With David Robertson signing with the White Sox, the amazing Dellin Betances is a possible candidate to take over the ninth inning for the Yankees

With David Robertson signing with the Chicago White Sox, the New York Yankees have an opening in the ninth inning. It is currently unclear who will be the closer, but if Dellin Betances sees significant time in the role in 2015, he becomes one of the best options available to fantasy owners.

Betances was once one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. Along with Manny Banuelos, he became known as one of "the Killer Bs" due to his prospect pedigree and high ceiling. Betances was rated as highly as the #32 prospect in baseball by Baseball Prospectus before 2011. At 6’8, he showcased huge size, velocity and stuff that had scouts drooling over his potential.

Unfortunately, Betances failed as a starter. His size worked both for and against him as a starter; his long length reduces the distance of his pitches to home plate, making his pitches jump on hitters faster than a normal sized human being and thereby making him tougher to square up. But his large frame also made it difficult for him to repeat his delivery as he fatigued as the game went on, causing inconsistencies in release point and subsequent command problems. Betances would work up big pitch counts and would often be forced to exit games too early.

The Yankees moved Betances to the bullpen in 2013 and Betances fit well into the role. His great stuff played up even better in the pen and the short outings made it easier to repeat his delivery. His command improved significantly, and by 2014, Betances’ potential that scouts once drooled over finally came together.

Betances was now topping out at over 100 mph on his fastball and throwing a disgusting, unhittable knuckle curve that made major league hitters look like amateurs. Betances’ curve was so unhittable that major league hitters averaged a negative wRC+ against it. Betances threw his knuckle curve 645 times (47%) in 2014, and here were the absurd results:

wRC+ of -21

OPS against of .246

63.6% K%

Check out this swing Miguel Cabrera took against a Betances knuckle curve:

Making Miguel Cabrera look that foolish is quite the accomplishment.

Betances throws his fastball just as often as he does his curve (47%). He averages almost 97 mph with it and can touch triple digits when he wants to. His results with his fastball are "only" just under league average (wRC+ of 96, OPS against of .636), but the velocity and close release point of the pitch are big reason why his curve is so devastating. Hitters have to commit early to hit his fastball, which makes it easier for Betances to fool them with his curve. If hitters decided they wanted to sit on Betances' curve, Betances would blow them away with his fastball and his results on the pitch would increase.

Here’s Betances painting a 100 mph fastball on the outside corner to strike out Ian Kinsler:

Observe how fast the ball lands in the catcher's glove from the time Betances releases it. It's like a laser beam. Betances’ long length makes that 100 mph fastball look even faster to the hitter because he releases the ball closer to home plate than a normal pitcher.

Ultimately, Betances dominated the league in 2014. In 90 IP, Betances posted a 1.64 FIP, a 1.40 ERA, a 1.86 xFIP, and an adjusted ERA+ of 277. Here are some other notable statistics:

39.6% K%

7.0% BB%

46.6% GB%

12.9% swinging strike %

Despite Betances leading all MLB relievers in fWAR in 2014, he may not be named the closer for 2015. George King of the New York Post wrote,

After checking with the Braves about Craig Kimbrel and the Marlins about Steve Cishek, the Yankees talked with the Royals to see if they were thinking about dealing closer Greg Holland or setup man Wade Davis.

There is no match between the Yankees and Royals, who are looking to add a starter through free agency but understand eventually Holland and Davis, the spine of baseball’s best bullpen, are going to price themselves out of Kansas City.

The Yankees may be thinking about using Betances as a relief ace. This would be the best thing for the Yankees to do for a number of reasons. Firstly, it will save the Yankees money in arbitration, because the save statistic usually weighs heavily for arbitrators. Secondly, it’s a better baseball move. Teams should use their best relievers in the highest leveraged moments of the game. If the Yankees have a 3-2 lead in the 8^th inning with the opposing team’s three best hitters coming up, the best reliever the Yankees have should be used in that situation. Using an inferior reliever to face the heart of lineup in order to save an elite reliever to face worse hitters due to defined bullpen innings is bad process.

If teams begin to move in this direction with reliever usage, it will be interesting to see what that does for fantasy baseball. The save statistic would be devalued because the best relievers wouldn’t necessarily be closing games. Maybe we will see a combination statistic of hold/save emerge someday for standard leagues.

The Yankees also signed high priced reliever Andrew Miller, but based on Brian Cashman’s comments after the signing, Miller doesn’t seem to be a threat to begin the year as closer. The Yankees appear likely to use Miller as a relief ace, using Miller in the highest leveraged moments of the game against his best matchups, such as the opposing team’s best left handers.

Betances will still be one of the most valuable relievers in fantasy baseball in 2015 regardless of usage. He will contribute significantly to ERA, strikeouts and WHIP at the very least with upside for saves. Your league rules will determine just how valuable he is overall. If the Yankees decide to name Betances the closer, I expect him to be one of the top closers in the game.

So last night we reported that the Yankees could still make a serious offer to Jon Lester before everything is said and done, but it looks like New York has still yet to jump into the fray.

I'm told by a source the Yankees are not in on Jon Lester despite buzz to the contrary.

— Mark Feinsand (@FeinsandNYDN) December 9, 2014

Word is that the lefty is deciding between four deals, thought to be coming from the Cubs, Giants, Red Sox, and Dodgers, at around six years and $150 million. While many believe the Yankees could make an offer before Lester ultimately makes a decision, nothing seems to be brewing in that direction. It was said that Lester would make his decision either last night or today, but now it's looking like it could take a few more days before he signs. One team is said to be willing to up the total value to $175 million, but all signs point to the 30-year-old picking the place he is most comfortable with, rather than where he can get the most money. That means that if the Yankees do get involved, they're going to have to convince him that New York is right for him, rather than simply outspend the competition.

The idea that the Yankees would not be in on Jon Lester is a bit perplexing. They don't have a single starting pitcher that isn't at least a mild injury concern. Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, and CC Sabathia are their rotation at the moment, unless they're serious about using Adam Warren and David Phelps as starters in 2015. This year the team has a lot of holes that need to be filled, either on the free agent market or via trade, and Lester is a solution that would not require a draft pick. If Lester does end up signing with someone else, expect the Yankees to go hard after Max Scherzer, but as he will take a draft pick and likely an even more expensive deal, especially after Lester signs, he might not be the team's best option.

They have now saved $10 million over the next four years by signing Andrew Miller instead of David Robertson, so it would be nice to see where those savings will go. Some say Chase Headley could be their target, but New York really needs to start addressing their rotation at some point. It's beginning to look like we will have to reserve judgement on this offseason until the very end. If you're starting to question their thinking, you might have a legitimate argument, but it all depends on what they do from here. Are they really going to let Lester go without even trying?

