The top remaining free agent pitcher, Carlos Rodón, reportedly prefers the Yankees as his future club. They are interested in him as well, but the problem is that Rodón is seeking a deal of seven years or more at a significant salary while the club would prefer to keep it down to four or five years. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that they will try to find a compromise but that the Yanks will also be considering Nathan Eovaldi as a backup plan.
Starting pitchers have been flying off the board in recent weeks, leaving Eovaldi as one of the best ones still out there. Over the past few seasons, Eovaldi has oscillated between being a very effective hurler and extended injury absences. After establishing himself in the majors with the Dodgers, Marlins and Yankees, he required Tommy John surgery late in 2016, wiping out the remainder of that season and the following one.
The Rays signed him for that 2017 season he was going to miss, with a $2MM option for 2018 that they eventually triggered. Up until that time, he had shown a powerful arm but without the strong results to match. He had a 4.21 ERA at that point in his career with a 17% strikeout rate. But 2018 proved to be a huge pivot point for him. He tossed 111 innings on the year with a 3.81 ERA and 22.2% strikeout rate. That included a midseason trade to the Red Sox, with Eovaldi going on to toss 22 1/3 innings in the postseason with a 1.61 ERA and 18.8% strikeout rate, helping the club win the World Series.
Those postseason heroics resulted in him returning to the Sox on a four-year, $68MM deal. Over the course of that contract, he’s continued to produce strong results but also deal with injuries. In 2019, he missed significant time due surgery to clean up loose bodies in his elbow. He was only able to log 67 2/3 innings that season with a 5.99 ERA. He bounced back in the shortened 2020 campaign, making nine starts with a 3.72 ERA, though he did miss time due to a calf strain.
He stayed healthy in 2021 and made 32 starts, posting a 3.75 ERA with a 25.5% strikeout rate. In 2022, injuries caught him again, as he went to the IL twice, once for back inflammation and once for shoulder inflammation. He still made 20 starts on the year with a 3.87 ERA and 22.4% strikeout rate, strong results but a concerning step back that came with diminished velocity. He averaged around 97 MPH in the first three years of his Boston deal but dipped to 95.7 MPH in 2022.
Despite that injury track record and Eovaldi’s rejection of a qualifying offer, MLBTR still predicted he would land a solid two-year contract worth $34MM, or $17MM per season. The free agent market has generally been quite strong this offseason, with many players outpacing their projections. It wouldn’t be a shock to see Eovaldi, who turns 33 in February, push for a third year or a higher average annual salary. Outside of him and Rodón, some of the best remaining starters on the open market are Noah Syndergaard, Michael Wacha, Corey Kluber, Drew Rucinski, Johnny Cueto, Drew Smyly and others. Those are still some quality arms but the options for a true impact upgrade for the rotation of a competitive team are dwindling.
For the Yankees, they don’t strictly need a starter, given that their rotation is in good shape. Ace Gerrit Cole should be followed by Nestor Cortes, Luis Severino and Frankie Montas, with one spot available for either Domingo Germán or Clarke Schmidt. Adding another pitcher like Rodón or Eovaldi would bump Germán and Schmidt down the chart while also providing some cover in case Severino or Montas struggle to stay healthy like they did in 2022.
The payroll might be an issue, however, as it’s been suggested that the club would prefer to stay under the third tier of the competitive balance tax, which is $273MM. By crossing that line, the financial penalties would increase and the club would also see its top 2023 draft pick moved back ten slots. Roster Resource currently pegs the club’s payroll at $250MM with a CBT figure of $266MM. A mega deal for Rodón or even a more modest one for Eovaldi would send the club well beyond that third tier and could even push them close to the $293MM top tier. With other needs around the roster, including left field and the bullpen, whether the Yanks actually have an appetite for a rotation splurge remains to be seen.
Eovaldi has been connected to the Blue Jays this offseason, though that was before they signed Chris Bassitt. There’s also been rumors of a return to Boston though the latest reporting indicated he wasn’t a top priority for the club.
