Soriano Signing Fills The Draft Pick Pool

 (I wonder if he smiles at the Nats' presser.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

Just as things were starting to look bleak for old Sour Puss, Scott Boras worked his magic again and got another team who felt they needed bullpen help to overpay for his client.  According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, the Washington Nationals have agreed to sign Rafael Soriano to a 2-year/$28 million deal with an option for a third year.  In almost identical fashion to how he hooked the Yankees after his brilliant 2010 closing campaign in Tampa, Soriano parlayed an excellent year into another big contract.  You gotta give credit where credit's due; he and Boras knew what they were doing after all.

The best Yankee-centric news to come out of this development, besides ending all the discussion about what we'd be willing to pay to take Soriano back, is the guarantee of a second supplemental 1st-round pick in this year's MLB draft.  Paired with the pick the Yankees would have already had and the supplemental pick they get for Cleveland signing Nick Swisher, the Yankees are now holding 3 of the first 32 picks in the draft.  Right now those picks would be the 27th, 30th, and 32nd, with the possibility of them shifting depending on where Kyle Lohse and Michael Bourn end up signing.

From a prospect perspective, since that's what this week is all about, this is a big opportunity for the Yankees to add some depth and high-ceiling talent to their farm system.  They haven't had much success with their most recent 1st-rounders, reaching for Cito Culver and Dante Bichette, Jr. only to watch both of them stagnate in Low-A ball in 2012, and it's still too early to make a solid call on Ty Hensley, who raised some eyebrows post-draft with the reports of his "shoulder abnormality."  That, combined with the injury and regression struggles of the organization's upper-level starting pitching, has created another talent void in the system, a void that can start to be filled by scoring in this year's draft.

The Yankees played the qualifying offer game correctly and have been rewarded for it with more picks and a bigger draft spending pool.  I know they're drafted heavily on makeup and intangibles the last few years, but this year might be the year to put that aside a bit and go for the big talent.  They don't all need to be home runs, but the Yankees have to hit big with at least 1 of this year's picks.

Not A Prospect Yet (But Worth Watching): Corey Black

 (Courtesy of Bill Lyons/Staten Island Advance)

The members of the 2012 draft class are the most under-represented on this year's Top 30, mainly because the majority of them have such a small sample size to evaluate, but that doesn't mean there aren't good players and future AB4AR Top 30 members included.  Such is the case with Corey Black, a 4th-round pick out of Faulkner University.  Black made a name for himself prior to the draft and in his pro debut season on the strength of his fastball velocity, which sits mid-90s and was reported to hit triple digits on more than one occasion this past season.  In some circles that would be enough to get you on a top 30 prospects list, but some uncertainty surrounding Black's ultimate role as a Yankee led me to leave him off the radar for now until his career path becomes better defined.

2012-2013 AB4AR Top 30 Prospects: Just Missed The Cut

 (A bridesmaid again in 2013.  Courtesy of Mark LoMoglio/MLB.com)

The bad part about any top prospect list, be it 10, 15, or 30 players deep, is that there are always going to be some good, worthy guys who don't make the cut.  That was the case last year with the first edition of the AB4AR Top 30 and it held true this year as well.  Truth be told, it was a pretty big chore to not only figure out who made the list and who didn't, but also to figure out which of those players who missed the cut were most worthy of these 5 also-ran spots.  There is a lot of depth in the Yankee system right now, don't forget that, and the group of players who failed to crack this year's Top 30 are just as good a representation of that as the 30 who made the list.  After the jump, check out the 5 guys who fell just short of cracking the Top 30 this year.

Lack of Logic In Latest Upton Rumors

For a team that's supposedly not interested in acquiring him, the Yankees sure have been connected to Justin Upton a lot this offseason.  The latest rumor, as reported by Jon Morosi of FOX Sports on Sunday, has them interested in putting a package comparable to what Seattle offered together for Upton but, according to Morosi, also being unwilling to take on the 3 years and $38+ mil still owed to Upton.  Morosi suggests trading Curtis Granderson to Seattle as a way to help cut payroll in advance of trading for Upton, but this is where the train starts to come off the tracks.

