Yankees bring back Oppenheimer, Newman, and Eppler for 2012

December 10, 2011 by Mike Axisa 29 Comments

Via George King (subs. req’d), the Yankees have re-signed pro scouting director Billy Eppler, amateur scouting director Damon Oppenheimer, and VP of Baseball Ops Mark Newman for 2012. Eppler and Oppenheimer were both candidates for the Angels GM job earlier this offseason, with Eppler finishing as the runner-up to Jerry Dipoto. Oppenheimer was also up for the Orioles GM job. It’s only a matter of time before the Yankees lose those two to other clubs, but they’ll remain in the Bronx for at least one more year.

Bronx Byte

All good moves and all 3 are vital to the overall organization.
Plank

I remember like 8 years ago or so, I would wish the Yankees would just buy up the entire development staff of the Minnesota Twins since they seemed to have an extremely productive farm system.

Thanks to these guys, I don’t wish for that anymore.
- http://www.bronxbombersreport.com Craig Maduro
  
  Thank goodness they didn’t. Aside from Johan Santana and Liriano, I don’t like any of the pitchers that they’ve developed over the past decade or so.
  - Plank
    
    Yeah, that team is a mess right now.
    
    Back then though, they were popping out all-stars seemingly every year. Santana, Liriano, Morneau, Mauer, Hunter, Rincon, Hawkins.
    
    That team crapped out talent in that era.
    - Plank
      
      Plus the powerhouse that is Nick Punto.
    - http://www.bronxbombersreport.com Craig Maduro
      
      Yea, they’ve definitely produced some good players – mostly on the offensive side. Aside from Santana and Liriano though, the only starters they’ve developed are pitch-to-contact clones. It’s like their organization is allergic to strikeouts.
      - Plank
        
        Yeah, I don’t understand it. I find it hard to believe they explicitly teach their pitchers not to go for strikes, but the results seem like that’s what they do.
        
        Even if Santana were all they produced in a decade, 25 teams would take that kind of production. The Yankees certainly would have back then.
Rich in NJ

The draft spending constraints of the new CBA have made Oppenheimer’s job a lot harder.
vin

I wonder if Eppler would’ve had the cajones to pull the trigger on Pujols and Wilson. Those are pretty huge acquisitions for a first time GM.
- Rich in NJ
  
  I suspect that Moreno was the driving force behind the Pujols signing.
  - JohnnyC
    
    Actually, the driving force was the new FOX TV contract.
    - Rich in NJ
      
      Good point, that does tend to deepen an owner’s pockets.
- Billion$Bullpen
  
  I am not sure it does. If I was a first time GM and I had to make my team win in the next 2 or 3 years or THIS year what better way to do so? What GM’s last ten years plus in the same job these days? Does not happen much. Its like being the president, you try to make it as good now as you can while not caring about what damage you do in the future because you wont be the president in the future anyway.
IB6 UB9

I think the new CBA restrictions also make Oppenheimer more valuable to the Yankees, as he seems good at utilizing a network of scouts to find less heralded players that are cheaper to sign.
- Tom Swift
  
  So why go year to year with him? Why not lock him up for a few years?
  - Plank
    
    I bet he requested it so he can get try for a GM gig next off-season.
    - Billion$Bullpen
      
      Right so why dont we pay him way more than another team would as a GM, if he is in fact that good. This is the part where I do not get why the Yanks just dont make sure we have the best people no matter the cost (you get my point I do not mean pay the guy $20 mill, but how bout double what anybody else in his post makes)
      
      The GM job seems thankless and makes you a public figure which to me would not be worth the pay increase.
      - Plank
        
        I think they should do it too. I think I read somewhere that the league is actively trying to downplay the importance of front office personnel so maybe Selig and co. wouldn’t be happy if the Yankees made a huge offer to people at that level.
crawdaddie

Right, the new TV deal allowed Moreno to be more aggressive than what he’s been in previous offseasons.
- Billion$Bullpen
  
  Is there any estimates out there or info on what the Yanks bring in through YES? $150 million a year is what the reported # for the Angles. I find that hard to understand. If a team is worth $500 to a billion why not just buy one if you are a TV network. Fox just owned the Dodgers not that long ago why would they sell it just to a few years later pay for the rights to a team without the brand name that the Dodgers have?
  - Plank
    
    It doesn’t make sense to me either. The only thing I can think of is that they are waiting for the biggest draw (Yankees) to be for sale since they can only own one team. That doesn’t really make sense either.
    - Rookie
      
      I’m just speculating. But I suspect the reason may be that teams are less likely to be comfortable selling their TV rights to a media company that owns one themselves. For example, imagine the Yankees selling their rights to SNY or NESN, or the Red Sox or Mets selling their rights to YES, etc., etc. Again, just my speculation…
      
      Ditto for readers. Did you trust the New York Slimes’ coverage of the Yankees when they owned a stake in the Red Sox? (I think they sold it, although I’m not sure.)
  - Ted Nelson
    
    It’s not their business. Conglomerates with little synergy are out of fashion.
    
    Everything I’ve read says sports teams are a poor investment.
    
    Fox and Disney did own the two LA teams recently.
  - Urban
    
    It’s not their core business. FOX wants access to the viewers, but does not have an interest in buying teams.
    
    The $150 million FOX is willing to spend gives you an idea of just how profitable YES is and why GMS started it. FOX has to pay for those rights, where YES doesn’t. YES is more profitable than the Yankees baseball team. You can’t separate the two (what is YES without the Yankees?), but the amount of money teams like the Angels and Rangers are getting from their baseball contracts gives you an idea of how much money YES must be generating.
    - Plank
      
      All true, but they have two options:
      
      Buy the Dodgers (or anyone) for a billion dollars for the TV rights, the team, and everything else.
      
      Pay the Dodgers (or anyone) 3 billion to air their baseball games for the next 17 (or so) years.
      
      Both may make them money, but one seems much more appealing from a business standpoint.
dean

I think Montero was the driving force! The Angels needed a Montero-like bat to counter!
http://none Favrest

Wow, that is so exciting.
MannyB ace2be

Wish they locked all three up to longer term contracts. I wouldn’t mind a three year deal fOr Eppler and D-Opp
Tyrone Sharpton

You say the same thing every single time. Obvs theres sumthin clubs dont like about them