Sunday, January 6, 2019

With the signing of Zach Britton, the Yankees are slightly above the luxury tax threshold; will they stay there?

Last night, the Yankees announced that bullpen lug nut Zach Britton will stay in Pinstripes for at least the next two years. In a thumb-sucker of a deal, he'll make $13 million per season and - if the Yankees push the button - could stay through 2022. (If they don't invoke their option, he becomes a free agent after two seasons. Jeeze, who wrote this deal, MC Escher?)

According to the scribbled numbers on my gin-soaked cocktail napkin, this puts the Yankees about $4 million over the MLB's de facto payroll cap - (pretty much the same cap that a players union once went on strike to defeat.) But they could slither back underneath it by trading Sonny Gray for a handful of magic beans. 

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls... we have reached the hallowed gates of Levittown. 

We will soon know if owner Hal "Food Stamps" Steinbrenner intends to pull over and settle here, or step on the gas pedal and start acting like the New York fucking Yankees. 

Will Hal keep his roster below the MLB luxury tax threshold, and basically field the same team that won last year's Wild Card? Or will he do what the Yankees used to do - and intimated they would do for the last two years - which is use their self-imposed austerity to sign a top free agent, such as Manny Machado, Bryce Harper or Dallas Keuchel? 

Folks, we are about to gaze directly into the soul of the franchise, as it will probably exist for the rest of our lifetimes. (Yankee owner, like the U.S. Supreme Court, seems to be a lifetime appointment.) Above all else, does Hal want to win, or does he want to make more money? Of course, he'll claim to want both - but his words ring hollow when the Redsocks outspend us by $30 million. 

Even with Britton - a nice addition, overall - the 2019 Yankees have major issues. They need another starting pitcher. They need a LH bat. And, as a commentator recently noted on this site, considering Troy Tulowitzi's age, (34) an infield of Andujar, Tulo, Gleyber and Voit might just be the worst fielding infield in Yankee history. 

So, they can buy a free agent with their nearly endless supply of money. Or they can trade Miguel Andujar - their best 3B prospect since Mike Lowell, (and we know how that turned out) - and pull from what is a very finite pool of talent. 

It's simple: Spend the money, which you have... or trade the prospects, which are thinning out.  

I get it that Hal doesn't want another Jacoby Ellsbury. Nobody does. And if Bryce and Manny insist on Cano-esque, 100-year deals - well - fuck'em. But Boston has been quiet recently - too quiet. One of these days, they will splurge on a replacement for Craig Kimbrel, or maybe something much more frightening. Their owner has made his intentions clear: Winning is the object, and they are working toward a dynasty. 

Today, with the exception of Andrew McCutcheon in LF and David Robertson in the bullpen, the Yankees basically have reassembled last year's Wild Card team. (James Paxton remains his own wild card, of sorts, but losing Justus Sheffield is not nuthin'.) The question is: Will Hal settle for second place in these free agent auctions... and second place in the AL East? We will soon know the answer, and it might not be pretty.

22 comments:

  1. No.

    They are pursuing Ottavino. Would be a good signing and make the bullpen more feared. Feared for whom I'm not sure.

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  2. Ottavino would be an excellent signing. The bullpen is never as sexy as Manny/Bryce sweepstakes -- unless you are a recently defected Cuban who throws 105mph and expresses anger by shooting up your garage -- but with the new baseball you need four to six guys capable of being effective in 50 to 70 games a year. Get that guy! Pay him!

    It's not my money.

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  3. This is becoming as depressing an offseason as I was expecting.

    Still waiting for the Major Stupid, the move that makes us all cry in our $12 beer.

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  4. I'm on board with Ottavino. He is the final piece for the pen and is supposedly the best out there. I have never seen him pitch.

    As an added bonus we get to call him Lottavino. (Which is what we will all need to watch the Yankees this year.)

    In other news, Duque's pointing out that the Red Sox have been too quiet makes me nervous. It's a good thing that Machado is persona (mega) non grata over there and they have the best outfield in baseball making Harper a bad fit. But they will do something. Probably sign Lottavino. (Wow is that easy to write!)

