Check out our current top nine hitters: Only two - DJ LeMahieu (30) and Cameron Maybin (32)- have blown out the candles on a Big Three-Oh. The average - 26.5 years - won't even change much with the return of Didi Gregorius and Giancarlo Stanton, both 29. Also, now and then, for whatever it's worth, we should remind ourselves that Greg Bird is only 26, and Tyler Wade, 24.
For at least the next two years, the Death Star's front nine is jammed up with 20-somethings. If this were a Toyota dealership, Brian Cashman would be shouting, "Come on down! Our inventories are overstocked! Everything must go!" And though it hurts to say this, the Yankees next month will be wasting a hu-u-u-ge! opportunity if the looming flood forces Thairo Estrada and Clint Frazier back to Scranton.
In such a scenario, everyone will lose. The returns of Didi, Judge and Stanton will likely come with post-rehab slumps - each batter smack in the center of the lineup. But the worst impacts could be on Frazier and Estrada. Demoted and demoralized, both would likely go ice cold in Triple A, their value diminishing by the day.
Both have become fan faves, in part because we don't yet know their ceilings. Can Estrada really hit .300? Does Frazier have 30 HR power? (I say yes on both.) But barring more injuries, both appear fated to celebrate July 4th in Moosic.
Or not. Listen: Trades are coming to Winterfell. We can dream of a franchise that consistently renews itself by dealing age for youth - (if someone offered big prospects for Stanton, who wouldn't bite?) - but that's fantasy stuff. We will trade young for old. It's our thing. And we will trade for pitching.
Unlike our starting nine, the staff looks ancient: eight pitchers over age 30: Sabathia (38), Happ (36), Ottavino (33),Chapman (31), Britton (31) Hale (31), Paxton (30), Tanaka (30). Sabathia can't go a month without needing his knee drained. Paxton has a history. Tanaka pitches with a slightly torn shoulder. Neither Dellin Betances (31) nor Luis Severino (25) is a sure thing. Domingo German? He's a bad outing from being shut down. We have no ace.
There is no point in adding a Lance Lynn or Gio Gonzalez. The Yankees don't need another creaky vet. Nor is some young stud right now rocketing through the farm system. Jonathan Loaisiga is hurt - again, and Chance Adams is our best Chance. (Get it? That's a joke. Ha ha?)
I've pitched the signing of Dallas Keuchel. He's smart, he's competitive, he won't cost us a player, and we'd keep him from killing us in October. (He's done it before.) All he'll cost is Hal's money, and trust me, Hal has a fake leg full of gold coins.
Keuchel is 31 and, yeah, another guy who can't remember puberty. As a result, I doubt Cooperstown Cashman sees him as the complete solution. Throughout his career, Cash has always chased the Holy Grail: Pitchers below age 28, still rising. Generally - from Jeff Weaver to Javier Vazquez to Michael Pineda to Sonny Gray - it's a horror show. But this we know: The Cash Man gonna do what the Cash Man gonna do.
I don't look forward to June. I doubt it can top our month of May, the month of Gio and Thairo and Clint. We've been here before, leading the AL East on June 1. It doesn't always end well. Trades are coming. I gotta believe both Frazier and Estrada are deadline goners. What we get in return will dictate the season.
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19 comments:
There are alternatives to sending Frazier anywhere. Can easily cut Morales and trade Maybin. Frazier is a necessity now. Hicks and Judge cannot stay healthy. If you trade Frazier you will be looking to add another outfielder by August... check the history.
Morales is a temp. Maybin I like, but he can be jettisoned also.
Unless you believe Ca$hmoney will re-sign Gardner, the red menace has a place going forward -- it's left field.
Estrado, unfortunately has a bigger and younger logjam to navigate. He will likely haunt us in years ahead, shining for someone else.
...unless the death star has some other evil plan, like permanently keeping Torres at short.
Rufus,
Totally agree about Frazier as our LF of the future.
All,
There's one factor that wasn't mentioned. Didi is a free agent at the end of the year and it's time to pay the man but the injury has given Hal a potential out (as in guys that might be just as good for less.)
So, here is a radical idea. This will not happen BTW but it should. The Yankees should trade Didi as soon as he proves he can play.
