Sanchez even if you are getting a new C as a free agent because of all of the contracts coming off the books.
pasha2k
They could DF Chapman, somewhat, adding by subtracting. Domingo is another way to lessen payroll.
MoRivera 1999
German’s salary was $577K.
racosun
José Iglesias fits.
bobtillman
The key is at the end of the article…EVERYBODY will be cutting payroll. Even the big boys, though they’ll be needing to do it less.
Lots and Lots of bargains this winter….this site will be going wild…..Great opportunity for well healed rebuilding teams (O’s, Giants, Tigers) to get better quicker.
MetsFan22
Mets won’t be. It’s been reported Cohen will be prepared to lose money this year and next year to win.
MetsFan22
Cohen also didn’t lose money with covid as he wasn’t the Mets owner
Srechter35
Metsfan is littering these boards boasting about Cohen’s spending ability. No real indictment or criticism, I just find it hilarious.
Ducky Buckin Fent
Lol
He’s *really* excited.
&, hey, maybe Cohen is the next George Steinbrenner. We’ll see.
Wouldn’t surprise me if he decides that losing money is not something he’s all that interested in either.
Also, Luke Voit could beat up What’shisname Alonso on one leg. Akin to their respective performances this season.
YankeesBleacherCreature
If I’m at Mets fan, I’d be delirious too to have a new owner.
User 4245925809
I’ve been a baseball fan for well over 50y and since the start of the Mets franchise.. Which I can remember.. There have been 2 very short windows where the Mets have over shadowed the Yanks as a better team to see. The late 60’s and those miracle Mets, led by Seaver, Kooz and outstanding pitching which won them a series, then the mid 80’s when Scrap Iron Buckner couldn’t squat low enough to field a dribbler down the 1b line, handing the mets the ’86WS crown.
Since 1961, the NYY have dominated the baseball scene, other than 2 very, very short windows. Mets have ALWAYS been 2 steps behind.
cnemarich
Ducky, aka Francis? Is that you? cnemarich here from PSA. Get your butt back to PSA pronto! You left me on an island there, bruh. Seriously, everyone misses you. At least make an appearance. You said you’d never abandon me, hahaha. How the heck are you???!!!
Ducky Buckin Fent
Holy #$*#!
What’s good, @nemarich?
First, I’m well. Company was able to piece together a pretty good season. I’m in grouse shooting/waterfowling/turkey hunting mode now.
But this year was so draining, bro. I’m putting some things in place to take a step back.
How’s the restaurant business? You guys making it?
Bro.
I received a warning when I responded to a post saying people who voted my way are “uneducated”. I merely provided my educational background.
Alas.
Then Tyler Norton – he of the $150/month “job” – banned me for “ruffling feathers” lol.
Didn’t even delete any of my posts. Just didn’t care to hear a contrary opinion.
Uh?
Give the lads my warmest regards.
cnemarich
Oh my god! That’s insane! So, you got warned and banned for a single post?
Glad to hear you’re doing well. Hit me up with an email sometime nemarichc@gmail.com. Miss you, brother.
Ducky Buckin Fent
I hadn’t thought of it like that.
But, I guess technically, yeah.
The reality is, I’m a vet & a business owner. So I don’t really fit with the staff’s politics, or whatever. That was actually the “issue”.
Got your email address.
I’ll hit you up.
bot
Lip service. There’s 10 teams that would blow the 210 out of the water if there wasn’t a gentleman’s agreement amongst teams to try to stay under it
Ducky Buckin Fent
Oh look.
A bot with a conspiracy theory.
Srechter35
Ducky, you are a funny fella.
bot
Is it ? Every team article comments on how the team is trying to stay under the luxury threshold. Yet their actions typically show the opposite. No way Boston moves betts last year unless they got the return they did. How bad does 20-30 million in penalties hurt the Yankees ?? Why would they ever care if they went over it unless it creates riffs amongst owners ? A realmuto extension would have put Phili over the threshold but the rumors persisted regardless.
Staying under the cap is good business for all teams. That’s common sense. So the attempt to do so in cases like Yankees and Red Sox is merely press banter. Sorry u haven’t figured that out yet
“Typical sheeple” Homer Simpson
Ducky Buckin Fent
Lol
Sure thing, bud.
