Dec
04
Update: Yankees agree to one-year deal with Kelly Johnson
ByWednesday: The Yankees and Johnson have agreed to a deal, according to Jon Heyman. It’s a one-year pact worth approximately $3M and is still pending a physical. Very nice addition and Joe told you why earlier today.
Tuesday: Via Joel Sherman: The Yankees are close to signing Kelly Johnson to a one-year contract worth $2.75-3M. The 31-year-old makes a lot of sense for New York as a left-handed hitting role player who can provide some power and handle second, third, and left field if need be. Worst case scenario: here’s your Robinson Cano replacement.
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They will need to add a right-handed bat here eventually…eventually.
You would certainly hope so. They’re bringing in lots of lefties who can’t really hit lefties much.
Soriano, Jeter, Tex, A-Rod/whomever plays third are guys who have either held their own or destroyed lefties in their careers. The problem last season was that every decent right handed hitter on the team got hurt at once
And that happening again to Jeter, Tex, and A-Rod isn’t exactly unlikely considering their recent histories.
Jeter having a fluke injury that he aggravated and re-aggravated doesn’t make him injury prone now that he’s been able to rest up.
A shortstop at his age coming off those injuries, it isn’t hard to imagine him a) getting injured again and/or b) significantly downgraded offensively.
Granted, but even before his 2012 resurgence, he still killed lefties.
Lets not forget who were talking about. If anyone can bounce back and have a big yr is the captain.
Yes. Granted… he’s old, but NOT injury prone.
Last year, he did not reinjure the ankle.
The problem was his legs were weak and out of shape.
Because of the ankle, he did not have enough time to get his legs in MLB-ready shape.
Jeter is a proud man, and will try to disprove all the naysayers. You can bet that this offseason, he will work very hard to be ready for the 2014 season.
I don’t expect great numbers, but I expect he will be able to play 80-100 games at SS, and (142 – (80 to 100)) games at DH. (Meaning 20 days off).
Yeah I think his pride is a major (and good) factor here. Whether this is his last year or not, he doesn’t want anything remotely approaching 2013 to be how he goes out and will work overtime to do everything humanly possible to ensure that it isn’t.
I agree. Hes got a full offseason to heal and his upper body will essentialy of had over a full yr to get rested and healthy. To be honest, he could be his freshest hes been in yrs this season, assuming the ankle holds up. It would not be surprising in the least bit if he won comeback player of the yr with something like 302BA 10hr 67rbi 180hits..
That’s what they said about Mariano.
Whatevs. David Price is getting traded, most likely out of the division, and we can just lose to Lester 4 out of 5 times as per usual.
Interesting signing. Pair him w/ the recently non tendered arancibIa & you’ve got a nice ibanez/a jones bench platoon. Add Reynolds and cut wells/ ichi and suddenly you have decent depth at 4 of 5 IF spots.
This and the ellsbury deal have me thinking they actually don’t really want cano or they wouldn’t be negotiating so hard after just throwing money at Ellsbury and McCann
PS sorry in advance for autocorrect
I’m still holding out hope they bring back Mark Reynolds also
bye bye david adams and jayson nix
There’s something I can drink to.
Sounds like the Cano camp got an ultimatum from the Yankees and chose to ignore it. What a crazy night
source?
I’m just speculating, didn’t mean it that way.
It just seems the sort of deal where you tell Cano that the money budgeted for him is going to be gone if he doesn’t sign now and the Cano camp called them on it.
I actually saw on twitter per some source close to the Yankees (can’t remember who) that they are still intent on signing Cano as well as a SP. It’s entirely possibly the $189 mil is out the window for this year, or maybe they’re confident in the ARod hearing. I’m just glad to see some money getting laid out.
If $189 mil is out the window, the Cano camp doesn’t have much incentive to come down in price what with the open checkbook and all. Sends a message to anyone thinking of making Cano an offer as well.
The last bit is interesting. “Don’t even bother, boys.” Hmm.