First, trading Granderson to make payroll room for Upton would basically be a lateral move for 2013, not a move that improves the team.  Is an Upton-Gardner-Ichiro outfield any better than a C-Grand-Gardner-Ichiro one?  Maybe just a little if Upton rebounds to his 2011 form, but giving up prospects and trading away your best outfielder to get marginally better makes no sense.  And if the hold up really is not wanting to add payroll, then trading Granderson is hardly a fix for that.  He's coming off the books after this season anyway, so to move him now and weaken your 2013 outfield when he doesn't really affect the 2014 payroll anyway would be a classic "robbing Peter to pay Paul" scenario.

Most of what was discussed in Morosi's piece was his own speculation and hypothetical scenarios, but it wouldn't surprise me if there was some truth to it based on how the Yankees have conducted their business so far this offseason.  If money really is the hold up with Upton, then it's another example of the payroll goals getting in the way of smart baseball decisions.

Not A Prospect Yet (But Worth Watching): Matt Tracy

 (Courtesy of Mark LoMoglio/MLB.com)

Way back in February of last year, when TYA was having its Prospect Week, you might recall this post where I pulled up a couple names to keep an eye on in terms of future prospect potential.  One of the key names in that post was Matt Tracy, a left-handed pitcher who was making the transition from reliever to starter in an experiment the Yankees would hope turn out to be a goldmine.  Tracy's 2012 season was an inconsistent one.  He started off scorching hot for High-A Tampa after missing some time with injuries before hitting a wall in mid-July and struggling to finish the season, but still earned the opportunity to start a game in the Triple-A playoffs.  It wasn't quite enough to help him crack this year's Top 30, but certainly enough to put him on the radar for next year if he can continue to improve.

2012-2013 AB4AR Top 30 Prospects: Those We've Lost

 (From #1 in our hearts to negative WAR in Seattle.  So long, sweet prince)

Before we jump into this year's AB4AR Top 30, it's only appropriate to look back at the guys from last year's inaugural Top 30 who fell off the list.  That's right, people.  I'm teasing you with some prospect foreplay before getting to the main event.  You know you love it.

As I stated last night, last year's list was admittedly full of some big misses on my part, and some of those misses have been corrected by not having them re-appear on this year's list.  But there were also some guys who played their way off the list, some guys who were let go by the organization, some who were traded away, and one who graduated to the Majors with a solid rookie season.  There was high turnover from last year to this year, with 9 players from the first Top 30 failing to make this year's edition.  After the jump, check out who those players are, what led to their dismissal/removal from this year's rankings, and what's in store for them in 2013.

Welcome To 2013 AB4AR Prospect Week

At long last, the day has come.  It's been a long while since I've done this, over a calendar year in fact since the inaugural AB4AR Top 30 actually started in late December of 2011.  But the stars have aligned, the prospects have all been ranked, and the time has finally come for them to be unveiled to the world.  And like last year, I'm not just going to plop 30 names out in a single post and call it a day, oh no.  This celebration is going to stretch across this entire week, building what I'm sure will be a tidal wave of emotion and anticipation towards the release of the top 10.

Here's the plan for this week.  Not only am I going to release the 2nd edition of the AB4AR Top 30, I'm also going to take a look back at some of last year's Top 30 member who were removed from this year's list, I'm going to cover the players who just missed the cut for this year's list, and I'm going to dig even deeper to find some guys who may not qualify as true "prospects," but are still worth knowing about.  Yes sir, it's going to be a week chock full of prospecty goodness, because let's be honest, when we're sitting here talking about the idea of signing Jim Thome or Javy Vazquez, that's a clear sign that it's the dead time of the offseason.  And what better way to brighten that up then by looking to the future?

So strap yourselves in, clear your schedules, tell your boss to pound sand, and tell the wife/husband and kids you'll see them next week.  This party kicks off this afternoon at 1 PM Eastern/12 Central.

AB4AR Top 30 Introduction: The Method To My Madness

The beauty and the fun of prospect ranking is that everybody has their own system.  There's a standard set of criteria that everybody has to consider when evaluating players and deciding where to rank them, but how they consider them and what criteria they put more weight on is what ultimately determines the differences between one person's top prospect list and another, and what sparks the conversation and debate that we all love to have about prospects.