Day two of the Winter Meetings in San Diego. Former Yankees closer David Robertson has been signed by the Chicago White Sox. Hopefully today will yield better offseason news. Pitchers and catchers report in 72 days.

It's Day Two of the Winter Meetings, currently taking place in San Diego this year. Thus far, it has not exactly been the best of times for the Yankees. For the second year in a row, they have let an elite homegrown player walk without making all that much of an effort to keep them. David Robertson is on his way to the White Sox. Perhaps the cost to keep him, or the draft pick, will ease the pain of losing him. Perhaps...

Comments of the Day

Spider-Ham would rather be Batman than the Yankees' GM. Bold choice.

When asked to provide a walk-up theme for Brian Cashman, Darth Mahbles goes with the Dark Side.

Speaking of the Dark Side, LTL thinks that Troy Tulowitzki joining the Mets might not benefit his health all that much.

Perhaps we need more baseball players in togas. Also, Andrew brings up a good point.

You know, these two posts seem kind of ironic now. Perhaps they won't later on today.

Yankees fans do love to hear the lamentations of Red Sox fans.

It's safe to say that I did not take the news of losing D-Rob very well.

GIF of the Day

This is how Yankee fans felt at the beginning of the day, with thoughts of Milbetrob making us drool with anticipation and glee.

This is how Yankee fans felt at the end of the day, with thoughts of D-Rob on another team making us sad and angry.

Honorable Mod Mention

It's Roxy again, because we need a pic of her to keep our spirits up on days like today!

• D-Rob: Should the Yankees have matched the White Sox offer?
• Whom do you have as the new Yankees closer: Betances, Miller, or other?

As always, please link us your Song of the Day.

Please use this as your Open Thread for discussing the Winter Meetings. What are you hoping to see from the Yankees today now that D-Rob is off the table? Which team do you think gets Jon Lester?

Farewell David Robertson. Thanks for everything, and best of luck.

A possible fit for Holland in the Bronx?

Rumor has it that the Yankees are trying to build a dominate bullpen much like the Royals had this year. They already have excellent reliever Dellin Betances and just "inked" another excellent reliever Andrew Miller to a four-year $36,000,000 deal. Last night there were conflicting reports whether or not the Yankees made an offer to their former closer David Robertson. Jack Curry of Yes Network tweeted

Yankees never made an official offer to David Robertson. So he wasn't picking between White Sox and Yankees.

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) December 9, 2014

Meanwhile, Jon Heyman wrote that they Yankees are in fact going for Robertson:

yanks still trying for robertson even after landing miller, may go 4 years. http://t.co/IOWTuKU3rc

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 9, 2014

Of course, Robertson ended up signing with the White Sox for 4/$46M and put a fly in the Yankees Royals Cerberus-style bullpen.

Despite losing out on Miller, the Yankees are being rumored to pursue a reliever via trade. Depending on how your view of life, baseball, and things in general, fortunately or unfortunately the Royals have a surplus of relievers (if that's a real thing).

The Yankees are notoriously known for generally having no concern for their farm system and treat prospects as essentially canon fodder, so giving up prospects for Holland (or Davis or Herrera) isn't necessarily a barrier unlike say the Rays.

So what options could the Yankees give to the Royals to fill their needs?

Martin Prado:

Prado has spent time in 2B, 3B, and the OF over his career. For 2015, Steamer projects Prado at 2.3 fWAR and a slightly above average batting line. As usual, Prado isn't really flashy, but he's one of the few players who's just been consistently good for years, only putting up a less than 2 win season basically just once in his career.

Prado figures to be the Yankees answer at 3B this year (alongside newly acquired Didi Gregorious and whoever plays 2B for them - Jose Pirela?) so this might not be a fit here.

Rob Refsnyder:

I wrote about Refsnyder a few weeks back and how he had a Mookie Betts like ascent into the prospect world. Don't confuse the two though as Refsnyder doesn't project to be the same style of well above average player that Betts does. Refsynder played the OF in college but the Yankees converted him to 2B in the minors. Defensively he's still raw there so a move back to the OF could help him focus more on his bat at the cost of the defensive profile penalty.

According to Carson Cistulli and his adjusted Steamer projections, Refsynder would produce a line as such:

Not a superstar profile, but an average player. A note as well that Refsnyder is 24 years old, but also the above line projects him to play at second instead of the outfield.

A final note of Refsynder, Cistulli also featured him in an article listing "Every Prospect with Kyle Seager's Same Profile." You should almost certainly remind yourself that Seager was a 5.5 win player last year and signed a $100M contract with the Mariners.

Gary Sanchez:

The previous two mentioned players could fill the Royals outfield need. Sanchez would most certainly not do that. Instead, he would fill the Royals DH/1B need left by Billy Butler, if the Royals deemed they needed a dedicated DH. However, like Refsynder, I have also profiled Gary Sanchez previously.

Of importance though is that Sanchez isn't just a 1B/DH, but he has spent significant time at catcher in his career. While not known as a defensively adept receiver behind "the dish" Sanchez provides passable skills defensively to at least play there once or twice a week.

Sanchez brings the coveted, rare, above average power from right side of the plate. If given 450 plate appearances, at catcher, Steamer believes Sanchez could possible produce such as line as

For the intermediate future, Sanchez seems to be blocked from catching as the Yankees have Brian McCann. Trading him to the Royals would produce a similar blockage as the Royals have the much better Salvador Perez.

Don't be fooled though in thinking there are many similarities between Gary Sanchez and failed former Yankee catching prospect, and notable ice cream thrower, Jesus Montero. The bat on Sanchez is much better than Montero as well as the defensive "chops."

Truthfully, there doesn't seem to be a large amount of options between the two clubs, at least for an immediate impact for the Royals. Luis Severino is the Yankees best prospect, but he is 20 years old with just 25 innings in AA. The Yankees don't have a large amount of prospects in AAA or deemed relatively MLB ready. Meanwhile, their rotation may be short one pitcher given their relatively thin current depth there. The recently injured CC Sabathia and oft injured Ivan Nova find themselves flanked by Masahiro Tanka (himself recently severely injured) and another oft injured Michael Pineda.

David Robertson is the latest piece added to the Chicago White Sox' puzzle.

This article was written before the White Sox traded for Jeff Samardzija.

A month ago, when discussing the players who had received qualifying offers, I suggested that David Robertson should accept the 1-year/$15.3 million deal. My reasoning was that he could rejoin the Yankees for a season, become the highest-paid reliever in baseball (on an annual rate), and then sort out free agency (and qualifying offers) again next offseason. The idea of a team forfeiting a draft to sign a reliever — even one as good as Robertson — to a multi-year contract seemed unlikely. Last night, David Robertson confirmed how wonderful it is to not have me as his agent, by agreeing on a 4-year, $~46 million contract to become the new Chicago White Sox closer.

