Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Yankees Rumors

Yankees Notes: Lee, Rolen, Colvin

By | at

The injuries keep coming for the Yankees, who will now consider pursuing corner infielders after losing Mark Teixeira for eight to ten weeks. There aren’t many attractive options available in trades or on the free agent market, however. Ken Davidoff of the New York Post explains the team’s predicament:

  • The Yankees acknowledge that their roster doesn’t have the same kind of depth it did in past seasons, when players such as Eric Chavez and Bartolo Colon were available to step in after others sustained injuries.
  • Anything is possible for the Yankees at this point, Davidoff writes. Free agent Carlos Lee would be one option, but he hasn’t been willing to sign for a low base salary, according to Davidoff.
  • Scott Rolen is available in free agency, but he hit just .244/.301/.397 in 2011-12.
  • While Tyler Colvin doesn’t have a starting role with the Rockies, the Yankees and Rockies “haven’t clicked” in recent trade talks.
  • GM Brian Cashman explained that he’s not at all worried about Derek Jeter’s health. “He’ll be ready when it counts,” the GM said.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Blue Jays, Hill

By | at

The ability of Kevin Youkilis to play third or first will allow Brian Cashman to pursue a player at either position and he still could look for a better alternative in the outfield than Juan Rivera or Matt Diaz but don't expect them to do anything dramatic, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Here's more on the Yankees and other news out of the American League East..

Yankees To Consider Corner Infielders

By | at

Mark Teixeira has a strained right wrist and will miss eight to ten weeks, according to Yankees manager Joe Girardi (via Jack Curry of the YES Network on Twitter). The Yankees will look at first basemen and third basemen when considering possible replacements, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports (Twitter links). Kevin Youkilis’ versatility will enable the club to explore options at both corner positions.

Travis Hafner is not an option in the field, Girardi and GM Brian Cashman confirmed. The left-handed hitter will only be used as a designated hitter and pinch hitter. Juan Rivera and Dan Johnson are among the Yankees' internal options at first base. However, the Yankees are stretched thin in general following Curtis Granderson's injury and may need Rivera in left field.

Free agents Carlos Lee and Aubrey Huff might appeal to the Yankees at first base. The club could also consider trading for a player, though the trade market doesn’t typically gain momentum until later in March. If the Yankees do pursue trades for first basemen they could be bidding against other teams, such as the Brewers.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Ichiro, Jeter, Orioles

By | at

MLBTR’s offseason in review series is just getting started, but the AL East is now complete. Click here to see how the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Blue Jays and Orioles navigated their respective offseasons. Here are some more links from the division…

  • The Red Sox aren't close to bumping up against MLB's luxury tax, as Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com shows. With commitments in the $163MM range, the Red Sox have $15MM separating them from the $178MM threshold.
  • Ichiro Suzuki explained to Ken Davidoff of the New York Post that he wanted to re-sign with the Yankees because of the team's focused emphasis on winning. “Those are things that I wanted in a clubhouse and on a team, and I didn’t know that it existed,” Ichiro said. “I kind of had given up hope that I would find that ideal clubhouse, kind of how I felt how about a clubhouse should be. And I was able to find that last year, and that was here.”
  • In a video blog Davidoff explains that Brian Cashman's recent misadventure won't stop him from doing his job as the Yankees' general manager. Cashman broke his right fibula and dislocated his right ankle after jumping out of a parachute to raise awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project two days ago.
  • Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner are among the ten most powerful people in baseball, Tom Verducci writes at SI.com. Commissioner Bud Selig tops Verducci's list.
  • The Orioles like what they see from Jair Jurrjens this spring, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports. Jurrjens, who signed a minor league deal with Baltimore this past offseason, is one of 13 Orioles pitchers competing for a rotation spot this spring.

East Notes: Cashman, Ohman, Kendrick, Yanks

By | at

The Yankees announced today that general manager Brian Cashman broke his right fibula and dislocated his right ankle on the landing of a tandem skydive. Cashman was skydiving with the U.S. Army Golden Knights to raise awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project.

