You'd be smiling, too
-You might have missed it since the trade came down late last night, but Francisco Liriano was traded in division to the Chicago White Sox. According to BPs Kevin Goldstien, the two players the Twins received in return are an MLB ready utility infielder and a lefty who may or may not stick at the back of a MLB rotation. At that price I would have given the Twins Ramiro Pena+Warren and stuck him in the Yankee bullpen as insurance, but that’s just me.
-Kenny Williams may not be done dealing (is he ever?) There are reports the ChiSox want to move Gavin Floyd, possibly before Tuesday’s 4:00PM trade deadline.
-Joel Sherman is a terrific reporter, one who I follow closely to stay on top of Yankee news. So when he offers estimates on what he thinks it will take to sign Cano, I have to suspect he got those numbers from someone connected with the Yankees who doesn’t want to put their name to it for obvious reasons. With that said, here what Joel thinks it will take to sign Cano should the Yanks open extension talks this offseason:
I suspect seven years at $154 million ($22 million a year) or eight at $160 million ($20 million) is the minimum ante in this game.
-After a glittering 2011, Ian Kennedy is having a sub-par season for the Diamondbacks this year. The good news is his BB/9 is down (1.7 2012/2.8 career) but his H/9 is way up (9.8 2012/8.2 career). That may be a function of hitters getting lots of good pitches to swing at. He gave up 3 HRs last night to Ike Davis and watching him live last night he rarely looked as comfortable and aggressive as he did for most of last year. From what I saw, his stuff was very inconsistent.
-Don’t forget Joba Chamberlain will be making one of his final rehab appearances for the Trenton Thunder in a 5:00 start. You can listen live by clicking here.
-The title says it all for Jesse Sakstrup’s piece at THT. While the Yanks have received zero return from Pineda this year, the Mariners haven’t had much production (0.2 WAR) from Zeus either. He’s destroyed lefties (.373/.409/.588) but has struggled mightily against righties (.204/.246/.301) which is the 2nd worst right handed platoon split in all of baseball. Unfortunately for him and the Mariners two thirds of the American League is right handed on an annual basis. Given the lack of value he provides defensively, you need the bat to be there or else he’s a backup catcher that can’t catch. Montero doesn’t walk enough and chases too many pitches out of the zone, especially sliders. Both traits were evident in his time with the Yankees. We saw him chase pitches out of the zone when he was called up, and his OPS fell annually from its peak in 09 as he climbed the ladder in the minors. Frequent comp Miguel Cabrera had a very different MILB track record and was in the majors at age 20. When the Yanks brought him up last September they picked their spots with him, which is why I never took his .328/.406/.590 line all that seriously. Its an axiom that bears repeating, never believe anything in April or September, or first time through the league. Jesus may yet become the ‘elite bat’ so many assumed he already was, but he clearly has a long way to go.
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15 Responses to Sunday Links: Cano $, Liriano, Joba, Montero, IPK
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TIQ IQ
I’ve always thought Cano would get somewhere in the $150-200m range.
Personally I’d rather let him walk, but I do think the Yanks will end up keeping him at a very steep price in the end.
I’ve grown to accept that the Yankees will give Cano a terrible contract, I’ve also grown to accept by half way through we’ll be in a similar boat that we’re in right now with Arod. 8 years at 160 is insane for a player who would finish the final year of that deal at somewhere between 38-40 years old.
I just pray we don’t extend Granderson on top of it.
I still believe Montero will become a very good player but his slumps and struggles in AAA always worried me. He showed very little understanding of the strikezone and next to no patience against AAA pitching, this has only been further exposed at the Major League level.
What worries me is Sabathia he Is really slowed down his velocity doesn’t get to 96 the way he used to and he cant seem to put together a good streak. Every1 says hel heat up in the summer but it’s augest in three days and his era is 3.57 which is not a 24 million dollar pitchers level
While I think CC used to occasionally hit 96 more than he does now, his highest avg FB velocity was 94.1 back in 09, and he’s averaging 92.4 this year, which is a mile and a half lower than last year of 93.9 mph. So yea he’s slowed down a bit. This has not really affect his K rate though, which is 8.79 K/9, the second-highest rate of his career.
His overall results are more or less right in line with what we are used to seeing out of him as well. His 3.36 SIERA this year is lower than his career 3.75, and his 3.32 xFIP is also lower than his career 3.68 (80 xFIP-/ career 85 xFIP-).
If you MUST use ERA as a tool for pitcher analysis (you shouldn’t) then this year’s 3.57 is basically the same as his career 3.52.
Bottom line, I think CC is still pretty damn good.
CC’s FIP is 3.32, which is right in line with his 2009 FIP of 3.39, and his 2010 FIP of 3.54. His K/9 is also as high as it’s ever been while as a Yankee, his BB/9 is lower than it was in 2009 and 2010, and almost identical to last years. He also has the 2nd highest GB% of his Yankee career. So if he isn’t worth the money now he never was.
Even if they have to overpay for it they shud deffinatly keep cano seeing him go wud be hard for alot of Yankee fans
Who cares how hard it would be on Yankee fans? If they give him the contract and 3 or 4 years in he is shell of his former self those same fans will be bitching about how much of an albatross his contract is. If you make decisions based on what the fans think you end up sitting with them.
And they’ll bitch when Cano is succeeded by a 0 WAR player. And they’ll bitch if Cano doesn’t win the MVP every year. And they’ll bitch if _______ .
Which is exactly why Cashman doesn’t make decisions based on what this bi-polar fan base thinks at that moment haha. He’d be a crazy mess if he paid any attention to us.
Who wud potentially replace him if cano walks?
Such a dilemma Cano and Boras present: everyone wants him for his feasible strong years, yet they have to bid for those and the inevitable decline years. We should bid $30 each for 4 years. Let him re-sell at 36.
No baseball fun for Robbie if he can’t live up to those later contracts. (tell him, Alex.)
Those laughs all the way to the bank turn to mere giggles.
Cano is not worth 7 years x $22M a year = $154M. He’s never hit 30 or more homeruns in a season and has driven in 100+ runs in a season only twice. Yes, a career .308 BA, .502 SLG hitter but his career OBP is only .349. He has yet to have a breakout season which to me is 30 or more HR, 120 or more RBI, and an OBP at least one point higher than his career best to go with a .300+ BA.
Locking him up through age 36-38 (since he turns 31 next November) is assinine.
Five years x $18M a year = $90M total 2013-17 which takes him through age 35 is more than fair. That would be the second-highest contract for a homegrown Yankee after Jeter’s 2001-10 contract.
Another thing:
No way on Earth Cano is worth only $7M less than Sabathia’s initial contract ($7 years x $23M a year = $161M.)
Cano was a second-tier player on the only World Series-winning team he has played for.
Yeah, T.O. Chris, Cashman would be a crazy mess if he traded Nunez and Montero in a package for Cliff Lee. Instead he kept Nunez who couldn’t hack it as a backup 2B/3B/SS and has no future at his natural position (SS) due to Jeter, and traded Montero for an overweight rookie year wonder who will not play for the Yanks this season (Pineda.)
Agree with duh innings on his actual value but iteill take way more than tht 2 keep him imagine were we wud b without Robbie rite now