If he’s in as a utility guy, terrific. If he’s in to replace Cano, awful.
This x 100000
I like it. This lineup needs power. Now they need to trade Gardy for a SP, and sign a righty power hitter with bad splits to platoon with Johnson (assuming they sign Cano).
Reynolds?
Actually, Johnson’s splits against lefties aren’t that bad…
Not sure if this is a precursor to trading Gardner (moving Johnson to OF), or to not signing Cano. Either one makes me very sad.
Or it’s a precursor to an A-Rod suspension, a Cano signing, a Reynolds signing and a Johnson/Reynolds 3B platoon.
that’s my guess
there’s no way they’re letting cano get away
I hope your guess is correct. Cano is obviously the panacea at 2B and Johnson/Reynolds, although not great, would be palatable enough as a platoon. They’d be a major improvement over the non-A-Rod dreck the Yankees had at 3B last year.
i’m greedy. i want cano and a-rod to only get 50 games
after june, we have
ellsbury
jeter
cano
a-rod
tex
mccann
soriano
gardner
ichiro
Yes, please.
My dream.
Take A-Rod out of that lineup because he’s been suspended, and put a Johnson/Reynolds platoon in, and the team doesn’t lose much (if any) hitting, but gains about 20million for Cano’s contract, and/or starting pitching. Plus, Purple-Lips the Cheater isn’t on the team, which takes away the circus atmosphere and dark cloud that he brings. Much better.
Agree 100%
The ‘Cheater’? How about Melky, Peralta, Cruz, Big Papi and the literally hundreds of other ‘cheaters’ who either haven’t fessed up or been caught yet?
I don’t condone what ARod did, but why is he soooooo horrible when others aren’t even mentioned, and go on to sign big contracts?
The whole ‘A-Roid’ thing is media driven. It’s a shame when Yankee fans mirror it.
Amen.
Bingo
Yeah, they’re cheaters too. He’s a cheater. They’re cheaters. What’s your point? He’s less of a cheater because there are other cheaters? He’s a cheater. He’s an albatross. He’s a team cancer. Apologizing for A-Rod is ridiculous. He’s not who you thought he was. He’s not who you want him to be. He’s an average hitter now, who gets paid an absurd amount of money. If he’s suspended for the year, it’s GOOD for the Yankees. Let him go, OldYanksFan. He’s over.
How crazy would it be to see Gardner, Ichiro, Ells, and Captain setting the table for Cano/Arod/Tex/Mcann/Soriano?? Jesus, we’d have hit and run galore, and pitchers would go nuts having to deal with Gardy, Ells, Ichiro, Jeets, and Sori on the base paths.
My thoughts exactly.
Yesssssss! Ok, now this is a move I am thrilled about. I love what Johnson brings to the table for that price tag. Even if he’s strictly a utility guy…he’s a hell of a utility guy. Plus he’s insurance in case we lose Cano. I love this move.
Insurance if Cano gets hurt and you have to replace him for 15 days? Fine. But when you start treating your insurance as your Plan A you get Chris Stewart catching all year.
Bad Idea.
This, this, and this.
I sure hope this is as a utility guy and not as a Cano replacement. Seems a little redundant and moderately expensive considering what they already have in the organization, though.
Agreed. He would be a solid addition for the utility role, and a platoon at third assuming an A-Rod suspension.
I hate to crush your hopes but you said it “redundant” and the timing with the Ellsbury signing i think Cano is gone.
This night has clearly sent s message to Cano’s camp that the Yankees are not going to wait around for him
I’m all out of whack right now and in a good way. I don’t know what’s next. This could be insurance, replacement for Cano with a savings of $250mm, or perhaps Gardner is on the move, maybe to Athletics are part of a package for Anderson. Who really knows, but I’m ok with everything so far. They are in fact, signing BASEBALL PLAYERS!
Brett Gardner had more extra base hits this year than Jacoby Ellsbury.
WORST SIGNING IN SPORTS HISTORY PEROID.