“I’m in great spirits, and it was an awesome experience," Cashman was quoted as saying in the press release. "The Golden Knights are first class. While I certainly didn’t intend to raise awareness in exactly this fashion, I’m extremely happy that the Wounded Warrior Project is getting the well-deserved additional attention.” He is scheduled for surgery today. Here's more out of baseball's Eastern divisions…

  • Will Ohman does not have an out clause in his contract, but the Nationals would likely grant him his release if he asked for it, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (on Twitter). Ohman signed a minor league deal with the reigning NL East champs last month.
  • Phillies righty Kyle Kendrick was roughed up in his start Sunday, but he told David Murphy of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he appreciates knowing the poor outing doesn't jeopardize his rotation spot. As Murphy notes, Kendrick hasn't experienced that type of security in recent years, as he's typically been on the fringe of Philadelphia's rotation.
  • Peter Botte of the New York Daily News writes that Robinson Cano's father, Jose, hopes his son will sign an extension that will make him a Yankee for life. Jose will be a bench coach for the Dominican Republic's WBC team on which Robinson will play. The Bombers' second baseman didn't get into contract talks, but did admit how important his father's advice is to him.
  • The Yankees are very likely to receive their worst offensive output from the catcher position since before Jorge Posada emerged in the late-90s, writes Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues. The Bombers decided against acquiring a standout backstop this offseason and will pull from a group consisting of Chris Stewart, Francisco Cervelli, and Austin Romine.

Cafardo On Red Sox, Vazquez, Stanton, Cano

By | at

In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that even though the 2013 Red Sox may not knock your socks off, they could still be extremely effective.  In theory, Boston could have used their wiggle room on the likes of Josh Hamilton, Adam LaRoche, and Cody Ross.  Instead, the club's shopping spree yielded Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes, David Ross, Stephen Drew, and Ryan Dempster.  However, the BoSox have set themselves up for bigger things in the long run and they could still be competitive in '13.  Here's more from Cafardo..

  • The Red Sox, Nationals, Yankees, Orioles, and Brewers had major interest in free agent pitcher Javier Vazquez before knee surgery put his season in jeopardy. “Never say never,” said a major league source close to the hurler, “but we won’t see him in the immediate future.”
  • One AL executive cautions not to rule out the Tigers as a major player for the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton when the time comes. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has strong ties to the Marlins from his time with them and may have the chips to get a deal done.  Detroit could use third baseman/outfielder Nick Castellanos, outfielder Avisail Garcia, righty Rick Porcello, and others to entice Miami.
  • One NL executive says that he is envious of the position that Robinson Cano finds himself in.  “He’s going to have the Yankees and the Dodgers offering him a record amount of money,” said the exec.  GM Brian Cashman says he has already offered a “significant” contract, but there's no reason for the Scott Boras client to take the deal when considering how much the Dodgers may be willing to bid.
  • Royals outfielder Jeff Francoeur had the worst WAR among everyday players last season, but at age 29, he feels that he is just entering his prime.  It appears that the Royals would be willing to move him and his strong arm in the outfield could attract interest.

Poll: Will The Yankees Get Under $189MM For 2014?

By | at

Last year, the Bombers made waves and eyes roll when they said that they were determined to get under the $189MM figure to avoid being severely taxed in 2014.  The new Collective Bargaining Agreement meant that the Yankees’ free-spending ways were no longer good business, but people were still skeptical that the Steinbrenner family would go through with tightening the belt.  One year later, it seems like they’re still serious about being smart shoppers.

The Yankees kept veteran pitchers Andy Pettitte and Hiroki Kuroda on one-year deals, meaning that they’ll see a combined $27MM come off of the books after this season.  Kevin Youkilis was also brought in on a one-year, $12MM deal to satisfy the club’s need at third base.  Meanwhile, the club resisted temptation and stayed away from the bigger names on the open market this winter.  It’ll stay that way too, despite Scott Boras’ desire for the club to get involved with Kyle Lohse.

