There are plenty of opportunities available for the Yankees, widely expected to be one of the league’s more active teams this winter. After dipping below the luxury tax threshold to reset their penalties in 2021, it seems the club is poised for a big offseason.
Early comments from general manager Brian Cashman have stoked that fire, with the baseball ops leader telling reporters at last week’s GM Meetings the front office has some financial leeway. Owner Hal Steinbrenner echoed that sentiment, telling David Lennon of Newsday that Cashman’s suggestion is “accurate.” The New York chairman declined to delve into specifics about where the club’s budgetary limit might land, but he didn’t downplay the possibility of some noteworthy moves.
The most straightforward path to a big winter would seem to be dipping into the free agent shortstop market. Not only has Cashman already professed a desire to upgrade the position, he’s confirmed the club has been in contact with the reps for multiple free agents. Jon Heyman of the MLB Network tweeted this week that the Yankees and incumbent Dodgers were among the clubs with interest in Corey Seager, while Yankees’ brass has expressed a willingness to consider Carlos Correa despite his role in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.
It remains to be seen whether the Yankees will be willing to commit anywhere in the neighborhood of the $300+MM guarantees it could take to land Seager or Correa though. The club has two of the game’s most promising shortstop prospects — Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe — rising up the minor league ranks. Matthew Roberson of the New York Daily News reported yesterday that the Yankees were more likely to pursue a stopgap option than to play at the top of the market at the position based on the belief that Peraza and/or Volpe could take the reins in the not too distant future. If the Yankees were to eschew the star free agents at the top of the market, Andrelton Simmons or Freddy Galvis could profile as short-term options to stabilize the infield defense.
Whether the Yankees should be willing to sit out this offseason’s shortstop class is up for debate, but doing so could allow them to allocate more funds towards locking up star outfielder Aaron Judge on a long-term deal. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Judge to command a salary in the $17.1MM range in 2022, his final season of arbitration eligibility. The three-time All-Star is slated to reach free agency next offseason.
Judge has already expressed openness to an extension. Cashman told reporters (including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com) this evening the club was willing to talk about a long-term deal with Judge’s representatives but hasn’t yet opened talks. Locking up Judge at this stage of his career would no doubt require a massive investment. The 29-year-old has already banked a significant amount during his run through arbitration, and he’s coming off a stellar .287/.373/.544 showing across 633 plate appearances.
A reunion with Brett Gardner would require a far smaller outlay but could eventually be on the to-do list. The Yankees have continued to bring the fourteen-year veteran back in recent seasons, but the 38-year-old is currently a free agent after both sides declined their ends of a 2022 option. The Yankees haven’t discussed a potential reunion with Gardner’s reps in the early stages of the offseason, Cashman said (via Hoch), but the GM said his belief is the career-long Yankee intends to continue playing.
In non-player news, Cashman also expressed a desire to expand the coaching staff. The Yankees are planning to hire three hitting coaches and an additional pitching instructor (Hoch link). That’s become an increasingly common approach, particularly this offseason. We’ve already seen teams like the Brewers and Orioles hire two hitting instructors as co-hitting coaches, with an assistant working underneath that top duo. The Yankees parted ways with previous hitting coach Marcus Thames at the end of the season.
Doesn’t matter what they do Yankees are doomed the letter will be exposed all the bandwagon fans will jump to another team and no more Yankees
So anyway, should be interesting to see who they get. Could effect the whole free agent market if they’re really willing to spend big.
Yeaaahh…that’s all not going to happen, @Marsh. You do sound remarkably like Chicken Little, though.
Anyway. I keep saying that the Yanks should stay out of the big SS market. 30+ mil of AAV could fill/upgrade multiple spots. Galvis would be… serviceable anyway. Pretty much. Kind of.
But Cash did some pretty good work with the pitching. & looking at what those guys are getting right now, that is fortuitous. Definitely a different flavor to an offseason where our pitching is in good shape but we need multiple bats. I am certainly not used to that.
I know it’s a heavy handed & somewhat predictable Yankee approach. But this team can easily be reworked using nothing more than available free agents. Which I am all for.
Because: Yankee fan.
Ducky, I’ve said before, even though I’d like to upgrade to a top-tier SS, the length/$ seems prohibitive. That said, they do need to spend {that} money….just not on the SS. If they chicken-little out (hey, I tried) and don’t spend at all I disagree. They don’t need to make serious upgrades, but we have the money to make them, so we *should* make them (uh, Starlin Marte? SP, Judge extended, and just maybe a loooong extension for Sanchez, maybe? )
Be well, my friend.
