A lot of us are still recovering from yesterday's Thanksgiving feast. There are also some of us who might be out shopping for gifts as well. Hopefully the Yankees are one of them. Pitchers and catchers report in 83 days.

Much to the dismay of Yankee fans, as well as the joy of Pinstripe Alley writers, the Yankees did not make any moves while we were all eating Thanksgiving dinner. However, today is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Perhaps the Yankees can find some things they need on sale today.

Comments of the Day

Before Thanksgiving, we learned that the Yankees were trying to trade for Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies. Ruben Amaro then did what Ruben Amaro does. Cory weighed in with his thoughts.

Then twoseam provided a lovely bit of levity.

Meanwhile, it was Thanksgiving yesterday. Andrew uncovered a funny John Flaherty tweet.

Of course, Thanksgiving is about giving thanks and cvfmat7 brought a big plate of that to our comments section. Thanks to him, and to all of you, for continuing to read our stuff.

GIF of the Day

All of these GIFs are turkey related!

First Shaun!

Then Harlan!

And finally Bryan!

Honorable Mod Mention

Today, all the mods get the HMM. We are all very thankful that you continue to read PSA and make it the best Yankees site in the known universe!

• Thanksgiving Leftovers: So, what's left for Turkey Day Round 2?
• Black Friday: Do you or did you participate in it?

Nothing much more to say here. We hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving. If you're lucky enough to have a four day weekend, make sure to enjoy it.

Find some players on sale today, Yankees!

Should the Yankees pursue second baseman Jose Fernandez if he is declared a free agent?

Cuban second baseman Jose Fernandez has reportedly defected from his home land, though his exact whereabouts are unknown. The 26-year-old is listed at five-foot-ten, 185 pounds, and he is a left-handed hitter. Fernandez played seven seasons in Cuba for the Matanzas in Serie Nacional before he disappeared from the country in early October. There are several steps that need to be taken before he could be considered eligible to sign with a team, but he is likely to draw a lot of interest around the league when that time comes.

He has had several good seasons over the past few years, including his performance in the World Baseball Classic in 2013, where he hit .524/.545/.667 with 11 hits through 21 at bats. During the 2013-2014 season, Fernandez hit .326/.482/.456 with 10 strikeouts (!) and 65 walks in 314 plate appearances. The 2014-2015 season started in September, and in 65 plate appearances, Fernandez hit .315/.415/.426. Back in August, Ben Badler of Baseball America wrote that Fernandez was one of Cuba's three best players who was currently unavailable to MLB teams. According to Badler, he has excellent on-base skills and plate discipline. However, he's considered to be just adequate as a second baseman, and he does not hit for much power. He hits a lot of ground balls, and even lead the league in most double-plays hit into back in 2008. Fernandez is also considered to have below-average speed and an unconventional swing.

On the plus side, Fernandez has been considered by some to be ready to take on an everyday job in the big leagues. He also will not be subject to international spending limits because of his age and how long he played for Serie Nacional in Cuba. Unfortunately, Fernandez will need to establish permanent residency in another country before he can even be considered for free agency. He would then need to be cleared by the Office of Foreign Assets Control before he could be eligible to sign with a team. There is no set timetable for how long all of that could take, but it took fellow countryman Yasmany Tomas three and a half months, so Fernandez could possibly be cleared to sign around the time of spring training. The Yankees don't necessarily have a pressing need for the second baseman, since Martin Prado looks to have the starting job next season, unless the Yankees decide to go with Rob Refsnyder or Jose Pirela instead. Still, it wouldn't hurt to check on him.

Would you like to see the Yankees pursue Fernandez if he becomes a free agent?

Doc expects a splash, Black Friday trade possibilities, and Righetti's no-hitter

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Dwight Gooden expects the Yankees to make a "Big Splash" within the next couple of weeks.

LoHud | Chad Jennings: Where do the Yankees have their greatest need?

YES Network | Lou DiPietro: Three potential Black Friday trade deals that could help the Yankees fill some holes..

YES Network | Matthew Stucko: Coming off of back-to-back missed postseasons,here are five things to be thankful for.

It's About the Money | William Tasker: Remembering Dave Righetti's no-hitter on Independence Day back in 1983.

The Toronto Blue Jays have decided to join in on the AL East offseason fun. Last night, they traded away Brett Lawrie and three prospects for Josh Donaldson of the Athletics. That lineup looks a lot more dangerous now. Pitchers and catchers report in 82 days.

Last night, the Toronto Blue Days and the Oakland Athletics completed a huge trade. The Blue Jays got all star third baseman Josh Donaldson in exchange for third baseman Brett Lawrie, rookie shortstop Franklin Barreto, and rookie pitchers Sean Nolin and Kendall Graveman. Wow. It's still too early to judge whom this trade benefits more, but the majority of fans from the Blue Jays & Athletics respective fanbases are saying the Blue Jays got the better end of the deal. Even current A's outfielder Josh Reddick is confused by this trade.

“It doesn’t make sense to me,” outfielder Josh Reddick tells @susanslusser "We traded our best player the past two years.” #Athletics

— Steve Fainaru (@SteveFainaru) November 29, 2014

Comments of the Day

It was a light day yesterday. Not many comments. It was expected.

GIF of the Day

No GIFs either. Unbelievable.

Honorable Mod Mention

No HMM awards to give out. All the mods were out shopping for the Pinstripe Alley Writer's Secret Santa Spectacular.

• A's/Blue Jays trade: Thoughts?
• Best princess/queen ever?

So yeah, between the Blue Jays, the Red Sox, and the Orioles, the Yankees pitching staff certainly has their work cut out for them this year. Perhaps they might want to bolster their starting rotation soon.

Please don't you be very long.