“Typical internet weirdo.” ~ Ducky Buckin Fent
PinstripedPride
No he’s right, to be fair. There are multiple teams that would spend a lot more. Phillies, Nationals, Mets (with Cohen) just to name a few
PhillyLogic
you can forget about the Phillies. John Middleton is crying poor. They are letting JT Realmuto go without a fight. Even though he spent “stupid money” the past few seasons, the Phillies were never able to finish better than .500, so Middleton is prepared to totally scrap it. Middleton is going to turn into Crazy Eddie and start selling off everybody who makes more than the league minimum. Within a few years the Phillies will have MLB”s lowest payroll
4WSsince04
…..and a hefty tax penalty……
It seems almost every “fan” on this site loves to spend other people’s money
AL34 calling Red Sox “cheap” when they spent the most two years running almost daily in every Betts story.
No one thinking that $20 to $30 million extra penalties, in some cases, is that big of a deal……
UnknownPoster
Sure. But the counter point is most teams pay less than 5M in penalties when they go over
5toolMVP
$20-30m luxe tax penalties?? Only 1-3 teams venture that far into the luxury tax to pay that type of penalty. Usually NYY, LAD, BOS and *maybe* 1 other team the last 5 years.
luckyh
They lose draft picks and there are other penalties. Makes it harder to grow the home grown cheaper players.
luckyh
The Yanks owe Ells $5 million in 2021 to buyout the option. That’s the last of him.
YankeesBleacherCreature
Not if they can retrotractively void the remaining of his contract from last year. We won’t know until next season I guess.
luckyh
I would be shocked if they were able to get out of any of it.
billysbballz
DJ needs to be resigned. 4 years at 20 per. In order to facilitate this contract they need to trade a few contracts but they will be a better defensive team if they do. Trade Hicks, Voit, Ottavino, and Andujar for Lindor. Now we have an infield of DJ at first, Torres at 2nd, Lindor at SS, and Ursula at 3rd. Tyler wade and maybe Gary Sanchez at first/C can fill out the infield. Now we need a solid defensive CF to replace Hicks. That can be filled by Tauchman and Gardner unless Florial is ready and can defensively fill that spot. Frazier in Left, Judge in Right, and the new Arod in Stanton as the DH. Our rotation is young with some powerful arms but we saved some money with the trade for Lindor so adding a Bauer could be a possibility. Cole, Bauer, Garcia, Montgomery, German, and eventually Serino and Clarke Schmidt gives us such a strong young rotation. Our bullpen should be solid with Lasagna replacing Ottavino.
luvthedayankees74
Good idea….if George was still alive he would do this!!
Blue_Painted_Dreams_LA
That is nowhere near a package that makes any sense for the Indians. You have them basically taking on 20M. And they aren’t upgrading. They have more than enough corner inf so Voit and Andujar are superfluous. Hicks is good comp piece but they aren’t eating the 50/5. Ottavino as good as he is they aren’t taking on 9M, no. There are going to require a plug and play above average SS with control. They are not going to take scraps with money attached just because you want to get rid of it.
Srechter35
Blue painted—thank you for doing the job of shooting down that pipe dream. Part of the reason yankees fans get so much hate is they actually believe these scenarios are legitimate possibilities, and then point fingers at Cashman when they don’t happen. Perhaps the most curious part here, the logic of NY saving money on the hypothetical Lindor deal, is the most puzzling. Lindor’s arb salary in 2020 was 17.5 million. That number would approach 20 million next year. The proposed trade would hardly save the Yankees any money at all. Easy stuff to look up. Not that it matters—that deal doesn’t make sense for either team in any facet.
dave frost nhlpa
Thank you.
“They want my battleships but are sending me rowboats.”
higgy5220
As a Yankee fan Cleveland would never take that deal
mlb1225
“Here’s all of our spare pieces. Now give us a top 10 baseball player.”
YankeesBleacherCreature
This isn’t fantasy baseball. Cleveland would just hang up the phone on Cashman with that trade proposal. Hicks is one of the best defensive CF’ers. Tauchman is very good, too. Gardner is not.
Padres458
No way the Yankees trade Voit.
bradthebluefish
Love this idea. Only question is what the real cost of acquiring Lindor is.
mvpetro
Ridiculous MLB the Show video game trade right here
hockeyjohn
Yankee fans that think that the small market Cleveland Indians are going to bail them out of Hicks and Ottavino’s bad contracts is a hoot. Cleveland would never do that in a normal year. They certainly are not going to do that with their covid-19 financial losses.
Ducky Buckin Fent
Uh.
The reality is Hicks – at 10MM AAV – is a very team friendly deal. Lots of teams would be all over that.
Yankee “fan” narratives be damned.
Ottavino’s an interesting situation. His regular season numbers were completely skewed due to his outings in Buffalo (namely when he gave up 6 earned while failing to record an out – ouch!).
He still throws that slider worthy of PlayStation.
I can see a bounce back.
They are both part of the equation for next season.
