New York Yankees and New York Mets news and rumors

The Super Bowl is over and pitchers and catchers report in about two weeks.  It is time to look at what has been going on with the New York Yankees and the New York Mets.  There really hasn't been much going on especially with the Mets.  They made their big move early in the offseason and that was it.  They still haven't gotten a shortstop which would lead you to believe they think Wilmer Flores is the answer at short for now.  I don't agree with them but if that is what they believe then so be it.  The Yankees are pretty much set in stone, they have made a bunch of minor moves this off-season and they could make a move for the cuban guys now.  Yoan Moncada is the most notable to keep an eye on.  He is a 19 year old switch hitter who is supposed to be five tool and basically a can't miss guy.  If the Yankees sign him he could be their second baseman or 3B of the future.  He would fit perfectly with their team.  Another young talent that they could have on the team in the next couple of years to go with the Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, Luis Severino crew. 

The New York Yankees did sign Scott Baker to a minor league contract.  He is a veteran who has battled injuries the last couple of years but pitched pretty decent for the Texas Rangers last year out of the bullpen.  He was a long man/spot starter type of pitcher. 

The Yankees have stayed away from the big fish this off-season but James Shields is still out there.  You have to wonder if he would sign a lesser deal now that it seems he isn't going to get the big money he may have gotten earlier in the off-season.  The Yankees haven't been linked to him but you wonder if they would jump in if they could get him for say 75 million instead of over 100 million. 

The Mets rumors were early in the off-season when you heard the Troy Tulowitski rumors mainly.  He isn't going anywhere right now and definitely not to the Mets.  The Mets appear to be going with Ruben Tejada or Flores at SS.  I think they should get a SS but it doesn't look like they will.  Ian Desmond has been another guy they have been linked to but you haven't heard that in at least a couple of weeks so that may be dead now. 

Johan Santana has been working out for teams and you hear the Yankees name in the mix but if anything that would be another minor league contract.  He was throwing though and then shut it down for a little bit due to shoulder soreness so I would think they would pass on him but we will see what happens. 

Alex Rodriguez is the big name for the Yankees and you have heard a lot about him lately.  The main thing is the Yankees trying to avoid his milestone bonuses.  This could get ugly but it doesn't appear Joe Girardi has a part in this or wants to have one.  He spoke over the weekend about him and said they have been talking and considers their relationship good and he just wants to put him and all of his players in the best position to succeed. 

The Mets really haven't had much going on overall and I really don't expect much to happen with them.  Dillon Gee is still on their team and could be traded in the next couple of weeks but not even sure that will happen.  The best news is that pitchers and catchers will be reporting in about two weeks or so and then we can start discussing this more in depth and no more rumors, it will be talking about the players on the field and what is going on with the teams. 

Hot Stove season wrapping up and spring training is drawing near

This has been a very busy off-season for many MLB teams.  There has been free agency as always but there have  been many trades, more then I can ever remember in one offseason.  It is now about a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting which means that for the most part all of the heavy lifting is done.  This year though it is still pretty active.  I take a look at the latest and what may come next. 

Max Scherzer signs a 7 year 210 million dollar deal with the Washington Nationals.  It is actually half deferred which means he gets half of that in seven years and then the other half for the next seven years.  It is actually a 14 year deal where he will only play for the team for seven years though.  This is a crazy deal and I guess we can say Scott Boras does it again.  The Nationals right now look to be loaded with pitching and are an instant favorite for the World Series. 

James Shields is the only big name left out on the open market and who knows where that is going.  We have heard some things here and there but nothing major regarding Shields.  I would expect his situation to be resolved though in the next couple of weeks. 

The Houston Astros signed Colby Rasmus to a one year deal and were close to acquiring Ryan Vogelsong but that appeared to fall apart and now he may be close to rejoining the San Francisco Giants on a one year deal.  Yovani Gallardo was traded to the Texas Rangers for prospects.  The Red Sox signed Dana Eveland to a minor league deal. 

The Braves have signed former Brave Kelly Johnson and also now on Thursday night have agreed to a one year contract with Jhonny Gomes.  The Cincinnati Reds have signed pitcher Jason Marquis to a minor league deal.  Dontrelle Willis is back in baseball signing a minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. 