Robertson, entering his age-30 season, has been an elite reliever for the Yankees. Since 2009, he ranks 4^th in fWAR by a relief pitcher (8.9), placing him among some well-known names: Craig Kimbrel, Jonathan Papelbon, Greg Holland and Aroldis Chapman. However, WAR is not really the best measure of relief pitching, as it does not necessarily capture the responsibilities of relievers. Statistics like WPA or RE24 do better a job. Either way, Robertson ranks highly. Since 2009, his 11.16 WPA ranks 4^th, and his 70.19 RE24 ranks 7^th; he also has a 3.77 SD/MD ratio. He's consistently struck batters out at an above-average rate (32.0 career K%), and has had a little trouble with walking batters (10.2 career BB%), although that rate has been at a more acceptable level the last three seasons (7.8%). I could go on-and-on through Robertson's numbers, but it will all lead to the same conclusion: he is an excellent relief pitcher.

The White Sox had a definite need in their bullpen. In 2014, the collective group the Sox ran out to the mound was one of the five worst groups in the baseball. As a matter of fact, Robertson's Steamer projected WAR for 2015 is higher than what all of the White Sox ‘pen men accumulated in 2014. He dramatically changes this aspect of their team. Factor in the Zach Duke signing, and suddenly the White Sox bullpen should be considered at least a middle-of-the-pack group in 2015.

And they may not be done. There are reports of a trade for Jeff Samardzija, who would be a really nice boost for the Sox' rotation, and signals that they are going to really make a run at winning this coming season. You don't trade for 1 year of Samardzija, or sign Adam LaRoche for 2 years, as part of a rebuilding project. Adding more relief arms (among other things; corner OF, 2B are needs) through trades, free agency, or roster shuffling happens in order to completely round out this team. Hopefully for Sox fans, the money allocated to Robertson does not entirely prevent other acquisitions. With the White Sox making this effort, the American League Central could have four teams with a realistic shot at contending for a 2015 playoff spot (sorry Twins fans!).

Now, we cannot be all sunshine and rainbows about this contract. Four years is a long time for a 30-year old reliever. Giving more than $10 million per year to a reliever (and forfeiting a draft pick in the process) is also not advisable, but the game is absolutely flush with cash and the cost of a win in free agency may be more than people expected. Regardless, there is an ugly history of long, big money deals for relievers, and there is no reason to expect that Robertson is somehow not subject to the typical aging and injury factors that reduce pitcher effectiveness.

Assuming current costs of a win (~$7 million), Robertson needs to be worth six to seven wins total over the life of the deal for the White Sox to break even on their investment, which is asking a lot. He accumulated only five wins over his last three seasons at ages 27-29, which were great years, but he will only get older, and the production a reliever can provide his team is limited given how they are used in today's game. Moreover, a few paragraphs above, I outlined the fact that Robertson is an excellent reliever (dare we say: relief ace), which is certainly true now; however, it is unlikely that that label sticks with Robertson through the end of this contract. It is probably fair to expect two good years, an average year, and a below average year, in some combination, over the next four seasons, which will fall short of fulfilling the investment the White Sox made.

Overall, this looks like a good move for the White Sox, if it is part of a larger plan. In the short term, Robertson is a strong addition to their bullpen. The White Sox appear to be making a run at things in 2015-2016, so short-term gains are good. But, with this in mind, the Robertson signing must be one addition among many, or it becomes a silly overpay for the back end of a mediocre team. A couple of playoff appearances, and maybe even a championship, will certainly help heal any wounds of having an overpaid reliever on the roster three years from now. It will be very interesting to see what else Rick Hahn and the White Sox' front office do to continue to improve this team's outlook for the coming season.

. . .

All statistics courtesy of FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference.

Chris Teeter is a featured writer and editor at Beyond the Box Score. You can follow him on Twitter at @c_mcgeets.

The White Sox have signed David Robertson to a four year, $46 million dollar deal. In two years, the Yankees have lost two elite homegrown players to free agency. Thus far, I am not a fan of these new "let's let homegrown superstars walk with little effort" Yankees.

Sigh.

That's really the only way to describe what this feels like. It's a feeling a lot of Yankees fans are not use to, even though it just happened not too long ago. The Yankees lost Robinson Cano, a homegrown superstar, to the Mariners last year. Yesterday the Chicago White Sox signed David Robertson to a four year, $46 million dollar deal. Two elite homegrown players gone in two years. These are definitely not the Yankees I'm accustomed to watching. Quite frankly, I am not a fan. Losing Cano and D-Rob to free agency is not what sucks the most about these past two years. It's tweets like these that put people like me in the Angry Dome.

Yankees never made an official offer to David Robertson. So he wasn't picking between White Sox and Yankees.

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) December 9, 2014

Yankees met w/ Robertson's agent last night and said they weren't going to make offer. A few hours later, he signed with White Sox.

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) December 9, 2014

The Yankees apparently didn't even make Robertson an offer. The only two words I have to describe this are "expletive" and "deleted." If you read Pinstripe Alley during the 2013 Winter Meetings, and we certainly hope that you have, you know that the debate over whether or not the Yankees low balled Cano went back and forth for months. Perhaps more information will be revealed in the coming days, but to not make an offer to David Robertson, an excellent reliever who provided years of excellent services rendered, is unbelievable. After the Yankees signed Andrew Miller, there were talks of how the Yankees now had some kind of leverage to get D-Rob back. I'm not a professional negotiator, but I'm pretty sure leverage only works when you have any intent of using it.

My frustration with this has nothing to do with the current state of the Yankees bullpen. For all intents and purposes, the Yankees bullpen is still a strength. Andrew Miller is good at what he does and Dellin Betances is excellent at what he does. The two of them, plus the potential of Jacob "Strikeout Factory" Lindgren, still make the Yankees' bullpen less of a concern than finding a starting pitcher or two. In addition to that, Brian Cashman has been very adequate at constructing a bullpen from scraps, much like Tony Stark did when he built his first suit in a cave. It's not that Betances cannot pitch the 9th inning either. As now former Yankees closer David Robertson proved this year, the transition from the 8th inning to the 9th is not difficult when you have the talent. Overall, my frustration about this lies with how the Yankees have seemingly been treating their elite homegrown players as of late.

