ALSO REPORTING FOR BUSINESS IS JORGE POSADA... BUT NOT IN TAMPA

Source: Associated Press

So, Jorge Posada is reporting to Florida but not to Yankee camp.  If you have not heard this already, Posada is joining the ranks of the Miami Marlins by way of his former teammate, Derek Jeter.  As ESPN reported through its headline yesterday evening, Together Again, Jorge Posada has accepted a front office position with the National League Marlins.

Source: NY Post

"Posada will work as a special adviser to Jeter, his longtime New York Yankees teammate and now Marlins CEO, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the hiring has not been formally announced," reported ESPN.  Posada won't have far to travel to his new digs as he has been residing in South Florida since his retirement back in 2011.

According to the NY Post, whose headline uses the word "lure" to describe Jeter's invite to Posada, "Jeter, Posada’s best man in his wedding, is now the Marlins’ chief executive officer and part owner. Maybe Rivera and Pettitte are next bound for Miami." to potentially round out the reunion of the Core Four in Miami?  Not sure I love the idea.

Source: Miami Herald

So later today, when the Marlins' pitchers and catchers report in Jupiter, FL, they will have an iconic catcher to advise their new CEO and potentially grow the team.  Ironic isn't it? Considering that the 2003 Yankees lost to the Marlins in the World Series and both Jeter and Posada were on the team as players fighting for their next championship.  Could that happen again but this time Jeter and Posada watch the game from the owner's box?  Not anytime soon, but the swell is rising and Jeter is serious about building this team from the ground up.  Now he has his best friend to help him.  Good luck, Jorge.  Don't give away all of your Yankee secrets. Meanwhile in Tampa...it's spring training, baby!

Let's do this!

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @Suzieprof

WHERE'S MACHADO GOING? NO ONE CARES, YA'LL RUINED IT

I hate the Manny Machado bologna. I don't care where he's going. I have no interest in reporting theory or guesses and I cannot believe we've been downgraded to such an unintelligent society based on headlines and photos telling the story. We're stupid folks. We fall for anything. Blame social media. Twitter blows. Instagram? Right there with it.  Facebook? It's headline hell.  No one reads. No one. Thank god we have a faithful following at Bleeding Yankee Blue or we'd be out of business.

This comes from Rawlings:

Check out Manny Machado's gloves for this season! Where do you think he is going to play this season? Is the black and white a sign?? #TeamRawlings pic.twitter.com/GO1CNs57UT

— Rawlings Sports (@RawlingsSports) February 12, 2019

OMFG Stop.  It's a guess. Say the White Sox, say the Yankees, say go F yourself. It doesn't matter. The STORY is that teams are not interested in signing big name free agents anymore because on the back end of every deal... there's crap. No team wants that any more.  Even players are complaining...

Great players. Tide has turned. Many teams less willing to spend big and end up with a broken down player at the end of that 10 years.

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) February 12, 2019

Well, of course they are, because when folks like Justin Verlander goes up for free agency he's getting screwed too.  How about this Justin, you play a kid's game and demand millions... it's insanity.

And then you have "baseball insiders", whatever that means ACTIVELY PITCHING free agents.

Craig Kimbrel has the lowest era, lowest batting average against and lowest ops against. That’s alltime. As in ever. Plus, being a reliever he could help any team. Let’s go, there’s gotta be interest!

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 12, 2019

Not your job Jon Heyman, you need to stick to what you do badly, guessing about who signs where first and getting it wrong.

And that brings me back to that Rawlings baseball glove and Manny Machado. Jon Heyman again folks...

Everyone’s reading tea leaves. Or is Rawlings now into trolling? #chisox? https://t.co/W5KaKTOTZl

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 13, 2019

Trolling.  He's calling Rawlings out on trolling. UNBELIEVABLE. He doesn't know how bad he is, does he?  Jon, having a lot of followers on Twitter doesn't make you important, it makes you easy to pick on. I think BYB will be introducing "F Jon Heyman" shirts real soon. It's time.

For the last time. No one cares where Manny goes. No one.  It's over. He jumped the shark, you've all jumped the god damn shark.  Loserville, all day long.

SIR DIDI UPDATE!

Not a ton happening in Yankeeland as the beat writers head to Florida.  No more signings, no more trades really. What is important is that Didi Gregorius is on the road to recovery and we all love that, right?

Randy Miller of NJ.com writes that Didi has begun throwing. He threw 60 feet, 25 tosses. Atta boy. Miller writes:

"Monday was a day of big progress for Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius, who resumed throwing for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow on Oct. 17...

'It’s still a waiting game for me, so I’m getting there,' said Gregorius..."

