A health update on CC Sabathia and what the Yankees can do with him if he can't stay in the rotation.

Numerous Yankee pitchers spent time on the disabled list last season, but for some reason the only one we're hearing updates about is CC Sabathia. Maybe it's because he spends time going to sporting events and the like during the offseason. Sabathia spoke to the media on Friday and stated that his rehab is on track. That's the position that he's maintained for months now, but it sounds like his knee hasn't been put to the test yet. CC said that he's been playing catch and that he will start to throw bullpen sessions by the end of January. When asked about his expectations for the 2015 season, he said that he just wanted to stay healthy.

As for the other pitchers coming back from injuries, we may have to wait until spring training starts to hear any updates (pitchers and catchers report February 20th!). We know that Ivan Nova started throwing from 25 feet in September, but even a scan of his social media doesn't reveal much more information other than the fact that he has done some fishing over the offseason. Nova missed almost the entire 2014 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Assuming that his rehab stays on track, he's expected to be ready to return to the rotation at the end of May. Masahiro Tanaka also missed a significant portion of the season after he experienced a small tear in his UCL. Though he was able to return before the season ended, he only made a handful of starts with varying success. Brian Cashman spoke about him a few weeks ago and said that the Yankees would keep their "fingers crossed" about the health of his elbow moving forward. Michael Pineda also missed time with a right shoulder injury, but he made quite a few starts at the end of the season so there shouldn't be quite as much concern about his health as the others. Still, the rotation could wind up being decimated, again, if all of these players aggravate their old injuries.

While it's good to hear CC say that his knee feels fine, the Yankees won't really know how his knee will hold up until he starts pitching off the mound. He should obviously experience more strain when he extends that right knee during his delivery than he would just playing catch. It will be interesting to see how he holds up pitching on the rotation schedule. If it's too much for his knee and not enough rest time, the Yankees could consider having him pitch out of the bullpen, since that would amount to less innings and would provide him with more recovery time. CC will earn $23 million this year, so it would be unfortunate to see him earn that working from the 'pen, but that would be better than the alternative. It's not difficult to imagine a scenario where CC's knee is perfectly fine, but he still is unable to pitch effectively. He's owed $25 million in 2016, and has a vesting option for $25 million in 2017 that will vest unless various things happen to his shoulder. Because he's owed so much money, it's incredibly difficult to picture the Yankees releasing him, and seems improbable that any team would trade for him. It looks like we're stuck with him unless he's absolutely unable to pitch and undergoes what would likely be career-ending reconstructive knee surgery. All we can really do is join Cashman and cross our fingers for the health of the entire rotation.

Can you imagine any scenario that involves the Yankees just releasing CC Sabathia?

During the first great era of closers, the Yankees sure found themselves a good one in a mustachioed man known as "Sparky."

Name: Albert "Sparky" Lyle
Position: Closer
Born: July 22, 1944 (DuBois, PA)
Yankee Years: 1972-1978
Primary number: 28
Yankee statistics: 57-40, 2.41 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 420 G, 745 2/3 IP, 454 K, 141 SV, 68 ERA-, 81 FIP-, 14.9 rWAR, 10.5 fWAR

Biography

The Yankees of the 1970s were truly something else. Unlike the late '90s dynasty teams, which had remarkable cohesion and often simply dominated the competition, these squads had a wide variety of colorful characters in the clubhouse and personalities that frequently clashed. Even in championship seasons, drama was abound; there was the combative yet brilliant strategist manager Billy Martin, the no-nonsense captain Thurman Munson, and the always-controversial slugger, Reggie Jackson.

For all the chaos, there was certainly an air of levity to the team as well, and few players brought as much humor to the table as reliever Sparky Lyle. The lefty was a dominant closer whose arrival in 1972 coincided with the team's turnaround from the humdrum days of mediocrity under CBS ownership to the eventual champions under bombastic owner George Steinbrenner. Lyle was there every step of the way, dazzling hitters with a wicked slider rarely matched throughout Yankees history.

"You can't throw hard enough to be a pitcher."

That quote was said by a youth league coach in Lyle's hometown of DuBois, Pennsylvania. The son of a carpenter, the then-13-year-old loved to play baseball, but this local coach's dismissal hurt Lyle. Subsequently, he did not play much baseball except casually among friends. Instead, he went on to make All-Conference and All-State in football and basketball at Reynoldsville-Sykesville High School; if he was going to make it big in any sport, it seemed like it would be one of those. In his junior year though, he finally decided to give baseball another shot. How did that go?

When pitching for DuBois, it seemed he was always striking out 16 or 17 batters. This accomplishment made local headlines and in one game during that summer, he struck out 31 batters. He threw mostly fastballs and curve balls and ended up walking 8 or 9 batters. It was a 17-inning game, yet Lyle only pitched 14 of those 17 innings; he handled first base duties for three innings in the middle of the game. - Diane MacLennan, SABR

Needless to say, pitching was truly his calling after all, even if he needed to work on his control. Orioles scout George Staller saw him and signed him in June of 1964, and the young man nicknamed "Sparky" because his mother thought he was "a sparkling child" suddenly had his first real shot at the pros.

Despite Staller's excitement about him, the O's did not end up keeping Lyle in their system for long. After one decent year in the minors split between rookie ball and A-ball. The Red Sox snatched him up in a minor league draft, and over the next three years, he developed from a raw starting pitcher talent to a very dangerous relief arm. It was unusual for pitchers to be shifted from the rotation to the bullpen so young back then, but Boston clearly saw more potential in him as a reliever. Although he still demonstrated bouts of wildness, his ERAs and WHIPs gradually improved from 4.24 and 1.598 respectively in '65 to 1.71 and 1.286 in '67.

A key development in Lyle's growth was a spring training meeting with the legendary Ted Williams in 1966. After watching him in a start, Williams approached him and bluntly told him that his changeup and curveball would not be good enough to get big league hitters out. Williams strongly encouraged him to learn how to throw the slider, as he told Lyle "The best pitch in baseball is the slider because it's the only pitch I couldn't hit when I knew it was coming." Lyle reasoned that if it was good enough to stump perhaps the greatest hitter of all-time, then it was definitely worth checking out. (Lyle would later teach this slider to another Yankees ace of the trade, Ron Guidry.)

Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams decided that Lyle could help Boston down the stretch in their "Impossible Dream" season in '67, so Lyle made his big league debut that summer. He pitched in 27 games and 43 1/3 innings, recording a 2.28 ERA and 2.61 FIP while noticeably cutting down his walks to to 2.9 BB/9. Although Williams barked that he always listen to veteran catcher (and former Yankee) Elston Howard's pitch calls, the gracious backstop was kind enough to work with Lyle and determine the best strategies together. Often, the answer was simply that wipeout slider.

Boston went on to win a tight race for the American League pennant that year, though they lost in the World Series to the Cardinals without Lyle on the roster. They didn't make it back over the next couple seasons, but Lyle continued to mature as a big league pitcher. In five years with Boston, he became their primary closer, pitching in 260 games while notching 69 saves, a 2.85 ERA, and 3.15 FIP. Unlike most relievers of today, his stints frequently began in the middle of jams and typically lasted at least 1 2/3 innings and often more than that, sometimes up to three frames in one game.

Lyle's ascent caught the Yankees' attention, and near the end of spring training in 1972, they pulled off a trade with their rivals. Boston sought more offense, so they acquired Danny Cater in exchange for Lyle, and they also received an infielder named Mario Guerrero. The history of the Yankees and Red Sox is plagued on Boston's end by poor trades, like the one that brought Babe Ruth to the Yankees for cash and the deal that sent away future Hall of Famer Red Ruffing. The Lyle deal should rank right up there with them, as Boston got basically nothing in exchange for one of the best relief arms of the '70s. Not a bad move at all by the Yankees' future Hall of Fame executive Lee MacPhail.

Sliding into history

Upon arriving in the Bronx, it did not take Lyle long to become the ace of the bullpen. Veteran skipper Ralph Houk quickly realized that Lyle and his slider were undoubtedly assets to the team, and he appeared in 59 games and 107 2/3 innings. Lyle was superb, recording a 1.92 ERA and 1.050 WHIP while leading the league in saves and setting a then-AL record with 35. Of those 35, over half of them involved at least two innings pitched. He was so impressive that in addition to down-ballot Cy Young votes, he actually earned a third-place finish in AL MVP voting, a feat almost unheard of for a reliever. The Yankees' PR department also established a tradition of bullpen entrance music, as they decided "Pomp and Circumstance" should play as Lyle entered the game on the bullpen cart, signifying the forthcoming end of the game just as Edward Elgar's march often signals the end of academic studies through graduation.

After making the All-Star team for the first time with another solid year in '73, the Yankees shifted venues to the Mets' home of Shea Stadium for a couple years while the original Yankee Stadium underwent a two-year renovation. The switch to the pitcher's park led to a career-best 1.66 ERA from Lyle in '74 under new manager Bill Virdon, though the actual location of the home park didn't seem to matter much. After all, his stadium-adjusted 215 ERA+ was also a career-high.

Throughout it all, Lyle always maintained a terrific sense of humor. While he certainly took his closing job seriously, he was always open to a good laugh. Lyle cracked his teammates up by sitting bare-ass on birthday cakes, making self-deprecating jokes, and playing pranks whenever possible. One time, to get his coach Yogi Berra to stop using his toothpaste, he put white heat liniment on the top of the tube. There was also the occasion when a coffin somehow ended up in the clubhouse, and I'll let Ken McMillan and Ed Randall take it from here:

Amazing. For all the jokes, the Yankees were becoming a more complete team as well, with recent additions Graig Nettles, Chris Chambliss, and free agent ace Catfish Hunter combining with a solid core led by Munson to create a formidable squad. With Martin now in charge, the Yankees at last broke their 12-year playoff drought in 1976, capturing their first AL East title as Lyle notched another All-Star season and led the league in saves for a second time. Although the Yankees ended up swept out of the World Series by the Cincinnati Reds' "Big Red Machine," Lyle was unscored upon in the playoffs.

The '77 season was the crowning point in Lyle's career. He had the season of his life out of the bullpen, appearing in a league-high 72 games and pitching a career-high 137 innings. The heavy use did not lead to any ineffectiveness; in fact, he was brilliant with a 2.17 ERA, a 3.18 FIP, 26 more saves, and countless bailouts. There were some fine starters in the team's rotation that year, but Sparky was the star of the show. Martin had tremendous confidence bringing him into the game, and far more often than not, Martin's faith was rewarded. The BBWAA was so taken with Lyle's performance that they made him the first reliever in history to win the Cy Young Award. Thanks to Lyle and new additions like Jackson, the Yankees won 100 games and repeated as AL East champs.

It would be hard for any pitcher to match a regular season like that in the playoffs, but Lyle was up to the task, particularly in the ALCS. I wrote about his exploits when I retroactively decided that had the award existed, he would have been the deserving ALCS MVP:

Lyle followed up his stellar season with an equally impressive ALCS performance. It's hard for a reliever to win a series MVP award in my book, but Lyle was more deserving than any other hitter or starter. (While Cliff Johnson had a 1.171 OPS in 15 at-bats, only his Game 2 hits led to any kind of rally, and no starter had an ERA below 3.90.) The series began inauspiciously, as Lyle got the final out of a 7-2 Game 1 loss, then wasn't needed in Game 2 since fellow slider aficionado Ron Guidry twirled a three-hitter in a 6-2 victory. The Royals smacked around Mike Torrez for five runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings in Game 3, but although the Yankees lost 6-2, Lyle gave the rest of the bullpen a rest by relieving in the sixth and finishing the game with 2 1/3 one-run innings.

Game 4 was when Lyle truly emerged as the series MVP. With the Yankees facing elimination and holding a slim 5-4 fourth inning lead over the Royals with the tying run in scoring position and Yankee killer George Brett up, manager Billy Martin turned to Lyle very early. Lyle had no rest from his 2 1/3 innings the day before, but he got Brett to line out to right, ending the inning. He then pitched five more scoreless innings, allowing just two hits; the Yankees won, 6-4. It was the type of reliever performance that would never happen today, but it kept the Yankees in the series. In the winner-take-all Game 5, the Royals knocked Guidry out early and held a 3-2 lead in the eighth. Martin asked Lyle to come in again while still on zero days' rest with runners on first and second and two outs. He struck out Cookie Rojas, and with the Royals just three outs from winning the '77 AL pennant, the Yankees' offense proceeded to stun the Kansas City crowd with a three-run ninth to take a 5-3 lead. Lyle finished the Royals off by getting Darrell Porter to pop out and inducing 5-4-3 double play from speedy Freddie Patek to clinch the AL pennant. It was definitely an MVP-worthy performance from one of the greatest relievers in franchise history.

