Well, Andujar's main defensive issue is he simply doesn't have the fast-twitch reflexes for 3B, and he has now played 750 games in the minors and majors and is still this bad. I'm not optimistic but I guess anything is possible.
2018 Yankees Offseason Discussion
- Thread starter jon abbey
- Start date
I would highly prefer Goldy + Donaldson over a long-term deal for Machado. I've been trying to figure out how I want to rank the possible offseason acquisitions from an impact standpoint and I'm not there yet but I'm just not sold on Machado being a difference maker in this lineup. We have tons of cash and Machado wouldn't likely hurt all that much financially (at least for the next 3 or 4 years) but I wonder whether or not his offensive output is as prolific as everyone makes it out to be.
For example, if we could trade Frazier for "a pitcher" of value, sign Donaldson on a prove you're still elite contract, trade for Goldschmidt, and sign Corbin, I think that's better than having another potential 10 year agreement with Machado. Plus, keep Andujar and put him in the outfield where he'll never throw another side-arm again.
I do think we all agree that its time for CC and Gardner to make an exit, though. Love the heck out of those guys but it's time.
For example, if we could trade Frazier for "a pitcher" of value, sign Donaldson on a prove you're still elite contract, trade for Goldschmidt, and sign Corbin, I think that's better than having another potential 10 year agreement with Machado. Plus, keep Andujar and put him in the outfield where he'll never throw another side-arm again.
I do think we all agree that its time for CC and Gardner to make an exit, though. Love the heck out of those guys but it's time.
Regarding Greinke. If there's a possibility that the Yankees have to eat a significant portion (20-25m) of his deal for 3 years but get Goldschmidt as part of the package, I would consider it. Otherwise, I stay far away from Greinke. The second he shows up to spring training and can't top 87mph, NY will freak out.
Edit: In this scenario where you get Greinke, Corbin, and resign happ. Your rotation next year would be Corbin, Severino, Greinke, Happ, Tanaka with Sheffield waiting in the wings. Depending on Corbin's contract, that's fairly ideal from a financial perspective. Not a ton under commitment long-term with ZG's agreement only having 3 years left and similar with Tanaka.
Edit: In this scenario where you get Greinke, Corbin, and resign happ. Your rotation next year would be Corbin, Severino, Greinke, Happ, Tanaka with Sheffield waiting in the wings. Depending on Corbin's contract, that's fairly ideal from a financial perspective. Not a ton under commitment long-term with ZG's agreement only having 3 years left and similar with Tanaka.
Where is this Greinke giveaway nonsense coming from? The man has posted a 3.20 ERA the last two seasons in a pretty good hitters' park. He's not being given away certainly not for Ellsbury's corpse.*
* Famous last words of course given the various giveaways in the past in favor of the Yankees.
Edit: Something more realistic would involve adding Tomas to the deal who can get the Allen Craig treatment at SWB and not count against the cap.
* Famous last words of course given the various giveaways in the past in favor of the Yankees.
Edit: Something more realistic would involve adding Tomas to the deal who can get the Allen Craig treatment at SWB and not count against the cap.
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Didn't he have issues with pressure a few years ago? Or "Social Anxiety Disorder" as a website claims? Would pitching in NYC be an issue for him?
No. Based of this
Which interviewed him. When he was with the dodgers.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21412175-the-best-team-money-can-buy
Though the book is three years old, so things could have changed between then and now.
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I haven’t seen anything about Greinke’s “SAD” since his Kansas City days. Hopefully, for him, it’s a thing of the past.
Someone pointed out today that Happ is only two years younger than CC (36/38), somehow I thought it was more.
Cashman has done an amazing job building with pre-arb youth and other team's castoffs, but now he finally has spending big money when he wants back in his quiver too to fill in the holes. It was a very different baseball time (2 CBAs ago) but NY spent $423M combined long term on Sabathia/Teixeira/Burnett after 2008, and I'd be surprised if NY doesn't go over that this winter one way or another. Bring on free agency.
Cashman has done an amazing job building with pre-arb youth and other team's castoffs, but now he finally has spending big money when he wants back in his quiver too to fill in the holes. It was a very different baseball time (2 CBAs ago) but NY spent $423M combined long term on Sabathia/Teixeira/Burnett after 2008, and I'd be surprised if NY doesn't go over that this winter one way or another. Bring on free agency.
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I wouldn’t be surprised if we stay under the cap again. If you trade Gray, this still gives you about $70m to spend annually to stay under the newly increased $206m cap.
Cashman made some comments during the interview that made it sound like there was at least a preference to stay under based on the sheer principle of not wanting to give other teams cash that they use to beat you.
