Dec
11
Cashman may issue an ultimatum to Andy Pettitte
ByNumerous reports, all of them relying on the same Post article, contend that Brian Cashman left the Winter Meetings today bound for Andy Pettitte‘s home. According to the reports, the Yanks feel confident enough in their efforts at landing A.J. Burnett that Cashman is going to issue a “take it or leave it” ultimatum to Andy Pettitte. The Yanks will play Pettitte $10 million to take the fifth spot in the rotation or they will move to some combination of Derek Lowe, Ben Sheets and Phil Hughes. While we can’t be sure of the veracity of this report, I think it’s a perfectly reasonable move to make at this stage in the winter.
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The Mason Williams Watch
I just hope he takes it…if not, I can see him in LA with Torre.
CC/Wang/Burnett/Pettitte/Joba?
Jobas low inning count might be better not next to Pettite who is an adventure everyday.
I like the rotation but I would have hughes in there and joba as the 8th inning man.
I hear Giambi really wants to come back…a few mil for a bat off the bench if we were to sign Tex or DH him some days or give Tex a day off option? For a discounted rate of like 5 mil do you think Cash would bite? I might if he would take a pay cut, plus it gives us options if we were not to sign Tex. Who knows this may be all moot since we got swisher…
You serious with Joba 8th inning ?
Really? Why do you think Joba is more valuable as an 8th inning man?
Assuming you are serious. I would really like to hear your reasoning.
Maybe because Steve Philips said so
He is a good starter but a dominate set up man and will be a good replacement for mo
I’m trying to decide whether to call this batshit insane or batshit crazy. These are the great decisions in life. Luckily, I can’t go wrong either way.
Hey, Ben, can you give us one of those fancy polls so all the RAB readers can vote on this topic? That would be awesome.
QUESTION: Is putting Joba in the bullpen
A) batshit crazy or
B) batshit insane?
Bad news on Ben Sheets. I just emailed Pete Abraham from the LoHud Blog about Sheets health status and this is the response I got:
“From what I have been told, there are a lot of red flags.”
I trust his agent much much more.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/.....l-ben.html
Ha. Yeah I’m sure his agent who gets a chunk of his $ is going to put out negative reports on his prize free agent.
You do? Why? I’m not saying that PeteAbe has or has not seen the medical reports. I have no idea. But in no world would Ben Sheets’ agent ever say to Jerry Crasnick, “You know what, Jerry? Everyone’s right. Sheets’ elbow is missing four ligaments. I sure hope we can get that $40 million contract!”
Abraham has no reason to lie; Sheets’ agent is paid to get the best deal for his client and that means not talking about potential red flags in the medical reports to the media.
Exactly.
Well, hes spoken to Ben sheets before. Why would a Yankees beat writer know more about Sheet’s condition than His agent. I see your point but still.
I’d still rather hear the doctors opinion.
JW, has a contract ever been revoked because the player failed a physical?
Usually trades are held up because of that. The Yanks once voided a trade for Greg Vaughan because he failed his physical.
Yeah and then Vaughn I think had a great rest of the year right? Or am I off on that one?
Anyway I really am a fan of this Cashman move if it is in fact true. About time. Andy you are in or out. I also like Cashman going to peoples houses. I get fried on here for saying I do not like a lot of things Cashman does or does not do, but I have been saying for years that he needs to be in peoples face and if you are the GM of the Yanks you need to show your face and be powerful yet able to make house calls.
It is the one instant start GM job in baseball, just like the managers job. Let us use that to our advantage.
I may be wrong but any organization inquiring about a free agent gets a copy of their medical reports/history.
The “red flags” the beat writer is referring to are most likely coming right from those reports.
Because the agent is putting a positive spin on it?
“Why would a Yankees beat writer know more about Sheet’s condition than His agent.” – Please make sure you always buy new cars, because I can guarantee you the used cars saleman is going to know more than you.
I can think of two physical related issues with free agents.
Joe Borowski was going to sign with the Phillies two years ago, but the Phillies backed out after his physical.
And when we signed Jaret Wright, it was initially a straight 3/$21m deal, but after his physical, we added in the right to void the deal after 2 years if he had shoulder trouble.
I just don’t understand how they can think it’s a good idea to sign Burnett til he’s 37 years old. If Sheets’ medicals look too worrying to take him on, fine. Go for Lowe. At least you won’t be paying him to sit on the DL.
So you’d take, hypothetically, Lowe for 4 yrs over Burnett for 5 yrs? Keep in mind that while you’ve expressed concern over AJ’s contract taking him through age 36 (37 is incorrect), Derek Lowe will be 36 in year 1 of his contract.
