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. 

R.A. Dickey is traded to the Toronto Blue Jays

The New York Mets traded the ace of their staff and 2012 Cy young award winner. It seems like that wouldn’t be a good idea. I think the Mets actually did the right thing though and made out well for themselves. They got two of the Blue Jays top three prospects and they traded a 38 year old knuckle ball pitcher who is coming off of his best season. He was good in New York but never close to as good as he was last season. It is hard seeing him duplicate that performance and his value will never be higher. 
The Mets are a team that has been bad for a while, they are stocking up their farm system now and hoping that within the next couple of years they will make an impact and lead them back to the postseason and beyond. The Mets have the makings of some very good and talented players. They have a good young pitching staff and Dickey if not part of the long term future would just be blocking one of the youngsters. The Mets need some outfield help and need as much money as possible to concentrate on that. They are set in the infield and pitching staff, they could maybe use some bullpen help also but that may come from within as well.

The Mets got top catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud, major league catcher John Buck, pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard and minor leaguer Wuilmer Becerra. Here is what Mets GM Sandy Alderson had to say. “It was an extraordinary privilege for us to be part of his career over the past three years.” “The final chapter has not been written, but it has been an extraordinary career, arcing from disappointment to jubilation.”

The Mets also sent catchers Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas to the Blue Jays. The Mets catching situation was not good at all and although d’Arnaud has had injury problems he is considered the top catching prospect in all of baseball and the Mets are willing to bet he will make the team before long and be their catcher for a long time. Dickey came out on twitter and wrote a nice message to the Mets fans.

If you are wondering Dickey is the seventh Cy Young Award winner to open the following season with a new team and fourth to be traded.

Yanks make a few cuts and try to figure out their pitching schedule

The New York Yankees are in a little bit of a mess. The reason they are in a mess is because of the rainout today. The Yankees have 7 pitchers who need to pitch and only 9 innings against a major league team tomorrow. They have been calling around to see if they could find another team to play a split squad tomorrow. Another option they may have is to play against one of the minor league teams. They may also play a B game at home tomorrow. Joe Girardi had this to say "It's a mess kinda, we don't have it completely ironed out. Right now, it's a little pain in the rear." A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Mariano Rivera, Chan Ho Park and Damaso Marte all need to throw. The Yankees have a scheduled off day on Tuesday but Girardi said that wouldn't solve the problem because they are trying to keep everyone on schedule or as close to it as possible. My guess is they find a team who will play a split squad tomorrow and everyone will get their work in, if no one will cooperate then they will probably play a B game at home and they will still get their work in. I think it is less of a problem with a veteran team. The cuts that took place today were Jesus Montero, Austin Romine, Colin Curtis and Reid Gorecki. They are all headed to the minor league complex. I am not sure if I will be able to get more information later about what is going on with the schedule but if I do I will post it on here, if not I will have something tomorrow. Enjoy this beautiful day everyone and pretty soon we will have baseball again. UPDATE: 3:45PM-The Yankees will play a intrasquad game at home tomorrow. Here is how the pitching will work. One of the teams will have Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and Damaso Marte and they will go against the other team who will have Joba Chamberlain, Chan Ho Park and Dave Robertson. The rest of the team will head to Clearwater to face the Phillies, A.J. Burnett will start that game with Phil Hughes coming on in relief.

New York Yankees Reserves for Todays Games

The Yankees home game will be televised by the YES network at 1:00PM. Here are some of the guys to watch coming off of the bench in the home game. Jesus Montero-The Yankees top prospect, this kid can really hit. Reegie Corona-He is a natural SS but will play 2B today. Colin Curtis-He has been having a good spring. He will be in the AAA Scranton outfield this season. The Pitchers that are available out of the pen are Royce Ring, Kei Igawa,Alfredo Aceves,Dave Robertson,Wilkens Arias and Jeremy Bleich. Here are the guys coming off the bench in the road game. Austin Romine-He is the other top catcher behind Jesus Montero, he is a very good hitter also but a little better defensively. He isn't as good of a hitter and doesn't have as much power as Montero. Kevin Russo-I mentioned him in my other post as a possible utility guy,he has been having a good spring also. The Pitchers out of the bullpen are Sergio Mitre, Boone Logan,Grant Duff,Amaury Sanit and Zach Segovia. Enjoy the game everyone as it is a horrible day here in the NY area, it is a good day to sit on the couch and watch some Yankees baseball. I have gotten my notes from the press notes, same goes with the lineups. If you want more in detail information please checkout the great Lohud Yankees Blog. Chad Jennings does a great job with it and it can be accessed at http://yankees.lhblogs.com.