I assume the team has a lan contingent on the next CBA. A stop gap signing now is one thing
I assume the team has a lan contingent on the next CBA. A stop gap signing now is one thing but there is no way they dip into a big ticket item again before the new agreement unless re-signing Judge is not a priority. it’s the same in Boston with Boegaerts’ option.
Agreed Ducky. Lots of NYY fans think always post negative stuff regarding them, but i don’t. It’s the mostly always throw cash at everything that is what I post about. Using common sense and not giving out contracts to ppl who shouldn’t be signed or retained (hello Sanchez last year) has been the NYY way for most of the time since they signed catfish hunter in ’75.
Retaining players, who no longer provide use and 40 man roster spots is another issue (gardner), whose spot can be filled by a more capable and cheaper replacement.
Like the idea of developing more players, which they have done off and on, it’s sticking to it and sprinkling in the bigger FA deals as a compliment instead of loading up on 3-4 25m+ long term deals which handicaps all teams. Fans can remember when they were in a situation before with several pretty dead deals and don’t want to see it happen again to anyone.
Way to go! I thought today was a deadline on the 40-man so I hope we see some activity today as there are some youngsters we don’t want to give up for nothing. I am warming up to Seager. You?
(Happy Holidays!)
Hey, Lenny.
Always good to see a poster from the old RAB on the board. Should be another interesting day as we try to see how Cash reloads us.
I actually would “stopgap” SS myself. But Saeger is a fantastic ballplayer, no doubt. I could definitely live with him.
Happy holidays to you & yours.
Was the above really John or KD steal his credentials? That was amongst the longest posts you’ve written John.
What letter? Did you write Chase Utley a love letter with stickers on it?
Google Yankees letter and you’ll see how the commish office is working to protect the Yankees franchise from crumbling
Thanks for the laugh Randy. That’s a level of nonsense even Samuel has trouble reaching.
It’s from when they were investigated about stealing signs. I think they took it to court saying it would be to damaging to their brand if it were released to the public. But those damn Astros, right?
Oh gosh, no.
Everything anyone doesn’t like about baseball is always the Yanks fault.
Right?
What are you talking about? Are you seriously of the belief that sign stealing wasn’t happening league wide? That’s the hill you’re going to die on?
Aside from the truly remarkable ground covered in your erstwhile leaps of “logic” I am just saying: go ahead. Blame the Yankees for…well, everything. Looking at how you construct an “argument” you should have absolutely no problem accomplishing that.
As for defending hills, I’ve done some of that. Never saw one on the internet, however.
Did this letter not happen? Im not exactly constructing an argument considering I answered a question as to what happend. Apparently that’s not good enough for you, but I really don’t care. If you have such a problem with my posts for some reason, you have to actually say what’s wrong with them. These passive aggressive jabs where you don’t actually say anything doesn’t get you anywhere.
Ducky, I don’t know how you can sincerely insult someone on how they “construct an argument” when your entire post is an ad hom and you try to use your service to imply you are better than him.
Jdgoat’s argument is pretty conspiratorial, but you are making him look like the earnest one here.
Nothing really “passive” about it, bro. Or aggressive for that matter.
Oooooh….the letter. Could have been an admonishment for Cashman to keep his side piece out of the spotlight, for all we know.
& – quite frankly – I have no idea what you are actually trying to say. My assumption was you – like Marsh – were trying to tie the sign stealing back to the Yanks. Which is completely stupid as we were not punished at all for such actions. I’ve already spent more time on this than I care to. So I was just fast forwarding to the “sure, whatever, bud” stage.
Pretty much it.
Just to be clear, the 2017 Astros were also investigated after two teams brought it up to the league, yet they didn’t have any punishment until it became public. It’s not that far-fetched to believe the Yankees (or any other team for that matter), we’re also abusing the rules. There have been insiders who have said it is a league wide issue, I wouldn’t read too much into the lack of punishment to discredit it considering everything else.
Look. People love to blame the Yanks for whatever: PEDs, high salaries/payroll, competitive balance issues, “homer” trade proposals, the sign stealing scandal etc, etc.
My only implication was meant to be: I don’t give af. Ya know? That’s it. You guys are going to do it anyway. I have tried to have actual dialogues on some of that stuff. However, I have found it to be a waste of time. The Yanks are always, somehow the Bad Guy.
