Sherman: Yankees done adding Major League free agents

February 17, 2014 by Mike Axisa 63 Comments

Via Joel Sherman: The Yankees are done signing Major League free agents now that spring Training has begun. Brian Cashman is most concerned about the infield but they were unable to work out deals for Omar Infante and Logan Forsythe, and are apparently unwilling to meet Stephen Drew‘s asking price.

While Drew is certainly the headliner here, the “done signing Major League free agents” thing applies to the bullpen as well. I’m much more confident in the team’s ability to create a good bullpen out of their in-house options than I am in their ability to cobble together a good infield, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to see them add another veteran arm. The problem is none are available. Not good ones, anyway.

Tanuki Tanaka (Formerly Bob Buttons)

Does that mean they won’t offer MLB deals or just no adding anyone with considerable MLB experience?
MPierce

Would love to sign Drew still, but I’m alright with the bullpen. I want to see Jose Ramirez, Mark Montgomery, Dellin Betances, and either Phelps or Warren (other goes to Triple-A, Pineda is the 5th starter in my fantasy) snatch up the final four spots of the bullpen.
- Jonathan
  
  Yeah, I think that’s what we all want to see happen since that will mean they’re all healthy and throwing well. They’re the most talented arms in the competition and Ramirez/Montgomery/Betances all have knockout out pitches and throw in the low to mid 90s. Our best hope is 2 out of those 4 work out and maybe we can pull a trade for Aramis and even Rickie Weeks if he turns it around. Then sign Headley in the offseason. In the event ARod ever returns perhaps he can be a corner infielder/DH since Headley has some injury problems along with Tex.
W.B. Mason Williams

Outside of Drew it really doesn’t feel like there are any good options to add wins to this team, and even he will likely get overpaid for the risk he presents. The infield, sadly, seems to be our biggest weakness this season.

I for one am optimistic about the bullpen with the potential additions of Montgomery and Betances. While they both have 0 experience, they both have late innings potential, especially Montgomery. They could give us a top shelf bullpen.
http://www.twitter.com/mattpat11 Matt DiBari

Wasn’t it the general consensus that only Randy Levine and like minded imbeciles sign relievers to multi-year contracts anyway*? So in the bullpen this is almost certainly a good thing.

*You know, except when Brian Cashman does it, of course.
- Farewell Mo
  
  Yeah, it was comical how people complained after Levine signed Soriano mosty because it was Levine.
  
  Had it been a Cashman move, I’m sure the spin on that signing would have been much different.
  - Havok9120
    
    You know, there actually were reasons not to like that signing.
    
    And, shockingly, yes, some fans get twitchy when the president of the team, a guy not regularly involved with baseball operations (supposedly), starts making moves over the head of the front office. It smacks of the owner going behind the backs of the people he pays to know more than he does about running a baseball team.
    - Farewell Mo
      
      The are always good reasons to not like any signing mostly because you’re overpaying for every free agent.
      
      It ultimately turned out to be a good move though and even if Soriano sucked, $35 million or so to swallow over 3 years wasn’t gonna hamstring the team in the least.
      
      I’d be far more worried over giving Ellsbury $150+ million than overpaying a reliever for a few years.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  Soriano was dumb because the Yankees didn’t need him and certainly didn’t need to surrender a pick for a reliever. It was a knee-jerk move made because the Red Sox “won” the winter and Yankees had the Cliff Lee money burning a hole in their pocket.
  
  The Yankees actually need relievers now.
  - Jonathan
    
    Not to mention the opt outs and paying him much more than anyone else was seemingly willing to.
  - Mister D
    
    Hindsight being 20/20 or better, Jackie Bradley Jr. went a couple picks after the Soriano pick.
    - Farewell Mo
      
      They got a pick back again when Soriano opted out which I believe was either Clarkin or Judge, both top 5 Yankees prospects at this time.
      - Wicomico Pinstripes
        
        Thank you.
      - Bubba
        
        JBJ is on the doorstep of contributing to a ML club. Clarkin and Judge are AU away from doing anything to help the Yankees.
        
        In 2011 Soriano performed about as well as Cory Wade. In 2012 He was relegated to the 7th inning because Robertson had passed him by. If not for a freak injury to Mo coinciding with an oblique injury to Robertson, Soriano probably doesn’t get the opportunity to close. When you need two players to be injured just to say the contract worked out okay speaks volumes to the suckitude of that contract.
        
        W.B. Mason Williams
        
        When they signed it it was definitely a headscratcher.
        
        By the time he opted out it was important and necessary.
        
        Just because the circumstances between those two events were total flukes doesn’t make it any less true.
        
        Farewell Mo
        
        and you know for a fact that the Yankees would have drafted Bradley with that pick and not another Culver or Dante Bichette Jr??
        
        The Yankees very well might not have made the playoffs in 2012 had it not been for Soriano.
        