Aside from needing to add – or bring back – a middle infielder the Yankees lineup is set for ’21. I get the Lindor attraction. He’s a nice player.
Don’t see the Yanks getting in on him this winter, though.
hockeyjohn
Ducky, Not all teams have the money or can operate like the Yankees. For his production and injury concern, Hicks is a bad contract for a small market team. Also, no small market team will take on Ottavino’s contract. Try to look at both teams please.
Ducky Buckin Fent
Agree that Ottavino would not be someone the Indians are interested in.
But, Hicks?
Jeeez, he’d be your best outfielder by a fair margin. & – again – his AAV is ten mil. I think Cleveland would be extremely interested in Hicks.
I’m actually not for trading him at all.
That would just create another hole.
But I can’t imagine Cleveland would pass due to his “injury concern”. If one WAR ~ 8 mil even if he only plays 120-30 games/year (what I’d expect) that’s a bargain for a decent fielding, switch hitting CFer who just posted a 123 wrc+.
That is very good production.
hockeyjohn
I will say this again. Aaron Hicks will not be a part of any Francisco Lindor trade. Cleveland, especially post covid-19, would not take on that contract. Stop thinking like a big market fan and look at it from the Cleveland perspective,
Joggin’George
It’s not so much the annual cost but the length of that contract that makes it prohibitive.
MoRivera 1999
Kinda quick for the Yankees to duck below the luxury tax again. They can’t do so without relinquishing their “win now” strategy, which is key to their brand, which seems more pertinent than ever given that they haven’t won in eleven years. It was one thing to duck below the threshold when they were paying the top tax bracket… If this was their plan, to run back to the luxury tax threshold again, now, then the Cole acquisition was a total strategic blunder. Why pay him so much unless you’re willing to pay a luxury tax?
luckyh
Their strategy has been win now*, with the * being showing fiscal restraint when ownership wants them under the lux tax.. George’s win now was far different from Hal’s.
rememberthecoop
Mo, when they signed Cole they didn’t know a pandemic was coming. Their plans, like a lot of teams, have changed due to the revenue lost. And no guarantee there will be fans in the stands next season.
MoRivera 1999
They’re the NYY’s with the NYY revenue. Yeah they lost money. They need to suck it up until they win that ring. That’s the brand. The whole enchildada.
Srechter35
Mo, I get it. And I’m usually not one to defend billionaire owners playing stingy games to maximize earnings at the expense of winning. But in this financial climate, of all moments in our lifetime, I can at least understand. They are a business. A business that will obviously survive this crisis and continue to make money, sure—but still a business. At the very least, how can you be surprised about financial prudence after a 60 game season with no fans in the stands?
I hope they spend; It’s not my money. But I don’t expect them to, and can’t entirely blame them for holding back.
Ducky Buckin Fent
D’accord.
Look.
*Nobody* likes to lose money. So I get it.
Yanks are laying the groundwork to have a fairly lackluster off-season. Cashman recently referred to Tampa Bay as the “superior franchise” right now.
Uh-oh.
Ownership has also stated that they lost more than anyone else. Whyhazee schooled me on the presumption as to taking this at face value.
But.
Yanks are always one of the highest attended teams & charge the highest ticket prices. Just based on that, their losses were indeed substantial. I think that’s fair to recognize.
I definitely prefer spending Hal’s money to my own. 😉 I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Plan 210 in place. Again, I’d get it.
Quite a few holes on this roster that could use some filling, though.
Uh?
Going to be tough to shed that much payroll *and* improve.
Interesting off-season.
rememberthecoop
But spending money doesn’t guarantee anything. Look at the Rays (66M) – the Yankees (220M) outspent them by a LOT, and yet Tampa won the division and beat them in the playoffs and are going to the World Series.. The Dodgers (210M) outspent the Braves (146M) by over 60M, yet they’re going to a game 7. Hell, the Marlins (47M) made the playoffs (albeit expanded playoffs). Only 4 teams outspent the Phillies (179M) and 5 teams the Angels (175M), yet neither made the postseason. (all numbers as of original salaries – not salaries for the 60-game schedule)
4WSsince04
No – …..proves my point from above, “suck it up”…..how many million are you going to contribute to sucking it up….fans that want teams to spend unlimited money are just stupid….what does money grow on trees…..
NYY does not have unlimited money with no fans in the stands….why defend the NYY….I do not like them anyway
slider32
Bottom line is good pitching puts you in the mix, and once you get to the playoffs the outcome is random! Nobody expected guys like Arozarena, Pierce, and many other players would be the MVPs. of the playoffs! If you picked them than you can tell what teams should do. Money has little to do with it, Yanks were in position to win, and they didn;t have the random players to put them over the top. They should try and get DJ back, add 2 relief pitchers and one good starter.