Weird. Would probably be better off rolling with German.
The Guardians are “in” on Eovaldi.
Clarke Schmidt is a bust, nothing more than a triple A depth piece.
Schmidt’s numbers suggest otherwise but he is more likely a swing man though.
Schmidt had a good year, 57 innings 3..12 ERA. I agree, he is a swing man.
Nah, as a Yankee fan I see him as a 6th guy.
Statcast page not pretty.
Yanks are adding another starter, so they think he is a long man or trade bait!
Who will have a more productive year next year – Eovaldi or Taillon? I’m leaning toward Taillon and I thought the Yankees would resign him.
Agreed. Their pitching projects weaker next year than before. Still can’t believe they traded Montgomery. They will regret that more.
Severino for hopefully a full season is huge, but a big if.
The Montgomery trade effect is very minimal for the Yankees.
This is why I hate the Yankees. They know that Rodon wants to play for them yet don’t want to pay his price so the leak stories like this to try to drive his price down.
The media outlets pick up the story and pretend like it’s real bc Yankees in a headline equals click bait.
Dodgers and Yankees both do this too by planting trade seeds for overvalued prospects !
Yeah, because there’s no way anything was leaked by Scott Boras.
@Joe, I do believe the Yankees are interested in Rodon, but there are too many odd leaks coming out about how he prefers the Yankees. That’s Boras. He’s trying to use the Yankees to get some other team to raise their offer. My guess now is Rodon signs a long-term deal, the specialty of this off season, with some team not names the Yankees.
Agreed LordD though I’m kinda back and forth on whether or not I think he signs with the Yankees. I’m also back and forth on how good of an idea it is. His numbers are great but they came in spacious parks out west and poor competition in the central. This is one I’m glad I’m not a GM.
All teams/agents use this ploy and it’s not exclusive to big market teams. Separate the noise and quit drinking the media kool-aid. Front offices are using not public speculation to evaluate players/prospects but rather facts, metrics, and scouting reports.
Wow Big, you really whiffed with that take. Its non-sensical.
Definitely. german has been good for them as a fifth started this past year.
Starting to think those Yankees are just “Rodon Teasers”?
Cashman never learns from his own mistakes. Eovaldi was awful his first go around in NY. He was always injured and his fastball had zero movement. The sticky stuff became prominent and then poof Eovaldi was magically a star. The sticky stuff gets taken away and he is back to being hurt all the time again. Hard pass!!
Eovaldi is a solid #3 and he’ll achieve his highest potential in such a role.
Absolutely correct as far as Eovaldi being a #3 in the Yankee rotation. Going to go buy my Nathan Eovaldi jersey today. Thank you.
What, you traded it for an ARod shirt after he left the last time?
It’s funny you’re probably right. I always liked Eovaldi. I wouldn’t mind having back for the next 2 or 3 years, especially since he’s a lot cheaper then Rodon. You have to be out of your mind to give CROD 7 years. Maybe 5 and a club option for a 6th season nothing more.
I wouldn’t give Rodon more than three years with his history. But I say that with virtually every pitcher. Teams regret it when they go longer than that with anyone.
They should sign Eovaldi so they no longer have to face him.
Haha. You’re right about that, that’s the only reason to sign him.
Eovaldi could be the 5th starter on the Yanks. He will help them win the East, but will he help them in the pllayoffs. I think this Yankee team is good enough right now to win the East or at least make the playoffs. Rodon makes them and the Astros teams to beat.
Slider: I think you have the right idea by trying to keep Eovaldi’s workload down. I just read that Eovaldi is going to pitch in the World Baseball Classic in March. I don’t think him being fully ramped up in March will have a good effect on his season. I guess another possibility for pitching in the WBC is he is having trouble signing due to the draft picks tied to him and he is trying to show he is healthy.
There goes Cashman chasing more right handlers. What a fool! Does he not respect the FACT that Yankee Stadium favors left handed pitchers??