        Jorge Steinbrenner
        
        Congrats to JBJ for being close to becoming somebody who might, or might not, become a productive MLB regular. Throw him a parade……
        
        …..
        
        …..
        
        Mister D
        
        That’s actually sort of my point, JB2 being admittedly 20/20 … we lost the chance to draft and develop an everyday player because we seemingly bid against ourselves for a superfluous reliever.
  - http://www.twitter.com/mattpat11 Matt DiBari
    
    I’m really not going to shed any tears over the Yankees not being able to blow a pick ten spots earlier than they did.
  - Electric Nunez ll
    
    “…the Yankees didn’t need him…”-
    
    I guess the 2012 season passed you by…
    - Mister D
      
      If we signed another CF right now it would be signing a guy we didn’t need regardless of whether Ellsbury and Gardner collide and die on opening day.
      - W.B. Mason Williams
        
        It would be a signing we didn’t need right up until that event occurred.
        
        Divine intervention on the part of making that deal necessary doesn’t preclude it from being necessary.
        
        Mister D
        
        It kind of does. The idea of an event being born of necessity in hindsight doesn’t really make sense.
        
        W.B. Mason Williams
        
        Not incorporating events that come after a signing into the life of the contract isn’t a fair approximation of its value to the team.
        
        Unexpected negatives and unexpected positives should absolutely be accounted for.
        
        Same applies trades.
        
        Mister D
        
        That still doesn’t make it a necessity. If you buy a 2nd car then a year later crash your 1st, your 2nd doesn’t instantly become an ex post facto necessity purchase. It just worked out.
        
        (Man, the offseason is rough, huh?)
        
        W.B. Mason Williams
        
        Haha the finer points of logic. Yeah it must be pretty dry for us to be getting into that territory.
    - http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
      
      Incredible foresight by ownership to prepare for Rivera’s fluke injury 15 months in advance.
pat

We’ve been hearing this so much it makes me think the opposite. Seems like they’re playing the waiting game. As camps get into swing guys might get gun shy or happy feet and can be scooped on the low.
Jorge Steinbrenner

Dooooooooooooooom.
- Tanakapalooza Floozy
  
  Now we’re getting somewhere.
Farewell Mo

I wonder if this means they’re not gonna make an offer for the Cuban SS too.
- Jorge Steinbrenner
  
  It’s very open to interpretation. Being that they’ve had a steady presence scouting him, my assumption would be that he’d be very much in play.
  
  The question there is whether the market goes crazy about a guy for whom we’re reading decent, but not great, stuff on.
  - Nick
    
    Look at what the infielder that the Dodgers just signed got. The Cuban market has been nuts for a while (largely due to the Dodgers). Even Puig didn’t have mind blowing reports coming out on him before the Dodgers gave him 42M and they hadn’t even really scouted him extensively. I think Diaz will get 30M easily. If the Yankees think he is a potential impact infielder, make it happen. The one thing we’ve all heard consistently is that he can hit. Even if he doesn’t stick at SS, there are long term needs at 2B and 3B.
    - Jorge Steinbrenner
      
      “If the Yankees think he is a potential impact infielder, make it happen.”
      
      That sentence sounds familiar.
      
      30m over five or six years would be a reasonable risk in a market where guys like Infante got what they got. My question is does the market top off, or begin, there.
      
      At some point, there’s a market correction with these guys.
LarryM Fl

Drew in my estimation is good quality but probably way more expensive than his worth. The Yankee options in camp are not individually impressive but use within their strengths, we may find us an infield by committee. It is all about Girardi getting to know these guys. The bullpen is the place for 2014 to find some diamonds in the rough. I would like to see Warren win the 5th starter spot because Pineda just can not be ready IMHO. Betances, Phelps and Banuellos could do quite well in the pen with Banuellos moving to a starter in 2015. These are my Great Expectations (dreams) for 2014.
Aaron Small’s luck

All the more reason to go after Almedys Diaz in my opinion. Even if the 23 year old is in the minors this year, and supposing he does not stick at SS and must move to 2B, the good news is we don’t have an answer at that position either currently.
- Jorge Steinbrenner
  
  The question is do you want him to be the answer, and at what cost.
  
  Not having an answer is one thing. Committing too much to the wrong one is another.
  - Nick
    
    So you’re saying they should only sign him if they like him? Groundbreaking…
    - Jorge Steinbrenner
      
      First-name only commenter being a prick. Shocking.
      - Guns
        
        Even more shocking is you continue to be a prick no matter what you change your handle to. If you’re going to dish it out the way you do you should be able to take it.
        
        Jorge Steinbrenner
        
        I’ve always taken it just fine, Guns. You should know that.
        
        I promise I’ll be nicer if I ever change my screen name again.
        
