The Yankees have bolstered their pitching depth in a substantial way, adding veteran left-hander Gio Gonzalez. General manager Brian Cashman announced to reporters Tuesday that Gonzalez has passed his physical and reported to camp (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch). Rather stunningly, the contract is a minor league deal that reportedly comes with a $3MM base salary in the Majors and pays Gonzalez an additional $300K per start (topping out at $12MM). He can also opt out of the contract on April 20.
This outcome was hard to foresee when the market opened. While Gonzalez hardly seemed likely to break the bank, he’s an accomplished, still-useful, exceptionally durable starter. MLBTR graded him the 27th-best free agent available and predicted a two-year, $24MM contract.
As it turns out, many mid-level free-agent starters have failed to land that second promised year. And Gonzalez will still need to earn his way onto the MLB roster. Even if he makes it, he’ll be playing on a base rate of pay that lags a long list of other rotation pieces that signed this winter.
Gonzalez, 33, was long a highly valuable starter with the Athletics and Nationals. While he was often chided for inconsistency on a start-by-start basis, he was one of the steadiest hurlers in the majors in the aggregate for a lengthy span. Between 2010 and 2017, Gonzalez threw over 1,500 innings of 3.41 ERA ball, only once failing to make thirty starts in a season.
As recently as 2017, Gonzalez was capable of a sub-3.00 ERA, 200+ inning campaign. Even then, his peripherals reflected a decline in his stuff. Over the past two seasons, Gonzalez’s fastball has sat just over the 90 mph line. He still generated a 9.5% swinging-strike rate last year, right at his career average, but surrendered more hard contact and more home runs than he did in his prime.
Despite the downturn, Gonzalez remained a sturdy MLB hurler in 2018. He contributed 171 frames and ended with a 4.21 ERA. Gonzalez struggled in two postseason outings but provided the Brewers with five useful starts down the stretch after a late-season trade.
While his earning upside was always going to be limited by his age and reduced repertoire, it’s hard to fathom this outcome. It’s certainly possible that other teams offered guaranteed deals with less overall earning capacity. Even that’s unclear at this point, though.
The Yankees, it seems, don’t necessarily even plan to utilize Gonzalez to fill in while Luis Severino works back from his injury issues. Per the New York Post’s Joel Sherman (Twitter links), the club seems inclined to rely upon a trio of young hurlers — Luis Cessa, Domingo German, Jonathan Loaisiga — before turning to Gonzalez. That could certainly change before the opt-out date. But it’s notable that the deeply established southpaw will evidently be working just to obtain an MLB opportunity, particularly with so many teams preparing to rely upon untested pitchers at the outset of the season.
It also remains to be seen just when Gonzalez will even be ready to join the Yankees’ rotation. Manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday that Gonzalez made 80 pitches in a simulated game just yesterday and could appear in the Yankees’ Grapefruit League game on March 23 (Twitter link via Hoch). He still isn’t likely to be ready for the season opener, though, which point to an early April debut, at the earliest.
Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported the sides were close to a deal (via Twitter). Sherman reported that it was a minor league pact (Twitter link), while The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal added financial details (via Twitter). Heyman added further details regarding the contract’s heavy slate of incentives (via Twitter).
Good.
Here’s hoping for a ERA of 6.00 on the season for Gio.
Here’s hoping Harper hitless everytime plays NYY
Like in Spring Training 🙂
You mad?
Because Spring Training stats translate to the season so well.
Harper will probably be worth what he got paid.
Gio will probably be worth what he got paid.
The market generally knows what’s up.
Harper will hit 2 home runs and single handedly win the the game every time he plays the Spankees.
Spankees? That’s original.
If you are looking for original comments, you are in the wrong place, especially concerning the Yankees.
You say good (I respect that) but this is still bargain hunting, relatively speaking, to add to a rotation that has its question marks. Not sure this move resolves those questions.
Yanks signed him as depth for the back of the rotation. If their was an ace worth spending on let me know. Doesn’t make sense to sign Keuchel now if his price is as prohibitive as it must be for him to still be a FA.
If Gio came up and started dates missed from whomever and gave the Yanks 6 IP per and an era in the low 4’s then his signing at $3 mil would be worth it. No ones is expecting him to pitch like a good version of Severino. He;s being asked to be a good #4/#5.
