THE CESPEDES FACTOR

Source: FOX Sports

So by now you know that the New York Mets have re-signed Yoenis Cespedes to a new four-year deal totaling $110 million dollars.  And the Yankees have not signed any big bats or big arms as of the last day of November.  But with the Winter Meetings fast approaching and some big time chatter around big bats Edwin Encarnacion, Mark Trumbo and Carlos Beltran and big arms Rich Hill, Derek Holland and of course Aroldis Chapman, there is a lot of anticipation that something will happen soon.  However, as I hate to be the bearer of negativity, there could be some fallout around the Cespedes signing and the rise in costs of free-agents because of this signing.

Source: Sports On Earth

According to George A. King III of the New York Post, "An MLB executive said he believed the Mets overspent for Cespedes, and Encarnacion, 34 in January, could benefit from the deal. This might help him because some teams might think [Encarnacion] is a better purchase,’’ the executive said of Encarnacion, who can play first base but isn’t the defender at that spot Cespedes is in the outfield."

Source: Latino Baseball

Hmmm- that's kind of interesting.

But would the Yankees pay for a 34-year-old veteran bat?  How about a 40-year-old bat in the likes of Carlos Beltran?  The difference, besides six years, is that Beltran would not be looking for a long term deal like Encarnacion.  According to King, "With the Astros, Blue Jays and Red Sox joining the Yankees in search of a DH, Beltran has been linked to all four teams. The Red Sox attempted to pry the veteran switch-hitting outfielder away from the Yankees at this season’s trade deadline, but he was dealt to the Rangers."

Source: UPI

And what about Mark Trumbo, who besides Ben Zobrist, was the best bang for the free-agent buck of the 2016 season?  According to the Baltimore Sun, "They (the Orioles) did, however, assign a qualifying offer to right fielder/designated hitter Mark Trumbo, who led the majors with 47 home runs this season. If Trumbo accepts, he’ll be paid $17.2 million on a one-year contract in 2017. If he declines and opts to test free agency for the first time in his career, the Orioles will get a compensatory pick at the end of the first round of the 2017 MLB Draft."

Source: MLB.com

So with the Cespedes signing comes a rise in the need and cost of other free agents and a frenzy for the biggest bat.  It will be interesting to see what transpires, but if I had a pick or wish, I would wish for Trumbo but his price tag may have just elevated thanks to the Mets.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

THE YANKEES & DEREK HOLLAND? IT'S COMPLICATED

Many in BYB land are wondering what the hell the Yankees are gonna do about pitching in 2017.  While money is coming off the books, yes, there are prospects slowly turning heads, but we kind of need some "sure things" as we head into the season.

BYB Senior Writer Jeana Bellezza wrote a piece about Derek Holland the other day in COULD DEREK HOLLAND HELP THE YANKEES?

Good question! Maybe it's an avenue the Yankees could pursue. But I'll tell you something... they better do it fast if they want this guy... it looks like the Pirates and Holland are about to get together.

Triblive.com writes: "Free-agent pitcher Derek Holland wants to become the Pirates' latest reclamation project.

'I'd say the Pirates are on our short list,' Holland's agent, Michael Martini, said on Saturday.

Martini said the Pirates have not made a formal offer to Holland, an eight-year veteran who's made 158 career starts. Holland became a free agent for the first time last week when the Texas Rangers bought out his $11.5 million contract option.

Holland, 30, was a big part of the Rangers' rotation from 2011 to 2013. In that stretch, the left-hander went 38-21 with a 3.98 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP."

Derek Holland is not some superstar pitcher the Yankees HAVE to have. Plus, he's been battling shoulder and knee injuries for a bit. But my thinking is, they could pursue Holland, give him a shot on the cheap, OR, they trade and give away top prospects for a sure thing.  I'm honestly just not sure how this will play out, but I did find it interesting that Holland's camp is already setting the tone for what he'd like to do. 

I also like this nugget... the Rangers will in fact get a chance to match whatever offer he received from whatever team that is, be it the Pirates, the Yankees or the Sarasota Chicken Heads.  

We will just have to see. It's the off-season. This is what we do now... speculate, guess and create rumors!

 

COULD DEREK HOLLAND HELP THE YANKEES?

Honestly, I am not sold but the Yankees do need rotation help and it never hurts to have another lefty. The Texas Rangers are shopping Derek Holland and he wouldn't be expensive but....would he even be worth it?

The Yankees need rotation help and they are going to be tied to pitching this off season. In fact, we've already been tied in rumors with the Mets, read COULD ZACK WHEELER HELP THE YANKEES? for more. The Rangers are ready to make a deal. According to multiple reports like T.R. Sullivan at MLB.com HERE the Rangers told Holland that they will not be picking up his $11 million option and instead plan to exercise their $1.5 million buyout option so he either gets traded or they eat even more money.