Pros:
Clearly they are OK without him and it allows Gleybar to remain at SS and DJ to stay at second and Urshala at third. Stability and excellence. Estrada as the BU.
Didi would be a valuable rental and bring back something good.
If the Yankees still want him at the end of the year - they can sign him. The old, free agents won't sign with teams that trade them idea is no longer valid.
Cons: None I can see. Money talks. He could be gone next year anyway.
Doug K.
Anon, I was thinking the same thing. Sad as it is to say, trading Didi is totally logical. The infield as constructed has proven it's just fine, thanks. Didi is not needed, simple as that. And I say that as a fan of his.
Frazier has to be kept at this point. I still have it in for Hicks, though I don't hate the guy. He seems like he makes a 100% effort, but last year was anomaly, and it's time to face it. The problem there is that we don't have a good option for CF without him and Cashman is in love with him, so...
Stanton is off to a lousy start as a Yankee compared to expectations. I have to think this includes management and not just us. But since they won't be able to move him, they'll stick with him and hope he comes back at some point and hits at a 50 home run pace like he did in Florida. Meaningless clouts when we're way behind, way ahead, and nobody is on base, perhaps, but there it is. If he starts hitting instead of swinging, he can be fearsome, but he hasn't shown that tendency. If he starts taking those two strike low and outside pitches instead of lunging for them, that would be nice, too.
After the Manny/Bryce sweepstakes, I finally came around to a simple idea: nobody is worth 25, 28 or 30 million a year, because you just don't need them that badly. There are better, most cost effective ways to win, and Hal being Hal, I think that's what we can expect moving forward.
But we need starting pitching, even though our rambling wreck of a rotation has been surprisingly OK so far, relatively speaking. The postseason will be a different story. We need a Pettite or two.
Estrada has been great, but he's not going to be with us much longer, imo. Urshela has taken his potential spot already. Speaking of whom...AnDUjar has to be converted into an outfielder. At this point there's no real choice. He's young, he's got a decent arm, he's not not fast. Maybe CF? They can't possibly consider bringing Gardy back next year, much as I like the musclebound, lightbulb-headed guy. He plays hard, but it's time.
I will always and forever be mystified by the signing of Morales. What was he supposed to bring? Power? Exciting station to station baserunning? Walks? I wouldn't say he's a rally killer. More like a rally preventer. The other day when we had a shot in the ninth, his easy out loomed large. It was one less chance to get the tying run in, and we could've used that chance with one of the regulars. Inexplicable. We get enough homers from our other guys, thanks.
But of course, such is the way of Cashman. You can always bet on him doing something stupid in his quest to show how brilliant he is. And that's what has us cringing when we think of the trades he'll make and the talent he might sacrifice. Yeah, kids are a crapshoot. But he'll send them away for complete mediocrity when he gets the chance. Not always, just too often for some of us.
One caveat: I'm old and been watching the Yanks for over 50 years, so keep in mind that I know nothing at all.
JM,
So really it was Corbin. That was the FA that we should have ponied up for. He was one of the couple of Pettites we need.
Doug K.
Great comments everyone. I enjoyed reading all and I agree with all.
Yes. Corbin. It's starting pitching. It's always starting pitching.
Always.
Cole is the one pitcher they may pony up for next year as the Yankees have shown a lot of interest in the past.
Then we are agreed. The traffic in drugs will be permitted but controlled and Don Corleone will give up protection in the East, and there will be the peace.
Oops, sorry! Wrong confab. Ahem:
Compadres! It is imperative that we crush the freedom fighters before the start of the rainy season! And remember: a shiny new donkey to whoever brings me the head of Col. Montoya.
No, wait...
So yeah:
—Hey hey ho ho, Kendrys Morales got to go, before he slips into Chris Carter territory. Coops likes him because he has "a Yankee Stadium swing." Blather.
—I want Estrada to stay! Guy can play 3 positions, he can hit, and he took a bullet and kept on ticking.
—Doug K., trading Didi is a little bit of genius. Not sure exactly what we can get for him, but it's a good idea. Buy him back if he's still looking good.
—Gio stays at third until he plays himself out of it!
—The Red Menace stays! Query: do you think he might actually do better in center? He seems to have a lot of trouble with angles. But in any case, the OF of Judge-Hicks-Stanton has many fine things going for it...but you have to count on those guys ALWAYS missing 100 games or so between them. We need Red!