For example, a healthy CC giving you 5/6 innings of a sub 4 era and 150 IP is a GREAT #5. Please compare who the #5s are nowadays. There’s a reason why so many teams are considering deploying “openers” instead of starters. There are more bullpen arms than can give you an excellent 1-3 innings than starters that can give you quality 6 innings or more.
I agree. I don’t understand why he sat that long. Maybe baseball ownership is colluding against Boras.
add that depth
Yup good signing
Really good signing by the Yankees. Boras is now the king of AAA signings. Surprised to see Gio sign for this little. Would have thought more teams would have been in at this price. Also would love to know what Boras was originally asking for. Seems like he misplayed the market again.
I honestly don’t think we see Gio pitch much for the Yanks this year. They have better options.
Exactly. He signed with the Yankees so he can attend extended spring training and get ready for the season. He will be there if they have injuries to begin the season. But more than likely he will opt out and will be starting for another team on April 20th.
What???
Misplayed the market how? WHat other offers were out there that you know about? The player, in the end, signs the contract. Boras and his other agents are advisers who are paid to advise. Until we know what other deals were on the table – and why Gonzalez turned them down – that’s all speculation.
Lol
Misplayed the market as he has done the last two years. Look at the pitchers signed early in the offseason. Look at the players who have signed extensions. Then look at the plethora of Boras clients who have signed well below what was projected, or for significantly less than what they previously turned down.
Call it speculation if you want, but when it’s happened to one Boras client after another I call it a trend. One in which the players Boras represents have gotten hosed for two off seasons in a row.
But feel free to ignore the obvious.
I find it extremely hard to believe there wasn’t a Better offer in FA for Gio at some point this offseason. Are you telling me Matt Moore deserved a major league deal? I mean this is an absolute bargain.
You might be correct. Maybe ownership is annoyed at him and are collectively making his job harder. I wanted the Mets to trade Harvey in 2015 while they could still get something for him.
We can y
Use em for sure
Jon bomb
Boras’ puppet
chanses are he’s ready before CC comes back and Loisiaga solidifies a rotation spot? (or the 20th, for that matter)
He’ll be fine. I doubt he’s been sitting on his couch doing nothing.
Incredible. To think Alex Cobb got 4 years and $57 million dollars just last offseason, and now Gio Gonzalez is getting a minor league deal.
Collusion against Boras? Or just bad free agent strategy? Gio enters off season asking 3/24 and signs in November?
People need to quit blaming the agents. They work for the players. Not the other way around.
Agents advise the players and with Boras’s past successes, players would listen to him. Teams used to overpay a lot. Now they are not. If Boras advised Gio to hold out for big money and Gio liked that strategy, shame on Gio. Players do tend to overvalue themselves. That plays to Boras’s stategy
There are a lot of head scratching signings of Boras clients. If you remove the players he represents the offseason wasn’t all that out of whack. So either the owners are tired of his games, or Boras hasn’t adjusted to the new CBA and the rise of analytics. One way or another Boras has lost his touch.
And when players are paying an agent 6% commission they absolutely better be listening to their agent. If one or two players that Boras represents were getting screwed it would be one thing. Yet his entire roster of players got hammered. Yes Harper pulled down crazy money. But Boras got him three years more than what the Nationals originally offered at a fraction of what anyone thought his annual salary would be.
No matter how you look at it, something is amiss with the Boras corporation.
Yes. And Trout signed for $100mil more and a year less. Though everyone outside of Philly knows Trout is 3x better in almost every department.
That Cobb deal was also horrible.
Yes, maybe the owners and their GM’s finally are sidestepping their habit of overpaying for mediocre performance….the Cobb signing was highway robbery given his performance.
Have you watched Gio pitch the last few years?
Sure, the man had some excellent years. But he sure looked watched up in 2018. Yankees have to be absolutely desperate for starting pitching.
“Watched up?!”
I don’t think so.
White Sox should sign him to major league roster for 1-2 years.
Are they gonna throw a fit over Gonzalez not taking their “so much better” offer when they only offered him $1m if he made the Major League roster but a $10m vesting option that vests if he wins the pitching triple crown?
Have you seen him pitch recently?
Well, he is not “watched up”!
“watched up” is the new “veteran presents”? 😉
they aren’t depending on him being an ace dude. they brought him in for depth and to fill the back of the rotation. if he can give them a low 4 era and 6 innings a game then he’s valuable in that sense. let’s stop acting as if all pitchers are #1s and #2s.
