Mark Teixeira was given the okay to lose his wrist brace today, and said the doctors are “very happy with the progress” following this morning’s checkup. He’s still a ways off from resuming baseball activity and returning the team, but any progress is good. Teixeira has been fielding ground balls, running the bases, and swinging a bat one-handed as he waits for the tendon sheath in his right wrist to heal.
Opening Day Spillover Thread
A new thread for luck. They need it.
Hughes scheduled for Triple-A start on Saturday
Via Howie Rumberg: Phil Hughes is scheduled to make what amounts to a rehab start for Triple-A Scranton this Saturday before rejoining the team in Cleveland next week. It is not at all a coincidence David Phelps is scheduled to start for the big league team on Saturday as well.
Hughes, 26, made a minor league start on Wednesday and threw seven innings in another minor league game today according to Adam Berry, lining him up for Saturday. He’s coming back from a bulging disk that caused him to miss the first few weeks of camp, and right now the Yankees are just stretching him back out to 100+ pitches. Hughes is reportedly healthy, but not yet ready to pitch deep into games.
Jeter will resume playing catch today, hopes to do more this week
Via Andy McCullough & Chad Jennings: Brian Cashman confirmed Derek Jeter will resume playing catch today and hopes the Cap’n can do even more in the coming days. “There is no exact schedule for Derek because it’s what his ankle allows him to do (and) we’re really not going to know that until he goes out there,” said Joe Girardi.
Jeter, 37, received a cortisone shot in his surgically repaired left ankle two weeks ago. He was apparently on track to be ready in time for Opening Day, but the team had to shut him down due to lingering soreness and inflammation last week. The Yankees say they want Jeter to play back-to-back nine inning games at shortstop before activating him off the DL, which means the original target return date of April 6th is wildly optimistic. I really do worry about there being that lingering soreness and inflammation all season.
Game One: Opening Day
I’m not quite sure I can come up with one single word to describe the last six months. The embarrassing ALCS exit was following by a few great moves (yay pitching!) but also a whole bunch of puzzling decisions. Spring Training was an injury-filled nightmare that resulted in some more puzzling decisions, but finally all of that is in the past. Opening Day is here.
For the first time in I don’t know how long, the Yankees are legitimate underdogs. Yes, it’s silly to say a team with a $200M+ payroll is an underdog, but it’s not a $200M+ roster — there are over $90M worth of players on the DL. The Yankees are not just being picked to miss the postseason — that happens every year — they’re being picked to finish in last and lose like, 90 games. And for the first time in I don’t know how long, it could actually happen. Other clubs in the division got better while the Yankees got worse. Add in some injuries to key players and you’ve got the formula for missing the postseason.
I have no idea what the next six months have in store and neither do you. That’s just the way baseball is, weird stuff happens all the time. Players surprise, players unexpectedly perform poorly … it’s all part of the mystery of baseball. All I care about right now is that baseball is back. The Yankees are back and CC Sabathia is back and Robinson Cano is back and Mariano Rivera is back and even the players I don’t like are back too. It’s Opening Day and everyone is cool with me. A new season and a fresh start, that’s all that matters right now.
Just for the record, the Yankees are 63-46-1 all-time on Opening Day, a .572 winning percentage that is essentially identical to the franchise’s .568 overall winning percentage. Funny how that works out, no? No, no it’s not. Here’s the first lineup of the season…
- CF Brett Gardner
- SS Eduardo Nunez
- 2B Robinson Cano
- 1B Kevin Youkilis
- LF Vernon Wells
- DH Ben Francisco
- RF Ichiro Suzuki
- 3B Jayson Nix
- C Frankie Cervelli
And on the mound is the big left-hander from the Bay Area, CC Sabathia. He’s making his tenth career Opening Day start, tying Roy Halladay for the most among active pitchers. Only nine pitchers have started more Opening Days since 1919.
This afternoon’s game is scheduled to start a little after 1pm ET and can be seen on YES locally and ESPN nationally. Pre-game festivities will begin around 12:30pm and I’m sure YES will carry at least part of them. Baseball’s back, so enjoy the game.
Old policy flies in the face of the new reality
Perhaps the policy had been in place previously, but the first time I remember Brian Cashman mentioning it was during the spring of 2007. In camp that year the Yankees had two important players who were set to hit free agency following the season: Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera (plus A-Rod’s looming opt-out situation). Instead of talking contract with them before the season and therefore keeping them out of the free agent picture, the Yankees instead opted to wait, saying it was policy to not extend contracts before free agency.
At the time the policy was sensible enough. It allowed them to remain flexible. If a player got hurt before the end of a contract, they weren’t on the hook for any additional years and dollars. Once the players did hit free agency, the Yankees had a whole pool of players from which they could choose. At a time when many small and mid market teams let their best players hit free agency, the Yankees stood to take great advantage.
In the past six years the situation has changed quite a bit. Those small and mid market teams have bigger budgets now, thanks in part to the revenue sharing program. They’re using those dollars to lock up their best players to long-term deals. Here is a list of significant extensions in recent seasons. (Free agency dates in terms of, would be a free agent following the XXXX season; option years in parenthesis.)
Player | Orig. FA | New FA |
---|---|---|
Joey Votto | 2013 | 2023 (24) |
Felix Hernandez | 2014 | 2020 |
Buster Posey | 2016 | 2021 (22) |
Cole Hamels | 2012 | 2018 (19) |
Justin Verlander | 2014 | 2019 (20) |
David Wright | 2013 | 2020 |
Matt Cain | 2013 | 2017 (18) |
Ryan Zimmerman | 2013 | 2019 (20) |
Adam Wainwright | 2013 | 2018 |
That just covers the $100-million-plus extensions. Adam Jones, Andre Ethier, Ian Kinsler, Yadier Molina, Starlin Castro, Miguel Montero, Andrew McCutchen, Gio Gonzalez, Alex Gordon, and Madison Bumgarner, among others, also got extensions that take them past their original free agency dates. Given the rash of recent extensions, the younger of that group could see further extensions before they reach that already delayed free agency date.
