The Yankees have agreed to a minors pact with backstop Ryan Lavarnway, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (via Twitter). Further details are not yet known.
Lavarnway, 31, has seen action in seven MLB campaigns — including four with the division-rival Red Sox. Since his tenure in Boston wrapped up in disappointing fashion, the one-time top prospect has functioned as a journeyman depth piece.
That may not have been what was once hoped for, but Lavarnway has remained in demand from organizations that want a steady presence on hand in the upper minors. He only saw brief MLB action last year with the Pirates, but turned in a strong offensive season (.288/.375/.485 in 303 plate appearances) for their top affiliate.
How could the sox possibly match this move?
I guess they don’t need to match it since they blew out the cap and had perhaps the second highest payroll in major league history. Yes they bought that! Evil Empire SoxNation!
Some teams are tight and cheap some teams aren’t. Sox have had the high payroll for years and years. Long as I can remember.
Yep. Some owners want to pocket more cash from fans while convincing them payroll matters.
Highest payroll for years? Dodgers say hi.
Love this jealousy. Truth be told they are a big market club and act like one. Dodgers recently had the highest payroll but the Yankees have averaged the highest over the last ten years. Throw in the cost of Castillo and Craig which should count and Boston’s recent average cost should be even higher.
Oh? Who’s over and who’s under luxury tax?
Yep, they’ve been the Evil Empire for a very long time.
Sox spend their money like a large Market team but there’s only one evil empire LOL and that’s the Yankees. No disputing that.
“No disputing that.” But others have made salient points, so clearly there is a dispute. You may not agree, but the dispute is there.
Just because a team’s MLB payroll is not ultra high, doesn’t mean that money is going into investors’ pockets..
The franchise is an enormous multi level organization. If the lower levels are healthy, the franchise as a whole has a stable foundation. When one player is paid more than one of these lower level foundation team makes, it is absolutely detrimental to the franchise as whole.
Paying MLB players excessively high money and lower level players paltry wages promotes a “Robber Baron” type Baseball economy. The many poor serving the wants of the few rich.
Furthermore, Its foolish to pay Baseball Players the kind of money they’re being paid to PLAY Baseball. Other than playing sport. They do not invent cures or improve society. Many were already given free education. At other’s expense.
What do you have to do just to break the annual salary that exceeds the max FICA level (2018=$128.400)? A Baseball player makes $1M and that’s not enough?
Spoken like a true accountant. It’s guys like you that think it’s ok for sports tickets to longer be a business expense
One could argue they do improve society. But even with all the truth you speak, money is in getting fans to the park. Winning teams draw fans. Big name players draw fans. Fans = money
I love that Yankee fans resort to this. You have become the pre-04 Sox fans. Neat.
And the Sox have become the pre ‘18 Yankees. Now you defend the highest payroll tag along with you bought the championship…
I still havent seen any Yankee fans chanting “Red Sox Suck.” Most fans have been giving proper kudos from what i’ve seen. Sox fans, even after winning 4 times in 14 years, still chant the childish “Yankees suck”– even the day after beating an unrelated team.
Even after winning, they inexplicably have an inferiority complex.
You are right. It’s totally childish and is done by a very small percentage of the fanbase. But you have to remember that to 20-something/Millenial Sox fans the Yankees have mostly been a non-factor. They’ve seen the Sox won 4 titles while the Yankees have only won once. They don’t feel “inferior” at all. They really DO think the Yankees suck. But that’s not how everyone feels(just the under-30 crowd).
Do the Sox get any bonus points for spending about $70m on guys who barely played or weren’t even on the roster this year(Pedroia, Hanley, Panda, Rusney)? Friggin’ Cherington!
Please don’t include an injured player like Pedie. All teams have injuries. Yankees picked up Happ and Boston got Kinsler. The teams basically operate the same way now. Yankees got Stanton before the year started and the Sox got JDM. Time will tell whether Boston will regret it when JDM moves on or if as I believe NY will become saddled with the Stanton contract.
You know those salaries still count. Correct?? Maybe your GMs shouldn’t have paid trash players a lot of money.
Stanton can opt out the same way JD can. He might opt out to go to LA and the Yanks might let him,
I’m not including Pedroia because he’s injured. I’m including him because he’s dead money on a horrible contract. From ‘17-‘21 they will have paid him $71M to accomplish absolutely nothing. He’s Panda II.
