I apologize if there is already an active discussion going, and if so I will gladly delete this.
I’m reading more and more articles insinuating the Yankees are not really pursuing Machado or Harper at this point. Mostly that they are not willing to spend the money on them in a long term deal. It’s pretty rare you see guys that young and that good in free agency. Are the Yankees out of the race/bidding war on them? And if so is it the right move? It’s strange to be a Yankees fan and not see them willing to spend. Their rotation might be the biggest concern and they will need to pay Judge and Severino at some point, but can they compete with the Astros and Sox as is?
I'd agree with this completely if it weren't for the fact that there is a huge anomaly in the 2018 FA class-2 26 year old superstars available only for $$$. I cannot ever remember this scenario taking place in free agency. With the new style of contract,10 year contracts(And I don't believe either will get one) are really 4 year opt out,6 year opt out contracts w/both player & team having the options.So, old arguments about ARod type contracts are dead. Like others have said,waiting until Machado & Harper sign is the prudent thing to do, but if the Yankees don't sign either,you have to ask what type of commitment Hal has to #28. Now,as a businessman, he needs to put a winning product on the field to bring out the fan base but not going the extra mile (like the Red Sox did last year) to put your team over the top will elicit questions about Hal & his dedication to the bottom line. As I said in a previous post,the repurchase of the YES network after Hal stupidly sold a percentage of it,looms large when it comes to the distribution of Yankee money. Only time will tell!
Rich makes a lot of salient points. There was no promise of profligacy in this FA period, they never said they were going over the luxury tax threshold, and they still have a high payroll. And in everything that isn't reflected on player payroll (amateur scouting, player development, analytics) they're a trendsetter.
But if May 1 finds Machado with a .900 OPS and Tulowitzki on the DL, I think Yankee fans will be justified in their frustration. None of the cost-savings (relative or otherwise) has been passed along to fans - ticket prices are high and getting higher. We are not obligated to celebrate higher profit margins for the Steinbrothers.
[quote] Boras will give the Yankees every opportunity to end up being the winning bidder. That doesn’t mean the Yankees will WANT to be the winning bidder, but Cashman can afford to wait this out a little longer. No sense in throwing out some massive offer when no over team apparently is doing so either. [/quot
Boras represents Harper,not Manny!
[quote] Boras will give the Yankees every opportunity to end up being the winning bidder. That doesn’t mean the Yankees will WANT to be the winning bidder, but Cashman can afford to wait this out a little longer. No sense in throwing out some massive offer when no over team apparently is doing so either. [/quot
Boras represents Harper,not Manny!
I for one am against 10 yrs/ $350(?) mill. But a 5/6/7 year deal with opt outs, etc should allow them to find a place that is financially sound (at least as far as paying a ball player could be).
Hal may look at it and say, doggone we won 100 games with a marginal starting pitching staff and Judge injured. We fixed it a bit so we should be good to go. But Didi is out. They don't know what happens at 1B. They don't know what in season injuries could happen. They don't know if Gary will rebound.
Look at what 7 weeks without Judge did... Manny's bat together with Stanton helps cover a long term injury.
Maybe fans need to be a bit more vocal.
I for one am against 10 yrs/ $350(?) mill. But a 5/6/7 year deal with opt outs, etc should allow them to find a place that is financially sound (at least as far as paying a ball player could be).
Hal may look at it and say, doggone we won 100 games with a marginal starting pitching staff and Judge injured. We fixed it a bit so we should be good to go. But Didi is out. They don't know what happens at 1B. They don't know what in season injuries could happen. They don't know if Gary will rebound.
Look at what 7 weeks without Judge did... Manny's bat together with Stanton helps cover a long term injury.
Maybe fans need to be a bit more vocal.
With the money that Hal makes from the YES network, I doubt he'll care.
Greg Bird is roughly league average at 1B.
Miguel Andujar is well below after and Luke Voit is a butcher. Could either improve? Sure. But if neither does they're in for a rough ride.
Tulo was a fantastic defender three years and a couple of heel operations ago. If he's healthy and if he's healed, he's still 34.
Infield defense may be the weakest link for this team.
Remember, Cashman also talked about possibly shifting Torres from 2nd to SS.
