It was a relatively quiet offseason by Yankees standards….apart from arguably the winter’s biggest trade.
Major League Signings
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B: Two years, $32MM (Rizzo can opt out after 2022 season)
- Tim Locastro, OF: One year, $900K
- 2022 spending: $16.9MM
- Total spending: $32.9MM
Trades & Claims
- Acquired 3B Josh Donaldson, SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa, C Ben Rortvedt from the Twins for C Gary Sanchez, IF Gio Urshela
- Acquired minor league SP Justin Lange from the Padres for 1B Luke Voit
- Acquired RP Miguel Castro from the Mets for RP Joely Rodriguez
- Acquired C Jose Trevino from the Rangers for RP Albert Abreu and minor league SP Robby Ahlstrom
- Acquired player to be named later/cash considerations from the Angels for IF/OF Tyler Wade
- Acquired minor league 1B T.J. Rumfield and SP Joel Valdez from Phillies for RP Nick Nelson and C Donny Sands
- Acquired RP David McKay from the Rays for cash considerations
- Claimed OF Jeisson Rosario off waivers from the Red Sox (later outrighted off 40-man roster)
Notable Minor League Signings
- Marwin Gonzalez (contract selected, $1.15MM guarantee), Ender Inciarte, Shelby Miller, Derek Dietrich, Jose Peraza, Greg Bird, Ronald Guzman, Rob Brantly, Jimmy Cordero, Ryan LaMarre, Phillip Evans, Ryan Weber, Manny Banuelos, David Freitas, Jose Mujica, Vinny Nittoli
Extensions
- None
Notable Losses
- Sanchez, Urshela, Voit, Rodriguez, Abreu, Corey Kluber, Andrew Heaney, Clint Frazier, Rougned Odor, Greg Allen, Andrew Velazquez, Chris Gittens, Brett Gardner (still unsigned)
After very little activity in the pre-lockout period, the Yankees burst into action a few days after the transactions freeze was lifted, swinging a big five-player blockbuster with the Twins that checked a number of items off New York’s winter to-do list.
Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton almost single-handedly carried a surprisingly lackluster Yankees lineup in 2021, so the club decided to add some more pop at third base by bringing in former AL MVP Josh Donaldson. Gio Urshela had enjoyed some good success at the plate during his time in the Bronx, but since he was one of the several Yankee hitters coming off a down year, Donaldson provides a big upgrade on paper.
Donaldson isn’t without risk, especially given how New York has more than a few right-handed hitting veterans who also have checkered injury histories. But, the Yankees felt Donaldson was worth it, considering that the third baseman hasn’t shown much sign of slowing down even into his age-36 season. To underline their belief in Donaldson, the Yankees agreed to cover all of the $50MM owed to him through the 2023 season.
This expenditure was likely made possible because New York reset its luxury tax status in 2021, keeping payroll under the old $210MM threshold. As a result, the Yankees regained “first-timer” penalty status for any overage in 2022, and indeed the Bombers are already set to blow past the new thresholds. With the new collective bargaining agreement bringing changes to the Competitive Balance Tax structure, it seems as though New York’s lack of moves pre-lockout was borne of a desire to wait and see exactly what the new CBT rules would entail, before making any big financial commitments.
Some money also went back Minnesota’s way in the form of the 2022 contracts for Urshela and Gary Sanchez, who were both arbitration-eligible. Sanchez is in his final year of arb control, and after another subpar season for the catcher, the Yankees decided to drastically overhaul their personnel behind the plate.
Between incumbent Kyle Higashioka, former Twin Ben Rortvedt, and another trade pickup in former Ranger Jose Trevino, this sharp move toward a defense-first catching corps turns the page after years of criticism directed towards Sanchez’s glovework. These shortcomings behind the plate were usually secondary to the big numbers Sanchez posted with his bat, but as his hitting also declined over the last two years, he found himself on the bench during key late-season games.
There is some hope that the 24-year-old Rortvedt can still reach another level as a hitter, though he has yet to make his debut in the pinstripes after suffering an oblique strain in Spring Training. Rortvedt’s absence likely led to Trevino’s acquisition, and Trevino might be the odd man out once Rortvedt is healthy.
Defense was also the key part of the Yankees’ acquisition of Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who was targeted by the New York front office for much of the winter. It seemed as though the chase was over once the Twins landed IKF from the Rangers, except Kiner-Falefa was then flipped to the Yankees only hours after landing in Minnesota.
With Gleyber Torres moved over to second base near the end of last season, it left a big vacancy at the shortstop position. Yankees GM Brian Cashman summed up the situation in October, stating bluntly that “shortstop is an area of need. We have to address it.” It seemingly set the stage for a vintage Yankees splurge, and with so many superstar shortstops available in free agency, it seemed as though it was only a question of which of those big names would eventually land in the Bronx.
And indeed, the Yankees made a choice about their shortstop of the future — Anthony Volpe, or maybe Oswald Peraza. Since Peraza is slated to make his big league debut sometime this season and Volpe likely in 2023, New York ultimately opted to see what they have in the two highly-regarded prospects rather than sign a proven veteran to a pricey multi-year contract. This isn’t to say that the Yankees didn’t pay some attention to the shortstop market, but more in a cursory manner, in case a shorter-term possibility materialized.
