Other than the Pirates Burnett has not been linked to anyone, but the Orioles are a possibility even though he probably would be worse with them than he has been with the Yankees. However some of Dan Duquette’s moves this offseason have been questionable and he could pull out a trade like this.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Yankees trying to trade Burnett
The Yankees are trying to move AJ Burnett and the only team that has been reported to have any interest is the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates have been trying all offseason to get a pitcher and they really have had no luck in attracting any free agents. They offered Edwin Jackson a three year $30 million deal and he turned it down for a one year deal in Washington
Thursday, February 9, 2012
The Charleston RiverDogs are loaded for 2012
The Yankees had four players featured in MLB's top 100 prospects, those being Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances, Gary Sanchez and Mason Williams and Keith Law ranks the Yankees farm system tenth overall even with the departure of Jesus Montero.
“I might be jumping the gun here, but I see a lot of star potential on their bottom few affiliates, including new acquisition Jose Campos from Seattle, to go with the two power arms from their Scranton club (Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances),” said KLaw with his obvious anti-Yankees bias. “The flaw in the system is the lack of near-in talent, especially position players, who could either help the big club soon or provide more fodder for trades.”
Here is the Yankees top 20 prospects:
I do not give much credit to players in the lower levels because the farther away a player is the more likely he is to completely bust, but the quantity of high level talent in the Yankees lower levels is exciting. What will make this year especially interesting is that normally you may see 2-4 high level prospects together, but this year the Yankees will have a lot of talent in the South Atlantic leagues Charleston RiverDogs. Next year the Yankees are projected to start Nine of their top twenty in Low A Charleston, in fact the only player in the top ten who isnt starting in Scranton or Charelston is Slade Heathcott. Every member of the infield and almost every position player is a top prospect, with two members of the rotation in the top twenty as well as several other interesting names.
Infield:
Dante Bichette Jr. 3rd will more than likely man the hot corner in Charleston after tearing up the Gulf coast league and doing everything he can to prove wrong those of us who were stunned (meaning everyone) that the Yankees took him in the 1st round. The Yankees could decide to start him in Staten Island, but the general consesus is that he will start the year in Charleston.
Tyler Austin 3rd/1st will likely start on the other side of the infield at 1st base but he could easily start at third if Bichette doesn't start the year in Charelston. For all the hype that Bichettes bat got, Austins was even better and starting him anywhere but Charelston would be unfair to the New York-Penn league pitchers.
Angelo Gumbs 2nd may move to a new position but for right now he will look to be the starting second baseman with Charelston and is the youngest of the group having just turned 19 in October.
Cito Culver SS Like Bichette last year Culver was a surprise 1st round draft pick. Culver spent all of last year with the Staten Island Yankees and will make the natural move to Low-A Charleston. Culver had a decent year with his bat last year but his defense and speed are what people are excited about. Hopefully Culver doesn’t sink in his first try at full season ball.
Gary Sanchez C I think Sanchez will start the year atCharleston , but there is a very good chance that he will share time with J.R Murphy in Tampa Tampa is that he got hurt, which is the same reason why Murphy isn’t starting in Trenton Charleston he will likely be the first of the group to move up to Tampa
Outfield:
Mason Williams OF Williams broke out last year and is now considered to be the Yankees top outfield prospect. Williams had an amazing year and he will man Center Field in Charleston, if he continues to play to the high level he did last year and matures into some power then he quickly become the Yankees number one prospect. The Yankees hope is that Williams can become a Shane Victorino type; a gold glove centerfielder with a high average and decent power. No pressure
Ben Gamel OF His brother Matt Gamel is going to be the starting 1st baseman for the Brewers this season and while he doesn’t have the power that his brother does he will be able to play the field well in a corner spot and continue to hit for average and get on base a lot. Right now Gamel looks like a Colin Curtis type with less fielding ability, which may not sound great but players like that are always good to have.
