The Yankees have promoted pro scout and former hitting coach/player development executive Gary Denbo to senior vice president of baseball operations, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweeted yesterday. In a full article, Feinsand and colleague Bill Madden write that Denbo will take over for the retired Mark Newman as head of the team’s farm system. Pat Roessler, who has served as the team’s director of player development since 1995, will not return to the club, Feinsand adds.  Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner has recently expressed displeasure with the lack of position players developed by the Yankees’ farm system.
Some other Yankees and AL East notes from around the league…
- In his latest Yankees Inbox piece for MLB.com, Bryan Hoch discusses a number of offseason topics, including the club’s search for starting pitching and a shortstop, as well as its likely inactivity on the market for Cuban players. Hoch won’t be surprised to see the Yankees pursue one of the big three starters (Max Scherzer, Jon Lester and James Shields), and all indications are that the team will look externally for a shortstop. MLBTR’s Zach Links recently profiled Asdrubal Cabrera, noting that he could be a fit for the Bombers at short.
- Yoenis Cespedes’ recent agency change does little to change the possibility of the Red Sox signing him to an extension, writes WEEI.com’s Alex Speier. Cespedes is still expected to hit the open market on the heels of past comments with the A’s about looking forward to testing the open market. While he did take a bit more ambiguous stance when asked by Boston reporters late in the year — “€œI’€™m still not sure if I want to sign an extension or if I want to be a free agent. It’s too soon.” — Speier feels that a new contract for the Roc Nation Sports client is unlikely.
- David Laurila of Fangraphs spoke with Red Sox setup man Junichi Tazawa at the end of the season about his role with the team and his level of satisfaction with his 2014 results. Tazawa explained, through an interpreter, that he feels he proved his endurance out of the bullpen and is happy to fill whatever role Boston asks of him, especially after they stuck with him through his previous Tommy John surgery. However, Laurila cites a Japanese source in reporting that Tazawa’s preference would be to pitch as a starter. Tazawa wouldn’t comment on any preference when asked directly about the role change, though he did note that he feels he could build up that level of endurance again. The 28-year-old made four starts for the Sox in 2009 and made 28 more in the minor leagues before settling into the big league bullpen.
- Steve Pearce’s role on the 2015 Orioles is a bit nebulous at this point, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, as it’s somewhat contingent on how the rest of the roster shapes up. The O’s will potentially lose Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis to free agency, and it’s not a given that they’ll tender Alejandro De Aza a contract. Pearce himself is due a large raise in arbitration after his outstanding 2014 season, but Baltimore will happily pay him whatever he is ultimately owed, writes Kubatko. He looks back at the series of events which saw Pearce released and claimed by the Blue Jays. Pearce, of course, was able to refuse the claim due to the nature of release waivers, and he did so knowing that the O’s would soon try to bring him back. The soon-to-be 32-year-old has one year of team control remaining before free agency and earned just $700K in each of the past two seasons.
I like Pearce but he seems great as a backup/utility player. Cannot expect him to have the year he had this year
I think he is a guy like Chris Davis. Someone never given 400 at bats in season to see what he could do. He just needs a chance to play every day.
He’s always had power. He’s a dead red fastball hitter, who plays up in our park. I don’t think this past year was a fluke. He can duplicate it.
The question is moreso if we need him to start, which indicates a gap at some position and maybe the overall makeup of the team. He’s obviously a very valuable player off the bench, and 2-3 starts somewhere per week, depending on matchups. If he’s starting, it means we have a hole somewhere. There is also the option of having a more all-around player with speed. That would be a big boost. It’s not a matter of if. It’s a matter of when we need to cover an injury. That’s when versatile guys like Pearce make a huge difference.
If the O’s don’t bring back De Aza, I think they would be not using good judgement.
He’s a good ball player!
Hes a decent defender with a slightly below average bat that will cost 5.5+ MM next season, non-tendering him is a real possibility.
I agree.
He is a solid ball player with a lot of skills, but I’m not sure he brings a unique skill set we don’t already have. He’s a great bridge and versatile guy, but we have a lot of those. He’d have a stronger case if he were option able. If he had above average contact and speed, my opinion would be much different. We saw firsthand what a true speed player can do vs KC. By that I’m thinking, say, a speed/contact player like prime years BRob would make our offense stratospheric. De Aza is useful, but he’s not that. He’s a decent glove, situational bat, and decent speed. The #2 guy who can bunt.