Recap and Notes from the Mets Game this afternoon

The New York Mets defeated the Washington Nationals as Space Coast Stadium today by the score of 14-6. Mike Pelfrey got the start and was not sharp. He pitched 3 innings giving up 7 hits and 4 runs with 3 earned. Eddie Kunz pitched a perfect inning. Eric Niesen pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a hit and 2 runs with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. Sean Green pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit, walk and 3 strikeouts. Elmer Dessens pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Fernando Martinez was the star of the show on offense with 2 homeruns. He ended up 4 for 4 with 2 rbi's. This is the guy the Mets have been looking for and he has been really good this spring. They thought they had a star in the making and maybe now he will live up to his potential. Mike Jacobs had a solo homerun and 2 walks. I think he has a good chance at winding up on the bench but it may come down to him or Frank Catalanatto. Ike Davis continues to impress going 3 for 5 with 2 rbi's. It may be hard for the Mets not to bring him north with them if he continues this. It still is smart though for the Mets to let him get some more seasoning in the minor leagues and if he continues to bring him up in June. Henry Blanco had a hit and rbi and Josh Thole had a hit. The mets prospects are really showing off to the Mets brass so far. The Mets will return to Tradition Field to play the Nationals tomorrow at 1:10PM. There is nothing new with Jose Reyes yet, he will get tested on Wednesday and hopefully will be back by Thursday. I think this may be a problem they can solve with medication but until they say for sure it is scary for the Mets and their fans to think about. It almost seems like last year all over with him and Beltran and Kelvim Escobar, even though they expected it with him. The Francisco Rodriguez issue is still not solved also with the pinkeye. To me that is the craziest one, how can they not know it was pinkeye? How does it take so long to get better?? If you have an answer for me I would love to hear it but I don't think there is an answer.

Baseball News

I am back, i took the day off yesterday due to me and my family having some kind of stomach virus. I didn't get to talk about the Yankees inviting 20 non roster players to spring training. I am not going to go through the whole list but basically you know most of them. The Yankees have announced some of the signings in the past few weeks. Reid Gorecki, Royce Ring, Marcus Thames etc got the invites and minor league deals with incentives if they make the roster. The 2 top catchers Austin Romine and Jesus Montero got invites along with Kei Igawa. If you forget who Igawa is he is the Japanese pitcher the signed a fews yrs ago that has become a bust. I am thinking the Yankees will give him the chance to be the 2nd lefty out of the pen but I doubt that will happen. The Yankees currently have Damaso Marte but they have other guys who will try and win that job. Wilkens Arias and Jeremy Bleich are 2 left handers to keep an eye on. Arias is 29 so not much of a prospect but held lefties to a sub 200 batting avg last year in the minors. Bleich spent his first year in pro ball last season and is a starting pitcher that could move quickly. It is always good to see some of the prospects and guys fighting for jobs in spring training. It appears that Chien-Ming Wang will be heading to Washington. He is expected to sign a minor league deal for 2 million with the chance to make the team when healthy. Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reported this morning that he already chose the Nationals. The Atlanta Braves offered Johnny Damon a one year deal today for 4 million with deferred money that could double it. He apparently turned it down still seeking a 2 yr deal. The Tigers and Rays are still said to have interest but may also want to keep it at a one year deal.

Yankees Winter League Players

Here are some of the stats released by the Yankees on their winter league participants. INF Reegie Corona is hitting 324 with 17 doubles, 2 homeruns and 17 rbi in 43 games in the Venezualan winter league. He ranks first in the league in doubles and leads all Yankees winter league hitters wiht 27 walks. He could find himself trying to win the utility infielder role out of spring training. RHP Josh Schmidt in the Venezualan winter league is 2-5 with a 3.65 era(28er,69IP) in 15 games(12 starts). He ranks first in the league with 63 strikeouts is tied for second in innings pitched and ranks fourth in WHIP(1.22). He is the only VWL pitcher to have recorded a complete game thius season with his 7 inning, 10 strikeout shutout on 11/24(1H,3BB). INF Juan Miranda finished the regular season batting 409 with 5 doubles, 2 homeruns and 11 rbi in 13 games in the Dominican Winter League. OF Jamie Hoffman batted 235 with 5 doubles and 5 rbi in 21 games with the Dominican winter league. He hit safely in 10 of his last 14 games. INF Brandon Laird was named the 2009 Arizona Fall League Top Prospects team. He hit 333 with 15 extra base hits(9doubles, 6 homeruns) and 24 rbi in 22 games with the Surpise Rafters. He finished tied for second in the league in homeruns, tied for third in both doubles and extra-base hits and ranked fifth in RBI. OF Colin Curtis also with Suprise batted 397 with 5 homeruns and 18 rbi. He finished the season as the league leader in slugging percentage(731) and ranked second in both on-base percentage(472) and batting average. He hit safely in 17 of his 20 games played.

