Trade Xavier Nady. I'd rather play Swisher. Nady's too expensive ($6.55mm)to be a bench player.
Trade Melky Cabrera. Gardner won the starting job, and Ajax is on the Horizon. I love Melky, but he's the odd man out.
Trade Damaso Marte. He's expensive ($4mm), and there are plenty of other options for the 'pen that can be just as good. Mark Melancon and Brian Bruney should be the primary setup men by the end of the season, and Veras, Albadejo and Coke can hold up the other roles in the pen. Marte's an established reliever and could bring in someone valuable.
Trade Edwar Ramirez. Edwar's one of the less talented guys trying to win a bullpen spot, even though he is a great strikeout pitcher (63 K's in 55 innings last year). He's not a bad pitcher, but I'd rather have the other guys in the pen. Edwar could bring back a Grade B prospect or be part of a package deal for something bigger.
Trade Juan Miranda. We've got Teixeira at first for 8 years. We have Nick Swisher as the backup. Then we have Jesus Montero who could outgrow the catcher's spot and need to play 1st. Basically, there's no spot for Miranda, so let's deal him for something that will give us more value.
Trade Angel Berroa. Ransom won the 3rd baseman slot, and will be relegated to backup duty when A-Rod's back. Also, Ramiro Pena is a younger, faster, more athletic alternative to Berroa as a backup infielder.
Trade Dan Giese. Giese is one of my favorite players, but Aceves should be the long reliever. Ian Kennedy could be a long reliever too. And if Hughes takes Andy Pettitte's rotation spot at some point we could see Pettitte in the pen. Giese is older than Kennedy and Aceves, and less experienced than Andy, so he's just the odd guy out here.
Possible Off-Season Targets
After this year the Yanks have Nady($6.55mm), Molina ($2mm), Pettitte ($5.5mm), Damon ($13mm) and Matsui ($13mm) coming off the books. Hughes will most likely take over for Pettitte, so we won't have to find a replacement for him. Francisco Cervelli or Austin Romine could end up taking over the back-up catcher role from Molina, so a new back-up won't be a huge concern. Matsui is a DH, which is a role I'd rather use to rest other players. Damon and Nady will need to be replaced in the outfield though. Right now, using only internal options, our 2010 outfield would be Brett Gardner in Left, Ajax in Center, and Swisher in Right. That's not necessarily bad, depending on how Swish and Gardner do this year, and how much Ajax improves, but the outfield could be better. The Yanks will most likely make a run at Matt Holliday, who will most likely get 6+ years and around $20mm a year. I've watched Holliday his whole career, and he's a phenomenal player, but buying him when he's 30 means he'll only get worse over the next 6 years. He'd end up like Jason Giambi, he'd still be productive for most of the contract, but would be way overpaid. If Tampa doesn't pick up Carl Crawford's $10mm option he would be my first choice because he has speed, power, average, and is two years younger than Holliday. He also has experience in the AL East...not the NL West. Rick Ankiel has some power and could be another option, he'd be less expensive and wouldn't require as many years. Randy Winn could be a one year option too. On the trade front we could look at anyone on this list: Jeremy Hermida, Josh Willingham, Andre Ethier, Brad Hawpe, Delwyn Young, Carlos Gonzalez, Seth Smith, and Jeff Baker. Those guys will all come at different prices, but could all put up acceptable stats. Also, we could see Jeter move to the outfield as has been rumored for a while. Holliday and Crawford will definitely be Type A free agents, and Ankiel and Winn could very well be type A's as well, so remember that they would cost us a first round draft pick if they're offered arbitration by their former clubs.
The only other free agent who I'd really like on the team is Chone Figgins. He's fast and can play almost anywhere on the field. He's one guy who I would have no problem putting in if A-Rod, Jeter, or Cano got injured. And if Ajax, Gardner, Swisher, or a new outfielder got injured we could put him in for them as well. He's just a great guy to have on your team because he so versatile and athletic. He's a much better player than someone like Cody Ransom.
We shouldn't have to sign a starter becuase we'll have CC, AJ, Wang, Joba, Hughes, and Kennedy, with Brackman, Betances, McAllister and others on the horizon. We shouldn't sign a reliever because we'll have Mo for his final season and then a great young relief corps that should be almost identical to what we have this year. We have first, second, third, and short covered. Jorge might not be able to play every day behind the plate, but most likely he will be. Then we also have top prospects Austin Romine and Jesus Montero, so don't expect a big free agent catcher signing. So it will really just come down to the outfield and possibly the utilityman roll next off-season.
Thoughts? Comments? Ideas? Put 'em in the comments.
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2 comments:
You really don't want them to have any bench at all do you?
I want to have a bench. I just don't want to have an overpaid, expensive bench. Especially if those bench players could be traded to help replenish the farm system. X-Man shouldn't be starting over Swisher, but there are a lot of outfielders he should be starting over. Thus, he has more value to other teams than the the Yanks, and could bring back some important parts for the future. Melky is out of options, and Gardner has the starting role. We've got Ajax only a year away and Melky just is out a spot. We have to trade one of those guys, Xman or Melky. We don't need a 5th outfielder, and we also have Matsui who can play the outfield on occasion..maybe. I just don't see a reason to hold onto players we don't need. The bench is a lot less important in the AL than in the NL. And Angel Berroa shouldn't be on the bench, Ramiro Pena should. Juan Miranda doesn't really have a spot on the team, he's just not versatile enough.
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