The Yankees formally introduced Brian McCann, their newest catcher, in a press conference today at 2:00 pm. Brian Cashman, Hal Steinbrenner, Randy Levine, Joe Girardi, and McCann's wife and extended family were all on hand to welcome McCann to New York.

Here are some quotes from the press conference in case you missed it.

Cashman: "Building teams obviously start up the middle, and theres no better place to start than behind the dish."

— Daniel Barbarisi (@DanBarbarisi) December 5, 2013

Cashman: "This is one step of many we need to take this offseason" as they build team. Yanks keep sounding theme that theyre not nearly done

— Daniel Barbarisi (@DanBarbarisi) December 5, 2013

Brian McCann will wear #34

— Sweeny Murti (@YankeesWFAN) December 5, 2013

Girardi starts out by pumping McCann's abilities as a defensive catcher, not his usually-touted offensive game.

— Daniel Barbarisi (@DanBarbarisi) December 5, 2013

McCann: "To say this is one of the best days of my life would be an understatement." pic.twitter.com/PMCjd631Zy

— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) December 5, 2013

McCann asked about 21, but that was Paul O'Neill's number and is out of circulation. Took 34 and said its for ex-teammate Eric O'Flaherty.

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) December 5, 2013

Or you can watch the whole thing here:

Assorted notes:

• Yankees had #34 onesies for McCann's kids
• McCann is very, extremely bald
• McCann called Mark Teixeira, who he briefly played with in Atlanta, to discuss playing in New York.
• Staying on the East Coast was a big deal for him
• Felt no reservations about the Yankees spending this offseason to be a contender
• McCann noted that the team wasn't done making moves
• Happy about the Jacoby Ellsbury signing, calling him one of the best center fielders in baseball

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The Yankees are spending big to build a new core of players this winter.

The Yankees have not hesitated to throw serious money at free agents this winter -- they've already inked Brian McCann and Jacoby Ellsbury to long-term deals and will surely be tied to many more names in the coming months. At this point, its looking like they may be throwing the $189M spending plan out the window. They still have at least $20M in AAV to play with this winter (as much as ~$47.5M depending on what becomes of Alex Rodriguez's legal mess) but still have plenty of holes on their roster. In any case, the Yankees will have one of the highest payrolls in baseball with at least $60M in AAV going to newly-signed free agents. These new acquisitions are likely to have the most productive seasons of their new contracts in 2014, yet, it's not at all clear if the 2014 Yankees will be a playoff caliber team if they do in fact decide to adhere to the spending cap.

The Yankees' roster is not constructed in a very cost-efficient manner, which outweighs their tremendous financial resources. A big part of the problem is that the team has a lot of money tied up in aging superstars. Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, Derek Jeter, and Ichiro Suzuki combined for just 0.5 WARP in 2013, but are owed $100M in 2014. When the Yankees signed A-Rod, Teixeira, and Sabathia to long-term contracts back in 2008/2009, they knew the later years wouldn't be pretty -- that's just the nature of long-term contracts. Maybe they didn't think it would happen as quickly as it did, but they knew there would come a time when those players wouldn't be good anymore. A big-market team like the Yankees can generally absorb an albatross contract or two without any problem, but the Yankees' farm system has chronically failed to produce low-cost players capable of augmenting the pricey veterans. Ivan Nova is really the only decent player they've promoted in the last five years and there's not much on the immediate horizon either. Simply put, the Yankees have no core of young players to build around.

At Baseball Prospectus, Jonathan Judge recently attempted to quantify the quality of a team's core of players in 2013. He used players' WAR, age, and years of team control to calculate how many "core wins" each player is worth. The analysis showed that the Yankees had the worst core in baseball in 2013 and were the only team not to have any "core players." Their last-place ranking isn't surprising. The team's most productive players from last year -- Robinson Cano, Brett Gardner, Alfonso Soriano, Hiroki Kuroda, and Andy Pettitte -- were all within two years of free agency; other than Nova, none of the young-ish players on the roster contributed much of anything.

To see if things looked any better for this season, I ran Jonathan's method on the current Yankees' roster using the 2014 Steamer projections available from FanGraphs. Non-catchers have been scaled to 550 PA, catchers to 450 PA, starting pitchers to 150 IP, and relievers to 60 IP:

The good news is that Steamer projects the Yankees to have seven core players (players with more than five core wins), but three of those players have projections that don't pass the smell test and three happen to be catchers, a position where the Yankees should be set for a while.

The Steamer projections for Dean Anna, Yamaico Navarro, and Vidal Nuno are based almost entirely on minor league stats and should be taken with a huge grain of salt. All three could help the Yankees next year and will be worthy of long looks in camp, but they aren't what anyone would consider to be core players.

So other than the newly acquired Ellsbury, the Yankees' core made up almost entirely of catchers. McCann will be a staple in the Yankees lineup for the next few years which clouds the futures of prospects J.R. Murphy and Gary Sanchez -- both of whom are projected for at least 2.3 fWAR in 2014. Again, projections for minor league players don't mean a ton, but Murphy and Sanchez are legit prospects. It's pretty clear that both have a lot of potential and should be major-league ready before long. With incumbents Francisco Cervelli and Austin Romine also in the mix, the Yankees have a bit of a catching surplus, meaning Brian Cashman will probably end up dealing a catcher in the coming months to fill other holes on the roster.

At this point, the Yankees have very few pieces to build around, but adding McCann and Ellsbury is certainly a good start. There seems to be enough cash in the coffers to keep adding to this new core of players via free agency -- a strategy that should keep the Yankees in playoff contention for the next three or four years. Hopefully by then, the farm system will be churning out major-league caliber players again and the Yankees won't have to rely so heavily on over-priced free agents.

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A new posting system has been agreed upon between MLB and NPB and now there is a $20 million bidding limit. This means that Japanese teams hoping to make millions of dollars off their players will now have to settle for far less going forward. Yu Darvish required a posting fee north of $50 million and Masahiro Tanaka looked like he would command something around $60 million.

Cutting that down could stop Japanese teams from posting their best players because it might not be worth losing him. The Golden Eagles are considering just that as team president Yozo Tachibana is planning to speak to the team's investors before any decision is made on whether or not Tanaka will be posted.

"We have an obligation to explain to our stakeholders whether it's fair," Tachibana reportedly told Sponichi. He added that if Rakuten shareholders do not think the proposed rules are fair, "There's a possibility we won't take the next step," Tachibana said.

It was expected that the star 25-year-old pitcher would definitely be posted in 2014, but now that eventuality is in doubt. The Eagles have been putting together a contract for Tanaka in case a new agreement could not be reached, so it's entirely possible that they could sign him for multiple years. If that happens, Tanaka might not even be posted next year either. With no big payment headed their way, the Golden Eagles might decide that it's just not worth it to post their pitcher at all and that could become the norm for most teams going forward.

If the Yankees can't bid on Tanaka, they might have to turn to Ervin Santana, Ubaldo Jimenez, Bronson Arroyo, Paul Maholm, and Scott Feldman. They could also look for a trade. Still, the Yankees need Tanaka, so they'll probably wait to sign other pitchers until after a decision is made.

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The Yankees have now signed a new catcher in Brian McCann and a new center fielder in Jacoby Ellsbury, but they have yet to focus on pitching. Hiroki Kuroda has remained their chief target this offseason, but no one knows what his plans are. After declining a $14.1 million qualifying offer, the Yankees offered him a contract believed to be between $15-$16 million as a way of convincing him to come back to American baseball for at least one more year.

Brian Cashman now believes that Kuroda wants to pitch in 2014, it's now a matter of if he wants to play for the Yankees or return to Japan. The 38-year-old pitcher is committed to the Yankees, so Cashman is confident they can bring him back, if that's what he wants to do.

Bringing Kuroda back would make him the number two pitcher behind CC Sabathia in a rotation that currently only included Ivan Nova as well. If the Yankees are unable to get Masahiro Tanaka, whether because they loses the bid or he isn't posted, there will still be two rotation spots that need filling. The options on the market seem to be less than thrilling and could be highly expensive, so it might lead them to allowing David Phelps, Adam Warren, Vidal Nuno, Michael Pineda, and others, compete for the last two spots if they can't find someone that makes sense for them. Those options don't sound promising, so they might go for a trade in order to fill at least one more spot.

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The Mariners have reportedly been in hot pursuit of Robinson Cano and there is speculation that they may have already topped the Yankees' offer for the All-Star second baseman. According to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes, Seattle has let Cano know that they are willing to give him a ten-year deal worth $230-$240 million. That figure far exceeds the Yankees' maximum offer so far of $170 million over seven years.

Up until now, the Yankees have had no real reason to go beyond the number they put forth for Cano because it seemed like the market for him was slow to develop. The last thing the Yankees needed to do was outbid themselves for Cano's services for the next decade if no other team was going to come forward offering him something closer to the price he'd personally settled on. Now that the Mariners seem very much in the mix, the Yankees will have to decide if they can keep Cano at a price they can live, which may or may not involve directly outbidding the Mariners.

Cano's preference has reportedly been to stay in New York, which could mean that a deal close but not exceeding what the Mariners are offering would convince Cano to stay. The team has been adamant about not going to eight years or to $200 million, but it seems like they may have to do both, at least, to convince Cano to stay. They may very well decide that the price is just too high and look to one of their backup plans like Shin-Soo Choo instead.

Is keeping Cano worth possibly having to meet or exceed the Mariners' reported offer, or could their large proposal spell the end of Cano in New York?

UPDATE:

Sources: Cano asked #Mariner for 240/10. M's made offer, but not over 200. Cano on plane to Seattle. Meeting with club officials later today

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 5, 2013

So either something got lost in translation as word escaped into the public or Cano's people might be trying to make everyone believe he got a better offer than he actually did. This could then force the Yankees to go higher. He's probably meeting with them in order to convince them to up the dollar amount. Cano wants to play in New York and a deal not even over $200 million is not going to convince him to go to Seattle.

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Guys, this is important.

The Yankees have signed now former Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury to a seven-year, $153 million contract. Before he can steal his first base, before he collects his first hit, before he can even get his first at-bat, he will have to choose a uniform number, but what will it be? It could end up being a difficult process for him.

When he was on the Red Sox he had worn No. 2 since the 2010 season. He obviously can't wear that because Derek Jeter is the one who wears that and no one will ever wear that number again. His original number before that was No. 46, but that was Andy Pettitte's number, and you can believe that the Yankees will at least hold it out of circulation for awhile. So now what?

He could double No. 2 to make it 22, the old number of Roger Clemens and Robinson Cano. In 2013, 22 was seemingly passed around a lot, going from Brennan Boesch, to Thomas Neal, to Vernon Wells, and Travis Ishikawa, for one game. If Wells is still wearing it, Ellsbury could probably buy it off him if he wanted it. Another option is to flip 46 into 64, though that is a very high number for a player so expensive, and it belonged to Cesar Cabral in 2013, so it's probably not going to happen.

The problem is that Ellsbury can't really choose a number near 2 because all those numbers have already been retired. No. 1 for Billy Martin, No. 3 for Babe Ruth. He could go one down from 46 to 45, a number that was owned by Ben Francisco, Zoilo Almonte, and David Adams during the 2013 season, so it would be ripe for the taking. There is also 47, but that's been worn by Ivan Nova for the last three years and he's important.

There's really no obvious option for Ellsbury to choose from, so he could end up with something completely random. The Yankees could want him to take one of the lower numbers, like most of their best players wear, so he could take 14, with Curtis Granderson leaving, or 17, now that Jayson Nix is a goner. It's hard to say for sure, though, because it could really be anything at this point.

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The American League West just got a little more fat.. and not because of Prince Fielder. Because Robinson Cano is heading to Seattle.

Former New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano has signed a massive deal with the Seattle Mariners, according to ESPN Deportes' Enrique Rojas. How much money did the Mariners just write a check for? 10 years, $240 million. Yes, the same amount that the Angels spent on Albert Pujols! Cano, not satisfied with the Yankees unwillingness to go 10 years, is heading to the Pacific Northwest to join just about no other start in the M's lineup.

This contract is nothing new for the division. Prince Fielder's contract with the Rangers, that originated with the Tigers, totals $214 million after 9 years starting in 2012. Elvis Andrus, also in Texas, has a $120 million contract across 8 years that he signed prior to Opening Day in 2013. Then of course there's Josh Hamilton who signed a 5 year deal with the Halos that set them back $125 million. Including Cano and Pujols' deals, the American League West has more than $900 million locked up in five players.

If Mike Trout gets an extension from the Angels, just how much will it be worth?

Source: ESPN Deportes

Robinson Cano signed a deal to play for 10 seasons at $240 million, but instead of doing so in the Bronx, he'll wear a Seattle Mariners cap.

Coming into the 2013-2014 offseason, numerous free agents stood out, but one shown brighter than the rest. Former Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano would most certainly attract the biggest payday, in addition to most of the fanfare. Cano, has been a staple in New York since his first season in 2005, after the Yankees signed him as an 18-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in 2001.

The favorite Yankees of the late 90's and most recent decade like Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, and Jorge Posada have already retired or will soon hang up their spikes. Cano had as recently as 2010, replaced those greats as a Yankee favorite, a transition that became smoother with the recent shenanigans of Alex Rodriguez. Despite his stardom in the biggest baseball city in the country, Cano and the Seattle Mariners reached an agreement today on a gargantuan 10-year, $240 million contract.

Profile: Robinson Cano:

First off, who is Robinson Cano, and by that I'm implying the question: "What type of player is Seattle getting for this huge investment?" Robinson Cano has played second base, a premium up-the-middle position, for nine consecutive seasons as a member of the New York Yankees. He's a durable player, averaging 643 plate appearances per season in his career. Cano has never had a major injury, in fact he's only missed four games due to injury since the 2010 season, and has never had major arm trouble or any serious lower body injuries that would raise red flags for a team looking to sign him.

Since 2010, Cano's all-around game has placed him in the AL MVP conversation every season, garnering votes in all four seasons, but never getting closer to winning the accolade than third place. He's won two gold gloves in the last four seasons and since 2010 he's won the AL Silver Slugger award all four years.

From a hitting standpoint, Cano constitutes the entire package. He hits for average, power, has a decent eye at the plate, and given his proverbial spot in the middle of the Yankees lineup, has consistently hit well with runners in scoring position. Essentially, Cano is a hitting machine, and any team that can get such production from their second baseman, a position that places less of a premium on hitting and a bit more on speed and defense, has an outstanding value on their hands.

