The Yankees have a mess on their hands as they look to assemble their 2015 roster and the presence of Alex Rodriguez complicates matters, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Bombers hope that A-Rod can contribute at third at least on a part-time basis and serve as a solid DH option. If he can do neither, they’re unlikely to cut him due to his three-year, $61MM deal. Not only would it look bad for ownership, but A-Rod needs to fully show he can’t play if there is any chance of recouping some of that money through insurance. More from the AL and NL East..
- If the Dodgers come calling for Rays GM Andrew Friedman, the opportunity will have appeal, but it’s not a given that he’d go, as Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribune writes. Friedman enjoys the challenge of competing with the Yankees and Red Sox with fewer resources and is loyal to Tampa Bay owner Stuart Sternberg. By the same token, the challenge may not motivate him the same way forever.
- Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times agrees that Friedman has a comfortable situation with the Rays. When considering his relationships with Sternberg, team president Matt Silverman, and manager Joe Maddon, Friedman has something in Tampa Bay that few other decision makers enjoy.
- Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider looks at the Nationals’ second base options for 2015. If the Nationals wants to stick with what they know, they can re-sign Asdrubal Cabrera or give Danny Espinosa another shot at earning the job. Otherwise, they’ll have to go out of house. The free agent market is rather thin at the position, especially if the Rays pick up Ben Zobrist’s $7.5MM option. However, teams like the Rangers, Diamondbacks, and Cubs are deep with middle infielders and could be potential trade partners.
- The time is now for the next wave of the Braves’ homegrown talent like Christian Bethancourt and pitchers Alex Wood, Shae Simmons, and Chasen Shreve to step up and become bigger contributors in 2015, opines Bill Ballew of Baseball America (subscription required).
$61m still owed to an old creaking guy who might, might if they are incredibly lucky be a bench player/part time third bagger, whos probably disliked by the majority of his teammates and the clubs fanbase.
Ah well, it could be worse, they could have extended Cashman for another three years, wait a minute, say what?…
Last time he played he was an above average hitter, and offense has only continued to go down since then. It mostly seems like the media that enjoys making a villain out of him, have heard great things about him working with his younger teammates.
Last time he played was 2013 though, it’ll be 2015 before he swings a bat in anger again, thats a lot of rust to acquire. Add in the natural decline hes already on due to his age and i think you’ve got the perfect recipe for the most overpaid average (at best) hitter in the league.
No doubt he does some good things with the younger guys but you cant tell me there wont be a lot of resentment, whether guys air it publically or not, towards A-Rod after this whole shameful episode.
He’ll be an average player. Overpaid? Yes. But the yankees could use an average player these days
The bad press is really A-Rod’s fault. He keeps giving the media ammunition. I guess he couldn’t follow Jeter’s example.
That being said he certainly has the incentive to come back and play well in 2015.
You can likely expect the same with Miggy, who will be making $92 million in his final 3 years. Speaking of Cashman, he didn’t re-sign A-Rod.
Oh and how many more years for JV and his $175 million contract, give or take? Better hope that 88 ERA+ isn’t a sign of bad things to come here on out.
Quite possibly the same with Miggy, but at least he’d be on the field trying to contribute, not having a year off for lying about pumping himself full of god knows what.
I also didnt say Cashman re-signed A-Rod, which if you re-read it you will see, youre obviously a Yanks fan which is fine, id be bitter at the state of that organisation too ;-)
Not bitter, just stating facts. And I wouldn’t guarantee anyone at around age 38 being on the field. We shall see.
Expect the Tigers to fall apart soon too, especially if Scherzer leaves and if JV continues to crumble. Very fortunate that they got rid of Prince.
Its not a fact that all hitters crumble post 35, see V-Mart this year, of course Miggy will likely get a natural decline but thats only human.
Scherzer may go, but even if he does that leaves a rotation of Price/Sanchez/Verlander/Porcello, still one of the best in the league, and Max, like Victor, has said strongly he wants to stay, so hopefully something gets worked out.
As for Fielder, i couldnt agree more, now the Rangers can enjoy that huge albatross around their necks.
“Its not a fact that all hitters crumble post 35”
I said he is Likely to crumble. I didn’t say he certainly will. And he will be 38 then if I”m not mistaken, not 35. And I’m not rooting against him in any way shape or form. Hopefully those ankle injuries he’s had aren’t a sign of bad things to come.
Also, if Scherzer wanted to stay, don’t you think he would have accepted that very large contract offer?
Common sense would make you think so, but you have to remember a) he probably thought another stellar season (which to be fair he has had) would net him more (it will) and b) his agent is Scott Boras, so any of his clients taking it all the way to free agency is never a surprise.
Fair enough
This will be the Tigers situation in a few years.
Sherm keeps overblowing the arod situation. The last time Arod played he had a 113 WRC+. OPS in baseball has gone down by 24 points since then. He saying they very well may be stuck with a 24 man roster? He won’t be the arod we once knew, but you don’t believe he at least has value as a hitter?
I think the yanks problem is less about what the quality of ARod’s bat than the question of where can they use him. He’s had injury troubles over the last couple of years and expecting him to be a full time third baseman is highly unlikely.
Right, which is why they are also planning on him playing 1B. I think they will try to re-sign Headley.
Realistically, the Yankees need to work around A-Rod. Re-sign Headley (if he will) and use A-Rod as the back up third baseman and rotate him in the DH slot. He’s not going to play 162 games regardless. For that matter, re-sign Headley, sign Drew (ugh), use Prado at 2nd, and use Ryan as back-up, utility infielder, etc. Beltran will split DH with A-Rod and others, and occasionally (occasionally) play field. Forget about obscessing about A-Rod
Instead of signing Drew, maybe they can put Prado at SS. Use Refsnyder or Pirela at 2B
Will Prado play good defense at SS? Likely not, but if they survived with Jeter, they can survive with Prado at SS.
Prado can’t really play ss, and if it just pushes Pirela into the lineup they should actually just get someone to play ss.
Doesn’t have to play SS full time though. I just think Drew is a waste of a roster space because he’s been as terrible as Ryan with the bat.
if the yankees can sign Headley, with Prado at second, tex at first, and a glove at shortstop, even if it’s Drew, that gives them a pretty decent fielding infield. The outfield will have Gardner/Elsbury, both good gloves. Their pitching should be reasonably good, especially if the position players can field. The hitting is going to depend on better performances and health from their existing roster. Maybe that is enough to get them into the playoffs. The aren’t a championship team, and buying one or two more players won’t make it so. Try putting solid on the field, and see what comes out. Maybe one of the kids emerge as well
What are you thoughts then on Refsnyder or Pireala?
I’d like to see one of the worked into the rotation. I am assuming that Drew, if signed, will only be here on a one year deal, and Ryan will be in his out year as well. This could also lead to a mid-season trade of one of the two of them to a team in need, and open more playing time for the kids.
Prado can be the utility guy, we dont need Drew! I’d rather have Ryan out there then an overprices Drew one year deal or not
Now that the Jeter love fest is over, there will be more print about injuries and salaries rather than winning next year.
Yankees can always sign bounce-back candidate ian stewart. He’s got a great feel for hitting and a great resume. Would be a great value signing.
How many shots is Danny Espinosa ever going to get?