Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog

Yanks Looking To Make Big Spash.... Next Offseason

2009-11-12T12:43:00.004-05:00

Mark Feinsand wrote today about the potential bidding war between the Yankees and Red Sox that's in the making for when Roy Halladay hits the free agent market next offseason.

He also threw another name in the hat, Phillies left-hander Cliff Lee.

A source with knowledge of the Yankees' thinking said the Bombers already have their sights set on signing either Halladay or Cliff Lee if both become free agents after next season. Yankees executives, however, fear that Lee might sign a long-term deal with the Phillies before becoming a free agent, leaving Halladay as the lone target for teams looking for an ace.

And also had this to say about the Yankees view of free agent John Lackey:

Even though the free-agent market is thin when it comes to starting pitching this winter, some Yankees officials are intrigued by the idea of signing Angels starter John Lackey.

Others are wary of signing Lackey to a big contract, according to one Yankees executive, citing the righthander's injury issues over the past two seasons. There is also the Angels' apparent willingness to let him walk, which some see as a sign that they know something about the health of his arm that others don't.

I don't mind the idea of signing John Lackey, even if it's too a relatively large contract. He'll give the Yankees a fantastic front four of their starting rotation going into next year, and make them clear favorites to repeat. But if Cashman wants to play this the same way he did with Johan Santana and CC Sabathia and hold off on any major pitching moves this offseason so that he can sign Lee or Halladay, then I'm all for it. It's probably the smarter move anyway.

Japan Not An Option For Matsui?

2009-11-12T11:36:00.004-05:00

From Mark Feinsand:

Arn Tellem said his client will be playing in the majors next season one way or another. "The goal right now is finding the best place for Hideki to continue his career," Tellem said. "When I first met him, he wanted to play 10 years in the major leagues - and I believe he will."

Feinsand also shot down some of the Matsui to Boston rumors from yesterday, saying a source in Boston told him that kind of deal was "highly unlikely."

This is a little surprising, but if he isn't going to Boston, or Japan, or Seattle, I guess that just leaves the Yankees.

Best Ad Ever?

2009-11-12T08:37:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure if this is real or not, but it's been making its way around the Yankees blogosphere the last few days --- River Ave. Blues and Zell's Pinstripe Blog last night, It's About The Money.... Stupid the day before. From what I've been able to dig up on it it seems like this was in one of the recent issues of Yankees Magazine.

Either way, it's freaking awesome.

Yanks Commemorative Cover Of SI

2009-11-12T03:10:00.009-05:00

11/11 Winter Ball Report

2009-11-11T22:56:00.002-05:00

Today in the AFL the Surprise Rafters lost to the Mesa Solar Sox 9-8. The loss drops the Rafters record to 10-15. (Box Scrore-Recap)

Offense:
Brandon Laird: 2-for-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R

Pitching:
Ian Kennedy: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, pitches-strikes: 70-46, 4.74 ERA
Mike Dunn (BS, 1): 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, pitches-strikes: 21-13, 4.32 ERA

(click on pitcher's name for PitchFX data)

Wednesday Night Open Thread

2009-11-11T19:37:00.005-05:00

Here's some news from tonight. You can use this thread to discuss this or anything else that went on today, including the Halladay and DeRosa rumors.

- Talks between Hideki Matsui and the Yankees are on hold until after the team holds their annual postseason meetings.

"Nothing has changed," Tellem told a group of reporters. "But I expect things to pick up in a couple of weeks. As far as the Yankees go, I know they have organizational meetings so it will at least be several weeks until we get together with them as well. So that's pretty much it."

- According to Chad Jennings, the Yankees and Red Sox are in the lead to land Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman.

“Start with the Yankees and Red Sox and go from there,” the source said.

The source also told him that "Chapman has exactly the arm and raw stuff that he’s touted as having, but his control remains a bit erratic."

- Jennings also tells us that Cashman told him if the Yanks sign both Damon and Matsui that would pretty end their major free agents signings for the winter.

“If I did that I wouldn’t have room for anybody else unless I made trades,” Cashman said.

- According to Ken Davidoff, the Yankees are not thinking about reworking Joe Girardi's contract, even after a very successful 2009.
"Am I open to discussing it? I'm not even in a position to have thought about it," Brian Cashman said Wednesday as he departed the general managers' meetings. "I can tell you, right now, our coaches' contracts have expired. So I need to deal with who isn't signed, rather than who is."