Before we dive into the 2012-2013 edition of the AB4AR Top 30, I thought it would be a good idea to give some explanation on the system I use and why I use it.  It's mainly so you the readers know why I ranked guys the way I did, but it's also partially for me.  I thought I knew what I was doing last year when I took my first stab at a top 30, and it turned out that I didn't know as much as I thought I did about some players.  This year, I wanted to be more thorough in my evaluation of each player, and more consistent in the way I followed my system.  I spent the entire season working on these rankings, and revised them often as the season progressed based on how each player performed against my set of criteria.

I think the list I've come up with this year is much better than the first edition, and much more representative of my ranking system and the criteria I put more weight on when evaluating guys.  So to give everybody an idea of my thought process and what's most important to me when ranking prospects, here's a quick explanation of my personal ranking system.

Not Javy Vazquez Again. Please

(No, no, a billion times no)

I wanted to let this one sit as a post on the Facebook Page, but after all the pain he's caused me I just can't.  Nick Cafardo reported yesterday that the Yankees were among a group of teams who have been following Javy Vazquez's work in a Puerto Rican winter league.  That's right, the same Javy Vazquez who posted these 2 lines in his previous 2 tours with the Yanks:

2004- 198.0 IP, 4.91/4.58/4.71, 17.7% K rate, 33 HR
2010- 157.1 IP, 5.32/5.56/4.69, 17.7% K rate, 32 HR

There's that old saying, "Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me."  Well the Yankees have already been fooled twice by Vazquez, and that was back during times when he was still considered a good pitcher in most Major League circles.  Now he's been out of the league for a year, he's 36 years old, and I'd rather not see who the blame falls on if he fools the Yankees a third time.  I know they're bottom feeding for pitching depth this offseason, but there's no logical reason for even entertaining the idea of bringing Vazquez back.  I don't care if he's healthy, if his velocity is up, or if he's had a cybernetic third arm added to his body.  I've seen everything I need to see to know that Javy Vazquez sucks in a Yankee uniform.

Extensions For Joe & Cano Should Be A Priority

When he wasn't busy trying to pull non-existent wool over the eyes of us Yankee fans or slapping us in the face with his bulging money clip, Hal Steinbrenner did take some time the other day to comment on the upcoming contract situations for Joe Girardi and Robinson Cano.  Both of them enter 2013 in the final year of their current deals, and in typical Yankee fashion Hal played the "we don't do extensions" card.  That's not surprising knowing how the Yankees do business when it comes to new contracts, but considering they're already changing the way they do business by trying to scale back payroll, it would be wise to loosen up the standards on the extension front as well.

Why Not Travis Hafner For DH?

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

The Yankees are still in the market for a designated hitter for this season, and it's one of the few positions where they can actually afford to look for a lefty since they have A-Rod and Kevin Youkilis to handle the right-handed DH duties.  Mark Hale reported earlier this week that the Yankees have "no interest" in 42-year-old Jim Thome, which doesn't come as a huge surprise, but there is another name out there that I think could be a better fit than people realize.  That name is Travis Hafner, former Cleveland Indian who had his team option declined and hasn't generated a whole lot of buzz this offseason because of his annual injury problems.  This is going to sound crazy, but I think those injury problems are EXACTLY why the Yankees should be interested in Hafner.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 1/11/13

Major victory for me in my day job this week, people.  Truly life-altering stuff.  In my position, I'm constantly being shipped cases of sample containers for projects I run, usually bottles and cans.  When you do a lot of business with the big soda and beer companies of the world, there always exists the opportunity to get some free product, but I've never been lucky enough to experience that perk in the hundreds, probably thousands, of container samples I've received since I started working for my company.  Until this week.  I got me a fresh 24-case of 16oz aluminum Bud heavies sent to my attention for machine testing.  The King.  I damn near pissed my pants in excitement when I realized the bottles were full.  I saved about 5 to use for the project and the other 19 are going right back to the crib to take their rightful place in my fridge.  Is it shitty beer?  Absolutely.  Am I going to do my duty as an American and enjoy the hell out of every last drop?  You betcha.  Who needs profit sharing when you've got free beer?  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, Derek Albin of Pinstripe Pundits analyzed the history of Yankee draft picks to find where their strengths and weaknesses have been, both past and present.