Pitchers:
Jose Campos SP If you haven’t heard Campos was the other pitcher the Yankees acquired in the Pineda for Montero deal and is now ranked as the Yankees 5th best prospect and best non-killer B pitching prospect. He’s only 19 but runs his fastball up to 95 and a very good curveball, to go along with a developing changeup.Campos
Bryan Mitchell SP Mitchell is a project and full season ball will be his chance to show if he could put his very good stuff to good use. He will be testing the defense of this prospect laden infield as he gets a ton of ground balls.
Other prospects:
Evan DeLuca SP Another Right hander in the Charelston rotation and Just like Bryan Mitchell he has great stuff but has struggled with his command. He did do a good job last year of the ball in the park last year in giving up no home runs. However he did walk 32 batters in just 46 innings. He may not be a top twenty prospect but he is a lefty and lefties with goods stuff are always great to have.
Phil Wetherell RP,Brandon Pinder RP,Caleb Cotham RP: All three of these guys are power arms with a ton of strikeouts. Calbe Cotham has struggled to stay healthy and injury would be the only reason he wouldn’t be inCharleston Charleston
Isaias Tejada C Tejada could start in Charelston if Sanchez starts the year in Tampa. He is another
talented hitting catcher and just shows how deep the Yankees are in terms of backstop prospects.
Reymond Nunez 1st Nunez should probbaly be starting in Charelston but I expect that Tyler Austin will be Charelstons regular 1st baseman. If the Yankees think they can get him enough playing time at 1st and Dh then he will probably play in Charelston.
There is a lot of breakout potential in this group and some more players like center fielder Raval Santana or Outfiielder Cody Grice could start the year in Charelston.
“I might be jumping the gun here, but I see a lot of star potential on their bottom few affiliates, including new acquisition Jose Campos from Seattle, to go with the two power arms from their Scranton club (Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances),” said KLaw with his obvious anti-Yankees bias. “The flaw in the system is the lack of near-in talent, especially position players, who could either help the big club soon or provide more fodder for trades.”
Here is the Yankees top 20 prospects:
 |
| Prospects with projected starting level |
I do not give much credit to players in the lower levels because the farther away a player is the more likely he is to completely bust, but the quantity of high level talent in the Yankees lower levels is exciting. What will make this year especially interesting is that normally you may see 2-4 high level prospects together, but this year the Yankees will have a lot of talent in the South Atlantic leagues Charleston RiverDogs. Next year the Yankees are projected to start Nine of their top twenty in Low A Charleston, in fact the only player in the top ten who isnt starting in Scranton or Charelston is Slade Heathcott. Every member of the infield and almost every position player is a top prospect, with two members of the rotation in the top twenty as well as several other interesting names.
Infield:
Dante Bichette Jr. 3rd will more than likely man the hot corner in Charleston after tearing up the Gulf coast league and doing everything he can to prove wrong those of us who were stunned (meaning everyone) that the Yankees took him in the 1st round. The Yankees could decide to start him in Staten Island, but the general consesus is that he will start the year in Charleston.
Tyler Austin 3rd/1st will likely start on the other side of the infield at 1st base but he could easily start at third if Bichette doesn't start the year in Charelston. For all the hype that Bichettes bat got, Austins was even better and starting him anywhere but Charelston would be unfair to the New York-Penn league pitchers.
Angelo Gumbs 2nd may move to a new position but for right now he will look to be the starting second baseman with Charelston and is the youngest of the group having just turned 19 in October.
Cito Culver SS Like Bichette last year Culver was a surprise 1st round draft pick. Culver spent all of last year with the Staten Island Yankees and will make the natural move to Low-A Charleston. Culver had a decent year with his bat last year but his defense and speed are what people are excited about. Hopefully Culver doesn’t sink in his first try at full season ball.