Here’s the quote
“I don’t want to speak for Hal, but my general feeling from him and for us has been not wanting to line the pockets of others to let them utilize that excess against us,” Cashman said. “It was mission accomplished in terms of the payroll this year, and taking away advantages that teams have been getting from us because we were exceeding those thresholds.”
Well, since now the tax rate has been reset, you can read that like less money will be transferred if they do go over, so I don't think you can read much into that about future behavior. That statement is more trying to explain why they made a big deal about staying under and resetting the rate.
It could be but I can see it both ways. Especially considering that it probably makes sense to leave some payroll flexibility open for next year the next 2 or 3 years as our young kids go through arb 1-3.
I think the point is that just because Cashman now can spend a lot more if he chooses (I am guessing at this), it doesn't mean it is the smartest way to go overall necessarily. Anyway, we'll see soon enough, actions (or non-actions) speak louder than words, NY has holes to fill, and not a lot of excess prospect talent to move anymore.
So maybe this doesn't exactly belong in the Yankees thread, but it's more relevant here than it would be in the Red Sox forum so what the hell...
Manny Machado says hustling "is not my cup of tea". Admits it's appalling that he doesn't run harder up the first base line, but at the same time he says he doesn't really care to change, because "that's just me".
https://www.mlb.com/news/manny-machado-discusses-his-lack-of-hustle/c-297923956
Manny Machado says hustling "is not my cup of tea". Admits it's appalling that he doesn't run harder up the first base line, but at the same time he says he doesn't really care to change, because "that's just me".
https://www.mlb.com/news/manny-machado-discusses-his-lack-of-hustle/c-297923956
Those are strange quotes, but honestly less concerned about that than about his need to grab the fielder illegally when he slides into second. That shit needs to stop.
I thought SAD was Seasonal Affective Disorder, not Social.
I guess it could be both
He said a lot of things that make for really bad quotes, but reading the whole thing it comes off (to me) as...
"I have a really bad habit of not running hard on routine ground balls. I haven't been able to figure out how to break the bad habit, but I will keep trying."
"I have a really bad habit of not running hard on routine ground balls. I haven't been able to figure out how to break the bad habit, but I will keep trying."
To me, the interesting signing will be Corbin. What kind of money is he going to get? He took a HUGE leap forward in all of his peripherals this year, so much of an improvement it makes me wonder if it's real or just a one year fluke. He's never been this good in the majors or the minors. The Yankees might end up paying top starter money for mid-rotation performance. Some of his money is probably contingent on the Kershaw opt-out. If Kershaw opts out, he's the clear #1 on the market, but if he doesn't, it's likely Corbin. I could see something like 6/$150 needed to get him. If he regresses to his past performance, how much does that affect the Yankees?
Manny is a prima donna straight out of A-Rod's playbook.
Unrelated, If Cashman is so smart, why didn't he pursue Christian Yelich last February instead of Stanton?
Seems like Cashman is collecting self-centered stars again.
I've never heard SAD refer to Social Anxiety Disorder.
Greinke seems to be fine, at least as measured by performance. He has horrible numbers in Fenway and Yankee Stadium in very small sample sizes but I'm not sure that means anything. At any rate he has a limited no-trade (15 teams) so if there's some place he doesn't want to play he won't go there, but he was negotiating with the Red Sox before they signed Price so if he felt he was OK to go to Boston I don't know why he wouldn't go to New York.
I give him a lot of credit for overcoming his anxiety disorder and performing at an elite level in a very public sport and I think that reveals mental toughness and I think the idea that he would fall apart in New York or Boston is way way overblown. People said crap around like that around here when he was a free agent and said the Sox better sign someone else (which they did)
He certainly has not helped himself. Yankees sign him, he gets an immediate target on his back. The press conference and media will be all about how hard he plays the game and about players calling him dirty.
I genuinely hope we don’t sign him but there’s no question that he makes this team better.
I genuinely hope we don’t sign him but there’s no question that he makes this team better.
Machado is the next great postseason underachiever, following in the footsteps of A-Rod and Stanton. Unlikable, too. Sign him up!
Yeah, it's pretty wild that this is all happening right before his FA, and that it was all totally unnecesary, seemingly not precipitated by anything MIL players did. The plays at second were bad enough, but running through Aguilar's ankle at 1B last night was the kind of cheap shot you almost never seen in baseball, Dwyane Wade-level bullshit. I think I am still on board for going after him hard, but the last few days have made me question that somewhat. I do love how much Sox fans already hate him, though.