Yeah well, it’s guys like Cobb that get people worried about guys like Gio to begin with. Maybe guys like Cobb , Darvish, Hughes, Vargas, and so on and so forth, actually pitch remotely well.after there free agent contracts it’d help there fellow pitchers coming to the market after them. Even Arrieta for that matter . Wei Yin Chen , Ian Kennedy, Jordan Zimmermann..etc
It’s just as risky signing some of these older guys to bigger , and longer contracts then going with a couple big armed farm kids with upside nowadays, even with the vets experience . Seems there just s hit or miss.
My message to the 2nd tier/aging reliable 2nd tier with tick lesser stuff , would be to start getting a good pct of ur brethren pitchers to actually earn there contracts even remotely, and it’ll start trending back to guys like Chen, Hughes,. Gio, etc getting trusted long(ish) contracts for good money again .
Great move for yanks by the way.
Don’t forget Pelfrey!
$8m = 1 PELF…which (was) the standard for mediocre but somehow still pitching MLB’er. Mike Pelfrey’s biggest contribution to MLB.
Is it racismz??????????
Im okay with it on a minor league deal, I’d prefer them to see if their younger arms can do the job before committing to a vet like Gio. Crazy that it is a minor league deal though
Don’t let those short fences get to you, Geo.
Gio
Another great move by Cashman, Gio will be a good surprise and a jolt in the arm for the Yanks.
Awful signing.
a pitcher who threw 170 inning of 4ish era on a non guaranteed minor league deal is an “awful” signing? you lack perspective sir.
He’s done dummy
He’s depth dummy, ever hear of it?
Yankees starting pitching is below average. Happ is their best. Severino and Paxton blow hot-and-cold. Tanaka is what he is – a very good #4 and a so-so #3 being paid primo dollars. CC is good for 5 innings a start. The four can’t-miss prospects look out of place against major league hitters.
The bullpen will be on fumes before the stretch run commences.
Their starting pitching cost them a WS berth in 2018. They should have spent less time and effort playing around with Machado this winter, and gone after another starting pitcher. Now their hope is that their two 1B’s have good seasons, so they can package one with a top prospect or two (and not Frazier – no one wants him) to get a decent starter during the season from a non-contender.
They need a new pitching coach, and a manager that understands pitching and how to run a game.
Rays will beat them out in 2019.
Vandals first sentence proves he doesn’t watch baseball
lol
I saw him with the Nationals and Brewers last year. Painful with the Nationals, Brewers spotted him well to hide his shortcomings. Neither team had any interest in bringing him back.
He may have heard of it, though.
What are you talking about? The Yankees had a dinner with Machado and didn’t do much wooing aside from that. Their rotation is better than last year. Paxton is an ace and extremely consistent (albeit when healthy). Severino shows improvement each season and most teams would love Tanaka as a 3. Sure a ton has to go right but they’re a better team who won 100+ games last season.
And I’m not sure anyone would take Bird or Voit plus a prospect for a top end SP. You talkin crazy.
Paxton is going from a pitchers park to a hitters park. Severino is also great when he’s hot.
Bird or Voit and a prospect will be used to get 2018 Mike Fiers model – a veteran having a surprisingly good season that can come in, eat innings, and keep the team in the game.
Saying Happ is better than Severino and Paxton because he is more consistent isn’t our only factor here.
The Tigers would unload Jordan Zimmerman for less.
Please stop posting. You aren’t any good at it.
I’ve forgotten more baseball then you’ll ever know.
I stopped watching the Yankees around early July. They had the hitting. The SP was disintegrating, Rothschild (sp?) was going in circles with the youngsters and projects (I expect Gray to get back on track in Cincinnati), and Boone had no clue – he even apologized shortly after the season about his handling of the staff.
What have you remembered, exactly?
It sure can’t have been the last decade.
Don’t feed the troll.
Hmmmm….so I guess you would’ve kept watching them if they’d have won 100 games? Wait. They did. Geez man.
you have no idea of what your’re saying. . ..at all. aside from the injury to Severino the yankees still have one the better rotations in the AL. research the numbers from last year. they talked 6th in rotation.
When? Before Sonny showed he was inept in the bronx or CC showed he was the 5 inning wonder who is hit hard 3rd time through the lineup?
Or was it a prognostication that the NYYs were 6th in pitching (and included the bullpen)?
