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AL East Notes: Cashman, Yankees, Orioles, Kim, Rays

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Though Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, and J.A. Happ are all free agents, most of the speculation surrounding the Yankees has focused on position players (chiefly DJ LeMahieu) rather than pitching this offseason.  In an appearance on “The Front Office” on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio today, GM Brian Cashman said the Yankees “definitely feel like we need to try to address more certain innings because you don’t want to be in a position where you’re scrambling” for pitching due to injuries or other absences.  Whether those additions could come in the near future, however, is in question.

Cashman likes the Yankees’ in-house rotation candidates and suggested the team might wait beyond Opening Day to see what they really have in their current mix before exploring external pitchers.  This doesn’t appear to be their ideal scenario, as Cashman described this route as being a “way we’re forced to go because we don’t have the proper matches” in the marketplace, though the Yankees are “prepared” for such an event: “If I can add to what I have sooner than later, all the better.  If I have to wait to do it in season, so be it.  But we also might have enough right here before us that’s just untested.”  It would seem like a risky tactic for New York given the number of apparent holes in its pitching staff, but if Domingo German can return to his past form after a suspension, or if Jordan Montgomery or Deivi Garcia are ready for regular turns in the rotation, what looks like a major need for veteran pitching could be reduced to perhaps one starter at most.

More from around the AL East…

  • Since Ha-Seong Kim is only entering his age-25 season, there has been some thought that his market could extend to teams who might still be at least a year away from contending (the Rangers, for example, are known to have interest).  However, MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski thinks “it sure seems unlikely” that the Orioles will make a bid for Kim since the O’s don’t seem to be planning any major expenditures.  Between contract and posting fee, MLBTR projects Kim to cost around $47.625MM this offseason, so Baltimore may not feel like making such an investment at this stage in its rebuild.
  • Since the Rays are open to at least listening to trade offers for Blake Snell, ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield adds an interesting wrinkle to the trade speculation — listing which five teams could conceivably acquire both Snell and Kevin Kiermaier in the same trade, thus allowing Tampa Bay to unload even more payroll.  Schoenfield’s five clubs have needs in both the rotation and in center field, or perhaps in the outfield in general in the cases of the Angels or Padres.  For those teams, Schoenfield opines that their current center fielders (Mike Trout and Trent Grisham) could be moved to a corner outfield slot to accommodate Kiermaier.

Yankees Re-Sign Adam Warren

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Earlier this week, the Yankees agreed to a minor-league deal with Adam Warren, reports Brendan Kuty of NJ.com (Twitter link). This marks the 33-year-old’s fourth separate stint in the organization.

Warren had plenty of success as a multi-inning reliever early in his career. Between 2013-17 (all but a half-season of which came with New York), he posted a 3.34 ERA/3.76 FIP over 409.2 innings. Warren remained fairly productive in a 2018 season split between the Yankees and Mariners but had a disastrous 2019 after signing with the Padres. His San Diego tenure culminated in a September Tommy John surgery.

The right-hander signed a two-year minor-league deal (covering his post-TJS rehab in year one) with the Yankees last offseason. He was cut loose this past July, but GM Brian Cashman expressed an interest at the time in working out a new deal with Warren this winter. That has apparently come to pass. Fourteen months removed from the Tommy John procedure, Warren has fully recovered, Kuty hears. He’ll now look to work his way back into the Yankees’ bullpen mix.

MLB Payrolls Dropped A Collective $2.47 Billion In 2020

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Per the latest report from Ronald Blum of the Associated Press, payrolls across MLB fell from $4.22 billion in 2019 to $1.75 billion during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The Dodgers’ $98.6MM payroll, Blum notes, clocked in as the highest mark among the game’s 30 teams. The Yankees finished second with a payroll of $86.3MM.

Of course, the 60-game season meant prorating pay, dropping player salaries by approximately 63% from the full-scale amount. The totals given here mark a roughly 59% year-over-year decrease, suggesting payrolls would have increased had there been a full season. 2018 brought the first year-over-year decrease in payroll since 2010, as Blum reported at the time.

One complicating factor was a rise in buyout options. As Blum writes, “Buyouts of unexercised 2021 options came to $58.2 million, more than double the $26.9 million for buyouts of unexercised 2020 options, a sign of expense-cutting amid the revenue loss.” That’s not a surprise, given the sudden change in expected revenues without fans present, but it is noteworthy.