He’s an average player that is basically another version of Markakis. Keeping both of them is both expensive and redundant.
This reply is to all… Anyway, I agree with Jim M from SB N
On De Aza:
hitting righties and being faster than average — are fully operational,
which makes him a credible major leaguer whether you like it or not.
I think he’s our best option in Left. I like De Aza a lot!
Through 142 games last year De Aza had a WAR of less than 1. Year before that he had a negative WAR. As a full time player, over the last 2 years, he has not been a credible major leaguer. He is the kind of player you platoon with someone cheap so you can hide De Aza’s deficiencies and maximize his strengths.
The problem with putting both him and Nick as your corner outfielders is you have taken two guys who are barely league average starters, and are asking them both to play full time and need one of them to be far above league average. Because you can’t get so little offensive production from your corner outfield spots. One of them needs to produce, and produce at a level to make up for the other one’s lack of production. And neither one is capable of doing that.
Well, what do you propose?
Chase Headley apparently has put some time in LF.
Other then that, I don’t see too many other options
No, I like De Aza, maybe it was his 2012 season that I am stuck on, but still…. I have always liked him since then.
Headley was supposedly pretty bad in the outfield if I recall correctly. Is fine anyways because 3B is more valuable and he is pretty good there.
You’re right. Headley is not a good OFer. Any team signing him will want to maximize his value and that is at 3B. Excellent glove.
I’d keep De Aza probably. But I wouldn’t keep De Aza AND Markakis. I’d probably go with some type of Lough, De Aza, Jones, Pearce out field. Lough and De Aza aren’t going to give you a TON of production, but you aren’t paying that much anyway. So you’re probably making out okay in terms of value. The Orioles could then take the money they saved by only keeping one of Markakis and De Aza, and try to invest that money in a way that makes up for the lack of offensive production you will get from De Aza/Lough. But I wouldn’t sink my money into two average players. Then how do you make up for the production?
He’s not close to Markakis. I’m not over-valuing Markakis. I’m just realistic on what De Aza actually is. Markakis is a durable glove with established OBP strikezone and contact skills. De Aza isn’t even an everyday starter. He played up this season with us, because Showalter matched him up vs favorable pitchers. Markakis hits both LHPs and RHPs. De Aza maybe got a handful of games vs LHPs, if any. That’s why his numbers look decent since he arrived to the Os.
Markakis is basically a platoon player too. He’s going to struggle to be a 2 WAR player the rest of his career. No power. Little defense. Bad on the bases. That’s both Markakis and De Aza.
Markakis gets on base a little more, De Aza is a little better in the field and probably better on the bases. But both would probably be better off not being everyday starters.
De Aza is also cheaper than Markakis. So whatever more production Nick gives you, and it’s not much and not enough for a RF’er, is off set by the fact that Markakis is going to cost the O’s more years and money.
De Aza is a better option specifically because, as you said, he can be platooned. You aren’t paying him a fortune. You can pair him with another player, and between the two of them, maybe get overall value for. Markakis you will get a 2 WAR player (you hope) and will pay him to be a 2 WAR player.
I get it that you’re not a Markakis fan, but if he’s a platoon player, which side of the plate would you play him? .270 vs LHPs or .270 vs RHPs. I don’t think he’s exceptional from either side, but he’s not chopped liver either, esp. in this new dead ball era we live in today. It’s become pretty fashionable to knock Markakis’ defense, which I don’t buy. I’ve seen poor RF defense on the Os before. Believe me, Nick’s a good RF. He’s not a sure fire errenial GG, but he’ll sneak one in he and there depending on the field.
Platoon meaning he is moving towards a part of his career where he isn’t an everyday player, not necessarily a guy that can’t hit a particular arm. He’s struggling to be a 2 WAR player now at 30.
And I would disagree about his defense. He is bad. He just has horrible range, whether its by the metrics, or by the eye test. Just look at the KC game triple. How did it take him that long to get to the ball? Because he has to cheat to cover the gap because he is so slow, and then couldn’t get to the ball because he is so slow. So whatever slow KC runner hit the ball (and I can’t remember who it was) ended up at third. Nick has a great arm, and a very good glove, but those things only go as far as the legs take them.