And we just wait, we see the progress and we see when he's ready to hit actual games for the Yanks. It's a long road. No worries... we have a plan if he's not ready in time and that's the great brilliance of Brian Cashman.

Good stuff. Get well soon Didi.

YANKS ARE SATISFIED WITH TULOWITZKI

I hate the Manny Machado rumors.  In fact I was actually accused of pushing the Machado Tweet fest.  If you are a BYB Reader you know that's not true. We only report important nuggets surrounding this lazy ballplayer.  I take pride in that.  Cranky Tweeters who like to suggest we do the opposite are just ill informed and ignorant... BECAUSE THEY OBVIOUSLY DON'T READ US.

Seriously

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) February 10, 2019

I think we’ve been pretty responsible with our coverage. We only report on the nuggets that appear legit. We aren’t looking for clicks. That’s pretty unfair.

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) February 11, 2019

We don't look for clicks, we look for news. And if there isn't any... we don't bring you the continuing Manny Saga... because it's boring AF.

Andy Martino of SNY has this. And for the record... Martino does what we do:

"Hungry for another Manny Machado update? Not really? Well, too bad -- we have one. As Yankees players trickle into spring training, the front office continues to check in with Machado's camp, according to major league sources. The Yankees are not the frontrunners for Machado -- both the White Sox and Phillies have been more aggressive -- but they are not out on him, either...

Cashman remains on the periphery, just in case Machado changes his mind about chasing the most money, or his negotiations with another team fall through. The Yankees would be comfortable moving Miguel Andujar to first base if they sign Machado to play third. According to sources, Machado is not under consideration to play shortstop for the Yanks; that job will belong to Troy Tulowitzki, if he remains healthy."

Sometimes there is actually an update. I mean, geez, am I allowed to report that? That's interesting. Although, truth be told, my 16 year is convinced that the Yankees will eventually move Gleyber Torres to short because while the Yankees know what Troy can offer, they just aren't really sure he can offer it consistency anymore.

My kid's normally right about stuff like this...

JETER'S REACHED A NEW LEVEL OF CRAZY

It took some time but Derek Jeter finally traded away his highly valued toy out of his toy box, J.T. Realmuto. He held on to him long enough to get something that he liked. But did he get the best haul possible for him?

Back in December we heard about THIS possible three-way trade between the Mets, Yankees and Marlins but it never really went anywhere because the Marlins were insistent on getting Amed Rosario from the Mets. Sure, the Yankees supposedly would've gained Noah Syndergaard but we didn't hear too much what the Marlins wanted the Yankees to give up.

Until now that is. According to Joel Sherman, Jeter was asking for a King's ransom to make this all happen. That random would've included Gary Sanchez and Miguel Andujar going to Miami.

Anyone out there laughing yet? I am. Sanchez has his fair share of criticism especially after his major sophomore slump this past season but where would that put the Yankees at as far as catcher goes? The Yankees would've had another serious void to fill with not a lot of great free agent options out there.

But let this one sink in. If the Yankees would've been dumb enough to say yes their two young, rookie of the year finalists with major promise for a talented but injury prone pitcher who hasn't been able to stay healthy. Looking back on this idea now is even more mind boggling.

If it did happen, it makes you wonder if that would've greatly changed the way the Yankees approached the rest of the offseason. If the Yankees did deal Andujar would Manny Machado be a higher priority? Would Machado still be a free agent right now? There's a lot of what-ifs right now.

So now Realmuto is a Philly and while he Jeter didn't get a haul similar to what he wanted from the Yankees he still did pretty well. Jeter now gets MLB's 27th ranked pitcher, another starter and a catcher to replace Realmuto with. I just wish I could've been a fly on the wall to hear someone laugh when they heard Jeter's request.

So Realmuto gets a fresh start away from Jeter's circus, we get to keep our young superstars and Jeter gets to figure out how to fix his horrible league worst attendance. No one wants to play in Miami (except Curtis Granderson apparently) and fans don't want to watch games their either.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj

MELKY TO THE PIRATES

Small story, but since we love reporting on former Yankees, we had to mention Melky Cabrera here. He's going to Pittsburgh. He's latched onto the Pirates.

ESPN reports this:

"The Pittsburgh Pirates and veteran outfielder Melky Cabrera have agreed to a minor league contract, according to ESPN and multiple reports. The agreement was first reported Sunday by The Athletic. Cabrera can make up to $2 million in performance bonuses, according to ESPN and reports."

Melky kind of fell off after he was accused and suspended for using PEDs a while back. Since then he's bounced from team to team really not doing much.  Too bad.

