Johnny Damon No Longer Considering Yankees
The Yankees are reportedly in "extensive" talks with Raul Ibanez about their DH job, but another option is no longer on the table. Johnny Damon told George A. King III and Joel Sherman of The New York Post that both he and the team are no longer considering a second tour of duty in New York.
"We both are looking at other options now,'' said Damon, adding that it's "unfortunate."
GM Brian Cashman acknowledged that the two sides spoke about a possible reunion, saying: "He called and I told him the truth. He is not the No. 1 option if and when I turn to DH options."
Earlier today we heard that even after the A.J. Burnett trade, the Yankees only have enough money to sign Eric Chavez or a left-handed DH, not both. Team executives will meet next week to reconsider the budget once the trade is made official, however. More than 58% of nearly 12,000 MLBTR readers prefer either Ibanez or Vladimir Guerrero to Damon according to the results of this morning's poll.
Yankees Sign Clay Rapada
The Yankees have signed lefty reliever Clay Rapada to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, reports David Waldstein of The New York Times (Twitter links). MLB.com's Zack Meisel first reported that the two sides were nearing a deal. The Meister Sports Management client was released by the Orioles a few days ago.
Rapada, 30, posted a 6.06 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 16 1/3 innings for the Orioles last year. He had pitched 52 2/3 MLB innings over the course of five seasons for the Tigers, Rangers, Cubs and Orioles and is not yet arbitration eligible. The Yankees are likely trying to replenish some left-handed relief depth after Hideki Okajima failed his physical.
AL East Notes: Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles, Edell
News out of the American League East..
- The Red Sox know that they won't be getting Brett Jackson or Josh Vitters from the Cubs in the compensation agreement but still hope to come away with a quality prospect, writes Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.
- The Yankees considered considered taking Diego Moreno in the Rule 5 draft but already made two selections and didn't want to use another 40-man spot, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Bombers viewed Moreno as one of the ten best prospects in the Bucs' system but knew that Pittsburgh didn't, Sherman tweets.
- More from Sherman (via Twitter), who writes that the Yankees don't think that Exicardo Cayones can make it in the majors if he doesn't add more power.
- Orioles left-hander Ryan Edell, who signed a minor league deal with the club, isn't expected in camp and it appears that he's going to retire, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Edell, 28, has pitched in the minors since 2005 for the Indians, Athletics, and Phillies.
Yankees Notes: Burnett, Chavez, DH, Kuroda
The Yankees agreed to trade A.J. Burnett to the Pirates yesterday, two days before their pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to Spring Training. With less than 24 hours officially remaining in their offseason, let's round up the latest news surrounding the team…
- Burnett will take his physical tomorrow and final approval of the trade from the commissioner's office is likely to come Monday afternoon, reports Erik Boland of Newsday (on Twitter).
- Even after the Burnett trade, the Yankees have room in the budget for Eric Chavez or a left-handed DH but not both, according to Joel Sherman of The New York Post (Twitter links). Team executives plan to meet after the trade becomes official to discuss whether room can be made for both.
- The Yankees still prefer Raul Ibanez to Johnny Damon because he's better against right-handed pitchers and on defense, but Damon is not entirely off the board according to Sherman (on Twitter). MLBTR readers were split pretty evenly between those two (and Vladimir Guerrero) in this morning's poll about the club's DH spot.
- Hiroki Kuroda reported to camp today and spoke to reporters (including Chad Jennings of The Journal News) about his decision to stay with the Dodgers at the trade deadline last year. The 37-year-old right-hander also wouldn't commit to any plans beyond this season.
- Joe Brescia of The New York Times chatted briefly with Gene Michael, the team's former GM and current advisor to Brian Cashman. He talked about the Jesus Montero–Michael Pineda trade, the difference between how the Yankees are run now compared to George Steinbrenner's heyday, and more.
Poll: The Yankees’ Next DH
The Yankees freed up some money yesterday by agreeing to trade A.J. Burnett to the Pirates for two minor leaguers and a total of $13MM in salary relief. They’ll save $5MM in 2012 and $8MM in 2013. Reports indicate that they’re expected to sign both Raul Ibanez and Eric Chavez once the trade becomes official.
Chavez will fill out the bench like last year, but Ibanez would step in as the left-handed half of a DH platoon with Andruw Jones. Even though Spring Training is right around the corner, there is no shortage of DH-type bats on the open market as our Free Agent Tracker shows. If the Yankees were to decide to pass on Ibanez, they could always turn to Vladimir Guerrero or former Yankees Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui. Guerrero is a right-handed hitter, however. They also signed Russell Branyan to a minor league contract recently.
