Yankees Could Keep Pettitte, Damon, Matsui

Yeah, I don't really understand. So you win the WS because you bought the best FA and so in response you don't plan on buying the best FA anymore?

Its like we tried one thing and it worked perfectly so we aren't going to try that again.

We won the World Series. Nobody else really came close to stopping us in the end. Therefore, why would you change something that works? Save the money for next offseason if you can and re-sign all three. If Andy retires, then you can bring in Lackey.

Trainers room is going to be very busy this season in the Bronx. Holy Cow this team is getting old fast.

Its like we tried one thing and it worked perfectly so we aren't going to try that again.

Posted by: bbxxj | November 10, 2009 at 09:28 AM
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You need to understand the fundamentals of cashflow. If you continuously sign every free agent to inflated long-term contracts, you'll eventually completely lose your ability to make any sort of move at all before you know it.

It's not like they're looking to lock up either of these three to deals longer than 1 year guaranteed (with the possible exception of Damon, who gets 2-3 at best). Lackey is going to want 5+ years, as will Holliday and Bay.

Where you'll see the Yankees succeed this offseason is in being able to put an incredibly competitive team on the field for 2010, and likely decrease their payroll. It's a fantastic business model.

Plus, you've gotta bear in mind that CC, AJ, and Tex are still, of course, under contract. Do you put Lackey in Sabathia's league talent (or money) wise?

if the Yankees sign Lackey then there is really no point in playing the MLB season next year.. that would be ridiculous

I think people assume that the Yanks MUST sign a big FA every year. That's simply not the case. It's been obvious that Cashman thinks highly of Joba and Hughes. Both have had some developement issues but they have a years worth of experience and are still both under 25. With CC, AJ and Pettite manning 1-3 and hopefully Wang coming back off of rehab the Yanks can afford to have both Hughes and Joba in the rotation. I think Cashman follows the same lead he did in 2008 when he passed on the Johan trade and passed on a week FA class. He might decide to resign Pettite and maybe take a chance on a 1 year deal with the likes of Sheets, Harden or Bedard. Then go after a bigger fish next winter like Halladay, Beckett, Lee, Webb, Lilly or De La Rosa.

If yankees can get him to sign a 4 yr contract with an option for a 5th. i think they would be stupid not too. the man can pitch and as for next year. pettite will be gone so you can still go out and look for a 4th starter in the 2011 FA class. I think joba will be mariano successor which he should be. As for phillp i think he can be a decent 3rd starter or good 4th starter. or they can jus use him for trade bait and get some one else. as for wang.. nothing to say about him. i think the yanks are fed up and and want to move on. besides he is only 2 yrs younger than lackey. not a big difference

Three area of concerns for the Yanks this offseason:

#1-Improve starting pitching depth. That DOES NOT translate into sign the biggest and best available starter (Lackey). That could be addressed as simple as resign Pettite and Gaudin. Move Hughes into the rotation. Sign either Sheets, Bedard or Harden (Sheets is my #1 choice) to a 1 year deal.

Go into ST with CC, AJ, Pettite and the final 2 spots carved out of Joba, Hughes and Sheets/Harden/Bedard with Wang rehabbing.

#2-Strengthen the bullpen with a veteran power arm than pitch in the 8th and close out 10-15 games next season. My top choice is Mike Gonzales.

#3-Improve the OF defense, primarily LF. I think bringing Damon back to DH 75% of the time and picking up a good glove/solid bat is all the Yanks need. With Crawford available next year I would prefer the Yanks pass on Holliday and Bay. Mike Cameron could be a good choice that would allow the Yanks to move Melky to LF full time. Randy Winn is a great defensive RF but I'm not sure what we would get from his bat. I think Swisher would be somewhat of an upgrade over Damon in LF. If none of those options come to fruition then I guess rolling with Damon in LF and Matsui in DH, both on short term deals, wouldn't be the worse thing in the world.

