2014 Roster Projections

[Bellhorn04]

I will agree with UN here. I defended their valuation and signing of Ellsbury. But that also was dependent on other moves, including figuring out 2B. Ellsbury for Cano is a net negative, even if Ellsbury could be particularly effective with 81 games of his fly balls finding the bleachers. Cano is one of the top half dozen position players in the league, full stop - so letting him go is basically letting 6 wins walk out the door without a backup plan. McCann is an upgrade and Beltran is less of one. And assuming they re-sign Kuroda and get Tanaka, the rotation is a little better. But this was not a 2009 goldmine offseason for the Yankees AT ALL. I'd say the Yankees offseason might be roughly 3 or 4 wins overall of impact - maybe. They spent an awful lot of money to just go into the Baltimore-Texas-Tampa soup. When they went shopping in 2009, it got them a wire-to-wire sort of dominance like the 2013 Red Sox had. BIG difference.

 

They did re-sign Kuroda for 16 million.

[BornToRun]

Since we're on the topic of the MFY's, allow me to say that seeing Jacoby's press conference on MLBN made me die a little inside.

 

The Yankees are the single most evil organization in human history. f*** them.

[User Name]

I will agree with UN here. I defended their valuation and signing of Ellsbury. But that also was dependent on other moves, including figuring out 2B. Ellsbury for Cano is a net negative, even if Ellsbury could be particularly effective with 81 games of his fly balls finding the bleachers. Cano is one of the top half dozen position players in the league, full stop - so letting him go is basically letting 6 wins walk out the door without a backup plan. McCann is an upgrade and Beltran is less of one. And assuming they re-sign Kuroda and get Tanaka, the rotation is a little better. But this was not a 2009 goldmine offseason for the Yankees AT ALL. I'd say the Yankees offseason might be roughly 3 or 4 wins overall of impact - maybe. They spent an awful lot of money to just go into the Baltimore-Texas-Tampa soup. When they went shopping in 2009, it got them a wire-to-wire sort of dominance like the 2013 Red Sox had. BIG difference.

 

And that doesn't include the fact that they significantly outplayed their pythag last year. But hey, some here don't let logic or facts get in the way of a good argument. (Or a horrendous one for some of the more "outspoken" posters here)

[NOATHLETESALLOWED]

Feeling a little nauseous after watching the yankees "unveil jacoby ellsbury" also. Objectively I cannot really see why anyone would want to root for the Yankees, who push the envelope with their albatross payroll...manufacturing a very artificial spectacle for their city and their fans year in and year out, and inflating the salary landscape. Juggling A-roid and making a frivolous juggernaut out of their Mariano Rivera retirement parade that shows no sign of stopping. I would not view the team they seem to be forming for next year as a prideworthy or authentic or meritable thing if I were an old school Yankee fan, and I'm glad that teams like boston are willing to challenge the market. I will not for the life of me understand why anyone would want to remain a yankee fan or simply care anymore after swiping a player that came up true boston, through the sox minor league system and played a major role in two world series wins that the yankees weren't a part of. I would not be able to view next years team without thinking that the yankees acted out of spite and jealousy. As a red sox fan I hope that the yankees continue to balloon in their utter fakeness and greed, and continue to shame professional sports until professional sports can finally summon up the courage to say what it has secretly wanted to say over the past 50 years: "GET THE F*%^ OUT."

 

I wonder if baseball at yankee stadium will cease to be played, yankee fans forgetting about the game-at-present and just staring in stupefaction as Jeter and Girardi engage in grandiose and nauseating nostalgia until the end of major league baseball.

Edited December 14, 2013 by NOATHLETESALLOWED

[sk7326]

The way the Yankees have conducted the offseason is a little baffling. That they spend a ton of money is one thing - they are at the point on the ROI/Win curve where spending a lot actually makes a ton of sense if you can afford it. That they did not spend the money on keeping Cano while they were at it does not. You keep Cano plus the rest of the shopping spree and you have materially improved your ability to contend and the spoils that come with it.

 

The Red Sox offseason has been quiet, neutral-ish. But that's fine. In their position you can make small changes, walk around with your bevy of prospects and contract absorption ability jingling away in your pockets waiting for an opportunity only you can pounce on e.g. if the White Sox ever SERIOUSLY took calls on Chris Sale or something equivalent.