Since 2005, Cano's first season in the majors, Robinson has been the American League's most valuable second baseman. Only the Phillies Chase Utley has been worth more wins above replacement than Cano over that time span, but a lot of the difference comes from the fact that UZR, the main defensive metric used in fWAR calculations, doesn't rate Cano highly. Cano's 37.1 fWAR, 39.6 WARP, and 45.2 rWAR denote an outstanding player. Using Lewie Pollis' research on the cost of a win in the last decade or so, we can see that Cano has been worth quite a lot to the Yankees.

Defensively, Cano comes in a bit differently than he does at the plate. Anyone who has watched Cano play second base for the Yankees can see that he has an outstanding arm, he makes all the easy and moderate plays, and even fairs well on difficult ones. He also makes a lot of tough plays look easy with his nonchalant manner of playing the position. While his counterpart in Boston, Dustin Pedroia, is seen as a scrappy player always throwing himself all over the field, Cano's defensive profile is one of a sleek fielder who seems lazy but gets the job done. As I mentioned before, UZR doesn't rate Cano that high, although his 2012 and 2013 numbers have shown a lot of improvement.

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Baseball Info Soltuions' Defensive Runs Saved has Cano as a very good defensive second baseman, especially since 2009, after which he has compiled 38 DRS. Cano's plus/minus numbers indicate a fielder who gobbles up any and all ground balls around him, as he has put up a positive ± number on grounders since 2007. He doesn't fair as well on pop ups, although the data shows him closer to average on balls in the air. More importantly, Cano has no true weakness on balls hit to his left, right, or directly at him, performing well in all three categories. Finally, even Baseball Prospectus' defensive metric of choice, FRAA, has Cano as a well above-average defender. While aging might lead to attrition in Cano's defensive abilities, he has the tools to get the job done, even if he were moved to a different position later in his career.

What does this mean for the Mariners?

Recently, the Mariners top brass made it know that the team wanted to increase payroll going into the 2014 season. The Mariners current roster, sans Cano, is full of young, and more importantly, cheap players. In fact, other than Felix Hernandez, no one on the 25-man roster was set to earn more than $8 million for next season. Hernandez's recent extension has him with the Mariners until 2019 with an option for 2010, and an annual salary moving forward of $25 million or more. Still, when one player makes up a the majority of a team's payroll, as it did in this case, and that team plays in a fairly big market, adding payroll shouldn't be an issue.

The Mariners now have a franchise position player as well as a pitcher. Cano's contract will end when he is 41 years old, and has an AAV of $24 million. If we subtract the standard 0.5 fWAR from Cano's 2013 total for each of the next 10 seasons, he'll be worth about 32.5 fWAR over the course of the contract, or 5 wins less than he's been worth to this point in his career. The Mariners are acting similarly to other teams in that they are paying a free agent far more than he'll be worth at the end of his contract in order to sign him at all. It's the way of the baseball world, but in the end, the Mariners now have one of the best players at a premium position locked up, a player no other team possesses.

Cano's hitting stats may alter a bit changing home environments, from lefty-friendly Yankees stadium to the more spacious Safeco Field, and given that he's on the back end of his career, we might see some diminishing numbers sooner rather than later. Nonetheless, the Mariners have a rabid fan base, one that loves to support their team, especially when the team has big name players and wins games. The monetary value that Cano will bring to Seattle will be high. His presence will help the team sell more merchandise, tickets, concession products, and even attract other free agents to make a more complete team. Bringing in Cano, doesn't just bring in his on-the-field numbers and presence, this signing transcends the diamond in many ways. This may be an "overpay" and the Mariners did just commit 10-years to a 31-year-old, but overall this deal isn't the worst, and in fact it probably benefits the Mariners a lot.

Next the Mariners must focus on their outfield, but if they are in it to win it, then they shouldn't hesitate to go after bigger names whether it be via free agency or trade. Speaking of trades, signing Cano displaces 22-year old infielder Nick Franklin. Franklin played well in his first big league season, has room to grow, and most likely will be traded. Numerous teams could be in the market for a young middle infielder, and whether he becomes part of a larger trade to net the Mariners a bigger name, or gets moved in a smaller deal, in the end the Mariners should get something usable for Franklin

What does this mean for the Yankees?

The Yankees reportedly were not willing to go much higher than $170 million for Robinson Cano, and according to their last offer, had proposed no more than 7-8 years in length. Whether the Yankees were actually willing to go higher in the long run isn't applicable anymore, but without a doubt, the Bronx Bombers now somewhat of a hole at second base. The team did recently sign Kelly Johnson, but he played primarily in the outfield and at DH for the Rays last year, but as recently as 2012 played over 1,000 innings at second base. He's an average to above-average defensive second baseman, but most likely he'll need to be paired with a platoon-mate. Still, signing Johnson (~16 fWAR since 2005) for $3 million next season looks like a nice bargain.

Whether the Yankees decide to ironically trade for Nick Franklin or heavily pursue Mark Ellis and Omar Infante, will become apparent soon, but the fact remains that the team now has some money to spend on filling multiple positions. Not often do teams with payrolls as grand as the Yankees' build rosters in this manner, but the club already made splashes in the FA market by signing Jacoby Ellsbury and Brian McCann to a combined salary that comes close to the amount Cano just took from Seattle. The Yankees resigned Huroki Kuroda today, and might have the money now to go after another starting pitcher including Masahiro Tanaka, Matt Garza, or even somehow make a run at David Price. For sure the team can now go after a solid set up reliever and find a serviceable infielder to go with Johnson and Jeter.

The place in which not resigning Cano will hurt the Yankees derives from his likability, notoriety, and overall presence. Yes, the middle of the order has a hole now, but the power can still come from Mark Texiera, Brian McCann, and Alfonso Soriano. Yankees fans adored Cano, and while those feelings may have just made a 180-degree turn, the money Cano would make the Yankees now appears lost. The clubs should make some of that back with McCann and Ellsbury, but the fact is that Cano was more of a household name since he has spend his entire professional career with the Yankees, most recently as a star. The Yankees shouldn't have too many issues replacing Cano's on-the-field value, the issue will come in replacing the rest of his worth.

Parting notes:

We love to look for winners and losers in trades and free agent signings. In the case of Robinson Cano to the Seattle Mariners, the biggest winner is Robinson Cano. He received more money and stability in years than most in the baseball world predicted, and he did so early in the offseason, allowing him to now focus on baseball. His agents at CAA and Roc Nation Sports, including rap mogul Jay Z, should celebrate as well, since they got their client a huge deal, one that equals the one the Angels gave Albert Pujols.

The Mariners may have spent a lot of money, and come 2022, the team won't enjoy signing the huge checks they will now owe Cano, but in the short-term this is a big victory for the club, although it could depend on how the team constructs the rest of the roster. This move shows that Seattle wants to win sooner rather than later, and to do so in what looks to be a tough AL West in 2014, they will need to continue to upgrade.

The Yankees lost in this, as did any other team looking to sign Cano, but the Yankees will rebound. New York did dodge an incredibly burdensome financial bullet, but it also doesn't have Robinson Cano. If the Yankees make a few more solid signings this offseason, they could turn "letting Cano go" into a positive, and less of a negative.

. . .

All statistics courtesy of Fangraphs, Baseball Prospectus, and Baseball-Reference.

Ben Horrow is a writer at Beyond The Box Score and The Good Phight. You can follow him on Twitter at @Summerpastime.

