International Free Agents Archives - Page 2 of 33

Sunday Links: Kikuchi, Acevedo, AzFL, King, Judge

September 30, 2018 by Mike

The Yankees and Red Sox close out their 2018 regular seasons with their three-game series finale later today. Every game across the league starts at 3pm ET today. There are some great postseason races in the National League. American League? Not so much. I’m looking forward to one last stress-free game. Here are some notes to check out prior to today’s season finale.

Yankees scouting Kikuchi

According to Jim Allen, the Yankees were among the teams with a scout(s) on hand to watch Japanese left-hander Yusei Kikuchi during his most recent start. Kikuchi, 27, has a 3.08 ERA with 153 strikeouts in 163.2 innings for the Seibu Lions this season. He’s been among the best pitchers in Japan the last few years. The Lions are expected to post Kikuchi for MLB teams this offseason.

I wrote about Kikuchi and the Yankees back in April. His stuff is legit. He has a qualify fastball and a wide array of secondary pitches. The biggest concern with Kikuchi is a history of arm problems. That doesn’t automatically disqualify him as a possible offseason target. It’s just something that has to be considered. The Yankees have two starters in place for next season (Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka) and I’d bet the farm on CC Sabathia returning. Kikuchi could be a candidate to fill one of the other two rotation spots.

Acevedo removed from AzFL roster

Right-hander Domingo Acevedo has been removed from the Glendale Desert Dogs roster and will not pitch in the Arizona Fall League this year, the league announced. No reason was given but I assume it is injury related. Acevedo was placed on the disabled list with a biceps injury — his second biceps injury of 2018 — at the very end of the minor league season. Injuries limited him to 69.1 innings this season.

The Yankees had an open AzFL roster spot to fill — I have no idea whether that spot is a pitcher spot or position player spot — and now they have to fill Acevedo’s spot as well. I wonder if this opens the door for Jonathan Loaisiga to go to the AzFL to make up for the innings he lost to shoulder inflammation earlier this season. Loaisiga has thrown only 78.2 innings this year and he’s been sitting in the bullpen as a September call-up these last few weeks. The Yankees might not want to throw him to the wolves in the historically hitter friendly AzFL without being properly stretched out.

King among top Eastern League prospects

Baseball America (subs. req’d) continued their look at the top 20 prospects in each minor league earlier this week with the Double-A Eastern League. Blue Jays third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. predictably claims the top spot. He is the top prospect in baseball. Righty Mike King is the only Yankees prospect on the list. He ranks 18th. Here’s a snippet of the scouting report:

He’s lauded internally for the extraordinary amount of work he puts into every start, which has helped him game plan opposing hitters all year long … He starts by commanding a pair of average 89-93 mph fastballs to both sides of the plate and backs it up with a slider and changeup that can generate swings and misses … Because he’s jumped so quickly this year, scouts are understandably hesitant about his future role, with most seeing him as a possible No. 5 starter.

In the chat (subs. req’d), Josh Norris notes righty Erik Swanson showed well this year, though he didn’t throw enough innings with Double-A Trenton to qualify for the Eastern League top 20 list. “(Swanson) saw particular results because of the way his fastball carried through the zone. He also got better at commanding his entire arsenal and made progress with his changeup,” says the write-up. King is not yet Rule 5 Draft eligible. I’m curious to see whether Swanson gets added to the 40-man roster.

Judge has MLB’s highest selling jersey (again)

For the second straight season, Aaron Judge has the highest selling jersey in baseball. MLB and the MLBPA jointly announced their annual most popular player jerseys list earlier this week — that is based on sales at MLB.com’s online shop — and it is dominated by young players. Here’s the press release and here’s the top five:

Aaron Judge, Yankees
Jose Altuve, Astros
Javier Baez, Cubs
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
Mookie Betts, Red Sox

Giancarlo Stanton is ninth on the list, one spot behind Shohei Ohtani. I’d love to see the numbers on these jersey sales. Anecdotally, it seems to me there are more Judge jerseys and shirts in the stands these days than any other player since Derek Jeter retired. Jeter always dominated the jersey and shirt scene. Feels like Judge is right up there with him now.