& on the actual serious matter: I have been tired of all the war/combat analogies in sports for a really long time. I typically react to them poorly. Which – ya know what? – I’m good with.
You all must be living under a rock if you don’t know about the sealed Yankees letter
@Marsh, you may not be the biggest imbecile on here but you’re in the photograph. To paraphrase Three Dog Night. “ There’s an enormous crowd of people they’re all laughing at you now, but you must let the show go on”
Ahahahahaha!
Define sign stealing. Players on second base picking up a sign and communicating with signs of his.oen is completely legitimate.
Using cameras and trash cans is an entirely different matter and to suggest everyone was doing it is a simple way to deflect. Yeah it’s not really cheating on your taxes or your wife … Everyone does it.
Well no everyone doesn’t. The Astros did though.
Look. Some witty individuals with all this nonsense. React poorly or be an imbecile, if Marsh made a point (albeit an old, yet valid statement) and not one of the poorly bashing him discussed the alleged letter. You all just did the, ‘eh, nothing to see here’ or ‘your some dumb’ but have you researched the injunction filed by the Yankees? Now if Jonathan Schiller ever broke client/attorney privilege you’d find out. Bunch of guys who are never wrong on here. Ruins the good content.
you
We don’t have bandwagon fans, jusr 28 WS rings.
Still living in the past I see.
Randy, either the Yankees have bandwagon fans or they’re living in the past. Pick a lane. It can’t be both.
Last one was when, hmmm, 19 years ago? Bwahaha!
psssst…if you have time to edit it’s actually 12.
{extremely quiet bwaha}
Trade Torres, Voit, Sanchez,and Garcia to Oakland in exchange for Matt Olson. Sign Semien to a 5 year deal. Trade Hicks, a prospect, and Chapman to a Cincinnati for Castillo.
Neither works for the opposition. Both would ask much more.
It’s not the talent; it’s the money.
Oakland and Cincinnati are shedding payroll.
It also looks suspiciously like a list of players he is “mad at”.
Even if both teams are not, why would they trade excellent, reliable starting players to fill up their 26-man roster spots with question marks? Yankees would need to eat up a ton of salary. In that event, they’re better off signing free agents and trading each piece individually.
I wish there was a poll for worst trade proposal in a mlbtr comment section
LOL. That Cincinnati proposal wins hands down.
It’s both. But correct, A’s never assuming Voit’s and Sanchez salaries.
Agree totally but what got me most was Hicks who is always hurt. As to Chapman, he could easily be flipped.
Oakland is selling off an asset. They’d like to shed payroll but they aren’t 100% committed to doing it in any single transaction.
Do you think Oakland is going to trade all of their stars for minor league players and minimum salary guys?
I don’t know what they think of different guys or what offers they have but I do know they still plan to field a team next year.
Oakland is on a bind on that they have to stay relevant or risk further losing their market to the Giants. Thus I expect they will stay competitive.
They’re hard to predict because they’re confident enough in their scouting to move on players they like regardless of optics.
Spare. Parts. Do. Not. Get. You. An. All. Star. Player
Yeah, I’m not buying those.
I really can’t see the Reds ponying up for Chapman’s salary either.
Torres still has potential. He was under hitting coach Marcus Thames whose philosophy was home run or bust and that’s why the Yankees get eliminated every playoffs. Torres would do well under a different hitting coach as well as a change of scenery. As for Sanchez, I believe he will never live up to the hype.
Thames isn’t responsible for neither one’s defense not improving. If Torres and Sanchez played good defense, their mysterious bats would be better tolerated by everyone.
I think Torres looked fine once back at second
Torres, Voit, and Garcia arent “spare parts”
Their also not stars either. Giving up Olson should net the A’s at least one young stud plus more. The question I can’t answer is what do others think of Garcia?
Did you run out of periods? You left “Player” hanging, man. That’s just sloppy.
Torres is a spare part because he isn’t a shortstop?
… come on man.
Olson is going to cost the Yankees a ton. Here is what I THINK could get it done:
– One of Volpe/Peraza and 2 other Top 20s
– Gil/Schmidt, Wells/Sweeney, and either 1 other top 25 or 2 other Top 40s.
Either way, Yankees aren’t coming away with Olson without parting way with AT LEAST one Top 5 prospect, but I expect multiple top prospects to be in play.
They’d be better off re-signing Rizzo again to play 1st than to part with 2 top 5 prospects for 2 years of Olson
I don’t know if it will actually cost near as much as all that.