As a result, it was Kiner-Falefa who stepped into the shortstop vacancy, not any of the All-Star names on the open market. (Ironically, the Yankees agreeing to cover Donaldson’s salary allowed the Twins to free up enough payroll to make a big shortstop add themselves, signing Carlos Correa.) While it has been only a month into the season and there will still be plenty of pressure on Volpe and Peraza considering who the Yankees passed up in their favor, it looks like Cashman may have made a canny decision. Kiner-Falefa has thus far performed exactly as expected in solidifying the defense at the shortstop position, and as an added bonus, his bat has also been solid.
Since the Yankees expected the rest of the lineup to generally be better in 2022, “solid” is more than fine for a defense-first player, since glovework was a bigger problem than hitting last season. The Yankees ranked 29th in Defensive Runs Saved (-41) and 25th in Outs Above Average (-23) in 2021, leaving plenty of room for improvement on the run-prevention front.
With the Mets spending tons of money and grabbing the headlines in the Big Apple, the Yankees’ more modest offseason took some criticism for being too conservative, especially considering all of the club’s weaknesses in 2021. However, Cashman may have taken the glass half-full approach — if fans and media were concerned about the flaws on a 92-win team, Cashman seems to have focused on a core talented enough to win 92 games despite those flaws.
This isn’t to say that some other splashy moves weren’t considered, as the Yankees made a contract offer to Justin Verlander, though only for one year. The Bombers were also linked to two of the biggest available first basemen, trade candidate Matt Olson and free agent Freddie Freeman.
In regards to first base, the Yankees again eschewed the big prospect cost of an Olson or the big financial cost of a Freeman signing, and instead brought back a familiar face. Anthony Rizzo was good but unspectacular after being acquired from the Cubs at the trade deadline, but New York liked the veteran’s contributions enough to bring him back on a two-year, $32MM deal. Technically, the contract may end up being only a one-year pact, as Rizzo can opt out after the season.
Rizzo was nothing less than one of baseball’s best hitters in April, providing an early answer to any critics still grumbling over missing out on Freeman or Olson. Some regression is probably inevitable since the 32-year-old is hitting at a career-best level, but Rizzo has shown he has plenty left in the tank after his Chicago tenure ended with a pair of only decent seasons.
Luke Voit was dealt to the Padres the day after Rizzo re-signed, as Voit was suddenly an expendable piece at first base. The trade wasn’t exactly a salary dump, as Voit’s $5.45MM salary for 2022 wasn’t exactly prohibitive, and pitching prospect Justin Lange has a live arm (if some notable control problems). Still, since Voit got off to a cold start with the Padres and is currently on the injured list with a biceps tendon injury, it looks like the Yankees made the right call in moving on.
The Bombers’ trade of Joely Rodriguez to the Mets for Miguel Castro is also looking like an early win for the Yankees, as Castro has pitched well while Rodriguez has struggled. The Castro swap may have been the Yankees’ most notable pitching move of the winter, as the club let Corey Kluber and Andrew Heaney walk in free agency but didn’t really do anything to replace them.
The Verlander pursuit indicates that the Yankees were open to upgrading the rotation, though only on their terms. Largely standing pat doesn’t seem to have much hampered the team, as the starting pitching and bullpen have both been very strong over the season’s first month. Circling back to the defensive improvements, tighter fielding has certainly helped the Yankees’ fleet of arms, but the club has gotten good results from just about every pitcher on the staff.
In fairness, it is very easy to examine New York’s offseason through rose-colored glasses, given how well the team has played to date. It’s safe to say the Yankees won’t keep up a .700 winning percentage for the entire year, but there is already plenty of indication that this team can contend for a World Series.
And, more moves are probably in store for the trade deadline. Cashman was aggressive in landing Rizzo and Joey Gallo last summer even when the club seemed more like fringe contenders, and when the Yankees were trying to stay under the CBT limit. Now, the Bombers are projected for a payroll north of $262MM, putting over the second tier of tax penalties but still under the third tier of $270MM. Cashman has shown that he can find success with either headline-grabbing moves or more modest acquisitions, so anything could be on the table for more transactions throughout the year.
Could that something even be an extension with Judge? The two sides didn’t reach agreement on a new deal prior to Opening Day, which was Judge’s preferred deadline for finalizing talks (like most players, Judge didn’t want negotiations to become distraction during the season). In something of a curious move, Cashman openly discussed the Yankees’ offer, saying that the slugger was offered a seven-year, $213.5MM deal covering the 2023-29 season.
While reports were somewhat mixed on Judge’s demands, there was some indication he was looking for a $36MM average annual value. It would be quite a commitment for a player who is already in his age-30 season, and yet Judge’s continued superstar numbers make a persuasive argument that he is worth that kind of money.
Since extensions are pretty rare in the Hal Steinbrenner era, it remains to be seen if even Judge is an exception to this more-or-less steadfast team policy. It could be that the two sides don’t re-engage in contract talks until after the season, making Judge’s status a lingering storyline over the coming months. The Yankees and Judge himself would probably prefer that the focus remains on the team’s performance, and should this end up being Judge’s last year in the Bronx, a World Series ring would be a fine way to cap off his stint in the pinstripes.
Go Yanks
Nah. I’d say the biggest trade was the Matt Olson trade.