—I would think of a bad thing to say about Giancarlo...but I never see him! His face is beginning to fade in my memory, like my great-grandfather's, or Norm Siebern's. Sure, I am too mean to him and he did carry the team for awhile last year. Try him out at first?
—Yes, El Matador to the outfield! With his arm he could really be a plus-left fielder.
—And yes, we need starting pitching. And yes, we can't count on Coopsie making the right deal. That's the pity of it all. He's NOT the guy who is going to ID the young Jon Smoltz, or Mariano, more's the pity. He really can't even ID old warhorses.
I would rather have him sacrifice this year in the playoffs than trade away the future for the next Rick Reuschel/ Doyle Alexander II.
So yeah:
—Hey hey ho ho, Kendrys Morales got to go, before he slips into Chris Carter territory. Coops likes him because he has "a Yankee Stadium swing." Blather.
—I want Estrada to stay! Guy can play 3 positions, he can hit, and he took a bullet and kept on ticking.
—Doug K., trading Didi is a little bit of genius. Not sure exactly what we can get for him, but it's a good idea. Buy him back if he's still looking good.
—Gio stays at third until he plays himself out of it!
—The Red Menace stays! Query: do you think he might actually do better in center? He seems to have a lot of trouble with angles. But in any case, the OF of Judge-Hicks-Stanton has many fine things going for it...but you have to count on those guys ALWAYS missing 100 games or so between them. We need Red!
—I would think of a bad thing to say about Giancarlo...but I never see him! His face is beginning to fade in my memory, like my great-grandfather's, or Norm Siebern's. Sure, I am too mean to him and he did carry the team for awhile last year. Try him out at first?
—Yes, El Matador to the outfield! With his arm he could really be a plus-left fielder.
—And yes, we need starting pitching. And yes, we can't count on Coopsie making the right deal. That's the pity of it all. He's NOT the guy who is going to ID the young Jon Smoltz, or Mariano, more's the pity. He really can't even ID old warhorses.
I would rather have him sacrifice this year in the playoffs than trade away the future for the next Rick Reuschel/ Doyle Alexander II.
So yeah:
—Hey hey ho ho, Kendrys Morales got to go, before he slips into Chris Carter territory. Coops likes him because he has "a Yankee Stadium swing." Blather.
—I want Estrada to stay! Guy can play 3 positions, he can hit, and he took a bullet and kept on ticking.
—Doug K., trading Didi is a little bit of genius. Not sure exactly what we can get for him, but it's a good idea. Buy him back if he's still looking good.
—Gio stays at third until he plays himself out of it!
—The Red Menace stays! Query: do you think he might actually do better in center? He seems to have a lot of trouble with angles. But in any case, the OF of Judge-Hicks-Stanton has many fine things going for it...but you have to count on those guys ALWAYS missing 100 games or so between them. We need Red!
—I would think of a bad thing to say about Giancarlo...but I never see him! His face is beginning to fade in my memory, like my great-grandfather's, or Norm Siebern's. Sure, I am too mean to him and he did carry the team for awhile last year. Try him out at first?
—Yes, El Matador to the outfield! With his arm he could really be a plus-left fielder.
—And yes, we need starting pitching. And yes, we can't count on Coopsie making the right deal. That's the pity of it all. He's NOT the guy who is going to ID the young Jon Smoltz, or Mariano, more's the pity. He really can't even ID old warhorses.
I would rather have him sacrifice this year in the playoffs than trade away the future for the next Rick Reuschel/ Doyle Alexander II.
Is there an echo in here?
Here?
NO WAY WE CAN SEND FRAZIER DOWN, NO WAY....
I DON'T CARE WHO COMES BACK!
HE ALREADY MAY BE THE BEST CLUTCH HITTER WE HAVE!
DEFENSIVE BLIPS ASIDE, (AND THERE HAVE BEEN MANY LATELY), THIS KID WILL BE A STAR FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS IMO....
CASHMAN NEEDS TO FIND A WAY TO GET BUMGARNER WITHOUT GIVING UP CLINT.
WE HAVE A LOT OF PITCHING TALENT IN SINGLE AND DOUBLE A....
GET IT DONE COOP.
Sorry about that—don't know what happened happened happened
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