With the Red Sox essentially signing two third basemen last week, the Yankees are already prepping us for another roll of the dice on 2015.

I keep coming back to one essential fact about the 2014 Yankees: over 162 games, they were outscored by 30 runs. All things being equal, the Yankees should have lost many more games than they won last season, just like 2013. They were kept afloat by a powerful bullpen and a few lucky breaks in close games. So the question for every fan is simple: How far away is this team from a turn-around?

I think far. Truthfully, I think the Yankees are closer to the bottom of the division than the top, but that's in large part because I don't share the ownership's newfound caution. "I shouldn’t have to spend $230 million in payroll to win a world championship," Hal insists. "No one else has."

No one has spent like the Yankees in the last twenty years, but no one has won like they have either. If Steinbrenner is willing to endure losing seasons, to express confidence in veterans, and to suffer the failure of some prospects at the big league level in order to reap the rewards of the occasional success, then it means the fans have to do the same. He wants to pocket the $40M difference between a $230M payroll and a $189M payroll; it's his money. In order for the team to spend like every other team, the fans have to brace themselves to lose like any other team.

With the Yankees having let the best third base options go to the Red Sox without much of a fight, they're already making noise about backing away from Chase Headley. Let the Giants give his bad back a fourth or fifth year; the Yankees are going to be too smart for that. They've got too many long term commitments anyways. They're going to trust the team they have.

So, at this point, I predict they'll let Alex Rodriguez play third until he can't. Maybe he'll break down in spring training, or maybe he'll make it into May before one hip or the other goes out. Then the Yankees will slide Martin Prado from second to third and call up Robert Refsnyder. They'll roll the dice, and we'll admit that no matter how poorly he hits, he's an improvement over Stephen Drew.

They'll make a strong bid for David Robertson, but the Astros or the Cubs (whose first round pick is protected) are going to swoop in with an extra year or an extra couple million dollars of annual salary. They'll move everyone up in the pecking order, pushing a David Phelps or a Bryan Mitchell into middle inning work until they push Jacob Lindgren onto the 25-man roster. And all the talking heads, myself included, will admire the Yankees' tough decision making.

The offense will sputter along, with Refsnyder and Brendan Ryan and the ghost of Carlos Beltran rounding out the bottom third. The pitching will be sharp, and take a lot of frustrating losses. If we're lucky, at the end of the year, perhaps the Yankees will win 86 or 87 games, and maybe it'll be the Yankees' turn to charge into the playoffs. Maybe it'll be Jacoby Ellsbury sliding into the left center field gap to steal hits away from Albert Pujols and Mike Trout. Maybe it'll be Masahiro Tanaka pitching inning after inning of Game 7 relief.

The Steinbrenners want the Yankees to live like any other team. And as fans, we'll get used to it. The Yankees have remained near the top in attendance for over a decade now, even throughout Plan 189 and A-Rod's steroid suspension and the quiet Octobers. I'll still make a trip or two to the Bronx every year, I'll pad the Orioles' or Nationals' attendance when the Yankees come to town, and the Bombers will remain the top road draw in baseball and play more night getaway games than any other team. I'm only rooting for the laundry anyways.

It appears the Yankees have thrown their hats into the ring for Tigers ace Max Scherzer.

The Yankees have been relatively quiet in November while their American League rivals have been all over the news. The Red Sox signed two of the biggest names on the free agent market, the Blue Jays landed one of their own and also traded for Josh Donaldson, and the Tigers brought Victor Martinez back for four more years. However, one Tiger whose future with the team could potentially be headed to the Bronx. Starter Max Scherzer brought home the 2013 AL Cy Young Award and has gradually usurped more well-known teammate Justin Verlander as ace of one of the AL's best teams. Now, it seems the Yankees would like to add Scherzer to their rotation:

Source tells me #Yankees made long-term offer in neighborhood of 6 yrs to Max Scherzer this morning. Still working to confirm w/2nd source.

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer74) November 29, 2014

Yankees Potential Free Agent Target: Max Scherzer

Pitchers with Scherzer's track record and electric stuff get historic paydays, so should the Yankees pony up?

The Yankees' starting rotation was a strength last year, but as noted in the free agent target post on Scherzer, that doesn't necessarily mean it will be as strong in 2015. There are question marks all around with Brandon McCarthy and Hiroki Kuroda's returns uncertain, Masahiro Tanaka still recovering from PRP therapy on his UCL, Michael Pineda's shoulder as mysterious as ever, Shane Greene only entering his second season, Ivan Nova coming back from Tommy John surgery, and CC Sabathia's future entirely unclear. For as much as their offense needs to be addressed, their starting rotation could use some reinforcements as well.

Over the past three years, Scherzer has pitched to a 3.24 ERA, 2.94 FIP, and struck out 10.5 batters per nine innings compared to just 2.6 walks per nine. He's been durable, too, making at least 32 starts in each year and averaging 207 innings, compiling 16.9 rWAR. Not bad at all. A six-year offer for Scherzer would almost certainly be matched by other teams considering Scherzer's accomplishments and his relatively light career workload at age 30--1,239 innings compared to, say, the 2,364 innings Sabathia had under his belt by that point. Terms of the offer have not been reported by any trusted sources yet, but a six-year offer offers intrigue regardless.

If the rumor is true that the Yankees have an offer out there for Scherzer, then it would not be surprising at all if they've reached out to Jon Lester as well. Scherzer's the superior pitcher, but Lester does not have draft pick compensation attached to him. Either pitcher would make an excellent addition to the rotation. Do you want the Yankees to sign Scherzer?

Update

Update from second source: "Heard they (#Yankees) were preparing an offer on Wednesday, though I don't know if it was...

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer74) November 29, 2014

"...ever presented to Scherzer or Boras."

