MLB 2018-19 Offseason Thread

Wedding gift for his fiancee. "Hey, honey, I got something we can put out by the pool!"

 

They kind of have to be right? Best case is probably that Didi returns halfway through the season. What are the odds that he picks up playing the way he did this season? In the meantime, you're looking at three months of Ronald Torreyes, who's a great bench guy, but not close to an everyday MLB shortstop. And that's the best case.

They're going to probably save $35M on McCutchen, Gardner and Sabathia, assuming they let them all walk, so they could conceivably sign Machado and stay under the luxury tax threshold.

 

Sabathia will probably be back. Even if they let all three go, the savings are more like 23 mil. Gardner has a 2 million buyout and the Yankees were only responsible for 1.2 mil on McCutchen

They could easily put Gleyber Torres at short, his natural position, and keep Neil Walker or someone of his ilk at second in the meantime.

The decision to go after Machado depends on what you with Andujar at third.

 

Whatever money the Yanks decide to spend will go to starting pitching unless Cahsman has gone totally soft.

 

It's gonna have to be through a trade then, because the free agent market isn't that great to throw a bunch of money around unless Kershaw opts out.

 

I forgot about Gardy's team option, but I thought McCutchen was a straight-up free agent, no?

I saw enough of Neil Walker this season to wish they'd given his money to Todd Frazier (who I think was far better for the personality of the team). I want no part of him at 2B or Torreyes for an extended period of time. Cashman said during his exit press conference a few days ago that he likes Gleyber Torres at 2B, so I don't see them shifting him over to cover Didi.

I disagree that going after Machado depends on what you think of Andujar. Didi, as great as he's been since Jeter retired, is 29 and is about to be on the shelf for half of his walk year. I love Didi, but realistically, he's not going to get better after rehab. He doesn't have the upside to dissuade the Yankees from going after Machado. The Yankees can walk away from Didi thankful for his service and happy to have Machado as he enters his prime.

 

Yes, McCutchen is a free agent. And the Yankees can't give him the qualifying offer because they traded for him at midseason.

 

The surgery totally changed the calculus on Didi. I was happy to think he could be the Yankees SS for the next four or five years, a tremendous value compared to Machado. But the uncertainty of his post-surgery production, to say nothing of the time lost during what the Yankees believe could be a World Series season, make it nearly impossible for them to wait and see how his rehab goes.

 

Why the Red Sox keep sending Kimbrel and Price to the mound is beyond me.

 

McCutchen is a free agent, but you are looking at his full season salary. The Yankees only "save" 1.2 million going forward.

Machado is dependent on Andjuar because you have to decide if he is a third baseman, a left fielder, a second baseman, a first baseman or a DH long term. The domino effect there depends on anything else, because even with letting Gardner walk you have a starting outfield. Right now it would be:

CF Hicks
RF Judge
LF Stanton
DH Voight
C Sanchez
3B Andujar
1B Bird
SS Torres
2B ??

There's enough questions on shifting guys around/going with Harper instead of Machado that it depends on which way the front office wants to go.

 

-The big question about Machado is if he's a long term answer at SS. Word is his defense is terrible there, and if you have him and Andujar next to each other there, you're asking for big trouble. I think decision #1 is where Andujar ends up long term, and the answer might be trade bait for a young SP. What I think I might do is sign Machado and live with the lousy defense until Didi gets back giving Andujar a few months to demonstrate that he improved to the point where he can be adequate at 3rd, by far the best option. If he hasn't, move Machado to 3rd when Didi gets back - giving Didi a couple of months to show that he's back and play for a new contract. At the end of next year, if Gregorious is back you see who's hurt or struggling and find space for the extra player.
-No way Bird & Voit are both in the every day lineup. Stanton stays at DH regularly, they hope Frazier wins the LF job, but sign Gardner if he's cheap or a similar vet to back up (or Ellsbury) and play in case Frazier isn't good enough. Voit and Bird compete for playing time and some kind of platoon.
-You could get away with stopgap at 2b/ss if need be, only if they really think Wade is a major leaguer. Torreyes will never get regular ABs, and Walker is insurance but not an answer.
-The blatant weakness is SP. Cashman knows it, but that doesn't mean there's anything he can do about it. When he can, he will. Until then, you strengthen other areas to overcome it as best you can.

 

The Yankees played a terrible defender at short for damn near two decades. I don't think they'll blanch at running Machado out there.