I get defending your guys. Really, I do. But as a whole that’s not a top rotation. Even AFTER the paxton trade, AND while Sonny was still in tow , they failed to crack the top 10.
Here’s one article not by some hometown fanboys:
google.com/amp/s/www.mlb.com/amp/news/top-10-mlb-s…
Just about every SP in baseball gets hit harder their 3rd and 4th time through lineups. That’s why the opener concept works. It limits backend starting pitchers from facing an opponent’s best hitters a 3rd time. Looking at the Braves best SP last season, here were Folty’s stats as the game gets deeper.
Folty 1st & 2nd time: .540 OPS against
Folty 3rd & 4th time: .770 OPS against
Folty pitches 1-75: .551 OPS against
Folty pitches 76-100: .773 OPS against
This was for a guy who had an excellent season and finished top 8 in CYA voting. If you look at #4 & 5 SP, the trends are the same, but with even worse results.
True, but the dropout for CC was abysmally poor, and it wasn’t just pitches 75-100 that tanked.
I don’t think the Yankees SPs are so bad. I expect by season’s end that possibly three young SP will be constantly taking starts from veterans. Goo will be long gone by then.
Really Oakland, San Diego, Tampa, Angels, Houston? You couldn’t beat a minor league deal?
Maybe the Yankees are willing to offer more of a chance to make their rotation, but yeah not sure
No way he’s got an easier path to make a rotation than in Oakland, which is also a pitcher friendly park and Gio knows it.. no idea why the A’s were asleep on this one. Our best starters right now are Mike Fiers and Marco Estrada. The rest of the people fighting for spots? Chris Bassitt, Brett Anderson, Aaron Brooks, Jesus Luzardo, and Daniel Mengden.
A’s should have been able to beat this deal and given him way more of an opportunity.
The A’s certainly could have beaten this deal but it is clear they didn’t want to.
Wouldn’t mind having him on the Rangers. Especially at this price.
3 million, that’s it? It is absolutely inexcusable and pathetic that the Angels aren’t in on him.
Exactly, absolutely pathetic that the Angels are being so cheap. They need pitching and they can’t pay a decent (probably better than most of our starting staff) pitcher 3 mill. Come on now!
You get one pick, which Angel starter do you bench for Gio? You’re going to guess wrong.
They already had one starter go down with an injury
So you want to bench Heaney? Then you know things no one else knows. He’s not going to miss much time. I haven’t looked at a schedule, but how many times will they need a 5th starter by the time Heaney comes back?Who do you want to bench? I would rather have the pitcher you would pick to bench.
Dude you are such a Homer at some point you have to accept reality. Skaggs/Heaney are going to be gone maybe the first whole month. And the rest of the guys are u health risks. We could def use more depth.
So you are going to put him in the pen until someone gets hurt. Hard to imagine him not jumping at that opportunity. So to sign him, the Angels will have to drop someone off the 40 man roster and send Barria to the minor leagues. Don’t become a major league GM because you don’t know a lot.
He’d rather pitch in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton than in Oakland?
Seems like the A’s could really use him. Should have given him that Kyler money.
I doubt he’ll ever see AAA. Maybe just extended spring training. But I guess the Yankees will have some rotation depth when Severino comes back so who knows.
Dude is good for around thirty starts and two war every year and got a minor league deal, what a joke. The Mets have mediocrity and Matz as the fourth starter and dreck like Vargas as the fifth starter and never ever thought of signing Gio, geez.
Watch Matz have a good year and you stop calling him mediocre. Fair-weather to the core.
Lolwut? That makes no sense
Matz has high-end potential; the injury bug has been holding him back.
So many lefty starters. Kinda neat!
RIP to Severino’s shoulder.
More like, RIP to Tony Clark’s career as head of MLBPA.
(And I love Tony, but there is always a fall guy…)
Who loves the head of a players’ association?
the real question is who doesn’t
That’s all you got from that?
Well, with this particular guy I’d say 30 team owners and the league office. He’s like their assistant negotiator.
Xabail
“More like, RIP to Tony Clark’s career as head of MLBPA.”
He was extended through 2022 so this is a bit premature.
They should’ve never hired an ex=player. It was always attorneys who were the heads and for good reason. Tony has ALWAYS been in over his head.
Jeez…i know he isnt really needed by the Mets..but damn..Gio at #5…his career stats at CitiField..would push Vargas to 6th starter/long man.
On a minor league deal? The Mets should have pounced on this..