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer74) November 29, 2014

had not been finalized on Wednesday. For now, I stand by offer in neighborhood of six years either is on the table or will soon be offered

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer74) November 29, 2014

Yankees haven't offered Max Scherzer a 6-year deal. That report is inaccurate.

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) November 29, 2014

Hmm... the plot thickens.

The Yankees have a lot of their own issues to iron out. So the machinations in Massachusetts should be the last thing on their minds.

We're a few weeks into the free agency season, and the most exciting thing the Yankees have done is sign Chris Young. Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox went ahead and signed arguably the two best position players on the market in Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval. The Yankees checked in on the availability of 36 year-old Jimmy Rollins while the Red Sox have been linked to all potentially available starting pitchers, what with their glut of starting outfielders and much-lauded farm system. So it's been flashy deals and exciting trade thoughts in Boston and tumbleweeds in New York. Since one team can't do anything without the other being mentioned, some began to wonder if the Red Sox spree would cause the Yankees to panic and start throwing bags of money out the window.

Fortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case. Quite frankly, the Yankees basing any significant part of their offseason plans on the actions of another team would be completely asinine. The Red Sox won 71 games and have a skeleton starting staff. They had no choice but to be aggressive in free agency, and they signed two talented players to high-risk, high-reward deals. Either of those players would have significantly helped the Yankees, but it's not as though they went to Boston as bargains. The two teams have different rosters with different organizational depth and different payrolls. The Yankees need to focus on what's best for their team the same way the Red Sox must do for theirs. Putting blinders on and reacting to what one out of 29 other teams is doing would only be foolish.

The Yankees obviously have their share of roster deficiencies, so it's understandably frustrating seeing a primary rival go to great lengths to improve their team. And I'm not particularly thrilled when I hear nothing about progressions with David Robertson or that three years is the maximum for Chase Headley. But "winning" the offseason over the Red Sox is not the goal here. Otherwise, we should be asking for the Yankees to drop $200 million on Max Scherzer and trade every prospect not tied down for Troy Tulowitzki. Brian Cashman and the Yankees' brass need to improve the team in the best ways, not necessarily the flashiest ones. Losing the back page to the Red Sox is not a real issue of concern.

It's not to say it doesn't matter that the Red Sox have improved. Any team in the AL East getting better makes it harder for the Yankees in 2015. But there's no real reason to be more focused on what the Red Sox are doing than say Toronto signing Russell Martin and trading for Josh Donaldson or the Orioles' ability to re-sign Nelson Cruz. The Yankees don't get bonus points for being better than the Red Sox, as impossible as it may seem considering the incessant coverage their rivalry gets. Now if they are competing for the services of the same free agent, that's when it matters what each team is up to. Perhaps there will be some very necessary focus on "Red Sox Versus Yankees: Round 15,672" in the pursuit of Jon Lester. Or the Cubs will sign him for all the money and render the angle pointless and moot. As it often is.

The best free agents left on the market; Betances is prepared to take on any role next season; Chris Capuano is interested in pitching in Japan; Looking at the ten former Yankees on the Hall of Fame ballot.

LoHud Yankees Blog | Chad Jennings: Looking at the best free agents still on the market and where they could fit on the team.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Dellin Betances is prepared for any role that the Yankees give him, regardless of whether David Robertson returns.

New York Daily News | Anthony McCarron: Though the Yankees have expressed interest in re-signing him, Chris Capuano is very interested in playing baseball in Japan next season.

LoHud Yankees Blog | Chad Jennings: A quick review of the ten former Yankees on this year's Hall of Fame ballot.

And they're like, "The Yankees have scored. Damn right, the Yankees have scored. But oh wait, the Yankees can't score!" Pitchers and catchers report in 81 days.

The rumors were flying yesterday in the Yankees Universe. It was reported that the Yankees had made Max Scherzer, as in Max "One of the two best pitchers available on the market" Scherzer, a six to seven year offer to join their rotation. Although they were just rumors, it definitely caused a buzz around here.

Comments of the Day

First we were dealing with the aftermath of the Blue Jays main trade. One Greg Kirkland reminded people that the Yankees needed offense before the Blue Jays &Red Sox made their moves.

Andrew also weighed in with his thoughts on Billy Beane's move.

Now onto the Max Scherzer stuff. As thoughts were bouncing around, so was the humor.

Not everyone got the joke though. No worries, we were all new once upon a time. Except for LTL I think.

Harlan and I don't see any reason to worry about the Yankees potentially relying on the Triage Triad to bounce back next year...

I'm here for you, Waffles!

Shockingly, talks of the Yankees signing Yoan Moncada led to puns.

Still nothing confirmed, except that the thought of Scherzer in our rotation is pretty enticing.

Again, we got jokes!

Finally, Q-TDSK brings up a great point about why the Yankees should not always try and match Boston move for move.

GIF of the Day

Poop indeed, Ron Swanson!

Honorable Mod Mention

Wise words from Harlan on the subject of trade proposals. Remember, both teams have needs and quantity does not equal quality.

• If the Yankees signed Scherzer, what do you think the rotation would look like at the beginning of the year?
• Favorite juice?

If the Yankees are planning on signing Scherzer, here's hoping they do it sooner rather than later. The waiting game sucks. Meanwhile, the game of football is being played today. Feel free to use this as your open thread. Will LTL spoil my fantasy playoff dreams? Will Andrew go for broke?

Milkshake. I parodied the song Milkshake. I think that's a new low.

November didn't leave the Yankees with much to be thankful for. Are they losing too much ground to their AL East competitors?

