Vlad, Cust, and Ibanez contacted Yankees about DH job

January 18, 2012 by Mike Axisa 74 Comments

Via Ken Davidoff, the representatives for Jack Cust, Vlad Guerrero, and Raul Ibanez have contact the Yankees recently about their now vacant DH job. Cust signed with the Astros last night, so he’s already a non-option. Joe wrote about Ibanez yesterday, so I’ll just refer you to that.

As far as Vlad goes, he’s much more name than production at this point. The soon-to-be 37-year-old hit just .290/.317/.416 with 13 homers last year, drawing just 14 unintentional walks in 590 plate appearances. His big year with the Rangers in 2010 was more like a big first half, and it’s worth noting that his batted ball profile has changed dramatically since mid-2010. He’s a ground ball machine now, which means few homers and lots of double plays. I’d prefer a left-handed batter myself, one willing to work the pitcher and not chase the first pitch in the same time zone.

Thomas Cassidy

What about Aubrey Huff? I know the Giants need all the offense that they can get, but what about eating his 2012 salary? Or giving them a B- prospect like Phelps?
ThatstheMelkyMesaWaysa

I’m concerned about the DH because Jones can’t play every day and with Joe’s no position player plays a full week everybody gets a half day off strategy Nunez has to play. NUNEZ CAN’T FIELD OR HIT! WE NEED A DH! How about we platoon Adam (not Pacman Adam, but Orioles Adam) Jones with Swish and occasionally Jones? Takers?
- Thomas Cassidy
  
  How do you think you’re going to get Adam Jones? He would cost too much, and he isn’t all that great. And why would you take at bats away from Swisher? He has one of the best OBPs on the team year after year. Adam Jones doesn’t.
  - ThatstheMelkyMesaWaysa
    
    Getting Adam Jones really is wishful thinking. It would be great to have him. As far as taking AB’s away from Swish he has an incredible OBP but he tends to strike out to much and have a sub .250 AVG I’m fine with taking at bats away. Also, he bats in front of people who don’t hit for power and he runs the bases poorly. His OBP does not necessarily translate to runs.
    - Thomas Cassidy
      
      I don’t want to reply.
- MannyGeee
  
  Wow.. Nunez is that bad huh.
  
  If shit plays out like it looks like it might, Nunez has a real chance of making guys like you look pretty stupid this season.
  
  I’ll be laughing…
OldYanksFan

No way for Vlad. Zero plate dicipline, can’t run, on a hard decline, and getting old to boot. I’d rather have Posada.

Anybody guess on what JD would settle for to play his (maybe) last year on his favorite team, with another good shot to play in the PS?
- I am not the droids you’re looking for…
  
  Depends on whether he takes seriously his run at 3000 hits. Needs two more seasons as a FT (or say 3/4 time) player to get there. If the Yanks tell him he’d get 9x% of available ABs at DH against righties, then I think he’d do it for the $2 million we claim to have available, with maybe an AB related bonus.
Matt DiBari

I had no idea Jack Cust was still in baseball
- Thomas Cassidy
  
  He’s not. That’s why he signed with the Lastros.
  - Overrated Packers
    
    The ass probes
CJ

Davidoff is another clown. Cust already with Houston cmon Ken. These guys with all the twitter and electronic media/communication offer nothing but a race to who can make it to twitter first after it’s announced. All these guys are doing is saying yanks need a dh and looking at the free agent list we have. They’re a joke.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  If you bothered to take the half a second to click the link, you’d see that he wrote it a few hours before Cust signed.
  - CJ
    
    Mike, that’s what exactly what I mean. He’s an insider with sources, way off the mark writing this only A few hours before it’s announced. Shows he’s just plucking names if the list. Hmm cheap dh guys. Leave that to me and give me some insider stuff
    - Thomas Cassidy
      
      I doubt he has every source. And do that many people actually care where Jack Cust signs, let alone if he signs?
      - CJ
        
        True. Nobody cares about cust but he still throws the name in yankee report. I’m sick of these insiders in general, they’ve been bad this year. Pujols to angels is a pretty big story and they were all blindsided.
        
