River Avenue Blues

Cashman says he’s not planning to trade A-Rod

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Via Jon Heyman: Brian Cashman says that he has no plans to try to trade Alex Rodriguez this offseason despite talk to the contrary. “He’s our third baseman … I’m going to focus on other areas,” said the GM before flatly saying he is not planning to discuss any deals involving A-Rod. Cashman denied having trade talks with the Marlins the other day.

This will be the offseason script, so be prepared. We’ll hear that the Yankees are talking to some team about A-Rod, then Cashman will deny it. Rinse, repeat. Even if they are having talks, he’ll still deny it. The only time the team will acknowledge that trade talks have occurred is when they send out a press release announcing a trade, if it ever happens. The Yankees tend to do things — especially major moves — very quietly and for good reason.

Saturday Night Open Thread

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(Norm Hall/Getty)

Well, if you were hoping the Yankees would trade Alex Rodriguez to the Marlins for Heath Bell, you can forget it now. Miami traded Bell to the Diamondbacks today as part of a three-team trade that sent Chris Young to the Athletics, Cliff Pennington to Arizona, and a prospect to the Marlins. Young definitely would have made sense for the Yankees as a right-handed hitter with power and speed who can play a legitimate center field, but alas. I have to think the likelihood of a Justin Upton trade just went down, but I suppose Seth Smith or Josh Reddick may be available now.

Anyway, here is your open thread for the night. There’s no baseball being played — the Giants and Cardinals are traveling to San Francisco and will continue the NLCS tomorrow. There is college football on though, so talk about that or any non-politics topic here. Enjoy.

Update: Sabathia will have elbow checked out this week

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Saturday: Via Jon Heyman: Sabathia will see Dr. James Andrews later this week. The ligament in his elbow is said to be fine, but it’s believed that there’s a bone spur which will need to be cleaned up. Heyman says it wouldn’t put in him danger of missing time next season. Fingers crossed until the Doc looks at him.

Friday: Via Marc Carig: The Yankees will take another look at CC Sabathia’s left elbow now that the season is over. “Let’s put it this way, we’re going to look at that elbow, no doubt about it,” said Brian Cashman. “That will be on the list of things we have to look at now that the offseason’s here. Whether he wants to or not, we’re going to go look into this thing and make sure everything’s okay.”

Sabathia spent two weeks on the DL with elbow stiffness at midseason and struggled initially after his return, but he pitched extremely well late in the season and in the ALDS before getting rocked in ALCS Game Four last night. The left-hander told reporters that the elbow “felt good enough to pitch” yesterday, perhaps indicating that he wasn’t 100%. Then again, no one is this time of year.

Report: Yankees sending Granderson to see eye specialist

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Via Mark Feinsand and Bill Madden: The Yankees are sending Curtis Granderson to an eye specialist to determine if vision problems are contributing to his rising strikeout totals. This isn’t the first time there have been concerns about his eyesight — the team had Granderson wear contacts for the first time in his career in 2010 after routine tests showed something less than 20/20 vision. It’s unclear if he’s continued to wear contacts since. This seems like a shot in the dark more than anything, but it is worth checking out.

Sherman: Cano seeking ten years at “top-of-the-market dollars”

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Via Joel Sherman: Robinson Cano is said to be seeking ten years at “top-of-the-market dollars” for his next contract. The Yankees will exercise his $15M club option for 2013, though it’s unclear if they’ll break team policy to negotiate an extension before he reaches free agency next winter. Scott Boras, Cano’s agent, made it clear that he expects his client to be treated as one of the very best players in the game.

The Yankees already broke their own rule by signing Cano to a multi-year contract back in 2008, a six-year deal worth $59M when you include the two option years. Had he not signed that extension, Robbie would have been able to become a free agent this offseason. It’s not surprising that this ten-year, “top-of-the-market” dollars demand is being floated, of course he wants that. There are benefits to both negotiating a new deal now and waiting until next offseason, but this will be a very interesting situation to monitor going forward.

Update: Qualifying offers will be $13.3M this offseason

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October 20th: Via Jon Heyman, qualifying offers will be worth $13.3M this offseason. We’ve already heard that Soriano will get one, and that Swisher is “extremely likely” to get one as well.

August 1st: Via Buster Olney, qualifying offers to free agents after the season will be in the $13.3-13.4M range. Previous estimates had them around $12.4M. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, a team must make a player a qualifying offer to received draft pick compensation. They effectively replaces arbitration.

The Yankees have a number of qualifying offer candidates due to become free agents after the season, specifically Nick Swisher and Hiroki Kuroda. Rafael Soriano could also receive one if he opts out of his contract considering that he’d be walking away from $14M next year anyway. The new draft pick compensation system is pretty wacky, so I recommend checking out this primer at MLBTR.

Update: Soriano likely to opt-out after the season

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October 20th: Scott Boras strongly hinted to Joel Sherman that Soriano will in fact opt-out, though the two sides still have to talk before a final decision is made. Sherman says the Yankees are unlikely to offer an extension but Heyman says they will make him a qualifying offer to ensure they receive draft pick compensation if he signs elsewhere.

Sept. 13th: Via Jon Heyman, there “is a good chance” that Rafael Soriano will exercise the opt-out clause in his contract and become a free agent after the season. The Yankees aren’t convinced he’ll walk away from his $14M salary in 2013, however.

Soriano, 32, has been brilliant since taking over for the injured Mariano Rivera, pitching to a 2.15 ERA (2.74 FIP) with a 48/9 K/BB in 46 innings as closer. He’s gone 37-for-40 in save chances as well. Unless Rivera decides to retire or the Yankees decide to scrap the 2014 payroll plan, I can’t imagine they’ll re-sign Soriano to a fat multi-year contract given his history of elbow problems and the fact that Brian Cashman didn’t even want to sign him in the first place.