Parsing owners’ financial positions after this season’s revenue losses will continue to be a topic of discussion as free agency moves forward at its glacial pace. Without transparency from owners, the exact losses are difficult to ascertain. These numbers – presuming their accuracy – do serve as a significant data point, however.

The question of finances has been and will continue to be one of the sticking points between MLB and the MLBPA as the two sides near the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement. Transparency has been at the center of the debate, as owners have resisted the call from players to make their finances public. The Braves, as a publicly traded company, are the only team whose finances are made public in the form of quarterly reports, as Fangraphs’ Craig Edwards reviewed in early December. Of course, only so much can be gleaned from a single team’s financial numbers.

Yankees Notes: LeMahieu, Payroll, Tauchman, Stanek

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Yankees general manager Brian Cashman once again indicated Wednesday that re-signing free-agent second baseman DJ LeMahieu is the team’s No. 1 offseason priority, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News relays. The Yankees are “certainly not dipping our toes in various waters until we get a feel for how declares himself,” Cashman said of LeMahieu. The club is at least keeping an eye on the free-agent and trade markets as it waits for an answer from LeMahieu, but Cashman seems fairly optimistic New York will be able to retain the 2020 AL batting champion and MVP finalist. “The atmosphere is good, the fact that he wants to stay and we’d like to keep him,” Cashman said. “But that doesn’t guarantee anything because in free agency, you know, anything can happen. So, you know, we’ll see what happens over the course of time but our intent is to try to find a way to make it happen.”

 Here’s more on the Yankees…
  • Also from Ackert’s piece, Cashman stated he’s “confident” the Yankees will again boast the majors’ top payroll in 2021. There has been speculation that the Yankees will try to get under the $210MM luxury-tax threshold, which would mean a significant cut compared to last year’s budget, though Cashman declined to go into detail on how much the team will spend.
  • The Yankees have gotten “a lot of calls” from teams on outfielder Mike Tauchman, according to Cashman (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com).  It seems unlikely the Yankees will part with Tauchman, though, especially with Brett Gardner currently in free agency. Tauchman’s under affordable control through 2024 and could be an important reserve for the Yankees next season, considering he’s capable of playing all three outfield positions. Of course, it’s worth noting that Tauchman’s offensive production plummeted last season after a terrific showing in 2019. The 30-year-old hit just .242/.342/.305 and went without a home run in 111 plate appearances.
  • The team has shown interest in free-agent reliever Ryne Stanek, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com tweets. The Yankees are familiar with Stanek from his time as a member of the division-rival Rays, with whom he pitched from 2017-19. The hard-throwing Stanek held his own in a couple of those years, but he fell apart after the Rays sent him to the Marlins at the 2019 trade deadline. Stanek put up such poor production last season that the Marlins non-tendered him earlier this month.

Yankees Sign Andrew Velazquez To Minors Contract

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The Yankees have signed infielder Andrew Velazquez to a minor league deal, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Velazquez chose to become a free agent after the Orioles outrighted him off their 40-man roster at season’s end.

Claimed off waivers from the Indians back in February, Velazquez ended up playing in 40 games for Baltimore in 2020, which included 19 starts at shortstop due to Jose Iglesias’ injury problems.  Velazquez didn’t contribute much at the plate, hitting only .159/.274/.206 over 77 plate appearances.  Prior to joining the Orioles, Velazquez appeared in 28 games for Tampa Bay and Cleveland during the 2018-19 seasons, receiving 36 PA.

The Bronx native now returns to his local team to provide the Yankees with some utility depth all over the diamond, but while Velazquez has played everywhere except pitcher, catcher, and first base over his nine pro seasons, the bulk of his experience has come at shortstop.  Albeit in a small sample size of innings, Velazquez has gotten some solid defensive grades at shortstop, so the Yankees could be considering him as a competition for Tyler Wade for the backup infield role.

Trade/FA Notes: Yankees, Pirates, Mets, JTR, A’s, Tigers

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It was reported last week that the Yankees and Pirates have discussed Bucs right-hander Jameson Taillon and first baseman Josh Bell. It turns out the Yankees initiated those talks in an “intelligence gathering” effort, according to Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic. Even though he’s still recovering from August 2019 Tommy John surgery, it seems Taillon would be the more difficult player for the Yankees or any other team to pry from Pittsburgh. The club “would have to be blown away to deal” the 29-year-old, writes Biertempfel, who notes that Taillon is on a cheap salary ($2.25MM) and under control through 2022.

