The Yankees are exploring the trade market to try to improve their infield.
According to Jon Morosi, the Yankeeshave "made trade inquiry to Padres about infield depth," and says that infielder Logan Forsythe could be an option for New York. Morosi goes on to note that Forsythe is a more realistic target than Chase Headley since the Yankees don't have much to offer from their farm system, but we knew that already.
Forsythe, who turns 27 years old today, hit just .214/.281/.332 with a 73 wRC+ in 243 plate appearances with the Friars in 2013. In his three-year career, Forsythe is a .241/.310/.349 hitter with an 87 wRC+ in 762 PA's. A right-handed batter, Forsythe has fared much better against left-handed pitching, as he has posted a career 124 wRC+ against them (though just an 81 wRC+ last year), whereas he has only a career 69 wRC+ against right-handers.
Along with hitting lefties pretty well, Forsythe also brings some versatility to the table. Last season, he played 32 games at second base, 13 games at both corner outfield spots, 11 games at third, and 11 at short. In terms of the advanced defensive metrics, Forsythe is rated below-average at every position, except third base, where DRS and UZR/150 rate him as +4 and +31.5, respectively, albeit with just 268.1 career innings under his belt.
In terms of injury, Forsythe has had problems with his feet in the past. He missed the first 63 games of the 2013 season while dealing with Plantar fasciitis in his right foot, which could have played a role in his sub-par 2013. In 2012, Forsythe also missed 54 games after undergoing surgery on a broken bone in his left foot.
He would be a decent fit for the Yankees, and there are certainly some similarities between him and current free agent Jeff Baker, who would also be a good fit for New York. The Yankees are reportedly, for whatever reason, unwilling to offer guaranteed Major League contracts to any free agent infielder, and Forsythe would, kind of, fit under their plans. Forsythe is pre-arbitration eligible for the final time in 2013, and I assume he'd have a minor-league option as well. If the Yankees do stick with their plan of signing/trading cheap, scrap-heap-type infielders, guys like Forsythe will definitely be on New York's radar as we head towards Spring Training.
At the end of the season Ervin Santana made waves exclaiming that he would like to sign for $100 Million this offseason. Unfortunately for Santana, the market for mid to high end starting pitching has been terribly quiet. The question is, what will the team that signs Santana actually get?
Ervin Santana has gotten no respect this offseason. Both ESPN (Keith Law) and MLBTradeRumors list Santana as their 6th best free agent this offseason. Santana though, has gotten precious little love during the winter. In fact, there have been just a few articles on MLBTradeRumors about Santana since he declined his Qualifying Offer. One of them was about how the Yankees won't pursue him even if they miss out on Masahiro Tanaka. Another indicated that the Cubs felt the same way.
Even among the big three domestic pitchers: Ubaldo Jimenez, Matt Garza, and Ervin Santana, the former Royals hurler gets little play. Below for example, is a google trends graph showing search volume over time. Santana (Blue) has an average of 19 (out of 100 on the search index) over the last 30 days. That compares poorly to Jimenez (Yellow, 30 Average) and Garza (Red, 47 Average).
Clearly the fans don't have interest in Santana, much like the teams. If we compare that to Masahiro Tanaka, the numbers end up being pitiful for all three pitchers. Garza comes in with a relative search volume of 2, while Jimenez and Santana only manage a search volume of 1. Comparatively, Tanaka has seen 16 times the searches with a relative search volume of 32.
It's clear that Santana is a forgotten free agent at this point, especially with the free agent market as a whole being so slow. Eventually though, one team will end up signing Ervin Santana, and they will likely pay a lot of money for the right to trot him out to the mound every fifth day. So what will they end up getting?
Santana throws four pitches, a fourseam fastball (coming in at roughly 93 mph), a sinker (93 mph), a slider (84 mph), and finally a change up (87 mph). Over his career Santana was basically a two-pitch pitcher who had seen sporadic success as a starter. For his career Santana threw his fastball 53.19% of the time, and his slider 36.61% of the time. His sinker and change up come in at just over 5% each.
Last season however, Santana mixed his pitches better, throwing sinkers more than ever. In fact, the 727 sinkers he threw last year are roughly 68% of the sinkers he's thrown over his entire career. This proved to be an effective strategy as opposing hitters posted a triple slash line of .242/.282*/.326 against his sinker. Any team signing Santana would basically be hoping that he can continue to succeed based on his new pitch mix and approach. Last season Santana registered 3 WAR for Kansas City, posting a 3.24 ERA over 211 IP. While his FIP and xFIP suggest he wasn't quite that good, he showed more of the promise that he flashed in previous seasons.
* OBP estimated. Based on 178 AB, 43 Hits, 7 BB, 3 HBP, assumption of 0 sac flies
The biggest difference, statistically for Santana from 2012 to 2013 is that his walk rate dropped by 0.90 BB/9 and his home run rate dropped by 0.86 HR/9. His ground ball rate went up to a respectable 46.2%, and his HR/FB rate dropped by 6.5%. Santana's strong 3.16 K/BB ratio was good for 35th best among qualified starters, and was a significant improvement over the year prior. The question is; how did he do it, and is it sustainable?
The first step is to analyze his pitch usage, and see what insights we can glean from his pitch usage tendencies.
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As you can see, Santana has a fairly steady approach to hitters, until he gets ahead of them. Then he often goes to his strikeout pitch: his slider. Against left-handed hitters Santana uses a four pitch mix, throwing his fastball, sinker, slider, and change up in varying quantities. Nearly 75% of the time he started the batter off with a fastball or sinker, most likely looking to get a first pitch strike. Against right-handed hitters that percentage drops to roughly 65%. The remaining 35% of the time he starts off right-handed batters with his wipeout slider, something he could be doing to keep hitters off balance.
Regardless, the strategy worked. Santana's 65.9% first-pitch strike percentage was 5.6% better than league average. Considering that Santana's slider gets a whiff almost 20% of the time, he seems to be making it a point to get strikes early in the count.
Additionally, Santana is more likely to throw his sinker early in the count, or if he falls behind the hitter. The hope here is likely that he can induce weak contact or ground balls, rather than allowing the hitter to drive the ball. If Santana gets ahead though, he begins using his slider at significantly increased rates, no matter the handedness of the batter. With two strikes, Santana throws sliders to lefties 51% of the time, and to righties 55% of the time. This makes sense when you consider that a whopping 40% of the swings against his slider are whiffs.
Another interesting note is Santana's approach to at-bats. He pounds the low and away portion of the zone with little regard for not mixing up his spots. Below are his zone profiles against right-handed batters and left-handed batters respectively:
It's pretty clear that the batter can expect to be reaching for the ball as they step into the box as a righty against Ervin Santana. 33.95% of Santana's pitches end up in the bottom four zones on the right side of the zone, and three of those zones aren't even in the strike zone! For lefties, it's much of the same, though slightly more varied:
Here Santana works a little more toward the bottom and outside parts of the zone, but the general effect is much the same. He avoids the inside part of the plate like the plague, and generally tries to keep the batter reaching. Over the course of the season Santana seems to have honed his approach, though the results didn't necessarily improve as the season progressed.
The final thing that should look promising to Santana's new team is that his new approach seems to have minimized the platoon split issue that plagued him earlier in his career. For his career lefties had a wOBA of .336, more than .030 points higher than their right-handed counterparts (.305 wOBA). This past season however lefties and righties posted similar wOBAs of .296 and .291 respectively.
