After a lengthy trip through free agency, first baseman/designated hitter Chris Carter has found a new home. The Yankees announced on Thursday that they’ve signed the Sports Management Partners client to a one-year deal, confirming previous reports of the agreement. Carter will reportedly be guaranteed $3.5MM on the new contract. The deal is also reported to contain up to $500K worth of incentives; Carter will earn $100K for reaching each of 250, 300, 350, 400 and 450 plate appearances.
[RELATED: Updated Yankees Depth Chart]
New York is adding the National League’s 2016 co-leader in home runs in Carter, who swatted 41 long balls as a member of the Brewers. Despite that, Milwaukee elected to non-tender Carter in late November after it couldn’t find a taker for him via trade. Carter would have made a projected $8.1MM this year via arbitration, so the Yankees are landing him at a discounted rate after he sat on the open market for over two months.
The Yankees will be the fifth organization for the 30-year-old Carter, a 2005 White Sox draft pick who debuted with the Athletics in 2010 and has hit no fewer than 24 homers in any individual season since 2013, his first full campaign in the majors. Along with his prodigious power (he also led the NL in ISO last season), Carter provides above-average patience, having drawn walks at an 11.6 percent clip in his career.
Power and patience aside, there’s no value to be found elsewhere in Carter’s game, as he has registered strikeout percentages in the low-30s and contact rates in the mid-60s in each of his big league seasons. Both his difficulty putting the ball in play and lack of speed have helped lead to a low batting average (.218) and underwhelming on-base percentage (.314) in 2,645 PAs. In the field, Carter has accounted for minus-19 Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-15.5 Ultimate Zone Rating in 3,400-plus innings at first base.
Despite his defensive issues, Carter seems likely to be a prominent part of the Yankees’ equation at first base, as fellow free agent pickup Matt Holliday is set to be their primary designated hitter. The right-handed-hitting Carter is clearly a more established option than likely starter Greg Bird, a lefty-swinger who could platoon with Carter. And it remains to be seen how Bird will bounce back after missing all of last season because of a shoulder injury. The Yankees also have another homegrown first baseman in righty Tyler Austin, but he has a pair of minor league options remaining and could head to the Triple-A level now that Carter’s in the fold.
Although Carter’s deal is only for a single year, the Yankees can actually control him through the 2018 season if they want. Carter, after all, still has another season of arbitration eligibility remaining. For now, he’ll join catcher Gary Sanchez, Holliday, Bird and outfielder Aaron Judge as the Bombers’ best power threats.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale first reported the agreement (Twitter links). FanRag’s Jon Heyman added financial details.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
No!!!!
WTF Rays what were you waiting for OMG
He’s trash, they can easily find someone better for cheap.
$3 mil is kind of cheap nowadays
I’m sorry, but he’s trash. He hit 41 homers and has a big clubhouse presence. Right handed power just is kinda undervalued this year
Not* sorry
Extremely cheap, but that wasn’t my point. Rays can find a better player than Carter for a similar contract. Missing out on a <1fWAR player isn't some sort of disaster for Tampa.
He also was a 1 WAR player, who struck out a ton, clogged the bases and played terrible defense.
How do you know he’s a good clubhouse presence? Lol. And who cares about homeruns when you literally can’t do anything else. Players who are consistently less than 1 WAR are trash in my book.
Which, if you think about it, is really mind-boggling.
Near replacement level. He has to bomb over 40 HR’s to even approach 1 win. And now he’s gonna take AB’s away from much better hitters in BIrd and Holliday.
Weird move.
His defense is what makes him a near replacement level player, offensively Carter has been average or good from 2012-2016 posting a 116WRC+ in that time.
Meanwhile someone like Kendrys Morales who signed for much more has put up a 113WRC+ from 2012-2016.
Also if you look at how Carter is likely going to be used vs LHP, he’s posted a 125WRC+ vs southpaws since 2012 which is an .827OPS. He’s a fine player if you can get over the strikeouts and if you can shield him from the field he’ll give you value.
Who are they going to get that’s better and cheaper? I mean actual available FAs, because unless I’m missing something, there’s not a lot of options, and 1 year/3 million is hardly a risky signing. What are the Rays waiting for, or looking for?
Who are you going to get for less than 10 million a year that is 30 and hit 41 homers prior season? Way worth the chance for pennies n the dollar.
Who’s going to be better, for less than $3mil?
who?
I love how everyone ignored your stats and keep bringing up his war. I love analytics and advanced metrics but you still just can’t look at one stat and think it tells the whole story. I wouldn’t call Carter great or even good but he’s still good enough to land a spot on a ml roster
That was for @jaysfan1994
Lol… I never said they could get somebody “cheaper” but I knew people would still comment that. I said they could get someone better for cheap, not “cheaper”. Pedro Alvarez and Byung Ho Park come to mind. People really need to work on their reading comprehension.
