Report: Yanks Still Connected To Ervin Santana

No #MNTwins interest in FA Ervin Santana. Told Balt., Seattle, Dodgers, Cleveland, & the Yankees all have inquired in the last few days.
— Darren Wolfson (@DarrenWolfson) February 10, 2014

I expected the Yankees' interest in guys like Garza, Jimenez, and Santana to die off once the Tanaka deal became official, but a few days away from pitchers and catchers reporting here they are, still reportedly "inquiring" about Santana.  Is there anything to this?

Doubt it.  Santana,  good 2013 aside, hasn't been much since 2008.  He's very flyball prone, very very homer prone, and definitely not a good fit for pitching in YS3.  He's also not worth giving up another draft pick for, especially with Tanaka in the fold and the Yanks having plenty of org depth.  I'd say they're just keeping their name attached to him to try to drive up the price at this point, but in looking at the clubs that are still interested, should they even be doing that?  Just let it go, guys.  You don't want Ervin Santana, we don't want Ervin Santana.  Let somebody else have him and sign Stephen Drew.

Signing Stephen Drew Makes Even More Sense Now

The Yanks appear to be all done with the Major League free agent market now that we've entered the final week of the offseason before pitchers and catchers report.  Per Adam Rubin's latest report, they might want to rethink that strategy and make a move for Stephen Drew.

According to Rubin, Scott Boras is looking for a multi-year deal with an opt-out clause after the 1st year for Drew.  That's enough to scare off the Mets, and the rest of MLB already hasn't been quick to jump at Drew thanks mainly to the draft pick forfeiture that comes with him.  Drew makes a ton of sense for the Yankees for baseball reasons, not so much on business reasons.  This opt-out clause could actually work to their advantage in reducing some of that business risk on the deal.

Should The Yankees Sign Stephen Drew?

It's a question that's been going around a lot this week.  With all the conflicting reports on the Yankees' interest in Drew and his interest in the Yankees, it's hard to know where the truth lies either way.  The need is obviously there from the Yankees' standpoint.  Their infield is currently the biggest weakness on the roster, and Drew would help fix some of those cracks.

The short answer is yes, they should.  Drew would be at worst as good a starting third base option as Kelly Johnson, and he would allow the Yanks to move Johnson over to second base, his better position.  He could be injury insurance for Derek Jeter at short this season and slide in and take over the job for a year or 2 after Jeter retires.  He's not too old, his left-handed swing would play well in YS3, and it wouldn't take crazy money or years to get him.

How About Signing Grant Balfour Now?

Source: The red flags that came up about Grant Balfour's physical state were about his wrist and knee, and not about his shoulder.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 13, 2014

Buster Olney tweeted this out on Monday, finally shedding a little light on just what the hell is up with Grant Balfour.  He's been completely off the map since his 2-year deal with the Orioles fell apart and now it makes sense why.  Dude's just all kinds of banged up.

This raises the questions of would you still want him if you were the Yankees and do you think they're still interested?  On the one hand, wrist and knee problems aren't as bad as the shoulder for pitchers but are still enough to present considerable risk to any team that signs him.  We could be dipping back into 1-year deal territory with Balfour now, at less than the $7.5 mil he was slated to make with the O's.  On a 1-year commitment, it could be worth the risk to add another late-inning arm.

On the other hand, if the wrist and knee issues were enough to convince Baltimore to cut bait, that could be a sign that Balfour is more damaged goods than he's letting on.  He's already not the best fit for pitching in Yankee Stadium.  Maybe the Yanks turn their attention to someone like Fernando Rodney or a cheaper injury risk like Joel Hanrahan.

Report: Yanks Not Signing Stephen Drew

Brian Cashman yesterday said Yanks are not signing Stephen Drew. How Sox do pillow contract that isn't shoved down his throat is delicate
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) December 31, 2013

 He might still be waiting for the Yankees, but this latest report from Peter Gammons makes it sound like the waiting isn't mutual.  I never thought there was much to the idea of Drew joining the Yankees next season, not if meant switching positions.  The guy has been a shortstop his entire Major League career and a pretty good one at that.  He's coming off a 3.4 fWAR season in which he was above-average both offensively and defensively and he's still the best player available at his position in his prime.  That doesn't add up to somebody who should or would be willing to move to third base.

Drew's stalling seems to be more of a leverage-building tactic with anything.  He knows the Sawx need a SS next year and he knows he's their best option.  If he's looking to squeeze a few more bucks out of them, what better way than to get the hated Yankees and their bankroll in the discussion?  Smart business by him and not surprising business by the Yankees.