Oh well…the team is much improved so i guess the pessimist in me finds every little shoulda, coulda and woulda’s
His career stats at Citi are so good because he always gets to face the Mets there.
wv… ouch ! = )
Truth stings.
bahahaha. its funny because it’s true
Nice bargain deal. Please include team option.
Update: No team option. (April 20 opt out date.)
Here are some Gio Gonzalez fun facts for your trouble:
1) “Gio is one of only five pitchers with at least 25 starts, every season this decade, along w/ Scherzer, Greinke, Lester and Porcello, according to ESPN Stats & Info.”
“Gio spent 7 seasons with Nats, ranked first in franchise: wins (86), WAR (21.4) and strikeouts (1,215).” espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/26299526/source-yankees-lh…
I like that first fact. Can’t teach staying healthy. I wouldn’t think there was 5 pitchers in the past 5 years with at least 25 starts, let alone the decade. I also thought Greinke had an injury history…. Guess I didn’t pay much attention.to him
Update:…. nah to easy…
It’s situations like this where you start to realize that yes, there are serious issues with free agency the last two years. This guy deserves better, unless something is up that other teams are aware of and the general public is not. ANY team should be in on this guy at 3m.
Be awesome if the only chance at the 25 man roster is as a long reliever. Would mean Sevy’s injury didn’t linger and German/Cessa are formidable as a spot starter. Anyways, I’ve always liked Gio..,,, Shame it isn’t the Gio of 4 years ago. Never a bad idea to have depth.
The Gio from 2 years ago would be the ace of most staffs today.
What the hell Angels?! $3mil? Pathetic Artie!
I’ll ask you the same question. Who do you drop from the 40 man roster and what do you do with Barria? I would rather have Barria, and Gio would not sign with the Angels without a guaranteed rotation spot. You’d rather have Gio than Barria? I’d bet you are wrong. And Gio will be ready about the same time Heaney is ready.
He had a 6.4 WAR in 2017, this is bizarre he couldn’t get a MLB deal. Sucks for him.
But he wasn’t very good in 2016 and 2018. And his indicators in 2017 clearly show the performance was unsustainable. Here is the problem, most good teams don’t have much of a need for an innings eater at the back of their rotation and most bad teams would rather use the spot to develop young pitching. The game has changed.
But as a counterpoint, you can’t ignore his 2017 when he had the 2nd highest bWAR in the NL and if he hits a groove like he was in with Milwaukee, he’d be great trade bait on a non-contender..
But one contender should have gotten him, I really wish Oakland got him instead of Estrada, big mistake from them in particular. Padres too.
I think he fits for some teams, the Mets for example, but not for many. Good deal for the Yankees, he has a month to pitch and show something. There is not a lot of demand for his set of skills.
Yankees have nothing to lose here and I am another one disappointed by the Mets not jumping in on this. Mark my word, one or more of the Mets pitchers will be out for a substantial amount of time as usual and they have little to no starting depth. Matz has looked awful this spring and he had little track record of consistency.
You really shouldn’t take spring looks so seriously, Matz will be fine. You are right though, the Mets have tons of position player MLB depth at AAA but very few MLB-level pitchers.
Gio is so much better than Vargas, the Mets should have turned Vargas into the long reliever role they signed Hector Santiago for, and signed Gio.
There’s got to be more to this story. To be continued….
Phillies have so much uncertainty in their rotation. I don’t understand their lack of interest in Gio Gonzalez.
Its definitely a good depth signing. i dont think i’ll ever be sold on cessa until he actually proves me wrong. i see talent is loaisiga and german though
After being way off on most predictions this offseason, I don’t think Tim Dierkes will renew Steve Adams contract. Jeff Todd, maybe, but I don’t think Steve will return. He’ll probably be signed by Bleacher Report or a poetry website.
Hope he doesn’t pitch in Citi field.
If this deal, on the terms reported, goes through I don’t want to see comments about cashman suckling as a gm…
Someone will need to call the police because Gio’s getting stolen
Lmao only 3 million for a solid pitcher in gio ? How in the world did other teams pass this up ???
You’re all making waaaaaaaaaaay too much of the “minor deal”. Assuming he’s going to need a few weeks to get ready, that means the Spanks would have to option him out at the end of Spring Training. I’m not positive, but I think that he’s out of options. That would expose him to waivers; bottom line: the Yanks would have paid to get him ready, then lose him. The ‘minor deal” is almost a necessity.