I wouldn't expect anything really major to happen the rest of the way.  Shields will be signed by someone and there may be a couple of more trades.  It is looking more likely now though that the Philadelphia Phillies will hold on to Cole Hamels until the trade deadline and that the Washington Nationals may hold onto all of their pitchers for right now also.  There is a chance that anything can happen at anytime  though as it already has been a crazy off-season. 

The baseball world has another big hot stove Monday

The Boston Red Sox who just a couple years ago proclaimed that the other teams such as their archrivals who spend big can keep doing that but they do business differently now.  Well look how quickly things change, they finished in last place for the second time in three years.  The year in between the two last place finishes did produce a world championship.  They went out and signed Hanley Ramirez who was their property to begin with at the beginning of his career and they also signed Pablo Sandoval.  They spend approximately 190 million on two guys.  Ramirez it appears will be moving to left field where he has never played before other then the winter leagues.  Sandoval is coming off a world championship with the San Francisco Giants and will be the third baseman. 

There is reason to be happy if you are part of Red Sox Nation but I would also be cautious.  Ramirez is always hurt and he isn't known as a great clubhouse guy either.  Sandoval is a very good player who becomes great in the postseason but they are paying him to be great all the time.  There is always a concern with his weight and also his OPS has gone down in three straight seasons.  The Red Sox also need pitching which they appear that they may be getting in free agency or a big trade.  They also have a logjam of players right now. 

The rumors are that they are talking to the Phillies about Cole Hamels and they are also talking to Jon Lester about a reunion although to me that seems less likely.  They really need two starters at the moment as they have Clay Bucholz, Joe Kelly and a bunch of unknown quantities.  The last time the Red Sox did this it didn't work and they tore it apart by trading guys to the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Will this time be different, will it bring short term results but long term problems?  Will the New York Yankees react or are they going to act like the Red Sox were pledging to act just a couple of years ago.  There are a lot of questions right now but we will see how this all plays out the rest of the winter into spring training and then the regular season.  The Red Sox are very active right now and people like action just remember though world championships aren't won on paper or in the off-season, they are won from April-October. 

New York Yankees news and notes

The New York Yankees have been pretty quiet so far this offseason.  They did sign Chris Young to a one year 2.5 million dollar deal before last week GM meetings took place.  David Robertson did turn down the qualifying offer last Monday as expected.  He seems to have a lot of suitors but it doesn't mean he won't return to the Yankees.  I would still bet on that happening although I didn't think Robinson Cano would leave last year either. 

The Yankees did make a minor trade last week and also signed a very minor player also last week.  They traded fan favorite Francisco Cervelli to the Pittsburgh Pirates for left handed reliever Justin Wilson.  I think this was a good move because they had a surplus of catchers and Cervelli is a career backup with a big injury history.  They are very high on their minor league catchers such as John Ryan Murphy and Austin Romine and then Gary Sanchez is considered their number one prospect and this should open up the AAA starting catcher spot for him.  Romine and Murphy will battle it out for backup catcher in spring training although Romine is out of options.  It appears that Murphy has the edge for the spot but we will have to wait and see.  As for Wilson he has very good stuff and is young and controllable right now.  The Yankees do have some left handed relievers in the minors they are very high on.  Wilson though is more of a proven commodity, I wouldn't rule out Jacob Lindgren making the team along with Wilson.  Wilson was 3-4 with a 4.20 ERA 70 appearances last season with the Pirates.  He is 6'2  and in three major league seasons is 9-5 with a 2.99 ERA. 

The other minor move that they made was picking up Jose De Paula on a one year split contract.  He will receive 510,000 if he appears in the majors and 175,000 in the minors.  He was with AAA Fresno in the San Francisco Giants organization last season.  De Paula went 4-3 with a 4.21 ERA.  He has never appeared in the majors but the Yankees like his stuff and he will have a chance to compete for a starting spot.  If not he will be AAA insurance.  This is one of those moves that can't hurt, if it works out great and if not then you didn't lost much. 

The Yankees are talking with Robertson and they have made offers to Chase Headley and Brandon McCarthy from what I understand but they are in wait and see mode.  It appears that if Headley doesn't resign with them then Martin Prado will be their third baseman with Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela battling it out for second base.  If no McCarthy the Yankees could look at other middle tier alternatives such as Jason Hammell. 