For example, BBTV places more value on Volpe than Olsen.
Are you trying to win now or later DBF?
BBTV doesn’t get a say. The question is whether the Yankees offer more than Boston or Atlanta in Oakland’s viewpoint.
Oh, for sure, @stymeed.
Was just trying to provide an accessible data point in re my guy @Yankeepride’s trade proposal. BBTV is certainly far from perfect or whatever. I just don’t think Olsen would take a whole lot more (any?) than Volpe. The google agrees.
Ducky, did you hear the rumor that the trade for Olson was a done deal? I question it because I can’t find where it started and it obviously didn’t come from Fiensand, Rosenthal or someone like that. The supposed trade was the Yankees get Olson for Voit, Wells, Paraza and Garcia.
I have not, Joe.
But my first reaction is, “that’s not enough, bro.” That would be a helluva coup if Cash could swing that. Well, I think so anyway. Doesn’t really sting much (any?) however, so I can’t help but question the validity. A trade for a player like Olsen should hurt.
Sure would shake some things up though wouldn’t it?
Huh.
Ya know, that actually works out damn near perfectly on BBTV. Damnit. Now you got my hopes up, Joe…
Yeah Ducky, I wish I could find where the rumor came from but it was making the rounds yesterday. I would do that deal in a minute.
You think Oakland would prefer that package over the one mentioned?
I’d want to replace Garcia with Gil or Schmidt but with that change I’d take the other package and it wouldn’t be that close.
These fans are truly delusional. Cincy just traded Tucker Barnhart to shed payroll. They have zero interest in trading for Hicks and Chapman’s contract.
I think it’s been spelled out pretty well on why this trade wouldn’t happen. A rule to live by when talking about trades; if the player you want is of Olsen’s Ilk than the trade package to land him will probably hurt your feelings. Also, it probably wouldn’t hurt to know a little about what specifics the Athletics will want in return.
The classic Yankee fan trade proposal. Lets trade our garbage for a top 5 player at a certain position. When was the last time a team was interested in a Yankees player? Its always the Yankees are interested in another teams player. A fair trade for Olson would be Dominguez, Florial, and Gil + Abreu
It’s funny that the terrible Yankee trade proposals cause so much crying.
I’d guess there are 10 times as many comments crying about Yankee trade proposals than there are Yankee trade proposals.
The sport would collapse without the Yankees because baseball fans number one reason for following the game is either to love the Yankees or to wish they did and just obsess about them instead.
My favorite is when they come on the board, bash us, & then suggest some type of wildass free agent spending spree. As in: “But if I were the Yankees I would sign Saeger, Rizzo, Marte, & Stroman.”
(Which actually isn’t completely outlandish.)
& leads into: being a Yankee fan is fun, uh?
Sure….the Yankees would love that Oakland would accept their overpaid spare parts for Olsen. The Yankees repeatedly sign average players to bloated contracts. This lowers their trade value such as Hicks. The farm system is running dry so naturally they’ll go and overpay on a player such as Semien based on a career year. They’re called career years because they rarely repeat the numbers.
I don’t see how the Yankees get Olson without at least one of Dominguez or Volpe plus a lot more.
Don’t sign anyone. Trade for Matt Olson. Bring up volpe.
Let’s go Yankees !! Doesn’t matter who they get… no baseball due to lockout until June
Freddy Galvis would be a great option for a year or two.. Solid player, switch hitter, underrated. My Jays had him, I liked him a lot. Solid player for sure. He’ll play great defense and hit some homers.
Yeah, @Mario.
He’s the “budget option” I keep circling back to. Aside from last season, he has always played an above average to well above average short. He averages 16 HR/year but he has grown into his power. For example, he hit 14 jacks in 350 AB’s last season. Give him a year’s worth of games in The Stadium & he will probably swat 20. Durable. Runs the bases well. Bat him 8th or 9th & live with a below average hitter who has more than a little pop.
Depending on what else Cash does, I could live with him.
If the Yankees don’t sign one of the major free-agent shortstops, then they probably won’t be able to use Peraza (or Volpe) as trade bait. And that would prevent them from landing the left-handed bat they need. No Olson, and no possibility of Reynolds (who they probably don’t have the pieces for anyway).
I could see them landed Correa or Seager and then using Volpe to get some young starting pitching.
I’m going out on a limb and saying the whole left side of the Yankee infield will be all Seagers.