It's been a busy November in baseball. In the past thirty days, the largest contract in history of the sport was handed out from an unlikely source. Four free agents have signed deals worth north of $68 million and two major trades have relocated outstanding players in the heart of their prime. While much of the action transpired in the American League East, the Yankees have stayed home from the party so far, perhaps curled up on the couch watching reruns of Yankeeography to remind themselves of better days. Outside of the re-upping of Chris Young, the bench warmer-for-middle reliever swap of Francisco Cervelli for Justin Wilson and a minor league deal for hope-and-a-prayer candidate Andrew Bailey, the Yankees have watched their most familiar foes get better while they've stayed the same.

The Red Sox made the most noise of anyone this month, adding a new chapter to their rags to riches to rags again story of the past three seasons by gobbling up the two best hitters on the free agent market - Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval - for a combined guarantee of $183 million. For a club that was critical of the Yankees' free spending ways a year ago, that sure seemed like a trick straight from New York's bag. Regardless of what you think of a five-year commitment to the portly Sandoval or of paying Ramirez $22 mil per to move to the outfield where he's never played an inning (Nelson Cruz could attack the Monster and play bad defense for considerably less), the Yankees arch rivals are better than they were two weeks ago. On top of that they have plenty of depth to deal from to build up their shaky pitching. With the now superfluous Yoenis Cespedes drawing trade interest and plenty of young talent in their coffers - Blake Swihart, Henry Owens, Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley, Jr. - it wouldn't be  shock to see Boston start the season with Cole Hamels, or maybe Tyson Ross or Andrew Cashner in their rotation. They could also spend whatever cash they've got left on a Jon Lester return, or on Max Scherzer or James Shields. If the Yankees don't act, the Red Sox seem to have the wherewithal to jump the 13-game gap that separated the two teams in 2014.

Across the border, the Blue Jays went out early on Black Friday and scored a whopper of a door-buster special in Josh Donaldson, whose 14.1 fWAR since 2013 ranks third in the majors. That move came after Toronto had already spent $82.5 million to reel in compatriot Russell Martin and resolve a catching situation that's been a weakness for years. With that duo joining Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Reyes, the Jays will field one of the more daunting lineups in the game next season. They have some holes to plug in the outfield, where Melky Cabrera is likely a goner, and in a rotation led by the solid but unspectacular in Mark Buehrle and R.A. Dickey, but Dalton Pompey will draw Rookie of the Year buzz in center after tearing through three levels of the minors, and contributions from young arms like Marcus Stroman and Daniel Norris could turn their pitching from a weakness to a strength. Toronto finished just a game behind the Yankees in 2014, so there's reason to be concerned about the Jays and their quest to end a 22-year playoff drought.

The Orioles blew everyone away last year as they cruised to a 96-win season and a 12-game division conquest. They'll probably lose Nelson Cruz and his 40 bombs and perhaps even longtime mainstay Nick Markakis, but a healthy year from Manny Machado and some positive regression from Chris Davis would help manage that. The Orioles have had a knack the past few years of making seemingly minor moves that pay huge dividends (Davis, Cruz, Wei-Yin Chen, Steve Pearce), but even if they do nothing of note, the Yankees need to improve in order to fly in their stratosphere.

Finally there's Tampa Bay whose 77-85 record placed seven games behind the Yankees a year ago. The Rays are currently looking like a shell of their former selves after bidding farewell to GM of the past ten years, their manager of the past nine and their ace of the past seven, all in a span of four months. As it stands they look like the meekest of the Yankees' divisional foes, but with a rotation led by Alex Cobb - who held New York's hitters to a line of .153/.225/.194 last year - and buoyed by Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi and Drew Smyly, along with a bullpen full of strikeout collectors like Brad Boxburger and Jake McGee, they're not pushovers either.

Before you remind me...yes, I am aware that today's date begins with "November." There are still two and a half months of off-season remaining. We've got two days until the non-tender deadline...eight until the winter meetings. There are impact players available in free agency and via trade, and the Yankees won't spend the next eight weeks doing nothing. If we're to believe yesterday's rumors, they may already be working hard to land Scherzer (sources are 100 percent certain they either did or did not offer him a contract), and that would change things quite a bit. They don't need to specifically respond each time an AL East rival makes a move, but as their competitors continue to improve the challenge facing the Yankees front office this winter only gets tougher.

David Robertson has been drawing plenty of interest after he declined the Yankees' qualifying offer to test free agency. According to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, Robertson currently has a three-year offer worth $39 million in hand from an MLB team, likely indicating that it will take four years to bring Robertson in for 2015. Though the Yankees have a desire to bring their closer back for next season, Heyman says that they didn't want to have to give him four years.

The Astros have been linked to Robertson already this offseason, and it's pretty certain that they won't be the Yankees' only competition. Watching bullpen after bullpen meltdown in the playoffs will have teams handing out top dollar to players like Robertson and Andrew Miller, who might also receive a four-year deal this offseason. The qualifying offer means that any team without a protected pick would have to give up their first round selection in order to sign Robertson, but that seems to not be negatively impacting teams' interest in him to this point.

Without Robertson in their bullpen next season, the Yankees would likely turn to Dellin Betances to fill in as closer. He had an amazing breakout season in 2014, but having him fill Robertson's role while an inferior reliever steps into the setup role would almost certainly diminish what was one of the Yankees' greatest strengths last season. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that one AL East GM wonders if the Yankees might not decide to pursue Miller over Robertson, finding it strange that the team hasn't signed Robertson to a new deal as of this point.

Would you give Robertson a four-year deal? Should the Yankees go after Andrew Miller instead?

The Yankees could upgrade their coaching staff by bringing back a familiar face this winter.

After the Yankees' offense sputtered yet again in 2014, they promptly fired hitting coach Kevin Long, which probably made sense, and first base coach Mick Kelleher, which made significantly less sense. Nearly two months later they still have yet to fill either position despite there being a prime candidate with strong ties to the franchise that could shake up the coaching staff for the better. Willie Randolph should be getting a call from the Yankees.

