TANAKA COULD HAVE CLEANED UP THIS WINTER

Source: Getty Images

67 million.  That's what Masahiro Tanaka opted in for as he signed a three-year contract with the Yankees.  Yet experts say that he could have cleaned up this winter landing more than 100 million, ranking fifth on the free agent pitcher's list.

Source: Abbie Parr/Getty Images North America

According to SB Nation, "Tanaka would have entered free agency as a 29-year-old with a career 118 ERA+. Two off seasons ago, Jordan Zimmermann entered free agency at 30, with the same career ERA+, and earned $110 million." 

 Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America

Back in early November, Tanaka stated that he wished to stay with the Yankees and not test out the free agency market.  "I have decided to stay with the Yankees for the next three seasons. It was a simple decision for me, as I have truly enjoyed the past four years playing for this organization and for the wonderful fans of New York," reported ESPN.

Source: Abbie Parr/Getty Images North America

Since Tanaka passed on his opt out, the Yankees are in a great position both financially and rotation-wise. In recent years, MLB has seen dozens of their players either exercise their opt outs requiring their former teams to search for a quality player, or they fail to utilize the option and stick their teams with a bad contract.  Tanaka truly showed how much he loves his New York team by opting in and not fishing for more in the marketplace.

 Source: Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America

"Tanaka has been their best starter over the past three years, has not seen his elbow bark since 2014, and he now projects to be a quality front-line starter in the prime of his career for the next three years at a reasonable price," reported SB Nation.

Source: SHIZUO KAMBAYASHI/AP

With a Shohei Otani signing imminent and a CC re-signing probable as long as he agrees to a reduced price, the Yankees will be a force both in the bullpen and starting rotation, something we have not had in a while.  Kudos to Tanaka for not getting greedy like the countless other players who place money ahead of team loyalty.  I for one am thankful for that.  And that he may help coerce Ohtani to come to NY.  Just sayin'...

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof




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HOW REAL IS THIS VERLANDER FOR ELLSBURY RUMOR?

Eh... it's not.

But damn it's fun to think about!

Hell, if we could trade Jacoby Ellbury for a years supply of Taco Bell... I'm all over that too.  I love Taco Bell. Actually, truth be told, I love tacos in general.  Fish Tacos, Beef Tacos, Chicken Tacos, soft or hard. Sometimes soft and hard combined. I don't discriminate when it comes to Tacos.

I throw grilled corn in there, some sharp cheddar... lettuce, tomato.  Gotta have the Tabasco.  Mmm... I'm friggin starving...

Anyway look.  Suzie Pinstripe sent me this text a short time ago, and I was so busy yesterday and today, I had no idea it was even 'a thing'.  And yes, technically it IS a thing, but technically it's also not.

It's speculation and rumor and while I love it... I'm not sure if this is even something the Tigers would go for.  I mean, Jacoby Ellsbury's contract is ridonk.

Then I read something in Sports Detroit Nation or Detroit Sports Nation or something, from writer Don Drysdale... I'm not kidding... who wrote this:

Photo: Getty Images

"Buster Olney published a piece on Sunday titled, “Which big contract could the Yankees take on to trade Jacoby Ellsbury?” The piece is centered around the Yankees finding out a way to unload Jacoby Elsbury‘s contract which will pay him north of $21 million over each of the next three seasons with a buyout option of $5 million for the 2021 season.

Included on Olney’s list of potential trade pieces to make a deal for Ellsbury work are Tigers starting pitchers, Justin Verlander and Jordan Zimmermann."

And I'm like, "Oh, it's from Olney. When's that guy been right?"  

And so then I started thinking about how ridiculous Olney, Bill Madden and Jon Heyman are sometimes with their rumor mill and how they remind me of a bunch of dogs at a table playing cards talking about how they can make up all this garbage and folks like me write about it and get annoyed because the bottom line is... if you every follow these guys, they don't actually get their rumors right... they're only right AFTER a trade is made. You know what I mean?

So, I kept digging to see if there were any legs to this rumor...

Michael Kay and Don LaGreca spoke about it, but after the Olney report. So the bottom line is, while I kind of love this rumor, there is nothing really to it. It's pure speculation and fun to talk about.

