The Yankees’ top relief target this winter is their own former closer Aroldis Chapman, but they have made contact with other stars at various positions as well, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag Sports writes. The Yankees have also been in touch with closer Kenley Jansen (although they prefer Chapman, since he’s pitched for them before and since signing him wouldn’t cost them a draft pick) as well as hitters Carlos Beltran, Edwin Encarnacion, Yoenis Cespedes, Jose Bautista, as has been previously reported. They’ve also likely spoken to representatives for starters Rich Hill (in whom top Yankees exec Brian Cashman has stated interest) and Jason Hammel (about whom the Yankees were previously known to be gathering information).
Encarnacion, Heyman writes, could be a high priority for the Yankees, although he also reports that the team has spoken with Cespedes’ agent up to five times already. As has been previously noted, the Yankees are involved in Beltran’s market, along with the Astros, Red Sox and perhaps Rangers.
Heyman also adds a few new names to the mix: those of Dexter Fowler, Matt Holliday, Mike Napoli and Brandon Moss. The Yankees currently have Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury and Aaron Judge in the outfield and Tyler Austin at DH, but Judge and Austin are inexperienced, and the Yankees could trade Gardner to clear playing time and payroll space for an impact bat.
Heyman cites Napoli, who is coming off a solid .239/.335/.465 season in Cleveland, as one option who could be particularly intriguing. Napoli or Holliday could help the Yankees at DH, while Fowler would likely play the outfield, and Moss could help in the outfield or first base, or at DH. Either way, it’s unclear to this point whether the Yankees are looking for one player for outfield and DH or two.
I’m not really interested in Fowler, Moss or Bautista. If we move Gardner I wouldn’t mind Cespedes in left and Beltran at DH. Still concerned though about leaving Bird alone at first in case he has some real difficulties coming back after shoulder surgery. I honestly think the safer bet would be to still trade Gardner, sign Edwin as some insurance and bring in Chapman.
I’m not as concerned with the starting pitching as most and Rich Hill for me seems like a…eh signing. I wouldn’t be moved either way because he could be really good or really injured.
I’m also tired of hearing about the Yankees saving money for the 2018 offseason. They have so much money coming off the books after next year that they can afford to spend a little. Especially if the Luxury Tax takes a nice boost. So please, stop with that.
Very intelligent post John. You seem to know quite a lot about the Yankees needs and good potential targets that are available. I pretty much agree with what you have to say. They need a bullpen arm in either Chapman, Jansen, or Melancon. Beltran is the best DH option available, but I worry about the Yankees depth at first base making me question if they should potentially target Edwin or possibly even Napoli (if he’s available on a one year deal). I also would like to see the Yankees make a run at Cespedes if they trade Gardner (which they should for pitching prospects).
The only difference I have with your opinion is I believe they should sign Rich Hill. I agree with you that it could be a meh signing, but the Yankees might lose three veteran starters after the 2017 season (Tanaka, CC, and Pineda). Ideally they could sign Hill this offseason and Arrieta next offseason to fill two of those spots. Hopefully by then Severino could possibly reform to his 2015 self allowing the Yankees to fill that third spot with an in house option. The fourth and fifth spots can be filled with in house options like Cessa, Mitchell, or Green for quite some time.
How old is Rich Hill ?
He is 36 years old, which is why he is only asking for three years.
And yes I know it sounds ridiculous saying “only three years” for a 36 year old pitcher, but that really speaks volumes about how good he was last year.
And how weak the starting pitching market is and will continue to be. Teams are starting to lock up all their top young pitching. The Yankees need to hit the lottery with a few of their draft picks- i doubt they will be able to win without young controllable top starters in their rotation . Instead going the route of 4-5 high priced aged arms that could turn into a disaster.
Be careful with Rich Hill. He’s been injury prone his entire 12 year career. I think he has under 600 ip in those 12 years. And will be 37 by opening day.
