If a trade for Sonny Gray was to happen, the A's have said (or strongly indicated) that they want ss/22 prospect Jorge Mateo to be the main piece. A's scouts have been seen at Thunder games watching Mateo and others.
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Gray sports a 3.66 era with a 1.18 whip and is under control until 2020. Yanks need SP help if they do plan to compete.
I know a lot of you do not like Gray but if this does happen it clears a lot of questions. Its better than a 1 year rental for a pitcher. We still have our corp of Torres, Didi, Castro (either 3b or 2b) Fraizer and Judge plus we have Hicks and Ellsbury (uggggggghhhhhh) until Florial is ready to play CF (he is our future cf).
I fine if we don't trade for Gray. But the trade for Todd Frazier was pointless if we don't add a pitcher some where.
I think that a second block buster Gray and Alonzo may be in the works, I just hope we don't do anything stupid and give up the farm.
Put me in the camp that doesn't want Gray.
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I've mentioned it in other threads, but lots of people seem to be throwing out the tag line that Gray is not what he used be without doing any diligence on the assertion. The fangraphs article from earlier in the week didn't help, and it seemed to emphasize on the negative side by doing a deep dive on his curveball, and glossed over the fact that his 2017 numbers and nearly every peripheral would seem to indicate he's right back at 2014-15 levels. I'm not just talking about ERA, FIP, K-rate. His batted ball profile is pretty much right on point with those seasons.
He had a bad year in 2016, undeniable.
I'm not banging the drum to trade Mateo for Gray. Reasonable minds can certainly say that they don't think Gray is an "ace" or is already peaking. But there seem to be a LOT of people who just parroting the line that Gray can't get back to 2014-15 when the numbers would pretty much show that he's done just that.
I agree. We do over evaluate our guys. Everyone does. Mateo hot now...Id rather get a different pitcher like Cole or Archer but Id take him. Sure he could be a bust in NY. Your don't know. I just don't want to OVERPAY for him.
No thanks on Sonny Gray. Though I have a bad feeling about this. Cashman made it clear that they aren't done dealing.
Yeah, I don't want to lose Mateo. But we have Gleybar Torres.
It would be awesome if they made another blockbuster trade with Gray and Alonso coming to the Yankees.
I love our system, but they all can't make the roster and they all won't pan out. Trading some prospects to improve the big league teams makes total sense to me, especially when they're trading for controllable pieces as well as rentals.
How about trading for Gray, than signing Darvish in the offseason?
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This guy could be a top of the rotation starter for us and I think NY is a place he'd be comfortable signing in the offseason. If not, you offer arbitration and take the pick.
How about trading for Gray, than signing Darvish in the offseason?
The FA pitcher I want is Dallas Kuechal. He owns Yankees and Yankee Stadium.
No thanks on Sonny Gray. Though I have a bad feeling about this. Cashman made it clear that they aren't done dealing.
I love Darvish, but I tend to think that the most expedient way to contention is to trade for a cost-controlled pitcher (Gray, Cole as examples) and THEN sign Darvish.
Next year you're coming back with all of the same important pieces in the batting order and bullpen, and now you have a rotation of
Darvish
Severino
Tanaka
Gray/Cole
Montgomery
If that's not turning a weakness into a strength, I don't know what is. And maybe it's only cost you some money plus Mateo and a couple of mid-level prospects (maybe less).
That team looks like a contender to me, and to boot, you then have almost $50m rolling off in Tanaka, Gardner, Headley (maybe some of that $ is moved even sooner). You probably stayed near flat money wise by adding Darvish and subtracting CC and Holliday, and you only made one long money commitment, to Darvish.
No thanks on Sonny Gray. Though I have a bad feeling about this. Cashman made it clear that they aren't done dealing.
Darvish has told the Rangers his starting point is $175 million, Yanks aren't going there for a rental. I'm on the fence about Gray,as when healthy (the key point),he's a top SP(and has 2 more years on his contract after this season). I think why this could gain traction w/Mateo is that going into the off season,they have too many prospects they still need to add to the 40 man.Right now,Mateo has restored some of the luster he had lost so his star may be shining the brightest right now.But,he won't get a deal done by himself & A's scouts were in Trenton last night to see Acevedo as well. I'd be more concerned about moving a young power arm (103 mph) than Mateo if this were to come to fruition!
