jacksonianmarch

Not signing Mookie was the best thing the Sox could have done. There will be havoc wreaked on baseball with covid 19 and the Sox dodged a bullet by trying to stay nimble

When you get to the postseason as much as the yanks do, they’re bound to set records on the plus and minus side

He likely is. The Fo makes decisions for strategy pre game but Boone makes the decision on who to bring into the game. Boone has continually overplayed his hand and has left us vulnerable to needing more out of our top relievers and for two years in a row, it’s burned us.

Agree X 2. Cashman is a plus. Boone is a schill

I was just reporting something I read as it pertained to Torres. I’ve not interest in seeing Torres leave Sanchez is a plus when he’s hitting 30+ bombs, hitting .250 and walking a bit. He’s useless when he’s a K, DP or occasional HR hitter. He’s Mike Zunino without Zunino’s defense.

Didi’s first step has slowed per the defensive metrics, his hard hit percent was in the bottom second percentile of big leaguers and he was in the bottom 20% of the league in barrels. His 2020 was lucky and he’s gonna get paid. I don’t want to sign him for big money and watch him age out of being a useful starter

From the sounds of it, this year, he couldn’t add payroll. That’s problematic for the Yanks for 2021, imo. The only thing you can do as a GM is give your team a chance to win. It’s not up to the GM to put a team over the top, that’s on the coach and the players. To have deftly dealt with the corpses of Jeter and ARod, the upside down spending of a team on the downswing, and then rebuild the team into a title contending club for four years now is pretty good. High payroll guarantees you nothing beyond a better chance. I like Cashman. I think he flubbed the game 2 s*** vs TB (sounds like Boone went along with an idea from the FO). I would have loved to have seen another warm body who can start come in at the deadline. Other than that, his small acquisitions seem to hit every year.

I don't deal Torres ever. The kid is a star and he will only get better. This is why I am saying to deal Gio. You move Torres or DJ to 3b and get a solid defender at SS. Great catching and great defense makeup for some pitching ailments.

Here is the deal. The Rays are a game away from the WS. The Yanks were tied in the 8th with a single solo homer being the difference for the winner or loser. It isnt like the title chances are any less. This is a talented club. Tweaks and additions are needed, certainly not wholescale tear downs. This isn't a post 2019 Boston team. We have to square away catcher, and to be honest, the answer is pretty clear. Looking at the Yanks roster, it makes far more sense to just cut Gary loose or deal him to someone who is desperate. His arb number is expected to be in the $6 mil range and that is far too much for a guy who sucks at catching and has sucked at hitting 2 of the last 3 seasons. Higashioka can catch. He can frame. He can throw. The most important defensive position on the field isnt SS, it is catcher, and we have had a lumbering and lazy idiot behind the dish for too long. Thing with Higgy is that he can hit a bit too and has power. I would have a competition with Higgy the favorite going into ST. I would sign a veteran backup with defensive chops. We do not need a Realmuto at the price he will cost. We just do not, especially with DJ needing to be re-signed. I am looking at Austin Romine here. He played well with the Yanks, is a heck of a defender, and should come cheap. We have to re-sign DJ. He isnt gonna play 1b, as the MLB HR leader plays there. He can play SS in an emergency, but he is a 2b and a really, really good one at that. I do wonder if the Yanks might be best served by moving either Gleyber or DJ to 3b, dealing Urshela and signing a solid defensive SS. Urshela has been nails at 3b, but DJ and Torres are better overall players. In doing so, we would then have the chance to move a 4 tool 3b who is getting paid peanuts for pitching, which should return something good. Maybe in that situation we could get a guy like Simmons, but he won't come cheap. We could bring in a guy like Jose Iglesias and have he and Wade duke it out or we could turn to Thairo Estrada or Kyle Holder, two slick fielding middle infield prospects who don't offer much bat. We need to add to the rotation. Sevy is gonna be back in "July" per Cashman, so they are gonna slow play him. German is not a guy you can put into the rotation off the rip due to his lost time. Right now, the Yanks have Cole, Garcia and Montgomery. I know Schmidt is a top prospect and is ready, but I dont like the idea of 2 rookies in the rotation. Loaisiga seemed to find his way in the pen, not sure I want to mess with that. We are going to need to get some pitching. Maybe Urshela helps us bring in a pitcher and maybe we go out and sign one (like Gausman, although these reclamation project pitchers coming off a single good season rarely work out, I am looking at you Pavano). Either way, knowing reinforcements are on the way helps, but we cannot piss away 40% of our starts until Sevy is ready and German shakes off the rust. We need to add to the pen. Kahnle is gone for the year. Ottavino imploded. He is getting paid too much to deal off unless we eat a lot of cash. Britton is likely to be back. Chapman is still nails. Green is still good. Cessa took a step forward. Holder didnt. Heller got injured again. Loaisiga was good. We have a bunch of good kids out there, but they are green and Boone was very afraid to use them in high leverage spots as evidenced by the debachle in game 5 where he tried to get 3 innings from Britton and Chap. We need another lockdown reliever, closer level guy who can handle the pressure. Not sure who is out there, but that is a definite need to fill, especially if we dont splash hard in the rotation

I hate the idea of dealing Torres. I was just reporting what was being bandied about. Simmons cannot stay healthy, so getting a SS who cannot stay healthy on a team that cannot stay healthy makes little sense, especially for a player on the wrong side of 30 who’s quickness and speed are his greatest calling cards. We have to re-sign DJ. In a lineup of swing and miss, I don’t think we can win a title without a contact oriented player like DJ. If there were others out there, then fine, but he’s a unicorn in today’s league. The guy who’s easiest dealt is Andujar. His value isn’t what it was after 2018, but it’s also not zero. He’s blocked here.

