MLBTR put together a list of players who are likely to be non-tendered, and I want to highlight a few names who might be interesting to the Yankees. I’ll look at hitters today and pitchers tomorrow:
Matt Diaz: If Diaz is in fact non-tendered, I could see the Yankees jumping at him. Diaz is a right-handed outfielder who crushes lefties to the tune of a .907 career OPS against them. He is not great in the field but is far from awful, and he is accustomed to being a part-time player. He should not cost any more than Marcus Thames cost in 2010.
JJ Hardy: Hardy is admittedly a longshot, but I think he might be a smart pickup for a team with two old players on the left side of the infield. He hits lefties well, is a strong defensive shortstop, and is athletic enough to fill in at 3rd and 2nd at times. He would also give the club more options should Jeter continue to decline rapidly. Cost might be an issue, as I can see a number of teams seeing him as an improvement at the position for them.
Russell Martin: Martin’s career has evaporated over the last two seasons, but he would likely represent an upgrade defensively behind the plate over every catcher that the Yankees have, and he still has some pop in his bat. He could take the Cervelli role in the 3-headed Yankee catching monster while allowing Jesus Montero to ease onto the roster slowly. If the Yankees get lucky, he could revert back to his old self and become an extremely valuable trade chip or allow the Yankees to explore trading some of their catching assets.
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2 Responses to Interesting Non-Tender Candidates: Hitters
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TIQ IQ
Unless a trade is made, I see Brandon Laird getting a shot next season as a RH hitter, along with Nunez.
If we trade one or both, could be for a BIG RH hitter.A deal along the lines of the Granderson deal last year.
A young soon to be expensive hitter that some team who we aren’t aware of right now, is willing to unload for young players ready to play.
I would like to see them kick the tires on Martin, though I imagine he might be able to get a starting gig elsewhere on the reputation of his past success. Looking at his stats from the past few years his plate discipline has remained strong even if his batting average and power have declined. He’ll be 28 next year, and if healthy, he could bounce back. Even if he doesn’t bounce back all the way to his ’07 form, he could still be valuable. We probably can’t count on Posada for more than 100 games at catcher (assuming decent health), and it would be nice to have someone better than Cervelli catching the remainder. There’s a decent chance Montero may not be ready to handle significant catching this season, and having Martin as a fall-back would be nice. Of course, it all comes down to money and expectations of playing time.