The *Exciting* Winter Meetings

As a Yankee fan, if you were hoping for some big move to happen at the Winter Meetings, you would be very disappointed. The Meetings turned out to be quite uneventful, unless you only like rumors. There were plenty of them, and the Yankees were at the center of most of them. None of them really came to fruition. In fact, the one "big" move they supposedly did make as of last Wednesday has just been finalized today. The move I am referring to is the re-signing of lefty J.A. (pronounced Jay) Happ to a two-year deal and vesting option.

The Winter Meetings were almost a complete dud.

Instead, there was plenty of clamoring over where Bryce Harper and Manny Machado would ultimately sign. Mind you, neither of them came to the meetings. There was plenty of speculation on Twitter about why Machado would sign with the Yankees and why he wouldn't - same for Harper. 

A lot of the major moves thus far had occurred prior to the start of the Winter Meetings. The Mariners sent James Paxton to the Yankees and Edwin Diaz / Robinson Cano to the Mets, and Jean Segura to the Phillies (for Carlos Santana), and the Diamondbacks sent slugger Paul Goldschmidt to the Cardinals. Many expected these moves to be just a warm up for the actual meetings... alas, that never happened. The biggest trade splash came on the final day, in which the Mariners sent the newly acquired Santana to Cleveland as a part of a three-team swap with the Rays. Cleveland got Santana (from Mariners) and infielder Jake Bauers (from Rays), Seattle got slugger Edwin Encarnacion (from Indians), and the Rays got infielder Yandy Diaz and righty Cole Sulser (from the Indians)... I think that last sentence made sense... 

I love this stuff though. I love the rumors, trades, and signings - to me it is one of the most exiting parts of the game outside of watching and playing it. But after this past week and the constant speculation, with really no facts to build off of, and no action... it was starting to get annoying. I couldn't scroll through my Twitter feed without seeing some nonsense about both Harper and Machado. People bashing them, claiming that they wouldn't want such a player on their team because of their ego, or because their lazy. And I don't know if it is because these people genuinely do not want Machado or Harper - or if they are mentally preparing themselves for if, or when they ultimately do not sign with the Yankees.

Let's get one thing straight. BOTH players, either signed together OR individually will improve this Yankees team immediately AND for the long term. Any team should want either of these players in their lineups. 

With that said, I am through trying to speculate or breakdown every rumor that comes out about these two players, and am just going to wait and see where they end up signing. I mean, how much longer can they wait? How much longer can the Twitterverse try to guess where they sign and why they might sign there? By the time Patrick Corbin signed with the Nationals, I was exhausted from all the will he/won't he talk.

Let's talk about the Corbin signing for a minute. The Yankees were anticipated to make a 5-year $100 million offer to Corbin - he ultimately signed a 6-year $140 million deal with the Nationals. I am glad they didn't get into a bidding war over him. That's so much money for one player that isn't an elite talent, although he was the best starting pitcher available. Please understand, that just because a player is the best AVAILABLE, does NOT mean he's the best player for the team. Corbin has had injuries, and last season was easily his best season, and still has a career ERA of 3.91. This is a solid ERA, but not a career ERA that you drop $140 million on. Good for him though. I hope he plays up to the contract he has received. My guy tells me he will likely finish that contract with a different team because the Nationals will not be willing to pay him $20 million into his age 35-36 seasons. The Yankees were smart here, and should have only signed him on their terms, not his.

During the Winter Meetings, a few trade rumors popped up that had involved the Yankees. These potential trades were heavily discussed, but ultimately have not happened (yet). The big one that seemed to put the entire baseball universe in tizzy was a three-team trade that involved the Yankees, Mets, and Marlins. This trade would have given the Yankees Noah Syndergaard from the Mets, would have given the Marlins Miguel Andujar from the Yankees + Amed Rosario (or Michael Conforto) from the Mets, and the Mets would have gotten the most talked about trade piece all week, J.T. Realmuto. This would have been huge. The Yankees have been linked to Syndergaard before, but not like this. New Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen has certainly tried to stir the pot, and striking a deal with their crosstown rivals would have done just that. The truth is, they were never going to make a massive trade like this with the Yankees, even if it netted them their prize trade target. Which is sad, because the Yankees would have gotten a stud addition to their rotation, and would easily give them one of the best rotations in baseball. Oh well...

After the World Series came to an end, the Cleveland Indians had indicated that many of their top players were available - this included stud pitchers Cory Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, and Trevor Bauer. That list slimmed down a little after the Indians agreed to an extension with Carrasco, pretty much guaranteeing that he finishes his career in Cleveland. This would then leave Kluber and Bauer available to be traded - and the Yankees would be a big part of this conversation (among other teams). However, talks seemed to stall when the Yankees refused to include their top prospect Estevan Florial. Many speculated they would offer Miguel Andujar, but Cleveland already has a third baseman...