But I don't see any of those 3 main needs having to be filled by signing a huge FA mega deal this year. Any deal of the magnitude sort of handcuffs us from taking advantage of a great 2010-2011 FA class next year with Mauer, Halladay, Lee, Beckett, Crawford, Werth, Street, etc. And when I say handcuffs I say that with the idea that the Yanks probably do not want to go above the payroll they currently have now. Cashman has talked of wanting to have financial flexibility and I think that should mean passing on questionable stars demanding mega star stratospheric contracts.

if you don't have to face the Yankees, then pitching in the AL East isn't any harder than another division besides maybe the AL Central.

There's also a big difference between just signing the best free agent because you can and actually signing a good-great free agent because you need him. Texeira and Sabathia were and are absolutely elite players. They'd be the top names of pretty much any free agent class. Lackey leads this one, but not because he's such a fantastic pitcher, but because Webb, Lee, and Beckett all had their options picked up/vest and the other elite pitchers are still under contract. Cashman is doing the smart thing by realizing that the production he'd get out of Lackey, Bay, and Holliday isn't worth the increased length/value of their contracts compared to Pettitte, Damon, and Matsui. He's wisely choosing (hopefully) to keep those guys around while they can still produce and look at next year when Halladay, Lee, Hernandez, etc. may be available. Even Brandon Webb, if healthy, would be better than Lackey.

That said, I think spending some on Chapman might be a worthwhile investment. The Yankees aren't going to get any top 10 draft picks any time soon, so the odds of picking up a stud young amateur pitcher are slim unless they go to international free agency. Chapman might not be as polished as Strasburg (in fact, he's definitely not), but as a development project he could be well worthwhile. If he spends a year or two developing in the minors, he could become a very productive pitcher. The Yankees would do well to focus their efforts there while other teams are looking at the MLB free agents that the Yankees can afford to bypass.

-JM

Last year was an extremely good year for AL West teams in the sense that 3/4 teams were above .500. Since the Rays have become a force the AL East would usually have 3 teams w/in the top 5 best record in the AL. Even a medicore team like the Blue Jays would fair better in the AL West or Central where they wouldn't have to play the Yanks, Sox and Rays 54 x a year compared to say, the Angels who play the three teams, at most, 18-24 x a year. The AL East is tough...period.

My guess would be they will give Damon 2 years and Matsui is going to walk. They will sign Lackey and that will be it. Then in 2011 they will go after Mauer and Crawford. Damon is going to share DH duties with Posada. They will have Crawford in left, Melky in center, Swisher in right.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Bring back all three on 1 year, 10 mil base deals if that's what it takes. Use the other 15 mil to try and get Chapman. offer him something like 4/40 or 4/50.

I rather not get involved with Lackey, Holliday, or Bay. Considering how we can try and grow Chapman, and that a FAR better athelete/outfielder in Carl Crawford will be available next year. Yanks offer him 4/60 easily.

Jeter will never play CF for the Yanks ??? An aging veteran SS learning to play CF at the age of 36 ?? Be realistic.

How does resigning Matsui and Damon to 1-year deals exactly impact the future of the team???
It will by them time for 1-yr and then they can sign Crawford to play LF and by then Ajax will be ready to play CF

Sign Bedard or Sheets to shortterm low risk contract

makes alot more sense than offering Lackey a longterm contract.

Sign Soriano or Gonzalez

I would love to know why everyone automatically assumes Carl Crawford will not sign an extension with the Rays.

"I think the organization is definitely headed in the right direction, and I'd like to be a part of that." (http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090930&content_id=7250154&vkey=news_tb&fext=.jsp&c_id=tb)

Just because someone's contract "expires" in 200X, doesn't mean that they don't re-sign with their current team, and never become a free agent.

Jeter playing CF is absolutely ludicrous. I suppose "by 2011" Jeter will be playing behind our #5 starter, Nick Swisher. Get real.

