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By Mark Polishuk | at
Email a copy of 'Offseason In Review: New York Yankees' to a friend
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Ken M.
Why is Castro going to bounce back? He was one of the worst offensive players 2 of the last 3 seasons? If there is hope for Castro, why isn’t there hope for Panda? Hanley?
No Soup For Yu!
Nobody’s saying that there’s no hope for either of those players, but Castro is younger than both of those players (he also doesn’t have the weight problems that Sandoval does either) so there is obviously more of a reason to believe that he can get better.
jjs91
wow you couldn’t even keep up with your own shtick.
ilikebaseball 2
Its weird you would balance comments about Castro against two players not mentioned in the article.
Castro had a great September, is only 26 a 3 time all-star with close to 1k hits. He’s always shown great bat to ball skills. There is a lot of nuance to his mlb career that Starlin has dealt with over the years that not many players have ever dealt with, a rookie savior, playing for Lou then Quade, then Sveum(who clearly didn’t like him) to Rentiria to Maddon. That poor kids head has been spinning for YEARS, practically every year someone trying to change his approach at the plate. Castro has always played best when they let him do his thing, and Yankee’s and Giradi are a great fit for a kid who just needs a role and a chance to be himself on the field.
But the other players you mentioned have no bearing on if Castro will bounce back.
jkim319
100% Agree. I am one who always thought starlin got waaay more criticism than he deserved (yes, he earned his share). But if you look at his maturity 2 years ago and how he handled he 2nd half of last year, you have to respect that fact that at 26, the Yankees are going to get starlin’s highest upside years.
Funny how he gets so much criticism even though he has been an all star 3 times (before the age of 25), led the league in hits in his 2nd year… We fail to remember that he was 16 years old when he became a pro and has lived his ‘high school and college years’ in the public..
Anyway, if you don’t like him, put him on waivers and see if he clears. I suspect you are going to have a 3-4 year (honest) solution for 2nd base..
wedgeant27
Have to remember that most Red Sox fans are unaware that they have to play other teams that do not happen to be the Yankees, and as such feel that any positive comment about a Yankee is a slight to their own.
jkim319
Funny… (Because it ‘is’ so often a common thread with Red Sox fans…)
Lance
So is Castro 50 pounds overweight?
MannyBeingMVP
Rare is it that I would say acquiring two “low-character” players warrants an “A” grade for an off-season. But I am grading the Yankees an “A” for just that. Aroldis Chapman is a great rental and they were able to buy low due to his off the field melt down. Compare him to what the Red Sox had to pay to get Kimbrel, and Aroldis is a great bargain if fans are not offended by giving him a chance due to the off the field stuff. Starlin Castro also fails to impress. But the Yankees were able to acquire him at a reasonable cost (Warren) and salary compared to free agents. The Yankees left themselves in a position to spend to rebuild over the next couple years. With AROD and CC ending their careers soon, the Yankees need to get younger and more athletic. Severino, Betances and Miller will be key over the long term. Miller’s wrist injury a couple days ago should not keep him out too long into the season.
spudchukar
I am sure that “soon” the Yanks will return to great, but in 2016 they are going to have to struggle to be above average.
MB923
Miller isn’t missing any time. He’s ready for Opening Day.
yankees500
They’ll go crazy in 2018 with free agency and judge, Sanchez and sevy in their primes.
southi
As long as the Yankees avoid too many injuries they have a good chance in the AL East. I would have liked more improvement done for the rotation but before the injuries the bullpen looked great on paper. One of the best moves I think was not spending money needlessly.
southpaw2153
Enough with the fWAR garbage comparing Castro to the second baseman the Yankees have used the past couple of years. Drew was an absolute black hole with the bat. Castro has looked perfectly capable at 2nd this spring and hit over .400.
Starting pitching is a worry this year. I have no confidence in anybody but Tanaka and I have a suspicion that this is the year his elbow finally blows. Eovaldi, Pineda and Severino have potential but are no lock to win 15 games each.
No doubt the Yankees are going after Strasburg next winter. They have a ton of money coming off the books and Strasburg is by far the best pitcher that will be available. Going to be an interesting year in the Bronx, for sure.
koz16
It’s going to be an interesting season. With this lineup they could win the World Series or finish 4th in the AL East.
I like the fact that the Yanks didn’t pay a big money, long term contract for a free agent about to hit his declining years. I also like the fact they did not trade for that same type of player. Clear the books, develop the prospects, then go after Harper and pitcher in a few years.
I also think that Ellsbury is going to have a good year. He worked hard this off season to get over his injuries. He won’t have an MVP caliber season but he’ll have a lot better season than most people are forecasting for him.
thecoffinnail
I am still baffled as to why the Yankees traded Wilson for what looks like a future middle reliever and a AAAA starter. He was very solid last year and Wilson/Betances/Miller/Chapman would have been the best bullpen in baseball by far. Sure its lefty heavy but Wilson is a much better option than Shreve who is also a lefty and should have been the one traded. Shreve looked good for most of the year but had a complete meltdown in September. The addition of Chapman and his big salary would not have been necessary had they kept Wilson. I can’t figure it out..
