2024-25 Yankees Offseason

Snatch Catch

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Whenever I go back to look at the Yankee rosters of a quarter century ago, it is almost always a Groundhog Day experience for me because of the 2001 Cy Young Award. The egregiousness hits me like the first time, every single time. It is every single stat when comparing the two (with the obvious exception of wins), and they PLAYED FOR THE SAME TEAM. Some of the numbers even become visual jokes, like ERA (3.15 vs 3.51). And Mussina finsihed 5th (FIFTH!) in the voting.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_2001.shtml#all_AL_CYA_voting

The whole thing is just frustrating and absurd every time I look at it, and at the very least I'm happy that we've moved out of the depths of those dark ages of valuation idiocy.
 

Max Power

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Whenever I go back to look at the Yankee rosters of a quarter century ago, it is almost always a Groundhog Day experience for me because of the 2001 Cy Young Award. The egregiousness hits me like the first time, every single time. It is every single stat when comparing the two (with the obvious exception of wins), and they PLAYED FOR THE SAME TEAM. Some of the numbers even become visual jokes, like ERA (3.15 vs 3.51). And Mussina finsihed 5th (FIFTH!) in the voting.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_2001.shtml#all_AL_CYA_voting

The whole thing is just frustrating and absurd every time I look at it, and at the very least I'm happy that we've moved out of the depths of those dark ages of valuation idiocy.
If Mussina wanted the award so bad, he would have asked his team to score more runs for him.
 

jon abbey

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I've never actually seen Max Fried pitch. Is he a Jimmy Key type? Doesn't throw super hard, but mixes up his pitches and moves the ball around?
I haven't really seen him either, but it's a little bit strange to me to compare him to RHPs. I looked around some for comparisons other people have made, and didn't find much, but his similarity scores on BR are interesting, especially #1. An edited for relevance list (I know Bieber and Burnes are righties):


  1. Framber Valdez (960.4)


  2. Shane Bieber (949.5)

  3. James Paxton (942.7)

  4. Corbin Burnes (937.3)
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/friedma01.shtml
 

Snatch Catch

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Clemens winning in 2001 was cosmic restitution for this miscarriage of justice.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1990.shtml#AL_CYA_voting
If we're going by bWAR, maybe Welch winning in 1990 was cosmic restitution for this miscarriage of justice? (Just kidding)

https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1987.shtml#AL_CYA_voting

In all seriousness, Both 1990 Clemens and 2001 Mussina were jobbed. Clemens in 1990 was so obviously wronged, and Mussina in 2021was just flat out ignored. Clemens was the clearest winner who did not get the award, but at least he finished second. Mussina was the clear winner in 2001, but he basically wasn't even considered for the award, getting 0 first place votes and finishing 5th in the voting.

Interestingly, there is a massive gulf between the fWAR and bWAR of Welch's '87. His 7.1 bWAR had him leading the NL, but his fWAR of 4.5 was 6th overall in the NL. The difference in the emphasis on fielding independent stats (fWAR uses more of them, bWAR looks at all outs the same) makes up the discrepancy. Clemens and Mussina led the AL in both fWAR and bWAR in 1987 and 2001, respectively.
 

Snatch Catch

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Fangraphs had him as the #11 Cubs prospect in their update last month, there’s a writeup here:

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/chicago-cubs-top-37-prospects/
Love this kind of signing. Love. Take all the chances possible with these types of high ceiling guys.

This is a funky, low-slot righty with a mid-90s sinker, a potentially plus-plus changeup, and a righty-dowsing slider. Arias’ best changeups have devastating finish and are nasty enough for him to miss bats right-on-right.
 

EvilEmpire

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A converted SS who has only been pitching pro ball for three years and has interesting stuff? Yeah, love it. Maybe he never learns the control he needs to be successful, but I don't think 3 years is enough time to really know that he won't.
 

jon abbey

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He has two options left also.

It’s not impossible that this is one of those moves where Cashman puts him on the 40 man only to DFA him and hope no one claims him, so NY gets him back without clogging the spot. But more likely I still think Cashman plans to trade away a few established relievers and this is a little more depth when he does.
 

jon abbey

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I can't believe I am actually sinking to this level of 'reporting', but Marcus Stroman has wiped his Instagram completely clean, and replaced his photo with one of a horse (?).
 