[EXman369]

If Yankees sign Drew the Sox will have the 29th, 32nd, 33rd, 60th, 90th overall picks.

 

I hope your right here... from what i've heard its pitching deep draft. We all know you can never have too much pitching and GM's are always looking for more. While i wouldn't mind the Sox resigning drew to a 2 year deal. I'd much rather get a first round pick for him... wish the Royals would have taken him over Infantae!!

 

One more question open to anyone... with all these picks do we have to worry about the new restrictions with dollars allowed to spend in the draft? Would we have to take more lower slot people due to having to fit in a budget, or does the budget fluctuate with the number of picks you have, ex. 10 picks is 10 mill 8 picks is 8 mill... i know its that much for a pick.

Edited December 14, 2013 by EXman369

[User Name]

The Royals have a good SS and no 2B. Drew can play SS but has never played 2B professionally. How would Drew to the Royals have made sense?

 

As for the money value system in the draft:

 

http://www.blessyouboys.com/2013/6/26/4463258/MLB-draft-slotting-bonus-pools-penalties

 

It's clearly explained in the above link.

[sk7326]

I hope your right here... from what i've heard its pitching deep draft. We all know you can never have too much pitching and GM's are always looking for more. While i wouldn't mind the Sox resigning drew to a 2 year deal. I'd much rather get a first round pick for him... wish the Royals would have taken him over Infantae!!

 

One more question open to anyone... with all these picks do we have to worry about the new restrictions with dollars allowed to spend in the draft? Would we have to take more lower slot people due to having to fit in a budget, or does the budget fluctuate with the number of picks you have, ex. 10 picks is 10 mill 8 picks is 8 mill... i know its that much for a pick.

 

It's based on number of picks etc ... what you probably expect with the sandwich picks is a bit of portfolio management. You only get access to the "slot" if you sign the guy. So the Red Sox' bonus pool is dictated by the picks and their value - but can only be realized by signing those guys. What this means is that while the position of the picks sound amazing - the fact is that the Red Sox are not going to use all of those picks in a straight "best player available" sort of way. Some of them will be used that way, but a number of them will just be easy signs (like senior college players) so they can get the bonus money which if they manage things right, might allow them to take a true "tough sign" in the later rounds like the olde days.

[sk7326]

The simple example for how the draft slotting works. Imagine having 3 picks as slots A, B and C. The commish's office assigns slots:

 

A: $3,000,000

B: $1,000,000

C: $500,000

 

This means your total bonus pool is $4,500,000. This is bonus money for ALL of your picks. And you only get the $4.5M by signing the 3 guys. Now suppose you DO sign the 3 guys for the following bonuses

 

A: $2,900,000

B: $1,100,000

C: $250,000

 

You signed them for a total of $4,250,000. This means you have $250,000 to spend on bonuses outside of the slotted rounds (first 10 rounds). So you could try to lure a Middlebrooks or Westmoreland from a harder commitment with the $250,000 for instance.

 

Now what if you cannot sign the B slot guy. Then your max pool drops to $3,500,000 in this case. That money is gone. The system forces you to take a few easy signs to keep you in the game on the harder guys.

[marklmw]

Mark--with the Yanks it seems to always be the same song with them. They feign non-interest and say so verbally and in writing and t hen what happens They come in and steal Johnny Damon right under our eyes, claim they will not be blackmailed with A-Rod worming his way out of a contract, then brown out and extend him a choking multi-year contract. No interest in Teixiera.....until at the very end when they sneak in and grab in. They even hinted that Ellsbury wasn't on their radar and then BOOM!!!!! It strikes me as strange some Red Sox fans believe the crap the Yankees dispense. Now they say they have no interest in Drew, and this is one time I hope they are bullshitting us.

Fred - The Yankees are the Yankees .... nothing is going to change.

[jacksonianmarch]

YOu have $250K above $50K. Any pick past round 10 can get $50K without using your bonus pool

[sk7326]

YOu have $250K above $50K. Any pick past round 10 can get $50K without using your bonus pool

 

Appreciate the catch. Of course this all hurts smart small market teams and helps cheapskate owners. But in a way that was the point.

