Happy New Year! Things are quiet….

As we usher in the New Year of 2013, things have been quiet in Yankeeland.

There are no hot rumors of trades or signings as we still wonder who will be the Yanks’ catcher and DH in 2013, not to mention who’ll fill out the bench.

A couple aging Hall-of-Famers are coming off major injuries (Jeter, Rivera) and another (?; steroid abuse, Alex) will miss half the year if not more because of an operation.

Meanwhile, there are a couple of free agents still available. None of the major ones really fit the Yankees needs, and with the Yanks cutting back on spending, the $$$ isn’t there for them.

Michael Bourn, Kyle Lohse and Rafael Soriano are still out there. Soriano could be a fit, only because he went 2-1, 2.26 with 42 saves in filling in for the injured Rivera last year. But Soriano probably wouldn’t want to go back to the setup role he was unhappily doing in 2011. But after a strong year, it’s interesting that he opted out and still is unsigned.

Boston has been talking to Adam LaRoche, since the Napoli deal may fall through.

Shaun Marcum and Joe Saunders are out there. So are Jose Valverde and Delmon Young.

Young is a righty bat, which the Yanks could use, and a .284 hitter. He was the ALCS MVP vs. the Yanks last year. Although his 162 g. average is .284-16-89, his OPS+ is just 98 due to a poor BB/K ratio. (27/115).

There is still Scott Hairston. There’s Thome or Berkman.

There’s …. (fill in the blank).

But it appears the Yanks are “dumpster-diving.” Who they pick up between now and the start of spring training (and it’s getting closer), who knows?

As of now, who will  be the C, DH or bench?

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate has gone up 2%… and that’s just from all the NFL coaches and GMs being fired. Black Monday indeed.

 

Serves him right.

So, Frank Francisco of the Mets said that he couldn’t wait to face the “chickens” the Yanks were and that he’s had 1-2-3 innings against them before. (Yeah, in what, 2004?)

He gets the save Friday night, but it sure wasn’t a 1-2-3 inning.

After the game last night, Mets manager Terry Collins said that Francisco was unavailable last night because he hurt himself in pregame warmups.

What, did he sprain his tongue by yapping too much?

Hey, Francisco. Rivera is 100x the closer you are, and has 1000x the class.

It’s why I love Mo and can’t stand the types of Francisco or say, Valverde. Mo doesn’t have to yap to get attention. He just did (and will do) his job like no other.

Figuring out the budget?

As stated earlier, Joel Sherman has stated that the Yanks are telling agents that $2M is their limit for a LF.

Which is why this comment by Chad Jennings at LoHud caught my eye:

Melky Cabrera has avoided arbitration with the Atlanta Braves, agreeing to a one-year, $3.1 million deal. That’s more than twice what Cabrera made last season with the Yankees ($1.4 million).

In other Yankees-related news out of Atlanta, the Braves are said to still be pursuing Johnny Damon. Cabrera, Damon, Mike Dunn and Eric Hinske to Atlanta? Apparently it’s possible.

Oh, and don’t put Jerry Hairston Jr. in pinstripes just yet. This story says the Padres are mildly interested in Jermaine Dye but seem more likely to sign either Hairston or Randy Winn.

The reason? The Melkman. Obviously the Yanks took on some salary by trading for Vazquez. But I wonder what Atlanta wanted. Did they specifically want Melky or was it Melky OR Gardner? If the latter, you may see why Gardner remains with the Yanks. How much of the decision was based on talent, and how much of it was financial? For if the Yanks only have $2M budgeted for LF now, what would that number be if Gardner was the one going to Atlanta and Melky (and his increased salary) stayed? What would Melky have received in arbitration? What would he save settled for? People may not want to believe it, but between this and Damon, perhaps the Yanks really are sticking to a budget.

Wang could only be cut 20% so he was non-tendered. Going with the cheaper (and younger) Cervelli over Jose Molina. The cheaper (just one year older) Gardner over the Melkman. It seems that some who think Cashman has an unlimited budget (it does seem that way) forget that he does not. For every Alex, Jeter, CC, Teix or Mo earning the big $$$, the budget requires making that up elsewhere. You just hope that the “cuts” don’t impact the team’s performance, like a weak bench because of top-heavy spending on the starters. Should a starter get hurt, you then get screwed because of the weak bench/bullpen, etc.

I don’t know who else is arbitration eligible on the Yanks or what the Yanks chances are of winning their cases vs. losing to the players. I don’t know how much the Yanks may have put aside in case they lost certain cases. But seeing the jump in Melky, who avoided arbitration but more than doubled his salary, you wonder what if he’d stayed. Would that have necessitated more cost-cutting? (Or, the cynical might add, higher ticket prices?) MLBTR states that the Yanks will pick up 500K of Melky’s 2010 salary.

