The remaining options
With the regular season getting closer and closer, teams still have some holes to fill. Most of the big guys are off the market, so now things get interesting. It is now that teams make decisions on which less popular players to sign. Players that can still make a huge difference. For the Yankees, it is a necessity. Here is a list of possible remaining options for the Yankees:
Possible:
This section will include players that can possibly join the Yankees, based on reports from various sources.
Jerry Hairston Jr.
Ken Rosenthal said just last night on twitter that the Yankees were one of five teams interested in Hariston. He can play some left field for the Yanks, and is a decent hitter, but he isn’t exactley starting material.
Update: Yankees are now in serious talks with Hairston, according to Chris Singleton of ESPN.com
Reed Johnson
Pretty solid veteran hitter. Can play left field.
Less possible:
Players that are “less possible” are players that have been discussed but have never been spoken about on the Yankees part, or have been reported to be a small possibility.
Johnny Damon
According to reports it would be very unlikely, but Yankee officials have avoided saying that it is impossible. It would be a huge lift for this team. If he comes to the Yankees and works out a deal without Boras, it’s still a possibility.
Ryan Church
He could play the outfield for the Yankees. 31 years old and hit .273 next year.
Rick Ankiel
30 years old, and could also play the outfield for the Yankees. Power numbers are up over the last couple of years. Could be a solid player for the Yankees, and has potential to possibly be a starter.
Nick Green
Nick played a good amount of games for the Red Sox
and got off to a great start. He fell off a bit in the second half, but
he would be a great guy to fill in at short or third when Jeter or
A-Rod needs some time off.
Khalil Greene
Great defensive player. Just turned 30 years old. His hitting has
been pretty solid and his power has increased over the past year. Could
also play infield for Yanks.
Update: Signed with Texas Rangers for one-year, $750K.
Felipe Lopez
He hit .310 last year but his speed numbers have fell significantly
over his career. He turns 30 in April, and could play some infield for
the Yankees. His numbers are so unpredictable though, it would be a
risky signing.
Mark Loretta
39 years old and has been a solid hitter his entire career. He can
play the infield. Only problem is that last year was the worst of his
career.
Extremely unlikely:
These are players that have had reports saying that you can count them out.
Xavier Nady
Good player, but has had two Tommy John surguries and wants too much money.
Who Am I Winner:
I am Lou Gehrig.
Vig from Conneticut was the first to enter the right answer. Check out his blog at yankeeholics.mlblogs.com.
Who Am I? #1
I…
- played 17 seasons with the Yankees.
- led the league in home runs three times in my career.
- am a two time MVP and a seven time All-Star.
- hit over 140 RBI’s eight times in my career.
- won six of the seven World Series I played in.
- am in the Hall of Fame.
- was teammates with Bill Dickey.
Who am I?
Comment on this entry with your guess, including your guess, name, location and the URL to your blog. Tomorrows post will include the answer along with the winner and the URL to their blog. First one to get the right answer wins!
The No. 5 spot: A never ending problem
As it stands right now, the Yankees will go into opening day with the following rotation: CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte and Javier Vazquez. Not bad for the first four. But the number five spot remains open.
The Yankees have choices. They can go with Joba, they can go with Hughes, or they could slip in Serigo Mitre, who just yesterday signed a one-year $850,000 deal, according to the Associated Press.
If you have read anything I have written, you will notice a hatred of mine for the idea of putting Joba in the rotation. Hughes is a better starter and Joba is a far better reliever. So it seems pretty simple doesn’t it? Just put Hughes in the rotation and Joba in the bullpen. It would work as both a long term and shor term solution. But, the ridiculous Yankee coaching staff philosophy has me backed in a corner.
First off, let’s just remove Mitre, who most certainly does not deserve a spot over Hughes or Joba.
Who should be the fifth starter for the Yankees?(polling)
But back to the issue. Just as the Yankees had a “Joba Rule” thing in effect, you can bet your dollar they would have some “Hughes Rules” as well. Which makes me very skeptical. There is no doubt that you can attribute Chamberlains atrocious starting pitching to the fact that he was constantly on a pitch count. It made him always think about the pitch count, which took his focus away from being aggressive.