Holland has pitched all right of his big league seasons in Texas and helped the Rangers to the World Series in 2010 and 2011. His last full season was back in 2013. Since then he has made just 37 starts over the last three seasons and has not been effective since suffering a sprained shoulder early in 2015. This season he made just 20 starts and two relief appearances due to another shoulder injury. His 7-9 record and 4.95 ERA are less than impressive, but so is the rest of the free agent market for pitching.

Whatever happens with Holland, it will come fast. The guaranteed date of Holland's contract option is most likely in the next few days if not hours now that the World Series is over. If the Yankees really wanted to gamble they could probably get him very cheap and make Texas eat a lot of that contract. Given Holland's struggles over the past few years it is hard to imagine any team even giving up more than one mid-level prospect. At this point, the Rangers may look at that as a win-win situation.

So, if you are Yankee brass what do you do? The Yankees need pitching but not just any pitching. We need effective starters and not a repeat of 2016. We don't know if Luis Severino will ever make it back to the rotation and what about the last two spots in the rotation.....do those go to Luis Cessa and Bryan Mitchell? Or, do the Yankees make a move just to have another veteran lefty in the rotation and help CC Sabathia?

I'm not sold on this, but maybe I am wrong. I would rather see the Yankees give some of the younger kids a shot in the rotation then go after Holland, but it is an interesting bite. Someone is going to gamble on him and hopefully it won't be us but the connection is bound to come up more over the next few days. It's that time of the year where rumors are everywhere and we get to wait around and see what is actually true. Hold on to your hats, fans....it's about to get really interesting.

 --Jeana Bellezza, BYB Senior Writer & Editor
  Follow me on Twitter: @NYPrincessJ



 

BYB EXCLUSIVE: KEEPING THE BASEBALL CONNECTION GOING

We like to interview interesting and unique individuals with good stories and good causes here at BYB. We've done it for the past three years. After that, they become a Bleeding Yankee Blue family member for life.  It all started with our first interview... Read EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: STEVE KARSAY.  Since then, it's advanced to other interesting people, like Bob Lorenz (HERE), Dante Bichette Jr (HERE), Laura and Jorge Posada (HERE). Even our pals Charles and Joey Moses (HERE) and our friend Ty Hensley (HERE). You can read all of them on our website... on the left side. 

Well, I have another interesting treat for you today. Kris Totten helps run Akadema, a baseball supply facility. He's also a former minor league baseball player.  Bottom line, I find the dude interesting. Plus, as part of Akadema, they donated the bat for the Jack DiSalvo Scholarship this past spring, a scholarship BYB was front and center on.  The winner of that scholarship was Augustine Graziano. Read all about it in, TEAM DISALVO FOLLOWS THROUGH BIG TIME! His picture is below:

Recently, I even received my very own Bleeding Yankee Blue engraved bat from Akadema.  A very nice gesture from a very nice guy.  So, I became curious... what makes Kris Totten and Akadema tick.  I decided to interview Kris and pick his brain for the BYB audience.  I hope you enjoy this... I sure did.

BYB: First off, thank you for the bat and the great work you did donating for the Jack DiSalvo scholarship earlier this year.  How did Akadema begin?

(In Photo: Jack DiSalvo)

Kris Totten: You're welcome. It was a pleasure to be associated with such a great event like the Jack DiSalvo Scholarship.   I know Mr. DiSalvo did a lot for his community and was a big mentor to a lot of the kids he coached. We need more people like him around.

(In photo: Larry Gilligan)
Akadema began in 1997.  It started out just doing fielding gloves, batting gloves and wood bats. Lawrence Gilligan, who played MiLB with the Cardinals and White Sox didn’t think there were good fielding gloves available at that time. That was in the late 80, early 90’s, and so the brainstorming to form a baseball glove company began.  I joined shortly thereafter once I got done following my dream of playing my own pro-ball career. (It was minor league ball with the Seattle Mariners.) 

(In photo: Kris Totten)
My career MiLB ERA of 5.00 wasn’t getting me anywhere in this game, so I had to get a real job.  Akadema has since expanded into a full blown sporting goods company now almost 20 years later. It offers metal bats, apparel, uniforms, turf shoes, etc. It's great.

BYB: Who are some of your clients. Give us some big names.  Do they use Akadema bats during play throughout the season?

Kris Totten: Right now, Akadema fielding gloves are currently being used at the MLB level by the following players:  Shane Victorino, Derek Holland, JB Shuck, Kevin Pillar, Vin Mazzaro, Jason Pridie, Craig Breslow and Abraham Almonte.  We have dozens of high end MiLB players under contract as well that should break into MLB at some point this year, so that's exciting.

 BYB: You're a baseball fan and I believe a Red Sox fan looking at your Google + Avatar.  Am I right? How the hell did I even allow you to be interviewed on our site?  Who was your favorite player growing up and why. Currently, who do you love to watch play?

(In Photo: Roberto Kelly)

Kris Totten: Ha Ha. Actually, I'm not a Red Sox fan. I'm a true Yankee fan, I promise. My favorite player growing up was Roberto Kelly and for no other reason other than  I liked the way he set up in his batting stance. I know, it's a weird reason, but I always tried to emulate him growing up and play like did. He was a good player and he made the game look easy to me. 

