Yankees Rumors

Crasnick On Remaining Free Agents

By Tim Dierkes | April 22, 2009 at 12:52pm CDT

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick has a new article up looking at a bunch of free agents.

Crasnick talked to one American League exec who views Pedro Martinez as "strictly a National League pitcher." Coupled with his price tag and long layoff, the market isn't big for Pedro.
Ben Sheets is weeks away from a throwing program. He's probably a ten-start guy this year, but interest figures to be strong.
Jim Edmonds hopes to sign by May. He'll need two to three weeks to get ready. Mark Grudzielanek also wants to play, and tells friends he only needs a week. He'll look for a contender, and the Royals will hope he signs before June so they get that supplemental draft pick. Jacque Jones is another guy who still hopes to play.
Geoff Jenkins is taking grounders at first base to increase his versatility.
Jay Payton suffered a shoulder injury lifting weights last month, but once he's healthy a few months from now he still wants to play.
Nothing appears to be cooking for Frank Thomas and Luis Gonzalez, who could be forced to retire. Dave Roberts hasn't officially retired, but a comeback appears unlikely.
Paul Byrd's plan remains unchanged: sign with a contender around July.
Jon Lieber's agent says the pitcher has retired. 131 wins, including 20 in '01. Lieber finishes with a 4.27 ERA in 2,198 innings for the Pirates, Cubs, Yankees, and Phillies. He earned over $46MM, according to Baseball Reference.

Odds & Ends: Nady, Doumit, Boyer

By Tim Dierkes | April 21, 2009 at 3:13pm CDT

Links for Tuesday…

SI.com's Jon Heyman says Xavier Nady will not require elbow surgery and may return within a month.
Bad news for the Pirates: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says catcher Ryan Doumit will likely miss 8-10 weeks due to wrist surgery.
Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says Matt Murton belongs in the Majors.
Wallace Matthews and Ken Davidoff of Newsday each write about Jason Giambi's time in New York.
With news that Demetri Martin will play Paul DePodesta in the Moneyball movie, Jon Weisman says not to judge the film before watching it. Personally I am looking forward to the movie. Martin is hilarious and Brad Pitt can be very good (12 Monkeys being the best example).
Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders why the Mets paid Fernando Tatis $1.7MM if they weren't committed to using him.
Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has quotes from Cardinals GM John Mozeliak about the Brian Barton–Blaine Boyer swap.
Via NPB Tracker, a comeback for Hideki Irabu?
RotoAuthority looks at Geovany Soto's slow start.

Odds & Ends: Hunter, Keppinger, Swisher

By Tim Dierkes | April 20, 2009 at 10:54am CDT

Links for Monday…

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Jed Lowrie will have wrist surgery, and Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe learned that he could return by the All-Star break. Julio Lugo, recovering from knee surgery, should be ready to take over soon.
ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. says "negotiations between the New York Yankees and Cuban exile prospect Felix Perez have broken down because of the outfielder's problem in obtaining a visa." Perez was set for a bonus north of $3MM, but questions have been raised about his age. The Yanks may have interest in a couple of other Cuban players, Noel Arguelles and Jose Iglesias, once they're declared free agents.
According to Phil Miller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Torii Hunter would seemingly like to finish his career with the Twins.
MLB.com's Alyson Footer says sending Drew Sutton to the Reds for Jeff Keppinger was "a great, great deal for the Astros." Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle explains why the move was made.
Aaron Gleeman weighs in on the Twins' decision to swap out Philip Humber for Juan Morillo.
David Pinto of Baseball Musings gives his opinion of the Ryan Zimmerman extension.
South Side Sox and Sox Machine discuss the minor tiff between Ozzie Guillen and Nick Swisher.
Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News says the Dodgers signed pitcher Chuck Tiffany to a minor league deal. They'd traded him to the Rays in '06 as part of the Danys Baez deal, and the Rays released him in March of this year.

Yankees Issues

By Tim Dierkes | April 20, 2009 at 9:11am CDT

The Yankees' 7-6 record puts them 2.5 games behind the Blue Jays. With only 8% of the season finished, here are the issues currently facing the Yanks.

Chien-Ming Wang has allowed 23 hits and 23 earned runs in six innings spanning three starts. He'd need to pitch four shutouts to get his ERA under 5.00…that has to affect a guy's confidence. Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Yankees will skip Wang's next start. He believes the team attributes the poor start to a lack of arm strength. Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News says the Yankees found mechanical issues, though Wang says everything's the same as last year. Tyler Kepner of the New York Times notes that Wang is out of options, so the Yankees won't end up sending him to the minors. Benjamin Kabak at River Avenue Blues suggests the Yankees saw this coming, given their reluctance to lock Wang up long-term. Kabak believes a DL stint would make sense.
Is the new stadium a launching pad? It's early, but many say the ball is flying out to right field. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports looks at the stadium and other issues, including the bullpen. ESPN's Buster Olney calls the park "a veritable wind tunnel that is rocketing balls over fences." He notes that the team cannot structurally alter the park this season.
Regarding Xavier Nady's elbow injury, Sherman says "the Yanks were privately a lot more optimistic by Sunday that Nady could avoid Tommy John surgery and that he might be able to return in June and form a righty-lefty DH platoon with Hideki Matsui." Nady had a second MRI on Saturday, and the team doctor will speak with Dr. Lewis Yocum.