How is that a reply to “Go Yanks”?
damhikt
Nah, Baltimore sucks
nah, Baltimore sucks
The Yankees may not have made much noise in the offseason, but they’re certainly making a lot of noise now. There were quite a few Cashman naysayers on this board, Yankee Clipper in particular, and they are all looking pretty silly at the moment. The defensive upgrades have been key, in my opinion. Plus, teams like the Yankees and Mets have the resources to add at the trade deadline. I’m not sure their divisional counterparts can all say the same (looking at you, Rays and Marlins).
Baseball is back in NY!
LFGM
Still haven’t let go I see…. But yes, many of us were very hard on Cashman. I am certainly one of the worst, you’re right.
I do hope he proves me wrong after the [whole] season & I will gladly take that. Subway series, maybe?
Subway Series would be Amazin’ (as long as it’s more competitive than last time!)
I have a feeling it will be a bit too competitive for our blood this time. The Mets roster is no joke & Buck is the manager I wanted in the Yankees. I think he’s so underrated by so many people, but that may just be me.
I agree and I think Buck has been giving a masters class on roster management so far – keeping everyone involved and fresh – and utilizing strengths effectively (like Jankowski’s speed late in games). I also like Boone though. I think he probably relates to the players a bit better than Buck. Both are great with the media from their days on tv. It’s just good to have good players and coaches and a positive vibe around NY baseball again. It should be a fun summer.
Sounds like the yankees have already won the al east. Why even play any of the remaining 130 games?
Not what either of us said at all.
Jury is still out. Two months into the season isn’t nearly enough to exonerate a GM who hasn’t won a Pennant since 2009. That said, there are 3 things that still bug me about the Yankees:
1. when you are playing under a fixed budget, you can’t drop $36mil on a pitcher who is at best top 10
2. despite their great start, the Yankees are still a slugging team that can’t hit. You face great pitching in the playoffs and it will always beat slugging.
3. I give credit when it’s due. Cash has done a great job with the farm system. One of his worst flaws is his stubbornness. This could derail a season. For goodness sake, why does he keep Chapman as the closer. Aroldis hasn’t been the same since the 2016 WS. He’s walked off two seasons and yet Cash extended him. For the last 2-3 years AC has padded his stats with cheap saves. He’s worthless against good batters. There are guys in AA I’d rather see on the roster. I’d DFA him before he causes irreparable damage. This was one of Cashman’s worst signings.
What’s the deal with Brett Gardner?
What’s up with his weirdly shaped giant head? Has he always had a head that big and deformed like Bonds or did it get that big from consuming all the planets roids like Bonds?
@John Rocker
Who’s head are you talking about? Mike Trout?
Gardner. Though Trout doesn’t have a neck which is concerning.
Fish don’t have necks, do they?
I’ve been hearing this stuff about Bonds’ allegedly “giant head” for years. It appears to be a case of people seeing what they’ve been led to expect to see instead of what’s in front of their eyes. It’s like an urban legend that takes on a life of its own.
Here’s Bonds as a rookie:
bit.ly/3vVo6lR
And here he is in 2021, five years after retiring (i.e., being blackballed by MLB collusion):
bit.ly/3N0N1Kl
Where’s this giant head? Looks the same size to me, only with less hair.
Nonsense. His head is barely 2 inches high on the rookie card, versus 5.5 inches high in the retirement picture. That’s a huge difference!
Well played, Gasu1 . . . well played.
He wants to go to the Yankees, Yankees (Smartly) don’t want him. He had also been connected to the Phillies and Blue Jays earlier in the off-season, but he is either going to sign with the Yankees or retire it seems.
How do Yankees fans feel about their games being on Amazon Prime on Friday nights? Just curious. I don’t have Amazon Prime, so it is one less game I will watch. I don’t need Amazon Prime and I’m not going to pay for it just to see a few games.
I have Prime so it doesn’t impact my watching it – that said, I absolutely despise all the specialty showings (Apple+ too). I don’t like it, personally & it doesn’t make a lot of sense in the overarching MLB business scheme. But, I also disagree with blackouts because, well, they’re stupid, but my 454,565 letters to Manfred on the subject seem to have been misplaced.
I also have Prime and the YES Network (thanks to my folks being cable subscribers in NY). It’s ridiculous that MLB.tv is now a watered-down service and I opted out this year. I’ve had it every year since inception.
I have Prime too, although it had nothing to do with Yankee games. They weren’t offered when I signed up. I also despise the way the league, and the Yankees’ front office in particular, are so unashamedly fan-unfriendly in their greed.
I’m not familiar with every franchise’s arrangements, but I doubt there’s any that’s more fan-unfriendly and money-grubbing than the Yankees. The blackouts are all about their arrangements with their cable network partnerships. I dumped MLB.TV long ago. Why would I spend for a “service” that blacks out my own team’s games? But if you want to subscribe to YES, you have to subscribe to one of the gouging cable companies because YES won’t let any of the streaming services air their games, except Amazon, which is one of the members of their ownership group that bought back the YES Network in 2019.