Part of this is because, while line drive rates have stayed roughly the same for his career, his ground ball rate jumped up and there was a corresponding decline in fly balls. For a guy who was home run prone for much of his career, this is a crucial development. For his career Santana had a GB/FB rate of 1.10 against lefties and 0.86 against righties. In 2013 however, those figures both rose to 1.45 GB/FB against lefties and 1.35 versus right-handed batters. Santana has his increased sinker usage to thank for this, as that pitch had a ground ball rate of over 57%!
It seems reasonable that Santana's new team can expect him to continue his ground ball tendencies, assuming he keep using his sinker. This is especially important against right-handed batters, as it gives him just enough of a different tool to compliment his fastball and slider. One could even argue that his performance has room for improvement if he mixed in an even greater percentage of sinkers. If Santana mixed in more sinkers, and maybe even matched his fastball usage, the results could be fantastic for whichever team ends up signing the oft-ignored pitcher.
There hasn't been any traction between Stephen Drew and the Yankees this offseason, and Brian Cashman has said Drew won't wear the pinstripes in 2014. But why?
It's been two weeks since Brian Cashman said that he won't sign Stephen Drew, yet the market for the shortstop remains lukewarm. Considering the state of the Yankees' infield, Drew seems to be a logical fit. Alex Rodriguez is gone for the season, Derek Jeter is a big question mark, and the group of Kelly Johnson, Eduardo Nunez, Brian Roberts, Brendan Ryan are slightly above average at best. Although Drew has never played third base in his career, he would certainly have the opportunity to man the hot corner as a Yankee, and probably would get a significant chunk of time at shortstop too. Signs point to him being a sensible target, but why won't the Yankees engage?
Tax implications: The Yankees pay a fifty percent tariff on every dollar above the competitive balance tax threshold, and bringing in Drew would easily push the Yankees over the limit even if Masahiro Tanaka isn't signed. If the Yankees pay $11M annually to Drew, which is what the Fangraphs crowd forecasts, the Yankees will take a $5.5M tax hit. Drew's real cost for 2014 would be $16.5M, and that simply may be too much.
He's not as good as his 2013 says: Drew was worth 3.4 fWAR last season, thanks to stellar defense and his strength against right-hand pitching (.378 wOBA). However, ZiPS is pretty down on Drew for 2014, foreseeing a .309 wOBA, slightly below average defense, and 1.6 WAR. Part of the pessimism stems from his poor 2011 and 2012, but it's likely safe to assume that he won't approach his 2013 performance. For an after-tax cost of $16.5M, that projected output would be an overpay.
Won't commit long-term: Scott Boras won't easily settle for one year with his client, which is probably what the Yankees would seek. He's been trying to create a market for Drew with the Mets, but to no avail. It appears the Red Sox would prefer to retain Drew only on a one-year pact. Perhaps the Yankees are simply waiting to see if Boras will back down on multi-year demands.
Negotiating tactic: Building off the previous point, perhaps Cashman disclosing his lack of interest is a strategy to bring Drew's price down.
Loss of draft pick: The Yankees are already out of the first and compensation rounds for the signings of Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, and Carlos Beltran, and would have to forfeit a second-round pick if Drew is added.
Those issues make it a little easier to understand the absence of any rumors linking the two parties over the past few weeks. There are some obvious drawbacks, but there's no denying Drew fills a major need. As presently constituted, the left side of the infield is a major liability entering 2014, yet doesn't appear to be something the club is urgently looking to address. Perhaps the Yankees will eventually concede, but for now, it's clear the organization believes the cons outweigh the benefits.
Santana, 31, was arguably the top pitcher available at the outset of free agency this offseason, but has not seen much of a market develop for him to this point. Part of that may be his exorbitant contract demands -- he had been looking for around $112 million, more than many thought he would receive. He also turned down a qualifying offer from the Royals, meaning a team that signs him will be required to forfeit a draft pick.
The three teams putting in request for medical records all have had needs in their rotation this offseason. The Twins have made big moves already, signing Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes and Mike Pelfrey, but are still open to further upgrades as they look to make a huge overhaul from their league-worst starting staff in 2013. Still, signing Santana to a big contract may not fit the Twins plan any more.
Santana may be an unlikely fit for the Yankees. He is a fly ball pitcher who has struggled against left-handers for much of his career. Lefties have posted a .262/.333/.440 line against Santana. He has always had issues with giving up home runs and the short porch in right field in new Yankee Stadium could exacerbate those problems. In fact, Santana has made three starts in the Bronx since the Yankees moved to the new ballpark. Over those starts, he has allowed opponents to hit .343/.427/.557 against him. The Yankees are fixated on Masahiro Tanaka for now, but will likely sign another starter if Tanaka agrees to a deal elsewhere.
He has not had a great amount of success in Baltimore, either, but has pitched while in Camden Yards in recent years as opposed to earlier in his career. The Orioles' are searching for new starting pitchers in an effort to catch their pitching up to the level of their top offense. Chris Tillman was the team's only pitcher to top 200 innings in 2013, with Miguel Gonzalez the only other to reach 150 innings. Baltimore's front office has been reluctant to offer deals longer than three years, however, and do not want to give up a draft pick.
Thus, Santana is still left out waiting for some team to show more than a cursory interest in him with just a month to go until pitchers and catchers report for spring training. He is certainly hoping that Tanaka signing soon will open other teams up to considering him.
Of all the fantastic seasons in Yankees history, which by position would help the Yankees comprise their greatest team?
Over at CBS Sports, Matt Snyder kicked off a series they're doing on the "All-Time Single-Season Team" for each of the 30 franchises around Major League Baseball. The idea is simple, but brilliant: if a team could take one single-season performance from a player at each position throughout its franchise history, how good would the team look? This experiment has been done before, but it's interesting regardless. Snyder began the CBS Sports series with a look back at the Cubs' All-Time Single-Season Team, but because I'm impatient and am very curious to see who they come up with for the Yankees, I decided to review the Yankees' great seasons and pick who I think would be on this team.
As Snyder noted in his original post, this exercise is quite subjective, so it's highly likely that my team will differ from the team that CBS Sports will choose. (I'll have to link back to CBS Sports to compare whenever they do post the Yankees' team.) With all that being said, here's who I would pick for the Yankees' All-Time Single-Season Team:
Right off the bat, the Yankees' incomparable history of success behind the plate creates a tough decision. In 8,649 games, Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard, Thurman Munson, and Jorge Posada combined for 1,483 doubles, 1,109 homers, 231.7 rWAR, 47 All-Star teams, five AL MVPs, and two Hall of Fame selections. That's a 162-game average of 27 doubles, 20 homers, and 4.3 rWAR, tremendous production from the catcher's position. I believe baseball historian Donald Honig once said that trying to pick Ty Cobb's greatest season was like choosing Picasso's greatest work of art. It's nearly impossible, and I echo that sentiment when trying to determine which catching season was greatest in Yankees history. Munson's 7.2 rWAR in '73 was the highest in Yankees history, no regular Yankees catcher has ever exceeded Posada's 157 wRC+ in 2007, and Berra has three MVP seasons, not including arguably his career-best season in '56 that was overshadowed by Mickey Mantle's Triple Crown. (And how could we forget Chris Stewart's 2013? [Easily.])