The team put a priority on finding a replacement at hitting coach but that search hasn't exactly gone well. While Randolph wouldn't be the answer there, adding him as a coach would have the trickle down effect of upgrading the staff as a whole. The former second baseman, who left his mark on the franchise as a player, could be hired to serve as the team's third base coach. It's a position he held with the Yankees from 1994 through 2003, a period of great success for the team, so there's no doubt he's qualified. This move could also shift the team's current third base coach Rob Thomson over to first base to replace Kelleher. People who followed the 2014 Yankees would agree that this shift alone would make a Randolph hiring worth it.

If the Yankees elect to keep Rob Thomson at third base, a less than ideal but still possible situation, Randolph could still be brought back to serve as Joe Girardi's bench coach. As Joe Torre's bench coach in 2004 he did well enough to be hired as the Mets' manager the following year. In this scenario Tony Pena, the team's current bench coach, could move to first base where he served as a Yankee coach from 2006 through 2008.

No matter where they put him, if Randolph comes back to the organization he would also be a mentor to promising second base prospect Rob Refsnyder. After establishing himself as an offensive force in both double and triple-A last year, Refsnyder is sure to see some playing time in the Bronx in 2015. As one of the best fielders of his generation, Randolph could impart his wisdom and help improve the weakest part of Refsnyder's game, fielding his position. There would be no shortage of benefits if we saw a Willie Randolph/Yankees reunion, so please make it happen, Cash.

A Twitter source claims that the Astros have offered 3 years $39 to David Robertson. True? Maybe. Realistic? Maybe. Worth it? Probably not.

After going months (it seems like) without even a sniff of an Astros rumor, "baseball analyst and reporter" Mibelt Rodriguez Tweets that a firsthand source has informed him that the mystery team who has offered 3 years and $39 million to ex-Yankee closer David Robertson is our own Bayou City Astros.

Per, @JonHeymanCBS RHP "David Robertson has a 3 year, $39M offer from a club, team is unknown". The Huston Astros are that team. #Astros

— Mibelt Rodriguez (@MibeltRodriguez) November 30, 2014

Now, take that for what it's worth and don't get all riled up, because there are several important things to note.

First, the scuttlebutt is that since Robertson has not accepted this offer, he is presumably holding out for a deal of longer duration and/or higher annual value.  Since we all know, or at least suspect, that the Astros set a strict value to their own players and free agents, they seem unlikely to get too deep into a bidding war above their price point, particularly for a "fungible" reliever -- a position they've hardly shelled out high dollars for under this front office.

Second, and all respect to Mr. Rodriguez who may have a legitimate source and may be 100% accurate in his tweet, but I have no idea who Mibelt Rodriguez is.  He's posted a few other rumors lately, including one about the Red Sox being willing to match anything the Cubs throw at Jon Lester, but as far as I or Google can tell, Mr. Rodriguez has no known affiliations with baseball or baseball media, not even one as disreputable as writing free contributions for a fan-run sports blog conglomerate (note: typed with a self-deprecating smile).  Most of his analysis is the type that has become so common on Twitter -- commentary on public quotes from inside sources.  That doesn't mean he's wrong, because he has nothing (presumably) to gain by making things up.  But I do wonder about his source's access to such information as actual-factual knowledge of contracts tendered by the Astros front office.

As far as David Robertson to the Astros goes, if they sign Robertson, it would be the most expensive free agent signing of the Crane/Luhnow era, far surpassing the 3-year, $30 million contract awarded to Scott Feldman last season.  Not that the Astros haven't tried.  By all reports, they were in on Jose Abreu and Masahiro Tanaka during fierce bidding competition last offseason.  But with Robertson, not only would the Astros be investing a big ol' chunk o' change for a guy who will pitch 65 innings per season at most, but the Astros would also be losing the Marlins' 2015 draft pick that they received in the Jarred Cosart trade.  Under the collective bargaining agreement, free agents who receive a qualifying offer from their recently-departed club as Robertson received from the Yankees will cost the signing club their highest non-protected draft pick.  That draft pick figures to be in the low-30's next season for the Astros, a pick which they used in 2014 to draft center fielder Derek Fisher, who lit Tri Cities on fire with a .303/.378/.408 line with 17 steals in only 41 games and the front office reportedly loves.  Will they really want to spend perhaps $50 million and give up the chance for another Derek Fisher-type prospect?

Is Robertson worth it?  This author says no.  But you may have a different opinion, so please share in the comments.

The American League West could look very different next season. How hard does a 98-win team work to confront change?

While you were away...more cracks appeared in the foundation of the Angels' 98-win AL West title grip. Billy Beane sent thunderous shockwaves through a media-insider community that was far too busy trying to prove grandma right about overdosing on turkey. More interested in dropping into a tryptophan-induced coma to smoke out a deal that significant in the midst of absolutely nothing else going on, the news caught everyone off guard, even the news folk.

Only now is it becoming apparent that Beane is going to be quite busy this offseason. He has needs and he is selling high and loading up on trading assets while adding typical units of seemingly marginal value to sustain his roster, a roster that surely will be competitive despite all reasonable expectations.

Remember, this was a team that won 88 games and made the play-in game to the 2014 post-season (yeah, I'm not going to call the Wild Card Game a part of the playoffs until MLB retroactively re-brands every 163rd game season, including our own). At one time they were up on the rest of the Division by 6 whole games. And Beane is putting it all back into his blender. Betting against Oakland has long been a bad, bad idea.