Report: Stephen Drew Waiting On Yanks

It seemed like the Yankees were out on top free agent shortstop Stephen Drew after all the other smaller signings they've made to address their infield this offseason.  According to Peter Gammons that may not be the case.  Gammons tweeted yesterday afternoon that Drew is "awaiting some further Yankee clarity" before making his decision on where to sign.  There's a lot of different ways that statement can be interpreted, but it suggests that the Yankees may still be in on Drew in some capacity.  He would be an ideal starting shortstop over Derek Jeter, even though he's never going to get that role, and if he's willing to play other positions he would be better offensively than anybody else currently on the Yankee roster.

The Yankees are likely waiting on a final resolution to the A-Rod suspension before moving forward with more infield signings.  So if they're waiting and Drew is waiting on them, there's going to be a few more weeks of waiting before we get to see what's really going on here.

Yanks Have Reportedly Made An Offer To Hirok

We found out last week that the Yankees were feeling "more upbeat" about Hiroki Kuroda returning to pitch for them next season than they were earlier in the offseason.  Those upbeat feelings have now reportedly translated to a new contract offer.  According to Andrew Marchand, the exact details of the offer aren't known but an unnamed source has it as another 1-year deal between $15-16 million.  That would represent a slight upgrade from the 1-year deal that Kuroda pitched on this past season.

Mark Feinsand just tweeted that the offer was made "a long time ago," so maybe there's some differing information going on here.  My expectation was always that the Yankees would strongly entertain the idea of bringing Kuroda back next season if they felt he was open to returning.  I also expected them to wait a little longer than they did last year to explore other, younger options first.  Regardless of when the offer was extended, this is a sign that the Yankees aren't content to wait around for the Masahiro Tanaka posting situation to get resolved.  If they do end up with both Kuroda and Tanaka next year, that wouldn't be a bad first 4 to have in the rotation.

What About Third Base?

Regardless of you how you feel about how they're prioritizing this offseason and who they're going after, the Yankees have to be commended for the proactive approach they've taken.  Recognizing that this past season's penny pinching/washed up veteran reclamation project approach was not the right way to contend on a budget, they've wasted no time in identifying their primary and secondary free agent targets and appear to be making a strong effort to upgrade every major area of need on their roster.

Every area, that is, except for third base.  The Yankees used 9 different players at the hot corner in 2013, best among them Alex Rodriguez.  While they've stated that they are planning on having him around and at third next season, there's a very, very good chance that he ends up suspended for at least 50-100 games.  Even if he beats the odds and is free to play for the whole season, A-Rod no longer has the ability to be an everyday third baseman after years of injury problems and surgeries to both his hips.  Yet third base remains the one position the Yankees don't have a clear plan to address, at least not when compared to catcher, right field, and the starting rotation.

So what's the deal?  What do Cash and the rest of the front office have in mind to address this seemingly under-considered roster hole?

Cue Beltran Watch 2013

Via Mark Feinsand:

"According to sources, the Yankees have set Beltran as their No. 1 target while they wait to reignite talks with Robinson Cano, for Hiroki Kuroda to decide whether he wants to return next season and for the Japanese posting system to be hammered out so righthander Masahiro Tanaka can be made available... 

Likewise, Beltran has let it be known to those around him that the Yankees are his top choice, hoping to finally land himself in pinstripes after previous free-agent flirtations during the past decade did not work out."

Sorry, Tanaka Watch.  You just got dropkicked to the back burner (probably a safety hazard BTW) by Beltran Watch.  With McCann all but locked up, the Yankees are moving onto the next name on their list and this report makes it sound like that name is Beltran's, written in all caps with one of those really thick Sharpies.

Do I prefer him to Choo?  No I do not.  Do I think he'd be a great signing on a 2-year deal to bump Ichiro to the bench where he belongs?  I absolutely do.  Sounds like the number of years is the hold up right now, but if the Yanks don't cave to a 3rd and get Beltran for 2/$30 mil, that's another win for them.

Report: Yanks Not Waiting Around For Cano

The Yankees have offers out on other free agents. This offseason is way too important for them to sit and wait. No traction w/ Cano.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 24, 2013

We've heard once or twice already this week that the Yankees weren't letting the lack of activity on the Robinson Cano contract front slow them up on the rest of their offseason plans.  We saw that play out in textbook form yesterday with the signing of Brian McCann and now with this latest report from Buster Olney we're seeing that they're sticking to their guns.  While the Cano talks continue to go nowhere, the Yanks are staying active on other fronts and that's exactly what they should be doing.

