MY 2017 FREE AGENT REPORT

I went through the trouble and did a quick analysis of  the free agents that will be available after this season in case we are not patient enough to wait for all these future starters, some of whom won’t be ready until 2018 or 2019.  Let me be the first on BYB to say... it is a very thin free agent class this year. 

There is literally not one good starting pitcher available in my opinion... so absent of a trade, it looks like Yanks will continue to go with Tanaka, Severino, Sabathia and Eovaldi (if he doesn’t need TJ surgery).  

Now, to be honest, I couldn’t tell you right now who our #5 starter will be, but likely either a trade or we go with a young guy like Jordan Montgomery. That's all I got for that. But there's more...

Here are other potential free agents that could have an impact:

· Relief Pitchers: Aroldis Chapman or Mark Melancon

· 1B/DH: Edwin Encarnacion (34)

· Outfield: Yoenis Cespedes (33), Ian Desmond (31), Michael Saunders (30), Jose Bautista (36), Mark Trumbo (31), or Josh Reddick (30).

Now, I looked at every single free agent.  Trust me, there is nobody else worth signing. So the above are the "better" options. Given the youth movement, I am fairly certain the Yankees are not looking to sign a free agent catcher, plus, would stick with Castro/Didi at 2B/SS. 

I also think out Yankees will ride out Headley’s contract at 3B (and there are no good third baseman available anyway).  So the only spots that they can sign would be for the OF, 1B or DH. If they can’t trade Ellsbury or Gardner, I would assume that Aaron Judge and/or Tyler Austin will be used in RF regularly. This leaves 1B/DH as the only other spots, and that seems like a possible upgrade. 

If Yanks want to add offense in 2017, then the only real move to make is to sign Edwin Encarnacion. He can play 1B if Bird struggles or can’t recover from injury and would otherwise DH. He has hit 30 HR and near 100 RBI for the past 5 straight years. That's power.

Even if they could trade Gardner or Ellsbury, I don’t see the Yanks giving any other free agent OF more than a 1-year deal, as they won’t want to lock up outfield slots with Clint Frazier and Judge expected to eventually become starters in the outfield.  Austin can play OF as well and Blake Rutherford may be up by 2018 or 2019.

Plus, Cespedes, Saunders, Trumbo and Reddick will all be getting big multi-year deals, so that won’t work, although I guess whoever they get can move to DH once the outfield is established, and assuming they don’t sign Encarnacion,by the way, I can’t see a scenario where they add more than one free agent hitter.

Anyway look... this is just me blabbling, but it's thought out, I swear.  

So... what do you think? Comment.

   

--Douglas Solomon, BYB Guest Writer
 

BYB HOT STOVE: VOLUME XI

Here we are again; another week in the pre-season hunt for pitching and, another starting pitcher is again out of our reach.  Max Scherzer is headed off to DC for many years in a deal that smells a lot like a Mets Bobby Bonilla contract.  "The deal is for $210 million with half deferred, according to multiple reports. Scherzer reportedly will receive $15 million annually for 14 years. The deal also includes a record $50 million signing bonus, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press."  Yikes... check out Bonilla's contract. According to the website Celebrity Worth, "Bobby Bonilla hasn't swung a baseball bat professionally in over a decade, yet every year on July 1st The Mets cut him a check for $1.2 million. That's more than any current Mets outfielder will make in 2013."  How?  Well, here is how it happened.

According to CBSSports, "The deal was signed by the Marlins in 1996, but Bonilla was traded to the Dodgers in the 1998 blockbuster that involved Gary Sheffield and Mike Piazza. Bonilla was later flipped to the Mets. He then only played 60 games in 1999, hitting .160/.277/.303, so the Mets saw fit to get rid of him before the 2000 season instead of paying him $5.9 million that year. And now they'll be paying him a bit more than four times that -- just stretched out over 25 years."  Bonilla gets paid $1.2 million dollars through 2035 for doing absolutely nothing.  We don't need contracts like that, making lofty deals to pitchers who will be well into their twilight years or gone from the sport entirely.  Scherzer will be 44 at this point before the Nationals are done paying him on this contract.

I bring this up, because although we all thought we wanted Scherzer, we did not want that inflated contract.  Good luck with that, Washington.

"A source had earlier told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that the Nationals wouldn't have the financial flexibility to sign the right-handed Scherzer unless they have a trade in place to move starter Jordan Zimmermann and possibly shortstop Ian Desmond. As of Saturday, the source told Stark, the Nationals did not have trades in place for Zimmermann or Desmond," reported ESPN.com.  So, who might be interested in these guys?  I know, I would!  There is also talk that the Nationals could trade Stephen Strasburg or Doug Fister.  I'm open but again, we are not going to spend big dollars on these guys.