There aren't enough spots for all these kids
Didi and Castro are 27. Where are they going?
Cash has been here for 20 years, he should try to do it. Look at the roster now, all the underperforming pieces are his mistakes, the veterans he decided to sign/bring back.
Frazier, Hicks, Judge
Torres, Didi, Castro, Sanchez
Then you have guys like Mateo, Fowler, Andujar amongst others. He is building a team with a strong foundation of youth and homegrown talent. What else could we possibly be doing there?
I wouldn't trade Mateo for Sonny Gray. In a package for any from the RAB's list (Fullmer, Martinez, Jon Gray...), sure.
Obviously not every prospect will pan out, so having multiples at each position is a good thing. It's easier to cast aside nonperforming prospects than injured/slumping vets making 15-20M a year.
I wouldn't trade Mateo for Sonny Gray. In a package for any from the RAB's list (Fullmer, Martinez, Jon Gray...), sure.
Obviously not every prospect will pan out, so having multiples at each position is a good thing. It's easier to cast aside nonperforming prospects than injured/slumping vets making 15-20M a year.
That's the point, instead of obtaining veterans who can turn into another Headley/Ellsbury and being stuck with them, why not just keep all the prospects and let them battle it out?
Sold on Hicks? I guess not, but he was a top prospect who has all the tools. We also have multiple OF prospects backing him up if he doesn't work out. That being said, we don't have room for all these guys. We all want to keep the kids and stay the course, but it's an inexact science. Mateo went from a top prospect to a nobody and back to a top prospect because he's back to playing well. Who's to say his value isn't at its peak right now?
It's possible, but it's also possible we are pumping and dumping. We used to be so good at that.
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on Francesa's show yesterday afternoon. Seemed like he was as untouchable as Torres and Frasier. Mentioned that his upside was higher than both due to his raw tools. I hope he stays.
It's possible, but it's also possible we are pumping and dumping. We used to be so good at that.
Pumping and dumping? Haha, nice!
2)Who are we most at risk of losing to Rule 5?
2)Who are we most at risk of losing to Rule 5?
1: Domingo Acevedo
2: Albert Abreu
3: Zack Littell
4: Billy McKinney
5: Thairo Estrada
6: JP Feyereisen
7: Nestor Cortes
8: Abiatal Avelino
9: Daniel Camarena
10: Rashad Crawford
Maybe you can trade Didi for a nice package of prospects? There is nothing wrong with operating like a small market team if you have conviction on your own prospects.
Also, Torress is probably earmarked for our future 3B unless we decide to move on from Castro.
Don't forget Florial who might be better than both Fowler & Mateo!
From RAB:
"Here are the notable prospects due to become Rule 5 Draft eligible after the season:
Catchers: None
Infielders: Abi Avelino, Thairo Estrada, Gleyber Torres
Outfielders: Rashad Crawford, Billy McKinney
Pitchers: Albert Abreu, Domingo Acevedo, J.P. Feyereisen, Zack Littell, Erik Swanson, Stephen Tarpley
Frazier, Fowler, Tyler Wade, and Jordan Montgomery were all going to be Rule 5 Draft eligible before getting called up to the big leagues this season. Torres, Abreu, and Acevedo will definitely be added to the 40-man roster. Littell probably will as well. Estrada and McKinney are on the fence and could be trade bait before the deadline. A guy like Tarpley, a lefty with good velocity, is prime Rule 5 Draft fodder. Inevitably the Yankees will leave some good players exposed. That’s what happens to teams with good farm systems."
Also, Torress is probably earmarked for our future 3B unless we decide to move on from Castro.
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Who are we most at risk of losing to Rule 5?