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We've paid so much attention to Jacoby Ellsbury over the last few days that I wanted to take the time to focus on the Kelly Johnson signing that has been mostly overlooked. Signing Johnson is a really good move by the Yankees, to not only install an insurance policy into their negotiations with Robinson Cano or against an Alex Rodriguez suspension, but to also shore up their infield bench.

Johnson is not just a glove, he has a bat and he knows how to use it. He's managed to hit an average of 20 home runs a season over the last four years and, despite being a left-handed hitter, isn't completely helpless against left-handed pitching. Over his career he has an essentially identical offensive game against lefties (105 wRC+) as he does against righties (103 wRC+). Unfortunately, he hasn't had an above-average season against southpaws since the 2010 season, and all 16 of his 2013 home runs actually came against righties. That doesn't necessarily mean that he's useless against lefties though.

He's also very much a pull hitter, which the Yankees probably like for Yankee Stadium. He's had a 182 wRC+ to the pull side and 126 wRC+ to center, but has only managed an 87 wRC+ when hitting the opposite way. He's also hit 75 home runs when pulling the ball against only 19 when going the opposite way.

In 2013, Johnson played for the Rays at Tropicana Field, a ballpark that has almost identical dimensions to Yankee Stadium:

He hit six home runs at the Trop and 11 total to the pull side. That seems to speak favorably to his power numbers in Yankee Stadium, whether he's playing full-time or part-time. However, it might not all be good:

The troubling thing to see is all the ground ball outs to the right side of the infield. Johnson pulls everything so much that he has a tendency to top the ball and ground it harmlessly between second and first. He has a career 57.2% ground ball rate when pulling the ball, which is even worse than what we have seen from Mark Teixeira. If you've been annoyed with Tex, just wait and see what happens if teams start shifting against Johnson if he's playing every day.

Still, Johnson should bring solid production as a reserve, and even if he does end up as the everyday third baseman in 2014, he'll be a hell of a lot better than what the Yankees had there in 2013.

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With Kuroda back for a third year, New York's rotation situation is a little less frightening.

The fallout from the Robinson Cano signing is sure to be enormous for the Yankees, and the club has wasted no time beginning its damage control campaign. Just hours after Cano signed his big deal, New York reached a new one-year, $16 million agreement with veteran right-hander Hiroki Kuroda, reports Joel Sherman of the NY Post.

This is the second straight year that the 38-year-old and the Yankees have done a sort of qualifying offer tango, the only difference being that Kuroda gets an extra million this time around. His new contract also includes up to $500,000 in performance bonuses.

Kuroda has been incredibly consistent during his two seasons in the Bronx: the Japanese right-hander posted a 3.32 ERA and 6.8 K/9 over 219⅔ innings in 2012, then followed that up with a 3.31 ERA and 6.7 K/9 over 201⅓ innings in 2013. Had he not been strafed by a line drive in his first start this past season, his numbers the last two years would have been virtually identical.

While questions about his durability are sure to arise now that he's encroaching on 40, Kuroda hasn't shown any signs of slowing down since making the trip across the Pacific in 2008. He's averaged 187 innings per year over the past six seasons and hasn't thrown fewer than 196 innings since 2009.

Re-signing Kuroda is a great place for the Yankees to start rebuilding their rotation, but they still have quite a ways to go before its complete. As of this moment, the 2014 rotation is Kuroda, C.C. Sabathia, Ivan Nova, possibly David Phelps and a big question mark. Michael Pineda is supposedly healthy enough to make that long-awaited Yankee debut next spring, but there's no telling when his arm might give out again.

Given those concerns and Cano's departure, it now seems fait accompli that the Bombers will be big players in the impending free-for-alls for guys like Matt Garza and Masahiro Tanaka. New York was reluctant to hit the $200-million mark with Cano, but could potentially get both Garza and Tanaka for that kind of money. And if A-Rod's suspension is upheld later this month, freeing up $27 million in taxable funds, all bets are off on what Steinbrenner will do.

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• Mets agree to sign Curtis Granderson to 4-year, $60 million contract
• Mariners, Robinson Cano agree to 10-year, $240M deal
• Mariners talks with Robinson Cano fall through
• Dodgers re-sign Brian Wilson
• The Rays new catching duo is just plain awesome

The Mariners opened up the bank vault for Robinson Cano. What are they getting for their money? Here's a look at his career in context.

The Seattle Mariners reportedly signed Robinson Cano as a free agent today, inking him to a 10-year contract worth $240 million. Cano has been one of the top players in baseball for the last nine years. Can he go another decade? Let's take a look at his career in context.

Cano was signed by the Yankees as a free agent in 2001, from the Dominican Republic. He made his pro debut that summer in the Gulf Coast League with modest results, hitting .230/.330/.365. The batting average was low but he showed a good batting eye with 28 walks against 27 strikeouts in 200 at-bats. He also stole 11 bases. I didn't write much about rookie ball players back then, but would likely give a similar player a Grade C "with higher potential" type rating nowadays.

Sent to Low-A Greensboro in the South Atlantic League for 2002, he hit .276/.321/.445 with 14 homers, 29 walks, and 78 strikeouts in 474 at-bats. He was a shortstop at that point, although a move to second base or the outfield was being considered. Many scouts liked him, although it wasn't unanimous, with some concern about his strike zone judgment, defense, and speed. I had him rated as a Grade C in my '03 book, which was too low even without knowing what happened in the future. Given his age (20) and the tools present, I should have given him at least a C+ and most likely a B-.

Cano opened '03 with High-A Tampa, hitting .276/.313/.377 in 90 games, followed by a .280/.341/.366 run in 46 games. He moved over to second base, but non-Yankee scouts complained about his range and some felt he would be better at third base. He was also being mentioned in trade rumors at this point. I was concerned about the drop-off in power production, but I also noted his youth and high ceiling, writing that "scouts like his swing and think he'll produce both batting average and power, though so far his production has been mediocre." I boosted him up to a Grade C+.

Returning to Double-A for 2004, he hit .301/.356/.497 in 74 games, followed by a .259/.316/.403 mark in 61 games in Triple-A. I wrote that he "made substantial progress last year, improving his plate discipline and boosting his power production," but also noted the weaker performance in Triple-A, projecting that he would need more time at that level. I also noted that non-Yankee sources continued to pan his defense, although the Yankees themselves seemed pleased enough.

I wasn't sure what kind of power he would show in the long run. "Cano hits line drives and will probably never be a huge power hitter, but if he continues to hone his plate discipline his OBP and batting average should be good. He is young enough to improves his offense quite a bit more, but it is unclear where exactly he will fit on the diamond."

I ended up rating him a Grade B- that year due to these uncertainties. He continued to be mentioned in trade rumors but as you know the Yankees held onto him. He blossomed in '05, hitting .297/.320/.458 with 14 homers in his rookie season, then followed up by hitting .342 as a sophomore.

Cano is one guy I was wrong about. I thought he could be a solid player, and as noted I thought his batting average and OBP would be good. But I didn't expect him to develop into a guy who would hit 25 or more homers five years in a row, hit more than 40 doubles in seven seasons, hit .309/.355/.504 over nine seasons, make five All-Star teams, win two Gold Gloves and four Silver Slugger awards, and be in the MVP conversation every year.

So what about the future?