Sox are in great hands. They draft/scout well, spend where need be, and they want to win more than most plain & simple. I only wish Tigers would follow suit.
Hey bob there both in the same boat as a result of Trader Dave. Neither team has anything left in their farm system. Without any other resources, he has pushed the free agent limit with bloated contracts of aging players.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE salty Yankee fan tears. Keep them coming!!!!!
The only counter would be to sign a former Yankee…..I nominate Chris Stewart
JOE MAUER!
Jake Gibbs
Don Slaught
Sluggo!
Oh noooooo!
Jesus Montero
They cant this makes the Yankees winners of AL East. Boston is gonna go from first to worst. Not just worst record in the AL or their own. Division but the entire league. Worse than Baltimore. They are gonna even break the record for consecutive losses to start a season. Losing 20 games. A 4th of them theyll lose on walk off home runs.
They’ll be so bad they’re gonna trade sale, price and JBJ.
That’s a good point Why don’t we hear from the Red Sox fans how Boston bought their championship and all this blah blah about homegrown talent. But I’m sure the comments will be equally ridiculous
I think the Red Sox had a pretty good mix… lot of the Homegrown guys and also stepped up and added free agents. Couple good trades too. Pretty good mix.
Oh, and they won the World Series this year. The champions of all of baseball.
Well, the amount they went over the cap was almost entirely attributable to the dead money going to Pablo and Hanley – free agent mistakes made by the prior GM.
Pedroia also made 15.5 and played only three games.
Of the players on the roster, Price and JD were really the only ones pulling down big free agent money. Porcello also made almost 22m, but he was a guy they traded for and then extended, so not a free agent purchase. Of course Sale and Kimbral also came in trades, at a pretty high cost in terms of prospects. But a significant part of the core is correctly portrayed as “Home grown” Betts, Bogey, JBJ, Benintendi, Devers (and Vasquez).
Let’s not forget they traded a free agent star to get sale, and their financial spending ALLOWS them to absorb mistake signings and do deals like Porcello. This is what gives them, like the Yankees, the advantage over smaller market teams.
These are the sasme criticisms Boston used to make a decade or two ago, how the Yankees would just sign guys, and release them and it didn’t hurt them, that theyd use the rest of the league as a farm system. But now that the Sox do it, suddenly its defensible.
I have no issues with it as a Yankee fan I am all for using the advantages you have. Every team is trying to buy a championship– teams like the Yanks and Sox just choose to spend more– I simply find the defensive attitudes of Sox fans after years of criticism of the same tactics ironic.
Red Sox were the best team in baseball thanks to an enormous financial advantage, end of story. Enjoy the championship. They absolutely earned it. One of the 10 best teams of the last 30 years.
Who was the free agent star they traded to get Sale? Or are we considering international prospect signings as free agents now?
And no Red Sox fan of the last 18 years should be complaining about $$$ being spent. Ever since John Henry purchased the Red Sox he has spent money.
You’re hilarious. Rusney Castillo was not your typical “international prospect.” He signed a 6 year $72M deal. That’s on par with a major league free agent.
You said “they traded a free agent star to get Sale” And then refer to Castillo’s contract, soo I think you’re a little bit confused in what you are talking about.
Sale was traded for Kopech and Moncada.
Castillo is in AAA right now, and will probably never see the MLB again.
The Sox made wise decisions this year and are still paying the price for Sandoval, inflating their overall payroll, but that’s the price of doing business. Sour grapes when in reality the Sox ran out five starters they drafted/signed and developed (Benny Biceps, JBJ, Betts the MVP, Devers, Vazquez). I mean, the Jenkees ran out Judge, Andujar, Torres (didn’t draft but he’s still a young lad) and Bird. So I’m not really sure what the real issue is? The Sox went for it and got the ring. The champions of all of baseball.
Red Sox do have a good mix of guys that came up through their system, they traded young talent to get talent and thy spent a lot of money. Nothing wrong with it, just for years lot of their fans would bring up the Yankees money when they won, so now you deal with the same thing.
Very true, but that’s an argument of ignorance by any Sox fans back when the Yankees were dominating. I always hated it because it wasn’t like the Sox were at the bottom of the payroll lists in MLB…
In 2009 the Yankees World Series Roster had TWELVE home grown players: Gardner, Jeter, Posada, Cano, Cabrera, Pettitte, Chamberlain, Rivera, Robertson, Coke, Aceves, and Hughes.
