2019-20 Yankees Offseason Discussion

EvilEmpire

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Is his Achilles 100%? I'm assuming the shoulder is good to go, but I wonder a little about that tendon injury.
 

jon abbey

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If Betances only costs $10 million for one year, why are the Yankees not trying to bring him back?
It's hard to guess the answer to this without decidedly more info than we have. One thing is we don't know if NY plans to be above or below $248M at this point, and if it's below, then his $10M is a factor. Another is we don't know if Betances would want to charge NY a 'douchebag Randy Levine' tax, after the totally uncalled for things he said about Betances a few years ago. A third is as EE says, we don't know the specifics on his health, and his velocity was down in his brief time active last year.

https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/new-york-yankees-dellin-betances-randy-levine-president-comments-agents-arbitration-closer-salary-ken-rosenthal-021817
 

j-man

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with Cole as a ACE it sets everything else up with tansaka pax seveino we have 3 num 2 SP benind cole i wouild talk to milw about hader they need bodies and we need someone of hader in oct i would give milw fraizer arider kandle happ
 

jon abbey

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Listening to sports radio in the shower about the Yankees and I disagreed with pretty much everything everyone said (heh) but one thing I wanted to work through was the host's surety that NY was better with Didi at SS, Gleyber at 2B, LeMahieu at 1B than they are currently.

1B: LeMahieu is clearly a far far better defender than Voit or Ford, but Ford had a .909 OPS in limited time last year and Voit is at .901 since NY got him in Aug 2018 and that is including the stretch run last year where he tried to play through a core injury he got in that ridiculous London series. DJ's OPS last year in his 4th place AL MVP season? .893.

2B: This one seems to be a sizable defensive upgrade for the new version, DJ in 2020 vs Gleyber in 2019. DJ won the best defensive player at any position when he played 2B fulltime in 2018 for COL and that is where his defensive skills are best utilized. Gleyber had a .871 OPS last year.

SS: This one is interesting, before Didi's injury, it seemed as if he was clearly a notch better defensively than Gleyber at SS, but he was not the same in his half season back last year offensively or defensively. Gleyber was a SS all along until NY moved him in 2018, his metrics unusually have him better at SS than he is at 2B. Didi had a .718 OPS last year, down from a career high .829 the year before. He does have a knack for huge crucial HRs, the one in the bottom of the 1st to tie the coin flip game in 2017 at 3, hitting two (two!) HRs off Kluber in the deciding game 5 of the ALDS that year to knock out what looked like the best team in baseball going into the postseason or the grand slam to break open game 2 in the ALDS this year. All of those were mammoth, but interestingly those were his only four postseason HRs for NY in 28 games, a .741 OPS.

Didi was my favorite Yankee for a couple of years as some may remember and he will be the rare ex-Yankee I plan to root hard for. It was the right move to move on though, unfortunately. Betances is another guy I have been writing about here since he was in the minors, a NYC boy. That one is also unfortunate, especially if it is at all Levine-influenced on either side, but in Cashman we trust.
 

jon abbey

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Also I keep hearing how NY needs a big lefty hitter in the middle of the lineup, but the only time that matters is against the hardest throwing righties, and with Cole on NY now, how many of those are there on AL contenders for NY to match up against? Eovaldi has mostly killed NY when healthy, Verlander obviously, Glasnow potentially, Ohtani once he is back if the Angels are contenders, who am I missing? Zack Wheeler qualifies here, glad to see him go to the NL.
 

jon abbey

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As far as power righthanders go, I am so excited for Cole to take Severino under his wing like Verlander did for him the last two years, getting peak Severino back (3rd in the AL Cy Young voting in 2017 and just as good the first half of 2018) would be amazing.
 

jon abbey

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Just 5 1/2 hours to the press conference, so no way we see a splashy trade now which would cut into the Cole introduction spotlight.

So I am guessing a DFA of whichever fringe pitcher Matt Blake has the least hope of fixing, Chance Adams maybe. I believe that would give them 10 days to trade them, so buying some more time to get some value back.
 

graignotcraig

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Also I keep hearing how NY needs a big lefty hitter in the middle of the lineup, but the only time that matters is against the hardest throwing righties
For decades, it seemed there was a prevailing philosophy about having RLR or LRL in the lineup to take away a pitcher having the platoon advantage for more than one hitter. In very recent times, I got the sense that analytics was trying to drive lineup construction towards stacking your best hitters, handedness be damned (but with pushback from field managers who all played in the previous prevailing philosophy). Now that the ROOGY and LOOGY are all but eliminated for 2020, I wonder how this will affect lineup construction. You're more likely to face the hardest throwers from an opposing team coming out of their bullpen.
 

