GM Meetings Recap

To those who missed out on all the events (and lack of events) and happenings from the GM meetings this week, here’s a quick recap from ESPN’s Jayson Stark.  And yes, he does mention Santana and the Yankees in there.

Fueling the Fire

The Yankees need a lefty for the pen and have considered trading for Damaso Marte, signing Ron Mahay and using internal options.  However, a new and even better name could be in the mix, as this person can even serve as a strong bridge to Mariano.

Brian Fuentes is the guy whom I speak of and he’s simply dominating against lefties (and, when he’s right, everyone else).  He used to close for the Rockies until he lost his job to Manny Corpas (due to some injury and performance issues earlier this year).  On Tuesday, the Rockies and Astros discussed him in a trade which didn’t happen.  But, today, the Mets also engaged Colorado about the All-Star lefty.

Fuentes has always been a guy that I liked.  He throws hard and has that funky sidearm delivery that makes the ball appear to be that much quicker.  The Mets tried to offer Aaron Heilman for him, but the Rockies wanted Schoenweiss with him also.  Hell, if we’re willing to discuss a trade for Damaso Marte, I think we should talk to the Rockies about Fuentes.  He could be a valuable possibility this year.

Matsui for Who?

Here, Peter Abraham confirms that the Yankees are talking to the Giants and that Hideki Matsui’s name has come up in their conversations.

It remains to be seen whether a match can be made. But we can confirm that the Giants and Yankees are talking and Hideki Matsui was mentioned.

It makes sense in some ways. He would be a popular draw for the city’s vast Japanese population, no small factor with Barry Bonds off the roster. Matsui also would become San Francisco’s best power threat.

This was a team that scored 683 runs last season with Bonds.

Lowry was 14-8, 3.92. But he had 87 strikeouts and 87 walks in 156 innings while allowing 155 hits. Maybe the Yankees are looking at some of their relievers. Maybe Rich Aurilia to play first base? Matsui for Lowry and Aurilia? Lowry and Kevin Correia?

Like we said at the top, it remains to be seen whether there’s a match. But I believe blogs were invented to speculate about baseball trades.

Oh, that’s right they were.  I am one of the biggest Hideki Matsui fans around (okay, that’s exaggerating a bit,  but still).  Hideki Matsui is a consumate professional and seems like such a modest ballplayer.  He’s the quietest guy on the team, but he’s also a hitting machine, which has been great for the Yankees.  It’d be sad to see him go and his production would be missed.

That is why, under no circumstances, can you trade him for Noah Lowry.  Although a lefty, Lowry has been in the “inferior” NL (in terms of hitting), has walked tons of guys and his numbers, I feel, wouldn’t translate well to the AL.  His WHIP last season was around 1.55, which is horrible, but that is a bit of an abberation from his previous years.

The only way the Yankees should do this is deal is if they trade Matsui and maybe another upper level prospect for Tim Lincecum (and another lower level prospect or RP).  Lincecum has amazing stuff but could be an injury risk due to his somewhat strange delivery.

Also, you have to wonder about Matsui’s production and how to replace his power.  I guess Damon in LF and Giambi at DH can adequately do the job without him.  However, who will protect A-Rod?  Giambi?  Cano (probably not yet)?

What could be another reason the Yanks are trying to unload Matsui?  Possibly so they could trade for Santana and free up payroll?  YankeeGM raises this point and it certainly is valid.  With a Lincecum type (which is hard to get), the Yanks would be more willing to swap for a Santana.

If the Yanks really wanted to be creative, they’d play Matsui or Damon at 1B this year.  The Sheffield thing was different, simply because he was asked to jump into the playoffs and work that position.  With a full spring training at the bag, one of them could be enough.

Yankees-Giants Discuss Matsui?

Props to the guys at MLBTradeRumors for this one.

The Giants and the New York Yankees have discussed left fielder Hideki Matsui for a starter. Matsui does have a complete no-trade clause

This is an unlikely deal.  I can’t see the Yankees losing Matsui although there is sort of a logjam in their lineup.  The DH spot looks more and more crowded everyday.  However, I think Matsui can rebound from what was a “disappointing” season for him.  He put up solid numbers this year but did have some streaky hitting.  The Giants are dying to give up their great young pitchers (e.g. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain) for some reason.

On a month ago (November 8th), Ken Davidoff from Newsday reported something similar to the abovementioned concept, stating that the Yankees would prefer to move Matsui over Damon.  Matsui probably wouldn’t go simply because New York is his ideal situation and as Davidoff pointed out, it could be embarassing for him since he left Japan to play for the Yankees.

This is probably nothing extraordinary or groundbreaking, so I wouldn’t read too much into it.

Thursday’s Bits: Hank Talks History

Hank Steinbrenner is not only aware of history, but apparently, he’s learned from it.  From Tyler Kepner and the Times:

“That was an experience from the ’80s, and there’s no question it was painful,” said Steinbrenner, who resisted taking a position of influence for his father then. “The bottom line is, I’ve got to be happy with what I’ve got. We’re all happy, and it’s only going to get better and better.

“Our goal is to be self-sufficient,” Steinbrenner continued, repeating a theme, “like the Yankees used to be, and do it through the draft and Latin America. Our guys are the best scouts in baseball, and they’ve proven that over the last few years. It’s unbelievable the job Damon Oppenheimer and his scouts have done. That’s what’s got to continue.”

Finally, I’m actually enjoying what Steinbrenner is saying here.  He’s providing a fresh perspective on business in the Bronx and a lot of it is due to the job Brian Cashman has done with the farm system (and the scouts, trainers, etc.).  The Yankees have finally realized that being the richest team in baseball is so much more effective when you have built your farm system in a productive and efficient manner.  Now, you can spend money on actual needs and problem areas instead of patching up problems with another superstar contract.