But what else would you expect from elitist jerks who openly complained about the riff-raff sitting among the patricians:
‘The Yankees announced in February that fans no longer could print tickets at home, and chief operating officer Lonn Trost later explained on radio station WFAN that someone buying a discounted ticket from a resale service “may be someone who has never sat in a premium location, so that’s a frustration to our existing fan base.”‘
bit.ly/389PYts
The Red Sox game was on Apple TV+ last Friday night; I was so upset. I have Amazon Prime but not Apple TV+. These disparate streaming services are getting out of control. Each provider seems to come up with a couple of award winning shows, trying to lure you in so you can be the cool guy at the water cooler talking about the newest hit on Amazon Prime, Disney +, Hulu, etc…I’m so sick of it! I literally laughed out loud when I heard CNN pulled the plug on CNN+ after one month and they lost over $50M+ by doing so. I hope the majority of these a-la-carte streaming services end up folding or at least combine themselves into 2-3 main streaming providers. That’s the only way I’d ever consider giving any of them one dime. I only get Amazon Prime because I subscribe to Prime for the free shipping on Amazon.com and they include their streaming service as part of the annual fee. Same goes with HBO Max.
It’s beyond ridiculous that MLB struck deals with Amazon and Apple to stream prime time games. The ratings for those ‘broadcasts’ are going to be awful but MLB doesn’t care as they have locked both Amazon and Apple into overpriced contracts for the streaming rights. Way to cater to your fanbase once again, Manfred. He’s such an idiot.
Unfortunately, this is just the beginning. Big tech will end up with all the distribution rights to sports. Amazon Sports, Apple iSports, Facebook PGA/Nascar, Twitter Kentucky Derby… just making up names. They have the ability to personalize and streamline ads to each viewer which broadcast TV can’t do and they know we’re not skipping commercials.
You forgot YouTube!
Big tech will end up with all the rights then package them together with things we don’t want and we’re back where we started with cable company type packages.
Well said, Dorothy & Bleacher. It’s all about more money, which is fine for the business, but not at the expense of the fan base. But, that’s a lesson they won’t learn until we fans make them.
And as far as Apple +, the broadcast team is horrible, as I posted in the other article. Chris Young is not good, at all. Fortunately, the Yankees team is really good, imo. I enjoy Cone, Paulie, & Cam – they’re really enjoyable to listen to & add to the game.
Unfortunately, you guys lost a cornerstone in Remy. I didn’t listen to him, but from all I read he was great at what he did.
I like Cone & Paulie a lot. Cameron is no Ken Singleton (who is?), but I think he still hasn’t gotten comfortable in his new job, and hopefully he’ll be better once he settles in. The thick Southern accent is sometimes an auditory challenge for me, too.
I’m not a fan of the Beltran & Flaherty pairing. I couldn’t stand to listen to them after a while.
BTW, I can’t resist a plug for all you Prime subscribers. I watched a magnificently filmed documentary on Prime a couple of nights ago: “Legacy,” by a French filmaker, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, and narrated by Sting. I think I can safely guarantee that some of the images will blow your mind (e.g., a huge crowd of Chinese people having “fun”).
Fink, truth, man. Cam is getting better by the game though, you can tell. Beltran & Flaherty are absolutely the worst. They’re worse than Apple TV imo. That’s objectively rating his broadcasting; add in that he’s a cheater & it irritates me even more. We already have Marwin, who I cannot stand.
At least Apple has that Melanie lady, who does the O’s games, and she’s pretty good for PbP.
I have prime but don’t live in New York so I don’t get the games . And dish doesn’t have my local team here in pa so I’m watching less games then every. I’m not getting mlb,tv this year just not worth it.
Streameast.com
It’s 2022 fellas, you never have to miss anything
Hey! I went straight to steamcast, it’s highly inappropr… ohhhh, stReam, got it.
NBA NFL MLB UFC Boxing Nascar, drafts its all there, its all free, and theres no regional blackouts whatsoever .
* They do probably sell your cookies but who cares, it could slow down your browser a touch if using outdated tech but I don’t Imagine too many people are using outdated tech in 2022
Wow, I am seriously behind the curve on that. I knew not about this service. Thank you, Cap, you’re a scholar & a gentleman.
How do you watch that stuff for free if you dont pay anybody?
Its technically a “message board” kind of like Twitch in a way to get around the logistics. They are about 30-60 sec behind live
There’s a premium (pay) subscription to go multi screen etc but you don’t have to pay for it, I never have. They also probably make some dough selling your cookies as well
Lil annoyance is there’s a million kids on the chat ALL day living out there lives talking shi*……..you just minimize and full screen it and they all go away ‘
Great comments everyone. I will definitely check out streameast.
I have Amazon Prime as well but live out of the area so I can’t get the games. Just as the Apple games, it sucks rocks.
They still don’t score enough runs ,
Valid point. But, if you look, Gallo, Donaldson, Hicks, Torres, & Stanton are still down offensively. If even two of those guys return to their norm that offense is set. Obviously, the two most likely to return to norms are Stanton & Donaldson. Their biggest advantage this year is putting the ball in play & scoring more runs when possible, even if through sacrifice flies. More contact generates more hits & more runs. I love it!
Their pitching has been incredible again. Matt Blake has to be considered one of the best pitching guys in the league of the Yankees continue this through the season again.
Blake is one of Cashman’s best hires, and Dillon Lawson might be another good one if the wheels don’t fall off the offense. So far, so good.
Excellent point about Lawson! Could Lawson be the reason behind the transformation in their offensive approach? Hell yes! Great point, Fink.
