Odds and Ends: Yankees, Lowe, D'Backs

I would love to see the Yanks make a trade for Butler if they can't sign Tex. That would give them a very cheap option for 1B while being able to spend money on pitching... or Manny. The line-up could resemble something like this:

1. Damon CF
2. Jeter SS
3. A-Rod 3B
4. Manny LF/RF
5. Matsui DH
6. Posada C
7. Nady RF/LF
8. Cano 2B
9. Butler 1B

That would be a nice line-up to have.

If the Yankees are going to try an unproven player, they've already got Juan Miranda on the 40 man roster. Lefty bat, mashes righties, can't hit lefties.

Colton,

That team would score alot of runs...but that may be the worst defensive team ever.

"Derek Lillibridge"

Brent. Did we nearly have our first mention of Derek Lilliquist on MLBTR?

"That would be a nice line-up to have."

And also about the worst defensive field I have ever seen. The only guy you have out there who could legitimately field his position on a day to day basis is Nady. Damon can barely handle fielding to begin with these days, much less going back to Center, and Manny's bad enough in left without the Monster to protect him, throwing him in a foreign position would be an absolute joke. That's not even getting started on the questionable left side of the infield the Yankees already have going and the questionable ability of Posada to continue catching. Sure, that's a line up that can mash with the best of them, but mashing doesn't account for much when you've got mediocre fielding behind mediocre pitching.

Signing Manny would be the single biggest mistake the Yankees could make this offseason. They're already weighed down by enough albatross signings in guys like Posada (Who fell apart immediately upon re-signing), A-Rod (The perennial star who's an immovable object) and Jeter (Who's been losing a step each year he continues at short). Throwing a guy like Tex a long contract is one thing, but Manny's going to want a four year deal and that would be an epically idiotic move to make for them. A fifth DH is about the last thing the already potent Yankee offense needs. They need to shore up their inconsistent starting pitching, terribly shallow relief pitching and mediocre defense. The only thing they've got right at the moment is offense, adding another big hitter at the expense of fielding is not the resolution there.

"Personally, I could see a team like Boston, Baltimore, Toronto, New York (both, actually) and maybe Philadelphia give Derek Lowe something like 4 years, $68 Million with a mutual option for a fifth year (maybe $12 Million with a $3 Million buyout?) Does that sound about right for Lowe?"

Not even close. Lowe is a league average pitcher who was helped by a pitchers' park. He is not going to draw $17 million per with a fifth year option. Even at a cheaper price, I couldn't imagine Boston giving him a contract of that length. If Pedroa freakin' Martinez couldn't pull that much time out of them, Derek Lowe sure as heck won't. Signing mid thirties pitchers to long term deals is the complete opposite of Epstein's entire M.O. I don't think he's ever signed a pitcher past thirty to anything more than a two season commitment at a time. The longest contract I've seen Epstein sign a pitcher to in his time here was Matsuzaka's six years, and he was only twenty-six when he signed that.

Randy Johnson is a bargain for a few reason.

First he wouldn't cost any prospects to acquire as he's not a type A/B free agent and is available vis free agency vs a trade.

Second he'll likely only go for a 1 year deal so there's no long term risk involved.

Third, he's got a real solid chance at being one of the last, if not the last, pitcher to earn 300 wins and should do it in 09.

There is some risk involved, as with every transaction, but I think the rewards here make signing him a no brainer for any team with the free payroll and an opening for a pitcher.

I'm not pushing for the Yanks to sign Man-NY but it would be amazing to have him hit behind Arod as a DH. We would have to dump Matsui on someone but it would be worth it.

I often wonder if being in NY would solve some of Man-NY's problems?

-Would playing in a more ethnicaly diverse market make Man-NY more comfortable? The Yanks have tons of latin players in Arod, Posada, Rivera, Cano, Cabrera, Bettemit, etc as opposed to just Ortiz and Lugo.

-Would coming back to the Bronx where there's a large Dominican population give him more of a sense of pride and respect on how he handles himself?

-Would the fact that this last contract will be his last opportunity to turn around his image as a bad "personality" going into the end of a HOF career?

-Would playing along stars such as Arod, Jeter and Rivera help him because all eyes wouldn't be on just him?

-If he's DH'ing full time then his defense wouldn't be an issue.

-WOuld Man-NY take pride in being "the one" to bring the 1st WS banner to the new stadium. If he did that he would easily be the most popular Yankee next to Jeter. He could write his own ticket in that city.

It's intriguing to think about it and would certainly be the kind of move that George would've made in a heartbeat.

I could see Randy Johnson going to the Dodgers. Torre would love to have a vet on the staff, especially if they cant sign CC. He would make a solid #3 or #4 and give the team a little nastiness. I guarantee you he would've had no problem throwing at the Phillies after they thru at Man-NY.

0bsessions, I know that the Red Sox won't give him the 4 years. The only reason I put them on there is because Lowe wants to come back. Everything we have seen on here, from Tim and the media, says that Boras wants a 4 year, $60 Million deal for Derek Lowe. If one of those teams offers him 4/60, the rest will need to outbid them, which is where my 4/68 with an option figure came from.

P.S. I only put East Coast teams on there because Derek said that's where he's going.

JRD, would the Braves still be able to afford him if/when they acquire Jake Peavy? I know how cheap they are, but would they ACTUALLY be able to afford both?

"JRD, would the Braves still be able to afford him if/when they acquire Jake Peavy? I know how cheap they are, but would they ACTUALLY be able to afford both?
"

Lowe would be an option if the Braves couldn't get Peavy.

Correcting myself:
Peavy will get just shy of 60 million over 4 years and 22 million club option in 2014. Meaning, he'll get about over 80 million over 5 years.