A. A. Izaks
Sign Bauer, Staff Cole, Bauer, Sevi, Devi, German, Montgomery. Let Tanaka walk as he stunk in postseason and has many bad games. I would rather take a flyer on Paxton at 5 million plus incentives for 1 year than waste 20 million on Tanaka.
cnemarich
Ducky, aka Francis? Is that you? cnemarich here from PSA. Get your butt back to PSA pronto! You left me on an island there, bruh. Seriously, everyone misses you. At least make an appearance. You said you’d never abandon me, hahaha. How the heck are you???!!!
g4
I agree Mo4 that it’s unlikely NYY can get or stay below the tax threshold throughout 2021. They need too much help and only know one way to get there.
I suppose CashMan could opt to sell the creme of the farm for cheapish reinforcements, but that’d be pretty out of character. Springing for LaMahieu, Tanaka, Realmuto and Co. feels far more likely.
God I hate the Yankees.
angt222
Trade Judge for an Ace. Can’t have him and Stanton both play 40% of a season. If you can land a legit Ace, make the swap.
luckyh
LOL, trade your oft injured slugger who strikes out a lot and who is due for a big raise for an ace? You will have to sweeten that pot a bit for an ace.
dugdog83
Spot on
expos_back_by_2025
Yet, sounds like something the Mets would do…
andremets
You’re saying the Mets have an Oft-injured superstar and that they would trade him for an ace? I would hope so!
mike156
There are going to be very few spenders this offseason, and the average salary is going to take a hit. The pandemic is the perfect moment for owners to do something they’ve wanted to do fo a long time, cut salaries and weaken the union. They can claim losses without seeming to be collusive., I don’t agree that the Yankees brand will suffer for dipping under the threshold for one year–I think they should do it. They still have plenty of assets and a good chance of making the playoffs. They have Torres and Fraizer right now because they accepted reality one year and traded off assets to get youth
mike156
“Frazier”
MoRivera 1999
“I don’t agree that the Yankees brand will suffer for dipping under the threshold for one year”
WRONG! They need to re-sign DJ (or acquire Didi), probably sign Tanaka (what other available 2/3 is better?), which may take a QO, and sign one other 2/3 (until Severino is back, then trade at the deadline) while keeping just about everyone else of value to make a credible run for it. They can’t stay under the tax and do that. Can’t compete under the tax.
Stop talking about Frazier as trade bait. It brings nothing but laughs around here. As it should. If you want to bring him up, cite a specific player to be traded, and make it reasonable.
Paul Winkler
Cashman refuses to make trade deadline moves.
mike156
I didn’t say Frazier was trade bait–maybe you are looking for a reason to be outraged because of the rest of the content. In fact, I wouldn’t trade Frazier–he’s talented, should get better, and he’s cheap. I wouldn’t spend 20M per year over 4 years for DJ in what is likely to be a really weird market, but taking the other side of the argument is rational as well. My opinion only–I don’t pretend to speak for others.
emac22
Don’t give Tanaka the QO.
I’d sign Dj and Realmuto and then just go with the pitchers under contract. If they really feel the need to cut some salary they can package Gary with a contract in a trade.
PiratesFan1981
Teams will want the Yankees to eat majority of Sanchez contract and toss in one of the teams 7 through 10 ranked prospect in the deal. Maybe another piece from A ball. But does the Yankees really want to eat most of Sanchez contract during the pandemic and adding to salary by adding Realmuto? I highly doubt it. They have in the past with AJ Burnett and others, but times have changed and that era is long gone. Might as well keep Sanchez. It’s not like he had a horrible year anyways. If you are worried about his age and declining, Realmuto is not much younger than Sanchez. So, you argument doesn’t make sense to the game.
I wouldn’t be surprised if owners demand that they only have to pay half the seasons salary next season. Maybe they sweeten the deal and purpose internally DH for two years, revenue sharing to players once fans enter the stadium again for a year, and eliminate the robotic ball and strike. Sounds silly to think about revenue sharing, but players will lose money and only possible way they get any % back is through revenue sharing for a full year. 35-40% revenue toward players, may be enough to take a payroll cut.
luckyh
What Sanchez contract? He’s arbitration eligible and a FA in 2023. Arbitration is when the rubber hits the road for guys like this.
emac22
Sanchez made 5 mil and is going into arbitration after hitting 150 and losing his job. He doesn’t have an expensive contract. The arbitrator will probably make him pay the Yankees next year. JK.
He needs new scenery but he’s shown the ability to be the best catcher in baseball so someone will pay for him as a lottery ticket.