Another name will soon join the $100-million-plus club: Elvis Andrus. This morning Jon Heyman reported that the Rangers and Andrus were nearing an eight year extension worth $120 million, which will keep Andrus under contract for the next 10 years at $131 million total. This comes when the Rangers still have two years left on Andrus’s current contract and also have baseball’s No. 1 prospect Jurickson Profar waiting for a chance. There goes another player the Yankees can’t acquire via free agency.
The days of acquiring superstar talent via free agency seem like a distant past. This past off-season there was little superstar talent freely available. It was essentially Josh Hamilton, and he went to the Angels with all of his flaws. If you look at next year’s top free agents you’ll notice that one of them is already off the board, and the rest have plenty of downside. After Cano there are injury risks and older players, but generally there isn’t a superstar present. It’s Cano by his lonesome. The 2015 free agent list looks bleak as well. There’s Clayton Kershaw, but he appears to be nearing a mammoth extension. The only player that looks halfway useful for the Yanks is Asdrubal Cabrera, but even the Indians appear willing to spend money these days.
The old policy doesn’t work in the new world. Teams simply aren’t letting their best players reach the point of free agency. They’re offering security in exchange for some level of savings from full market price, and the players are jumping at the opportunities. When the Yankees let their own players hit free agency, they’re not longer creating flexible situations. They’re essentially driving up those players’ prices. Unless they have an in-house replacement, chances are they’re going to lose production in the deal if they don’t re-sign the player.
All of this, of course, goes back to Robinson Cano. The Yankees have apparently thrown out their policy and have made a significant offer to Cano, but apparently it’s not enough to get the deal done. With Scott Boras that’s expected, but then again Andrus is a Boras client. There remains a small chance the Yankees can work out something with Cano before November, but given his status as the league’s best second baseman, combined with possible interest from the newly rich Dodgers, it doesn’t seem like a strong possibility.
Hindsight suggests that the Yankees should have started working on an extension for Cano after the 2010 season. Unfortunately, that’s also when Cano hired Boras as his agent. Boras did come to the Yankees with the idea of ripping up Cano’s current contract and negotiating a new one, and at this point that appears to be an option the Yankees should have considered. They now face losing not only their best player, but their only star player — one who has no apparent successor. (As a superstar, not as a second baseman.)
Where will the Yankees be next year if they lose Cano? They’re then back to relying on Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez to be their superstars. Much as I like both of them and appreciate what they contributed to the 2009 World Series team, it has become apparent that their lineup-carrying days are over. The free agency market is bare. Teams aren’t willing to trade premium talent for prospects any longer. If the Yankees want to continue having a star in their everyday lineup, it will mean ponying up huge dollars, and probably nine or 10 years, for Cano.
Perhaps in a few years the situation will change and star players will either hit free agency or get dealt to a big market team that offers an extension. For the time being, the emphasis is on developing premium talent in the minor leagues. The Yankees are greatly disadvantaged here, given their annual draft position. But that’s a topic for a different post.
Fan Confidence Poll: April 1st, 2013
Spring Training Record: 14-18 (140 RS, 156 RA)
Regular Season Record: 0-0 (0 RS, 0 RA)
Regular Season Schedule This Week: vs. Red Sox (three games, Mon. to Thurs.), @ Tigers (three games, Fri. to Sun.)
Top stories from last week:
- The Yankees made a flurry of moves before finalizing their 25-man roster yesterday, most notably acquiring Vernon Wells from the Angels in exchange for two non-prospects. New York will pay $13.9M of the $42M left on his contract, and the money is structured so the outfielder counts as $0 for luxury tax purposes in 2014. The Yankees also signed Lyle Overbay to a minor league contract.
- David Aardsma and Clay Rapada were designated for assignment in part because the team doesn’t want relievers who are unable to throw multiple innings. Juan Rivera was released while David Adams was released and re-signed to a minor league deal to clear another 40-man roster spot. Sam Demel was outrighted to Triple-A after being claimed off waivers, though Dan Otero was lost on waivers after being claimed a few days earlier.
- Injury News: Derek Jeter (ankle) took the last few days off to get rid of lingering soreness and could resume activity today. Mark Teixeira (wrist) has been taking ground balls and swinging a bat one-handed, and he could get the okay to lose his brace during Monday’s checkup. Curtis Granderson (forearm) is healing well but is still a ways off from resuming baseball activity. Phil Hughes (back) will open the season on the DL and could rejoin the rotation the second time through. Michael Pineda (shoulder) will face hitters in two weeks for the first time since surgery. Travis Hafner (general stiffness) missed Saturday’s game but is expected to be fine for the regular season. Boone Logan (left fat) is fine after being hit by a line drive. Slade Heathcott (knee) has resumed baseball activity. Ronnie Mustelier (knee) will miss the start of the season.
- Russell Martin offered to sign a one-year deal worth $9-10M to return to New York this offseason, but the Yankees passed. The World Baseball Classic will cover Teixeira’s salary while he is on the DL since he got hurt while with Team USA.
- The Yankees placed 11th and 14th in Baseball America’s and Baseball Prospectus’ farm system rankings, respectively.
- The 2013 draft order is finally set, and the Yankees will own three of the top 33 picks and north of $7M in draft pool room.
- The Yankees are now worth $2.3 billion according to Forbes.
Please take a second to answer the poll below and give us an idea of how confident you are in the team. You can view the interactive Fan Confidence Graph anytime via the nav bar above, or by clicking here. Thanks in advance for voting.