_____________

In the Heavens of Anaheim: Remember how fun it was to watch Tony Campana blaze around the basepaths for us in critical run-scoring situations? Yeah, well, too bad he didn't show much of anything else. He is with the White Sox now...........Ummm...you know that thing about how cerebral is C.J. Wilson, and how he over-thinks his role? Well, it turns out he is not so good at triginometry.  Just using finger-in-the-wind lookups and mental figgerin', to get an extra 90 seconds of sun in your day would require about a mile and a half of altitude. Roughly 528 times the distance Wilson cites. Yeah. Reality is a very big place. (OT: My astro son gave me a cool factoid the other day. You could place every other planet in our solar system between Earth and the Moon, and still have a little bit of space left over.)............If Jerry Dipoto is going to be thinking about trading away Howie Kendrick or David Freese, our next clue might be whether or not he tenders an offer to Gordon Beckham...........Make yourself a special holiday card by getting your picture taken on the field at Angels Stadium today...........Here, spend some time listening to Alden Gonzalez chat about, well, nothing much.

Around Baseball: So, to repeat, Oakland blew up the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend with a big trade with Toronto. Pity, for the moment, the suddenly increasing difficulties confronting the Yankees. Uh, nah..............Thus, things are in flux throughout the AL West and all teams have lots left to do...........For instance, Oakland may now be on the threshold of scoring another cache of players by possibly dealing Samardzija (scroll down to #7 in the Updates section, or read this by Jon Heyman)...........Four places left for Torii Hunter to land, and 3 of them could haunt us...........I love it when an asshat MSM dinosaur gets schooled, and here is one of those moments. Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe calls for the Baseball Hall of Fame to add a disclaimer plaque concerning PEDs era players, and he would vote for all of them happily. He made that statement without knowing that the HoF had already done that very thing, as pointed out by Hardball Talk. So no he is kinda on the hook, yes?..........Some lessons are never learned. Here we are watching the FA market drool over David Robertson, with somebody about to grant him a record deal for relievers. Meanwhile, over in Philadelphia, the eternal nutjob that is the GM of the Phillies, Ruben Amaro, can't seem to find a way to get his own overpaid reliever off his hands...........The Blue Jays are loading up to be so strong, that they appear to be willing to use Alberto Callaspo as their every day second baseman.........The Yankees could be going big on Max Scherzer..........

Now that David Robertson is a free agent, the Yankees need a new closer for the 2015 season. Instead of sitting down and figuring out a deal that can work for both sides, New York instead seems to be looking high and low for an alternative. They have inquired about both Steve Cishek of the Marlins and Craig Kimbrel of the Braves, but now it seems they have fixed their attention on left-handed reliever Andrew Miller.

The Yankees are in serious pursuit of left-hander Andrew Miller. Given the parties in the bidding, he'll likely wind up with a 4-year deal.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 1, 2014

While David Robertson is clearly the best closer on the open market, Miller might be more valuable since he is a year younger, is left-handed, and might not carry the price tag of a closer. That being said, the value of a "proven closer" has to count for something, especially with the Yankees, who did not want to extend Robertson before he showed he could get the job done. For all the talent Miller has shown since moving to the bullpen, he has all of two saves to his name, so there's no telling exactly how the Yankees see him in their hypothetical 2015 bullpen.

Olney believes that with the alternatives out there, teams looking for reliable bullpen arms will push Miller's final contract into four-year territory, but if they're willing to go that high, why aren't they willing to do the same with David Robertson? They could bring in Miller and then take the draft pick that comes with Robertson, but if they see Miller simply as a left-handed specialist and a backend reliever then it should not preclude the return of David Robertson.

Just got off phone with Miller's agt, Mark Rodgers, described #Yankees as 1 of many teams in talks. Said would not classify frontrunner

— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 1, 2014

We'll see how everything shakes out, but until then, imagine a bullpen composed of Robertson, Miller, and Betances. If some of the relievers coming through the system pan out then the Yankees could compensate for a potentially weak offense.

The New York Yankees have emerged as a serious contender for free agent reliever Andrew Miller.

The New York Yankees are in "serious pursuit" of free agent relief pitcher Andrew Miller, according to ESPN's Buster Olney. Olney goes on to say that Miller will likely land a four-year deal, given that multiple parties are bidding on the southpaw.

Miller, who spent the 2014 season with both Boston and Baltimore, is coming off arguably the top performance by any AL reliever in 2014. Over 73 appearances, Miller posted a 2.02 ERA, along with an AL-best 14.87 K/9 rate. Miller reportedly has multiple three-year offers, and Jon Morosi of Fox Sports notes that Miller will likely be the highest paid reliever with no closing experience.

After the Tigers selected Miller #6 overall out of the University of North Carolina in the 2006 draft, he would make his MLB debut in August of the same year. Less than two years later, Miller and prospects were sent to the Marlins for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. Miller would struggle for three years in Miami, primarily working as a starter. After joining Boston in 2011, Miller would revive his career a year later when he converted to a full-time reliever. Over the last three seasons, Miller has posted a 2.57 ERA over 163 appearances. His 13.64 K/9 rate is good for third among all relievers during that time span.

The Yankees entered the offseason trying to find a replacement for free agent closer David Robertson. Robertson, who is reportedly seeking "Papelbon money," will likely land a three or four year deal as well, but likely at a higher annual salary than Miller. If Robertson signs elsewhere, the Yankees will gain a draft pick, as Robertson was given a qualifying offer after the 2014 season. In Robertson's only season as the Yankees' closer, he posted a 3.08 ERA along with 39 saves in 63 appearances.

Rickie Weeks, Alberto Callaspo, and Mark Reynolds headline the best of the rest free agent position player options for the Yankees

You've seen our free agent target posts throughout the month of November, but to bring it all to an end, I'll be summing up the best of the rest on the market. These guys are all long shots, but it's at least worth exploring and discussing, right? RIGHT?? Today we're starting with the position players.