I’m not crazy about it. But you have to stop
I’m sorry but it’s a horrible waste of money; even if he plays every inning of every game over the next seven years. And his terribly injury prone. Any logical fan of the sport will tell you that.
How you penny pinch and let guys like Martin, Ibnez and Chavez go and then spend like money isn’t an object like this is totally beyond me.
Look below
You realize Ellsbury is one of the most valuable players in the league when he’s on the field, right? So, if he plays every inning the next seven years, he’d easily live up to the contract.
I disagree that he’s one of the most valuble players in the league as a center fielder. As a left fielder it’s not even a discussion. In left the discussion is how much above average he might be.
He’s an undeniable top 10 CF right now, he’s probably not top 5.
Check his war/game numbers. They’re ridiculous. On the field, every game, for seven years, he will out earn his contract.
How do you get ‘one of the most valuable players in the league when he’s on the field’?
In 7 years, he has a fWar of 23.7 and a bWar: 21.0.
That’s very nice. Not All-Star level, but above average.
Up to age 30, he has been worth maybe $18m/yr.
Do you expect him to match his part production over the next 7 years…. for $22m/yr?
Total WAR depends on playing time, ie it’s a counting stat. So his injuries cost him WAR. His WAR/game numbers are insane. If he’s on the field he will more than earn his contract.
Ellsbury has played about 6 full years.
Gardner has player about 4 full years.
So who is the better CF’er here?
Ellsbury: 4.0 dWar, 27 Defensive Runs Saved.
Gardner: 8.5 dWar, 84 Defensive Runs Saved.
Ellsbury: 0.0066 bWAR per PA, 0.0074 fWAR per PA
Gardner: 0.0087 bWAR per PA, 0.0080 fWAR per PA
So the more valueable player is?
Now you want to look at salary?
Don’t forget that most of Gardner’s time came in LF, not CF. Those numbers would be down if he were in CF.
You mean UP? Gritners WAR numbers would be higher as a CF’er. However, Ellsbury hasn’t spent his whole career in CF either.
Ells is more dangerous at the plate. You’ll never see Gardner get double digit HR’s, and i have a feeling Ells is gonna be more of a HR threat then hes been in NY, and can just flat out make consistent hard contact. Offensivley, is where they really differ.
Also an OF of Beltran in right, Gardner in center And Soriano in left >>>>> ellsbury in center Gardner in left and Soriano in right. It’s better offensively for sure, and probably defensively too when you consider the lack of arm sori has for right. Oh.. And you save at least $100mm! With the first too. Just total bull shit from the yankee hierarchy.
The argument isn’t for Beltran over Ellsbury, given Jacoby’s defense in center he’s the more valuable all around player. The argument should be for Choo over Ellsbury, Choo was the best lead off man in baseball this year with his elite plate discipline and pitch selection. Gardner hitting first and Choo second is much better than Gardner/Ellsbury or Ellsbury/Jeter.
Unless of course the opposition is pitching someone who happens to be left-handed (which of course NEVER happens in Yankee Stadium) – at which point it would be preferable to bat you or me instead of Choo.
Just saying, Ibanez was worth 0 fwar last season.
Jacoby Ellsbury led the world champions in WAR.
Hi
Bingo
Ellsbury also stole 28 more bases than Gardner and got thrown out 4 less times. I think that more than makes up for the 3 less XBHs that Ellsbury had.
$152mm explained right there. Boom!
By the way Crawford was a far better player and much more durable when he got his contract just three years ago. And I hated that contract too. I posted it all over this website at the time.
I also hate the idea of getting very little power out of TWO outfield spots.
I disagree that Ellsbury has very little power. First, if you look up his HR scatter diagrams, they are all to dead right field. We will see more such balls clear the short porch at the Stadium. Second, 8 of his 9 HRs came in July-September. Likely he was still recovering from his 2012 injuries in the first half of 2013. There are valid concerns about injuries. But if he’s 100%, he will have 15-20 HRs next year.
If you’re going to post bullshit stats to prove your point, then I’m going to call you for spewing bullshit.