In 2010, the wheels would be off for Joba, so maybe he would be a better starter. I’m afraid that the same thing that happened to Joba will happen to Hughes, should they put him in the rotation.
But either way, you go with the better option. Like I said, Hughes is a better starter, and Chamberlain is a better reliever. Long term, Hughes can be the next Pettitte, and Chamberlain can be the next Rivera (maybe a bit worse.) You might as well set up for that now, rather than screwing stuff up. ⧫
Damon update
It’s January 6th and we are still talking about Damon. I must say, I would have never guessed that. The latest buzz on Damon came from SI.com’s John Heyman, who calls Damon’s return “still remotely possible.”
Other reports throughout the off season have revealed a one-year, $6M deal from the Yankees, and a requested two-year, $20M deal from Boras. Neither have gone through.
Fangraphs.com says that Damon deserves over $14.5M for one-year, a good case for Scott Boras. But with his age, lack of fielding ability, lack of other choices, and severe desire to play in New York, the Yankees can get him for less.
I am starting to beleive that Damon’s return to the Yankees is inevitable. I can’t tell you for how much, but I will tell you that it won’t be for a lot.
The Yankees would have no problem going into the 2010 season with the team they have now. But, Damon really wants to play in New York. No other teams, besides the Braves, have been serious about signing him. But, again, Damon doesn’t want to play in Atlanta.
So the Yankees are in the drivers seat again. The Yankees will have no problem waiting this one out untill the last day of the off season, when Damon will have no choice. I wouldn’t be surprised if this comes down to the wire, and the Yankees end up getting him for a nice, cheap deal.
But, the Yankees are serious about saving up for next off season, which would rule out the two-year deal that Damon truley wants. That, plus the fact that Boras could care less about what Damon wants, could and will be what keep Damon out of New York.
UPDATE 7:14 p.m. Ken Davidoff of Newsday tells me (via Twitter) that he doesn’t expect the Yankees to offer Damon a contract, regardless of the fact that there are no other options for Damon.
UPDATE 8:29 p.m. Asked Ken Davidoff if their were any conditions under which Damon would be a Yankee, and he gave me a sarcastic response (via Twitter). Leads me to believe that there’s a very small chance of Damon’s return.
Beltre: A risk not worth taking
Multiple sources confirm that the Red Sox have agreed to a one-year, $9 million deal with a player option for $5 million. Beltre will fill the void the Red Sox have at third base, and opens up a possible trade with the now useless Lowell.
This is a pretty good deal for the Red Sox. They got him cheap, he’s a pretty good player, and he fits right into their needs. But does he fit into the team?
Using data from fangraphs.com, we see that Beltre doesn’t come close to your typical Red Sox star.
First, lets just go with some stats. Beltre is 31 years old. He has been injured many times in his career. He is a .270 career hitter, with a below average .325 career OBP.
The thing that popped out to me was 36.8% of the pitches Beltre swings at are out of the strike zone. Compare that to the Red Sox team average which is 22.6%, the lowest in the Majors. He also swings at 54.2% of the pitches he sees, compared to the Red Sox team average of 42.3%, again the lowest in the Majors.
Last, let’s look at the Bill James projection for next year. Barring an injury, James predicts Beltre to hit .269 with 17 home runs and 78 RBI’s. Again we look at the essential free agent signing question: Is the team better now then they were before? Well, considering Lowell hit .290 with 17 home runs and 75 RBI’s in 2009, the Red Sox are no better suited now then they were before.
The bottom line here is that Beltre flat out does not make the Red Sox a better team. He doesn’t fit into the patient apporach of the team. That, along with his often injuries, make him a huge threat to the success of the Red Sox. Sure he can be good, but he can also be a disaster.
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Poll of the Day:
Was Beltre a good signing for the Red Sox?(survey)
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The Buzz: 1/4/10
Here are some of the latest news stories from various sources:
- ESPN.com reports that the Cardinals are getting closer to a deal with Matt Holliday. The deal could be a seven-year deal.
