Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Hot Stove Just Boiled Over

Huge trade between Toronto and Miami. The Marlins essentially dumped every large contract they made last offseason. Think I saw where they finished 2011 with a payroll of $57MM, they went into last season with $118MM, after this trade they are now committed to only $25MM (excluding arb eligible players) heading into next year.

Cashman needs to look at this trade and wonder why he can't pull something like this off. A trade like this would not impact the $189 threshold for 2014. I feel like Cashman is using that as an excuse as to not actively pursuing players, either by trade or free agency. I know the hot stove is just starting so let's see how he improves the club.

29 comments:

Crash said...

Here are all the players involved in the trade: Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes, Emilio Bonifacio and John Buck all go to Toronto for Yunel Escobar, Adeiny Hechavarria, Henderseon Alverez, Justin Nicolino, Jake Marisnick, Jeff Mathis, and Anthony DeSclafani. Marlins will also send $4MM in cash to the Jays.

The only decent player Toronto gave up is Jake Marisnick, he is a very good prospect. That's it.

Crash said...

Hunter signs with Tigers 2 years $26MM. Interesting comparison...Torri Hunter .817 OPS, 16 HR, 92RBIs. Cody Ross .807 OPS, 22 HR, 81 RBIs. Ross is also 5 years younger. Essentially the same offensive player, but younger and cheaper. Could be possible Yankee target to replace Swisher.

old professor said...

The Toronto Blue Jays picked up a lot of salary in an environment where they seldom if ever have a sellout or large crowd. As for what Toronto gave up, Alverez is a top prospect who took a step back last year. His best years and improvement are still in front of him. Hechavarria played a lot in the second half and showed he can play. He has speed a better than average arm and has occassional power. Again his best is yet to come.

Glad Hunter went to the Tigers. Yankees were not up for multi-year contract. Rumor has Ross going back to the Red Sox. Let's remember Dickerson is also a free agent and showed great defensive skills and some pop in his bat, I would not be surprised to see him come back. Also look for the Yankees to look to their system by bringinig some players up ahead of when they were originally targeted to come up. Melky Mesa will be on the opening day roster as will David Adams.

The biggest problem they will face is catching and rotation. While Martin struggled, they are not ready to replace him yet. none of the free agents available are solid defensively as he was and except for AJ Pierzynski didn't catch a lot. Mike Napali caught less than 85 games last year.

They need to sign Koroda and Pettitte and then look for some fill ins.

Crash said...

Yankees never made an offer to Hunter. They have not made an offer to any position player free agent. Their focus immediately is Kuroda and Mariano.

Martin has at least 5 teams interested, the Red Sox being one of them. That's kind of interesting because the Red Sox also have Saltalamacchia. Who if I'm not mistaken was best offensive threat after Ortiz.

old professor said...

Red Sox just signed a free agent catcher (probably as a backup) just a couple of days ago. As for Salty, he, according to rumors, is going to be traded. If you look at his ability to throwout runners or his passball ratio, he may be nothing more than a dh.

Yankees need to finalize Kuroda soon. I still believe the Yankees are going to look internal regarding position players and not be a player in the free agent market. If this comes to fruition, it will be interesting how they do during the 2013 season.

Crash said...

The Yankees need to get Stanton and give the Marlins whatever they are asking for.


"Alright, I'm pissed off!!! Plain & Simple"

— Giancarlo Stanton (@Giancarlo818) November 13, 2012

Crash said...

Blue Jays sign Melky to a 2 year $16MM contract. That is a terrible contract for the Jays to sign. Melky was a career .267 hitter before he got to KC. Looking at the stats I would bet he began using in KC and continued into SF. In KC he finished with over 200 hits and .305 avg for the first time in his career, the most he had until that point was 149 hits and .274. He continued in SF where his average climbed to .346 before being caught. To give you an idea and some perspective he had 159 hits in just 113 games this year...in 2007 he had 149 hits in 150 games.

old professor said...

Crash, he tested positive for testosterone that will improve muscle tone and tends to eliminate fatigue. It is not going to improve a person's performance at the plate (unless it is the dinner plate). It could be that for all intents and purpose Cabrera has matured to a degree, has become more selective at the plate and goes with the pitch more. Time will tell. If he is hitting 200 in June then you know there were other things at play.

Yankees still pursuing Kuroda and Mo but nothing has been reported on either front. One has to wonder how serious they are about signing Mo due to the injury and his age.

Crash said...

Old Professor said... "...he tested positive for testosterone that will improve muscle tone and tends to eliminate fatigue. It is not going to improve a person's performance at the plate"

That may be the dumbest most ignorant statement you have ever made on this board.

old professor said...

Maybe you should explain how it is going to improve performance at the plate. Will it improve eye hand coordination- NO. Will it improve his ability to hit the ball squarely - that would be NO. It makes him stronger but not necessarily a better ballplayer. Will the larger neck and hat size improve his performance at the plate - no. Will it make him quicker on his feet (not if he is carrying more weight).

Crash said...

You're right on a very superficial level. PEDs, regardless if it's T, HGH, or any other steroid, do not do any of those things by them self. They are strictly a recovery agent. So for instance, a fat over the hill couch potato who does nothing but take a bunch of steroids is still going to be a fat over the hill couch potato.
However, when a pro athlete combines those drugs with their workouts, the results will absolutely manifest in not only an increase in muscle, but improved hand eye coordination, ability to square a ball up, and make him quicker. Take a look at the stats, his power #'s (HR total) did not take a drastic jump...he hit 18 in KC, but had 13 for the Yankees. You do see his 2B total jump drastically and SB totals...both of which would indicate speed increase. Yes some of may actually be he came into his prime years and suddenly become more disciplined at the plate. But there's a reason players take PEDs because they enhance performance, all on field performance. If they didn't, they wouldn't take them. PEDs and steroids aren't just for power #s.