IF** Gallo would simply level out his bat path to the ball, keep his head back (and still), he would crush the ball. Dude is 6’5” tall and not skinny. He simply needs to connect and he’s going to drive it. No different than Judge & Stanton. Level swing, center of the field (gap-to-gap). He’s his own worst enemy with his swing. Coincidentally, his worst* contact zone? Middle-middle!!!
Gallo sounds like the minor league slugger from Signs.
It bugged me when, in a dugout interview with Meredith, Gallo said something to the effect of “I am what I am,” meaning he’s the type of hitter he is, and that’s that. I hated that answer. How any batter can struggle to reach the Mendoza line and not have any motivation to adjust his approach is beyond me. But I guess he keeps hearing how his long balls and walks are enough and he buys into that. I don’t.
“Swing away,” emac22?
They’re 11th in runs but they’re only 21st in plate appearances, and they let in the fewest runs in the majors except for the Dodgers. They’re second to the Dodgers in run differential. They’re second in OPS and tied for seventh in batting average in the majors. They’re first in wRC+ and tied for second in OPS+. They’ve scored enough to own the second-best record in the majors. The last two games were low-scoring, but they’re still sixth in runs scored per game.
If they can stay on this pace, they should be fine. Hopefully, they’ll shake off the last two games and get back to scoring.
Add in the fact that scoring is down league wide, they’re off to a decent start. If Donaldson will get going and Gallo hit a hot streak (which is supposedly what he does though I ain’t seen it yet) we’ll really take off.
Excellent points, Joe. If they could just convince Gallo to adjust and use the whole field, with more contact, like Judge & Stanton, I think he would hit even more HRs too. He underestimates his own natural power.
Still not a fan of most of their moves… at this point of their careers and considering the salaries as well, Donaldson better than Urshella?
When did Yankees fans start caring about salaries? We’re not the A’s and shouldn’t act like it.
Looking at the trade, the Yankees are much better off after the trade than before. Sanchez still sucks. So far, Donaldson and Urshela are putting up similar numbers. IKF is a vast improvement over Torres at SS.
At the end of the year, the Yankees can still revisit the FA SS market with Turner, Xander and likely Correa if they want into the big name players.
They started caring when the team obviously does. Since the team has a budget, you have to wonder if those resources could have been used to provide more value.
The only time I’ve seen my fellow Yankees fans sudden worry about salaries is with the Donaldson acquisition. Other than that it’s been “Sign Correa and Freeman and extend Judge.”
If we’re now going to be frugal with Hal’s money, Cashman did a great job. Donaldson is only here for two years and they can afford it easily. IKF isn’t making a lot. Rizzo is only making $16 million and will likely opt out of his last year of his contract. Sanchez is making $10 million to suck so that’s money saved. Voit is making a bit over $6 million to rehab yet another injury.
I like the moves Cashman made but I’m not concerned with salaries. Hal can and should spend money.
Yeah, Joe, I’m with you. I’m strongly in favor of spending the money we have wisely, and I’m in favor of spending freely beyond that. This is the way I’d classify spending: spend whatever is needed to shore up positions of need to give us the best chances of winning a WS.
That should start in ‘23 with Trea Turner if he has a year remotely consistent with his career. Move IKF to UTL, then to 3rd after Donaldson is done. He’s a GG there. Turner is speed/power/top of the lineup, & gives Volpe/Peraza/Cabrera time to develop.
And Florial? Goodness, man. Just leave that kid up. Let him play & get consistent ABs. He gets like 5 every few months, so it’s no wonder he can’t get right…
Definitely Clipper. I like Turner better than any of the guys from this past off season. Though for honesty sake, I was really hoping for Simeon. Any other SSs did come with warts. Turner doesn’t seem to have any noticeable flaws. Sign him in the offseason and Volpe, Paraza and Cabrera be damned.
A good budget pays good players..
Paying Donaldson 25 million when 3rd base is covered and passing on a SS is just stupid.
When the team started using the Luxury tax as a salary cap. It doesn’t matter if it’s just money, but it isn’t. It’s a choice between players.
The options weren’t Sanchez & Gio or IKF and Donaldson. They could have cut Sanchez and Gio. They could have made DJ the third baseman and signed Correa for SS for about the same dollars.
Correa is way better than IKF
DJ is way better than Donaldson
Volpe is hitting under .200 in AA
What good is it revisiting the FA market after the season? When you have a good team and make mistakes at the margins that’s when you really pay the price. This has been the issue with Cashman & Hal. They have a legit contender every year and yet every year they make an excuse for not going all in.
Wait for Volpe???
Wrote for a year-and-a-half that they needed to fire Rothschild. They did, and hired a quality pitching coach from Cleveland.
Wrote that they needed to get Sánchez away from Catching. He was messing up the pitching staff. Wrote that Kyle Higashioka could share the position with another decent catcher; even if they hit .150 that would be fine.
Wrote that Gleyber was a 2B and could not play SS. That SS was too important a defensive position to ignore. Find a guy that could play a major league SS.
Yankees now look like a major league team.
The baseball-challenged Yankee fans on here ridiculed and insulted me. Then kept complaining that ownership wasn’t throwing astronomical amounts of money at name FA’s.
The goal is still to get the payroll in line, and wait for youngsters to come up from the minors. The big push will be in 2 years when the youngsters are up…..and Juan Soto and Rafael Devers may be free agents. Any winning before then is a bonus.