It was a tremendous playoff performance, and he followed it up with a 1.93 ERA in the World Series victory over the Dodgers. At long last, Lyle was a World Series champion.

"From Cy Young to Sayonara"

The good times from '77 unfortunately could not last forever. Although he understood the decision later in life, Lyle was devastated when the Yankees signed young hard-throwing closer Goose Gossage in the 1977-78 off-season. The two pitchers respected each other, but it created an untenable situation. As Lyle put it, there was no place for two closers. It became difficult to find them both playing time, and the 33-year-old Lyle's performance dipped anyway. Although the Yankees won him another World Series ring that year, Lyle was a non-factor in the playoffs.

After the season, it was apparent that the two sides part ways, and the Yankees dealt him away in a big 10-player trade with the Texas Rangers. Even in departure, Lyle offered one more blessing to Yankees fans--one of the players coming to the Yankees in return for Lyle was a high-potential lefty named Dave Righetti. Lyle spent four more seasons in the majors with a few different teams, though he never recaptured the brilliance of '77 as he got older. He retired after the '82 campaign and later gained recognition in the minor as long-time manager of the Indy League's Somerset Patriots in Bridgewater, New Jersey.

Even though the end of Lyle's career was a bit awkward, Yankees fans will never forget his mustachioed grin, amazing slider, and classic moments. Sparky Lyle is a slam dunk on the Top 100 Yankees of All-Time. We can only dream of talents and personalities like him.

Andrew's rank: 83
Tanya's rank: 85
Community rank: 47.9
WAR rank: 93.5

Stats from Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs

References

Allen, Maury. Yankees: Where Have You Gone? Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing, LLC, 2004.

Appel, Marty. Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankeesfrom Before the Babe to After the Boss. New York: Bloomsbury, 2012.

BR Bullpen

Lyle, Sparky with Peter Golenbock. The Bronx Zoo. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2005.

MacLennan, Diane. SABR Bio

McMillan, Ken and Ed Randall. Amazing Tales from the Yankees Dugout. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2012.

Other Top 100 Yankees

• #80 Orlando Hernandez
• #81 Kid Elberfeld
• #82 Al Orth
• #83 Joe Pepitone
• #84 Al Downing

After announcing their new hires Sunday afternoon, the Yankees have announced some big changes to the coaching staff for 2015. Joe Espada, who was announced as infield coach yesterday, will take Rob Thomson's job at third base in 2015. Thomson moves into the bench coach role previously occupied by Tony Pena, who will now serve as the team's new first base coach.

The good news here is that Thomson is getting booted away from third base, where he was nothing short of a disaster in 2014. It's unclear why he receives a de facto promotion to bench coach for being awful, but I'm not paid to make these decisions. Jeff Pentland will be the hitting coach with Alan Cockrell serving as his assistant. Larry Rothschild is obviously still the pitching coach and Gary Tuck remains the bullpen coach.

Hopefully Joe Girardi keeps his temper in check this season, because Thomson will be leading the team every time Girardi is forced to watch the rest of the game from the clubhouse. That's kind of a scary thought. At least he can't wave in runners from the dugout, I guess.

What do you think led the team to moving Tony Pena to first base in favor of Thomson? How did the man manage to work himself into a promotion? Help us all make sense of this.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty:The Yankees have historically fared well in arbitration hearings.

ESPN New York | Andrew Marchand: Willie Randolph was disappointed to not be asked to return to the Yankees coaching staff.

MLB.com | Anthony Castrovince:The Yankees' restraint in the free agent market will serve them well in the future.

NewsOK | Jacob Unruh:Prospect Ty Hensley is back throwing after his vicious beating on December 28th.

New York Post | Ken Davidoff: The thrifty plan for the Yankees this offseason is clearly the brainchild of GM Brian Cashman.

Even more reasons why the Yankees should go all out to sign the Yoan-der twins. Will they take the plunge?

The statement "the Yankees should sign Yoan Moncada and Yoan Lopez" is not one that'll get you much disagreement from Yankee fans. We've spent a good chunk of the winter discussing - more like salivating - over the uber-talented and identically named Cuban defectors, and for good reason.

Moncada is a 19-year-old five-tool prospect who plays shortstop. Baseball America's Ben Badler suggested back in August that he might be the first pick in the 2015 amateur draft if he were eligible. Lopez is 21 and comes fully loaded with a fastball that sits in the mid-90's and can reach triple digits. Unlike the other Yoan, he's been cleared to sign with a pro team by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (which contrary to popular belief does not exist solely for the purpose of ushering Cuban baseball players into the majors). Add to all that good stuff the fact that the Yankees have already neutron bombed their international spending pool allotment for this year - they won't be allowed to sign pool-eligible players like these for two years beginning in May - and doing everything humanly possible to land the two Yoans seems like an absolute no-brainer.

First and foremost, signing Moncada and Lopez would be a huge step in revitalizing a Yankee farm system that's had a hard time finding its way over the past several years. They landed only a single player on BA's mid-season top-50 for 2014, in Luis Severino, and while they have some other interesting assets - Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, Gary Sanchez - none of them are exactly banging on the door to the majors, and Triple-A standout Rob Refsnyder is, at least for now, blocked by the uninspiring Stephen Drew. The Yoans would be a major splash in player development whose ripples would be felt through the entire organization, even impacting changes the team might make to its MLB roster.

Landing the Cuban duo would be like stealing two high first round draft picks. At 21, with some professional experience in Cuba's Serie Nacional, Lopez is akin to a top college arm coming off his junior or senior season. Moncada, with limited pro time of his own, would be like snagging a supremely skilled high school or JUCO player with talent oozing out of his eyeballs. Adding that kind of ability independent of the actual draft might convince the Yankees to unclench when it comes to surrendering their first rounder to sign one of the remaining qualifying offer free agents in Max Scherzer or James Shields.

Given Moncada and Lopez's top notch measurables, their likely instant entry onto top prospect lists and their potential to move quickly through the minors, they could also push Brian Cashman to loosen his grip on some of the Yankees' better prospects in trade talks. That could mean a more serious look at Cole Hamels and other starters like Jordan Zimmermann and David Price, who might be available via trade, or at other candidates who could pad soft spots on the current roster. Lopez could make Severino more of a talking point than he's been so far. Moncada's future at short, along with the signing of Drew, which many of us are still trying to make sense of, could make flipping Didi Gregorius to a shortstop-needy team a possible alternative. The Phillies in a package for Hamels? The Mets in a deal for Jon Niese?