  • The Mets made their choice at catcher with the signing of James McCann, whom they added on a four-year, $40MM contract. Before picking up McCann, though, the team had “great conversations” with the best catcher in the game – free agent J.T. Realmuto – president Sandy Alderson told Tim Healey of Newsday and other reporters Monday. However, with other needs to address, the Mets didn’t want to wait around for Realmuto. Alderson noted (via Steve Gelbs of SNY) that the top of the free-agent market is moving at a glacial place.
  • The Athletics “have been in touch with Tommy La Stella’s representatives,” Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. A’s executive vice president Billy Beane and general manager David Forst have made it clear in the past they’d like La Stella back, but this is the first indication they’re making an effort to re-sign him. The 31-year-old infielder made a good impression on the A’s after they acquired him from the Angels over the summer, wrapping up a very productive two-season run between the teams. La Stella appeared in 55 of 60 regular-season games in 2020 and batted .281/.370/.449 (129 wRC+) with five home runs in 228 plate appearances. And with 27 walks against a mere 12 strikeouts, he ranked first in the majors in K rate and BB/K ratio.
  • Tigers manager AJ Hinch discussed some of the team’s offseasons plans with MLB Network Radio on Monday, per Jason Beck of MLB.com (Twitter links). As you’d expect, one of the Tigers’ priorities is to “enhance” their pitching staff by adding at least one more starter. The Tigers have already been connected to righty Taijuan Walker in the rumor mill, but he’s far from the only affordable starter they could target in free agency. Likewise, the Tigers could choose from any number of free-agent hitters to improve their offense. “The players have to want to come to Detroit,” Hinch said of potential offensive additions. “It has to fit in our budget. We’re being patient, but we’re also being opportunistic when the time comes.”

Yankees Sign Matt Bowman To Minor League Contract

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The Yankees have signed right-handed reliever Matt Bowman to a two-year minor league contract, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Bowman will earn a $900K salary if he makes the majors in either of the next two seasons.

Considering Bowman underwent Tommy John surgery in September, it seems like an extreme long shot that he’ll impact the Yankees at all in 2021. More realistically, New York can hope he’ll return to health during the second season of his deal and re-emerge as a viable big league reliever.

The 29-year-old Bowman began his career as an effective workhorse in St. Louis, where he combined for 126 1/3 innings of 3.70 ERA/3.47 FIP pitching from 2016-17. Bowman, who averages 91 mph on his fastball, didn’t rack up many strikeouts in those years (6.98 per nine), but he helped make up for it with an impressive 58.4 percent groundball rate.

Unfortunately for Bowman and St. Louis, he wasn’t able to turn in a third straight solid season in 2018. Bowman had multiple stints on the injured list because of blisters, logged a 6.76 ERA/4.73 FIP and recorded a career-worst 48.5 percent grounder mark in 23 innings. That was the end of the line with the Cardinals for Bowman, whom the Reds claimed before the 2019 season. Bowman returned to his previous form that year in Cincinnati, where he put up a 3.66 ERA/3.68 FIP and a 55.1 GB rate, but his elbow injury stopped him from pitching in 2020. The Reds moved on from Bowman in the wake of his surgery.

Latest On Yankees’ Pursuit Of DJ LeMahieu

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Yankees general manager Brian Cashman suggested last week that the club is intent on re-signing second baseman DJ LeMahieu, who’s their best free agent and one of the few stars on the market. However, it doesn’t appear the two parties are anywhere close to a deal.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today told MLB Network that the Yankees are offering a four-year contract worth $75MM, but he added that LeMahieu is seeking a five-year, $100MM pact. The one-year gap between the two is accurate, but the money is not, a source informed Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. The Yankees and LeMahieu are actually apart by more than $25MM, according to Kuty. Joel Sherman of the New York Post and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic hear the same.

While LeMahieu’s hope is to remain with the Yankees, he isn’t going to limit himself to one team in negotiations, as Rosenthal relays that the 2020 AL batting champion is going to start talking with other clubs. There is widespread interest in the 32-year-old, though some teams are in “why bother” mode with LeMahieu because they expect him to return to the Yankees, per Sherman.