Gary Sanchez C I think Sanchez will start the year at
Outfield:
Mason Williams OF Williams broke out last year and is now considered to be the Yankees top outfield prospect. Williams had an amazing year and he will man Center Field in Charleston, if he continues to play to the high level he did last year and matures into some power then he quickly become the Yankees number one prospect. The Yankees hope is that Williams can become a Shane Victorino type; a gold glove centerfielder with a high average and decent power. No pressure
Ben Gamel OF His brother Matt Gamel is going to be the starting 1st baseman for the Brewers this season and while he doesn’t have the power that his brother does he will be able to play the field well in a corner spot and continue to hit for average and get on base a lot. Right now Gamel looks like a Colin Curtis type with less fielding ability, which may not sound great but players like that are always good to have.
Pitchers:
Jose Campos SP If you haven’t heard Campos was the other pitcher the Yankees acquired in the Pineda for Montero deal and is now ranked as the Yankees 5th best prospect and best non-killer B pitching prospect. He’s only 19 but runs his fastball up to 95 and a very good curveball, to go along with a developing changeup.
Bryan Mitchell SP Mitchell is a project and full season ball will be his chance to show if he could put his very good stuff to good use. He will be testing the defense of this prospect laden infield as he gets a ton of ground balls.
Other prospects:
Evan DeLuca SP Another Right hander in the Charelston rotation and Just like Bryan Mitchell he has great stuff but has struggled with his command. He did do a good job last year of the ball in the park last year in giving up no home runs. However he did walk 32 batters in just 46 innings. He may not be a top twenty prospect but he is a lefty and lefties with goods stuff are always great to have.
Phil Wetherell RP,Brandon Pinder RP,Caleb Cotham RP: All three of these guys are power arms with a ton of strikeouts. Calbe Cotham has struggled to stay healthy and injury would be the only reason he wouldn’t be in
Isaias Tejada C Tejada could start in Charelston if Sanchez starts the year in Tampa. He is another
talented hitting catcher and just shows how deep the Yankees are in terms of backstop prospects.
Reymond Nunez 1st Nunez should probbaly be starting in Charelston but I expect that Tyler Austin will be Charelstons regular 1st baseman. If the Yankees think they can get him enough playing time at 1st and Dh then he will probably play in Charelston.
There is a lot of breakout potential in this group and some more players like center fielder Raval Santana or Outfiielder Cody Grice could start the year in Charelston.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Yankees sign Bill Hall
The Yankees have signed Bill Hall to a minor league deal and he will likely be joined by several other spring training invites to compete for the 2nd bench bat job. Bill Hall had a disappointing year last year hitting just .211/.261/.314 line in 199 plate appearances for the Astros and Giants last year. However in 2010 he had hit 18 home runs in more of a utility role for the Red Sox. I don't know if Hall still has anything left, but a minor league deal never hurt anybody and he will compete for the job with several other candidates, both internal candidates and spring invites.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
The 2011 Yankees and the 2012 Red Sox
Last year the Yankees lost in the ALCS, missed on Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte retired so they were gonna have to rely on Ivan Nova a relatively untested rookie and Phil Hughes who faded bad down the stretch. The ownership was so desperate for a move that they went over the head of Brian Cashman and signed Rafael Soriano to a three year deal. The Yankees pieced together a rotation with Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon making major contributions. People thought that the Yankees would make a deal for a starter, but they didn't have to and their copious amount of starting pitching depth meant that they did not need to worry about finding starters. That may not seem like a big deal but remember bad the Red Sox starters were in September, they had no starting pitching depth and that was the reason they did not make the playoffs. The Red Sox have the top three starters and they only need to fill in the rest of their rotation, that's why its not a big deal for them to try Alfredo Aceves and Daniel Bard because those two just need to be not terrible. However if one or both of those guys falters they have to rely on the Andrew Miller, Carlos Silva type and they cannot even keep Carlos Silva and Aaron Cook in the minors past the end of April because of their opt out. On top of that Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz are major injury concerns, especially Buchholz who has only been able to complete a full season of starts once in the last four years and is recovering from a stress fracture in his back. There is a chance that everything will go well for the Red Sox and Aceves and Bard will be effective and everyone in the rotation will be healthy. If somebody has to miss a start then Andrew Miller can step in but if one starter is going to miss some time then who is gonna pitch?