**NEWS FLASH**
Red Sox about to sign Evoldi however now the Yankees are interested just to drive up the price.
I can hope
Right, but Red Sox only added to the bullpen while losing Xander, Yanks did nothing to improve yet only maintain what they had but lost Taillon, Dodgers did nothing while losing Trea, Bellinger, Anderson, BIG market teams not doing anything?
Waiting too long and settling for a subpar backup plan…. Watch out Astros! Here come the same Yankees again.
Not the same they lost Taillon and probably Benintendi
Astros are good, but I think people are discounting the fact that they just lost their #1 Cy Young pitcher in Verlander. I think the Mariners are very close to the Astros right now! Yanks on the other hand might just be putting Eovaldi out there to move the Rodon trade!
@slider, Astros were 20-8 when Verlander started, 86-48 .641 winning % when others pitched. When did the Mariners become a .641 winning percentage (104 win pace) team? Mariners still have glaring holes in LF and DH and the Suarez/Crawford/Wong/ France IF is not close to the Bregman/Peña/Altuve/Abreu IF. Astros staff without Verlander is every bit as good as the M’s and so is their bullpen. M’s had an opportunity to upgrade SS and go fill the LF and DH voids and didn’t. Teoscar Hernandez will improve over Winker but it’s not making up the distance in the standings. M’s have a better chance of being caught by the Rangers than they do of catching the Astros.
Yes, but when was the last time a team lost a Cy Young pitcher and had a better team? You are not taking into account the added innings on other pitchers next year, and who is replacing Verlander. What is the difference between that pitcher and Verlander. Any way you look at it, it’s a big loss in my book. Similar to the Braves losing Freeman, and they replaced him with a really good player.
LOL….Mariners finished 16 games out of first and swapped Haniger for Teoscar. Agree they are a good team but not close. JV was great but Stros have 6 great starters left and they added Jose Abreu at first and will add an outfielder.
Castillo wasn’t on that team!
Im a Yankee fan, but the Astros are clearly better.
The only thing Im hoping is that these Astro starters feel the pressure of having to be a No. 1, but after seeing what they did in the postseason, its not likely.
When Cashman and Boone were announced that they were coming back, they were already celebrating for the second time.
I don’t get it. Do the Yankees employ someone who just goes out looking for players that are completely owned by the Astros or what? Do they not understand that eventually they’ll want to hire someone who can BEAT the Astros and not give up a record 5 HRs in a single inning to them?
That’s what they thought they were doing when they traded for Montas – who has a great record against Houston. We all saw how that worked out. And let’s be honest, there aren’t many guys out there who can say they “own” the Astros. Not saying I disagree with your take, just that organizations can think they’ve got the right plan and it blows up. See it all the time. Hopefully Montas bounces back this season.
Looks like they gonna have to target Kyle Bradish. Back to back dominating starts against the Astros last season. Baseball is weird.
I prefer Eovaldi on a 2 year deal than Rodon on a 5-7 year 200+million deal.
Fully agree.
Not if you have to beat the Astros, imho. The problem with the Yankees is exactly this: wasting money.
I’ve said this so many times, but they don’t get the players they need because they don’t want to pay the money, yet they pay the mi eh anyway, just in more wasteful ways.
For example, Judge could’ve been extended for about $100MM less. Regardless of how that translates to the AAV, it still would have lessened it. Donaldson’s abomination of a contract…that’s an additional $25MM. By itself those pay for a top-tier player in AAV. Then you add in all the other ones and it’s just embarrassing for them.
The only way Brian Cashman can win is if they blow through the LTT to compensate for his mistakes. And if they don’t go past the $273MM, we are running out the same roster, just older and more expensive. That’s a very Cashman thing to do.
I’m assuming you mean they could have extended Judge for 7/260 at the beginning on 2022?
M4N: Yes sir. I was thinking about 8/$260MM-280MM would’ve had him signed. I could be wrong because they were looking for closer to $300MM, but I think he would’ve signed for the security prior to the start of the season.
