2018 Yankees Offseason Discussion

jon abbey

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the yankees are fine on off i want dallas kechuel SP i wouild offer 4y 100 mil
A lot of people are saying this, but you can’t just bump CC to the bullpen. Keuchel’s velocity has been dropping and he is yet another lefty who gets a lot of weak contact to the left side, where NY currently has the worst defensive 3B in the game.

NY is fine on offense and pitching, their biggest issue by far is 3B defense. Andujar simply is not a MLB capable 3B and if anything, he got worse as last year progressed. It doesn’t have to be Machado, but it can’t be Miggy Statue Rock Hands.
 

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A lot of people are saying this, but you can’t just bump CC to the bullpen. Keuchel’s velocity has been dropping and he is yet another lefty who gets a lot of weak contact to the left side, where NY currently has the worst defensive 3B in the game.

NY is fine on offense and pitching, their biggest issue by far is 3B defense. Andujar simply is not a MLB capable 3B and if anything, he got worse as last year progressed. It doesn’t have to be Machado, but it can’t be Miggy Statue Rock Hands.
You should trademark this
 

jon abbey

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I actually prefer Miggy Two Bags, it describes both his offense and his defense.

I don’t quite see how NY can fit another SP onto the roster and I doubt they’d try a six man rotation all year. NY has 11 pitching spots set currently, with Kahnle and either Cessa (no options) or German (1 option) as the last two bullpen guys. You could sign Gio Gonzalez maybe in the Cessa spot, that seems like a better fit than Keuchel, but he can probably get a guaranteed rotation spot elsewhere.
 

jon abbey

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Also it's really odd to me how Moustakas hasn't been rumored at all to NY, he is such a good fit on paper (very solid D at 3B plus a 40+ HR LH bat to break up all the righties) that maybe E5 is right and Machado has been a fait accompli to the Bronx all along.

If that doesn't happen, though, Moustakas and Gio would be great depth moves and keep NY well under $246M still (they are at $213M currently).
 

jon abbey

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I have said this before (sorry) but since I am banned again from nyyfans, I keep reading very strange interpretations of NY's current roster everywhere. For one thing, people seem to think that Tulo is disposable, and while that may be true by May, he is the starter at SS coming into camp and it is his job to lose until Didi is back, that is what they promised him when they wooed him away from like 15 other teams. I am excited about him but we will see.

Anyway, the NY roster situation is obvious to me, they need to add a 3B from here, someone who is at least defensively average, whether that be Machado or Moustakas or Jose Iglesias or Hechavarria or even Gio Urshela (NY has him on a minor league deal, he is 27 and a very good fielder who played 3B for a lot of Ws with CLE in 2017). NY has three lefties in the rotation, two of their three back end relievers too, and no Didi to cover a bit for The Leaning Tower of Miggy ('past a leaning Andujar!'). If Boston wasn't so good, maybe it'd be ok to try Andujar (in vain) for a month or two, but they are and it is just giving away games. Ryan Braun played 3B his entire rookie season and never once again, there is your blueprint (or trade him to SD for Reyes/Margot, yay),

Sanchez
Voit
Gleyber
Tulo
???
Stanton
Hicks
Judge
Andujar-DH

Bench-LeMahieu, Gardner, Romine.

AAA-Clint, Bird, Wade, Margot if Cashman reads these boards and listens to me, heh

I am excited for LeMahieu in the defensive supersub role they seem to have him lined up for, he will likely be an upgrade defensively at all four infield positions at least until Didi is back, so they can use analytics and pitching/lineup matches to decide which games and position his D will be the most helpful. This is why I think they need an additional 3B even if LeMahieu is better than him as I think the hope of his flexibility was the reason they got him, still trying to find their own Zobrist or Brock or Marwin and this bumps Tyler Wade back down to regular ABs in AAA where he can try to get in a groove again.
 