Looking at Robinson Cano's Most Similar Players by Sim Score through age 30, we find that he compares to the following players at the same stage in their careers:

David Wright
Joe Torre
George Brett
Bobby Doerr
Ryne Sandberg
Nomar Garciaparra
Vern Stephens
Travis Fryman
Chase Utley
Tony Lazzeri

That's some really good company: four Hall of Famers plus at least two others who were mentioned as potential Hall candidates when they were playing.

Wright is an exact contemporary so we don't know how he will pan out. Utley has been showing his age with durability problems beginning at age 31, but he's still an above-average hitter. Nomar had already been bitten by the injury bug at age 30 and had just one more good year left in him at age 32.

Torre remained a productive hitter through age 35 but was finished at 36. Despite injury problems and declining defensive value, Brett remained an excellent hitter, won a batting title at age 37 and was still dangerous enough to hit 19 homers at age 40. Doerr had very good years at 31, 32, and 33 until being forced to retire due to a back injury.

Sandberg was excellent through age 32 but declined quickly after that, retired at 35 but came back to play two additional seasons at 36 and 37, though just a shadow of his former self. Stephens, considered a potential Hall of Fame player at his peak, was excellent through age 30 but fell apart quickly with injuries and personal problems and was out of the majors at 34. Fryman was excellent at age 31 but got hurt at 32 and was out of the majors two years later. Lazzeri was solid through age 32 but declined rapidly from that point and was out of the majors by 35.

So, what does all of that mean? I'm not sure I really like the historical pattern here. The two guys on his comp list who lasted longest, Torre and Brett, weren't second basemen. Wright is a third baseman and of course we don't know what will happen with him anyway. Every one of the middle infielders on this list had durability problems after age 30 and declined, often catastrophically.

Of course, this is a small sample of players and history is not destiny in any event. It does show what kind of risk the Mariners are taking with a 10-year contract for a middle infielder. My guess is that Cano will be fine for the early years of the contract, but the risk of serious failure increases dramatically past the age of 34. Of course, the decision-makers who have to worry about Cano in 2020 may not be the same ones who make the decision today.

More from Minor League Ball

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• Prospect Retrospective: Curtis Granderson, OF, Mets
• Prospect Retrospective: Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, New York Yankees
• San Francisco Giants Organization Discussion
• Kansas City Royals preliminary prospect list
• Kansas City Royals Organization Discussion (reprise)
• Atlanta Braves Top 20 Prospects for 2014
• Rays, Reds, Diamondbacks make three-way trade involving Heath Bell, Ryan Hanigan, prospects
• Rangers trade Craig Gentry, Josh Lindblom to Athletics for Michael Choice, Chris Bostick
• Tigers trade Doug Fister to Nationals for Ian Krol, Robbie Ray, Steve Lombardozzi
• Prospect Retrospective: Phil Hughes
• A personal thank you
• Rule 5 Targets - Atlanta Braves
• Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Evan Chambers passes away
• Atlanta Braves farm system preliminary grade breakdown
• Prospect Retrospective: Ricky Nolasco

Tanya, Jason, and Andrew are joined by special guest Matt Provenzano as we mourn Cano's imminent departure to the Mariners. Gross.

We recorded a podcast last night with special guest and fellow PSA scribe Matt Provenzano subbing for Greg. Then, this morning's new big news landed about Robinson Cano. Now it seems all but assured that Cano will be a Mariner for the next 10 years. Regardless, we were in a dark place anyway when this recorded. So yay!

[0:00] Kirklandless
[0:36] Are the Yankees undervaluing Cano?
[3:57] Depressing alternatives to Cano
[6:11] Are there truly any untouchables in the minor league system?
[8:59] "That whole Jacoby Ellsbury thing" and the days of crazy offseason activity
[27:35] Yankees kinda need pitching, too...
[32:12] Imagining the Yankees' lineup and team without Cano (featuring our reactions to live Twitter updates)
[41:00] More angst over Cano, his contract, and his value to the Yankees
[53:33] Tweetbag: Crawford's contract vs. Ellsbury's contract, subsequent moves if Cano is lost, non-Tanaka free agent pitchers, "gun to Cashman/DiPoto's head"
[1:03:14] Yankee/Mitre of the Week (with a slightly altered Mitre sound)

Podcast link (Length: 1:19:37)

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Sound off in the comments if you have any questions you'd like us to answer for next time, or if you have any feedback on the podcast! Send your tweets to the Tweetbag (which was empty this week) by tweeting @pinstripealley.

More from Pinstripe Alley

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• It's all over: Robinson Cano and Mariners agree on 10 years, $240 million
• Robinson Cano signs with the Mariners: Coping with losing a superstar
• The Yankees lose Robinson Cano: Will the offense survive?
• Yankees Sign Kelly Johnson: Hitting in Yankee Stadium
• Yankees to sign Hiroki Kuroda

Their best player is now a Seattle Mariner. So how will the Yankees respond?

New York has already added Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, Kelly Johnson and Hiroki Kuroda, but that doesn't mean losing Robinson Cano won't hurt. It could hurt a little less, though, if the Yankees have learned anything from their bitter rivals.

The Red Sox won the World Series in 2013 after a very disappointing 2012 season. And to get there, they had to make several shrewdly calculated moves in an effort to distribute talent evenly over their entire roster, rather than attempt to triumph over the lionized fetishism of the market by handing out monster contracts (like they did during the 2010-11 offseason). New York is at a similar impasse this offseason. And if they want the same end result, perhaps they would be better off emulating Boston to some degree before going to battle against them in 2014.

That might sound like an already defeated suggestion since New York has spent in excess of $200 million dollars on McCann and Ellsbury alone -- but it's not as if the Red Sox were scavenging for crumbs or anything in the winter of 2012-13. Boston extended 17 years and $126.45 million in new deals last offseason, and while the Yanks have already topped that total before the beginning of the Winter Meetings, they are the New York Yankees -- spending money is kind of their thing.

GM Brian Cashman can go anywhere from here. He could opt to target the market's next biggest prize. It's debatable who that might be (since he's already snared Ellsbury and McCann), but based on what's left, that polemic is between a few players that would command a pretty large investment from the Bombers:

Shin-Soo Choo

Photo credit: Eric P. Mull - USPRESSWIRE

Masahiro Tanaka

Photo credit: Adam Pretty - Getty Images

Then again, signing either of those two guys would limit Cashman's ability to improve elsewhere on a roster that could use help in many areas. The team has already pocketed a potential replacement at second base in Kelly Johnson, but he might be better suited for a utility role on a serious contender. The club has been rumored to have interest in Omar Infante as a potential Cano replacement. He could be a very cost-effective alternative, that would still bring offensive and defensive value to the roster.

If the team can wriggle out of their commitment to Alex Rodriguez, they could decide to play Johnson at third, where he played admirably in limited playing time for the Rays. Ideally though, Cashman would find a way to get a more well-rounded player into that spot.

That might be a reason that the rumors of their interest in Stephen Drew haven't completely faded away yet. Derek Jeter will be back in 2014, and from an outsider's perspective, that situation looks pretty unfortunate for New York. Steamer projections have him posting a 1.5 fWAR in 105 games, and it appears as though they're being pretty generous on the defensive front. Oliver projections are much harsher (0.6 fWAR in 143 games). Stephen Drew would be an excellent fit for this team. The Captain isn't going anywhere, but the Yanks could still decide Drew is a good fit for the left side of their infield -- with one of the two shifting to third base (Jeter's diminished range might hurt the team less at third).