So he stays in S/WB till he’s ready (or Extended Spring) and then gets put on the 40-man.
But mechanics aside, it’s a good move for Yanks; 3-5M (I’ll assume the incentives) is pretty cheap for Gio. It would have been smart for MOST teams.
Agree with you completely! April 20th opt out gives them a month to put him on the MLB roster or he can leave
He’s been stretched out to a 107 pitch simulation game already so the strength build up is there. Obviously, there is some game action he needs to get but I see him ready to go the first of second week of April.
Pretty pleased with this signing and like everyone else, shocked at why he got so little and even more shocked that Phillies, As, Angels and at least a dozen other teams wouldn’t take a stab at him for at least a 1/$5m.
dude it’s a minor league deal. he doesn’t have to clear waivers to be sent to the minors out of spring training.
Dude, like dude, that’s why they signed him to him to a minor league deal, man…..so he doesn’t have to clear waivers…..like clean out your pipe man, you got too much mold growin’ in there……
(Tell yo momma I’ll be there at 10)……..
Good I guess for the Yankees. Did the other teams overlook this guy?
Tanaka will be the only righty in the rotation. All
Southpaws behind him
Ah what the heck. All the Sox have got for RHs are Betts and JD…….oh……
Bob, you forgot about Bogey, Vaz, Pearce , and Nunez.
Good. Yankee Stadium was built for lefties.
So Steamer projects Gio for 1.1 WAR in 2019. If we assume roughly $8M per 1 WAR, that’s over $5M in surplus value for the Yankees.
There is no world that 1 WAR = 8mil.
WAR assumes a team of replacement level players posts a 48-114 record. At 8mil/war it says a 90 win team needs a payroll of 336million, PLUS the baseline salaries for players of about 40mil (major rep lvl and minor leagues) – approaching a 375-425mil payroll for all but the tanking teams.
Ridiculous.
ASF, so true. Unfortunately, Fangraphs effort to add to the conversation has polluted it because so many people use that $/WAR figure out of context.
Welcome to the new normal…..
Yeah — the new normal is strange. I just found out that Ed McMahon never (and I mean never ever) arrived at people’s houses with million dollar over-sized novelty checks in the 1980s. I guess half of America imagined that. Reality is not what it seems.
What a shame that he has to settle for a minor league deal. As a Nats fan, I saw Gio closely for about 7 seasons. He is no Scherzer, but you could count on him for one thing, picking up the ball every fifth day and keeping the team in the game most nights. I feel bad for him. He is a very nice guy. Hope he graduates quickly and sticks there.
Boras blew it big time. He should of sent a letter to all 30 teams offering Gio at 1yr /5 M on a minors contract with a call up date to the majors in April and the 5M guaranteed.
Then if no one signed him there would be a great collusion case.. Even teams like MIA, BALT, KC etc would be hard pressed to deny they “colluded” without admitting they were tanking.
They got their opening day starter now
29 GMs just went “ Damn Gio! We thought you said 3 yrs not $3M!”
And then, there were only Keuchel and Kimbrel.
An absolute steal, even if it doesn’t work out.
Solid, low-risk signing. I’m not really expecting great things anymore so a good performance would be gravy. The more depth the better
I’m guessing the deal is only starting as a minor league deal either to give the Yankees time to clear a 40-man roster spot, to give Gio a few weeks to ramp up in the minors after missing most of Spring Training or both. I think that is what the “verbal understanding” is referring to. He is pretty much 100% going to get called up on or before his opt out date.
Oh wow! Gio you see that coming?
Smart teams do smart things. Angels, take note and learn.
How do you people get this dumb? Dropping someone from the 40 man roster and sending Barria to the minor leagues would be dumb.
They have Bard and Cowart on the 40 man. They would pass through wavers.
Had the Angels brought him in he would have instantly been one of their top three starters. Amazing.
Top 3. Which three is he better than. Write down the three and then at the end of the year you can see how clueless you are.
Good signing for the Yankees. As an Angels I just don’t get how they could not get this done. Low risk in today’s game.
The only thing I can think of is the Angels GM is Simple Jack. He has gone full re…..
Because the Angels would rather have Barria in the rotation than Gio. I think virtually every GM in baseball would.
Angels have no depth and many ????????’s . Heaney goes down, not to mention the other arm sensitive pitchers in their rotation, and do nothing. Yankees pitcher goes down to an injury and go out and pick up a SP who has the ability to throw 180 plus innings.
