Open Thread: Winter Meetings Day One

by 76 Comments

Yankees make no moves prior to Rule 5 Draft roster deadline
UPDATE: Yankees are "clear frontrunners" for Yoenis Cespedes
(Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

The first day of the Winter Meetings was a pretty slow one, especially for the Yankees. Brian Cashman didn’t get into town until about 4pm local time, and even then there wasn’t much to report. The GM reiterated that he’s not optimistic about making a trade this week because he still feels the asking prices are too high. There are no free agent rumblings either, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing; the only player the Yankees have signed to a big league contract on this date during their history is … (drum roll) …. Kyle Farnsworth. I think we all know how that movie ended.

Anyways, here is tonight’s open thread. The Chargers and Jaguars are you’re Monday Night Football Game (8:30pm ET on ESPN), plus the Rangers are in action as well. You can talk about anything you like here though, it’s all fair game.

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Yankees make no moves prior to Rule 5 Draft roster deadline
UPDATE: Yankees are "clear frontrunners" for Yoenis Cespedes
  • RalphieD

    i will never forget farnsie crying when he heard he got traded for pudge…only True Yankees(TM) cry when they are traded

    • Thomas Cassidy

      I wonder if he was crying because the Yankees traded him, or because he was traded for Pudge. Kidding. I always liked him, even when he sucked.

      • MannyGeee

        Liked Pudge or Farnsy? Only one of those answers is acceptable…

  • bigdog5123

    I have a question on cespedes. If the yanks sign him to a minor league deal with a big bonus and call him up next year how does the bonus get accounted for in regards to future luxury tax calculations?

    • Plank

      I was wondering the same thing. I would presume that it wouldn’t count. However, I highly doubt he will sign anything but a major league deal-unless his agent is the one leaking all the teams being interested.

      • bigdog5123

        Well if the bonus is big enough he might and this is the last off season yanks can use financial advantage in regards to IFA

        • Plank

          Yeah, it’s possible. I doubt he would go for it though. Also, he would have to go through the arbitration process and get paid like any other player working his way up, too.

          • T.O. Chris

            If Chapman got a major league deal you would have to think Cespedes would get a major league deal as well.

            • Plank

              Yeah. Just as a thought experiment though, there is a performance level/bonus amount that would surpass the major league deals he is getting. If he believes his own hype and knows he’ll start in the majors and stay there as a starter, he’ll get the bonus, work for the minimum for 3 years then do 3 years of arb. There is a tipping point where he could make more going that route.

              Having said all that, it’s never going to happen. He’s certainly going to take the sure thing.

              • T.O. Chris

                It would certainly be a ballsy way to go about it, with a lot of risk and reward. Coming from such a poor background though you’re right he would never do it.

  • http://bleedingyankeeblue.com Jesse

    I read through today’s chat and I saw a reader ask if Mike saw the guy who writes for a Dodgers blog trash Hiroki Kuroda while calling his readers 3rd Graders. Does anyone know what blog they were talking about?

    • mackeyse
      • http://bleedingyankeeblue.com Jesse

        Thanks guys.

    • mbonzo
      • mackeyse

        a real low brow blog. plus i hate people who post an article and then can’t stop fighting with commentators. i think there was actually a threat to fight someone in the comments.

        • T.O. Chris

          You know you got a good piece a literature ahead when the article starts out…

          “I hope that Hiroki Kuroda signs with the Colorado Rockies, mostly because he is a worthless piece of crap who has the brains of a snail. Other than that, I think he’s a wonderful idiot!”

          Priceless really.

          • Genghis

            The thing I don’t get is, why does the 12 year old who writes that blog show a picture of his grandpa?

  • Joe

    How the hell are the Dodgers signing people? Hairston Jr. and Harang are close to deals

    • Thomas Cassidy

      Hariston is already done. A 2/6.

      • T.O. Chris

        I was really hoping Hairston would come back to the Yanks, perfect super utility guy.

        • Thomas Cassidy

          I was hoping for the same thing. I loved him in 2009.

  • Thomas Cassidy

    Sad to see Farnsy go in 2008. It looked like he was finally turning it around, and we got an old, shitty, steriod ruined catcher. Oh well.

