According to the Associated Press, the Yankees have inked Boone Logan to a one year deal at $1.875 million dollars, with a possible $25,000 dollar bonus if he posts at least 55 appearances, making the deal worth up to $1.9 million dollars. Logan’s representative asked for $2.1 million in arbitration and the Yankees offered $1.7 million. Logan earned $1.2 million dollars lasted season while posting a 3.46 ERA and a stellar 9.9 K/9.
From Justin Terranova and Phil Mushnick of the New York Post comes the news you’ve all been waiting for; whether or not Kim Jones will be re-signing with YES. Sorry folks, no more horseyface.
The Yankees have avoided arbitration by reaching terms with Russell Martin on a one year deal, reports Mike Axisa. It was reported that the Yankees offered Martin a $7 million dollar contract and his agent Matt Colleran filed for $8.2 million, making it likely the two sides reached an agreement for a one year, $7.6 million dollar contract. Martin is eligible for free agency after this season.
According to Tim Brown of Yahoo!, Prince Fielder is nearing a nine year deal with the Detroit Tigers. According to Jon Heyman, the deal is nine years/$214 million dollars. This news is contrary to statements made from GM Dave Dombrowski only a short time ago, saying that they were not interested in Fielder after the season ending injury to Victor Martinez.
According to Ken Rosenthal from Fox Sports, the Red Sox have signed veteran outfielder Cody Ross to a one year deal worth approximately $3 million dollars. With a career line of .261/.323/.456 (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) it’s a pretty shrewd deal for new Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington. He will make the right handed hitting part of the RH/LH platoon in right field for Boston, along with Ryan Sweeney.
Moving on, in the speculation department I wonder if Roy Oswalt is the next likely pickup for the Red Sox, considering that starting pitching is a big need of theirs.
According to the Associated Press, the Michael Pineda/Jose Campos for Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi swap has been finalized.
Photo by Otto Greule Jr., Getty Images
According to Chad Jennings of the Lohud Yankees Blog, Brian Cashman is planning on relying on the trade market for the team’s designated hitter void. Without indicating Hiroki Kuroda’s name, Cashman indicated that the latest pitching addition made took a budgetary increase and that there isn’t much space left in the budget for a DH, leading me to believe even lower cost options may not be viable for the Yankees.
Cashman indicated that he was more likely to deal one of the starting pitchers on the roster to fill the DH spot, as the Yankees suddenly have a glut of starting pitching. The likely scenario is a deal involving AJ Burnett for an overpaid, underachieving DH where the salaries come out even due to the fact that both player’s have bloated contracts. Both teams rid themselves of albatrosses that they needed to get rid of while taking on another one, hoping a change of scenery could do wonders for Burnett, and for the Yankees, the mystery player yet to be determined.
I’m just speculating here but maybe a AJ Burnett for Jason Bay swap isn’t out of the question. Both Burnett and Bay have deals that run through 2013. Perhaps playing at the bandbox in the Bronx might help Bay’s floundering career. Your thoughts?
Most of the people who read the forum know that I haven’t been the biggest fan of Brian Cashman, to put it nicely. But here I am writing a post to sing his praises.
When I first learned of the trade that sent Jesus Montero to Seattle, along with Hector Noesi, in exchange for Michael Pineda and Jose Campos, I had my reservations. At first, I reacted emotionally to losing Montero, an amazing prospect I had been following since his early days with the franchise. Montero was the first top Yankees prospect that I had followed in earnest, meaning that his seemingly inevitable departure from the Yankees (his name had been swirling in the rumor mill for what seemed like forever) really hurt me as a fan. I knew that Michale Pineda was also highly regarded, but my initial reaction was disdain for the trade.
Stepping back almost immediately to evaluate the trade from a statistical perspective allowed me to understand Cashman’s rationale in making the trade.
Pineda, at age 22 with Seattle:
1.099 WHIP, 9.1 SO/9, 3.74 ERA
Combined with the #16 prospect rating of 2011 and an All-Star appearance, it made the trade a lot easier to swallow. While Montero was rated as the #3 prospect that year and will undoubtedly have an amazing career, he was a player without a position. That is, evaluators doubted his ability to play catcher in the big leagues and the Yankees have their DH spot set for years with aging veterans like Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. His hitting is his main strength, and it is an amazing strength at that. That being said, I will take the promising and controllable young starter over the promising and controllable DH solely on the fact that the starting pitcher is less readily available in the free agent market.
It’s an interesting topic for conversation, to talk about the Yankees potentially traded for the heralded major leaguer who is only 27 years old but has a major league track record full of success already. Problem is, this current season he has been a bit subpar, with his 4.08 ERA and an ERA + of 111. (park adjusted, of course) His velocity is apparently down, which coincides with the uptick in hits he has issued (his walk totals are around the same) which has increased his WHIP and obviously his ERA.
Question is, do the Rockies know something about Ubaldo that we don’t? Any trade for him would have to include a physical examination and contract negotiation window, in my opinion. While extremely valuable, Ubaldo, as stated in the previous paragraph, does not come without his question marks.
All this being said, if he has a clean bill of health I would chalk his down season this year to nothing but a tired arm as he has faced over 200 innings (or close to it) three years in a row, and he is not used to that innings load. He never threw more than 159 innings in the minors, so this is a career high in his workload. One might be worried that this means he cannot handle the workload, but that remains to be seen and is the risk in making any transaction.
I would trade Montero, Betances, and a few lower level minor leaguers for Ubaldo Jiménez, no doubt about it. There is a long list of suitors looking to acquire the young, relatively inexpensive, potential ace, so the price would undoubtedly be steep, but this would be as far as I would be willing to go.
Derek Jeter will get his 3,000th hit: Eventually.
The Yankees took the field without their captain, and yet again won, this time over the crosstown rival Mets, who had just gotten back from beating the tar out of the Detroit Tigers, minus yet another stellar performance from Justin Verlander. Is it because the team has magically banded together in the absence of their captain? Or is it that the captain just isn’t what he used to be and his production is more easily replaced?
As time ticks on, it has become more and more apparent that Father Time has laid his hands upon Derek Jeter’s baseball career, and eventually the Yankees will have to address this.
I am all for the team putting this issue aside while Derek’s seemingly never-ending quest for hit number 3,000 continues. However, post All Star break, or whenever the quest ends, Derek Jeter needs to be moved down in the lineup. Take tonight’s game. Nick Swisher singles, setting up a three run 1st inning for the Yanks, in a game where runs would prove to be very scare after that. Derek Jeter and his paltry on base percentage has led to fewer runs scored early in the game for the Yankees, and overall as he receives slightly more at bats being in the top of the order than some at the bottom of it. Not saying that Eduardo Nunez should be receiving any time over Jeter, seeing as he has managed to be even worse in the field and at the plate than a rapidly aging Jeter. But shortly after hit 3,000 (give it a week after the milestone) talk should start to become action when it comes to dropping Jeter in the order. (7th sounds about right)
Hypothetical Lineup:
1)Gardner, LF
2)Granderson, CF
3)Tex, 1B
4)A-Rod, 3B
5)Cano, 2B
6)Swisher, RF
7)Jeter, SS
8)Martin, C
9)Posada, DH
Switching Martin for Posada is fine, I just went with that. Perhaps letting Posada hit 8th will prevent another baby episode on his behalf from happening.
Derek Jeter is going to be on this team for a few more years, whether he is still good or not, so this issue is going to have to be addressed unless the Yankees are content with not maximizing the full potential of this already potent lineup.