Not a bad thought. I previously suggested a team getting a discount signing both assuming the brothers like the idea.
Dear Yankee fans;
Re: Your Endless Trade Proposals
Teams that are restructuring (as a form of rebuilding) and are trying to cut payroll are not about to trade you quality young veteran players for older veteran players with large contracts that have next to no upside. What they’re looking for in trade are young cheap players that they can develop.
They’re not interested in your assessment of how good those players can become. They have experienced professional scouts and a player personnel staff whose job it is to evaluate players throughout major and minor league baseball. When they do trade some of the rumored available players, it’ll be for players they’re interested in. Consequently, if your beloved team elect to bid on an available young veteran, they’ll be in competition with other teams that want that player and have young cheap players to offer in trade.
In reality, do what you do best – overpay for free agents…..most of whom are at their peaks with their production about to head downward….while they expect a multi-year contract whereby their salary goes up……substantially.
Dear Royals fan (note it is singular);
Re: Your Unbecoming Jealousy
Don’t pretend you know anything at all about the strategy, tactics, & – most importantly – finances of modern baseball. It is painfully obvious you do not. Yeah, bud. There will be competition for these players. Because: duh.
Blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah
Blah blah blah.
A whole lot more blahing.
& may I stress in the midst of all these blahs, that absolutely no one is interested in your 1950’s analysis.
More blahblahblahblah.
Do what you do best. Sit through another decade of 90+ loss seasons hoping your completely inept GM somehow stumbles into his 3rd(!) winning season (in 17!) ever & you luck into some success.
Blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah.
(remind you of anyone?)
😉
Royals fans would gladly take some 90 loss seasons in exchange for a division title, a couple trips to the dance and a championship.
Does the 27 chant refer to wildcard titles? Yankees hold the title for sneaking in.
1) The Royals have won a title more recently (2015) than the Yankees (2009).
2) The Royals and Yankees have exactly the same number of modern era titles in the 21st century as the Royals, one.
It is very sad to see Yankees fans bring up the ancient past of the previous millennium. The Yankees haven’t been a dynasty since powdered wigs were in fashion.
I didn’t bring up past successes. At all.
I leave that stuff to…well, you guys!
My post was entirely forward looking. As in: 2022, @Goose. Which means, Yankee fans are looking forward to a 95+ win season (again). Meanwhile, Sam the troll – as a depressed Royals fan (who just loooves Yankee threads) – is looking forward to a 95+ loss season (again).
& I have had the amazing good fortune to see my favorite club have two(!) dynasty runs (plus a “spare title”). That’s really good! Pretty fun too. But. Anyway: narry a “powdered wig” to be seen in all that time, bro. Who knows what those crazy bleacher creatures get up to, but I am comfortable calling BS on all that, sir.
Modern Era?
That’s actually cute!
You mean the powdered wigs they wear in the Judges Chambers?
Huzzah!!!! Huzzah!!!!!! I just went to the Museum of Antiquities in New York to visit the bulk of the Yankees championships. Huzzah!!!!
Yankees need to dump some dead weight. They have a nice rotation and bullpen, focus on the lineup. Get a CF, SS,1B and catcher. Gallo in left, Judge in right. Stanton DH. Urshella at 3B, DJ at 2B.
Get Corey Seager for short.
Rizzo for 1B.
Should have gotten Barnhart for catcher, but just go with a defensive first catcher… Sandy Leon or Roberto Perez.
Sign Odubel Herrera for CF. Good defense and some lefty power.
I would also try and get Kyle Seager to be a platoon at 3B and free up Urshela to be a super utility guy.
Trade Voit, Torres and Sanchez for prospects.
I agree with ss and cf but wouldn’t force things at catcher and would be fine with DJ at 1st so that doesn’t go on my automatic list.
I’m also fine going with our in-house pitching options. I’d rather see Gil and Schmidt get some starts & spend that money somewhere else. If they end up trading a starter or two I’d obviously change that.
I’d trade Gallo. There is no way I would sign him as a free agent so he should be moved to get something in return.
Sign Correa and Marte
Trade for Realmoto and Buxton.
Marte-Buxton-Judge
Gio-Correa-Torres-DJ
Realmoto-Stanton
Cole-Sevy-Monty-Taillon-German
…Nestor-Gil-King-Schmidt-Garcia
LOL
No mention of “Rookie of the Year Runner-Up” Miguel Andujar?