        Thomas Cassidy
        
        But things like that happen every year.
        
        Rainbow Connection
        
        Just shut up and attack Heyman. You’re at RAB.
      - http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
        
        Yes.
        
        Thomas Cassidy
        
        Who? He’s Jack Cust.
        
        http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
        
        So you wouldn’t care if he had signed with the Yankees to be their DH?
        
        Thomas Cassidy
        
        I wouldn’t care. They aren’t going to get a big name anyway. I doubt Pena will come over. Damon or Matsui I doubt also. It’s probably going to a rotating DH. I wouldn’t care cause he will be cut by ST anyway. He couldn’t even play for the Mariners.
        
        http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
        
        Like Colon and Chavez were going to be cut by ST last year?
        
        The point I’m trying to make is at you not carrying a player isn’t the same thing as nobody caring about a player.
CJ

I could see vlad as “the one that got away” love affair.
Mark L

I think the Prince signing will send all of the 1B/DH/LF veteran sluggers scrambling for a guaranteed deal. Especially given that Prince’s new team will have someone they’re looking to dump (Murphy, Moreland, LaRoche)
- Thomas Cassidy
  
  Murphy? He will probably be on the Nats. I hope they don’t trade Mike Morse, though. I really like him and I like that the Nats actually try to win even though they’ve sucked forever.
Avi

Gimme Prince for no more than 6 years. Prince, Pena or bust.
- CJ
  
  I still predict the Yankees will at least negotiate with prince. I think they could pass if he goes to nats or will be outbid if he goes to Texas. The Hal/Boras meeting, executive budget reevaluation and montero trade in same week is too much smoke.
  - Needed Pitching
    
    going 20M or so over their previous payroll high is extremely unlikely, especially since Prince isn’t a great fit long-term
    - CJ
      
      They say things all the time about their budget. I dont believe it. They were also willing to take on $18m Felix or 22 for lee. Instead they added a cost effective Pineda. Prince is a fit offensively, there will not be an elite bat available as FA for years. The ARod dh is a legitimate sticking point. Also, pujols camp approached yanks before signing with angels they must have had some reason to think there was the even the slightest level of interest
      - Needed Pitching
        
        It’s not like the Lee or Felix money hasn’t already been spent though. If they signed Lee, they likely don’t sign Soriano or Kuroda, so they’d end up with about the same payroll they have now
        If they traded for Felix, they likely would not have signed Kuroda, so the payroll would be only 8M higher, not 20M
        I do think they still have some wiggle room, but I don’t think there is any circumstance where they extend about 20M higher than they’ve ever spent before
        
        CJ
        
        since Soriano was an ownership move, do you think they wanted Rafael Soriano so bad that they would sacrifice a big ticket item? I don’t.
        They will pop 20-25 million for Prince without blinking an eye, IF Hal and Hank want him. If they read The Prince Fielder Biography written by Scott Boars & Co and liked it, they will not say it’s too bad we can’t afford this guy.
Monterowasdinero

Hip Hip Jorge!

For 2-3M
- Needed Pitching
  
  overpay
- Mickey S
  
  Especially for what the Yanks are looking for, he still has pop from the right side and should be cheap. Not my first choice but prob the most logical. I’d love to see Pena but I understand he’s not looking to platoon as a DH. If Posada truly does retire I think Branyan/Jones could match or exceed Montero’s production at the same position.
thenamestsam

If I’m the Yankees the only guys I’d be interested in signing for the time being would be Price or Pena. If those guys are out of the budget then I think I’d wait to see what, if anything, shakes lose. There isn’t much risk in missing out on any of the other remaining guys as I see it. They’re all relatively fungible. From among Vlad, Ibanez, Branyan, etc. I see them all as roughly equal. Maybe whoever gets Prince decides to move a 1b-type. Maybe Trout forces his way onto the Angels roster in ST, further clogging the DH/OF rotation and they’re motivated to move one of Abreu, Morales and Trumbo (they might be anyway). There doesn’t seem to be much point in acquiring someone like Vlad now when something better might come along, and if it doesn’t you can always get someone who’s just as likely to be productive.
- Ted Nelson
  