- On Tuesday, William Juliano of The Captain's Blog looked back at past instances of HOF voters letting their moral compasses get in the way of logic.  Timely considering all the anti-steroid stuff going around this week from current BBWAA members.

- Chad Jennings of LoHud had some more nitty gritty details on A-Rod's injured left hip thanks to a Tuesday afternoon conference call with the suddenly famous Dr. Kelly.

- Erica Morales of Bleeding Yankee Blue wondered about Joba Chamberlain's future with the Yankees as he heads into a contract year this season.

- On Wednesday, Steven Goldman of Pinstriped Bible made his 3-point pitch for why the Yankees should trade Phil Hughes.

- Mark Simon of ESPN looked at Mike Mussina's career and made a strong HOF case for Mussina when he becomes eligible next year, a case that might also be strengthened by his not being connected to PEDs.

- SG of RLYW looked back at the last 5 years of projections vs. actual production from Alex Rodriguez to see if there's anything they can tell us about what to expect in 2013 after his upcoming surgery.

- Matt Hunter of Yanks Go Yard investigated the fit between the Yankees and Michael Morse.  Spoiler alert- it's a good one.

- On Thursday, Mike Eder of TYA identified 2 Cuban players that would be great targets for the Yankees, especially because they aren't subject to the new CBA rules on international free agents.

- El duque of It Is High... mused on what Brian Cashman could be up to behind the scenes during this part of January, his usual big surprise time of the offseason.

- Mike Axisa of RAB looked back through the Baseball America archives at some past top Yankee prospects and top 5-10 lists, and how they panned out.

- On Friday, Bryan Van Dusen of The Greedy Pinstripes weighed the option of giving up a big prospect package for Justin Upton in the wake of the failed Seattle trade.

- Stacey Gotsulias of Second Place Is Not An Option continued her daily countdown to Spring Training 2013 with a look back at one of Jason Giambi's better seasons in pinstripes.

- Brien Jackson of IIATMS offered up his take on Hal's offseason commentary from yesterday, and it was far more level-headed than mine.

This week's Friday Jam is a doozy, "Savage Henry" by Lo-Pan.  If you aren't familiar with their work, do yourself a favor and get familiar because these guys rock, plain and simple.  I checked them out a month or so ago in one of Magary's "NFL Jamboroo" posts on Deadspin and I've been hooked ever since.  Lead singer's got some pipes on him.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.  And just a reminder, only 2+ days left until Prospect Week and the 2nd annual AB4AR Top 30.

Hal Steinbrenner Does Not Compute

 ("I have more money than you.")

Hal Steinbrenner is not nearly as active in talking to the media as his old man was, and more and more it's starting to look like that's for the best because it seems like whenever he opens his mouth there's nothing good coming out of it.  I don't know if Hal thinks all the Yankee fans out there are as clueless about baseball as he is or if he thinks we're all just stupid, but the comments he made yesterday at the quarterly owners' meetings didn't make a whole lot of sense.  Some of what he said was downright offensive to me as a Yankee fan and someone who considers himself pretty knowledgeable about the sport of baseball.  Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal had the most comprehensive collection of Hal's quotes and after the jump are my takes on some of the highlights.

Do The Yankees Have Any Idea What They're Doing With Eduardo Nunez?

 (Courtesy of Tim Farrell/The Star-Ledger)

It hasn't been a very long career for Eduardo Nunez, but it also certainly hasn't been one short on headlines.  Once the heir apparent to Derek Jeter as the Yankees' everyday shortstop, Nunez has been shuffled around various positions and roles, experimented with as an outfielder, dangled as trade bait, and shuttled back and forth between the Majors and Triple-A constantly since first breaking in in 2010.  Based on Cash's comments to ESPN NY yesterday, it doesn't look like that trend is going to cease in 2013.  Speaking to Andrew Marchand, Cash stated that Nunez will be shifted back to the utility infielder role if he makes the team this season, the same role that was taken from him in May of last season.  If that doesn't make a lot of sense to you, good.  Because it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me either.