    • NYinTX

      Who may have been responsible for ruining Joba. That Pudge trade just gets worse and worse.

  • Dougko

    What we got from the trade wasn’t a broken down catcher. What we got was not being tempted to put Farnsworth in games because this could be the game he figures it out and becomes lights out.

    Well that and a World Series the following year.

    I will feel the same way if we are ever lucky enough to have AJ pitch and win 15 for a National League team when he finally becomes an ace. :)

  • MannyB ace2be

    Has it been confirmed by yanks FO that joba is definitely not getting stretched out to start?

    • T.O. Chris

      Not again, but it has been said several times before. He won’t even be back until June or July though, so I doubt they are planning on having him start. Sad really though.

      • Thomas Cassidy

        He’ll be ready by Opening Day I believe.

        • http://bleedingyankeeblue.com Jesse

          No, he’ll be back by June or July.

        • Freddy Garcia’s 86 mph Heat

          He’ll need more than 9 months to recover.

      • The Big City of Dreams

        Sad yea but the 6th inning is way too important to have him start.

        • T.O. Chris

          Depending on how Noesi pitches it could be the 5th or 4th if they bring back Corey Wade and he does well again haha.

          • Genghis

            I don’t understand why the Yankees don’t just abandon this “starter” idea altogether and make CC the 1st inning guy.

          • The Big City of Dreams

            So he’s basically a hood ornament smh great -__-

  • EA

    Trade Proposal (thoughts) 3 way variety. Braves need a LF masher, Blue Jays need a 2B, Yankees need SP.

    Swisher to ATL, Prado to TOR, Drabek to NYY

    What do you think teams would need to add?

    • mbonzo

      Ridiculous overpay by the Yankees.

    • http://bleedingyankeeblue.com Jesse

      Drabek would start the season in AAA, and then the Yankees would need a new right fielder.

    • Thomas Cassidy

      Swisher for Drabek? Lol.

      • Jimmy McNulty

        Swisher for Prado then Swisher for Drabek!!!!!!

        Still not better…why the fuck does everyone want to trade Swisher? He’s one of the five or ten best right fielders in baseball and he’s a pretty valuable commodity. You should only trade him unless you can get like a Danks or someone like that.

        • T.O. Chris

          I might not even trade him for Danks, though since they both have one year on their contracts left I guess I would have no choice but to consider it. Though I’m not sure who I’d get to replace him in RF.

          BTW awesome name!

          • Jimmy McNulty
            • Plank

              There’s nudity in that video for people who don’t have awesome jobs.

              • Jimmy McNulty

                Oh shit, I forgot about that…photos of Deirdre Crescent. Figured since it’s YouTube, why not right? It’s also NSFW for language…who the fuck’s at work at ten o’clock? Please getting fired from a job like that’s a blessing not a curse.

        • Freddy Garcia’s 86 mph Heat

          There is no way in hell the White Sox trade Danks for Swisher.

          • T.O. Chris

            I wouldn’t think so either, but Ozzie is gone now. He was the big problem with Swisher in Chicago.

          • Jimmy McNulty

            Swisher’s outproduced Danks over the past three years. Stop overstating your positions.

            • T.O. Chris

              I think he means they wouldn’t do it because he had such a bad season there, and he hated it so much. Though that manager is gone now like I said, so it may work a second time around.

            • Freddy Garcia’s 86 mph Heat

              The White Sox aren’t going to trade Danks for a guy who isn’t young and had only one year left before he will become a FA.

              And there’s the whole issue they had in 08…

              • Jimmy McNulty

                As to your first point, Danks isn’t young and has only one year left before he will become a FA too. If they think that they have pitching, but need offense then yeah it wouldn’t be a bad move.

                • T.O. Chris

                  At 26 I would consider Danks pretty young for a starting pitcher with that much experience.

        • JobaWockeeZ

          Because when he hits free agency he’ll be extremely overpaid. Getting something him for him now might be better than the couple of picks.

