Dare we believe..?
Could this actually be happening?
The Yankees are a big, nasty, smoking burial mound of long-term contracts - some negotiated, some traded for - that have clogged our arteries since 2001. Their insane policy - sign another free agent to staunch the bleeding - cannot go on.
Not sure I believe the report. It might be a ploy, with Brian Cashman trying to tamp down the bidding, until he dives in. Or the Yankees could be playing dead until Dec. 2, when the music stops due to a looming labor dispute.
But signing yet another player for the next five to 10 years would mean they've learned nothing from the past 12. (And at some point, they must sign Aaron Judge to an extension.)
Of course, there is one theoretical strategy: Re-live 2009 and just go bonkers - signing Correa, Freddie Freeman and Robbie Ray. But would Shallow Hal Steinbrenner go there? Doubtful. And anything less brings us a colossal, long-term country club - while the fruits of our farm system go elsewhere, and we watch the AL dominated by younger and more vigorous teams.
For weeks now, I've accepted the demoralizing notion - pushed relentlessly by the Gammonites - that the Yankees would sign either Correa or Seager.
Now, dare we hope?
I say, there is an alternative.
Sir Didi Gregorius.
Wait! Don't click that mouse! Hear me out!
He'll be 32 this season. Last year, with Phily, he was certifiably awful - perhaps the worst SS in baseball. He hit .209 with 13 HRs and a WAR of negative .08. For that, they paid him $13 million. This year, his walk year, they'll pay him $15 million. Listen: They'll trade him for a phone-charger and tickets to Chicago.
Didi bats lefty. He loves NY. He loves the Yankees. He's a great teammate. He's got heart. He's got a bounce-back season left in him. And if he fails, he can get us to August, when either Anthony Volpe or Oswald Peraza can take over. (Or we get another stopgap.)
I'm crossing my fingers that Matthew Roberson got this right, or that he's not being played. It could just be Cashman feigning disinterest, while adding more zeros to his offer.
Could the Yankees finally have wised up?
Seeing the words "Yankees" and "wised up" in the same sentence made me spit my coffee.
ReplyDeleteAnd in other news...
ReplyDeleteHealth of Saquon Barkley, playmakers has New York Giants feeling optimistic
They did look like a football team two weeks ago. Hey, ya never know.
I will believe that S. Barley is really healthy when I believe that Hicks is in the best shape of his life and is positive that his batting swing won't adversely affect his golf swing.
ReplyDeleteWow. Perfect analogy, Arch.
ReplyDeleteSaquan Barkley is the Aaron Hicks of the Jersey Giants.
Except, The awful Hicks will be on the Yankee payroll long after Barkley departs the Giants,
ReplyDeleteAside to JM : Giant fans know.
This comment has been removed by the author.
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ReplyDeleteESPN ran interview comments from Hal. ADVISORY FROM THE CDC: Wait until 16 hours after your last meal before reading this, you'll puke:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/32657016/new-york-yankees-hal-steinbrenner-talks-free-agency-praises-aaron-boone-brian-cashman
Here's the money fragment, for my money:
"I am involved intimately on a daily basis," Steinbrenner said.
Joe FOB
ReplyDeleteActually the scariest quote was on Gallo:
"We got him because I loved the left-handed bat, I loved the personality. He’s great in the clubhouse. And he’s a great talent. He walks a lot, too, right?…Do I wish he had performed a bit better? Yes, of course. But I’m not worried. Watch him next year.”
But I don't want to watch him next year! Unless its with another team and they are playing the Yankees and he's up with a man on third and the game on the line.
I'll watch that.
As to a stopgap... Glove over bat please.
ReplyDeleteThen sign me up with one caveat. Take the money and spread it around and strengthen other areas.
There are two non pitching moves they need to make and we'll have a much better ball club.
Find a way to get Olsen and Bryan Reynolds.
If Hicks isn't part of a package he's fine as a 4th OF.
That will fix out "up the middle issues" and add a ton of offense.
Finally someone is coming to their senses in the Yankee FO. Did they rewatch Moneyball? I'm still in the Andrelton Simmons camp.
ReplyDeleteAnd they better not wait for Austin Wells to turn 27 to be brought up to the Yanks. He's almost ready now. Hear that ICS?
Look, I loved Didi Gregorius as much as the next guy, but he hit .209/.270/.370 last year and ranked 36th out of 36 shortstops defensively, according to Statcast. He's turning 32 and is owed around $15M in 2022. Didi hasn't had a good season (by WAR) since 2018, during the height of the juiced ball.
ReplyDeleteThe only reasons to trade for Didi Gregorius are a) you're punting the season, or b) you're trying to restock the farm and hope Philadelphia will send some prospects along so you take Didi's salary off their books.
The first option just doesn't make sense. Why punt the 2022 season when it's the last year Judge is under contract and Cole is still theoretically in his prime? When Cole, Stanton, LeMahieu, etc. hit their mid-30s, this roster is going to be grim. Gotta try to win now before we enter the bloated-old-veterans-clogging-the-roster stage of the Brian Cashman cycle. (And if we're punting the season, just let Oswald Peraza play shortstop in 2022.)
The second option is intriguing. Trade for Didi and force Philadelphia to attach prospects since his contract is underwater. Then we could bring Didi to Spring Training and if he still looks awful, just cut him and keep the prospects.
But… Didi isn’t good defensively either. Can’t we just split the difference and get Semien on a shorter contract? We can work with 4 years.
ReplyDeleteThese are the MLBTR contract predictions for the big-5 shortstops:
ReplyDeleteCarlos Correa
10-yr/$320M
Corey Seager
10-yr/$305M
Marcus Semien
6-yr/$138M
Trevor Story
6-yr/$126M
Javier Baez
5-yr/$100M
Baez's terrible plate discipline and swing-and-miss tendencies (33.6 K% led NL and just trailed Gallo's 34.6 K%) should rule him out.
Paying $300+M for Correa and Seager, given their health issues, will backfire tremendously.
I would take either of those contracts for Semien or Story as long as their medicals clear. Semien will have to move to second base sooner rather than later, which means we'll probably have to dump Torres and move Urshela to shortstop and LeMahieu to third base. Which is fine. Alternatively, Story is younger, will likely stick at shortstop for a while, can steal 20 bases a season, but won't hit as well as Semien. So it really depends on your preferences.
Didi had a bad elbow last year. He played in pain through the month of April, went on the IL in May. That has to have affected every part of his game.
ReplyDeleteObviously, any deal that would bring him back to NYC would depend on a physical and a bunch of x-rays.
I just don't think he's done.
Sorry about the late comment. I needed reviving after reading this morning's post.
ReplyDeleteHere is the problem with the new writer's insight: Brian Cashman is like an alcoholic. He constantly reviews his failed behavior and promises to reform. " No more long term contracts." No more Jacoby Elllsbury deals.
ReplyDeleteHe'll even go public with that. Or whisper it in a bar to a new writer for the Daily News.
But when the veteran, all star is suddenly presented to him......like a beer with a Crown royal chaser at a Xmas party.....he jumps right back in. He gets slammed. And the regrets begin anon.
I think he skips the beer and has the Crown Royal, in quantity.
ReplyDeleteHe bats lefty, but he can't HIT. Jeez.
ReplyDeleteIf this is indeed the case they better nab Freddie Freeman for 1st and hit the pitching market hard
ReplyDeleteDon't kid yourselves. All this means is that HAL doesn't care and won't spend on the team, period.
ReplyDelete