Brain Cashman

New York Yankees Analysis: Richest team in baseball short on cash to make moves

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New York Yankees, Yankees, Brian Cashman

The New York Yankees are in near dire straits. With much to do to improve the team for the 2021 season, the Yankees find themselves with little money to accomplish that task. Some believe the Yankees may have lost as much as $700 million considering expenses. First, they failed to gain any revenue from fan dependent revenues due to no fans attending games. Then they had the biggest payroll in baseball to pay. Add to that front office payroll, security, and Yankee stadium upkeep, and you have a huge loss for the 2020 season.

The New York Yankees will also have to travel a thin line with what they spend as they have no idea at this point as to whether they will have another season not making a dime. The coronavirus is exploding all over the country daily, with no end in sight. This could cause no fans in the stands, at least at the beginning of the 2021 season. There is hope that the vaccines being developed could slow the spread of the virus by next summer, but that is yet to be seen.

Meanwhile, the New York Yankees have to find a way to retain Yankee star and batting title winner DJ LeMahieu, obtain a pitching starter, and to a lesser degree, address the problems at the backstop and short. The Yankees have a guaranteed payroll of

That comes to roughly $120 million, add to that the arbitration-eligible players like Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Clint Frazier, Gio Urshela, Luke Voit, and others who will get about $28 million, it totals $148 million worth of payroll the Yankees already have to put out for the 2021 season. If you deduct that from the $210 million luxury tax threshold, it leaves the Yankees with less than $63 million to solve their problems. The Yankees will likely have to meet DJ LeMahieu’s demand that will likely be at $20 million, and the money is further reduced to $43 million to fix the ills. To put that into perspective, spending for Franciso Lindor and J. T. Realmuto would eat that up entirely with no way to fix the pitching rotation.

Therein lies the problem; the Yankees aren’t going to able to fix everything as they might like to. The two big problems that must be addressed is getting another premium-like pitcher and retaining DJ LeMahieu. With all the talk of needing to replace Gary Sanchez as a catcher and Gleyber Torres at short, those needs will take a back seat unless the Yankees can sell off some assets and make trades to accomplish those needs.

There are many creative moves general manager Brain Cashman can do. Still, he will be challenged unless owner Hal Steinbrenner is really serious about winning and opens up his pocketbook like he did last year, with the acquisition of Gerrit Cole. With so many questions looming regarding future revenues, that is not likely. The Yankees may just try to patch up the team and hope for the best with their prospects they already have upcoming.

Should the New York Yankees bid for Trevor Bauer’s services?

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New York Yankees, Trevor Bauer

Despite the acquisition of Gerrit Cole, the New York Yankees still have issues relating to their starting pitching depth. Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ, and James Paxton are impending free agents. Not to mention Luis Severino is still recovering from Tommy John Surgery. That leaves Cole, Jordan Montgomery, and the young Deivi Garcia as possible rotation options in 2021.

The Yankees do have internal options in Clarke Schmidt, Michael King, and Nick Nelson. They also have Domingo German, who recently completed his 81-game domestic violence suspension. However, they need a more experienced arm if they want to become a true contender. One impending free agent comes to mind, an old college teammate of Gerrit Cole’s.

Trevor Bauer:

2020 Stats (CIN):

5-4, 1.73 ERA, 11 Starts, 100 SO, 73.0 IP, .795 WHIP, 2.7 WAR

Perhaps one of the top impending free agents, Trevor Bauer’s stock has been on the rise in recent years. The shortened 2020 season was no different, as he led the N.L. in ERA (1.73), ERA+ (276), and WHIP (.795). He also led all of baseball with minuscule 5.1 Hits per 9 Innings (H9). He also pitched brilliantly in Game one of the N.L. against Atlanta, allowing only two hits and striking out 12 in 7.2 shutout innings. With a potential NL Cy Young Award possibly heading for his home, Bauer’s value couldn’t be any higher as he enters the free-agent market.

The Baseball Mercenary

However, negotiations with the 29-year-old right-hander will be quite interesting. He has made it known that he wants one-year deals, essentially making him a baseball mercenary. The short contract length could potentially draw more suitors, but one question remains: How much money does Bauer want?

Given the great season he had in his walk year, Bauer could command an Average Annual Value (AAV) in at least the mid-upper $20 Million range. Should he truly want a one-year deal, it might take even more. With large financial commitments to Cole and Giancarlo Stanton, then the price tag may make GM Brian Cashman hesitant to bite.

That’s not before mentioning what Bauer brings besides his right arm. Bauer has not been afraid to speak his mind the past few seasons, especially on Twitter, and his personality can be an acquired taste for some fans and players. One potential issue about bringing Bauer to the Bronx is his relationship with our current ace.

Could Cole be the deal-breaker?

The two were teammates at UCLA but had a rocky relationship despite being one of the one-two combinations in college baseball history. In an article posted by MLB.com in May 2018, Bauer opened up about the issues prior to a matchup between Bauer’s Indians and Cole’s Astros.

“We had a rocky relationship in college because he told me that I had no future in baseball, and he insulted my work ethic as a freshman,” Bauer said in the article. “I don’t take kindly to those couple of things, so we had our issues.”