The difference between Sanchez and Realmuto isn’t about age or decline. It’s about signing the best catcher in baseball to replace the guy who lost his job to a career backup because he was completely unplayable. The issue is that Sanchez has completed a decline to nothing. Realmoto is one of the best hitting catchers and one of the best defensive catchers in the game. He could decline for a decade and still be better than Sanchez was last year.
koz16
Why would the Yankees want to sink money into Realmuto? He’ll be 30 in the spring and he’s going to want at least a 6 year deal for big money. Considering catchers usually start to decline at 32-33 that’s not a wise investment.
They have so much offensive firepower they don’t need it at catcher. Higgy plays great defense and the pitching staff is confident with him behind the plate. Roll with that next season and see if those high draft pick catchers over the past few years start to show promise.
The Yankees need pitching. But it would not surprise me if both Severino and German end up in the bullpen next year.
emac22
Because he’s the best option at catcher and Sanchez just hit .150 with poor defense.
He’s as likely to want a 2 year deal as a six year deal given the pandemic.
German would end up in the pen because he took a healthy year off? The Yankees have tons of young starting pitching beyond the 6 guys they have ready to start next year. On the other hand they don’t have a catcher and there and very few catchers that are any good at all.
They have more than enough pitchers for next year unless some keys guys aren’t ready by the end of next year and none of the key prospects work out in time. In that case they would have all season to find a deal with one of the 28 clubs for one of their top 10 pitchers.
They don’t have enough catching right now and don’t have any prospects close. No teams have extra catching and few teams have viable prospects within a year of MLB action. The pool of decent catchers they could pick up during the season may not even exist.
If they can get Realmoto for 2-4 years they should do it. I’d love to add Bauer or a true number one starter but I don’t think another 350 million dollar contract for a pitcher is the right option unless they want to sign both and trade Stanton with enough cheap talent and prospects to move his entire contract.
Start the season with this
Cole
German
Monty
Garcia
Schmidt
Add Severino during the season when he’s ready.
Guys like Loaisiga, Yajure, King, Nelson, Abreu, Medina and a few others are also possible starters.
Sure, we might need to pick someone up but investing 350 mil to hide from your own prospects while leaving holes elsewhere doesn’t make any sense. They’re invested a lot in their young pitching prospects and they should count on their ability to provide a steady stream of good starting pitching. Cole was all they needed buy. The rest of the rotation should be home grown.
Yankee fan CLT
Realmuto is a bad investment. McCann on white Sox much cheaper and still huge lift from Sanchez. Yanks low chance of Bauer since Cole can’t stand him.. Cole and the 5 young guys is not going to happen. Too many question marks…need to add a reasonable #3 with experience and see if they can get Tanaka in a 2 year deal. You are 100% correct, Yankees can’t add another $250MM+ deal.
koz16
If you think Realmuto will sign a 2-4 year deal you are crazy. All the Yankees need at the catcher position is defense and Higgy fits that role PLUS the staff trusts him.
And yes, the Yankees need bullpen arms. Kahnle will still be down and Heller seems to be out for a while. Guys like Loaisiga, King, and just about everyone else they ran out there were junk. German and Severino (later in the year) provide them big arms in the bullpen.
Also, there’s no guarantee German even plays. The Yankees just might non-tender or DFA him based upon what happened.
bot
They’ll let them dudes go and chase realmuto and Bauer. Prob strike out on both
whiplash
Is the YES network camera guy still on their payroll?
MoRivera 1999
MLB investigated that and found no evidence. So you’re just spewing hate for the sake of it.
whiplash
No, the evidence was hidden because its the Yankees. Y’all got a good lawyer. I’ll hit him up if I ever need one.
Bigtimeyankeefan
Move Britton??? No way no how… they need to build up pen, not get rid of one of the best relievers in baseball. One way the Yankees can help the bullpen, ottavino does not need to pitch in every single game. Winning 8-1, losing 10-2, winning 3-2 etc, doesnt matter he’s in the game.
James1955
We always hear that if 30 teams spend money, you have 30 World Champions every year. Baseball is about spending, it has nothing to with talent and heath. LOL.
differentbears
The Yankees, from what I understand, are the only team where ownership does not have significant business revenue outside of the team they own. All other teams might complain about what the pandemic has done to their bottom line, but they all also have other revenue streams. Whereas for ownership in the Bronx, the Yankees *are* their revenue stream.
That said, when things were good (just about every other year), the money was flowing. One year of losses shouldn’t cripple their ability to spend, but if any team can shrug their shoulders and blame the pandemic for a cheap offseason, it’s the New York Yankees.
