Figured it was time to start another Yankees thread that moves on from talk of the Cole signing.
Team needs? Who are the top trade chips? Who are the teams that could be in market for our trade chips and what can we get in return?
Need#1 in my view is to find ways to trim payroll fat. Ergo dealing Happ appears to be their initial priority (at least according to reporters). I think Gray's success in 2019 may help elevate Happ's value with the thinking that some guys aren't built for the Yankees and could be in line for a rebound following a down year in pinstripes. And $17M isn't out of line for a mid-rotation starter who eats innings.
After Happ, Frazier is the next most obvious trade chip, but there is no need to move him just for the sake of moving him. His trade value is lower than ideal given his pedigree so it may be more prudent to give him time to redeem himself. He may never be a plus fielder, but he still has All Star potential at the plate.
Andujar is another obvious trade chip, but I consider him an untouchable now that Cole is under contract (because they should accept nothing less than Ace-potential in return and since no one is going to offer up an Ace for him, he should remain with team). His fielding at 3B should improve over time and he can be an option at 1B, corner OF, and of course DH. He was the team's best hitter in 2018 and could be again in 2020. He is a natural.
A not-so-obvious trade piece is Domingo German. Even when he was pitching like an Ace I never felt that was the real him. Always felt he would come back down to earth at some point. The Yankees need to make a determination about his character. Does the domestic violence issues define him or is he someone who can learn from his mistakes and mature? If they feel good about him as a man, stick with him because they may need him come August, September, and October. Otherwise, fuck him!
As for what they can get in return? Would love to see them add a young catcher with plus upside behind the plate. The Dodgers have a bunch of them in their system (Smith, Ruiz, Cartaya) and they could be in play for Happ now that they lost out on Cole. Joey Bart in the San Fran system is another highly touted C prospect, but the guy I really like is Sean Murphy from Oakland system.
| Murphy has always stood out defensively. He's athletic and agile behind the plate, he blocks and receives well and gets high marks for his game-calling and ability to work with pitchers. He also has one of the strongest arms in the Minors...He's a threat at the plate as well, with a short swing from the right side of the plate to go with a high contact rate. He's not afraid to draw walks and there could be 20-homer potential in the future...Murphy will be a big leaguer based on his glovework alone, one who could be a defensive-minded starter. Add in his possible offensive production and he has the chance to be an elite-level, all-around receiver soon. |
I also like 1B Josh Bell if the price is right, but I'm otherwise happy with Voit, Ford, and LeMahieu sharing 1B responsibility. Teams figured out how to pitch him in the second half of last year and his numbers took a precipitous drop, but as part of 1B platoon he could be a great addition.
Who would you be targeting and what are the trade chips you believe can get the job done?
Right now, I'm pretty happy with the roster. Not seeing a need for any significant moves at the moment. Signing Maldonado as Cole's personal catcher might be it. While Hicks is on the shelf, you have Stanton, Gardner, and Judge in the OF with Tauchman as 4th OF. Urshela and Andujar at third, Torres at SS, DJ at second, Voit and Ford at first. Sanchez behind the plate. Wade and Estrada as possible utility bench guys.
Seems pretty complete to me. There might need to be adjustments in-season if Gardner falls off a cliff, or if Urshela or Andujar (or both) struggle, but I'm feeling pretty good about starting the year with that group.
A lot of minor league trade chips, particularly the guys added to the 40-man to protect them from the Rule 5.
People really have developed amnesia about how good Voit was before the hernia, both in 2018 and last season.
Also, while I do like Stanton I do wonder if they'll consider moving him.
Bringing Gardner back means that, at least to start the season, they won't be looking at centerfielders.
I also really feel like you want to leave the spring with 6 starters you feel really good about, not 5, so we at least two winners of the competition for a starting rotation spot.
I also really feel like you want to leave the spring with 6 starters you feel really good about, not 5, so we at least two winners of the competition for a starting rotation spot.
Right now we have German(wen he comes back),Montgomery, King, Loaisiga, and maybe even Devi to vye for the 5th spot next year. That doesnt include Cessa or Green who can be used as openers either.
Happ at 17 mill needs to go with the luxury tax implications.
Bringing Gardner back means that, at least to start the season, they won't be looking at centerfielders.
Angels want to spend like mad. Possible he may he in the convo for them if they don't get all they want in FA.