The question is not who’s the better player. Crapsbury is better than Gardner; given. The question is if you should commit $152mm to him. They’re not THAT far apart.
Crapsbury? Really? Yeesh.
When you burn my team’s assets you’re crap to me. Pavano, Vazquez and Crapsbury. Dam right.
I mean, if you’re gonna conjure up a derogatory nickname for the guy, at least go with Smellsbury.
How about Jacrappy?
Jacrappy Smellsbury. Perfect.
I regret missing this moment.
He’s our Smellsbury now, damnit.
I laughed at Boston signing Crawford so I’ll just let everyone else enjoy this deal.
Like this move. Right now, you gotta figure Sori is going to see the bulk of the time in RF, Johnson can spell him and fill in/spell AROD at 3rd.
Sure, teams could be going 1st to 3rd on Sori/Johnson like crazy, but Ellsbury and Gardner are going to cover so much ground in LF/CF that it shouldn’t really matter.
You’ve got to think that his bat plays well with the porch in RF too.
That OF has 2 noodle arms and one spaghetti arm.
I love pasta!
Pasta-diving-…sorry.
Good ballplayer, good addition, great price. Utility at best with some spot starts, I don’t think a starter or a Cano replacement at all.
Pitching please…….
3B platoon with Reynolds, I’m hoping.
So resign Reynolds to be the RH batter.
When you are willing to give seven years to a player who has been injured as often as Ellsbury, it makes sense to just keep spending.
There’s been more Yankee news tonight than all of the last off season.
They are certainly keeping us entertained. To an extent this includes pants-wetting dread, but still.
Indeed!
I still can’t rest peacefully until Robbie is resigned.
Great signing.
Gives NY protection in case they do not sign Cano or have difficulty getting someone for 3b. If they accomplish both, they have a good utility guy. 2.5 million is cheap insurance.
I’m assuming everyone (McCann, Ellsbury, and Johnson) will get introduced on Thursday?
Doubt it. Ellsbury will get his own presser in the coming weeks and Johnson isn’t even an official signing yet, nor is he worthy of a presser.
For that matter, it’s probably gonna take a little while for the Ellsbury signing to be official, too. It definitely won’t be by tomorrow.
Probably not Ellsbury. If there’s anyone who needs a thorough examination it’s that guy
This team is getting very left-handed
Is it? In terms of impact/potential impact right-handed hitters we’ve got Soriano, Jeter (who is sure to kill lefties if nothing else), and Teix from his better side. Plus Ellsbury and god-willing Cano who can very much hold their own against same-siders. And McCann’s poor year against them last year doesn’t match his career stats (and hopefully Cervelli gets a fair number of ABs against them next year). Add in Reynolds to platoon with Johnson and that’s actually a pretty balanced lineup.
I’d be more worried if they loaded up on strict platoon types like Choo.
I’d live with Choo’s career. 680 OPS vs LHP over Ellsbury’s .733 in return for Choo’s career .932 OPS vs RHP over Ellsbury’s .813. Roughly a third of the league is right handed.
Pair him with Reynolds and we should see 30 bombs next year. Plus the roster is getting crowded lets hope that Cash can find a taker for Ichiro. On the flipside whats with all the bats at this rate we will have a killer lineup and have C.C. pitching every other day.
Why would any team give up anything of value Ichiro? They should just DFA him if he won’t retire.
Maybe they could just salary dump him on the Mariners if the M’s go 0-for the offseason and need an acquisition to placate the fans. Doubtful, obviously, but one can dream.
I didn’t say anything of value I said clear a roster spot.
If the Yankees want to clear their glut of outfielders, it should be the one who quite possibly sucks even more and doesn’t count against the luxury tax who should get the boot.
It should be both Wells and Ichiro but Wells is Right handed and doesn’t cost the team a dime. We are stuck with him.
But Wells can’t hit lefties any better than righties, or anyone for that matter. His handedness isn’t worth much when he isn’t actually a platoon hitter.