The Winter Meetings end with the Yankees remaining quiet

The New York Yankees aren’t used to being quiet at this time of year. The Yankees right now are quiet though. I don’t want to be like everyone else and start speculating on what is wrong with the Yankees. I actually don’t think there is anything wrong with them. They went after pitching first and did resign Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and Hiroki Kuroda. They have a formidable rotation right now with CC Sabathia, Kuroda, Pettitte, Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova/David Phelps. Their bullpen sets up pretty well also even without Rafael Soriano. The Yankees right now though need a right fielder, a catcher unless they go with what they have and a 3B since Alex Rodriguez is hurt for at least half the season. 
The Yankees did make an offer to Kevin Youkilis on Thursday for one year and 12 million. It looks like it is between them and the Cleveland Indians who have his former manager Terry Francona as their new manager. It is being reported also that Cleveland offered two years, less money per year but the extra year. It will be interested if he ends up with the Yankees. He played most of his career in Boston and was hated by the Yankees fans, also what kind of first clubhouse meeting will it be between him and Joba Chamberlain?? It should be interesting but I do think he may be the best fit for them in that position. He isn’t as good as he used to be but can play a pretty good third and is a high on base guy. He has some power also. The Yankees lost Eric Chavez and Jeff Keppinger but in the end they may end up with someone better.

The Yankees I think will still end up resigning Ichiro Suzuki and to me that would be the best fit for right field. They are losing a lot of power from Martin, Swisher, Arod but I think they need to get away from that and become more balanced like the great late 90s teams were. It is only December and they don’t need to field a team until the middle of February so there is plenty of time. It doesn’t look like the Yankees will do much or anything big though. They could swing a trade which there is a rumor today that they are shopping Curtis Granderson, Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova. I am not so sure about that and I am sure they would ask for a lot.

A Few Early Off Season Notes for the New York Yankees

The New York Yankees were eliminated from the postseason prematurely. They were swept out of the ALCS by the Detroit Tigers. It was pretty embarrassing, they didn’t hit at all and they got blown out in the fourth and final game. It was a good season overall as the Yankees battled a lot of injuries and finished first in the American League. They fell short of their ultimate goal though which is always to win the World Series. I personally think it was a decent year, I don’t think it was a total disaster but of course it wasn’t a success either. I think getting swept the way they did made it worse but they did get to the ALCS. 
Curtis Granderson is being sent to an eye specialist. I don’t think there is anything wrong with this because he just looked so bad. I also think they will pick up his option and let him play out the year. The Yankees could trade him but I don’t think they will, his value may be low right now also.

Alex Rodriguez is going to continue to be a hot topic this winter. Brian Cashman the general manager indicated that he would listen to offers on him but also made it clear that more then likely he won’t go anywhere. He knows because of the contract it would be extremely difficult and there probably aren’t many deals that would really make sense. I don’t think he is going anywhere and I think he will be playing DH more and more. I also think he was bothered by his hand injury more then anyone thinks. It was actually something I really didn’t even think of. He is never going to be an MVP candidate again but I don’t think he is as bad as people are making him out to be. His main problem the last couple of years has been staying healthy. He is getting older but he can still be productive, I just think the Yankees need to be careful with him. I am sure you will hear plenty of rumors about Arod this winter and we will see what happens.

CC Sabathia is the ace of the pitching staff and was on the DL twice this season. The Yankees believe he is healthy but they are sending him to Dr. James Andrews this week anyway. There are sources saying he has bone chips and they will just need to be cleaned out. It is always scary though when you hear the name Dr. Andrews, he is the one who tells most pitchers when they need Tommy John surgery. The Yankees and their fans will keep their fingers crossed.

The Yankees have plenty of free agents and will have a very busy winter. The Yankees have to figure out if they are going to keep Nick Swisher. I would say that is a no, Granderson has a team option which I would assume they pick up and let him play out the season but he could be traded also. Ichiro Suzuki was a huge pickup for the Yankees and will they resign him. The Yankees know Derek Jeter will be their shortstop next year but he just had ankle surgery and how will he bounce back?? Will he be ready for opening day, he should be ready for spring training and the season but you never know how quickly he will come back from the injury. The Yankees have to think about signing Hiroki Kuroda and is he worth a multi year deal?? There are plenty of questions, will Rafael Soriano opt out which is assumed and how will Mariano Rivera bounce back from his injury. This should be one of the busiest winters the Yankees have had in a long time. It may make for a fun and exciting off season because there is so much to talk about.