BYB HOT STOVE: VOLUME VIII

As the old year closes and a new one moves in, it is fitting to reflect on the past year to perhaps get some perspective about where we have gone and where we are headed, or where we need to be headed.  As I see it, the New York Yankees need to battle their way back into our good graces and into a position that will yield their a playoff spot in 2015.  With the moves so far, however, I am not sure we are where we need to be.  Let's look at this week's Hot Stove for a better understanding.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, four teams are interested in Yankee shortstop/second baseman Stephen Drew and I feel blessed!  The Athletics, Cubs, Blue Jays and White Sox all have expressed some interest in Drew, but according to Sherman, "A few teams involved with Drew say his asking price of $9 million-$10 million for 2015 is not in their price range. Drew’s agent, Scott Boras, has emphasized the career .764 OPS the lefty swinger took into last season as representative of his client and not the .536 he posted in a disjointed 2014 campaign."  Sure the Yankees could have an interest too, but with their commitment to Didi Gregorius, there is word that the club does not want Drew around as a distraction to the development of their new short stop.  I guess there will be a enough of a distraction with Alex Rodriguez around, so I do count my blessings, again.

As was reported earlier this week here on BYB, the Yankees sent relief pitcher Shawn Kelley to the Padres for pitching prospect Johnny Barbato.  What does this mean for the Yankees as far as the bullpen this season?  According to Brendan Kuty of NJ.com, "It opened a second spot in the Yankees’ bullpen, that’s for sure. Only five pitchers now appear to have secured spots in the club’s relief corps. Take a look:

RHP Dellin Betances
LHP Andrew Miller
RHP Adam Warren
LHP Justin Wilson
RHP Esmil Rogers."

We still need to land an ace starter, an anchor and with the Padres set on Cole Hamels, who I think would have made a great addition to our team, it doesn't look likely we could be in on that unless, there is a three-way trade deal in the works.  Since we have already connected to the rebuilding NL West team, maybe we will have some sort of opportunity to pick up Hamels or 24-year-old outfielder Wil Myers who is rumored to go to the Phillies in exchange for Hamels.  We shall see.

WEEI is reporting that the Red Sox will not close a deal that would send Max Scherzer to Boston.  According to Rob Bradford, "The Red Sox always valued Lester over Scherzer, so the idea that they would extend beyond the six-year, $135 million offer made the lefty for Scherzer isn’t plausible. One major league source familiar with the Red Sox’ thinking believes the notion of the Red Sox being a player in the Scherzer talks is driven by a desire to use the Sox as leverage against what many believe to be the most legitimate Scherzer suitor, the Yankees." This is getting ugly.  I think the Tigers should just pay their pitcher to stay with them and move on.  As much as I like Scherzer, I worry about six-year deals with anyone.  I know I am not alone in that.

Finally, according to Fox Sports, the Orioles have expressed interest in picking up not only Colby Rasmus and Ichiro Suzuki but now they have their eyes on Kansas City Royal outfield Nori Aoki.  With the outfield looking thin for rival Baltimore, some movement could happen here.

That's it for this week's and 2014's BYB Hot Stove.  Happy New Year and keep the comments coming!

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Senior Staff Writer
BYB Hot Stove Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof



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