McCann and Ellsbury give the Yankees the help they need outside the infield, but they might feel a significant focus on pitching is where they should turn their attention. The pitching staff lost several players from both the rotation and the bullpen. David Robertson could be a good fit at closer, but added depth was one of the things that the Red Sox benefitted from the most in their dynamic overhaul. New York could see some of the same returns if they decide to similarly emphasize impact relievers. A few late-inning arms on the free agent market that might interest them include some or all of the following: Grant Balfour, Joaquin Benoit, Fernando Rodney, Scott Downs, and Eric O'Flaherty. Preston Claiborne was decent at times and they could plan on contributions from a few more minor leaguers in 2014, but ameliorating their in-house options is something they have to be considering.

While Tanaka could help the rotation tremendously, but he might not even be posted this winter, and he'd take a big chunk out of the resource pool available under the luxury tax threshold. CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, and Hiroki Kuroda will return to give the Yanks a good start on a sturdy rotation. But after those guys, only prospect types and the injury-prone Michael Pineda remain. Adam Warren and David Phelps aren't necessarily bad pitchers, but if the Yankees want to make a deep run into the postseason, it might not be a good idea to rely heavily on largely unproven, back-end ceiling guys. Taking a chance on Bartolo Colon and/or Korean free agent Suk-Min Yoon would be something of a gamble, but most signings are. And it's not as if they would have to cut ties with their prospects in order to sign either player.

The Yankees finished six-and-a-half games out of the Wild Card last year. And with several key players departing, they need to pick up wins in chunks. Both to replace what they've lost and to add enough to at least get into the tournament at the end of the season. Brian McCann and Jacoby Ellsbury are a fantastic start, but perhaps instead of targeting another big-ticket cap-monster, they can take it upon themselves to whittle away at the task ahead of them. Maybe then they'll build something more meaningful with a more delicate design.

More from MLB Daily Dish

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• Mets agree to sign Curtis Granderson to 4-year, $60 million contract
• Mariners, Robinson Cano agree to 10-year, $240M deal
• Dodgers re-sign Brian Wilson
• The Rays new catching duo is just plain awesome
• Tigers' deal with Joe Nathan includes limited no-trade clause
• Red Sox sign RP Edward Mujica
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• The internet's take on the Ellsbury signing

Madness ensues as team president Randy Levine loads contracts into a pitching machine and fires them down onto humanity from his private jet, injuring seven but signing two.

Breaking news: a leaking mole inside the Yankees front office has revealed that the Yankees tendered a contract to every player in baseball two weeks ago. When it was explained to Randy Levine that most players were already under contract, he seemed not to notice. But at the very least that explains the recent flurry of signings. The much-anticipated locking up of Brian Gordon was the biggest of them, but we thought we’d shine the spotlight on two additions that might otherwise have gone overlooked: Kelly Johnson and Jacoby Ellsbury. Both are baseball players. Both have faces. And both, the front office would have you and I believe, will help this team supermount and then flatten any and all barriers to a twenty-eighth world championship. But what have the two done so far in their careers? We begin our fact crusade with Kelly Johnson.

Has Been Known to Like Two-For-the-Price-of-One Sales

Many are wondering how the Yankees could possibly stick to their Plan 189 plan when they’re busy giving five-year deals with three options to people they happened to be sitting next to on the subway. The trick is to hire players that can do more than just one thing. Like the time Kelly Johnson made two errors in the same play. Miss ball hit at me? Check. Dispatch ball into next time zone? Check.

Has Been Known to Be Bionic

The only way he can throw the ball that hard while lying down on his throwing arm is if he has a mechanical hand cannon that sucks the ball in and then shoots it out.

Has Been Known to Be Weird

It’s like his own feet rejected him. "Get off, you. We never liked you in the first place."

Our prognosis on Johnson, then: some players just have bad stuff happen to them, and Kelly Johnson is one of those players. It’s going to be a great year. And Jacoby Ellsbury?

Has Been Known to Be Boring

Sadly, every second Jacoby Ellsbury highlight involves him making a diving catch, and each of those diving catches is precisely identical to the last. Just consider the two cherry-picked examples above. You might attempt to claim this is a good thing. "Finally," I hear you saying, "a consistent presence in the outfield to match Brett Gardner." But this is no good for the GIF industry. Too many straightlaced players like Ellsbury and I’m out of a job. Get off my team, Sir. You’re useful and you’re capable and you make me sick. You’re no Kelly Johnson, that’s for sure.

Has Been Known to Get Injured

Has Been Known to Make Haste

Has Been Known to Have a Name That Mystifies People

My real problem with this signing is that the front office has brought in a man whose name evidently confounds everybody. For seven years we’ll have to bear commenters and commentators referring to him as "Jacob." Excuse me, Sir or Madam, but I believe there is a 'y' at the end of that name. And his family name adds even more confusion.

The good news is that Jacoby survived being thrown into the shredder because evidently the MLB Network mutilated somebody called "Ellbsbury" instead.

Was it Ellsbury? Is there a possibility it was, like, Calvin Schiraldi out there pinch-running or something? I’m just wondering. I don’t have the answers, I’m just questioning. I’m a skeptic, understand. I don’t just accept what people tell me. I query. I investigate. Did you see it with your own eyes, or are you just going to rely on what the TV told you? Shaking my head.

Puns

In our semi-regular tradition where we attempt to preempt New York Post, New York Daily News and ESPN headlines, here are some potential one-line jobs which, when they are inevitably stolen from here, will allow us to shout from an observation tower upon a rooftop, "We were first, you poopy nincoms!"

Ja Kobe: Ellsbury greets a visiting Kobe Bryant with smile and lukewarm handshake

Ells Bells: Dionysian rejoicings in the Bronx as Ellsbury Jac-s walk-off pop-up into stands

Burying the Past: Jacoby leads rout against BoSox; stands atop dugout and shaves beard allowing clippings to flutter down onto writhing Boston bench coach

Wacko Jac-o: Shock and horror reverberates laterally amongst baseball intelligencia when, after injury-free year, Ellsbury reveals he is actually a pitcher who requires Tommy John surgery

Crash hard into a GIF ditch with more GIFs and GIFs on Twitter.

More from Pinstripe Alley

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• Yankees Sign Jacoby Ellsbury: What number will he wear?
• Robinson Cano rumors: Mariners reportedly willing to offer ten years, $230-$240MM
• Yankees optimistic about re-signing Hiroki Kuroda
• Masahiro Tanaka news: Japanese team may refuse to post him over system disagreement
• Evaluating the Yankees' current team core

Robinson Cano is gone. Does this signal the end of an era?

Let's just get one thing out of the way first: I was wrong. I have been preaching all season that Robinson Cano would be a Yankee for life. I wrote articles about how the Yankees would overpay for him and give him more years than he's worth. I gave reasons like his marketability, how his talent could not be replaced from neither inside nor outside the organization, and many more. Here we are, though, watching as one of our best, homegrown superstars signs with the Seattle Mariners for ten years and $240 million. What does the mean for the future of the Yankees organization?