They’re fundamentally different kinds of pitchers, with fundamentally different injury histories.
I think the Yanks would get about 700 solid innings out of Burnett over the 5 years of his rumored deal. I think they’d get 750-800 slightly less effective, but more consistent innings out of Lowe over the 4 years — for less money, and they’d be out of the contract sooner.
5 years and 700 innings is an average of 140 innings per year. Over the last 4 years (since Burnett got back from TJ), he’s averaged about 185 innings per year. Obviously he’s not the model of health and will probably spend some time in almost every year on the DL, but that’s a far cry from averaging 140 innings.
You’re missing part of the story when you just say Burnett “averages 185 innings per year”. He’s only hit that mark twice since coming back from TJ–the two times he threw 200+. In the three other seasons he has pitched no higher than 160. That means you can’t count on him to pitch 185 innings if you’re using his history as a measure.
If they sign Burnett, They won’t pursue Lowe, but…And I don’t know if its just me but I get te sense if they sign Burnett They’d like to get Pettitte or have Hughes be the 5 rather than go Sheets. If they do sign Sheets that pretty much writes Hughes off as he would permanently be blocked out of the rotation
With Burnett, Sheets and Joba in the same rotation, there’s a high likelihood that Hughes would start more than 15 games in the bigs next season.
whether those 15 are good 15 starts or bad starts, he needs to establish himself. And Joba has an inning limit, why not rest him once and a while and start Hughes. 6 man rotation ish.
I 100% agree. If Andy signs he has shown signs of wearing down at the end of the season plus CC has a lot of innings and the Yankees should not push him too hard (Brew Crew Style). Go with a semi – 6 man rotation and keep every one in better condition.
“If they sign Burnett, They won’t pursue Lowe, but…And I don’t know if its just me but I get te sense if they sign Burnett They’d like to get Pettitte or have Hughes be the 5 rather than go Sheets.”
I agree with this assessment of the Yankees’ plan and I agree with the reasoning behind it (if such assessment is accurate). I think they’re of the opinion that Burnett+Sheets is just too much injury risk to take with 2 slots in their rotation, especially with Joba slotted into the rotation.
Cameron to Yankees is back on
UPDATE, 6:14 p.m.: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quotes Brewers GM Doug Melvin saying the deal is a “strong possibility.”
It’s cause we sent them a fruit basket for hurting their feelings…
Speaking of old CFs, Bernie wants to play for the PR WBC team.
I do not see how Cameron could possibly help the Yankees.
Except for him being a massive upgrade over our current CF’ers.
i still think we need him more than ppl think… i say if it absolutely takes 12 million, the yanks should just do it
lowe and sheets will command multiple years, and with young starting pitching being the greatest asset of our farm system, it doesnt make sense to have 3 rotation holes clogged up for 3+ years ((assuming sheets wants a 3 year deal))
rotation flexibility ((especially considering the yankees farm system)) is crucial, and if the yanks land burnett… then the 1 year deal pettitte wants is more beneficial to us than signing sheets to 2 or 3 years
get him in pinstripes cashman
i want jake peavy
i want lincecum and hanley
Ill take Felix
im not fu***** around
Whoa! You used some form of punctuation AND replied to a comment? I’m impressed
Sadly, the punctuation was not an apostrophe.
Baby steps, I guess.
i want pujols and grady but only if their teams pick up all of their salaries
yea im with you we shouldnt hafta pay for them especially after giving cc all that money lets see how good cashman really is if we can get pujols and grady for free oh yea and lets get peavy hes good
I think I’d pick up their contracts just to show my appreciation.
Pujols is ridiculously underpaid.
all right your in fantasy mood then tell me who would play for yanks if you could anyone by pos
Wow, really?
C-Matt Weiters
1B-Pujols
2B-Utley
SS-Hanley Ramirez
3B-Evan Longoria
LF-Ryan Braun
CF-Beltran
RF-Ichiro (gotta keep the Japanese fans happy)
SP-Joba (so I’m a homer)
SP-Price
SP-Halladay
SP-CC (I hear he’s decent)
SP-Lincecum
why not get peavy too and put him in the bullpen i hear hes good
c- Joe Mauer
1B- Adrian Gonzalez
2B- Sorry but Pedroia
3B-Longoria
ss- Jeter
LF-Holliday
CF-Sizemore
Rf-Bruce
SP-Harden
Sp-Peavy
SP-JOba
Sp Hughes
SP-Lincecum
not to pick on you, but Pedroia over Utley? seriously?
