Chad Jennings of The LoHud Journal spoke to Yankees GM Brian Cashman today. A few notes…
- Cashman seeks a right-handed hitting outfielder to come off the bench on occasion. Reed Johnson is the oft-mentioned name, though free agents such as Jonny Gomes and Rocco Baldelli are also available.
- Cashman's comment that he doesn't need a left-handed bat for the outfield makes one wonder if Johnny Damon's time with the club is up. Click here for more on that situation.
- As far as backup infielder/catcher roles, Cashman seemed OK with internal options. Still, the slight hedging in the GM's quotes led Jennings to wonder if Cashman will continue to monitor the market.
- Bullpen help is not Cashman's focus – instead it's "non-roster invites and position player bench." The Yankees have actually agreed to several minor league deals that have yet to be announced.
If Cash is being sincere, as a non-Yanks fan, my pick would be Reed Johnson. The guy works hard, teammates like him and he won’t bitch about playing time. And he should be cheap!
Reed Johnson sud be good as a 4th outfielder, but i think Cashman should sign Marcus Thames. Hes got power and i think sud be playing LF for the yanks.
Jonny Gomes’ Personality would match up great with Swish and the rest of the Yankees’ clubhouse. He also has some off-the-bench pop. I really believe that Damon and the Yanks will come to terms sooner rather than later. Mike Rivera (who they already signed to a minor league deal) would be a good backup catcher but Francisco Cervelli did quite a good job behind the plate. I’d keep him as the backup. Plus he can catch Burnett unlike Jorge Posada.
Reed Johnson is an awesome 4th outfielder. He leaves it all out on the field.If the Yanks sign him the fans won’t regret it.
He sounds like a good guy. his defense along with Gardner’s in LF? I’ll take it.
Reed has made quite a few and if not 1 of the most spectacular plays I have ever seen in centerfield. He robs homeruns, hussles, and crashes into walls. His offense is pretty good 2. He looks at a lot of pitches, has some pop, and isn’t scared to get hit by a pitch. Honestly I wist we would have kept him in centerfield instead of paying Byrd 15 mill. If Byrd gives us what Reed did I will be happy, except we could have had Reed cheaper and used the money elsewhere.
I was just gonna say, they should definitely snap up Reed Johnson, and have him play for Granderson against lefties. Johnson kills lefties, Granderson kills righties, and both have fairly drastic splits. Johnson is also a plus defender in the outfield as well. He’s got a bad back, but if he’s only playing against lefties he should be fine. Considering the price, I’m really surprised Cashman hasn’t jumped on him yet.
Add to that all the points you raised K Man. RJ’s an all around class act, a real good guy to have on your team
Err, the Yankees aren’t going to platoon Granderson in CF. He is going to be the everyday starter in CF against lefties and righties. The Yankees have more than enough guys who can hit lefties, if anything they may drop Granderson lower down in the order against a lefty starter, but hitting lefties won’t be an issue.Nick Johnson who hits lefties well – .316Cano who hits lefties well – .309Jeter who hits lefties well – .395Posada – .290 vs leftiesTex .305 vs lefties
Agreed, Granderson will play everyday, no matter whos pitching.
Agreed, Granderson will play everyday, no matter whos pitching.
Xavier Nady? I know hes out of the “price range” but come on, hes good when healthy, and hes a righty.
Gomes is a good pickup for anyone who needs some right-handed pop from an outfielder. He’d be able to do some damage at Yankee Stadium.
Still can’t believe the Reds non-tendered him…
My choice would be
1. Reed Johnson – can split time with Brett Gardner, is good defensively
2. Jonny Gomes – he can provide more thump but is dreadful defensively, but he did hit .307 against lefties
As for Baldelli or Dye or Thames or anyone like that I’ll pass on them all. I would rather see Gardner get the opportunity in LF with his speed and defense. He can be a pest if he gets on base as a #9 batter, where he will just run and run. He had 26 steals and caught 5 times in just 108 games – 248 at bats.
Having a #9 hitter who could put himself in scoring position if he gets on 1st base is a huge plus to turn over to the top of the lineup.
Although Gomes and Johnson seem like a perfect fit, I still think Damon is coming back.
Mr.Cashman,saying you don’t need a left hand bat send and unnecessary message Stevie Wonder could see.Thank you Mr. Damon for your service,we don’t need to spit on him!
Why does everyone think the entire Yankees’ outfield is so small? Center and left aren’t small. Right field is drastically tiny because of the new seats, but a large amount of the BS homers in the first half of the season in that stadium were a combination of the Yankees having the worst pitching in the league and the most potent offense in the league.
As the year went on and yankee pitching improved, the pace of HR’s slowed down.
Left center is 399, center is 408, there are a lot of stadiums smaller in those areas, it’s really only right field which makes HR’s easier.
I like the idea of Reed Johnson, guy works hard day in and day out never says anything and he’s isn’t that bad of a outfielder, my personal opinion is that its like a sleeper pick you get a whole lotta player for a very inexpensive money.
GO YANKEES!!
Reed would be ok, but we have to weary of a guy with a balky back. Also, let’s not let the “scrappy” factor get the best of us. Gardner provides enough scrapyness that we need. More importantly we need a guy that can hit overall and play good defense. I think Randy Winn would be a better option. He can play all three OF positions, is a switch hitter and historically has hit well vs LH and RH (RH vs LHP= .280/.332 and LH vs RHP= .289/.348). I think he offers a ton of flexibility.
Reed would be ok, but we have to weary of a guy with a balky back. Also, let’s not let the “scrappy” factor get the best of us. Gardner provides enough scrapyness that we need. More importantly we need a guy that can hit overall and play good defense. I think Randy Winn would be a better option. He can play all three OF positions, is a switch hitter and historically has hit well vs LH and RH (RH vs LHP= .280/.332 and LH vs RHP= .289/.348). I think he offers a ton of flexibility.
Yanks should sign Reed Johnson who will start the season as the 4th outfielder and then eventually take over for Gardner in LF.
Thats what I see happening. Gardner’s bat will force him to benched.
Baldelli has some decent power, probably a really good pickup, just no to more than 2-3 games a week. Gomes? WOW. That guy can be hot as a firecracker, then strikeout 15 out of 20 AB’s, ask Cincy and Tampa fans…
Lmao 40 is a little bit of a stretch, but I would love ghomes. He could put up swisher numbers at a cheap price. I also wouldn’t mind anyone mentioned in the article. Baldelli and Johnson are both great alternatives. However, I’d prefer they just give Gardner a shot to start. He could put up a line of about .280 give or take .010 and 25-55 stolen bases, looking at it with optimism though.