Well, so much for that wild and crazy Yankee winter spending spree.
Remember the days of big money, unlimited hope? Back when the Yankees bought pennants, when they always placed the shiniest star under our Christmas tree, when they always signed the best free agent, when anything shy of a world championship was a piddling failure?
Yep, 15 years ago, give or take. A lost generation, a forgotten legacy.
These days, reaching the ALCS is viewed a buttons-popping success. Apparently, the Yankees don't plan on breaking up that great and glorious 2025 team.
Thus, yesterday, we greeted the first major event of 2026 (the season, not the year.) The Yankees will return Trent Grisham in CF, and though they claim otherwise - (they always claim to be "in the running" for big free agents) - they will now almost surely finish as runners-up in the fishing derbies for Kyle Tucker and/or Cody Bellinger. With Grish returning, the outfield is full, and major decisions must soon be made on Jason Dominguez and Spencer Jones.
The '26 Yankees could be dead ringers for last year's team. What now?
1. Okay. Let me limb off the ledge. It's not the worst that could happen. Nobody died. The Yankees believe Grisham's 2025 season was not a one-off, but a career breakout, elevating him into the top tier of outfielders. Last season, Grish hit nearly 50 points higher, clubbed twice as many HRs, than ever before. He's pushing 30, not too old. The fear - Aaron Hicks syndrome - is unrealistic. We have him for one year, just one - not eight. But still, the guy has spent most of the last four seasons unable to hit .200. A slow start, a tweaked gonad, a plate of bad clams - that could set him into an off-year regression. You have to worry.
2. With Grisham planted in CF, the Yankees probably must choose between Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones. Keep one, trade the other. They will desperately need pitching. They might chase Michael King, or that new Japanese hurler, but they'll probably try to bundle prospects in a trade - (after squeezing their farm system last August.) Cashman's epic quests to land his great white whale - an ace pitcher - have historically been awful. Also, in this new reality, anybody the Yankees target could simply go elsewhere - across the continent, to the Dodgers, or across the city, to the Mets. Both have more money and are willing to spend it (and that's before Hal just appropriated $22 million to a career .218 hitter.)
3. To sell tickets, they have to do something. If the Yankees go with the same lineup as last year - (minus Bellinger, a huge loss) - well, that's going to be a tough sell. With every ticket, they should add a subscription to CompuServe. If they rerun the same lineup as last season, I'm already yawning.
4. But but BUT... the idea of a complete Cashman "Death to Smoochy" teardown should terrify us all. Every now and then, in a particularly cold and barren winter, Cashman turns into Lady MacBeth, with one murderous deal leading to another. I can't help but think that Cashman didn't expect Grisham to accept that one year qualifying offer. He figured Grish would head for the door, and the Yankees would come away with a draft pick and Bellinger in CF. Now, dominoes are about to fall. This should frighten us more than a lunch invitation from Mister Bone Saw. Things happen, they say. I wonder what's next?
Bringing back Mattingly will be the ticket selling gambit.
ReplyDeleteHe should've been our manager years ago. Bastards.
DeleteCashman on what Grisham's acceptance of the offer will mean: Something. He doesn't know what. Maybe Jones and Jasson. Try for Bellinger.
ReplyDeleteWe'll see how it all plays out.
Genius at work.
Hail fellows well met, co-conspirators, freaks, scholars and fellow vagrants - I'm getting married today for the second time, at the age of 65. Whether I end up this way or alone in an RV with 5 dogs, I want you all to know I will not abandon you or the team that has brought me so much joy and pain. Off to the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse! I love you all.
ReplyDeleteMazel Tov, you brave man!
DeleteI TOAST YOU!
DeleteCongratulations, Bit!
DeleteGo for the RV. See America while it's still there.
But not alone. Bring the new missus, too.
DeleteCONGRATULATIONS!!!
Delete👏🎉🥳🍾🥂🙌 Congratulations and all the best!
DeleteB'IT IS HIGH
DeleteB'IT IS FAR
B'IT IS . . .
MARRIED !
(and the crowd goes wild)
where's the honeymoon ?
Congratulations I wish you both good health and happiness
DeleteCongrats, Bit!
DeleteMay the honeymoon last a lifetime.
DeleteCan’t wait to see Grisham running out there in June with a .220 batting average and 5 hrs
ReplyDeleteAs for Mr. Grisham, it won’t be a regression. Just a return to historic mediocrity.
ReplyDeleteMost likely
DeleteDuque, "With Grish returning, the outfield is full, and major decisions must soon be made on Jason Dominguez and Spencer Jones."
ReplyDeleteBut what makes you thinketh that they'll make any such "major decision"?
I think that this move is perfect for Dumbass Cashman & HAL's accountants. They love mediocrity and the status quo. (Hell, they should change the name of the ball to club to "Status Quo".) They will make one more minor move, which is to bring in Austin Slater (or someone like him) to play LF. This will guarantee that they'll keep Dominguez and Jones in the minors for another year. Plus, they'll just barely qualify for the playoffs and then get broom swept in the first round. Perfect! Just what HAL wants!
From the Yankees College of Baseball Brilliance and the incompetent bald headed boob who runs the show.