Crash said...

Jon Heymen has the Yankees interested in Stephen Drew...even though Cashman says Jeter is expected ready for opening day. Drew has never played anywhere but SS, so that means Jeter is going to be the DH or they will ask Drew to be their Utility guy, probably spelling A-Rod at 3B more than Jeter and Cano combined.

old professor said...

You mention that Cabrera's double totals went up. I am not trying to lighten what he did, but the double total could have risen because of the park he played in. The SF ballpark has some hugh gaps.

Strange they would show interest in Drew who played himself out of Arizona and now can be had in a trade. They already have Nix and Nunez. The position of shortstop cannot be a priority right now.

old professor said...

Ichiro and Martin have both indicated they want to return to the Yankees next season. Ichiro's agent has indicated he is willing to wait until the Yankees finish their pitching signings.

Martin has basically told his agent to wait on other offers until he hears from the Yankees.

Giants finally play like the super bowl champions and shred the Packers.

Crash said...

I think both Martin and Ichiro will be back but at the Yankees price. And not for nothing...heard Russell Martin is playing SS for Team Canada in the WBC.

Per Ken Rosenthal from his Twitter account: @Ken_Rosenthal: Sources: #Yankees optimistic about completing deals for both Pettitte, Rivera this week. Pettitte likely one yr above $10M, Rivera higher.

Both will be good signings.

Lastly I was pleasantly surprised by the Giants performance. Thought Rodgers would still be throwing TDs against the Giants secondary.

Crash said...

According to River Ave Blues: According to a report in Nikkan Sports, the Yankees have re-signed Ichiro Suzuki to a one-year contract worth $5M plus incentives. There hasn’t been any other confirmation yet. More to come.

Crash said...

Yankees & Pettitte very close to announcing deal...looking like 1 year $11MM. Should done shortly. Might be a quiet Winter Meetings for Cashman next week if he can get Ichiro, Pettitte, and Mo done now.

old professor said...

Apparently the framework for a deal with Mo is near completion. I would look for Ichiro and Martin to be signed or made significant offers before the winter meetings or to sign within a day or so of the meetings beginning.

Ichiro solves the rightfield issue and signing Martin long-term solves the catching issue until the prospects are ready.

I find it ironic the Yankees sign a contract with Whiteside who as a catcher last year had one hit at the major league level and hit 211 at the minor league level. Why worry about that scenario when you already have steward and cervelli as backups and Romine sitting in the wings. It just doesn't make sense. That was $600,000+ you could use in other places (like signing Martin or add to the 13.8m offered to Soriano).

Crash said...

Per Mark Feinsand twitter:@BloggingBombers: Update: Pettitte "has committed to playing next year," a source said. No deal has been reached yet, however.

Crash said...

Pettitte deal is close, Cash is confident about getting Mo done. I've seen reports that refute the Ichiro deal. A couple experts are saying Ichiro is very likely if the Yankees can't land...JUSTIN UPTON!!! I take that to mean the Yanjs are serious about trying to acquire him.

Martin asking for 4 year deal at $9-$10mm per. Don't think that will happen. I could see the Yankees going 2, option for 3 until Sanchez or Romine are ready.

Next week are the Winter Meetings in Nashville could be a big deal in there somewhere for the Yankees!

old professor said...

Pettitte is now in the fold. Atlanta signs BJ Upton. This takes an outfielder out of the mix. Mo will be signed by Friday. Rotation is now pretty much set.

Martin will get what he wants due to the lack of catchers on the market. 8-9 million for four years is not a bad contract for what he brings to handling the staff and homerun pop.

I really would like to see Ichiro come back for one year with a second year option.

old professor said...

Apparently if the Yankees want to keep Martin and they really don't have a choice at this point, they will have to match the three year twenty-two million offer the Pirates have just put on the table to Martin.

Crash said...

I think 3 @ $22MM is high for a guy that hit .219...and it's less than last year. I can see the Yankees offering 3 @ $24, that's what they offered last year. Or I could see 3 @ $18, just to make a point and to see if he wants to win in NY or play in Pittsburgh.

Good that the Pettitte deal is done.

old professor said...

Yankees lose Martin to the Pirates as he signs a two year 16.8 million contract. That works out to 8.4 million per year. There is no question the Yankees gambled that Martin would wait for an offer that never came. The team will regret not signing this guy. They have no one in the system ready to step in.

Mo does sign for 5 million less than last year with incentives.

Crash said...

I guess the Yankees will target Pierzynski...there isn't really a catcher worth trading for. Mauer could be available but the Twins were already putting him at 1B to save his knees plus he would cost way too much.

Crash said...

Per Ken Rosenthal twitter: Yankees don't sound terribly interested in Napoli or Pierzynski. Current catchers: Stewart, Cervelli, Romine.

old professor said...

So they use Stewart as their starter. He didin't hit for power, but he was consistent when he did play. So the catcher bats 8th and becomes a non-factor. This is a return to the early 1970's when money was the prime factor as to what decisiosns the team makes.

old professor said...

It looks as if Ichiro is going to move on. He and his agent are done waiting for a Yankee offer so they are beginning to listen to other teams.

Cashman has also indicated they are willing to go with in-house candidates for catching and it is not a priority for them. This really does sound like the CBS run Yankees of the late sixties early 70's.

Crash said...

Scutaro agrees to terms with SF Giants, 3 years, $20MM.

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