The 2018 season has started and we’re now into April. That means it’s time for another trip through the MLB Trade Rumors archives as part of our monthly series. The 2013 season started on April 1st and the Yankees didn’t play all that well initially. They lost the first two games of the season and four of their first five games overall. The Yankees eventually settled in and finished the month at 16-10.
Injuries hit the Yankees pretty hard in Spring Training 2013. Curtis Granderson went down with a broken arm and Mark Teixeira was sidelined with a wrist issue. That sent the Yankees scrambling for replacements, which led them to Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay. Time to dive into another month of retro rumors even though April usually isn’t the best month for trade talks or transactions.
April 2nd, 2013: Robinson Cano Fires Boras; Hires CAA
Robinson Cano has fired agent Scott Boras, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney. Olney says the Yankees’ second baseman “has quietly been meeting with other agents in recent weeks to discuss a possible switch, and now he has changed representation.” Cano hired CAA as his new agency, tweets Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
There was a big freakout when Cano initially hired Boras in February 2011. His looming free agency was a Very Big Deal and when a player hires Boras, it’s because he wants top dollar. Then, eight months before he became a free agent, Cano dumped Boras and signed on with CAA. More specifically, he signed with Jay Z’s Roc Nation, which has a partnership with CAA. All that Boras freakout for nothing. CAA got the job done though. The Mariners threw a ridiculous offer his way and Robbie took it. As cool as it would’ve been for him to be a career Yankee, I don’t blame him one bit for taking that contract.
April 5th, 2013: Minor Moves: Flacco, M’s, Twins, Tigers, Braves
Also within that link, Eddy reports that the Phillies acquired shortstop Jose Mojica from the Yankees. Mojica hit just .226/.265/.305 for the Bombers’ Advanced-A affiliate in 2012.
Man I love seeing all the old names in these posts. Mojica was never a top prospect — or a prospect, really, I never had him on a top 30 list and neither did Baseball America — but he was in the system, and I remember seeing his name in box scores for a few years. He hit .233/.286/.276 (62 wRC+) in 87 High-A games for the Phillies after this minor trade. He’s been out of baseball since the end of the 2013 season. What do you think Mojica’s doing now?
April 8th, 2013: East Links: Wheeler, Fernandez, Swisher, Red Sox
Nick Swisher told reporters (including Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger) that “it hurt” when the Yankees didn’t make him an offer to return (beyond the one-year, $13.3MM qualifying offer to receive draft pick compensation). Swisher said he’s no longer thinking about the Yankees and is focused on winning with the Indians, who have treated him “like a king” thus far.
The Swisher trade tree is a fun one. It goes like this: Ruben Rivera > Hideki Irabu > Jake Westbrook > David Justice > Robin Ventura > Scott Proctor > Wilson Betemit > Nick Swisher > Aaron Judge. A bunch of other players (Homer Bush, Rickey Ledee, Bubba Crosby, etc.) were involved along the way, but that’s the general structure. Signing Rivera eventually led the Yankees to the draft pick they received for losing Swisher, which was used to select Judge.
There was never really much of an expectation the Yankees would bring back Swisher. They wanted to get under the luxury tax threshold in 2014 and Ichiro Suzuki was a cheaper (and more box office friendly) alternative, so they went with Ichiro. Given how Swisher broke down with the Indians and how the draft pick turned into Judge, it’s impossible to complain about the way things turned out. And besides, Swisher is back with the Yankees now anyway. He’s a front office advisor.
April 18th, 2013: AL Notes: Jeter, Mills, Angels
A setback in Derek Jeter‘s ankle injury will keep the Yankees shortstop out until after the All-Star break, Mark Feinsand of New York Daily News reports. Jeter’s doctor found a “small crack” near where Jeter’s injury originally occurred. He will not need surgery as a result of the setback
Jeter played on an injured ankle late in 2012 and it eventually gave out during the postseason, as I’m sure you remember. His rehab continued into Spring Training and he wasn’t ready to begin the season with the Yankees, then, a few weeks later, he suffered a setback and had to be shut down. Jeter returned in mid-July and was on and off the disabled list the rest of the season. He hit .190/.288/.254 in 73 plate appearance that year. It goes into the history books as, by frickin’ far, the worst season of Derek’s career.
April 24th,, 2013: Mets, Yankees Deny Making Offer To Valverde
4:31pm: WFAN’s Sweeny Murti tweets that Yankees GM Brian Cashman denied the claims made by Valverde. Cashman said that not only did the Yankees not make an offer, they didn’t even have discussions with Valverde and Boras.
3:55pm: Jose Valverde is back in a familiar role as the Tigers’ closer, but he could’ve been in a very different situation had wanted to this offseason. The 35-year-old told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports today that the Yankees and Mets both offered him a Major League contract this offseason (Twitter link).
Oy vey. I don’t remember this at all. The 2013 Yankees weren’t very good overall but their bullpen was pretty decent. Mariano Rivera and David Robertson handled the late innings, Adam Warren became a guy that year, and both Shawn Kelley and Joba Chamberlain were still around as well. Valverde was okay at best in 2012 (3.78 ERA and 3.62 FIP) and just didn’t seem like someone the Yankees would pursue. He eventually returned to the Tigers and pitched to a 5.63 ERA (5.59 FIP) in 40 innings the rest of his career.
April 29th, 2013: AL East Notes: Sox, Jays, Rays, O’s, Yanks
“Plans are in the works” for Hideki Matsui to sign a one-day contract to ceremoniously retire a Yankee, writes George A. King III of the New York Post. Matsui spent his first seven MLB seasons with the Yankees, compiling a .292/.370/.482 batting line with 140 home runs.
Matsui’s playing days ended in 2012 — remember when he played for the Rays? weird — and he did indeed sign that one-day contract to retire as a Yankee. It was pretty cool. They had the ceremony at Yankee Stadium in July:
April 30th, 2013: AL East Notes: Astros, Draft, Andino, Nelson
The Yankees have had trade talks with the Rockies regarding infielder Chris Nelson, but New York’s interest in Nelson seems to be limited, says Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger (on Twitter). The Rockies designated Nelson for assignment Saturday night.
April 30th: Interest in Nelson is “limited.” May 18th: Yankees claim Nelson on waivers. He appeared in ten games with the Yankees that season, going 8-for-36 (.222) with two doubles. Nelson was still active in an independent league last season, you know. Not sure if he’s still playing. That 2013 Yankees team went through more random crummy fill-in middle infielders than I care to count.
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