In today's blog post at ESPN (Insider req'd), Buster Olney solicited the opinions of various talent evaluators about yesterday's Matt Garza trade. The general consensus is that the Cubs made the move with the idea of contending in 2011 while the Rays made the move geared towards reloading for the future, somewhat acknowledging that the upcoming season "will be very difficult."
Here are the rest of Olney's rumors…
- Two sources tell Buster that the Angels' final offer to Adrian Beltre was $77MM guaranteed, or $3MM less than the guarantee he got from Texas.
- Carlos Delgado wants to come back, but it'll be very tough to do so when the free agent market features plenty of healthier DH-types.
- The Yankees are seeking a capable back-of-the-rotation innings-eater, but there are very few pitchers that fit that description available.
It would be so amazing if the Yankees ended up having to trade for Joe Blanton.
That would be hilarious!
It’s that or they settle for Milwood, Suppan or Garcia. Garcia seems to be the best choice there but if that’s the case, I’m taking my chances with Nova. Glad I’m not a Yankee fan right now. The market for pitching is scarce.
If I’m not mistaken Nova is in the rotation regardless, if Pettitte retires they will be looking for a pitcher so they don’t have to use Mitre in the rotation. I’d take any of those guys over Mitre.
Ah, true. I forgot Pettite still hasn’t made up his mind.
more amazing if the phils can get jesus montero for him.
Most amazing if CC opts out of his contract to join his friend Cliff Lee in Philadelphia.
CC actually likes being and playing for the Yankees. Sorry to everyone who hates the Yankees and think otherwise. Why bother explaining that to Phillie fans they’re worse then we are. You guys better win the world series this year no excuses if you don’t. Its actually refreshing for once not being the fan of the team who must win the world series or its a bust. Why would CC play for a team that’s older anyway. God I can’t believe I’m saying that being a Yankee fan.
no, CC likes getting paid 23 million dollars to play for a winning team. CC practically had no other choice but to take the yanks money,
and a 4 year deal for 96 mil would equal the rest of his contract.
so say he resigns with the phils for 3 year 66 mil with a 1 year option for 25 mil.
the rotation could be
doc
lee
CC
cole
oswalt
the yankee rotation for the next 3 years ?
CC
AJ
Phil
?
?
who has a better shot of winning?
and besides, in the next 3 years, chase/howard/victorino/brown/polanco/ruiz would still be spring chickens on the yankee roster.
quick response to your “spring chickens”
Ruiz 31
Howard 31
Utley 32
Polanco 35
Victorino 30
Brown 23
Halladay 33
Lee 32
Hamels 27
Oswalt 33
not to mention your other starts Rollins 32 and Ibanez 38 respectively…of those, two of them are still in their “prime” in Brown and Hamels
Montero 21
Teixeira 30
Cano 28
Jeter 36
Rodriguez 35
Swisher 30
Granderson 29
Gardner 27
CC 30
Hughes 24
Burnett 34
Nova 24
so…of the players you mentioned…you were older than the Yankees at 6 of the 9 positions on the field with only one of your starting pitchers being younger than the Yankees four
Dear lord
look around the diamond.
1B – tex / howard – about the same age
2B – chase is older
SS – J-Roll is younger
3B – A-Rod/Polanco – Same age
C – Ruiz is younger
LF – Gardner is younger
CF – Same age
RF – Brown is younger
so far in positions, yanks are older at SS/C/RF….same age at 1B, 3B,
CF, and younger at 2B and LF…i think the yanks are slightly older in
the field.
as far as pitchers..AJ would be the oldest pitcher on either
staff…Doc and Oswalt are 32/33. If CC joined them their staff for
the next 3 years would look like…
CC – 31-34
Doc – 33-36
Cole – 28-31
Lee – 33-36
Oswalt -33-36
as opposed to
AJ – who’s contract is up after next year anyway
Phil – who is the ONLY one i would even half way depend on to be decent
Nova?
?
?
are u seriously telling me that CC would have a better chance with the
Yankees than the Phils at that point of winning a chip ?!!?
