Yanks finalize Gardner deal, DFA Tarpley

The Yankees finally finalized their deal with Brett Gardner and to make room on the roster, DFA’d Stephen Tarpley.

Tarpley pitched in 31 games for the Yankees (2018-2019), going 1-0, 5.88, ERA+ 76. The lefty turns 27 in a few weeks.

He was 0-0, 3.00 in 10 games in 2018 and 1-0, 6.93 in 21 games in 2019 with 2 saves. He has pitched 33 2/3 total innings in the majors. He had one start as the “opener” in 2019. He does have 47 K, but 21 walks in those 33 2/3 IP.

He pitched in one postseason game in 2018, giving up 3 runs in 1 IP.

As for Gardner, he is expected to spend time along with Mike Tauchman in CF until Aaron Hicks comes back. A career Yankee, Gardner turns 37 next August and is coming off a 2019 that saw career highs in HR (28) RBI (74) and slugging average, OPS and adjusted OPS (117). His 162 game average for his career is .260-13-57, 29 SB and an OPS+ of 101 (100 is average). At his age, Gardner will need to be managed carefully by Aaron Boone to make sure that Gardner stays fresh.

With CC Sabathia having retired, Gardner is the elder statesman and a key leader on the team providing a lot of veteran experience and leadership.

 

 

Can and will the Yanks bring back Maybin?

With Aaron Hicks scheduled to miss half or more of the 2020 season due to Tommy John surgery, the Yanks made a necessary move in bringing back Brett Gardner for CF.

But Gardner is 36 and turns 37 next August. Giving him cover, and rest, is also necessary.

Which leads us to Cameron Maybin. Yes, Mike Tauchman can fill in for Gardner in CF, and both are lefty hitters, but what about a Gardner/Maybin platoon, with Tauchman filling in at all three positions if necessary (giving the corners, Stanton and Judge, a day off here to DH and also filling in at CF himself sometimes).

Maybin is a free agent and shouldn’t cost much. 33 next April, the righty hitting OF did surprisingly well for the Yanks last year, fitting in nicely after the Yanks picked him up from Cleveland where he started the year in AAA.

In 85 games, he hit .285-11-32, OPS+ 127. He also gave the Yanks an element of speed with 9 SB (although he was caught 6 times). Only Gardner–with 10—stole more bases for the Yankees than Maybin did last year (Tyler Wade, who only played in 43 games, had 7). He has had four seasons where he has stolen 20 or more bases. His 162 game average is .256-10-50, 26 SB.

After the Gerrit Cole signing, we’ll see how much $ the Yanks have in the till. A trade of J.A. Happ (with the Yanks picking up some, but not all of Happ’s salary) can help free up money. Money they then may use to bring Maybin back for one year at what should be a reasonable, relatively low-cost deal.

Clint Frazier isn’t an option for CF. With his poor defense, you even wonder about him in the corners. His bat is a nice option in case a corner OF gets hurt, but oh, that defense.

And we are talking CF here.

We’ll see what happens next.

Gardy back, Romine gone.

Brett Gardner is back, as expected, especially with Aaron Hicks on the 2020 shelf for half the year or more. Gardy signed a deal where he gets a $2 MM signing bonus for 2020 and a contract of $8MM. 2021 has a $10 MM deal but the Yankees have a $2.5 MM buyout. So he is guaranteed at least $12.5 even if bought out for 2021.

The Yanks have to be careful with his time in 2020 however. Even though he set career highs in HR and RBI in 2019, Gardner will turn 37 next August.

Meanwhile, Austin Romine is gone, going to Detroit on a 1 yr, $4.15MM deal. It gives him the chance to be a starting catcher.

The Yanks could go with Kyle Higashioka as a backup, or they could turn to Martin Maldonado, who played for three teams last season. Maldonado got along well with Gerrit Cole. Cole had a 2.82 ERA under other catchers, but with 10 games with Maldonado, had a 1.57 ERA. Maldonado has a poor batting average in his career, but does have some pop, and did win a Gold Glove two years ago.

I don’t know about these rumors about the Yanks being hot on the trail for Josh Hader. Hader would cost PLENTY. He is a lefty, only turns 26 in April, and is 11-9, 2.42, ERA+ 178 in his brief MLB career with 49 saves. In 204.2 IP, he has 349 K. He would cost PLENTY. (Think Andujar, Frazier, Deivi Garcia, and possibly another top pitching prospect). He would be a FABULOUS addition, but at a very high cost.

The winter meetings ended with the Rule 5 draft and here is who the Yanks lost. The player must stay with the big club for the whole year or they go back. Here are 2019 minor league numbers for each.