I think the years would have been the hang up. Seems they wanted nine years. At the beginning of the season 7/260 would not have been bad for either side. Then Judge went historic. Quite possibly the best walk-off year ever, in any sport. There is no way the Yanks could let the all time AL HR king walk away.
To me all of the contenders are close enough that anyone of them can win. Dodgers were the best team for the last 5 years, and they only won in the short season. Last year, sickness and injuries hurt most of the contender, . Braves- Fried sick in the playoffs, Strider was hurt, Mets- deGrom and Scherzer hurt, Dodgers lost Beuhler early, Yanks lose King, Carpenter, Effross, and so on. If Houston has a couple of injuries they will not win the west, Texas and Seattle are much improved.
That’s correct clip. They end up with a huge payroll and spending the same money they would have even if they got tier 1 players. They are usually so afraid of the long-term contracts they’ll overpay for short term contracts to tier 3 or four players like Donaldson.
I have the utmost respect for ya, but Im not sure what the Yankees did wrong with Judge or Rodon. If these reports are accurate, thats a crazy asking price for Rodon.
Plus at least I know Evoldi can deal with the spotlight.
DogDays, if that one is to me, I appreciate you. What I mean is that Cashman has refrained from spending money or traded when it could have prevent us from being in the position we are currently in.
With Judge, they knew they couldn’t let him go much sooner than this offseason; yet they offered him the $213MM, and then had to pay astronomically more because they don’t like negotiating before FA.
With Rodon, there’s nothing they can do, but they could have made it easier on themselves by ensuring they had another top-end pitcher already.
They spent years skimping and missing key personnel only to be in a position where they need to fill too many holes. Then they really didn’t do that most effectively, honestly. Cashman didn’t build a complementary team – he built an ultra-expensive, homogenous team that backfired bad (the all RH, slow, TTO lineup). But they refuse to spend to adequately correct it.
Hopefully that clarifies what I meant, brother.
I agree with a lot of what you said, like usual–particularly when it comes to how the team is constructed.
But I really think the Judge offer last year was fair. He had to show he could stay healthy for another year before a humungous commitment. To Judge’s credit, he did and had a monster year.
I hate to make excuses, but some of these are. Cashman looks like a bum because either these guys get injured or simply don’t do what they are capable of. But I know he’s responsible for that so..
No doubt, my friend, I readily admit I thought the $217MM was a fair offer at the time too. For me it’s that in conjunction with everything else – if he hadn’t burned other money (Donaldson, Hicks, other etc), the extra spending on Judge wouldn’t be an issue.
It shouldn’t be anyway, but as we read, Hal doesn’t want to go above $273MM. He shouldn’t have to but the roster is not well-constructed….
But there are things that are absolutely outside Cashman’s control. There are also things he’s done very well.
Mostly, I just don’t believe Cashman can build a WS roster without Hal’s bailout money.
I still like the Yanks trading for Lopez over any free agent signing! Torres, Hicks, and a couple of prospects!
I don’t think Cashman will give up the requisite prospects.
He won’t. You can take it to the bank. And despite all these failings clip, Cashman is signed for another four years. And he failed so badly on the Aaron Judge situation, SteinBrenner had to swoop in to the rescue and fix it.
The Yankees have this inflexible rule, and they have had it for a while, not to begin negotiations on a player until they have reached free agency. Which is a big mistake. Of course they have been exceptions, when they think they’re getting a steal of a deal like with Hicks lol, or Severino. Both of which did not work out. I’m sure that sticks in the craw for them also.
I’d love that pickup but Miami wants Gleyber and Peraza to frontline that trade plus prospects and that’s why it hasn’t happened.
I think Peraza and Volpe are out of the picture, the Marlins need postion players, Torres is a 3 WAR controllable player, while Lopez had a 2.8 WAR last year.
Lopez is the guy I was hoping for, not Montas. I think Lopez would cost a lot, tho.
One SP I already covet is Luis Ortiz from the Buccos. I think the kid is going to be a stud.