Angels want to spend like mad. Possible he may he in the convo for them if they don't get all they want in FA.
After seeing Loaisiga as a one or two inning reliever, he looked like Chad Green light with a better FB. Leave him and his slight build in the BP. I think he will be very good there.
Montgomery is the likely 5th starter with Dievi in the wings. He can kill it at SWB until June or July honing his control.
After seeing Loaisiga as a one or two inning reliever, he looked like Chad Green light with a better FB. Leave him and his slight build in the BP. I think he will be very good there.
Montgomery is the likely 5th starter with Dievi in the wings. He can kill it at SWB until June or July honing his control.
Forgot about German, who could be a #3. His only blips were when he had the hip flexor injury.
Maybe another arm in the bullpen. I think it's advantageous for Betances to take a 1 yr prove it deal, so I hope it's with us.
Outside of that... not much. If Gardner comes back and plays CF, I could see Frazier getting some burn in LF while Stanton DHs.
We have a lot of assets, but I think we should sit on them. This is a big year for us and I think we need to keep those assets in our back pocket just in case of any major injuries. Sure, a shiny 1B is great, but what happens if Champman gets hurt? Sanchez misses significant time? This team is good enough to win. Fill in the gaps if plays go down. You don't want to blow all of your assets now and have nothing left if we ended up with a significant hole that drags down our WS chances.
Side note; love the starting pitching.
Cole
Sevy
Paxton
Tanaka
German
Monty?
Just nasty.
Maybe another arm in the bullpen. I think it's advantageous for Betances to take a 1 yr prove it deal, so I hope it's with us.
Outside of that... not much. If Gardner comes back and plays CF, I could see Frazier getting some burn in LF while Stanton DHs.
We have a lot of assets, but I think we should sit on them. This is a big year for us and I think we need to keep those assets in our back pocket just in case of any major injuries. Sure, a shiny 1B is great, but what happens if Champman gets hurt? Sanchez misses significant time? This team is good enough to win. Fill in the gaps if plays go down. You don't want to blow all of your assets now and have nothing left if we ended up with a significant hole that drags down our WS chances.
Side note; love the starting pitching.
Cole
Sevy
Paxton
Tanaka
German
Monty?
Just nasty.
Oh, we resigned Gardy already. Sorry, I was in a meeting
#1) We don't know what he did to get himself suspended.
#2) Why wouldn't he comeback? He got suspended and presumably did his time. Now if he did beat her up, that is a different matter. But since there was no police involvement, hopefully it was not violent.
Frazier, Andujar, young-RHP
needs:
to start the 2020 season today.
I don't think we make any significant moves at this point. We have so much talent it is more a question of where all of them are at developmentally and physically in spring training.
If injuries continue as they have in the past few years, we need more bullets and guns than we would like. I'm fine with moving anyone who isn't likely to contribute to the 26 man squad in 2020 with the exception of Dominguez.
I also think Severino will be our best starter in 2020.
Frazier, Andujar, young-RHP
needs:
to start the 2020 season today.
I don't think we make any significant moves at this point. We have so much talent it is more a question of where all of them are at developmentally and physically in spring training.
If injuries continue as they have in the past few years, we need more bullets and guns than we would like. I'm fine with moving anyone who isn't likely to contribute to the 26 man squad in 2020 with the exception of Dominguez.
I also think Severino will be our best starter in 2020.
Sevy is gonna be better than Cole? LOL. Stop.
Quote:
chips:
Frazier, Andujar, young-RHP
needs:
to start the 2020 season today.
I don't think we make any significant moves at this point. We have so much talent it is more a question of where all of them are at developmentally and physically in spring training.
If injuries continue as they have in the past few years, we need more bullets and guns than we would like. I'm fine with moving anyone who isn't likely to contribute to the 26 man squad in 2020 with the exception of Dominguez.
I also think Severino will be our best starter in 2020.
Sevy is gonna be better than Cole? LOL. Stop.
Not this year, probably. But don't say he won't. Sevy had the highest velocity FB avg in baseball two season ago. He needs better control of the offspeed stuff, but don't dismiss his stuff out of hand.
Quote:
If so, will he be getting suspended for slapping his wife? It's weird how there's been no update on any of that.
#1) We don't know what he did to get himself suspended.
#2) Why wouldn't he comeback? He got suspended and presumably did his time. Now if he did beat her up, that is a different matter. But since there was no police involvement, hopefully it was not violent.
