THE YANKS AREN'T BIG SPENDERS... JUST DO THE MATH

The media appears clueless about the issues involving money and the New York Yankees.  Look, If the Yanks re-sign Cano, they can probably sign two more free agents for a total average annual value of about $27 million.  That’s it! That's the reality.  After that, they need to wait to see what happens with Alex Rodriguez.  If ARod gets only 50 games like many are predicting, including us here at Bleeding Yankee Blue, then the Yankees will have another $9 million or so. That's the math.

Now, given that the Yankees lost Hiroki Kuroda, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Curtis Granderson, Boone Logan, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain from the 2013 roster, being able to re-sign Cano and then sign two or three free agents for about $27 to $36 million can by no means be deemed “big spending”.  There is absolutely no way the Yanks have the money to fill all the holes that they have, if they stay under that $189 million mark.  Let’s list the holes they have to fill in priority order:

• Starting Pitcher: If the Yankees are going to win the World Series in 2014, they need at least 2 good starters to go with Ivan Nova and CC Sabathia. Now, hopefully Masahiro Tanaka will be one, but then they need another.  The 2 starters that they get need must be better than CC and Nova. That's my opinion.  Aside from Tanaka, I am not sure who the second one should be.  A good Free Agent starter will cost at least $13 million per year.  Tanaka could be had for $11 million.  Total cost is about $24 million. 

• Second Base: It is not worth debating this.  We all know that it is inevitable that the Yanks are going to re-sign Robinson Cano. Randy Levine is playing hardball suggesting that Cano is not being realistic. We will sign him. Whether we agree or not, the Yankees are not losing Cano and there is nobody else out there willing to pay for him.  Total Cost on that is about $23 milllion.  

• Catcher: We can’t have another season with catchers that hit .200 with no power. That's the bottom line.  I am a big proponent of paying the $80 million for 5 years for Brian McCann.  The Yankees tried and failed with about 4 different catching prospects and don’t have anyone close to being ready to step in.  The closest is Gary Sanchez, who hit AA last year, but is still only 20 years old.  He’s not close to being ready.  Total cost: $16 million.

By just addressing these top 3 priorities, The Yanks will have to spend $63 million.  As shown below, that would take their payroll from $95 million to about $158 million, but that is without ARod’s salary.  With ARod’s $27.5 million, the Yanks are over the cap (remember, $189 million cap is really $177 million because $12 million must be figured in for benefits).  So the Yankees cannot even address the above 3 needs until they get a ruling on ARod and know that the suspension sticks.  If he gets only 50 games, then that means about $18 million is on the books for ARod, bringing total from $158 million to $176 million, meaning the Yanks cannot spend another dollar on any of the priorities below:

• Outfield: With Granderson gone, Ichiro and Vernon Wells are currently the starting OF platoon.  Not good enough for a winning team in my opinion, although I know Casey loves Ichiro.  We need to upgrade this spot in my opinion.  But if we addressed needs #1-3 above first, there is no money for this.  I suppose the Yankees might opt to spend the $16 million on an OF (i.e. Carlos Beltran) instead of a Catcher.  Otherwise, we are looking at a Cervelli-Romine catching tandem for 2014. I don't like that.

• The Bullpen: The Yankees not only lose Mariano Rivera, but also Boone Logan, who was a crucial member of our bullpen last year and our only reliable lefty. I know, I am up for debate on that one.  David Robertson can close for Mo, but the Yanks need to replace Robertson and Boone Logan in pen.  With no money for this, the Yanks will rely upon cheap free agents and kids and hope they work out.

• Third Base: ARod will hopefully be suspended for the year.  This leaves big hole at 3B.  My suggestion is to sacrifice here and go with Eduardo Nunez at 3B.

• First Base: The Yanks are relying upon Mark Teixeira, which is very dangerous as we saw last year. Can they afford another 1B that they can put at DH if Tex is healthy?  Looks like Yanks are just going to hold their breath and hope Tex is healthy.   Guys like James Loney or Kendrys Morales will take big money, maybe $10 million for instance, to sign and the Yanks just don’t have the money.

• Shortstop: We have Brendan Ryan as a backup and we hope Jeter is healthy. They are discussing Stephen Drew in case Jeter can’t play SS. This is a mistake. I would roll dice with Derek Jeter.

• Bench: Forget it. Not happening.

You may disagree on my breakdown and that's OK. To me, it seems that while the Yanks may be able to accomplish the top 3 Priorities above, we will not have any legitimate money to spend on the last 4.  If ARod is suspended for the year, then maybe that frees up money for the 'pen, but still no money for 1B, SS and the bench.  And getting a good OF means a good OF has to still be available when ARod’s arbitration case is decided, which could be a problem if the decision takes until late-January.

So, what does it mean? This means that the Yankees will likely go into 2014 with no legitimate 3B, health risks at 1B and SS with no viable replacements for Jeter and Tex, and a very shaky bullpen behind Robertson.  What we really need is about an extra $30 million to address those needs.

That's my take. What do you think?



--Douglas Solomon, BYB Guest Writer




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