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.

The Yankees And Fernando Rodney: A Match Made In Necessity

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

With the Super Bowl and the NFL season now in the rearview mirror, the focus really turns towards baseball season and the rapidly approaching pitcher and catcher report dates.  Yankee pitchers and catchers are less than 2 weeks from reporting to the ST complex in Tampa, and while the team has more than enough catchers to fit their needs, they still lack bullpen depth.  There's no shortage of cheap, quad-A types getting an invite to camp to compete for a spot, but in their heart of hearts I think both Cash and Joe would like to have another proven Major League arm in the mix.

Yesterday, Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe ran his usual Sunday MLB round-up article, and at the very end of it he connected the Yankees to free agent reliever Fernando Rodney.  It's admittedly a very loose connection, more of a suggestion than anything, as Cafardo only said that "a team like the Yankees may pluck Rodney, or someone of his ilk, to ensure they have another closer in case Dave Robertson breaks down or isn’t up to the task."  This isn't much different than the other rumors we've heard about Rodney and the crop of similar relief FAs in regards to the Yankees, but looking a little closer at both sides' situations, there may be a greater match than people realize.

Emilio Bonifacio? Meh

Between Super Bowl parties and giving my hands and wrists a rest after Prospect Week, it was relatively quiet around AB4AR this weekend.  Yankeeland responded by staying similarly quiet, but there was one bit of news that most everyone touched on on Saturday.  The KC Royals DFA'd utility man Emilio Bonifacio and a good chunk of the Yankosphere reacted like this:



Alright, maybe it wasn't that enthusiastic, but really?  Is that how bad the Yankee infield situation is?  Bad enough that we're going to try to talk ourselves into Emilio Bonifacio being a viable option?  I guess he's no worse than the Nunezes or Annas of the world, but how much better is he going to be?  Dude's a below-average hitter with next to no power, an average at best defensive player, and he comes with a $3.5 million price tag for this season.  Do the Yankees need infield help that badly that it's worth paying that money and trading a player to get him?  I don't think so.  I guess it couldn't hurt to bring him to camp and let him compete for a job, but that's about as far as I'd be willing to go in terms of evaluating the guy.

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.

Oh Really... ?

Via Jon Heyman:

"The Yankees are now considering free-agent shortstop Stephen Drew, which could potentially put another dent in the rival Red Sox's up-the-middle alignment only weeks after the Yankees signed Boston star center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury."

Huh.  That's interesting.  I thought the Yankees were done spending.

Report: Yanks Not Making Any More Moves Until Tanaka Signs

Things have slowed to almost a snail's pace as the offseason moves into its final stanza and Spring Training starts to vaguely appear in the distance.  A report from Steven Marcus of Newsday confirms that the Yankees will keep it at that pace until the Masahiro Tanaka sweepstakes conclude.

"The Yankees' pursuit of Japanese righthander Masahiro Tanaka has essentially frozen any other additions to the big league roster.

"We are doing nothing until Tanaka resolves," a club official said Wednesday."

"Duh," the rest of the Yankee fanbase also said Wednesday.  In all seriousness, this makes sense from the Yankees' standpoint and is the right approach to take.  There's not much left out there on the free agent infield and bullpen markets and the team isn't in a rush to go after what is still there.  Tanaka represents their biggest opportunity for improvement in their biggest area of need and they should be focusing all their energy over these next 9 days towards signing him.  As I've been saying all offseason, they've put too much time and effort into Tanaka to risk losing him now.  The Dodgers look like they're focused on getting Kershaw locked up before the arbitration figure deadline on Friday.  Now's the time to strike and land Tanaka.

Report: Yanks Reach Out To Padres About Infield Depth

When Ken Rosenthal reported over the weekend that the Yankees weren't going to sign any more infielders to Major League free agent deals, he didn't say anything about not trading for Major League talent.  The Yanks have been quiet on the trade front since dumping Chris Stewart, but a report from Jon Morosi earlier in the week may suggest a change there.

According to Morosi, the Yanks have made a "trade inquiry" to the San Diego Padres about infield depth.  The Papas, while not exactly flush with it at the moment, have some pieces they could deal and they're definitely in the market for some pitching help.  This obviously brings the name Chase Headley back to the forefront of most people's minds, but Morosi reports that Logan Forsythe "is the most realistic target", not Headley.