I foresee the Yankees finally cutting ties with either Andujar or Frazier this year (and maybe both). Frazier just might be non-tendered, and then picked up by Oakland where he’ll help them to a .500 record making around $900K on the season.
The Yankees don’t get either Olson or Chapman without giving up (1) of their top SS prospects and one of their pre-arbitration top pitching prospects (a Gil type of player who is major league ready). Cashman traded away some decent prospects last season to get Gallo, Rizzo and the Pirates’ SP, so they need to be careful that they don’t drain the farm system too much more. It wouldn’t surprise me if NY went after Semien on a 5 year deal. He can play short for 1-2 seasons while their prospects develop and then he can be moved to 2B or even 3B. I also think Marte to NY makes a lot of sense. They could trade Hicks to SD for Hosmer (bad contract for bad contract). Hosmer could platoon at 1st base and take advantage of the short porch in Yankee Stadium.
The problem with the Yankees is still the strikeout totals. Gallo, Stanton, Judge and Sanchez all strike out way too much to stay consistent through the year. Even DJ and Torres struck out more than expected last year. If the Yankees were smart, they’d admit Gallo was a mistake and trade him for pitching, but they are too enamored with his HR potential to do that (and his defense is good too). The Yankees are a veteran team with a window that is closing in the next 2-3 years, so they should look to add more veterans (Marte, Semien) along with a couple of veteran starting pitchers (Matz, Kluber, etc..) and see if they can win one more title. They know they are going to have to reset their roster eventually; why not give it one last hoorah?
When you have the money of the NYY, the window never closes.
Gardner. Hahaha. No room for a team pet and one of the most useless Yankees ever. Good riddance brett
The Yankees don’t need more stars but solid, unheralded players. Girardi, Brosius, Martinez, Nelson, Lloyd, etc…. They have a lot of good options coming from the farm to fill out SS and rotation. They should focus on a good defensive shortstop like a Galvis or Simmons until one of the kids are ready. Move Torres to 2B. Upgrade LF with a solid player like Dickerson or Rosario. If they spend any money go get Marte for CF and then grab a good defender as a back up like Almora or Inciarte. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to see if they could lock up Scherzer for a couple of years and slide Cole into the #2 hole.
The big problem with the Yankees is they look more like the 1980’s, big money types instead of the 1990’s mix of stars and hard working killers.
I mostly agree. They need to be smart and surgical in how they spend. Shortstop can be filled by Volpe/Peraza. But it seems to me they need one left handed hitter who reliably makes contact, and it isn’t possible to acquire that sort of bat without giving out a boatload of money or a painful prospect haul. It isn’t necessary to have stars at every position, but last season’s lineup was too easy for pitchers to navigate and now needs some balance. Brosius and Girardi would provide useful grit, but Bernie and Paul would give them what they most need. Alas, if they had any left handed hitters ready at SWB . . . If Florial could only hit. . .
The Yankees should not get one of the super SS FA’s. You think they would have learned how dangerous those massive contracts can be.
They are buried with financial obligations to players who can easily be replaced or close to replaced for a tiny fraction of what they are paying.
If the Yankees were smart they would make a run at Kershaw and/or Sherzer on a short term high annual value deal and take a stop gap at SS.
They should strongly consider Byron Buxton in CF as a trade candidate as well. If they were to eat some of the Aaron Hicks salary and return him to the Twins with a pitcher like Jordan Montgomery or Luis Gil they have a chance to see if they can unlock and keep a generational talent healthy and can extend Buxton into a balanced deal at a discount because of his injury history. The Twins would get a stop gap in Hicks and some needed pitching as well.
The Twins ownership wants to keep Buxton, but it’s clear both sides are at an impasse for a small market team.
Buxton is talented but I wouldn’t touch him. He’s played more than 100 games once in his career. More injury prone than Hicks, Stanton, and Judge combined.
Difficult to speculate until SS is answered (or not) by one of the big dogs. Seager is the top preference as he would make every other move more obvious. Same for Correa but I just don’t see him choosing NY. I would rather buy low on Story than high on Semien. Settling for Galvis,Simmons,etc would necessitate Olson, Marte, Rizzo type moves.
I would also sign Matz or Gray (ERod was another) to stabilize the rotation. Perez or Gomes to split with Sanchez. I would also keep DJ at 2nd and force Torres (and Sanchez for that matter) to hit his way into playing time.
