Saturday, December 14, 2024

Dear Mr. Steinbrenner: By our count, you still have $68 million to spend this winter. Don't insult us by poor-mouthing.

Dear Madam or Sir, 

Some cocktail napkin math...

This winter, the Yankees will delete the following 2024 salaries from their payroll: 

Juan Soto, $36 million
Anthony Rizzo, $17 million
Gleyber Torres, $14 million
Alex Verdugo $9 million 
Clay Holmes, $6 million

That comes to - um - $82 million, vanished  from Cashman's abacus. When we note that you offered Soto $50 M for one year - (hey, what's a few mill between chums?) - that puts the grand total at $95 M in Yankee spending... gone. 

Of course, you recently signed Max Fried for $27 M per season. That leaves - humina-humina - $68 million left to spend on next year's team. 

Sixty-eight million dollars. That's at least two more major free agents. 

There is absolutely no cause to drain the farm system in trades. Not for Kyle Tucker (who moved yesterday.) Not for Clay Bellinger's kid. Not for anybody. 

You have $68 million in mad money. That's at least two more major free agents.

Anything less, and you will betray the Yankee fan base worse than Soto did. 

Let's hope one can pitch, because - you know - pitching, pitching, pitching. The other can play OF, 3B or 1B, whatever, as long as he bats LH.

Two more free agents. Now.  

You have a history of responding to embarrassments by signing threesomes. In 2009, after the Yankees missed the playoffs, you signed CC, Tex and AJ Burnett. Four years later, after Joggy Cano walked, you signed Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran and Jacoby Ellsbury. It's time for another triad. 

You cannot trade your way out of this quagmire. In fact, you traded your way INTO it, by dealing for Soto.  

Sixty-eight million. Two more major free agents. 

Soto is gone. The Yankee brand is tarnished, perhaps permanently. NYC is on the brink of becoming a Mets town. Your only way to stay relevant - and to answer Soto's demeaning, cackling arrogance - is by winning the 2025 world series. 

 Two more major free agents. Do not insult us with anything less. 

22 comments:

DickAllen said...

Hey, let's not make Soto out to be the bad guy here. He didn't betray Yankees fans. He simply did what any of us would have done: sold himself to the highest bidder. The difference maker in this fiasco was five million bucks and a luxury suite, both of which represented chump change to the The Brain With No Balls (that would be our bean-counter owner) who came up short once again. The guy is simply not a winner. He's an accountant.

So, no blame on Soto. The Yankees are being run by a trio of soap-peddling morons who have found a comfortable common ground in the mediocrity of modern baseball. They'd rather appear to be striving for championships than actually being champions. And I imagine Hal is congratulating himself on saving fifty million a year. He has the Yankees brand to provide him with gas money for his yacht and that is all that matters.

BTR999 said...

I don’t harbor any ill will towards Soto. Just wanna move on.

But yes, we need to spend to be comperetive,. There is little LH power in a stadium built for same. Steinsucker has publicly bemoaned payroll costs several times, in seeming denial that they are the results of a system he helped develop and voted for, and continues to employ the GM whose poor roster constructions have exacerbated the situation. Hell, we’re still paying Aaron Hicks 8.7M next year.

Carl J. Weitz said...

El Duque, although your synopsis is spot on, I believe your timeline is a bit off. You are using 2009 and 2013 as examples of reaction moves, and you are 100% correct. However, in 2009, George was still running the team ( although probably with considerable assistance). In 2013, Hank was a co-managing partner with Hal and likely had enormous input into expenditure decisions. Had Hal been in charge solely, I doubt he would have allowed that amount of money to be spent. Unfortunately, his parsimonious proclivity will prevent the financial outlay necessary to sign 2 or 3 more major free agents.
Your math is the same as his, and in his crazy mind, 2025 is a year to save or pocket a minimum of 40-50 million dollars.

AboveAverage said...

Maybe we should trade for Soto.

JM said...

Looking forward to a spectacular season of crap. We still have Stroman and the Rodent. We don't have Hill and Holmes. We don't have Soto. We still have Trevino. We don't have a LH slugger. We still have Boone. We still have Hal, the worst of the once-likely Steinbrenner successors.

I have to see where I can watch curling this winter. Must be somewhere.

JM said...

*Danny Thomas spit take*

AboveAverage said...

Maybe you can stare through the windows of a nearby beauty salon. I’m sure there’s some curling going on in there.

Carl J. Weitz said...

If we trade judiciously for Bellinger insisting that the Cubs pick up at least 10 million of his 2025 salary (which is a major "if" with Cashman running the show), he would cost $ 17 million of Yankee money at the most. Add Bregman at about $ 28 per year, which allows the Yankees to sign Christian Walker and still have several million left over for bullpen enhancement.

TheWinWarblist said...

Spending money to cover their asses is not what I want. I want a plan for resurgence of the franchise up and down the system. And maybe a few coaches that can teach the numptys the finer points of baseball.

Carl J. Weitz said...

WinWarb....As a medical professional, I need not remind you about holding your breath too long.

HoraceClarke66 said...

Oh, Duque. Poor, sweet, innocent, gullible Duque.

The Yankees "brand"? That's such dated, 20th-century terminology. The Yankees don't have a "brand" they need to preserve. That's just for the suckers in the "cheap" seats ("cheap" now being $50-$100).

The Yankees are no longer a company with a product they are hoping to mass produce and sell to as many people as possible. They are, in every aspect of their operation, a luxury destination appealing to a more and more select group of clients. Was it Lonn Trost or Randy who spilled the beans on this a few years ago, spouting off about how the Yankees don't want the plebes sitting in the (many) luxury seats...

HoraceClarke66 said...

A-fucking-men, Warbler! But we ain't gonna get that.

HoraceClarke66 said...

...OF COURSE they weren't going to hand over a luxury suite to Juan Soto. That's company property. Soto is an employee, whose cost the Yankees, like any modern American corporation, are trying to minimize. It's like the lounge singer at some Vegas joint demanding the rights to a high-roller suite. Never gonna happen.

Carl J. Weitz said...

Horace...It was Lonn "In God We" Trost.

Copelius said...

I am sure we will trade for him in about 10 years when he enters into the Stanton phase of his contract.

edb said...

Dear It Is High responders and El Duque. Boo Hoo. You don't how much it costs to run a team in NY. Also the cost of lettuce, tomatoes on and on is so expensive. Hal

ranger_lp said...

Just a reminder...all of MLB was worried about Steve Cohen and his spending since not many teams can spend like him. Someone also suggested that Cohen can help Soto invest that salary so 768 million could end up being over 1 billion...so that was another reason to sign there...

TheWinWarblist said...

Every time I hold my breath I wake up on the floor with a headache and dry mouth. So not unlike tequila night. Just not as fun.

13bit said...

Talk about whatever you want, people. The reality is that today is that most heinous of events - SANTACON - where frat bros dress up like Santa, get smashed, then puke all over downtown NYC and Williamsburg. Please tell me what went wrong with that generation. Please inform me because we must never let it happen again.

Kevin said...

Spot on!

Publius said...

Brian Cashman, bitty. It's all Brian Cashman's fault.

13bit said...

Sigh...my denial kicked in again...