He has been hitting so far this postseason, .881 OPS with 3 HRs in 9 games. His baserunning on the winning run last night was impressive too, hustling to 2B on a ball that didn't get too far away from the C and then flying home on Bellinger's single with a textbook slide to finish it off.
Yeah he's got places to polish but he is 26 and does everything fairly perfectly. He's going to be a monster. The Yankees would be nuts not to go all out for him.
He's played well when I've been watching this LCS.
He's played well when I've been watching this LCS.
After all the passed balls from Grandal and others this postseason, Sanchez certainly isn't the only offender. Does the trend towards framing pitches lead to more passed balls? I am no expert but it seems like more pitchers are bouncing hard stuff in the ground, and there seem to be more cross ups, too. Plus, the average velocity is about 10 miles higher than when Yogi was catching.
People say this doesn't have much effect, but not sure I buy it. I wonder how many stolen strikes counterbalance a passed ball on average? 2? 3?
The last two factors are big also, signs seem to have gotten more complicated all the time to avoid them being stolen.
I think framing absolutely does lead to more passed balls and we've seen multiple cases of it this post-season. One of the issues I see with Sanchez is he doesn't seem to have a feel for when he should be framing. He'll try to frame a pitch that is so far off the plate that it has no chance of being called a strike and it has probably cost him some passed balls.
I don't know if there are more crossups but I suppose it would make sense since all the teams are so worried about sign stealing that they are going to multiple signs all the time just giving that many more chances for a crossup.
The changing world of catching is an interesting discussion. Would love to hear what some great defensive catchers of the past have to say, especially guys like Pudge and Fisk. Just the whole onslaught of power pitchers for nine innings has to wear a catcher down.
Sign stealing has been around forever. Technology opens up new avenues but it really comes down to just keeping the stealing on the field and in the dugout.
The other mistake Sanchez and some other catchers make is framing strikes on the edge, yanking them further into the strike zone. They lose strikes this way because umps (a) don’t like to be framed and (b) often think if the catcher needed to frame a pitch, especially a low strike, it was out of the zone to begin with.
I see kids do this all the time, but it’s amazing to see it at the professional level. There’s a common misunderstanding about pitch framing, that it’s subtly pulling borderline pitches into the strike zone. That’s wrong. Good framing has more to do with body placement and *how* you catch the ball where it is, rather than moving your glove after you’ve caught it. One easy to understand example of this is catching low strikes with fingers up instead of turning the mitt over. I’ve seen umps call clear low strikes balls just because a catcher was lazy and flipped the mitt to receive it.
Apologies for being pedantic. I’m a catcher’s dad.
So being a catcher's dad, you presumably have given more thought to this topic than me and I am curious: do you think there is a way for the catcher/pitcher to communicate pitch selection electronically and quickly? That would presumably cut way down on both crossups and sign-stealing and speed up games without impacting the actual sport really, so yes, please, if at all possible.
I actually haven’t given any thought to electronic signaling. Don’t know about crossups, but sign stealing is pretty easy to defend against with the right system. I think sign stealing is overrated, mostly about head games, and that teams “let on” that they are stealing signs when what’s really going on is that pitchers are tipping. If a pitcher is tipping, you’d want him and his team to think the reason you’re on his pitches is that you’re stealing signs... so they change signs and he keeps tipping pitches.
Edit: Catchers can also tip pitches by how they set up. That might be what some teams’ outfield spies are picking up on and relaying back to the batter.
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After all that international signing bonus money the Yankees acquired, Victor Victor Mesa ends up a Marlin.
We went through this on the other thread already, Cashman used all of his money up (except for maybe $800K) by early August, he signed two top 12 guys with the original allotment and two more with the space acquired in the trades. They got Osiel Rodriguez and Alex Vargas with the additional money:
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2018/7/30/17628560/yankees-sign-osiel-rodriguez-prospect-international-pitching
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2018/8/1/17638816/yankees-sign-alexander-vargas-international-prospects-cuba-shortstop
BAL was the only other possible realistic spot for Mesa once they became eligible, they and MIA had the most money left but it wouldn't be surprising if MIA had the inside track on them all along. If NY had held out to try to get Mesa and they didn't get him, there likely wouldn't be anyone left to spend it on instead.
As we and everyone have said/assumed, Cashman is almost certainly going to go nuts in the FA market, but I am dying to see what he has lined up as far as trades. This is the guy who somehow managed to get totally rid of a year of Headley and two years of Starlin (the worst defensive 2B in the AL) Castro last winter, he has some way way more tempting trade chips this winter if he chooses to use them. Andujar needs to be moved from 3B, but he has a special bat at 23 even if he is a DH. So many options are on the table for Cashman, it's hard to even speculate but I can't wait for moves to start happening.
