Listen: By this time Wednesday, God knows what this team will look like.
According to the Internet, the front office is already planning what not long ago was considered blaspheme: To trade top draft picks like Spencer Jones and George Lombardi Jr. Moreover, they will deal them in pursuit of - gulp - a wild card slot, and with a lineup of key players who will become free agents on Nov. 1. In doing so, they will make the kinds of trades that have backfired for the last three seasons - ever since Yank fans heard the words "Joey Gallo," as we ponder another rancid October.
Honestly, what should we make of the Jazz Chisholm trade, aside from that we dealt three solid prospects without touching our most glaring weakness - pitching, pitching, pitching. If Chisholm must play - (knowing Brian Cashman, that's a given) - the current lineup must be exploded. Tonight, supposedly, Giancarlo Stanton will return. In two weeks, so could The Martian, Jasson Dominguez. Do the Yankees really think Chisholm - a CF for the last two years - can play 2B - or 3B? He last played SS in 2021 - (10 errors, 37 games) - and hasn't played 2B until a few weeks ago, when the Marlins started shopping him.
So, just as Alex Verdugo seems to be emerging from his fatherhood funk, the Yankees could have six OFs - Judge, Soto, Verdugo, Chisholm, Grisham and The Martian - plus Giancarlo, who cannot do anything but swing a bat. Certainly, Grisham can be dealt - (they'll get nothing for him, of course) - and if he's DFAed, don't be surprised if he ends up with a rival, another player with a special incentive to beat the Yankees.
They can trade Ben Rice, who simply looks like a smart, disciplined batter - the kind of grinder who helps a playoff team and - let's not forget - who is supposed to be a catcher. They can empty the farm, whatever Cashman decides, as he desperately seeks to save a warping front office legacy. That plaque in Monument Park might be smaller than he expected.
But strap yourselves in, and hold your breaths. For now, at least, the Boston Menace has been thwarted. But the grenade is about to blow. It's not going to be pretty.
PS: I just reread this, and - yeah - you can say I'm overly down on the Yankees. But read the happy crap they're putting out about Jazz Chisholm Jr., and you wonder if anybody even bothers to look at this team. Does anybody care about the farm system?
Nobody in this godforsaken organization cares about nothin'.
ReplyDeleteSurprise, surprise, surprise!!! So the Bronx Bums can beat a divisional rival in a series! Amazing! What is even more amazing is that Rodon pitched pretty well. And that's why now is the time to trade Rodon, before another meltdown where he can't get anyone out for months.
ReplyDeleteDuque, on trading Ben Rice: NO NO NO
ReplyDeleteI wanna see what he's got. He's the first baseman for this year and next.
On Jazz Chisholm, I heard a disturbing thing on the pregame show with Suzyn Waldman. The guy getting interviewed (I forgets his name) said that they Yanks are going to play Chisholm at THIRD BASE, even though he has NEVER PLAYED THIRD BASE. Is that crazy or what? So they bring in a new guy and right away they want to put him at a position he's never played before. Which will sit down Oswaldo Cabrera, who is now playing really well. It's not possible to exaggerate the stupidity of Yankee management. Once they move him to 3B, we'll have to endure a year or two of errors, bad plays, bad decisions, and Chisholm won't be able to hit anywhere near his potential because he's spending all his time trying to learn how to play 3B. If they're trying their best for mediocrity and to avoid winning, that would be a brilliant move! The musical positions continue. Why not have everyone run to a different position on every pitch? It's called the "confusion defense". The opposing batter is so flummaxed by all the movement on defense that he can't concentrate on hitting.
ReplyDeleteYa know...the Yanks have a much easier schedule in August. These conversations will be in the rear view mirror when they actually have a winning streak and be in first place again...
ReplyDeleteStrap in folks.
ReplyDeleteIt’s gonna be a bumpy ride.
Just to set the record straight, Chisholm came up as a second baseman, and actually HAS played a bunch—167 games—there. He even made the All-Star Game (hey, somebody from Miami had to) as a second baseman in 2022.
ReplyDeleteBut third? Never has—and it is crazy to stick him there now.
The only possible upside of Jazz is that he might light a fire under The Gleyber and/or Flopsy Vertigo...and we're talking about putting him on third? Bizarre.
ReplyDeleteOn the surface Chisolm makes no sense for this year and looks to maybe be Gleyber's replacement in 2025, until you realize they're without a doubt not resigning Verdugo and Soto and the Brain is counting on the Martian being the second coming of Soto. So next year's outfield will be Judge, Chisolm, and Jasson, Torres will still be at second on a new contract, and unless they somehow get a third baseman we'll be stuck again feeling bad for the corpse that was DJ LeMahieu. Things may change but they'll stay the same.
Oh and the Asstros are back in first place.
Oh, there is definitely a path for the team to re-sign Torres. It all depends on, what else, money.
ReplyDeleteI can’t imagine anyone trading for Torres in the next 2 days. I believe the team will try to sign him to a one pillow contract for >10M.
(This same logic could apply to Verdugo, though it’s less likely.)
As for Chisholm this team is worry free about players playing out of position. After all our first baseman is a catcher who is routinely replaced for defensive purposes by the corpse of DJ LeMahieu. Recall last year, when anybody and everybody cycled through LF and 1B.
There’s a better than average chance that the team will pick up booonie’s contract option for next year.
The music never stops.
Ah yes, Gleyber Torres. A .237 hitter looking to finish his third year in the majors leading the league in errors at his position. And his third season with more errors than home runs, as things currently stand.
ReplyDeleteNo GM in his right mind would possibly re-sign this guy. Any GM even vaguely competent would've rushed to deal him when he seemed to revive from his all-career lows at times in 2022 or 2023.
But not our GM!
El Duque, the short answer to your last question is a resounding " NO!"
ReplyDeleteIt's likely that the logic Cashman will use in making trades over the next 2 days is the same as an incumbent mayor uses when negotiating a myriad of labor contracts with a city knowing that he won't have to deal with the results in a year or two when he is no longer in office; specifically, give in and overpay to avoid a stoppage and saddle the next administration with the consequences of that action. Except for one thing: He has no fear of losing his job.
Horace...." No GM in his right mind would possibly re-sign this guy. Any GM even vaguely competent would've rushed to deal him when he seemed to revive from his all-career lows at times in 2022 or 2023." I think you've given the only logical reasons that Cashman will give "Mr Brainfog" another multi-year contract ( with a raise in pay).
ReplyDelete"I am a second baseman", replied Gleybor Torres when asked about playing third base. Can't say that he doesn't have nerve... Hopefully he punched his ticket to play in Colorado...
ReplyDeleteTo paraphrase the Firesign Theater, everything Cashman knows is wrong.
ReplyDeleteJahmai Jones was DFA'd...no surprise...
ReplyDeleteNothing seems to be shaking on the trade front for the Yanks. A lot of teams making deals, but not us.
ReplyDeleteBecause Cashman sucks.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteGleyber Torres: "I am a second baseman..."
Yankees fans: "Hunh??"
USA Today reports “serious discussions” between the Yanksi and Tigers for RHP Jack Flaherty.
ReplyDeleteAlso the team is shopping Nestor Cortes.