NFT: Yankees Day 1 of the Offseason Thread

and go with Betances...

I think Yankees make a run at BOTH lester and Sherzer...

I think Arod if healthy is on the team really no way to get rid of him unless he retires...

SS i have no idea...

In comment 11889630 nygiants16 said:

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and go with Betances... I think Yankees make a run at BOTH lester and Sherzer... I think Arod if healthy is on the team really no way to get rid of him unless he retires... SS i have no idea...

We've got Tanaka (unless he ends up needing surgery), Pineda, Nova (when he comes back), CC and Shane Greene penciled in. Because of injuries and question marks that could leave room for one starter. I could see Brendan McCarthy (though he may have priced himself out of NY) coming back as a stopgap. I could see them pursuing Lester or Scherzer. I really can't see them doing both.

I totally understand that. But Kevin Long has to go. How he survived after last season I'll never know, but if he survives after this year then I'll just assume that he's sucking someone important's dick. Fire him.

David Robertson has been a very good reliever for us and he was a worthy choice to replace Mariano. But he's going to want ridiculous money for a Closer and while he's a very good closer, I wouldn't call him great (periphs overrate him imo). I'd say thanks for being a solid Yankee but no thanks during contract negotiations, and I'd move Betances to the closer role. I know some want Betances to remain in his Fireman role, but I feel like that role's a little more dangerous in terms of future health and I'd stay on the safe side in terms of health when it comes to a talent like Betances.

Hate it or Love it, A-Rod is a part of this team. We just have to deal with it and hope the year off has him feeling well.

Our hitting is a joke. So many old, injury prone, and expensive players. It just makes me sad thinking about how fucked our hitting is unless some of these old guys find the fountain of youth (or PEDs, again).

But our pitching is such a question mark. It's a strong group if Pineda and Tanaka stay healthy, but that sees like a risky proposition. I do expect us to make a run at Lester or Sherzer, and that could potentially give us a tremendous rotation if health permits. But our pitching health concerns and old ass hitters just makes me feel down on this team.

And be a Yankee for another season

Jose Reyes has 4 years left at $22 million per - but the 4th year has a $4 million buyout. I expect Toronto would be willing to eat a significant portion of it and won't ask for an impact player or prospect in return. He can still hit, steal bases and has a good range at ss. It's worth looking into.

And they'd still miss the playoffs because they can't score runs if their lives depended on it.

In comment 11889661 Ira said:

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Jose Reyes has 4 years left at $22 million per - but the 4th year has a $4 million buyout. I expect Toronto would be willing to eat a significant portion of it and won't ask for an impact player or prospect in return. He can still hit, steal bases and has a good range at ss. It's worth looking into.

As much as this pains me, I think you're right. It makes a lot of sense.

which the Yanks wont follow...but oh well

1) trade for SS Stalin Castro
2) sign free agent pitcher James Shields or Jon Lester
3) resign SP McCarthy and Pineda (he is arbitration eligible I believe)
4) Make Prado our start 3b. He hits better when he plays 3b.
5)Let Refsnyder battle for 2b job
6) sign a power bat for DH/of relief


Starting Rotation
Tanaka
Shields or Lester
Pineda
CC
Greene (he has earned the lead going into spring training Nova wont be ready by start of season)

Lineup
CF Ellsbury
Lf Gardner
1b Tex
C McCann
Rf Beltran or someone we signed
3b Prado
SS Castro
Dh Beltran or someone we signed
2b Refsynder or other

everything else is gravy!!!

In comment 11889666 Danny Kanell said:

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In comment 11889661 Ira said: Quote: Jose Reyes has 4 years left at $22 million per - but the 4th year has a $4 million buyout. I expect Toronto would be willing to eat a significant portion of it and won't ask for an impact player or prospect in return. He can still hit, steal bases and has a good range at ss. It's worth looking into. As much as this pains me, I think you're right. It makes a lot of sense.

It makes sense, sure, even if his skillset is diminished, and there are rumblings they overcommitted on salary, but there is still a lot of interest in good shortstops, especially of the switch-hitting variety, and we would likely have to pay an intra-division premium.

as Epstein has no attachment to him and they have three other prospects at the position. It could certainly happen, we just have to match up and the asking price may still be high.

strong...would love to see him put it together and stay healthy for a full season

like it or not, I agree A-Rod will be back, unless the Yanks really want to pay him $28 million but tell him to stay away

at the deadline the Sox made a conscious decision to become sellers. They were behind the Yankees, but no too too far behind. Subsequently, or perhaps consequently, they finished with the 6th worse record (picking 7th because of the Astros inability to sign their first pick this year) and, more importantly, have a protected first rounder. In contrast, NY chose to become buyers and make a run.

