Alfredo Aceves' signing seems like just the latest wrinkle in a long line of them in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, but the Mets had a stake in that deal, too. Here's more on that and some other items of note coming out of the Big Apple on Tuesday …
- The Mets, like the Red Sox, offered Aceves a Major League contract, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com, but the right-hander preferred to play for Boston. The Mets were disappointed to miss out on Aceves, Heyman tweets, and understandably so, as Aceves would have been another decent addition for a team that entered the offseason on a tight budget. Interestingly, Aceves is reportedly throwing in bullpen sessions, which is further along than the Yankees anticipated he'd be at this juncture, tweets Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger. One has to wonder whether the new timetable would have influenced the Yanks' decision to non-tender Aceves in December.
- Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia has shed 30 pounds this offseason in an effort to reduce the load on his surgically repaired right knee, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Typically, we don't get too excited over this sort of Spring Training cliche, as we're bound to hear quite a bit about who's in shape and who's not over the next couple weeks, but 30 pounds is a lot of weight, and we're especially mindful of the opt-out clause in Sabathia's contract after the 2011 campaign. If he's healthy and has a big season, Sabathia could be in for another big payday next offseason.
- Mets second baseman Brad Emaus, a Rule 5 draftee, has a good chance of making the Mets' Opening Day roster as either their starting second baseman or in a platoon/utility role with Daniel Murphy, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. To that end, Rubin notes it's now "widely expected" that Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo will both be "jettisoned" before Opening Day.
- Yankees catcher Russell Martin is not 100 percent recovered from the right knee surgery he underwent in December, writes Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, but the Bombers' backstop expects to be ready by Opening Day. The Yankees are known to have exceptional depth at catcher with Jorge Posada, Francisco Cervelli, Jesus Montero and Austin Romine, so they probably won't have to range outside the organization in the event that Martin isn't fully healthy after Spring Training.
- Mets shortstop Jose Reyes feels sorry for the Wilpons on account of their financial plight, tweets Peter Botte of the New York Daily News, but he's not concerned about his contract status and is ready to "play baseball and see what happens." Reyes, a free agent after this season, also said that he feels as good as he's felt in the past two years and is expecting a big season, tweets Botte.
Probably a long short, but I wonder if Emaus can be the next Rule 5 stud a la fellow 2B Dan Uggla…
After all, this is a guy who hit .302/.380/.463 in the pitcher-friendly FSL a couple years ago and then had an .890 OPS in Triple-A last year. Seems fairly safe to say he’ll beat out Luis Castillo.
A “long short,” huh. Awesome typo.
I was upset the jays let him go… I got the sense, from listening to Fisher Cats and 51s games, that he was a really good player, just one that needed a little more time and an opening in the lineup. I actually would have been fine with him competing for either the starting 3B or UTIL roles on the 2011 Jays. I’d like to get him back, actually.
Agreed, if Emaus was still here could’ve taken the 3B and keep J-Bobomb in RF. Could it be the first move that AA might regret? Either way good luck Emaus, and go JAYSSS
“The Yankees are known to ave exceptional depth at catcher…”, unless you read Jason Churchill who says, “Without a healthy Martin, the Yankees would be down to three possibilties at catcher, two of them coming with major question marks defensively — Jesus Montero and Jorge Posada — and one, Francisco Cervelli, who is best suited as a backup due to a lack of upside.”
If the knee proves to be a lingering thing, maybe the Yankees give Bengie Molina a call?
Cervelli may not have the upside to be more than a backup, but with the strength of the rest of the Yankees offense it shouldn’t be a problem using him with Posada/Montero cycling in until Martin is ready. There’s also Romine.
I don’t really see them going out and getting another catcher.
Like the post said, they have plenty of depth within the organization. No need tosign a FA.
You do realize that I quoted another respected writer and didn’t make this up myself right? Just because one writer says something and MLBTR decides to post it doesn’t mean that all other writers are wrong. And yes I realize that this doesn’t prove that what I said is correct, but you can’t simply dismiss it using the MLBTR post as your entire argument.
I wasn’t attacking you. I simply said that they have a number of catchers who I think they need to find space for this season. If Martin were unavailable for the season then maybe Molina would make sense. That’s not the case though. It sounds like he should be ready to start the season. Signing Molina would then create a further log jam.