Okay he can hit them slightly better than righties. Ichiro is a lot more valuable defensively though, and has some speed left.
v. LHP:
Ichiro: 321 .331 .421 .753 (166 PA)
Wells: .269 .318 .379 .697 (198 PA)
based on Wells’ last few years vs. lefties prior to 2013, Ichiro still makes more sense. handedness isn’t everything.
that said, I’d like a righty bench bat.
Ichiro is a right disguised as a lefty.
Looking at his Career stats, Ichi has been very, very slightly better against LHP. I will guess that is because it is hard to jam him inside, since he is half way to 1B by the time he swings.
The Yankees would have to eat most of Ichiro’s contract, so he would still cost them $5M. Plus, Ichiro was a better player than Wells last year (Wells was BELOW replacement level). Keeping Wells might make sense if it helps them stay under $189M; but if they’ve given up on that, Ichiro is a significantly better player. Finally, even if you don’t buy that, Ichiro is still an excellent defender, which is of value in a bench player.
I think they’d just DFA Wells and keep Ichiro as the 4/5 OFer.
So, no Chavez then…
I’m still interested to see what Adams could do in a platoon, but Reynolds is the more sure thing. If they replace A-Rod for roughly 10 mil that’s a job pretty well done.
Also more more for Cano (and Tanaka if MLB can sort themselves out).
Adams isn’t going to do much, but Reynolds is far from a sure thing. Personally, I still want nothing to do with him on the Yankees.
Adams has hit at every level so far. One bad summer is not enough to convince me he’s useless in MLB.
Reynolds is fine if he’s used in ways that play to his strengths. If he’s asked to be the everyday 3rd baseman, it’s going to get ugly.
Everyday no but a platoon with Johnson he’ll be fine. Although I think he’ll find more playing time somewhere else, being a platoon righty is not exactly prestigious. The Astros make the most sense for Reynolds.
Reynolds was released mid-season by the Indians and barely played better as a Yankee. I’d say his days of prestige are behind him. He’s more likely to want to be on a winner.
I’d say Reynolds is a pretty sure thing to be basically league average offensively vs. LHPs. Same goes for Johnson vs. RHPs. So, I’d be more than fine with them as a platoon. They’d help make for a deep lineup as complements to the likes of Cano, Ellsbury, Teixeira, McCann, Gardner and Soriano.
Career-wise, Johnson is pretty much the same against LHP or RHP. However, his career OPS+ is 106 in the NL(6 yrs) and 93 in the AL(3 yrs). 1 yr at $3m can’t really hurt, but he won’t have a lot of impact.
Someone in the front office finally appears to be hatching a plan – Call it Strong Up The Middle 101. If anything, it tells me Cashman has absolutely ZERO faith in the farm system. Most of Romine, Murphy, Sanchez, Heathcott, Nd Mason Williams will never wear pinstripes in the Bronx.
As of right now the Yankee minor leaguers can’t put two strong years together, so I see no reason to trust them until they prove they can be trusted.
Well, Murphy and Romine have already worn pinstripes in the bronx. Just saying.
Also, Mason cratered last year, Heathcott is one collision away from exploding, and Sanchez is at least two years away.
Not much to ‘have absolutely ZERO faith’ in, really.
For a completely subjective opinion, that’s what makes Heathcott fun to look forward to. Kid’s a bit wild. As long as he produces, that’s good entertainment.
I’m content to see what Cervelli can do next season, but I’d like to see Murphy backing up soon. Romine – trade bait.
Here is the 189 death count:
With McCann they were at 115 (for 8 players) add Ellsbury’s 22 and Johnson 3 that’s an even 140.
Cano- 25
Kuroda- 16
Tanaka-10
That’s 191 for 13 players of course if they lose A-Rod then Bingo!!!
I think plan 189 is -completely- dependent upon A-Rod’s suspension.
They are betting he’s gone. Frankly, with what we’ve seen this winter, it’s hard to say they are wrong about that. If the player’s union won’t fight for A-Rod, he’s not going to win.