Everything seems to be falling in line for the Yankees when it comes to getting under the $189MM mark, except when it comes to their star second baseman.  The Yanks insist that they have made a “significant offer” to keep Cano for the long-term, but there could be a significant gap between the club and the Boras client.  The Bombers could be thinking about something in the neighborhood of seven years at $171MM while Boras might expect opening bids for ten years at $20-25MM per season.  Ultimately, keeping Cano from testing free agency may mean compromising their repeated desire to avoid paying steep luxury tax penalties.  When all is said and done, do you see the Bombers sticking to their guns?

East Notes: Wang, Yankees, Rays, Marlins

By | at

The Yankees are among the teams keeping an eye on Chien-Ming Wang, who threw six shutout innings against Australia in the World Baseball Classic, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  The Aussies may not be the toughest team in the WBC, but Wang looked strong and probably helped his case for hooking on with the Bombers or another club as pitching depth.  Here's more out of the AL and NL East..

  • MLBPA chief Michael Weiner said this morning that there's "some legitimacy" to the Rays' management concerns that the new CBA has not helped them in terms of competitive balance, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
  • Weiner went on to say that he is "disappointed" in the Rays' attendance figures, but neither contraction nor relocation have come up as possibilities.  He also says there is a curiosity to see what could happen with stadium on other side of Tampa, closer to Orlando (Twitter links).
  • Mets catcher John Buck says that he's keeping himself out of the beef between his former Marlins teammates and the club's management, writes Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel. Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle have both spoken out against Miami owner Jeffrey Loria.
  • Marlins hitting coach Tino Martinez says that Jake Marisnick, who was acquired in the trade with the Blue Jays, could be the best defensive center fielder in the game right now, Sherman tweets.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Cano, De La Rosa, Red Sox

By | at

Here’s a look at the American League East..

  • Ken Davidoff of the New York Post opines that the Yankees and Robinson Cano need to take a season-long break from their contract talks.  With Cano confessing that the negotiations are starting to get into his head, it would be in the best interest of both parties to table everything for a good seven or eight months.  At this point, however, there’s no indication that they’ll do that.
  • Fireballing right-hander Rubby De La Rosa, who came over in the blockbuster deal with the Dodgers, looks to be a gem for the Red Sox, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald.  De La Rosa won’t be with the varsity squad to start the season, but the BoSox are high on him nonetheless.  “He’s got electric stuff,” Dustin Pedroia said. “We’re glad to have him. You can never have enough pitching, and it’s pretty exciting, the guys we got in that trade. They’ve got some great stuff. Getting young talent like that, especially pitching, those are prized pieces. This will be huge for our team.” 
  • Rob Bradford of WEEI.com wonders how good of a first baseman offseason acquisition Mike Napoli can become.  So far, Napoli is getting strong reviews from infield coach Brian Butterfield.

Quick Hits: Yankees, Cano, Lohse, Nationals

By | at

On the latest edition of the Rosters & Rumblings podcast, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith and Jason Mart.inez of MLB Depth Charts discussed Robinson Cano's contract status and the Padres' 2013 chances.  Here are some links to close out this Friday evening..

  • A more restrained approach to spending by the Yankees doesn't mean that they can't re-sign Cano to a hefty, long-term deal, writes MLB.com's Mike Bauman.  From a competitive standpoint, the Yanks cannot afford to lose Cano considering their aging lineup and the loss of power elsewhere.
  • The Kyle Lohse situation shows that not even Scott Boras can truly command the invisible hand of the market, Jack Moore of Fangraphs writes.  However, Boras has found a way around this in the past with pillow contracts and Moore looks at examples including Edwin Jackson, Ryan Madson, and Adrian Beltre.
  • Jim Callis of Baseball America takes a stab at predicting the 2016 World Series and has the Nationals topping the Rays.  Callis sees the Nats' stable of first-rounders powering the club in the years to come and envisions Anthony Rendon and Lucas Giolito emerging by this time.
  • The Marlins are giving non-roster invitee Michael Wuertz a chance at salvaging his career, writes Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top