Their issues didn’t take away from the Bruins’ 2011 season, winning the NCAA championship. The two followed up with high placements in the 2011 draft, with Cole going first overall to the Pirates. Bauer was selected by the Diamondbacks just two picks later, at third overall.

In the MLB.com article, Bauer said his negative feelings for Cole have “long since faded.” His agent, Rachel Luba, recently tweeted similar sentiment in late September. That’s one step in the right direction. What we need to know now is, “what does Cole think of Bauer?”

Conclusion:

Hopefully, if Bauer does sign with the Yankees, Cole can put his previous issues with him aside and focus on the big picture. Both are entering their 30s, in the prime of their careers, and hungry for World Series championships. It’s wishful thinking, but hopefully, they can put aside their differences to help the Yankees return to dominance.

Wherever he signs, Bauer’s antics will be ignored as long as he produces near what he did in 2020. It’s ultimately results that matter.

Contract Prediction (Regardless of Team):

1-Year, $25-$30 Million with an option for a second year.

New York Yankees News/Rumors: LeMahieu on free agency and Aaron Boone on Yankee readiness

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New York Yankees, DJ LeMahieu

The New York Yankees fans thought during the last postseason that the Yankees should acquire Manny Machado or Bryce Harper the big free agent names out there.  But Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman passed and instead got a little known Colorado Rockie named DJ LeMahieu and fans were disappointed.  But, Cashman saw something in LeMahieu that he thought would be a fit for the Yankees at a much lower price than the giant contracts the other two would be asking.

As it turns out, Cashman’s decision was brilliant.  For the 2019 season, DJ held down second base during the whole season with cat-like defense, while being a Silver Slugger batting .327 with 26 home runs and 102 RBIs.  Add to that he and Brett Gardner were the only members of the 2019 New York Yankees to play over 140 games in an injury ridden season for the Yankees.  Oh, and as a side point, the duo of Machado with the Padres and Harper with the Phillies was bested by DJ by a wide margin. DJ was the Yankees MVP.

DJ was signed to a two-year $24 million contract and will become a free agent following this season, whether it is played or not.  Interestingly the coronavirus has not only shut down baseball, but it changes the free agency scenery dramatically, not only for DJ but for Masahiro Tanaka and James Paxton as well.  With teams strapped for money due to the revenue, they will lose this season, whether games or played or not, little will be left over to pay free agents the money they thought they might make.

In the case of DJ LeMahieu, he has made it clear that he likes it here in New York and would like to stay a Yankee.  In this writer’s opinion, the Yankees should work during the season to resign him to another two-year extension at the same salary.  With the coronavirus situation, I think DJ would be happy with that, knowing that the monies available will be greatly contracted for free agents.

During the shortened spring training DJ continued to impress, although he was homerless in 10 games, he hit .345 with 10 hits and 3 RBIs.

In an email to the New York Post, DJ told the Post what he has been doing during the shutdown:

“I’ve stayed in Tampa. There was a period for a few weeks where I had to get creative when the [George M. Steinbrenner Field] wasn’t open. But for a good portion of time I have been able to work out at the complex in the mornings,’’ LeMahieu wrote. “I’ve been hitting outside a few days a week. The other days I’ve been getting work in in the cage and working out. We have a good group down here and we are doing our best to make the most of our time.’’

He continued to point out what he has been doing and that he misses his family and playing Yankee baseball against uniformed teams.

“I personally need a week or two of spring training to develop a rhythm and collect live at-bats against pitchers. I would think the pitchers need more time,’’ LeMahieu wrote. “Even though we already had a spring training it’s been two months of relative down time. In many ways I feel like we are kind of starting from scratch.’’

“I haven’t been able to see my parents or extended family,’’ he wrote. “Everyone has been affected one way or another these past few months.’’

“I’ve missed baseball a lot. I can practice every day, but there’s nothing like seeing another uniform across the field and winning ballgames,’’ LeMahieu wrote.

Aaron Boone on the Yankee’s readiness and Cashman on the 2020 season

The New York Yankees manager, who has spent most of his time during the shutdown at his Greenwich, CT home, has not been out of touch with his players.  On the homefront, he has been playing catch with the Yankees newly acquired ace pitcher Gerrit Cole who purchased a home in the same neighborhood.

But he has been in touch with other players as well, including keeping tabs on those players that choose to stay at the George M. Steinbrenner Training complex at Tampa, Florida.  Those players include Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, DJ LeMahieu, among others.  He recently said that all the Yankee players are staying in shape and working out so that when and if a spring training 2.0 can be started, his team will be up and running ready to hit the field.

New York Yankees President Randy Levine and General Manager Cashman have both spoken out this week on the 2020 season.  Both men have made it known that they believe a new season will happen.

“I can’t promise anything, but am I optimistic? I’m optimistic.”  “I am optimistic. I don’t represent the players and the (players’) association. Obviously there’s a lot of hurdles that everyone’s trying to navigate here, and certainly trying to find common ground appropriately with the Players Association is one of those things and obviously the commissioner of baseball and his team are having honest, frank conversations and negotiations … I’m optimistic that where there’s a will, there’s a way.

“We’ve all found ways to adjust and make adjustments. … With this COVID-19 experience moving forward, it’s incumbent upon all of us to find a way. I trust that all leadership will find a way within our industry, just like everybody’s trying to do in their own respective industries as well.”