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The Yankees Offseason So Far

 

The Post Season has come and gone. The parade and celebration was had in San Fran. Now, everyone is settling into the long, dark abyss that is winter, counting down the days until Spring Training. It’s still early, but there has been some goings-on in the evil empire. Here’s what has happened so far:

The Yankees are bringing back outfielder Chris Young on a one year, $2.5 million deal. Young was a bust for the Mets but in just 23 games in the Bronx, he had an. 876 OPS in 79 plate appearances while batting .282 with three homers and 10 RBIs. He has some speed on the bags and is a low risk backup outfielder with Ichiro Suzuki‘s future with the team up in the air, as well as Carlos Beltran‘s health. 

Brett Gardner had surgery in October on a core muscle near his ribs. The procedure on his rectus abdominis muscle (yes that’s a thing) happened on the 16th and has a recovery period of around four weeks, meaning his regular offseason program wont be affected, let alone his season.

The Yankees made the $15.3 million qualifying offer to David Robertson. DRob converted 39 of 44 save opportunities this past season, allowing 63 hits, striking out 96 and walking 23 in 64 1/3 innings ending with an ERA of 3.08. Of the 22 players who have received a qualifying offer in the three years its been around, none have accepted it. He has declined the offer and now is free to either: sign a long term contract with the team or hit the free agent market. If he signs elsewhere, the Yanks will get a draft pick and Dellin Betances will be the new closer. Six teams are reportedly interested in DRob, but with other closers on the market that don’t come with a draft pick it’s hard to see him leaving the Bronx.

Andrew Bailey will get another shot at pitching in the Majors. The Yankees inked him to a minor league deal on Friday after initially signing him in February, hoping he’d make a comeback from shoulder surgery.  A series of setbacks prevented him from making a single appearance in 2014. The 30 year old averaged 25 saves per season in three years with Oakland before going to the Red Sox in 2012. He’s been unable to stay healthy since, but he will get another shot as they look for bullpen depth.

For the first time since 1995, the Yankees are without their shortstop. It is a huge hole that Derek Jeter left and the team has contacted the White Sox about Alexei Ramirez to fill it. The 33 year old won a Silver Slugger award in 2014 and has played in 158 games every season since 2011. He is currently signed through 2015 for $10 million with a $10 million team option for 2016, but the Yankees can buy him out for $1 million if they decide to go elsewhere. Other names floating around as Jeter’s replacement are Stephen Drew, Jed Lowrie, Asdrubal Cabrera and Hanley Ramirez

Don’t expect any big splashes like we saw last offseason. According to Mark Feinsand and Bill Madden of New York Daily News, the Yankees will not pursue the big name free agents, i.e. Jon LesterMax ScherzerJames Shields and Pablo Sandoval.  Instead they will look to resign low risk players like Brandon McCarthy and Chase Headley to fill the holes. McCarthy went 7-5 with a 2.89 ERA in 14 starts after being traded from Arizona last July. The team has interest in bringing him back, but he is waiting to see how the market develops before making a commitment to the pinstripes. After coming over from San Diego, Headley posted a.768 OPS with six homers and a .262 batting average. He finished the year with 13 dingers, 49 RBI, a .243 batting average and .700 OPS. Since ARod will be 41 in July, resigning Headley is a “top priority” for the Yanks.

Raul Ibanez could be coming back to the Bronx. There is mutual interest between the two for Ibanez to replace Kevin Long as hitting coach. The team has interviewed Dave Magadan and Chili Davis for the position. The team passed on Magadan and Davis went to work for the Red Sox. They reached out to Eric Hinske, who was the Cubs’ first base coach last year, but he wasn’t interested. In his 19 big league seasons, Ibanez batted .272 with 305 homers, 1,207 RBIs and an .801 OPS. The team has some competition for his services as the Rays have interest in bringing him in to replace Joe Maddon as manager. In other front office news, Eric Chavez has been hired as a special assignment scout. Chavez played with the Yankees from 2011-2012, he finished a 17 year career this past season with the Diamondbacks.

Bird has been soaring in the Arizona Fall League. First base prospect Greg Bird was named MVP of the AFL’s Fall Stars game despite being added to the roster the day before. Outfield prospect Aaron Judge was the only Yankee to make the roster, even though Bird led the AFL in nearly every offensive category. Bird started the season by homering once and doubling twice while scoring four in a 7-4 victory. In the Fall Stars game, he put the East All Stars on the board with a thundering homerun that cleared at least 410 feet to center field. The towering shot helped the East All Stars win the game 6-2. His run through the Fall League got the attention of a lot of people in the baseball community. Dan Pfeiffer, who writes for Rolling Thunder of the MLBlogs Network said, “solid eye, good contact hitter. He has good power. Average defender, very stiff. Think Tino Martinez in his prime.” Check out, and listen to, the homer from the Fall Stars Game and you will see why he’s been getting so much attention.

Former Yankees pitcher Brad Halsey passed away at the age of 33 after a recreational climbing accident. Halsey pitched three seasons in the majors for the Yankees, Diamondbacks and Athletics. He was selected in the eighth round of the 2002 amateur draft and debuted in 2004 at age 23. He was the starter for the game against the Red Sox on July 1st, 2004, the game featuring Jeter’s iconic dive into the stands.

Pitchers and catchers report February 20th.