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To be an every day SS for at least 4 months. That’s just poor decision making
Remember, Cashman also talked about possibly shifting Torres from 2nd to SS.
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In comment 14256582 Dave in PA said:
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To be an every day SS for at least 4 months. That’s just poor decision making
Remember, Cashman also talked about possibly shifting Torres from 2nd to SS.
True that would seem to be the most prudent decision, but are we then turning Tulo into a 2B/SS combo? Is the 2B in this scenario even on the team right now? I’ve heard rumors of Josh Harrison, which could make sense in the short term. LeMahieu is a legit player but he’ll want a longer term deal and that doesn’t make sense for NY.
Torres is the starting 2B and relief SS as of now. Cash must have thought taking Tulo at SS was better than any option at 2B and moving Torres to SS (stunting his growth at 2nd).
IMHO, Torres is the 2B of the future unless something catastrophic happens.
Greg Bird is roughly league average at 1B.
Miguel Andujar is well below after and Luke Voit is a butcher. Could either improve? Sure. But if neither does they're in for a rough ride.
Tulo was a fantastic defender three years and a couple of heel operations ago. If he's healthy and if he's healed, he's still 34.
Infield defense may be the weakest link for this team.
And with a team that still has question marks in the starting rotation, the last thing we need is a shaky infield defense that can't help the pitcher cut innings short and keep guys off base.
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In comment 14256591 GFAN52 said:
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In comment 14256582 Dave in PA said:
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To be an every day SS for at least 4 months. That’s just poor decision making
Remember, Cashman also talked about possibly shifting Torres from 2nd to SS.
True that would seem to be the most prudent decision, but are we then turning Tulo into a 2B/SS combo? Is the 2B in this scenario even on the team right now? I’ve heard rumors of Josh Harrison, which could make sense in the short term. LeMahieu is a legit player but he’ll want a longer term deal and that doesn’t make sense for NY.
Torres is the starting 2B and relief SS as of now. Cash must have thought taking Tulo at SS was better than any option at 2B and moving Torres to SS (stunting his growth at 2nd).
IMHO, Torres is the 2B of the future unless something catastrophic happens.
Who knows how durable Tulo will be is the big question. He could break down in Spring training for all we know.
That's an interesting thought. I'm not sure he's there yet, although he could be later in the year. They're probably more comfortable giving Wade a sustained look than rushing Holder, and Wade does provide the added bonus of speed, but it's something to think about.
He had the absolute year from hell last year, personally and professionally (he fractured a vertebrae and, as I understand it, his brother died), so hopefully everything will be better for him this time around.
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a little restraint and common sense. A few years ago this team could barley compete as they had too many old, often injured fading stars starting. At the time the team was handcuffed with what they could do because of the obscene contracts they had handed out to players like ARod, CC, Tex, Jacoby, etc. I think they will stay away from the 10 year mega-deals.
I'd agree with this completely if it weren't for the fact that there is a huge anomaly in the 2018 FA class-2 26 year old superstars available only for $$$. I cannot ever remember this scenario taking place in free agency. With the new style of contract,10 year contracts(And I don't believe either will get one) are really 4 year opt out,6 year opt out contracts w/both player & team having the options.So, old arguments about ARod type contracts are dead. Like others have said,waiting until Machado & Harper sign is the prudent thing to do, but if the Yankees don't sign either,you have to ask what type of commitment Hal has to #28. Now,as a businessman, he needs to put a winning product on the field to bring out the fan base but not going the extra mile (like the Red Sox did last year) to put your team over the top will elicit questions about Hal & his dedication to the bottom line. As I said in a previous post,the repurchase of the YES network after Hal stupidly sold a percentage of it,looms large when it comes to the distribution of Yankee money. Only time will tell!
some interesting financial stats on the Yanks - ( New Window )
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But this all fits with my belief that Machado has been a red herring all along and that Harper is the true target.
This is Scott Boras we're talking about. He has a pet national reporter, and a good working relationship with the remainder. It is absolutely not in his business interest to keep Yankee interest quiet. If there was any indication whatsoever they were in, it would have been trumpeted to the ends of the earth.
But when that phone call happens...
There is a number - ( New Window )