Orioles extend JJ Hardy

[Hank Scorpio]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11670152/baltimore-orioles-extend-jj-hardy
 
Looking like a three year extension for $40M.
 
One less option for the Yankees. I'd imagine they go heavy after Hanley Ramirez now.

 

[foulkehampshire]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11670152/baltimore-orioles-extend-jj-hardy
 
Looking like a three year extension for $40M.
 
One less option for the Yankees. I'd imagine they go heavy after Hanley Ramirez now.

 
You'd figure after 20 years of being defensively deficient at SS they'd want somebody that could actually play the position. 

 

[E5 Yaz]

FAIL

 

[glennhoffmania]

He was talking about the Yankees I assume.

 

[E5 Yaz]

He was talking about the Yankees I assume.

 
Yup ... i'm an Internet idiot

 

[Sandy Leon Trotsky]

Definitely thought the Yankees were going to bring in Hardy....   Not that I'd like to see Hanley in the middle of their lineup the next few years now.

 

[mauf]

Good deal for both sides.
 
Hardy was almost certainly going to get a QO. If the MFY decided they preferred Hanley, I'm not sure Hardy would've found a team willing to sacrifice a draft pick to give him a long-term deal.
 
From the clubs standpoint, there's obviously some risk that Hardy's play will fall off a cliff as he enters his mid-30s, but he doesn't have to maintain his current production levels to earn his 3/40.

 

[Wingack]

If I were the Yankees, I would be kicking the tires on Jed Lowrie to see if they can get him on a team friendly deal.

 

[mauf]

If I were the Yankees, I would be kicking the tires on Jed Lowrie to see if they can get him on a team friendly deal.

 
Lowrie would be a QO candidate if he played elsewhere, but the A's probably can't afford the risk that he'll accept.
 
In a world where the MFY have an essentially unlimited budget and are already sacrificing a first-round pick to acquire Scherzer or Shields, I think Hanley is a better option, but if either of those assumptions is wrong, Lowrie is intriguing.

 

[Wingack]

I really would prefer that the Yankees avoid signing any player that is over 30, and that includes the three type line starters. However, I think giving Lowrie (who is 28) a three-year deal off a down year would be a smart move. 

 

[mauf]

I really would prefer that the Yankees avoid signing any player that is over 30, and that includes the three type line starters. However, I think giving Lowrie (who is 28) a three-year deal off a down year would be a smart move. 

 
I guess it depends on whether there is some reason the MFY have consistently posted a better record than their statistical output would suggest (i.e., BP third-order wins) over the past few years, or whether you think they've just been lucky. I'm not saying that to be snarky -- their might be some factor that makes third-order wins less valid as a measure of their "true" quality than it is for other clubs.
 
If you think they've just been lucky, however, then Cashman begins the offseason with a roster that was only a 77-win team on paper. If they aren't willing to accept a likelihood of missing the playoffs for a third straight season, they need to make a big splash this winter. It's hard to see how they do that without taking on a big contract (either in free agency or by trade) of a player who's on the wrong side of 30.