Well blow me down, i knew Pearce had a good, surprising year for Baltimore but had no idea he put up 6.0 WAR.
Thats going to get him a hefty, well deserved raise, and while its unfair to expect that again in 2015, hes definitely now much more than a backup/utility man.
Poster said it best on other thread, Cespedes Agents did a great job so he cant get a QO.
sox got a comp pick from Oakland to make up for it.
I can see the Yankees spending on one item of need, to fill a hole they don’t otherwise think is fillable. They have the resources to do that. But I don’t think they evaluate the roster as just one player away–they know if they don’t get more from the old, the injured, and the underperforming it’s not going to matter who that player is. They have to improve internally, and they have to try the younger players.
It would take the Yankees at least several years to get younger and improve via the draft. I just don’t think they are patient enough to rebuild in that manor. Pursuing free agent that did not receive a QO, for example Lester, McCarthy and Headley, is probably the best strategy for the Yankees since it would allow them to improve in the short term while still stocking up on young talent.
We aren’t really disagreeing. They could make one big spend, or a couple of smaller spends with no draft pick compensation attached. I don’t see them going in for the gaudiest baubles. It’s not going to help. They need to fill the holes first.
It’s a catch 22 the rest of us fans know too well, but it’s a relatively new experience for Yankee fans to even consider.
The thing is that to make a signing that fills a hole with quality, you’d likely lose your 1st round pick (in exchange for the QO worthy player), which hurts your ability to grow the farm faster. That’s the catch-22. That is, unless you spend a year finishing in the last half of the league, qualifying for a protected pick, which would be a truly miserable year for Yankee fans to endure, much worse than the previous season.
But that’s a year away at least, and pretty painful to go through. I think that’s what’s hard for the rest of us to imagine Yankee fans being ok with. The fact is, the Yankees haven’t been challenged to have that brand of patience before, and I’m not sure they’re willing to do it. The other alternative is trying to do a mix, both sign solid guys and grow the farm. I don’t think it’s impossible, but you need a lot of picks to hit and be really lucky too. The Yankees through the 80s did this, and it resulted in a lot of activity, but ultimately running in place for many years.
NYY needs a SS way more than the 3 players you listed.
I think a starter is at the top of their list since pitching is so important. I like them spending their money on Lester, Headley, Robertson, Lowrie, and Gregerson.
Drew/Brendan Ryan platoon. Costs mostly nothing after Drew’s bad year, excellent defense, and decent bat when split.
We can get younger now and it’s happening. Tanaka, Pineda and Nova are young. Refsynder can come up, we have some good catchers that are unfortunately blocked but can be called up or traded for youth. A-Rod is really the only old person on the staff now. The 40 year olds are gone (Ichiro, Rivera, Jeter, Petitte, Ibanez, etc). After that it’s Beltran and Teix and those 2 contracts expire around when A-Rods does. Besides CC the pitchers are young. We’re really a middle age team.
I was thinking of 30+ as older not 40+. Young in my mind is players in their 20s. The Yankees and the free agent market are short on position players under 30.
Teams who are considered young have quality guys who are in their early 20s, and their prime years more or less match up into a window. The Yankees just have a core that’s fading. I don’t personally consider Nova or Pineda as core members to build around. Tanaka, if healthy, is absolutely a core guy. After him, the Yankees don’t really have much.
I’m not knocking the Yankees. I live in NYC, and I want the Yanks competitive. We’re all better off when they are. But I am a realist, and the Yankees just don’t have the pieces that are up to their very high standards right now.
I think the Yankees core has faded, not is fading. They have some decent prospects, but they are a year or two still away, and anything can happen in that time. Nova is too inconsistent, so I agree on that. Pineda absolutely is someone to build around, but they will need him to maintain health. Big question mark.
I guess to me the health “if” is a big reason I couldn’t count on him as a core member. Who knows though? Maybe he goes out there and never sniffs The DL again?