Anyone catch the R2/C2 season in review podcast? It's a great listen, especially the part where CC says he was embarrassed, the clubhouse chemistry was absolutely amazing but he just couldn't understand why throughout the whole season they just never got rolling. I thought about creating a thread for this regarding how many things went wrong despite winning 100 games, but perhaps it'll happen naturally in the future.
1) Greg Bird failed his audition
2) Gary Sanchez missed half a season and hit under 200
3) Sonny Gray had the worst SP season in the league
4) Luis Severino had the worst second half for any SP in the league
5) Chapman's knee made him disappear in the second half
6) Judge was out for 2 months
7) Andujar's defense
8) Gardner had an almost invisible season at the plate, hitting well below career avgs and almost 100 OPS points below last season
9) Montgomery went down for the year
10) Clint Frazier concussion kept him out of the competition while he was absolutely mashing in AAA
11) Neil Walker was a complete no show all season
1) Greg Bird failed his audition
2) Gary Sanchez missed half a season and hit under 200
3) Sonny Gray had the worst SP season in the league
4) Luis Severino had the worst second half for any SP in the league
5) Chapman's knee made him disappear in the second half
6) Judge was out for 2 months
7) Andujar's defense
8) Gardner had an almost invisible season at the plate, hitting well below career avgs and almost 100 OPS points below last season
9) Montgomery went down for the year
10) Clint Frazier concussion kept him out of the competition while he was absolutely mashing in AAA
11) Neil Walker was a complete no show all season
On the bright side, trying to explain how this team did win 100 games:
Neil Walker had a few key hits in the second half. Austin Romine excelled until they really needed him. Torres was out of his mind for two months. Fielding and hitting. Andujar spraying doubles all over the field. Hicks offsetting Gardy’s diminishing returns at the plate. Judge being Judge until the injury. The bullpen covering up for a staff of five-inning starters.
Playing .700 ball well into June cushioned this team for the anticipated regression and inevitable injuries. Mostly, I think the poor seasons of Sanchez and Bird were partially offset by Romine and Voit.
What happens to great teams is most everything goes right. A few players have career years, not career half-years. Severino and Torres could not sustain greatness, for complicated reasons. Andujar’s fielding issues finally got into his own head.
Boston did all the right things this season. The Sox encountered adversity and played through it. Their approach to hitting was sounder. Their great players played great for the entire season.
Next year. Wait till next year. That’s what the old Dodger fans used to say.
Neil Walker had a few key hits in the second half. Austin Romine excelled until they really needed him. Torres was out of his mind for two months. Fielding and hitting. Andujar spraying doubles all over the field. Hicks offsetting Gardy’s diminishing returns at the plate. Judge being Judge until the injury. The bullpen covering up for a staff of five-inning starters.
Playing .700 ball well into June cushioned this team for the anticipated regression and inevitable injuries. Mostly, I think the poor seasons of Sanchez and Bird were partially offset by Romine and Voit.
What happens to great teams is most everything goes right. A few players have career years, not career half-years. Severino and Torres could not sustain greatness, for complicated reasons. Andujar’s fielding issues finally got into his own head.
Boston did all the right things this season. The Sox encountered adversity and played through it. Their approach to hitting was sounder. Their great players played great for the entire season.
Next year. Wait till next year. That’s what the old Dodger fans used to say.
I think that is absolutely one of the answers, yes. I mean, just watch someone like Blake Treinen spike a pitch in front of his catcher that starts around the belt (his vicious slider) and how hard many guys now throw two seamers (in the mid 90s) and I imagine the overall difficultly level has increased for catchers as a result, as pitching coaches now know how to better identify and develop pitchers with above average spin rates....
The Yankees have gone from 84 to 91 to 100 wins in their rebuilding plan since Aug 2016, I think people forget that they had literally no one in place long-term at that point and HOU and BOS had so many guys in place already. Sanchez and Judge came up around then and even Severino wasn't in the rotation for good until the end of spring training 2017 (when he proceeded to have a year and a half as a top 3 AL pitcher, no exaggeration, before the awful second half this year). BOS and HOU are historically great teams and will keep being great (HOU has a top farm system still), very high bar but NY is poised to take a shot this winter.
Harper looking for 10 years at $350 million,
http://web.yesnetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20181024&content_id=299625730
I honestly thought it would be much more.
http://web.yesnetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20181024&content_id=299625730
I honestly thought it would be much more.