However, the honor of greatest overall single season by a Yankees catcher goes to Dickey, who played out of this world during the second of four consecutive championship seasons for the Yankees in 1937. His offensive numbers were better in '36, when he hit .362/.428/.617, but his '37 season gets the nod since it was in 38 more games and 136 more plate appearances. Yes, it was during one of the liveliest offensive decades in baseball history, but Dickey's numbers are eye-popping anyway and he complemented them with superb defense. Yogi once said of Dickey's tutoring of his defensive prowess that "Dickey is learning me his experience." The latter sure had significant experience, as few catchers in baseball history have been as good as Dickey, who was excellent as always in '37. With Dickey behind the plate, the Yankees also had arguably the best pitching staff in baseball in '37, led by Lefty Gomez and Red Ruffing.
Dickey is somewhat forgotten when considering the greatest catchers in baseball history, but his '37 campaign was probably the best of any catcher on the most successful catching franchise in the game.
Don Mattingly, Tino Martinez, Jason Giambi, and Mark Teixeira have all had pretty fantastic seasons at one point or another for the Yankees. Hell, only one MLB first baseman in the past 84 years has ever had more hits than Donnie Baseball's Yankees record 238 in '86, a 7.2 WAR year that also included a Yankee record 53 doubles. In Yankees history though, one first baseman stands alone, far above the rest: Hall of Famer and All-Century starter Lou Gehrig. Staring at his FanGraphs page is pure baseball eye candy.
Picking one season of Gehrig's is a challenge; there's his AL record 184 RBI '31 season wherein he hit..341/.446/.662 and led the league in homers for the first time, and there's also his Triple Crown '34 campaign, when he set a career-high with 49 homers and posted a 10.7 fWAR year. How does one do better? The answer comes from Gehrig's season on perhaps the greatest team in baseball history: the 1927 Yankees, Murderers' Row. The 24-year-old had an excellent 7.0 fWAR season in '26, but '27 was considered his true breakout, the season when someone finally gave the previously incomparable Babe Ruth some competition for the title of best hitter in baseball. They were the most devastating 3-4 combination baseball had ever seen, and Gehrig's phenomenal numbers earned him the AL MVP.
A list of first basemen to ever exceed Gehrig's wOBA, wRC+, or WAR statistics from '27: { }
Gehrig's '27 campaign was not only the greatest first base season in Yankees history, but almost certainly the best ever posted by a first baseman in the long history of baseball.
Yeah, we're not over Cano. Might not ever be. Robbie's seasons from from 2010-13 were easily among the elite second base seasons in franchise history, and his 2012 was the best of them all. Hall of Famers Tony Lazzeri and Joe Gordon had some outstanding years that could have easily made this team prior to Cano's prime, but with Cano's comparable numbers combined with impressive defense give him the nod over them. The fact that Cano has to face a much more widespread pool of talent plays a role, too. If Alfonso Soriano could have played a lick of defense in his monster 2002-03 seasons, he would have been close.
Cano reached career-highs in doubles and homers while posting the highest rWAR ever posted by a Yankee second baseman in a non-wartime season (sorry, '45 Snuffy Stirnweiss). His all-around game was outstanding, and he was on fire in September with a .999 OPS and 17 extra-base hits as the Yankees completed a successful run to the AL East division title. How four of the 28 AL MVP voters left him off their ballots entirely is beyond me.
Phil Rizzuto won a deserved AL MVP in 1950 for a 6.7 rWAR breakout season wherein he reached 200 hits and was brilliant as ever on defense. He remains the only Yankees shortstop to take home the MVP, but if a certain Mr. Jeter timed his best years a little better, he could have taken home multiple MVPs. He finished in the top three for AL MVP with superb seasons in '98, 2006, and 2009, losing out on '06 honors by a mere 14 points to Justin Morneau (teh RBIz and all that). As it stands though, Jeter's '99 campaign was better and reigns supreme as easily the greatest season by a shortstop in Yankees history.
Prior to the season, Jeter went to arbitration with the Yankees for the first time and won his case, earning him a $5 million deal. The Yankees told him that since he won, they would be expecting him to hit for a little more power than he had in years past. The future captain delivered with career-highs in hits (219), homers, total bases (346), batting average, OBP, slugging, wOBA, wRC+, and WAR. He consecutively reached base in the first 53 games of the season, a Joe DiMaggio-type streak of superb play that set the tone for a standout year. There's no way that Ivan Rodriguez deserved to win the MVP over Jeter that year.
A-Rod came out swinging in '07 after an up-and-down performance in '06, and from day one, it was clear that A-Rod's 2007 would be one to remember. He set a MLB record with 14 homer in April, a 1.297 OPS month that portended what was to come that year. A-Rod became the first Yankee to top 50 homers in a season since Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle both did in that magical '61 season; no righthanded hitter had ever achieved such a mark in pinstripes. He led the league with 143 runs scored, 54 dingers, 156 RBI, a .645 slugging percentage, a 1.067 OPS, 376 total bases, and both WAR totals. A-Rod guided the Yankees to the Wild Card and became the youngest player to reach 500 career homers along the way and was a near-unanimous pick for AL MVP (keep on fighting the good fight, random two writers who voted for the Tigers' Magglio Ordonez; one was unsurprisingly from Detroit).
Somewhat surprisingly, A-Rod's 2005 MVP campaign was very close to his '07 season in some numbers: .321/.421/.610, .436 wOBA, 174 wRC+, 8.8 fWAR, and an equal 9.4 rWAR. Close, but no cigar. It will be impossible to forget A-Rod trashing AL pitching all year long in 2007.
Adding Ruth to the team in left field is a bit of a concession since I don't want to repeat players and there are far more other impressive seasons by Yankees in right field than left field. Since '21 was one of three seasons in which Ruth played more than 50% of his games in left, that's where this season belongs. Ruth might have had slightly better overall seasons in some of '20 (.598 wOBA, 239 wRC+), '23 (231 wRC+, 14.0 rWAR, 15.0 fWAR), or '27 (60 HR), and I think '20 might have been his greatest overall work. Fortunately, he blessed Yankees fans with this gem of a '21 season in left field, so it's hard to lose sweat over picking the '21 Bambino in left field for this team instead of the '20 Bambino in right field.
For the third year in a row, Ruth broke the single-season home run record with 59, a mark that has been exceeded just twice in American League history in the 93 years since then. His numerous doubles and triples also helped him shatter George Sisler's total bases record of 388 set the year before. The Sultan of Swat reached a staggering 457 total bases in '21, an unbelievable mark that still stands as the major league record. Ruth only had an OPS lower than 1.200 in one month all year long; in August, he hit a whopping .449/.578/.929, and in September he finished strong with a .353/.453/.784 finale. The Babe's perpetually hot bat propelled the Yankees to a 40-20 finish to the season, which was enough to win the AL pennant by four and a half games over Cleveland. It was the first of 40 pennants to date in franchise history, and Ruth was obviously an extraordinary part of the team's triumph. The man was amazing.