I guess I just don’t have any faith in Posada behind the plate, given his recent injury history. I haven’t seen Montero catch, so I’ll reserve judgment on that although what I have heard isn’t promising (defensively speaking). Of course, the premise of my Molina comment was if this is something that bothers Martin through the start of the season, so I certainly agree with you that there is no need for Molina if Martin shows he is healthy.
And sorry for jumping into a defense, I’m a little edgy lately. I just transitioned into a new role at work with a new team.
“And sorry for jumping into a defense, I’m a little edgy lately. I just transitioned into a new role at work with a new team”
Michael Young is that you?
perfect.
I’m bummed about Aceves signing in Boston. He was such a big part of that ’09 championship club; could have really used him at the back end of the rotation or as the long man this year.
hmmm. but i thought he has some lingering issues? I think some blog writers put lotsa of questions marks with regards to his availability for the 2011 season.
Nah, now that he’s on the Sox, those same bloggers just made him their Cy Young favorite.
Aceves is not even arb-eligible, so even if he does not throw a pitch in 2011, he still has time to come back and pitch for the Sox for 3 more years.
I don’t think that’s how it works. I could be wrong and I’m sure someone will correct me if I am. The Sox don’t “control” him for 3 more years right? The options, I think, just meen they can send him to the minors w/o the threat of sending him thru waivers?
if cc really did lose a lot of weight, might that throw off his mechanics? different weight, shape, balance and maybe he will have less weight behind his throw. i think that some of his durability is because he doesn’t overuse his arm and throws from his weight. then again, maybe he will become a bit more athletic and have an even better year, assuming his knee gives him no trouble. also, i doubt CC opts out. he is making a looooot of money in his deal and he really seems to like leading new york’s staff.
30 pounds is a drop in the bucket for that big boy.
But you do have a point. I’d say he still has plenty of weight, and perhaps the weight loss can increase his flexibility. That could offset.
Does droppping 30 lbs to 290 even count as a drop in the bucket?
I doubt he’ll leave the yanks, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sabathia use his opt out as leverage for an extension. Sabathia will be 35 after his contract with the yanks expires, even coming off of a good season you don’t see a lot of 35 year olds cashing in. On the other hand he could always try to get the yanks to tack on 3 more years to his contract for $60M-$70M.
Totally agree! CC’s younger than Lee and imo, better and more durable! He could easily sign for more years (up to 7) at a higher aav! He’ll opt out if only to get the Yanks to add more years to the deal as you said! Gotta give his agent a ton of credit for this!
Being that the starting pitching next year is even weaker than this year and Sabathia’s even younger than Lee, he’d be leaving a lot of money on the table by not opting out. If he puts up a season comparable to his last two (And there aren’t many indications he won’t), he’d be in line for a contract upwards of $100 million, be it from the Yankees or someone else.
There are only two scenarios I can envision where Sabathia doesn’t opt out:
1. He gets hurt and/or is ineffective for one reason or another.
2. He renegotiates his deal ahead of time.
Maybe upwards of 175 million(7/25)!
30 pound loss for CC – good for him.
why do this writers insist on making a story where there is none? CC is not going anywhere. He is not OPTING OUT , he has already said so many times. He loves playing in NY and his teammates.
I wish this writer and the others would stop with this stupid speculation.
He might like all that but he might not like what he sees coming ahead. Aging infield, no reliable starters other than himself, and as SWP said he may not opt out but he may hold the Yankees to ransom. I could see that if he wants more years, he would be the biggest name on the free agent pitcher’s market after ’11 and the Yankees will see that if he leaves their is nobody to replace him and their staff looks even worse than it does now. So he could use the opt out as leverage.
Yeah, and Damon said he would never play for the Yankees too! Smell that! Its CC following the money trail!
Bartolo should be taking notes.
Yup, and Albert Pujols is NEVER leaving St. Louis.
I don’t care how much he likes it in NY and enjoys the company of his teammates: money talks and you-know-what walks. Sabathia wanted to play on the West Coast and was lured elsewhere by a big, fat paycheck (And make no mistake, this is no condemnation of the man, I’d have done the same). If he and his agent get the idea that he can increase his earnings by a wide enough margin, he will do it.
Look at it this way:
Sabathia will be 35 when his current deal ends, as I recall, if it stands as is. He will make $97 million over the last four years of said deal should he not opt out. Being 35, he’ll be on what is likely the tail end of his career. He’ll almost certainly have to take a massive paycut for the last few years of his career.