This is the right way to handle the offseason. Play it like Arod is going to be suspended while staying under the 189. They field a contender, satisfy the fans, and possibly (probably) avoid the luxury tax.
If Arod comes back, oh well. They pay the tax and have another hitter.
THIS!!!!
Fortunately, it seems like this is what they’re doing.
We’ll see on Cano though. If he isn’t re-signed and Arod is gone for the year, they’ll have buttloads of money to spend on a middle-of-the-order hitter, but there might not be one left.
Winnerwinnerchickendinner
I’d rather have granderson at the same contract than Elsburry. Chances are grandy get less than half the money. I can’t wrap my head around this fucking deal.
No way is Granderson’s poor defense in LF at an older age better than Ellsbury elite D in CF over the next 7 years. Not liking this deal is one thing, perfering Granderson at the same price is insane.
Show me ONE stat that has Ellsbury’s D in CF as elite.
As a matter of fact….
Show me ONE stat that has Ellsbury’s D in CF as above average.
Well to start defensive runs saved had him as the 4th best CF in the game this year, Career UZR/150 in CF of 8.0, UZR/150 this season in CF of 12.9 (16.1 in 2011), career RngR in CF 42.0. I’m not sure how anyone can say when he’s playing over a 1000 innings of CF he isn’t above average at least.
“11:45pm: Ellsbury’s deal includes a no-trade clause, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com”
Hell why not
LMAO!
Basically all free agents of that caliber get NTCs.
He can still waive it.
That’s the problem. He’s not “that caliber”.
Let it go dude your going to be seeing him for the next 7 years.
Nah he’ll be on the DL and the Yankees will be orchestrating an investigation into his affiliation with a PED clinic.
Like a lot of things in life, we laugh because it’s funny, and we laugh because it’s true.
All of his injuries are broken bones from collisions or other accidents. So unless Ellsbury has osteoporosis or a fetish for running into things we might be overstating his fragility.
Today a major word: context
Magic word not major word, damn autocorrect ruining my point
A fetish for running into things. Now you’re talking!
Collision pr0n.
At this point who cares the Yanks have always handed out no trade clauses like hotcakes. Also after the Marlins fiasco no big free agent will ever sign a contract without a no trade clause. So thanks for that Florida.
IIRC, Gardner, Soriano, Wells, and Ichiro are all FA’s at the end of the season. So the Yanks will have openings in the OF in 2015. That being said, their farm has regressed for sure.
I like the idea of Reynolds, cuz he can play both corners in the IF.
If they carry 13 position players, their bench would have 4 slots. Assuming Johnson is the starting 3B, and Reynolds is signed cuz Arod is out, that would leave:
Wells
Ichiro
Ryan
SD utility guy (forget his name)
Cervelli
Reynolds
For 4 spots. 5 if they carry 11 pitchers.
There’s still lanes present for young players to work their way in.
Let them earn it. If Slade Heathcott hits and fields this year like he should be a starting outfielder for the New York Yankees, he’ll get his chance once Sori leaves.
Exactly. Prior to the Ellsbury deal we had zero OFers on the roster in 2015. And now we have one. So yup – definitely opportunity for the kids.
They are not carrying three backup infielder for four bench spots. If Reynolds is signed, Dean Anna waits at AAA until someone is hurt.
For the OF, Ichiro is better but Wells is cheaper. If they are giving up on the $189M, wells gets cut. If they need to slice and dice to get under $189M, then they try to get someone to pick up $2-3M of the $7M they owe in 2013. But it seems odd they would do that, when they just threw $3M extra at Jeter.
Right now I’m more worried about the rotation than the offense. And I say this as someone pretty bullish on Phelps and Nova.
The rotation is shit at the moment. Sabathia’s coming off a terrible year, Nova has never put it together for a full season, Pineda hasn’t pitched since the Taft administration, and Phelps was a 5.00 ERA guy in 2013.