My opinion, though probably not gonna happen, is that they should sign Semiem for the simple fact that he’ll be less money and less years. Trade either Volpe or Peraza in a package for Olson then try to sign Marte. This could all be done for less money than giving Seager or Correa $300 million or whatever for 10 or 12 years. Neither one of them are worth that kind of deal. If they actually stay away from those two guys they could probably sign Judge to an extension as well. Not that I want to sign Judge to a crazy extension with his injury history but unfortunately I think the Yankees are gonna do it regardless. The media pushes for these dumb contracts year after year and year after year teams are getting burned.
Isn’t it odd that Carlos Correa was recently known as the scourge of the earth and now that he is available to anyone, he is a savior for whatever franchise signs him. Baseball teams and fans will always be fickle little girls.
I think the Yanks may land Correa which is a bit ironic considering all the drama. Still, performance erases everything.
The Yankees should try to sign every free agent shortstop. Corner the market.
There we go.
What round?
As a Yankee fan I want nothing to do with Correa…Period!
I’m torn between the idea of signing a stud SS or waiting for the prospects to come up in a year or two. I’ve seen many big contracts suck, but I’ve also seen highly regarded prospects never make it. SO what happens if you pass on the stud SS and your prospect fails to reach potential? Now you have missed the bout and have zero SS.
Now if you sign say Seager to a 300 MM contract you then can be more patient with the prospects and SS prospects have a history of having success at other positions. BUT even the Yankees would be hamstrung by another giant contract.
The Yankees are in a tough spot and my gut says they make a couple trades and sign a stop gap SS.
Dont hug prospects. More often than not they flop and the Yankees are currently in a contention window. If the Yankees can trade one of those prospects for a stud then they should
What about trading Britton (dump) and a bullpen prospect (or piece) to PHI for DiDi? I’m not experienced at reading defensive stats, so anyone know how he did last season at SS?
I loved Didi.
Did such a great job stepping in for Jeter. Man. Remember all the “DumDum Gregorius” stuff & the ironic “De-rek Je-ter” chants. He handled it though.
But. He was one of the few shortstops who was actually *worse* than Gleyber last season defensively. So.
Didi’s defense was horrific last season. His offense was also bad. Yankee fans have fondness for Didi because of how he played for them, but after seeing him last season, you cannot take a chance on him. Love Didi. Great guy, but he killed the Phillies in 2021. A bounceback year may be possible, but you can’t count on it.
We sure do, @Hayes.
Self included.
Didi was just so instrumental transitioning from those core 5 teams to the squad we currently have in place. & he plays with such joi de vivre that it is infectious.
But, yeah. It certainly appears that we got the best he had out of him.
@Ducky He’s such an easy guy to root for. Him and Cutch were my favorite Phillies over the last 2 seasons, but it’s frustrating to watch Didi struggle.
I so get it, Hayes.
If you can’t root for Didi, you have a heart of pure ice. Yeah. I looked at his numbers. Pretty ugly stuff. On both sides of the ball.
Still love the kid.
Don’t want him on the Yanks though.
Britton is a FA after 2022. He most likely won’t be back until August/Sept, if at all. He has ZERO value to a MLB team.
Do not sign any of these high priced free agents. They will suck.
Would it make sense for the Mets and Yanks to trade a bad contract for bad contract ? Lindor for Stanton + the Yanks can rid themselves of Stantons contract while adding something they need
It saves the Mets 3 years and as Stanton deal goes on it gets less . The Mets need a RF and power bat and the Yanks want a SS, would the Yanks add Torres to the deal since there’s nowhere to put him since DJ is at 2b. The Mets could resign Baez for SS and put Torres at 2b.
Lindor’s bad year (which wasn’t even all that terrible) doesn’t make the Mets contract bad. Lindor will most definitely have a better 2022. He’s not going anywhere.
It wasn’t bad. Some posters remember April, and nothing else.
I only said bad for Lindor because of the 10 year $341 mil , I think the Mets outbid themselves on him, who else would’ve gave him $34 mil a year, 10 year deals haven’t worked out for anyone yet
Years don’t matter as much as AAV for a franchise like the Mets, but to your point 34 AAV is a lot. For comparison’s sake Bryce Harper gets 25 AAV. Lindor plays a more valuable position, but 34 is quite a bit.
Seager is the player the yankees should go hard to sign. Lefty bat, great contact hitter with some pop. And can move to 3B once one of the top prospects are ready or stay at SS if one of them is included in a trade. Perfect winter for NY would be Seager and Olson. Will it happen who knows
The issue for the NYY, this year, is the uncertainty.