This could simply be an overreaction to the misery of losing D-Rob to free agency, but lately it seems like there's no extra bonus for doing excellent work with the Yankees anymore. Robinson Cano gave the Yankees nine years of superb, injury free services as their second baseman. His offer was very close to what former Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury signed for. David Robertson was a great set-up man to Mariano Rivera, and then almost effortlessly took over for him in the closer role this year. The Yankees go out and sign Andrew Miller for a little less than what it would have cost them to retain D-Rob in the bullpen. Was that extra bit of money too rich for the Yankees' blood? Is that draft pick really going to be worth it?

Losing David Robertson might not be that upsetting to some. As stated above, the Yankees bullpen is still a strength. Even though D-Rob is one of the best relievers in the game, he is still just a reliever. There's no reason to think that Dellin Betances cannot step into the closer role next year. The Yankees also get a higher draft pick now, and rebuilding the farm is a priority. However, losing a homegrown superstar to free agency sucks. Losing a homegrown superstar to free agency when the team signs another similar free agent for a few million dollars less a year really, really sucks.

Everyone should understand that baseball is a business, first and foremost. Signing Miller over D-Rob makes sense financially. It would just be nice to think that a little bit of an overpay for David Robertson would have been worth it, in addition to it being a nice reward for providing the Yankees with years upon years of excellent performance. The Yankees have overpaid for superstar talent in the past, both homegrown and via free agency. This is a franchise that in recent years has given Ichiro Suzuki a two year deal and Carlos Beltran a three year deal. This is a franchise that would have continued to pay Derek Jeter and play him at shortstop well past 40 years old if he did not retire.

It's almost appropriate that Derek Jeter is now retired and earning that sweet blogger coin. His departure heralded the end of the Yankees a lot of us were use to watching, in more ways than one. The next Yankees captain is not arriving anytime soon. Who knows when we'll ever see one again. These past two years have demonstrated that there is seemingly little to no more bonus or reward to homegrown players. If what the fans are clamoring for comes true, if the Yankees actually achieve the improbable and bring up another "core four" and they win a championship, who's to say how long the Yankees keep them now.

Elite homegrown players can get a lot of young fans into baseball, much like Derek Jeter did for many players who are in the majors today. I'm not saying that David Robertson was such a player. All I'm saying is that when it comes to baseball and the Yankees, I personally enjoy rooting for the person a lot more than I do the laundry. Rooting for the person is why the Hug of Eternal Feels at Mo's last game at Yankee Stadium is just a punch to the emotions every time I see it. It's why Derek Jeter's final home game at Yankee Stadium was, for lack of a better word, perfect.

So many fans are fine with letting Chase Headley walk not just because of the years and money involved in re-signing him, but because they want to see Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela compete for a chance to be the starting second baseman. Today is a day where I tend to care very little about that either way. The excitement of hoping one of those two can be the next homegrown superstar is now completely diluted with the fact that I have no idea if the Yankees will retain them even if they develop into one.

It turns out that the Yankees will in fact do anything to win. Even defy the laws of nature.

With baseball's Winter Meetings underway, the Yankees have been getting to linked to just about every free agent available. Whether some of these rumors have any legitimacy or are just smoke signals being put out by interested parties to drive up prices remains to be seen. But when you're the wealthiest franchise in a sport with no salary cap there's no limit to the powers of agents' and fans' imaginary roster construction! The most recent whispers about the Yankees free agent plans have been a little more absurd than usual, even by their typical standards.

According to exclusive sources within the organization that have requested anonymity, the Yankees have been investing heavily in what team officials refer to as the "Forbidden Arts", a series of research projects that attempt to circumvent both roster restrictions by MLB and all common sense. The team has apparently built a massive lab hidden at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean designed for both the research of cloning current Major League players and the resurrection of former greats. When pressed about reports of his team having an army of Giancarlo Stanton clones currently in stasis in the aforementioned laboratory, General Manager Brian Cashman said "That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard. We definitely don't have enough to field an army. I mean, no comment.".

As bad as the cloning procedures are, it's the raising of the dead that has many around the league outraged. Boston Red Sox owner was noted as saying "I'm used to them being pure evil, but this is comical, super villain sort of stuff." New Yankees' Director of Dark Magic Grigori Rasputin said "I won't confirm or deny any of these outlandish reports, but who are these people to deny baseball fans the opportunity to see amazing athletes like Babe Ruth and Cy Young play in this modern age? If they just happen to play for the Yankees at the league minimum all the better!".

The Players Union and United Nations has yet to weigh in on these alarming reports, but super agent Scott Boras has already attempted to sign up Zombie Babe Ruth as a client. Whether this new style of player acquisition becomes as big of a controversy as PEDs remains to be seen, but the Yankees should field one of the more talented teams in the league if their team of clones and reanimated dead hold up. Or the clones may fall apart and the undead players will start eating the living ones. You can't predict baseball, after all.

Brian Cashman spoke to media from the Winter Meetings this afternoon to answer questions about his plans for the team. A few notable things were discussed, like the fact that the Yankees never intended to sign David Robertson after inking Andrew Miller to a four-year deal on Friday. That jives with the comments from early this morning that suggested the team never made an offer to Robertson's camp before he agreed to a four-year deal with the White Sox. Cashman says he told media that the Yankees were still interested in Robertson after the Miller signing so that it wouldn't hurt Robertson's market. That's kind of nice, I guess. The team decided that Miller and the draft pick was a better way to allocate their resources.

The Yankee GM also said he had contact with the Oakland Athletics about Jeff Samardzija, who is heading to the White Sox after being traded earlier today. Cashman said there just wasn't a match to be found between the two teams that could get a deal done. On the topic of the big free agent pitchers still on the market, Cashman said that it wasn't in his best interest to say whether or not he was interested. With a glaring need (or two) in the rotation at this point, it would be pretty stunning if the team wasn't in on at least one of Max Scherzer or Jon Lester.

It was reported last week that the Yankees had hired former Yankee and Trenton Thunder hitting coach Marcus Thames to be assistant hitting coach in the Bronx, but Cashman says that report was false. He has to hire a hitting coach before worrying about an assistant hitting coach. That makes sense, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Thames possibly brought in once a main hitting coach is decided upon. It's been a while since we've heard of any real leads on that front, though.

Joe Girardi also spoke to the media and said that he hadn't decided whether or not he'd name a closer between Miller and Dellin Betances or go with a situational type method. Ultimately it will probably come down to which guys make the bullpen out of spring training and there are plenty of people in the mix for that, including last year's top draft pick Jacob Lindgren.