CC Slimming Down Again

 (Gettin' into fighting shape... )

You know the offseason is getting close to turning from hot stove to looking ahead to Spring Training when CC Sabathia's weight and conditioning starts becoming a talking point.  It's an annual tradition in Yankeeland, like Old Timers' Day.  He dropped 25 pounds a few years back before the season and then ended up putting it all back on by season's end, but it didn't negatively affect his performance or trademark durability, so who cares, right?

Well after last season's injury problems, the first he's experienced since 2006, CC appears to be back on the health kick.  He showed up at ESPN's headquarters yesterday to make his media rounds for his campaign to be on the cover of the new "MLB The Show" video game looking trimmer than he did this past season and confirmed that he had lost weight.

"I've lost 20 pounds.  Coming off the elbow surgery, I just wanted to be healthy and stay healthy all year."

CC's ability to handle the workload he does at his size has always been one of, if not his greatest strengths as an ace starting pitcher.  But after last year's brush with mortality, and his transition from late 20s into early 30s, it might be time for CC to start taking a more proactive approach towards keeping his body in the best physical condition possible.  Cleaning the elbow out was a good start, and dropping some weight should help keep his legs fresh.  Of course there's no way to guarantee anything health-wise in baseball, but if CC is able to better maintain his weight in 2013 it should increase his chances of staying healthy through a full season's worth of starts and possibly lessen the need to limit his innings.

Yankees 11th In Preliminary Baseball America Farm System Rankings

The official Baseball America organizational farm system rankings don't come out until March, but BA writer Jim Callis released his personal top 10 earlier in the week.  The Yankees weren't included in that top 10, but Callis did confirm via Twitter that he and his fellow BA contributors all had the Yankees ranked 11th in their preliminary rankings.

This comes as a bit of a surprise after such a down year for the Yankee MiL organization.  A lot of their top prospects were hindered by injuries or poor performance, many of them at the higher levels of the system, and the trading away of former top prospect Jesus Montero left the upper levels very light on impact talent.  But there is a lot of low-level strength in the organization, both on the mound and on the field, and those players, guys like Gary Sanchez, Tyler Austin, Slade Heathcott, and Mason Williams, all had very good years.  They're starting to rise, and that crew plus the high amount of mid-tier prospect depth in the system probably worked to get the Yankees that 11th-place ranking.

If the new crop of top prospects continues to progress on the pace they're presently on, if Jose Campos stays healthy in 2013, if Rafael DePaula turns out to be the real deal, and if the Yankees make a big splash with their multiple 1st-round picks in this year's draft, we could be looking at a top 5 farm system this time in 2014.

This would probably be a good time to mention that we're just 4 days away from the start of 2013 Prospect Week at AB4AR, highlighted by the unveiling of the 2012-2013 edition of the AB4AR Top 30.  Mark your calendars, set your watches, and double check your alarms, people, because it's going to be a good time.

Wallace Matthews Should Probably Stop Talking Part II: HOF Edition

It's been a while since I've had the pleasure (displeasure?) of ripping the ESPN NY crew for their blatant stupidity and shameless trolling for pageviews, and even longer since I've done it to Wallace Matthews.  Luckily for me he was generous enough to throw his hat in the moral ivory tower ring that everybody is clamoring to get into in regards to this year's Baseball HOF voting.

By the time you get a chance to read this post, this year's HOF class will have been announced, and it's almost certain that nobody will be inducted, certainly not anybody from the large group of first-time eligible players from the "Steroids Era."  Everybody knows who the names are, and anybody with half a brain knows that guys like Bonds and Clemens should be in regardless of their PED connections.  Not old Wally, though.  He's using this year's vote as a way to teach a lesson to those players and pretty much all of us about morality and how that's the most important criterion for determining HOF worth.  The whole steaming pile of garbage can be found here, and after the jump are the lowlights.