Saturday Notes: Postseason Schedule, Forbes, IFAs, KBO

August 4, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Weather permitting, the Yankees and Red Sox will continue their four-game series at Fenway Park later today. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05pm ET, though there’s some rain in the forecast around that time, so we might be in for a bit of a delay. Hope not. Anyway, here are some links and notes to check out in the meantime.

Postseason schedule announced

Earlier this week MLB announced the postseason schedule which, obviously, is relevant to the Yankees. Even if you think they’re the worst good team ever, FanGraphs puts their postseason odds at 99.9% as of this writing, so yeah. Anyway, here is the portion of the postseason schedule potentially relevant to the Yankees (here’s the full schedule):

Tiebreaker Games (if necessary): Monday, October 1st (on ESPN)
AL Wild Card Game: Wednesday, October 3rd (on TBS)
Both ALDS: Friday, October 5th to Thursday, October 11th (on TBS)
ALCS: Saturday, October 13th to Sunday, October 21st (on FOX and FOX Sports 1)
World Series: Tuesday, October 23rd to Wednesday, October 31st (on FOX)

Barring rainouts, the World Series will end in October this year for the first time since 2014. The regular season ends Sunday, September 30th, so this year there are two days between the end of the regular season and the AL Wild Card Game. Last year there was only one off-day. This means the AL Wild Card clubs can use their ace as late as Game 160 of the regular season on Friday, September 28th, and still have him on normal rest for the Wild Card Game.

Yankees among most valuable sports franchises

To the surprise of no one, the Yankees are once again one of the most valuable sports franchises in the world according to Forbes. The fifth most valuable, to be exact, behind the Dallas Cowboys and three soccer clubs. Here are the five most valuable franchises in sports:

Dallas Cowboys: $4.8 billion
Manchester United: $4.123 billion
Real Madrid: $4.088 billion
Barcelona: $4.064 billion
New York Yankees: $4 billion

The Yankees’ estimated value is up 8% from last year. The next most valuable MLB franchise is the Dodgers at $3 billion. Pretty huge gap between No. 1 and No. 2 there. I can’t help but wonder what the Yankees would sell for right now. Great young team, soon to be a clean payroll slate with regards to the luxury tax, relatively new ballpark. Think the Steinbrenners could get $10 billion? The stripped down Marlins sold for $1.2 billion, remember.

Cabello, Salinas bonuses reported

Finally, we have bonus information for outfield prospects Antonio Cabello and Raimfer Salinas, who the Yankees signed with their leftover Shohei Ohtani money last winter. According to MLB.com, Salinas received $1.85M and Cabello received $1.35M. The Yankees had $3.5M available to give Ohtani, and when he went to the Angels, they gave that money to Cabello, Salinas, and shortstop Angel Rojas.

Both Salinas and Cabello were significant international prospects. MLB.com ranked them as the seventh and ninth best prospects on the market last year, respectively. Salinas is out with an unknown injury at the moment, but Cabello is crushing the ball in the rookie Gulf Coast League, hitting .342/.447/.613 (189 wRC+) with 16 extra-base hits and nearly as many walks (18) as strikeouts (23) in 32 games. The Yankees didn’t get Ohtani and that bites. He’s good and fun, and I like good and fun players. Salinas and Cabello are nice consolation prizes though.

MLB, KBO agree to new posting system

MLB and the Korea Baseball Organization have agreed to a new posting system, reports Yonhap News Agency. The new posting system mirrors the system MLB and NPB agreed to last winter. The team posts the player, he gets a 30-day window to negotiate with any team, and the posting fee is a percentage of his contract. Also, players can be posted from November 1st through December 5th only. Teams can’t wait until late in the offseason. The old posting system was a blind bid for the player’s negotiating rights, like the old NPB system back in the day.

Back in February our Sung-Min Kim wrote about the top prospects in Asia, and noted outfielder Sung-Bum Na of the NC Dinos could be the next player to come over from Korea. The 28-year-old left-handed hitter has a .324/.384/.512 batting line with 24 doubles and 16 home runs in 105 games this year. Last season he hit .347/.418/.584 with 24 homers in 125 games. Na has said he wants to come over to MLB, though it’s unclear if he’ll actually be posted after the season. I’m not sure the Yankees will need another outfielder this offseason anyway.