Pitching wins, so here is an idea. Sign Matsui, let Damon go his arm in left is a liability. Put Melky in left bring Austin Jackson put him in center, leave Swisher in right. Then trade Cano, Hughes and another minor leaguer or two for Hallady. The Blue Jays could move Cano to third base Put Ramiro Pena at second, Cano does not hit with men in scoring position and proved in the playoffs that he can not be counted on when it counts. Leave Joba as the # 5 starter and sign some relief, or leave Joba in the 8th inning role where he excels and sign Chapman or sign Lackey. Save the cash for Mauer. It would be like the Yanks of the late 90's. Tons of pitching which is what brought all those championships. In a couple of years Arod and/or Jeter will probably be in the outfield so there's no point in signing an outfielder to a long term deal. The yanks would have great pitching and thier offense should not have a big drop off.

CC
Hallady
Lackey
Petit
Chapman

Joba
Mo

Tough to beat.

Not to say that Webb, Lilly or De La Rosa are better than Lackey or anything, just saying there's a lot more depth in next year's class.

Posted by: YanksFanSince78

That's a class full of injury ? also.

Posted by: BoSox | November 10, 2009 at 12:01 PM
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Maybe you didn't read the previous post. Halladay, Beckett and Lee are the head of that 2010-11 class. Also, I don't think Webb's injury was of the career threatning variety.

What better options were there other than Posada? C'mon dude. Posada was brought back for the same reason Mo was and the same reason why Jeter will. Posada had an amazing 2007 season and if were not for his shoulder, probably would've had a good 2008 season as well. This hear he seems to have suffered mental lapses at time and of course couldn't get on the same page as AJ. However, Posda is still one of the top offensive catchers in baseball and is at least passable at C. And as for LF concerns this year, or DH for that matter, Bay and Holliday are good players but I'd rather go one more year with 'Sui and Damon and then go after someone from 2011, who are just as good, if not better, and won't command crazy $100 mil contracts.

Posted by: YanksFanSince78 | November 10, 2009 at 12:24 PM

I'm not doubting that the Yanks had limited options at catcher, at that specific point in time. But to sign him until 2011 making $13.1MM per year?? "C'mon dude". He caught 111 games this year, and soon enough he will be a full time DH. $13MM for a .270 20HR Designated Hitter? PLEASE, talk about overpaid.

Oh and I'd love to know who is on your list of "someone from 2011, who are just as good, if not better". 1st off, the only potential free agent outfielders worthy of noting are: Crawford, Dunn, Hawpe, and Werth. 2nd off, and more importantly, these are POTENTIAL free agents in 2011. Unless you have a magical bird telling you they wont re-sign with their respective current teams, there's no reason to assume anything and "bank" on them becoming free agents.

hey do you really care guys like come on your just fans saying we should do this we should do that come on you know you guys will never be part of any mlb team how many ws rings do any of you have fact is none of you win regardless do something productive with you lives acting like you work for a mlb team when you clearly dont is just sad as for the topic i dont think you will know damon is the only one i think will return to their team i see matsui a mariner or white sox

I'm not doubting that the Yanks had limited options at catcher, at that specific point in time. But to sign him until 2011 making $13.1MM per year?? "C'mon dude". He caught 111 games this year, and soon enough he will be a full time DH. $13MM for a .270 20HR Designated Hitter? PLEASE, talk about overpaid.
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I'm not Posada's advocate or agent, but please have a better understanding of the position.

Posada started, or appeared, in 100 games as C this year. Compare then with other top AL C like Victor Martinez (85)and Joe Mauer (109) and it's not so off. He obviously is up in age and his hamstring put him on the DL for 3 weeks, but 100 games caught for a C isn't horrible, especially if his bat allows him to DH for 15-20 games. Even despite only haing 388 Ab his hrs ranked 3rd, his bat avg 4th, his obp 3rd, his ops 2nd and his caught stealing rate of 28% probably ranked among one of the better one in the AL.