Baseball America Top 10 Yankee Prospects

The Baseball America Top 10 prospect list came out today for the Yankees. The top 10 are as follows. 1. Jesus Montero(C) 2. Austin Romine(C) 3. Arodys Viscaino(P) 4.Slade Heathcott(OF) 5. Zach McAllister(P) 6. Manny Banuelos(P) 7. Gary Sanchez(C) 8. J.R. Murphy(C) 9. Jeremy Bleich(P) 10. Andrew Brackman(P) The interesting thing about this list is that the Yankees have 4 catchers in the top 10 so you can see they are in good shape there. Jesus Montero doesn't project as a catcher to most people though and the most logical thing would be to move him to first base but Tex is there for a long time and they don't want a young guy like that to be the DH but if he is that good offensively and they don't trade him why not let him DH. The Yankees are pretty strong in the pitching department also with Hughes and Joba in the big leagues now, they hope Andrew Brackman will have a strong year as he really struggled last year, I can see him moving to the pen eventually. I think Jeremy Bleich is the closet to the majors and could become a solid #3 or 4 starter in the future. Slade Heatchott was drafted last year and the Yankees really have high hopes for him. Austin Romine really projects as the catcher of the future, his bat is a little below Montero but he has a good bat also and he is better defensively. I think even with trading some guys away the Yankees farm system is still in good shape.

Mets and Yankees Hot Stove

The official start to the Hot Stove was at 12:01 yesterday morning when free agents were able to sign with any team they choose. The free agent class for this season appears to be weak and with the economy being the way it is I don't think teams will be rushing to sign anyone and these players may just have to take some deals quick otherwise risk being out there in January without a job much like last year. I am going to start off with the New York Mets since they have many holes to fill and a lot of work to do. The Mets need a leftfielder, starting pitching, a setup man, possibly a first baseman and a catcher. I think the best thing the Mets can do if it is possible is trade for Roy Halladay this would give them a very nice 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation with Santana and Halladay and would energize their fan base. These fans need a reason to come back to Citi Field next season and right now they don't have one, they aren't going to want to hear that they will get their players back healthy next year. Omar Minaya and the Mets need to make a big splash. If they can't get Halladay then they really need to look at signing John Lackey. The Mets also may need to sign a Jason Marquis or Joel Piniero and that is fine but only if they get one of the other pitchers to put behind Johan Santana. They can't go into next season with John Maine, Oliver Perez, Mike Pelfrey and whoever else behind Johan Santana, that would be a very questionable rotation and they can't have that. I think for leftfield the Mets need to sign Holliday or Bay. I know people will say that is a lot of money to spend but the Mets have to stop acting like they are a small market team, no they can't compete with the Yankees but no one can. The Mets are the only ones that know if they got hurt by Bernie Madoff but if it is true that they didn't lose money then they have to step up to the plate and spend it. The Mets farm system is a mess and they have to build the big team up first and at least get the fans interested again. I do think the Mets really have to flex their financial might in the international free agent market and also the draft like the Dodgers, Yankees and Red Sox do. This is what really hurts their farm system when they aren't willing to overslot guys in the draft. If the Mets can unload Luis Castillo which I don't think they can then they could sign Chone Figgons or Orlando Hudson. I am not sure what they can do for the bullpen but Mike Gonzalez and Rafiel Soriano are out there as good options for the bullpen, maybe they will resign J.J. Putz. First base is intersting, they may resign Carlos Delgado if they think he is healthy or they could explore trades or maybe get a Mark Derosa or someone like that as a stopgap. They feel that Ike Davis their big prospect may be ready in 2011. The New York Yankees are coming off a World Series Championship and really don't have many holes. They could use a starting pitcher but if they don't they have Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain ready to become the 4th and 5th starters. I think they want to resign Andy Pettitte for one year and I think he wants to come back. If they have CC, A.J. and Andy at top they are in pretty good shape. I think they will explore Roy Halladay but he is going to cost a lot in money and prospects and unless they jump in because it looks like the Red Sox might get him I don't see the Yankees getting him. I could see the Yankees signing a Randy Wolf or Jason Marquis or someone like that as a 4th starter and then having Hughes as the 5th and keeping Joba Chamberlain in the bullpen. I also thik it will be interesting to see what the Yankees do with Chien-Ming Wang. If they do sign him and he comes back healthy then they could have a really strong top 4 but that is very questionable if he can come back and be close to what he used to be. The Yankees will try and resign Johnny Damon for leftfield and I see them giving him either a one year deal with a option or a 2 year deal. I could see 2 years 20 or 22 million. I think Hideki Matsui will be let go and they will use the DH spot for Posada, A-rod, Jeter, Damon. I can see the Yankees signing Mark Derosa who went to Bergen Catholic and would serve them well as a super utility guy. The only way I see the Yankees in on Bay or Holliday is if Damon doesn't resign.