The Yankees have been spending a lot on their farm system, the article goes into their above market bonuses for signees.  But, thankfully, they’ve been paying off.  Shrewd picks and legitimate gambles have helped them develop their young pitching and create, in a sense, a youth movement within the organization.  Also, they’re making wise decisions, like keeping Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy.

What’s cool about this is that Steinbrenner knows it and openly boasts about the kids.  By bragging about them, you build them up (in their eyes and in the eyes of others) and install value within them.  Most importantly, he’s building them up in his own mind and convincing himself that these kids are worthy keeps that shouldn’t be dished out.  Here, George King and Joel Sherman talk about it.  Steinbrenner even thinks that, with Hughes and Chamberlain, he’ll have multiple aces.  Hell, we all think that (although it’ll take some time).

You’ve got to be excited about the rotation next year.  Even though there’s a rotating door at first, even though we’re not sure about Melky Cabrera’s offense, even though A-Rod’s making more money than you do in a year per game, even though Derek Jeter isn’t paying his taxes, we’ll still have a rotation full of new and refreshing looks that could the history of the club.  It’ll be fun to watch (they’ll probably trade all of the kids next week, but I might as well get my say in now).

Switching gears a bit, everyone knows about the megadeal that occurred between the Marlins and the Tigers.  Well, Dontrelle Willis, the lefty that the Tigers acquired in their deal with the fish, may actually get shopped around now (due to payroll flexibility and an exhausted farm system).  The Mets may get involved and could deal for him if they fall out of the Santana sweepstakes.

And, although I talked a lot about the kids in the Yankees rotation, here’s a pretty interesting “thing” that I saw on the Times website.  It’s produced Tyler Kepner and its narrated by him, and it places you within the mindframe of Mike Mussina as he pitches to hitters like Brian Roberts, David Ortiz, etc.  Pretty nice interactive find.  I don’t know if he does this every week or what, but it’s a nice time killer.

Albaladejooooooo

Props to the guys on RAB for the scouting report on Albaladejo.

If he gets a song, I hope its the “Daylight come and me no want go home”… His last name just reminds me of it everytime… You know what I’m talking about, don’t pretend.

Bunch of Bits: Santana Talks Stall, Yanks Interested in Marte/Mahay, Mets Stuff

Talks with the Red Sox have supposedly stalled since the madness that occurred earlier this week.  Maybe it was all a ploy to keep Santana out of the Bronx after all.  Anyway, the Mets are reportedly engaging the Twins (in an aggressive manner) as they attempt to get back into the Santana race.  I’d rather the Mets just get him and keep him for a while, allowing us (the AL) to worry about other things.

However, some have questioned the substance of the package that the Mets are offering (including Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber, Carlos Gomez, Fernando Martinez).  These guys are all respectable prospects, with Martinez holding a top-spot, however I could see why the Twins are being a bit hesitant, especially since none are proven at the Major League level.  The Dodgers, Angels, and maybe a few dark horses (Mariners?) could offer better packages, and unless the Twins get what they want, they won’t bite (as seen with IK).

If the Mets truly had a shot at getting A-Rod, you can believe that they would have taken it.  Then they would have traded David Wright for Santana.  That would have been a lot of fun to hear about, all winter long.

Realistically, at this point, with all the competition and the lack of interest from the Twins, the Mets probably won’t get Santana.  Although, I could definitely see the Mets going after another target.  I could see them going hard at Erik Bedard, and I would imagine a package of maybe Pelfrey, Humber and Gomez could get it done (that’s a lot).  A lot of people say the Mets will go after Haren, but I think you could see them go after Blanton just as much.  Minaya was thinking of Livian Hernandez for god’s sake, so Blanton would be a way better innings eater (and would benefit from an NL change in scenery).

In other news, Andruw Jones agreed to a 2-year, 36.2 million dollar deal with the LA Dodgers.  Now Yankees fans can stop worrying if the Yanks will sign Jones (who has some pretty disappointing numbers at Dodger Stadium) at all (for whatever reason).  Hopefully Joe Torre will enjoy having Jones, a guy who refuses to adjust anything, on his team and hitting .240.  His OBP isn’t even hovering around the price of gas.  Either way, getting Jones could put the Dodgers in the lead for a Santana deal (they could trade Matt Kemp).

In terms of the Yankees, nothing too new to report.  Brian Cashman has indicated that he will be working on his bullpen this offseason, and is not holding back on using his in-house options (Igawa, Horne, Marquez, etc.).  For some reason, everyone forgets about Chris Britton, Ross Ohlendorf, Edwar Ramirez, and Jose Veras.  I guess the Yankees don’t really have too much faith in these guys (the end of the regular season was a terrible spectacle because of these guys, I won’t lie).

Also, it appears that I was right about Marte.  The Yankees were interested in him last year and are interested in him again.  He’s cheap, shouldn’t cost too much, and could be an effective pitcher for us.  The Yanks exchanged talks with the Pirates, yet a deal doesn’t seem likely at this point.  That article states that the Yankees are leading the pack in signing Ron Mahay (yay?) and that 2 left-handed relievers may not be necessary.

On a different note, I’ve kind of given up on the Yankees and Santana.  It has become evident that they will likely stear clear of the Twins and not engage them in talks.  This is even more concrete now that the Red Sox have seemingly bailed out of the deal.

Does anyone feel like the Yankees are going to make a run at someone other than Santana (that’s not Haren)?  I feel like Erik Bedard, although on a team that’s in the same league/division, is a likely candidate.  They’ve just got so many young pitchers being blocked right now with their current young rotation that I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Yanks unload one or two of them (Horne, Marquez?) for a better option.