  I sort of hope the Yankees are using scouting and statistical analysis to differentiate between the various low-cost options and not just picking one out of a hat… not to say that they’ll be right, but Eppler and Co have done a pretty good job of this lately.
  - thenamestsam
    
    I doubt that any kind of statistical or scouting analysis is going to come up with any significant difference between those guys. Maybe they have some reason to believe one of those guys has some juice left in which case by all means jump on it, but given the low value and high uncertainty associated with those guys I’d be a bit surprised if they see a big enough difference among them to be worth sacrificing any flexibility.
    - Ted Nelson
      
      Out of those three I can see why Cust was signed first at only 33 next season and having hit well 3 of the past 5 years. Pretty good rebound candidate.
      
      I didn’t just mean those three guys, though. You referred to all guys outside of Pena and Prince. I definitely think that there is some differentiation among that group.
      Johnny Damon hit significantly better away last season, which isn’t surprising since the Trop is one of the worst offensive ballparks in baseball. Betemit is a pretty attractive option.
      - Needed Pitching
        
        I have a feeling it will end up one of those two (Betemit or Damon, more likely Damon) unless they go the trade route
Bil

“hit just .290” Last time i checked 290 is great, About 2 regulars hit better than that last year. jeter and cano
- Needed Pitching
  
  I think you missed the last 2 numbers in his triple slash. It’s not that .290 is bad. It’s that 290/317/416 overall is nothing to get excited about.
Bil

Vlad is a Hall OF Famer
- Rainbow Connection
  
  So is Hulk Hogan. I don’t want him on the team.
- CP
  
  So is Babe Ruth, but I wouldn’t want him to be the 2012 Yankees DH either.
  - Bil
    
    Babe Ruth at 90 Years old would be better than Nunez
    - ThatstheMelkyMesaWaysa
      
      too bad he was born in 1895.. that makes him about 117 but we’ll say 116, the year is young.
    - CUYanks
      
      Best we could do would be 91-year-old Stan Musial
- Tom Zig
  
  Probably true, but…
  
  He no longer performs at a HOF level, nor can he really even play the outfield anymore.
  - Bil
    
    True
nolan

How about alex gordon? Let’s say Phil Hughes + betances and laird was enough to get him (my trade proposal sucks…im fully aware) wouldnt he be the ideal fit? He plays 3b (average) and outfield (above average)… and I’m guessing 1b as well (if he can play 3b he can learn to play 1b). So he can rotate between both corner outfield spots, 3b and 1b …giving swisher, arod and tex DH days and in 2013 he can replace swisher while providing identical production.

Any ideas on what it would take for KC to move him?
- CJ
  
  Probably Hughes Robertson Gardner
  - Thomas Cassidy
    
    What? The Royals would jump on that, but now way in hell do the Yankees do that.
    - thenamestsam
      
      It’s a little heavy but I’m not sure the Royals would be pissing themselves to take it. It depends a lot on how they value the relative defense of the guys. Presumably these teams are doing something different with defense than just opening a guys fangraphs page, and they could realistically have a pretty huge range of values on Gardner. From the Yankees side I’d love a trade of Gardner+Hughes for Gordon. DRob is amazing, but still just a reliever. I don’t think it’s way too much.
      
      At the same time, I also don’t think those are at all the kinds of guys KC would be interested in. Hughes is a year from FA, and the other two are in arb now. If they’re going to deal Gordon it would presumably be because he’s going to be expensive by the time they hit their contention window in about 2 years. They’d probably want guys who would still have at least a couple years left at that point.
    - CJ
      
      Thomas, I wouldn’t make that trade either for the Yanks but I think that’s pretty close to what it would take “to get it done”
- Ted Nelson
  
  Gordon is pretty volatile. He had a huge break-out 2011 (fueled in part by a .358 BABIP)… but he was pretty bad the two seasons before that. Is he going to regress next year or maintain that level? Exposes both sides to a lot of risk in a deal. KC isn’t likely to give him away in case be maintains, but an acquiring team that pays full price for 7 fWAR is risking a lot that he won’t regress.
  