Rols1026 you clearly know nothing
While it’s clear he probably had few options, Carter may preferred playing in NY to joining the Rays. Small-market teams don’t always miss out on free agents because of how well their own GMs are doing their jobs.
Lol gotta love the typical trolls with the “you know nothing comments.” Supply zero substance or evidence themselves just personal attacks. How, may I ask, do I “know nothing”?
“Lol. And who cares about homeruns when you literally can’t do anything else.”
He also walks a ton.
Walking a ton doesn’t matter when you still produce a below average OBP cause he bite like .210
You trash on Carter for his low average/OBP, and then suggest Byung Ho Park as a “better option for cheap”. Are you just going to ignore Park’s significantly-worse .191/.275/.409 slash line?
rols1026 you’re calling me a troll, yet you are the one attacking fellow commentors in this thread and obviously seem to have some personal vendetta against Carter. What’s wrong with you man? Seriously, can I help you somehow?
Because that was Park’s first year in the major leagues? He has at least some intriguing upside whereas we know exactly what Carter can do.
Lol you really are pathetic Slimjones, nice troll job. If you could point out where I am “personally attacking commenters” (other than you) that would be much appreciated. But, no, you’ll just continue to make useless points like the typical troll. How many posts will it take you before you actually make any sort of decent counter arguement?
I like how you say he’s trash then follow it up with two examples that would say he’s not trash lol
What?
Totally agreed
Waited a few days for things to die down and people /fans to look at the Carter deal for what it’s worth. Last year we got Aaron Hicks. He was supposed to be the answer against left handed pitching. He became a rally killer. When he wasn’t striking out he was hitting into double plays. Let’s sort things out at Spring Training. I remember Gary Sanchez was supposed to be the back up to McCann but Romine won the job during spring training. Gary then came back to be Yogi reincarnated. Reysnyder got beat out at Spring Training as well. Joe G. won manager of the year with kids in Miami. He can handle the kids it’s resting the high priced vets I never understood. Injuries and intangibles have a way of working themselves out. Chris Carter is a good signing if you consider we paid one guy $24 million last year to bat .200 and hit a dozen home runs. Tex is gone and now we have HOLIDAY, CARTER, BIRD, AUSTIN, SANCHEZ, HICKS, JUDGE, and still have money left over. If Austin tones his skills at first and third sobeit but let’s enjoy Spring Training boys and see what happens.
And as far as the Rays – “Go Rays and take the Lightening with you!”
Cheap – by NYY standards – acquisition with great power.
I would’ve preferred that money being used on a pitcher, but hey, why not Carter?
Hard to disagree since there aren’t many arms out there.
I would rather had seen the Rays go after Napoli. At least he can hold a glove occasionally. The Rays could us a RH bat, but i would prefer one with some better bat on ball skills and can do something besides just DH.
This must be a bad sign for Bird. Perhaps he’s not ready to play.
Yeah, Bird was awful in the AFL, Tebow-level awful, so there might be some concern from the Yankees that he’s not ready.
Yanks could sign Pavin Smith 1B (Virginia) in this years draft! Dude is a lefty masher!
You two should be happy not upset
He’s kinda useless since Birdman’s returning + we have Tyler Austin
This is insurance if Bird doesn’t bounce back right away. If Bird is healthy. the Yanks can trade or release Carter with his relatively cheap contract.
The Rays should of got him
So true. I really don’t know what the Rays are doing this offseason. They had a bad offense to start with, and then trading away Forsythe. And now watching as all these players, including the cheap guys, get signed somewhere else. The Rays have potential, but they need to shore up some holes, and Carter was a good cheap option to add some power to the team.
Def lowers Birds fantasy value
Good depth signing. Obviously doesn’t move the needle at all, but could be a nice platoon split with Bird.
But they have Holiday
And Austin.
Austin is the only loser here, Holliday won’t lose ABs. That was my initial reaction too though. Still, Austin isn’t proven and though he needs more ABs, it gives them flexibility. Can definitely see a contender needing a platoon type for the playoff run if the Yanks fall out which is likely. Might be able to flip him for future (admittedly not very much) value.
Just to add on, he cost $3M. If it’s not working for whatever reason (there could be plenty of them) it doesn’t hurt to cut bait and move on. Fit isn’t perfect but it’s a low risk mild reward type situation.