The problem for the Red Sox is that they can't add a starter at the trade deadline very easily this season as they would need to move some salary to do so and if they can't eat salary then it will be very hard to acquire a starter as most teams looking to unload a starter want prospects or salary relief and the Sox system is barren at the higher levels. The Red Sox chief problem last year was a lack of pitching and it does not seem like they have done much to rectify that situation and it prove costly for them.
The problem for the Red Sox is that they can't add a starter at the trade deadline very easily this season as they would need to move some salary to do so and if they can't eat salary then it will be very hard to acquire a starter as most teams looking to unload a starter want prospects or salary relief and the Sox system is barren at the higher levels. The Red Sox chief problem last year was a lack of pitching and it does not seem like they have done much to rectify that situation and it prove costly for them.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Boone Logan is last Yankee to settle on arbitration
Boone Logan and the Yankees avoided arbitration by signing Logan to a $1.875 million deal for 2012. By doing this the Yankees settled with their last arbitration eligible player and paid a grand total of $16.775 to their six arbitration eligible players. The list is as follows:
Boone Logan- $1.875
Logan was the Yankees only lefty out of the pen last season and while a solid arm he was inconsistent at times and could be the only lefty in the pen again this year. He did have some very good outing against the Sox in particular last season.
David Robertson- $1.6 million
This was Robertson's first arbitration year and its a nice pay increase from the league minimum salary that he was making the last 3 years. If he does what he did last year again he will get a good raise next year.
Joba Chamberlain- $1.675 million
While it may seem odd that Joba got payed more than Robertson considering that Joba only pitched 28 innings last year because of his injury. But arbitration is also largely based on service time and it was his second year of arbitration. He got a lot less than he might have.
Phil Hughes- $3.2 million
perfect example of how its based on service time. After his 2010 Phil Hughes got $2.7 million and with less than half the innings he pitched the year before he got a raise. Hughes however only has one year of arbitration left and so 2012 will need to be good for him.
Russel Martin- $7.5 million
After being non tendered by the Dodgers last season Martin had a good year with the Yankees and received almost double the $4 million he was paid last year. The Yankees had been talking about a two year deal with Martin before deciding on roughly the midpoint of Martins proposed $8.2 million and the Yankees $7 million. Hopefully the Yankees get another solid season from Martin in 2012.
Brett Gardner- $2.8
Like Robertson Gardner had his first year of arbitration and got a nice pay raise after making the league minimum the last three years. Gardner will look at find some offensive consistency this year in hope of signing a multi-year deal with the Yankees, while continuing to provide excellent defense.
All of these guys will be arbitration eligible again next year, except for Russel Martin who will be a free agent. Francisco Cervelli will also be arbitration eligible next season so he will have to try and stay healthy this year.
Boone Logan- $1.875
Logan was the Yankees only lefty out of the pen last season and while a solid arm he was inconsistent at times and could be the only lefty in the pen again this year. He did have some very good outing against the Sox in particular last season.
David Robertson- $1.6 million
This was Robertson's first arbitration year and its a nice pay increase from the league minimum salary that he was making the last 3 years. If he does what he did last year again he will get a good raise next year.
Joba Chamberlain- $1.675 million
While it may seem odd that Joba got payed more than Robertson considering that Joba only pitched 28 innings last year because of his injury. But arbitration is also largely based on service time and it was his second year of arbitration. He got a lot less than he might have.
Phil Hughes- $3.2 million
perfect example of how its based on service time. After his 2010 Phil Hughes got $2.7 million and with less than half the innings he pitched the year before he got a raise. Hughes however only has one year of arbitration left and so 2012 will need to be good for him.
Russel Martin- $7.5 million
After being non tendered by the Dodgers last season Martin had a good year with the Yankees and received almost double the $4 million he was paid last year. The Yankees had been talking about a two year deal with Martin before deciding on roughly the midpoint of Martins proposed $8.2 million and the Yankees $7 million. Hopefully the Yankees get another solid season from Martin in 2012.