But look, I don't hate, I just report.  Melky is still trying to play on baseball's highest level and you gotta give him that.  He's with the Pirates now. Let's see if he can make it back to the Bigs.

Stay tuned...

MANNY MANIA CONTINUES AS PITCHERS & CATCHERS REPORT

Source: Sports Illustrated

Yesterday was an interesting day. I don't like to dwell on the past but this may be time worth spending. Yesterday was National Pizza Day and National Bagel Day: both are New York food groups on their own.  Yesterday we also learned that Manny Machado may have been offered a contract by the Yankees back in December which he simply left on the table.  Reflecting on these two "newsworthy" items, I have one thing to say: "Hey, Manny, New York has better pizza and bagels than Chicago! Did you know that?"  Yes, Manny Mania continues as pitchers and catchers get ready to report for duty this week and you know what, I kinda love it.

Casey and I had a short conversation yesterday.  It went sort of like this:

Suzie: "Is this Manny thing legit?" 
Casey: "I don't know but don't you just love this?"

Source: USA Today

Yes, I kinda love it, because it is utterly ridiculous that Manny Machado is being lauded and pursued by three big cities and he seemingly wants more.  I like what Barstool Sports posted on Saturday morning regarding Machado's ridiculousness during his free agency:

"So yesterday we finally got a report/rumor about what the Yankees actually offered Manny Machado when they sat down back in December. The reported offer was $220 million for 7 or 8 years, which puts him at an AAV of $31.4 mill or $27.5 mill. That’s as good of a deal Manny is going to get, folks. So there’s a couple things to draw from this. Manny probably wishes he could back in time. The market has dropped significantly for him since free agency began and now he’s left with seemingly one offer…the White Sox. Imagine telling him this back in December? Yeah we’re a week away from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training and you’re still without a team, and oh yeah by the way the only team offering you anything really is the 62 win Chicago White Sox."

It's so laughable.  The guy simply has no team and pitchers and catchers show up for work beginning Tuesday.  Could Manny contribute to the Yankee lineup? Of course he could. Are the Yankees sold on Troy Tulowitzki and DJ LeMahieu? Of course, they aren't, but they picked them up because the Machado thing appeared to be dead despite their continued interest in the free agent.

Source: NJ.com

According to CBS Sports last night, "Essentially, the Yankees hope to leverage Machado's reported desire to play for them -- to the extent that he's forced to take less money in order to do so. Shrewd business, perhaps, but not if Machado elects to take the highest offer."  

Source: Yahoo Sports

Yahoo Sports also reported last night, "As for the lack of movement in the free agent market, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal spoke to several reasons behind the long wait for Machado and fellow free agent Bryce Harper to find a landing spot this winter. He maintained that both players are anticipating future offers north of $300 million, which creates something of a conundrum for teams who, like the White Sox, are unwilling to jump into a fruitless bidding war. Rosenthal also pointed out that while the Padres have been the most transparent in their pursuit of Machado so far, that kind of strategy may work against them if the Phillies or White Sox (or an as-yet undisclosed mystery team) decide to up the ante in the weeks to come." 

Source: Philly.com

The Machado-Harper frenzy is ushering in the start of the 2019 baseball season in a way we have not seen before.  There was some talked Saturday that Harper could land in San Francisco, but there has not been any confirmations at this point.  As for Manny who knows? Stranger things have happened in Yankeeland and he could be in pinstripes after all.  Is Hal cheap? Nah, he's just doing business like the Steinbrenners always have.  Can't wait to see how this story ends- even if it's not happily every after.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

BREAKING REPORT: YANKS OFFERED TO MACHADO

Take this with a grain of salt.

I hate speculation but this report appears to be legit and is slowly leaking out from legit sources.  What comes of it and what will happen next is anyone's guess.

Jim Duquette is stating that the Yankees have indeed made an offer to Manny Machado in the range of 7 to 8 years worth $220 million.

.@Jim_Duquette has the latest on the Yankees’ pursuit of Manny Machado 🌡 pic.twitter.com/ExZqqdghxq

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 9, 2019

I'm not getting into speculation, theory, whether or not this is true or not and nothing else. I am putting this here on BYB with the idea that it's the most legitimate rumor on Manny connected to the Yankees so far. You do what you want with it.

More later if anything else comes out.

That is all.

CITO CULVER'S STILL GOT IT

Always been a fan of Cito Culver. I personally think the media put a ton of pressure on this guy when the Yankees drafted him, suggesting he was the "next Derek Jeter". Labels like that are just too difficult to achieve. Especially because at that point, it doesn't matter how good you become, you're not good enough. But Cito is the man and is a real good player... regardless.

