Report: Yankees invite Wilson’s agent to New York for meeting Wilson, agent ask to visit Yankees in New York

November 15, 2011 by Mike Axisa 41 Comments

Update (10:48pm): Via Joel Sherman, apparently Wilson and his agent are the ones that requested the meeting in New York. They asked for it to take place sometime before the Winter Meetings (Dec. 5-8th), and the Yankees are considering the request.

Original (9:08pm): Via Marc Carig, the Yankees have invited C.J. Wilson’s agent, Bob Garber, to New York for a meet with the team’s decision makers. Brian Cashman met with Garber today, and the meeting in New York will reportedly involve Cashman, Hal Steinbrenner, and pro scouting director Billy Eppler.

“I think it was very productive,” said Garber, referring to today’s meeting. “I think Brian is in a situation where he doesn’t want what happened to Cliff Lee to happen again. We have a lot of teams we have to narrow down. I think the Yankees are a team that we’ve narrowed down as a team we want to spend a little time with.” Garber said there are still six or seven teams seriously interested in his client, a list that includes the Angels. Cashman confirmed to Carig that he hasn’t made any free agent offers yet, so they’re still just talking. Doesn’t hurt to do that.

nick

ugh.

well i mean if they get him i hope he works out, but i’m not so sure about that.
JobaWockeeZ

Just bump up the price.
http://bassoprofundo1.blogspot.com ColoYank

Well, if they get any more narrowed-down, they’ll have to go on a diet.
Rich in NJ

It could be strategic, like an attempt to drive up the price for another team, or to try to get another GM to engage in serious trade negotiations for a starter. Alternatively, it could be an example of trying to “win the WS every single year” even if the contract involved is suboptimal.

In any case, I think they will add a starter who projects to be at least a #3.
Dawg

Yeah, that’s right cashmoney, drive up the price and then swoop in on Darvish. Good sh**.
Billion$Bullpen

ROFL at the whole Cliff Lee comp. Yeah ok buddy. Only Scott Boras can say stuff like that without getting a laugh, because he has gotten teams including our own to outbid themselves by hugh stacks of cash. That will not happen here, if it does Cashman has no say.
http://www.yankeeanalysts.com/ Steve S.

Sorry, but I’m not taking this at face value. They could have done thing quietly, yet every meeting these two have is all over the place.

Why make this so public, unless you want everyone to know about it? I would think both of these guys have other irons in the fire, and are using each other for their own benefit. Maybe Brian has a trade brewing.
King George

Ugh
A-Rod’s Wingman

There’s no reason for them not to look. Their pro-scouting department is obviously good, if the Yankees see something they like, the price is right for them and the medicals check out then why not?
James

I don’t know, kind of scares me. This isn’t the same as having dinner with Carl Crawford when you’re already in the same hotel, and this time there are no division rivals (that I know of) to tweak. Would Hal and Eppler really waste their time on a bluff to mess with, say, the Angels or Rangers? Maybe they still got an axe to grind with the Rangers, but it’s not like ownership gets involved in every ruse.

There’s got to be more than just “due dillegence” from the Yankees here. This feels a little bit like when the Yankees got involved in Pavano’s “Carlapalooza”
- Billion$Bullpen
  
  You can not bluff two years in a row with the dinner angle.
  - James
    
    No, you can’t, but that doesn’t mean ownership has to be the next one. We’ll never know I guess, but when was the last time Hal got involved on such a charade for a non-division rival? Maybe that’s the beauty of it, but I don’t think you use that ace-in-the-hole on a non-division rival. You save that for the Red Sox or Rays.
    - Billion$Bullpen
      
      Fair point.
- Rich in NJ
  
  Not really. Obviously, they’d have an interest in Wilson at some price. The issue is what that price is. So until it’s apparent that the price is too high, there is no downside to meeting and letting every other team know about it.
  - Jumpin’ Jack Swisher
    
    Exactly.
    
    Would I wind having Wilson on the team? Of course not. Is he going to come here for what he’s probably actually worth? Remains to be seen.
    - Holy Ghost
      
      The question is, what exactly is he worth?
      
      I hope the Yanks don’t sign him to a 5 to 7 year contract.
      
      17 to 20 mil per season for 3 to 4 years is about what he should get as a top second-tier starter…
  - LiterallyFigurative
    
    Rich, this is the logical response.
    
    There is no harm in asking about CJ. You don’t know the price till you ask the salesman.
Brian S.