One way in which Moncada and Lopez differ from draft picks, of course is in their price tag. There's no limit to how much the Yankees, or the Red Sox, who've also exceeded their international pool money this year, can offer them. Moncada will almost certainly obliterate the nine-year, $30 million deal that Jorge Soler, a similarly talented Cuban prospect, landed from the Cubs in 2012. If the six-year, $27 million pact that 24-year-old righty Raisel Iglesias got from the Reds this past June is any indication, Lopez will be well-compensated, too. Reports are that the Yankees do have interest in both Moncada and Lopez, but just how far will they be willing to go? The same kinds of reports told us they liked Soler, Rusney Castillo, and Yasmany Tomas, too, but all of those guys are currently playing elsewhere. They were reluctant to go the $40-something million extra mile to retain proven commodities like David Robertson and Brandon McCarthy. What makes us think they'll do it for a couple of guys who have never set foot on a major league - or even a minor league field?

The availability of Moncada and Lopez is a unique opportunity. The Yankees can grow their farm with some outstanding young players without doing much of the legwork that they've struggled with, while simultaneously granting themselves much-needed flexibility throughout their organization. There aren't as many chances as there once were for big market teams to employ their financial weight as an advantage over the competition. This is one the Yankees shouldn't hold back from.

It wouldn't be classic cheesy love song week without an entry from Dirty Dancing. It seems like the Yankees won't be putting Thomson in, or on, a corner. He'll be on the bench instead, far away from third base. Pitchers and catchers report in 37 days.

Rob Thomson is no longer the Yankees' third base coach. He was not good as the Yankees' third base coach. He would most likely stop Baby from running to the Swayze during the final big dance number of Dirty Dancing. Or he'd wave her in way too soon and ruin everything. The point is, Joe Espada is the new third base coach. Hooray!

Comments of the Day

We certainly do want our new writers to have those kind of hard hitting skills. For the record, we don't actually have any Tic Tacs.

Arun's got jokes!

Hey, this I'mNotAHRHitter twitter account has some sound insight and rational, well thought out ideas on matter pertaining to the Yankees. If you haven't already, you should give this account a follow.

/pours one out for this meme

According to ASR, the official PSA Nunez Chronicler, we need to up our game a bit this year!

Thomson's meeting with Mahb and Mahb went surprisingly well, despite all that stuff he said about a lack of motivation.

Perhaps Weird Al's One More Minute would have been a better choice.

This has the potential to be awesome.

GIF of the Day

Once again, nothing much on the GIF department. Ah well.

Honorable Mod Mention

This HMM award goes out to the potential future mod/writer out there. Good luck with those applications, ladies and gentlemen.

• What are some other potential jobs you would have given Rob Thomson at Yankee Stadium, other than third base or bench coach?
• Name some of your favorite buildings/architectural masterpieces

Of course we were going to have a Dirty Dancing entry. The movie damn near defines classic cheesy love song week by itself. As always, please link us your Song of the Day.

Feel free to use this as your open thread for the day. Rob Thomson is no longer our third base coach, so huzzah. Tony Pena is no longer a bench coach though. How do you feel about that?

Now I've got you in my sights.

Colorado designated Martin for assignment last week. Now, he'll be wearing a different color of pinstripes.

The New York Yankees have acquired relief pitcher Chris Martin from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for cash considerations. YES Network's Jack Curry  first reported the deal.

Martin, 28, was designated for assignment last week by the Rockies, who needed to create space on their 40-man roster for recently signed catcher Nick Hundley. Martin posted a rather unlucky 6.89 ERA (his FIP was more than three runs lower) in 15⅔ innings for Colorado in 2014.

A heartfelt message to Martin, the best part of the return in last offseason's Jonathan Herrera trade:

Don't Panic, Chris, for Everything's Not Lost. After all, you'll get to experience a good kind of A Rush of Blood to the Head, and if you pitch like you're capable of pitching -- at High Speed -- you could wind up taking on the role of the great 42 in the Bronx. Be grateful you're out of Colorado, because remember: We Never Change.

See You Soon.

As "long time listener" put it on Twitter, the Yankees will try to fix him.

The Yankees almost certainly made it one of their New Year's resolutions to acquire as many relievers as possible. They pulled off another trade for a potential bullpen arm today, as according to YES Network's Jack Curry, they sent cash to the Rockies in exchange for righthanded reliever Chris Martin. To make room on the roster, they DFA'd the recently-acquired former Mets reliever Gonzalez Germen. (Can't wait for the Yankeeography.) The 6'8" Martin will have minor league options, so he is by no means tied to a definite spot in the 2015 bullpen, though he's certainly in the mix.

Martin is a 28-year-old who was originally signed by the Red Sox, and he pitched in their organization from 2010 through 2013, when he was traded to Colorado in the off-season deal that sent infielder Jonathan Herrera to Boston. He certainly wasn't yellow on the mound for Triple-A Colorado Springs last year, as he struck out 36 batters in 26 2/3 innings, an impressive rate of 12.2 K/9. Overall, he had a 4.39 ERA and 3.21 FIP there, recording nice peripheral stats of a 3.0 BB/9, and a 0.7 HR/9. However, the rookie did not find paradise during his short stint in the majors on the mound while the violet hills of his Rockies jersey billowed in the breeze. He rode the shuttle between Colorado and Colorado Springs from mid-April through mid-June, pitching to a 6.89 ERA and allowing a pair of homers in just 15 2/3 innings for the Rockies. He just wasn't in his place.

However, the shaky numbers are somewhat deceiving. Martin's FIP was a much-lower 3.77, he had an 8.0 K/9 and a 2.3 BB/9, and most noticeably, his BABIP against was a monstrous .408. Even in Triple-A in 2014, his BABIP was .431. That's an absurdly high number, and the fact that his line-drive percentage of 19.6% was a little better than the league average of 20.8% is worth talking about as well. Furthermore, during his MLB cameo, he had a fine ground-ball percentage of 60.3%, something that this year should help with the Yankees' much more defensively adept infield. Even though that number was a little inflated by small sample size, his 44.6% ground ball rate in Triple-A was solid, too.

Martin doesn't quite throw the speed of sound, but his reported 95 mph fastball is nothing to dismiss. He also has a slider and cutter in his repertoire. That's not to say he's the scientist of pitching, but he definitely has a few options out there. As the clocks pass the time in 2015, Martin will likely have a better season, as the BABIP Luck Dragons should allow him to lower his ERA both in the majors and Triple-A. Considering that the Yankees got him for just cash, it's hard to really dislike the move. Don't panic. If he works out, then it would be like life in technicolor, and if not, then he'll just be another arm to take up some innings under the sky full of stars in Scranton.

