You feel the anger. (Here at IIHIIFIIc, we live it, every day.) Fans are shouting, screaming for action. At first glance, it looks as though the free agent market has exploded, with the Yankees watching from the cheap seats.
Max Scherzer to the Mets. Corey Seager to the Rangers. The Blue Jays get Kevin Gausman. It's raining gold out there, and here we are - checking the stool sample on Jose Peraza? Today's signings could include Carlos Correa, Anthony Rizzo and the cast of Succession. Then, tomorrow, when the union contract goes poof, everything will stop.
Look around, and you'll see that the traditional spenders - Boston, San Francisco, the Cubs, the Dodgers, et al - are also lying in wait. They think their negotiating positions will improve - or at least clarify - after the labor dispute is settled, probably around the time of spring training.
It's easy to see free agents rushing to sign, and then to worry about the Yankees. But I ask you...
Does anybody really think the Texas Rangers are smart to give the injury-prone Seager a 10-year deal (at $325 million) along with 31-year-old Marcus Semien (7 years, $175 millon?) In an all-or-nothing year, they still have vast holes to fill.
Close your eyes: Doesn't Scherzer to the Mets give you a twinge of Randy Johnson's time with the Yankees?
Sure, Toronto signs Gausman (5 years, $110 million), but he sorta crumbled at the end of last season. Also, they lose Robbie Ray to Seattle (and the Mariners, who gave him 5 years at $115 million, should wonder if his Cy Young season was for real?)
When it comes to the Yankees, always remember:
Doing nothing means doing nothing stupid.
It could be worse. We could be snowbound in a British pub with an Oasis cover band.
I say, hold the line.
Seager isn’t injury prone, he’s had two in four years, the second was getting hit by a pitch on the hand. That would make him healthier than around 90% of this Yankee squad
ReplyDeleteI hate Cashman, but these deals are ridiculous. Gausman was almost out of baseball a few years ago. Robbie Ray, really? Scherzer 3yrs? Texas is will win 70-80 games with their new lineup. I'd rather see this team shit the bed next year and start all over.
ReplyDeleteIt’s so much easier to not think about and not care about a team that is controlled by a truly mediocre baseball mind and owned by someone who does not care. Have a happy winter, everybody, although we know that’s not possible.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, Duque. Keep the kids. Fill the holes with people who are more likely to play over the value of their contract. Just about everybody here has spent plenty of time griping about the Stantonian commitment that Derek Jeter foisted on the Yankees. Seager? Same deal. Correa? Even more. And our best propsects, some of the best in the minor leagues, play that position. I'd pay $43 million of Hal's money for the best of Mad Max (but the Syndergaard deal was probably a better value), but we've got a bunch of pitchers ready to come back from what ails them. How does Tampa do it? A conveyor belt full of solid players and very good pitchers. I'm hoping that the Yankees are trying to imitate that model.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Duque on the outrageous contracts given to biggest name free agents. Texas will be lucky to get even 5 seasons of good value from Seager. Too bad Corey didn't sign with Seattle because there's no better place for an albatross than with a Mariner. Marcus Semien might do 5 as well but you can bet his home runs will drop off sharply in the next season or 2. They will feed him breaking balls all day because he can't hit them. By year 3, he will become Gary Sanchez, Jr. Write this one down!
ReplyDeleteWhere I disagree with you would be your main point that Cashman is wise to wait for after the labor dispute ends. The flaw in your logic is that when the MLBPA and ownership do settle, Cashman will still do nothing meaningful in the free agent market.
You all have a lot more confidence in the Yankees ability to draft/sign and develop impact young talent than I do.
ReplyDeleteMiguel Andujar, Chance Adams, Domingo Acevedo, Clint Frazier, Blake Rutherford, Jorge Mateo, Dustin Fowler, Wilkerman Garcia, Rob Refsnyder, Ian Clarkin, Ben Gamel, Greg Bird, Eric Jagielo, Jacob Lindgren, Mason Williams, Slade Heathcott, John Ryan Murphy, Manny Banuelos, Vicente Campos, Jesus Montero, Andrew Brackman, Cito Culver, Dante Bichette, Ty Hensley, Zach McAllister, etc, etc... I remember when all these guys were top prospects, many "can't miss" future stars heralded by the media. And that's not even mentioning Gary Sanchez and Gleyber Torres and others who blossomed for a moment before crashing back to earth.
Sure, sure. This group of prospects will different. This group will be stars.
OK. It's nice to have dreams.
I'll say this though. If this is indeed the path Cashman has chosen — betting on the current crop of young talent in the minors and standing pat this offseason — the team NEEDS to extend Aaron Judge. There's no excuse to punt Judge's final season in pinstripes just on the hope our prospects will develop well in 2024. Judge is one of the final few players I still like watching on this team. Keep him around for a few more years, please.
I'm good with the non signing of the players who came off the board although seeing Pittsburgh trade their Gold Glove catcher to the Marlins seems like opportunity lost.
ReplyDeleteThe FA's that signed seemed like solid Plan B's.
The problem with that is, if you don't get to execute your Plan A (and I can't claim to know what that is.) for what ever reason, including, I don't know, other teams wanting the same guys, you're left with Plan C or worse.
With the huge salaries this crop of FAs are getting, Stanton's contract starts to look like a bargain...
ReplyDelete"Too bad Corey didn't sign with Seattle because there's no better place for an albatross than with a Mariner."
ReplyDeleteCarl wins Sentence of the Day.
These big money signings are madness. But as Ranger said, it does put Stanton in perspective.
I would love to be snowbound in a British pub with an Oasis cover band.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Zach on this...though it leads us back to the Cashman Conundrum: can't develop players, can't pull off good trades.
ReplyDeleteCan't sign good free agents? Well, at least some of the time he can.
The one title for which Coops can be given even partial credit was in 2009, when he just went out and signed the best 3 free agents on the market.
Yes, Stanton (officially a trade, but close to an FA) has been a bomb (and could that possibly be because we did NOT let him play outfield?). But if we had signed the likes of Scherzer, Harper, Beltran, etc., in their prime, the last 15 years would have been a very different story.
There is an inherent risk in any FA signing. But when you can't develop minor leaguers, it's a risk you need to take.
Mustang, I'll pretend you didn't say that in order to keep my high opinion of you.
ReplyDeleteThanks, JM!
ReplyDelete