The Padres want two of the five top prospects, including Hanson.

Lowe a bargain? What is he smoking? Unless you consider $16 mil over 4 seasons at age 35 a bargain for a guy who parties hearty...

LOL @ Worldcup! I know what you mean.

DEREK LOW IS A BUM..... no maby not a bum.....he is just ok.....he pitshes in a pitchers park....in the NL WEST..... kie igawa could win 15 games in that division....he should get no more then a 2 year 20mill deal......but he will prob get around 48-52 mill over 4 years.....oh yea and he is old

Unless Burnett opts out. It's either Peavy or Lowe.

"The Yankees need to make a trade with the Royals and land Zach Greinke. He's young, has great stuff and has already proven he can handle AL batting orders.

If they don't feel Garder can handle full-time duty, expand the deal to include DeJesus...and if they aren't planning on landing Tex, maybe try and get Billy Butler as well. The Royals just traded for Mike Jacobs today. Why...who knows...but now they have a log jam at 1B."

What exactly would the Yankees trade for those three players, b/c AJax, Montero,Hughes and Kennedy wouldn't get it done? Now i could see them acquiring Grienke for a Hughes, Montero, Kennedy + 1 package but i don't think they can get all three.

Grienke makes a ton of sense for the Yankees because he is young...cheap...and had a nice year this season...dont forget that his brother was drafted by the Yankees this year (Luke Grienke) and that may influence him to come as well...

"-Would playing in a more ethnicaly diverse market make Man-NY more comfortable? The Yanks have tons of latin players in Arod, Posada, Rivera, Cano, Cabrera, Bettemit, etc as opposed to just Ortiz and Lugo."

He was crying for trades back when the Sox were known for being one of the most Latino clubs in the Majors.

"-Would coming back to the Bronx where there's a large Dominican population give him more of a sense of pride and respect on how he handles himself?"

Boston has a rather sizable Dominican population as well. He's not exactly hanging out with the fans.

"-Would the fact that this last contract will be his last opportunity to turn around his image as a bad "personality" going into the end of a HOF career?"

I really don't imagine he's too concerned with his image, otherwise he wouldn't have behaved the way he did on his way out of Boston.

"-Would playing along stars such as Arod, Jeter and Rivera help him because all eyes wouldn't be on just him?"

Playing next to guys like Ortiz, Pedro and Nomar didn't seem to shut him up.

"-If he's DH'ing full time then his defense wouldn't be an issue."

This is a moot point, considering the Yankees already have three guys skirting the fence of full time DH in Damon, Matsui and Posada. They don't need a fourth.

"-WOuld Man-NY take pride in being "the one" to bring the 1st WS banner to the new stadium. If he did that he would easily be the most popular Yankee next to Jeter. He could write his own ticket in that city."

Ummmm...yeah, about that. I sincerely doubt that bringing that oh so long awaited first banner to the championship starved city of New York in all of just under a decade is really going to overshadow being one of the guys who ended an eighty-six year long drought in Boston.

Face the facts, there is no conceivable way that Manny in Pinstripes is a smart move for that club right now. I'm not saying this as some big Manny hater or anything as I loved the guy in Boston and he is probably one of the three greatest right hand bats of the last decade along with Pujols and A-Rod. The fact of the matter is, a bat's presence in the lineup is not the only consideration when signing a player. If it were, the Sox wouldn't have traded him to begin with, since they had complete control over him through the 2010 season with his team option years. The Yankees have been consistently one of the top five offenses in the MLB for years running, adding another big bat isn't going to help them. They need pitching and defense. Throwing a $100 million contract at a big bat while ignoring their other needs is how they got into the complete mess they're in right now. Mark Teixeira is one thing, he brings gold glove D to the table and is likely to be a top tier player for close to another decade, Manny's got maybe another three years in the tank if he's lucky. Not to mention his completely bipolar attitude. In February, he wanted to retire a Red Sox, he loved it here and wouldn't trade it for anything. In August, he wanted to retire a Dodger, he loved it there and wouldn't trade it for anything. He has made it abundantly clear that he is a bat for hire that will give you between 75 and 85% dependent upon how far you are going to please him at the expense of everything else.

Obsessions: WHo said signing Man-NY would in anyway keep them from signing other needs?

First off, I said Man-NY would be an intriguing luxury to have. I agree that pitching would be a #1 concern. But it also wouldn't hurt to have an amazing bat like Man-NY hitting behind Arod. I think CC, Perez and Tex would be my ideal pickups with Man-NY being a temptation.

CC-25 mil
Perez-12 mil
Tex-20 mil
Man-NY- 25 mil

We lose 80 mil off the books plus we would have to dump Matsui's contract on someone and pick up half so it wouldn't kill the Yanks budget to sign Man-NY. May kill 'em in other ways...haha.

Kelly Johnson's "gap power" is hardly equivalent to Ankiel's raw power. KJ posted a .440 slugging percentage; Ankiel .506.

The Braves are seeking a slugging outfielder, and Ankiel fits that mode. His defense is also stellar; he was a regular Web Gem contributor. Johnson is a nice ballplayer, but Cox didn't see him as an everyday player.

And Ibanez is 36 years old. If a team wants to bank on a 36 year old guy changing leagues, so be it. The Braves will pay him a lot more, and he's just as likely to go in the tank as continue putting up decent numbers.

"We lose 80 mil off the books plus we would have to dump Matsui's contract on someone and pick up half so it wouldn't kill the Yanks budget to sign Man-NY. May kill 'em in other ways...haha."

Unless they eat the majority or the entirety of his contract and accept back a deal along the lines of Wily Mo Pena and Willie Harris, the Yankees probably aren't dumping Matsui's contract.