The Yankees were the big news-makers of the day, extending outfielder Brett Gardner and signing injured reliever Andrew Bailey. Let's have a look at some notes on the club:
- Extending Gardner was a wise move for the Yankees, argues Jack Curry of the YES Network. The club never intended to deal him unless it was "overwhelmed," says Curry. "He really has developed into a real solid, every day player," said GM Brian Cashman. "He's tough and he's a gamer. I think he's part of the solution here."
- Andy Martino of the New York Daily News opines that the deal was a win-win. "I think Brett would be valuable to any team," said Cashman. "He's got that type of dynamic speed and defense, and the ability to get on base that would fit with any franchise." From his perspective, Gardner said that signing the deal was "probably the biggest decision I've ever had to make in my life." He continued: "I've put a lot of thought into it, but at the end of the day, that's a lot of money, and where I come from, at that money, or twice that much money, I'm not going to change the way I live."
- Bailey is not expected even to begin throwing until July, at the earliest, reports Jorge Castillo of the Star-Ledger. "The bottom line is focus on August or September for him to help the major league club, if at all," said Cashman. But the Yankees were moved to make the deal given Bailey's upside, even if they remain less than certain that it will reap any dividends. "When he is healthy, he is an exceptional reliever," Cashman explained. "He's coming off shoulder surgery so we're taking a flier, a low risk. If we can get a reward out of it, great. If not, it's one of those nothing ventured, nothing gained. It's his shoulder — more likely than not it's an uphill battle, but we'll see."
- Meanwhile, New York may be open to discussing an extension with new closer David Robertson but has yet to engage him in talks, reports Brendan Kuty of the Star-Ledger. Cashman was noncommital when asked about a new deal for Robertson, who is set to reach free agency after this season: "Would we be opposed to it? We'll see." The dominant setup man will earn $5.215MM in his final season of arbitration eligibility. He will hit the market at age 30, and with another strong season could be in line for a sizeable new contract.
- The Yankees will not make an offer to shortstop Aledmys Diaz or pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne, reports George A. King III of the New York Post (hat tip to River Ave. Blues). The pair of Cuban free agents recently auditioned for New York, with the former a particularly intriguing possible target given the Yanks' long-term needs up the middle.
Atlanta is drooling over Gardner about now.. Also wondering why they allowed Bourn go when they had such an above average CF and signed Mr. “all toolsy” Upton, who hadn’t shown anything for 5y prior to the 75m they handed him.
NY might have just started a bit of a youth move here, or for them a youth move. Good sign, to me, him and Tanaka the best they have made in years.
I can’t believe Upton got 5/$75. That to me, is the most outrageous signing, especially from a team like Atlanta.
Max Wildstein is saying the Yankees were close to a deal with Diaz but backed out because of his “physical ability” whatever that means. He also says the Cardinals and Blue Jays are the favorites
I’m going to have to say he isn’t the best source. If they doubted his ability it’s strange that they would be close at all.
I hope that the Cardinals don’t sign Diaz. It would just be a waste of his talent. He’s blocked off by Peralta, Carpenter, Wong who are all under control for 4-6 years. I like Diaz and I would LOVE to see him starting either later this year or next season.
On Despaigne, I believe that he may be ready this year to function as a 5th starter and he could be a good option for any team in need of depth.
If the Cards sign Diaz and he’s that good, then he might start over someone like Wong. Just because there are players there, doesn’t mean he’d be blocked.
The fact that the Yankees won’t be making an offer to Diaz tells me that come the end of the 2014 season the Yankees will push hard to sign one of the SS FA that currently are scheduled to hit the market at the end of the 2014 season. We’ll have to wait and see.
Or they really don’t think he would be a capable shortstop.
When’s that ever stopped Yankees from throwing money at a problem?
We’ve seen plenty of reports that say his ability to remain at SS is in question. They have a long-term need at 2B, but not every SS can make that move. Also, sounds like his bat may not translate to 3B in a proto- typical way. With the Gardner extension the Yankees may feel they will need some pop from 3B going forward.
All just speculation, but if they’re truly not interested after seeing him, you have to think its because they don’t see how he fits or they don’t believe he’s that good. They certainly have plenty of IF needs coming up.
Yeah, but their current SS hasn’t been a capable defender at the position for over a decade and that hasn’t kept them from running him out there. It is highly unlikely that Diaz would be a worse defending SS than Jeter has been the last 10 years.
They gotta lock up D-Rob ASAP.
Time to give Robertson the extension.
RP’ers are much riskier propositions
Might not be a bad move for Gardner at all… I feel he would likely receive a qualifying offer, and he’s probably not quite good enough to have that not affect his value. This way, there’s no chance he’ll have that hanging over his head and he’s set for life with nearly $60M guaranteed over the next five years
You are right. From the Yankees POV it seems they could have got him to take the QO next year and avoid the additional 3 year commitment. I doubt Gardner gets 4/52 with a compensation pick hanging around his neck.
He is almost the same player as Bourn, and contracts have gone up since then.
Aledyms, Odrisamer, Erisbel, Yoenis. These names are all aweesome.
Completely off topic.
But why is
“shape play-dough mats”
One of the top searches on the sidebar?
Well with the Yanks publicly acknowledging they are NOT going to make an offer on Diaz and Despaigne…that will shoot their value down drastically!
I would love Seattle to land Both of them, even if it meant stashing Diaz in AAA for the 1st part of 2014. This would give Seattle Both Franklin & Miller as trading chips. Seattle has so much depth at 2B and SS as it is though, so I’d be surprised. But they were one of the teams with serious interest, so who knows now that the Yanks are out of it.
I thought this would be a great move by the Yankees with Jeters 2013 numbers and him retiring after 2014, plus their 2B issue. I’d think Diaz would have been a really nice option with potential. Hmmm
The Braves are in on Diaz too, hopefully they are able to sign him. The Yankees not being in the bidding helps their chances. He’d obviously play second or third in Atlanta. No one is knocking Simmons off short barring injury of course.
I liked Bailey when he was in Boston, and was hoping we was brought back on a minor league deal. Glad someone gave him a shot though, and at the same time I hope he gets healthy and pitches well, just not against Boston.
Robertson is going to walk after this season. He’s taken a little too many back handed compliments and a lack of respect from Cashman. He’s going to dominate this year and someone is going to pay the man.
I’ve actually heard the exact opposite. I heard many say he won’t last long as a SS because of a lack of range and glove (though he has a strong arm), and his bat and power will drop heavily in the majors.
However even if all that was to be true, I don’t think the team that gets him will pay more than $30-$35 million or so. With teams like the Cardinals, As and Braves scouting him , I think there’s a good chance he’ll be pretty good overall