YANKEES OFFSEASON THREAD: Lock This

Buster Olney is saying we are making a serious push for Wei-yen Chen.

Out of all the pitchers who are FAs and he has a QO. So they don't want to lose a draft pick for Heyward or Upton. But willing to lose one for Wei-yen Chen?

:smh:
 
Hicks is a good pickup. I thought JR was a solid player though.

Hope we move Gardner.
 
Essential1 said:
Buster Olney is saying we are making a serious push for Wei-yen Chen.

Out of all the pitchers who are FAs and he has a QO. So they don't want to lose a draft pick for Heyward or Upton. But willing to lose one for Wei-yen Chen?

:smh:
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Gotta be a smokescreen , right ?
 
Daily roundup from HotStove:

Right now Hicks is positioned to take Chris Young's spot. Yankees like him cause he's a great defensive outfielder, a switch hitter that hits LHP, and maybe he'll find the power he had in the minors. Also Hicks is cheaper than Young and gives them some financial flexibility. 

Cashman is fine with Sanchez being the backup catcher but won't commit. Said Romine is still in the mix.

Feinsand said for the Yankees to acquire a free agent 2B (Zobrist or Kendricks) they'd have to figure out things with Gardner because they have no room in their budget right now. But then again, he thinks they could trade Gardner and use the money freed up on a bigger bat in LF or on SP while using a platoon of Ackley and Refsnyder at 2B.
 
i trust Cashman to improve the team, even if he doesn't bring in a big name..

he got Didi & Eovaldi last winter for next to nothing and they turned out to be nice pieces.
 
Most people are saying Price wants to go to a team in the NL. Not sure if its something he's said but most seem to think so.

Plus didn't he say something a while ago about not wanting to or wouldn't play for the Yankees because he liked having facial hair and thought the rule was stupid. 
 
PhillyzPhan said:
Most people are saying Price wants to go to a team in the NL. Not sure if its something he's said but most seem to think so.

Plus didn't he say something a while ago about not wanting to or wouldn't play for the Yankees because he liked having facial hair and thought the rule was stupid. 
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That was 2 years ago.

Damon said the same exact thing :rofl:
 
Yankees are scared off by Zobrist's price tag.

Which is fine because he's 35. And will likely get 3-4 years and $45-60mil.

But at a certain point there has to be someone they want to pay.
 
@pinstripealley: Yankees News: Yankees "likely" to move closer Andrew Miller https://t.co/eVPqG9i7VO

:rolleyes

i understand his stock will never be higher so they're trying to sell high but i don't know....
 
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You just saw the Mets lose three World Series games because of their bullpen and you're going to destroy yours? Makes no sense.

Unless they're worried about that forearm strain he had which is sometimes a precursor to a torn ucl.
 
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Sweeny’s Yankees Notes: Harper To The Bronx After 2018 A Mortal Lock

By Sweeny Murti

When Bryce Harper wins the NL MVP award on Thursday night he will officially have the hardware that puts him right alongside Mike Trout as the best player in the game. Think of it along the lines of Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. about 20 years ago,

And it will also start the countdown to the day Harper becomes a Yankee. Seriously. Is there any doubt?

Let’s go back two years when the Yankees drew their line in the sand with Robinson Cano at seven years, $175 million. Cano was over 30 and didn’t have any of the shiny trophies the Yankess wanted to see if they were going to dole out more than that. Well, Harper already has a Rookie of the Year on his mantle and now will have at least one MVP. He will have the chance to add a couple more, as he’s under the Nationals’ control through 2018.

But that’s where the Yankees come in. How long are we supposed to believe they will shop in the bargain aisle? This is a match made in money. Always remember what 16-year-old Harper said about his career ambitions as a Sports Illustrated cover boy in 2009:

“Be in the Hall of Fame, definitely. Play in Yankee Stadium. Play in the pinstripes. Be considered the greatest baseball player who ever lived. I can’t wait,” he told the magazine.

I also vividly remember Harper ogling Yankees batting practice before a spring training game a few years ago. Every other member of the Nationals was off the field, except Harper. He kneeled on one knee and watched Yankee hitters intently until being summoned by GM Mike Rizzo, who essentially told Harper it wasn’t nice to stare at others, especially when they play for the other team.

Can you see this guy packing up his trophies in two years and going anywhere except New York? Come on. That’s a clown question, bro.

Get younger. Get a drawing card. Get a guy to build your team around for the next 10 years. Check, check, check.

Younger. That’s a key concept when we talk about the Yankees, isn’t it? Do you know that Harper, who turned 23 last month, is six months younger than stud outfield prospect Aaron Judge? Harper will be 26 when hits free agency.

I asked an executive recently who had a better chance of playing right field for the Yankees in 2019, Judge or Harper. The response I got was “Judge in left, Harper in right.”

Also keep in mind the Yankees have in recent years been very strategic about when they spend money, waiting for contracts to come off the books before reinventing. And guess whose contract (finally) comes off the books after the 2017 season? Alex Rodriguez.

An offshoot of this might be that the one-year lag between A-Rod’s contract coming off and Harper hitting free agency might give the Yankees a chance to get under the luxury tax threshold and reset their tax rate so they can really spend freely again. Although how exactly that works will depend on how the new CBA gets hammered out next year at this time. However you look at it, the Yankees will certainly be in position to make it happen.

Harper to the Yankees in three years. It’s inevitable.

— With the Yankees seemingly quiet on the free agent front, they are reportedly active on the trade front. Having already added switch-hitting outfielder Aaron Hicks, they could soon focus on upgrading the rotation. Reports that they are dangling Andrew Miller might reel in some controllable starting pitching so the Yankees don’t have to dive into the nine-figure pitching market for guys like David Price, Zack Greinke, and others.