I know it's hindsight, but if you could bring yourself back to the end of July, looking at your team, would you have made a different choice if you were the GM?

In comment 11889719 Bill L said:

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at the deadline the Sox made a conscious decision to become sellers. They were behind the Yankees, but no too too far behind. Subsequently, or perhaps consequently, they finished with the 6th worse record (picking 7th because of the Astros inability to sign their first pick this year) and, more importantly, have a protected first rounder. In contrast, NY chose to become buyers and make a run. I know it's hindsight, but if you could bring yourself back to the end of July, looking at your team, would you have made a different choice if you were the GM?

We would have had to be really, really bad to get a protected pick. At least eight more losses. We didn't have much to sell, and we didn't buy that much either (surrendering DePaula for a couple months of Headley and O'Brien for a couple years of Prado). What's the point of pissing away the 13th pick on JJ Hardy when we could generate a little bit of excitement and piss away the 19th pick on JJ Hardy?

In comment 11889719 Bill L said:

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at the deadline the Sox made a conscious decision to become sellers. They were behind the Yankees, but no too too far behind. Subsequently, or perhaps consequently, they finished with the 6th worse record (picking 7th because of the Astros inability to sign their first pick this year) and, more importantly, have a protected first rounder. In contrast, NY chose to become buyers and make a run. I know it's hindsight, but if you could bring yourself back to the end of July, looking at your team, would you have made a different choice if you were the GM?

Once Tanaka went down, any chance the Yanks had of their pitching overcoming their crap offense went out the window IMO

The Yanks still seemed to believe at the deadline that Beltran, McCann, Ellsbury et al would revert to career norms in the 2nd half and help us reach the playoffs...obviously that didn't happen, whether due to injuries or whatever

But as always, Yanks were also trying to prove they were going for it so they could keep selling their overpriced tickets.

So as per usual, the Yanks overspent. Conversely, the Red Sox seem to be playing it smart ever since their Bobby V disaster season

their starting rotation is Laptops (who sucked this year) and nobody else. Their lineup is an aging Pedroia, an aging Napoli, an aging Papi, and hoping for the best from kids. Yeah they'll make some moves in the offseason, but for a team everyone thinks has the Midas touch they were f-cking awful this year.

In comment 11889738 Dunedin81 said:

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their starting rotation is Laptops (who sucked this year) and nobody else. Their lineup is an aging Pedroia, an aging Napoli, an aging Papi, and hoping for the best from kids. Yeah they'll make some moves in the offseason, but for a team everyone thinks has the Midas touch they were f-cking awful this year.

Bingo. They got something like 30% of their homeruns and 1/6 of their RBI's from ol' Punkinhead who ain't gettng any younger. Sooner or later his physicians in the DR aren't going to be able to keep him going.

they have 3 thirdbasemen, a half a first basemen, a collection of outfielders only one of whom is any good, no secondbaseman and a ? at SS.

Prado may be the default at second base if they sign Drew to play SS.

They'd be crazy not to. Worst case, they get him back for a year and we have the great Betances-DRob connection.

I think there will be some overpriced SS available for us to Snag - Reyes/Andrus/Castro

I say let Pirela/Refsyder battle it out for 2B and Prado can be the fall back there.

Don't want to think about ARod.

I would like the Yanks to bring in a lower level bat with pop, maybe someone who can play a little first and RF/LF. Maybe Mike Morse or someone like that.

BUT MOSTLY - No big contracts to old guys.

sign a shortstop and rely on Prado as a super-sub for Beltran, A-Rod and one of Pirela or Refsnyder at 2B. I don't want to give up a pick for VMart but he would provide insurance against Teix's wrist injury staying with him and Beltran coming back healthy. That would have been a very different lineup with his 32 HR and .335 average in the middle of it.

Have taught the yankees us to stay away from older players. Giving up a first round pick for v mart us counter productive and most likely will blow up in their face like what happened this past year.