Bring Me Michael Morse

 (Dude can even hit without a bat.  Courtesy of the AP)

Justin Upton he ain't, but with the news coming yesterday that the Nationals had re-signed Adam LaRoche to a 2-year deal, Michael Morse suddenly became very available and the trade winds are already blowing strong connecting the Yankees to him.  Cash is still on the hunt for more right-handed power, with Matt Diaz not fitting the description and Russ Canzler's ability yet to be determined, and Morse would be a serious upgrade over both of them.  He would cost the Yankees more in return than just money, but it's not like the Yankees are short on trade chips this offseason.  Morse would be a great piece to add to the middle-to-bottom third of the lineup and would give Joe more flexibility to move guys around if he wanted to play the L/R matchup game.  This is a trade that needs to happen.

Details & Updates On A-Rod's Hip Injury

When he wants to do some real reporting, Joel Sherman's stuff can be very good.  That was the case with his exclusive interview in The Post today with the doctor scheduled to perform Alex Rodriguez's upcoming left hip surgery.  You can find the entire interview here, and you should definitely read the whole thing, but here are the highlights:

- According to the doctor, Dr. Bryan Kelly, the hip injury was not caused by steroid use but there was "no doubt" that the injury was cause for A-Rod's poor postseason performance.

- Dr. Kelly on the severity of the injury: “I was more surprised that he was able to play at all with a hip that looked like that.  Most people would not be able to play with a hip function like this and the imaging that looked like his.”

- The surgery is expected to be performed within the next 2-4 weeks.  There is still lingering joint inflammation in the injured hip, which Dr. Kelly wants gone before the surgery.

- While Dr. Kelly said he believed A-Rod would be able to return from surgery and "perform at a level commensurate to his past production," he did have 3 major concerns that could negatively affect the final results:

1) Unknown level of joint damage that can only be ID'd during the surgery
2) Unknown impact of left hip surgery and rehab on the previously-injured right hip
3) A-Rod's age

Those concerns are the biggest news I'm taking from Sherman's piece, and the fact that there is still lingering damage in the hip that's pushing the surgery timetable back is not a good thing.  But it's also not like any of this comes as a major surprise given A-Rod's recent injury history and his age.  Anybody with half a brain anticipates he's going to come back from this a shell of his former self, and these details from his doctor just reinforce that belief in me.

P.S.- The Center for Hip Pain and Preservation at the Hospital for Special Surgery sounds like a fun place, huh?

On Taking Back Rafael Soriano

 (I wonder if he untucks after every failed contract pitch by Boras.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

As reader Ruben wisely put it on the AB4AR Facebook Page last night, we probably shouldn't feel this good about Scott Boras making a mistake.  But it certainly appears that he has according to this tweet from Bob Klapisch yesterday afternoon.  Klapisch reported that Boras reached out to the Yankees to ask if they'd be interested in bringing Rafael Soriano back on a 1-year deal and that the request was "flatly denied" by the Yankees, keeping a long and painfully slow offseason for Soriano going.

You'll remember that Soriano (and Boras) turned down a $14 million option for this season to test the FA waters after Soriano's great 2012 filling in for Mo, then turned down the $13.3 million qualifying offer the Yankees made.  Now, 2+ months into the offseason with no potential suitors and next to no chatter about him, Soriano and Boras appear to have retraced their steps back to the beginning of their screw-up.  Cash stated before this story came out that he is not looking for more bullpen help, nor should he be, but Boras' request raises an interesting question.  If the market continues to be quiet for Soriano, and his asking price continues to come down, at what point would you make a 1-year offer to him and bring him back for 2013?

Don't Count On Heathcott In The Bronx This Year

 (No need to rush the kid.  Courtesy of MiLB.com)

Prospect huggers everywhere were rejoicing last Friday when they got wind of scouting director Damon Oppenheimer's latest comments on 2 of the Yankees' hottest prospects.  Speaking to Jack Curry of YES, Oppenheimer had very high praise for both Mark Montgomery and Slade Heathcott, calling Montgomery's slider "sick," describing Heathcott as an "impact player," and leaving the door open for both of them to be on the Yankee roster sometime in 2013.

This comes as no surprise to anybody who's familiar with Montgomery's body of work.  I've advocated for his call up to the show on multiple occasions, once before last year's roster expansion date (which may have been a little hasty) and recently as part of the MiL group I think we will see in a Yankee uniform in 2013.  But Heathcott is a different story.  He's 22 years old, but not nearly as polished as Montgomery, and with less high-level experience under his belt.  Heathcott is as toolsy as they come, but he's got more working against him than for him on the path to the Majors in 2013 and to look past that would be wrong.