Yankees Outfield Options

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | April 18, 2009 at 9:37am CDT

According to George A. King III of the New York Post Austin Kearns or Jason Repko could become options for the Yankees if they decide to look outside the organization for outfield depth. Now that Xavier Nady could be out for a while the Yankees have moved Nick Swisher into right, but their bench isn't as deep as before.

King writes that the Dodgers "might be willing to trade" Repko and the Nationals "are said to be entertaining offers" for Kearns.

This King update is from a couple days ago. As MLB.com's Anthony DiComo writes we don't know much more about Nady's health now than we did Thursday. I'd expect the Yankees to get a full report on Nady before dealing for additional depth.

Odds & Ends: Bonifacio, Jimenez, Darvish

By Tim Dierkes | April 17, 2009 at 1:32pm CDT

Links for Friday…

Royals third baseman Alex Gordon is out 10-12 weeks due to hip surgery. Mark Teahen will slide over to take his place.
Ken Rosenthal examines the Indians.
I did a Q&A with But The Game Is On.
Chico Harlan of the Washington Post gets into the Emilio Bonifacio trade.
ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. writes about how the Yankees' signing of D'Angelo Jimenez changed everything.
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker has a Yu Darvish velocity chart.
The Big Lead talked to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Paul DePodesta explains the Padres' decision to expose Travis Denker to waivers.

Geoff Jenkins Wants To Play

By Tim Dierkes | April 17, 2009 at 8:20am CDT

According to ESPN's Buster Olney:

Geoff Jenkins remains unsigned and continues to work out in Arizona, preparing for his next opportunity, says Damon Lapa, his agent. "He definitely wants to play," said Lapa. "I just [think] he's being constructively selective." Jenkins, 34, was released by the Phillies near the end of spring training. He batted .246 last season, with nine homers, doing most of his damage against right-handed pitchers. With the Yankees having just lost Xavier Nady—possibly for the year—he might possibly be a fit for New York, although General Manager Brian Cashman might prefer a right-handed hitting outfielder to replace the right-handed hitting Nady; Jenkins bats left-handed.

Jenkins will probably cost around $400K to employ, with the Phillies on the hook for the rest of his $8MM salary this year. The Marlins and Reds were linked to him a few weeks ago, but it's been quiet lately. Jenkins hit .256/.313/.415 against right-handed pitching last year.

Nady Injury Depletes Depth

By Tim Dierkes | April 16, 2009 at 8:41am CDT

The hot topic this morning: the injury to Xavier Nady. The Yankees' right-fielder may need season-ending elbow surgery, with an exam scheduled for today.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Yankees will be in trouble if an additional injury is to occur. This just shows how quickly a surplus can turn into a deficit in baseball. Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes about the situation as well. He feels the Yankees will have to bring in a right-handed hitting outfielder from outside the organization. Fortunately, he believes this type of player is in abundance. Sherman also wonders if Andruw Jones regrets his decision not to sign with the Yankees.

Nady May Be Out For The Season

By Tim Dierkes | April 15, 2009 at 12:54pm CDT

According to Peter Abraham of The Journal News:

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE, 12:55 p.m.: Nothing official yet, but the word is that Xavier Nady will need surgery and miss the season.

UPDATE, 1:47 p.m.: We just spoke to Nady. He didn’t want to say too much until he sees the team doctor in NYC tomorrow. But he indicated that the MRI showed a tear and surgery will be needed.

Nady left Tuesday's game with elbow pain; he had Tommy John surgery on it back in '01. The injury doesn't affect the Yankees as much as it affects Nady. The Yanks fortunately chose not to trade Nick Swisher this winter, so they'll be OK. But Nady is eligible for free agency after the season.

Odds & Ends: Swisher, La Russa, Twins

By | April 12, 2009 at 11:24am CDT

Happy Easter to those celebrating. Here are your Sunday links…

Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette addresses the ever-popular question, "What if the Pirates had drafted Matt Wieters" in 2007?
Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star did some number crunching and determined that forking over major cash for a free agent pitcher is often far too risky. 30 pitchers regressed after inking new deals, while only 13 improved.
The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan believes the Brewers might make a run at Jake Peavy later this season.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa has abandoned the idea of hitting his pitcher eighth for the last three games, and his club is suddenly on a winning streak. "Hitting the guy ninth we've got a winning record," said La Russa. "I don't want to mess around with it." (Quote courtesy of Rick Hummel with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).
Tyler Kepner of the New York Times examines the "evolution" of the trade that brought Nick Swisher to the Yankees. As Kepner notes, it "looks like a steal" at this point.
The Twins are considering a uniform design change for the opening of Target Field in 2010. Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wants your suggestions.
You're obviously a baseball buff if you're checking MLBTR daily, so let me direct you to a brand new site chock-full of streaming baseball-related content. It's NBCSports.com's newest darling, "Circling The Bases," featuring the writing styles of Aaron Gleeman, Matthew Pouliot and Craig Calcaterra.

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