Really? EE as insurance? What happens if Bird succeeds? Austin also plays 1st. The main piece the Yankees got for Miller was Frazier who most predict will move into LF. Where would he play if they signed Cespedes? Yes, Tanaka might opt out. Does that mean the Yankees can’t resign him? Kapriellian and Sheffield will be ready in a year or two. Dillion Tate was drafted 4th overall in 2015 for a reason. That will be 3 potential TOR arms in the next 2-3 years. So, tell me why the Yankees should clog the rotation with long term deals for 30+ year old players this year and next? Also, in the last couple of years the Yankees have had 2 other 39 year old players that had really good seasons. They were Jeter and ARod. You should look back on their follow up 40 year old seasons before you clamor for Beltran to be resigned. The Yankees have made it clear that they are having a youth movement. Throwing money at 30 something free agents is not going to happen. Look for the Yankees to sign Chapman (which I think is unnecessary since they have Betances who just needs to be worked a little less so he will last the season.) With Warren and Clippard as more than adequate setup men. They will probably trade a few prospects like Mateo or perhaps Didi for a young starter (With Torres coming up fast Didi is expendable.) Castro can hold down SS until Torres is ready and Refsnyder or another fill in can handle 2nd. A trade I would like to see would be Gardner for Justin Upton. Upton is more of a typical corner OF and he should mash in the AL East. Plus, he has an opt out after next year. He will still be young and will command another big contract if he opts out. That would open up LF for Frazier in 2017. If they do sign Chapman I hope they trade Betances to a team like the Cubs. He should be able to easily command a package of Happ, Cease or Underwood and Clifton. The addition of Betances would solidify the only weak area the Cubs have and with his additional years of control would leave more money for the Cubs to pay free agent TOR arms. The Yankees future is very bright right now. Going back in time and spending $250 million on free agents doesn’t make sense. Just my two cents.
How are we going back in time when we are only spending money, not blocking any spots and aren’t trading prospects.
Sign Edwin for $125M over 5 years (who does this block?)
Sign Chapman for $90M over 5 years (who does this block?)
Sign Hill for $48M over 3 years (put one of the young guys in Triple-A for now)
I don’t like the Hill signing really, but if we need a starter to help give us some innings I would actually look at Hammel.
I’ve also thought about trading Betances this offseason to see what the value is, but it might be better to hold onto him into July. If we’re out of it again, he would get much more in return than he would right now. Injury is always a risk, but I would like to maximize value.
The Yankees want to get under the luxury tax threshold going into the 2018 offseason so that they can spend freely without tax. I understand that. My point is that the Yankees have PLENTY of money and can easily spend a bit this offseason for a big bat to protect Sanchez and the other guys. Not to mention the loss of a veteran presence from the position-player side. Beltran would be the ultimate mentor, but I’m not a fan of bringing him back honestly. Edwin is a quiet guy, but he is supposedly very good with his teammates and could be a good guy to latch onto some of the Latin guys on our roster.
IMO
Agreed. I’m ok signing Chapman and Beltran. Doesn’t block the kids, Betances can return as a set up man, and doesn’t cost them any draft picks. And if Beltran is signed for 1 year they can trade him again in July if they fall out of it.
Think the Yankees might be interested in JD Martinez?
I think this offseason for the Yankees will be the polar opposite of last. Not much in trades (in terms of acquiring MLB players) and more of free agent signings. How much of those signings will depends on how many other veterans they can move.
JD is a solid player, but I don’t think the Yankees want to move any prospects.
Rather the Yankees just sign Beltran and let the kids play but if I had to choose I guess wouldn’t mind cespedes out of everyone. Idk why I see many Yankee fans wanting Napoli, hes an automatic out against a good RH pitcher.
There’s no in house option that would be a good option for the DH position. Giving AB’s to guys like Tyler Austin or Rob Refsynder is useless when they aren’t expected to be more than bench players. Bird, Sanchez, and Judge do not need to be DH’ing with the exception of Sanchez getting one DH game or so a week. A stop gap option like Beltran makes sense as it won’t cost the Yankees much on a one year deal, plus they can still expect decent production out of him (especially since he would be a full time DH).
Yankee are more interested now that McCann was traded, they have money to spend to upgrade the team. If they trade Gardner and Headley that would give them another 25 million to spend. I think either way, they will drive up the price on all of the top free agents this winter. Yankee interest is a free agents best friend.
Pedro Alvarez? Lefty DH, 29 years old. Could come cheap for 1 year. Could probably be a last resort if they are unable to land their targets.
