What's Happening to the Yankees?

     The 2013 New York Yankees might have arguably had their worst offseason in a long time. They lost Nick Swisher, Raul Ibanez, Russell Martin, Eric Chavez, and Rafael Soriano to free agency. They then lost Alex Rodriguez to hip surgery and in the first spring game, they lost Curtis Granderson for 10 weeks after getting hit on the hand. To make matters worse Mark Teixeira is now out 8-10 weeks with a sprained right wrist. The Yankees have now lost a staggering 141 home runs between those players. That accounts for nearly 58% of their home runs last season.

Cashman has a lot to worry about this season

     This season the Yankees will certainly look a lot different. They will have to use their speed, pitching, and defense to win games. No longer are they the Bronx Bombers. They will no longer lead the league in home runs and no longer but that juggernaut of an offensive like they usually are. The loss of Teixeira really dampers the outlook for this team to begin the season.

      They will now be forced to have to replace not only Granderson but now Tex too. In house replacements include Juan Rivera, Dan Johnson, and A-Rod’s replacement Kevin Youkilis. If they go the route of putting Youk back to first they then will have to fill the whole at third. If I were Girardi, I would see what Eduardo Nunez could do for your team at third. After at, it won’t hurt. 

Yankees News and Notes

     As we are over a week into spring training many things have already happened to the New York Yankees. In the first spring training game of the year, Curtis Granderson got hit by a pitch by Blue Jays pitcher J.A Happ. That resulted in Granderson breaking his forearm and missing ten weeks. He is expected to be back early May.

Granderson is not the only injury that has come this spring. Pitcher Phil Hughes has been sidelined with a herniated disk in his back and will be out for the start of the season.

Derek Jeter is continuing to progress from his broken foot, which occurred in game one of the American League Championship Series. He is running, hitting, and taking grounders and Brian Cashman said he should see game action on March 10^th. The Yankees however continue to lose, as they are now one and seven in spring games this season. Derek Jeter and the Yankees remain confident as they always are.

The Bombers also have key free agents leaving after the seasons end and they are trying right now to lock on of them up. The New York Daily News reported that Brian Cashman has given Robinson Cano a “significant” offer. They have also stated that he has turned it down. The deal was reportedly for 7 years worth around $17 million. Cano is seeking a 10-year deal worth about $20 million per year.

The Yankees need to do everything in their power to resign Cano. He is becoming the face of the franchise and is their best player. They also have a lot of guys on one-year contracts and a lot of guys on the downside of their careers. Cano is just getting started and is an MVP candidate year in and year out. The Yankees know this and that is why negotiations are ongoing. The Yankees usually hold off contract negotiations until after the season but they know that they do not want to get into a bidding war with the likes of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels.

The Yankees will certainly have their hands full to start this season. They had plenty of problems before hand but now with Grandy and Hughes getting hurt they will have their share of struggles for sure.  

The 2013 Outlook

            People have given them no chance, no hope. They are too old, they are not athletic enough, they lost too much. These Yankees might be all those but they are still the New York Yankees. They have brought back key players from last year and have revamped their team. Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte, and Ichiro Suzuki are all key components that have resigned. The Yankees will have 7 of their 9 starters back for this season. Yes they may be a year older but we are talking about the Yankees. The same team that won the 2009 World Series, the same team that made it to the American League Championship Series last season.

            These Yankees are different. They will play different and look different. No longer will these Yankees rely solely on the long ball. This team will manufacture runs with the speed of Ichiro and Brett Gardner, who missed most of the 2012 season with an elbow injury. Gardner was a huge loss to the Yankees last season but back this year, he adds much better defense and a speed element they did not have last year. The Yankees will also have Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson, two players entering the final year of their contracts. They will be looking to have career years and will once again be the anchors to this lineup.

Jeter rehabbing from his recent injury

            Cano should return to form after having one of the worst postseasons in Major League history. The Yankees do have injury questions without a doubt. Mariano Rivera is returning off an ACL injury and Derek Jeter will be coming back from an ankle injury. Both of these players are the hardest working players in baseball and there is no reason why both should be at full strength when the season comes because the Yankees will definitely need them.  

            So, say what you want about this Yankees team but they are resilient, proven, and hungry for their 28^th World Series Championship in franchise history. 

Another Sox Jumps Ship

Another Red Sox has joined the archenemy New York Yankees. The one player the Yankees faithful loved to hate is now a guy those same fans will love to cheer.

Kevin Youkilis will now join Johnny Damon, Roger Clemens, and Babe Ruth (to name a few) that have jumped ship to come to the “dark side” by verbally agreeing to a 1 year, $12 million deal with the New York Yankees, according to sources.

Youkilis’ options were dwindling the moment the Cleveland Indians signed Mark Reynolds. So, Youkilis decided to do the unthinkable and sign with the Bronx Bombers. The Yankees also got what they need, a third baseman. However, that is not all that Youk will bring to the table. He is a very gritty, clutch, hardnosed ball player, and a type of guy that resembles former Yankee Paul O’Neill.

So the Yankees got their man but this might be the first of many moves the Yankees could potentially make. Ichiro Suzuki seems to be the next man that will be signed completing their starting outfield. But that might not be all.

The Yanks could look to deal Curtis Granderson, Phil Hughes or Ivan Nova. There have also been rumblings that the Yankees are checking in on Josh Hamilton and essentially could get him and stay under the $189 million cap. They will have to trade Granderson in order to do that but Cashman seems to always have something up his sleeve and maybe something big is brewing.