The truth might be somewhere between. You’re right, he can’t be counted on as a core pitcher until he shows he can get through a full season healthy. Working in his favor is he had the same type of tear as Anibal Sanchez, and Sanchez took a couple years to get back to full strength. Eventually, his velocity increased as did his durability. That’s the best-case scenario for Pineda. We all know about the worst-case scenarios, so no need to repeat.
Pearce has had a relatively high BABIP throughout his career so I don’t expect him average and OBP to drop much but his 17.5% HR/FB is totally unsustainable. I expect to see a major power drop in 2015.
Haha. I’ve noticed that too.
Pearce is the kind of swinger who is built to put it in the air, and if his high share of fly balls is going out of the park around once per 5 ABs. That’s a great year. I personally feel like he could be packaged in a trade. I feel like that HR/FB rate is a somewhat buried stat, which hides some inflated value. Maybe some GM out there rolls the dice on him?
Cespedes for Castellanos. Keep Castellanos at 3rd and hope he improves defensively or put him in left field, where his below average defense will not be that much of negative. Cespedes is a waste in tiny LF in Fenway and does not want to move to right field.
Castellanos is a slight downgrade on the offensive side, but is only 22 years old with all kinds of upside, especially as an elite line drive hitter. The only real negative here is that Castellanos is a righty.
Both sides would have to add another player to make the deal fair. Maybe JBJ on the Red Sox end and a prospect on the Tigers end.
As you said, the Red Sox need a lefty. Moving Castellanos to left field would be out of the question because if the Red Sox traded Cespedes that would still leave them with three starting outfielders instead of the four they have now. As for Cespedes, he has a good arm, but he doesn’t play very good defense, so he wouldn’t be wasted in left field, he’d be less of a liability. Not a fit.
This would be a move to get much younger and get more years control for the Red Sox without a much of a drop off in production.
Cespedes UZR/150 was +14 this year which is considered near gold glove level. He would be a perfect fit in Comerica with its giant Left Field. Castellanos’s bat is not the issue for the Tigers. It is his fielding.
You need to look at the breakdown of his UZR, his Range and Error factors are below average (negative) but his Arm factor is really high. In the end his arm is making up for his other poor defensive skills.
As a left fielder, his RngR is +7.4 and -1.0 the last two years. In a big park, he seems to have more range (intuitively obvious).
His ErrR is slightly negative (-0.8 and -1.3 the last 2 years)… so he has slightly more errors than an average Left Fielder. But it not a huge number.
In Fenway there is no way to showcase his 340 foot throwing arm when the wall is only 300 feet away from home plate.
What neither of you looked at is the “eyes and ears” test.Cespedes talks about more of what he won’t do than what he can do.For all the reasons that Boston wants to get rid of him are the exact same reasons Detroit needs to stay away from him. His “what I want” attitude will not fit in with the “what can I do to help the team win” attitude in Detroit.
Plus there is no way the Tigers will trade Castellanos after a very good rookie year. The fact that you even admitted that Castellanos “is only 22 years old with all kinds of upside, especially as an elite line drive hitter,” proves my point. Detroit’s defense will improve with Iglesias at Short, filling the gap towards Third. Castellanos will have less ground to cover and be much better in the field in 2015.
When teams look to move a good player in a short period of time it is a red flag. Cespedes must have some isues.
… His issue is he is not a fit for LF at Fenway. He is annoyed that the field is small and he cannot play his favorite position.
I would much rather have Castellanos than Cespedes, as would nearly anyone. Castellanos is a long-term piece who is already producing. Cespedes is a one-year player who is coming off his worst MLB season. So no, I don’t think this deal would happen.
Castellanos glove was an issue, so why would the Red Sox want him for third base? As I said earlier even if the Red Sox trade an outfielder, they wouldn’t need another one to replace him. They would have Castillo, Victorino, Betts and Craig left (if they traded Cespedes). They can surely field an outfield with those players. If he can’t play third and isn’t lefthanded there really isn’t much use for him. From what I saw of Cespedes last season, his defense is largely overrated. Great arm, but not so great instincts. Castellanos had a 93 OPS+ last season, which leaves him as a terrible fielder and a below average hitter. Cespedes had a 110 OPS+ and that was in a down year. And then there’s the part where Castellanos can’t play the one position they need him to, and he’s right handed.