Snatch Catch

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Yeah, it seems like something is brewing. Kuty had an extended piece in the Athletic yesterday about whether or not the Yankees should trade him, and ended it with a bolded "PREDICTION" section that said he believed Stroman would be traded in Spring Training.
 

EvilEmpire

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Hopefully it references him being a workhorse for another team.

I like Marcus and was a fan of the deal. Thought it would work out better. I hope he rebounds with another team and plays well against everyone but the Yankees.
 

mefck

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Aug 15, 2006
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It is a bit surprising that the Yankees have not yet announced any international signings. I read somewhere they’re hoping to grab someone from the Dodgers.

A very small percentage of me is holding out hope despite very solid reporting to the contrary.
 

Snatch Catch

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I have collected ephemera for as long as I can remember - I'm talking back to 7-8 years old - especially newspapers. After years of lugging my treasure in boxes and garbage bags as we moved around the country together, my wife has finally inspired me to either throw out or get a better hold of the "commons" of my collection, so I've spent the morning putting papers in archival bags. Saw this one below the fold on one front page, and thought you guys might enjoy it. April 7th, 1996:

94866
 

ThePrideofShiner

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I'm fascinated that they used period instead of quarter in the Nets teaser, and why they didn't use a comma after Ramsey girls.

Also, I'm not sure what paper that is - the the Bergen Record maybe? - but man having people as good as Klapisch as a random beatwriter really hammers home how much the current media environment sucks.
 

Snatch Catch

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I'm fascinated that they used period instead of quarter in the Nets teaser, and why they didn't use a comma after Ramsey girls.

Also, I'm not sure what paper that is - the the Bergen Record maybe? - but man having people as good as Klapisch as a random beatwriter really hammers home how much the current media environment sucks.
Yep, you nailed it - my hometown paper, The Bergen Record. I actually randomly ended up drinking with Klap out in Hoboken one night when I was in my mid 20s and he was in his mid 40s (creepily?) chasing after a friend of mine at the time. Really bizarre night.

But Klap isn't even the gold standard of The Record. Guess who our local NBA guy was in the late 90s, that sometimes moonlighted for MLB coverage in big spots?

Woj.jpg
 

jon abbey

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It is a bit surprising that the Yankees have not yet announced any international signings. I read somewhere they’re hoping to grab someone from the Dodgers.

A very small percentage of me is holding out hope despite very solid reporting to the contrary.
For Sasaki? That's not happening.

I would not worry one bit about NY's approach to international signings, they are quite good at that. They have already moved one $1.75M signing from the current period into last year's period that ended Jan 15 (via the money they got in the Narvaez deal with BOS), so they have some flexibility with the current signings and are presumably waiting to see if other commits come free as you say. They evidently told their commits they would be signing them closer to the 22nd, waiting on Sasaki's decision and the fallout there.
 

EvilEmpire

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They evidently told their commits they would be signing them closer to the 22nd, waiting on Sasaki's decision and the fallout there.
I have to admit I'm a little curious to see who gets Sasaki and presumably doesn't have the money for targets they were previously cultivating, and what those opportunities are for teams that still do.
 

Max Power

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View: https://twitter.com/theyankscenter/status/1879587120039551329


Since we have been talking about him.

Only two more years.
When someone says, "Who cares what Juan Soto makes in the last 5 years of his deal? That's what you pay to get his production today." I think of situations like this. The Yankees are the richest or second richest team in the game, yet they're still going to keep a guy who had a 51 OPS+ last year because he's still under contract and they don't want to just flush the money down the toilet.
 

jon abbey

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When someone says, "Who cares what Juan Soto makes in the last 5 years of his deal? That's what you pay to get his production today." I think of situations like this. The Yankees are the richest or second richest team in the game, yet they're still going to keep a guy who had a 51 OPS+ last year because he's still under contract and they don't want to just flush the money down the toilet.
Well, it's not Opening Day yet. They cut bait on Hicks a few years before his contract expired, I don't think DJ will make the roster no matter what, but there's no real reason to dump him in January. They don't need the 40 man spot, they are currently at 38.

But in general I agree, dead money always affects a team to some extent.
 