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I don't agree with LeMahieu over Lowrie but it's a defensible move nonetheless. we'll see how it works out.

the Yanks look nice & deep everywhere but starting rotation, and that might be fine depending on Paxton's health.
 

jon abbey

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Their AAA rotation now is probably German, Loaisiga, Drew Hutchison, David Hale and Mike King, maybe Acevedo somewhere in there too. The first four all have at least some big league experience and King jumped three levels last year and dominated AAA in his six starts there, a 1.15 ERA. This is the one area they’ve confirmed they’d like to still add to, though.
 

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I do not want another starting pitcher. Our 1-5 is on the conversation for best in the AL and our 6-9 has a boatload of potential between Montgomery, King, Loasiga, and German.

This is something I've lightly mentioned here and there but I also think our coaching staff was overwhelmed last year with the pitching woes of Severino, Kahnle, and Chapman who all seemed to have unsolvable issues. I would be perfectly fine keeping it simple going into spring training and not having to worry about a 6-man.
 

jon abbey

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Tulo is not going to be playing over LeMahieu. The Yankees are fools if that happens.
I think you're getting caught up in the terminology, and also possibly underestimating how much Tulo's heels have affected his play the last few years (this last totally remains to be seen admittedly). But if all are healthy, here's your infield for a 7 game stretch:

Gleyber-6 games (2B)
Voit-6 games (1B)
mystery 3B-6 games (3B)
Tulo-5 games (SS)
LeMahieu-5 games (all four positions)
 

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I think you're getting caught up in the terminology, and also possibly underestimating how much Tulo's heels have affected his play the last few years (this last totally remains to be seen admittedly). But if all are healthy, here's your infield for a 7 game stretch:

Gleyber-6 games (2B)
Voit-6 games (1B)
mystery 3B-6 games (3B)
Tulo-5 games (SS)
LeMahieu-5 games (all four positions)
Mystery 3B could still be Andujar, but not for 6 games. He and DJ could share the job.
 

jon abbey

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The more Andujar plays 3B means the more Stanton is DH and the more Gardner plays, this team really is best if LeMahieu and Gardner are the 10th and 11th men, each playing 3-5 games out of 7 if everyone is healthy.

Also Andujar can't play 3B, but you know my opinion on that. :)
 

jon abbey

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Also Didi has already been cleared to start a throwing program, I don't know his exact timetable but with almost two months still to go before the season, that is promising.
 

jon abbey

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Machado, I’m guessing Iglesias and Hechavarria could both handle it pretty well too, although kind of a waste of Iglesias’ range.
 

jon abbey

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Confirming what I was saying about Tulo over the weekend:

Andy Martino‏Verified account @martinonyc
Andy Martino Retweeted SNY

Yankees are comfortable with Andujar at first if need be, but under no circumstances will anyone other than Troy Tulowitzki get first crack at starting SS job, per sources
 

jon abbey

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Also somehow Didi is taking grounders right now next to Tulo at SS, I knew he was a remarkable athlete but his recovery right now seems to be insanely fast.
 

jon abbey

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Yeah, he was not on my radar at all until this winter and seems to be better than most (admittedly a low bar).
 

jon abbey

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So now that you can put guys on the 60 day DL to free up roster spots (although the 60 days start Opening Day), Montgomery and Ellsbury frees up two spots when needed (Didi seems like he might be ready earlier).

Machado is still the obvious fit, but a Moustakas/Gio Gonzalez combo really helps NY's depth everywhere (bumping Clint Frazier and German back to AAA if all are healthy), SP depth, a middle of the order lefty power bat, much improved 3B defense.

Also Mike King going out for at least a few weeks is a bummer, but it maybe opens up a spot for Acevedo in the Scranton rotation, and he is already on the 40 man, unlike King. So a AAA rotation of German, Loaisiga, Hale, Hutchison and Acevedo as of now is my guess. And Nestor Cortes Jr. pitched great in the Dominican Winter League this winter at 23, 1.71 ERA in 42 innings. He is very streaky but still young, so he could be in the mix there too, he made the Orioles out of spring training last year as a rule 5 pick, but didn't last long before being sent back. So 5 of those 6 have at least a bit of big league experience, Acevedo got called up last year but never got in a game.
 

jon abbey

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So Moustakas off the market and Machado rumored to be going to the highest bidder which will likely be the Padres or White Sox, which means that Andujar will likely start the season at 3B.