International Deals: Vargas, Verdecia, Gaston, Mesa, Bonuses

August 3, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

The Yankees are still making moves in international free agency. They added $3.75M in international bonus money prior to the trade deadline with the Adam Warren, Caleb Frare, and Luke Voit trades, and have maxed out their bonus pool at $8,721,125. They started with $4,983,500 and have traded for the maximum additional 75%. Here are the team’s latest international deals.

The New Prospect: SS Alexander Vargas

Vargas, a 16-year-old switch-hitter, hit the international market late because he had not yet been cleared to sign after defecting from Cuba. Once he was cleared, the Yankees landed him for a $2.5M bonus, reports Jesse Sanchez. MLB.com ranked Vargas as the eighth best prospect available during the 2018-19 signing period. A snippet of their write-up:

On offense, he has shown a plus hit tool and is known for making hard contact. He might be a better overall hitter from the left side at the moment, but he shows more power from the right side … Some believe he has the potential to steal 30 bases in the big leagues and sport a .270 batting average. One of the top defenders in this year’s class, Vargas has above average hands with a strong arm and good range to both sides. He’s known for his quick first steps, good body control and fearless approach on offense and defense. He’s also wowed scouts with his ability to track down fly balls in center field.

FanGraphs ranked Vargas as the 14th best prospect in the signing period and says there is “interesting raw material here, nothing explosive.” The Yankees never announce signing bonuses but they did announce the Vargas signing earlier this week, so it is a done deal. The $2.5M bonus is the largest they’ve given an international player since signing 1B Dermis Garcia for $3.2M in 2014.

Yankees sign Verdecia, pursuing Gaston

In addition to Vargas, the Yankees also signed Cuban SS Carlos Verdecia recently, reports Jesse Sanchez. Verdecia received a $325,000 bonus. MLB.com, Baseball America, and FanGraphs did not rank him among the top international prospects available this signing period. I can’t find anything on the kid, though $325,000 is a good sized bonus, so the Yankees think Verdecia has some ability.

Also, according to Jesse Sanchez, the Yankees are pursuing 16-year-old Cuban RHP Sandy Gaston. FanGraphs and Baseball America rank him as the 20th and 24th best prospect in the international class, respectively. MLB.com ranks Gaston as the 15th best prospect in the international class and he is the top unsigned prospect. A piece of their scouting report:

His fastball has been clocked as 97 mph and it’s not uncommon for him to sit at 94-95. That type of velocity is rare in any market and not surprisingly, some scouts wonder if he will be able to command the high velocity on a consistent basis … In terms of secondary pitches, the belief is that those will develop once he signs with a team and receives daily instruction in an academy.

According to MLB.com, the Yankees have signed the No. 8 (Vargas), No. 10 (RHP Osiel Rodriguez), No. 11 (OF Kevin Alcantara), and No. 12 (C Antonio Gomez) prospects available this signing period. Landing Gaston would give them five of the top 15. Pretty cool.

Miscellaneous Bonuses: Rodriguez, Alcantara

Although the Yankees have already finalized a bunch of signings, the dollar figures are just now starting to trickle in. Here are the previously reported bonuses and the new bonuses in one convenient place:

SS Alexander Vargas: $2.5M
OF Kevin Alcantara: $1M (per Jesse Sanchez)
C Antonio Gomez: $600,000
RHP Osiel Rodriguez: $600,000 (per Jesse Sanchez)
RHP Denny Larrondo: $550,000
SS Maikol Escotto: $350,000 (per Baseball America)
RHP Juan Carela: $335,000

Rodriguez was originally mentioned as a potential $1M bonus guy, though he signed for $600,000. I wonder what that’s about. Someone get bad information? Or did something pop up in his physical and prompt the Yankees to lower their offer? My guess is it’s the former. The latter would stink.

Anyway, those seven players add up to $5,935,000 in bonuses. However, the Yankees have announced 23 total signings in recent weeks (first announcement, second announcement), so 16 bonuses are still unaccounted for. Players who sign for $10,000 or less are exempt from the bonus pool. I doubt those other 16 players signed for $10,000 or less.

In fact, according to Jesse Sanchez, the Yankees have spent $7.9M in bonus pool money already. They’ve spent $7.9M of their $8,721,125 bonus pool, so they still have about $820,000 to play with. Some or all of it could go to Gaston. What this does mean is the Yankees are almost certainly out of the running for Cuban outfielder Victor Victor Mesa, the consensus top talent on the international market this summer.

There’s no reason to think Victor², who has not yet been cleared to sign, will sell himself way short and sign for a mere $820,000. The Yankees have the smallest bonus pool due to their market size, so other clubs can offer him lots more money. The Orioles, for example, reportedly have $8.5M available and intend to renew their emphasis on international free agency. Seems like the Yankees knew they had no shot at Victor², so they pivoted and signed a bunch of other players instead. Works for me.

International Signings: Rodriguez, Gomez, Alcantara, Severino

July 11, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

The 2018-19 international signing period opened on July 2nd this year and, as always, the Yankees aggressively added talent. The team started with a $4,983,500 bonus pool for the 2018-19 signing period but they have since added more through a minor trade with the Brewers. How much did they get? I’m not sure, exactly. I suspect it will not be the last time the Yankees trade to add bonus pool space this year.

Aside from stud Cuban outfielder Victor Victor Mesa, who has not yet been cleared to sign, most of the top international prospects have already agreed to deals. These contracts are agreed to well in advance — that’s technically against the rules, but everyone does it and MLB looks the other way — so there’s a big rush of signings on July 2nd. Here are Baseball America’s (no subs. req’d) and MLB.com’s top international prospects and here are the Yankees’ signings via Ben Badler and Jesse Sanchez.

The Top Prospect: RHP Osiel Rodriguez

As expected, the Yankees have signed 16-year-old Cuban RHP Osiel Rodriguez. They were first connected to him a few weeks ago. There’s no word on Rodriguez’s bonus, though it was previously reported he was in line for seven figures. Here is a snippet of MLB.com’s scouting report:

The right-hander’s fastball has been clocked at 97 mph and the pitch usually hovers in the low to mid-90s … Evaluators love his “big arm,” but the club that signs him might ask the teenager to refine his approach and focus on only three pitches. He has an unorthodox — sometimes described as a ‘violent” — delivery, but it has not impacted his pitchability.

Baseball America and MLB.com rank Rodriguez as the fifth and ninth best prospect in the international class, respectively. Last summer the Yankees went pretty heavy on position player prospects, though that had more to do with the strength of the international class than a team philosophy. Rodriguez is the best international pitcher the Yankees have signed since Luis Medina in 2015.

The Second Best Prospect: C Antonio Gomez

The Yankees were connected to 16-year-old Venezuelan C Antonio Gomez for weeks and weeks leading up to the 2018-19 signing period, so it was no surprise then that they signed him on July 2nd. Gomez received a $600,000 bonus. Here is part of MLB.com’s scouting report:

Gomez has built a reputation for being durable and strong. He has a strong arm now and projects to have well-above-average arm strength. He has shown sound receiving skills and is expected to improve on other parts of his defensive game — framing and blocking — once he signs with a team and enters its academy … On offense, Gomez has a displayed a good approach with an easy swing and easy power to the gaps.

Badler adds Gomez “has the tools to be a top-tier defensive catcher.” MLB.com and Baseball America ranked Gomez as the 11th and 15th best prospect in the international class, respectively, and as one of the two or three best catchers available this signing period. The Yankees scout and develop catchers as well as any team in baseball. I’m looking forward to seeing how Gomez progresses.

The Still Not Signed Prospect: OF Kevin Alcantara

Later this week the Yankees are expected to add Dominican OF Kevin Alcantara to their 2018-19 signing period haul. Why don’t they sign him now? Because they can’t. The kid is 15. The Yankees have to wait until his 16th birthday tomorrow to sign him. Here is a piece of MLB.com’s scouting report:

Scouts like the way the sleek teenager glides across the outfield and his closing speed. He has also been praised for his good routes, easy glove work and instincts … Alcantara is also a gamer. He performs well at the plate in a live setting and projects to hit for more power in the future. Scouts also rave about his good bat speed and high contact ratio. He hits the ball hard and often tops the 100-mph mark in exit velocity.

MLB.com and Baseball America rank Alcantara as the tenth and 15th best prospect in the international class, respectively. So, between Rodriguez and Alcantara and Gomez, the Yankees signed three of MLB.com’s top eleven prospects. Pretty cool. Badler says Alcantara is expected to receive a bonus around $1M.

The Name Prospect: RHP Rafael Severino

There’s now another Severino in the organization, and yes, the two are related. The Yankees signed Luis Severino’s younger brother Rafael a few weeks ago. Rafael is 19 (Luis signed at 17) and of course his brother talked him up. “He knows how to pitch. He doesn’t throw that hard, but he’s real skinny. When he gets stronger, he’s going to throw hard … Fastball, 88-89, great slider, changeup. I think he throws a sinker too. He’s a great pitcher,” said Luis to Bryan Hoch and Erik Boland.

Rafael was not on any top international prospects lists and that’s not surprising. Anyone worthwhile tends to get scooped up long before their 19th birthday. It is possible this was only a nepotism signing. That sorta thing happens a lot. And if it was, cool, who cares? Make the Severinos happy. That said, Luis was a bit of a late bloomer himself. Rafael has good bloodlines and the Yankees are pretty darn good at the whole player development thing these days, so he has that going for him.

The 2017 Prospect: OF Mauro Bonifacio

Last summer Baseball America (no subs. req’d) ranked 16-year-old Dominican OF Mauro Bonifacio as the 34th best prospect in the 2017-18 international signing period. For whatever reason, he did not sign. He was the only player on Baseball America’s top 50 international prospects list not to sign, in fact. This year, the Yankees signed Bonifacio to an unknown bonus. Here’s a piece of Baseball America’s scouting report (subs. req’d) from last summer:

Bonifacio’s blend of size and athleticism are intriguing, though he doesn’t quite have the monster raw power to match his size (6-foot-5 and 205 lbs.) … Scouts highest on Bonifacio thought he had a relatively short swing for someone his size with explosion at contact, though the most frequent risk factor scouts pointed to was his ability to hit against live pitching … Bonifacio shows sound defensive actions for his age with an average arm that would fit in either left or right field.

Had Bonifacio been born literally one day later, he would not have been eligible for the 2017-18 signing period at all. I wonder if the Yankees and Bonifacio had an agreement last year, and they asked him to wait until this signing period for bonus pool reasons. The Yankees reportedly did something similar with OF Antonio Cabello and OF Raimfer Salinas last year, but, once they lost out on Shohei Ohtani, they were able to sign them last year under their 2017-18 bonus pool. Maybe Bonifacio agreed to wait until this signing period for a little extra cash?

The Other Six-Figure Signings

The Yankees have handed out at least three more six-figure bonuses this signing period: Cuban RHP Denny Larrondo ($550,000), Dominican RHP Juan Carela ($350,000), and Dominican SS Maikel Escotto ($350,000). Larrondo is the most notable prospect of the bunch and the Yankees had been connected to him for a while now. Here’s a snippet of MLB.com’s scouting report:

Overall, Larrondo is an elite athlete with a projectable body and a quick arm. He has tight spin on his emerging curveball, his second-best pitch. The teenager is an aggressive strike-thrower with a working changeup that is expected to improve once he signs with a team and receives daily instruction in a club’s academy. The right-hander has touched 94 mph with his fastball and usually sits in the 91-to-92 mph range.

MLB.com ranked the 16-year-old Larrondo as the 29th best prospect in the international class while Baseball America had him 43rd. Neither Carela nor Escotto appeared on any top international prospects lists for the 2018-19 signing period.

Miscellaneous Signings

Among the various other low level international signings, the Yankees added 16-year-old Dominican C Agustin Ramirez, who Baseball America ranked as the 48th best prospect in the international class. “He’s a strong-bodied hitter who packs a punch into a compact swing,” says their scouting report. The two sides had been connected for a while. The Yankees have also signed Dominican SS Marcos Cabrera, Venezuelan C Kevin Camacho, Dominican SS Dayro Perez, Venezuelan C Jesus Rodriguez, and Venezuelan LHP Miguel Vargas. None of them were among the most notable international prospects available this year.

* * *

I should note that a recent report claiming 18 top international prospects had failed performance-enhancing drug tests has been shot down by MLB, reports Maury Brown. “While we cannot provide any information regarding prospect test results, this report has no truth to it whatsoever,” said an MLB executive. Performance-enhancing drug use is a concern in Latin America, for sure, but this report is bogus. Maybe a jilted trainer or coach was trying to get back at some players or something. Whatever. Anyway, the report is false.

Sunday Links: Fulmer, Mets, International Deals, YES Network

July 1, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

The Yankees and Red Sox will wrap up their three-game weekend series later tonight on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. First pitch is scheduled for 8pm ET and I reckon the game will end around midnight. That’s usually how these games go, right? Anyway, here are some notes to check out in the meantime.

Yankees scouting Fulmer

According to George King, the Yankees had scout Jay Darnell on hand to watch Michael Fulmer’s most recent start. Darnell is one of Brian Cashman’s most trusted scouts. For what it’s worth, a rival executive told Jon Heyman he thinks the Tigers will keep Fulmer for the time being. “They are treating him like a No. 2 starter,” said that rival executive. If nothing else, the Yankees are doing their due diligence prior to the trade deadline. They’ll scouts lots of guys in the coming weeks.

Fulmer, 25, started Thursday and allowed four runs on nine hits and no walks in eight innings against the Athletics. He struck out five. For the season he owns a 4.20 ERA (4.03 FIP) with 20.4% strikeouts and 46.3% grounders in 94.1 innings. Fulmer is under team control through 2022 but he has been a little worse with each passing season. I was a big Fulmer guy in the past. I love the stuff. But I wonder if he’s a Michael Pineda type who is more hittable than the stuff would lead you to believe.

Cashman has talked to the Mets

With their season spiraling out of control, Mets assistant GM John Ricco said he will indeed consider trade offers for Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. Ricco is essentially the club’s acting GM after Sandy Alderson stepped away to receive treatment for cancer. “We’ll have to consider (trading them). For me, everything has to be on the table. But you have to look long and hard before you move a game-changing, top-of-the-rotation pitcher,” said Ricco to Tim Healey.

Cashman confirmed to King and Ken Davidoff that he has spoken to the Mets, and while he didn’t name names, I think it’s safe to assume deGrom and/or Syndergaard were the focus of his attention. From King and Davidoff:

“I’ve been engaged with all clubs, including the Mets. It’s the job,” Cashman said at Keens Steakhouse in Manhattan, where he helped promote a new venture called New York Sports Tours. “And if you can ever match up, you make ownership recommendations on both ends and see if it takes you anywhere.

Either deGrom or Syndergaard would be a tremendous get for the Yankees, both short and long-term. Syndergaard has more team control remaining and the higher upside, I think, but I prefer deGrom. His injury history isn’t as scary — Syndergaard is out with a finger issue right now and has thrown only 95 innings since the start of last season due to lat and finger trouble — and I think he’s just flat out better. deGrom’s been ridiculous this year.

Of course, the chances of a significant Yankees-Mets trade are remote, even if it makes sense for both teams. The Yankees can match (and beat) pretty much any prospect offer, and if they make the best offer, why wouldn’t the Mets take it? Who knows. I guess the thought of potentially seeing deGrom or Syndergaard leading the Yankees to postseason glory is enough to make the Wilpons squeamish. I like that Cashman is talking about this openly. Puts pressure on the Mets. Everyone knows the Yankees have plenty of good prospects to offer, and if they trade deGrom and Syndergaard for a bunch of lesser prospects, lots of Mets fans will not be happy.