I’ve a feeling that Austin Tyler might be traded now that Carter has been acquired. Or maybe the Yankees are planning to utilize Tyler in RF and keep Aaron Judge for another year in the minors, because he looked lost in the majors last year at the plate. 200 strikeouts a year, each by Carter and Judge does not look attractive for the Yankees. So maybe that’s how the Yankees are thinking. Replace Judge with Carter for home run power from the right side. Also, maybe they are thinking of a trade for a starting pitcher and will include Judge among others, in the deal. All I know that by acquiring Carter, it does not make any sense keeping another strikeout monster like Judge in the same lineup. The Yankees will most likely play Bird against righties and Carter against lefties at First Base, and then DH Carter. On the day that Carter plays 1B, Halliday will DH and he’ll probably also be used in the outfield (RF & Lf) against lefties and bench Gardner or Austin Tyler. Girardi likes veteran players and also, mixing and matching. I myself, would’ve preferred that the Yankees had stuck to their original plan to go with the youngsters, but I am sure that Girardi had influence in this latest move. In my opinion, the Yankees would’ve been better off, hiring a manager that preferred the prospects over the veterans. I hope that I am wrong, but I sense another frustrating year for Yankees fans. Of course, if they make a trade for a guy like Quintana, I might change my mind.
3 Mil for a 1 WAR player that hits alot of bombs?
Ok.
$3 million for 20-25 homers in 80 games. Love it
Unrealistic nice try
Very realistic try again.
25 homers in 80 games puts him at 50 for a full season. Not “very” realistic but doable for a guy who hits more homers than all the other three kinds combined. He still blows imo
But 20 puts him at 40 for a full season, which is very realistic as it just happened.
^^ thank you.
It may be realistic in Yankee stadium
$3 million for 0.4 WAR and a bunch of strikeouts.
The price is actually about right. And they can dump him any time they want (and probably will). Unless they have a lot of injuries, Carter won’t end the season on the Yanks.
Yes!!!
Good signing
Agree
Why block Tyler Austin…? Carter doesn’t move the needle one bit.
Austin has experience at 3B in the minors, maybe he can get some AB’s there
Market robbed carter
That is incorrect. Carter’s lack of talent robbed Carter.
Yankees got a good deal
1/$3 is fine for Carter but considering this move blocks Austin, why bother?
It doesn’t block him. It’s a platoon split. He is there if Austin struggles. They already touched on this. Plus, the Yankees want to get cheaper and control his service time
It’s a platoon split between Carter and Bird, not Austin. Austin will now go back to AAA.
Yeah! Who needs a 40 home run guy who also walks 12% of the time?
Because he blocks the young kids who deserve a chance and they aren’t gonna contend anyways. That’s why
Because that 40 homer 12% Walk guy barely approaches 1 fWAR in his best seasons?
That’s because fWAR includes defense which he isn’t any good at. He’d make a great DH.
You still lose defensive value for being a DH… Go figure out how fWAR works.
He is an above average hitter. They signed him to hit. Whats with the hate?
The one season that a team used Carter properly as a near full time DH was Houston in 2014. He had 2.0 fWAR and rWAR that season.
He is the all time leader in career K%. He doesn’t really hit the ball very often
The Yankees have to play a DH, so they’re not losing any kind of defensive value by having one. Makes no sense to cite the fact that fWAR applies a negative defense score. That has no bearing on his actual offensive production for the Yankees.
Why???. Let Bird and Austin play. Not sure on this since Holiday is full time DH. Money’s not bad at all though
Completely agree. 1/3 is nothing for the Yanks but why not play the kids?
Because it’s the Yankees
This has to mean a trade is coming next. Unless Carter settles for a bench role.
He pretty much was going to have to settle for a bench/platoon role at this point no matter where he signed. As shown by the amount he’s getting paid, the market for his services was really down.
Maybe Gardner trade move Holliday to short rf with hicks late gate defensive replacement and judge in Lf with carter at DH
Darn – I wish the Jays had signed that donkey.
We already have one in Smoak lol.
Cut Smoak, sign Carter for $3-mil. Not much of a financial commitment. It’s 3 million bucks. That’s peanuts in today’s MLB.
But yes – Smoak is also a donkey haha. Not a very good one though.
This Carter deal and the sub-10mil 1 Year deal for Napoli cements in the Jays as beyond idiotic for giving Morales 3/33. Prob could have had him for like 1/8-9 or less
Can’t believe how poorly they read the market
Well yeah. The Edwin signing cemented that. But the Jays still should’ve signed Carter even after having signed Morales if they could have had him for $3-million – and it appears that they could have. Cut Smoak or send him to upstate New York. Have Morales at DH and use Carter/Pearce at 1B.
Excellent big power bat in a DH friendly surroundings for little money.
Go go, Yankees!
This signing doesn’t make since at all
Sense*
“since” what ?