        Macho Man “Randy Levine”
        
        Where did his comment imply that he was offended?
  - Aaron Small’s luck
    
    He just turned 23. Has hit for average, power, has some speed and a good arm. He has limited defensive range, though we have heard this particular complaint in regards to our short stop for 18 years. 4 years 20 mil does not seem like a tremendous financial gamble.
  - W.B. Mason Williams
    
    It’s a tough choice definitely.
    
    But taking a look at the 2015 FAs for middle infielders induces some form of laughter-vomit that makes Diaz look like the likely least-wrong choice. Of course he comes with the big red Tanaka flag of never having played in the league, but you take every prospect with a grain of salt.
    
    I guess it really comes down to whether or not he can stick at SS. Aside from Hardy it’s ugly.
    
    The 2B market has the potential to be good, assuming a guys like Jed Lowrie would be amenable to a switch.
    
    I don’t want the next Derek Jeter. But getting in on the ground floor of a SS who could hit north of .260? I’d jump on that ship, especially if we can get him for less than Puig money.
- Rick
  
  Was wondering if this was code for were focused on Aledmys and no one else.
Andy in Sunny Daytona

If the Yankees lose this year because they weren’t able to make a deal for Logan Forsythe then they should just fold as a franchise.
- Havok9120
  
  I’m glad someone else cracked an eyebrow at that part of the piece.
- Moose
  
  That sums it up for me. Play ball.
Willie

Sign Diaz
Jon W.

Can we now pelase stop hearing about how the Yankees are “willing to do whatever it takes to win”, as was spouted after the Tanaka signing? There’s no way that anyone can look at the infield at the moment and think the Yanks have done all they can do to improve it. Not by a long shot.
- LitFig
  
  So getting Stephen Drew will allow you to sleep well at night? By all means stick with that.
  
  I’m dying to know who the great players the Yanks should have manning the IF after looking at the market.
  
  I’m not a fan of the Brian Roberts signing, but once we let Cano leave, where was the market of big time 2B and 3B?
  - Need Pitching & Hitting
    
    There were better IF options that signed earlier in the offseason.
    And they did let Cano leave.
    
    There may be good long-term reasons for those moves, but it does directly fly in the face of “willing to do whatever it takes to win”.
    If they were truly doing “whatever it takes to win”, they would have re-signed the best 2B in baseball.
  - vicki
    
    well, while cano leaving is a given for you it may not be for everyone.
    
    after that, you’re right that there wasn’t anybody i’d call “big time”. but eric chavez would’ve been nice. so too mark ellis, jeff baker, guys like bonifacio on minor league contracts.
    
    we’ve got plenty of shit to throw at the wall, but there were smarter signings out there.
YankeeLover

Oh come on!!!!!!

When is this team gonna stand up and act like they talk!!!!!!!!!!

The Yankees have more money than no one and they go and put limits on their spending when the job isnt done.

Whose going to play second.

Whose going to play third.

Anyone whose seen this Diaz kid knows he’s a stud. The Yankees should spare no expense here. Overwhelm the field.

Give him the contract they gave Tinaka or watch him go to the Red Sox instead. The Red Sox always get who they want. Thats why their the class of baseball.

Diaz 8/155 and play him at second.

Drew 6 years and have him play third.

The Yankees can go and trade for Scherzer right now.

Give Dombrowski Jagelio, Judge and Clarkin. All first round talents that will go bust in this sorry organization.

Dombrowksi will develop them and Leyland will put them out on the field and they will all be stars.

With Schezer Diaz and Drew this is the making of a big dynasty that will finally back up the big talk.

Everyone talks about the core four, but thats like talking about Santa Claus. They lost in 1997, 2001, and 2004.

Not good enough for a team that talks like the Yankees.

Dont pay attention to what goobers like Tilapia and his buttfriends jjyank and jim say.

they were kids when the so-call core happened and still believe in Santa Claus.
- LitFig
  
  I’m jubilant AND terrified after reading this.
  
  Jubilant because I think it’s great satire.
  
  Terrified at the possibility that it’s not.
  - Macho Man “Randy Levine”
    
    Yea, all of this.
  - Jim Is A (Bored) Peckerhead
    
    If it is satire, it’s pretty great.
    - Tanakapalooza Floozy
      
      MUST be satire.
- jjyank
  
  lol
- Tanakapalooza Floozy
  
  Lulz. Or, winnerwinnerchickendinner, depending on your pov.
- BrianMcCannon
  
  Well done.
- Get Phelps Up
  
  Not Big Member, but still pretty good.
Deep Thoughts

Lo these many years after “Bubba Crosby is our center fielder” it’s still impossible to parse what Cashman is saying? Where in that article does it say the Yankees are “done,” assuming you even believed them if that’s what they were saying?

I see “the Yankees have no plans to hand out another major league contract.” And they won’t until they do again, which could happen tomorrow or in ten minutes. It doesn’t mean anything.

There’s actual baseball-related activity now. We don’t have to fixate on non-statements as interpreted by Joel Sherman FFS.