Look, would I like to see Clint Frazier out there the outfield instead of JE? Yes.  But we're stuck with the guy I'm afraid and anyone who saw us sign Jacoby years ago knew this would happen. 

Photo: Getty Images

Do we need pitching? Yes.  Could we get some Tigers starters? Sure... but is there any way we can get rid of Jacoby in the process? Hopefully.

Well, thank God we have Cashman.  Maybe he can figure it out.

For now... I'm getting some tacos...

Casey BYB Merchandise (2017)

YANKEE LOSS & A TALE OF 2 OUTFIELDERS

The Yankees didn't do much today and some days, that's expected.  Teams have hot streaks, team lose games. That's life. The season is early... and the Tigers aren't slouches. We need to move on.

Let's start with Luis Severino.  I gotta tell you, I like to watch him pitch. He's a talented dude. Today he went 5 innings, gave up 10 hits and 3 runs. He struck out 5.  You know what?  First outing out, he made a few mistakes, but nothing terrible. He gave up alot of hits, but first outing, hey, I can live with it.  The bottom line is the Yankees could not hit Zimmermann and company.

I'm not gonna lie, I'm a fan of Luis Cessa and I see big things for this guy.  In fact, I'm gonna try and get an interview with him for BYB. I'll even tweet him this article.  I see potential. I see a gamer. I'm just psyched he's on the Yanks.  Today wasn't outstanding but things will get better...2 innings pitched, he gave up 2 hits, 1 run and struck out 2.

The Yankees scored nada.  They had 3 hits total.  

I loved seeing Aaron Hicks in the Yankee outfield and tweeted about it today.

It's amazing what youth in the Yankee outfield can do to motivate a club. Great Job @AaronHicks31 #Yankees #BYB

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) April 8, 2016

The guy is 100% what the Yankees need out there.  There's youth, there's life and it was such a breath of fresh air.  Two nice dying catches.  Then there was Jacoby Ellsbury who let a ball fall right in front of him as it looked like he was circling around it to make the catch. 

Meanwhile Ellsbury looks old in Center. He let that ball drop and there really wasn't a reason for it. Who saw that? #BYB

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) April 8, 2016

Sure, say the ball had a tail on it, I don't care, you make alot of money to man the Yankees centerfield.  You need to catch that. 

Now look, I believe that Jacoby Ellsbury is the most talented guy in the field on any day, but it's sad that the stigma of big money contracts and "often injury" follows this guy wherever he goes. 

I'm gonna ride Ellsburry this season.  I can feel it in my bones.  That's because Yankee fans are frustrated with this guy.  We want to see him break out in pinstripes BIG TIME.  The time is now.

Overall, not a great game by the Yankees. But it's early.  Bottom line, forget about this loss. Learn from it... we will come back with a win tomorrow.

Final: Tigers 4 - Yankees 0



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LET ME CLEAR MY THROAT...

It's a rainy morning and I'm boarding the train and DJ Kool's "Let me Clear my  Throat" comes on the iPod and I know right now, it's gonna be a weird day.  The headphones are pumping and I'm writing this at the same time.  Everyone has something to say today when it comes to the signing of David Price by the Boston Red Sox and it's split.  Many are now calling for Brian Cashman's head and hate the fact that the Yankees didn't get him.  Others, like myself (Read LAUGH OUT LOUD: SOX LAND PRICE) are saying "Hey, we like Price, but not at the price", pardon the pun. 

Let me clear my throat.  The Price signing has kicked off the Free Agent season big time! Like I stated in that piece above, Dombrowski wanted to make a splash as big man on campus in Boston and from a business standpoint, the man stands out, no question.  But I just don't know if long term deals like this work.  But hey, teams don't seem the care anymore, it's clear.  

I thought it was crazy when Johnny Cueto turned down the Diamondbacks offer of $120 million, but you know what? Now with this Price deal, Cueto will get whatever he wants.  The Free Agent market is nuts right now and I gotta tell you, I'm stunned... even though I assumed it would all happen this way.