If he puts up numbers on par with the last two years (Lots of IP, low ERA, top 5 CY voting) and opts out, suddenly he’s a 31 year old ace pitcher coming off a great season, one who has managed to top the 200 inning mark in each of the last three seasons and has proven capable of pitching in the biggest market in the MLB. If he opts out, he could probably get another 7 year, $160 million plus deal. He’ll be younger than Lee and Lee has a lot of injuries questions. He’ll also be in an even weaker pitching market. If Sabathia opts out, he’ll likely be getting calls from at least the Angels and Rangers, not to mention the Yankees sure as heck won’t want to let him get away. Heck, the Phillies could even opt out of the last year on Oswalt and make a run at him.
Maybe Sabathia won’t opt out, but unless he signs an extension with the Yankees, I’d put the odds at about 80%+ in favor of him opting out.
I don’t get why most people don’t see it that way… He’ll get 3 or 4 extra years at a higher AAV if he opts out..
As an impartial fan, I get why Yankee fans believe he will remain within the contract. . but money does a funny thing to loyalty..
I don’t think he leaves but perhaps he asks for a re work of his deal a la Arod.
I mean, CC/agent put an opt out clause for a reason. Its leverage.
If CC were to opt out he would be leaving 4/$92 mil on the table. Who could we compare that too? The only pitcher to average more annually is Cliff Lee. I suppose Texas and the Angels might be interested and CC MIGHT want to return back to LA but I wouldn’t make it a sure thing. As it stands, this contract was set to pay him until age 35. Other than Lee there isn’t much precedent set forpitchers earning $23 mil or better at age 36 or older.
That’s not to say he won’t opt or ask for an extension, but it’s not a slam dunk either.
It’s a gamble, but I’d say the odds are very much in his favor. Ace pitchers hitting the open market are becoming more and more rare every year. With the way teams are locking up their talent, the only way to get an ace these days is to either open up the vault or strip your farm system. And again, let’s not discount the fact that the Yankees would suddenly be without a staff ace should Sabathia opt out.
I genuinely don’t think Sabathia will outright leave NY, but I do think he will either opt out and re-sign or go for an extension. My guess is that shortly after the Yankees’ season is over (Be it October or November), we’ll start seeing stories about Sabathia and the Yankees talking extension. If it’s not looking good before the deadline to exercise the opt out, I’d expect him to opt out. The Yankees simply can’t afford to play the kind of hadrball they played with Jeter, as there will be other teams very interested. Heck, even the Red Sox would likely get involved, if for nothing other than to drive up the price (Though I’ll eat my hat if the Sox make a legit push).
Honestly with the money they have coming off the books and if the lineup lives up to the hype I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see the Red Sox make a legit push at Sabathia (if he opts out, obviously).
Daisuke will only have one year left and they could probably trade him with relative ease for some small piece. Assuming Kalish is ready to take over for Drew and Iglesias and/or Lowrie is plugged in at short, upgrading the rotation makes the most sense. I’d eat my hat if the Red Sox managed to outbid the Yankees in that situation, but I can certainly see them getting serious.
Without teams like LA and Texas getting involved (which I’m sure they would), that alone would likely drive the price past 4/92.
why would LA and Texas and half of the other teams not get involved?
Maybe Pujols and CC will team up and go to a team together like bosh n lebron
I don’t doubt they’d get involved if the price legitimately stalled at what Sabathia’s making on those last four years, but I couldn’t see them stepping an inch past $100 million for him. We have far too much pitching in the minors to spend so much locking up anyone that long with Beckett, Lackey, Buchholz and Lester already locked into the rotation for the next four seasons. Additionally, I feel Sabathia would make our rotation too left heavy for a team playing 81 games a year at Fenway. The Sox would be better off standing pat and waiting for someone like Hernandez to hit free agency (Which will coincide with the end of Lackey, Beckett and Lester’s current deals). The Yankees don’t have that luxury right now, so yeah, any push from the Red Sox is basically a “if we can get him for below market, neat, if not, let’s make the Yankees pay out the nose.”
I absolutely agree that they wouldn’t go all out for him, I’m just saying the Red Sox’ interest alone would make it worth it for CC to opt out of his contract. I think they’d be happy to pay him more than 4/92, and I think they’d even go over $100M as long as it didn’t require more than 5 years. It would be a huge blow to the Yankees and a big upgrade for the Red Sox, and their pitching prospects are either a few years away or could be dealt for a need that arises (also as a side note, is 2 out of 5 left-heavy?).