            

Yankees 3rd Base Options Dwindling

    When news surfaced about Alex Rodriguez needing another hip surgery on another hip, the list of free agent targets grew for the Yankees. Rodriguez is expected to have his surgery in January and the recovery is expected to be 4 to 6 months. However, Alex might not play at all in 2013. Joe Girardi believes the Yankees third basemen will have to play 162 games next season. "I think you have to assume those guys can play out the whole year depending on when Alex gets back," Girardi said. "Our hope is it's going to be four to six months. You can't predict what's going to happen, and you can't predict how he's going to come back." The Yankees should be concerned. Alex might not come back and the Yanks might be stuck with Eduardo NunEEEEEz at third base. Why? The Yankees have been targeting many third basemen after the news about A-Rod. They have targeted Jeff Keppinger, Eric Chavez, and Kevin Youkilis. However, Keppinger (3 yrs, $12 million) and Chavez (1 year, $3 million) are off the market. Jeff signed with the White Sox today and Chavez signed with the Diamondbacks.

The Yankees are not hard on former Red Sox Youkilis because he is asking for more money than the Yankees are willing to pay. At this point they might not have a choice.  I do not see the Yankees standing pat at third base and going with a platoon of Jayson Nix and Nunez throughout the year. I believe they get something done with someone and may have to be willing to pay a little more then they want to get someone. 

Martin Bolting to the Bucs

    Fox News has reported that former Yankees catcher Russell Martin is headed to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The details of his deal are unknown but Martin is reuniting with old Yankee teammate AJ Burnett. What does this means for the Yankees? A lot. This is not good news for the Yankees and their fan base. Martin was a tremendous defensive catcher for the Bombers. He worked very well with the pitching staff, ultimately leading the staff to becoming a top rotation. He was tough and gritty, the type of player Joe Girardi coveted. Martin’s offense is the complete opposite. He will not hit for average but does have some pop and gets on base with walks. He is also a very patient hitter, a guy who fit very nicely into the Yankees lineup.     

The Yankees can replace his offense but can the Yanks replace his defense and leadership? As of right now, Chris Stewart is the Yankees starting catcher with Francisco Cervelli the backup. They do have youngsters Austine Romine and Gary Sanchez but neither seems to be ready to take over full time. Soon to be 36-year-olds AJ Pierzynski and Mike Napoli are the only other two free agent catchers worth talking about. AJ is an average defender with a solid bat. His power would go great at Yankee Stadium and his personality would fit in New York. The only problem is, is that Pierzynski is most likely going to get a multi year deal and the Yankees do not seem keen on giving a 36-year-old a multi year deal because the Steinbrenner’s want to get the payroll under $189 million. Mike Napoli is not an everyday catcher and will not fit in with what Girardi wants. The Yankees do not even seem to be interested in him. So what can they do? Cashman always seems to surprise everyone and now he has to think of what to do to replace Martin. It will not be easy but what will be easy about this Yankees offseason? These Yankees will definitely have their work cut out for them because this offseason just got a little bit harder.  

On the other hand, good news came out of the Yanks camp today, they have announced that Andy Pettitte (1 year, $12 million) and Mariano Rivera (1 year, $10 million) will both be back with the team next season. 

Jays Making Moves

     With the Toronto Blue Jays set to acquire a plethora of talented players, the American League East just go a whole lot harder. Sources say that the Miami Marlins and Blue Jays are on the verge of agreeing on a blockbuster trade. The Marlins will send half their team to the Jays for some young guns relieving the Marlins of contracts that just have not worked out for them. The Blue Jays are set to acquire former Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, former White Sox pitcher Mark Buerhle, catcher John Buck, injury prone ace Josh Johnson, and super sub Emilio Bonifacio. The Blue Jays are sending shortstop Yunel Escobar, right-hander Henderson Alvarez, catcher Jeff Mathis and prospects Jake Marisnick (OF), Adeiny Hechavarria (SS), Justin Nicolino (LHP) and Anthony DeSclafani (RHP). The Blue Jays did not have to sacrifice top prospects Kyle Drabeck and catcher Travis d’Arnaud.

     This is scary for the rest of this division as the Blue Jays, barring injuries, have leap frogged to the top of the division. The Blue Jays have fortified their rotation with Buerhle and Johnson combining with Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow to form one of the top rotations in the game. This can only happening if Romero gets back to his 2011 form when he was an all-star pitcher and only if Johnson can stay healthy which has been a problem for him in the past couple years.     

     With that said, a lineup that ranked in the top ten last year, just got better. Jose Reyes is not the player he was two years ago but everyone knows how talented he is and he can hit well over .300 every season. Bonifacio will join Reyes at the top of the order to go with Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Brett Lawrie, and Colby Rasmus. This team will be very dangerous and they did not ruin their future either.

     The question becomes will the Blue Jays live up to high expectations? I still see them finishing fourth because they have so many injury prone players and guys who might not adjust well to the American League East (Josh Johnson). However, the Yankees, Orioles, and Rays all have tons of questions that need to be answered this offseason and I would not be surprised if the Blue Jays win the division next year. Everything must fall their way in order for them to do so but there is still a long offseason ahead with teams just beginning to make moves.

     This is a monster move for the Jays, as they will finally become relevant and dangerous again in now an even better AL East. With the Yankees, Rays, Orioles and Red Sox all expected to make a ton of moves, next season sure is shaping up to be something special.