And Stark also reminds fans that the Yankees, although a team never to be ruled out of any deal including a deal with James Shields, have a clear focus and purposeful message.  "They've been all about getting younger and loading up on bullpen depth. And Shields would contribute to neither. Not to mention that his career ERA in the new Yankee Stadium is 6.35."  Nope, not interested.  

Interestingly enough, in this market of free agency and gluttony, as long as general managers keep feeding the beast, they will keep demanding the big money.  According to Stark, "I can't imagine he gets less than $80 million over four [years]," said one exec. "There's someone out there. You know that. I just have no idea who that is." Lots of teams have had interest in the Shields, but no one has stepped up officially.  Many say it could be any day.  

To end this week's Hot Stove, a word about Johan Santana.  According to Jon Heyman's Twitter feed, the Yankee, Padres, Blue Jays and about six other teams have shown interest in Santana.  Santana is currently 35-years-old and some say he could be a bull pen asset.  I don't know.  It is just too risky.  But, it could happen, so brace yourself.  

That's it for this week's Hot Stove.  Fingers crossed for some good news for us this upcoming week. Only 29 days 'til pitchers and catchers!


 

You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYaneeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!  Also, don't forget to check out the BYB Hub!

BYB HOT STOVE: VOLUME X

What's cooking in week ten of our BYB Hot Stove series?  Not much.  It's just about a month before pitchers and catchers report and the 2015 Yankees don't look any different than how we left them in 2014, or do they?

I read an interesting column posted on MLB.com earlier this week and I'm sort of okay with it.  Here is how the article starts off:  "These Yankees, they get it. They value versatility. They're diligent about defense. They're avoiding the payroll pitfalls of the top-of-the-market long-term pitching contracts that have burned ballclubs in the Bronx and beyond. They've propped up their once-barren prospect stash."  We have avoided laying out a ton of cash for guys because we wanted to beat out the Red Sox or because we thought "he" could be the answer.  Although tempting, the Yankees have avoided signing guys like Max Scherzer and James Shields.  They didn't pay big bucks for a shortstop to "replace" Derek Jeter.  They haven't added a big dollar big bat to replace an ailing Mark Teixeira or ARod.  Many have said, the Yankees have learned their lesson.  I say, there is still something up their sleeves.

"The answer this club, as currently constructed, is providing largely revolves around two concepts -- a bullpen that routinely locks down late leads and a defense drastically improved over what the Yanks fielded in the first half of '14," states the same article.  Could Cole Hamels still be in their future, perhaps.  "It's not outlandish to suggest the Yankees, one of two AL teams reportedly not on his no-trade list, have actually accrued enough young talent to pry him from the Phillies. And as crazy as it sounds, the four years and $96 million still guaranteed to Hamels are not all that onerous in this marketplace."

It is possible that we still may get Hamels even though Phillies fans are saying he is going to San Diego and they are going to get a crack at Wil Myers as an opening fixture for the rebuilding year for the club.  However, according to Jon Heyman, Myers will not be the centerpiece of a deal with Hamels.  "The conversation has turned to a prospect package, of which the Padres can still manage even with all of the deals they have made this offseason, but it's worth pointing out that nothing is close yet and the Padres aren't alone in this. The Red Sox are still interested, though, the Padres' interest likely diminishes their ability to get the deal they would want, and the Cardinals have reportedly jumped in on both Hamels and David Price in their search for one more reliable starter." This could come down to the wire.

The Padres and Giants have an interest in Mets starter Dillon Gee.  According to NY Daily News Andy Martino, there could even be a three team deal brewing over Gee. Back in December, Martino wrote that "league sources peg the Giants and Royals as two teams that have expressed interest in Gee. The Giants have also asked again about (Daniel) Murphy, according to a source, but the Mets are inclined to keep their second baseman."  The talks are not over according to Martino.  Now we see teams like the Rays and Nationals with interest.  Other players being discussed in this potential trade include Ian Desmond, Ben Zobrist, Jon Niese and Bartolo Colon. We may see something here in the coming days or weeks.

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Ryan Howard could bring potential to teams looking for a big bat in their lineup.  "As long as Ryan Howard can hit home runs the Phillies should be able to find a team that wants him if they pay a good deal of his salary."  Teams that could potentially be interested according to ESPN.com include "Tigers, Royals, Angels, Yankees, Rangers, Rays, Orioles and Red Sox."  Here we go again.

So, that's it for this week's Hot Stove.  Things continue to heat up and that's good because spring is just around the corner.

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




You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYaneeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!  Also, don't forget to check out the BYB Hub!