Around now, the Steinbrenner-led thrift shop Yankees traditionally trade MLB-ready prospects who - they tell us - were going to be lost anyway in the draft. They had no choice, due to the bumper crop of talent. Hence, it's a new sign of the holidays: The Yankees bestow gifts upon lesser franchises!
Two Novembers ago, the Yankees bequeathed to Seattle the reliever James Pazos, a solid bullpen lug nut, and then released somebody named - gulp - Nathan Eovaldi. That way, they could protect... drum roll, please... Giovanni Gallegos! (Okay, stop the music. To be fair here, I championed the cause of Gallegos. It is easy to ridicule moves that backfired, and that's not my intention. The point is that the Yankees had a surplus, and somebody needed to go, and part of baseball is the bad deal, right?)
One month later - December, 2016 - the Yankees still lost three prospects in the Rule 5 - (though only one stuck: Luis Torrens, a young catcher that the ever-tanking Padres kept all year, just to piss me off.)
In 2017, the franchise dealt about a dozen prospects for the likes of Todd Frazier, Jaime Garcia and Sonny Gray - a trio whose historical Yankee imprint shall be carved out of mayonnaise. Often, you heard the same line: The Yankees' farm is so deep that we needed to trade prospects rather than lose them in a December draft.
Last winter, prior to the Rule 5, the Yankees jettisoned Frazier, Garcia, Nick Rumbelow, Garrett Cooper, Jake Cave, Starlin Castro, Chase Headley, Michael Pineda and CC Sabathia... yet we still lost two: pitcher Nestor Cortez and first-baseman Mike Ford, (both later returned.)
So, you get the picture, right? This is when the Yankees dump the Rumbelows and Refsnyders so that we can protect the Loaisigas. Therefore, today, we might expect a trade.
Okay, here's where I punt. I have no fucking idea what might happen. You can't predict baseball. But last year, our farm was rated second in the game. These days, it's middle of the pack. Our top talent is down in Single A, where - frankly - everybody looks Cooperstown-bound. And most of the really young ones do not have to be protected.
Today and tomorrow, we might get a glimpse of how dry the system has become. Last week, we signed Hanser Alberto, a middling minor league infielder, who had been released by Texas. He is now on our 40-man. I submit to you the canary in our sulfur mine. If Alberto sticks - that is, if we have nobody better to protect - don't buy their shit about how great our system is. We'll be the ones signing castoffs, as Hand-Me-Down Hal looks for bargains.
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13 comments:
Great, just effing great ...
I agree. Just effing great.
Duque...you forgot the "Other Red Thunder", Ben Gamel, who we gave away at the end of 2016 for nothing because he was going to be plucked in Rule V. He has been pretty much the Mariner's left fielder the past 2 seasons. The Yankees got two stiffs for him, pitchers Jio Orozco and Juan De Paula.
I think I am suffering severe burnout from the Yankee bullshit machine.
Amen, Duque—except that I beg to differ about most of our talent being down in Single-A. There's precious little there, either, with Estevan Florial now looking like a dud and all the young arms injured.
The "middle of the pack" rating is generous. You watch: before 2019, the Yanks' system will be at or near the very bottom.
The greatest farm system what ever was collapsed in the blink of an eye. That's got to be a massive failure in scouting, coaching, or both.
If, say, you ran Apple, and tomorrow all of the brightest young things you had hired to lead your company into the future suddenly stopped coming into work, got sick, and/or couldn't figure out how to turn their computers on, you would look into it. Heads would roll: "Who the hell hired all these morons, anyway?"
Not in the Halverse. Here, it's no big deal as long as you have Billywitz and half-a-dozen other Knights of the Press Box to tell you you're looking better than ever.
The Yankees are a living example of the dangers of monopoly, proof positive of what happens when ownership realizes it doesn't really have to try anymore.
Sonny Gray going back to A's or moved to Reds...part of 40 man roster moves...
http://riveraveblues.com/2018/11/yanks-spoken-reds-sonny-gray-seems-trade-happen-soon-181083/
Paxton deal to Yankees is for Sheffield, OF Don Thompson-Williams and RHP Erik Swanson.
Just saw that.
So, Andrew Miller for Paxton + Red Thunder. Put that way not too bad. Still not entirely sure how I feel.
Doug K.
MR. DUQUE WAS RIGHT.
THE BIG DEAL CAME TODAY.
PAXTON.
THE ONE GUY OF ALL THE NAMES I WASN'T CRAZY ABOUT GETTING.
WE HAVE TRADED OUR #1 PITCHING PROSPECT (PLUS SWANSON, AND DOM THOMPSON WILLIAMS) FOR WHAT WE BETTER HOPE IS A SOLID #3 STARTER THAT STAYS HEALTHY.
RISKY.
COOPERSTOWN CASHMAN....THIS ONE BETTER WORK OUT, OR WE WILL BE GUNNING FOR YOU.
I HAVE FRESH TACKS READY TO PLACE UNDER YOUR CAR TIRES.
The most amazing fact of all is that Cashman has, historically, been a major failure in making trades, drafting, evaluating and developing talent.
Buying free agents is usually the plan.
He got lucky when both the Indians and the Cubs were willing to do anything.....trade anyone in their farm systems.....for Miller and El Chappo.
Then, of course, Cashman blew it. He traded everyone for Sonny Gray and Neal Walker ( not technically accurate, but you get the point.)
And now we have Ellsbury and Giancarlo Stanton. Forever.
The Yankees have no talent at any level. Get used to it. Forget Florial. He stole a base, once, and every got excited.
And there are never consequences for young Brian. Even when stalked by a waitress, he pays no price.
He can fuck up until the cows come home and, as long as the cash registers read " green," Hal could care less.
His father hated losing. Hal is indifferent.
Think of the Yankees as the Padres and the Royals at their lowest points.
Then, you have the Yankee future.
It is going to be a long, dark winter.
Hal's an imbecile. He'd make twice as much with a good GM. A syphilitic goat could earn Hal as much green as Brian does.
Alphonso, our Dauntless Leader, is right as usual, sad to say.
The Yanks are simply churning—if we're lucky. More likely, this was a terrible trade we will regret for a long time.
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