I am for Reyes as long as the cost isn't for a top 10 prospect. I like him much more then any other short stop option and that includes castro. Castro is going to cost the yankees serious talent. I am talking Pineda or severino plus. No thanks.

I don't mind if they go after Lester or Tomas because neither will cost a draft choice. Yankees need to start caring about their picks rather then throw them away. It is one reason why they are in the mess they are in.

In comment 11889738 Dunedin81 said:

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their starting rotation is Laptops (who sucked this year) and nobody else. Their lineup is an aging Pedroia, an aging Napoli, an aging Papi, and hoping for the best from kids. Yeah they'll make some moves in the offseason, but for a team everyone thinks has the Midas touch they were f-cking awful this year.

For the most part, I agree. However, I think one good thing is that they were able to get a better read on those kids. I think they feel that Betts and Bogardts can play. Cespedes ain't great but he's not bad and will bring stability to their lineup. Pedroia was (hopefully) more hurt than aging (I admit I thought he was done earlier in the year). Buchholz was an enigma but when he's on, he's still good. Joe Kelly looks solid to me and I think de la Rosa will be decent. I do believe they will make a run at a goof SP, likely Lester and should they succeed in acquiring one, their rotation will not be terrible.

I am optimistic. Plus the AL East is horrible.

someone on another forum stated that the Yanks were going to ask A-Rod to play some winter league ball to see where's he at in his rehab.

And say with the many questions the yankees have in their rotation that they need Lester badly. They need a guy in their rotation that will eat innings. We do not know if Tanaka, Pineda, cc, nova will be able to give them innings. Even Mccarthy is a risky bet and in no way, shape or for am giving Mccarthy 3 to 4 years with his history. For me signing Lester is also about helping to preserve our bull pen arms.

or was he acquired too close to the deadline?

They cant. Players traded during the season can't bring back a draft choice.

a level of asset mismanagement where they let Cano and Robertson go for nothing in back to back years.

Too many older players who will break down under the grind of a full season.

I'd like to see them go after big game James Shields. He eats innings and performs well. As to SS, they need to make a move. Starling Castro can be had and JJ hardy is a free agent. Wouldn't mind Tulo either but he would command a healthy trade.

We really need some young bats.

In comment 11889814 Semipro Lineman said:

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someone on another forum stated that the Yanks were going to ask A-Rod to play some winter league ball to see where's he at in his rehab.

Please play in the Dominican, please play in the Dominican...

In comment 11889929 VAJerr said:

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Too many older players who will break down under the grind of a full season. I'd like to see them go after big game James Shields. He eats innings and performs well. As to SS, they need to make a move. Starling Castro can be had and JJ hardy is a free agent. Wouldn't mind Tulo either but he would command a healthy trade. We really need some young bats.

You say get younger, then you advocate signing the oldest of the front-end starting pitchers.

In comment 11889804 Bill L said:

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In comment 11889738 Dunedin81 said: Quote: their starting rotation is Laptops (who sucked this year) and nobody else. Their lineup is an aging Pedroia, an aging Napoli, an aging Papi, and hoping for the best from kids. Yeah they'll make some moves in the offseason, but for a team everyone thinks has the Midas touch they were f-cking awful this year. For the most part, I agree. However, I think one good thing is that they were able to get a better read on those kids. I think they feel that Betts and Bogardts can play. Cespedes ain't great but he's not bad and will bring stability to their lineup. Pedroia was (hopefully) more hurt than aging (I admit I thought he was done earlier in the year). Buchholz was an enigma but when he's on, he's still good. Joe Kelly looks solid to me and I think de la Rosa will be decent. I do believe they will make a run at a goof SP, likely Lester and should they succeed in acquiring one, their rotation will not be terrible. I am optimistic. Plus the AL East is horrible.

I think they made the best of a bad situation this year, but until one of those arms demonstrates that he is something more than a 4-5 (could be Owens, could be Barnes or Ranaudo, could be none of the above) and one or both of Betts and Bogaerts emerges as a top of the lineup bat (and even if they do) they're still a few players away from being competitive.

He did a good job. He's lefty, he won't cost a ton and might take a one year deal. You can't have too many pitchers and Capuano would be good insurance. He could be a good place holder until a young guy is ready for promotion. Bryan Mitchell, Severino and Banuelos may be better served with a little more minor league action before getting a shot.