Perhaps the Yankees have finally learned their lesson about not handing out insane ten-year mega contracts. If so, that is both a good and a bad thing. It's good because matching the offer the Mariners gave him would probably hurt them in the future. It's a lot of years and a lot of money. We're seeing the impact that contract like that have both first hand with Alex Rodriguez and over in Anaheim with Albert Pujols. Logically speaking, it would be a blessing for the Yankees if A-Rod was suspended due to the fact that they wouldn't have to pay him. Even that short reprieve of his contract would benefit the offseason plans for the Yankees. That's the burden of these types of deals.

The bad thing about it is that it might signal the end of the Derek Jeter type players to wear pinstripes. The reason I thought that Robinson Cano would always be a New York Yankee is because he's been the best prospect to come out of their farm system since Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada. I love Brett Gardner like the unhealthy Yankee fan I am, but I'm well aware that he could be gone eventually. Brett Gardner is not Robinson Cano. Cano was their homegrown superstar and nine times out of ten they try and keep them and build a team around them, no matter the cost. The Yankees could have easily matched the Mariners' offer. Whether they should have or not, whether it was smart to let Cano go, is up for discussion. The point is that they didn't. These are not the Yankees I know, and I'm not quite sure how to feel about this.

I'm going to speak from the heart for a bit. One of my favorite things about the Yankees and about baseball is that I like that a team to have a homegrown superstar to root for. Could be a pitcher or a hitter. The Mariners have that with Felix Hernandez. The Mets have that with David Wright. The list goes on. The Yankees, for the longest time, have had that since I became a fan. It started with Don Mattingly, then transitioned to Bernie Williams, and now Brett Gardner. Many other fans have had that with Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, and probably Robinson Cano. These players were not only among the elite at their position, but they were ours. Robinson Cano was ours. Now he is not. For me, losing Cano heralds the end of an era.

Perhaps it's time to move on in more ways than one. Obviously it's time to move on from Robinson Cano, because we have no choice. The Yankees have a team to finish building for 2014, and there are many holes that need to be filled. Second base is now one of them, unless Kelly Johnson is the Yankees' plan for that position. However, perhaps it's time for fans to move on from the hope that they will ever see something as incredible as what the Yankees did during the dynasty. I'm not talking about the World Series victories. As incredible as those World Series championship are to myself and all Yankee fans, that's not the thing I take away from the late 90's Yankees.

What I'm talking about the hope that the Yankees can bring up the nearly unheard of amount of excellent homegrown talent that they did and have them remain in pinstripes for as long as they did. Losing Andy Pettitte to the Astros hurt. Getting him back made me very happy. Derek Jeter still makes me smile when he swings that "Jeterian" swing of his. Even that brief moment of him coming off the DL this season and immediately hitting a home run made me feel young again and like everything was going to be alright. I won't even go into Mariano Rivera, because watching him hug Andy Pettitte on the mound brings up all the emotions every time I see it. The reason the "Core Four" narrative was always around is because it reminded fans of what the Yankees farm system could accomplish. It reminded fans that, unlike other teams out there, the Yankees could always afford to keep their superstar homegrown talent.

Now Robinson Cano is a Seattle Mariner. He is a reminder that baseball is a business. He serves as a lesson that sometimes the Yankees cannot keep every homegrown superstar they develop, whether it's smart or not to do so. The Yankees can use that money to sign other free agents out there to attempt to replace his offensive production. It's not the production I'll miss the most, no matter how sexy that swing of Cano's was. It's the illusion I'll miss. The illusion that one day we can have another group like the late 90's Yankees again. We still might one day. Today, though, that day seems too far and too long gone.

Good luck in Seattle, Cano.

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• Robinson Cano signs with the Mariners: Coping with losing a superstar
• The Yankees lose Robinson Cano: Will the offense survive?
• Mets sign Curtis Granderson
• It's all over: Robinson Cano and Mariners agree on 10 years, $240 million
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There's Cubs interest in signing the former Yankees reliever, according to one report.

Joba Chamberlain. "The Joba Rules." Remember those postseason days from 2007?

I'm guessing if he had come up through any farm system other than the Yankees', he wouldn't have nearly the notoriety he does now.

He was supposed to be the next big thing in New York, either setting up Mariano Rivera or in their rotation. Instead, his career has been one long injury list, from shoulder trouble to oblique strains to Tommy John surgery. And that's not even including the frightening ankle injury he suffered while on a trampoline with his nephew -- that one was considered life-threatening, never mind his baseball career.

Joba has been good at times, mediocre at others. His 2013 season fell under the latter category, and now he's a free agent. And I write this post because:

Source: Cubs and Royals are among the suitors for Joba Chamberlain. Doesn't sound like anything is imminent with either, however.

— Mark Feinsand (@FeinsandNYDN) December 6, 2013

If you are not familiar with Feinsand, he is the Yankees beat writer for the New York Daily News.

Given his injury history, Joba seems exactly the type of pitcher that Theo and Jed like to do a "buy low" on. Even though it seems as if he's been around forever, he just turned 28 last September. If he's healthy, he could be a decent addition to the Cubs' bullpen, as long as the price is reasonable. Joba made $1.875 million in 2013 and is probably in line to get about $3 million due to his length of MLB service. That's not an unreasonable risk in this market; I'd probably do it for that, maybe even put out a second-year option that vests with a certain number of appearances/innings.

What say you?

Robinson Cano signs a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Mariners. Were the Yankees justified in letting him go?

Many of you will know Caitlin as the former CAyankeesfan, long time Pinstripe Alley regular. She makes her front page debut tonight and we are all very excited to have her. I hope you all will be too. -Tanya

As you have probably heard by now, Robinson Cano has agreed to a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Mariners, pending a physical next week. One of the questions that Yankee fans will presumably be grappling with is whether the Yankees should have offered him more money or even matched Seattle's offer.

Cano is coming off of a 2013 season where he hit .314/.383/.516 with 27 homeruns. He was undoubtedly one of the bright spots in a season riddled with injuries and DL stints by most of the position players. According to Joel Sherman, the Yankees final offer to Cano was for seven years, $175 million. Cano reportedly asked the Yankees for $235 million to stay, and the Yankees counter-offer was to increase their offer from $170 to $175.

Given that the Yankees just signed Jacoby Ellsbury to a contract worth seven years and $153 million, it seems justified that Cano would seek an offer in the range of $200. I, for one, would feel a lot better just knowing that the Yankees did offer Cano 8/200. Would he have turned it down in favor of Seattle's $240? Probably. It just feels like an insult for the Yankees not to have offered him significantly more after they just paid so much for Ellsbury. While Ellsbury is a speedy outfielder, coming off of a season where he hit .298/.355/.426 and nine homeruns, he has also spent a significant number of time on the DL, and it remains to be seen whether he can reproduce the red hot 2011 where he hit 32 homeruns. Considering that there were other, less expensive outfield options on the market, but the Yankees went with Ellsbury anyways, it seems as though the Yankees ARE willing to both: spend a ton of money this off season, and overpay players. It seems odd that they wouldn't have offered Cano significantly more than Ellsbury, especially since he is a homegrown Yankee, one of the best active second basemen, and has never been plagued by injuries (since 2007, he has played 159 or more games every season).

Should the Yankees have matched Seattle's offer of 10/240? I think that most of us would say no. The contract with Seattle will have Cano signed through his age 41 season. A 10-year contract for any player in their 30s is hard to argue for. After A-Rod's 10-year contract worth $275, coupled with his boatload of injuries, all the time he has missed, and his decline in performance, I am relieved that the Yankees did not dish out another 10-year contract. At least now there is plenty of money left that can be spent elsewhere, regardless of whether Plan 189 is still in play.