SS Clint Barmes - 116 PA, .245/.328/.294, 7.8 BB%, 15.5 K%, 79 wRC+, 0.3 WAR
If the Yankees want to scrape the bottom of the barrel, Clint Barmes is it. He'd be the backup plan to the backup plan's backup plan, but if they want a defense-first shortstop, they're going to ignore Jed Lowrie and Asdrubal Cabrera. A reunion with Stephen Drew seems to make the most sense, however, I don't see them getting into a bidding war for him, or really anyone, and if they can't pull off a trade for either Jimmy Rollins or Alexei Ramirez, Barmes could be the next, next, next best option as he's highly rated in the field. It would end up being an odd platoon between him and Brendan Ryan–Barmes against lefties, Ryan against righties and late-inning replacements–but if he bounces back, Barmes could offer more power from the right side without being a liability in the field. It would be ugly, but it would be something, at least for a few months.

2B/3B Alberto Callaspo - 451 PA, .223/.290/.290, 8.9 BB% 11.1 K%, 68 wRC+, -1.1 WAR
Callaspo was an intriguing player on the trade market a few years ago, but in 2014 he was a disaster. He's never been a great hitter, but he's always been quietly valuable, so at this point, any hope of a multi-year deal has likely disappeared. He's capable of playing two positions the Yankees might end up needing filled, though the metrics don't like him at second base. Even as a pure third baseman, he would allow Martin Prado to stay at second base and could offer an alternative to Alex Rodriguez as the starting third baseman if they don't bring back Chase Headley. Either way, it will be a gamble, but if he bounces back he'll likely be worth whatever modest price tag he'll come attached with.

2B Mark Ellis -202 PA, .180/.253/.213, 6.9 BB% 18.8 K%, 31 wRC+, -0.4 WAR
The Yankees had a chance to sign Mark Ellis last year and decided against. Even though they went with Brian Roberts, it's looking like that was still a good decision. At the age of 37, it's clear that his career is winding down, but he's still somewhat of a bounce back candidate, considering he can't really be any worse than he was in 2014. If the Yankees don't find a third baseman, they will move Martin Prado to the hot corner, but if they decide that Rob Refsnyder is not ready to take on the major league job just yet, Ellis could be a one-year, or half-year, stopgap. Ellis is strong in the field, so he'd add that extra value that the Yankees would be looking for.

SS Rafael Furcal -Played nine games in 2014
At this point in his career, Furcal is kind of just a warm body. After undergoing Tommy John surgery, the shortstop has played just nine games between the 2013 and 2014 seasons. If they feel that Refsnyder isn't ready for a full-time position, the Yankees could bring in Furcal as this year's Brian Roberts. Throw him $2 million with some incentives and if he's terrible, or Refsnyder goes on another tear, he's easily cuttable.

1B/3B Mark Reynolds - 433 PA, .196/.287/.394, 22 HR, 10.9 BB% 28.2 K%, 87 wRC+, 1.6 WAR
The Yankees don't often re-sign players after letting them leave in free agency, but maybe they should when it comes to Mark Reynolds. We know that all he's going to bring is home run power, but as a right-handed corner-infielder, that might be exactly what this team needs. The Yankees would like a backup first baseman and another third baseman and he's likely destined to be healthier than either Alex Rodriguez or Mark Teixeira, so he could end up being very useful over a full season.

2B Rickie Weeks - 286 PA, .274/.357/.452, 8 HR, 8.7 BB%, 25.5 K%, 127 wRC+, 1.2 WAR
If there's one player the Yankees pick up off the scrapheap, Rickie Weeks would be the one that makes the most sense. His strong offensive season will likely give him a legitimate 2015 salary, but after two down years in which he was worth just 0.5 WAR total, he's not really in line for a long-term deal, at least not yet. Weeks could represent a one-year stopgap, depending on what the Yankees decide to do with Refsnyder, and in the meantime the 32-year-old second baseman can regain some goodwill for the free agent market next year. He'd essentially be a more expensive, and hopefully more effective, Brian Roberts. The only hangup is his incredibly bad defense that could make this a no-go for the Yankees.

2014 is almost over. Only one more month to go. Here's hoping the Yankees make some moves and that the Humbler is done with us for the reminder of the year. Pitchers and catchers report in 80 days.

Well the Yankees did not sign Max Scherzer yesterday. Bummer. Also, it appears that some team out there has offered David Robertson a three year, $39 million dollar deal. It is unknown which team has made D-Rob this offer. It could be the Yankees. It could be the Houston Texans for all we know. If it's not the Yankees, the question is whether or not they match this offer.

Comments of the Day

LTL believe that the Yankee should match that three year offer.

Meanwhile, Harlan weighs in with his thoughts about extending D-Rob years ago.

GIF of the Day

There were no real stand out GIFs yesterday.

Honorable Mod Mention

I guess Andrew should get it, since he's so close to winning his first Fantasy week of the season. Would that be an un-undefeated season?

• Three years, $39 million for David Robertson. If you're the Yankees GM, what is your response to this?
• If D-Rob walks and Dellin Betances becomes the new closer, what would you choose as his warm-up music?

A couple days later, and I still kind of want Max Scherzer. We all want things though. It was nice to have something to talk about though. Meanwhile, it's now the month of December. My sources have confirmed that it is the best month of the year. The Dolphins and Jets will supposedly play the American version of football tonight. Feel free to use this as your open thread for that game.

Be kind to us for the remainder of the year, Humbler.

The doors of that distant museum in upstate New York are calling, so who would the staff send for induction?

