In their latest move the Yanks have picked up yet another player who does not GRIND. What's more, though he's not yet had a negative war year all together, most years he's be - on dwar. They gave up effective Adam Warren (remember, it was his removal from the rotation for Nova that really screwed up the season), and the craptastical Brendan Ryan, to add roughly over 5M to the payroll next year. And this will be another case of a prospect not getting a shot because the Yanks have a guy ahead of him with a CONTRACT. This is more or less of nightmare scenario. The Yanks could have easily gotten by with Refsnyder and Ackley at 2B, but, instead, they're pretended it's still a problem and acquired this overrated trash. The guy's most recent OPS+ is 83 and he's under 100 for his career as he heads into his age 26 season. I don't think he could beat out Rob Refsnyder in a fair competition, and now, because of Castro's contract, he won't have to. Girardi will just keep writing in his fellow Cub crud till his hand falls off. Now watch Refs get pacakaged for even more pitching. This is a big fail, and it allowed the Cubs to pick up Zobrist.
61 Comments:
As long as Cashman is here we're screwed. He and Joey are baseball twins.
They had two needs: a starting pitching and offense, and so far they have traded a better offense of player and an effective pitcher for things they really didn't need
Yup.
Are the vaunted analytics team taking the winter off?
Folks, I'm not much of a drinker, so I've never had a hangover. I was wondering if this is what's it's like to have one?
Or is this more akin to being in the movie "Groundhog Day," except it's an alternate universe where you wake up to the feeling of the groundhog chewing on your testicles?
I just viewed as a buzz kill
When are any of you going to realize that the Yanks were not interested in playing Refsnyder at 2b everyday?
I don't agree with trading Warren but it's not a whole lot, especially when it means we got rid of Girardi's obsession, B. Ryan with him.
Castro making only 5mil next year so it clears a 40man spot and we gain 1mil in cap from the deal. If you look at his numbers after he was switched to 2b, he was pretty damn good.
We all know the Yanks love their defense and Castro was +2 in runs saved @2b that spanned over 260 innings.
Ackley and Refsnyder were -5 in runs saved over 179 innings.
With us trading a pitcher, I'm betting we see a Gardner or Ellsbury trade to fill that void soon.
That sample size means NOTHING, no less than NOTHING, and offense matters, you know.
Cashman stated Refsnyder likely headed to SWB.
Also said Castro is insurance for Didi and Headley as well.
Billy, here's the problem: We realize they like defense. What we're arguing is they over-value it, and undervalue offense, especially OBP. We feel this is counter-productive when it comes to running a team, especially considering how the Yankees got shut out in the postseason this year.
The fact is Castro has been below-average offensively two of the last three years and is owed $38M. For a team allegedly on a tight budget, I'm not sure this trade makes sense, especially when you give away a solid starter in Warren (who was mishandled last season I might add). Sure, he may improve, but it's one thing to acquire a guy like Didi who might improve but isn't owed a whole lot.
It's yet another example of what Phil calls penny-wise, pound-foolish.
Money can't be that tight as the Yanks were talking to Zobrist before he signed with the Cubs.
I think money is available for the right player
Cashman's public comments would suggest otherwise. And to be clear, I'm not saying they should just sign anyone, but this isn't the direction they should have gone, IMO.
Few teams have spent money worse. They are just terribly run, and the baseball people are the biggest problem.
They pretend to care so much about defense yet they signed Headley, Beltran, and McCann who blow chunks
Theo Epstein must be laughing his head off
It's amazing that Castro has floated so long on his "next ARod" prospect bubble that he's been one of the worst regulars in baseball over his career. He had 45 good games at second to end the year, but does anyone other than the Yanks believe he is that guy? We once bought Xavier Nady off of a hot partial season he couldn't duplicate.
Now I'm wondering if they are going to flip Gardy and Miller for prospects and go after Heyward.
They will never be great under the current regime, from Hal on down. It's that simple. The family is more concerned about balancing the checkbook than winning, Cashman doesn't care about offense, who knows what Levine is doing and the draft team keeps selecting the Kyle Holders of the world way too high.
We literally have to pray Hal sells and a new owner who wants to win cleans house.
Or, put another way, rooting for the Yankees is like watching that TV show that used to be awesome, but now it's just "meh" on its best days, but you've already dedicated your time to it for several seasons so you might as well stick around until the end hoping it's going to get better, but deep down you know it's just going to leave you disappointed.
I'm reading this is about Jim Hendry. He apparently wants to prove that his view of Castro is the right one and our defense rocks except when it doesn't GM listened to him
There. Is no way Posada would've been the catcher for this craptastic bunch
Feels like Isaiah Thomas is running the Yanks. Fortunatelly, you can't trade 1's in baseball.
I just don't understand the criticism of this trade -- Yes, Yanks are valuing defense but Castro isn't a black hole offensively. He's a contact oriented hitter that will never post high OBP but it's not like he has bad plate discipline and is a free swinger that strikes out a lot. There's a major difference between the two.