    Hey, if it turns out that he overpowers batters with feats of strength and has a prodigious appetite he could be Little Lottavino.

    I will stop now. Sorry.

    Doug K.

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  6. Don't look at this link from 2017...scary...

    https://www.mlb.com/rockies/news/rockies-adam-ottavino-throws-4-wild-pitches/c-238752834

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  7. With the quality (or lack of same) of the starting pitchers now on the roster, what is needed besides high-quality bullpen speedballers is LENGTH.

    I'm thinking 2 or 3 Adam Warren clones.

    Or maybe Adam Warren himself?

    WHY?

    Duya really think CC Sabathia is going to get thru the 6th inning very much?

    Is Tanaka likely to post a large # of games in which he throw 7?

    Sevy's problems in '18 including throwing a lot of early-inning pitches, didn't they?
    Montgomery?

    Paxton -- if they want him to NOT be injured, they've got to yank him earlier, not later. Right?

    Happ is 36 years old. Even if replicates 2018 -- he averaged about 6 innings, sometimes 7. In the cases of Six -- someone's got to pitch 7, 8 and 9. Three guys each time out?


    Already, you can see how they're going to blow out the bullpen with one-inning guys.
    FAST. You must avoid that, doncha think?

    You need a few multiple-inning guys.

    AJ Cole might have been that kind of guy, but wasn't. Sonny Gray isn't that guy, as we think we know - but he might end up filling the spot anyway. I like Chad Green, but I'm not sure he's fit for a number of 2-inning stints in any given two-week period.


    .....remember Mariano in '96, when John W was the closer? That kind of 2-inning fella is a major, urgent need. Perhaps 2 or 3 of that kind of guy, even.


    AND -- yes, a few LH hitters, maybe even one with power.

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  8. TALK ABOUT A DEPRESSING OFF-SEASON....

    I LOST MY FATHER YESTERDAY....

    A GREAT YANKEE FAN WHO STARTED IT ALL FOR ME WITH HIS LOVE OF JOE D. AND THE MICK.

    I WAS HOOKED.

    REALIZING HOW FRAGILE LIFE IS, IT IS FRUSTRATING TO SEE HAL AND CASH PLAY BARGAIN BASEMENT BINGO WITH THIS TEAM THAT WE LOVE SO DEARLY.

    MY DAD WILL NEVER SEE ANOTHER YANKEE WORLD SERIES.

    MOST OF US ON THIS SITE ARE CLINGING TO OUR HOPES THAT HAL AND COOP CAN MAKE AGGRESSIVE MOVES AND BIG ENOUGH ADDITIONS TO CLOSE THE GAP WITH THESE DAMN RED SOX.

    TIME IS TICKING.

    ....AND WE ARE ALL RUNNING OUT OF IT.

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  9. Very sorry to hear that, ALL-CAPS. It is a tough loss.

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  10. Wasn't "Adam Ottavino" that old vaudeville line?

    "Adamottavino, in a half an hour..."?

    Sorry. Yeah, they have to sign him. But he looks like the classic, good-every-other-year reliever. Which means he'll stink in 2019.

    Harper Harper Harper!!

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  11. Joe FOB, I'm tellin' ya, the only way the staff survives this year is to go to a six-man rotation.

    CC at home, Sonny on the road.

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  12. And yeah, John M., like they used to say in the old Westerns, it's quiet out there—too quiet.

    I watched the lummoxes on Sports Night tonight actually saying "the Yanks are an all-world, power-elite team!"
    Whatever that means. Don't these guys actually watch the games?

    The Yanks took a giant step backwards in 2018. If all the bad trends that developed then continue—and there were a helluva lot of them—they will have a losing record in 2019, and sink out of sight soon after.

    Chances are, they won't ALL continue. Some things will go right. But they are very far from being an elite anything this side of vermin droppings.

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  13. Very sorry to hear about your Dad, all-caps. Losing a parent, sibling or spouse is a very painful experience. I wish you the strength to make your Dad proud, and get through the whole ordeal with class.

    You are abso-effin-lootly correct about us running out of time. This is one thing that animates me, as I am into my 8th decade on this earth, and am starting to lose friends & acquaintances who are younger...it's not a good feeling.