I hope he goes back to Baltimore.
I’m not sure why Heyman is bothering to quote Napoli’s OPS against the Yankees. He’s not going to be playing against them, if he’s playing for them. Maybe, just maybe, his numbers at Yankee stadium might be worth touching on, but..even then, small sample sizes.
Yankees moved to get younger and more athletic last year. They a should continue in that direction, and not tie themselves in to expensive contracts for older, limited guys.
Couldn’t agree more.
Agreed. I wish they could trade Ellsbury somehow. Aside from his mediocre play, his ridiculous contract makes him unmovable.
what about gold glove mitch moreland for 1st base?
I would wait till next year to spend money on hitters. I would like Chapman, trade for Sale. If we are in the hunt, then trade for an impact bat!
You want to trade for Sale, which would cost far more than we received in either Chapman or Miller trade, AND trade for an impact bat?! That would completely derail all the work Cashman has done.
It’s just hard for me to picture Napoli as a Yankee.
Yeah. I’d rather get Pearce anyway since he can play more positions. Then you could also get Beltran for one year.
Nothing solid about Napoli batting .239.
There’s much more than batting average out there. In fact, probably the worst possible way to evaluate a player is batting average.
Exactly. Since when is. 239 a good batting average?
There are other stats besides batting average
I thought the Yankees finally smartened up and would re-group with young talent. Now they will load up and overpay for veterans. Too bad wanted to see if Cashman could actually build a team instead of throwing money around. And in the end this free agent group won’t bring a championship.
Nothing has happened yet. Every agent wants the Yankee’s whispered about as a potential suitor for their guys because that drives up the price.
It seems like every year the Yankees are connected to everyone and their mothers. You can’t make too much of it but they are SO close to stocking a roster with cost controlled players it would be a shame to see payroll tied up with aging mediocrity. Its the perpetual fear of advocates for rebuilding.
I wonder, given their minor league system, when the time would be to invest in FA and high profile trade candidates?
I’d like to see all the kids play, but I understand possibly signing a Beltran or a Holliday for 1 year just in case, or as a stop gap.
It seems like every year the Yankees are connected to everyone and their mothers. You can’t make too much of it but they are SO close to stocking a roster with cost controlled players it would be a shame to see payroll tied up with aging mediocrity. Its the perpetual fear of advocates for rebuilding.
I wonder, given their minor league system, when the time would be to invest in FA and high profile trade candidates
It seems like every year the Yankees are connected to everyone and their mothers. You can’t make too much of it but they are SO close to stocking a roster with cost controlled players it would be a shame to see payroll tied up with aging mediocrity. Its the perpetual fear of advocates for rebuilding.
I wonder, given their minor league system, when the time would be to invest in FA and high profile trade candidates?
They haven’t signed anyone yet…
Sign Cespedes 5yrs/ $130mil
Sign Melancon 4yrs/$52mil
Sign Hill 3yrs/$45mil
Sign Beltran 1yr/$15mil
Trade Gardner for a few mid level pitching prospects.
Offseason complete.
So much for the youth movement there…
A lot of that seems light to i feel malancon if he gets 4 years still 4 for 60 given no qo and all of the teams in need of closers/ 8th inning guy’s. Beltran I think gets at least 1 for 20 or 2 for 35 given positional versatility and lack of a long term deal. Even hill I feel like gets at least 50 mill given lack of free agent sp. I could argue cespedes given all whose involved and again lack of a guaranteed free agent power hitting outfielder I feel like that gets it done if there’s an opt-out or something that piques his interest more like he loves new York or something.
Really padam? Name one high level prospect who’s getting blocked by any of those moves. Bird, Judge, Severino, Sanchez, and Cessa still have clear starting roles on the team. Frazier is at the very least one year away and can take Ellsburys spot when he’s good and ready. We might be losing three starting pitchers after this season, so signing Hill doesn’t block any young starter in the least. Cespedes is everything you could ever hope for a prospect to be and as I mentioned, there are other outfield spots open. Melancon doesn’t block any bullpen prospect in the least. Lastly, who is Beltran blocking at the DH position? Especially on a one year contract?