          • Jimmy McNulty

            False, he doesn’t seem like the type of player to get overpaid in free agency. He’s a non-elite player at a fungible position that doesn’t have that elite upside. You can get offense elsewhere, and he doesn’t provide the offense that justifies overpaying a RF. I’d rather have production out of RF for a possible WS run than something weak in a trade.

        • Shnooda1

          I still would trade swish for danks. Hes overrated and not wut we need. We got outta colon wut wed get outta danks espexially in the east. Hes a bum.

  • j

    sub Nunez for Swisher and I still wouldn’t do it.

  • Jimmy McNulty

    Someone in St. Louis really ought to lose their job over the Pujols thing.

  • Plank

    I’m proud of how much talk of colonizing the moon there was today and how that relates to unicorns. That’s why I come here.

    • T.O. Chris

      You see this is why you officially have hero status haha. We need a “Plank Day”. I’m not sure how the day would be celebrated yet, but there would certainly be no school and no mail.

      • http://yankeesfansunite.wordpress.com/ Matt

        Sup T.O.

        You see the yankees going for Jorge Soler? cheaper option over Cespedes.

        • T.O. Chris

          Yeah I saw Goldstein say we were the favorites for Soler on Twitter. I think he is a must get for his price tag, he just isn’t someone we should be outbid for.

          I could actually see us getting both really. They don’t necessarily eliminate the other as an option being 19 and 26.

          • Plank

            This is also the last opportunity they have* to spend on IFAs without restraint. They will have a harder time getting top talent after this year.

            *Same with every other team, too

            • T.O. Chris

              I’m not sure how much that should factor in though. If they don’t love Cespedes I wouldn’t want them to spend the money just because they might not be able to in the future. If they do love what they’ve seen though and see this is a great chance to land two young outfield studs before the chances get slimmer next year go right ahead.

              • Plank

                That’s a good point. It certainly seems like they’re interested though.

                • T.O. Chris

                  It may be false interest, but yes they seem to from the outside at least be very interested in both Cuban outfielders.

            • T.O. Chris

              Also Cespedes isn’t a unicorn, just because he’s not from the United States doesn’t mean he doesn’t exist. He’s clearly tangible despite what you say Plank.

              • Plank

                I really greatly dislike unicorns.

              • http://yankeesfansunite.wordpress.com/ Matt

                ha love the unicorn reference. Yeah Soler has the tools it seems. Will probably not play CF though as he is pretty big. Probably play the corners. From what i read he is 2 years away from playing in the big leagues.

                • http://yankeesfansunite.wordpress.com/ Matt

                  also the comparison to Han-Ram is nice to hear. I’d like to see the Yankees make a push for him.

                  • T.O. Chris

                    From what I’ve read neither Soler nor Cespedes project to play CF in the majors. Who knows though, we’ll know more about how they break on balls in camp.

                    • MannyGeee

                      Well, FWIW we have 2 CF today…..

                    • T.O. Chris

                      Yeah we don’t need them to be center fielders anyway, we already have a few potential good ones in lower minors. But Granderson and Gardner aren’t long term answers. Gardner is 28 and at some point sooner rather than later his legs will start to go, and as big a Granderson fan as I am I would rather not re-sign him to a long term deal after both his options are exhausted.

                      I actually think the best option if Granderson repeats this past season in 2012 is pick up his 2013 option and then trade him.

                    • Joel

                      So u would trade a potential trade candidate away is wut ur saying. Ok good to knw.

  • Art Vandelay

    gotta love cashman (on other GM’s asking about their young players)

    All those guys are either future high performers or currently high performers, they’re under control and they’re cheap. It’s, ‘Hey, take my older, expensive, over-the-hill guy for your young, better-performing guy.’ I’m like, ‘Let me think about that and get back to you.’”

    hat tip to chad jennings.

    • Rainbow Connection

      So is Cashman there to get rid of old players and get younger ones in return????

      • MannyGeee

        No one wants our old players…. Cliff Lee told me they were alot of them too, soo……

  • I am not the droids you’re looking for…

    Man. The Muts are due to get Miami’s third round pick, or worse, for losing Reyes. Not that the decision to not trade him looked smart at the time, but at this point it looks colossally stupid. Epic fail.