Reports were pretty consistent that he slapped her in public at a team function. If true, I'm not really sure a guy who did that would belong on the Yankees the next season.
Quote:
In comment 14716305 RasputinPrime said:
Quote:
chips:
Frazier, Andujar, young-RHP
needs:
to start the 2020 season today.
I don't think we make any significant moves at this point. We have so much talent it is more a question of where all of them are at developmentally and physically in spring training.
If injuries continue as they have in the past few years, we need more bullets and guns than we would like. I'm fine with moving anyone who isn't likely to contribute to the 26 man squad in 2020 with the exception of Dominguez.
I also think Severino will be our best starter in 2020.
Sevy is gonna be better than Cole? LOL. Stop.
Not this year, probably. But don't say he won't. Sevy had the highest velocity FB avg in baseball two season ago. He needs better control of the offspeed stuff, but don't dismiss his stuff out of hand.
Anything is possible, but it's not very likely. We're talking Gerrit Cole here.
And re: German, yeah, it was pretty widely reported that he slapped her.
326 Ks in 212 innings 185 ERA+. Those are crazy numbers. Guidry 78 was 208 ERA+ in 273 innings. Insane.
I like Severino. I'm rooting for him but he's coming off a completely missed season and the season before he fell apart after about 130 innings. Maybe this is his breakout year. How great would that be? But he's far from a sure thing.
And re: German, yeah, it was pretty widely reported that he slapped her.
I've been waiting for something and I have never seen anything except he "abused" his wife. I have never seen anything on BBI in our Yankees threads about actual physical abuse, although I suspect that is what it was if it was seen in public and it wouldn't be a shock if that was what happened. I just have never seen confirmation of the event.
Not doubting you, just being careful what I say.
Its not hard to imagine that Sevy, Tanaka and Paxton all get better.
2) If you are Syndegard or Robbie Ray or or...your path to dollars and winning championships just got a lot harder.
3) If you are Devi Garcia, or Mike King, the bar just got higher. Ditto Montgomery and German. If you are Loisiga, you should switch to thinking of the bullpen.
I think the Yankees will get a lot of value we cant measure from acquiring Cole.
MLB Marathon
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#Brewers and #Yankees working towards a deal for Josh Hader. Talks have intensified substantially over the past hour. #MLB
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Its not hard to imagine that Sevy, Tanaka and Paxton all get better.
2) If you are Syndegard or Robbie Ray or or...your path to dollars and winning championships just got a lot harder.
3) If you are Devi Garcia, or Mike King, the bar just got higher. Ditto Montgomery and German. If you are Loisiga, you should switch to thinking of the bullpen.
I think the Yankees will get a lot of value we cant measure from acquiring Cole.
Agree with a lot there. The analytics on pitching will be something interesting to follow from Spring and through the year. Really going be interested in how Tanaka adapts. He is such a technician, that this could really get his in season starts more efficient and consistent.
I already believe BP is where Loaisiga belongs. He can let it all hang out for 20 pitches with minimal wear on that fragile arm and body.
Who wouldn't?
...Austin Romine.
In the middle of the season when the Yanks had a million injuries, he was out there plugging away with several other "no name" players, and playing winning baseball.
The odds that Gary Sanchez will play a full season are ZERO.
Should have kept Austin Romine for $4 Million.
After seeing what Loaisiga did out of the pen at the end of the year, I don't want him to be a starter. He has an exceptional but fragile arm. Him throwing 20 pitches every 3rd day should keep him healthy and a nice complement with Green.
They must feel Betances is breaking down, plus saving $10-12 mill to make room for Cole..Hader would be fine. This is where Loaisiga comes in...
The SS situation sounds more like they are looking for a starting SS. Wade and/or Estrada would be fine for a handful of games per month. Both are good fielders, even if their bats are suspect. Cash has been able to find little gems recently, so I would not be surprised if he turns up another.
My interpretation. I read the article. Torres is fine at SS. Wade is a very good fielder. Why would they need to go get a vet to play once or twice per week when Wade can do that easily? Could be they still don't trust the bat, except he really was starting to hit in September. Could be they are looking to move Wade as part of another deal..
Wonder who is available? Villar?
For example, if the Yankees are in the ball park on a RP or a SS...making clear their optionality matters.
Ditto, the agents of the players.
Who's zooming who?