In comment 11889663 Greg from LI said:

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And they'd still miss the playoffs because they can't score runs if their lives depended on it.

This. We're probably not Jon Lester away from making the playoffs, which is why I don't want them to give an extremely large contract to a SP. Hitting is the problem. I think our SP is very, very good if you just resign McCarthy and a cheaper option to replace Kuroda if he retires/not resigned as we suspect. McCarthy pitched like an ace while in NY, nearly as good or better than Lester or scherzer. And will be much cheaper and shorter contract. And I don't think it was a fluke, I liked him all year with ARI, the peripherals were all there and actually improved from prior years. He added weight in the offseason in an effort to stay healthy/durable, and he did, and added a couple mph to his fastball in the process, with improved k/9 of about 9. And a phenomenal k/bb of like 5:1.

Cole, Tanaka and Pineda would have been three studs 25 and under with multiple guys under 28 to fill the last two spots.

had made an effort to sign Cole. Big screw-up by not even calling him...

In comment 11890132 Rob in NYC said:

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had made an effort to sign Cole. Big screw-up by not even calling him...

Yeah if only they had conveyed their record offer to him, he might be in pinstripes today.

Read about him, but looking forward to see the interest we have and whether teams feel he is an impact player and going to be able to make the transition. Saw the rumor that an unnamed team has already offered him $75m. In theory/best case scenario, he's exactly what we need, a young middle of the order power bat. And based on current roster construction, rf is essentially the only place we are going to be able to add that. Otherwise I wonder what's on the trade market that we may not be aware of, because the FA options aren't great, or they're dh types.

More nervous than Castillo did.
He's built a bit like Charlie Hayes and swings like Hensley Muelens. - ( New Window )

I would get him a first baseman's mitt and have him play there. I am sure he can hit more then .216 Tex is done! Great fielder but awful hitter and an injury waiting to happen. I realize the money he is making but at some point if you want the team to succeed,you have to eat his contract unless you want him to be a Mike Hegan type player.

He was overrated even at his peak. Is now declining and guaranteed to miss a fair number of games.

Yanks need a big bat before anything.

All 3 are under 35... way too young for Cashman's liking!

My first choice for this offseason is to get the Cubs on the phone for one of their young SS. It'll prolly be Castro, and the price will be high, but he's got great tools.

Call around to see if there's a market for McCann, if you can dump him off on someone, do it. Ditto Gardner. He's my favorite player on the team, but if they can flip him for a power bat or a young pitcher, they've gotta do it while he's still got value.

Pass on any of the pitchers. We've learned our lesson on signing aging pitchers to long term deals. Hopefully.

This team is likely going to struggle next year, so let's get the kids up here and let's see what we have.

who will rebuild the farm system.

The Yankees are years away from being legit contenders.

what that means for him going forward remains to be seen, but he probably showed enough to hold onto a 40-man spot.

resign Headley and Drew and maybe McCarthy. Basically a "hold what you got." Wouldn't be my plan, but I see the appeal.
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for castro instead of getting a nice stop gap in reyes for pennies on the dollar? I don't understand the logic.

would be the only pitcher of interest. Face it CC is done

but his SB numbers are already in decline and his defense is just okay. He would be a nice acquisition, but so would Reyes and the asking price for the latter may be (may - it is within the division) significantly lower.

can resign drew for a couple years until one of our kids are ready to take over. i think drew will be much better next year with a full spring training.

In comment 11890697 sinctybldh said:

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can resign drew for a couple years until one of our kids are ready to take over. i think drew will be much better next year with a full spring training.

He is probably better, but if he's not you have to be willing to cut bait.

but at least he will come cheap.

may turn into one of the best non-catcher hitting prospects we've had in a decade.

Josh Norris þ@jnorris427 · 5m5 minutes ago
Heard Jorge Mateo homered yesterday at #Yankees instructs and also stole two bags.

Includes a Yankee prospect:

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Connor Spencer, 1b, Staten Island (Yankees) In his three-year career at UC Irvine, Spencer hit .351, but with only one home run in 632 at-bats. The eighth-round pick hit .364 to win the NY-P batting title, but he did not hit a homer. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder has a sweet lefthanded swing, but his inside-out approach is not conducive to power, and he’ll need to make adjustments to drive the ball better in order to profile at a corner position.