Let’s hope Pineda isn’t plumping up (again) like Taft.
Cross your fingers on Kuroda and Tanaka. One would help. Two would be perfect.
As much as we would all like to think differently Tanka is no sure thing either.
Who is?
Someone who doesn’t have to go through the posting system.
I woulden’t mind seeing them jump in on the Samardzija front and see if they can work a deal with the Cubs. They are investing bigtime in the lineup and losing some picks by doing so, so mines well go all in and see if we can get Samardzija and sign Kuroda, if Tanaka ends up not being posted. I think Maholm could be solid also.
I like ‘em both, but ‘perfect’ is a little strong. Kuroda’s got second half issues.
Let me qualify “perfect” as “probably the best way to fill out the SP staff”. There isn’t another free agent SP who’s a clearly better bet than either of those guys, and the Yanks probably don’t have the pieces to trade for anyone better. So no, it’s not perfect, but under the circumstances, it’s pretty good.
“Perfect fit” is more what you mean, and I agree.
They’re going to need those 400 innings, and I don’t think they’re going too cheap on them. Either the celery cap just got made into salad or Alex is entering purgatory.
Speaking of purgatory, looks like the Yanks will sticking Nuney in one with this move.
Did Kuroda really have second half issues though?
First half: 6.37 K/9, 1.87 BB/9, 0.91 HR/9, 3.60 FIP, 82.6 LOB%, .252 BABIP
Sec half: 7.19 K/9, 2.07 BB/9, 0.87 HR/9, 3.51 FIP, 68.5 LOB%, .324 BABIP
If anything all his peripheral numbers are almost identical both halves of the season, the problem is a well below league average LOB% in the second half, and a higher than career BABIP line. It seems he got a little lucky in the first half, very unlucky in the second, but pitched well in the areas he can control all year.
Too lazy to try and frankly I’m not even sure the tools exist but I wonder if one examined his lines/stats based on pitch type what we’d find. My supposition is that in the second half he lost the feel for one of his pitches. When he went to it, he got hammered. Otherwise, the rest of his stuff was fine. /speculation
He had two garbage games…I bet if you take out those games (completely arbitrary? yes…but everyone has a bad day at work) his stats are ridiculously close.
Reynolds back would be cool cuz he can back up Teixiera and platoon at 3B with Johnson.
I’d like to see Johnson play some 1B, SS, and RF so he can play at every position save the battery and CF.
Johnson is fine as an #9 hitting 2B if Cano doesn’t remain a Yankee.
Just doing the math here…
(9) Starting Lineup (McCann, Teixeira, 2B, 3B, Jeter, Gardner, Ellsbury, Soriano)
(2) Backup infielders (Ryan & Johnson)
(2) Backup outfielders (ichiro & wells)
(1) Backup catcher (Cervelli)
—-
(14)
(5) Starting pitchers (Sabathia, Nova, SP3, SP4, SP5)
(7) Bullpen (Robertson, Kelley, Claiborne?, Phelps?, RP5, RP6, RP7)
—-
(12)
Either Girardi carries 5 OFers or a 6-man bullpen, or someone has to be cut eventually, most likely Ichiro? Good riddance.
Either way 1 person gets cut.
I think it’s Wells. They’re not cutting Ichiro on what’s probably his last season.
Ichiro’s contract is a sunk cost. They still have to pay him even if they cut him. As a player, Ichiro > Wells, Ichiro is better than replacement level; Wells isn’t.
Totally agree that they cut Wells before Ichiro.
Agreed.
I’d also say the only team I could even see him going to, other than the Yanks, would be back to Seattle, if only for the retirement celebration.
Dont see Nunez on that list….
Read the writing on the wall. After kj ten come renoylds and infante. Cano gone. Remaining money goes to staff and depending on cost possibly Balfour and Wesley wright
Welcome aboard, green penis! I like this signing (assuming it happens). He has some upside and can play multiple positions without breaking the bank. Works well with the whole rotating DH and potential platoons.
