We will lose some of these guys. With luck, they will come back. There will some horse trading after the season and before the draft. I suspect they'll find a way to protect Acevedo, Feyereisen, and especially Abreu. Still, some top names could be snatched. I like Cave and McKinney and they've both been hot with the bat.
Here's list of the best who will most likely be unprotected (according to some "experts")
1. OF Jake Cave
2. OF Billy McKinney
3. SP Daniel Camarena
4. SP/RP Stephen Tarpley
5. SP Brady Lail
6. 1B Mike Ford
7. OF Rashad Crawford
8. SP Austin DeCarr
9. [b]SP Domingo Acevedo
10. OF Mark Payton
11. SS Abiatal Avelino
12. OF Devyn Bolasky
13. INF Thairo Estrada
14. RP J.P. Feyereisen
15. SP/RP Nestor Cortes
16. SP Albert Abreu
17. RP Cale Coshow
18. 2B Gosuke Katoh
Neither is Acevedo
Any insider info on who the Yankees offered ??
Is it a name from the Rule 5 list ??
Any combination of those guys destroys the return that they got from Cleveland, if it's accurate. And Mets fans are calling the Yankees cheap on the Bruce thread for not also picking up his entire salary
Pineda will also be a FA, but because he is on the 60 day DL, he is not counted against the 40 man roster, so he will not open a roster spot when he declares FA.
Tanaka has a player option- meaning that he can elect to opt out and become a FA. However, that also means that he must give up the 3 years and $63M+ remaining on his deal. He might not elect to do so- even though he would likely be the best SP in the FA market this winter.
It should also be noted that the Yanks currently only have 39 players on the 40 man roster- but when Bird gets activated from the 60 day Dl, he will almost certainly be added to the 40th spot.
When the season is over the Yanks will likely release/DFA several players to create roster spots. Cooper is a very likely candidate, as he simply duplicates Austin and Bird too much. Shreve is another.
For the sake of discussion, let's assume the 4 spots for FA and Cooper's roster spots open- that's 5 roster spots you can use to protect Rule 5 eligible players. Looking at the list posted above, I think the likeliest bets for those 5 spots are: Abreu, Acevedo, Torres (he's NOT on the list, but he must be protected this winter), Estrada and Tarpley.
Those are the "easy" protects. But, the Yanks likely do not want to lose Cave, McKinney, or Feyereisen for nothing. I think the Yanks probably trade Feyereisen for a prospect who does not need Rule 5 protection this winter.
If push comes to shove, I think the Yanks would either elect to trade 2 or more players or simply DFA them to protect Cave and McKinney. I think that Shreve, Heller, Austin, and maybe Romine fit into that pot.
The big trick however is getting Cave onto the roster BEFORE the end of the season. That is because Cave will technically be a minor league FA at the end of the season. If he reaches FA, he can sign with anyone.
Remember a number of years ago, the Yanks had a full 40 man roster. Jose Quintana was a minor league FA in their system- and the White Sox offered him a major league contract, meaning that they were giving him a 40 man roster spot. The Yanks did not have a 40 man roster spot free, so they could not match the White Sox offer, and Quintana left. The same could happen with Cave if the Yanks don't add him to the roster.
Keep in mind that a second "trade deadline" will take place at the end of August. I think that there is a good possibility that the Yanks may use some of their bullpen depth as trade bait to try and free up the 2 spots they will need to add McKinney and Cave.
Assuming they find the two spots needed for Cave and McKinney, I don't think the Yanks will lose much sleep over anyone else on that list being taken in Rule 5.
Assuming that the Yanks go on to move at least one OF this winter, they can spend the rest of the winter finding a guy to be the backup 1B and who is willing to DH.
Assuming that the Yanks go on to move at least one OF this winter, they can spend the rest of the winter finding a guy to be the backup 1B and who is willing to DH.
That can have a lot of effect on how they decide who to protect and who they expose to rule 5.
I hope they go all the way this year, but next year is really our sweet spot to take it all...that is, depending on who we sign. We can do it this year as long as we make the playoffs and get on a hot streak at the right time. That is always the big factor at the end of the season. Hence, I'd rather the team struggle now and get on a roll later than the other way around and go cold at the end of the season and backing into the playoffs.
What off-season are you referring to? Those guys (well, Otani's status isn't really known) are a year+ away.
Do you honestly believe a word that this fake insider says?
That can have a lot of effect on how they decide who to protect and who they expose to rule 5.
I hope they go all the way this year, but next year is really our sweet spot to take it all...that is, depending on who we sign. We can do it this year as long as we make the playoffs and get on a hot streak at the right time. That is always the big factor at the end of the season. Hence, I'd rather the team struggle now and get on a roll later than the other way around and go cold at the end of the season and backing into the playoffs.
Harper and Machado are not free agents this off season.