Ellsburys spot so what’s going to be done with the final 3 years and 60 + million? as far as blocking someone having a left fielder and center fielder locked up long term means your only outfield spot available is right(they should continue to expel Sanchez at dh from time to time) so there goes all your outfield prospects but it is the Yankees so they’re probably traded anyways right? I mean it is the Yankees.
The Yankees haven’t been trading away their prospects in recent years. That may change now since they have a rich farm system to select from, but this team refused to part with Severino in 2015. They have held onto guys like Bird and Judge, etc. Look at their trades the past several years – they simply are not giving up any prospects of high significance (They did with Montero – but that was to acquire Pineda, hardly a big prospect-for-a-veteran type of move)
That said, there are only 25 (soon to be 26!) roster spots. You can only play one player per position. Eventually, the Yankees WILL deal from their vast array of prospects because you simply cannot use them all and keeping them all just wouldn’t be smart. It is all about striking at the right moment – I don’t think that moment is coming this winter. But Cashman has proven me wrong many times.
And as far as cespedes being everything you want in a prospect you’re right the question is will he still be that good when those prospects are ready?
It was sarcasm because Yankee fans expect to flip it around and spend immediately if they gave it two years 2016-17 and really went for it next year it’d be smarter than out bidding a terrible market. Teams that at least went two years went and had something to show for it rather than a team that flip flops and never knows what they’re doing. (Not saying don’t sign anyone but I’d stay away from long term deals like cespedes allow another draft and trade deadline you saw what they did with the last one)
Just because Ellsbury is under contract doesn’t mean he’s going to be on the team until then. Maybe the Yankees trade him away while eating most of the remaining salary (like the Angels did with Wells when no one wanted him). Maybe the Yankees flat out cut him the last few years (Like they did with A Rod). Cespedes is one of the best outfielders in the game, and will still be in his prime for a majority of his potential five year deal. You don’t pass on a guy like Cespedes because you’re waiting for a prospect who might not even pan out. If Frazier is legit, the Yankees will make room for him, even if it means flat out cutting or trading Ellsbury for nothing. I can assure you the Yankees will NOT keep all of their outfield prospects, with or without Cespedes. The Yankees are waiting for guys like Rutherford to peak in his trade value so they can potentially trade him for big league talent, or prospects that hold equal value.
So your solution to every problem is cut everyone essentially when they lose value? As far as cespedes being one of the best outfielders in the game he’s had 2 seasons with an obp over 350 the last one when he had no protection and his first one. he’s had 2 years with over 30 Homer’s his contract years. He’s also had 2 seasons hitting 260 or below with his low walk rate. Not to mention alot of met fans speak about his route taking and stupid mosques. Hardly one of the best outfielders in the game. Also Generally speaking they usually consider your age 28-32 your prime years. So you get that one year. But as a red sox fan please get him keep making those same Yankee mistakes that you have been.
Take a look at Cespedes numbers when he is not in a contract year and then tell me you still want him for 5 years. Which would block one of Frazier (top 25 prospect in baseball) Fowler (Said to be a younger Gardner) and Rutherford (who analysts have called the best player to come out of this year’s draft based on pro performance after being drafted) Those are just my picks for the Yankees future OF. They have so many OF prospects that it could be any number of possibilities. Rutherford and Frazier are probably the closest to being can’t miss though. Cespedes will not be enough for the Yankees to win a world series. Add Cespedes, Hill, and a full year of Beltran to last years team. Now put them against the Cubs. No chance the Yankees win a best of 7 against them. The Yankees are so stacked on the farm and Torres is looking like a super prospect they might not even need to sign more than filler in 2018. Although I would like to see Machado join the Yankees. I was glad to see the Orioles give Davis $150+ million. That pretty much guaranteed Machado would be leaving. So, have a little patience and be happy if the Yankees chase a wild card the next year or two. I for one am hoping when they finally have an almost entirely home grown roster they lower ticket prices so I can go to more than two games a year.
Wow, happy dudey, I guess you don’t read the NY papers, especially regarding Cespedes.
The Mets, their fans, and their announcers constantly had to make excuses for his bad routes to balls, playing triples into doubles or long singles because he didn’t hustle, and playing Golf when he was hurt and couldn’t play…..he kind of made up his own rules as he went.
Didn’t we hear all about the hustle stuff with Cano and he’s a better player than Cespedes?