Forsythe, 27, is a natural second baseman who played every position except first base, catcher, and center field in 2013 while putting up a .272 wOBA in 243 PA.  He's only a .241/.310/.349 career Major League hitter but raked at every level of the Minors before breaking in.  He's almost like a right-handed version of Dean Anna, and if San Diego isn't asking for too much in return he's worth taking a chance on.  I'd still rather have Headley though.

Yanks To Go Cheap On Rotation If They Don't Sign Tanaka?

(Time to get used to the idea of Arroyo?  Courtesy of Getty Images)

In an article for The Star-Ledger earlier in the week, Andy McCullough suggested a somewhat startling possibility for the Yankees and their plans to improve their rotation should they fail to sign Masahiro Tanaka.  According to an unnamed source in the article, the plan could change without Tanaka to a more cost-conscious one:

"Cashman has discussed replicating their strategy from 2011, when Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia shined on small contracts."

This is the first I've heard of such a backup strategy, although the Yankees have been loosely linked to cheaper free agent starting options like Bronson Arroyo, Paul Maholm, and Johan Santana, the rehabbing focus of McCullough's post.  That strategy worked to perfection in 2011, when the Yanks got 311 IP, 20 wins, and 5.0 fWAR in 51 starts by Colon and Garcia.  It didn't have the same effect in 2012, when they tried to bring back Garcia to supplement more expensive FA signings Hiroki Kuroda and Andy Pettitte and got a 5.20/4.68 split and just 0.8 fWAR in 107.1 IP from him.

I wouldn't mind 1 from the Arroyo-Maholm duo, not interested in Santana on anything more than a MiL deal, but 2 would rub me the wrong way.  The Jimenezes, Garzas, and Santanas of the world are still better pitchers than those lower-level guys and are still better options for the Yankees, who need to make a serious effort to improve the rotation if they want to reap the full benefits of revamping their lineup.  In the event they don't sign Tanaka, they need to stay interested in all rotation possibilities, not just the cheap ones.

Tanaka Comes Stateside

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

It has been reported Tanaka will meet with Cubs and ChiSox in coming days. An official for an NL team told me Tanaka is in Chicago now.
— David Waldstein (@DavidWaldstein) January 9, 2014

 After a delayed back-and-forth between MLB and NPB to get the new posting rules put in place and a few weeks of waffling by the Rakuten Golden Eagles before they finally decided to post him, Masahiro Tanaka has finally come to the United States to start the meat and potatoes of his free agent courtship and contract negotiations.  According to David Waldstein's tweet above, he's in Chicago right now and is expected to meet with both the Cubs and White Sox before presumably jetting off to other stops around the country to meet with other potential suitors.

Ichiro For J.J. Putz? Maybe (But Probably Not)

I wouldn't go so far as to call it a rumor, but Ken Rosenthal mentioning Ichiro Suzuki as a potential return trade piece for Arizona reliever J.J. Putz at least made my ears prick up.  Rosenthal believes the D'backs might be looking to move Putz and his $7 million salary for 2014 after trading for Addison Reed and he brought Ichiro's name up as a player whose salary for this coming season matches that of Putz.

That close salary connection is really the only one there when it comes to a potential Putz-for-Ichiro trade though.  The D'backs are pretty well set in the outfield and would have little use for Ichiro's shrunken skill set.  Even if they are looking to move Putz's salary, they can do better than an old, spare part outfielder who doesn't hit for power and doesn't get on base.  For the Yankees, however, this would be an avenue worth traveling down if they're still interested in trading Ichiro (they should be) and interested in Putz as a reliever (they should be).

Right now it's nothing more than speculation, but pay attention to what happens with the D'backs and Putz in the next few days and weeks.  If they do put him out on the trade block, the Yankees should be in on him.

Homer Bailey Trade Winds Still Blowing

Early in December it was reported that the Yankees had checked in on the availability of Reds starter Homer Bailey.  At the time, Brett Gardner was the name thrown out most as a return trade piece and it was easy to see how that trade would benefit both clubs.  Nothing ever came of it, and the Reds aren't exactly flush with capable replacements, yet the trade talk surrounding Bailey continues.  Over the weekend, the latest rumor had the Reds moving him to free up payroll so they could sign another free agent hitter.