Rony Garcia P to Detroit.

The first pick.

From MLB.com:

1. Rony Garcia, RHP, Tigers (from Yankees) 22 next week.
Garcia raised his prospect profile by boosting his stuff in 2019. He now operates with a 91-95 mph fastball that touches 97, an improved low-80s slider that shows flashes of becoming a solid pitch, a new cutter and an effective changeup. He throws strikes but must continue to refine his command in order to succeed as a starter.

He was 4-13, 4.01 High A/AA 24 starts, 1 relief, 130 IP, 129 K.

AAA Phase: Different than with Rony Garcia.

Blue Jays: RHP Hobie Harris (Yankees) , 26. High A. 3-4, 4.62. 1 save. 48.2 IP, 59 K.
White Sox: RHP Will Carter (Yankees) 26, AA/AAA 2-3, 5.45
Red Sox: RHP Raynel Espinal (Yankees), 28, AAA 5-7, 4.32.
Braves: 2B Wendell Rijo (Yankees) 24. Righty bat. A+/AA/AAA combined. .258-13-44. 103 g.

 

Pettitte instrumental in getting Cole to NY. Now for other moves.

Hal Steinbrenner called Gerrit Cole five times, but someone else apparently was also very instrumental in getting Cole to sign with the Yankees.

Andy Pettitte, who pitched mostly for the Yankees but who also spent a few years with the Astros, discussed the difference between the teams, how much NY meant to him and helped him, and what a postseason experience—as well as WS titles in NY—meant to him and his career. That supposedly helped tip Cole, who grew up a Yankees and Pettitte fan, to NY.

So Andy, a special consultant, really came up huge for the Yanks in these negotiations.

Now the Yanks turn to other needs. After losing Didi Gregorius to the Phillies, will they be able to keep Brett Gardner, Dellin Betances or Austin Romine?

It looks like a deal with Gardner could be hammered out soon. The concern is that Gardner will turn 37 next August. Gardner did hit career highs in HR and RBI this past season, and since Aaron Hicks will miss at least half of 2020, the Yanks do need a CF.

Betances, who pitched only 2/3 of an inning in 2019, is iffy. Would he re-sign for a year to re-establish value?

Romine is also iffy. Rumors are that the Yanks could be looking at Martin Maldonado, who caught Cole ten times in Houston last year to a 1.57 (!) ERA. Maldonado, 33 and a righty bat, isn’t much of a hitter (.219 career batting average, OPS+ 73) but did win a Gold Glove in 2017 for the Angels. He hit .213-12-27, OPS+ 75 for three teams in 2019. The question about Romine is would he come back to backup Gary Sanchez or does he want to start elsewhere.

Oh yeah, as mentioned in a NY Post article by George A. King III, the Yanks probably won’t be needing that “opener” in 2020 now.

---

Ken Harrelson, known as the “Hawk”, was selected to the HOF in the broadcasting category—The Ford C. Frick Award. Many may also remember him as a flamboyant 1B/OF for the KC A’s and Boston Red Sox in the 1960s, and in 1968 he led the AL in RBI while finishing third in the MVP voting. He broadcast Chicago White Sox games for many years. He actually broadcast Yankees games in 1987 and 1988.

If there is a Plan B, that may need to be changed.

Things have been quiet, and I don’t want to get into rumors, but if the Yankees’ off-season strategy is go after Gerrit Cole, but have a Plan B in case Cole rejects the Yankees offer, Plan B probably needs some alteration.

The top two targets for the Yankees, pitching-wise, are Cole and Stephen Strasburg. The Yanks have met with both, but it is expected that Strasburg will go back to Washington. Cole is a different story.

The Yanks have wanted Cole for a long time. They drafted him out of high school but Cole decided to go to UCLA instead. Then, when the Pirates were shopping him, the Yanks wouldn’t meet the Pirates’ demands (Miguel Andujar for one) and Pittsburgh traded Cole to Houston instead.

Apparently the Yanks told Cole that the money is there. It’s up to Cole, a Southern Californian, to decide if he wants New York.

But if the Yanks can’t get Cole (and it appears, for now, that all their eggs are being placed in that basket), or Strasburg, who is or was the Yankees Plan B?

If it was Zack Wheeler, forget it now. Wheeler signed a 5-yr., $118MM deal with the Phillies yesterday.

Cole Hamels reached a 1-yr., $18MM deal with Atlanta.

There are other Plan B’s out there, like Madison Bumgarner, Dallas Keuchel, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Gio Gonzalez, but they aren’t the WOW factor Cole or Strasburg are.

And if these Plan B’s are off the market when Cole decides, and he decides against the Yankees, what then?