- Wang’s agent told 1050 ESPN
that he has heard from 15 teams who are interested in Wang. The Yankees
were one of them, while the Mets were not. No other teams were
mentioned. - The Red Sox have made an offer for third baseman, Adrian Beltre, according to ESPN.com. Other teams are also interest including the Angels, Athletics and Orioles.
- Buster Olney tweets that the Athletics have pulled their offer off the table for Adrian Beltre.
- According to SNY, Jason Bay has passed his physical and is officially a New York Met, to be announced tomorrow.
- An AP source tells NBCSports.com that Bay’s deal with the Mets will have a $17M option for 2014.
- Mike Axisa of River Avenue Blues says that the Yankees should go after the A’s, Travis Buck, to play the outfield.
- The NY Post reports that David Cone will not be returning to the YES Network. Tino Martinez is a possible replacement.
- 7:40 p.m. SI.com has learned that the Red Sox are now close to a deal with Adrian Beltre. The deal is believed to be at least two-years with an opt-out option after this season.
- 9:19 p.m. Peter Gammons says via Twitter that the Red Sox have agreed to a one-year deal worth $9M, with a player option for $5M. 9:31 p.m. FOXSports.com confirms.
- 9:25 p.m. Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com tweets about a possible trade that would send Luis Castillo to the Red Sox, and Mike Lowell to the Mets. The deal would work out for the Red Sox with Beltre coming, and with Castillo gone, the Mets could go after Orlando Hudson.
- 9:29 p.m. Chad Jennings of The Journal News reports that the Indians have signed Shelly Duncan.
A few thoughts on Damon
I thought I would take a few moments to point out some interesting points on Damon. It looks at this point — and has for a while — that Damon will not be back in 2010. Boras has set his asking price a little to high for the Yankees.
Do you want Damon on the Yankees in 2010?(polls)
But here are a few reasons that I think you shouldn’t count out Damon returning to the Yankees.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweeted a couple of weeks ago, that Damon requested a two-year, $22M deal from the Yankees, which they declined. This was after Boras said that they wouldn’t take anything less than a three-year deal. The fact that Damon was willing to bring it down to two shows that he really wants to play for the Yankees.
- No other teams have shown interest in Damon, yet.
- One possible suitor a couple of weeks ago was the Giants, who signed Mark DeRosa to play left.
- Another possible suitor was the Braves who got Melky in the trade for Vazquez.
- All of the teams that showed any interest at all were from the National League. It’s very unlikey that a NL team will take him because there is no DH, and I doubt they will risk having Damon as their everyday left fielder.
So don’t count it out. It’s quite obvious that Damon really, really wants to play for the Yankees. They also may end up being the only choice for him. The only thing between Damon and the Yankees is Boras. If Boras backed down, Damon would be on the Yankees. There are only two ways Damon ends up on the Yankees: (a) Damon goes to the Yankees, alone, and works out a deal, or (b) Boras realizes that the Yankees are their only choice and takes a cheaper deal. But don’t expect (b) to happen until, very, very late.
The New York Yankees: 2000′s
Best Moment: 2001 WS vs Diamondbacks: Derek Jeter becomes “Mr. November”
Derek Jeter earned his pinstripes by walking off against the Diamondbacks in the 2001 world series with a home run over the right field wall. Still one of the most iconic scenes in Yankee history.
Honorable mention: Aaron Boone walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS vs Boston.
Worst Moment: 2004 ALCS vs Red Sox: Damon’s Grand Slam
Future Yankees, Johnny Damon, stuns an already disgusting series for the Yankees. A 3-0 game lead in the ALCS was soon to be diminished with one swing.
Honorable mention: Rivera throws potential double play ball into center field in the bottom of the ninth in game 7 of the 2001 WS.
Honorable mention: 8/7/09: A-Rod walk-off home run in scoreless, 15 inning affair vs Red Sox.
Worst Game: 2001 WS vs Diamondbacks: Luis Gonzalez blooper
A story book series and a near comeback win for the Yankees was gone with the wind after Luis Gonzalez blooped a walk off single over the drawn in infield. Had the infield played back, the Yankees would have 28 world championships.
Honorable mention: 4/25/09: Yankees blow huge lead vs Red Sox.
Biggest Bust: Carl Pavano comes to the Yankees, but doesn’t pitch
He just sucked.