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Had he qualified for the batting title, he'd have been arguably the worst hitter in baseball in 2014

on what to do with the Yankee FA's. Worthwhile read, even if I might disagree with some of it.
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.

especially if headley leaves bc prado would see a lot of time at 3rd to rest arod

watching Pineda this winter. make sure he doesnt eat himself out of the rotation and onto the DL

In comment 11891660 bxgiants4 said:

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.

Hardy is 32, his OBP has been higher than .310 just once in the last 6 years, and his homerun rate dipped. He's a very good defensive shortstop, but he will command a multiyear deal (we'll see how that glove plays in years 3 and 4) and require us to surrender a pick.

had Torrens as the #4 prospect in the league.

he's not interested in playing winter ball...

was there any real doubt he would be back?

from Rotoworld and ESPN New York...

"ESPN's Buster Olney reports that the Yankees "have begun the process of constructing a new contract" for general manager Brian Cashman.

Cashman has been New York's general manager for the past 17 seasons and his current contract is set to expire at the end of the month. The Yankees missed the playoffs for the second straight year despite spending big money last winter, but Olney hears that Cashman's relationship with the organization and the Steinbrenners remains strong."

"Most recently, Cashman said, the conversations centered on whether Rodriguez would be interested in playing in the Dominican Winter League. Cashman said he wasn't requesting that Rodriguez play winter ball, but he needed to find out whether Rodriguez wanted to get those games under his belt because doing so would likely require several phone calls about the team's insurance policy. Ultimately, it didn't matter, because Rodriguez said he doesn't want to play this winter."
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In comment 11891784 Mike in St. Louis said:

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"Most recently, Cashman said, the conversations centered on whether Rodriguez would be interested in playing in the Dominican Winter League. Cashman said he wasn't requesting that Rodriguez play winter ball, but he needed to find out whether Rodriguez wanted to get those games under his belt because doing so would likely require several phone calls about the team's insurance policy. Ultimately, it didn't matter, because Rodriguez said he doesn't want to play this winter." Link - ( New Window )

Fuck. Imagine A-Rod in the Dominican, away from the watchful eyes of baseball's pharmaceuticals police, working out with David Ortiz...

Bryan Hoch þ@BryanHoch · 7m7 minutes ago
Carlos Beltran had right elbow surgery today; Yankees say he can resume hitting and throwing in six weeks, playing in 12.

In comment 11891859 Dunedin81 said:

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Bryan Hoch þ@BryanHoch · 7m7 minutes ago Carlos Beltran had right elbow surgery today; Yankees say he can resume hitting and throwing in six weeks, playing in 12.

Hopefully, this is what held him back and we can expect a rebound next year. Otherwise, that contract looks bad.

My one hope for this offseason is no more contracts to dudes over 30. Time to get younger.

I want players that are on the way up. Guys we can watch develop. No more guys that are on the way down...

In comment 11891887 djm said:

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I want players that are on the way up. Guys we can watch develop. No more guys that are on the way down...

I'd love to see them commit to giving that 2B job to Pirela or Refsnyder. If one or both of them struggle so be it, that won't be the difference between offensive success or failure.

MLB Pipeline þ@MLBPipeline · 8m8 minutes ago
.@Yankees #3 prospect @E_Jagielo removed from @MLBazFallLeague roster after being hit in face/head by a pitch in instructional league play.

Of Torrens:

Daniel Wexler þ@WexlerRules · 16m16 minutes ago
@RusselHenderso1 "Not physically mature yet" "Needs to get stronger" "zero doubt" he remains a catcher due to defense.

Daniel Wexler þ@WexlerRules · 14m14 minutes ago
@RusselHenderso1 Spencer among his 4 not to make the list with the best chance of being a big leaguer.

Daniel Wexler þ@WexlerRules · 2m2 minutes ago
@RusselHenderso1 No other Yankees were "real close" Hensley had a chance if he qualified, Acevedo huge arm but old, cites Foley, Beresford

Daniel Wexler þ@WexlerRules · 3m3 minutes ago
@RusselHenderso1 Estrada and Breen worth monitoring

I wonder because 1) would the orioles be willing to pay him $15m for one year? I doubt that. 2) can the orioles be sure he declines? With the way things turned out last year will be more likely accept? There are also quite a few SS this year, some probably won't have that draft comp tied to them. Lowrie (even if more a 2b), drew and Asdrubal. He has been more consistent/healthier than drew was last year, but is on the decline power and otherwise, does have his health concerns, and year or two older-though overall better heading into FA. But is he definitely getting the QO? I haven't looked into it, but I wonder outside Hanley.

he's an above average defender who hits reasonably well. He may actually take the QO and I think Baltimore would be okay with that.