Now that being said, I really don’t see the Red Sox outbidding the Yankees for him because of the huge difference in need for starting pitching. And in response to lunchbox just for the sake of not making another post, I said I’m sure those other teams would get involved, but the Red Sox interest alone could get CC a contract better than 4/92.
I’d consider 2/5 left heavy at Fenway. That place kills left handed pitching. Honestly, I’m of the mind that Lester doesn’t get nearly the credit he deserves for pitching like he does with Fenway as his home park (He had a 2.88 road ERA last year).
I see CC opting out and resigning with the Yanks but I think people are insane to think that the Sox would not go all in on CC! They would win a MINIMUM 2 titles in the next 4 years and push the Yankees even further back from contention! After the Crawford signing and drop in NESN ratings last year, the Sox look like a team that will be do anything to win!
Won’t Burnett be at the end of his deal when Felix’s contact is up and they just shed Pettitte and Vazquez’s salaries in the rotation? Only CC and possibly Hughes are slated as of this moment to make any sort of money so how would the Sox have a step up in bidding for Felix in a few years?
I don’t doubt the Yanks will be absolutely in on Hernandez, but I figure Epstein would probably rather wait until 2014 and try his hand at landing him than overpaying Sabathia mostly just to keep him out of NY. Sabathia fits NYS like a glove as a left hander, Fenway? Not so much.
Yeah it could happen. Wouldn’t show well for his charachter but what does that mean right? Yanks offered Sabathia the option in case his famil (wife) didn’t acclamate to NY not to offer him more money. The clause in Arod’s contract was put in by Hicks, not the Yanks.
He may not get the same AAV
but when you factor his next deal (post yankees as a 35 year old) plus the 92 million he has now
he may earn more
as a 31 year old is it completely absurd for him to get a 8/160??
With 4/92 million now, he would have to get a 4/68 as a FA at 35..
“as a 31 year old is it completely absurd for him to get a 8/160”
Not absurd but consider that the only teams that have offerd contracts of that length and/or money are the Yanks (7/$161 for Sabathia), Mets (7/$157 if you include the option) and Texas (offered Lee 7/$161 incl the vesting option).
Not a lot of precedent for 8/$160 deals for pitchers and the one the Yanks gave to Sabathia is still the greatest in terms of total dollars guaranteed.
Honestly, this is a slam dunk unless CC has a bad year or gets hurt! I believe he’ll opt out and re-up with the Yanks for 7 yrs and anywhere from 161 -175 million! He has the Yanks over a barrell as their are no starters of interest as FA’s coming out next year and teams like Texas, Angels, Tigers and maybe even the Red Sox( (I know, DiceK has one year left and would have to be moved, but the Sox have over 55 million coming off the books which after AGonz’s bump up around 15 mil leaves 40 mil annually to spend and stay under the Tax) will definitely bid over 100 million to get him!
Not to mention let’s review his market. He wouldn’t leave NY to go to another east coast team, NY overpaid the first time around to lure him over here. He won’t go to a loser simply to make money, he already makes the second most per year.
So that leaves a west coast team, likely in as good of or better shape than the Yankees willing to spend. Angels? I don’t think they’re in as good of shape for the future, so the whole “he may not like an aging infield and rotation” bit won’t work.
A’s? Can’t afford him.
Dodgers? We don’t know what their ownership will look like but they have yet to make a big purchase since the divorce.
Giants? No room for a huge contract to a starter even with Zito expiring soon.
Padres? No chance.
So really, I don’t see this as a huge issue just because there’s a chance he MIGHT opt out. I don’t even think the Red Sox would play for a third arm over 16 million per.
“big, fat” paycheck
“wide enough” margin
“massive” paycut
“biggest” market
None of these were intentional, but you should all thank me for not making a single remark about the “thin” pitching market or the Phillies’ “bloated” rotation.
Best case for the Yanks is Montero starts season as the catcher and mashes the ball. Most MLB catchers are average defensively. The bunt and the stolen base are not used as much in baseball today. No more Wills, Henderson, Brock, or Colemans. Top three last year Pierre, Bourn and Davis, not exactly house hold words, Crawford and Gardner both had 47.
“Most MLB catchers are average defensively”
Hence, the definition of average. Too bad nobody has ever said that Montero was remotely close to average.