If you were the Yankees, would you have offered Cano 8/200 and then called it a day? Do you think that their decision to remain firm in 7/175 was the right call? Or do you think they should have matched Seattle's 10 year, $240 million deal?

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• Robinson Cano signs with the Mariners: Is this the end of an era?
• Robinson Cano signs with the Mariners: Coping with losing a superstar
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What can you buy for $538 million dollars? You can buy four baseball players, or a mission to drill into the soil of another planet

As the flurry of pre-winter meeting activity ramps up, I was thinking about the big free agent signings and the total amount of money being spent: Robinson Cano gets $240,000,000. Jacoby Ellsbury gets $153,000,000. Curtis Granderson gets a mere $60,000,000. Jhonny Peralta, $52,000,000.  Brian McCann, $85,000,000.

How much money is that, really? Just seems like numbers on a page. I was trying to think of a way to put it in different terms. And I think I found one.

According to the free market for baseball players, you can buy the services of four players, Robinson Cano, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, and Curtis Granderson for $538 million dollars.

Here's something else you can buy for $538 million dollars: a spaceship that can drill into the crust of another planet. With 25% extra to spare for upgrades and cost overruns.

NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory are currently building a spacecraft called InSight, which will travel to Mars in 2016. InSight is designed to land on Mars and study the planet's geology by drilling a probe five meters into the Martian soil. The measurements it takes will enable scientists to learn more about the structure of the planet and how it formed.

Total cost: $425 million.

I don't begrudge the players the money. It is what the market will bear. But...well, the market reflects the values of our society, and the values of our society are fucked up.

Apparently the lander will not include a color camera to take photos. NASA can't afford it. Perhaps the Mariners, Yankees, and Mets would help them out.

Gardner is expendable as he appears to now be without a starting spot in the Yankees lineup.

After two big outfield signings in the last week, the Yankees could trade Brett Gardner for a starting pitcher, reports Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

The Yankees signed Jacoby Ellsbury to a seven-year deal worth $153 million Tuesday, then gave Carlos Beltran a three-year deal valued at $45 million on Friday. With Alfonso Soriano, Ichiro Suzuki and Vernon Wells all on the roster as well, that leaves Gardner expendable.

Gardner, 30, was the team's primary center fielder in 2013, but now appears to be on the outside looking in for a starting spot. Ellsbury will certainly take over in center field while Soriano and Beltran will likely take the corners. The Yankees do not have a fulltime DH, so there could be some shuffling that would help Gardner see playing time. Furthermore, given the age of most of the New York outfield and Ellsbury's struggles to stay healthy, Gardner could have value as a potential fill-in in case of injury. However, the Yankees may feel they can get better value out of him in a trade.

Over 145 games in 2013, Gardner hit .273/.344/.416 with a league-leading 10 triples. He also stole 24 bases -- a nice number, but far from his 2011 campaign when he swiped a league-high 49 bags. An elbow injury in 2012 caused him to miss all but 16 games.

With Gardner having just one year of team control remaining, the Yankees could have a tough time attempting to find a team that will give them anything more than a back-of-the-rotation type starter. Gardner's batting line profiles very similarly to Norichika Aoki, who has hit .287/.355/.399 over a two-year career. Aoki was recently traded from the Brewers to the Royals in exchange for Will Smith, who thrived in a bullpen role last year but has struggled as a starter.

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The Yankees wouldn't be thrown off course after losing Robinson Cano to the Seattle Mariners. They re-signed veteran right-hander Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year deal worth $16 million. He's been remarkably consistent. Can he continue to produce in 2014?

[Editor's Note: This is the first article from new contributor Chris Moran. Welcome him to Beyond the Box Score!]

The New York Yankeesreached an agreement Friday with veteran right-hander Hiroki Kuroda on a one-year deal worth $16 million. Kuroda, who will turn 39 in February, will earn $250K in incentives if he reaches the 190 inning mark, and an additional $250K if he reaches the 210 inning mark. This is the third one-year deal Kuroda has signed with the Yankees. He originally came on board after a $11 million contract after the 2011 season, and he signed for $15 million after the 2012 season.

Kuroda is coming off a very strong 2013 season. Over 201.1 innings, he posted strikeout and walk rates of 18.2 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively, and totaled 3.8 fWAR which was 23rd in the majors. Going into his last seven starts of the season, Kuroda had a 2.33 ERA. However, BABIP and HR/FB regression kicked him in the teeth, and he allowed 33 runs in 41 innings in his last seven outings, surrendering seven home runs. Considering that his fastball velocity didn't tail off and his strikeout and walk rate remained the same, I'll attribute this poor stretch to a visit from the BABIP and HR/FB gods that had bestowed so much favor on Kuroda ealier in the year.

Since leaving the Hiroshima Carp for the Los Angeles Dodgersin 2008, Kuroda has been one of the most consistent starting pitchers in baseball. He's produced 19.1 fWAR over that time, 20th in the majors. The major prize of the trade market, David Price, has 18.8 fWAR in that time, though with fewer innings. Kuroda exemplifies the idea that age is just a number. Here are his xFIP- numbers by year.

Not a lot of deviation there. His fastball velocity, and swinging strike rate have hardly changed either. Kuroda has lost just one mile per hour on his fastball from its peak of 92.5 miles per hour in 2009, and his swinging strike rate of 9.9 percent this year matches his career rate. Also, only ten more pitchers have thrown more innings than Kuroda in the last three years. Going back to his days with the Hiroshima Carp, Kuroda has failed to reach 160 innings just twice since becoming a full-time starting pitcher in 2001.

What's more is that Kuroda appears to have an ability to hold down BABIP better than most pitchers. His BABIP has ranged from .271-.287 with an average of .282. As this is a sample of 1120 innings and almost 3400 balls in play, we can have a pretty good measure of confidence in this ability. In addition, Kuroda has been more effective with runners in scoring position than with nobody on base. With nobody on base, hitters have a .247/.280/.390 line, and with RISP, they have a .226/.311/.333 line. The combination of these factors has allowed Kuroda to produce a career 85 ERA- compared to an 89 xFIP- and a 90 FIP-.

Kuroda might be old, but don't expect a big drop-off in 2014. Steamer projects 3.5 fWAR over 192 innings with a 3.37 FIP and 3.61 ERA. Steamer regresses Kuroda's BABIP to .305 and his LOB% to 70.5 percent. That looks pretty good, but I'll take the under on the ERA based on Kuroda's past ability to beat his peripherals.

By the way, here are the Steamer projections for other free agent starting pitchers.

And, just for fun, here's the projection for David Price: 3.44 ERA, 3.27 FIP, 3.8 fWAR. Looks like the Kuroda signing was a nifty deal for the Yanks.

The Yankees have had success with aging pitchers before. Mike Mussina, David Wells, and Andy Pettite all had solid or excellent seasons in the year following their age-38 season. It's not often that you can say a 38 year-old pitcher is a bargain on a $16 million dollar contract, but you can with Kuroda.

. . .

All statistics courtesy of FanGraphs.

Chris Moran is a former college baseball player and current law student at Washington University in St. Louis. He's also an assistant baseball coach on the baseball team at Wash U. In addition to Beyond The Box Score, he contributes at Prospect Insider and DRaysBay. He went to his first baseball game at age two.

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