Jon Morosi of Fox Sports was on Hot Stove just now put out HIS idea of of Yanks trading Betances to Nationals for Ximmerman or Fister. Right away both hosts said the Yanks would never do this and I agree.
Why would we trade our best young pitcher and potential closer for a pitcher who is a free agent after this season for a player. With the Yanks rebuilding that would be a 1 year rental in a losing season.
As for the near term, they have too many flat tires like CC , Arod & Tex to make major commitments for the next couple of seasons. Nobody connected with the team is saying it because they don't want to scare aware fans, viewers and sponsors but that's what is going on. 15 & 16 absorb the hit.
They're being realistic about their short-term prospects. They are mediocre at the moment, and there really isn't any feasible way for them to become much better than mediocre at the moment. The smart course for the next couple of years is to maintain roster and payroll flexibility, and see if some of the young guys like Ref, Bird and Judge will be ready to step in.
Down the line, some of these huge extensions for good young players are going to be albatrosses for some teams, and I imagine the Yankees will be well-positioned to vulture some quality (but overpaid) players.
I think they'll be a bit better in 2015. Gregorius likely improves the black hole that was shortstop even if he doesn't hit better than last year simply by being a plus defender. They'll have a full season of Headley. McCann hit better at the end of the year, so there's some hope he can rebound. They need Eovaldi to pitch well and Tanaka and Pineda to stay healthy, so there is still plenty of uncertainty.
First, McCann improved late in the season and his career numbers are much better than what we got last year. It is reasonable to expect improvement there. Second, full season of Headley and A-Rod at 3B is worlds better than the 1.5 seasons at 3B previously, by a number of stiffs. Third, Gregorius will vastly improve our defense. Offense at SS will likely drop off, but the last two seasons by Jeter weren't exactly stellar, either. Fourth, we really can't much worse production out of 2B, even with one of the rookies.
There are still holes, but they are the same holes as last year. Teixeira is likely to continue to suck, but at least we aren't getting worse. Beltran is likely to miss time due to injuries. But, if healthy, he can add some pop without being relied heavily on.
To me, a huge key this season will be Tanaka. If his arm is sound and he pitches the whole season, our staff can be pretty good. If not, we are without an ace and really just a mediocre staff.
Where would you put the probability of 80+ starts from those three?
It's not out of the realm of possibility that Sabathia gives them some at least average quality starts.
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should be significantly better. If you get 80+ starts from Tanaka, Pineda and Nova this can be an 88 win team.
Where would you put the probability of 80+ starts from those three?
50/50, max. Nova hopefully back by the end of May, Tanaka and Pineda would need to stay healthy.
I'm excited about him. His downside is still a serviceable innings eater but he could potentially be a lot more than that. But even if he goes 17-10 with a 3.25 ERA we'll struggle if we don't have at least two of Nova, Pineda and Tanaka healthy.