- Jason Varitek exercised his $3 million player option and will remain with Boston as Victor Martinez's backup.

- Here's a very good article from Ben over at River Ave. Blues. He discusses how Johnny Damon and agent Scott Boras aren't on the same page. Boras has been saying that he wants a long-term deal -- something like 3 or 4 years -- while Damon has consistently expressed his wishes to come back to the Yankees, even if that means getting a smaller contract.

Yanks One Of Eight Teams Interested In DeRosa

2009-11-11T18:45:00.000-05:00

According to Jon Heyman, eight teams have already made calls to free agent Mark DeRosa inquiring about his services. Those teams include the Mariners, Nationals, Dodgers, Phillies, Rangers, Orioles, Giants, and Yankees.

I'm not sure what kind of role he would have on the Yanks -- like most potential moves would depend on what happens with Damon -- but he can play anywhere on the field and can still hit so he would be valuable to many teams. Still, he probably wants a guaranteed starting spot and I'm not sure he'll get that on the Yanks.

Do you think the Yanks should go after DeRosa?

Mike's 2010 Offseason Plan

2009-11-11T17:29:00.001-05:00

Every offseason, since I've started blogging I've made a long post on what I think the Yanks should do this offseason with all my suggested moves conveniently stuck in one place. I try and keep it pretty realistic, no 400 million dollar payroll, no Roy Halladay trade prosposals, etc. So, here's my two cents on what the Yankees need to do going forward.

1) Bring back Matsui on a one year deal

The World Series MVP will also probably win the Comeback Player of the Year award for the American League. Coming into the year, people were worried about his knees and the fact that he was incapable of playing the outfield. Well, that's turned out to be true. However, he's found a home in the DH spot and had a monster year with the bat. He put up a wOBA of .378 while remaining the classy professional he has always been. His year with the bat really shouldn't have been any surprise. His EQA's for the past three years have been .287, .271, and .293. All respectable numbers. As long as he stays at DH, his knee problems shouldn't be an issue and he should be back on a one year deal to help the Yanks defend their title.

2. Bring back Johnny Damon or sign Mike Cameron

Obviously, the Yankees are going to need a leftfielder for 2010 and neither Matt Holliday nor Jason Bay strike me as a good fit. Holliday stands to get a massive long term contract and I just don't think he's worth that kind of money. Nor do I think that so soon after signing Teixeira, they're ready to make a similar commitment. Bay has made the transition from being one of the most underrated players in baseball to being one of the most overrated in the past year or so and he also stands to get more money than he's really worth. Signing him would be a purely reactionary move to hurt the Red Sox, the kind of thing they need to stay away from.

My preference is to see Damon back in pinstripes for another year, maybe two. He's a clutch player who has an excellent reputation in the clubhouse. His defense is thoroughly unimpressive but he can flat out hit. If Boras is serious about getting his client a three or four year deal though, the Yanks are going to need to look elsewhere and the eternally underrated Mike Cameron could be the man for the job. He's not nearly as good as his competitors at the plate. However, he's still a fantastic centerfielder. According to WAR, he's been worth an average of 15.5 million dollars over the past three years, most because of his incredible defense. He's not going to command nearly that and an outfield of Gardner-Cameron-Swisher would save plenty of runs in the fielder.

3. Bring Back Andy Pettitte

This is an obvious move that all Yankees fans seem to agree on. He's a complete professional and is as reliable as any other pitcher you can find. Pettitte has topped 200 innings in every year since his injury plagued 2004, that's five straight seasons. Although we saw signs of decline last year in his lower GB% and his higher BB rate, he's still a quality pitcher. His tRA for the past three years have been 4.35, 4.42, and 4.69. All solid rates that anybody would happy to see from a third starter. If he decides he wants to come back, he won't go anywhere other than the Bronx and won't demand more than a one year deal. The only question is whether or not this is the year that he finally decides to retire. I'd be shocked if he did but its always a possibility. Andy's a a big game pitcher who will give you over 200 quality innings. For a one year deal worth around 12 million, you can' ask for much more than that. Yankees fans would welcome him back for another year.