No doubt that when he is motivated he can be a game changer but not worth the headaches in my opinion.
Ugh that would be awful and put them in a bad cap/luxury tax situation. And would lose all their draft picks.
As a diehard Yankee fan I hate to say this but I think they should stand pat on any big free agent signings (ala last off season) and continue to stock up their farm system.
Hopefully they can move a few more players off the books – Gardner should be moved – Headley(doubt he gathers any interest).
Sign Chapman / no draft pick and he will be elite for a while.
Stand pat on the offensive side for 1 more season- yea it’ll be a long season but our goal is to get where the Sox/Cubs are.
Top young controllable talent on the 25 man.
Maybe sign a few veteran offensive guys who can help in the clubhouse hit a few home runs and be a bridge to better days
– Napoli, etc…
Few things to do here:. (Priorities)
1) Sign EE so he can DH and back up 1B. 3-4 year deal
2.) Sign Chapman 4-5 year deal.
3.) Trade Gardner and either sign Cespedes or include him in a massive trade for Trout that would include Gardner, Tyler Austin, Jorge Mateo (#3 prospect), Rutherford (#5) and one or two other lower ranked prospects..
Additional good moves:
4) Sign Melancon
5) Sign Jason Hammel
Starting pitching will work itself out. Line up will be unstoppable!
1. Ellsbury
2. Trout / Cespedes
3. Sanchez
4. EE
5. Bird
6. Castro
7. Didi
8. Headley
9. Judge
WOW!!!!
That Trout trade wouldn’t even entertain Eppler for 30 seconds. If you’re looking to acquire Trout (who won’t get traded btw), think your top 6-7 prospects in your system:
1. Gleyber Torres, ss
2. Clint Frazier, of
3. Blake Rutherford, of
4. Jorge Mateo, ss
5. James Kaprielian, rhp
6. Aaron Judge, of
7. Justus Sheffield, lhp
That’s basically gutting the bulk of your farm system for 1 player. No thanks!
It would probably take more than that. Eppler doesn’t want only prospects in the hypothetical-never-going-to-happen deal. He is going to want players who have actually shown they can do something in the major leagues (so, start with Sanchez. He may also still see the potential in Severino). So, it comes down to a deal like Sanchez, Severino, Torres or Frazier, Kap or Sheffield + others further down the system to get it done. These are trade scenarios that simply never happen because it is complete fantasy land. Trout is worth more to the Angels than anything a team can give up for him. However, for teams to get Trout, they will have to gut themselves a bit to the point where they will have to rebuild around him – just like the Angels are doing right now. It gets to the point where it becomes a bit circular.
They say Eppler may be better off just getting a bunch of pieces to form a new core.. I don’t agree with that – Eppler’s best move is to quickly build around the best player in the universe. Baseball is a funny game – there is nothing to say that Trout and the Angels won’t be right back in the playoff picture within a season or two.
Perhaps the most cogent explanation of the stupid quest to build a “trade scenario” for Trout, which usually involves armchair GM keeping all the good, young players and offering up veterans with 1-2 years on contract and random names from AA rosters.
A trade for a generational player like Trout would have hurt the acquiring team like hell. Said it before: Cubs would have to give up Arrieta, Bryant and Rizzo, in order to balance out years of team control (Trout is signed through 2020), equivalent WAR replacement and offsetting salaries (as Bryant gets arb increases down the road). That is the sort of package required to get Trout (who has full NTC, making all of this a pointless exercise).
So as much as Joe Fan would love to see Trout on his team, such a mythical event doesn’t happen by emptying your team’s talent wastebasket and offering that in return. Such a trade would come at the expense of both current, young MLB talent (multiple) AND the cream of the minors. No real GM would do that, for what it would do to the long-range personnel plan. For that reason, a trade for a Trout won’t happen this year, next year, even the year after that.
By batting Trout 2nd and Sanchez 3rd you have shown how little you understand about baseball. On any team in baseball Trout bats 3rd and only 3rd. A player with Sanchez’s skillset will usually bat 5th. Didi or Bird would be best suited for batting 2nd. Whomever has the hot bat at the time. Judge and his power should be 4th or 6th. Castro should be 8th. Ellsbury should bat 9th and provide a bottom-top table setup similar to what Gardner and Ellsbury used to do. Man. I really need to stop being so long winded.