C- Maur
1B- Pujols
2B- Utley
3B-AROD
SS- Jeter
LF- Holliday
CF-Hamilton
RF- Guerrero
SP-Santanna
SP-Sabathia
SP-Lincecum
SP-Hamels
SP-Joba
what are you willing to give up for him?
kennedy, cf, one of rule 5 that werent chosen and eric duncan specially now that towers is more desperate
I just want to know one thing: If you were a fan of the San Diego Padres, would you approve of that package?
Lets say Peavy demands to be traded though and the Cubs and Braves are not involved anymore. You know Peavy says I think its best if we part ways so deal me to the Angels or the Yankees.. We could get him for cheaper depending on LAA’s interest
Fans don’t make trades, do you think the Twinkie fans were happy when they got Carlos Gomez and 2 other crap players for the best pitcher in baseball?
thats definately not getting it done
youre right that wont get that done what if it was just kennedy and jackson
thats most likely would but im not giving up jackson expecially if were trading melky for cameron, whose going to be our future CF gardner? i mean i like the guy but i dont think he is going to evolve to what we expected jackson or melky to be
cameroon sucks i cant believe their going through with this trade
facepalm
love the subtle racism. it’s like the cherry on top of a crap sundae.
love the subtle racism. it’s like the cherry on top of a crap sundae.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Hey, did you hear that we’re about to trade for the Marlins All-Star second baseman, Dan Uganda?
Throw Montero, Romine, Melancon and Betences on there and you’re getting closer
And I want a million Dollars. Think CC can spot me 1? Then he still has 160 left!
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....BHeadlines
Bernie is going to play winter ball in hopes to play for Puerto Rico in WBC
Good for Bernie, he was such an awesome Yankee
So the cameron trade is back on. Ya Gotta love the offseason.
chat over at newyorkbaseballdigest.com in 8 minutes.
Yankees are suspiciously quiet on the teixeira front
Could be a good thing
thats what I’m thinking.
Maybe just a bluff to raise the price for the sox
my question is if this is truely a bluff why can they afford ramirez then?
I don’t know if this is truly a bluff man. It may very will be but cash doesn’t play that game like Theo does. My guess is that he lands somewhere outside of the bronx but of course it’d be nice to have him. Anyway its not a matter of not affording him, They lost 90 mill or around there last year. So 90-23(cc) is 67. Then another 16 or so for CC makes it 50ish. Then say another 20 for Tex that makes it 30ish. Not adding in the Cameron thing.
8 less years on the contract
I love how these baseball-know-nothings think Cameron is such a downgrade cause he hits 248. He is a stop gap for crying out loud! Lets take his 25 homeruns, his good defense for a year or two and then move on to Jackson. Melky and Gardner weren’t going to be the CF of the future anyway. Not to mention the CC and Cameron friendship.
Ben – If we do sign Burnett, I find Cashman’s interest in Pettitte a bit confusing – can you help answer:
If we indeed sign Burnett as expected and also Pettitte, are we planning on having Hughes as the 6th starter to spell Joba every now and then to keep his innings down or will we keep him at SWB to build his innings and stay fresh?
If Hughes is lights out in spring training, do you think this may mean we move Joba back to the pen?
Where does this leave Ian Kennedy and Al Aceves – do they now become trade bait assuming everyone else stays healthy?
You can never have enough pitching depth my friend.
We do not wanna see Hughes waiting in AAA all year though
Injuries are bound to happen. Especially with AJ in the rotation. The kid is young, his day will come.
It would be far from the worst thing in the world. He’s 22 years old. Spending most of his season in AAA working on his cutter and changeup would really not hurt him. At all.
Very true… worst case scenario is that everyone up top is doing their job and he works on getting better in triple A. He is young and there is plenty of room for improvement before he comes up.
Why not? He’s working on two pitches right now it might be best for him to get those under control there. He’s not Joba and he doesn’t have two ++ pitches to use while everything else comes together.
Hughes and kennedy both need more time in AAA. Aceves will either be in the bullpen as a long releiver or in AAA and be first one called up when aj burnett farts and strains a spincter.
Agree on Kennedy and Aceves, though I disagree on Hughes. He should be given every chance to win a job in spring training as he has proven he has earned the spot from his AAA performance – that is, if he can stay healthy
His AAA numbers werent that spectacular though
6 starts
29 IP
34 hits
9 BB
31 K
19 ER
1.48 WHIP
He was instructed to work on his cutter and changeup by throwing them no matter what the game situation was, of course he’s not going to shut down the league like he did before.