"hey do you really care guys like come on your just fans saying we should do this we should do that come on you know you guys will never be part of any mlb team how many ws rings do any of you have fact is none of you win regardless do something productive with you lives acting like you work for a mlb team when you clearly dont is just sad as for the topic i dont think you will know damon is the only one i think will return to their team i see matsui a mariner or white sox "

erm isn't that a little hypocritical mocking people for making predictions and then making a prediction??

It's the point of the site, people get to discuss what they think will/should happen... no one's making you read...

^^^**2011 not 2001.

A, that looked way smaller in the comment post box.

B, I forgot to mention how important it was to avoid making a big splash this offseason that will limit us next season when we can sign Joe Mauer. One year deals with options give us flexibility if Mauer resigns with Minnesota.

Comparing Damon to Jeter? A decent-to-good player to a lock first ballot hall of famer?

That's a bit of a stretch, even for Boras. Yeesh.

"All I want for Christmas is John Lackey."
No way,. A number 2 starter with elbow issues and no upside for AJ's money? No way unless he accepts a contract lower than 40 million. I would love to see them sign
2 of Damon/Cameron/Matsui, resign Andy Petitite, save money for Crawford next year. By the way, Posada got 4 years because of much better economy and his position. You can't compare him to Damon

jeter was the best defensive shortstop this year not named elvis . . so moving him to center would make as much sense as signing glavine to be yor #1 starter.

I want to make a case for why I believe the Yankees could and should bring Matsui back next year.
The Yanks main argument for not bringing Hideki back is that they want to free up the DH spot for their other aging stars. Even with Matsui, this shouldn't be a problem. If you give Damon and Posada 25 games each as the DH, Jeter and ARod 15 games each, that leaves 82 games for Matsui(approx. 300-325 AB's). More if the Yankees suffer an injury to any of these guys.
Next, you replace Eric Hinske with FA Mark DeRosa. Now you have a legitimate right handed power bat to back up the corner outfield(the spot Xavier Nady was supposed to have this past season) and the corner infield. With DeRosa, you don't need Jerry Hairston, so you replace him with Ramiro Pena to back up the middle infield.
Now,last season Posada caught 100 games. If he wasn't injured early in the season, he probably would have caught 130 games. Next year, you earmark him for 120 games behind the plate and 25 games at DH (145 games). You let Francisco Cervelli catch the remaining 42 games (approx 140 AB's). This should be enough of a sampling to determine if He can hit or not. This is important because according to most reports, Posada should be the teams everyday DH in 2011 and they will be looking for his successor. Top catching prospect Jesus Montero will not be ready by 2011 (he needs his defense to catch up to his bat), but he is the Yanks long term answer behind the plate. Cervelli is the teams hope as a 1 or 2 year stopgap. They are not going to sign a catcher to a multiyear deal if he doesn't figure into their long term plans.

"I forgot to mention how important it was to avoid making a big splash this offseason that will limit us next season when we can sign Joe Mauer. One year deals with options give us flexibility if Mauer resigns with Minnesota."

Sorry, but Joe Mauer is going to stay in Minnesota. Take it to the bank and Lock it up :)

Joe mauer would want to go to a contender and get paid so. The yankees aren't a bad option

"How is that waffling? What he said was that he wouldn't sign any of them during the 15 day window he has. That just means he'll probably wait unti December." - Yanksfansince78

Did you read the article?
"The Yankees would have to be prepared to pay Damon $15MM or so if they offer arbitration, so they may try to work out a deal in the $10MM range instead."

If Damon isn't offered arbitration, the he will probably sign somewhere else as he would be more desirable to other teams if it didn't cost a 1st round pick to get him.

Gotta agree with YFS78 on Posada.