Bait and switch muthafucka.
Ace

Please don’t sign another person who freezes up in postseason. please!!
- FIPster Doofus
  
  Agreed. They should sign Cody Ross as the No. 2 starter and have him play right field the other four days.
- http://bleedingyankeeblue.com Jesse
  
  Not sure if this is sarcasm but look at what CC Sabathia did in the postseason before signing with NYY.
CC

It’s good that this is public. Helps both parties. It can help CJ Wilson drive his price tag up. It can also help the Yankees with trades; if another team feels all of a sudden the Yanks are going to have a new SP and won’t want theirs they may be more inclined to try and move him either sooner or for less.

Not saying that any of this will necessarily happen, but it could and I don’t see the downside.
- http://www.bronxbombersreport.com Craig Maduro
  
  I know you weren’t making a definitive statement, but this doesn’t strike me as something that is going to really help the Yankees in trade negotiations – not this dinner at least. GMs know how valuable good, young pitching is and if they can’t get everything that they want from the Yankees, why wouldn’t they just wait for the next deal or just keep the pitcher?
  
  I could easily be wrong considering I have zero idea of what trade negotiations are going on but I just think we’re looking into that angle a bit too much at the moment.
  - CC
    
    I get what your saying and like I think you understood, this wasn’t mean to be definitive. The point was simply that I don’t see how it can hurt.
    
    The example of the trade thing would be if say the White Sox finally decide they are going to rebuild or need to trim budget and have demanded Banuelos for Danks and the Yanks won’t budge and now they are going to keep him and get another SP from free agency. Maybe they say, Betances is fine instead or Warren or whoever because they still get a player they really like and the Yanks are more inclined to do it before they have filled the hole which in this case is a starting pitcher.
    
    Not at all suggesting that this will necessarily happen let alone with the Chi Sox, just first team and pitcher that came to mind.
    
    Point being, letting the public know is a good thing, in my opinion. Puts pressure on other teams, if nothing else it might keep the Sox out of the bidding and/or make the Rangers over pay.
Mark

Carig says both Wilson and his agent were invited FWIW.

@MarcCarig To be clear, did the Yanks invite Wilson, his agent or both to New York? / both as i understand it
HookersAndIceCream

Nothing wrong with that. Even if they have no intentions of signing him.
Jamey

I hope Cashman enjoys the irony of the Cliff Lee comparison, considering it was basically implied he’ll bend over backwards for Wilson after getting burned by Lee following Cash’s (perhaps intentionally misleading) statements on bidding on Japanese pitchers in the wake of Igawa.
HookersAndIceCream

On the edit.

It would be great if we could finally get a FA who wants to come to NY and give us a discount.
- Steve (different one)
  
  There is a 0% chance the yanks get a discount
- LiterallyFigurative
  
  Would you take discount to work for the Sultan of Brunei?
Mike c

Maybe CJ wants to play in NY and be the #2 behind CC. Also I think his GF lives here
Tom Zig

Can we get both CJ and Darvish?
- Rich in NJ
  
  They’d probably want to dump AJ to do it.
  - Brian S.
    
    We would need to dump Soriano and 70% of AJ’s contract to afford that. And I would become erect if we did (although I still might sign Jackson over Wilson)
    - http://bleedingyankeeblue.com Jesse
      
      Wait, I thought you didn’t like Jackson. Or am I thinking of someone else?
      - Brian S.
        
        I think so. I like Edwin Jackson a lot, I just wouldn’t give him five years.
http://twitter.com/andrewjcalagna Drew

On the edit – It is obviously a ploy to drive up his market value. Kind of funny that HE is requesting a meeting to happen during the winter meetings?

He probably knows the Yankees are going to go out and over pay for a starting pitcher, but they want New York to be involved for obvious reasons.
BamBino

Not a fan of Wilson unless he’s cheap, which is unlikely.
http://jukeofurl.wordpress.com Juke Early

Cashman renewed at big league money needs to get creative. First thing- due diligence research & background check on any player they are truly interested in. You know little stuff like his real age, real name, real species. Then he should be invited to Yankee Stadium, given the grand tour & a free meal. Immediately after the meal, the lights should go down & the player’s worst ever performance should be screened. When the lights come back up, the room has been filled with all the guys who cover the NYY. They get to ask the guy all about that game. Just as if he blew the game that cost the team the WS. If he handles it without his head exploding — sign him.
- MannyB ace2be
  
  Ridiculous
- LiterallyFigurative
  
  Funny. Crazy, but funny.