Besides the pursuit of Cole, the Yanks also have to see about re-signing or letting go some of their own—Brett Gardner (most likely will be back what with Hicks going to miss most of 2020), Didi Gregorius (most likely gone), Austin Romine and Dellin Betances.

Of course, Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner may look to the trade market. If that is the case, Clint Frazier and/or Andujar could be names (among others) dangled.

Gardy & Yanks talking. DJ a SS. Yanks name pitching coach. Ex-Yank coach Espada to be SF Mgr.?

The Yanks and Brett Gardner are talking about keeping Gardy in the Bronx. The free agent is 36, and with Aaron Hicks to miss at least 1/2 of 2020 due to TJ surgery, the Yanks will need a CF.

On top of that, the Yanks need veteran leadership that Gardy provides.

The problem is, Gardner is 36, 37 next August, so he’ll need a competent backup (Tauchman?) because Gardy can’t be expected to play every day any more.’

---

The Yanks have chosen a pitching coach for 2020, and it is not David Cone, or the two college guys they interviewed earlier this week.

Instead, it is Matt Blake, who has been with Cleveland the past few years.  From the NY Post:

His last job was as the Indians’ pitching coordinator and he worked for the Yankees as an area scout under Matt Hyde, who heads up the Yankees’ amateur scouting program from New Jersey to Maine and is considered among the best in the business.

Blake also has been involved with the Cressey Institute, a program that works on the strength aspect of developing athletes and has facilities in Florida and Massachusetts.

The Yankees talked to former Yankee pitcher and current YES broadcaster David Cone about the job, as well as Michigan pitching coach Chris Fetter and Arkansas’ Matt Hobbs.

Tabbing an outsider wasn’t a surprise because the Yankees didn’t renew the contract of pitching coordinator Scott Aldred and fellow pitching coordinator Danny Borrell left the organization to take the pitching coach job at Georgia Tech after the minor league season was over.

D.J. LeMahieu has won the Silver Slugger Award for best hitter at his position for 2019.

Even though he won a batting title in the N.L. with Colorado in 2016, this is still his first SS Award.

---

Former Yankees coach Joe Espada is considered the front runner for the SF Giants managerial job.

No Q.O. for Didi. John, Munson, Mattingly on Modern Baseball Era ballot for HOF consideration. Boone up for MOY.

The Yankees did not extend a qualifying offer of $17.8MM to Didi Gregorius. If he leaves as a free agent, the Yanks receive no compensation.

It could be that the Yanks want him back, but at less than that figure. But Didi now can talk to anyone.

Didi made $11.75MM last season, when he missed a significant amount of time recovering from TJ surgery. He played in 82 games, and despite hitting 16 HR and driving in 61 runs, only hit .238 with an OPS+ of 87. It was his worst OPS+ since his first year with the Yanks in 2015.

One other problem is that Didi didn’t walk much. His OBP was just .276.

As such, the Yanks probably didn’t think a raise from $11.75MM to $17.8MM was warranted or deserved. IF the Yanks want him back, it probably would be for less than $17.8MM.

Didi hopes to return. We will see.

---

From MLB.com:

Gregorius was one of seven Yankees to hit free agency on Halloween, following right-hander Dellin Betances, outfielder Brett Gardner, right-hander Cory Gearrin (who I don’t expect back), outfielder Cameron Maybin (questionable), catcher Austin Romine (would he come back as a backup or does he want to start elsewhere) and retired left-hander CC Sabathia.

As you know, the Yankees declined a $20 million option on first baseman Edwin Encarnacion, instead paying him a $5 million buyout.

Of that group, the Yankees seem most likely to pursue a reunion with Gardner, who could man center field in the wake of Aaron Hicks’ Tommy John surgery.

The Yankees announced the following roster moves on Monday:

• Reinstated 3B Miguel Andújar, 1B Greg Bird, OF Jacoby Ellsbury and RHP Jonathan Holder from the 60-day injured list.

• Reinstated RHP Jake Barrett from the 60-day IL and outrighted him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

• LHP Tyler Lyons has elected free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

---

BBWAA awards:

Aaron Boone has been named as one of three finalists for AL Mgr. of the Year.

D.J. LeMahieu may get consideration for MVP, but he won’t be in the top 3. The top 3 are Bregman, Trout and Semien but the order won’t be revealed until Nov. 14.

---

Also from MLB.com:

The National Baseball Hall of Fame announced 10 candidates under consideration for induction as part of the 2020 Modern Baseball Era ballot: Dwight Evans, Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Marvin Miller, Thurman Munson, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Ted Simmons and Lou Whitaker.