I’d probably be a semi Yankee fan if it weren’t so embarrassing to be grouped in with the other fans.
I was a big fan back in the day… Pat Kelly, Mariano Duncan, both Williamses, Donny, Wade… all the way through the dynasty years from 96.
Somewhere along they way, the love turned into hate. I think Mark Teixeira had a lot to do with it as one of the last of the true Palmeiros (massive embarrassing buffoons)
You need a tear or crying Emoji with this one.
I don’t think everyone can feel just how deeply hurt you are.
See, there is exactly the problem.
Does it make you feel better to let the bitter and resentful feelings out using words or do you need something to throw?
My reply was for Samuel if it matters.
Fantasy sports and betting is what made it so nasty.
But sports blogs really aren’t for people who think anyone cares about their feelings.
Off season shopping list:
1. Vitamins – check
2. Sticky stuff – check
3. Tech for sign stealing – check
4. Lubricated dumpires for strike zone manipulation – check
5. Providing missiles for fans to throw at opposing players – check
6. Getting mlb.com to be obsessed about their minor leaguers – check
7. Creating a team with the plausible reality of actually being in first place – check
8. Getting fans in the rest of the country to no longer care if their team wins – check
9. Beating the Red Sox – check
10. Beating the Mets – TBD
11. Ensuring that their fan base remains the most annoying in professional sports – check
Beating a drum, over and over again, check?
Yup. Old habits die hard. Grumble grumble.
“11. Ensuring that their fan base remains the most annoying in professional sports – check”
Annoying, like trolling other teams’ articles on MLBTR?
4. Lubricated dumpires for strike zone manipulation – check
Cortes got balls called for first pitch strikes early on in most of the innings that he pitched. 1st inning, first batter, 3rd inning, second batter, 5th inning, 5 borderline pitches, only 1 called a ball. 6th inning , lead off hitter and last pitch to the final batter. Called strikes well out of the strike zone. 7th inning, two on, one out, two balls (pitches one and three) called strikes. 8th inning, Eli White gets each pitch called correctly and he hits a single. What a racket.
“Cortes got balls called for first pitch strikes early on in most of the innings that he pitched. 1st inning, first batter” – His first pitch was a ball; Semien struck out swinging.
“3rd inning, second batter” – His first pitch to White was a ball; White struck out swinging.
“5th inning, 5 borderline pitches, only 1 called a ball.” – In the 5th inning, the ump called six balls, one of which was completely in the zone, and three of which had the edge of the zone and could’ve been called strikes but weren’t.
“6th inning , lead off hitter and last pitch to the final batter. Called strikes well out of the strike zone” – Both strikes were absolutely in the zone. BTW, the second batter, White, walked on six pitches.
“7th inning, two on, one out, two balls (pitches one and three) called strikes.” – Every one of those strikes was well within the zone. The third pitch to Ibanez was fouled off.
“8th inning, Eli White gets each pitch called correctly and he hits a single.” – There was no call on that pitch because he hit it. Cortes left it in the zone, a rare mistake.
Congratulations — everything you said was inaccurate.
Here’s the proof:
espn.com/mlb/playbyplay?gameId=401436056
Fink, do NOT bring facts to a conversation with Red Sox Nation. It makes no difference for the story.
Is that his story? I thought he was a Mets fan. He’s quite imaginative, in any case.
Shoot, man, you’re right. Mets, Red Sox, all the same. Making up stuff since 19-forever.
One site has one set of “facts”, another site has a different set of “facts”. So I go where the “facts” support my argument. This is America for gosh sakes.
But hey, maybe I’m wrong. That happens a lot. No matter who I root for.
Whyhayzee, you’re not a bad guy, ya know, for a Mets fan. But, I’ve got to give it to you every once in a while to remind you the Bronx still runs NY…..
Well, the Yankees run NY. The Bronx itself, certainly not. There’s a thing called Manhattan.
Cosmo, always ruining my points, you are, sir…. Lol.
Cashman sucks! It’s a disgrace! The Yankees haven’t won double the WS of any other team in the last few years! Doesn’t he know Yankee fans deserve two championships every year?! He’s a disgrace!… there, did I do it right?
Double?
Did you mean any?
Cosmo…I’m copying this and plagiarizing it if the Yankees falter, just so you know.
This is a semi-serious question:
How much $ would it take to buy broadcast and naming rights to the least-watched game or series of the season?
It’ll be called the Dumpster Cup and be whichever team is second worst and the Reds, who will be crowned de facto préexistent champs.
It’ll be called by funny people who just dump on baseball and the players for 3 hours. And Keith Hernandez, who does that regularly on his own.
It will be streamed for free wherever. No ads, just egregious product placement. And hopefully outside the jurisdiction of the FCC for so many reasons.
I can guarantee it will be better than Apple TV.
Still not backing off it being a bad off-season for Cashman. IKF was the obvious choice at SS so I’m not giving him a pat on the back for that one. Only thing is they gave up Gio for IKF and got a bloated contract in an old Josh Donaldson back with IKF. Not saying Gio is a stud but we would be better off at 3b from what I’ve seen out of a washed up Donaldson.
So still have huge question marks at 3b, LF and CF and he was way late in trading Voit and Sanchez to break up the over dependence on all or nothing right bats.
