Thanks, but no thanks, C.J.

December 1, 2011 by Joe Pawlikowski 43 Comments

A few weeks ago word got around that C.J. Wilson and his agent had requested a meeting with the Yankees in New York. The Yankees gave no immediate reply, which made enough sense. There’s no reason for them to rush anything. But apparently their hesitation wasn’t about playing coy. According to ESPN New York’s Andrew Marchand, the Yankees have denied Wilson’s request for a meeting. That pretty much puts the kibosh on any notion that the Yankees will sign Wilson this off-season.

Granderslam

I wonder if they are close on another deal to not even consider a meeting. I’m perfectly fine with this. Danks, Garza, Darvish are better targets.
- Ted Nelson
  
  That’s certainly one possibility.
  
  It’s also possible that they’re just not interested in CJ anywhere near his asking price (leak was that they think he’s a 3/4… no?) and don’t want to be used as leverage to increase his price. (I know they’ve publicly said that they don’t want to be used in this way… if they really didn’t want to sign a guy it wouldn’t be the worst to jack up his price, though, as they seemed to on the Sox with Crawford.)
  Unless the right pitcher comes at the right price…I could see them just rolling with what they’ve got and waiting for their young guys to develop and/or the right guy at the right price. They’ve got the depth where they should be able to hold up pretty well with their position players and pen.
  - Mickey S
    
    Well said Mr. Nelson. I would like to add, at a rumored 100M asking price he supposedly asked from LAA may play a factor as well.
  - Robert A. Hilliard
    
    Agree Yanks shouldn’t be used as leverage. They can always swoop in at last minute to make offer if $$$ seem right given offers for CJ from other clubs. Short term, Buehrle’s a better option. Yanks just might go thru this season with CC, Nova, Hughes, Burnett, Garcia and Noesi … preferring to spend BIG Bucks next off-season when, I’m given to understand, the free-agent class of pitchers may be more attractive.
    
    While many of us look at the upcoming season as the “horizon,” ownership and front office have to look two or three years down the road as well. Let’s see if either of the “killer Bs” are ready for 2012.
Monteroisdinero

We need a pitcher we can hit in the post season. CJ will be fine in that role.
- Momus
  
  Artie Moreno will not pay that fee either, having been shrewd enough to bag Jered Weaver before he became a free agent for a decent fee that is much lower than Scott Boras could have gotten during this hot-stove season. Weaver would have been the top FA pitcher by far this season, so I can’t imagine Moreno would offer CJ Wilson more than his own guy. I think all of the teams who can afford him are in a ‘wait-and-see’ mode, and if the anxious-needy teams like the Marlins don’t book him now, they’ll all be ready to sign him at a lower fee after letting his agent sit-it out for a spell.
J. Scott

Well, I suppose it COULD mean that. Or, it could mean “We’re not going to give you an offer you can then shop around all over the place. When you think you’re pretty much at the END of the process…check in with us. Maybe we can do business then.”
- Ted Nelson
  
  Yeah, that’s a good point… you don’t want to be the first bidder on an overpriced auction item as it’s falling… let it keep falling until someone else sets the floor.
- thenamestsam
  
  That’s an interesting point. When you read these reports what you lose entirely is the flavor of what was said. Denying his request for a meeting is a conversation that could have had very different meaning based on how it was said and what exactly was said. I still doubt they’ll end up with him, but I doubt this is the last time we hear the parties being linked.
- Need Pitching
  
  I think this is more likely. If they weren’t interested at all, I would think they would meet with him anyways to drive up the price for others. That they are playing it so low key with him makes me think they may actually have interest.
Cris Pengiucci

This still doesn’t mean they won’t sign him. It just means that they won’t consider it at what he’s asking now. I’m fine signing him to 4 years/$16M per and perhaps the Yankees are too, but he may get better offers. I’m also fine if they go after other options. Don’t care for his walk rate or his limited time as a front line starter. And I agree with Monteroisdinero, he’s perfectly acceptable as the desginated “pitcher we can hit in the post season”.
http://www.twitter.com/matt__harris Matt :: Sec110

what’s next, a restraining order?
- mustang
  
  LMAO
mike

silly not to meet with him – stealth cashman did it with Crawford last year – if the Yanks could drive up the price for a guy they are not going to sign, it certainly helps the Yanks – particularly if they are not planning on signing any FA pitchers this offseason s it shouldnt impact their budget.
- Ted Nelson
  
  There are two assumptions there that we don’t know the validity of, though:
  
  1. That the Yankees don’t want Wilson at any price. Not wanting him at 6 years $120 million isn’t the same as not wanting him at 5 years $80 million, for example.
  So they could be waiting out the market.
  
  2. That they won’t be, or might not be, signing a FA pitcher this off-season.
  Jacking up the market value of free agent SP as a whole might not be in the best interest of a team in need of SPing.
  