The best hitter on your team should always bat second, actually. That’s the optimal lineup, with your second best hitter batting fourth.
Hopefully Bird will be able to recover from his injury. Another player to add into the Yankee mix.
Bird is pretty much recovered at this point – the biggest issue with Bird is the inevitable growing pains. We saw it happen with Conforto this year – hot down the stretch in 2015, league adjusted, not-so-good in 2016. Teams are going to have a better approach to him in 2017,. It may be a good idea to get some veteran insurance for first base – that could factor into who the Yankees sign as their primary DH (which would obviously move Beltran down the list).. They obviously like Torreyes (he was on the roster start to finish in one of the biggest shockers of the year) as a backup at 2B/SS/3B. Do they trust an Austin or a Refsnyder as a fall-back if Bird struggles, or shows he truly is not recovered from his surgery? (This brings up another point: Bird does have a history of injuries that cannot be ignored. The shoulder was just the latest issue)
Personally, I want the Yankees to basically sit out again this winter. In my opinion, what they need to be a true contender is still not within reasonable reach on the market.
That said, obviously they need to fill in roster spots. They do need a bat. I am not sure if I want it to be Beltran, but he will require the least amount of commitment (to be honest, if I am Beltran, I am going elsewhere in an attempt to secure my ring). Cespedes is a big time bat, but he isn’t a difference maker for this franchise right now. If they needed a big, veteran bat to secure their playoff position, I would say to spend whatever it takes to get a bat like his to win now and worry about the back end later. I just don’t think they are in position for that type of move at the moment.
So, I guess at the end of the day, I am very indecisive because I don’t think there really is a perfect answer here – I would take Beltran as a stop gap and hope he doesn’t fall off a cliff next year. There will always be the option of signing him and trading him again at the deadline if the team falls out of it.
As for the pitching, we all know this is a terrible market. Rich Hill is probably as safe of a bet as you can find for quality innings. It is just the AMOUNT of innings that poses the biggest problem.
On the reliever side, I would rather stay away from Chapman long term. I am not a fan of the domestic violence, and he isn’t the type of guy who is going to age gracefully – once the fastball starts to lose some zip, he is going to get hit. But I have already resigned myself to the fact that he is going to be on the squad next year
i say the Yankees should basically let 2017 play out
their is no point in going out and signing major name free agents to large contracts before being in serious contention.
2017 should be a transition where they let the kids play and make their adjustments before the 2018 season
by catcher they are set with Sanchez and romine and even more top tier prospects in the farm system
they are covered at first between bird and Austin with parmelee and co. waiting in the farm system if needed
castro should be fine at second this year but in he case of injury refsnyder and torreyes should be fine replacements
gregorious is not injury prone and he plays a lot but if need be refsnyder and toreeyes can back him up
the same goes for headley who is underapreciated and even hated because of his poor April
the outfield is covered between ellsbury gardner and hicks
before you bash me for supporting hicks, let me explain
Hicks is a player who needs regular playing time to succeed
when beltran was traded he went on a month and a half long hot streak where he batted 288 before getting injured
the reason for this is because he regained his leg kick in his swing which diminished over last season which led to his slow start to the season
if any are injured they yankees have no shortage of players in triple a including aaron judge, mason williams and co
for the rtation this is a great chance to let players like mitchel, green, cessa and severino get regular playing time and adjust to major league hiting
with pitching veterans like cc and possibly tanaka and pitching coach larry rothschild leaving next year now would be a good time for them to come up and learn from them
as far as dh is concerned you can have judge play there or sign beltran or another dh free agent to a 1 year contract
the only area where the Yankees should make a major move is their bullpen
if severino doesn’t return to his 2015 self and start he is a very reliable relif pitvher capable of going 2-3 innings with wipeout stuff
with betances, clippard, layne and warren in the bullpen, signing boone logan and one of the top relivers such as chapman jansen or melencon would put their bullpen together nicely
And to add on to my point about hicks
He was a top prospect 3 years ago
You don’t give up on a top prospect that quickly
Oh man. Hit return occasionally. Trying to decipher this wall of text is hurting my eyes.