While I’m a little confused by the move, this might be an insurance policy for Holliday, or maybe Greg Bird is still hurt. Either way this could be a big bat traded at the deadline for more prospects.
No one gonna want Carter at the deadline. Did you see his market his offseason?
He’s a good HR pinch hitter though. Fills a bench role.
True, but the deadline can be way different, depending on how injuries and the like shake things out…
I thought the same thing about Beltran last year. Rangers needed a full time DH and paid for it. Carter’s arbitration was in the $8 million range, and the Yankees got him for a fraction of that. A team friendly contract and a contender desperate for power like the Rangers last year means decent prospects for the Yankees.
No it doesn’t. Any team could have had Carter for ~3mil but chose not to. Why would they all of a sudden want him at the deadline?
Clearly you don’t understand how the trade deadline works.
Clearly is right, think of a guy like Abad who netted a minor league contract and an invite to ST, twins trade him to the Red sox at the deadline, typical supply and demand situation
The Twins got Pat Light for Abad and just DFA him.
Even if they don’t trade him, $3 million to the Yankees is nothing. Tyler Austin came up out of necessity, not because he was ready. Let him continue to develop. There’s no commitment.
Wow Slimjones92….
You’re always so negative.
This thread you said ….”You clearly know nothing.” And “clearly you know nothing about the trade deadline.”
Way to contribute….
How about you comment about baseball. Nothing else.
Think you can do that?
Or share your wealth of knowledge maybe……just participate??
Lol, you’re an idiot
Lol. You’re a troll.
Everyone knows it.
Multiple, MULTIPLE people have commented on it on this site.
I doubt you have any knowledge of how the game works in any way, facet or form.
Prove me wrong….
Please enlighten us you KING OF 4TH GRADE LEVEL INSULTS.
I challenge you. Say something worth typing or insightful or stay off this forum.
You sir are THE IDIOT and you make Everyone else’s life around you more insufferable and intolerable just because of your mere existence and comments on this site.
GO AWAY.
I’m tired of reading your crappy insults inbetween the rest of everyone else’s valid ideas and comments.
*mic drop*
He is a good fit for them but it blocks Austin and Bird unless they want Bird to rehab more or Austin develop more. Especially since they signed Holliday already, it should be interesting to see how this all works out
Well Austin and RefSnyder should be traded because they ain’t making team! No room now! Makes zero sense to me.
Down 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs who on the bench did Joe have to turn to that could have a legitimate chance to win the game with 1 swing?
Bases loaded
How many times has that exact situation happened for the Yanks in the last 10 years? Maybe a handful? Teams aren’t making signing decisions based on scenarios that are EXTREMELY unlikely to happen.
Well as a better and way more common example , he could have just said your team is down 1 run with 2 out (or a tie game with 1 out) , who do you go to on your bench to tie/win the game.
*tie game with 2 out (either or I guess)
True ty
Certainly not the guy who strikes out 200 times a year.
The question is who is pitching?
Classic Yankee move.
The Yankees added close to 55-60 HR’s this offseason & only spent a total of 13 million to do it. Slide Holliday & Carter behind Sanchez and it’s looking like a powerful middle of the order for NYY.
50/50 Carter even makes the team. This is pure injury insurance, for Bird (who is coming back from a serious boo-boo) and Holliday (who is always nursing something).
That’s not true. He got a Major League deal. He will make the team.
Expecting at leat 100 dingers.
*at least
Good low budget deal. We could be looking at a Mark Trumbo type case here. Moving into Yankee stadium means more homeruns. Perfect fit for Carter who is almost an exclusive fly ball hitter. If he plays all year, with maybe 500 PAs, I’d Day at least 40 homeruns can be expected.
Miller park was already a hitter friendly park
Yankee Stadium is smaller.
shorter at the foul polls but bigger in the alleys. what he gains in the corner he losses in the alleys. kind of a wash. look up spray chart if you would like to see yourself
Also moving into Fenway, Camden Yards and Rogers Centre. Also Red Sox has 4 LH starters. Good low cost deal.
Not thrilled with the signing but…. can possibly be used as trade bait in July . A lot of contenders looking for bats that can hit the long ball down the stretch n a pennant race. Who knows? I agree to key the kids play.
Really glad the Rays passed. Wasn’t the correct type of player for us. Napoli was. Pretty upset about that but we seem more about spending money on a good reliever at the moment
Gardner to be traded next?
Perhaps.
I could see the Yanks paying down the contract and getting a decent pitching prospect in return. Leadoff hitter, high obp, gold glove caliber defense… not bad
Lol. Called this. Classic Yankee
Excellent. He will smash numerous ding dongs onto 1-90.
Swing and a miss….
