Friday, October 7, 2011

What Now?

With the Yankees season over, many are wondering what the Yankees will do now. Most of them will go to a house much much larger than yours, so stop worrying about it. Soon we'll find out whether Sabathia will opt out, or whether the Yanks will throw money around like they're making it rain. First, unfortunately, we have to wait for the remaining teams to finish their seasons. How selfish of them is that? Ever heard of a New York minute? We don't have time for this $#!% right now! What else do the Yankees need to worry about this off-season?

Update:

[The following comment, from blog regular Rich Mahogany, was too good to leave in the comments section, so I've moved it here]

A lot depends on whether Cashman comes back. If he does, I fully expect more miraculous scrap heap signings, perhaps even finding a pitcher who was previously living under a heap of scraps.

If he doesn't, his replacement will be a yes-man for Levine and the Steinbrenners. That person will re-sign CC for 10 years and $220 million, and will also give CJ Wilson $160 million and Yu Darvish $150 million. Add in the contracts to Pujols, Prince Fielder and David Ortiz (for depth) and we will see baseball's first $1 billion payroll. Yankee Stadium will change its name to Goldman Sachs & Co. and FTI Consulting Present the New York Yankees Old Fashioned Ballpark and the average seat price will be the same as Phil Hughes' salary.

So I hope he comes back.
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3 comments:

Rich Mahogany said...

A lot depends on whether Cashman comes back. If he does, I fully expect more miraculous scrap heap signings, perhaps even finding a pitcher who was previously living under a heap of scraps.

If he doesn't, his replacement will be a yes-man for Levine and the Steinbrenners. That person will re-sign CC for 10 years and $220 million, and will also give CJ Wilson $160 million and Yu Darvish $150 million. Add in the contracts to Pujols, Prince Fielder and David Ortiz (for depth) and we will see baseball's first $1 billion payroll. Yankee Stadium will change its name to Goldman Sachs & Co. and FTI Consulting Present the New York Yankees Old Fashioned Ballpark and the average seat price will be the same as Phil Hughes' salary.

So I hope he comes back.

October 8, 2011 at 4:42 PM
Roberto E. Alejandro said...

I kind of like this new guy.

October 8, 2011 at 6:20 PM
Rich Mahogany said...

Thanks for upgrading my comment to the post. This was surprising, because most of my comments should be deleted entirely.

Here are some thoughts on what will actually happen.

The position players will be the same, except Posada will be gone. There are no difficult decisions here. Everyone is either locked in (ARod, Teixeira, Jeter) or someone you wouldn't consider moving (Cano, Granderson, Gardner). Swisher's three years of awful playoff performances sting, but you have to look at his regular season play first and that's been solid, so his option will be picked up. Martin will get another year via arbitration at a reasonable salary.

Montero will take over as DH and also back up Martin. If Montero demonstrates that he can catch at he major league level, he will take playing time from Martin over the course of the year. While Martin is still young, I doubt the Yankees view him as more than a stopgap while Montero or another catching prospect develops.

This is the end for Posada. The Yankees don't have a use for a DH who can't hit lefties at all, can't really field any positions and is a horrible baserunner. Cashman was able to turn Bernie away when he became a similar player, he won't hesitate to do the same with Posada (but hopefully in a more graceful fashion).

They will not pursue Pujols, Fielder or Ortiz. None of them makes sense for a team that has an entrenched 1B and needs the DH spot either to play Montero or rest the increasingly fragile ARod.

The bench will be the usual Cashman special of veterans on their way out.

Assuming CC opts out, the only starters the Yankees have under contract are Burnett, Nova and Hughes. Burnett isn't going anywhere, Nova is an asset and the team will give Hughes another chance to make it as a starter. Since that trio isn't terribly inspiring, the team will most likely tack some years onto CC's contract and bring him back, as he will be the best starter available.

That leaves one more rotation spot. Assuming Joba is forever relegated to the pen, I expect another reclamation project like Colon or Garcia, or maybe just bring back Colon or Garcia. The team will try to phase in Betances, Banuelos or maybe even Noesi as the situation warrants.

I don't think the Yankees will chase Wilson or Darvish. Wilson is a dangerous kind of FA starter - he is good enough to command a large contract, but he has not exhibited the kind of sustained dominance that makes him worth the contract he will get. The Yankees already have a guy like that in Burnett, and we know how that's worked out. As for Darvish, I think all the negativity surrounding Igawa and Irabu (and to some extent Matsuzaka) will make the Yankees steer clear of any Japanese pitcher, no matter how good he has been in Japan.

The pen will be largely the same. Soriano-Robertson-Rivera in late innings, Joba back in some capacity, Logan as the lefty specialist, Feliciano enjoying a year of rehab at the Yankees' expense. I have no idea whether the Yankees can bring Wade or Ayala back, but I figure they will do so if those guys are dirt cheap. Otherwise they will look for lightning in a bottle elsewhere. They will either commit to using Noesi as a long man or have him build up innings in the minors.

This is all a long-winded way of writing that the Yankees will not make any big moves in the offseason aside from retaining CC. The team is pretty much set in its current form, for better or worse.

October 9, 2011 at 4:06 PM

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