Who Is Russ Canzler And Why Should We Care About Him?

 (Courtesy of the AP)

The Yankees continued their efforts to scrape the bottom of the barrel for right-handed hitting options late last week, plucking utility man Russ Canzler off waivers from the Indians on Friday.  While not quite a fair return for losing Nick Swisher to Cleveland, Canzler does give them another option to check out in ST along with the recently-signed Matt Diaz.  But it seemed like some spots around the blogopshere were higher on Canzler than I expected for a guy who's been a career Minor Leaguer to date, penciling him into early depth charts and discussing him as a legit right-handed DH option.  I admittedly am not all that familiar with Canzler, so I figured I owed it to myself to see if this guy can actually bring some value to the table.

Mo Reportedly At 95% Physically, To Start Throwing In A Week

Bryan Hoch has all the details, but the big news is that Mariano Rivera is continuing to progress positively in his comeback from ACL surgery.  According to Mo he is at about 95% right now and should be ready to  start his preseason throwing program in "about a week."  Speaking from a pitching clinic in my hometown of Danbury, CT, Mo sounded very confident he'd be ready for the 2013 season:

“By the time Spring Training starts, it’ll feel 100 percent … It needs more strengthening. The five percent will come quick.”

Mo also said he expected to have a "normal" Spring Training, which for him means showing up a little later, working at his own pace, and pitching just a few in-game innings over the course of the ST game schedule.  For a normal 43-year-old pitcher coming off ACL surgery, this might not sound like the best plan of action.  But Mo didn't get to where he is in his career by not being in great shape and not knowing his own body, and said, "“I’ll make sure when I get there, I’ll be ready,” so that's enough for me to trust he knows his own body in this case.

The bottom line is that the G.O.A.T. is stepping back into his office soon, and getting back to work.  Now somebody cue the cologne ad!

4 Reasons To Not Be Interested In Lance Berkman

(No thanks. Courtesy of The Daily News)

The big news of the day today is Ken Davidoff's report that the Yankees are interested in and "have been in contact with" free agent and short-time former Yankee Lance Berkman.  Berkman, as you may recall, was acquired at the 2010 trade deadline to shore up the bench, then went back to the NL with the Cardinals in 2011 and absolutely tore it up to the tune of a .408 wOBA and 163RC+.  He missed most of last season with more knee problems, and beyond just that there are a multitude of reasons to NOT be interested in Lance Berkman, not the least of which is the fact that he hasn't even officially decided if he wants to play in 2013 or the fact that he would prefer to stay in Texas to be closer to his family.  But there's actually on-field reasons too.  Check them out after the jump.

A-Rod's Surgery Not Scheduled. Cause For Concern?

A piece of potentially unsettling news came from this short story by Dan Martin in The Post yesterday.  He reported that the Yankees still hadn't set a date for Alex Rodriguez's hip surgery, which is supposed to be taking place sometime this month.  It could be nothing, or it could be a sign that A-Rod's hip isn't in good enough condition for the doctors to want to schedule the surgery.

Like they did with Mo when he tore his ACL last year, the Yankees penciled A-Rod in for 4-6 weeks of pre-surgery exercises to strengthen and better condition the hip, possibly to help shorten recovery time.  One has to think they've been doing follow-ups on that condition, and to be only a week or so away from the proposed surgery timeline and not have a date set could signify that A-Rod isn't responding to the conditioning as well as the doctors would have hoped.  That wouldn't be the most surprising thing in the world given Alex's advanced baseball age, but if that is the case it probably signifies that he's not coming back on the early side of the 4-6 month post-surgery recovery time.

The surgery is going to happen.  That much we know.  With all the injury problems Rodriguez has had in the last handful of seasons, though, it'd be nice to have a little more certainty as to when.

** UPDATE 2:17PM- Via Anthony Rieber, Cash has stated that there has been no setback in A-Rod's surgery plans and that a "tentative date" has been decided, which he would not reveal.  Sounds like everything is OK. **