How does Angel fan feel now. Gonzalez a better pitcher than Harvey and CaHill for 7 million less. I don’t get that organization wasting all of the Mike Trout years.
Cahill was the second best pitcher on the A’s last year and I bet everyone with a clue would take the upside of Harvey vs the 4.30 ERA of Gio. Thank God our GM us smarter than you.
Watch him win 20 game for the Yanks now with a sub 3.50 ERA. That would be something wouldn’t it?! Sarcasm with a hint of possibility. Can’t see how so many teams that could use pitching passed him up for just $3M in salary. Bizarre.
Three months ago it wasn’t three million. Oakland is pretty astute, why do you think he’s not pitching for Oakland.
Cubs needed him. Gio G. would’ve been a no. 5 upgrade. Tyler Chatwood sucks so much. It’s funny to see someone throw as many balls as a junior little leaguer. Too bad they can’t use a tee when he’s on the mound, just have him play defense. 3 years, $38 million. Gio was a steal. But the Cubs ownership thinks anything more than a Miller Lite is too expensive. Gio, you will be missed.
Be missed by who? Certainly not the Cubs. Chatwood isn’t going to be starting. Lester, Yu, Hamels, Hendricks, and Q. Who exactly is Gio better out of that 5? Chatwood yes, the 5 above, not a chance.
To be honest, he’s probably as good as Q for sure. Now if you factor in the hype surrounding him, no chance. The actual pitcher the Cubs thought they were buying, I’d probably say He’s been a disappointment to me as a fan.
Perhaps, but what Smokie said is just absurd.
I’m late to the party as always.
I didn’t explain my thought fully – I’m assuming one of the first 4 will be injured. That brings in Chatwood or Montgomery. You can disagree, but its not absurd. I’d take Gio over Q.
My bold prediction is Gio will exercise his opt-out.
what a good deal. Still can’t believe the Padres didn’t try harder to sign him as they said they’re rotation was “good enough.” It is in fact projected by some to be quite the contrary, even the worst in the majors.
I don’t think the Padres are going for it this year, I think they are going for it next year. What good is using a rotation spot when they are trying to develop young pitchers. Do you really want him taking up the spot of Paddack or Allen? Not to mention, a spot on the 40 man roster has value.
But if the Padres were going for it this year, then sure, it makes sense. But I think the Padres are going to see what they have.
Great signing for so cheap. I hope he can make it onto the team and remain for most of the season. It has the potential to be a great value signing. I feel like Cashman makes at least one of these every season.
Would have been a good fit for the White Sox, but who the hell knows what that front office is doing. Please sell Jerry!
What the hell is going on , minor league deal for Gio. That is all he can get right now.
All this players, can’t get a job anymore after they have over 30 yrs is ridiculous.
And don’t get me start with all this bs that teams do to get another year of control for young guns like Acuna, Vlad ………. Snell earning 500k in Rays , Judge will be fa when he’s 31 and who knows by then if he get paid , and all that.
The game is rapidly going down the drain. If something doesn’t change in favor of players making more money, because , owners is making more and more every year, i really can’t see why any kid if he have alternative will give it a try and play this game other then love for the game.
If you are good, teams will snub you and drain your best young years all they can for cheap until you are eligible for FA, and then you maybe have a chance for 1 contract if you lucky enough to be under 30 yrs of age.
Overwhelming majority of players with agents not named boras seem to do just fine. One agent just never adjusted to the new cba.
And who is to blame for the players voting to accept the deal? A few years back, when they first released the details of the CBA, I said it was absolutely awful for the players.
How is it that none of the players, none of their agents, and none of the union could read the contract as clearly as I did?
Yankees Fan 2013: Gio Gonzalez is a cheater.
Yankees Fan 2019: Gio Gonzalez is great. He never cheated.
Yankees fan here – was he accused of cheating?
Oh the humanity. How will a player that’s nearing the end of a career who has made over 66 million $ already get by on a “measly” 3 million if he makes the team? You think he should start a #gofundme page?
That’s the thought process when one confuses feeling with thinking.
Gio Gonzalez does a few things constantly:
1. He takes the ball every fifth day.
2. He gives back a lead faster than you can get one.
3. Walk the bases loaded in the 4th, and leave it to the bullpen to try to clean up.
I’ve been watching his BS for six years. He’s terrible.
