Heyman: Ellsbury to sign seven-year deal with Yankees

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Jordu

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This makes Ellsbury the highest paid (AAV) outfielder in the game, right? Aren't Kemp and Crawford at $20m?
 

SoxLegacy

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Sorry to see Ells go, but that is some seriously crazy money for him. I am glad the Sox restrained themselves. Bring on Bradley!
 

beta1296

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On one hand I am glad the Sox didn't do this contract. If it was any team other than the Yankees I would be 100% okay with him walking at that money. On the other hand, the fact that he is going to the Yankees is a kick in the nuts that I will not get over for awhile. Jacoby has been one of my favorite players ever. That is in the past now. If he is a Yankee I hope his speed leaves him and he becomes a drag on the Yankees for the next 8 years.
 

Plympton91

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luckysox said:
I'm trying not to hate this.
But I f'ing hate this.
I don't want to root against the guy, but now I have to, and I will, and I will be sad doing so
 
So, in sadness, I say, I hope your arms pops off in February, Jacoby.
 
 
I don't know.  The rotisserie-ization of major league baseball plus the bastardization of the playoffs into more of a post-season tournament has made it hard to sustain those old hatreds.  I find it easier and easier to root for the players I liked as Red Sox even when they move on, as long as they're not actually playing the Red Sox.  I'll still root for Jacoby when he's not playing the Red Sox both because I like him after following his career for 10 years and because the Red Sox aren't really even directly competing with the Yankees anymore for a single playoff spot.  There are plenty of times during any given year where the Yankees winning helps the Red Sox more than not.  It's just a different business, and ever more clearly just a business on both sides of the negotiating table, so root for the laundry, but appreciate the great players, regardless of which laundry they're wearing.
 

ivanvamp

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YTF said:
 
Yeah a nice little switcheroo, but they spent a shit ton in $$$ and years for McCann and Ells and still have no left side of the infield and holes in the rotation.
 
Agreed.  But money isn't a problem in NY, obviously.  The concept of them staying below the luxury tax is laughable.  So they're going to just spend what they need to spend.  It's how they roll.  They'll fill those spots with something pretty solid.
 

ivanvamp

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JimD said:
 
This.  The Yankees need an awful lot to go right to have a serious shot at a title. 
 
Do they?  They had a TON of injuries this past season and still won 85 games.  92 got a wild card spot.  Forget the long run for a minute and focus on 2014.  They've improved a metric ton at C (from Stewart to McCann….like going from a borderline AA player to an all-star), and now a lot at CF as well.  Teixeira will be back and presumably healthy, which should help a ton.  Jeter, for all his flaws, is better than a lot of the dreck they threw out there last year.  Soriano isn't an all-star, but a full year of him is a great improvement over what they had last year.  They lose Granderson, but then again, he basically didn't play at all last year, so it doesn't even figure into the equation.  
 
Their offense is suddenly a LOT better than last year.  All they need to do is add a pitcher or two (which they will) and they could easily get back to the 92-94 win range.  And then they have as legit a shot as anyone at that point.
 

One Red Seat

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Plympton91 said:
I don't know.  The rotisserie-ization of major league baseball plus the bastardization of the playoffs into more of a post-season tournament has made it hard to sustain those old hatreds.  I find it easier and easier to root for the players I liked as Red Sox even when they move on, as long as they're not actually playing the Red Sox.  I'll still root for Jacoby when he's not playing the Red Sox both because I like him after following his career for 10 years and because the Red Sox aren't really even directly competing with the Yankees anymore for a single playoff spot.  There are plenty of times during any given year where the Yankees winning helps the Red Sox more than not.  It's just a different business, and ever more clearly just a business on both sides of the negotiating table, so root for the laundry, but appreciate the great players, regardless of which laundry they're wearing.
Sounds logical and rational and I guess part of me wishes I felt this way but in truth, even if it doesn't make sense, I feel much closer to the previous post. That is to say.....I hope his arm pops off in February
 

Steve22

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I can't imagine the baseball ops people in NY are too happy about this one. Reeks of an ownership move. 
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Sportsbstn said:
7 years for Ellsbury and over 20 million per?  Yikes, Yanks will regret this one.
 
See, here's the thing.  We know that in 2013 the Yankees had revenues of $400mm.   They probably will have even more next season with renewed buzz around the team.   This means that, even with ARod's salary coming back on the books, that they can conceivably spend closer to $250mm and still make some money.    So they won't really regret any of their current contracts save for maybe ARod.
 