I didn’t just come up with some numbers…the ages I listed are their ages.
That being said, the Yankees are younger or the same age at C, 1B, 2B, 3B, CF and LF with the Phillies being younger at SS and RF. Posada will be our starting DH at this point with Montero (21), Cervelli (24) or Martin (27) being our starting C over Carlos Ruiz at 31.
Saying CC will leave isn’t really realistic at this point and then adding that he would go to the NL (where he would have to bat and “run” the bases) and join the Phillies is also unrealistic at this point.
lets wait and see what happens with posada before we annoint him as a
the DH just yet.
and CC would only need a 3-4 year deal….if CC goes to the
phils…who do u think would have a better chance of winning a ring ?
well CC already has a ring so at this point, i expect him to follow the money.
its CC + Philly Cheese Steaks could be a mean combo.
Yeah because the Yankees are just gonna sit on their hands and not trade for a top of the line starter if Pettitte retires or stop signing top free agents because they missed out on 1 who is 32 and isn’t getting any older. Newsflash these aren’t the Marlins they’re the Yankees. They missed the playoffs once and then spent a half a billion dollars on top free agents. The Yankees give their players a chance to win every year and if you disagree with that you haven’t been watching baseball for the past 10 years. Yeah CC is gonna go to the Phillies after all that recruiting he did to try and get Cliff Lee to come to the Yankees. Yeah he will say he’s happy for him to reporters but I’m sure he has different feelings deep down. Their are still a lot of top of the line players that would still love to play for the Yankees. If the Yankees had traded for Cliff Lee and he enjoyed it there which he probably would have he would probably be a Yankee right now because he told the Rangers that if they guaranteed him 7 years he would sign with them and how many guaranteed years did the Yankees offer Lee I forgot.
small market teams r playing keep-away with the Yankees in terms of
trades. this is why seattle, who had a deal already in place with the
yankees, traded Lee to Texas for an inferior package…this is why the
blue jays would never consider trading doc in their division…ditto
with the rays and garza…next shields…next price…they will trade
them out of the AL EAST…..this is why KC, who again had a better
deal on the table with the Yankees, traded Greinke to the Brewers, now
watch them trade Soria to the Braves for some of their stud pitching
prospects. sorry yankees, but i dont think its a coincidence. the
free-agent market is drying up, now these teams are playing keep-away
with their prospects, something tells me the Steinbrenners have bad
relations with alot of their fellow owners and its coming to bite them
in the arse now.ur gonna have to develop and keep young players like
the rest of the planet
small market teams r playing keep-away with the Yankees in terms of
trades. this is why seattle, who had a deal already in place with the
yankees, traded Lee to Texas for an inferior package…this is why the
blue jays would never consider trading doc in their division…ditto
with the rays and garza…next shields…next price…they will trade
them out of the AL EAST…..this is why KC, who again had a better
deal on the table with the Yankees, traded Greinke to the Brewers, now
watch them trade Soria to the Braves for some of their stud pitching
prospects. sorry yankees, but i dont think its a coincidence. the
free-agent market is drying up, now these teams are playing keep-away
with their prospects, something tells me the Steinbrenners have bad
relations with alot of their fellow owners and its coming to bite them
in the arse now.ur gonna have to develop and keep young players like
the rest of the planet
Yeah because the Yankees are just gonna sit on their hands and not trade for a top of the line starter if Pettitte retires or stop signing top free agents because they missed out on 1 who is 32 and isn’t getting any older. Newsflash these aren’t the Marlins they’re the Yankees. They missed the playoffs once and then spent a half a billion dollars on top free agents. The Yankees give their players a chance to win every year and if you disagree with that you haven’t been watching baseball for the past 10 years. Yeah CC is gonna go to the Phillies after all that recruiting he did to try and get Cliff Lee to come to the Yankees. Yeah he will say he’s happy for him to reporters but I’m sure he has different feelings deep down. Their are still a lot of top of the line players that would still love to play for the Yankees. If the Yankees had traded for Cliff Lee and he enjoyed it there which he probably would have he would probably be a Yankee right now because he told the Rangers that if they guaranteed him 7 years he would sign with them and how many guaranteed years did the Yankees offer Lee I forgot.