In no-brainer news, Girardi says that the team expects Masahiro Tanaka to make his 32 starts next season after suffering from a partially torn UCL in 2014. Girardi also states the obvious that Ivan Nova won't be ready to pitch by Opening Day after recovering from Tommy John surgery. On the topic of the newly acquired Didi Gregorius, Girardi thinks that the young shortstop has a chance to really blossom in New York. He also pointed to the rotation as a place he thinks the team should view as a priority right now. Get it done, Cashman. Bring us Scherzer or Lester. Or both. And Brandon McCarthy. Thanks!

ESPN | Wally Matthews: It would have been nice to have three closer-caliber players in the Yankees' bullpen, but the addition of Andrew Miller simply made David Robertson an expensive spare part.

Newsday | David Lennon: Although neither Dellin Betances nor Andrew Miller has any real closing experience, the Yankees don't seem worried about turning over the late innings to either of them.

NJ.com | Kevin Manahan: Despite rumors to the contrary, Derek Jeter doesn't have any plan to buy the Miami Marlins. Instead, the former Yankee has been coming up with book ideas for his new publishing firm.

New York Post | Kevin Kernan:Didi Gregorius gave his first interview since being traded to the Yankees from Curacao on Monday. He says he's only been in New York one day in his life and he knows that no one can do what Jeter did. The interview is a great way to get to know the Yankees' newest shortstop.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Joe Girardi told reporters on Tuesday that Alex Rodriguez has been sending him videos of him working out near his home in Miami. They haven't seen Rodriguez try any first base yet, but it sounds like that will happen in spring training.

ESPN: In another bit of late night news from the Winter Meetings, Jon Lester has agreed to a six-year contract worth $155 million with the Chicago Cubs. The Red Sox fell $20 million short with their offer of $135 million.

After one whole year as Yankees closer, David Robertson is now gone. He signs a four-year, $46 million contract with the White Sox and will likely be much more appreciated in Chicago than he ever was by both fans and management in New York. I mean, the Yankees didn't even make an official offer.

For one reason or another, despite his success over the last few seasons, and his status as one of the best relievers in all of baseball, the Yankees never really trusted D-Rob. Sure, he had control issues when he was younger, but he has since turned things around to become a consistent weapon in the back of the bullpen. Still, the Yankees had no interest in extending him to a team-friendly non-closer contract before the 2014 season when Robertson was interested, and elected to see if he could possibly endure the magical difficulty of baseball in the ninth inning. To the surprise of no one I consider a friend, Robertson passed with flying colors and New York's chance to have an effective closer under control for several more years went up in smoke.

This all happened because, for one reason or another, the trust was just not there. They were hesitant to give him the closing job in the first place after multiple years of success, but now seem to be ready to pass the torch onto Dellin Betances after only one. Sure, a majority of relievers are fungible, but that just gives more reason to hold onto the best ones. As we've seen with the Royals this year and the Tigers over the last few, elite relievers are not replaceable. For all we know, Dellin's season could have been a fluke. He was so good this year that his 2015 season can only be a disappointment to some degree and he was so valuable because of his usage that making him the closer could actually make him worse. I don't know the math, but I have to imagine that there's a better chance that Robertson will have one of his typical seasons than Betances will dominate again like he did in 2014. It's just not likely to happen.

Yes, $46 million is a lot to spend on a relief pitcher, but if you're also willing to spend $36 million, and you're the Yankees, what exactly is the difference? $10 million sounds like a lot of savings, but that money would be spread over a four-year period, meaning that for the 2015 season, by going with Andrew Miller over Robertson, they will save exactly $2.5 million. That's one Chris Young and this is still the Yankees we're talking about. Did they really feel that Robertson wasn't worth that extra couple of million? Especially when they once gave Kevin Youkilis $12 million to play for a month and actually paid Rafael Soriano virtually the same AAV to be the set-up man. This doesn't sound like they lacked the money. They have the money, and they've spent it on stupider things. This is about Robertson, and for whatever reason, they didn't value him the way the rest of baseball does.

This begs the question why they didn't just trade him last year. If they had no intention of bringing him back, why hold onto him? They did the same thing with Robinson Cano the year before. Is the facade of competing more important to them than actually making sound baseball decisions? The Yankees don't exactly light the world on fire when it comes to developing prospects, so there's no way they can see a first-round sandwich pick being as close to valuable as what David Robertson would offer the team over the next four years. And of course, this is going to bring up the idea that, for whatever reason, the Yankees value other teams' free agents over their own. It's like because they've been living with them for the last few years, they forget what they actually have. The organization already faces enough grief over the lack of homegrown stars, and yet when they have them, they either chase them off or act uninterested. The Yankees will now let Jon Lester go and dump all their money into Max Scherzer, sacrifice their much more valuable first round pick, and make it seem all ok because of that sandwich pick.

I'm not as against not signing Robertson as I am against the reason for him not coming back. This isn't really about him, it's about what this means. The Yankees are cutting payroll. Their one strength of an essentially endless budget is now gone, and, if not this year, then in the next few years, we'll finally have a team that is under the luxury tax threshold, the Steinbrenner will be happy, and the team's mediocrity will continue to keep the franchise in a stagnant pool of money. As long as they get a big, flashy guy like Scherzer and talk up how much money they are pouring into the team, the masses will lap it all up and continue to pay top-dollar to go see an 85-win team struggle. Rinse, repeat, ca-ching. Sleight of hand.

The long wait is over. The Cubs, also known as 'not the Red Sox,' have signed Jon Lester to a six year, $155 million dollar deal. Perhaps Back to the Future 2 did not lie to us any more than it already has. Pitchers and catchers report in 71 days.

It's Day Three of the Winter Meetings, currently taking place in San Diego this year. The Yankees have yet to make any majors moves, although one could be coming soon. With Jon Lester now on his way to the Chicago Cubs for 2015, the market for Max Scherzer just got a whole lot more interesting. Rumor has it that Scherzer wants money in the $200+ million range. Well, we all want things. Needless to say, the Yankees could still use a starter or two. Get it done, Cash.

Comments of the Day

Harlan brings up a very good point about the A's.

Billy Beane is no Ninja Cash though.

It's funny to think that Mariano Rivera could potentially still be pitching today, if he really wanted to.

Judging by the 200+ comments in that thread, my work here is clearly done.

Harlan brings up a very good point about the QO.

Harlan brings up a very good point about long term deals.

Betances and Miller should do very well next year.

Mike Mussina should be in the Hall of Fame. That is all.

Harlan brings up a very good point about Mussina's Hall of Fame eligibility.

You know, we have some strange discussions on Pinstripe Alley sometimes.

Matt Freedom has an Infanite number of jokes!

Yeah, we should probably re-sign Brandon McCarthy.

Harlan brings up a very good point about McCarthy's value

GIF of the Day

In honor of the Cubs signing Lester, the number one threat to America....BEARS!