[SoxSport]

The way the Yankees have conducted the offseason is a little baffling. That they spend a ton of money is one thing - they are at the point on the ROI/Win curve where spending a lot actually makes a ton of sense if you can afford it. That they did not spend the money on keeping Cano while they were at it does not. You keep Cano plus the rest of the shopping spree and you have materially improved your ability to contend and the spoils that come with it.

 

The Red Sox offseason has been quiet, neutral-ish. But that's fine. In their position you can make small changes, walk around with your bevy of prospects and contract absorption ability jingling away in your pockets waiting for an opportunity only you can pounce on e.g. if the White Sox ever SERIOUSLY took calls on Chris Sale or something equivalent.

 

The Yankees should simply have upped their per yr to Cano if they wanted to stay at 7 yrs. Maybe 7/200. Instead they let their best player leave. For a team swimming in media money. Interesting that not a single one of those pundits on MLB TV has mentioned that. Al Leiter did let slip that he was wearing an "MLB TV" cap now, and he had to watch what he was saying. LOL. Which means "thou shalt not criticize the Yankees." That seems to hold true at the Boston Globe as well. Henry, new Globe owner, take note.

 

The Sox have been "quiet" in the media. They are always quiet in the media outside of New England. But Tom Verducci of SI did say that they were one of the improved teams--pitching, catching and re-signing Nap at 1B. They have questions about whether the kids can handle CF and the left side of the IF. That's about it. They no longer have anybody blocking Bradley in the OF. That's good.

[SoxSport]

What bugs me about the draft are the comp picks. Teams losing FAs benefit from the comp picks, sure, but the team signing the FAs isn't penalized by comp picks. They are created for the other team. So there are no limitations to how many picks a team can sign--a setup for the Yankees. Or now the LA teams. The caveat is buying a lot of FAs is no guarantee of winning.

 

One of these days teams will realize their ticket to success is to sign 3 top FA starters. It's the pitching.

The Dodgers became contenders only when they signed Greinke.

Edited December 14, 2013 by SoxSport

[jacksonianmarch]

What bugs me about the draft are the comp picks. Teams losing FAs benefit from the comp picks, sure, but the team signing the FAs isn't penalized by comp picks. They are created for the other team. So there are no limitations to how many picks a team can sign--a setup for the Yankees. Or now the LA teams. The caveat is buying a lot of FAs is no guarantee of winning.

 

One of these days teams will realize their ticket to success is to sign 3 top FA starters. It's the pitching.

The Dodgers became contenders only when they signed Greinke.

 

What are you talking about? You lose your highest pick when you sign a player who had a QO extended. The Yankees lost 2 players who had QOs, but since they signed 3, their first pick isn't until the 2nd round

[sk7326]

What bugs me about the draft are the comp picks. Teams losing FAs benefit from the comp picks, sure, but the team signing the FAs isn't penalized by comp picks. They are created for the other team. So there are no limitations to how many picks a team can sign--a setup for the Yankees. Or now the LA teams. The caveat is buying a lot of FAs is no guarantee of winning.

 

One of these days teams will realize their ticket to success is to sign 3 top FA starters. It's the pitching.

The Dodgers became contenders only when they signed Greinke.

 

The 2012 Dodgers won 86 games. It was not some sort of Hindenberg disaster. They also had the best pitcher in the NL (maybe either league). They were "contenders" they just missed the 2nd wildcard by 2 games. The Dodgers did not have some epiphany - adding Greinke moved them from an 86 win team to a better one (that and a shocking bounceback year from HanRam).

[marklmw]

What are you talking about? You lose your highest pick when you sign a player who had a QO extended. The Yankees lost 2 players who had QOs, but since they signed 3, their first pick isn't until the 2nd round

And when they Sign Drew their first pick isn't until the 3rd round

[sk7326]

The Yankees should simply have upped their per yr to Cano if they wanted to stay at 7 yrs. Maybe 7/200. Instead they let their best player leave. For a team swimming in media money. Interesting that not a single one of those pundits on MLB TV has mentioned that. Al Leiter did let slip that he was wearing an "MLB TV" cap now, and he had to watch what he was saying. LOL. Which means "thou shalt not criticize the Yankees." That seems to hold true at the Boston Globe as well. Henry, new Globe owner, take note.