Yo La Tengo

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Are there a lot of NYY fans in Finland? A quick look: Judge with a 199 wRC+, Stanton predicted to put up better numbers than any batter on the Red Sox, and Ben Rice predicted to have almost the same wRC+ as Jarren Duran.

EDIT- I see the issue of bat speed being potentially overrated, hence Stanton's wildly optimistic predicted numbers, but it is hard to look past the idea that Stanton will outperform every Red Sox Batter. He is predicted, at age 35, to have the most home runs (39) and the highest slugging % (.533) since his massive year with the Marlins at age 27. OOPSY might need some more work.

And, just to show my true colors, I'm extremely confident in the OOPSY pitching formula, since it predicts the Sox will have the third best pitching staff in MLB.
 
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jon abbey

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Wow, here’s a trivia question:

Who was the last player the Yankees drafted in the first 10 picks of the 1st round?

Derek Jeter at #6 in 1992.
 

Snatch Catch

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I didn't see it posted anywhere, but they officially signed their top two IFA prospects, Manny Cedeño and Ruben Castillo a few days ago, the former of which got $2.5M.

Cedeño will also play most of this year at 16, which will make following any DSL/complex ball stuff with him especially interesting.
 

jon abbey

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Most of what's written in the offseason is not worth reading, educated guessing and plenty of uneducated guessing, but ESPN this AM has a very good look at NY's offseason, complete with plenty of quotes from Yankee front office people. This is the biggest immediate takeaway:

"Acquiring a third baseman or second baseman -- and having Jazz Chisholm Jr. play the other position -- remains on their to-do list, though club officials maintain they have internal options, including DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza. Trading for Nolan Arenado or signing Alex Bregman are not among the options, sources said."

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/43611669/2025-new-york-yankees-free-agency-trades-pivot-juan-soto-brian-cashman-hal-steinbrenner-better

But the whole piece is really good, well worth a click for Yankee fans.
 

EvilEmpire

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I'm sure it won't happen, and given the injury, Kim probably doesn't increase the chances, but I would love it if Tampa was willing to trade the last year of Lowe for something reasonable.
 

ThePrideofShiner

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From that article is this mind-boggling paragraph:

Goldschmidt's down season -- he batted .245 with 22 home runs, a .716 OPS, and 1.1 fWAR -- would still be a considerable improvement on the production the Yankees received from their first basemen in 2024, who ranked last in the majors in OPS (.594), tied for 26th in home runs (17) and 27th in fWAR (-1.2).
 

jon abbey

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Omar Minaya, currently employed as a ‘special assistant to the GM’ by the Yankees, was on WFAN last night and said the Yankees are not done making moves.
 

jon abbey

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NY signs the remnants of Carlos Carrasco to a minor league deal.

Carrasco amazingly has a cumulative negative bWAR over the last six seasons, 547 innings of a 5.02 ERA and a -0.5 bWAR.
 

EvilEmpire

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Maybe they see something. Or maybe they're just doing a solid for another driveline guy and giving him a chance. Either way, cool.
 

jon abbey

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Also Matt Blake and Carrasco overlapped in CLE from 2015-19.
 

Sad Sam Jones

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I'll always root for Cookie – he might be the best human being in MLB – but he should have retired as soon as Cleveland no longer needed him in the rotation last year... or really, a few years ago. He surely has enough nonprofit work to keep him busy.
 

EvilEmpire

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Even though it is a small move, I've been waiting for the Hill deal. Useful and cheap lefty. Glad to see it got done.

I hope we get some clarity on 2B/3B by the end of the week. I'm not opposed to Cabrera/Peraza being the answer, but I guess I'd like to know better what the team is thinking.

Edit: And what happens with Stroman too, I guess.
 

Wingack

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jon abbey

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Cashman is starting his 'trying to add AAAA depth by claiming/waiving/hoping no one else claims them' process, today NY claimed SS Braden Shewmake. He is 27 and has almost no MLB track record, but he was a first round pick in 2019 and Cashman loves those yet-to-blossom first round talents.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/01/royals-designate-braden-shewmake-for-assignment.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

NY can do this because Tim Hill hasn't been officially added, so Shewmake is their 40th guy on the 40 man with Hill still pending.