Honorable Mod Mention

Haha, judging by the amount of Rec's that Matt Providence's comment received, clearly I've been hornswoggled. Definitely an honorable feat!

• Winter Meetings: Where do you think Max Scherzer winds up now that Lester is a Cubbie?
• What technology from Back to the Future 2 do you wish we were getting next year?

As always, please link us your Song of the Day.

Please use this as your Open Thread for discussing the Winter Meetings. What are you hoping to see from the Yankees today now that Jon Lester is off the table? What kind of deal do you think Max Scherzer gets now? What do you think the Red Sox will do about pitching now?

DRYING.....YOUR JACKET IS NOW DRY!

Despite Jon Lester's availability, the Yankees did not make any kind of offer to the left-hander and have yet to address their starting rotation at all. In fact, they even traded away a starting candidate to grab Didi Gregorius from the Diamondbacks. Now that Lester is off the table, they are expected to target Max Scherzer, while also looking into second-tier options as well. The Yankees currently have a rotation of Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, and CC Sabathia, but very few internal options from there, however, someone like Brandon McCarthy could fit perfectly into the rotation.

After letting David Robertson go to the White Sox for four years and $46 million, Cashman has acknowledged that McCarthy is looking for a contract in the four-year, $48 million range. Perhaps the Yankees saw it as either Robertson or McCarthy, and with the rotation where it is, they had to let D-Rob go. According to George King of the New York Post, other teams have been willing to go three years with McCarthy at the same AAV, so it could come down to whoever offers a fourth year. From there, it shouldn't be hard to knock a few million off that final number to lower the AAV just a bit, especially if no one else is willing to go over three.

At the age of 31, McCarthy would be 34 by the end of a four-year deal, hardly too old for the Yankees, who have had no issues offering lucrative deals to pitchers in their 40s. With a rotation of Tanaka, Pineda, CC, and McCarthy, the Yankees could then have an easier time finding a fifth starter by either allowing David Phelps, Adam Warren, Manny Banuelos, and Bryan Mitchell to compete in spring training, or bring back Hiroki Kuroda, if he decides he wants to pitch again. Other Scherzer alternatives include James Shields, Brett Anderson, Justin Masterson, Ervin Santana, and the non-tender Brandon Morrow, Brandon Beachy, and Kris Medlen.

What would you prefer the Yankees do? Go hard after Scherzer for $200 million+ or go with McCarthy and try to figure out the fifth starter?

Even after signing Andrew Miller and letting David Robertson walk, Brian Cashman has admitted that the bullpen is still not a finished product. As we've seen with the Royals bullpen last year, the more elite relievers you have, the shorter the game becomes. Cashman says that that Miller, Dellin Betances, and the newly acquired Justin Wilson give them three pitchers that can be relied on in the back of the bullpen. He also said that they were still looking around at the free agent market and for relievers in a trade.

For the record, I don't buy that about Wilson, and it's likely that Cashman doesn't either. That's why the Yankees have discussed the likes of Jason Grilli and now have interest in Sergio Romo.

Yankees, Dodgers, BOS talking with Sergio Romo, reports @jcrasnick. Looked at as a versatile reliever who can fill different roles by teams.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 10, 2014

Romo used to be a a very well-regarded closer for the Giants, but last year proved to be a disaster for him. At the age of 31, he pitched to a fine 3.72 ERA and 3.94 FIP, but his late-inning struggles turned him into a negative-WAR player. Despite this, Romo will likely be looking for a multi-year commitment, maybe two years, so he can rebuild his value and still make a good amount of money. Ultimately, he's likely a poor fit because the Yankees shouldn't be giving him that kind of deal and Romo is unlikely to get many save opportunities.

It's highly likely the Yankees either sign or trade for another reliever before everything is said and done, but Romo might not be the right one. If they can get him on a one-year deal, at max with a team option, then it might be a good idea to have the seventh, eighth, and ninth locked down, but still, that's no sure thing. Should the Yankees pursue Sergio Romo?

What are the Yankees options if (or, more than likely, when) Carlos Beltran finds himself unable to play the field?

Last offseason, as the eager Yankees splurged on free agents in an effort to avoid missing the postseason for a second consecutive year, they signed who they thought would be their right fielder for the next few seasons: Carlos Beltran.  However, Beltran's time in pinstripes has been quite disappointing so far (to say the least). While he did make it into 109 games last season, not even a third of them saw him patrolling the field. Still, the Yankees have shown little interest in the free agent outfielders this offseason, apparently content to head into the season with Beltran penciled in to right. With it relatively unlikely that he will be able to play the field for the majority of games in 2015, what happens when the injury bug rears its ugly head yet again? The Yankees have a few different options:

Internal options:

The Yankees have a few ways to fill the hole in right with the players they already have. First, there's Martin Prado, who played 12 games in the outfield for the Yankees last year. Prado's a perfectly capable outfielder, but with the way the roster is currently constructed, he'll likely be needed at either second base or third. If Chase Headley returns, the Yankees will have some flexibility and Prado could find his way back into the outfield.

The Yankees also have Chris Young (who I've written about previously). Signed in the offseason to be the fourth outfielder, Young should be able to hold down right for a bit if Beltran goes down. Still, if he's a part of the everyday lineup for long, the Yankees will likely be in trouble–his career triple slash of .234/.313/.427 won't really help a team that is likely to struggle offensively. He'll be good for some temporary duty, but anything long term will do little to help New York's cause.

As far as the farm is concerned, Jose Pirela and Adonis Garcia could provide decent options. Pirela has played right field in winter ball, and last year showed quite a bit of promise with the bat, hitting .305/.351/.441 in Triple A. Garcia has hit well in winter ball and played well last season, hitting .319/.353/.474 in Scranton. Pirela probably profiles as a better major leaguer, but Garcia's performance last year and this winter have shown that he should at least be considered. They could even consider Rob Refsnyder if they're desperate, as he played outfield in college. This seems unlikely, though, as they've worked hard to transition him to the infield so that he can build some decent defensive tools to pair with his bat.

External options:

While the Yankees aren't likely to sign any of the free agent outfielders this offseason, they could look to swing a trade for an outfielder if Beltran can't play the outfield everyday and none of the internal options pan out.  The Braves are probably looking to get something out of Justin Upton before he leaves next offseason, and the Dodgers still have a glut of outfielders on their roster (Matt Kemp, Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier all seem expendable, especially with Joc Pederson waiting in the wings). Any of the Dodgers outfielders would cost quite a bit in prospects and all will be significantly overpaid for the next three seasons, so the Yankees probably will shy away from those (as they should, especially with a lot of money already tied up in the outfield between Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Brett Gardner). Upton will be a free agent after this year and should probably cost less than it took to get Jason Heyward. If the Yankees had to part with a few decent prospects to get him, they should do it and get another big bat for the lineup. Still, there's no sense in mortgaging the farm for one year of Upton, especially if the Yankees aren't that close to contention when Beltran's issues arise.