Wayne718
The Steinbrenner family owns hotel chains in Florida and one in Ohio. They’re not worth what the Yankees are worth but they’re a source of income outside of baseball. Though, I’m sure they didn’t do well this year like every other hotel.
differentbears
Good info, thanks. Certainly not a chain that would make 200 million in profits, right?
Every other ownership group made their money in another business, and own a team for fun. Whereas the Yankees are the Steinbrenner business, even with other investments.
MoRivera 1999
Huh. I thought they were in shipping. They got out of it? Anyway, your info is good food for thought. Changes the scenario I had.
nebrida
We need players like LeMahieu and less strike out kings that cannot hit good pitching. That is why we fall apart in post season
bradthebluefish
If Torres goes to 2B, Yankees could bring back Didi Gregorius for SS.
jd396
Most of the league’s hearts bleed for the Yankees
A. A. Izaks
This is best plan I have heard of. I would add only one thing – Sign either Hendricks or Colombe to pen.
HenryKrinkle
You can’t count Severino in that list. He’ll be back in the second half at best, and you have no idea what you’ll be getting. You have to operate as though he might not be back at all.
Paul Winkler
Another great move by Cashman. Extend a guy only to not have him play since….nice.
MoRivera 1999
Like he was supposed to foresee the injury? Talk about wild hate.
ctguy
Agreed. The Yankees will definitely have to wait to see how Severino comes back. Same thing for the Red Sox with Sale. Not all pitchers are successful after TJ.
whyhayzee
“The Yankees – lest we forget – are no slouches themselves when it comes to roster construction.“
Funny, cash man can’t even sit up straight.
MoRivera 1999
And this comment is worthy because why? Unhinged hate?
Yankee fan CLT
Yankees need more hitters like DJ, not fewer. They need to fall out of love with launch angles and exit velocities. The HR or K stacked lineup is their problem and = feast or famine. Sign DJ, Trade Torres for a big haul. Add another bat that Hits for avg and doesn’t K 100+ times (Merrifield?)
Philliesfan4life
If they trade Torres , I think it would be for pitching or a great contact hitter
Yankee fan CLT
Agreed.
MoRivera 1999
They would have to sell low on Torres. I wouldn’t do it. I agree that they should sign DJ. If they don’t sign DJ then they should move Torres to second and sign Didi.
Judgestwin
I like the idea but I’d try to trade Voit before I trade Torres, depending what kind of deals are out there. I’d sign Brantley (we need LHB in our lineup). I don’t think the dodgers will extend Seager so the yanks should check on him. Voit has 4 years of team control. Voit for seager and a reliever or two.
Doron
I have a question.
Since players are not Free Agents until after the WS, if the Yankees and DJ finalize a contract and sign before the WS concludes, would it be considered a new FA deal? or an Extension to the 24/2 they signed 2 years ago?
So say they go 80/4, would it be considered 104/6 (thus 17.33 for luxury tax) or a clean 80/4?
Dtownwarrior78
Ahhhhhh yes, Yankees fans…..
whyhayzee
Sign all the good players and trade all the bad players for other teams’ good players and you’re all set.
Ducky Buckin Fent
To be fair the homer template of:
We trade: crappy players
We get: good players
Is not exclusive property of Yankee fans. I think a lot of Yankee fan lunacy is simply a function of numbers. Since they have the biggest following, by extension we also have the largest number of crackpots.
Since I left NYC to go to college I’ve lived a lot of places, man. I’ve heard, “I don’t hate the Yankees…I hate their fans” more times than I can count.
Sadly, I get it.
whyhayzee
A lot of teams have “little league parent” fans who feel self important and only care about their team winning so they can puff out their chest and declare themselves victorious. Then there are the fans who love the game, who will cheer for the other team’s player when he makes a great play. Finally, there are fans who root for failure because they need to feel superior to the guy who “chokes” in the big situation. Any time a team is successful, the fan base slowly grows, adding “little league parents” and “choker rubberneckers”, while the “game lovers” stick with the team they started with most of the time.
MoRivera 1999
I agree Ducky. The fact is, however, that 9 out of 10 proposed trades, by ANY fan of ANY team, is lopsided in favor of the homer’s team. ALL fans do it. Another reason that people may see it more from Yankee fans, in addition to the large fan base, as you pointed out, is that more articles are written about the Yankees, and those columns generate more comments. Hence more trade proposals. But suggesting that Yankee fans are the sole proprietors of lopsided proposals, as so many do, especially without a speck of evidentiary proof or argument, is just ludicrous. It’s just another example of childish, unabashed, biased, most crass hate.
