Tuesday, December 26, 2023

If the Yankees plan to trade their way back to relevance, good luck with that.

First rule about the '24 Yankees: After the Yama-Christmas debacle, we cannot believe anything they say. 

The more we learn about their inconsequential 3rd place offer - the bronze medal for nothingness - the more stark is the chasm between big spenders and the piddling, penny-pinching Yankees. 

Both the Dodgers and Mets offered $25 million more than what Hal's fanny pack would allow, and the Yankee excuse - they wouldn't go above Gerrit Cole's payments - smacks of Old School Mealy-Mouth. Cole is a players union man who understands raising the payroll bar, and all he wants is a ring, not some fake corporate proclamation of loyalty. The Yankees spent the last three months touting their intention to sign Yamamoto, then they fell $25 million short.

Second Rule of the modern Yankees: Whomever the next top free agent is - maybe even the top two - Steve Cohen will be laying down his money, and the Yankees will be writing their excuses.

That talk of being "all in on 2024?" Well, Baltimore is the best and youngest team in baseball, preparing to add Jackson Holliday, the game's most exciting prospect. The Rays are the Rays, Toronto is one player away, and the Yankees have emptied their farm system of young pitching - which is still the life blood of baseball. 

To fix the roster, Brian Cashman may have to trade, and therein lies the rub: 

Who goes? Who do they have that other teams want?

1. Prospects? They've already drained the system. There are Oswald and Oswaldo (Peraza and Cabrera), neither of whom showed much last year. Everson Pereira rose meteorically and burned out. They'll get absolutely nothing for Estevan Florial, having sat on him for five years, and it says something sad that they signed the funny namesake, Jeter Downs, after he was jettisoned by - gulp - the Washington Nationals. I thought it was cool, until I realized, WTF? that's a roster spot. 

2. Hitters? Um, correct me if I'm wrong here, but weren't they one of baseball's saddest offenses last year? There's Gleyber, I suppose. But wasn't keeping him a sign of Hal's '24 commitment? They could trade DJ LeMahieu - at his lowest value. They could house-flip Alex Verdugo; it would be fun to think he shaved his beard for nothing. But who do they have that another team wants? (And nobody will take Giancarlo; not even Cohen.)

3. Pitching? Yikes. That's the problem. They're still overly invested in Carlos Rodon, and Nasty Nestor - when not attending Trump rallies - may have passed his sell-by date. Our No. 2 starter is Clarke Schmidt. 

So, in a nutshell, here is the Yankee plight.

Free agents? We're up against Cohen, and we won't win any bidding wars. Trades? We have nobody to give, plus there's Cashman's horrific record over the last two years. 

Sorry to be such a downer. But the Yankees leveraged their winter on adding Yamamoto, and they didn't even finish runner-up. 

I don't know where they go from here. But it sure looks gloomy. 

16 comments:

  1. So let’s look at off season so far. Cole is still a #1, then there are about half dozen guys who
    pitch like #2. They traded for a guy, who if he has a great season will be gone and if he has a bad will be gone. Still no third baseman. They get sloppy seconds on a guy the Red Sox couldn’t wait to get rid of. Looks like the people Hal brought in to fix things were related to Ca$hman.

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  2. Happy Holidays Commentariat, Happy Holidays.

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  3. As I mentioned last winter, I know just the guy who can and will diddle with the ropes when Cashman rappells down the side of that Landmark Square office building in Stamford next month, causing an unfortunate fatal accident.
    " Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap!"

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  4. What a sad and worthless management team.

    And Happy New Year to all.

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  5. So many holes on this team.

    First rule about holes: if you’re in one, stop digging.

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  6. Oh, and lest we forget, Fuck Hal. Fuck fuck fuck fuck Hal.

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  7. Thanks, Warbler. And preach, Duque, preach!

    But again, aren't we back in Talking Heads territory? "Same as it ever was..."

    —Yankees say they are "all in" on making the team a champion again.
    —Yankees refuse to even compete for the best free agents out there.
    —Yankees have no one to move up from the farm system.

    Rinse and repeat.

    This year, they have actually added a new twist, in trading all those pitchers for Verdugo and Soto. I've never seen them quite so actively reduce their young pitching depth in order to sign what looks to be a one-year sensation.

    Is this a sign of their growing desperation? Or their growing contempt for their fans? You make the call!

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  8. Carl Weitz, I don't want Brian Cashman to hurt himself in any way, shape, or form. I want him to have a miraculous enlightenment, and go spend the rest of his life in a Himalayan monastery. I wish HAL and all the Shipwreck Steinbrenners the same. Also, Giancarlo Stanton. Also, Carlos Rotundo.


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  9. Who’s to say that Verdugo can’t pitch?

    Who’s to say.

    Who’s to say that Stanton can’t reinvent himself?

    Who’s to say.

    Who’s to say that we won’t miraculously fortify our pitching staff with the addition of 6 more starters and relievers?

    Who’s to say.

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  10. Cashman turns water into wine & solves Yankees’ pitching woes (and clears logjam in centerfield) by trading Estevan Florial to Cleveland for Cody Morris, who, in 31.2 innings over the past two years, managed to walk 18 batters and give up 6 home runs.

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  11. The team has always undervalued Florial, almost contemptuously at times. This is not to say he will ever be an impactful MLB player, just that he never was and never would be given a chance here. Morris is a fringe type who had some arm issues last year, and had an astronomically high WHIP. Cashman is trying to rebuild pitching depth on the cheap, no doubt abetted by his continually arrogant belief that the Yankee coaching staff can “fix” him.

    All in all, this is a nothing burger.

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  12. Is anyone surprised? Food Stamps Hal rides again!

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  13. $25 million was not the difference between him being a Yankee or a dodger if that's the case....he'd be a Met. He was always going to the Dodgers and everything else was an agents ruse to extract the highest dollar possible

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  14. Man, methinks that it's a bit early for all this happy happy joy joy talk. A lot of talent on the board, and perhaps at a price that will make us happy that hewhowillnotbenamed (may his garden yield nothing but bone spurs) went to that other team. Let the game play out!

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  15. Hal and Brian were never serious about Yammy. Everybody knew it. A big kabuki dance.

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