Marlon Byrd (who posted a 109 wRC+ just last year) would be a cheaper option, except Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has been notoriously difficult in trade talks in recent years, consistently overvaluing his own players. While a few other trade options exist, few realistic ones would significantly improve the team without costing the farm system too dearly. There will be little point sacrificing future potential just for a middling replacement for Beltran in right. If Upton could be had at the right price, Cashman should pull the trigger. Otherwise, Prado and Young should be able to hold down the fort for a time, or they could use a Beltran injury to give Jose Pirela some real experience in the majors.

We could also always hope that the Beltran of 2013 shows up, he of the 131 wRC+ and 137 games in the outfield. Hey, who knows–maybe he won't get injured after all (furiously knocking on wood).

We may have lost David Robertson, but the offseason is far from over.

By now you've heard the news that David Robertson is no longer a Yankee. Other than the two deals made last week, and the Francisco Cervelli trade, the offseason has been pretty quiet so far. That probably means that the team is gearing up to do something big, but until then, there's no point in dwelling on missed opportunities. There are plenty of reasons to remain optimistic about how the offseason has gone up to now.

1. The bullpen will be fine without D-Rob. It's always sad to see a homegrown player leave. However, while the bullpen undoubtedly would have been better with him, it should still be good without him. All signs point to Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances being a knockout duo. Miller had a strikeout percentage of 42.6% last season through 62.1 IP. Betances had a 0.78 WHIP. These guys were both really, really good in 2014. It will be interesting to see who gets the nod as closer, or if Joe Girardi decides to play the matchups. He's probably already getting his binder ready in anticipation.

2. No disre2pect to Derek Jeter, but thanks to the addition of Didi Gregorius, defense at shortstop will be better in 2015 than we've seen in years. This probably would have been the case regardless of who the Yankees replaced Jeter with, but at least we have a shortstop now. Gregorius may not be a boost to the offense, but he's only 24. Since he came over in a trade, the team also saved the money they otherwise could have spent on the likes of mediocre Asdrubal Cabrera or Jed Lowrie.

3. Since the Yankees saved money by not signing one of the free agent shortstops, and by letting Robertson walk, they should have a lot of money available to spend elsewhere. Such as on starting pitching. The rotation is in need of the most help at the moment, with CC Sabathia, Michael Pineda and Masahiro Tanaka filling up only three of the five spots. You have to think that the Yankees are going to be in on Max Scherzer (though that has sounded less probable recently). Rumor has it that the Tigers really want to keep Scherzer, and that Scherzer wants at least $200 million, so the Yankees might need all the money they saved by passing on D-Rob to make it happen. Even if they don't go after one of the top free agent starting pitchers, there's no way the Yankees are done making moves.

4. Several of the players who missed time last season with injuries are successfully rehabbing and on track to return in 2015. CC Sabathia says he has "no complaints" about his knee, and feels that he'll be able to throw 200 innings next season. Ivan Nova seems on track to return to the rotation around May. After having elbow surgery in September, Carlos Beltran should also be good to go when the season starts. If nothing else, it's nice that we haven't heard about setbacks for any of these guys.

We may not fully understand the line of thought behind passing on D-Rob and not even making him an offer, but only Brian Cashman can see the big picture at this point. The offseason is far from over. There's plenty of time left for our minds to be blown (in a good way) by another deal or two.

The 29-year old lefty reliever was traded to Pittsburgh in exchange for minor league pitcher Joely Rodriguez.

Philadelphia headed into the Winter Meetings with the intention of rebuilding, and is still looking to trade several veteran players. The Phillies are close to sending Jimmy Rollins to the Dodgers, and according to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal and MLB Daily Rumors' Robert Murray, sent left-handed reliever Antonio Bastardo to the Pirates in exchange for minor league pitcher Joely Rodriguez.

Bastardo, 29, posted a 3.94 ERA and 3.10 FIP in 64 innings with the Phillies last season. He struck out 81, walked 34, and owns a career 3.72 ERA. Bastardo has been efficient in six major league seasons, all of which came with Philadelphia, and has proven he can get both left and right-handed hitters out (.211 BAA righties, .185 for lefties).

Pittsburgh was looking for a second lefty to add to its bullpen after trading Justin Wilson to the Yankees in exchange for Francisco Cervelli. Bastardo is arbitration eligible for the final time, having made $2 million in 2014.

In Rodriguez, the Phillies receive a player who can develop into a starter or reliever. He posted a 4.84 ERA in 31 starts with the Pirates' Double-A affiliate, and was moved to the bullpen in July but was eventually slotted back into the rotation to end the season. His best season came in 2013, when he posted a 2.70 ERA in 26 starts.

Although the Pirates addressed a need, they are parting with a prospect who pitched well in the Arizona Fall League. Rodriguez struck out 22 in 22.2 innings, and posted a 2.38 ERA.

Bastardo had been linked to the Red Sox earlier this week, and teams who are seeking left-handed relief help likely asked the Phillies if he was available. While the Rollins deal could be complete soon, the Phillies will also consider moving Cole Hamels and Marlon Byrd before the Winter Meetings end on Thursday.

The second-half hero from last year won't be returning to the Bronx. Sigh.

Well, it's been a disappointing couple of days at the Winter Meetings for Yankees fans. Closer David Robertson signed with the White Sox, top pitching target Jon Lester signed with the Cubs, and now perhaps the Yankees' best second-half starter from last year, Brandon McCarthy, is off the market as well. As much as the Yankees seemed indifferent on Robertson and Lester, there was some hope that perhaps McCarthy could be brought back. Unfortunately, it appears that this will not be the case. Late on Wednesday night, the Dodgers reportedly inked McCarthy to the four-year deal that he sought:

Sources: #Dodgers close to four-year deal with free-agent RHP Brandon McCarthy.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 11, 2014

brandon mccarthy is indeed closing in on deal with dodgers. 4 years. @Ken_Rosenthal 1st

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 11, 2014

Sigh. It was a ton of fun watching McCarthy put together a tremendous second half for the Yankees after coming over from the Diamondbacks in, again, a deal where all the Yankees gave up was Vidal Nuno. He kicked ass with a 2.89 ERA, 3.22 FIP, and a superb 6.3 K/BB ratio, providing the Yankees with a much-needed ace while Masahiro Tanaka was on the disabled list. Alas, those 14 starts are all McCarthy's Yankees career is likely to be.