I’m indifferent about this move. Blocks Austin a bit but Bird was gonna get the bulk of playing time too. Could be a powerful lineup with Sanchez, Holiday, Judge, and Carter. Also Bird/Castro/Didi have shown pop too. Guess we’ll see where all the dominos fall
Steal of the year. Hit 41 homers last year, 30 yrs old and knows he has to produce or off to Japan and out of MLB. One year at $3 million and if he plays as he needs to for baseball life Cashman will have a slugger before trade deadline than he could get a small haul for. If he doesn’t produce he cost them a tenth of Arod who couldn’t hit for a couple of years and this guy is 10 years younger. Totally worth the risk of $3 million for what he could payoff.
Good pick up for the Yanks why do they get off so cheap.
Bird and Austin are not sure things. You know what you are going to get from Carter. If not dump him. No loss.
After thinking about it there’s no such thing as a bad one year contract, maybe he can DH while Holliday plays left for Gardner, since he always fades down the stretch
Yankee power line-up Ellsbury, Didi, Sanchez, Holliday, Davis, Bird, Judge, Castro, and Headley
Davis?
About time he gets signed…. I’m still not sure why turbo gets paid 14 million but carter gets 3…. I know trumbo is the better player but they aren’t very different considering their defense and offense. Both terrible with the glove, can jack homers, but have a terrible OBP. Nice cheap signing for the yankees.
*trumbo
That’s incredibly cheap – a win on the open market is worth around 8 million and he’s about a one-win player. That might go up if he can put down a fielder’s glove for the season. It would seem that the Yanks have real concern about Bird’s health after his awful AFL, and Judge was truly terrible last season too. Carter is the ultimate TTO player- walks, Ks and strikes out, but he’s useful to an AL team that can slot him in at DH.
davidcoonce74
Why do you say Bird had an awful AFL?
He’s coming off a substantive injury, just trying to get his timing and swing back.
Also, Ian Happ of the Cubs batted 21 points higher than him at .236 and he’s the Cubs #1 prospect. You make it sound as if Bird is a bust….would you consider Happ a bust also.?
And, who told you the Yanks have real concerns about Bird’s health…haven’t read it in any blogs or sites….do you have a pipeline to him health providers?
If you’re not a fan, stop with the comments…..you don;’t know what your talking about.
And as far a Judge is concerned, how about giving the guy a chance. He had less than 100 ab bats last year and you’re throwing him under the bus. Might be a nice surprise with a little hope, which you obviously don’t have.
He said he had a terrible AFL because he had a terrible AFL and holy strawmans. Your response is hilariously homery though. Thanks for the lolz.
Bird had an ops of 700 Happ had a 778. So yeah, he had a bad fall too statistically, but a 78 point difference is quite a bit.
That said, those are small sample sizes and its more telling to read what people who were there said about the players.
Well, missing a whole season then coming back as poorly as Bird did probably has to raise some eyebrows. Might even make a team take a chance on a DH-only slugger to a fA contract.
Judge might still turn into something, but when you strike out in 50% of your at-bats you may not be ready for the majors. And your team may sign a DH-only slugger to hedge their bets against a flameout.
He’s about a 1 win player if he plays a full season, but I don’t think the reps are there for him to play that much with Bird, Holliday and Austin. If he plays 80 games and a .5 win is what he contributes the ~3.5 mil is right about what a half win costs on the open market.
Somehow, when Yanks acquire an original White Sox signee, it works out pretty well for them. Chris Young, Boone Logan, and Brandon McCarthy all had successful tenures with the Yanks, then regressed when let go.
as a jays fan i do not like this. we have a fairly weak bullpen as is that looks like it will be favouring balls in play vs K/9….
You guys are talking about bird and Austin but how about the Yankees getting 61 homers on 16 million dls instead on paying $16 million dls on 1 player in Carlos Beltran and he is a 40 years old. Niiiiiice!!
Good job Yankees!!!!
I don’t think this is a great fit for Carter himself, but he seems to be happy to just not have to go to Japan.
Power is being SEVERELY undervalued.
Pedro Alvarez is basically a left handed Chris Carter. A one tool player with nothing to offer but raw power.
But, go ask Andrew McCutchen what happens when there is NO power in the lineup behind you.
As bad a player as Pedro was, the threat that he would hit the ball out if he could get a bat on it forced teams to pitch Cutch more honestly.
That doesn’t show up in his fWAR, but it’s of real value to a team.
Well, we just learned the cost of one dimensional power….and it’s not particularly high. At this price, the Yankees can, if they like, play a little with service time. If’s he’s decent, and the Yankees are developing but not contending, he might get traded for a little something later on. And if he stinks, they can drop him. I don’t love this signing but it’s not a bad one.