    My own Dad was a Cubs fan; he listened to them every day during the season, back when they still played only day games at Wrigley. Dad didn't have anything against our Yanks - - he recognized excellence, and acknowledged it when due - - he just thought they had too much money. He will have been gone a full 35 years, come this summer. He was 40 y/o when I was born, but was still a pretty darned good municipal-level player when I was old enough to appreciate it - - and he always was willing to play catch with me, and hit me grounders, etc. I still miss him a lot.

    If we lose out again this year, it will have been a full decade since we won it all - - and I am losing my patience with management, because I very much want to see us win another Series, or three.

    Glad to hear we are signing Britton; it is, at least, a step in the right direction, imo. Realistically, though, we do have several other glaring needs, as my Brothers in the Blog keep pointing out.

    Let US run the club for even one year, and I bet we could - - and would - - restore team pride, and make more money than ever for Hallgator-Arms. He would be better off listening to us than to Cash-Puss, the Dumpster-Diver Extraordinaire, and Rappell-meister of the Century. LB (No J)

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  14. Yes, Brother Hoss, it has been too quiet...It's beginning to look as if Kimbrel might be slithering back under the rock from whence he emerged, to these eyes.

    As for the lummoxes who front Sports Night - - one thing you can bet: they will have excellent ACCESS. They watch, I think - - but do they really, actually take in what they are seeing?? That is the puzzle to me. They would certainly seem to fit the definition of Gammonites that you & others formulated just a day or two ago.

    Meanwhile: Miggy, SI - - Manny, No; Adam, SI - - Sunny-Bunnie, NO; Cuba, SI, Castro, NO! LB (No J)

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  15. Sorry to hear about your dad, ALL CAPS. I still miss mine every day, now eleven years after he died.

    He grew up on Post Avenue, in Inwood, and was a diehard New York Giants baseball fan until they went to California. My mom was Yankees fan, having grown up next to the Stadium, so my dad ended up converting.

    Sending my condolences.

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  16. So very sorry to hear about your dad ALLCAPS, sending love and condolences,,,,,, life is fleeting indeed!

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  17. Very sad to hear about your father passing, ALL-CAPS. We only get one Dad and it's nice to hear about good ones. I'll bet he got a big kick out of your uncompromising Yankee obsession. And you are right: time is short so Hal better shit or get off the pot.

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  18. ALL CAPS,

    Right there with you down to the Joe D. part. I can not tell you how many times I reached for the phone last year during games only to end up in tears. For opening day I pulled out my favorite picture of him sitting in his chair so we could watch one more time together. Still hurts like hell.

    The only thing I can tell you is that our fathers live on through us. His love of the Yankees was a gift to you. That you care enough to be here all the time means it was well received.

    I truly wish you comfort as you work your way through this.

    Doug K.

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  19. Yeah, my father was an NY Giants fans, too, and was left without a team until we moved to Massachusetts...when he started rooting for the Sox mostly, I think, just to irk me.

    We did not, in general, have a good relationship, though it got somewhat better in later years.

    It's funny, though: I think about him more than I think about my mom, with whom I had a very good, close relationship. I think that's often the way it goes. The parent or close relative you're closest to, you're very sad when they're gone. But at least it feels like a relationship that has been completed (for lack of a better word).

    One you are less close to...you find them in your thoughts more, wondering over what went wrong. At least, that's how it's been with me.

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  20. Grieving and loss are strange things. You have to just let them run their course and try not to judge any of your feelings too much, if at all. It can take a long time.

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  21. I AM OVERWHELMED WITH THE KIND WORDS....

    READING ALL YOUR COMMENTS LITERALLY BROUGHT TEARS TO MY EYES....

    I CAN'T SEEM TO SHAKE THIS POWERFUL URGE THAT BRINGS TEARS TO MY EYES, ABOUT ONCE AN HOUR, THEN IT VANISHES....

    13 BIT, HOSS, KEN OF BROOKLYN, PARSON TOM, LB (NO J), AND DOUG K...

    YOU GUYS JUST TOUCHED ME LIKE YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE...

    THANKS GUYS....





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