Just viva la vida, Martin.

A few new faces join the coaching ranks in the minor leagues.

The Trenton Thunder and Scranton/Wilkes Barre Railriders have finalized their coaching staffs for the coming season, making some changes on the bench for the Yankees Double-A and Triple-A affiliates.

The biggest change coming in Trenton is the arrival of Al Pedrique, who will take over as manager from Tony Franklin, who will serve as a roving evaluator this season. Pedrique most recently managed the High-A Tampa Yankees in 2014 and has been in the Yankees organization since 2013. Pedrique does have some past experience as a major league coach, serving as the Astros bench coach from 2010-2012 and the Dodgers third base coach in 2003 and 2004. Rounding out Trenton's staff are new pitching coach Jose Rosado, new hitting coach P.J. Pilittere, and new defensive coach Michel Hernandez. Lee Meyer will return as athletic trainer and Orlando Crance will once again be the strength and conditioning coach. Almost all of these coaches have been in the Yankees system for at least three seasons. Pilitere was once a catching prospect in the Yankees organization between 2004 and 2011 before retiring to start his career as a successful hitting coach.

In Scranton, pitching coach Scott Aldred, trainer Darren London, strength and conditioning coach Lee Tressel, and long-time manager Dave Miley all return to their respective roles. This will be Miley's ninth season as Scranton's manager, where he's had quite a bit of success - he was named Manager of the Year across all of minor league baseball back in 2012 by Baseball America. The biggest additions to the staff come in the forms of Marcus Thames and Justin Tordi. Thames, who played two seasons for the Yankees during his ten-year career in the big leagues, will take over as Scranton's hitting coach. He was previously rumored to have been named the assistant hitting coach of the big league team, even before a hitting coach was named, but as we now know, Jeff Pentland and Alan Cockrell got the major league call this year. He'll have a chance to work with Rob Refsnyder and Tyler Austin, who have both sung his praises. Tordi takes over as defensive coach, and while he never reached the majors, his minor league experience all over the field (he played first, second, third, and short while also occasionally catching and pitching) should help him bring a unique defensive persepective to Scranton.

The Yankees have shown that they are loyal to their coaching staff when they produce results. Miley, Aldred, Franklin Pedrique, Thames, and Pilitere have all established themselves as effective teachers at the minor league level. If the system continues to hoard names like these, it's bound to benefit the prospects in some way. When players go out of their way to praise their coaches, like they have with Thames and Pilitere, you know the system is doing something right. Hopefully we'll see the results on the field.

Interviews around mini-camp, notes on O's interest in some players, and more in today's edition of Bird Droppings

AL East Notes: Sox, Bradley, Hunter, Zobrist, O's, Yankees, Jays

Including blurbs regarding the O's interest in Zobrist, Rasmus, and Johan Santana

Report: Johan Santana intends to pitch in 2015 | For The Win
Bring him back, Duq'.

Duo confident O's can make up for key losses | orioles.com
Less interviews, Chris. More sit ups.

School of Roch: Coolbaugh on Davis: "I look for great things from Chris this year"

Well, I hope so. It'd be weird if he didn't.

The decline of the traditional 21st century slugger - Beyond the Box Score

We were promised dingers.

On this date in 1963, the O's and White Sox consummated a 7 player deal which saw the O's send Hoyt Wilhelm and his knuckleball to the Windy City in exchange for SS Luis Aparicio. 30 years later the O's would acquire eastern shore native Harold Baines from the A's.  In 1994 the O's signed Chris Sabo and his glorious recspecs.

ESPN New York | Wallace Matthews: Every hitting coach candidate the Yankees interviewed had a #2 in mind or felt like the game had evolved to a point that an assistant coach was needed. Brian Cashman said new hitting coach Jeff Pentland and assistant hitting coach Alan Cockrell share the same hitting philosophy.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Here are five facts that you need to know about the newest Yankee, Chris Martin. One of the most interesting facts involve Martin working at Lowe's after he tore his labrum and nearly missed his chance at playing professional baseball even though he'd already been drafted twice.

New York Post | Dan Martin: The Yankees were in attendance for Johan Santana's Venezuelan Winter League outing that marks the beginning of his attempt to try and come back to MLB.

MLB.com | Anthony Castrovince: An offseason in which the Yankees aren't going after the Max Scherzers and James Shieldses on the market feels strange, but that restraint could really pay off in the short term future. The club seems to be relying on a strong bullpen and improved defense to better themselves from last season.

NJ.com | Kevin Manahan: How many beers could Wade Boggs consume on a cross-country flight? Apparently nearly double the rumored amount, according to Charlie Day. What a ridiculous man.

After announcing their coaching staffs for the major league team and their upper minor league affiliates, the Yankees have now announced their faculty for the 2015 High-A Tampa Yankees, Low-A Charleston RiverDogs, and Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees. There are plenty of new faces among the crowd, but also a few familiar ones as well. Hopefully these hires will improve the organization's ability to develop young baseball players into professionals.

The Tampa Yankees overhauled much of their coaching staff, opting to hire a new manager in Dave Bialas, a new pitching coach in Tommy Phelps, and a new hitting coach in Tom Slater. Bialas played in the St. Louis Cardinal's organization for 10 years between 1973 and 1982, has experience as a minor league coach, and served as a field coordinator for the Braves over the last two years. After six years with the Trenton Thunder, Phelps is being moved to Tampa in order for him to work with some of the young up-and-coming pitchers moving through the system. Slater is entering his seventh season in the Yankees organization, where he has served in multiple different roles over the years. Coach JD Closser, strength and conditioning coach Joe Siara, and athletic trainer Michael Becker all return to the team from last year.

The Charleston RiverDogs will bring back manager Luis Dorante for his second stint with the club. He played six seasons in the Boston Red Sox organization, has 12 seasons of managerial experience, and served as the bullpen coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates big league team from 2008-2010. New hitting coach Greg Colbrunn is a 13-year major league veteran who played for seven teams between 1992 and 2004. He previously served as the RiverDogs hitting coach and manager between 2007-2012 before taking the Red Sox big league job for the last two years. New pitching coach Tim Norton was a relief pitcher in the Yankees organization from 2006-2011 and moves up from Staten Island, while last year's GCL Yankees manager takes over as defensive coach. Jimmy Downam and Anthony Velazquez return as athletic trainer and strength and conditioning coach, respectively.