I wonder whether bal wants him back but I guess that'll be largely dependent on machado being healthy which is questionable. Also I thought they had someone to fill in if they let him go but I could be wrong, I remember there were talks a year or two ago of moving manny to his natural ss and let hardy to but maybe theres no one imminent, perhaps schoop but they probably need him at 2b (they have flaherty but not sure he's viewed as more than a utility guy).

includes some hefty praise for Torrens and Mateo and some mention of the 7/2 guys.

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Kiley McDaniel: The recent July 2 16/17 year olds all basically looks like they’re 16/17 so far, except for 18 year old Korean SS Hyo-Joon Park (who looks solid and is kinda like Hak Ju Lee) and Juan De Leon, who looks awesome…and while he didn’t get the highest bonus in this class, many thought he was the best of the prospects they signed way back before July 2 12:52 Kiley McDaniel: Also, C Luis Torrens and SS Jorge Mateo are for real. Those 4 guys are the short season international guys to watch that scouts and I are excited about.

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really nothing obvious there.
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Tomas will probably be a popular suggestion, as will giving the kids a chance, but everything else on there is debatable.
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The Yankees should just bite the bullet... tear down the roster... and rebuild... starting with the farm system

the narrative that says it's a barren wasteland is a year old and wasn't true then either. It produced a shutdown setup man and probably our second best starter in the span of a few months.

Name all the "top prospects" that have emerged from the Yankees farm system under Cashman.

(the period where Cashman's people ran the farm). I'm talking about right now. And right now their farm is middling or better, despite a paucity of early round draft picks thanks to their annual spending binges.

If the Yankees farm system had any decent prospects, Cashman would be trading them for veteran players, like he always did in the past.

In comment 11894318 Boo57 said:

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Name all the "top prospects" that have emerged from the Yankees farm system under Cashman.

Cano, Gardner, Robertson, Betances.

Montero netted us Pineda.

In comment 11894326 Boo57 said:

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If the Yankees farm system had any decent prospects, Cashman would be trading them for veteran players, like he always did in the past.

Name me the last time cashman traded a prospect for a veteran.

In comment 11894326 Boo57 said:

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If the Yankees farm system had any decent prospects, Cashman would be trading them for veteran players, like he always did in the past.

Ignorant nonsense. Most of those decisions predated Cashman's control. He has been in charge since roughly 2005-2006. In that time the sole premium prospect traded for a veteran was Ajax for Granderson. Otherwise it has been lesser prospects for veterans (Montero for Pineda was youth for youth). In fact his refusal to trade premium prospects (Hughes in particular) has been criticized more than his willingness to do so.

Or Pete O'Brien for Prado.

Yes, Cashman does trade prospects for vets- that's what they are for. However, in recent years, he has done a better job of retaining their top guys.

Let's see if he can restrain himself from trading Judge, Severino, or the other top guys this winter.

DePaula was a wildcard struggling in High A and O'Brien was a power-only guy without a defensive position. Both had potential, sure, but neither was a premium prospect.

he will likely be fired. Also was tactfully harsh in regards to Mark Teixeira and said the Yanks are likely in the market for a shortstop and a starting pitcher.
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all made the Sally League Top 20.

If you had to put money on it, would you bet that Severino lasts the off-season?

they're pretty gunshy at this point about moving their top prospects. Sanchez's value was reasonably high last offseason and JR Murphy looked like he could take over the position in short order and we still held onto both. We have been willing to move middling prospects or guys with standout tools (Corey Black's velocity, Peter O'Brien's power) but the guys who really rated among our best prospects have stayed put over the last several years.

Bobby Milone þ@monkeyboy1129 · 5m5 minutes ago
@RusselHenderso1 He’s not spectacular, and he doesn’t necessarily have an above-average pitch, but he throws a solid-average three-pitches

Bobby Milone þ@monkeyboy1129 · 5m5 minutes ago
@RusselHenderso1 He already shows a feel for keeping hitters off-balance by pitching backwards at times. - Clarkin

Bobby Milone þ@monkeyboy1129 · 3m3 minutes ago
@RusselHenderso1 Judge- “Guy is a hitter first. Guy who should hit for power like he projects to, the fact he has the hit tool bodes well.”