EvilEmpire

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Good posts Jon. I worry a little about Gleyber at SS, but I think that is just a product of my untrained, calibrated eye. Glad the numbers look decent for him there. Regardless, I'm sure he'll improve a little with consistent time there. It was the right time to move on from Didi. I hope he rakes in Philly. Those fans would love him if he shows anything.

Maybe Tauchman hits well enough to make people worry a little less about lefty power bats.

Hopefully you're right and Adams is the guy to go. Seems like the proper call.
 

jon abbey

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Yep, Adams is DFAd 15 minutes before the press conference. Sorry, Chance, but you did get chances.
 

jon abbey

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For decades, it seemed there was a prevailing philosophy about having RLR or LRL in the lineup to take away a pitcher having the platoon advantage for more than one hitter. In very recent times, I got the sense that analytics was trying to drive lineup construction towards stacking your best hitters, handedness be damned (but with pushback from field managers who all played in the previous prevailing philosophy). Now that the ROOGY and LOOGY are all but eliminated for 2020, I wonder how this will affect lineup construction. You're more likely to face the hardest throwers from an opposing team coming out of their bullpen.
Shifts have made it hard for lefties who pull everything, especially with the small LF in NY. This is one big reason why Cashman has gravitated towards so many righties with opposite field power, so much harder to shift effectively on, but it does mean the hardest throwing righties have an advantage.
 

jon abbey

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Clean-shaven rule is so anachronistic and dumb, I wish someone would take a stand and push back on it already.

 

jon abbey

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I had a big foam Columbia finger that I waved around a lot when we won back to back NCAA fencing titles in 87-88 and I dug it out when our team got inducted into the Columbia Athletic Hall of Fame 25 years later, so I'm not that impressed. :)
 

jon abbey

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Boone looks like the Yankee manager job has his hair receding rapidly, he looks more like Torre every day.
 

jon abbey

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Boras: "Andy Pettitte I think threw a nine inning shutout in that meeting." Thanks for one last W, Andy!!
 

TheDivision

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Boone looks like the Yankee manager job has his hair receding rapidly, he looks more like Torre every day.
Yup, he was in a stressful situation every other game by managing the BP. And last year, there was an injury seemingly every week so that added a ton. But yeah, he’s aged, and it was also apparent throughout the season.
 

TheDivision

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Also, I don't want to be a wet blanket but that sign looks like a replica. The original was blue words with Pinstripes.
 

jon abbey

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Also, I don't want to be a wet blanket but that sign looks like a replica. The original was blue words with Pinstripes.
The official word is that it faded over time, you'd think if they were making a replica, they would have made it blue with pinstripes. Boras said that when Cole told him his dad still had the sign, he asked Cole why he had bothered listening to so many other teams make their pitches for him.
 

TheDivision

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The official word is that it faded over time, you'd think if they were making a replica, they would have made it blue with pinstripes. Boras said that when Cole told him his dad still had the sign, he asked Cole why he had bothered listening to so many other teams make their pitches for him.
Ahhh, didn't know the story behind it. I just looked at the image and the lettering seemed to resemble the color of Cole's wife outfit. Have to love the guy even more now. BTW, the colors may be appear differently on different devices. :D
 

jon abbey

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The last list I saw had NY and 3 NL teams, I bet they end up trading with the Reds again.
 

jon abbey

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NY gets old buddy Erik Kratz back on a minor league deal, there's your current third string catcher.
 

jon abbey

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Interesting and a bit surprising, Jason Castro is still out there and Tanner Swanson (NY's new catching instructor) worked with him last year in MIN. I've been saying it for a few years, I love Sanchez, warts and all, but NY has got to put some depth behind him. Castro (and Chirinos) may take starting jobs elsewhere, though.
 

jon abbey

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Chance Adams allowed to be in DFA limbo for another 4 days, I think.