MLB bans teams from signing players out of Mexican League

Leggo my Gallegos. (Hunter Martin/Getty)

According to Jeff Passan, MLB has banned teams from signing players out of the Mexican League, citing “fraud” and “corruption” with the league’s transactions. Mexican League teams control a player’s rights indefinitely and they sell those rights to MLB teams. Generally speaking, the player only gets 25% of his signing bonus with the rest going to his Mexican League. MLB wants a system similar to their posting arrangements with Japan and Korea, where most of the money goes to the player.

Mexico does not produce as much talent as the Dominican Republic or Venezuela, though dozens of Mexican born players have played in the big leagues. Luis Cessa and Gio Gallegos both originally signed out of Mexico. Ten years ago the Yankees landed Manny Banuelos, Alfredo Aceves, and two others in a package deal with a Mexican League team worth $450,000. The process for signing players out of Mexico is incredibly unfair to the player and I’m glad MLB is trying to do something about it.

Yankees may buy back the YES Network

The Yankees are considering buying back controlling interest in the YES Network, reports Andrew Marchand. At the moment the team owns 20% of the network and 21st Century FOX owns the rest. A few years ago the Yankees sold a 49% stake in the YES Network at a valuation of $3.8 billion, and the deal allowed 21st Century FOX to purchase up to 80% of the network, which they’ve since done.

Marchand says the YES Network is part of a collection of assets 21st Century FOX is looking to unload. The Yankees could line up investors, buy back the network, and chances are nothing would change on our end (except streaming on the FOX Sports Go app, probably). If another entity buys YES — Marchand says Comcast and Disney are in on the action — there could be changes to the network as the new owner incorporates their branding and whatnot. Either way, the Yankees will still make gobs of money through the YES Network.

Badler: Yankees connected to Cuban righty Osiel Rodriguez

June 26, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

According to Ben Badler (subs. req’d), the Yankees are tied to Cuban right-hander Osiel Rodriguez for the 2018-19 international signing period. It’s worth noting that when a team is “tied” or “connected” or anything like that to a player prior to the open of the signing period, it usually means an agreement is already in place.

Rodriguez, 16, is currently ranked as the ninth best prospect for the 2018-19 international signing period by MLB.com. Here is a snippet of their scouting report:

The right-hander’s fastball has been clocked at 97 mph and the pitch usually hovers in the low to mid-90s. There is some concern about a drop in velocity at times, but evaluators attribute the decrease to normal fatigue or being overworked on the showcase circuit. A strike-thrower, Rodriguez has a good mound presence and demeanor. He changes his arm slot and throws several different pitches at different angles, which has proven to be both a blessing and a curse as far as scouts are concerned.

Evaluators love his “big arm,” but the club that signs him might ask the teenager to refine his approach and focus on only three pitches. He has an unorthodox — sometimes described as a ‘violent” — delivery, but it has not impacted his pitchability.

In addition to Rodriguez, the Yankees have already been connected to Dominican catchers Antonio Gomez and Agustin Ramirez, Dominican outfielder Kevin Alcantara, and Cuban righty Denny Larrondo for the 2018-19 signing period. For what it’s worth, Badler says Rodriguez and Alcantara are expected to receive bonuses north of $1M.

The signing period opens July 2nd and the Yankees have already made one minor trade to add to their $4,983,500 bonus pool. They can max their bonus pool out at $8,721,125. The big question: Can the Yankees afford Rodriguez, Alcantara et al., and stud Cuban outfielder Victor Victor? The Yankees have the smallest international bonus pool due to their market size, meaning other clubs have more money to offer, in some cases significantly more. Winning a bidding war for Victor² won’t be easy.

Saturday Links: Harper, Mesa Brothers, Giambi, All-Star Game

May 19, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

The Yankees and Royals continue their three-game series later today — the Yankees haven’t played back-to-back days since last weekend due to all the off-days and rainouts — though it’s a 7:15pm ET start, so we have to wait a few hours first. Here are some notes to help you pass the time.