It had to be "the Mick" in '56. Rickey Henderson deserved the MVP in '85 for a nigh-10 win season in center (a big reason Mattingly had so many RBI that year was Rickey always being on base), and "the great DiMaggio" posted some truly remarkable seasons, most notably his famous 56-game hitting streak, 181 wRC+, 9.8 fWAR MVP season of '41. Yet Mantle at his greatest has a strong argument as the greatest center fielder in the history of baseball. After a few seasons of building toward excellence and winning three World Series titles, Mantle ascended to the top of the game in '56 by winning the Triple Crown, the last Yankee to do so.
Going beyond the mere basic stats of the Triple Crown though, Mantle thoroughly dominated baseball in '56. outpacing MLB fWAR runner-up Duke Snider by a full four wins. Basically, the difference between a fantastic player and the legendary Mantle that year was a highly regarded player like Moose Skowron or Gil Hodges. The only center fielder to ever top Mantle's 11.3 rWAR was Ty Cobb's 11.4 rWAR season in 1917, and that in a very different style of baseball (not to mention 0.1 WAR is not really a difference at all). In fact, the only center field season to ever top Mantle's 210 OPS+ was Mantle himself the very next year! Yes, Mantle had a 221 OPS+ thanks to a ridiculous .512 OBP, but despite the advancements there, Mantle's '56 still takes the cake due to his advanced slugging (Mantle hit 18 more homers in '56 than '57). We might never see a Yankee as outstanding as Mantle ever again, and it's scary to think of how good he could have been if not for his aggressive hard-drinking lifestyle and debilitating leg injuries.
Something crazy to ponder: through A-Rod, Ruth, Mantle, and Maris, this Yankees team has 226 homers from just four players. Maris's homer binge in '61 had to find a way onto this squad, and it just barely gets the nod over his previous MVP season of '60. That year measures a hair better by WAR than '61, but since the difference is so slim, his 39-point boost in slugging percentage, 12-point boost in wOBA, and 25 extra high-caliber games played are enough to make '61 the preferred season.
Enough has been written and even produced on video in an HBO special about Maris's tumultuous season and the ridiculously unfair stress put upon him by the media and the fans simply for doing his job that I don't have to go into it. Ultimately, he finished with an unforgettable season and the single-season home run record. In the 53 years since then, not a single American League player has come within two homers of the league record.
For the DH, I could cheat and just choose a previously unmentioned player who had an incredible season at another position, like DiMaggio's '41, Henderson's '85, or Mattingly's '86. However, to classify the best DH season in Yankees history, I wanted to keep it authentic. Therefore, I only searched players who spent a significant time serving as a regular DH during a season. The "Giambino" started roughly 40.6% of his games in 2002 at DH and was absolutely incredibly for the Yankees that year, so he fits the bill. If I queried players who started over half their games in a season at DH for the Yankees, the level would have taken a hit to '92 Danny Tartabull, a later, one of Don Baylor's seasons, a lesser Giambi campaign, or 2009 Hideki Matsui. Since Giambi's 2002 was far and away better than them all and he made a fair amount of his starts at DH, he is worthy of the nod.
People seem to forget just how good Giambi was during his eight seasons in the Bronx, especially early on. Since the days of Mantle, only two sluggers have hit at least 40 homers in back-to-back season: 2002-03 Giambi and 2011-12 Curtis Granderson. Giambi's '02 was far better than his '03 though, as it was before his batting average and slugging percentage took dips, perhaps due to the allure of the short porch. Nonetheless, Giambi's big bat propelled the Yankees to 103 wins and a fifth straight AL East title. His patience at the plate and potent power from that year is everything you could for from a DH.
Starting Rotation
1) Ron Guidry, 1978 2) Jack Chesbro, 1904 3) Lefty Gomez, 1937 4) Russ Ford, 1910 5) Whitey Ford, 1964
The starting rotation for all-time single-season team is unsurprisingly stacked, and I had to leave some terrific seasons to close out the rotation. The first three seasons were must-haves; Guidry, Chesbro, and Gomez's peak seasons were some of the greatest in the history of the game. Gator's unbelievable '78 and Chesbro's mind-boggling numbers in over 450 innings in '04 are oft-remembered throughout Yankee lore, though history has forgotten just how good "Goofy" Gomez was in his prime. Even in a high-offense decade, he dominated the American League for years; his '34 8.2 rWAR campaign just barely missed the list.
The final two rotation spots were trickier, but both Fords were well-deserving. No one remembers Russ Ford since he pitched during the Deadball Era and some dark seasons in then-Highlanders history prior to the acquisition of Babe Ruth. He was also a flash in the pan, as he emerged out of nowhere in 1910 to post the highest season by rWAR in Yankees history, in his rookie season, no less! That right arm didn't have much mileage left on it though; after another standout season in '11, he declined to merely good in '12 and mediocre in '13. By '15 at age 32, his brief seven-year career was at an end in the soon-to-be-defunct Federal League. Nonetheless, his bonkers 1910 deserves to be remembered.
I very nearly left off the greatest pitcher in Yankees history from this rotation. Whitey Ford had a pattern of simply being consistently great rather than posting eye-popping seasons like the previous four pitchers. The '61 campaign in which he went 25-4 earned him the then-MLB-wide Cy Young Award, but in retrospect, the season wasn't actually that remarkable. Even only going down slightly in terms of traditional stats to ERA, his 3.21 mark was only good for 10th in the league. Instead, I elected his '64 season, his final great hurrah on the last of the 1921-64 dynasty teams. Manager and former batterymate Yogi Berra needed Ford to be every bit as superb as he was that year to help the Yankees come from behind in August to win a fifth straight AL pennant, and the "Chairman of the Board" responded with a flourish, ending the year with a 2.15 ERA in his last 10 starts. His ERA- and FIP- were far better than league average that year, and WAR underrates how excellent he was that year.
(A very bummed apology to '97 Andy Pettitte, '75 Catfish Hunter, and 2001 Mike Mussina for not being able to find spots in this rotation for them.)
Like Snyder, I only selected three spots in the bullpen. As much as I wanted to clone Mariano Rivera and use three of his seasons, I won't. Thus, his ridiculous setup season in '96 is not included, and neither is his near-Cy Young campaign in 2005. It's astonishing how good he was the final season of Yankee Stadium though. Opposing hitters managed a laughable 10 OPS+ against his cutter, he walked just six batters all year long, and he recorded 39 saves in 40 attempts, a near-perfect 97.5% conversion rate. Vintage Mo.
There can only be one Mo, and his setup year in '96 is still probably the greatest setup season in franchise history (if not MLB history), but D-Rob gave him a run for his money in 2011. He worked past control problems to become a nearly-unhittable strikeout machine; he was the first reliever to strike out 100 batters for the Yankees since Mo in '96. He gave up just eight earned runs in 2011 and one measly homer.
I picked a Gossage season over Sparky Lyle's memorable '77 AL Cy Young-winning campaign because the numbers were just better all-around. Goose struck out far more hitters with his blazing fastball, and his WHIP was far lower as well (0.98 vs. 1.20). Even though Lyle pitched more innings, Gossage was worthy of a spot. If his '81 season had not been incomplete due to the midseason players' strike, that season would probably have made the point moot since he had a minuscule 0.77 ERA in 46 2/3 innings, but I did not include it due to the weirdness of the split-season cutting into an already-small sample size. Consideration was also given to "Fireman" Joe Page's '47 and Dave Righetti's '86 (who?), but I am extremely comfortable with the three pitchers in the bullpen.
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So that's my all-time single-season Yankees team. I am quite interested to see what CBS Sports comes up with through their research. Who would be on your team?