He would be bad fielder if not for that arm.
The arm forgives a lot I think.
Castellanos was 21 last year, playing in the bigs for the first time, and considered one of the top prospects in baseball. If I were the Red Sox, I’d love to flip a guy I’m currently using the press to bad-mouth for that type of potential.
He’s unlikely to stick at third base and was a below average hitter last season. If he doesn’t stick at third, they have nowhere else to put him. He’s still on the way up granted, but I’d rather have a player who is already fully developed. You get no guarantee of anything with a player like Castellanos. I’d rather pay a free agent who has already proven himself than trade for Castellanos and hope for the best. All things being equal the Red Sox need a left handed or switch hitting third baseman who has proven an ability to hit at the major league level and field the position at third base. Someone else can take a chance that his rookie year was just the first step to his maturity. The Red Sox already have too many young players who have yet to peak. They don’t need another one.
Sounds like you want Headley. Maybe you mentioned that previously.
3rd base or LF. Left would actually be a nice fit for Castellanos in Fenway, but NOT Comerica.
They already have several left fielders. They don’t need another one. Even if they trade Cespedes, that still leaves Castillo, Betts and Victorino. Not to mention Holt, Nava, Craig and JBJ as backups. Even if he could actually play third base, they’re not looking for another right handed hitter. They need an established left handed or switch hitting third baseman, who is actually going to stick at the position. Not a guy who has yet to reach his potential and may wind up in left field. We have two of those already in AAA.
I’m not sure 2014 should be considered a down year for Cespedes. He’ll be 29 next season and now has three full years in the majors. The outlier seems to be his first season before MLB pitchers adjusted to him. His weakness as a hitter is his aggressiveness. He is not someone who is going to take the walk. That all said, if he’s a 110 OPS+ hitter with right handed power, then he is certainly quite valuable in today’s game, either to keep or to trade.
I’m coming at this from a Yankee fan side, but Castellanos is a good buy-low candidate for the Red Sox. I like the idea, but I suspect the Tigers like his longer-term prospects and wouldn’t trade him that easily for a one-year rental. Why wouldn’t the Red Sox give Garin Cecchini a chance? Good on-base guy. Seems more their style right now. Also wouldn’t surprise me to see the Red Sox go after Chase Headley. Excellent fielder, also patient at the plate. Depends how expensive he gets as his stock did rise after he came to the Yankees, who may very well bring him back.
Cespedes actually has below average range, one reasons why he has played primarily LF and not CF, but a remarkable throwing arm. Gunning runners down on balls of the monster might be the perfect defensive position for Cespedes.
Not seeing the range issues in the numbers. Do you have stat?
His Fangraphs “Range above average” was +7.4 (all in Oakland) and -1.0 (somewhat influenced by Fenway Park) the last two years.
Cespedes URZ Range Factor for his career: OF -13.5, CF -10.5, LF -3.0.
Must be using different data.
Here is what I get from Fangraphs:
Career UZR/150: +3.5
CF: – 18.8
LF: + 9.6
Bottom line… he is an excellent LF but a well below average CF.
My data is from Fangraphs advanced fielding stats here: fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=13110&posi…
LF: -3.0
Why would the Tigers do that?
Cespedes costs $10MM more than Castellanos, has less years of team control. I don’t think taking on Cespedes at that price makes sense really.
My last paragraph:
“Both sides would have to add another player to make the deal fair. Maybe JBJ on the Red Sox end and a prospect on the Tigers end.”
I think you might want to consider another aspect of a possible Detroit/Red Sox trade, which is the possibility that the Tigers might have thought themselves a little burned in the Iglesias trade. It’s also an overpay for Cespedes at this point, given their ages and years under control.
Not sure that the Tigers think the Red Sox were trying to hide anything. It was just bad luck. Let’s see how Iglesias does this year.
I mentioned others had to be involved to make it work.
Just wondering out loud…
Would the Yankees be willing to take a chance on a young somewhat unproven ss? Jurickson Profar was the #1 prospect in baseball a couple of years ago. Roughned Odor showed he can play 2B and Elvis is pretty much locked in a SS. As a Ranger fan, I’d kind of like to see Profar moved while he still has some value.