And if things don't work out in the later years, the Yankees can afford to sweep the contract under the rug via a subsidized trade to whomever sucks at the time.     In other words, aside from the ARod extension they don't ever deal in regret.  And I am not even sure that their regret on that deal is the same pain that other teams feel when they sign long-dated, horrible deals.
 
Ellsbury, McCann, Cano and another arm make the Yankees a lot more formidable for sure.  Great move for them all things considered.
 

JakeRae

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I still think that this has as good a chance as any mega deal of looking like a great deal for the Yankees when all is said and done. Ellsbury is a 6 win player right now with the potential to put up a couple 9 win seasons early on in this deal. He has a skill set that ages well and has already flashed 30 hr power. There is obviously risk in this deal, but Ellsbury remains the big splash FA who was available this offseason who is getting paid significantly less than he is worth if he plays to his potential.

That said, I am fine with him being gone. I don't think the Red Sox circumstances permitted them to pay him this much. Bradley for the next 6 years is likely a far superior value and that's a great thing for Boston.

I wish Ellsbury well and would be fine watching him put up perennial 30 hr seasons in New York. I do hope he never wins another championship.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Bongorific said:
No reason to be upset. This was entirely predictable.
He was gone the second he switched to Boras a few years back. Anyone who thought otherwise was dreaming.

It isn't quite the Crawford deal redux as he plays CF and is a good fit for the park, but that's still a deal I had no interest in from the Sox' p.o.v.
 

Jack Sox

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Steve22 said:
I can't imagine the baseball ops people in NY are too happy about this one. Reeks of an ownership move.
Seems to be some truth to this:

@RobertMurrayMLB: Source: Many within the #Yankees organization unhappy about the Jacoby Ellsbury deal.
 

mauidano

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JakeRae said:
I wish Ellsbury well and would be fine watching him put up perennial 30 hr seasons in New York. I do hope he never wins another championship.
General consensus right here.  The MFY's troubles go deeper than catcher and CF.
 

staz

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Going to 7 years assumes that someone else was willing to go at least 6 at $20M+ per. If not Boston, and not either LA, then who? Texas? Who was even in the same universe with this contract?
 

FanSinceBoggs

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I wonder if the Yankees know something we don't know about the Cano negotiations.  For example, maybe Cano received an offer that the Yankees don't intend to match.  Consequently, the Yankees saw the opening to spend on Ellsbury with the plan to trade for B.Phillips to replace Cano at 2b.
 

LeoCarrillo

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This does nothing to change, IMO, the biggest threat in the division - the Rays.

If in another world Ells had gone there (or, hell, even Baltimore), I'd be much more concerned. The Yankees have to improve in about half a dozen additional areas before I get really worried about what's happening in the Bronx.


This post made my night. No, I wouldn't want Ben to match the deal. Yes, it sucks the MFY got him. But as this post says, knowing that it would hurt so much more in real, competitive terms if he'd gone to Tampa or Baltimore . . . Well that illuminates how off-course the MFY are and put a smile back on my face.
 

DanoooME

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He's a loss definitely and I think we should all appreciate his efforts in a Sox uniform and not give him the Foulke treatment.  I'm glad it's the Yankees spending the money and not the Sox.  It shows they learned the lesson from the Punto deal.
 
I think Bradley will end up replacing Ellsbury well.  Yes, it may not happen next year (and it may happen too), but I like the fact this organization is thinking long-term and not just the short-term.
 
What's going to be interesting is their OF defense.  It's pretty much got to be Gardner, Ells, Ichiro left to right with Soriano at DH and Wells on the bench.  They won't have a lot of ways to get Soriano into the OF unless someone gets hurt.  Wells may be able to fill in RF in a pinch, but it can't be an optimal solution.
 

DieHardSoxFan1

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A 5.8 WAR player leaves town and we're all glad to see him go?

As Fangraphs noted recently, guys with Ellsbury's profile tend to age pretty gracefully. This makes the Yankees a much better team in the immediate future. If they win a WS, nobody here (or there) is going to be bitching about his salary in 2020.
 