As the Yankees' 2014 roster begins to take shape, the salary arbitration process begins today. Five Yankees have filed for arbitration and will be able to begin exchanging figures with the team on Friday. Those five include David Robertson, Brett Gardner, Ivan Nova, Shawn Kelley, and Francisco Cervelli. Of these five, Robertson and Gardner are in their last year of arbitration eligibility before free agency. Both Nova and Cervelli are eligible for the first time in their careers, and Kelley, as a Super Two, will go through his third season of arbitration, with one more to go.
Back in November, MLB Trade Rumors released their 2014 salary arbitration projections. The original seven eligible Yankees were cut to five when Jayson Nix was non-tendered and later signed with the Rays, and Chris Stewart was traded to the Pirates. The remaining were projected to make as follows:
Player
2013 Salary
2014 Salary (est.)
Raise
Francisco Cervelli
$515,350
$1.0 MM
$484,650
Brett Gardner
$2,850,000
$4.0 MM
$1,150,000
Shawn Kelley
$935,000
$1.5 MM
$565,000
Ivan Nova
$575,600
$2.8 MM
$2,224,400
David Robertson
$3,100,000
$5.5 MM
$2,400,000
Total Hit Against 189
$14.8 MM
As you can see, Robertson, in his last year of arbitration, and Nova, in his first year, are in line for substantial raises. Despite their projected salaries, teams and players very rarely have to go to an arbitration hearing to determine their future salaries. Instead, both parties come up with numbers and then they agree on a salary somewhere in the middle that would make everyone happy. The only question is where the middle ground will be, and what they will base such valuation on.
Cervelli's injury-filled season that was capped off with a steroid suspension will likely harm his case in court, so the Yankees might be able to sign him to a much cheaper deal. They have yet to name Robertson as the closer, despite a lack of obvious competition. This has likely been done to limit his value in any arbitration case. Closers are valued much higher than middle relievers, so without the "Closer Stamp" D-Rob might have a harder time proving he should be paid like one.
Could he play Indy ball? Should he spend a year hanging around the minor league complex in Tampa? Could the Yankees make him stay home?
Reader Pete sent me an email with this question:
Now that he has been suspended for an entire season, could he theoretically go play elsewhere? I'm talking maybe Latin America or Japan for a season? Or would his current contract with the Yankees prevent him from playing anywhere else? He could make the argument that he needs to keep in shape and play some kind of organized ball.
It's been a question I've had for a while, just haven't gotten an answer yet.
Not being a lawyer and having not seen the contract, I'm not sure either. Based on recent history (thinking about Aaron Boone here), I bet that if Alex Rodriguez played with another team he'd risk voiding his contract. And I'd be surprised if he headed out of the country.
That said, if he requested permission from the Yankees to play elsewhere (and he has an offer on the table from the Long Island Ducks), they'd have a real quandary on their hands. They could say no, and then he reports to the minor league facility in Tampa every day to work out and spout off to the media.
Or they could say yes. They let him go play for the Newark Bears or the Long Island Ducks, and he looks terrible against MLB cast-offs and semi-professionals. Does that push them closer to letting him go? Or, he looks like a world beater, and now the pressure is on them to "want" him back.
Jhonny Peraltaworked out with the Tigers' instructional league team towards the end of his suspension last year, but do the Yankees really want A-Rod around their minor leaguers for a year? Last I heard, A-Rod is allowed to report to Spring Training. What he'll do there is a mystery–would the Yankees put him in an exhibition game? Would he be limited to split squad games?
Maybe A-Rod, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco and Roger Clemens can form a steroid All-Star team and barnstorm the country playing against all takers. I would probably pay twenty bucks to see that game.
The 36-year old is likely to join Notre Dame College as an assistant coach, according to sources within the program.
Things have been quiet this winter for free agent slugger Travis Hafner, and it now seems like retirement is an option for him. According to multiple sources, players on the baseball team at Notre Dame College in South Euclid, Ohio, have been told by their coaching staff that Hafner is likely to join the team as an assistant coach if he is unable to secure a desirable contract for next season.
Hafner could start at D-2 Notre Dame College as soon as next week, according to a source within the program, who also notes that Hafner's wife, Amy, is a cheerleading coach at the school.
Athletic director Scott Swain and head coach Len Barker did not respond to e-mails regarding Hafner, and the school has not publicly commented on the possibility of the former Indian joining the coaching staff.
While Hafner has not officially announced his retirement, his consideration of the job with Notre Dame College shows that he is at least considering the possibility of moving on from his playing career. The 36-year old is likely considering the job as a contingency plan if he is unable to land a desirable free agent contract.
In 82 games with the Yankees last season, Hafner hit .202 with 12 HR and 37 RBI in his first season outside of Cleveland. He is a lifetime .273 hitter with 213 HR and 731 RBI in twelve major league seasons with the Rangers (2002), Indians (2003-2012), and Yankees (2013).
The five-year major league veteran planned to hold a showcase for teams this winter, but a recent MRI showed his shoulder was too damaged to repair.
"There is nothing left in there, it’s just a shredded mess ... I left my arm on the mound at the Coliseum, and I’m OK with that."
His career might've been much shorter than he wanted it to be, but even though his time in the majors was abbreviated, Braden had some pretty memorable moments.
On Mothers' Day 2010, he put on one of the best pitching performances ever, retiring 27 straight with 109 pitches. It was the first perfect game Oakland had seen in 42 years, and just the 19th in Major League history.
About a month before that game, some guy on the Yankees walked across the mound at the Oakland Coliseum while Braden was pitching. Braden responded by telling that guy to "go do laps in the bullpen" if he wanted to walk on a pitching surface. Needless to say, Bud Selig is a Dallas Braden fan.
Despite having his career cut short by injuries, he doesn't have any regrets.
I wasn’t in a position to repeat my delivery, to pitch with any intention. That’s OK, I understood the odds I was facing. You have to face your mortality one day, and I have been so blessed in this game. If I take 10 minutes to be hacked off about it, it would be nine minutes too long. You can’t ask for more than I’ve been given, coming where my grandmother and I are coming from.
In 490⅓ career innings, Braden went 26-36 with a 4.16 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP
Avelino is far away from the majors, but could he be a future answer to the Yankees's problems at shortstop?
Background:
You're probably older than Abiatal Avelino, who was born on February 14, 1995, just four months before Derek Jeter's MLB debut (and the exact same day as fellow Yankees prospect Ian Clarkin). Hailing from the baseball hotbed of San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic, Avelino signed with the Yankees for just $300,000 in 2012, and he spent that summer at home in the Dominican Summer League. Although he was just 17, the righthanded hitter made an immediate impression by batting .302/.398/.374 with 11 doubles and 20 steals in 57 games. He was caught on the bases just twice, demonstrating some notable baserunning abilities.
In the field, Baseball America noted that "He’s an instinctive fielder who turns double plays well, has a good internal clock and a plus arm with solid-average speed." Such acclaim was enough to negate too much concern about his .934 fielding percentage; almost all players make their share of errors while young. The scouting reports are more reliable than fielding percentage here, especially in the low minors, so Avelino established a nice reputation as a strong defensive player with agility on the bases.