The Yankees view it as unacceptable failing to make the playoffs, they’ve missed the playoffs the past 2 seasons. I very much doubt that they will target an unproven talent to fill their open spots.
You’re probably right.
Agreed. It makes too much sense for the Yankees to target a young shortstop with a lot of upside. Instead, they will probably target Hanley Ramirez not realizing he’s not a shortstop.
They would take a Profar-level prospect in a heartbeat when considering the options that exist out on the open market.
I agree. Given Profar’s health, I wonder what his trade value would be?
I’m curious about that myself. I would think (even with the arm issues) that he still has some decent value.
Unless the injury is viewed as career altering, I don’t think his prospect status remains high. Yet if it’s not, then there would be little reason for the Rangers to trade him.
Is not just that he underperformed, Profar’s shoulder is really messed up. A bad right shoulder injury to a shortstop is a big deal. I would take a chance on him, but his value is extremely low.
I don’t think I’m going out on a limb by suggesting NY makes a few phone calls to Colorado trying to pry Troy Tulowitzki away. That being said, it doesn’t appear that the Rockies have any intention of dealing him. I believe they fully believe they can compete with a healthy roster and MAYBE some pitching help.
I doubt any team short of maybe the Cardinals or Cubs have the trade chips to pick up Tulo, and that would pretty much require the entire farm and a possible big leaguer or two.
Very nice position that the Rockies are in… 🙂
Markakis is going nowhere. To project otherwise is only national media making up a story that is not there. He wants to stay, the O’s want him to stay, he loves the community, the community loves him, the ownership loves him, he likes the ownership, his wife does not want to even think about moving, and Nick responds positively to Adam Jones philosophy — how much money is enough?
I have heard it time and time again. I will see that he is not going anywhere when he signs the contract.
Yes. Often after a player re-signs with a team it appears that their loyalty was based off of not being completely blown away by another offer. Markakis, while seeming to provide a niche as a high OBP/solid Defensive RF, doesn’t appear to be likely to top too many teams free agent lists.
The O’s will be hard pressed to find another move like they had with Cruz last year.
Junichi Tazawa wants to be a starter? Uh, that didn’t work a few years ago with someone else. Same team. Think about it.
Every pitcher is different. Taz came up through the system as a starter and was only moved to the pen because he had Tommy John surgery. There is no history of throwing problems/ control trouble like there was with Bard.
Still, I really don’t see the Sox messing with a good thing..especially when they have such a stockpile of young starters that are 1-2 years away.
He’s an okay relief pitcher, but he’s not exactly lights out. They have a ton of pitching a year out sure, but they also had a ton that fizzled this year. If they wanted to stretch him out to be a swing man I wouldn’t have a problem with that. Teams go through 8-10 starters in a season anyway, and that’s in a good year.
Maybe not “lights out” but I think he’s a fair bit better than “OK.” He’s been an above average 7th inning/setup guy for 3 years in a row now. Only things he needs to work on really are the homers and pitching in Toronto! Also, if a team stretched out every reliever that “preferred to start” there would be no bullpens.
45th in xFIP, 64th in ERA, 45th in BB/9, 60th in K/9 among relievers last year. He’s okay. Nothing spectacular to see there. He also threw 4 different pitches in 2014 and as many as 6 in 2013. No one said you should stretch out everyone that wants it, but Taz was once a very highly touted starting pitching prospect. I don’t see a problem with converting him into a long man who does a few spot starts.
Can’t see him as a starter, with his 2 pitch mix but I think he’s needed in the pen. Hard to evaluate national league starters like Latos, Leake, Niese cause never seen them to fill the SP needs. Don’t see anyone in the minors that has number 1/2 potential. It’s going to be a tough offseason for the sox.
Henry Owens
Really? He throws 90mph has mediocre off speed stuff. With the failure rate of prospects being so high, cant see this guy as a 1/2 elite SP.
He sits 92-93, touches 96. I saw Owens a handful of times behind the plate in Portland this year and watched the guns. His offspeed stuff shows above average. Very similar to what Lester looked like in 06 in Portland. He may not end up being a number 2 but the potential is there.
And Trey Ball, and Eduardo Rodriguez, and Michael Kopech. Plus they just signed arguably the top two amateur pitchers on the international market this year.