  They came in on Crawford at the last minute… not the first.
  - Matt Montero
    
    Exactly. Also, I’m sure if the Red Sox suddenly become one of the top contenders, CJ Wilson’s agent will come back to the Yankees to at least jack up the price.
  - Ed
    
    Speaking of which, what’d you get on the SAT again Ted?
vin

Oh no… they’re definitely signing him now. The ninja works in mysterious ways.
Dropped Third Superstar

Tomorrow’s headline:

Ninja Cashman strikes again signing C.j Wilson to a 5 year deal!
Mark

ESPN NY now prays he signs with an AL team who beats the Yanks in a regular season game to become their witty selves.
- JonS
  
  lol thats so true…them bums look for any little thing to try and belittle our yanks
Platano Man

Breaking News: The Yankees have denied CC’s Cap’N Crunch request for a meeting. Sometimes I just don’t understand Cashman, he’s always saying that pitching is the team’s greatest need but yet they seem to be fine with all the question marks that are always associated with the rotation. A meeting is nothing, just see what the dude has to say and go from there. I personally believe that C.J Wilson is overrated, but meeting with him is nothing more than a formality and it shouldn’t have been denied.
- Preston
  
  He’s already made his demands. He wants 6 years at 20 million per. We aren’t going to pay that. He’s also made it clear he wants to go through the whole FA process, so he’s not signing anytime soon. CJ Wilson is not a must have at all costs kind of guy. Low balling him with an initial offer will just piss him and his agent off. Let some other team disappoint his expectations. Then if the price is right we can make our pitch. It’s also not in our best interest to run out an sign a FA when we don’t know how the trade market will develop or if Yu Darvish will post.
Leg-End

If we have no interest in the guy then why waste both sides time? Any agent worth their percentage would want a meeting with the Yankee’s to bump his price.

Concentrate time and effort into the guys we actually want. That being said if this topic was about Darvish being denied a meeting I would go apeshit.
Brian S.

Brilliant negotiating tactic.
- Billion$Bullpen
  
  BINGO!
  
  Cant pull the same trick every year. This is actually one of the smarter moves you can do if we actually want him at a reduced price.
  - feasor
    
    Fairly standard negotiation tactic. If you try to buy a rug in moracco you will be the one putting forth the numbers. The starting point comes way down for cashman.
    - Billion$Bullpen
      
      Yup fairly standard, yet rarely used by our Yanks. If the GM does that, some other management mook or ownership lackey shows them the money and cuts the GM down at the knees ala Alex and Soriano. No more of that please. I have no problem with having the highest payroll, I do have a problem with overpaying guys for no reason other to do it.
RetroRob

I don’t think it puts the kibosh on it at all. I’m sure the Yankees do have an interest in Wilson, but they don’t like the price and meeting with him could only serve to increase the price if other teams really think the Yankees are involved.

The Yankees will watch where the market goes with Wilson and can step in if his demands drop.

Wouldn’t be surprised if they meet during the Winter Meetings.
Jamey

They could still swoop in if he doesn’t get the dollars he’s hoping for, but I’m glad they’re not going “all in” on him at least. He’s not a great pitcher, he’s a good one. Unfortunately “maybe more reliable than AJ” isn’t enough.
http://NYBronxBombers24-7 Brian L

I say sign a lower end pitcher and then next year go after a pitcher cause there are going to be more and better free agent pitchers next year
JonS

Thank You God! Now just deliver Darvish in Pinstripes
Lime

If this is not a negotiating tactic, is anyone concerned that this might damage the relationship with CJ’s agent, Bob Garber? I don’t know who his other clients are, but these actions could have some serious consequences.
- IB6 UB9
  
  Who needs who more? An agent with a Yankee vendetta is a dumb one.
http://www.twitter.com/lawstudentdiary LawStudent

Ah, I see. The Yanks are tired of being beaten out by mystery teams and want to be the “mystery team” this time around.
Mister Delaware

I think Bob is in a situation where he wishes he hadn’t tried to strong arm Brian Cashman.
Tom

There is so much dis-information that gets “leaked” these days it’s hard to read much into it.

The other game the Yankees could be running…. suppose they aren’t interested in Darvish. Saying we’re not interested in meeting with CJ Wilson may make another club think that Darvish is the real Yankee target (even though it isn’t) and result in jacking his price up (or replace Darvish with Oswalt… or Buerhle….)

Take the rivals… do you see Boston doing a 5 or 6 year Lackey type deal with Wilson? If the Red Sox see that the Yankees don’t appear to be interested in Wilson maybe they try to quickly snap up Buehrle or Oswalt and overbid a bit…. This also would likely take them out of the bidding for Wilson (and the Yankees could re-enter the Wilson market at a reduced price with one less ‘mystery team’ threat)
ajra21

they may not want him at $120m over 6 years but they shouldn’t want him if he it takes $45m over three years. he is one of those guys you stay away from, never get close to and hide from when he enters the room. while they are different pitchers with different backgrounds, CJ if just like AJ – if you sign him, you’ll spend the vast majority of the time wishing you hadn’t.
Professor Longnose

This is the real application of game theory to baseball.
Joeytime

Yankees will sign either Wilson or darvish this offseason. Articles like this are just for passing the time, and they’re great for that… I’ve enjoyed reading all the comments and ideas!
I’m a darvish fan so I’m behind his signing… He’s a elite talent, and he gives the Yankees a strong grasp on Japans attention. It was nice having hideki matsui around as he was mike a Michael Jordan if Japan at the time… Why not go fir that now!?
Back to the article, smart move by cash for many of the above stated reasons… Yankees should always have the final shot at any player and cj Wilson is no exception…

Oh btw by signing darvish the yanks will corner the market on Iranian baseball players as well… A true win win…
AC

Wilson isn’t must sign. Personally they want Yanks involved to set the market. Hexwants no part if NY unless we were only team bidding. Go for the gold and bid on Darvish. Personally rather go 3 yrs tops on Buehrle rather than CJ.
http://bullseyesports.com Bull’s Eye Sports of Texas

Someone……anyone, PLEZ sign C.J…….we sure don’t want him back. The door here in Arlington, Texas has already hit C.J. and his over sized ego on his way out!
Mike

Well, we’ve had mixed results with initial pitchers. CC is our ace but AJ, well, don’t get me started on that