I’d love a Pedro Lopez pickup but Miami wants Gleyber and Peraza to frontline that trade plus prospects and that’s why it hasn’t happened.
Why the hell would the Marlins want Hicks?
I’d ship Torres in a hurry though.
Why do the Yankees insist on grabbing the guys they misused?
Boy! That could go the wrong direction fast haha
Below the belt?
@Clipp- Always below the belt man! Gotta start using a “metal concrete cup” for the Coconut CARE!
I wouldn’t be upset if the Yankees signed Eovaldi. He was pretty good for them. But it’s been a few years and I am convinced that a) he’s gonna be mediocre at best and b) there’s some bad blood there. I am guessing Eovaldi would rather sign elsewhere, short of the Yankees giving him the best offer in the market for his services.
Just about all players hold out for “the best offer in the market.”
Not entirely true. A lot of players turn down some extra cash if they get close enough on the overall value from a team they prefer or a team in a location they prefer etc. Like Judge and Trea Turner turning down extra money from San Diego.
So like, if the Yankees offered Eovaldi 3 years/$60M and the next best offer was 2 years/$35M, he’d probably accept the Yankees offer. But if the Yankees offered him 2 years/$36M or 3 years/$45M and certain other teams offered him 2 years/$34M or 3 years/$40M he might turn the Yankees down anyway.
Are you kidding me? “He was good for them” It amazes me how some fans can rewrite history. He was about the most inconsistent pitcher I can think of they have had the last 20 years. He made Burnett look like a solid starter. He had absolutely no movement on his fastball. After a serious arm injury and move to Tampa all of a sudden he was a TOR pitcher. Funny how some guys get labeled with the sticky stuff and obvious users like Eovaldi miss it entirely. Once they cracked down on it he turned back into the oft injured inconsistent pumpkin he was with the Yankees. Any Yankee fan that says he handled his time in NY well is obviously wearing rose colored glasses or lives in fantasyland. Go back on this site to the articles about potential Yankee pitching pickups and you will see how Yankee fans felt about him. They were ready to light the torches and run him out of town.
Yankees should stay firm on whatever they offered Rodon hopefully in the range of 150/5yrs
With his history, he is lucky to get that.
Been hearing it’s 6/$172. Which is an uncomfortably long contract for Rodon.
Yes it is clip. They will regret it pretty soon. I would rather they spent the money on upgrading the offense. That is what fails them every year in the postseason after all. Too many dead spots in the lineup. As you well know.
The problem now is they have waited too long, just like every other year, and they cannot upgrade because all the FAs are off the board.
As of right now they are not as good as they were last year and the only way to upgrade is through trades. The only way to upgrade through trades is to dump the farm. Too little too late again.
So, more excuses, more “plan Bs,”and more statements about how they have too many contracts on the books….. when all their problems are a direct result of their own poor choices, mainly Cashman. It’s almost like talking to someone who complains they have no money yet they buy every new thing that comes out on the market. It’s like, “yeah, no duh, what did you think would happen, dummy?”
Even if they get Rodon, that would help, but we need to improve offense. The team absolutely sucked in October – again.
Agreed!
Hey, Yankees do you want Carrasco for Torres, we’ll include McCann too lol
Carrasco for Donaldson & Hicks and bag of balls would that work for you guys?.lol
@dimelotitony- Done deal, where do I sign off on this trade?
It works for me @judge.
The Yankees wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for Cashman’s inability to manage a payroll giving Hicks-$70 million, Donaldson-$54 million, DJ-$90 million they are where they are at because of that. Yes all teams make mistakes but they know how to cut their losses when it is impeding their rosters. This is where Cashman fails everyone knows he had no business picking up Donaldson’s contract he could have simply DFA Sanchez but didn’t, now he has a chance to cut bait on Donaldson & Hicks eating all or roughly 3/4 of the contract and still won’t do that. He had a chance once the season ended to try and coerce Stanton to waive his no trade contract to a California team but didn’t. He has a chance still to field calls on DJ see what he can get for him and wont.