Crazy. Now with Joe Morgan, that’s 5 HOFs in 6 weeks to die

Rumor that the Yanks will resign DJ and deal Gleyber for pitching. Yanks could re-sign Didi or even go after KBO all star Ha-Seong Kim

You can’t do that. There are provisions against monkeying with the Lux tax and the cap in this very way. That came to light on this very forum when I recommended the same thing for ARod in his final year. There’s a clause about converting a salary from a playing salary to a coaching or FO salary.

Devers just burned a pre-arb year so value drops

The other major issue is that the Rays are mostly either locked up in contracts or locked up in pre-arbitration. Their only arb players are Choi, Glasnow, Renfroe, and Wendle. The rest of their team is pretty much pre-arb or locked up already. They're gonna be a pain in the ass again next year

FYI, Garcia was on pace for a 4 WAR season through his 6 starts. That's very, very solid. As long as he stays healthy, he is gonna be a thorn in your side for years to come

You’re such a broken record, lol. “Frazier sucks” and then silence after he has a solid year. Now it’s “Garcia sucks”. You’re such a dumb troll, lol

That’s the interesting thing here. This isn’t a tear down. This isn’t a team with a glaring hole. We lost 2-1 in a deciding game against the best pitching staff in baseball and one of the best closers in the game and the best starter in the game gave up the two runs. It’s not exactly something that needs much improvement. I like the depth of the team. If DJ moves on, we’ve got some glove first guys with speed who could take over and while clearly not replacing him, can at least upgrade or hold down the fort defensively. We have to consider Sanchez as a grunt bat and maybe backup catcher. We must, 100% avoid him being our bulk catcher. I like Higgy. I don’t want to see him relegated to backup duty for Sanchez. Yes, Sanchez is likely to come back and hit next year. He’s done this disappearing act before and followed it up with a solid year, but his defense is just not there. Yes, he can throw out runners, but his passed balls and framing are atrocious. There’s a reason why the best pitcher in baseball ousted him from behind the dish. Maybe we just move on from him entirely, get a solid defensive backup and live with the offense of Higgy and whomever. Maybe we just grab Romine again and pair him with Higgy. Who knows. On the pitching front, I don’t think we need an ace behind Cole, but we need someone who can be a Robin to his Batman. Maybe Severino is that guy. Maybe German can be that guy. Maybe that guy is Tanaka, clearly excepting his two bad postseason starts this year. Maybe that guy ends up being Garcia? It’s too early to tell, but an upgrade in the rotation is entirely required. I’d look at the trade market for sure. Maybe with Bauer keen to move on, the Reds would deal off Castillo? The Yanks have the minor league talent for one big trade, especially if Dominguez is made available. But I could absolutely see Cashman nabbing Stroman and definitely kicking the tires on Bauer, yet I dont expect either. When you consider that the plan was for the Yanks to have Paxton, German and Severino in our rotation in 2020, we survived pretty well. But yes, we need a starter capable of giving effective innings who is durable and doesnt hit women.

You should win games scoring 4 and 5 runs in the postseason. Our offense abandoned us in game 5, but we did score 23 runs in the first 4 games and only came out with a split. There’s the problem. There are bound to be games where you’re handled in the post season. The Rays pitched incredibly yesterday. Not so much in the first 4 games. We should have won the series 3-1 or swept before getting to game 5

If this does happen, I will clearly buy some shares, just so I can say I own the Red Sox

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/10/red-sox-ownership-group-exploring-taking-company-public.html This could drastically increase their profits, but it would open their books to the world, players included. Not so sure MLB will allow this, but it’s intriguing

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.si.com/.amp/mlb/2019/01/08/mlb-trade-rumors-free-agency-swellopt

It does not.