But Cito's minor league career was a good one, and I love the guy. Ever since he did an interview with us here at BYB a few years ago. It was evident then, he was a good dude. (Read EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: CITO CULVER for more.)

Well, have no fear, Cito has signed a deal with the independent ball club, the Rockland Boulders out of Rockland County, NY.

NorthJersey.com writes:

"The infielder is returning to New York to play baseball, but it won't be in the Bronx or Queens. The Rockland Boulders, who play in the Can-Am League, announced the signing of Culver, 26, ahead of the 2019 season. 

Culver was the 32nd overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft, and according to the Boulders is the highest-drafted player in the history of their franchise. Culver was drafted out of high school at 18 and featured at Class A, AA, and AAA for the Yankees, most recently in 2017. 

Last year, Culver appeared for the Class AAA affiliate for the Miami Marlins before opting for free agency, the Boulders said. "

I'm pretty excited. I go up the see the Boulders a lot.  I'm gonna try and get up there this season to watch Cito play...maybe hang with him. We shall see.

Anyway... looking forward to this. I hope he does well.

Now I know what you're thinking. "Why do I care about Cito Culver?" Hey... we always try to report on former Yankees here at BYB.  This is no different.

Happy Saturday everyone.

WHO'S GUNNA BE THAT GUY?

Source: USA Today

As we inch closer to the start of the 2019 season, we are in the final stages of reflection on what went wrong for our teams in 2018 and how to fix this before first pitch. One major factor both New York teams lacked was a culture of consistent leadership. In a past article about the rival New York teams, we touched upon the fact that since the retirement of Derek Jeter and David Wright, there has been no clear leader on either team. Quite frankly, in order to have a more successful season, clubhouse morale definitely needs to be boosted. Someone needs to step up to the plate, quite literally, to help ignite this. Who's gunna be that guy for the Yankees and even the Mets this season?!

Source: AP

Injuries to key players such as Clint Frazier, Didi Gregorius, and Aaron Judge definitely brought down morale for Yankees as well as fans last year. But the reaction that the fans gave Judge in September when he was inserted back into the lineup after being on the disabled list for two months, leads me to think that Judge can really be “that guy” for the 2019 season. Judge led the team to within just one win of the World Series in 2017, and ruffled some feathers by playing Yankees’ theme song New York, New York on a boombox through Fenway in 2018. He has definitely demonstrated what it means to be fearless, a good quality for any leader, but he may not be old enough to take the reins as leader officially, yet.

Source: MLB.com

Another concern for Judge, at least from his point of view, is being able to lead while playing, which means staying healthy.  In an interview with The New York Post before the Yankees hosted the Red Sox last season, Judge said, “My biggest thing is to lead by example. When I can’t play I can’t lead by example.” So, health and consistency can certainly thrust Judge to "that guy" status for the Yankees.

Source: NJ.com

Besides Judge, “that guy” signs also point to Red Thunder, Clint Frazier, who definitely gets an award for resilience. After an unfortunate concussion, Frazier ended up losing most of the 2018 season. Luckily for Yankees fans, Frazier has announced in a tweet on December 13, that he has resumed baseball activities.



In an interview with YES network, Frazier said, “I know there is some time to be made back up to go out there and ultimately win that job, but everyone is well deserving. It’s just a matter of who’s probably hot at the time, what are the needs and overall how much we can help the team. I’m pretty confident in what I can do; go out there and play as hard as I can, and try to win that job and help the team.” Maybe with some improvement, we can give him a new nickname that pulls in his gritty, never give up, disposition and this aids in creating a culture of leadership for the team.

Source: NJ.com

Across the river, I think veteran and former Yankee Todd Frazier can really be an asset to the team. Even though Frazier isn’t the best player statistics-wise, he’s always been a consistent leader on every team he has played for since he joined the ranks of MLB and as a child star for Toms River Little League, winning the World Series back in 1998.  My favorite contribution of Frazier’s, which I know Suzie Pintstripe is still jealous of, is the “salt and pepper” celebration that he introduced to the team. When asked what it meant, Brandon Nimmo said, “We’re just adding a little seasoning to the offense.” The Mets. like the Yankees, definitely need more of this energy in 2019.

Source: ESPN

For now, all we can do is cross our fingers and hope that the 2019 season will be a healthy one for all of our players. With consistent leadership and an optimistic outlook, 2019 can really be New York’s year and "that guy"really becomes a key component to a winning attitude for both teams.

--Missy O'Rourke
BYB Contributor
Twitter: @missy_orourke