Brett Gardner- $2.8
Like Robertson Gardner had his first year of arbitration and got a nice pay raise after making the league minimum the last three years. Gardner will look at find some offensive consistency this year in hope of signing a multi-year deal with the Yankees, while continuing to provide excellent defense.
All of these guys will be arbitration eligible again next year, except for Russel Martin who will be a free agent. Francisco Cervelli will also be arbitration eligible next season so he will have to try and stay healthy this year.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
A.J Burnett for Mark Reynolds: In idea that will never happen but I will write about anyway
Without AJ Burnett the Yankees never would have won the world series in 2009 but he has been beyond bad the last two years and he still has two years left on his contract. The Yankees have better options in their rotation than him and they have been hoping to dump him on somebody else all off season, especially now that the Yankees have a logjam for the 5th starter. The idea is that the Yankees will try and trade Hughes or Burnett for a DH type who can platoon with Andruw Jones. River ave blues had a list of possible trade candidates and one that I thought might warrant some consideration is Mark Reynolds.
Now to be clear this deal is very unlikely to happen but the Orioles are faced with the issue of having two first baseman and one of them they are paying $7.5 million and the other isn't arbitration eligible for another year. The Orioles have no shot of contending and they wanted to have Reynolds play 3rd but his defense was so bad that he had to be moved to 1st. Reynolds was traded to Baltimore last offseason and has led the league in strike outs the last four seasons. He can however mash the ball and has hit 158 home runs in his five seasons including 37 last year. He is a right handed bat but he hits right handers a bit better than left handers. Reynolds would be good to have for the DH spot especially since he is a free agent after this year. The problem though is that the only way the Yankees would add Reynolds is if they traded AJ Burnett and unfortunately its very doubtful that he will get traded this season especially not to the Orioles who have enough mediocre pitching. Its also the fact that the Orioles don't like trading in the division and it doesn't make any sense for them to trade Reynolds and take on all of Burnett's salary especially since they won't be contending this season. Its a nice idea but it wont happen.
Now to be clear this deal is very unlikely to happen but the Orioles are faced with the issue of having two first baseman and one of them they are paying $7.5 million and the other isn't arbitration eligible for another year. The Orioles have no shot of contending and they wanted to have Reynolds play 3rd but his defense was so bad that he had to be moved to 1st. Reynolds was traded to Baltimore last offseason and has led the league in strike outs the last four seasons. He can however mash the ball and has hit 158 home runs in his five seasons including 37 last year. He is a right handed bat but he hits right handers a bit better than left handers. Reynolds would be good to have for the DH spot especially since he is a free agent after this year. The problem though is that the only way the Yankees would add Reynolds is if they traded AJ Burnett and unfortunately its very doubtful that he will get traded this season especially not to the Orioles who have enough mediocre pitching. Its also the fact that the Orioles don't like trading in the division and it doesn't make any sense for them to trade Reynolds and take on all of Burnett's salary especially since they won't be contending this season. Its a nice idea but it wont happen.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The Prince Saga ends
I know a lot of Yankees fans hoped that the Yankees would sign Fielder, but it was never gonna happen. However I really did not expect that Fielder would sign with the Tigers which is what he did today when he signed for a 9 year $214 million deal. I really thought he would end up going to Washington, but apparently they were never offering him the money or years he wanted. This may have something to do with Victor Martinez's injury, but I have a hard time beleiving that they gave Fielder $214 million because Martinez would be out a year. It seems like Miguel Cabrera will move to 3rd which will be interesting but having both those guys in the lineup will be great for Detroit and they likely just pulled ahead of everyone in that division for the next few years. Its still possible that the Tigers will sign a DH but I find it more likely they will sign a defensive outfielder and have Delmon Young DH quite a bit. This also likely takes the Tigers out of the hunt for Yoennis Cespedes as I doubt they will add anymore payroll.
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