I think this is a smart sign. They are signing him for bench bat money. He could be good off the bench as a lefty masher. He is a platoon candidate/insurance at first. He is insurance for an older DH. And the money is low enough they can keep him on the bench in favor of youngsters if they earn it.
Good move by Cashman, this guy can fill the role of Davis, Straw,and Fielder. He could even hit more homers in the AL Eaast.. This gives the option of 4 or 5 mashers playing at the same time. He didn’t strike out as much as Chris Davis last year and he hit just as many homers and he isn’t getting paid near as much as Davis or Trumbo. They both are butchers in the field. Yanks can now put a line-up out with Sanchez, Holliday, Davis, Bird, and Judge if they want!
While Chris Davis is horrendously overpaid, I don’t know where you’re getting your ideas from. K rates were almost identical between the two last year – Davis @ 32.9 percent, Carter @ 32.0. Davis is actually a plus defender at 1B – metrics and the eye test have validated that over his career, last year being no exception. The issue is when he’s playing 3B or OF. Chris Carter is an absolute butcher everywhere. Add into that, Carter is one of the worst baserunners in the game – where as Davis has consistently graded between average and very good.
While Davis and Trumbo are overpaid, and for 3mil, Carter is a good pickup…there’s a reason why Carter is only making 3mil.
Good
Somewhere tonight in Tampa Tyler Austin is crying…
And as far as all of the comments about Bird’s stats in the AFL this winter they really don’t mean anything. The guy was still trying to build shoulder strength and he hadn’t seen any real pitching in a year. And most people aren’t mentally ready to go at it with 100% muscle effort after a major injury. Bird will be just fine and hit his .265 and 25 HR’s this season.
Kyle Schwarber might disagree with you. I think there’s a real possibility that Bird’s shoulder is more problematic than we think. The Yankees certainly know more about it than we do. Shoulders are tricky, and sometimes players never come back from them.
The idea that this guy is coming off a major injury, so ignore his struggles is questionable. Then turning around right after mentioning that and saying that he will be just fine is hypocritical. So he has injury problems ignore his stats, but then ignore the injury cuz he’ll end up just fine? That doesn’t really seem consistent.
Good sign, if your objective is to be one of six or seven teams contending for a wild card.
Bad sign if your objective is to develop your next young core to contend for a championship over a 5 to 6 yr. window.
I would label this Yankee team: “:Stuck in the middle again”.
Austin is a utility guy. Not franchise altering. And he still remains as depth for future.
Not really, one year deal, I think Cashman hit the nail on the head! Yanks and Girardi could use this power line-up. Ellsbury cf, Didi ss, Sanchez c, Holliday, lf, Davis dh, Bird,1b, Judge rf, Castro 2b, Headley 3b and mid year you can put Frazier in cf.
I feel sorry for Carter he’s worth at least 10 million not everybody in the majors can hit 40 homers
Yes, a much better deal for the Yanks than Trumbo or Davis, or Morales and Bautista. I can see the Yanks moving Gardner at the deadline now to either the Dodgers or Giants whoever isn’t in first place.
Power for cheap underrated signing especially in Yankee stadium
yeah the ddodgers are in desperate need of another outfielder, especially one who hits left handed. Sometimes it helps if you think about what the other teams need and not just what would benefit the yankees…
Ugh, no he’s not. He’s barely above replacement player who can barely play one position. Probably half the teams in baseball have a AAAA guy who could produce similar value. Yanks might well cut him by Opening Day if everyone looks healthy.
This guy hits all of his homers against 4th or 5th starters or off of a reliever that goes back and forth from triple A. Look at his home runs from last year and try telling me that I am wrong
You are wrong.
Hmm, that was easier than I thought.
Good one
Maybe you should back up what you said with something relevant
You’re wrong. Here are a few that I picked that show you need to dig deeper.
1st HR of the season was off of Jeff Smardzija in a 2-2 game.
Hit a 2R shot off of Steven Matz in a 0-0 game.
Had a 2R and 3R HR off of Sean Manaea in a game that the Brewers won 5-4.
Took Kyle Hendricks deep in a 0-0 game.
Jerad Eickhoff gave one up in a 1-0 game.
Broke up a 0-0 tie with one off of Anthony DeSclafani.
His last HR of the season was off of Adam Ottavino in the 10th inning of a 3-3 game.
Every one of these SP finished their seasons with >2.5 rWAR and Ottavino was the Rockies closer at the end of the season.
I read somewhere he has a negative Exit Velocity. Is that true?
Wrong. Among the best. 92.5.