If this is the case, the Yankees should definitely call Cincy back and see what they're looking for.  I know they've said they aren't interested in trading Brett Gardner, but they're probably going to lose him anyway after this season and Bailey would be a better player to try to re-sign anyway.  Like I said in my December post on this, Bailey is young (27), proven, and improving in the right areas of his game.  A rotation that includes him and possibly Tanaka would go a longer way towards a better Yankee future than Gardner in the outfield, and this is coming from one of the biggest Gardner fans out there.

If for some reason the Reds aren't interested in Gardner, even better.  The Yanks should be willing to part with a prospect package for a pitcher like Bailey, within reason of course, and the possibility of Bailey, Tanaka, and Gardner all being on next year's roster would make the Yankees a serious playoff contender again.  Whatever the Reds are interested in, the Yankees should be interested in going after Bailey while he's available.

What Do The Yankees Still Need To Do This Offseason?

(Will we get another big introductory presser?  Hope so.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

A week ago today we reached the official halfway point of the 2013-2014 offseason.  53 days had passed since the last out of the World Series was recorded and 53 days remained until pitchers and catchers were scheduled to report to spring camp.  The Yankees headed into the holiday break last week with a lot already accomplished.  They had retooled their outfield, improved their infield depth and bench for next season, replaced their primary lefty out of the bullpen, and brought back one half of the 400 innings Cash said he wanted to add.

Despite losing Robinson Cano to Seattle it's been a pretty productive offseason thus far.  If I were handing out offseason midterm grades, I'd have the Yankees in the B- to B range.  With the calendar close to turning to 2014 and with the start of next season now closer than the end of last season, there's still work to be done to improve that grade up to an A level.  The Yankees have a little under 7 weeks until pitchers and catchers report, and here's what they need to do before then to finish this offseason successfully.

And So It Begins...

Source: Tanaka posting will begin Thursday morning and be completed by January 24 at 5:00 pm.
— Mark Feinsand (@FeinsandNYDN) December 25, 2013

Did I just copy and paste 2 things in to "write" this blog?  You bet your ass I did.

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.

Report: Yanks "Likely" To Sign Brian Roberts (UPDATED)

Sources: #Yankees likely to sign free-agent 2B Brian Roberts.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 17, 2013

Well I guess that's one way to start plugging the hole at second.  This report came out late last night and it hasn't been verified by another of the regular Yankee beat guys, but Ken Rosenthal is a pretty reliable source so I'm taking it as gospel.

Roberts, 36, is a former All Star-caliber second baseman who's had his career completely derailed by injuries over the last 4 seasons.  The most serious one was a concussion and a long bout with post-concussion symptoms in 2011.  He's a .278/.349/.412 career switch hitter (.335 wOBA) but his line has been closer to the .230/.300/.350 range since the injury problems started.

There are no details yet on what type of deal it will be, but I have to imagine it will be for only 1 year regardless of the dollars or if it's even a guaranteed Major League contract.  Roberts' best days are far behind him and the Yankees seem to already know that if they are not taking themselves out of the running for other better options as Rosenthal reported.  At first glance I'm not a fan of this move.  I am willing to wait to see where it goes as more information on it comes out, however.  There isn't much left out there on the FA market for the Yanks, so I guess Roberts is better than nothing.

* UPDATE 7:47 AM- Via Rosenthal's latest tweet, the deal is official.  1 year/$2 million plus incentives and it is obviously pending a physical.  There you go. **

Darwin Barney: Do Not Want

Yankees interest in Cubs Darwin Barney may pick up . (Royals sign Omar Infante) teams talked earlier.
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) December 14, 2013

I know the options are starting to dwindle with Omar Infante off the market now, but is it really time to start slogging through the bottom of the barrel to find a second baseman for next year?  Because that's what trading for Darwin Barney would be.

The simplest way to describe his offense is to say it sucks.  In 1,799 career Major League PA, he has a .246/.293/.336 slash line (.278 wOBA).  He doesn't hit for average, he doesn't hit for power, he doesn't draw walks, and he doesn't do anything on the bases on the rare occasion that he gets there.  He is a plus-plus defensive player at second, but his offense was so bad in 2013 that even registering 11 defensive runs saved only made him worth 0.4 fWAR.

He's heading into his first year of arbitration eligibility, so he does have a few years of team control remaining at what should be a reasonable cost.  But with as much service time as he has, he's probably going to cost the Yankees a few million if they trade for him.  They're already paying a few million for a middle infielder who can't hit a lick in Brendan Ryan.  Adding another at second wouldn't make a whole lot of sense when the team still needs to replace lost offensive production.

