Johnson deal finalized; Igawa actually wanted?
ByBy now, it was just a formality, but the Yankees have officially signed Nick Johnson for the 2010 season. The left-handed on-base machine will earn $5.5 million next year as the team’s DH, and the deal includes a mutual option for 2011 at the same base salary. Johnson said earlier that he was willing to give up his desire to play the field in order to join the defending World Series champions. That’s what I like to hear.
In other Yankee rumors, Mark Feinsand dropped an interesting Tweet this morning. Prior to landing Vazquez, the Yanks were talking about Carlos Zambrano, and the Cubs were willing to take on Kei Igawa’s contract. The Kei-meister has two years and $8 million left on his deal, and the Yanks have never seemed too concerned with trading Scranton’s all-time winningest pitcher. I can’t quite figure out why.
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The Mason Williams Watch
Ben, you mean Carlos?
Yup. My bad. I guess I had Scott Kazmir on the mind.
YES WE GOT JOHNSON…OUR JOHNSON IS AN ON BASE MACHINE…AND OUR JOHNSON CAME CHEAP TOO!!
WHY IS EVERYONE SO QUIET IN HERE??!!!111
I’m having trouble controlling THE VOLUME OF MY VOICE!!!!
Wait ’til you see my Caps Lock. I’ma beat that Hellen Keller shit up! (possibly NSFW)
Wait, I’m confused, which Zambrano?
Edited by RAB. Stop leaving the same off-topic comment in multiple threads. Please review the RAB Commenting Guidelines.
So the Cubs would have had Silva and Igawa… that is crazy.
Next move was to trade for Zito.
Hey, they need a centerfielder, Vernon Wells?
I wonder if they could package Igawa and some lower prospects to bring back Soriano. Aren’t the Cubs looking to get rid of his contract? His power numbers have been declining the past few years, but he’d be better than most options. What’s he make per year, anyone know?
Even the idea of trading Igawa doesn’t make trading for Soriano or Zambrano worth while.
Dude. He’s owed nearly 100 million dollars.
Soriano has a huge contract- and is probably 4 years older than everyone thinks. I think he’s making about $17 million. I’d rather have Damon at $8-10 million.
If you’re going to take on Soriano’s contract, you might as well sign Holliday and get a better bat for the same money. Kei Igawa is making peanuts compared to the money left on Soriano’s deal.
It’s worth $90 million dollars to say that, in the end, Alex Rodriguez was obtained for Kei Igawa.
Soriano: 2010-2014: $18M annually.
Cot’s has it at 18 but if you look on their spreadsheet it’s 19 with the pro-rated bonus.
Igawa-what a shame. Sterling could have had a blast with that first name as a pitcher.
Irabu/Igawa/Matsui you just can’t predict Japanese baseball players….
Ietc
My friend sent me a picture of Igawa cheering the Yankees while watching them on a TV…..it was sad even knowing how much he’s been paid.
I kinda wish they’d just sold him off for 2 cents on the dollar and see if pitching somewhere like Pittsburgh or Seattle found him better luck.
Edited by RAB: Please review our commenting guidelines. Off-topic comments will be deleted, and repeat violators will lose their commenting privileges.
We won the WS with Melky/Gardner in CF last year. Now we have better pitching and an upgrade in Granderson over Damon. Trading more prospects is insane. Let Gardy hit in the 9 hole rack up a nice little .340 obp and cause some havoc on the basepaths for Jeter to capitalize on.
oops sorry.
Igawa for Bill Murray.
“Scranton’s all-time winningest pitcher.” I actually laughed out loud on that one. Great line.
Kei will not be satisfied until he is the International League all-time winningest pitcher.
LET’S GO KEI! LET’S GO KEI!
Surely Cashman ought to be able to package Igawa, Hoffman and B-level prospects for a left-fielder or something (anything) of substance.
Igawa would make the trade even less attractive, not more. May as well just send a team 8 million rather than Igawa and 8 million.
Correct. Saying Cashman should be able to get something of substance for Igawa and a Rule V draft choice (who would have to stay on the 25-man roster) is like saying a used car dealer should be able to get something of substance for a rusting 1974 Nova that doesn’t run and leaks toxic battery acid into the earth.
Wow, Ivan Nova is falling apart.
/selective reading’d
IETC
Well you’d have to take Igawa and Hoffmann out of the package then.
Cashman has had a few chances to dump Igawa. I think the Padres claimed him off waivers during his first year and the Brewers were willing to take him on in the Mike Cameron package.
Nobody will ever know why Cashman hasn’t dumped this albatross a long time ago.
4 million a year isn’t exactly an albatross.
Source?
The internet.
You have to give Igawa credit for not being a jerk and accepting his role in AAA while still pitching to the best of his ability.