From RAB:
"Here are the notable prospects due to become Rule 5 Draft eligible after the season:
Catchers: None
Infielders: Abi Avelino, Thairo Estrada, Gleyber Torres
Outfielders: Rashad Crawford, Billy McKinney
Pitchers: Albert Abreu, Domingo Acevedo, J.P. Feyereisen, Zack Littell, Erik Swanson, Stephen Tarpley
Frazier, Fowler, Tyler Wade, and Jordan Montgomery were all going to be Rule 5 Draft eligible before getting called up to the big leagues this season. Torres, Abreu, and Acevedo will definitely be added to the 40-man roster. Littell probably will as well. Estrada and McKinney are on the fence and could be trade bait before the deadline. A guy like Tarpley, a lefty with good velocity, is prime Rule 5 Draft fodder. Inevitably the Yankees will leave some good players exposed. That’s what happens to teams with good farm systems."
Each team will want at least a AA level pitcher+2 or AAA+1 player. Neither Tex nor Pitt are dumpster dives and both their fan bases still have some hopes for '17, next 10 days not withstanding.
IMO, if they get either one on the cheap, relatively speaking, BC is GM of the year.
THIS
People get fooled by the power, but we learned time and time again in the early 2000s that a team reliant on HR struggles in the playoffs when they face better pitching.
The Yanks need guys who will get on base and all big innings to develop while wearing down the SP and bullpen in a playoff series.
That is why I keep saying that this is NOT a team ready for contention- and we need to wait a year or two before going "all in." They have a number of key pieces working their way through the system- Torres, Mateo, and Frazier are going to play big roles in the "have power but get on base a LOT" group eventually. Bird will as well when he recovers.
The SP is coming fast too- along with power bullpen arms. The Yanks might NOT add Adams this year because he does NOT need to be protected from the Rule 5 draft this winter- and would take away a valuable roster spot from someone else.
Caleb Smith should be allowed to start as often as he can in the second half to find out if he is a SP- with the backup plan being a power lefty arm in the pen.
Acevedo is doing quite well in AA and AAA starts- and could be ready by mid-season next year. Best case is he might be a front-end SP. Worst case, he's the next Betances.
We won't know what they have in Kap and Schmidt until next spring- but once both knock the rust off in April, they will likely be in AA and less than a year from the bigs- with potentially very high ceilings.
The Yanks are going to make some very difficult decisions this winter and into next year- some will be very unpopular with the fan base. Nevertheless, the bottom line is that this season's goal has been- and remains- treading water in the AL until the next wave arrives in 2018 and 2019.
Plus he's a lefty which we are short on going into the future
One or both of them is definitely getting sold imo at some time in the next year. I'd much rather move Castro but if they move both I would think Didi would bring back a pretty damn good package
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Because he provides quality D at SS. I'd deal Castro in a heartbeat, though.
Plus he's a lefty which we are short on going into the future
One or both of them is definitely getting sold imo at some time in the next year. I'd much rather move Castro but if they move both I would think Didi would bring back a pretty damn good package
I could be persuaded if we could dump Headley and Ellsbury in the process however.
I don't want to go back to the old ways of signing FA for most positions, but realistically we can't protect all of oir good prospects from Rule 5, or find them MLB roster playing time. Some of them will be packaged to deal from strength to shore up weakness. In Cashman We Trust.
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But then again, the Yanks have a history of this type of hype when trying to trade their farm talent.
Exactly! Remember Montero? No? Me neither...
Sanchez - C
Judge - RF
Holliday - DH
Castro - 2B
Gregorius - SS
T. Frazier - 3B
Headley - 1B
C. Frazier - LF
Sabathia
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Agree. Don't love Danchez hitting in front of Judge. Too many swings and misses. I like Danchez better in the 6 hole with 1-5 of Gerdner, C Frazier, Judge, Holiday and Castro. I also like the flexibility of having Didi hit second and you can drop C Frazier to 5th or 6th.
That's amazing. Just in time for the top off too (Harper, Machado, Keuchel and Miller)
Arod 21M
Holiday 13M
Pimeda 7M
Clippard 6.5M
Carter 3.5M
about 75M coming off the books which would put them way below.
But the starting rotation is going to missing pieces and several arbitration players will get raises that could total 10 -15 million added together. Plus Robertson was added for 13M next year. Which cancels out Holiday who I do not expect back.
MLB Payroll at the start of 2017 was 196M. That doesn't include benefits etc which count and are about another 10%.
in order to get below the tax in 2019 payroll needs to be about 180 max at any time all year in 2018. 2018 tax threshold is 197M.