The McCaan and Ellsbury signings make some of our top prospects expendable.
With all the catchers coming off the board, JR Murphy may have gained some trade value.
Still room for an outfielder in 2015. Someone needs to make their case this year, though.
Choo makes more sense for this offense, adding his .389 career OBP in the 1/2 hole strengthens the lineup much more than Ellsbury’s career .350, and that’s not even touching the power numbers. Ellsbury has base running and defense but given we already Gardner and the size of the deal I’ll take Choo and his .309/.411/.521 career line against RHP all day every day.
For this season alone, agreed, I would prefer Choo. But Gardner is gone after this season, and next year’s free agents are very weak, so grabbing our long term centerfielder this off season is a nice luxury as long as it doesn’t prevent us from re signing Cano.
You could probably re-sign Gardner with the money you save on Choo. Either way I’d rather have Gardner/Choo than Ellsbury/any free agent outfielder next year.
I´ll take Ellsbury´s .286 BA vs. LHP. Choo is just plain terrible vs. LHP and is more or less becoming a platoon player. It´s a bit of a trade off, like you said Ellsbury for running and defense, Choo for power and OBP. I´d call it even maybe with a slight nod to Choo.
My feeling is Gardner is going to be moved for a 3B or a SP.
Ellsbury may have a higher average but they share an almost identical career OBP (.343 to .340), the real dfference is Ellsbury holds a career .390 SLG% against LHP and Choo’s is .341. No one will argue a .680 OPS is something to brag about, but he’s still providing some value by getting on at a .340-.350 clip. Where they separate themselves is Choo holds a .309/.411/.521 career slash line against RHP and Ellsbury’s is only .302/.353/.460, with3/4th of the league is right handed. I’ll trade in the 50 points of OPS against LHP for the 100 points of OPS against the rest of the league.
Choo is terrible against lefties. Ellsbury holds his own better againsts lefites, has more speed and is a better defender. Still not thrilled about giving him 7 years though. WOuld have preferred 5 with a 6th year option
must be an echo in the room ?
I won’t even ask now on who gets what number, cause I’ve been having a lot of issues figuring out what they might go. 14, 17, 19, 36, 40, 55, 62 and 65 are open, and driving me nuts.
Like, not love, the signing. A bit more versatility than Ryan, and a solid vet hand, but something’s going to have to five roster-wise here in order for me to see how this works.
Obviously, if this guy’s starting at second or third, something has fine terribly wrong here.
Also, if he’s hitting .175 in May, someone will come on here and refer to him as “Smelly Johnson,” so there’s that. We already had a Jacrappy Smellsbury reference and he hasn’t even had his presser.
No, I have no clue what i autocorrected from there. “Have to give” is my guess.
It’s so nice to be the Evil Empire again !!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bzWSJG93P8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBTRaM7AFMA
I couldn’t stand him, but damn I miss him.
Have always liked Kelly Johnson. Can play a few positions and is a pretty decent hitter.
So the Ellsbury signing certainly inflates Robbie’s asking price, no?
Does the Kelly Johnson signing lower it since he’s not really a necessity for the Yanks any longer?
Still totally confused by this whole thing
Where’s the pitching?
They haven’t even hit the winter meetings….have some valium and relax.
It’s developing, albeit very slowly.
Cancel this man’s patients for the day.
It’s confusing. It’s also the off-season, probably the most maddenning and stress-inducing time for a Yankee fan. It will play itself out, one way or the other.
I’m so confused. I feel like it’s MLB the Show and they’re just auto-signing people.
We need Robbie tho
A big question with Cano is once he gets the big contract, how motivated will he really be ( particularly if he signs with the Mariners. A team with no offense, and a bad Stadium for hitters)?
I’m sad that my Smelly Johnson joke got no traction, btw. Huge bag of dicks for all of you.
Hahaha! Smelly Johnson, he said!
what I want to know is why everybody is making a big deal at the ”war” and ”whip” stats. nobody even heard of those stats twenty years ago.
This is a parody post, right?