Srechter35
It’s funny, I tend to see an ever greater preponderance of people trolling on yankees fans than I see yankees fans worth being trolled. There are many, many bizarre, clueless homers out there, no doubt about it. But the trolls anticipating those responses tend to come more quickly and in greater numbers, humming away, fishing for anonymous likes on a baseball website. Fascinating social study, truth be told.
whyhayzee
My original post was intended for any team, it was tongue in cheek. Teams that make “fair” trades tend to have a better rep around mlb. Teams that try to mislead the other team? Not so much. At the end of 1965, the third place Orioles traded away their number one pitcher. At the time, they had a 19 year old and 22 year old who would become their top two pitchers the following year. They went from leading the league in ERA to being 4th the following year. So they hopefully got some offense in the exchange.
IloveMACfootball
Yay! More Yankees talk!
A “payroll” post about the Yankees is pointless. They can spend whatever they want because of all the meatheads that buy their hats.
Analysis: Do yankees want player x? If Yes, Yankees offer money needed. Done.
MoRivera 1999
Guess you missed the point of the article. Yankees ducking under the tax… i.e., much less spending than last year. Maybe lose DJ. Probably lose three starters. Probably no new big deals. Hardly a case of fans ask, owners comply. Just sayin’.
Louiebeans
Sign Gardner for 10 million throw him in LF and bat him 3rd and call it an off seson and watch them lose once again
Srechter35
This man will turn any conversation into an indictment of Brett Gardner.
“Hey Louie, you like pizza?”
“Yeah, but not pepperoni”
“Why?”
“Brett Gardner is the existential cause of all my worldly pain….and they’re spicy”
Ducky Buckin Fent
Makes me grateful I have a few actual interesting hobbies.
Uh?
I do wonder what kind of creepy stuff he gets up to with his Brett Gardner baseball cards.
Ya know, “it’s time for the Pujol, Brett”.
johnsonjack87
No,No,Through Trades & Free Agency,The 2021 New York Yankees Need To Look Like This.:
Batting Lineup (When Everyone Is Healthy)
1. 2B D.J. LeMahieu
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. CF Aaron Hicks
4. LF Giancarlo Stanton
5. C J.T. Realmuto
6. SS Gleyber Torres
7. 3B Gio Urshela
8. 1B Luke Voit
9. DH Mike Ford
Bench (When Everyone Is Healthy)
Kyle Higashioka
Tyler Wade
Brett Gardner
Mike Tauchman
Starting Rotation (When Everyone Is Healthy)
1. Gerrit Cole
2. Luis Severino
3. James Paxton
4. Masahiro Tanaka
5. J.A. Happ
Bullpen (When Everyone Is Healthy)
Domingo German
Jordan Montgomery
Chad Green
Zach Britton
Adam Ottavino
Josh Hader
Jeremy Jeffress
Aroldis Chapman
Just_a_thought
On this years episode of “The no chance in hell roster I created on MLB the Show GM Mode” ^^
Judgestwin
Resign DJ, sign Brantley, take a flier on Paxton and maybe stroman (both should be affordable choices). Look to trade for another LHB and maybe BP pieces. Those trades could involve Torres or Voit, along with Frazier and Andujar.
Old Gozzlehead
Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner have been on the money saving track for years now. It wasn’t working and they panicked into Jean Carlos. They desperately needed an ace and went nuts to get Cole, which could turn out a good thing in the next couple of years, but they’ve got quite a few bargains in there too. Cashman has always been a bad judge of pitchers, and of team chemistry. I don’t expect much better in 2021 no matter which spending direction they go in. Oh how I miss Stick Michael..
Poster formerly known as . . .
“Non-tendering or trading Gary Sanchez would save $5MM, but they would need to fill his roster spot in that case.”
No, they wouldn’t. Kyle Higashioka can replace him for comparative chump change. Stop talking about Higgy as if he can’t be a starting catcher. He was money behind the dish in the playoffs, putting on a clinic back there. Ask the pitching staff if having an athletic receiver who blocks everything would give them comfort. Gerrit Cole wanted him for his personal catcher: enough said.
Assigning a low ceiling to his offense based on a total of 204 plate appearances over four seasons is foolish. He’s gotten better results with each small stint in the majors, and this year he ranked 12th in the majors in Barrels per Plate Appearance among all players with at least 25 Batted Ball Events (all players, all positions, not just catchers). His .521 SLG ranked sixth among all catchers with at least 40 PA. His average exit velocity of 89.7 ranked sixth on the Yankees, tied with Ford and higher than Frazier, Gardner, Voit, Torres and Hicks. Give him the reps and he’s likely to keep improving. He put up an .896 OPS in his four playoff games against some of the best pitchers in the league.