Miguel Andujar had a fantastic Rookie season, and completely deserved the American League Rookie of the Year Award, not Shohei Ohtani. Although he had such a fantastic offensive season, he was abysmal on the defensive side of the ball - his defense could improve... it also may not. There is no reason why he should be deemed as "untouchable" in trade talks. In fact, because he had such a fantastic season is all the more reason he SHOULD be the perfect trade piece. This was his rookie season, and there is no guarantee that he replicates his offensive success next year. So, if I am the Yankees and teams are asking for him in return for a high quality starting pitcher with a number of years of control (something the Yankees are still looking to acquire), I may just consider it. His value could possibly NEVER be higher. He could turn around in 2019 and produce offensive numbers similar to what Gary Sanchez produced in 2018. His defense could get worse, instead of hitting .297, he might hit .230 or worse. He has not played long enough to say that he is going to consistently be a .300 hitter. Now, he could be... and then great, the Yankees traded a quality player for a stud pitcher. But the Yankees already have a quality young core in Judge, Torres, Sanchez and Severino (Stanton and Gregorius). They could possibly be on the verge of signing established talent in Harper and/or Machado. Andujar should not stand in the way of that, and if trading him could vastly improve an area of need for the Yankees, then so be it. You 100% take that risk. 

The same could be said for Aaron Hicks. Hicks has a bit more MLB experience under his belt, but he is also coming off a career year too. The only caveat here is that after 2019 Hicks becomes a Free Agent, so a return for him may not be as great, but he could still be dealt to improve the team. If he is dealt, there are a couple of CF options that may be available... (1) If Ellsbury is healthy, you platoon him and Gardner in CF - while Stanton plays LF and Judge plays RF. (2) You could sign Bryce Harper, who has CF experience, to play CF until Florial is MLB ready. (3) You could put together a trade package with Sonny Gray that might net an MLB ready CF prospect. (4) You could sign AJ Pollack to a 3-4 year deal instead of Harper to hold down CF until Florial is ready - what I am saying is that there some potential options... But, I wouldn't be surprised if they just keep Hicks, or even agree to an extension with him. Hicks has been good, but I honestly wouldn't lose sleep if they moved on from him... sorry.

To digress a little, the only other big rumor that came out of the Winter Meetings that involved the Yankees was trading Sonny Gray. Cashman has not been secretive about wanting to trade him. It is no question that Gray has struggled since coming to NY. It is also very clear that there are a number of suitors for Gray, willing to take a chance on him, as his numbers away from Yankee Stadium fell more in line with his career numbers. Three of the teams that have been indicated as having interest are the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and the San Diego Padres. Each of these teams have incredibly deep farm systems, and the Yankees could net one or two decent prospects from each team - or one Top Prospect from each. But, what kind of prospects do the Yankees need? Well... you can NEVER have too much pitching, and they are quite light on MLB ready outfielders and infielders. The Yankees have a pretty solid system, the problem is none of their top prospects are MLB ready. They just traded their top Starting Pitcher (Justus Sheffield) to Seattle, and most of the other top prospects are 1-2 years away from sniffing MLB playing time. Yankees could always pair Sonny Gray, Clint Frazier, and a mid-level prospect to Cincinnati for MLB infielder Scooter Gennett. This would be my preferred move, as Gennett has developed into a very good second baseman and hitter. Something the Yankees could definitely use while starting Shortstop Didi Gregorius recovers from his Tommy John Surgery. I would think that acquiring Gennett would also preface an Andujar trade, opening a slot for Manny Machado. BUT, if I am the Yankees, I wouldn't actually make ANY move until Machado has officially been signed - if signed at all. 

Signing Machado (or even Harper - though I will use Machado in this instance) could unleash a domino effect of trades and signings by the Yankees. Signing Machado could be contingent on him shifting back to third base. If he comes to NY to play third, then that would likely make Andujar available to trade. If you then acquire Gennett to play second, you could slide Torres to short until Didi recovers, and play Machado at third.

Here's my issue... all of this is pure speculation. None of this can even be fathomed until Machado officially signs somewhere. You can spin your wheels over and over and over again on this, and in the end, be exhausted. Machado could easily sign elsewhere, and there would not only be an uproar from Yankees twitter, but then you have to have a backup plan... Because there will still be holes that will need to be filled. This applies to Harper too. 

Regardless of what happens, I am sure Cashman has a number of plan B's that he could easily follow through on. It's crazy that one or two players can establish the market activity. It's crazy, but a lot of it hinges on them. And this doesn't even include the relief pitching market - which is a completely different story.

My guess is the Yankees make an offer to Adam Ottavino, Andrew Miller and Zach Britton (every time I type his name, I always type Chris first... yikes). There are multiple good options still available here, and I would guess the Yankees sign two. It is most likely that David Robertson will not be a Yankee next year - I just hope to not see him in a Red Sox uniform. I just hope Cashman does is stay away from Craig Kimbrel - who is asking for a record breaking 6-year deal... yikes... I am sorry, but he is NOT the greatest closer of all time. He will not get what he is seeking... But again, all speculation. It will be exciting once the first domino falls and then the signing/trading frenzy should begin. 

Just remember two months until pitchers and catchers report to Tampa for Spring Training - a lot can still happen!!!