Joba is never going back to the pen.
Hughes will start every fifth day in AAA and be the first up when they need to either give Joba a break, or when Burnett goes down — which he probably will.
Kennedy or Aceves will probably be next in line, for when someone else goes down OR they need to give Joba a break while Burnett is on the DL long-term (eminently possible) or Pettitte’s elbow starts barking. It’d be nice to have enough quality depth that pitchers can take a 15-day DL stint instead of trying to pitch through it because the only other option is Sidney Ponson starting back-to-back games.
Or, if Kennedy can get us several years of a position player at a position of need…then, hey, we do that and people move up on the depth chart.
Okay never is not a good word to use here. Although i don’t want to get into a debate over where he belongs, if the starter thing doesn’t work out, he can be Mo’s successor.
it’s painful to think we’re resigned to signing burnett…
people will start taking bets on weeks/starts till he hits the DL…
who said burnett is going to the yanks
It’s more than likely at this point.
i’m not saying it’s written in stone, but most conversations about next years rotation have been including him.
if we can Actually get rid of igawa, i dont know how we dont do this…
That can be an exchange for the money we wanted in return for Cameron
exactly. everyone goes home happy…
except we’d be happier without igawa…
Just heard on Clev radio that the Indians a re desperate for 2nd base help not trusting Esdrubal Cabrera. So, give em Cano, Melky and Gardner both, IPK, and a B prospect for Grady!!! Now you got a real Centerfielder with Lefty pop. We don’t need another Righty strikeout artist.
Stupid Move for sure.
LOL yeah right!!!!
i think thats a little much take out gardner at least
That package wouldn’t come close to acquiring Grady Sizemore.
Why would the Indians trade SIzemore?
You can’t just throw names out there without any rationale.
come on guys, there is no way this guy was serious.
how do these people get on the radio – “Texiera would never come to the Yankees because he is said to be not too fond of Arod. In fact he hates him.”
thats 1050 baby
just like CC hated new york,
since the Reds are desperate for a right handed bat, how about trading Nady for Keppinger and/or Wilkin Castillo (he could play every position besides 1b), and Micah Owings (Walt mentioned he could be have)?
So…our RFer, who’s a bit above average, for a utility guy and another unproven young pitcher — which is the only thing we have in abundance?
micah owings SUCKS
‘ok, Owings was a bad choice. Keppinger could do well in a bench role with a good batting average and a decent glove. He’s just isn’t cut to be a full time player.
No man MILK was a bad choice
lol ok…gotcha!
What a difference a year makes…
If Hughes had won a handful of games last season, and mixed in a couple gems, his ’09 role would be alot clearer. Right now, its looking like Hughes will ride the AAA bus for a good while. If the Yanks grab another FA and Pettitte accepts, Hughes will be toiling for the 6th spot against Aceves and Kennedy.
how great would it be if the yankees swooped in and grabbed Tex. I actually like manny for them better as the contract will be a short one, but i would get a great laugh if they stole tex out from under the Nation’s tree
how great would it be if the yankees swooped in and grabbed Tex.
just like Damon at the last minute when he was close to resigning with Boston? lol sure.
even if we dont end up with him (which i still hope we do, but probably wont), i love the fact we’re running up the price.
obviously, the nats have the highest bid right now. but if he’s serious about winning, it’s btwn us and the red sox.
techincally, the Yanks would still be under payroll if acquired Teixeria. let’s say Burnett accepted our offer, so 16 a year for him. Sign Sheets for 3/45, so 15 a year for him. 16 + 15 + 23 (CC) + 25 (Teixeria) = 79 million. the Yanks could afford him, and keep the team from being a $200 million team.
does that include the money we’re going to pay CC?
No bro – that math is bad. Bronx Banter puts the numbers out pretty clearly… this site links them.
I say thank Pettite for the memories and move on.
The guy doesnt have it anymore, and it showed by his putrid numbers and second half performance last year.
I love Andy, but if hes gonna get greedy and play hardball, I’d much rather take Burnett and/or Sheets and Lowe. All 3 of those pitchers are much better than Pettite right now.
Also, did anyone consider that the Yankees could foreseeably sign CC, Tex, Burnett, AND Manny – and still have a lower 2009 payroll than 2008?
88 mil comin off the books – CC = 23 mil/ Tex = 20 mil/ Manny = 25 mil/ AJ = 17 mil….DO IT!!!!
Haha, not gonna happen, but that would be sick and NOT unreasonable