And what about the New York Yankees?  Will we do anything?  Lisa Swan, a blogger and someone I respect tremendously over at Subway Squawkers wrote this on Facebook last night. It was followed by her article (HERE):

"Did you know Brian Cashman has a plate with eight screws in his right ankle from his ill-fated airplane jump? Yet he has no regrets on doing so, calling the jump "wild." I write today about how immature and moronic the Yankees' GM is. Passing on David Price is just the latest dumb decision."

Trust me, she went on a rant in her piece. Here's some:

 "The chances that A-Rod and Tex have the seasons they did last year are slim. And if Tanaka is the closest this team will have to an ace, they're in real trouble.

I can understand not trading for Price. But not signing him as a free agent, especially when it wouldn't cost a draft pick, is lunacy. Sorry, fellow Yankee fans, but there's no way to spin this decision as a good day for the Bombers."

Meanwhile, over at Section-36, A Red Sox blog and a great site on the BYB Hub, an interesting take:

"First of all, the contract is huge. HUGE. 7 years and 210 million huge. It's too much. It's way too much. It's not even close to not being too much. And, let's stop focusing on the 3-year opt out like it's a good thing. Those are never good things for the team. If the player pitches well, you need to overpay to keep him. If he doesn't, you're on the hook for a dead weight contract... 

Because the Sox are better next year thanks to this deal. The Sox are better for the next three or four years. "

A great take, and something I didn't think about and it makes sense.  Pay it all now, and get a few good years from the guy and get the team motivated and winning and, hey, maybe we got something here if you're the Red Sox.   I'm assuming more Red Sox fans love this deal.    With this thinking, it makes alot of sense.

And back to Lisa Swan... you gotta wonder what Brian Cashman is thinking.  I mean, in the end, the Yankees didn't want to give up youth.  Hal Steinbrenner has told the press he's excited about the kids.  OK fine. So what's the logic with not reaching out about Free Agent Price?  It's a free agent signing, bro!  We don't lose kids over it.  Why not try?   The Yankees have money coming out of their coolie (Italian slang for butt).  They could have made a deal or at least an offer.  No, not at $217 for 7 years, that's nuts to me, but they could have thrown about $180 at the guy and saw what happened. I guess we'll find out soon if Cashman even picked up the phone.

Let me clear my throat.  In the end, the Yankees have Masahiro Tanaka who is always questionable with that elbow, CC Sabathia who has a bad knee, Nathan Eovaldi who's returning from injury, Michael Pineda who, let's be honest, you never know what you're gonna get on any given day... and Luis Severino.  That's not enough.  Jordan Zimmermann is now signed with the Tigers. Price is now signed.  Johnny Cueto is out there, but will the Yankees bite? Do they wanna bite?

I guess we wait and see.  I will tell you though, in years past, Cashman never liked to be outdone in the offseason, so logic will tell you that something's coming down the pike for the New York Yankees.  

These days though... I just don't know anymore.



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'TIS THE SEASON FOR FREE AGENTS

'Tis the season... for shopping, for deals, for presents, for getting what you've always wanted and giving just a bit more than you can handle.  Yes, 'Tis the season for free agents and our focus needs to be starting pitching.

We mentioned a little chatter about the idea of Stephen Strasburg's likelihood of pitching in pinstripes last week in one of our reads HEY CASH,  GO GET STRASBURG.  Since then, we kept our pulse on the Twitter feeds, mainstream traditional media and the fans.  According to the Washington Post late last week, "Strasburg’s agent, Scott Boras, believes in having his clients test free agency. And as of now, there aren’t any signs the sides have engaged in any extension talks. The Nationals, after all, have a crop of young pitchers coming up through the minors and inked Max Scherzer to a seven-year, $210-million contract last offseason." And that did not end up all that bad, with Scherzer performing at his absolute best with two no hitters. Incidentally, he pitched his second no-no against the World Series-bound Mets, throwing 17-strikeouts.  Now, the word on the street is that the Nats need an experienced lead-off batter.  Could Brett Gardner help them out?

According to teammate Carlos Beltran, maybe.  "Well, Gardner is a plus to us. He's a guy that can put pressure (on pitchers) on the base paths," said Beltran. "Offensively, for the past couple years, he's been able to do his job. There's nothing wrong to keep him. At the same time, the team is the one who makes decisions, even with me," reported the Daily News.  "The buzz is that Brett Gardner could be trade bait now that Hicks is a Yankee, but Beltran praised Gardner's value to the Bombers," the News added.