Dear Lord, is the news in Philly that slow?
Ruiz = 31
Martin = 27 (one of the best defensive catchers with one of the better arms in the league with a 39% throw out rate) Montero is 21, Romine is 21, Sanzhez is 17. These are the Yankee catchers and depth chart. Read about them.
BTW, the Yankees farm system has been ranked as high as 5 for 2011 and have a very nice crop of young arms to work with.
And yes, I remembered Philly fans running their mouth in 2009 and then last year again. The City of brotherly love must provide great dental insutrance for their citizens as they continuosly get their teeth kicked in.
Just to note, In Spring of 2008, CC aknowleged to some local fans in their former training camp of Winter Haven, Fl that he would eventually like to play in NY.
the dodgers released russell martin after 3 straight declining years…and chose rod barajas ( who was released by the mets ) over him…russ had a torn labrum in his hip this year..the sad part is that it started out initially diagnosed as a groin pull back in march…never treated correctly…then in july another groin strain..then in august…the torn labrum diagnosis…
i like russell martin’s game, but after 3 straight declining years, i would not bank on him even making the team, much less being something to brag about.
It’s a strange perception to me that the Yankees are so old, I think it is because key players like A-Rod, Jeter, Posada, and Mo are all fairly old. But the truth is based on average age they are actually the 11th oldest, behind teams like LAA, Boston, and Philly. Philly is actually the oldest for what it’s worth.
probably b/c the players most talked about are old.
over 35
jeter
posada
mariano
pet
a-rod
AJ is creeping right up on em at 34.
that to me more than anything is why i was against them trading tabata and austin away. those are the kind of kids that keep ur team young and rotating out older players in ur lineup.
Yeah, I think that’s probably where it comes from.
Wishful thinking!
redsox dynasty? is that an oxymoron?
Only to jealous New Yorkers who forget that it happened 100 years ago and, in all likelihood, is beginning again!
you won’t get jesus montero for a scrub. jesus is a valuable trading chip for a an ace type pitcher or closer. At least the Yanks have their trading chips available unlike the redsox who are spent, as are the Phils. If the redsox rotation implodes as it has last couple of seasons with no recovery in sight they have nothing, zippo, zilch in their farm system to work with. The phils are pretty much spent as well and now must rely on brown to show and provew in the outfield.
Bostons starters are better than The yanks and if u think Montero can play c, ss, and 3B at the same time for that aging, get the dl ready,trio, more love to you but Boston is the team to beat! Pitching, defense, bullpen, hitting all go to Boston! Social security checks edge goes to the Bronx!
so let met get this straight..montero projects to be a DH/1B..and u guys have about 5 DH/1B’s on ur team…lmao…face it, montero is a more valuable trade chip than a part of the yankee future..yall never should’ve traded tabata/austin. smh
now in terms of trading montero for Heavy B. I was just kidding. I just thought it was hilarious that there is a rumor of Joe Blanton being traded to the yankees.
at this point i think trading K-Rod for Joba may be the best move for your pen this year. u get a lock down closer as ur 8th inning set up man, some insurance in case Mo gets hurt, and probably a 1st round pick as u offer arb and he probably declines to look for another multi-year deal. its the equivalent of trading Joba for a 2012 1st rnd draft pick and getting a lock down 8th inning guy for 2011
As a red sox fan I am happy Beltre signed with Texas (draft pick) however, I am kind of disappointed he chose 3 million dollars over five years versus being in California where he lives/ family etc. He said his next move would be about family.
A lot had to do with being comfortable where he is. The Rangers have a lot of latin players which could have played into his decision. There was more than just money involved here. He will thrive in Texas anyways, great ballpark for his style of hitting. Can’t wait to see the Rangers square off against the Sox, though! Bought some tickets to see them play at Fenway last night =].
