NEW YORK TEAMS FACE A WINTER BATTLE

Source: Nathan Hunsinger for The New York Times

The timeline to opening day is filled with milestone dates, awards and a lot of money. March 30, 2023 is the scheduled start of the baseball season. According to CBS Sports who also listed all of the key dates leading to Opening Day 2023, "all 30 clubs will be in action on Opening Day, with nine of the 15 games featuring intra-division matchups." Will the matchups include Yankee franchise player Aaron Judge and Mets franchise player Jacob deGrom in their familiar New York uniforms? So difficult to say, but if I was betting, I would place a bet on Judge signing with the Yankees over deGrom with the Mets. Without a doubt, the New York baseball teams face a fierce winter ahead- one could say it will be a battle.

Source: John Minchillo/Associated Press

On the heels of the General Manager Meetings which concluded in Las Vegas on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal suggested that: "the broader story of this offseason is shaping up to be about player retention, with a number of stars potentially departing clubs that have expressed an interest in keeping them." Kicking things off for the official baseball offseason were the Los Angeles Angels who explicitly stated in a formal attestation their desire to keep their superstar Shohei Ohtani, "the two-way superstar whose contract expires after the 2023 season, will not be traded, according to general manager Perry Minasian. “The goal is not just to keep him for this year—it’s to keep him long term,” Minasian said. “This offseason, unless something drastically changes, I don’t see any reason not to say he’s going to be an Angel.” 

With this announcement, even more of a focus will be on sure-to-be American League MVP, Aaron Judge. It is likely that teams will look closer, if they have not already done so, at their resources to acquire Judge who will likely decline his $19.65 million qualifying offer on or before the deadline to do so which is November 20th. The Yankees have made it clear that their first priority is to sign their franchise player, but that contract will be in one word "expensive."

“He certainly will clear $300 million,” an MLB executive said, according to Jon Heyman. “But is he closer to $400 million than $300 million? Maybe. He’s that important to the wealthiest team,” reported NESN. Probably the most profound quote I read over the last few days is this one by the Wall Street Journal, "The Yankees, considered baseball’s financial powerhouse, would infuriate their fan base by not re-signing their best homegrown player since Derek Jeter. The Giants, in contrast, would hope to re-ignite the passion of their own fan base by making a commitment to a star player as they did with Barry Bonds in 1993."

Meanwhile the New York Mets will have a more difficult road to resigning their ace Jacob deGrom. Yet the organization has not been as vocal about their desire to sign deGrom, making me wonder if they let he walk, perhaps all the way to Texas. "According to Jon Heyman of The New York Post, deGrom has let the Texas Rangers know he is interested in signing with them. SNY reported this week that the Rangers and Atlanta Braves are the two biggest threats to sign deGrom away from the Mets."

The Mets and Yankees are about to embark on the financial battle of their lives. The investment in their franchise players won't come cheap and the clock is ticking. The next milestone date is the announcement of Rookies of the Year followed by managers of the year and then Cy Young and MVP recipients. Soon after that, the likely battle will begin. All hands-on deck for this dog fight. And may Judge and the Yankees win. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof