You're on my no-trade list for a reason
-Jon Heyman is reporting Andy Pettitte is likely to come back, because his family can’t wait to get him out of the house supports it. That wind you feel on the back of your neck is the result of millions Yankee fans exhaling at the same time.
-Kerry Wood appears close to landing where he started, signing a deal with the Cubbies. No details are available yet, but there were reports he was offered a 2 year contract by the crosstown ChiSox, so we’ll guess this deal is similar. As good as Wood was for the Yanks last year, posting a 0.69 ERA and stabilizing a shaky bridge to Mariano, it had the markings of luck all over it. I think it’s safe to say he wasn’t going to maintain his 625 ERA+ had he returned. His 2 year/20.5 mil deal with the Indians was an unmitigated disaster, so you can’t be too upset over this one.
-Former Yankee Xavier Nady has landed with the Diamondbacks, good for him.
-Yanks are hot and heavy after Bobby Jenks. Since there are no top of the rotation starters left this off season, expect the Yanks to take some of the 24 mil they saved on Cliff Lee to bolster their bullpen. Joel Sherman reports they’re targeting 2 relief pitchers, a starter with questionable health (not Webb) and a righty bat with some pop for the OF. They’ll wind up being deeper and less top heavy as a result of not signing Lee, and I like it.
-This one goes into the ‘Anatomy of a rumor’ file. A reporter from the Seattle Times innocently posts in his blog a piece asking ” Should the Ms take advantage of the Yankee desperation and listen to offers for Felix?” The next thing you know, it spreads like wildfire. WEEI reports it as if it’s actually happening (and we can all just imagine the reactions among Red Sox fans in cars and homes across Boston). Soon thereafter luminaries from Keith Law to Joel Sherman and Ken Rosenthal all reported on the subject. Jon Heyman even got Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik to weigh in on the topic. Friend of TYU Craig Calcaterra seemed to be the only one who saw this for what it is, a silly rumor with nothing to it.
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6 Responses to Around the rumor mill
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TIQ IQ
I read yesterday that Jenks was close to signing with the Rays, now that conflicted with another report I read on MLB Rumor stating he was listening to the Rays and Yanks as well as others but wasn’t close to a deal with anyone. I can see the Rays a legit landing spot though because unlike us they can give him a closers job with no competition, Jenks made I believe 8 million dollars last year or around there so I would only sign him if he was willing to come down to a 5 or 6 per year deal and I wouldn’t go past 1-2 years and the 2nd year would be a prefered club option but you can guarantee none of that will happen given the reliever market this offseason.
Yeah, the Yanks will have to outbid the Rays in order to land him. The Rays always work with a very tight budget, so it’s doable. An extra year and extra few mil would seem to be in order.
As far as the lefties go, Heyman is saying they’re targeting Fuentes, Feliciano and (gulp) Arthur Rhodes. Rhodes is a Type A, and would get creamed in the AL East. Feliciano and Fuentes are Type Bs, but someone may still view Fuentes as a Closer. If I had to bet, it’s Feliciano. I don’t like the innings load, but if it’s a 1-2 year deal I’ll live with it.
Yeah I talked about all those options in the of topic section yesterday, I don’t want to repeat all of what I wrote their since you can just read it on the side but basically I don’t see Fuentes getting anymore or less than 5 or 6 million a year after the deals of Benoit and Downs really set the reliever market high but a 2 year deal is probablu doable and he has great splits Vs both lefties and righties so he replaces Wood as the setup man and might even be the safer 2 year bet between the two.
I think a little too much is made of the work load simply because he would be a lefty specialist only for us and so I think he wouldn’t get the work load that would push him over the edge IMO, if anyone will reduce his workload it’s Joe because he loves to go lefty-lefty then righty-right and back to left-lefty.
Feliciano has great splits though he dominates lefties and if your going to be a lefty specialists that’s what you have to do.
I also think their is a possibility although slight the Yanks could add both Fuentes and Feliciano and use Fuentes as the 8th inning set up man to Mariano and since he has closed before (107 out 117 or so in the last 3 years) he can fill in for more when he’s sore or tired and Logan and Feliciano are the pure lefty specialists.
Mariano
Fuentes
Robertson
Feliciano
Logan
Joba
Prior?
I really don’t care for adding Jenks he has good stuff but he has always been very fat and out of shape from all reports he never really tries to do better at it (until last year but he was still big) and that kind of attitude won’t help Joba at all, the real downside is that he is going to get probably at least the 7 he got last year and if we have to go to 8 or 9 to beat the Rays it’ way not worth the sign, he is an upgrade over Wood in only the fact that he’s younger but if Kerry signs for 6 Jenks will probably make more.
I say if we’re going to throw the Cliff Lee money around let’s offer Soriano a 1 year deal for 10 million or 11 million to setup and knowing he can get the multi year deal next season he might take the high payday for this 1 year to setup, sure it’s overpaying for a setup man but if we’re going to over pay Jenks let’s try and tempt the best right? Soriano probably wouldn’t do it but for 11 million and chance for another deal next season who knows.
The workload bothers me because it typically shows up the next year, or their career just falls off a cliff. I’d like to see if his stuff has steadily diminished over the past few years, at some point you reach a tipping point. Also, don’t forget Feliciano has pitched in a very pitcher-friendly park.
He’s pitched in a pitcher friendly park but he has a niche to get lefties out he should be able to do that in New Yankee stadium, Minute maid or a sandlot IMO… Looks like Feliciano is going to end up a Yankee very soon.
Also the “hot and heavy” after Jenks is very misleading… All Ken Rosenthal said was their was “heavy action” on Bobby Jenks meaning a bunch of team are interested in him translating that as “The Yankees are hot and heavy after Bobby Jenks” makes him sound like their number one free agent on the list when Jon Heyman reports lefty reliever is the priority.
All is actually said about the Yankees was they have interest which to me is a long way from hot and heavy, I had read that article yesterday but when I read that I thought maybe we had gotten close to signing him so it mislead me and I had read it.