So what great moves did Cashman make that I’m missing? The RH K group of Voit, Sanchez, Stanton and Judge should have been broken up years ago with the obvious ones to go being Sanchez and Voit – overall fail
Donaldson – fail
Gallo – fail
Keeping Hicks (give it a month) – fail
Once again Yankees spending abilities cover up huge mistakes.
I totally agree it was a terrible off season. Finally realizing Sanchez was a big problem isn’t something I give him credit for.
Having a good record doesn’t mean any of the moves he made were the right moves either.
IKF was the obvious choice for SS with the free agent class we just had at SS? For a team with world series aspirations?
IKF is a utility infielder. Volpe is hitting 190 in AA, Donaldson makes about what Correa makes. We had Sanchez for half a decade and didn’t develop anyone to take his place at all..
IKF was an obvious choice? No, it was supposedly an historically good crop of free agent shortstops, but Cashman didn’t spend for another massive contract. It would’ve been nice to get Correa on the contract Boras gave to the Twins, but his OPS+ is 111 and IKF’s is 110 at a fraction of the cost, and I don’t trust Correa to stick at shortstop with his size and injury history. Meanwhile, how are Seager and Semien doing? I readily admit I thought Semien was the guy to get. I wouldn’t want to have to be answering for that call right about now.
I liked Gio a lot, but he’s got an 81 OPS+ to Donaldson’s 107 OPS+.
I wanted them to trade Hicks, but he has a .412 OBP batting leadoff, and Judge has played a solid center field while Hicks has fielded better in left field. Would I rather have Hicks now than Gardner? All day, every day. And Stanton hits better when he plays right field than when he’s the DH. His OPS is over 300 points higher and his BA is over 100 points higher. He’s played 13 games in right field and 13 as the DH.
You’re referring back to previous seasons, but the question was: how did Cashman do in this offseason? I’m the last one to sing Cashman’s praises for his conspicuous blunders in seasons past. If I wanted to discuss all those, this would be a much longer comment. But IKF has been a great addition, better than I expected; and although I questioned the strength of the rotation and thought they should trade from the surplus of shortstop prospects for another starting pitcher, the rotation has been fantastic (with a lot of credit due to another Cashman hire, Matt Blake).
Teams on paper count for nothing. It’s the record that counts, and this Yankee team has the second-best record in baseball and the best in the AL.
I’m not going to let my past criticisms of Cashman lock me into an obstinate refusal to give him credit when he does better.
Well said Fink.
I agree with you guys from an expectations standpoint. But, the team is performing well & they’re not yet all performing. I’ll give it time and rate objectively when the results are in.
Either way, Cashman has made good moves & not such good moves. I thought the offseason was a bust for what they could get, but they’ve been winning, so we shall see. They certainly Could’ve put the team in the position to clear the deck in the AL, imo. But, as Fink astutely noted, would we feel the same if we had Semien or Seager right now? They did what they thought necessary – we will see if it’s enough. So far, it really looks good, but it’s very early. Time will tell and history will show Cashman to be excellent, or a victim of his own design.
If they send anyone down when Rortvedt comes up, it should be Higgy. Trevino is better.
One of the things that has impressed me most has been Trevino’s glove. His effortless defense and framing are simply incredible to watch. Higgy is good, but to me there’s a notable difference between Higgy & Trevino.
@Clip, I agree. I can see Trevino and Rortvedt being the two main catchers after 2022, unless they trade for and/or sign Wilson Contreras. Not sure that’s the direction they’re heading.
Yup. We can add the acquisition of Trevino to the list of good moves.
Higgy has no more options. He will remain for the season.
Rortvedt unfortunately had bad timing for his injury. Once his rehab assignment is done, they’ll assign him to AAA. It may not be the worst thing. If they believe his bat has upside, give him some time in AAA, where he hasn’t played much. Work on his hitting. If he really breaks out, they can call him up. If not, give him the additional development.
Yeah, I hope Rortvedt lives up to his 15-20 HR potential. He’d be a huge asset as a defensive catcher with 20-HR potential.
It’s simple: Whatever they did has been working.
End of assessment.
Never understood why people were mad they didn’t sign a shortstop to a long term deal. I mean just because they’re the Yankees and have a big payroll doesn’t mean they should forget about prospects entirely. These long term deals pretty much never work out anyways and it was a good move. I’m just not a big fan of Joey Gallo. I don’t think his plate approach is conducive to winning., and not worth a huge deal. Dan Vogelbach is an all or nothing hitter making a million dollars pretty much doing what he does but without defense.
As of this moment, the Yankees have the best record in baseball, having passed the Dodgers in the overall standings.
And I thought they looked like a third-place team on paper.
Good thing they play on grass and dirt.
Onward and upward!
Green the choke artist strikes again. I hate seeing him take the mound. They should’ve traded his ass two years ago. He’s the green light for the opposing batters. He lost seven games last year, only one less than the losses leader, Cole, and Cole pitched almost a hundred more innings.
Don’t worry, the dumpires are doing everything in their “power” to help you out. What a joke.
Maybe you can prove your point by resorting to that “site” you referenced last night to find balls and strikes that appeared nowhere else.