Given Yankee Stadium’s short right field porch and the presence of Jones, it makes sense for the Yankees to pursue a left-handed bat. Ibanez hit .245/.289/.419 overall last year but .256/.307/.440 against righties, which is good but not great. Damon (.255/.314/.401) and Matsui (.242/.318/.336) weren’t any better against righties, and in fact Guerrero outperformed all three of those guys against northpaws (.291/.315/.428). The Yankees have no shortage of DH options, but which one is the best?
Who is the best DH option for the Yankees?
-
Raul Ibanez 31% (5,561)
-
Vladimir Guerrero 30% (5,304)
-
Johnny Damon 20% (3,524)
-
Hideki Matsui 7% (1,326)
-
Someone not listed 6% (1,110)
-
Russell Branyan 6% (1,017)
Total votes: 17,842
Okajima Fails Physical, Will Not Join Yankees
10:22pm: It was Okajima's left shoulder that raised a red flag for Yankees doctors, tweets David Waldstein of the New York Times.
10:38am: Left-hander Hideki Okajima has failed his physical with the Yankees, reports Waldstein (Twitter link). This means the minor league contract Okajima and the Yankees agreed upon last December is now voided.
Okajima, 36, spent most of last season in the minors after the Red Sox designated him for assignment in May. Okajima struggled the last two years after posting a sterling 2.72 ERA, an 8.3 K/9 rate and a 2.89 K/BB ratio in 198 games for Boston between 2007-09.
AL East: Yankees, Red Sox, Wakefield, Orioles
Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter) points out that with Tim Wakefield and Javier Vazquez retired, the active strikeout leader is now C.C. Sabathia with 2,017. Here's a look at a few items out of the American League East..
- It would not be shocking to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (via Twitter) to see Wakefield get a call in June or July if the Red Sox are hit with injuries.
- Scouts like the power arm of Diego Moreno, but there are a lot of questions about his maturity, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
- Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter) had the early reads on the Yankees' imports from the Pirates. Moreno can reach 98 mph on the gun but has command issues while Exicardo Cayones can hit but doesn't have much in the way of power.
- Before deciding to call it a career, Tim Wakefield had offers from four clubs, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Agent Barry Meister says that one of the four offers was a guaranteed big league deal.
- Wakefield didn't consider any of those offers for long, tweets Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. Upon hearing of the offers, the pitcher asked his agent, "Do they play for Boston?"
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun ranked the Orioles' offseason acquisitons by potential impact. At the top of the list is 26-year-old left-hander Wei-Yin Chen.
Quick Hits: Uehara, Burnett, Diamondbacks, Tigers
Friday Night Links..
- While one source told Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram that a trade of Koji Uehara could free up enough money for the Rangers to sign free agent Roy Oswalt, another source said that any money saved would be pocketed rather than be used on Oswalt or Mike Gonzalez.
- The other team involved in the A.J. Burnett talks was the Phillies, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. However, the club would've had to clear Joe Blanton's to make the deal work.
- The Diamondbacks will be on the lookout for catching depth through Spring Training, Olney tweets.
- In his blog for the Detroit Free Press, Jamie Samuelsen writes that the Tigers should stay in-house when it comes to their fifth starter position rather than scour the open market for an affordable arm. The highly-touted Jacob Turner is among the candidates for the backend of the rotation.
Yankees Close To Signing Clay Rapada
The Yankees are close to signing lefty reliever Clay Rapada to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training reports MLB.com's Zack Meisel. The Meister Sports Management client was released by the Orioles a few days ago.
Rapada, 30, posted a 6.06 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 16 1/3 innings for the Orioles last year. He had pitched 52 2/3 MLB innings over the course of five seasons for the Tigers, Rangers, Cubs and Orioles and is not yet arbitration eligible. The Yankees are likely trying to replenish some left-handed relief depth after Hideki Okajima failed his physical.
This post was originally published on Feb. 18th.
Yanks Plan To Add Two Bats; Targeting Chavez, Ibanez
4:46pm: Heyman says the Yankees won't "finalize" things with Ibanez and Chavez until after Burnett has passed his physical and the league has approved the trade (Twitter link).
8:00am: The Yankees are "intent" on acquiring two hitters and "remain focused" on Eric Chavez and Raul Ibanez, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The team's attention will turn to adding hitting depth once the rumored A.J. Burnett trade with the Pirates is finalized.
New York has long been known to be targeting one left-handed hitter as a part-time DH and bench bat, but moving Burnett would free up the payroll space for the Yankees to add even more depth. Ibanez would be limited to DH, pinch-hitting and only very occasional outfield appearances, but in Chavez, the Yankees would also have an infield option capable of spelling Alex Rodriguez at third base. The Bombers were already in serious talks with Ibanez as of last week.