There have been no options for the Yankees, both within their system and on the free agent market, that would have been better than Posada behind the plate since they signed him to that deal. YFS78 is right saying that he catches the average amount, if not more, than any other starter in baseball. The contract is a little hefty, but the Yanks could afford it, and instead of creating a ton of drama about it they chose to reward one of their longest tenured players rather than treat him like a piece of meat and squeeze him into a contract.

As for Damon making $15 mil in arbitration....look who wrote that article before actually considering this somewhat legit.

Damon made $13 million last season, and even though he had a fine season, it was still over paid. The arbitration process is a little whacked out, but the Yankees signed Damon to a $13 million anual contract when he was still a legit center fielder. He would NOT be getting a raise after falling off the table defensively while entering the twilight of his career.

If Damon isn't offered arbitration, the he will probably sign somewhere else as he would be more desirable to other teams if it didn't cost a 1st round pick to get him.

Posted by: A | November 10, 2009 at 03:04 PM
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That's not waffling. Waffling is changing your mind or wavering back and forth (see Brett Favre). Cashman MAY WANT to resign Damon but certainly not at anything above what he's making already. If he offers arbitration then Damon makes more money. I seriously doubt Damon would get anywhere near $13-$15 million on the open market. Therefor, if Damon wants to stay, then I suspect Cashman to offer something along the lines of 2/$20 which would still probably beat what he would get from anyone else.

I agree MikeInSi. Although there is a lot of press about the Yanks or even Boston going after Mauer, it does seem unlikely. Minnesota is building the new park, the FO has shown in the first 3 or 4 days of the official offseason they are not screwing around. The hardy trade was brilliant in my opinion. They are working to be competitive. I'd say baring an epic 2010 collapse of the team, there is probably a 90% chance Mauer stays. You'll see something like 5 for $90mm extension or perhaps something completely off the charts like 8 for $140mm. We'll see. If he does go anywhere, it would likely be the Yanks however. Baring money, why would he go to Boston (only won 1 division in last 14 years) instead of playing on another, proven playoff contender in the twins year after year.

My only hesitation with Lackey is that he's a MOR quality guy who seeks to be payed as a #1 starter. AJ has better stuff than him but Lackey is the more consistant pitcher. He's sort of a rarity in that he's more of a finesse pitcher who's managed to post power pitcher type numbers. If he's off, even a little, then you're looking at a 4.00 + ERA pitcher. I just simply don't see ANY FA pitcher signing with the Yanks on the cheap. Now if he works thru the various offers and doesn't see anything in the $16 t0 $18 mil range then he falls back into the area the Yanks might feel comfortable about. If that happens (willing to sign a $13-15 mil a year deal) then I think the Angels will step up their pursuit of him. If the Angels are offering good money then a) I don't expect the Yanks to overpay and enter that $15 mil + area) and b) Lackey will choose the comfort of what he knows vs taking a chance in NY. All most players want is fair market value and the chance to play and win deep into October/November. The Angels have just as good of a chance of winning next year (depending on what they do this winter) as just about any team, and doing so with less media drama might be appealing to Lackey.

Just wanted to say that Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira have both won the Gold Glove award for their positions. This is Jeter's 4th and Teixeira's 3rd.

I think the yankees should try and resign Petitte,Damon and Matsui.If Pettite retires, get lackey and work on the bulpen maybe get a guy like gonsalez or soriano.

If Pettitte retires then i can see the yankees going after lackey. But if pettitte stays then i just dont see lackey pitching for NY. In an interview i heard him saying "pitching in NY isnt my favorite thing" I hope the yankees sign washburn or garland

lower era while pitching in the NL west as opposed to the AL east. A WHIP of 1.40 and a .286 BAA won't be pretty in the AL east. It would take all of a month for fans and media to start calling for Garland to be replaced in the rotation.

Garland belongs in the NL....preferably the NL west. He would get eaten alive if he had to face the Sox, Rays, and now even the Orioles lineup on a consistent basis. The Blue Jays lineup is the worst they would face and it is pretty solid with Hill and Lind in the middle of it.