PREDICTIONS FOR MAX SCHERZER & HANLEY RAMIREZ

If you don't read MLB Trade Rumors, you're missing something. I check them out a lot, seeing what the boys have put together for us all to see.

If you know anything about me, you know I hate predictions.  It's one of those things where you just have no idea what's gonna happen with players and if you say it and you're right, you're the "called it" guy and if you are wrong... well, it just disappears.  Don't be the "called it" guy.  Then again, Tim Dierkes has predicted correctly on several occasions over the years... so I give him some props.  Good work Tim.

Today Dierkes has his predictions for the 2014-2015 top 50 free agents.  On that list was Max Scherzer & Hanley Ramirez, number 1 and number 4. In it, he wrote this:

"1.  Max Scherzer – Yankees.  Scherzer is the best starting pitcher in a free agent market loaded with quality arms, a 30-year-old strikeout machine with a Cy Young award on his resume.  Including the postseason, he tallied a 3.08 ERA in 461 1/3 innings spanning 2013-14.  Clayton Kershaw’s seven-year, $215MM deal seems out of reach, as does its $30.7MM average annual value.  A better target would be something closer to the total outlay the Yankees made last winter for Masahiro Tanaka: seven years, $175MM.  Extension talks with the Tigers broke down in March after Scherzer rejected a six-year, $144MM offer.  The Kershaw, Tanaka, and Zack Greinke deals all included opt-out clauses, something agent Scott Boras will likely seek as he negotiates on behalf of his best free agent starting pitcher since Barry Zito.  As he has before, Boras may attempt to bypass GMs in favor of convincing a team’s owner to invest.  The Yankees, Cubs, Red Sox, Astros, Dodgers, Rangers, Giants, Nationals, Orioles, and Mariners are speculative suitors we’ve kicked around, with varying degrees of probability.  And we can’t count the Tigers out entirely quite yet."

"4.  Hanley Ramirez – Yankees.  Ramirez is the best available free agent position player this year.  The Dodgers and previous GM Ned Colletti were unable or unwilling to extend him, leaving shortstop an open question for 2015 for new chief Andrew Friedman.  Ramirez is a premium right-handed bat at a time when offense is harder to come by, yet he managed only 214 games from 2013-14 due to injuries.  He also comes with defensive question marks as a shortstop, and could spend much of his next deal at the hot corner.  The new Dodgers regime could re-engage Ramirez, but otherwise his market is unclear.  The Yankees, Giants, Mariners, and Tigers are speculative matches, though there’s no perfect fit at this point.  A six-year deal is likely for Ramirez, and he has a shot at reaching seven years like Shin-Soo Choo and Jacoby Ellsbury did last winter."

Now let me state that this is great opinion and analysis and I am in no way bashing Dierkes.  The way the Yankees operate, this is right line of thinking with something they would do.  For instance, the Yankees made a statement earlier in the week that they would not go after top free agent arms this offseason, But when you have Max Scherzer staring you in the face, it's kind of hard to not want him in your rotation.  That being said, the Yankees have good pitching, we just ran into a situation where we had a lot of injury and bad luck last season.

The second guy mentioned was Hanley Ramirez.  If you know anything about BYB, we're not too interested in Ramirez.  In Mike O'Hara's piece (FOREVER YOUNG), Mike wrote this:

"I don’t want Hanley. I’d rather let the kids in the system earn it. We all root for the rooks. It can happen like it did with Bernie."  

He sited injury and the price tag would be hefty.  Plus, the best point in the piece was the kids.  The Yankees really need to get the kids up now.  Jose Pirela made a splash in September. I know he's listed as a second baseman, but would they ever see him at short? What about Martin Prado? Could he be the guy?  Yankee fans want to see more of that energy!

What do you think? Do you think the Yankees should go after these guys? Will Tim Dierkes predictions be correct? You want to be the "called it" guy? Don't worry, if you're right, you're right... and if you're wrong, I won't hold it against ya!

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