4) Sign Justin Duchscherer

Its not a rumor we've heard at all but it still makes a world of sense for the Yankees to make a serious run at this guy. Of all the buy low, sell high candidates of this year, he has to be the most intriguing. Although plagued by injuries throughout his career, he's been as good as anybody in baseball at times. The 31 year old's stats are impressive, a career 3.14 ERA, a career 3.81 FIP, and a career 4.24 tRA. He's spent time both in the bullpen and the rotation, so if he doesn' make the rotation its an easy transition out to left field. The only question mark about him is whether or not he can stay on the mound and I think its worth the gamble of the relatively small contract he's going to command. If the Yanks get lucky, they'll have one of the best pitchers in baseball behind Sabathia and Burnett. If it doesn't work out, they're only going to lose a couple million. On paper it makes perfect sense. That said, Duscherer may be able to handle New York and I'd be surprised if he ever donned the pinstripes. Erik Bedard could be another free agent in the same mold who I wouldn't mind them taking a run at.

5) Bring Back Wang

Similar to Duscherer, Wang is a low risk, high reward option. In Wang's case though, the Yankees would be absolute fools to let him get away. It wasn't all that long ago that he was the anchor of their staff and people where arguing over whether he was truly an "ace" or not. Despite the low strikeout totals he put up fantastic numbers from 2005 through 2008. We all know how good this guy was and if they could add him to a 2010 rotation already featuring C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett it would be devestating for the rest of the American League. He has had injury problems, even if you ignore the freak accidents of the past two years or so. However, he's well worth the risk of 5 million dollars or so. Especially if Dr. James Andrews' latest prediction of an April return is accurate. Unless they decide to spend huge on Lackey or make a blockbuster trade for Halladay, the back of the rotation is going to be a little weak and they need as many high potential arms trying out for those last two spots as possible. Since his rookie season, he's been worth more than five million dollars every single year, with the exception of 2009. He's well worth the risk.

6) Sign Alroldis Chapman

Hardly a winter goes by without the Yankees making a splash and giving out a big contract. Though I don't believe any of the big ML free agents are good fits this year, I am confident that the Yanks are still going to flex their financial muscle. Their are no guarentees with Cuban pitchers, for every El Duque their is a Jose Contreras, but this guy seems like the real deal. He may not be ready for the major leagues yet but that's okay. The farm is looking a little weak right now. Behind Jesus Montero, nobody else in the higher levels really seems to show star potential. Sure, we have A-Jax who looks like he'll be a solid centerfielder one day and we have McAllister who could be a nice middle of the rotation starter. None of these guys really seem like big time difference makers though. Chapman and his high 90's fastball seem like just what the doctor ordered. This is an opportunity for the Yanks to take advantage of their deep pockets and keep him out of Boston.

7) Bring Back Eric Hinske

Eric Hinske was a nice addition to the bench early on when he was sent over by Pittsburgh. He gave us a little pop off the bench and was a useful guy to have. He can play all four corner spots and rest some of the guys that need the rest most. Not a great fielder but that's what Ramiro Pena is for. That extra power hitter on the bench can help win a couple extra games and keep the main guys rested. He certainly won't demand all that much and I assume he's going to want to stay in pinstripes after a World Championship. Its not a major need but I'd like to see Eric Hinske back with the Yankees for the 2010 campaign.

I think that all these moves would put the Yankees in a good position to repeat in 2010. It keeps the core of the team intact while giving some of the younger players a chance to step forward and claim their role in the major leagues. It give them a deep team that can withstand some serious injuries if need be both in the rotation and the outfield.

Any thoughts on this?

Yanks To Tender Contract For Bruney

2009-11-11T16:58:00.000-05:00

More from Joel Sherman, who reports the Yankees "plan to tender arb-eligible Brian Bruney because his price (about $1.5M) will be reasonable".

I think this is the smart move for the Yanks. Bruney showed signs that he was regaining his command towards the end of the regular season, though he did look awful in the playoffs. Still, he's got electric stuff and could end up being a useful reliever for the Yanks next season.

Mariners Resign Griffey

2009-11-11T16:45:00.000-05:00

According to Jon Heyman, the Mariners, for some reason I cannot understand, have resigned Ken Griffey Jr. to a one-year deal worth a $2 million base plus incentives that could add another million dollars to the deal.

At his peak Griffey was one of the best players in the sport and maybe all-time, but am I the only one who thinks it's sad watching him play now? Last year he hit career worst .214/.324/.411 with 19 HR and 57 RBI in 117 games for the Mariners, and at times looked like it was a struggle to get around the bases. If that's not "done" I don't know what is.

If anything this signing may close the door to a potential Hideki Matsui to Seattle move. Unless the rumors that Boston is ready to offer him a multi-year deal it would seem that Matsui is likely headed back to the Bronx.