Free-agent outfielder Curtis Granderson wants four years and $64MM, Newsday's Marc Carig reports. The Mets are interested in Granderson, but they don't want to offer a fourth year. Mike Puma of the New York Post, meanwhile, tweets that Granderson and the Mets probably won't be able to work out a deal tonight. Here are more notes from New York.
- The Mets were interested in Brewers outfielder Norichika Aoki, reports FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal (on Twitter). The Brewers, however, liked pitcher Will Smith more than a player like Mets first baseman Ike Davis, so they shipped Aoki to the Royals instead.
- If Robinson Cano goes to the Mariners or some other team, the Yankees could pursue Shin-Soo Choo instead, USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweets. The Yankees, of course, already have plenty of outfielders, with Alfonso Soriano, Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki in addition to newcomer Jacoby Ellsbury, but after Cano, Choo is the next-best position player on the market.
- Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner says the Yankees are still hoping to keep their luxury-tax figure under $189MM, but they'll also prioritize fielding a strong team, Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger reports. Steinbrenner says that the Yankees' offense was its "Achilles heel" in 2013, and they'll continue to look for hitting, as well as trying to re-sign starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda.
You are missing the whole point, the Yankees have a lot of money, but they still have 2-3 spots in the rotation, 2B, possibly bullpen and 3B. They don’t need another left handed bat that bad especially when the crowded OF they have is full of them. It’s not about start power or signing superstars. It is about signing players that fit and creating good depth behind some of their aging players. Eventually every team hits their budget even the Yankees….
Chris Davis struck out 199 times this season and was still quite productive (.286/.370/.634). Mark Reynolds, in 2009, hit .260/.349/.543 with 223 strikeouts. You can strikeout a lot and be very productive. You can strikeout a lot and be completely terrible (see the rest of Mark Reynolds’ career, for example).
Playoff performance is an incredibly small sample and is largely irrelevant overall.
His OBP certainly has been dropping, which is obviously a concern for any team, particular one like that Mets that struggled to score runs last season.
It’s been stated a couple times recently on this site that at Citi Field 35ish or so (I don’t remember the exact number) of his 43 home runs in 2012 still would have been out. As well, he had almost identical home / away splits in 2011, though there was a decline in his numbers in 2012 and a 100 point difference in home / away OPS that season.
So yeah, there’s definitely concerns, but there are with any free agent signing.
that’s not as great of a lineup as you think it is.
i do find it a little odd that yankee fans don’t want him back at all
Are you referring to Cano or Granderson?
Are you referring to Cano or Granderson?
they rather a slap hitting choo rather than even with the K’s a 30 plus hr Grandy.
Ryan bats no handed. I do; however, fully expect a Mark Reynolds return.
Theres not much out there ,when healthy he is worth 16 mil a year ,but it’s a negotiation remember we are talking about money here …Everyone talks about his power but i think more about triples,Doubles and defense.
Whatever the total $ amount is, lux tax is calculated by average annual value, so that wouldn’t change. Most expect it to be in the 25m range. And to answer your question, the Yankees can sign Cano and stay under the lux tax, yes.
Yankees sign Ellsbury to 3rd largest OF contract in baseball history.
Yankees make $170 million offer to Cano.
Yankees interested in Choo despite already having five outfielders.
Yankees the favorites for signing Tanaka.
Yankees would like to re-sign Kuroda.
Yankees sign McCann to $17 million/year contract.
As a Jays fan, I’ll be the first to admit the Jays have made plenty of mistakes over the last few decades, and admit that both the Rays and Orioles found their ways into the playoffs (the first through a shrewd strategy, the second through luck). But you can see the type of anxiety we face: a constant barrage of spending by the Yankees.
exactly what I was thinking
Right, because it didn’t work in 2009 either.
my dream outfield as of right now excluding mike trout lagares choo and granderson