The Staten Island Yankees have named Patrick Osborn, a former 2002 second-round draft pick, as their new manager. They have also brought in seven-year major league veteran Butch Henry to serve as pitching coach, while bringing back hitting coach Ty Hawkins for his 10th season in that role and 27th in the organization. Making his coaching debut is former Yankees first round pick and Baseball America top 100 prospect Eric Duncan as the team's defensive coach. Now 30, he was drafted 27th overall in 2003 and soared through the system before flaming out in the upper minors and leaving the organization after the 2009 season.

There's some good talent among these coaches and hopefully that will translate into good returns on the baseball diamond. The Yankees will give their prospects the best tools they can to develop their talents, but it's ultimately up to the players to figure it all out. Let's hope for a big year in 2015.

As one would expect, projections show that the team is in the mix.

One of my favorite pages for projections is FanGraphs' depth charts page, which shows projections but adjusted for playing time as well. Regular Steamer projections are fun, but it's nice to know how the puzzle fits together. And that brings us to the Yankees' projections for their depth chart. Here's how they fit into the league, by cumulative WAR:

That is pretty much what one would expect. But an interesting note is how well the Red Sox are projected to do. Considering how far ahead they are, it kind of makes sense that the Yankees stay conservative spending-wise; even if they spend a ton of money to gain five wins, it doesn't increase their odds of winning the division by enough to justify the marginal added value. But anyway, they're in the mix. And when a team is within that range, anything can really happen, even despite the mediocrity. In the new age of the second wild card, that's not unreasonable. And now, on to the depth chart itself:

To no one's surprise, the infield is an obvious question mark. Brian McCann is projected to rebound from his poor 2014, and that makes sense. Last season seems like an anomaly more than anything else, so it is reasonable to expect a more normal production from him. Mark Teixeira looks to be pretty similar, but at least a semi-competent Garrett Jones will grab some plate appearances; that will provide a similar bat when needed.

And up the middle, there are problems. Gregorius does not have the most optimistic projection, and that really centers around the concerns regarding his bat. But even with a poor bat, he's still a significant upgrade over last year's Derek Jeter. That's a positive, I suppose. Stephen Drew looks to get the bulk of playing time at second base, and he looks to get a similar performance as at shortstop. I wouldn't be devastated by 1.5 WAR, but here's to hoping that a Rob Refsnyder at .255/.320/.385 gets more time to play.

Here lie the best position player performances for the team (except for Brian McCann). Chase Headley is projected to be the best position player on the team at a whopping 3.9 WAR, followed by both Jacoby Ellsbury (3.5) and Brett Gardner (3.0) who are staples of the team. If there is one area of the team that I am not concerned about, it is third base, left field, and center field. Those will do just fine.

These are interesting. The projections believe that Chris Young will be decent as a fourth outfielder, and Carlos Beltran will be mediocre between right field and DH. But what's really funny is that Alex Rodriguez, the player penciled into the DH role, is projected to be replacement level. If he is that bad, then I would send him packing. But you never know with A-Rod, so I'll look at that with some skepticism. But overall, the position players on this team are mediocre at best. There is no bona fide star, but there are no absolute black holes either. There's a decent amount of depth, and that's pretty much why they sit at 16th overall in the projections for position players. Now, on to the pitchers.

Starting pitching could make or break this team. The position players make this team absolutely average, but a healthy rotation could give them a chance at contention. According to these projections--which take into account the probability that a player will be injured and bakes it into their innings pitched total--the Yankees have an excellent starting rotation. Their projected 10.2 WAR, just for the starters, is higher than the total pitching WAR for 11 teams. There is the obvious risk of Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia, and Masahiro Tanaka missing significant playing time, but this could prove to be a formidable rotation. There is the obvious "could" qualifier, but there isn't much the team can do about that. We take what we can from these projections, and that is that this is one of the best true talent rotations in baseball.

At a projected 3.5 WAR and 3.59 ERA/3.78 FIP, this is a very good bullpen. I think the Dellin Betances projection has to be mentally accounted for, because it still weighs in past performance that frankly isn't relevant anymore; I doubt his walk rate would be that high, in my opinion. But other than that, this is what we expected: a shutdown bullpen. Andrew Miller will provide another knockout punch, and the cast of characters around them, like Adam Warren and Justin Wilson, are decent enough to fill the middle innings. (Also keep in mind that recently-acquired relievers David Carpenter, Chasen Shreve, and Chris Martin have not yet been added to the FanGraphs depth chart.)

As has been oft-mentioned, projections are not the same as predictions, just to clarify. They show the median value of a player's performance, so it is a guess at a player's true talent level. By guess, I don't mean that it is a blindfolded guess--it is backed up by the same statistical practices that one would see in a mathematics field, so to regard it with a flippant nature is not to be advised. But with that being said, we all take these with a grain of salt. We have qualitative data that projection systems do not know, so that is to consider, and because they represent the median, there is a good chance that the actual values will be decently above or below. It is the best we have to make a guess, and this shows that the Yankees are mediocre, but not in a terrible way. They are firmly in the playoff hunt, and it is only January. If they can manage to find a few wins off of the scrap heap, then there is no doubt in my mind that they will be competitive.

Former two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana is trying to make another comeback to Major League Baseball and the Yankees are reported to be interested. He pitched two scoreless innings in the Venezuelan Winter League on Tuesday nightwith the Yankees, among other teams, in attendance. After undergoing a pair of shoulder surgeries, this time Santana looks to recover from an Achilles tendon tear he suffered last year.

Just over a year ago the Yankees were said to be interested in the rehabbing left-hander, but injuries to his shoulder seemed to leave him with very little left in the tank. Reports indicated that he couldn't break 90 mph with his fastball, leading the Yankees to lose interest and look elsewhere before he eventually signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles. This is his first time returning to a mound after spending time in extended spring training this past season and going down in June.

Now 36 years old, it would seem that the days of overpowering hitters are well behind him, but when you consider the potential that might still be hiding in his arm, he might at least be worth a look. Obviously, nothing is close or serious yet, but a source believes that the Yankees will keep an eye on him and remain intrigued until he shows that he's completely done. The Yankees often make low-risk/high-reward signings and have a track record for liking guys that used to be good and could possibly be good again. Maybe. It's insanely unlikely that Santana makes it back to the majors, and even less likely that he'd even be any good, but the organization needs some filler. A minor league deal and an invitation to spring training seems harmless, especially when you consider how weak their Triple-A rotation currently projects to be. Don't worry, he wouldn't be blocking anyone.