That's a big plus when added to his bat. He could be a rock-solid regular down the line, possibly with an All-Star ceiling if his power develops.

j þ@hir0kikur0da · 5m5 minutes ago
@monkeyboy1129 @RusselHenderso1 The review on Clarkin is probably the hardest I've seen. Saw good reviews from BP & Mike Newman.


j þ@hir0kikur0da · 4m4 minutes ago
@monkeyboy1129 @RusselHenderso1 Both saying he'll have a plus change-up, Newman saying as high as a future 70.

make a top 20 list? How also does he strikeout a batter per inning based on avg pitches? Conclusion BA is full of shit on Clarkin.

In comment 11895239 sinctybldh said:

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make a top 20 list? How also does he strikeout a batter per inning based on avg pitches? Conclusion BA is full of shit on Clarkin.

Advanced pitchability. Think Camarena, control isn't as good but with the addition couple MPH on his FB.

buying that all his pitches are solid avg. That wasn't what the Yankees saw when they decided to draft him.

In comment 11895268 sinctybldh said:

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buying that all his pitches are solid avg. That wasn't what the Yankees saw when they decided to draft him.

Agreed, but his hallmark even at that time was pitchability, exceptional maturity for his age. Stuff is better than he gets credit for, he was still adjusting to college and advanced hitters in the SAL, but where he really shines is the mental side of things.

Danny Hultzen pitched pain-free and well in the Mariners' instructional league in Arizona

In comment 11895290 Greg from LI said:

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Danny Hultzen pitched pain-free and well in the Mariners' instructional league in Arizona

Glad to hear that. I remember seeing him pitch a couple years ago at Davenport, the kid is the goods. He just has to stay healthy.

But decided to take it easy on his shoulder instead. He will be 100% for training camp.

if he costs 7 years/100 mill do you think Yankees should sign him?

In comment 11895494 sinctybldh said:

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if he costs 7 years/100 mill do you think Yankees should sign him?

It's not my money. He apparently has a $75 mil offer already. Unless his name is Spanish for Kei Igawa I'd be happy to see him signed.

They have to find bats and there aren't many appealing FA options

Not in love with Tomas' swing but he's got a lot of power.

Lohud Yankees Blog þ@LoHudYankees · 1m1 minute ago
Hit in the face by a pitch late last month, 3B Eric Jagielo will miss Arizona Fall League. Dante Bichette Jr. will take his spot. #yankees

Chris Cotillo þ@ChrisCotillo · 5m5 minutes ago
Source: Yasmany Tomas has not yet received any offers from clubs, despite some reports that he has.

and he won't learn it while Girardi is manager. He's basically O'Brien with a position to play, and who wants all those outs?

Did you see Gordon Blakely left for Atlanta? They asked for permission to talk to him so I don't know that this was tantamount to a firing, but it's another shakeup on the prospect side of things.

includes a lot of praise for Mateo, Severino and Torrens and some positive mention of Cale Coshow and Jonathan Holder.
Link - ( New Window )

Might as well get some power with them

plate discipline or not.

attitudes toward plate disc. Did McCann not suck enough for some you this year?

As for Blakely, I think he's been phased out over the years. So it doesn't surprise me that he's gone elsewhere.

you almost take the plunge and hope that you can coach some patience into him later. Especially with this lineup, if he shows a modicum of power he is going to see a lot of balls outside the zone anyway.

But they need some contact and power, as well. McCann's problems go way beyond plate discipline, and even beyond the goddamned shift (which needs to be eradicated from the face of the earth). He just doesn't make much hard contact anymore.

I'm not head over heels for Tomas, but there aren't a lot of appealing alternatives. They painted themselves into a corner by signing Ellsbury to that ridiculous deal. Beltran's close to cooked. Judge is a couple of years away.

just scares me. Moncada seems like the better bet was we have holes at SS and 2B and he could fill one.

Jesse (Oregon): I know they represented well on this list, but were there any other Yankees after Severino, Judge, and Clarkin in consideration for the top 20?
J.J. Cooper: Scouts liked Tyler Wade as a sleeper SS prospect and some were impressed with Miguel Andujar, but wondered about his defense at 3B. Andjuar’s arm would play in right field or even maybe on the mound, so he’s interesting in a number of ways. It was a very small look but Nick Rumbelow impressed before moving up and Brady Lail is a useful sinkerballer. The less said about Gosuke Katoh, the better.