Rodon is more of a huge risk at $200 million than Nathan at say $3years/$65 million. But Cashman’s ego will never allow him to admit to his mistakes and therefore has put this team the way its constructed will never be able to beat Houston.
I do not disagree. But yet despite all these failings, he has been re-signed for another four years.
Look you need great players to win, when you are always a contender it makes it hard to obtain player in the draft. In free agency you have to over pay to get someone. Lastly you get players through trades. Cashman has done a good job of that, Dj was a good signing. Injuries always are the outlier for a team.
Its so easy to second guess AFTER these things turn out bad.
From Carlos Rodon to Nathan Eovoldi. Decisions (Aaron Judge) have consequences. I expect this to be a yearly thing from the Yankees.
It’s like in golf, risk/ reward, Do you try to hit over the water to the green and get a birdie, or do you play for par a hope the other guy plays bogie.
Eovaldi would be a fail, Rodon or bust.
Im not sure why we are going so hard for pitching when our offense is what let us down in the postseason.
Because Sevy and Montas are about to be FAs, and Cole has an opt out soon. Need to keep our window open for as long as possible. Playoffs are a crapshoot anyway. Unless you think the offense is going to be on a down year again, and the injuries will occur just before the playoffs again, and the good parts of the offense will go cold during the post season again, you just need to try and put the best team on paper out there and hope they get hot for 3-4 weeks.
It wasn’t the injuries that derailed us in the postseason, it was just thr black holes that we had in the lineup for most of the season anywsy.Donaldson, I KF, Hicks, and the kids who didn’t get enough of a shot during the regular season to get in the groove, that’s what contributed to our downfall. Not to mention that Judge did virtually nothing against the Astros, they seem to have his number every year, and Torres was a no-show also.
I’m not denying there were some injuries, but Beni wasn’t here most of the season anyway, and DJ he was definitely missed. But all teams have injuries
Playoffs were not a crapshoot for the Astros for the past several seasons, nor have they been for the Yankees, my friend. That’s a narrative you’re expected to buy so you’ll accept the postseason appearance and exit on hope alone instead of expecting them to acquire the necessary talent to win. Back to the NFL model for them….saves them money.
As a Yankee fan, you’re hitting on what annoys me the most about the Yankee organization now.
Did injuries weaken them in the playoffs last year? Yes
Are injuries the reason they didn’t beat the Astros? Absolutely not.
And for these guys to insult our intelligence like they did at that end-of-year press conference and make it seem like status quo will get the job done is a terrible look.
That is quite correct. The Yankees always limit their spending, so why spend it on an area of strength. They should be spending their money in upgrading left field and third base at a minimum.
Been there, done that. Why go for round 2?
Rodon and Evo would give them a great staff with Coke, Sevy and Nasty behind them. Could keep Montas as a long arm/ spot starter also. Seems like you need 6 these days. It would keep German in the pen with maybe some spot starts mixed in also. They still need a legit closer even if they get Rodon and Evo.
I’d sign Cueto on a 1 year deal for the back of the rotation and use the extra savings on some more bullpen high leverage arms. Cueto has a rubber arm takes the ball every 5 days and worst case scenario he works long relief and your not locked in to anything beyond 2023.
That’s a good idea. I always like to Cueto, of course he was much better years ago ,the Yankees should’ve gotten him then. But as a back of the rotation depth piece, I think that would work out.
Yanks are using Eovaldi as a fear tactic to Rodon’s camp to try and get the years down. I don’t think they really want him. He struggled in NY. But he’s the next best pitcher in the board. I’d rather roll the dice with German/Schmidt or 1 year of Kluber.
I hope you’re right.
It could will be clip. But I’m sure Rhode Island is terrified lol. Do you think he is so enamored with New York, he’s going to take much less money and years. That is the mistake they always make.
For those who don’t speak the lingo, “Yankees interested in….” is agent talk. Roughly translated it means, “Hurry up and make an offer Boston.”
