The Yankees have signed Eric Chavez to a minor league deal, according to WFAN's Sweeny Murti. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports that the deal is done and that Chavez will earn $1.5MM if he makes the big league team (Twitter links). The third baseman, who is represented by Lapa/Leventhal, can earn up to $4MM more in bonuses.
Until now, the 33-year-old Chavez has been a career Oakland Athletic. Unfortunately for the veteran, he has struggled to stay healthy in recent years, seeing time in just 64 games across the last three seasons. In 13 big league seasons, Chavez owns a slash line of .267/.343/.478.
Chavez worked out for the Dodgers a few weeks ago and has also been linked to the Mariners and Blue Jays in recent months.
Nice! I hope he come back healthy. Good backup for A-Rod
at least there is one person who is excited about this
Strange move. I agree that they need pitching. Their offense already speaks fir itself.
Not that strange, actually. Remember that ARod had the same injury as Mike Lowell and is now at the age where Lowell’s hip started breaking down completely. Sounds like good insurance.
They will need insurance for their insurance….thats not good insurance
LOL
I expect the Yankees to also sign Jermaine Dye any day now.
Throw in Erubiel Durazo and you’ve got yourself a deal.
Add BK Kim and you’ve got s deal!
Gary Sheffield wants in.
Ricky can still play!
So can Babe Ruth.
you know barry bonds never actually retired. nor did bernie williams. i think we see a new outfield in NY!
He’s playing in Japan sorry
Hee Seop Choi is what they need
One name… Esteban Loaiza
Hell if were mentioning Loazia, might as well bring Jeff Weaver back
any relation to Bok Choi? lol
Hey Kenny Lofton never officially retired either.
David Wells just cracked open a cold one but he could be ready for Spring Training, my sources tell me haha
Cashman is supposed to be replacing Pettitte, not A-Rod!
Pfft, they already got a Chavez caliber pitcher… Bartolo Colon
This is shaping up to be a wonderful 2004 season.
They’re trying to be like the Devil Rays! XD
vaughn eschelman
OMG he should of signed in Toronto he could have gotten a everyday job but he goes to new york and will end up in the minors
Two things:
1. How can anyone type “should of” and think it makes any sense?
2. An everyday job for Chavez? What, was he going to be the everyday DJ in the trainer’s room?
Two things:
1. Just guessing that English is Gurvir’s second language. Let’s not be jerks.
2. If healthy, Chavez is better than 3/4 of the third basemen in the league. He might have won a starting job in Toronto or Seattle. It is hard to see how signing with the Yankees makes sense for Chavez.
Its 2011 and Chavez is made of glass and finds it impossible to have over 100 PAs in a season. E5 will have a higher WAR than Chavez will this year.
When you say better than 3/4 of the league… you mean the Double-A Eastern League, right?
chavez will never start again in the league, it is physically impossible for him to do so. They are looking at this as a partime 3B, bench bat and that is all.
For anyone who still cares, the reason he did not sign in Toronto is pretty obvious. His representatives were asking for an incentive based deal. AA has said pretty clearly that he is not interested in signing those kinds of deals. So that pretty much nixes and chance he had of signing with the Jays.
why would he want to go to the Yankees? even if he’s healthy he’s not going to start anywhere. he could have potentially been a starter on numerous other teams.
even if he’s chasing a ring, he picked the wrong season to go to the Yankees.
I think it’s safe to say that he wouldn’t be a starter on any of the 30 teams anymore.
not really. Lots of teams are in need of a real 3B. If he could stay even a bit healthy, he could be a starter on teams like Toronto or even the Angels
And my point is that there is zero reason for any team to say that they will go into the beginning of a season with Chavez as their starting 3B. Even if the Indians were to sign him, a team desperate for a 3B for a while, they would know better than to expect more than 50 games from him.Let him start off the bench or in a platoon role and keep the door open for more.
He’d have gotten a lot more playing time in LA. Maybe what we heard about him was wrong. I guess he doesn’t mind being paid to pick splinters out of his backside.