But still got on base at a pretty good clip and was young for the SAL. Not a good year, but I think it's a bit early to bury him yet.

would be dumb. He was very young for the level, his Ks are a huge problem but his defense is fine, he is fast and he has a little bit of pop (and FWIW he still OPSed .671 as a 19 year old in Low A). Part of it is him being passive rather than merely patient, the Cito Culver problem. Take too many pitches and you start getting in pitchers' counts; it works at GCL, it doesn't work with pitchers who throw strikes. He made changes to his approach, the K's didn't disappear but his BA in June and July was respectable (though it tailed off again at the end of the year).

is the goods.

too.

and wondering how statistics skewed during the steroids era may not mean the same things anymore.

I'm admittedly ignorant- I've never read Bill James or even Moneyball for that matter, but I can't shake the idea that the walk/power combo that advanced metrics seem to support may have equated to wins most within the steroid bubble.

I don't mean to devalue OBP at all, I'm not even necessarily speaking to anything topical- I'd just love to get a take on this from you guys- my best opportunity for thoughtful baseball discussion anywhere.

Andujar didn't make the top 20. He did really well over the second half of the season.

In comment 11895813 Phil in LA said:

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is the goods.

Andujar is an excellent prospect and destroyed the SAL the last two months of the season, but his OPS was only .036 higher than Katoh's, without the speed game. It's a perception issue. Don't get me wrong, I like Andujar better than Katoh and I expressed reservations about Katoh last year when everyone else was all about him, but it is interesting to see how one season can be seen as an unmitigated disaster and the other as a resounding success when in different ways they both showed promise.

In comment 11895821 sinctybldh said:

Quote:

Andujar didn't make the top 20. He did really well over the second half of the season.

I think it was an omission, but the SAL Top 20 is extremely talented. Some of these leagues the bottom half of the Top 20 consists of guys who might be even money to be big leaguers, while this one has at least twelve guys who will be Top 100 prospects in baseball next year or the year after.

the Yanks have always won with walks, homers and extra DP's on defense. Look at the OBP's of guys like Ruth, Lou, Mickey, DiMag, Keller, Coombs, etc. Walks have always been the Yankee way.

trying to get back to even over the second half of his season.

Andujar is impressing, and of the 7/2 guys Juan De Leon and Hyu-Jun Park have been noticed. On the mound Domingo Acevedo has impressed (he is already stateside), as has 17-year old Alexander Vargas. Anyelo Gomez is a deep sleeper (will be 22 on Opening Day) but he has drawn some pretty rave reviews.

I think it is a good bet that The Yankees will be getting their first round pick when they sign Robertson to a huge contract. That is just a prediction from me.

In comment 11897402 sinctybldh said:

Quote:

I think it is a good bet that The Yankees will be getting their first round pick when they sign Robertson to a huge contract. That is just a prediction from me.

Considering Detroit's pen, I woild not let him go. It proves you cannot have enough pitching in the bullpen. Starters seem to only go 7 innings if that. Without a bullpen your not going to win many games.

Of all the foolish conclusions of the Jamesian philosophy, the exaltation of the walk is #1.

Let's look at the top 10 teams in terms of walks this season in MLB: Oakland, Minnesota, Boston, Tampa, Pittsburgh, Dodgers, Nationals, Mets, Cleveland, Toronto and Miami. Only 4 of those teams made the playoffs and two of them were knocked out in their first playoff game.

If you want a correlation between runs scored and anything, it's batting average. 7 of the top 10 run scoring teams were also in the top 10 in BA. Minnesota and Washington were each in the top 10 and they were just out of the top 10 in BA at 11 and 12. Oakland was the aberration finishing in the top 10 in runs but 21st in BA. They were #1 in walks in #29 in strikeouts.

So, it is possible to improve offensive performance over the season by walking if you devote your team to it and single-mindedly acquire the players to carry out the philosophy, but the traditional route of hitting the ball is a more likely route.

The Yankees didn't score any runs because they had too many holes in terms of BA in the lineup and not because their plate discipline was bad.

Point continues to elude Homer. How many years running now?

.