Avelino began the season in the Rookie League with one of the Yankees' two Gulf Coast League teams. He switched to the other Gulf Coast League team during the seas, but for simplification, I just used his combined numbers from the Rookie League. In mid-August, he earned a call-up to short-season Staten Island, where his season ended with 17 games and his first taste of baseball in the north. Avelino continued to show off his speed on the bases, stealing 28 out of 32 on the season, a very nice 87.5% success rate. He also further developed his bat in Rookie Ball, as his slugging percentage jumped from .374 in 2012 to .479 in 2013 until slightly superior pitching in the New York-Penn League stymied him during his stint with Staten Island.
Most notably, Avelino proved damn near impossible to strike out. Incredibly, he fanned just 17 times all year in 224 plate appearances, a 7.6% strikeout percentage. For a rough comparison, only two MLB regulars had a lower K% than that. Obviously, superior pitching will slow down that K%, but his tremendous contact rate is promising anyway. Although his hitting cooled down upon his promotion to Staten Island, it's just a 17-game sample size. The Yankees need to see plenty more games above Rookie Ball before they should start getting concerned that Avelino cannot handle minor league pitching.
2014 Outlook:
Avelino was basically everything the Yankees could have hoped for in 2013, as he hit well enough in Rookie Ball to earn a promotion, albeit a brief one. At shortstop, he plays a premium position that the Yankees desperately need to fill soon. He's understandably far away from the majors and Cito Culver is a prime example of why one needs to actually be able to hit a little bit to advance through the minors.
He'll only be turning 19 on the day pitchers and catchers report though, so he has plenty of time to work out the kinks and increase his hitting potential. Avelino showed flashes of extra-base power with relatively equal platoon splits during his 34 games in Rookie Ball this year, so it certainly would not be a shock to see him play better above Rookie Ball than he did in his Staten Island cameo last year.
It's unclear where Avelino will begin 2014, as the low minors are crowded with young shortstops of some note. 2013 draftee Tyler Wade also played well in the Rookie League last year while another 2013 draftee, John Murphy, was a complete disaster at the plate in 37 games with Staten Island. Something has to give and all three players are unlikely to be on Staten Island at the same time. Therefore, Avelino could end up anywhere, really, be it full-season Low-A Charleston, Staten Island, or maybe even the Rookie League again. My random guess is Charleston, but the bottom line is of course that no matter where he plays, if he makes a positive impression, he'll be promoted anyway. Keep an eye on this wonderfully named 19-year-old in 2014.
Yes, the Yankees will save a large chunk of money because of Alex Rodriguez's suspension, but it is still a net loss for them, and in turn, a win for the Red Sox.
Unless you live under a rock, you have heard about Alex Rodriguez's suspension being reduced to 162 by an arbitrator over the weekend, meaning it's highly unlikely he will be seen on a baseball field in 2014. If you were somehow unaware of this suspension until right now, you can look here for facts, as well as read some of Craig Calcaterra's takes at Hardball Talk for some better understanding of the legal ramifications. Since the announcement was made, much of the conversation has revolved around the fact that the Yankees should be breathing a sigh of relief as they will be off the hook for his 2014 salary. I don't see it that way, though. To me, it seems like the Red Sox will benefit from this, both in the short-term and the long-term.
The first issue is the idea that the Yankees can now do so much more this offseason because of Rodriguez's salary coming off the books. He was set to make $27.5 million in 2014, and now they will only be forced to pay him a shade over $3 million. Of course, that money will help them. The question is, how much? There has been a lot of talk that the Yankees will try to avoid the luxury tax this winter, which currently stands at $189 million. If they are truly serious about that goal, the Rodriguez suspension only serves to help them, no?
Well, as Mike Axisa points out over at the River Avenue Blues, even without the alleged-PED-user's contract on the books, the Yankees are right on the edge of the luxury tax. The team's biggest need is clearly in the rotation right now, and their number one target is Masahiro Tanaka, who will not come cheap. If they are truly interested in competing in 2014 -- which their offseason to this date suggests is true -- then the goal of staying under the luxury tax was never really a realistic one. In reality, the money they saved with the suspension only helps them go over the luxury tax by less, which is something the Yankees should never really be concerned with.
As has been talked about ad nauseum, the Red Sox are set up very well for both 2014 and the near-future. Coming off an unexpected World Series championship, they once again look like early favorites to win the AL East this season. However, the rest of the division figures to be competitive, and that includes the Yankees. Despite losing Robinson Cano in free agency, New York should still be one of Boston's biggest competitors thanks to additions like Brian McCann and, of course, Jacoby Ellsbury. With that being said, they don't have a ton of depth, and they will need all the help they can get, especially in the infield. Now that it's a near-certainty that Rodriguez will not be on their roster, the Yankees' infield got a lot worse, and in turn, their lineup just got a little less scary. This makes the immediate goals for the Red Sox -- winning the AL East -- that much easier.
Since the Yankees infield is so bad right now, they have two choices, both of which are helpful to the Red Sox in one way or another. In the first case, they stick with what they have, adding only depth pieces such as Scott Sizemore and hoping for the best. This would mean their infield is some combination of Mark Teixeira, Kelly Johnson, Derek Jeter, Brendan Ryan, Eduardo Nunez, and Brian Roberts. Whatever you think about Rodriguez, he's a clear upgrade from that when he's healthy. In 710 plate appearances over the past two seasons, he has hit .265/.352/.428 with back-to-back 113 wRC+ seasons. It's not the A-Rod of old, but it's still a really productive big-league player for a team that's infield is full of average-at-best players. If the Yankees do decide to stick with what they have, it's helpful for the Red Sox in the way that was mentioned above, it will make their hopeful run towards the 2014 AL East championship that much easier.
Photo Courtesy of Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
It is also possible that the Yankees will try to upgrade their infield with more expensive external options. There are a few possibilities with this, including signing Stephen Drew or trading for Chase Headley or Aramis Ramirez. If they are able to bring in one of those guys (as well as noticeably improve their rotation), they will be a legit threat to Boston in the AL East. However, those moves will also make them worse for the future. Stephen Drew's market is so dried up because of the draft pick compensation attached to him. Signing him would rid the Yankees of a third draft pick, after losing one with the McCann signing and another with the Ellsbury signing. There is also the possibility they lose one by signing someone like Ervin Santana or Ubaldo Jimenez, which would essentially wipe out their 2014 draft. If they opted to go with the trade route, they would be trading the future assets they already have, which are slim enough as they are. Regardless of whether they go through free agency or search the trade market, the Yankees will be sacrificing a part of their future if they wish to replace Rodriguez's production in the 2014 lineup. New York will always be Boston's top competition as they search for that "next great Red Sox team" they are always talking about. Anything that hurts their future like this has to be a positive for the Red Sox.
The initial reaction in Boston after A-Rod's suspension was announced seemed to be that New York was bailed out by not having to pay his contract. As it turns out, that doesn't really matter as much, since they were more likely than not going to blow past the luxury tax threshold regardless his presence on the roster. On top of not meaning much towards the final budget, it also makes them a worse team in general. The only way they will be able to replicate his production would be by further damaging their future. Either way, the Red Sox were the ones who were helped by the suspension, both for 2014 and down the road.
Buster Olney of ESPN reports that baseball executives believe the Masahiro Tanaka sweepstakes will ultimately come down to a battle between the Yankees and Dodgers. Very few people are surprised.