From one perspective, I understand not wanting to go to four years for McCarthy, who will be 32 next year and hit 200 innings for the first time in his career last season. (Hell, he'd only passed 150 innings one other time.) He has a bit of a scary health history, and there would definitely be risk in a four-year investment. At the same time though, the Yankees' current rotation is Tanaka, Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia, David Phelps, and Mr. X.

Sorry, but that is absolutely not a legitimate rotation. For as much as I like Tanaka and Pineda, no one knows what to expect from them either, given the injuries that haunted their otherwise-superb 2014 campaigns. If the Yankees signed McCarthy to a four-year deal, yes, it would have been a risk, but it might have been one they had to take. As it stands now, all we can hope is that the Yankees have a card of their sleeves. Or maybe just a boatload of money they can throw at Max Scherzer. I'd take that, too.

Regardless, they have to do something to add another legitimate starter to the 2015 rotation. There's obviously plenty of time to get it done. Kindly figure something out that doesn't involve James Shields.

Farewell, Mr. McCarthy. I'll enjoy continuing to monitor your tweets.

someone please let Nik Wallenda know that we're done with him, we've got a guy getting eaten by a snake now and he's way better

— Brandon McCarthy (@BMcCarthy32) December 8, 2014

Update

Terms:

Source: McCarthy four years, $48M with #Dodgers.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 11, 2014

Well, McCarthy got exactly what he wanted! Good for him.

The Dodgers continue to be active, this time bolstering their starting rotation.

After an impressive second-half performance in 2014, Brandon McCarthy has signed a four-year, $48 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

In Los Angeles, he will help round out a starting rotation headlined by Clayton Kershaw. McCarty figures to pencil in as the No. 4 starter behind Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu. The Dodgers needed some depth in the rotation after Josh Beckett retired and Dan Haren was traded in a deal to the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.

McCarthy's stock improved down the stretch when the right-hander performed well for the Yankees after arriving in the Bronx via trade in early July. The 30-year-old posted a 2.89 ERA and 3.22 FIP over 90⅓ innings pitched for the Yankees, striking out 82 batters and walking only 13 in 14 games started.

The right-hander's success in New York came after an up-and-down time with the Diamondbacks. In 18 starts to begin the season, McCarthy compiled a 5.03 ERA with 93 strikeouts and 20 walks, though his 3.82 FIP during that time span indicates McCarthy might have fallen prey to some bad fortune and an abnormally high home-run rate.

The biggest knock on McCarthy has been his consistent problems with injury. He missed all of the 2010 season due to right shoulder surgery and lost time to injury in both 2012 and 2013. The 2014 campaign was the first time in McCarthy's career that he reached the 200-inning plateau and made more than 30 starts in a single season.

When healthy, McCarthy has been effective in years past. In 2011 and 2012, he impressed with the Athletics, earning him a two-year deal, $15.5 million deal with the Diamondbacks in December of 2012. Despite struggling in Arizona, McCarthy's strong performances with the Yankees at the end of 2014 showed he can still be a solid option in a team's rotation.

The Bronx might be the best place for Chase Headley, but the Yankees might not have the money to fix the rotation and shore up third base at the same time.

Fangraphs | Tony Blengino: Blengino gives a brief peak inside the draft room before digging deep into batted ball data to analyze Chase Headley's true talent level. His conclusion? He suggests that Headley should take a slight discount to play in the Bronx, so that the fly ball hitting switch hitter can put up good enough numbers to get one more contract down the road.

New York Post | Joel Sherman: Sherman cites no sources, but he claims that the Yankees have the money to sign either a Headley or a starting pitcher, not both.

MLB.com | Jamal Collier: The Dodgers' trade for Jimmy Rollins might be only the start of the trading between the two teams; Chase Utley might be on the block. The 35 year old is coming off his first season of 150 games played since 2009, hitting .270/.339/.407 along the way. If the Yankees miss out on Headley, might another Chase be the solution?

LoHud Blog | Chad Jennings: Scott Boras is up to his old tricks; someone asked him whether he thought the Yankees would really sit out on Max Scherzer, and he managed to compare the Tigers' ace to Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte in a single breath.

Hardball Times | Shane Tourtellotte: Not Yankee specific, but interesting research on the causes of manager ejections. Tourtellotte identifies a couple emerging trends in how manager ejects have been impacted by the introduction of instant replay.

It has been said that the Yankees are more into mid-tier free agents than the elite ones when it comes to filling out the rotation. Brandon McCarthy made perfect sense for them, but a four-year deal proved to be too long of a commitment for them. Now that the Dodgers have signed him and the Yankees are left with no elite starter to go after besides Max Scherzer, the team needs to look toward the non-tender pitchers that are available on the open market if they want to add affordable talent.

The Braves non-tendered a pair of formidable starting pitchers in Brandon Beachy and Kris Medlen this offseason. Both missed the 2014 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and though they might miss the beginning of the 2015, they should be ready to go fairly soon. Beachy, under team control for the next two year, has a 3.23 ERA and 3.34 FIP as a starter across four seasons. As a 28-year-old he has struck out 9.25 batters per nine innings, while maintaining a solid 2.89 walks per nine.The biggest setback would be his injury history, which includes Tommy John surgery in 2012 and then again in 2014. You would like to think he's healthy from here, but as we've seen before, the third time can happen, and in such a short period of time you have to wonder how his elbow is going to hold up.

Independent of Beachy, Kris Medlen is also looking for employment after being non-tendered by the Braves. He is under team control for the 2015 season and has maintained a 2.95 ERA and 3.23 FIP between the bullpen and the rotation. Another two-time Tommy John survivor, it seems that Medlen could be useful no matter where he is ultimately used by the Yankees. For the 29-year-old, a majority of his career was spent in the bullpen, so if the Yankees feel he is better off as a reliever, he should be able to return from injury faster and contribute to the team sooner.

Neither players are likely to light the world on fire at this juncture in their careers, but signing one, or even both of them, should go a long way in determining their starting pitching depth for the 2015 season. Right now the Scranton rotation consists of Bryan Mitchell, Manny Banuelos, and Zach Nuding, and from there the Yankees could add Beachy and Medlen for the time being and give the organization some much-needed depth. If the Yankees add someone like Hiroki Kuroda and then allow David Phelps to begin the year in the rotation, they could have one of Beachy/Medlen in the rotation by May.

It might not sound like much, and at this point in their careers it likely doesn't, but the Yankees need to add some kind of depth and they seem to be all out of options from here. Unless they sign Max Scherzer or come up with a trade for Cole Hamels or Doug Fister, the Yankees will be seriously lacking rotation depth and Beachy or Medlen could come in handy.