Its already been said that Blake will rest a lot and play some LF. Chavez would of got some decent playing time.. How many goddamned ABs did GA get last year?
Blake playing LF doesn’t make any sense unless two other outfielders are on the DL. He might have gotten some play at first if the Dodgers had signed Chavez. As it stands, he’ll probably be spelled often by Uribe especially against RH pitching. The point I was making though is the story going around was that Chavez wanted playing time, and also preferred to stay close to home. Seems he was willing to ride the pine on the other coast for the right paycheck.
He fills the DL spot for us.
If he can stay healthy (big if) then he could be a good bat off the bench and fill in for Arod. This way we don’t have to call up Laird unless Arod is hurt for a long period.
He and Belliard are just invitees so no there’s no risk.
good thing you were a fan since 78 so you could give such good insight on this deal…
ba-zing.
each one teacn one “zeppy”.
Figures notsureifsrs would “like” this. Sell out. 🙁
If this was 2002 this team would be STACKED!!!
So the pattern is, Yankees sign low-risk signings, get mocked. Yankees sign big names and fans whine for months.
Maybe Cashman should just never sign anyone at all and play exclusively through his farm system like all the other teams do….Oh wait.
Or maybe they can sign players anonymously and just have them show in ST.
Or maybe we should all just agree that Red Sox fans are the biggest Hypocrites in sports. They B & M about the Yankees building their team through free agents (“buying” a ring) even though 3/5 of the boston rotation was through signings (Beckett, Lackey, Dice-K), they just shelled out a $100mm+ contract to a player who NEVER hit 20 Hrs, and they have the second highest payroll in MLB (and possibly the highest after its all said and done this off season). But the Yankees are bad because they do the same thing. These Red Sox fans are something else. They have the exact same sort of Off season NY had two years ago, and all of the sudden they act like only NY signs players. Boston is a joke. I can’t wait for the season to start…
Thank you well said. Believe it or not though there are classy Red Sox fans out there and I am the same except I’m a Yankee fan as well as a baseball fan. It is a LONG year alot can happen. Play Ball!
Get real. There is no possibility whatsoever that the Red Sox will have the highest payroll this season. Or even close.
maybe not the highest. but they will be darn close. in fact, earlier in the offseason, before the yankees signed garcia and jones, the red sox had the highest payroll in MLB.
Wow! Do some research! Jones is making $2M and there is nobody named Garcia on the Yankees 40 man roster. Yet the Yankees 2011 obligations currently stand at $34M more than the Red Sox – see Cot’s Baseball Contracts. So it is not possible that, at any time this year, the Red Sox had a higher payroll than the Yankees – or even close.
A solid addition to the bench if he can stay healthy. He is an animal with the glove.
maybe i’m just crazy, but wasn’t eduardo nunez supposed to be the backup 3B? he could really use the experience, and i bet he could be a pretty good defensive replacement that could play SS too to back up jeter.
Chavez didn’t sign anything. He’s a ST invitee. He isn’t guaranteed anything.
I get the feeling the Yankees value Nunez as higher potential than a career backup like they do with Pena…He was held out of some big trades as a second or third piece and now they seem to prefer veteran talent over keeping him from playing everyday (at AAA)
Can he pitch?!
…am I doin it right?
this has to be the single most greatest meme created in mlbtr
oh, and you should always add -B. Cashman at the end
Andy who?
I like these minor signings the Yankees are doing lately. Now, i’d like to see Aceves re-signed (not sure about the extent of his injury) and hopefully some of the good young pitching in the pipeline (Banuelos, Betances, Brackman etc.) can break with big club and help the back end of the rotation.
Really Chavy? the friggin yankees? I was pulling for you… I mean come on at least sign a deal with someone who will let you play.
i’m guessing nobody gave him a deal
ugh, just can’t picture him in a yankees uni… i dont even want to see it
No worries, he’ll be on the DL before Opening Day.