Cots is wrong. Britton has a “swell-opt”. The Yanks need to opt into the final 2 years. If they don’t opt into the 2 years, Britton gets a player option for 2021

In terms of payroll (all numbers are AAV).... 1. Cole- $36 mil 2. Stanton- $22 mil 3. Chapman- $17.4 mil 4. Britton- $13 mil (assuming Yanks pick up the option) 5. Hicks- $10 mil 6. Severino $10 mil 7. Ottavino- $8 mil That's $116.4 mil. I am also assuming the Yanks opt out of Gardner's deal. I also expect them to non-tender Kahnle as he will miss all of 2021 and is in his final arb season. Add in $15 mil for medicals and you're at $131.4 mil. Now onto the arb totals All arb estimates are entirely mine and mine alone, feel free to disagree, but give me your thoughts on amount. Also, $900K seems to be a popular first time arb number for players without solid track records, so I will use this a fair amount, FYI. Also, arbitration uses only the last 2 seasons. 8. Cessa- had a good 2020, not so good 2019. First year arbs for relievers without save totals are usually low. $900K 9. Frazier- good 2020 in limited role, not so good 2019. First year arb for him would be around $2 mil 10. German- solid 2019, no 2020 because he couldnt keep his hands to himself. Likely around Frazier at $2 mil 11. Green- coming off $1.2 mil arb salary, didnt do himself any favors with the HR allowed. His FIP went up a lot even though his ERA went down a lot from 2019. I'd peg him in the $3 mil range as a second arb 12. Heller- up and down and now injured. Likely to see $900K if not non-tendered 13. Higashioka- pre-arb- $600K 14. Holder- 2 straight poor seasons after a dominant 2018. He won't cost more than $900K 15. Judge- coming off $8.5 mil, was solid yet injury prone again. Second year arb's rise a lot. I'd peg him at $15 mil 16. Montgomery- season was better than it looked. FIP under 4, WAR of 0.9 in only 10 starts for a 5th guy. But, he's made only 17 starts the last 3 years. Won't see much of a raise. $1.2 mil 17. Loaisiga- pre-arb $600K 18. Tauchman- pre-arb $600K 19. Torres- first arb season for Gleyber. Otherworldly 2019, pretty bad 2020. Judge got $8.5 mil in his first time through, but far greater WAR than Torres. I will go with $6 mil 20. Urshela- first arb for him too. Defense picked up a lot, was on pace for a 4.3WAR season after a 3.1WAR season last year. Setting himself up for a good payday. $5 mil 21. Voit- first arb year for him and a doozy. Positive 2019 WAR but oft injured. Led the league in HR in 2020. Arbitration loves these figures. I am gonna go with a Torres-esque $6 mil 22. Wade- pre-arb $600K 23. Sanchez- I offer him a 1 yr contract for $4 mil. I do not allow him to go into the arb process, as his $5 mil contract will rise into the $8-$9 mil range. He lost his job as a catcher because he couldnt catch and lost his spot in the lineup because he couldnt hit. My arb estimates are $49.3 mil for arbitration. That puts us at $180.7 mil. Add in the other 4 spots on the roster at minimum wage and then about $2 mil for the other 40 man guys and you are at $186 mil or so without any changes with the following team C- Higashioka, Sanchez 1B- Voit 2B- Wade 3B- Urshela SS- Torres LF- Frazier CF- Hicks RF- Judge DH- Stanton SP1- Cole SP2- German SP3- Garcia SP4- Montgomery SP5 (recovering) Severino CL- Chapman SU- Britton SU Green MR- Heller MR- Ottavino The basic concepts of a playoff team are there. The lineup should be good. The rotation needs work until Sevy can return to his rightful place behind Cole. In terms of what will be needed.... 1. Re-sign Lemahieu- If the Donaldson estimate is true, do it. 4 yrs $92 mil. My guess is he may come in a little lower than that as I think the bigger suitors are going to be less enthused about signing a 32 yr old in the wake of financial losses during a pandemic. But I think this is a reasonable deal based on the market. 2. Add to the rotation- we have some very solid kids ready to make the jump, but I only like one rookie at a time in the rotation. I pencil Deivi in more as a 4/5 and be surprised. Have Montgomery as the other 4/5 and know the last 2 slots are filled with cheap, productive talent. The ace is unquestioned. German is a shaky 3 as his HR propensity and lack of pitching the last 12 months makes him a dicey move to bet on. Severino, presuming no setbacks, should rejoin the rotation around the ASB and I would expect to see him in the vintage form by September based on the usual recovery time for this surgery. So we don't need to spend long and big on two starters. But we need someone to slot behind Cole who isn't a trainwreck. Tanaka was good this past year, and I would absolutely have him back on a short term deal. I absolutely would not offer him anything more than a 1-2 year deal. He will likely get better offers out there, so I would QO him and let him walk. Bauer will likely price himself out of NY's territory. The guy to keep an eye on is Stroman. He is remarkably consistent. He isnt a big K guy, but doesnt walk guys or allow lots of HR's. This is really important in YS. He had a rough 2018, but his peripherals and FIP were right in line with his production. He also just took 2020 off due to the pandemic and should be pretty fresh. My concern is that he will price himself out of the Yankees wishes and get a longer term deal out there. But he represents a pretty solid 3-4 yr deal offer type of pitcher. Charlie Morton may also be a target on a 1 yr deal. 3. Add a pen arm. The Rays proved that you can have an all star rotation, but if your pen is loaded with dominant relievers, you can shut anyone down. I wouldnt go top end here.