jacksonianmarch

Miller has a 3 yr deal at below market value. He's only 1 yr older than McGee. McGee has had more injuries of late than Miller. And Miller was one of the most dominant pitchers in the game last yr, possibly the most dominant closer.

Hal saw what happened when he meddled. It was rumored that Cashman wanted to let ARod walk, and Hal/Levine came out and went over his head. The last deal over Cash's head was Rafael Soriano. At the last contract negotiation, Cashman wrested more control and has been remaking the team. Levine basically admitted the Yankees are in a rebuilding phase of sorts, which we are. I think everyone saw that when we shot our load in 2009 and added CC and Tex and then re-upped CC that the end of the contracts were going to be a painful period, especially with ARoid still on the books. I also think the MOST telling part of our "rebuild" was our inaction at the deadline. We had a playoff team that needed some assistance and we sat there and watched while patching holes from within. 15 yrs ago, Price finishes the yr as a Yankee and Severino is pitching in Detroit

With what the Phils got, a return or Urias or Peterson isn't unrealistic for Miller

Also, trends change. Back 20 yrs ago, catcher was an offensive position. Get the fat guy who had good enough knees and an arm and he caught. Now, the position is a bunch of little guys who are basically nimble as a hockey goalie and have cannons for arms and if they hit, then bonus

The anticipation is that he will improve the things he sucks at now (game calling, pitch framing, blocking, etc). But it's not like his ceiling is Johnny Bench here. His defensive ceiling is a middle of the pack catcher. Vasquez has a defensive ceiling of a Johnny Bench

Yeah, he wasn't close to the top offensive catcher in the league. If Wieters had been healthy, Swihart would have been the 4th best offensive catcher IN THE DIVISION

I do not know how it is computed. He was also second worst in blocking (-3 runs saved)

Giles was pretty lights out as a closer. He was Kimbrel-esque if you will. The only unpalatable part of the Kimbrel deal in terms of what comes with him is the AAV. That being said, Margot and Guerra were both top 100 guys, so it isn't like they gave away a pile of beans. That being said, the Stros must feel they have a window here and are willing to mortgage the future on it, even though technically they acquired a guy who should have a long run as he's only 25. What we are proving here is that young, pre arb, top of the rotation and back of the bullpen pieces are worth an assload in terms of acquisition cost. Either you move a known commodity (Miley) or you are moving a gigantic haul of could be's. I think the days of 1 top prospect and a bunch of B's and C's are over. Those deals turned out to be steals far too often in the favor of the veteran's acquiring team. Now, young pre arb top talent is hurting significantly. With that being said, Harvey's and Fernandez' prices just shot through the roof. Must include blood of 72 virgins and the first born of all the execs to come to the table.

Spud, his team is LOADED with talented players in both the bigs and the minors. And even though Heyward is a long term deal, there is almost no chance he doesn't opt out in 3 seasons, so in effect, it is a 3 yr deal. The only real long term commitment is Lester

Swihart had the lowest defensive runs saved (-16) in the major leagues

I disagree on the whole Seihart is above average thing. He was the worst catcher in the AL by defensive metrics and while his offense was promising, it wasn't enough to offset how bad his defense was. Nowadays, catchers must be defense first guys, and he certainly isnt

We aren't done, for sure. But our direction is confusing. One thing that seems to be apparent is that we are trying to get under the lux tax. I understand it, but I don't like it. We had to make rush investments to correct the last time we tried to get under the lux tax and I am concerned we will have to do the same next year if things don't shake out our way. It's just a weird team, though. It almost seems like a mid market team. Bunch of over the hill guys flanking a lot of up and comers with only a couple end of prime age guys. A rotation full of promise without certainty and a pen that we just dealt off two solid parts, probably unnecesarily

OJ, in a vacuum that is what it means, but the problem is, can Farrell resist the temptation to do it too often? You have a 3-1 lead with ERod pitching in the 6th, do you have someone warming? That's the question. Part of managing a pen is managing which times you give the starter some rope.