I think you’ve got this right. Or else as I suggest below, ‘hurry up and sign Carlos or we’ll look at Nate’.
Yankees must be close with Rodon if they’re at the stage of using Nate now to leverage the final stage of their Rodon bargaining.
Many of the headlines on this site are just negotiating ploys planted by agents. For example I wonder how the Giants are doing in their talks with Swanson. That story was circulated on here about 8 hours before the Correa deal was announced.
I think Nate re-signs with the Sox.
And……. Let the penny pinching commence. Rodon is a far better pitcher but yeah keep those $ and finish in alds. Setting this up by leaking it to media because they found out rodon is “too expensive” for them
Eovaldi won’t sign until Rodon is off the board. Rodon is the next premium FA off the board. Rodon is a must sign for the Yanks and ole Cash is about to get pantsed Boras style.
You mean Cashman is about to get into another bidding war with himself?
Who aren’t the Yankees interested in !!!
What were the Tigers doing?
Everybody seems to forget the Yankees traded for Frankie Montas last season. His track record tells me he’ll shine now that he’s out of Oakland and will be a very good pitcher for the Yankees. Yankees fans will be lauding Cashman at the All-Star break for picking up Montas.
Maybe the Yankees sign Rodon and trade Montas to get their left-handed OF bat and fill their remaining needs for the 2023 season. They could also restock their minor league system with 2 stud players that need some more development and seasoning.
Not at all. Mobtas splits out of Oak-town are scarry. I, for one, don’t expect much from him.
Nor do I.
Im into Montas too, as I feel splits can mean a variety of things.
However, if Montas doesn’t respond this year, Cashman has to take the heat since all the signs were visible that he was an injury concern before the trade.
I don’t see Nate re-signing with Boston unless it is a 1-2 year deal in the $15M-$17M range. Boston is committing to their young pitchers this season. Bello should begin the season in the rotation and Bryan Mata should be called up by May or June. A lot does depend on the health of Chris Sale and James Paxton but if Boston believes they can get more than a 1/2 season out of both, they may just stand pat or bring in a lower level starter on a one year deal. I could see the opening day starting pitching roster as Sale, Bello, Pivetta, Paxton & Wincowski, with Mata waiting in the wings for one of them to blow up. Maybe they bring Wacha back for 1 year as well. It’s too bad they lost Thad Ward in the Rule 5 draft. He was ready to contribute at the major league level this season too. Maybe Murphy or Walter will be ready for MLB this year as well.
We need one more SP even assuming that the RS are in a mood to gamble. We’re a solid 300 innings short of a dependable rotation.
They’re perpetually waiting for sale to get healthy from one injury after another. The same could be said for Paxton. They are in rough shape with their pithers, as a result, if they were relying on those too. Good luck with that. It’s like the Yankees always waiting for the return of a healthy Stanton.
Where are the stats gurus when it comes to Jon Heyman? Someone should do a statistical analysis of just how many of Heyman’s tweets actually pan out. Talk about a twit finger. Put a splint on it already.
cashman: i need to bluff rodon’s team into believing we have other options while at the same time pushing the red sox to spend more money. let’s call that hack we always use to plant disinformation
Yeah, I’m sure they’re terrified lol
No thank you. Is this Javier Vazquez redux. Been there done that. Only team he seems to beat is the Yankees.
The Yankees are interested in reuniting with Eovaldi? Withhold my compliments to the chef.
Didn’t the Yankees have a young promising pitcher, Davey or Deivi something along those lines, what happened with him?
Deivi Garcia.
They also have Luis Gil.
They have internal options.
Trade Deivi to Boston for Casas, Pedro loved him!
The Yankees transferred to a ‘pen role because the Yankees changed his pitching mechanics to get him more consistent and it completely screwed him.
From the reports, he looks to be a viable ‘pen option and has gained a few mphs on his FB/sinker, which now sits about 97.
mired in the minor leagues limbo. For the time they give them a real shot they’ll be old men.