I see the Tigers reached agreement with closer Jose Valverde. Why for the life of me, the Phillies didn’t go after him, especially with Eyre retiring, Condrey gone and now Lidge having had knee surgery (after a lousy year) I just don’t know, and if you haven’t heard, Jamie Moyer has become a walking M*A*S*H* unit all by himself lately. Lidge may not be ready for opening day, and if last year’s Achilles heel for the Phils was their bullpen, well…that bullpen appears to have gotten worse…and I didn’t even mention problems with J. C. Romero and the probable defection of Chan Ho (It’s Out of the) Park…

But the Phils are thinking of Jose Contreras (per MLBTR). Hmmmm….

 

         

    

In other news…

11:20 a.m. A-Rod formalized his deal yesterday, and in so doing, had harsh words about Scott Boras and the “debacle” that was the opt-out.

I might have listed some of these names earlier, but with all the hubbub of yesterday, forgive me if I repeat myself.

David Eckstein signed with the Blue Jays, Cliff Floyd goes to the Rays, Chris Gomez goes to Pittsburgh, Aaron Boone to Washington, SS Adam Everett to the Twins (lessening the need for them to obtain SS Jed Lowrie from Boston???), Japanese starter Hiroke Kuroda to the Dodgers, Japanese reliever Kazuo Fukumori to Texas

I think that covers it.

Update 8:15 p.m. Pete Abraham is reporting that the Viz will soon be signing a 2-yr., $7 million deal with an NL team–the guess is the Rockies.

HAREN DEALT The A’s have traded Dan Haren to the D-Backs along with Connor Robertson for six prospects–pitchers Brett Anderson, Greg Smith and Dana Eveland, along with outfielders Carlos Gonzalez and Aaron Cunningham and first baseman Chris Carter. Haren will team with Brandon Webb, Doug Davis and Micah Owings in the rotation for the defending NL West champs. Livan Hernandez is a FA and most likely gone (maybe he joins his half-brother El Duque on the Mets?) and who knows about 44-year-old Randy Johnson and his aching back (he should probably just retire, but it would be at 284 wins).

There goes the Yanks 2nd option after Santana. It doesn’t seem like there was a good fit for a deal anyway. Of course now you have wonder what punishment, if any, Pettitte may receive now that his name shows up in the Mitchell report. With a probable battle to clear himself, the punishment (if any) and time served (if any) may come at God-knows-when.

MLB.com also reports that the D-backs traded Jose Valverde to the Astros for pitcher Chad Qualls, infielder/outfielder Chris Burke and pitcher Juan Gutierrez.

In hearing some of WFAN today (while going to a doctor to get a stubborn illness checked out), I heard more talk of the Mets and Santana. While any Yankees deal for Santana had Hughes as the foundation, the FAN stated that Jose Reyes is the key for any Mets/Santana deal, the Adam Everett signing with the Twins notwithstanding.

The Twins signed 3B Mike Lamb. Do you remember when Lamb was thought to be the Yanks 3B in 2004 (before the Yanks got A-Rod?)

Just for fun…If you follow the NBA, look at ’76er Kyle Korver. It appears he and actor Ashton Kutcher were separated at birth.

Update 12/15 9:20 a.m. The Cardinals trade Jim Edmonds to SD for minor leaguer David Freese. The 37-year-old Edmonds has had a nice career, .287 with 362 HR and eight Gold Gloves, but has slipped in the past two seasons. He hit .252-12-53 in 2007.

Update 12/16 11:50 a.m. The MLB site says that the Phils could be showing interest in FA OF Geoff Jenkins. The Phils traded Michael Bourn to the Astros and lost Aaron Rowand to free agency and the Giants. They could probably move Shane Victorino to CF and use Jenkins in RF (keeping Pat Burrell in LF). Jayson Werth would get some playing time as well, probably in a righty (Werth)/lefty (Jenkins) platoon. The 33-year-old Jenkins has spent his whole career with the Brewers, hitting .277 with 212 career HRs. He hit .255-21-64 last season. His 162 g. average is .277-28-92 with 52 walks and 147 Ks. He topped 30 hrs in 2000 and has topped the 90 RBI mark three times.

Update 12/16 3 p.m. Now MLB states that the Phils also have interest in Mike Cameron. He would be in CF and enable Victorino to stay in RF (presumably with Werth). I wonder about this one. Cameron will be 35, and will miss the first 25 games of 2008 due to a suspension for amphetamine usage. Cameron hit .242-21-78 with 18 steals in 2007 for the Padres. He strikes out a TON (67 walks, 160 K in 2007). He did steal 18 bases this past season. He has won three Gold Gloves in his career, so Rowand’s defense would be adequately replaced. Cameron’s 162 game average is .251-22-82 and 28 steals but with 72 walks and 156 Ks. Cameron once struck out 176 times in a season (2002). In 2007, Ryan Howard struck out a major league record 199 times. If the Phils get Cameron there could be a lot of power in their lineup, but a lot a strikeouts as well.