Besides, on this team, catcher offense is gravy. Sanchez was crap this year and the Yankees still scored the most runs in the AL. They need a great defensive catcher and game-caller, and they have one in Higgy. Cut bait on Sanchez, save the salary, and spend the money on a needed arm for the pitching staff.
The romance with Sanchez’s offense has been understandable because of his mind-boggling debut, but it’s been misguided from the start. They never needed a catcher hitting bombs. What they do need, they already have in Higashioka. Sign Kratz as his backup so he can catch his “son,” Deivi, and that takes care of the catching situation. Stop acting like the Yankees need All-Stars hitting 30 home runs at every position.
Just_a_thought
You do realize cutting Sanchez and signing Kratz or a reliever is the same thing as “filling Sanchez’ roster spot” right?
Poster formerly known as . . .
You do realize that if they use Higgy, who’s already on the roster, as their starting catcher next season, as they did in the playoffs this year, they already have a starting catcher on the roster and don’t need to go outside the existing roster to acquire another backstop like Realmuto to fill that role, right? The author seems to be talking about filling the position, not just filling an unidentified roster spot. There are several players who might be gone next year at other positions.
Poster formerly known as . . .
“Non-tendering or trading Gary Sanchez would save $5MM, but they would need to fill his roster spot in that case.”
No, they wouldn’t. Kyle Higashioka can replace him for comparative chump change. Stop talking about Higgy as if he can’t be a starting catcher. He was money behind the dish in the playoffs, putting on a clinic back there. Ask the pitching staff if having an athletic receiver who blocks everything would give them comfort. Gerrit Cole wanted him for his personal catcher: enough said.
Assigning a low ceiling to his offense based on a total of 204 plate appearances over four seasons is foolish. He’s gotten better results with each small stint in the majors, and this year he ranked 12th in the majors in Barrels per Plate Appearance among all players with at least 25 Batted Ball Events (all players, all positions, not just catchers). His .521 SLG ranked sixth among all catchers with at least 40 PA. His average exit velocity of 89.7 ranked sixth on the Yankees, tied with Ford and higher than Frazier, Gardner, Voit, Torres and Hicks. Give him the reps and he’s likely to keep improving. He put up an .896 OPS in his four playoff games against some of the best pitchers in the league.
Besides, on this team, catcher offense is gravy. Sanchez was crap this year and the Yankees still scored the most runs in the AL. They need a great defensive catcher and game-caller, and they have one in Higgy. Cut bait on Sanchez, save the salary, and spend the money on a needed arm for the pitching staff.
The romance with Sanchez’s offense has been understandable because of his mind-boggling debut, but it’s been misguided from the start. They never needed a catcher hitting bombs. What they do need, they already have in Higashioka. Sign Kratz as his backup so he can catch his “son,” Deivi, and that takes care of the catching situation. Stop acting like the Yankees need All-Stars hitting 30 home runs at every position.
jjpf
Ducks, it’s you!
Glad to see your business is still sailing along and that you have found another commenting home at mlbtraderumors.com.
“Ruffling feathers,”? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do on a sports site or any other site on the Internet? PSA management has always seemed overly ‘sensitive’ to me.
RAB, PSA, and now TR: they should all be thankful that you graced their boards with your comments.
Keep on keepin’ on with the hunting and fishing on the Mississippi and elsewhere.
cnemarich
Hi, double j. Yes, it’s Ducky! We found him!
Ducky Buckin Fent
Another one lol!
What’s good, @jjpf?
Just got back from some grouse hunting…in the snow! Minnesota, man.
The waters were rough, but we navigated them.
Yeah, “ruffling feathers” seemed a tad ambiguous.
Dunno.
I served tours & my partner and I provide the sole/primary income for ~ 60 people. I’m not going to apologise to anyone about either of those things. No matter what the political climate is at the moment, nor how much I am “shamed” or harassed about it.
Uh?
Maybe?
😉
You too, man. I left an email address up on my profile at SB Nation. Hit me up if you are ever this way.
Go Yanks!
Rojeff9
You guys are finally free of Jacoby Ellsbury.
the gift that kept on not giving.
Spare Tire Dixon
If the goal is to add without breaking the bank, the Rangers offer NY some options in Lance Lynn and Joey Gallo. The Yanks could use a LH bat and Gallo could have huge upside in that stadium. Lynn is a relative bargain and would be great alongside Cole, Severino, Montgomery, Garcia, et al. I’m sure they would have to part with Frazier, one of Andujar/Urshela, and several prospects but it might be worth it to avoid spending in free agency and approaching that luxury tax. Hell, maybe Texas would even take a flyer on Sanchez as a bounceback candidate