Masahiro Tanaka reportedly narrowed his list of preferred cities to New York, Los Angeles, or Boston last week, and now the Yankees and Dodgers have emerged from that list as the favorites to land the Japanese right-hander. It makes sense that two teams that have shown a willingness to spend big and support a large payroll would be seen as the final two giants standing when the bidding process ends January 24th, and ESPN's Buster Olney reports (subs req'd) that executives think it will ultimately shake out that way.
The Yankees have the bigger need for Tanaka with their rotation currently filled with numerous question marks. With Alex Rodriguez suspended for 2014 the Yankees have some extra money to throw around which could end up being tossed Tanaka's way. Olney writes that other team officials think the Dodgers are less interested in playing to the market set by other teams, instead being willing to set the market themselves. If that is true in the case of Tanaka, it may not matter what other teams are bidding if the Dodgers are willing to do what it takes to get their man.
Of course, the Dodgers do have likely a bigger desire to lock up their ace in Clayton Kershaw, who will be a free agent after the season is over if the two sides can't come to a deal before then. The Dodgers could possibly invest whatever money they might give Tanaka into Kershaw's next contract, leaving Tanaka open for the Yankees' taking. All of that is assuming that executives are correct that the Dodgers and Yankees are the two teams with a leg up on the competition in the bidding process.
There is little reason for Tanaka to sign on a dotted line until right before the deadline on the 24th. Giving the bidding process more time only allows for teams to raise the price they are willing to pay and increases the chances that more teams could get involved. It's possible that other factors than money will come into play in Tanaka's decisions, but he and agent Casey Close have to be pretty excited that the two teams at the head of the pack are two teams that have shown a willingness to spend whatever money is necessary to bring in a player they really want.
Do you think the Yankees can best the Dodgers in a bidding war for Tanaka? Knowing that these two teams are seen as the favorites, which do you think he lands with and what kind of contract do you think he ultimately receives?
By the time mid-July 2013 rolled around, even I had become numb to Alfonso Soriano-to-the-Yankees rumors. When the trade happened, with Corey Black coming in return, I had to chuckle. He was the three things that had begun to drive people up a tree. He was in A-Ball, he was an non-hyped pitcher, and he was from Faulkner University. (Without looking it up, in which state is Faulkner University?)
Not only that, with Tampa (Yankees) in the Florida State League, he had a WHIP of 1.5. Gah.
The Yankees had a few hyped prospects, but they wouldn't give them up, especially since they are up against the Luxury Tax limit. Black was far enough away, and had enough apparent weakness to send off for a veteran outfielder on a hot streak.
With Daytona, he started five games, averaging five innings. He won four of them, allowing half of his eight earned runs in his first outing, the only one he didn't win. Twice, he beat his former team. He figures to land in Tennessee this season, as a starting pitcher. He may qualify more as a reliever long-term, as he has two main pitches (mid-90s fastball, and a curve that gets most of his strikeouts. If he could develop a MLB-average changeup, he could be a starter.
Another part of the chuckle was that he was drafted in 2012, hence had only become trade-eligible in the few weeks prior to the deal. The Cubs will have two more complete seasons to evaluate his status before he is Rule 5 eligible. By then, he could already be pitching in Wrigley.
One thing I learned about him this off-season relates to a Twitter exchange. He was bragging about the bats he received in the mail. I snarked that he's a pitcher, so they'll be of no use. He continues that in Double-A Tennessee, he'll have to hit. Also, growing up, he was a hitter, and loves to swing the bat. Or something like that.
Not only does he throw hard, and have a nice curve ball, he hasn't incinerated his arm growing up.
While none of us know what the future will be for Black in pro ball, he has improved in his short tenure as a Cub. He will have the same pitching coach (Storm Davis) as last year. I'd like to see him get a couple spring outings with the big club. He might get pounded, but as a college pick out of Alabama's Faulkner University, he probably chuckles at people who doubt his game.
Our Twitter followers came up with some trade ideas for the Yankees
Yesterday I asked our Twitter followers to suggest some trade ideas for the Yankees and I got a few responses. I said I would put them on Pinstripe Alley and I meant it, so here they are, and here I go tearing them apart. Maybe. I'll include them below and we can discuss together.
You're essentially trading a bad player, who used to be great, for a bad player who has always been kind of bad. Given both teams' needs, a swap with the Royals could make sense, if and only if, the Yankees eat a tremendous amount of money. The Yankees need infielders and Emilio Bonifacio can play everywhere on the baseball diamond, except first base and catcher, though he can probably be convinced. He doesn't play any of those positions well, but the Yankees seem to be valuing versatility over talent this offseason.
The Royals don't actually need Ichiro Suzuki, no one does, they already have an elite-level fifth outfielder. Right now Kansas City's outfield consists of Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain, Norichika Aoki, with Justin Maxwell and Jarrod Dyson off the bench. Both, though flawed, are likely better options than Ichiro, but maybe GMDM has a bizarre infatuation with an old Ichiro. Like that time he fell in love with Jeff Francoeur. That can happen, right?
Unfortunately, I don't think this goes down. A trade for Bonifacio might not be so bad, because I think the Royals want to get rid of him, but Ichiro is not the guy to get it done. Probably an uninteresting prospect would be better.
Our own writer, Matt Provenzano, threw his hat into the ring to come up with his own Ichiro trade scenario:
He thinks that the Yankees should acquire Logan Forsythe if they agree to pay for Ichiro's contract. Again, the Yankees need infielders, and any trade that gets rid of Ichiro is a good one, but Forsythe is not that good. Too bad the Padres have really no space for him either, as they have Cameron Maybin, Carlos Quentin, Chris Denorfia, Will Venable, Seth Smith, and Alexi Amarista. That's already too many. In a bubble, that might work, but just putting Ichiro in a bubble would work better.
This sounds like it could be a pretty good trade for the Yankees, contingent on the idea of them actually extending him. As in, the Yankees, actually sign a player, who is already under contract, mind you, to more money and more years. Because we all know that will happen. The Yankees would be trading one year of Gardner, a prospect who can't really stay healthy in Heathcott, and a decent fifth starter. If Homer Bailey was theirs for more than just 2014, this could be categorized: Steal.
Too bad the Reds would say no. They might need a center fielder, but they're probably better off with Bailey than without him, and Phelps would just be a lesser replacement, while Heathcott isn't really guaranteed to be anything at all. There's not much the Yankees can do from here without substantially upgrading the package to make it an overpay.
Sadly, the Mariners don't seem to really need Brett Gardner, though it would be a decent trade if they extended him. Giving up one year of Gardner, straight up, might make more sense to acquire Dustin Ackley, since Franklin is considered the better player at this point. Seattle has an outfield of Franklin Gutierrez, Michael Saunders, Dustin Ackley, Corey Hart, and Logan Morrison, so replacing Ackley with Gardner would actually be an improvement for them. The Yankees could use a regular second baseman and a young player to root for, even if he ends up being incredibly disappointing in the end.
Thank you to all our fine contributors! What do you think, PSA People?
Matthew Floratos is back to guest host the post-A-Rod verdict show with Tanya, Jason, and Andrew. Note: Might include some superficial discussion of players' attractiveness.
The Alex Rodriguez verdict is in, and the results are... that we want to talk about something else soon. Come to us, Masahiro Tanaka.