Rbase
I gave them a C only because I think Castro is a big upgrade over what they had at second base last year. They did not acquire a starter, and while it was clear from the start that they would not go after someone like Price, Greinke or Cueto, a guy like Chen or even a reclamation project like Latos should have been signed.
I do not like the fact that they got rid of Wilson, who would have been under control for 4 more seasons, and got Chapman, who cost a lot (money+prospects) and will not even be available for the first month or so. With Warren gone, their pitching staff still looks not good enough to me except for of course their 3 closers.
Finally, the bench is weak and most guys are a good bet to miss 20-40 games. I think they will not finish above .500 this year.
jkim319
Pretty intelligent string guys (southpaw-coffinnail-koz-rbase)…. Thanks for sharing your insights
koz16
I don’t agree with your comment about their bench. I think now that Ackley is out of the Seattle organization he’ll start to reach his potential and hit about .300 this season in 400+ AB’s. Remember, the guy was a first round pick and he’s been raking all spring.
Hicks is another one that should thrive in a platoon role. Refsnyder can hit and he should be back from AAA as soon as he learns to use his glove and not his face to stop the ball. You also have guys like Heathcott, Williams, Judge, and Sanchez that should be ready to contribute later this year. I think any of those can also be a valuable contributor if someone goes down to injury.
Ken M.
Don’t forget about future aces Kap and Cessa in the wings. Mateo could be in the majors by August swiping his 100th base on the season.
Rbase
Is Cessa going to be a future ace? Judging by the numbers (which is not the best method for evaluating prospects) he has struggled in the past two years. I don’t know much about him, but according to pinstripe prospects he is projected by most to be a reliever or a fringe starter.
MB923
He’s a troll
Rbase
I must admit I forgot to put in the Hicks trade, which I like for both sides. I judged the bench using the players projected to be on there from the start of the season, not the prospects they have, even though most are close to major-league ready judging by reports from this and other websites.
Furthermore (and as an addition to my last post) it’s not all bad news though. They have money to spend in the coming years with Texeira, Chapman, A-rod, Beltran and Sabathia coming off the books. Add that to the aforementioned prospects (if they succeed) and they could be quite a scary team in the future. I just don’t see it in 2016.
koz16
I agree that the bench on opening day is not ideal. I think Ref got sent down because he was getting frustrated in the field and needed to get his confidence back. Plus, if players have options the Yanks will be using the Scranton-WB shuttle all season long.
If the Chapman-Miller-Betances trio works out this year I expect the Yankees to make an offer to Chapman either before or after the season.
BTW, nice to have a civilized discussion on an open forum 🙂
Rbase
I expect that trio to at least match what KC did in the past couple of years.
I have only seen Ref play a couple of times last year (hard to see many games when not from the US), but the Yankees do not seem to be all that high on him. However, I have read many blogs which argue that he should have been in the starting lineup last year instead of Drew.. With Castro , Gregorius and Headley, he has no spot in the infield. I guess we (and he) will have to wait and see.
And yes, I have seen a lot of crap happening here lately, which kind of ruined the fun of reading other people’s opinions. Let’s hope it will stay the way it is right now,
jkim319
The Yankees have been amazingly self disciplined over the past 2-3 years. The payroll you guys are going to have freed up puts you in a ‘creepy’ position to go after ‘anyone’ you want after this season (chapman, Strasburg, Bautista, etc) or the ‘mother load’ after next season (mccutcheon, kershaw, Harper, Donaldson, Harvey, rosenthal, Fernandez…)
Combine that with the depth of your farm system and that makes the Yankees ‘scary’..
DanzigInTheDark
Man, as someone who’s spent my entire life in NY, it’s insane to see that 0 next to the amount the Yankees spent this offseason. It’s really the smart move though – they may have given up some decent players to get Chapman & Castro but it’s not like any of them were guys thought to become superstars.
I saw someone ask about Luis Cessa earlier – as a Mets fan I can say he was always viewed more of a guy that would eventually wind up in the bullpen but could be stretched out if you needed a 5th starter.
Definitely an interesting offseason for the Yankees, almost impossible to grade since each move to gain something wound up with an asset going the other way. For that, I’d give them a C (C+ if it was an option) – but as with any trade involving prospects we might look back at some of these trades in 3 years and completely revise that grade.
metsoptimist
I had to give them an F for not seeing anything wrong with obtaining Chapman.
hojostache
The Yankees are spending their money far more effectively now. As for the addition of Castro…good bounce-back candidate. I’ve never been a big fan of his, as he is basically replacement level when the peaks and valleys are averaged out. They needed a 2B and he has done a better job there than expected (albeit a small N). The Yankees have a great pen, few will argue that. However, their SP is in trouble. Severino looks like a nice young arm, but then the rest are question marks because of injury. *IF* healthy they’ll compete for the AL East or 2nd WC. If not…very possible to be .500 team and 4th in the AL East.