RoDaddy

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Great effing move by the skanks.  I gotta hand it to them.  This instantly brings back the Red Sox-Yanks rivalry, and sends a "FU and your 3 WS" reminder from them that they're still our hated rival. They're under our skin now - damn - I was still enjoying the post-WS euphoria.
 

Ananti

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And this is why all those who say there is little difference between the MFYs and the Red Sox are full of it. You have never seen the Red Sox sign away a star MFY free agent. Because it has never happened, nor will it ever happen. And it really sucks that if we continue to be value conscious this will happen more in the future. It won't just be Damon and Youk and Ellsbury, it could some day be Lester,or (gulp) Papi and Bogaerts.
 
Having said that, while the sentimental side of it sucks, head has to win over heart here.  The Sox paid Ellsbury 21 million over his first 6 years, and when all it's said and done, I'm willing to bet the Yankee's don't get as much for their 152 as the Sox did for their 21. So in this exchange I'd much rather be the Red Sox than the MFYs.
 
Also, I think there is a good chance that JBJ matches Ellsbury over the next 7 years at a fraction of the cost.
 

CoffeeNerdness

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staz said:
Going to 7 years assumes that someone else was willing to go at least 6 at $20M+ per. If not Boston, and not either LA, then who? Texas? Who was even in the same universe with this contract?
C'mon man. Scott Boras is brilliant. The only thing that you can assume about the under bidder is that there was at least one mystery team involved.
 

Joe D Reid

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I sort of assume that this deal will end up like the last multiyear deal the Yankees gave a Sox CF coming off of a World Series win-- not quite worth it for NYY, although they will get one flag out of the deal, and ultimately the right move long-term for the Sox.

In the short term, a lot depends on Cano. Right now, the Yankees have improved at catcher, but essentially traded Vernon Wells in the OF for Brendan Ryan at 2B. Not sure that really moves the needle.
 

SemperFidelisSox

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It should be pointed out in forecasting the Yankees chances in the east in 2014 that this division will likely add Tanaka and lose Price this offseason. That, along with the McCann and Ellsbury deals, puts the Yankees right back in contention for the division.
 

rembrat

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Wingack said:
Wow.
 
I am kind of stunned and annoyed.
Nice. I've always imagined Yankee fans as 16year old girls with rich daddies who desperately want to buy their daughters love. UGH DAD I ALREADY HAVE A PONY.

Kidding, of course.
 

chawson

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I don't doubt the Sox made a competitive offer, but there's no way they would have signed or traded for a major piece before Ellsbury signed elsewhere. They had to know the Yanks were in, and it would have reduced the contract significantly.
 
So if there's legs to this Kemp thing, it'll probably happen soon; it may have already been agreed to in principle.
 

PaulinMyrBch

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I'm fine with it. 7 is too long.

Here's hoping we start a thread titled "JBJ signs with the Yanks for 7 years" in 7 years.

Play for us, get overpaid by them.
 

Remagellan

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All I know is recently the team that makes the splashiest moves in the offseason (us three years ago, the Jays last season) have found themselves at the bottom of the division soon afterwards.   I hope that trend continues.  
 
If the past few years has taught us anything it's that you can't crown the winners of the offseason until after the postseason.    
 

curly2

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I don't hate Ellsbury, nor do I blame him for taking a great deal. He grew up in Oregon, 3,000 miles away from the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. Baseball is his business. And John Henry had the money to give him, if he wanted to. The Red Sox chose not to, and Ellsbury chose to take a tremendous offer from the Yankees.
 
There's no blame to heap on anybody here.
 
I thank Ellsbury for his time in Boston and his contribution to two World Series titles. And I hope he doesn't win another one, at least for the next seven years.
 
And I look forward to Jon Lester, Felix Doubront, Andrew Miller and Craig Breslow dominating him, and hope the Sox right-handed pitchers can at least fight him to a draw.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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CoffeeNerdness said:
They'll come off the turnbuckle and sign Cano too. Commitment to the fans yada yada.
 
This is it.  They never had plans to get below the cap.  Their revenue base is immense at all times and should grow when interest in the team increases ( in terms of revenues, the Yankees are in their own stratosphere, the Red Sox their own orbit and then there is everyone else).  
 