If you’re talking about the ejection of Yimi Garcia, however, I don’t agree with that call by the umpires. Unless he said something, and there’s not evidence that he did, there’s no way they could’ve known his HBP was intentional. It could’ve been a stupid move prompted by anger, but it made no baseball sense.
I loathe this preemptive strike-type move by the umpires. Ejections are for when players do things wrong. Stupid.
I agree. On the other hand, taking out Yimi didn’t necessarily hurt the Jays. He had just given up a game-tying 3-run homer.
It didn’t, which is why it’s more frustrating! Leave him in to give up more! Lol… Go Yanks!
Judge grated Romano. Threw him a slider. Maybe shoulda stuck with the cheese.
I just read an article on the MLB site that adds some background to the ejection decision:
‘Montoyo: “I’m going to tell you exactly what they told me. The reason they thought that Yimi Garcia threw at Donaldson was because [Blue Jays catcher Tyler] Heineman and Donaldson were yelling at each other in the fifth inning or something. They decided that they thought we threw at Donaldson in a tie game after the home run on the second pitch.”
‘What Donaldson said
‘“In my heart of hearts, I don’t think it was [intentional], but it didn’t look good on television, that’s for sure.”
‘What about the words exchanged with Heineman, then? Donaldson acknowledged that happened, saying simply that the discussion was about “baseball” but that the two don’t have any history, adding a classic Donaldson quote:
‘“I didn’t even know the guy. I didn’t even know that was his name. Never heard of him.”
‘What the umpires said
‘Crew chief Alfonso Marquez detailed the situation exactly how Montoyo described it, saying that the interaction between Donaldson and Heineman “definitely played into it,” along with the game situation following Stanton’s home run.
‘“Given all the situations up to that specific moment, we just deemed it intentional,” Marquez said. “And when that happens, we have to eject and or [issue] warnings, but we felt ejection was the way to go.”’
So there you have it.
Excellent, Fink, thank you! I still vehemently disagree with the decision for two reasons:
1) I don’t agree with ejection for either side’s first hit by pitch, even if the umpire believes it to be intentional, unless there’s overwhelming evidence, like a statement; and,
2) they’re in a close game, in which close “up & in” pitches play a crucial role in the respective pitcher’s arsenal. The umpires regulating the area of pitching adversely affects the pitching & thus the game.
Do they really think the Jays wanted more guys on base during a tied game? I don’t.
Bottom line: The umpires took over the game thereby {potentially & progressively} taking out of the hands of the players. It’s a disturbing trend in the sport. I also think the Jays were incredibly stupid to demand JL get kicked out for pitching up to Bichette. That was ridiculous & they deserved whatever they got for that.
I can’t really fault the Jays for yelling about the up-and-in to Bichette after their guy got ejected. That’s pretty much an expected knee-jerk reaction. In fact, you could argue that the hook for Montoya was too quick again.
I get what the umps were trying to do: they wanted to nip a possible round of retaliatory HBPs in the bud. They at least accomplished this — nobody got hurt after Donaldson was hit.
The problem is that if Heineman had been plunked by the Yankees pitcher, there is absolutely no chance there would have anything but a lame warning. But, in an earlier at bat Heineman took a called strike on a pitch that was not even close, so there’s that. Clear case of the dumpires bullying the Blue Jays. Maybe big baby Donaldson who has trouble running out ground balls was complaining about a pitch being called a strike. Who knows.
Well, I see your point, Fink, depending on what was said, it could’ve been too quick. And, I get the point they were trying to make, but it wasn’t even a HBP.
I guess I just don’t like the direction of MLB altogether in this respect. That type of reaction for a normal up/in pitch just grinds on my nerves because it’s demonstrative of my generation as a whole.
Hayzee: I’m not sure how you extrapolate that pitch because each game there are numerous balls, called strikes, on Judge & Stanton alone, honestly. But, I do agree with you on this: umpires are impacting games in ways they shouldn’t & it’s because they can. I’m not sure when this happened, although it was likely gradual, but at some point it became an acceptable industry practice for umps to make bad calls as long they’re “consistently bad.”
You have no idea how lame this tired accusation of pro-Yankee umpires is, do you?
Since 2019, the Yankee batters have a 16.9 Called Strike%, ranking them in the 12th tier. The Mets have a 14.9 Called Strike%, ranking them 29th. Only the Braves had a lower percentage of called strikes.
But here’s a more in-depth look at which teams had the most- and least-friendly strike zones in 2018, courtesy of Jeff Sullivan at Fangraphs:
“The A’s, Rays, and Rockies have hit with the friendliest zones, relatively speaking. The Yankees are at the bottom, followed by the Marlins and Diamondbacks.”
That’s right — the Yankees ranked 30th; the worst strike zone in the majors was against their hitters.
This would come as no surprise to Yankee fans who’ve watched Judge get pitches at his ankles called strikes.
But, hey — where did the Mets rank? Their hitters had the 9th-friendliest strike zone.
The Yankees pitchers had a much friendlier strike zone, ranking them 8th, while the Mets pitchers had a less-friendly strike zone, ranking them 20th. But the combined total of extra strikes for batters and pitchers was much friendlier to the Mets, who ranked 12th. The Yankees ranked 22nd.
blogs.fangraphs.com/the-most-and-least-team-friend…
Don’t forget to say thank you to the “dumpires” who’ve been so nice to your team.
Wow, fantastic information! Great job, Fink!