Cash said he wants NYY to get younger and more athletic and Carter and Holiday certainly fit that mold 🙂
Love the signing but still don’t understand the Holliday signing…
In hindsight, signing Holliday was a costly mistake. They could have gotten Napoli for less if they waited. Napoli could sub at first.
Napoli would have wanted an extra $3M from the Yankees as compensation for cutting his hair and shaving his beard.
Haha. That’s true. But if they had waited, maybe they could have signed a rh hitter less than what they shelled out for Holliday. I like Holliday as a solid pickup but paid a big premium.
I would have rather spent the money on a left handed rp.
I think Billy Butler may have been a better option if they wanted a right handed bench bat.
Was just going to post this. Would much rather have butler than carter.
Rockies, cmon….3.2 and could have moved Desmond off first and dealt for pitching.
Those using WAR as some sort of justification of a player’s value obviously have never played baseball. Joe Panik had 4.0 War in 2015 ahead of Felix Hernandez at 2.9 WAR. WAR Bumgarner had 2.7 WAR(Those stats were as of August 11 2015) Using WAR as a justification for either bagging/criticising or praising a player is an incorrect science, furthermore BR and also Fangraphs both use a different algorithm.
WAR is not a statistic, and the replacement player that it constitutes does not exist, it’s mythical. Stats will always beat WAR, WAR maybe a useful tool for some, but those using it as some be all and end all to an argument about a player’s value, well that’s just completely flawed.
“Those using WAR as some sort of justification of a player’s value obviously have never played baseball. ”
you win dumbest comment of the thread!
You clearly didn’t read all the comments. Besides, he made a few decent points. War is not the end all, it’s a conversation starter.
He has value in what he had stated WAR was created by those that never played at the major or minor league level it is a tool that has been applied now from most GM’s just to gauge their player values to the team. WAR is an arbitrary number that utilizes different metrics to gauge a players value.
The Carter signing at $3 million is not a bad signing for any team those that state he only hits HR’s and nothing else tends to forget that a pitcher that knows a power hitter is on deck will pitch differently than to a hitter he knows wont hurt him that is the value Carter brings. He will take at bats away from tyler but who is certaim that it could be judge sent down and a platoon of hicks and tyler then? Before anyone argues HR’s has no value which is a stat which helps your team score runs which is the name of the game is which team can score more runs whether its stealing a base, single, double, triple or a walk all the above are still considered a stat at the end of the day and WAR is a good stat to use but lets not make it seem like that is the bible of baseball now to measure a player.
@ChesterArthur
No, I’d say your comment is the dumbest..
Actually having played the game counts for a lot more than someone that uses WAR as some sort of be all and end all to an opinion concerning a player’s value in an attempt to justify a position on that player’s ability or value.
I played the game and also worked in it professionally. I use WAR as a basic comparison when discussing players by similar position. Comparing batting vs. Pitching war doesn’t make much sense. It’s a catch all tool basically….but no not the latched down way to entirely decipher value. Joe Panik at 4.0 WAR playing up the middle precisely indicates why SF is always tough….they get extreme value at a position of scarcity.
WAR is a sorting tool and cannot be used to compare starting pitchers and starting position players; a good position player is almost always going to provide more value than a good starting pitcher simply because they play more.
And what does “playing baseball” have to do with anything? We get to have opinions, do math or read about baseball even if, like me, you topped out on your high school team. That absurd appeal-to-authority argument is just a lousy argument.
@davidcconce It isn’t a lousy argument at all. All I ever hear on these boards from most commenter’s is x player has a better WAR than Y player as some sort of justification for paying salary and that X player must be better than Y player because of their war. That is a ludicrous argument, and I’ve never heard so much rubbish in all my life. Carter had 41 home runs and 90+ rbi’s last year, and some people here are saying he isn’t worth a risk at $3 million, give me a break. WAR is a tool, it is not a statistic, end of story. If you can’t argue what I have actually said then don’t bother with the personal attacks.
I didn’t compare a position player-starting pitcher-War did.
I personally thought Carter was getting 8m…why teams werent on him at 3 is a,little crazy to me. Everyone has value…even if that 40 HR has flaws…there’s value. Its when that player gets overpaid thats the issue. Carter is zero risk at 3
David, if you look at baseball players as commentators and look at those that swear by WAR like the Brian Kinney’s of the world (MLB Network) there are variables and other factors that just can’t be measured by an arbitrary stat like WAR and thus those that never played don’t understand sometimes a true value a ballplayer brings to the table. It can mean a ballplayer taking extra pitches after his pitcher just had a gruesome inning, or fouling off pitch after pitch to keep an inning alive and hiking up the pitcher’s pitch count, or could be a ballplayer that those on the team come for advice those are variables that WAR just can’t determine the players value to the team.