Honorable mention: Chein-Ming Wang collapses in 2009 season.
Best play: 2001 ALDS vs A’s: The Jeter “flip play”
Honorable mention: 7/1/04: Jeter dives into the stands.
Team of the decade:
1B: Mark Teixeira
2B: Alfonso Soriano
3B: Alex Rodriguez
SS: Derek Jeter
LF: Johnny Damon
CF: Bernie Williams
RF: Paul O’Neil
C: Jorge Posada
SP: Andy Pettitte
RP: Mariano Rivera
Manager: Joe Torre
Yankees leaders of the decade:
Most Games: Derek Jeter (1500)
Most Home Runs: Alex Rodriguez (238)
Most Hits: Derek Jeter (1940)
Most Walks: Jorge Posada (707)
Most Wins: Mike Mussina (123)
Most Saves: Mariano Rivera (397)
Most Strikeouts: Mike Mussina (1278)
Most Pitches: Mike Mussina (24120)
No Holliday? Good choice
So if everything goes according to plan, the Yankees will go into the 2010 season without Matt Holliday on the roster. To most, it’s a upsetting situation. In New York, we are used to the seeing the big time players, every time we see the chance.
But, if you take a look at a move that seems somewhat puzzling, you will see that the decision to hold off on Holliday, is in fact a genius move.
The Yankees won 103 games last year, beating out the Red Sox by eight games in the standings. Assume that Yankees lost five more games throughout the season. Still they would have won the division.
So the Yankees won games that were unnecessary. In other words, their team was better than it needed to be. So adding Holliday would seem somewhat overkill right? Yes. But then again, this isn’t the same team.
The Yankees had nine players with over 10 home runs last year. This year, three of those nine guys will be gone. So the question becomes: Do the Yankees have enough to win repeat?
Once again, yes. If you take away Wang — who lost the Yankees a good three or four games — assume A-Rod will be here for a full season, add Chamberlain to the bullpen, add Vazquez to the rotation, add Granderson to the mix, and add Johnson as your DH, the Yankees seem to be just as talented as last year.
But, you also have to assume that some things will go wrong. Possibly someone gets hurt, or maybe Jeter doesn’t have as good as a season as last year. Doesn’t matter. Like I said, the Yankees had so many more wins than they needed, that there is a lot of room for error, not to mention that things can go bad for Boston as well (they already lost Bay.)
But why is this a genius move? It would seem that adding Holliday couldn’t be a bad thing right? Wrong. Holliday was seeking a long term, big money deal. Sure, the Yankees could have afforded it. But, as we have already established, it would have been unnecessary money to spend. Instead, the Yankees now have that money saved up for a deal they may need to make in the future. Right now, the Yankees have plenty. In five years, they may not. In five years, this may seem like one of the best moves in Yankee history.
The Buzz: ‘Zero’ chance for Holliday
A Yankee official told the NY Daily News that there is “Zero” chance of them signing Matt Holliday or Jason Bay.
“No chance on Matt Holliday, no chance on Jason Bay,” the official said. “Zero. None. Underline it.”
The newspaper also said that the Yankees are looking to guys like Jerry Hairston Jr. or Reed Johnson to fill the void in left field, while still considering the idea of Gardner as the full time left fielder.
The Yankees are clearly not inspired by this years free agents and are likely to make a splash in next years market, maybe by pursuing Carl Crawford, says the Daily News.
To me this is a big mistake. Holliday is a great, great player and there is no reason to wait out for a worse player in Crawford who is also likely to seek a long term deal. Holliday has said he wants to play in New York, so there is a good chance they can get him cheaper than what he seems to want.
As for Hairston and Reed, do they really think these guys can make a difference? Are the Yankees really considering defending their 27th title by putting Hairston, Johnson, or Gardner as their everyday left fielder? Big mistake.
I still don’t know about this. It surprises me that the Yankees are prepared to have that weak of a left fielder. I would still be very surprised if the Yankees don’t target some kind of big time left fielder. I don’t care what the official said, I’m still not convinced.
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Poll of the Day:
Are the Yankees making a mistake by not getting Holliday?(online surveys)
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