Cashman has at least given NY the ability to easily pivot internally if Andujar is still dreadful defensively (Stanton to primary LF, Andujar to primary DH, LeMahieu to primary 3B/Wade to utility infielder or even Urshela to primary 3B and leave DJL as the backup for all infield positions) but Moustakas really would have been a nice fit as a solid defensive 3B and a power lefty bat to break up all the righties.
 

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Moustakas really would have been a nice fit as a solid defensive 3B and a power lefty bat to break up all the righties.
Moustakas made so much sense given those reasons and the short “cheap” contract (and not completely giving up on the possibility of Andujar making the leap to at least mediocre defensively) that my money is on Machado to NY at this point.
 

jon abbey

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I don't want to bump an ALDS thread, but we learned today that one reason Boone was slow to hook Severino in game 3 is that Britton had had an MRI that day and was unavailable (although he pitched two innings the next day). Cashman gave Boone permission to tell reporters this after the game, but Boone chose not to because he thought it might impact Britton's FA, so this is the first we are hearing of it (he is fully healthy now). Full interview here:

https://www.sny.tv/yankees/news/how-aaron-boone-is-changing-the-culture-of-the-yankees----and-protected-zack-britton-in-the-alds/304103356

I still think Boone is a bad manager (I thought this well before the postseason), but good job taking a bullet for one of your players at least.
 

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Great example of why killing managers for bullpen management decisions—a SoSH pastime if there ever were one—is such a fruitless exercise. So many factors we have no idea about go into guys’ availability, I find it next to useless to opine on many of these decisions.
 

jon abbey

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So this occurred to me, while reading about Vlad Jr., I really think Clint Frazier is being overlooked for a handful of reasons. One is he had too many MLB PAs already (183) or he would still be a top prospect, probably top 20 or 25 overall. Second is the concussion he battled off and on all last season (he is supposedly all better now) and third is that people think Gardner will beat him out for the LF spot, but FWIW, in between his concussion DL stints last year, his International League stats are pretty close to Vlad's:

Clint: .963 OPS (216 PAs, age 23)
Vlad: .978 OPS (128 PAs, age 19)

Obviously not comparing the two as prospects, huge age difference, and SSS on the AAA PAs for both, but with everyone saying that Vlad Jr is an All-Star level hitter right now, I thought those numbers were worth noting.
 

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I mean, I thought it was inevitable as E5 here but apparently not.





Jeff Passan
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BREAKING: Free agent star Manny Machado has agreed to a deal with the San Diego Padres, league sources tell ESPN.

So, who are they going to play at 3B? Moustakas is out and I can't see how you'd justify Andujar's D for a full season again.
 

jon abbey

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I mean, I thought it was inevitable as E5 here but apparently not.





Jeff Passan
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BREAKING: Free agent star Manny Machado has agreed to a deal with the San Diego Padres, league sources tell ESPN.

So, who are they going to play at 3B? Moustakas is out and I can't see how you'd justify Andujar's D for a full season again.
Andujar with LeMahieu and Urshela behind him, and maybe Arenado next winter.

10/300 for Machado is crazy, but still better than that Hosmer deal last winter. I’m mostly bummed as I wanted NY to trade Andujar to SD and now they have no need.
 

E5 Yaz

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Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler: “We do not have a deal. We are continuing discussions.”
 

jon abbey

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damage control / after the fact tweet here.

James Wagner‏Verified account @ByJamesWagner 2m2 minutes ago
Yankees never made a formal offer to Manny Machado, per a source, although they hosted him at Yankee Stadium. Machado wanted to top Giancarlo Stanton’s 13-year/$325M deal, and although his reported amount is a free-agent record, Yankees didn’t want to offer something that large.
It is not, it is exactly the same thing they’ve been saying for months, maybe you haven’t been paying attention (understandably). NY even said publicly before the meeting in December they weren’t going to $300M, they offered him around $220M then, he wasn’t interested, and they basically moved on then.

