River Avenue Blues

Feinsand: Swisher heading to Cleveland

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If you were holding out hope the Yankees would swoop in and unexpectedly re-sign Nick Swisher, you can forget about it now. Mark Feinsand reports the switch-hitter has agreed to a four-year, $56M deal with the Indians that includes a $14M vesting option for a fifth year.

Cleveland has a protected first round pick (#5 overall), but that doesn’t matter as far as the Yankees are concerned. They were going to receive the same supplemental first round pick no matter where he signed. The Tribe forfeits their second rounder instead. Swisher was easily one of Brian Cashman’s best pickups, a tremendously durable and productive outfielder who cost Wilson Betemit and two prospects whose names you don’t remember.

Saturday Night Open Thread

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I know it’s frickin’ freezing (and windy) out, but I hope everyone has had a wonderful Saturday. Neither of the basketball locals are in action tonight, but talk about whatever you like here. Have at it.

Heyman: Yankees still seeking right-handed bat

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This is no surprise, but Jon Heyman says the Yankees continue to seek a right-handed bat for the bench. He reiterates that Scott Hairston and Vernon Wells are options, though he adds another candidate to the mix: Jeff Baker. I wrote a Scouting The Market post for the 31-year-old back in July, so I’ll just refer you to that and give you the short version here: he hits lefties well and has a ton of experience at first, third, and in right field. Baker is almost certainly a one-year contract guy (though who knows with this market), something that isn’t true for Wells or Hairston.

Cody Ross headed to Arizona; Yankees not close to any trades

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Free agent outfielder Cody Ross has agreed to a three-year deal with the Diamondbacks, reports Mark Feinsand. The Yankees reportedly had interest in the right-handed hitter earlier this offseason, though they were never a realistic landing spot given his demand for three years. I wouldn’t have been cool with signing him that long even without the 2014 payroll plan.

More than anything, the signing increases the likelihood of Arizona trading one of their spare outfielders. Justin Upton is the big name, but Jason Kubel also makes a ton of sense for New York as the left-handed half of a DH platoon. D’Backs GM Kevin Towers spent a year in the Yankees front office and knows their farm system pretty well. Buster Olney says the Bombers are not close on any trades, however. The market for Scott Hairston, by far the best right-handed hitting outfielder left on the market, should also begin to really heat up as well.

Cashman: No plans to continue upgrading rotation

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Via Christian Red: Brian Cashman said the team has no plans to further upgrade the rotation after re-signing Andy Pettitte and Hiroki Kuroda. The Yankees are six starters deep (depending on your opinion of David Phelps) and tentatively have Michael Pineda scheduled to return at midseason.

I want the Yankees to pursue a veteran starter (preferably Shaun Marcum) on a one-year contract to deepen the rotation and free up Nova or Phelps for use as trade bait, but that’s not very realistic. In a market where Francisco Liriano and Brandon McCarthy are getting two guaranteed years, finding a decent veteran on a one-year pact is next to impossible. A few weeks ago Joel Sherman said the Yankees are expected to bottom-feed for a depth arm in January and February, which is no surprise.

Friday Night Open Thread

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Hooray for holiday break. I got my last minute shopping done this morning and now I’m just going to chill the eff out for a few days. As much fun as Christmas and New Year’s are, they can be overwhelming if you’ve got a big extended family that demands attention.

Anyway, here is tonight’s open thread. The Knicks are playing tonight, but talk about whatever you like here. Enjoy.

Yankees outright Jim Miller to Triple-A

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The Yankees have outrighted Jim Miller to Triple-A, the team announced. The right-handed reliever was designated for assignment earlier this week to clear room on the 40-man roster for Ichiro Suzuki.

Miller, 30, was claimed off waivers from the Athletics late last month. He pitched to a 2.59 ERA (4.74 FIP) in 48.2 innings for Oakland last year and owns a 2.42 ERA (4.42 FIP) with big strikeout (8.10 K/9 and 20.4 K%) and walk (5.12 BB/9 and 12.9 BB%) rates in 63.1 career big league innings.