1. Excellent, that’s what we need.
2. I assume you base this on how fast the Nats offense can get a lead. The Yankee offense works a little differently.
3. That’s okay. The Yankee bullpen can clean up bases loaded in the 4th.
Last year, Sonny Gray had a winning record with a 4.90 ERA (89 ERA+). So if Gio does anything like what he’s been doing for the Nats (110-ish ERA+), he’s gonna win about half the games he starts. And the team will win another 25%. And, since he takes the ball every five games, that adds up to about a 15-8 record on the year.
15-8 probably leads the Yankees in wins this year. Is Gio now your ace?
Last year Porcello led Boston with 17 wins was he there ace.Or maybe it was Price with 16 or maybe Rodriguez with 13.All have more then Sales 12. Oh by the way Degrom had 10 wins last year Iguess hes no ace either. Your hate for the Yankees is pathetic
Gio was a fantastic innings pitcher for the Nationals. He had probably 3-4 games last year that he should won, but our bullpen ended up losing him the games. Yankees got a steal! I’m very surprised that the Nationals didn’t pick him back up at that price.
Damn if you do, damn if you don’t moment for Cashman. But if you do, get him for cheap. But signing Gio reveals 2 things:
1. Severino is worse off than they lead on and
2. No confidence in German, Lasagna, or Cessa (all performed well in Spring Training)
This is NOT “an insurance move.” It’s still a gamble by the Yanks.
As a RS fan, I’d say this was a very good gamble for the NYY.. The downside is that Severino returns early, or that one of their kids out-performs, and they wasted a few dollars.
The upside is that no one performs, or they prefer Cessa in the BP, and Gio comes in and pitches like a #3/4 for really cheap money.
Why does everyone expect every signing to be a huge difference maker? Last offseason when the Cubs signed Darvish and the next day the Cardinals signed a reliever (I think it was Gregerson), everyone kept comparing them like the Cardinals lost, as if they went out and got a deal together in less than 24 hours. Read into it all you want (like Sgt. Downvote above me; perfectly legitimate assessment), but stop making it seem like a minor league deal for an aging vet will somehow rock the division.
The Cardinals deal was Bud Norris on his minor league deal last year. That comparison between him and Darvish bugged me the entire offseason!
1yr / $3M for a pitcher who has never posted lower than 1.9 fWAR in a full season in their career. Gonzalez is a better pitcher than Kyle Gibson, yet the Twins are already in long term contract extensions with Gibson.
The season starts in 9 days. That’s maybe 6 innings total of work. And he can opt out if he doesnt make the team. 98% of all teams rosters are set. He’s getting 3 million dollars for a minor league deal. He’d be smart to opt to triple A. Get paid 3mil and get called up in April. He’s not gonna get more than 2mil from any other team.
Angels couldn’t cough up a few million for some insurance on Heany\Skaggs\Harvey\Cahill??
its a good signing as it adds more AAAA depth and all but ensures at the very least another WC game. Still need an actual ace or 2 though for the fall.
“Still need an actual ace or 2 though for the fall” First off, there’s very few teams who have one ace let alone two. Second off, there wasn’t any aces available in FA. Lastly, no team these days needs two aces to win it all.
So if he gets 30 starts, he’d make $12M
That’s one hell of an incentive package
He better hope the Yankees don’t start using an opener.
Dude don’t be ridiculous the Yankees don’t need to use an opener that’s for teams who won’t spend.
That’s an unusual deal. $3M base, $300K per start. Presumably, they will begin with the kids and use him in relief, and then as a backup if they don’t work out. If he ends up on the roster the whole year as spot starter and long relief, and gets, say, 15 starts, then you are talking about $7.5M
Nooo! I didn’t want him when the Yankees were after him, before he got traded to the Nats, and I like him less now. He walks too many hitters.
I’m guessing the Yankees will use an opener this year after all.
What in the world gives you that idea?
That would be ice cold lol. Anything to save money in today’s game!
Great insurance low risk
Interesting – 300k per start, which means if he plays well – stays healthy – and starts, his deal could be about 10 million for the year. In my opinion, win-win for everyone.
This tells me that they fear that Severino may need the knife and CC may not make it. A stent is not a minor thing: I have three and I felt weaker afterwards thanks to the meds the doctors give you to control cholesterol (statins). In that scenario, we need Gio or someone like Gio to pick up the slack.