Among the other free agent starters on the block are David Price, Johnny Cueto, Zack Greinke and Jordan Zimmermann, but Strasburg certainly leads the pack. Teams with talented minor league staffs with a focus on strong starting pitching may forgo contending to save the dollars and invest in their farm system instead. You can tell a lot about a team by its depth in its farm system.  And right now, we don't have it.  We need to be in contention for free agent pitching or any kind of prospect purchase if we are going to close the deal next fall.

Although Brett Gardner is a arguably a fan favorite and clearly we would need to give up more than him to hitch Strasburg, we need to be open to doing something radical much like the shoppers do on Black Friday or Thanksgiving evening, or whenever that shopping frenzy starts these days.  Ours starts with chatter in and around the Winter Meetings.  The meetings themselves are December 7-9th in Nashville, TN.

We will keep you posted...after all, 'tis the season!

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






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HEY CASH, GREAT JOB NOT SIGNING SCHERZER!

By a show of hands, who else is relieved that the combination of Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner did not dump over $200 million on Max Scherzer? I for one am ecstatic. I do believe though that the Nationals made a great play and put themselves in a great position to compete for a World Series ring.

Let me start by saying I love Max Scherzer... when he is NOT pitching against the Yankees. He has been a dominant force for the Detroit Tigers over the past few seasons. He’s averaged over 200 innings and 240 strikeouts since 2012. His move to the senior circuit should bolster his numbers and allow him greater success over a longer period of time. He is a perfect fit for the Nationals rotation that is already stacked.

When the Nats can throw out Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann in a three game set…. Forget about it! The following series, you may think the opposing team would catch a break. Think again my friends! Gio Gonzalez and Doug Fister round out the four and five slots before you face Max Scherzer as the rotation turns over. That sends Tanner Roark and his sub 3.00 ERA in 2014, likely out to the bullpen. Without Scherzer, the Nationals rotation posted a ML leading 3.04 ERA in 2014. That, my friends, is some serious pitching! The signing could also provide some quality trade bait for the Nats with their surplus of pitching, as several sources have already speculated. Yankees perhaps? Perhaps…

Now, many of you probably are wondering why I’m so ecstatic about the Yankees not signing him. Let me give you three reasons. CC Sabathia’s contract, Alex Rodriguez‘s contract and Mark Teixeira’s contract.

When the Yankees signed these guys and others to long term deals, they won a World Series in 2009. That’s all well and good. I was as happy as anybody.  But four years later, starting in 2013, the Yankees had a bunch of old, injured players on their way down hill and their last two seasons have ended in September. That’s even after spending more than a half a BILLION dollars prior to the 2014 season!

I struggle with these long term big money deals. I struggled with not signing Robinson Cano. I loved Robbie, but he wanted a TON of money over a VERY LONG period of time, at the age of 31, and in the back of my mind, I think about signing these other players. All were right around the age of 30. Guess how old Max is? 30. Do you believe he will be the player worth $30 million dollars a year (or $15 million a year over 14 years as half his contract was deferred) at 35, 36 and 37 years old, the last three years of his contract?

The more conservative direction the Yankees took this off-season is a good sign for some of us Yankee fans. It’s tough for some fans to take, after getting accustomed to the never ending check book the Steinbrenner’s open.

But think about this; Look at how they won the four championships. The Core Four plus Bernie Williams were all home grown talent. Then they added some pieces to fill the puzzle as needed. They need to get back to that trend. Build from within and add pieces when necessary.  That starts with allowing prospects to grow. We need to stop trading them away for aging veterans.

Over the next few years, the Bombers will have some contract turn-over and some young talent primed to jump in at the big league level as well as new young pieces they've compiled. I like that approach. It’s giving me some confidence for the future of this organization. Following the last two years, my confidence level was dwindling big time!

Anyway, best of luck to Max Scherzer and the Nationals as they should be a force to be reckoned with.

Good thing they’re in the NL!


 
Dan Lucia
BYB Writer
Twitter: @DManLucia


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