The Yankees officially signed outfielder Randy Winn to a one-year, $1.1MM deal today. He can earn another $900K in incentives. Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported the agreement on January 27th, with SI's Jon Heyman tweeting the contract value. The Winn signing definitively closed the door on Johnny Damon, tweets Sherman.
Winn, 35, slipped to .262/.318/.353 in 597 plate appearances for the Giants last year (including a brutal 125 PAs against lefties). His corner outfield defense still rates well; that was probably the draw for Yankees GM Brian Cashman.
Winn was signed to a 2 million deal and a spot on the 40 man roster, but Thames was signed to a 900K minor league deal? Doesn’t that seem like it should be flip-flopped?
Winn only had an off year last year. Other than that, his stats have been pretty solid, and his defense is very good.
I would have signed Winn and Thames to Minor League Deals.
Not to nitpick, but the deal was announced about 5 days ago. Randy Winn/Thames platoon will be great!!!!!!!!! I Love Baseball!!!!!!!!!!!
This was announced officially by the Yankees five days ago? Got a link? They sent out the press release today.
I think he’s referring to Winn being listed on the 40 man roster on Feb 3rd.
riveraveblues.com/2010/02/open-thread-official-win…
I think he’s referring to Winn being listed on the 40 man roster on Feb 3rd.
riveraveblues.com/2010/02/open-thread-official-win…
Spanny….I have a question: Do you love baseball?
;-D
Just yanking your chain. I love the enthusiasm!
haha yeah Innie. I’m just a huge Baseball fan!
Winn was a good signing by the Yankees. He’ll hit much better in their stadium plus play a super defense. He’ll also give you 100% all the time, keeps himself in shape, and never has a bad attitude; he’ll be missed in SF.
Why is it yanks fans argue Winn is a good signing while snickering that Cameron is a bad signing?
I do not know what you are talking about as far as Cameron goes. I am not a Yankee fan, I am a Giants fan so I’ve watched Winn for many years and am only giving my opinion of him. You have to take your argument elsewhere.
Not all Yanks fans said that the Cameron deal was a bad signing. I was hoping the Yanks would have signed him myself, but unfortunately that didn’t happen.
Because those fans are letting their hate for their rivals show too much.
Cameron was a good signing and will perform just fine.
The Yankees committed a maximum of two million to Winn while the Red Sox gave Cameron 15 million. See a difference?
Those are called unintelligent Yankee fans. There are plenty that will tell you Cameron was an excellent signing.
Im not sure which people you were talking about but Im a Yankee fan and think Cameron was a terrific signing for the sox. I was hoping the yankees would have traded for him last year or signed him this offseason. Just because I dislike the Red Sox doesnt mean I can acknowledge when they make a smart addition to the team.
IMO the LF job is Gardner’s to lose. It makes a ton of sense to play Gardner, the younger more dynamic player, everday in LF/CF and allow Winn to be the primary reserve player to back up both corners. I envision a platoon of Winn/Thames in LF to rack up the worse stats imaginable in the AL if that were the case. Winn, I can see him bouncing back to the guy he was prior to 2009. Thames, has never been much more than a guy who will hit 15-20 hrs but sucks in every other aspect with the bat and not much better with the glove.
I agree with you though I don’t think the position is really anyones to lose. I see Thames and Winn are really go-to’s in the instance that BG’s offense doesn’t improve. As akwardly as it seems I think Thames/Winn are meant spell Gardner but theoretically doing so more consistently. Either way if this is the biggest questionmark for the Yankees at this point Im pretty pleased that the Yankees, in general, are more dynamic than recent years past.
If it was his to lose, they wouldn’t have signed Randy Winn and Thames
a) Gardner has done nothing in 2009 to label him as inable to be an everyday player. In what world is a .270/.345 line with 26 SB in 31 attempts from a rookie a bad thing? He also hit .298/.392 during the 3 months prior (May-July) to going down w/ the broken thumb injury. I could see the Yanks motivating him to have a great ST by not “giving” him the job but why wouldn’t the Yanks want to see what this kid can do?
b) Winn is an older player who may not be up to playing 150 games. This fact, coupled with his ability to play all 3 OF positions, makes him the ideal 4th OF, especially if Gardner can hold his own and ESPECIALLY if they feel like Granderson might be better suited in LF versus CF.
Give me a fact base reason why Winn or Thames should be GIVEN the LF job over Gardner.
PS- The “Gardner can be a secret weapon off the bench because he can steal a base” doesn’t fly. If Gardner can repeat his 2009 line of .270/.345 over the course of 600 PA that could easily translate into 50 SB.
Gardner isn’t terrible but he has ZERO pop in that bat of his. I think the jury is out on what kind of player he can become. If he manages an OPS in the 750 range, steals between 35-50 bases and plays solid defense then he could have a nice career in the bigs. However, we need to see how teams adjust to him and how he holds up over the course of an entire year.
I would like to see gardner and granderson together in the outfield. Both these guys can add a running game to the yankees and make them even better, This team is so deep they are set to reel off multiple titles.The Red sox seem to be coming apart at the seems and the Yankees look as if they will run away with the division. Tampa should be able to pass Boston.
Its still Gardners to lose they brought in Winn for 1.1 million and Thames on a minor league deal, its not like that signed Jason Bay for 65 million. Its completely conceivable that Gardner starts the majority of games in LF/CF with Winn backing up all three spots to give guys rest and thames not even making the major league club. Or maybe Hoffman looks dreadful in the spring and hes offered back to the Dodgers and Thames is the 5th outfielder/pinch hitter against lefties.
I agree with YanksFan. Gardner should be the LF/CF this season, with Winn the primary backup and Thames a bat off the bench. I’d be very interested to see Gardner’s performance over an entire season, instead of one that was shortened due to an injury. He is the speed threat the Yanks have been looking for, and I think that they’ll be able to handle a “mediocre” line of .270/.340 again if he provides the steals they desperately need. He is a distraction to pitchers whenever he gets on base and makes it a little easier for the rest of the lineup.
Why is it yanks fans argue Winn is a good signing while snickering that Cameron is a bad signing?
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I don’t have a problem with the Cameron signing but it really isn’t an apples to apples comparison when you consinder the money, the roles and the ramifications.
a) Winn is signed for 1/$1.1 mil guaranteed as opposed to 2/$15.5 mil guaranteed.
b) Winn is being brought in to more than likely serve the role as the 4th OF and possible replacement if Gardner falters. Cameron is being brought in to be yor starting CF at ages 37 and 38.
c) Winn isn’t displacing anyone. Cameron forces Ellsbury to LF, which will probably be a non-issue, or MIGHT (doubtful) cause some bad feelings from Ellsbury. Competition SHOULD foster bringing the best out of everyone but in Drew, Cameron, Ellsbury and Herdia you have 4 players that all feel they should be starters. Couple that with Lowell and Varitek and Ortiz, who will probably lose some AB’s, and you can have a slightly disgruntled clubhouse.
Gardner isn’t terrible but he has ZERO pop in that bat of his. I think the jury is out on what kind of player he can become. If he manages an OPS in the 750 range, steals between 35-50 bases and plays solid defense then he could have a nice career in the bigs. However, we need to see how teams adjust to him and how he holds up over the course of an entire year.
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By no means am I calling him the next great thing. However, power from my CF is my least concern. Don’t let his stature confuse you. This is a very strong kid. If he can learn to spray the field with line drives thru the gaps, combined with his speed, can produce 30-40 extra base hits. I could see him with 20-30 dbls and 10-15 triples easy. And if he can convert 50 singles and walks into SB’s with a success rate of 85% or better (last year he was at 84%) then that’s above average production, despite a lack of power. To me, it’s all about expectations vs results. If he can hold a .270/.350 line batting 9th in front of Jeter then that’s special. As a SB threat, Jeter and Johnson are the PERFECT hitters for Gardner to hit ahead of. Both Jeter and Johnson are patient hitters who see a lot of pitches and can still defend the plate if they get behind in the count while waiting for Gardner to make his move. The only concern is that Jeter isn’t a very good hitter in 2 strike counts.
Very true, guys like Otis Nixon and Brett Butler carved out careers for themselves and they were speed guys with little pop.
As you said Gardner has to do whatever it takes to slap the ball, drag bunt, push bunt, infield choppers that he beats out. Everything and anything to utilize his speed to get on first base, that is where he can become a threat on the bases.
He stated in an interview that he has been working on being aggressive and put more balls in play, because pitchers are going to throw him strikes as a #9 batter, the last thing they want is to walk him with Jeter, Nick Johnson and Teixeira coming up behind him.
He also said he is bunting much, much more everyday throughout the offseason over 100 bunts a day) and he will continue to do so in Spring Training as well, he had gotten away from bunting late on in AAA and he regretted doing that.
“Gardner has been an effective bunter in the past. He played just 55 Double-A games in 2006 and had 18 bunt hits. As he got higher in the minor league system, though, Gardner stopped bunting nearly as much so that he could use those at-bats to hone his swing. His extra-base hits went up in 2007 and again in 2008, but he lost his feel and confidence for bunting.
“It’s something I got away from that I shouldn’t have ever gotten away from,” he said. “The idea was, instead of wasting forty or fifty at-bats a year, swing the bat.”
This offseason: “I (bunt) every day,” Gardner said. “And obviously as spring training gets closer, I’ll be doing it more and more. And when we get to spring training, I’ll be doing it more and more.”
They also added an interesting note on his progression at different levels
Double-A in 2006: .272/.352/.318
Double-A in 2007: .300/.392/.419
Triple-A in 2007: .260/.343/.331
Triple-A in 2008: .296/.414/.422
New York in 2008: .228/.283/.299
New York in 2009: .270/.345/.379
New York in 2010: — / — / —
the interview is on yankees.lhblogs.com/page/12/
I would like to take this opportunity to once more boo Jim Hendry for not getting Winn for our bench.
Booo on you Hendry, booo on you!
That’s all.
I would like to take this opportunity to once more boo Jim Hendry for not getting Winn for our bench.
Booo on you Hendry, booo on you!
That’s all.