So Here We Are

With the signing of Winn, and the final goodbye to the 2M left in the "budget" and to Johnny Damon, the Yanks seem to be done with their offseason work. Sure, they may still hand out some ST invites to players like Rocco Baldelli or others, but the 40M roster is now set, and barring an unforeseeable trade, this is the team they'll open the season with.


So, what do we think?


I'm still very happy about the Granderson trade. Sure we gave up a big package that included good chips like Austin Jackson and Ian Kennedy, but I still like it as we got a player that's still in his prime may really be able to rake in NYS. AJack was an interesting prospect who had lost a lot of development because he was also very talented at basketball. He was coming along fine, with the Yanks, but unless he develops more power than he's shown lately, he was going to be a solid player, not an all-star. Ian Kennedy was just blocked in the short term and it was probably time to move him. He had nothing to prove in the minors, and couldn't beat out Phil or Joba in the majors. Coke gave up too many homers, and that's not the kind of guy we want pitching in NYS. In all, a very good trade, but one that did take a bite out of the farm. Little did we know at the time that he really was the replacement for Johnny Damon.


Next, they re-upped Andy and his 200 innings for another year. Andy's ERA+ was not even 10% above average last year, but he was money in the postseason and, hey, he's Andy. He's still a horse, though not as consistent, and he still adds some mentoring value to the rest of the staff. The Yanks were 2 for 2 at this point.



Next, we picked up Nick OBP Jesus Johnson, for 5.5M and a mutual option for a second season. This was a terrific move since Nick cost just money and no picks. He will bat second and get on base at his usual .400+ clip. He has the kind of skills that could really adapt to the stadium and see his homers go way up. Just a terrific move. The Yanks were 3 for 3.


Next, they surprised the lot of us with a sudden reprise. They traded Melky Cabrera, Arodys Vizcaino and Michael Dunn for Javy Vazquez and Boone Logan. Vazquez was coming off a terrific season where he was one of the best pitchers in the NL and one of the few available pitchers on the market who could actually step in and help the Yankee rotation. He's a K pitcher and that's what we'll need going forward at NYS. Logan is probably a Loogy only who may not make the team. Now the problem here was two fold: first adding Vazquez shut off the possibility of both Joba and Phil staring the season in the rotation, which will lead to the partial waste of 1 season from one of them. Second, they used Arodys Vizcaino in the deal. Now, the Braves wanted salary relief and would have preferred trading Derek Lowe. But did the Yanks really need to throw in one of their best pitching prospects to get the deal done? For a rental? Anyway, it hurt the farm. The Yanks were 3-3 with a sac fly.


Little did we know at this point that they really were done with their big moves and that there'd be no Matt Holliday or any other big solution for left.



The Yanks then re-uppped Mitre and Gaudin which made little sense, after the Vazquez deal. They will now be the 7th and 8th starters and vastly overpaid for their positions on the organizational depth chart. Inexcusable for a team that became budget conscious overnight. The Yanks were 3-5 with a sac fly.


Now the Yanks have added Winn with their final 2 million. Right now, he profiles as a defensive replacement/pinch runner you only want to see with a lead. Like the minor leaguer, Golson, we picked up from the Rangers on Tuesday, and the Jamie Hoffman, who we had the Nats pick in the rule 5 for us. It sets up a camp batter for 2 spots, 4th and 5th OF. This deal puts pressure on Gardner to have a break out year with the bat, and I know a few of us think he can. The Yanks are now 3-6 with a sac fly. Good game.


Anyway, where we are right now is strong in the line-up, with LF still a question mark, and strong in the rotation. The pen should improve with Robertson having established himself and Melancon unlikely to repeat his struggles.


The bench remains weak offensively, but strong defensively with Cervelli, Pena, Winn and Hoffman. I don't know if Juan Miranda will be up, but he'd be an ideal power bat off the bench.



The farm is another matter. With the loss of Jackson, Vizcaino, Kennedy, Dunn and others, it took some shots. Sure, they have signed or traded for some veteran minor leaguers who are at least a little interesting, and they've signed some high upside IFA's, but they haven't replaced prospect value at the upper levels, and just continued to increase it at the lower levels, where they were already loaded.



They need big bounce back seasons from some of the injured prospects, as well as a strong draft (they still have all their picks!) and IFA period to restock the cupboard. The only way they're ever going to really lower the budget is by producing their own.



And that's the way it is.



UPDATE: Raphael DePaula's suspension from baseball is over. DePaula was a 6'3" RHP who the Yanks were about to sign only to see suspended over the summer. It will be an interesting test of sorts to see if they are willing to win the bidding again. He would very much replace what they lost when they traded Vizcaino.