Who plays SS?
Where do DJ/Torres play?
If DJ plays 1st, but still has a .711 OPS?
And if DJ does play 1st, what happens to Voit?
And who plays CF? I like Hicks talent, but he is 32, and has averaged 82 games per year over the last 7 years.
This tells the saga of a decade of poorly constructed rosters
2001morecowbell200129 mins ago
This tells the saga of a decade of poorly constructed rosters
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Not quite a decade. Most of this revolves around the DJ extension. Had they spent the same $90M on a SS, their team would be somewhat balanced. Voit, Torres, a SS TBNL, and Urshela.
Or they could’ve signed DJ, and traded Torres for a SS.
That said, I don’t really see anything that works out. Maybe the best big move would be Seager. Plays SS, and hits lefty. Weak-ish fielder, but flips to 3B when Volpe comes up.
Otherwise, I’d go with what I have. Maybe a low-end SS. Rotate DJ/Voit at 1st, and Hicks/Gardner in CF. Sanchez at C. It’s still a good team. This is a bit like the RS, where you compete, but also pay down your long-term obligations a bit.
Lots of ways they could go, Brady.
Yanks don’t really need to do anything with our pitching. Rotation or the bullpen. That’s a pretty big deal. I certainly wouldn’t mind another SP but that would be much more of a luxury than a necessity. & we do have $$$ to spend.
So what do they really *need* to do?
SS for sure. But, personally, I just plug that spot & kick that particular can down the road. My personal favorite is DeJong. We do have some promising kids down on the farm so I stay out of the long term stuff there.
I also think leadoff should be addressed & I can’t help but think Cash does too. I know you think he’s a going to be bad deal, but that’s why I like Marte. Who also buttresses CF which has been a bit of a problem.
Some lineup balance is also becoming imperative. 1B is a great spot to add some. Cash did it last July. A few options there: bring back Rizzo, trade for Olsen or Bell.
I’d like to upgrade Higgy with Gomes. But at the risk of upsetting a large portion of Yankee Nation, a lot of teams are worse off at C than the Yanks. Which is more an indictment of catching league wide than any praise for Sanchez/Higashioka.
Do anything with the rotation & that’s looking like a pretty good ballclub.
Ducky, if they did not trade and only FA signings would Rizzo, Marte, and stopgap SS be feasible? I’m thinking those 3 would add about $40-$50m per year. Assuming they want to extend Judge (unless they want to trade him), all 3 of the above I don’t believe would command long term contracts. Plus they would lose about $30m off the books next year with Chapman and Britton.
That is exactly how I see it.
Rizzo + Marte ÷ DeJong = $39.3 AAV. Subtracting Frazier, Voit, Wade saves 8.5 mil. When the dust settles you are looking at spending less on AVV & commiting two 4,3, & 2 years. Or less than Linder in cumulative commitments.
I love that plan.
That works for me. Curious to see how this all plays out. You think they extend Judge now, or wait until next offseason? I don’t think they trade him since he is viewed as the franchise guy. I’m scared to think what he could get. 7-8 years, 25-30 AAV ? It’s a risk either way. He’s coming off a great season. If they wait it could be off 2 great seasons. Or he could revert back to being injury prone which would lessen his value.
*Insert random, nonsensical trade proposal because MLB The Show taught me how to trade good*
imo center field is a bigger concern than ss. if they’re going the stopgap ss route, would love to see didi back. as a fan, the team has been far less engaging and likeable without him, cc, and tanaka. speaking of, i wonder if tanaka is a stealth option?
10/350 for the top 2 is easy to walk away from but Baez is in the next tier. He won a gold glove, plays multiple positions, hit 31 home runs and had an OPS of .812. Yes he strikes out too much but he might be a much more affordable alternative without settling for the dregs.
The two “ Prized” prospects one has to ask are they really “ prized” or just 2 more overrated players like the 1000’s that have before them. Wasn’t Brien Taylor the next Cy Young ?
1b Voit 2b Torres 3b DJ ss ? Of Judge,Gallo,Stanton,Hicks. Lack of lh hitters makes me think it’s Seager or Semien they have their eyes on.Judge and Gallo r both good defenders for big guys.Cf,Sp,Rp,C,SS all need attention.Only so much money to spend and middle defense is very suspect.
See if the A’s will expand a trade to Olson and one of their SP (Bassitt/Manaea/Montas). Even if the prospect cost hurts, this seems more valuable than dropping $300mm on a SS.