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Friday, July 13, 2012

It wasn't Ty Hensley holding up the signing, it was an MRI of his shoulder

Wow. This is weird. And sad. And a sign of the times.

Ty Hensley, the Yankees first round pick, signed yesterday for about $1.2 million - about $400,000 lower than original expectations. That ends the speculation that we had another Gerrit Cole on our hands - a draft pick who simply had no intention of signing. But the backstory is now evolving.

Turns out, Cole Hensley and the Yankees had a $1.6 million deal in place shortly after the draft, but then a routine MRI revealed an abnormality in his shoulder, and the Yankees cut their offer. Kaboom. Ever since, the kid and his family have been twisting in the wind. Can you imagine the talks in their kitchen?

Chase Parnam has the full story. The quotes will break your heart, especially where the 18-year-old says this is just "the business of baseball."

Here's the closer quote:

"The Yankees and I are in this together. The deal we came to illustrates this. By being honest about what has been going on, I hope it will lead to a better understanding of medicals like mine. My mom spent 24/7 on the internet just trying to find anything she could so maybe this will help someone else. There is no sense in being bitter, I am still living the dream and am grateful for the amazing opportunities that I have had. Right now I think we all just want to put this behind us and concentrate on the impact I can have on the Yankees now and in the future." 

We drafted an abnormal shoulder. And an abnormal kid.

Glad he's in the fold. For the record, I hate the business of baseball.

3 comments:

Miss Magilicuddy said...

Hey, lay off the sauce! It was Hensley who talked about his abnormality not Cole. Totally confusing, but fortunately my mind is not pickled like yours and I was able to shake it off and figure it out. He does sound like a good kid. Hope he makes it.

Alphonso said...

Are you nuts?!

We just gave $1.2 million to an Andy Brackman clone.

This guy will soon have surgery, and then fail 4-6 years in the minors until we cut him.

Why give him anything? I would have offered $1 plus surgery.

Alphonso said...

When he says, " .....put this behind us and move into the future," he is really saying, " ....put this behind us and go set up surgery with Dr. Andrews."

Right?