Brandon Phillips: Do Not Want

#yankees turned down a brandon phillips for brett gardner offer. #reds
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 12, 2013

And apparently the Yankees don't either based on last night's reports.  The Reds offered up Phillips in a straight 1-for-1 trade proposal for Brett Gardner last night and were rejected.  While Phillips would fill an obvious need at second base, there's too much to not like about him to make the trade worthwhile.

For starters, he's owed $50 million over the next 4 years, a steep price to pay for a 32-year-old who's already showing serious signs of decline.  Phillips' greatest strengths are his plus defense and his right-handed power, both of which have been trending downward for the last few seasons.  His ISO has been in a pretty steady decline going back to 2007 (.197 then to .135 in 2013).  He doesn't take walks, he doesn't get on base, his speed on the basepaths isn't what it used to be, and he has a reputation for being an asshole.

That's a lot of baggage to take on for a guy who was below-average offensively this past season.  And don't talk to me about the 103 RBI because I'm not going to listen.  Acquiring Phillips based on his name recognition and past performance (like Michael Young) would have been a classic Yankee move, and probably something they would have done a few offseasons ago.  It's good to see they aren't interested in heading down that path again, even if the no-trade clause helped make that decision easier.  The Yankees need a starting second baseman badly, but Phillips isn't the answer.

Michael Young: Do Not Want

The search for help at second base and third base is on, and according to Newsday it includes a former top trade target:

"A source with knowledge of the team's thinking said Monday that the Yankees are very much interested in Michael Young."

You might remember Young's name getting thrown around a lot during the most recent trade deadline, when the Yanks needed insurance for A-Rod at third base.  Ultimately a deal never came together between the Yanks and the Phillies and that's probably for the best.  Young has been a negative fWAR player the past 2 seasons, due in tandem to his decrease in power at the plate and massive decline in his defensive value now that he's in his late 30s and only capable of playing below-average defense at the infield corners.

Young made a lot of sense as a cheap rental player this past season.  As a full-season option at a position of need he's a way less than ideal option.  Someone like Mark Reynolds could play just as horrible a defensive third base as Young and do it while offering 30+ HR power.  He could also come at a cheaper price than Young, who still has a long and successful career history to fall back on when looking for contract offers.  Hopefully this reported level of "very much" interest in Young isn't as a Plan A for the hot corner.

The Winter Meetings Are Here, What Will The Yankees Do Next?

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

What the Yankees have done over the last 2 weeks would be an otherworldly haul to pull from the Winter Meetings.  By spending a shade over $300 million, they've added an elite starting catcher, an elite center fielder, a well above-average right fielder, a solid #2 starting pitcher, and an above-average utility player with pop.  They also lost their previous starting second baseman and former best player, but that was something they were apparently willing to live with and it most likely had a lot of influence on the rest of this early spending spree.

Here's the thing.  This all happened before the Winter Meetings even started.  What the Yankees started by signing Brian McCann 2 Saturdays ago has picked up in a big way across the rest of MLB and we enter the meetings right smack in the middle of a flurry of trade and signing activity usually reserved for this week.  Once the unofficial "real" starting point of the offseason, this year's Winter Meetings are nothing more than the continuation of a hectic 2 weeks of hot stove action with the Yankees once again leading the charge.  With a bunch of balls still up in the air and a roster still very much in flux, here's what to expect from the Yanks this week.

Yankees And Carlos Beltran Agree To 3-Year Deal

I can't even take one night off from this without some major news breaking.  The Yankees wasted no time in getting started on their Plan B without Robinson Cano, tonight reportedly agreeing to a deal with free agent outfielder Carlos Beltran.  Via Mark Feinsand, the deal is for 3 years.  Via Tim Brown, it's for $45 million.

The Yankees were in on Beltran from the start, but things seemed like they had cooled off after the McCann and Ellsbury signings.  With Cano now gone, the need for more offense was obvious and the return to Beltran doesn't come as a huge surprise.  The Yankees were reluctant to give him the 3rd year initially but apparently willing to do it now that Cano leaving gave them the extra money.  Again, I would have preferred Shin-Soo Choo, but Beltran is an upgrade over their current right fielder and should provide above-average production from that spot and as a part-time DH next season.