Oh, and the reason for the Manny image on my Google + is simple;  Manny Ramirez was our first “big sign” with Akadema, and he continues to promote the brand to this day in Iowa, so I feel obligated to promote him when I can.

My favorite player today is Mike Trout. He is the future of the game, simply the best player in the MLB. It pains me to say it, but Mike used Akadema batting gloves and fielding gloves coming up through the minors, but Mike is no longer using Akadema. That being said,  I wish him nothing but the best. He's a very humble kid. He plays the game the right way and has a skill set that no other player in the game can match. Plus, he is a Jersey kid, so you gotta root hard for them.

BYB: If someone is interested in looking at the Akadema products, how can they do that?

Kris Totten: If you are interested in Akadema you can visit us personally if you are local. We are located in Hawthorne, NJ.  Or you can visit our website at www.akademapro.com to view our product line.  973.304.1470 is the office line and we are open Mon-Friday 8:30-4:30. 

BYB: Do you do engraving like you did for us here at Bleeding Yankee Blue? How does that work if some of my BYB readers are interested in doing it?

Kris Totten: Yes, engraving is an option we offer on any of our wood bat line. That can be done on our website. We have a feature on our site for this, or you can call us directly to order any wood bat of your choice and have it engraved with your name, nickname, team name, etc. We also offer custom bats with colors as well.

BYB: You're a big baseball fan, a Yankee fan. So, here's a scenario; You're the manager of the New York Yankees for 1 week.  Looking at the state of the Yankees right now, their pitching troubles, their weak bats, what do you do to change that?

Kris Totten: Wow, that’s a tough question.  The veterans they have are getting older and not producing like they have earlier in their careers and the new guys they have just don’t have enough experience at the MLB level. 

Masahiro Tanaka is obviously a bright spot for them and guys like Yangervis Solarte and Jacoby Ellsbury have cooled off since their hot starts. Outside of going after some players via trade, not sure what the Yankees have to offer player-wise that will bring the type of player or players in via trade that can be immediate impact players that can turn it around. But I would certainly  love to see the current roster of players rally and motivate themselves around the fact that it's Derek Jeter's last hoorah and push themselves into a position to make a strong run to get into the playoffs and send Jeter out a winner!

BYB: If you could meet 1 baseball legend of all time and sit and have a beer with them, who would it be and why?

Kris Totten: Mickey Mantle and/or Babe Ruth. Why? Because they loved to party and somehow found time to become 2 of the best players to ever play the game.

BYB: Final Question... Do you read Bleeding Yankee Blue? If so, what do you think?

Kris Totten: To be honest, no I have never read Bleeding Yankee Blue before you and I were first introduced to each other a few weeks back.  I have since and do regularly and I do enjoy it, you do a great job!

Thanks Kris, and thanks to Kris for a great interview. Oh yeah... and  the great Akadema bat! You did a great job with it, and it's proudly displayed in my office!

DEAD ON ARRIVAL & FREE FALLING!

 

(In Photo: David Adams)

The Yankees are dropping like a rock and it has everything to do with offense.  Now, John Sterling had suggested today in the post game that we fans should just tip our caps to Derek Holland and sure, I give Holland some credit for keeping the Yankees shut down all game. But the New York Yankees are a professional baseball team made up of some of the most talented ball players in all of the land.  There comes a time and a place where you need to stop the routine and start a new one in order to break bad habits and gain confidence and positive momentum.  You don't start doing that in June... you're dead!
I wrote this after Robinson Cano was caught trying to get to second base:

Is this freaking Little League??? #Yankees
— Bleeding Yankee Blue (@BleednYankeeBlu) June 27, 2013

The Yankees look pathetic, off balance and not in control of their club. Whether the Cashman / ARod saga has anything to do with it or whether or not they just plain stink is anybody guess. I just can't stand it... we're JV.

This is Sparta, or, This is the Bronx... and if you don't play, you are dumped over the side to rot.  Sure, the analogy sounds ridiculous... but this game of ball is about strategy, resilience and confidence and in the end, you need to win it all. If you don't show up like warriors, well, you might not want to show up at all.

Hand it to Phil Hughes. While he held the Rangers to 2 runs, the Yankees offense was dead.  2 hits today...one for Ichiro Suzuki... one for Austin Romine.

If you don't hit, you clearly don't have a chance.  If it's the hitting, then it's not the pitching, like last night.  Today, it was the pitching, not the hitting. Get on the same page or the fans will riot.  Hey Cash, instead of channeling your energy toward ARod, a player not playing, why don't you concentrate on the players that are on the field? How's that sound?

Hey Kevin Long? You're the hitting coach right? You should be sweating right now.  I know I'd be.  Sure, they're professional hitters, but even professionals pull their head out and move around too much in the box.  Fix it of the fans will surely fix you!

A recap? What recap?  Yankees lose 2-0 to the Rangers... Tomorrow night, Baltimore and David Phelps on the hill.

 Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.