The Angels have a latin owner, market heavily to a latin demographic and have a ton of latin players (Morales, Aybar, Izturis, Rivera, Santana, Abreu, just to name a few). It all comes down to money, and the 6th year vesting option makes the difference $19M+ not $3M. Plus the Angels’ hatred of Boras is mutual, meaning that Boras took every opportunity to place his client elsewhere.
If you say so. I don’t believe EVERY player is about the money. And I will stick to believing he went for security reasons.
Why are you blaming Boras? He’s simply acting in the best interests of his clients.
He must be an Angels fan.
It’s true I am an Angels fan; however you’re not reading my comment closely. I am not blaming Boras, simply stating that there is a mutual disregard between Boras and Angels ownership. This evolved from the Texeira trade, when they were led to believe he would sign with the Halos after the season, and then Boras used the Angel contract offer as a benchmark to shop to the Yanks and O’s. It’s been down hill since then. Expect Jered Weaver to pitch elsewhere after team control expires.
I agree it is not always about the money (see Cliff Lee) but it would be nice if a player would just speak the truth, “because my agent tells me so, or “it was about the money” or “I’m afraid to play in a pitchers park when I can hit in a band box instead”
Boras has had numerous issues with big market teams over the years but it has been worked out. The Angels and Boras will work it out sooner or later because to have the amount of money the Angels have they HAVE to spend and some of their biggest targets are Boras clients (Beltre, Prince next year?). Boras represents some of the best soon to be free agents and the Angels need to do something in the next couple years in order to stay atop the AL West. As for Texiera, Morales is turning into a great player. If he’s healthy he will be just fine. Coming from an Angels fan, you should be happy you didn’t dump all that money into Texieras bank account. Morales turned out just fine. Every situation won’t work out that way but that time it did and it saved the Angels money for someone else.
I didn’t say I was unhappy with the way it worked out and Morales is a tremendous talent. I was merely expressing that Boras and Angels have a contentious relationship and that plays a role in how the free agent negotiations work out.
Yeah, true but it will work itself out over time. It must suck right now that the rift is going on but if Boras keeps overplaying his hand on some of his free agents it may work out in the Angels favor. He will have to go to teams with money and the Angels are always going to be a team with money. That could be a way it gets resolved.
I can also see him wanting to play for Ron Washington. He’s quite animated in the dugout and looks like he keeps the players loose. To me, he seems like the kind of manager a lot of players would like to play for.
Sure does. Only thing is, people better stay away from his head :P. Touch it and beware.
There’s also the Rangers are a team that just made the World Series and the Angels finished under .500.
Let’s not forget the Rangers lost Lee and the rest of their starters have little positive track record. Their starting pitching is a big ?
LOL. Youd be foolish to discount the Angels because of one .500 season.
Yeah but Lee was 4-6 for the Rangers with a ≈4.00 ERA, so he wont really be as big of a loss as one would think.
I really have to wonder how much of this had to do with the ballpark that they play in, if anyone knows how much playing in a hitters park helps Beltre it’s Beltre himself (and probably Boras too).
Yeah but he had back problems during all of August. I think his era in September was under 2. If hes healthy he’s damn good. Then again I’m a Yankee fan so I wish him the worst. Sorry nothing personal I’m sure there are a lot of Ranger fans who feel the same way too.
I was in no way saying that Cliff Lee isn’t a great pitcher, in fact he’s currently one of the greatest. I was simply stating that (no matter the reason) he didn’t put up great numbers with Texas so him leaving isn’t going to hurt them as much as people think it will. If he had gone to Texas and put up usual Cliff Lee numbers then sure, he would be a huge loss, but regardless of what his name is those numbers aren’t a big loss.
I think almost every team has alot of latin players. although met fans might want to reverse that trend now.
Maybe he had a hankering for good barbecue.
I was thinking the same thing when I read the article, about the next move being about family. Texas must have made a better pitch than the Angels, claiming a better competitive chance than the Angles, or a better environment for his family. I think it’d be fascinating to hear what went on behind the scenes with Beltre and the Angels and Rangers mgmt.