The Sox had EIGHT in 2018: Barnes, Boegartz, Devers, Benintendi, Betts, JBJ, Holt, and E-Rod.
But let’s please stop pretending like it matters are on these teams. Teams are assembled in myriad ways, and the Sox and Yankees both use their enormous financial advantages to field the best teams they can.,
In 2009 the Yankees World Series Roster had TWELVE home grown players: Gardner, Jeter, Posada, Cano, Cabrera, Pettitte, Chamberlain, Rivera, Robertson, Coke, Aceves, and Hughes.
The Sox had EIGHT in 2018: Barnes, Boegartz, Devers, Benintendi, Betts, JBJ, Holt, and E-Rod.
But let’s please stop pretending like it matters how many home grown players are on these teams. Teams are assembled in myriad ways, and the Sox and Yankees both use their enormous financial advantages to field the best teams they can.
In 2009 the Yankees World Series Roster had TWELVE home grown players: Gardner, Jeter, Posada, Cano, Cabrera, Pettitte, Chamberlain, Rivera, Robertson, C0ke, Aceves, and Hughes.
The Sox had EIGHT in 2018: Barnes, Boegartz, Devers, Benintendi, Betts, JBJ, Holt, and E-Rod.
Post that again. Three isnt enough.
It kept saying “awaiting moderation” because of Phil C-ke. Seriously. The third time I spelled it with a zero and it got through.
Don’t forget Sanchez, Gardner, Robertson, Betances and Montgomery.
You’re correct with Sanchez. My point was more along the lines up the current makeup of young starters in their starting 9.
So if history repeats itself then he will get traded to the Brewers in May. That might be why New York didnt get further because of the Krantz trade
Wondering if Romine might be part of a package in a deal with a team that needs a catcher. Larvarnway might be insurance for the back up role?
guaranteed pennant
He’s only 31? I swear he’s been in the league floating around since I was born
Ivy leaguer also. he was drafted same year future MLB catchers Tim Federowicz, Christian Vazquez and pretty sure Boston signed Dan Butler as a Non drafted FA.
I thought they had several solid catchers for years in that draft and all but Vazquez fizzled out for the most part.
Yep, cathers are easily the most volatile of prospects. It’s the hardest defensive position on the field and then adding hitting on top of it…….
That’s the truth isn’t it? Who were those 3 solid catcher’s texas had several years back? Saltalamachia, max Ramirez and can’t recall the other.. maybe they had 4? Seems like Ramirez went to the Cubs and the other the Orioles perhaps?
Taylor Teagarden
I remember that group (2007 or 2008-2012 or do) and thinking that they were all set as well.
My point is when the Yankees were winning the World Series with “homegrown talent” meter , Bernie , posada , Pettite the we pick up Clemens all the Red Sox fans were in an uproar. There goes the evil empire buying championships so why is it not an issue when Boston picks up Jdm , Moreland , Kimbrel and wins why is that not a problem now?
Sorry. Jeter
The Yankees need to have a catcher on the 40 man other besides Hygsioko, sorry If his name is miss spelled. The reason you may ask since teams carry so many pitchers, the bench is now a three man set. And you have just one catcher on the bench.
So if Sanchez can not catch until late April and some thing happens to the now evey day Catcher Romine, who will be the catcher everyday? And who will be the backup?
They need a catcher of the Kevin Plwieki type with options to call up then send down when the both Sanchez and Romine are your one and two guys. Maybe the reason for the minor league signing of Lavarnway was to have him make the team, pay him league minimum and then send him down and hope he will clear waivers and sign a new minor league deal with the Yankees.
All this arguing was started by the Yankees adding a depth piece. SMH.
Lol.
Lavarnway and Bird for Altuve and Bregman.
You heard it here first!
It’s not supposed to work that way. Catchers from the Yankees must go to the Pirates. I’m still waiting for Romine to head over there.
MLB really needs a hard salary cap to insure equality just like the other three leagues. Big market teams can just sail by the Luxury Tax with little if any consequences. Mr. Manfred make this happen or MLB will continue to become less important.
I don’t have any issues with the Sox spending a boatload of money, but even though most of their impact players right now weren’t expensive FA signings, that still doesn’t mean they don’t have a massive advantage over everyone else.
The fact that they already failed on multiple FA signings, Hanley, Sandoval, Rusney, etc, yet were still able to keep acquiring stars without batting an eye is something most other teams simply can’t or won’t do.