Yesterday the Yankees acquired Chris Martin from the Rockies. Their bullpen is certainly getting some arms this year. Perhaps the starting pitching staff will get some as well. Pitchers and catchers report in 36 days.

"TO TEH PEN" has been back in full force this offseason. The Yankees acquired reliever Chris Martin from the Rockies for cash. Gonzales Germen has been DFA'd to make room for Martin. I'm sure we will survive the loss.

Comments of the Day

This comment brought about a real problem at stadiums. Wait until the inning is over to get up and do your business. Sheesh.

GIF of the Day

Yet again, nothing much to show for GIF section. People need to get back on their GIF game.

Honorable Mod Mention

Nothing honorable happened yesterday. Perhaps today's song will give our mods the heroic attitude they need.

• If you could change the price of one thing at Yankee Stadium, other than the seats, what would you pick?
• Name some of your favorite music videos ever.

There is no classic cheesy love song week without Peter Cetera. As always, please link us your Song of the Day.

Feel free to use this as your open thread for the day. The Yankee continue to stockpile relievers, and now they come with Coldplay puns attached. What do you think they have up there sleeves?

We did it all for love.

ESPN will feature the Mets on Opening Day and later in the month on Sunday Night Baseball.

The Mets are cool again. They used to be the laughing stock of the National League but now with sexy pitchers like Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey in tow, New York is going to have to beat back the big television networks with a stick.

ESPN alone is showing two Mets games in April. One of those will be an Opening Day tilt in Washington. The other in a game against the Yankees in the Bronx on April 26.

The Opening Day (April 6) game will start at 4:00 p.m. when a lot of people are at work because for some reason Opening Day isn't a national holiday. Even though the game is likely to be available on SNY, the ESPN factor should help out folks who are looking to watch the game from work or from outside the New York area.

The Yankees game on April 26 is one of three times the Bombers will show up on ESPN during the first five weeks of the season. They're also on tap for games against the Red Sox on April 12 and May 3. The Mets could appear on Sunday Night Baseball at other points during the season, but ESPN hasn't announced anything beyond the first five weeks.

All of the first five Sunday Night Baseball games, including the April 5 Opening Night game, will feature either the Yankees or the Cardinals.

Yesterday was the deadline for players to file for arbitration and the Yankees had a couple of eligible players.

The big news yesterday was that the Yankees acquired yet another reliever, Chris Martin, from the Rockies. Yesterday also happened to be the deadline for players to file for arbitration. Brian Cashman has made more trades this offseason than every before, and he actually dealt several players who are arbitration eligible this year, including Francisco Cervelli, David Phelps and Shawn Kelley. Esmil Rogers was arbitration eligible, but the Yankees re-signed him to a one-year deal worth $1.48 million. However, Cashman acquired two other players who are arbitration eligible, so the Yankees had four players total file for arbitration on Tuesday.

Ivan Nova

Projected 2015 Salary: $3.3 million
2014 Statistics: 20.2 IP, 8.27 ERA, 6.91 FIP, 2.61 HR/9

Last year was Nova's first year of arbitration eligibility and he reached a deal to avoid arbitration for $3.3 million. Of course, he then went on to miss almost the entire season after having to have Tommy John surgery, so it would make sense for him to earn the same amount of money this year. Although it's a very small sample size, Nova didn't pitch well in the four games that he started in 2014. There isn't a definitive date set for his return from rehab yet, but he should be ready around the end of May.

Michael Pineda

Projected 2015 Salary: $2.1 million
2014 Statistics: 76.1 IP, 6.96 HR/9, 0.83 BB/9, 0.59 HR/9, 0.83 WHIP, 1.89 ERA, 2.71 FIP, 2.2 fWAR

This is Pineda's first year of arbitration eligibility. He missed a good portion of last season due to his pine tar suspension which subsequently turned into a long stay on the disabled listed with a shoulder injury. He pitched really well both at the start of the season and when he finally returned in August and September. His only full season to date was back in 2011 with the Mariners, but if he can stay healthy in 2015 and pitch like he did last year, he would be worth every bit of that projected salary.

David Carpenter

Projected 2015 Salary: $1.1 million
2014 Statistics: 61 IP, 9.89 K/9, 2.36 BB/9, 0.74 HR/9, 1.26 WHIP, 3.54 ERA, 2.94 FIP

This is also Carpenter's first year of arbitration eligibility, and he made $0.5 million (slightly more than the minimum) last year with the Braves. Again, part of Cashman's offseason involved trading away some players who were arbitration eligible, yet acquiring players in their first year of arbitration eligibility which will cost less money. Carpenter appears to replace Kelley in the bullpen, and Kelley is projected to earn a higher salary of $2.5 million. A similar player who happens to be cheaper? We'll take it.

Nathan Eovaldi

Projected 2015 salary: $3.1 million
2014 Statistics: 199.2 IP, 6.40 K/9, 1.94 BB/9, 0.63 HR/9, 1.33 WHIP, 4.37 ERA, 3.37 FIP, 3.0 fWAR

Finally, newcomer Eovaldi is also in his first year of arbitration eligibility, after having made $0.5 million last year. He's projected to earn roughly the same as Nova because of how comparable their career numbers are. When he was eligible for the first time last year, Nova had pitched 517 innings with a 4.04 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 4.09 FIP. Eovaldi has currently pitched 460 innings with a 4.07 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 3.70 FIP. By that standard, Eovaldi might even deserve to earn more.

The next step is for the team and the players to exchange figures, which will happen Friday. If they are unable to reach an agreement with any of the players, they will go to hearings which would start in February. Very rarely have the Yankees had to hold an arbitration hearing with a player. In fact, they haven't had to fight a player in an arbitration hearing since 2008, when they beat Chien Ming Wang and saved themselves $0.6 million. Before that, you have to go all the way back to 2000 when they beat Mariano Rivera and only had to pay him $7.2 million instead of the $9 million that he wanted.

Do you think the salary projections sound about right? Will the Yankees be able to avoid having any arbitration hearings?

*All salary projections courtesy of MLB Trade Rumors.

Yankees prospect Ty Hensley returns to his offseason workouts even while his jaw is wired shut

Yankees pitching prospect Ty Hensley is on the mend and is also returning to the mound just weeks after being hospitalized in the holiday attack that left him with a broken jaw.