FWIW, the new BP annual has LeMahieu with a higher projected WAR this season than Machado, I forget the exact numbers, something like 4.9 to 4.2.
 

jon abbey

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It’s not that I’m so sure he wont* - it’s not like it would shock me - but I’m also not so sure he will* and I’m far from thinking it’s a foregone conclusion. He’s been pretty adamant about not wanting to play third and to go back to short - and with today’s news about Didi, maybe the calculus is changed and they walk away from Didi to make it happen. Maybe they throw enough money at him to change his mind, it’s not out of the realm, but even the Heyman/Boras piece, the headline even gives you a more likely landing spot - Philly.

I know it seems like I’m stirring the pot or pouring salt in wounds and I assure everyone I’m not. I just don’t think it’s any more than rumors and, yes, some arrogance. The days that the Yankees could overpay anyone they wanted or they were some special landing spot to guarantee a ticket are over. Everyone can come to the table now on FAs, with the way revenue sharing has changed from the 90s/00s.

I could see him going to the Phillies, Nats, Brewers. If he’s ok playing third, how do you take the Dodgers out or Braves or Cubs? There’s plenty of teams with the money to pay him.
Well, not sure your reasons were right, but your conclusion was correct, Machado to NY did not in fact happen, so good call.
 

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I'm happy they didn't beat that deal, assuming it goes through. Still disappointed that Moustakas signed already.
 

Big John

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I've seen multiple reports that Moustakas is staying with the Brewers, one year, $10M-- if that's the question you were asking.
 

jon abbey

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Hanser Alberto was just DFAd again, I wonder if NY tries to grab him again now that they can put guys on the 60 day DL to clear 40 man roster spaces.
 

jon abbey

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I get that ground balls are a less common occurrence in today's game but my God that left side of the infield is brutally awful.
Tulo for a few months into Didi at SS is fine, I think (keep in mind that Tulo is healthier than he's been in years, at least for now), but a lefty-heavy pitching staff and Andujar at 3B seems like a disaster waiting to happen on every ball in that direction. I would still go with Urshela at 3B, Andujar at DH, Stanton in LF, LeMahieu and Gardner coming off the bench, and Clint in AAA, but I value defense more than most, I think.
 

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Tulo for a few months into Didi at SS is fine, I think (keep in mind that Tulo is healthier than he's been in years, at least for now), but a lefty-heavy pitching staff and Andujar at 3B seems like a disaster waiting to happen on every ball in that direction. I would still go with Urshela at 3B, Andujar at DH, Stanton in LF, LeMahieu and Gardner coming off the bench, and Clint in AAA, but I value defense more than most, I think.
I don't know. Age 34, surgeries and shortstop aren't my idea of a winning trifecta. :)
 

jon abbey

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Trying to figure out a baseball-ized version of 'the proof is in the pudding', I will go with 'the proof (will be) in the pulling'. :)
 

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I don't know. Age 34, surgeries and shortstop aren't my idea of a winning trifecta. :)
I'm waiting for the article about how Devers worked on his defense and talked on facetime with <insert gold glove 3b> this winter. Andujar is atrocious but let's not pretend the Sox have JBJ at SS and 3b.
 

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I'm waiting for the article about how Devers worked on his defense and talked on facetime with <insert gold glove 3b> this winter. Andujar is atrocious but let's not pretend the Sox have JBJ at SS and 3b.
Not sure what the point is here. Devers and X aren't exactly Belanger and B. Robinson but compared to Tulo and Andjujar well it's pretty substantial. FWIW, their combined 2018 B-Ref dWAR isn't as bad as Andujar by himself. And I find it hard to believe that Tulo won't be deeply negative while he's out there.
 

jon abbey

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Devers is both not very good defensively and way better than Andujar plus he is two years younger. IMO, Devers is a 3B, albeit one who needs a lot of work still. Andujar will never be a competent 3B, again IMO obviously. I don't think NY will give him more than a month or two there if he doesn't show major signs of improvement.

Arguing about Tulo is silly as we really have no idea now. He has looked great the first day or two in spring training, 15-16 teams tried to sign him this winter, he tried to play through nagging heel injuries for the last few years which are now fixed (so his recent stats are less relevant than they are for most), but he is 34 and has had countless injury issues in the past. We'll see soon enough.