Would love to see rucinski sign with orioles
What’s up with the Sox? Are they just rebooting? It’s very unlike them. And the dollars they did spend is on an unknown who may have been overpaid. The Story signing last year when there were other options on the table was interesting as well. It’s not like they are a small market team that has difficulty getting players to be interested in playing for them.
They selected bloom as a GM for a reason. He worked wonders with the Rays, on a shoestring budget. That should tell you everything you need to know. About with the socks intentions are also
Haven’t we tried this already?
The Cohen tax is coming for you, Hal!
What I don’t understand is if they know they cant get Rodon and want to save for Ohtani next year at least get 2 lefties for the bullpen there are a lot of relievers available. Ever since they got rid of Andrew Miller they stopped loading up the bullpen. Jose Alvarado Will Smith Craig Kimbrel there are others Andrew Chafin there are also trade options. They messed up at the deadline by not fixing the bullpen they now need a closer and setup men. If King is healthy he cant carry the bullpen 162 games
What I don’t understand is if they know they cant get Rodon and want to save for Ohtani next year at least get 2 lefties for the bullpen there are a lot of relievers available. Ever since they got rid of Andrew Miller they stopped loading up the bullpen. Jose Alvarado Will Smith Craig Kimbrel there are others Andrew Chafin there are also trade options. They messed up at the udeadline by not fixing the bullpen they now need a closer and setup men. If King is healthy he cant carry the bullpen 162 games
What I don’t understand is if they know they cant get Rodon and want to save for Ohtani next year at least get 2 lefties for the bullpen there are a lot of relievers available. Ever since they got rid of Andrew Miller they stopped loading up the bullpen. Jose Alvarado Will Smith Craig Kimbrel there are others Andrew Chafin there are also trade options. They messed up at the udeadline by not fixing the bullpen they now need a closer and setup men. If King is healthy he cant carry the bullpen 162 games.
We get it mate you didn’t need to say it three times
It’s not him. It’s the software running this chat board. It’s haunted.
Theyre not getting Ohtani either. Don’t get your hopes up. They would never spend or give up what it would take. Especially after signing judge.
I was unenthusiastic toward the idea of getting Profar for left field, but this article makes him more intriguing — although I can’t help feeling the pundits are overestimating the effect that eliminating the shift will supposedly have.
https://www.mlb.com/news/free-agent-hitters-helped-by-new-mlb-shift-rules
Watch the cubs swoop in and sign rodon
Now it’s being rumored that the Mets are taking calls on Carrasco. He’d be a decent replacement for Taillon. Similar ERA this year, better FIP, higher ground ball%, and a lower HR/9.
“For the Yankees, they don’t strictly need a starter, given that their rotation is in good shape.”
That sounds so familiar — where have I heard that before?
If you want to be annoyed, catch the lastest discussions between the threesome on the YES Hot Stove show. Donaldson might turn it around, they say. And Flaherty makes a comparison with Mussina, a pitcher, and Donaldson to support the idea that a 37-year-old who couldn’t hit a fastball might rebound. What?
No, the rotation is not in good shape.
Montas gave us a sparkling 6.35 ERA and 4.93 FIP with 6 HR in 8 starts, not counting the one HR in his single postseason inning. “Toto . . . I have a feeling we’re not in the Oakland Coliseum anymore!”
Since the official start of the crackdown on sticky stuff on June 21, 2021, Cole ranks 36th in ERA and 30th in FIP and fWAR, with the fourth-highest HR/9, among 58 qualified starters.
If there’s an ace in the Bronx, his name is Nestor, but Nestor ran out of gas and got hurt at the end of the longest season he ever pitched, 158.1 innings.
Taillon and Monty are gone. German has never pitched more than 147 innings. Over the last four seasons, Severino has pitched a total of 120 regular-season innings, topping out at 102 this year, with another 11 innings in the playoffs.
Are we going to pretend that Clarke Schmidt, who pitched 90.2 innings between the minors and the majors in 2022, is a viable starter to depend on for an entire season?