River Avenue Blues

Hal: There’s been “a conversation or two” about extending Cano

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Via Wally Matthews: Hal Steinbrenner confirmed the team has had some discussions with Scott Boras about a contract extension for Robinson Cano. “There’s been a conversation or two,” said the team’s principal owner yesterday. “We’ll get into that and we’ll talk about that at a later date. But he’s been a great Yankee and [we] hope he’s here his entire career.”

Cano, 30, will become a free agent for the first time next winter. Team policy has been to wait until a contract expires before negotiating a new one — Hal recently said he is not a fan of extensions — but the Yankees broke their own rule once to sign Cano and could easily do so again. Either way, he’s in line for a massive nine-figure contract. If they intend to keep him long-term, the Yankees would be wise to hammer out a new deal now rather than wait until next winter, when the Dodgers could get involved.

Snowmageddon Open Thread

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVSFDJ9ABJc&w=580&h=326]

I went with the 2011 highlights last night, so let’s go back another year to 2010 tonight. It’s always fun to see great plays you either forgot about or just flat out missed during the season.

Anyway, here is your thread for this very snowy evening. Hopefully everyone got home safe and none of you are stuck driving anywhere. Both the Knicks and Nets are playing, but talk about anything you want here. Enjoy.

2013 Preseason Top 30 Prospects

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Triple-A Scranton will have a renovated new stadium in 2013. (The Scranton Times-Tribune)
Triple-A Scranton will have a renovated new stadium in 2013. (The Scranton Times-Tribune)

The 2012 minor league season was pretty close to a nightmare for the Yankees. It didn’t get all the way there, but it was close. Their top pitching prospects either suffered series elbow injuries or just stopped throwing strikes, and a few of their top hitting prospects dealt with injuries or played so poorly we have to go back and question how good they were in the first place.

That said, the Yankees still have a pretty strong farm system with four no-doubt top 100 prospects in my opinion. The drop-off after those four is drastic, but there’s a solid group of upside guys coming off injury and probability guys knocking on the door. The Yankees have more high-end position player prospects right now than at any point since the law firm of Johnson, Soriano & Henson were calling the farm system shots in the early-2000s.

As I say every year, ranking prospects is all about your personal balance between potential and probability. Some prefer upside over probability while others tends to value the safer guys a little more. Talent always reigns supreme to me, but I’ve definitely come to value closeness to the big leagues as well in recent years. For the most part, there won’t be much difference between two prospects ranked consecutively. There usually is a difference between guys who are five or six or ten spots apart, however.

I use the standard rookie eligibility rules — 130 at-bats or 50 innings at the MLB level — to determine who is and who isn’t a prospect without regards to service time limit. That stuff is a pain. We need a cut-off point and rookie eligibility seems like a convenient enough place to draw the line. The only prospect to graduate from last year’s preseason list was RHSP David Phelps. That’s a function of the distribution of talent in the farm system at the moment — most of the best prospects are in the lower minors and still a good year or two away from seeing the show.

All of my previous top 30 lists — including the pre-draft and post-draft lists — dating back to the start of RAB in 2007 can be found right here. All of the ages listed below are as of April 1st, or approximately Opening Day. Enjoy.

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Thursday Night Open Thread

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAy3Sh_RXjc&w=580&h=326]

That video is from the 2011 season, but I’ll allow it because I’m itching for baseball. The Yankees appear only five times, four because they were getting robbed by a great defensive play. Frankie Cervelli took a foul ball to the cup the other time. I’m going to have to GIF that at some point.

Anyway, here if your open thread for the night. All three hockey locals are in action, but talk about whatever you want. Enjoy.

Rothschild: Pineda could throw off full mound next week

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Via Erik Boland: Pitching coach Larry Rothschild confirmed Michael Pineda is progressing well during his rehab from shoulder surgery. There’s a chance he will be able to throw off a full mound as soon as next week.

Pineda, 24, has been throwing off a half-mound for a little more than a week now after spending several months on flat ground. Getting back up on a full mound is a big milestone in his rehab, but don’t confuse it for a sign that he is close to returning. Pineda is still weeks away from facing hitters behind an L-screen in batting practice, nevermind pitching in any kind of game situation. Still, I’m sure he and the team will take all the good news they can.

Report: Felix Hernandez close to extension with Mariners

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Felix Hernandez is close to signing a mammoth seven-year, $175M contract with the Mariners according to Bob Nightengale. The deal rips up the final two years of his previous contract and takes effect immediately, so it’s basically a five-year extension that will keep him in Seattle through 2019. The Yankees and pretty much every other team have tried to trade for Felix at some point recently, but GM Jack Zduriencik steadfastly refused to discuss him. Don’t worry, I’m sure the Yankees will pay through the nose for whatever is left of his career in seven years.