I asked one source about the possibility of Ben Zobrist and I was told the Yankees’ focus right now is “pitching, pitching, pitching.” If they are going the trade route to find it, who do they trade? Miller is one possibility, but so is trading an outfielder, and that’s why Brett Gardner’s name has popped up, too.

Gardner is signed through 2018 at $13 million per year. He has been a lifelong Yankee and a good one. But is he expendable with the addition of Hicks and a boatload of outfield talent in the minors?

“They have three Gardners down there,” one scout told me, speaking of Yankee minor leaguers Ben Gamel, Jake Cave, and Dustin Fowler. “All three are better than Gardner at the same age. And don’t forget about Judge,” the scout said.

If the Yankees are truly convinced that Hicks is ready to bust through his ceiling and become an everyday player, then moving an outfielder could make sense. There has long been interest in Gardner, who became an All-Star in 2015. Brian Cashman has been reluctant to move him in years past, but Gardner might be the key to getting back the starting pitching they desire.

They also might be able to move Carlos Beltran and the final year of his contract, although his partial no-trade protection could be an issue.

— So are there any free agents the Yankees will pursue? I still feel like Ben Zobrist makes sense, though not necessarily for the much talked about hole at second base.

Zobrist fits in a corner outfield spot if they trade Gardner/Beltran or can slide into second base if the Rob Refsnyder/Dustin Ackley combo isn’t the direction they want to go.

Zobrist’s versatility is key to his market as a free agent and what have we all been saying for years now about the Yankees roster and its lack of flexibility? The possibility of Zobrist, Ackley, and Hicks on the same roster creates some depth at multiple positions. It might be the type of roster flexibility that Joe Girardi covets.

— Gary Sanchez is turning heads in the Arizona Fall League. Sure, it’s a hitters’ league, but that hasn’t kept the scouts that have seen from raving about him.

“A man against boys” is how one scout described Sanchez after watching him tear it up in the AFL, calling him “the best hitter in the Fall League.”

The knock on Sanchez has always been defense, despite his “cannon for an arm,” but he’s made strides there, too. Sanchez isn’t being described as a great defensive catcher, just someone who has improved to the point where his defense might be adequate enough because his bat will carry him to the majors.

Sanchez is still only 22. His potential carries value to the Yankees either in their future or on the trade market. And as we’ve seen, what the Yankees have at the catching position has been viewed as attractive by other teams in recent years.

Over the last handful of years the Yankees have traded Jesus Montero, Francisco Cervelli, Pete O’Brien, and John Ryan Murphy. That group has helped them acquire Michael Pineda, Justin Wilson, Martin Prado (who they turned into Nathan Eovaldi), and Hicks. That’s two starting pitchers, a setup man and possibly an everyday outfielder for prospects and backups.

Sanchez might be more hype. But other teams are buying the hype.

— In case you missed it, pitchers and catchers report Feb. 8. We are officially inside of three months. Think warm thoughts. It’s almost here.
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Brett Gardner for Starlin Castro is being discussed.

There has to be a big signing somewhere for this team. There has to be.
 
Essential1 said:
Brett Gardner for Starlin Castro is being discussed.

There has to be a big signing somewhere for this team. There has to be.
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Hmm that's interesting. He'd have to play 2B correct? Can't see them giving up on Didi like that.

Rather trade Gardy for one of the Indians pitchers tho.
 
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Obvious were not signing any of the big starters. Would be happy with Heyward, Carrasco, and Zobrist. Anything less would really piss me off
 
Jon Heyman just refuted the Gardner-Castro talks. Said at this point there's been no talk of Castro for Gardner. That the Yankees are seeking pitchers in deals and don't mind going with Ackley and Refsnyder at 2B.
 
Do whatever you can to get Carrasco, since we are not spending on a pitcher. Even if it's a mistake not to spend on this FA crop. But Carrasco is a good middle to back end guy that gives us some stability and reliability. He's not a guy I particularly like, but I know he's much better than the Indians allowed him to be. Of course, we have about 4-5 untouchable guys (Severino, Bird, Judge, Sanchez).. But the rest of the farm is available with Gardner.

Then trade Nova for any prospect, even a long shot guy to make room for Carrasco.

That leaves you with money where signing a Heyward or Upton would have been like fielding the same 2015 roster, but adding say a guy of Darren O'Day's salary.



Just doing that, and maybe adding a bullpen arm, that's not asking them to go all George on the payroll. Then they can basically save their money for the next 2 years, and only have to re-sign Tanaka, Pineda & Eovaldi. Don't even have to make any other moves.. Teix expires, Bird comes up. Beltran expires, Judge comes up. A-Rod expires, maybe move McCann to DH and Sanchez is Catcher. Don't have to chase a single Free Agent in the next 2 offseasons. Can lay in wait for Bryce Harper. We'd all be willing to accept that.
 
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why get rid of andrew miller? sure he blew some games but hes human and not a robot... the best thing about this team is the bullpen but the problem is the starters suck... we need to get more pitchers for sure but i will welcome a ben zobrist signing if we can get him
 
you go boy said:
why get rid of andrew miller? sure he blew some games but hes human and not a robot... the best thing about this team is the bullpen but the problem is the starters suck... we need to get more pitchers for sure but i will welcome a ben zobrist signing if we can get him
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He was 36 of 38.. As close to robot as you can get.


I think Ben Zobrist is a mistake. He'll be 34. Don't commit 4 years to him. We have to refrain on that based on age, even if he fits well right now.
 
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