So in hindsight those that have played can see the value in that ballplayer that otherwise WAR can’t because now everyone wants to judge a ballplayer by how high his WAR is rather than what that ballplayer can actually bring to the table so if you played baseball you would know there are a lot of things that comes into preparation that a stat cant define you.
I’m not sure if you don’t understand WAR or the definition of arbitrary, but WAR is not arbitrary as you’ve now said incorrectly in two different posts.
To say WAR can’t judge the value of a player because it doesn’t measure his intangibles is just a ridicules argument. Intangibles by definition can’t be measured. By your reasoning there is no way for any of us to know how to properly value a player since I’m sure no one here has watched all 30 teams play 162 games and then remember every play and game detail. We use WAR as a way to compare what is measurable about a players overall contributions in different aspects of the game. It might not be perfect, but it’s the best tool we have publicly available. I’m sure some teams proprietary versions of WAR are better, but since we aren’t privy to that information we have to use what we have. The good news is as statcast gives us more information about player defense the publicly available defensive stats will become more refined.
He will do some damage in the AL east. Probably another 40 HR s season. If he can increase his OBP just a bit it could be a great pick up for the new york yankees
Despite the fact that he talks like he has a broken jaw, I really like Chris and think the Yanks got a steal
The way the balls go out of the AL East stadiums he will easily hit 40HR again if given enough playing time. NYY, BOS , BAL and even TOR the ball jumps out of those parks..
Stats are stats. WAR is WAR. All are important/interesting in evaluating players.
Actually playing the game for many years DOES bring an important perspective that a ‘never’ player (despite being an excellent statistician) cannot ever appreciate and cannot add those factors into their opinions.
It’s so much more than ‘real’ numbers.
I wouldn’t personally sign this guy for my team (if I had one), but 3 mil these days is a cheap price to pay for this type of gamble. I give the Yanks a thumbs up on this
I’m sure him and his agent were conservatory looking at a few years at about 8-12 mil per? Either way he’s disappointed at 3 mil but nice value gamble on yanks part, Red Sox have 4 lefties to face
How is this post still going?
He might not even make the roster out of spring training
Yeah….troll along
Coming from a Brewer fan. He was great! As long as you’re in it just for the fireworks and not the W’s.
Nice to see he went to the Yankees. Good luck Carter. Another bobmer for the bobmers.
I’ve a feeling that Austin Tyler might be traded now that Carter has been acquired. Or maybe the Yankees are planning to utilize Tyler in RF and keep Aaron Judge for another year in the minors, because he looked lost in the majors last year at the plate. 200 strikeouts a year, each by Carter and Judge does not look attractive for the Yankees. So maybe that’s how the Yankees are thinking. Replace Judge with Carter for home run power from the right side. Also, maybe they are thinking of a trade for a starting pitcher and will include Judge among others, in the deal. All I know that by acquiring Carter, it does not make any sense keeping another strikeout monster like Judge in the same lineup. The Yankees will most likely play Bird against righties and Carter against lefties at First Base, and then DH Carter. On the day that Carter plays 1B, Halliday will DH and he’ll probably also be used in the outfield (RF & Lf) against lefties and bench Gardner or Austin Tyler. Girardi likes veteran players and also, mixing and matching. I myself, would’ve preferred that the Yankees had stuck to their original plan to go with the youngsters, but I am sure that Girardi had influence in this latest move. In my opinion, the Yankees would’ve been better off, hiring a manager that preferred the prospects over the veterans. I hope that I am wrong, but I sense another frustrating year for Yankees fans. Of course, if they make a trade for a guy like Quintana, I might change my mind.
I’m not so sure this hurts the youth movement at all since it’s a one year contact, and I think your hunch about Judge needing a bit more seasoning might be right. I think this was a value depth play. Yanks seem to love their prospects and don’t want to package and trade the highly ranked ones for pitching. I think they have retooled for fire sale #2 so they can acquire more prospects that they can then flip for a guy like Quintana. At only 3 mil Carter will have trade value at the deadline as will Holiday, Gardner, and Headley. Joining them on the block will be Castro, Pineda, CC, and if he waived his no trade clause Tanaka. This will be an interesting season.
Only thing I don’t like about this signing is blocking Austins 25 man spot
Just wait and be patient … ST barely started & I’m sure more cards are, about to/need to, be shuffled….
Yanks are always interesting !
If Tyler does his thing the will not block him. If Tyler does not own up his roster spot and Carter can show some value with the bat and glove then things will be interesting.
^n this will not block him.
sorry
I hope you are right there’s been countless times where we thought the same of refsynder for the past two years and inside they got Stephen drew back this could be a similar situation. Chris carter could be Tyler austins “Stephen drew”