Apparently, not everyone in the Yankees front office is all-in on Masahiro Tanaka. The New York Post reported yesterday that one Yankee official, who of course was not named, is not that confident that the phenom from Japan will live up to all the hype he's gotten over the past few months. " 'Just because he had great success over there doesn't mean he's going to be lights out over here,' one official said. We'll find out soon enough, but it's not like he's a sure-fire thing. I'd like to think so, but I'm not convinced.' "
While all of this is true - there is no guarantee that Tanaka is the next Yu Darvish - it is still a bit troubling that not all of the Yankees brass seems completely committed to signing him. But what may be even more troubling is that they are expressing their doubts about Tanaka to the media. Comments such as these are certainly not going to help entice Tanaka to come to New York, which is too bad, because the Yankees desperately need Tanaka.
With him, the Yankees could potentially have one of the best rotations in the league (if CC Sabathia bounces back and Hiroki Kuroda displays his first half of 2013 form, not his second). Along with the additions of Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, and Carlos Beltran, he should help New York contend for the AL East title. Without Tanaka, there will be a lot less room for error, and the Yankees will more than likely underwhelm like they did last season. Since they've already said they aren't interested in Matt Garza or Ubaldo Jiminez, and have barely even noticed that Ervin Santana is on the market, not adding Tanaka would also put a lot of pressure on young pitchers like Michael Pineda and David Phelps.
It's time to take a risk that could pay off, and pay off big. So let's just open up that checkbook, like the Yankees always used to do, and bring Tanaka to the Bronx.
Wells, 35, will get a chance to test the free agent market after hitting .233 with 11 HR and 50 RBI in 130 games in his first season with the Yankees in 2013. As part of the trade that sent him from the Angels to the Yankees during spring training, the Angels will be on the hook for $18.6 million of Wells' salary, while the Yankees will cover $2.4 million. Any team that signs him will likely only have to pay a pro-rated salary, with Los Angeles and New York picking up the bulk of the tab.
Wells will likely draw significant interest as a low-cost option for teams looking for right-handed hitting outfielders on the free agent market, and could sign in the near future. He still showed bursts of power in 2013, and teams looking for help in that area are probably willing to take a flier on him with the Yankees and Angels paying most of his salary.
In fifteen major league seasons with the Blue Jays (1999-2010), Angels (2011-2012) and Yankees (2013), Wells is a lifetime .270 hitter with 270 HR and 958 RBI. He is a three-time American League All-Star, and has also won three Gold Glove awards.
27 days until pitchers and catchers report. Only 27.
Rays news and notes:
- After some speculation and rumors early in the offseason, trade talks concerning David Price have slowed down, and according to Buster Olney:
Increasingly, rival executives are convinced that David Price will remain with the Rays for the 2014 season. "Ninety percent chance he stays," said one rival official. "The [trade] market hasn't materialized."
Much can be attributed to the waiting game with Masahiro Tanaka, as potential trades may again appear once the Japanese pitcher has finally signed somewhere. DP doesn't seem to think that he'll be anywhere but in Port Charlotte next month, telling Joe Smith,
"My mindset is that I'm going to be a Ray next year. We're heading back down to Tampa next week so I can be in that environment again. It's good to get out of this weather and get into nice weather and be able to throw outside."
- Josh Sale has apparently turned over a new leaf. The continually troubled prospect spoke to the media while in attendance at the Rays 5th annual Winter Development workouts this week, commenting on his forced sabbatical via his 50-game suspension:
"I was able to grow up," Sale said. "That's what really needed to be worked on, just me as a person, doing what I can to better myself, because nobody's bigger than the game."
"I knew I had to go home, grow up, take care of a lot of things," Sale said, speaking publicly for the first time since. "It was demoralizing, but something that my actions induced."
Per Rays Farm director Mitch Luekvics, the organization is pleased with Sale's progress, and if it continues Sale can be expected to be reinstated from the restricted list at the end of Spring Training.
Rays Prospect Josh Sale, Open And Honest With The Media (via Sports Talk Florida)
- Sports Talk Florida provided video from some of the attendees of this week's workouts talking about their experiences:
- C.J. Riefenhauser also chatted with Sports Talk Florida, discussing his plan to work on his secondary pitches, particulary the development of his changeup, and his transition to the bullpen:
Tampa Bay Rays CJ Rienfenhauser On Making The 40-Man Roster (via Sports Talk Florida)
Tweet of the Day:
@d_russ@Marc_Normandin"I've had a great respect for catwalks from a young age," Tanaka said through a translator.
- Our favorite new young bear cub, Clark, inspired The Sweet Spot to compile the 10 worst mascots ever. Look at the joy he's already bringing to the world!
- For all you Tampa Bay residents, the Tampa Theater is hosting a Spring Training Classic Movie Series, unfortunately sponsored by the Yankees, but pretty cool: every Sunday at 3PM leading up to Spring Training (beginning last weekend) they'll show a different classic baseball movie. Tickets are $10 for the public, $8 for Tampa Theater Members, and the list of films is provided on their website.
After missing all of the 2013 campaign due to an elbow injury, can he reestablish himself as the top pitching prospect in the organization?
Background:
Manuel "Manny" Banuelos was signed by the New York Yankees in 2008 with four other players out of the Mexican League, including former Yankee Alfredo Aceves. He may appear unimposing at five feet and eleven inches tall, but this southpaw's arm certainly has life. As of 2012, Baseball America described his velocity as "91-94 mph and touched 96" with good tailing action, a "sharp curveball... and a tumbling changeup"; so, he has some serious weapons. By 2011, Banuelos was considered the top pitching prospect in the Yankees organization; FanGraphs described him as having "number two starter" potential, and that he was so good that it was believed he could get a major league call up by midseason 2011. That never happened, obviously. Even though he was lights-out in High-A (1.71 FIP in 44.1 IP), he couldn't translate that into Double-A and Triple-A performance, as he finished the 2011 season in Scranton/Wilkes Barre with a 4.19 ERA and 3.90 FIP in 34.1 IP.
2013 Results:
Scranton (Triple-A): Did Not Play
Banuelos did not pitch at all in the 2013 season and has not pitched period since May of 2012 due to: a minor back issue, a bone bruise on his elbow, then a torn ligament due to rehabbing said bone bruise, and then a subsequent Tommy John surgery. Because he did not actually have his surgery until October of 2012, he spent the whole of 2013 rehabbing. These injuries combined with a lackluster 2012 (4.50 ERA and 3.83 FIP in 24.0 IP) have caused his stock to decrease, but it is still a good sign that his strikeout rate remained high in Triple-A in 2012 at a rate of 8.25 strikeouts per nine innings.
2014 Outlook:
According to Vice President of Baseball Operations Mark Newman, Banuelos will be healthy and ready to go for spring training and has stated that his velocity and stuff are back to pre-injury levels. If that is the case, then Banuelos will likely begin 2014 in Triple-A and, depending on his performance, could get a call-up to the major league club midseason or in September. While there is always the chance that he will be but a fraction of the pitcher he was before Tommy John (the possibility always exists), many expect him to continue his growth. Considering that he is a left-handed pitcher with velocities in the mid-90s and is also only 22, there's still plenty of upside to be had. If all of what made him a top pitching prospect in 2011 checks out come this spring, then expect him to make a run at the fifth rotation spot at some point during the season.
Photo Courtesy of Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