  Definitely an interesting option for the reasons you outline, I just feel like he’s got to be a difficult guy for two GMs to agree on a deal for.
  
  I’d imagine KC would want cost controlled players… young MLB guys and MLB ready-ish prospects. Maybe Romine and CoJo have some value to them, though I think it would take someone to headline the deal in front of them… and depending on who that someone is the Yankees have to be pretty confident Gordon has made some changes that he can maintain. That .358 BABIP isn’t something I see him repeating. Closer to his career line he still has value, but a lot less.
Brooklyn Ed

I would rather have Cody Ross. Maybe have Swisher at DH, and Ross to RF? Great #9 hitter that could gives you at least 25 bombs, and he used to play for Girardi back in 2006.
- vin
  
  I’d rather have him than Vlad or Ibanez.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  At least 25 bombs? He hit 28 homers the last two years combined.
  - MannyGeee
    
    #ShortPorchCuresAll
CUYanks

What’s the David Ortiz contract situation?
- Needed Pitching
  
  Red Sox have his rights. He accepted arbitration.
  Team offered 12.65M, he asked for 16.5M
vin

Jorge Vazquez never sounded so appealing. Which is deplorable.
Mickey S

I’d personally go after Bret “The Hitman” Hart or the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels, they’d each be great options at DH.
Ted Nelson

That they had to contact the Yankees, and not the other way around, leads me to believe that they aren’t high on the priority list. Could be mind games to drive down their values even further I suppose, though that seems like a lot of work for marginal MLB players.
CUYanks

How about Russell Branyan? Is he still a free agent?
- JobaTheHeat62
  
  there is your winner….make it happen!!!!!!
- MannyGeee
  
  Best of a reeeeeeeeeeal bad lot.
CJ

Jack Cust, Dan Johnson, Russell Branyan, Jorge Vasquez, Jason Giambi. Man, these are horrible, unacceptable options.

Seth Smith and Carlos Quention previously moved, would’ve been good fits.
The DH option will be better than Seth Smith since Cashman could have had him for nothing and locked down the roster.
Billy Butler, Daniel Murphy, Alex Gordon, Mark Trumbo are some options mentioned for trade that make sense. We don’t need a DH that will cause nausea for fans
- MannyGeee
  
  I was wondering if Giambi could be made availible. Better than most other names mentioned, right?
Jim Cavanaugh

T-Wo aka Tony Womack.
Grover

Give Dickerson a shot at the lefthanded dh when the rotation of old farts isn’t required. This slot will be ably filled at the trade deadline with the seller paying the bulk of the salary of the player acquired.
YANKZ1FAN

The Yankees must give Jorge Vazquez a shot!! Yeah, he strikes out a lot, but it is just an out. For the year in AAA and winter ball in 175 games he hit batted .290, 52hr, and 161rbi!! Donnie Collins said the Yanks shouldnt have traded Montero, and that he carried the AAA club for two years. WRONG!!! The one who carried the AAA club more was Chato! He says Montero was the only one capable of producing in the Bronx. He said in 873ab’s in AAA Montero had 53 doubles, 39hr, and 142rbi. They are great stats. But, Chato in 748ab’s had 50hr and 155rbi. If you gave Chato the same 873ab’s he is at 48 doubles, 59hr and 181rbi!! F’n Insaine!!! Dont tell me Montero was the only one producing in AAA. Jorge was given Scranton’s MVP, not Montero, and the Manager, Miley said he is incredible in the clutch. You have your Montero production and then some with Jorge. Stop dissing him and give him a chance.
- Dropped Third
  
  See how he looks in ST and if he looks good, I bet he can hold down the fort until the trade deadline at least. I would prefer we had a lefty DH that could platoon with Jones but he is by far the best in house option and deserves a shot.