Another fact is he's only a year older than Refsnyder and is just entering his prime. This moves Ackley back to being the super-sub he should be. It also gives us some lineup balance with another RH bat.
Again, I think this is just the beginning of moves for the Yanks. I expect a Gardner and potentially Miller trade soon and them jumping into the Heyward bidding.
This is the same team that gave long-term contracts to either overpaid, not that good, or declining players just two years ago. There is no reason to have any confidence in what they do.
That's certainly a pessimistic view on things. This is also the same team that traded Prado for Eovaldi and Greene for DiDi last off-season.
I would tend to believe they've learned from those contracts and have found a new area to pursue, which is guys under cost control just entering their prime.
DiDi
Eovaldi
Castro
Hicks
with Severino here and Bird, Judge and Sanchez on the way.
They are acquiring younger talent while augmenting them with the prospects they've developed lately.
This is why I fully expect them to trade Miller and Gardner for some high end SP and pursue Heyward, who's 26 and entering his prime.
I don't like betting on guys who've been below average for their careers to suddenly have the light go on. Refsnyder grinds like a classic Yankee, Castro does not. What's more he makes way too many outs for his production and his "elite" contact skills have proudced a lot of GIDP's. Also, he's a terrible base stealer. He's what Bill James used to call a bad percentage player, and I don't like thos kinds of players.
I do think they've got some other trades cooing, but flipping Miller for Velazquez, then flipping Velazquez for Ozuna wouldn't make any sense, since what they say they want is a young starting pitcher, not yet another OF.
Beyond agreeing with the concerns everyone else has stated, I'm also worried to the extent that this transaction was in any way motivated to stymie the Mets. Making a bad deal just to get the Mets off the back pages is just terrible -- the right way to get them off the back pages is to put together a team that can win it all.
I am sorry to see Warren go and Refs effectively blocked and sorry to see the Yanks take on yet another albatross contract. On the bright side, back in the world that really matters, my son's CYO basketball team is 3-0 and he got two baskets and a whole lot of rebounds and steals in their last game. And let's all keep pulling for Mike's Dad.
Indeed. And my nephew in England. who just turned 11 ten days ago, just completed captaining his school soccer team to its secon straigh undefeated season. They are 32-0 under his captaincy, and mind you, this is an American boy dominating soccer land.
"Well played" to your nephew!
I'll let him know.
I don't agree, Phil. Castro has not been below average for his career. He was a mediocre defensive SS, which lowers his WAR but he's been way above average offensively for the majority of his career.
I also don't see how this is an "albatross" contract -- 7mil this year, 9 mil the next, 10 & 11 the following 2... Those are below market value salaries for a player his age and with his skill set.
Castro has hit into the league average amount of GIDPs and steals are not a part of his game. It just seems people are criticizing the trade just because their beloved Refsnyder isn't getting the starting gig.
You guys need to stop reading George King of the post.
Billy, for his career, his OPS+ is 97. That's why I'm calling him below average. He's been in the top 10 in GIDP's three different times in his career and three times he has lead the NL in outs.
I like Refsnyder because he grinds. I don't like Castro because he doesn't. And I am and have been consistent about what types of players I prefer and vocal in my concern for the lack of GRINDING at the plate the Yanks have done for the past several years.
Mike made a good point above. It's one thing to take a chance on Didi who is cost-controlled. It's another to do it with a player with a very big contract, in terms of his production, when they already have an inflexible roster.
This was the kind of move they might have made for a 3B. But with options at 2B, it makes no sense unless they flip Castro.
Or flip Headley and put Castro at 3B.
I'm sure Hendry was telling this the Castro that played 45 games at 2B and hit like a beast is the real Castro, and since he's a Yankee now, let's hope that's so.
Getting worried about the rule 5 tomorrow.
Yeah, that's what I think.
They keep saying they can't rebuild, even though ratings and attendance have been trending down steeply for several years. Why can't they understand that playing one rookie isn't rebuilding. It's what smart teams do even if they are really good.
I don't think Hal appreciates the negative revenue impact that a really good Mets team can have, probably because he was a teenager the last time that happened.
I just saw that Hoch said that Castro was schooled on the big leagues by Soriano. Is that the Sori who Mondesi negatively impacted, or was it some grown up version who realized that Mondesi was a fool?
http://web.yesnetwork.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=533735683
Here's Damon Oppenheimer, with among other things, an instructs update on Kaprielian.
Since when is 4/38 a bad contract? I hear what you're saying Phil but you have to analyze Castro in the context of how young he was when he came up and where he batted on a terrible team.
Looking at #'s is easy but contextualizing it and realizing he is a valuable player is a different story.
When it comes to "grinding", he is league average in pitcher per plate appearance, slightly below the sample from Refsnyder.