Yes, I give him credit for collecting $4 million does per year to pitch in Podunk, USA without any consequence.
Sarge on the Angels is crying because he isn’t starting for his $12M pay check. I’m just saying at least Igawa is being professional about it. You can’t blame him for signing the contract that was offered to him
You’re 100% right. However, I would completely understand if he complained about having to live in Scranton, regardless of salary.
What? With a job lined up as an international sales consultant with Dunder Mifflin!
Gary Matthews has no reason to complain.
Want to start? Be better at baseball.
well my first comment didnt show up but i enjoyed this comment enough to try again
Podunk, USA? Have you been to Scranton? C’mon, man! They have economic depression, Polish churches, trains, parking lots, great opiates, an abandoned amusement park, a zoo that abuses its animals! Fun for the whole family! Kei Igawa should be proud to fit in so well.
/Scranton, PA Tourism Bureau’d
Scranton, the electric city.
Forgot about that. They now have electricity and shoe laces. Big shit going down in Scranton, Pa! Come one, come all!
Well if you’re the Cubs and you have to add money anyways you might as well get something in return? Chipping in 8m to a 53m contract isnt going to get you anything else.
Exactly if nothing else he can be a cog in that AAA rotation
Glad NJ deal is official. Both Damon and Johnson said they want to be Yankees next season.
Damon: wants to come back, but only on his terrible contract terms. Wants to be a Yankee? -FALSE.
Johnson: takes less money/shorter deal than what he probably could’ve gotten. Also gave up the chance to play the field to come back. Thats sounds more like wanting to be a Yankee. Welcome back Nick!
Gaudin and Igawa for a minor league prospect of your choice? Damon signed for one year with the savings. Try it out on the Mets.
Gaudin and Igawa for a minor league prospect of your choice?
How exactly would two mediocre pitchers making $4MM lead to a prospect of our choice? You’d be lucky to get back a B level prospect for one of them. Trading back for salary relief nets you nothing. Armchair General Manging just doesn’t work like that.
So sweeten the pot. Throw in Ramiro!
Funny, I thought that’s exactly how armchair/moms basement/garden apartment GMing works.
As a new GM, I’ll trade that comment for a year’s supply of gorgeous, clean Swedish models willing to sleep with me and have my cat video tape the escapades with the new harem. Afterward, they’ll clean the apartment and build me a hot tub with their chlorinated love water.
/amidoingitrite?
If u throw in Ian Kennedy, I’ll give you a ham sandwich and call it a deal.
Depends on the bread. I don’t eat that pumpernickel shit. Multi-grain either. Are you willing to make it challah bread? If so, you’re on. If you ever want to shake my hand, I’d say it would be best to do it now before the harem is in tow.
I think he meant that the team taking on Igawa and Gaudin chooses the prospect. Although if it isn’t a Sanchez or some guy with a funny/long last name I’m not down.
I meant we’ll give you Gaudin if you take his and Igawa’s salary off of the books so we can sign Johnny Damon to a cheap one year rental and return to the two hole, start in left field, take over for Johnson at DH when he stubs his toe and help deliver another title. I like Gardy but I would prefer Damon. Love the Vasquez steal. “It’s good to be the king.”
In theory, could the Yankees trade both Igawa and Gaudin for basically nothing? Literally a B- or a C prospect? That would give them about 7 more million bucks to spend, on top of the 4-7 that they probably still have in their budget.
That frees up 11-14 Million to go get a solid everyday LFer. Hello Damon at his new, reduced market rate.’
As much as the Yankees don’t NEED Damon back, he would give them a stacked lineup, and the OF depth would be back with Hoffman and Gardner on the bench. They would also be more apt to bounce back more easily from an injury to an everyday slugger.
Jeter
Damon
Tex
Alex
Granderson/Posada
Granderson/Posada
Johnson
Cano
Swisher
Sheiiiiiiiit
Haha… More apt to bounce back more easily?
redundancy fail…
“Yanks have never seemed too concerned with trading Scranton’s all-time winningest pitcher. I can’t quite figure out why.”
They paid him with monopoly money that’s why.
LOL
Cashman’s thinking is that if he doesn’t trade him somehow people will forget the 46 million he spent on Sushi. In a cost cutting move not to pay the luxury tax on Ted Lilly clearly not Cashman’s finest hour.
Let me get this straight, I’m suppose to be happy about getting Nick Johnson for 5.5 million and losing Matsui who signed for 6.5. Johnson is a major, major downgrade from Matsui.
NJ can play the field, can give Tex a day off at first, and is going to be the bane of pitchers’ existance with the amount of patience he has at the plate. He and Swish are going to drive pitchers up the wall next year.
[...] Yankees and Nick Johnson finalized their one year agreement two days ago, bringing the lefty swinger back to the Bronx six years after he was traded away. The basics of the [...]