So basically every impact player left on the market is on their radar. Looks like the Yankees are back to their old ways.
Cashman wouldn’t be doing his job if every player wasn’t on his radar. Just because you inquire about a player doesn’t mean you have interest in signing them. Worst case scenario, you drive up the price one of your competitors pays.
Napoli might be a better choice than Beltran as he can play 1B, but neither for more than 1 year. Only other signing I’d make is Chapman or Melancon. We need SP but not much there, last offseason was loaded but the stupid Ellsbury contract (and ARods) helped block that.
I think Cashman is playing games here. He’s driving up free agent prices so he can have the most money in 2018. Every time I turn around it’s a new article about another free agent. Someone needs to write an article about who the Yankees aren’t interested in. It’s the off-season and they need something to write about. What we leaned last year is this is Hals team, not Cashmans. Yes eventually Cashman got his way, but it didn’t come easy. Hal is not like his father and leaves the check book open. With that said. I think we sign Napoli for insurance on Bird. After that trade both Gardner and Headley. Sign Fowler and a Vilabuena type 3B. With pitching a concern I say no to Hill. Too old and a gamble. Play with the guys we have and see where it takes us. Chapman is pretty much in the bag. We can compete next year with the talent we have and although we will not have a Cubs or Dodgers line up we can still play. 2018 has so much potential. Some of our young guys could be ready and with the payroll coming off the books it would be smart play. Let’s see if Tanaka can stay healthy and if he can, then pay him. Give him a bonus for convincing Otani to play for us and boom there’s are 1-2 pitchers. By then I think some of our young pitchers will be ready for the 3,4, and 5 spot. I would take a mediocre year for 5 good years of competeting for a ring!!
I honestly dont see the yankees spending money this year, maybe on the bullpen but that is it. I believe they are saving the money for Harper
I like Beltran on a 1-year deal. Hill on a two-year deal. Napoli on a 1-year deal. Sign Chapman. That’s all.
I would’n’t be surprised if the Yankees go after 1B Miguel Cabrera.
1-I don’t think they like the idea of the Red Sox potentially getting him.
2-They could also get a SP from the Tigers.
The Tigers want to unload age and cost and reload with younger more cost effective players. All their veteran players are available. Other than Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez pitched better than his record the second half. The Tigers are error prone and unnecessarily extend innings. The pen ruined most of the Tiger SP’s wins.
The Yankees have Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, Tyler Austin, Aaron Judge, Greg Bird and other options to choose from to get the deal done,
Not being realistic at all. Cabrera is owed 212 Mil Guaranteed with 60 Mil in vesting options on top of that, The move would be more of a salary dump on Detroit’s part, and I would only do the swap if Detroit took Gardner and Ellsbury in the deal plus their entire salaries. The Tigers would still come out well ahead in the deal, but I would be careful since Cabrera is 33, will be 34 by season’s start, and signed through age 40 guaranteed.
Love Miguel Cabrera, but I wouldn’t touch him with a 10ft pole. Trading for him would be worse than the second A-Rod signing. Not only are you going to pay $200mm , but it’s going to cost prospects too. Sign Beltran to a 1 year deal, bring back Chapman, and sign Hill.
The first step should be trading Gardner. After that, I would prefer to try to swing a trade for J.D Martinez without giving up too much. There’s your bona fide DH. Now, LF is open after the Gardner trade. We can fill the hole by either signing Fowler or relying on a young guy like Austin or (God forbid) Aaron Hicks. I would also like to see Headley traded while he still has value. Sign Steve Pearce and run a platoon of Pearce/Torreyes. Now to address the pitching problem. Sign Rich Hill for no more than 3 years and pray he doesn’t get injured during that time. Finally, the big money deal should be to bring back Chapman at any costs. If we want to be more cost effective, sign Melancon instead. I would also look into Greg Holland and potentially bring him in on a “prove it” deal to be a bullpen piece. With these moves, I am confident we can not only compete but continue to build the farm system, advance the young players (Judge, Sanchez, Bird, etc.), and save money for the 2018-2019 binge on Harper among others. The ultimate key is that we do not get tied up in long deals with 30+ players so our great prospects do not get blocked and so we can save room and money for Harper and friends.