Ty Hensley's agent says the top prospect hopes to be 100 percent come spring training. We'll have more later on his recovery. #Yankees

— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) January 13, 2015

Ty Hensley's agent says the prospect's arm felt good throwing Sunday, but that his jaw is still wired shut, and there's still pain. #Yankees

— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) January 13, 2015

Despite his jaw still being wired shut, Hensley has continued his offseason workout regimen in hopes to go in to spring training in as good of shape as possible. He even released a video of himself working on his delivery and he looks pretty good for someone with a broken jaw. Hopefully he can continue to work on his game, despite the injuries, and finally have a healthy season with the Yankees.

Hope everyone is just as excited for the 2015 season as I am!

A video posted by Ty Hensley (@tyhensley17) on Jan 11, 2015 at 3:36pm PST

As far as the legal ramifications of the incident goes, here is a copy of the probable cause affidavit that has been filed against Anthony Morales, his alleged attacker. The document provides an eyewitness account of the events that happened the night of the incident and also calls for the arrest of Morales, a football player who tried out for the Carolina Panthers this year.

Ty Hensley-Anthony Morales Probable Cause Affidavit

Morales has since been charged with aggravated assault and battery and has pleaded not guilty. A preliminary hearing will take place on February 5 at the Oklahoma County Courthouse.

Maybe Stephen Drew won't be a dumpsterfire in 2015? We look back on past acquisitions to give us a glimmer of hope about the Yankees' newest signing.

The signing of Stephen Drew caused a fair amount of confusion and anger among Yankee fans last week. Many hoped that Drew would not be seen in pinstripes in 2015 after hitting just .150/.219/.271 in his stint in New York last season. But here he is, back on the Yankees. This signing many very well not work out. There's a decently good chance it won't. But who knows, maybe it could. For this week's Pinstripe Q&A, I asked the PSA staff when they were expecting the worst about an acquisition, only to be pleasantly surprised.

Q: The Yankees signed Stephen Drew. Many fans are down on the move, so to make them feel a little better, what's one Yankees acquisition you were pessimistic about at first, but worked out just fine?

Jason

I was really, really, reeeeeeeally against the Jacoby Ellsbury signing. I thought it was the worst idea ever and the end of the world. Turns out he's pretty good at baseball and I have no issues rooting for him anymore. He had a good year last year, but I'm hoping for an even better one in 2015. More stolen bases, more home runs. Let's do it.

John

I'm usually optimistic about everything. I feel somewhat vindicated by major moves I can remember opposing: trading for and extending Randy Johnson instead of signing Carlos Beltran; trading Jeff Weaver for Kevin Brown; the long string of non-moves in 2011, 2012 and 2013 while players like Yu Darvish, Cliff Lee (I know I know, they tried), Zack Grienke, Yasiel Puig and Yoenis Cespedes signed other places.

Here's one: I was never crazy about the Johnny Damon signing. I understood it, so I wouldn't quite say I was opposed, but we had a potential CF in Melky Cabrera. But we were running Andy Philips out at 1B (sub .300 OBP), so I would have spent the money trying to pry Paul Konerko away from the world champion White Sox.

It worked out.

But it's a bit of a false equivalency, because Drew doesn't have nearly the track record nor the ceiling of Johnny Damon.

I have been mostly pleased with how quickly the Yankees have given up on ineffective bandaids like Casey McGehee, Reid Brignac, or Dean Anna. If Jose Pirela or Rob Refsnyder makes a strong case that they should be the starting 2B, I trust the Yankees to give them the job and put Drew on the bench or cut him.

Andrew

Raul Ibanez. I feel like a lot of people at PSA really were not fans of the signing, but while he certainly cost them at times in the field, the 19-homer season and playoff heroics made him more than worth it. Even though Drew's doubtful to produce at similar offensive levels to the Dark Lord, there's definitely still a chance he can be a pleasant surprise.

Jim

When our very own Joe Girardi was traded to the Yankees after the 1995 season to replace Mike Stanley who eventually signed with the Red Sox. I thought it was insane to let Stanley, a strong hitter, team leader and All-Star, find greener pastures elsewhere, especially Boston. The drop off in production between Stanley and Girardi seemed like it would doom the Yankees, but obviously everything turned out just fine. Girardi won three rings in pinstripes and Stanley was even traded back to the Yankees for a brief stint in 1997. I may have overreacted a bit.

Harlan

I wasn't a fan of the Johnny Damon signing. It's no fun to watch a guy enjoy his prime years on the Red Sox then come to the Yankees and struggle while getting paid more. But as it turned out, Johnny still had a lot left at 32, and he wound up being nearly as good in New York as he was in Boston.

Tanya

Is it okay to use a trade for this? I thought the Yankees were making a huge mistake when they traded Jesus Montero to Seattle for Michael Pineda. I'd been prospect-hugging Montero since he was 16 years old, and I loved every minute of watching his September debut with the big league club. Now Montero is severely overweight, definitely not a catcher, went into the stands to try to beat up a scout who was insulting him, and that Pineda guy looks pretty awesome coming back from labrum surgery. Couldn't really be happier with how that turned out right now.

Matt F.

The Ellsbury and Ibanez signings were ones that initially came to mind, but since those were mentioned, I'll throw in another. I was initially a little weary of the first CC Sabathia contract. Yes, it's gone downhill since the new contract was inked after the 2012 season, but the first couple years of his original deal couldn't have gone much better. I am by no means super knowledgeable about how baseball players are evaluated by teams, but six years ago, I was clueless. I knew the Yankees needed pitching and he was the best option out there on the market, but considering how much the Brewers pitched him down the stretch in 2008, I was super nervous. (Medical science is also something I have no clue about and had less of a clue about then.) I assumed with all those innings the previous year, his arm would like fall off or something. It did not and good things happened the next couple years.

Those are our answers and now it's your turn. When were you angry about a move the Yankees made only to be pleasantly surprised?

New York Post | Ken Davidoff: Hal Steinbrenner feels the Yankees are in a good place with who they have now and don't need Max Scherzer to compete.

LoHud | Chad Jennings: A look ahead at the 2015 season for Ivan Nova and what he might, or might not, bring to the table.

Just A Bit Outside | Dave Cameron: Cuban prospect Yoan Moncada is going to cost a lot of money and the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers are going to be ready to pay.

It's About the Money | Brad Vietrogoski: After trading away Francisco Cervelli and Peter O`Brien, the Yankees have effectively reset their catching depth chart.

LoHud | Chad Jennings: Even after the addition of Stephen Drew, there are still a few reasons to keep Brendan Ryan on the roster.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Here are five key facts about new Yankee reliever Chris Martin.