When he plays he gets hurt. Face it, he’s a back-up at best in this league.
Great sign, i really hope he makes the team, and the bench it’s going to be awesome.
Just two quality starters and the yanks return to the top.
Unless you really like Kevin Millwood and Jarrod Washburn, I don’t think you’re going to find those two quality starters…
Who aren’t the Yankees signing? Good freakin god….
Cliff Lee!
Should have rephrased that to “Which washed up ball-player aren’t the Yankees signing?”
They will easily win the Triple A World Series this year. 🙂
They are living in the past.
Their past is better than your future!
He’ll be good for about 25 games at most….and then back on DL for the rest of the season. But Yanks have tons of money….so financially, no problem. They can’t bring anybody up from the Farm….they traded them all away….so are forced to try this.
Wow, you got so many things wrong in so few sentences. Kind of impressive.
I’m just curious. I know Yanks are easy to take cheap swings at. Does anyone REALLY see anything wrong with minor league signings or ST invitiees for past superstars? I mean 95% of them won’t make the team. Some might accept a role in AAA and most will pobably opt out if they don’t break camp with the team so is there really a story here?
I can’t wait until the season starts. Let the teams play speak for itself.
nah, we’re just having fun
Dude, there’s nothing wrong with minor league signings. We’re just having fun, don’t take it too seriously
Not offended by it all but you have to admit there are some ppl that really act as if these small signings are part of Cashman’s master plans. The Colon, Jones and CC fat jokes are fine. The retro tribute to the 2000’s are amusing. Maybe the Yankees can even have active players particpating in the old timers games. Not a problem but PLEASE…let’s ALLLLLLL understand these signings mean nothing.
You have to admit some of the things being posted are really funny. I’m starting to think that Cashman is signing all these borderline geriatrics to appease Hal and Randy Levine’s need to own the back pages of the tabloids.As someone posted earlier, Cashman is damned if does and damned if he doesn’t. Had Lee signed with NY, the detractors would be complaining that the Yankees are trying to buy up all the players available. Since Lee went with Philly, then the signings are acts of desperation. I’m confident of my team’s ability to compete this season, so I’m taking it in with a smug smile on my face.
Damn..
Looks like the Yanks will be fighting for 3 spot. Red Sox will lead the division. The rest of the teams are fairly equal with all the new signings….and stronger farm systems to draw from in case of injuries. This should be a more interesting division between the 2, 3 and 4 spot. Much closer than in previous years.
When the Yankees sign Pedro it’s gonna break my heart.
Already did…Feliciano
In related news the Yankees have ordered a giant roll of bubble wrap.
In other related news Brian McNamee has been hired as special “nutritionist” consultant.
But Bartolo Colon ate him.
Im sure Jason Schmidt is still avalable as well. That would give them one hell of a triple a rotation.
Thank god, now ppl can stoip saying ” why dont the blue jays bring him in so bautista can go back to right… blah blah blah” THANK YOU YANKEE’S.
yankees with a quietly solid offseason… nah I’m lying, just awful
SO…they get the best LHP reliever and the best RHP reliever on the market and that’s “awful”? I officially DISLIKE your comment. BLAH!
When it’s the Yankees, yes. When you lose out to the Phillies for Cliff Lee, then also lose Andy Pettitte, then grossly overpay for an aging shortstop and a relief pitcher who won’t be the closer, and has complete control over the Yankees for his contract… then yeah, it’s really not that great of an offseason for the team that is expected to make the biggest splash year in and year out.
Bonds to the Yankees is next on the docket.
Dear Eric Chavez,
Its over, but you have a great mind for the game and you were a really positive presence in the Oakland A’s clubhouse, you need to return to that clubhouse to replace Bob Geren as soon as you realize your body is made of mud and twigs.
Please come home. Signed,
The Oakland Athletics fanbase.