Historically, the Yankees have been able to keep their top free agents when they’ve wanted to, but it could be a different story this winter because of the team’s desire to cut payroll during the pandemic. As Sherman notes, if the Yankees get under the $210MM luxury-tax threshold in 2021, they’d be cutting around $50MM in payroll compared to last season.

Considering his contributions to the Yankees over the previous two years, it’s hard to imagine LeMahieu playing elsewhere in 2021. But it looks quite possible if he and the Yankees can’t reach a reasonable compromise in the coming weeks.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman On LeMahieu, Torres, Sanchez

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Yankees general manager Brian Cashman addressed some of the team’s important questions in an interview with Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network on Thursday (video link). Here are some of the highlights…

  • Cashman indicated the Yankees are intent on bringing back second baseman DJ LeMahieu, who’s among baseball’s elite free agents, but he isn’t sure if an agreement will come together. Although LeMahieu also has interest in returning to the team, Cashman doesn’t believe a deal is any closer to materializing than it was previously.
  • The Yankees aren’t yet focused on finding a contingency plan at second should they lose LeMahieu, who starred in their uniform from 2019-20 and is currently on the heels of an American League batting title-winning season in which he finished near the top of the AL MVP voting. Shortstop Gleyber Torres might be a fit for the keystone, though, as Cashman admitted, “I think he’s a better second baseman than shortstop.” While Cashman does believe Torres could continue at short, it’s unclear how the Yankees would handle the position should they place him back at second, where he played in the past. Ex-Yankee Didi Gregorius, Andrelton Simmons, Marcus Semien and Ha-Seong Kim are the premier free-agent options at short, while the Indians’ Francisco Lindor and the Rockies’ Trevor Story are a couple of potential trade tarrgets.
  • Catcher Gary Sanchez was mentioned as a possible non-tender candidate before last week’s deadline, but the Yankees instead kept him for a projected $5.1MM to $6.4MM arbitration salary. Cashman told Marakovits that the Yankees still believe in the 28-year-old, saying, “There’s certainly an anticipation and an expectation of a bounce-back for Gary Sanchez.” The GM noted that Sanchez was an All-Star in 2019 who’s perennially a 30-home run type, adding that he paced all major league catchers in exit velocity. “No one hit the ball harder at that position than he did,” said Cashman, who’s not ready to give up on Sanchez despite a season in which he slashed .147/.253/.365 in 178 plate appearances. To Sanchez’s credit, the two-time 30-home run hitter did continue to show off above-average power (10 HRs, .218 ISO). The Yankees have, however, shown interest in free agents James McCann and Yadier Molina this offseason; so, despite Cashman’s comments, they might not be fully committed to Sanchez going into 2021.

Yankees, Pirates Have Discussed Jameson Taillon, Josh Bell

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The Yankees and Pirates have engaged in conversations centering on Pittsburgh right-hander Jameson Taillon and first baseman Josh Bell, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. It’s unclear how serious the two sides are about making a deal, according to Mackey.

This would be a significant deal for both teams, as Taillon and Bell are among the most recognizable players on the Pirates’ roster. However, with the Pirates unlikely to contend in the immediate future, it could behoove the team to at least listen to offers for Taillon and Bell. Taillon has two years of arbitration control left, and he’s projected to earn a very affordable $2.3MM in 2021. Bell is also down to his second-last year of arb control, though he’s slated to rake in a more expensive salary ranging from $5.1MM to $7.2MM.

The 29-year-old Taillon has been a successful starter in Pittsburgh, where he has recorded a 3.67 ERA/3.55 FIP with 8.09 K/9 and 2.26 BB/9 across 466 innings, but injuries all but wiped out his previous two seasons. After throwing 37 frames in 2019, Taillon underwent Tommy John surgery that August. At last check (this past September), Taillon was coming along well in his rehab, so it seems he’ll make his return to a major league mound soon. A healthy Taillon would give the Yankees another proven starter alongside Gerrit Cole, his ex-Pirates teammate, as well as Luis Severino (who’s on the mend from his own TJ surgery).

It’s less clear where Bell would fit in New York, as the Yankees already have reigning MLB home run champion Luke Voit at first base. They also have Mike Ford in the mix as a lefty-hitting complement to the right-handed Voit, not to mention Giancarlo Stanton as their designated hitter. Bell, 28, was an All-Star for the Pirates two years ago, but his production plummeted during the shortened 2020 campaign.

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