The 2014 Yankees will have a lot of interest out of the gate and if Ells and McCann play up to expectations, they will be selling plenty of Brother Jimmy's BBQ and Hebrew National Dogs to be washed down with copious amounts of soda and beer too.    They could arguably spend up to, say ~$230mm on payroll which would essentially net to ~$250mm after the luxury tax and still have around the same (or better) net operating profit.
 

quint

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a really good source
SemperFidelisSox said:
It should be pointed out in forecasting the Yankees chances in the east in 2014 that this division will likely add Tanaka and lose Price this offseason. That, along with the McCann and Ellsbury deals, puts the Yankees right back in contention for the division.
Until every chip falls, it really doesn't. And even then it doesn't.
 

cherno

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SemperFidelisSox said:
It should be pointed out in forecasting the Yankees chances in the east in 2014 that this division will likely add Tanaka and lose Price this offseason. That, along with the McCann and Ellsbury deals, puts the Yankees right back in contention for the division.
 
It should also be pointed out that they've lost Pettitte & potentially Kuroda from their starting rotation, along with the best closer over the last 15 years. Add Cano, Granderson, and potentially Ichiro as lost FAs, factored with significant problems/limitations at SS/3B, and it seems to me that the Yankees still have more problems to address than solutions.
 
I was surprised to learn that even with the McCann/Ells signings (factoring in arb eligible players), the Yankees are still about $45M BELOW the luxury tax threshold. They still have money to sign 2 more FAs, but more than likely they'll trade for Phillips & go after Tanaka. 
 
CSN also just reported that the Yankees potentially made Drew an offer as well. So looking forward to the X/JBJ eras to begin next year.
 

VORP Speed

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I'm fine with it. 7 is too long.

Here's hoping we start a thread titled "JBJ signs with the Yanks for 7 years" in 7 years.

Play for us get, overpaid by them.


You guys are starting to sound like Rays fan(s). I don't like it. Go splash some cash and overpay for lots of decline years, please!
 

Sampo Gida

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beta1296 said:
RT @JLundbladESPN: At $21.9M, Jacoby Ellsbury will average more than David Ortiz + Dustin Pedroia's COMBINED salary for 2014 ($21.8M)
 
I am seeing Papi (15 million) and Pedey (12.5 million)  making 27.5 million. He must be looking at Pedey old contract and missed the escalator on Papis 2014 deal for being healthy in 2013.
 

aksoxfan

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CaskNFappin said:
"There's no way I can go play for the Yankees, but I know they are going to come after me hard. It's definitely not the most important thing to go out there for the top dollar, which the Yankees are going to offer me. It's not what I need."

-Jacoby Ellsbury
Relatives must have gotten to him... 
 

brandonchristensen

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CaskNFappin said:
"There's no way I can go play for the Yankees, but I know they are going to come after me hard. It's definitely not the most important thing to go out there for the top dollar, which the Yankees are going to offer me. It's not what I need."

-Jacoby Ellsbury
Haha...similar situation
 

AMS25

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VORP Speed said:
You guys are starting to sound like Rays fan(s). I don't like it. Go splash some cash and overpay for lots of decline years, please!
 
Nothing wrong with draft and develop, trade and develop. It's nice to spend $$$, but it's also nice to make the most of your resources.
 

TomRicardo

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SemperFidelisSox said:
It should be pointed out in forecasting the Yankees chances in the east in 2014 that this division will likely add Tanaka and lose Price this offseason. That, along with the McCann and Ellsbury deals, puts the Yankees right back in contention for the division.
 
How?  I mean, they still have no pitching.  Tanaka is not a strikeout pitcher.  He is a control specialist who pitches to contact.  Ever pitcher that has come over from Japan has had their walk rate go up significantly as well as their BABIP.  Tanaka is probably going to be mid rotation starter to begin with.
 
Sabathia was awful last year.  Not just in his stats he was decidedly awful.  
 
Kuroda, Sabathia, Tanaka, Nova, ???? is not a major league rotation right now.  Let alone to complete lack of depth behind that.
 

ShaneTrot

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It hurts. It's hard to not get upset when a homegrown All Star leaves for the MFY. He was an easy guy to root for, he never said anything stupid and never dogged it in the field. After 2013, the Front Office has a lot of credibility with me, I am sure they have contigencies. The Sox have money and they will spend it. Plus I love Jackie Bradley's skill set.
 

canderson

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Thanks for the memories, Taco. But that contract is scary high when you have Gardner, a comparable to some degree player, for much! less.

And Ben, thanks for sticking to your plan (I think I'm thankful, at least).
 
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