Consider state taxes too. CA has something like an 8% state tax, Texas has ZERO. I moved from SoCal to Texas and am enjoying the difference!
Must be nice. Taxes BLOW!
so do hot blondes, there are more in So-Cal. I’d rather be there.
Blood may be thicker than water, but for Beltre it looks like money is thickest of all.
Players say a lot of things but 99pct. of them follow the dollar even when they don’t need to! It was also more than 3 million as he could easily get that 6th year vesting option! Not many players like Mike Lowell or Cliff Lee who take less to play where they’ll be happiest! Can’t wait to see which way Pujols goes! Personally, I see him taking no less than 8 years and signing the biggest contract in MLB history!
Yeah but Pujols could take a team friendly contract and still get the largest contract in MLB history.
LOL! Please explain how “team friendly” and “largest contract in mlb history” can happen?
Apparently, the fact that I was joking was lost in translation. But anyway, I was implying that he could legitimately get a 10 year contract and 30 mil or more per year, so say he could get 10/300 from another team and agreed to sign with the Cards for 10/280 it would technically be team friendly in that he could have got more elsewhere and would still be the largest contract in MLB history.
You have the wrong link under “come back” for Delgado.
They won’t do it, but I hope the Jays sign him. They don’t really have a DH right now (not that he would automatically be the every day option). If things don’t work out he can always retire like Griffey.
I just know that if Delgado gets picked up by some team for maybe a little under 1mil,
he could be 4x better than a guy like Matt stairs.
Delgado’s got a sweet swing and all, but with 3 hip operations (and frequent reports that he has little mobility) the question is whether he can actually make it to 1B in under an hour after hitting the ball.
Very sad.
is there a time limit on HR trots ?
Do they allow players to use their Hoveround’s during the games?
Very sad indeed! It killed Boston fans watching Mike Lowell run the bases with a bad hip! Still, he always gave 110 pct!
Bring back the Zambrano to the Yankees rumor.. as a Cubs fan I liked the sound of that one a lot 😉
Unless the Yankees are going to take on his whole salary it doesn’t make sense for the Cubs. His second half was great they’re better off keeping him unless they’re losing his salary.
Considering what the Cubs just gave up for Garza, they’d want the farm for Zambrano. Unless of course it would be a dump of a salary and an attitude. If I’m the Yankees, I get on the phone with Jim Hendry. Offer a couple of prospects (not Montero) and offer to take his whole salary. Despite his attitude, he’s capable of being one of the best pitchers in the league. His 2nd half last year speaks for itself.
I couldn’t really picture Zambrano pitching for The Yankees. I think he would literally explode.
Zambrano to the Yanks make sense and thank you for not saying the Cubs should get Montero in return!
The Cubs plan on “contending” this year? That’s a joke, right?
They’re contending with the Pirates for fourth place in the NL Central.
can someone tell me what’s wrong with Millwood or Brad Penny for that role with the Yankees?
Why are they continually not linked to either player? I mean Francis is OK and everything, but those other guys are much more proven
All Penny has proven since he got hurt with LA is that he’ll pitch a little then get a season ending injury.
I agree, they would fit the mold of what they want until they can land a stud or one of their young pitchers get more experience.
We’ve seen what Penny has done before in the AL east and it was not pretty. Pitching for a good Red Sox team, he was awful before getting hurt.Pass on him.
Millwood has not pitched well in the last few years, Granted that a #5 starter isn’t expected to be an ace, but should give you some quality games and eat inninngs, Millwood hasn’t done that in a while. Pass on him. Yankees could bring up Kei Igawa or and unproven rookie and get the same results for less money
Millwood and Penny are no better than Nova and Mitre is why!
I don’t see how the Rays can bounce back from the loss of, what, 6-7 players off their major league roster.
They can’t right away but in 2 or 3 years they’ll be back! I still don’t like them trading Garza cuz now it’s Price and a big dropoff to a bunch of 3-4 type starters that no one fears and no bullpen at all!( I know they’re young but only Price has dominating stuff)!