Cessa seems like the jewel of this deal, although he sounds like a reliever. His MiLB numbers were great, especially at AA. 8+K/9, sub 2BB/9. But his SR really points towards a future in the pen. Mid to high 90s fastball with plus run, inconsistent mid 80s curve and a change up that is mostly non existent. Green sounds like a prototypical sinker baller. Not a great return for a dominant 28 yr old lefty reliever.

There has to be something.

We just dealt Wilson for two AAA starters. What are we doing?

So we're talking with the Dodgers and Astros about Miller. I know we have a ridiculous amount of pen options in the high minors, but unless we're getting a stud back, it's a step in the wrong direction. The only reason this team made the playoffs was because a lead after 7 innings was a win. Betances and Miller were otherworldly dominant. I am all for moving Miller if it means we get a top notch starter and maybe that's the plan. Deal Miller for Urias, package him, Bird, Judge, and Refsnyder for Fernandez? I dunno, but any deal that nets us only prospects is a loss unless we are cashing them in this offseason

Smith-Tazawa-Uehara-Kimbrel. That's a 5 inning game right there, assuming Farrell doesn't burn them into the ground. Layne was pretty deadly vs lefties last yr, but Farrell would need to resist the temptation to leave him out there. The OPS against was akin to facing Mike Trout every time he faced a righty.

He'll hit the market right after his 26th birthday. He's probably looking at a 10 yr $400 mil contract by then

Unless he signs an extension, he's a Yankee

We can easily replace Warren the reliever. It's Warren the starter that we will miss. Like I said before, a pitcher needs to be on the horizon. Even without Warren, we have never had such young, hard throwing starting pitching, which makes me wonder why teams who have impending FA reliable starters haven't called us up and asked for them. My concern is that even after the Warren trade, we have 4 guys who missed time with elbow/forearm troubles in the rotation. What's the chance all of them have nothing significant in there that needs to be addressed in 2016? Depth is going to be huge unless we make some changes. I would love to get Velasquez or even try for McCullers, but it doesn't change the issue. We have plenty of strong armed young guys. Adding to that would be preferable, obviously, but adding a veteran innings eater would be better. For once I am advocating for a veteran. The only real vet we have is CC and he checked out on us prior to the playoffs. My guess is his message will fall on deaf ears

Man, Theo got Cash here. Cash better hope the guy who finished the year is the guy we see in 2016. Arrieta, Lester, Lackey, Warren. That's a good rotation

There must be a pitcher on the horizon. You don't subtract from probably used depth if you don't plan on adding to it. He's a lock down reliever and was a very good mid 3ERA starter for 20 starts. Meh, I know Cash likes to deal when value is high, but Greene had a knockout year and he dealt him. Warrens been good for awhile now

No, no, no, no! I just read that the Cubbies are asking for Adam Warren for Castro! You have to be out of your f***ing mind! Warren has been the balls for us both in the rotation and the pen. With how many question marks we have in our rotation, subtracting one of our most durable options is not a good idea. I'm all for moving Warren if we get a pitcher. Not a SS/2b guy without a position in Chicago. If Theo gets Warren for Castro in a straight up deal, I would wonder if he would give Cashman the common courtesy of a reacharound

I am also wondering if getting Castro is part of a bigger plan. Ackley played 2b when Drew went out with suckassitis/concussion, but he has been known as a middling defensive 2b. That being said, Ackley hit the f*** out of the ball after getting out of the deathtrap in Seattle. He plays a decent OF (prior to his terrible 2015 numbers) as well. Initially, I thought the platoon would be Refsnyder and Ackley at 2b, but I am wondering if the platoon will be Ackley and Hicks in LF with Hicks acting as the 4th OFer/Beltran caddy on days a righty starts. At least that would be the plan should a deal with Upton or Heyward fall through