ReplyDeleteThe geniuses in the media thought that Grisham would decline the qualifying offer. I've heard that this qualifying offer is more money than Grisham has made in his entire life to date, more than all of his previous salaries added together. So why would he decline the qualifying offer? If he opted out, then he has to get a better offer from somewhere. Methinks that no GM out there would give him more than 5 mill a year for 2 or 3 years, a paltry $15 million contract at best. It's Grisham that's made out like a bandit.
ReplyDeleteAlso he may want to grab the money now, there may not be a season in ‘27.
DeleteYep, Armageddon in '27! Let's party like it's Nineteen Ninety Nine!
DeleteSo…basically we’re running it back with the same crew, now a year older and a year slower. And after the season, the lockout for ‘27. So much to look forward to! The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades.
ReplyDeleteI wear my sunglasses at night. So I can so I can keep track of Grishams in the dark!
DeleteBIt -
ReplyDeleteSure, break Winnie's heart.
--
Congratulations! Well done sir!
I think Cashman really wanted to keep Grisham. The qualifying offer actually saved the Yankees money. Because without the qualifying offer, Yankees would have offered an 8 year/120 mill contract. Cashman was happy to make the qualifying offer and keep Grisham another year for the 22 mill. Dumbass Cashman probably feels like he's playing with house money. If Grisham has a great year in 2026, they'll make the 8 yr/120 mill offer to him. If Grisham has a lousy year, they can say goodbye, or re-sign him to a 3 yr/45 mill contract. Any way you cut it, the Yankees stay mediocre with zero championship (but still somewhat competitive, whilst still keeping the young players in the minors). What a Machiavellian piece of work!
ReplyDelete1) JM - to answer your question about trading Grisham... I think I read somewhere that you can't trade a person who signed the qualifying offer until some date in June.
ReplyDelete2) From El Duque - 'I can't help but think that Cashman didn't expect Grisham to accept that one year qualifying offer. He figured Grish would head for the door, and the Yankees would come away with a draft pick and Bellinger in CF. "
Yep. He's just the smartest guy in the room but it's never the room he thinks it is.
3) Michael King
In theory it would be great to get him back but his recent injuries seem to be of the cascading nature where overcompensation for one leads to the next one.
If healed he could be a bargain. Uh oh... a bargain. That doesn't go well most of the time with pitchers. Especially when Hal is the shopper.
So welcome back Michael King!
1) I think the date is June 15. So they're stuck with 'im 'til June 15.
Delete2) But here's where I differ with you's guys. I think Cashman really wanted to keep Grisham and was a-hopin' and a-prayin' and a-sacrificin' first borns and virgins that he'd say yes. But hell, yeah, Cashman does indeed think he's outsmarted everyone. In his Machiavellian world, he did (sort of).
3) In this fucked up state of things, I'd forget Michael King and just go for that new Japanese pitcher, Tatsuya Imai. Hope I got his name right. Let's just call him Mr. Lion, with that hairdo. I'd try to work up a trade, get Jizz Chasm, Volpe and Stanton out of here. Stanton is now a bargain with the Marlins paying much of his contract? All the more reason why he should be easier to trade away now.
Hell, the more I think about it, the more sure I am that Cashman wanted Grisham. It's so ... the new Yankee way, since 2010 anyways. Yankee management is happy to overpay for mediocrity, if they like the player. Grisham with his low batting average and a lot of homers, this is almost their perfect player. A guy who puts up 30 HR and does nothing in the playoffs. Ensures that they keep the young players in the minors & that they won't win anything in the postseason. But it keeps kicking the can down the street to El Banco. That's all Cashman cares about. Because that's all that his boss HAL cares about.
ReplyDeleteSo next year, after Grisham hits a paltry .180 with 20 homers, what'll they do? If they manage to avoid MLB Armageddon, I think they re-sign Grisham to a new contract, maybe 3 yrs/30-45 mill. Grisham's going to be here for life.
ReplyDeleteI think they believed Grisham would pass on the offer. I know he was sub-.200 three years before this, but he hit 30+ HRs this season and has rep as a solid defensive CF. Like someone else said, Aaron Hicks syndrome. He could've gotten a decent multi-year deal somewhere else. I think that means one of two things: 1. He actually enjoyed New York and wanted to play here (and realized that batting ahead of Aaron Judge on occasion really helps), and figured this would be the Yankees only real offer to him. Or, 2. He knows some teams may think this past year was a fluke. If he has another year like 2025 -- and we don't have labor armageddon -- next year he will be able to get an even better long-term deal. .... And maybe a number 3. A bunch of guys are taking qualifying offers, much more than season's past. I wonder if there is a sense that clubs might be getting tight with the money this offseason because of the coming labor unrest.
ReplyDelete13 bit - https://www.thedrive.com/news/a-defunct-camper-rental-company-is-selling-all-of-its-custom-vans-and-parts-to-build-more
ReplyDeletehoneymoon?
Thanks, Doug. I sold my home-built camper van last year - with some reluctance. It was a bit of a money pit, but also irreplaceable. Until the next one, that is...
Delete