Harper shoots down Yankees questions

As expected, Bryce Harper was asked about his impending free agency and the possibility of signing with the Yankees after the season when the Yankees visiting Washington earlier this week. And, not surprisingly, Harper wouldn’t entertain those questions. What else could he do? Here’s what Harper said, via Greg Joyce:

“I’m a National now,” Harper said. “We’re going into this series trying to win some ballgames. It’s the only thing on my mind, trying to beat a good team over there.”

…

“It doesn’t matter who we’re playing,” Harper said. “If it’s the Yankees, Cubs, Dodgers, Phillies, name it. It doesn’t really matter the team or the atmosphere, just try to go in there and win ballgames.”

I’ve seen some “the Yankees don’t need Harper because they have Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton” takes recently and, uh, no. The Yankees could cut ties with Brett Gardner after the season — this is the final guaranteed season on Gardner’s contract — which frees up a spot for Harper. Harper, Judge, Stanton share the two corner outfield spots and DH. See how easy that is?

Now, will the Yankees actually pony up the $400-something million that will likely be required to sign Harper? As I’ve said before, I don’t believe Hal Steinbrenner’s master plan is spending like crazy once the luxury tax rate resets, but I’d be happy to be wrong. And even then, would anyone be surprised if the Yankees opted to pursue Manny Machado or Clayton Kershaw over Harper this winter? I know Harper grew up a Yankees fan, but I seriously doubt that means he’s willing to give them a discount.

Mesa brothers leave Cuba to pursue MLB contracts

According to Jesse Sanchez, outfielders and brothers Victor Mesa Jr. and Victor Victor Mesa have left Cuba to pursue MLB contracts. They are the sons of Victor Mesa Sr., a legendary player and manager in Cuba. Victor Victor is 21 while Victor Jr. is only 16. Both will be subject to the international spending restrictions once they are cleared to sign, a process that should take several weeks.

Victor Victor is the more highly regarded prospect and, according to Ben Badler (subs. req’d), he has “star potential” and is comparable to Nationals top prospect Victor Robles. “If (Victor Victor) were in the draft next month, I think he would be a top 10 overall pick, with the potential to go No. 1 overall,” added Badler. There’s very little information out there about Victor Jr. at the moment, though he is not the same caliber prospect as his older brother.

The Yankees will have $4.98M to spend internationally during the 2018-19 signing period — they can trade for more bonus pool space and max it out at $8.72M — and they’ve already been connected to several top international free agents. Trading for bonus pool space to sign Victor Victor (and/or Victor Jr.) is certainly possible, but it’s been a long time since the Yankees last signed a big name Cuban player. I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Giambi to attend Old Timers’ Day

Jason Giambi, Old Timer. According to George King, Giambi will make his Old Timers’ Day debut this summer. He retired following the 2014 season and has mostly laid low since, though he seems to get mentioned as a coaching or managerial candidate every offseason. Old Timers’ Day is June 17th this season. That’s the day before the Yankees go to Washington for the makeup games.

Giambi, now 47, played for the Yankees from 2002-08 and was really productive, hitting .260/.404/.521 (145 wRC+) while averaging 29 homers and +3.1 WAR per season. I wonder if this paves the way for Alex Rodriguez and Roger Clemens to show up to Old Timers’ Day? They were all tied to performance-enhancing drugs in one way or another, after all. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

MLB proposed new All-Star Game voting system

According to Joel Sherman, MLB recently proposed a new All-Star Game fan voting system that was shot down by the MLBPA. Under the new rules fans would’ve continued to vote for the starters at each position, though there would’ve been two steps in the process. First, fans would vote for all players. Then, at a certain date, the vote would end and the top three vote-getters at each position would be put into a second vote. Since it was rejected, All-Star voting this year will be the same as always.

The idea, obviously, would be spicing up the All-Star Game voting, and create more buzz on social media and whatnot. The union, which is still rather annoyed about the way free agency played out over the winter, wanted bonus money and a piece of the revenue generated from the voting process. MLB offered a $1.1M bonus pool to be divvied up among the top three vote-getters at each position only. The new voting process seems kinda neat. I also get whey the union wants a piece of the revenue.