Last week, the Baseball Hall of Fame announced the 34 players who would be on the ballot for possible election in 2015. There are 17 new players on there, and 17 older ones returning from previous elections, like Craig Biggio, who missed election by just two votes in 2014. Since baseball is usually struggling for news during the wintry months, the Hall of Fame debate takes up a good chunk of the headlines, for better or for worse. If you'd like to see analysis on these players, I highly recommend Sports Illustrated's Jay Jaffe, who has reviewed each Hall of Fame candidate's case since 2004, and since there are 17 returning players, he went through all of them last year here. He'll be going through the newcomers' cases soon as well, but here's a sneak peak regarding his thoughts on the new players, an impressive batch which includes Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, and Gary Sheffield.

Like with the various MLB awards, I thought that it would be fun if I polled the Pinstripe Alley writing staff to see how many Hall of Famers we would elect from this crop if we were given the vote for some bizarre reason. Sixteen of our writers contributed to the mock election, meaning that if a player received 12 votes, he would meet the 75% minimum for induction. So how did we do?

So there you have it--in a loaded ballot, the PSA staff would be sending seven players to Cooperstown's doors next July: Johnson, Pedro, Mike Mussina, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mike Piazza, and Biggio. All are deserving names, though I'm sure the fact that this is a Yankees blog gave Mussina extra votes on some ballots ahead of the likes of Schilling and Smoltz. (The three have alarmingly similar stats and are all probably Hall of Famers.)

Considering that the BBWAA hasn't elected even four players in one round since 1955, to say that our hypothetical seven-player induction is unlikely is juuuust a bit of an understatement (especially since the BBWAA tends to not agree with the majority of our opinions regarding players under PED allegations, particularly on Bonds and Clemens, who have yet to poll higher than even 37%). The general consensus seems to be that Johnson and Pedro are shoo-ins for this election, and that both Biggio and Smoltz have good shots as well. If even four names can be removed from future ballots, then that would be extremely helpful for the other candidates slowly approaching the 75% threshold, like Piazza (62.2% in 2014), Bagwell (54.3%), and Raines (46.1%). I'm going to be bold and expect three inductees while hoping for four.

What makes our election even more amusing is that if we did not restrict ourselves to the BBWAA's archaic 10-player limit, we probably would have elected more players. Bagwell missed going in by just one vote and Raines by two. I know that on my ballot, I would have happily added a few more names if the limit didn't cut me off. Alas. Next year is only going to get tighter with Ken Griffey, Jr. and Trevor Hoffman joining the fray.

How would you vote for the Hall of Fame? Which players would make your ballot? Who do you think will actually get elected this year?

Don't get eaten by the SkiFree monster.

I'm not sure what the weather was like where you live, but this week it was cold here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. We saw our first snowfall of the winter and low temperatures pretty much all week. The Yankees are always on my mind, and for the past couple days, so was the cold. So for this week's Q&A question, I've combined them and asked the PSA staff which Yankee they think could best survive the cold.

Q: As we enter the harsh, cold winter months, what Yankee would you most want to be stranded with should you get lost on snowmobiles?

Greg

Normally I'd say Brett Gardner, because he's Brett Gardner. However, being that we've seen and heard of things like 6 feet of snow, Dellin Betances is probably the more logical choice! However, if Mike Zagurski were still on the team, I'd choose him since his neck girth could serve as a blanket!

John

I think I'd rather be stranded with one of the Yankee girlfriends...

I guess I choose Michael Pineda. Worse comes to worst, I can always use him Skywalker-style, like a tauntaun.

Jim

Since Adam Warren is no stranger to a Han Solo impersonation I'd go with him. Should we get stranded he could use my light saber to slice open a dead tauntaun, complain about how bad it smells, and keep us warm until we're rescued by the Rogue Squadron.

Doug

As we enter the harsh, cold winter months, the Yankee that I would most want to be stranded with should I get lost on snowmobiles would be Brett Gardner. Brett Gardner grew up on a farm and in general, farmers are tough people with a great work ethic. Second, he is an avid hunter, so he would be able to hunt for food. Last but not least, he was a walk-on for his college baseball team, which shows that he has determination.

Arun

Alex Rodriguez. He'd be the one who'd be most likely to get the media putting all of their search resources in the air, so I'd be found for sure.

Also when I got back I could look forward to another saga between him and the Steinbrenners/MLB when it's alleged that getting lost on snowmobiles was in breach of his contact and/or part of a devious plot to acquire and distribute PED's

Harlan

I would have gone with Derek Jeter - he'd intangible us right out of that situation. CC Sabathia is also a possibility...he'd keep me sustained the longest if we had to resort to cannibalism. But now that Jete retired and CC shed a few pounds, I'll say Brett Gardner. I feel like all the grittiness and guttiness would translate well into wilderness survival skills.

Jason

Fat CC, so I can cut him open and stay warm inside him like a Tauntaun.

Shaun

I have to go with Chase Headley, guy is from rural Colorado so I would say there is a good chance he has more than a little experience outdoors. That will come in handy if we got lost and needed to survive in a cold climate.

Andrew

Masahiro Tanaka has to be the answer. Nothing seems to bother him, so why should the threat of getting lost?

Bryan

Mark Teixeira. I don't know how long we will last, but the juice in his knapsack should keep us strong for a while. Plus, at least it wouldn't get boring as he will always be trying new stand-up material on me. I mean, have you seen that honey bit? This guy is hilarious.

Matt F.

I'd be worried about Teixeira going slightly stir crazy and try to draw lines of honey all over the mountain in some half-baked, insane attempt to get us found.

My answer is, despite him being from the warm climate of Venezuela, Martin Prado. We know he's versatile. I feel like he would wander off as I try to fix the snowmobiles and come back two hours later with some kind of animal meat, coats made of said animal's fur and a working snowmobile engine he fashioned out of wood.

Well, those are our answers, so now, it's your turn. Which Yankee do you think would be most helpful in braving the cold?