No word on what other players have received offers from the Yankees.  Jhonny Peralta signed with the St. Louis Cardinals earlier today so I assume he wasn't a part of that group, but I'd bet Carlos Beltran, Shin-Soo Choo, and maybe Stephen Drew all got offers.  The message seems to be pretty clear to Cano and his team; "we're moving forward with or without you."  Let's see how all this other activity and next week's reported sitdown between Cano and the Yankees serves to speed things up.

Yanks Interested In Joe Nathan

(Courtesy of the AP)

We knew the Yankees were going to be in the market for bullpen help this offseason, and according to multiple reports they're starting their search at the top with Joe Nathan.  It was reported last Sunday that the team had been in contact with Nathan about replacing Mariano Rivera, and Mark Feinsand confirmed that yesterday with a report of his own.

Nathan, who I talked about earlier in the week, is the premiere free agent closer on the market this offseason.  He turns 39 today and is coming off an excellent season closing in Texas (2.26 FIP, 43-46 saves in 64.2 IP), so he should be looking for a multi-year, big money deal and he'll probably get it.  Feinsand's report mentioned that the Yankees were going to focus on other areas of need before looking for bullpen help and that's the right strategy to take, particularly with Nathan.  The money he's going to command could be the difference between signing someone like Brian McCann and not, and bullpen help can be found for much cheaper.

He's an ideal late-game arm to add to next year's 'pen, but I wouldn't expect Nathan to end up in pinstripes when all is said and done.

Yanks Considering A Raul Reunion?

Raul Ibanez was one of the players deemed too rich for the Yankees' blood last offseason.  They dragged their feet making him an offer and he opted to take one that Seattle made him instead.  According to a new report from The Post, the Yanks might be looking to right that previous wrong this offseason:

"The Post has also learned the Yankees have an interest in bringing back the popular and productive Raul Ibanez to be the DH against right-handed pitching."

The Yankees love having that lefty DH role filled and on paper Ibanez would be an ideal candidate for the job.  He hit .242/.306/.487 (.344 wOBA) with 29 HR in 496 PA for the Mariners last year, an across-the-board improvement from the .325 wOBA/19 HR season he had for the Bombers in 2012.  He can also still fake it in the outfield if needed and his splits against R/L pitchers in 2013 were almost identical.

MLBTR Predicting A Big Free Agent Haul For The Yanks

MLB Trade Rumors released their annual top 50 prospects list with predictions on where each player will sign on Monday, and if you were looking for the Yankees to be aggressive and spend big this offseason you'll be pleased with the predictions.

According to Tim Dierkes, when the offseason dust settles the Yankees will have signed Robinson Cano, Hiroki Kuroda, Ervin Santana, Carlos Beltran, Grant Balfour, and A.J. Pierzynski.  That haul wouldn't be quite as flashy as the rumored $300 mil spending spree to bring in Tanaka and McCann, but it would help the team in a lot of key areas.

Cano I'd obviously be happy about, same with Hirok, Beltran for the right price, and Balfour.  Santana and Pierzynski are the wild cards here, as neither has generated any buzz relative to the Yankees' reported offseason plans.  Santana had a nice bounce back year in KC in 2013, but he's been so hot and cold his whole career and his high HR rate wouldn't translate well to pitching in The Stadium.  Pierzynski, while an upgrade at catcher, is well on the downside of his career at age 37 and might not be worth the trouble that his reputation brings.  Still, it would be hard to be disappointed if the Yankees ended up bringing in all these guys.

Scott Boras Comments On The Yankees' Standing In The Free Agent Market

What Boras said to The NY Post last week:

"It’s the first time in a lot of years the Yankees have to prove to major free agents they will be competitive next year.  That’s never really been a question in New York, but they have so many spots to fill. It’s a different place."

That may sound like the words of a man who's still butthurt about losing his 2 biggest Yankee clients to other agencies, but there's a lot of truth in Boras' words.  The Yankees weren't really that active in the free agent market last offseason beyond re-signing their own guys and they stood mostly pat at the trade deadline.  The perception they've created around the game in the last year is that they're more concerned with the bottom line than with winning ballgames, and players can and will pick up on that.  They know the Yankees haven't been spending much and they know they have a lot of holes to fill this offseason.  The chance for big money in pinstripes isn't as high as it was just a few years ago.

It would be one thing if free agents thought they could get the most money from New York while playing for a team that may not make the postseason next year.  It's another when even that is no longer a guarantee and the team looks closer to falling into the AL East basement than climbing back to the top of the division.  If they want to maintain the allure they've always had to big time free agents, the Yankees do have to do some work to prove their willingness to compete.