Then after that, they still need a 40 man spot for Gardner and then anyone else they want to add, which is why I think Cashman is still trying as hard as he can to figure out a 4 for 1 blockbuster that makes sense, Hader or Lindor or maybe Arenado even, or maybe some young SP. Not sure Josh Bell is an upgrade on Voit, Rizzo would be because of his defense if he is actually available (and that would really bum out Sox fans, sorry).

Anyway, I think NY is in a position now where they can lose a big trade or two on paper and have it make sense for both teams, they have talent to give away for impact roster spot upgrades.
 

terrynever

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Josh Bell stays healthy, and he is a switch-hitter. Pirates would probably do a 4-for-1 if one of the 4 is Deivy Garcia.
 

BaseballJones

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If the Yanks get Josh Hader....from a baseball perspective it would just be an embarrassment of riches for them. Just what the Yankees need: a lefty reliever who had a 0.81 whip and a 16.4 k/9 (!) last year and is just 25 years old.

From a likability standpoint, it will make Red Sox fans hate them even more, if at all possible.
 

jon abbey

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If the Yanks get Josh Hader....from a baseball perspective it would just be an embarrassment of riches for them. Just what the Yankees need: a lefty reliever who had a 0.81 whip and a 16.4 k/9 (!) last year and is just 25 years old.

From a likability standpoint, it will make Red Sox fans hate them even more, if at all possible.
Yeah, this Brewers blogger talking about it yesterday had a funny line:

“ The Yankees are building a team that looks more like an X-Men movie than a baseball team. ”

https://www.brewcrewball.com/platform/amp/2019/12/20/21030354/milwaukee-brewers-josh-hader-new-york-yankees-trade
 

BaseballJones

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Yeah, this Brewers blogger talking about it yesterday had a funny line:

“ The Yankees are building a team that looks more like an X-Men movie than a baseball team. ”

https://www.brewcrewball.com/platform/amp/2019/12/20/21030354/milwaukee-brewers-josh-hader-new-york-yankees-trade
Heh. And it really is crazy how much top-end talent the Yankees have in their system. They could easily deal for Hader and have tons of talent left in the minors. And we need to remember that they'll likely get full seasons from Stanton and Judge next year too. They won 103 games with Judge only playing 102 games and Stanton barely seeing the field.
 

jon abbey

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Heyman:

"Yankees remain interested in Josh Hader and could begin a package with 3B Miguel Andujar (Brewers don’t really have a set 3B). Interested teams still aren’t totally convinced Milwaukee would move the star closer though."
 

Wingack

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Heyman:

"Yankees remain interested in Josh Hader and could begin a package with 3B Miguel Andujar (Brewers don’t really have a set 3B). Interested teams still aren’t totally convinced Milwaukee would move the star closer though."
Go for the jugular, Cash.

They can give them a young, upside, impressive package. This is a guy to do it for. And sets the Yankees up nicely for the next few years.
 

TheDivision

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"could begin a package with 3B Miguel Andujar"

Does that imply that Andujar will be the main asset offered in the trade?
 

jon abbey

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"could begin a package with 3B Miguel Andujar"

Does that imply that Andujar will be the main asset offered in the trade?
I think partly that and partly Andujar is an obvious fit for MIL if they believe he is a 3B. It will be a three or four player package if it happens, though.
 

jon abbey

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NY still needs a 40 man roster spot for Gardner, they have yet to officially announce his return because of that.
 

jon abbey

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So for Hader, I would offer the Brewers Andujar/Frazier/Deivi (or Gil if MIL prefers) plus Jonathan Holder to fill Hader's bullpen spot, that's a lot of talent. Baseball Trade Values has that as NY giving up 64.50 in value for Hader's 48.30, the Dodgers could top that fairly easily if they wanted but they don't seem to have a 3B to include.
 

TheDivision

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It'll be interesting to find out what happened with Betances. 7.5 million seems like a good deal especially when top relievers are
So for Hader, I would offer the Brewers Andujar/Frazier/Deivi (or Gil if MIL prefers) plus Jonathan Holder to fill Hader's bullpen spot, that's a lot of talent. Baseball Trade Values has that as NY giving up 64.50 in value for Hader's 48.30, the Dodgers could top that fairly easily if they wanted but they don't seem to have a 3B to include.
That is a lot of talent but the only asset that might hurt losing is Deivi (or Gil).