Again, I am not as big a believer in Refsnyder as most of you seem to be but I am fine with this trade.
We got rid of Brendan Ryan, that in and of itself is a victory.
http://web.yesnetwork.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=533735683
Here's Tim Naehring on his expanded responsibilities.
4/38 for a player with a sub-100 OPS+ (80 wRC+) on a team with < 0 roster flexibility is a not a prudent contract.
Context matters, and the context is a bloated roster with every position, except SS, locked into a pretty bad contract, with the possible exception of Gardner.
Theo has done a pretty good job with two franchises, yet he preferred an expensive 35 year old Zobrist to this phenom who never was.
Yanks reportedly talking with Houston and the Dodgers about Miller.
Another point -- why would Maddon, who by all accounts is good at getting the best out of his players, have wanted to replace Castro?
I'll take the other side, Stot, as a hypothetical.
He had Zobrist in TB.
But he's still 35 and now tied up for 4 years.
It's reasonable to think they didn't love Castro.
But Hendry does...Let's hope he's right, but I really like Refs, so it won't be easy for me.
Could be that Zobrist can play all over the diamond and Maddon loves him.
I would take Castro over Zobrist and hope he rebounds.
I can see Didi and Starlin tandem for the next 5 years
Stot, thanks again for the well wishes for my dad. His last scan (after 2 rounds of chemo) showed nothing getting worse and one area possibly getting slightly better, so they're sticking with the chemo for now.
A day later, and I feel no better about this trade, for reasons you guys have already stated here. I hope like heck Castro learns some plate discipline and adjusts smoothly to second base, but at this point, if it's going to happen, I'll just have to be pleasantly surprised like I was with Gregorius.
My interest in the Yankees is fading fast. Not that I won't follow them or stop commenting here, but I've all but resigned myself to the fact that this team is fated for mediocrity. The leadership of the team is to blame for that, as not only are they blind to the need for offense (which is hilarious considering they got bumped from the playoffs because they couldn't hit), but they have also managed to put a product on the field that is, for lack of a better description, just plain boring. LINJ, you are spot on that the current front office would have never given Posada, and invaluable commodity both in the lineup and clubhouse, a real shot.
I'll still be around, mostly because I enjoy you all, but with my faith in this team's leadership all but gone, I don't imagine I'll be all that excited about next season.
I don't think it will be 5 years.
I don't think the Steins will own the team in five years. The franchise has too much value for media companies looking for content with an increasingly fragmented viewership, and cord-cutting on the rise. Sports is a content differentiator, just like original programming for Netflix, Amazon, and the various networks.
Mike
The future of this franchise will be determined by their key young assets: Bird, Judge, Sanchez, Severino.
I think Slade or Williams and Mateo can also be a part of that, but the above names are seemingly viewed differently by them.
What I fear is this crazy and counterproductive nonsense that they can't rebuild. They are rebuilding, and they will not be able to acquire talent like the above four without paying a disproportionate price. For example, Stupid Francessa wanting to give up Bird and Judge for Fernandez. Really? On a team with an aging/declining offense? He should just retire and stop making the NY sports fan as stupid as he is.
If they are patient with the younger four, they can be very good again. If they find excuses not to, or only give them a short opportunity, they pretty much are doomed.
And my best to your dad.
Best of health to your dad Mike and to everyone on the board and your families 😊
Cashman also said the Yankees never tried to sign Ben Zobrist.
“With our stated goal and his age and the four years, that would fly against what we’re trying to accomplish,” he said. “We’re hopefully doing what we say and saying what we mean, meaning what we say — whatever.”
Obviously, they can if they commit to it the way they commit to veterans who suck:
A nickname is born. Brian Cashman: "I'd like to unleash the Kraken, which is Gary Sanchez, on our roster in 2016 if I can." #Kraken
Looks like Justin Wilson to the Tigers for two prospects.
Guess they think Lindgren has recovered.
Per a Detroit reporter: According to #Yankees sources, RH Luis Cessa and RH Chad Green could be coming to NY for Wilson.
I would think that takes Miller off the table
Cashman's secretary, otherwise known as Mark Feinsand, thinks this move makes no sense unless there is another trade coming
Maybe. It also clears a 40-man spot. And here is Joel Sherman's take:
#Yankees likely did this to 1) address lack of SP depth in upper system. 2) capitalize on LH ref depth. 3) Save about $1.5M in Wilson arb
Where do these two rank in the Tigers system?
6 and 19 respectively
http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2015?list=det
Not in baseball America's top 10
http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/2015-detroit-tigers-top-10-prospects/
By the way these are both last year's rankings
Isn't Cessa a guy they got for Cespedes? I'm guessing they are in process of making a larger deal but who knows
Cessa was a guy they got for Cespedes, and I also think something bigger is on the way, and these physicals were just convenient, though one or both of these guys may be headed elsewhere.
New post.
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