 

The Sox have been "quiet" in the media. They are always quiet in the media outside of New England. But Tom Verducci of SI did say that they were one of the improved teams--pitching, catching and re-signing Nap at 1B. They have questions about whether the kids can handle CF and the left side of the IF. That's about it. They no longer have anybody blocking Bradley in the OF. That's good.

 

They changed inconsequentially at catcher, held at 1B and added some bullpen help which is never a bad thing. They have improved maybe - but they have not gotten worse. There is a bit more uncertainty, comes with putting high ceiling but unproven guys in key spots - but it's exciting. Verducci may not be wrong, but whatever the difference is is pretty minor.

[sk7326]

And when they Sign Drew their first pick isn't until the 3rd round

 

SoxSport is half right - the compensation system is stupid. However, the logic of the compensation system is passe - just let the teams trade their picks and everybody would get more value out of it.

[User Name]

The Yankees should simply have upped their per yr to Cano if they wanted to stay at 7 yrs. Maybe 7/200. Instead they let their best player leave. For a team swimming in media money. Interesting that not a single one of those pundits on MLB TV has mentioned that. Al Leiter did let slip that he was wearing an "MLB TV" cap now, and he had to watch what he was saying. LOL. Which means "thou shalt not criticize the Yankees." That seems to hold true at the Boston Globe as well. Henry, new Globe owner, take note.

 

The Sox have been "quiet" in the media. They are always quiet in the media outside of New England. But Tom Verducci of SI did say that they were one of the improved teams--pitching, catching and re-signing Nap at 1B. They have questions about whether the kids can handle CF and the left side of the IF. That's about it. They no longer have anybody blocking Bradley in the OF. That's good.

 

The Yankees aren't "swimming in media money". This is a misconception that's been explained several times during your time here. The real money is in the gate. Stop spouting nonsense.

[iortiz]

Yes they are, I already showed you.

[User Name]

Just a quick example for those who keep spouting the Yank's media money foolishness:

 

In 2011: The Yankees made 300 million in gate receipts alone, and less than 100 million from YES Network.

 

Don't believe me? Check the Forbes website for the gate receipts and google the YES Network contract structure.

[Spitball]

I don't understand where the Yankees are getting all this luxury tax room, or are they now ignoring the penalty. Or are they that certain that Alex Rodriquez is going to be suspended? And why has Bud Selig decided to save the MFY from their foolish signing of A Rod during the 2007 Word Series? It makes me very angry, btw.

[User Name]

Blame A-Rod for being a f***ing idiot.

[iortiz]

I already did. They are making 90M TV rights+ Fox fee + EBIT/Y (unknown) via RSN. Plus stadium revenue around 471 M (2012)

 

To me, They are plenty "swimming in media money".

[Spitball]

Blame A-Rod for being a f***ing idiot.

 

A-Rod is a f***ing idiot, but why are the Yankees so sure they are off the hook? Why is Bud Selig helping them?

[SoxSport]

Here's an article which says they should sign Choo.

 

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24374235/champion-red-sox-still-have-work-to-do

 

I don't know if they are willing to throw $20M for 7years at any player. They weren't with Ellsbury.

[User Name]

A-Rod is a f***ing idiot, but why are the Yankees so sure they are off the hook? Why is Bud Selig helping them?

 

I think it's more about making a point. He wants to show that the league won't put up with the PED nonsense, and he's making an example of A-Rod, who, for all accounts, Selig personally wishes the seven biblical plagues upon. "Helping" the Yankees is just collateral damage. Let's face it, A-Rod's salary is a small piece of the puzzle. They were going to spend like drunken sailors with or without A-Rod's money on the books.

[marklmw]

Here's an article which says they should sign Choo.

 

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24374235/champion-red-sox-still-have-work-to-do

 

I don't know if they are willing to throw $20M for 7years at any player. They weren't with Ellsbury.

 

Most baseball people feel that the Yankees overpaid for Ellsbury. Perhaps Choo would take 90 /5

[jacksonianmarch]

Choo is gonna get a Werth contract