George S. just sat up like the Undertaker
would be awesome if A-Rod has bad affects of his steroids use this year breaks a leg or something to put him out for the season in spring training.. the Chavez not only takes his place but puts up numbers like .340, 45hr 130hr .. .450 OPS and .600 OBP.. Maybe a complete tear of the ACL, MCL and PCL in both knees for A-rod making it at least a 2 yrs comeback trail.. one less cheater in baseball to watch and no more annoying Calls from the Yankees annoucer “An A-Bomb for A-Rod.. we all know that at least 580 of those HRs came from him cheating and he should have no more then 20 career HRs.
Selig is too afraid to ban him he thinks A-Rod is a huge attraction or something.. banning him from Baseball would only help baseball..
Quit spewing garbage.
Your infatuation for Yankees is quite flattering.
News flash… Noooooobody cares!
He could not have been a starter for any other Major League Team.
And He won’t even make the Yankees as a bench player.
Don’t know why everyone’s making a big deal out of this.
Even if A-Rod gets hurt, it’ll probably be from tripping over Chavez lying on the ground with a broken leg.
Chavez is ten times the player Aramis Ramirez.. I would take Chavez over him any and everyday of the week
MICAH HOFFPAUIR WANTS TO PLAY
plays in Japan.. the sad thing is he was better then Derek Lee but Lee was getting 15 mil a yr so Hoff had no place to play.. basically if any player makes 30 times the amount of the better player he will start no more what.. happens all the time like Soriano should be benched but he makes 17 mil a yr so Colvin is getting a big F*** you
Anyway Yankees if you want another starter Carlos Zambrano returned from Dr.Drews classes. Big Z is like Eminem the less crazy he got the worse he got.
I hope he makes the team. Along with Belliard, Jones, and Cervelli could make a good Bench.
As a Yankee fan we did not have an ideal offseason, but it was not terrible. We made some great singings for the bullpen like Feliciano and Soriano, we now have a pretty good bullpen. The rotation is in question but I expect AJ to be back to his older ways and Nova I think will step up in the 4th spot and pitch well. I don’t see why they can’t use a 4 man rotation CC and AJ can certainly do it. As for Lee, it was clear since day 1 he was just jerking us around to see if we would pay him what he wanted, he wanted to go back to Philly where they betrayed him and traded him for Roy. Im glad to see that the teams that complains about the Yankees (Red Sox, Rangers, Phillies) spent wayyy more money then the Yankees so they cannot even say we pay too much for everything anymore.
Ah, the 2010-11 offseason for the Yankees. Rafael Soriano and a bunch of “Why the hell not?” signings. And I’m a Yankees fan.
Chavez is a rehab project. Watched his stats and his days playing diminsh. Doubt he’ll play everyday in NY. Maybe fill in when A Rod needs to have popcorn fed to him by Cameron Diaz.
You “doubt he’ll play everyday in NY”? Really? Do you also doubt that Colon will be the Yankees Opening Day starter?
You “doubt he’ll play everyday”? Wow, do you also doubt that Bartolo Colon will be the closer?
If he is healthy I’d like to see them trade him to a team like to Angels or Dodgers. I’d rather see Nunez get a chance to play. He can play 3B, SS or 2B and has some speed.
…for a hamburger?
Insert “Yanks sign ghost of _____” joke here.
ODDS TO WIN THE 2011 WORLD SERIES
Boston Red Sox
+500
5005
New York Yankees
+550
5020
Philadelphia Phillies
+300
5022
Being a Yankees fan and a Chavez fan I was obviously happy when I heard of this deal. I can understand that people are a little skeptical about the signing but who’s to say he can’t stay healthy and perform well when ARod and/or Teixeira need a day off? I wish him well…we all should.
Depth move.
“Now that the Red Sox have agreed to sign Bobby Jenks, their payroll is higher than the Yankees’ (Twitter link).”
From an article called “Olney on Vlad, Zambrano, Yankees, Fuentes” by Ben Nicholson-Smith on December 16, 2010 at 3:31pm CST
Do some research, Fangaffes.
Hardly the first time Olney was dead wrong. I’m sticking with Cot’s for reliable data.