Yankees 2020 offseason thread

[jacksonianmarch]

Rumor is that this will allow the Yanks to sign Kluber at $6-$8 mil for one season. They’re expected to be a finalist for his services.

I’m not gonna lie, I’d rather someone with more durability and less upside so our pen isn’t gassed by July. We have Severino coming back mid season and our lineup and pen are good enough to sustain a mid 4’s ERA pitcher and win a bunch with him as long as he can give some length. But Kluber is a total wild card. He’s a guy you sign to be your #5 with a couple options in the 6 and 7 slot. While we have some talented kids that are close to big league ready, we don’t have the bulk of the rotation of a standard title contender. And kids usually do better when there is a strong base of the rotation already to take the expectation pressure off of them. Right now you’ve got Cole and Montgomery as the only real big leaguers who aren’t coming off a layoff or aren’t rookies. German won’t have started a game in 19 months by April. Garcia is a kid. Schmidt is a kid. It would be best if you could add a reliable guy to Cole and Montgomery. Kluber isn’t that. Then again, he’s the best high upside value on the market. This is a big time gamble for a title contending team if they go this route

[Bellhorn04]

Surely Kluber can get more than $6-8 mill.

[bkzwhitestrican]

I would like to personally thank the Yankees for trading for Stanton a few years ago.

We'll see if it ends up being worse than signing Ellsbury. At least Stanton is good when he plays, whereas Ells was only good his first year. But health is a skill, and Stanton don't have it.

Stanton in 3 seasons: 199 G, .266/.352/.506, 5.1 total WAR (Postseason 17 G, .267/.352/.683)
Smellsbury in first 3 seasons: 408 G, .279/.326/.382, 6.5 total WAR (Postseason 7 G, .000/.153/.000)

[moonslav59]

We'll see if it ends up being worse than signing Ellsbury. At least Stanton is good when he plays, whereas Ells was only good his first year. But health is a skill, and Stanton don't have it.

Stanton in 3 seasons: 199 G, .266/.352/.506, 5.1 total WAR (Postseason 17 G, .267/.352/.683)
Smellsbury in first 3 seasons: 408 G, .279/.326/.382, 6.5 total WAR (Postseason 7 G, .000/.153/.000)

I'm happy, too.

Remember, Miami is paying $30M to the Yanks ($3M a year on the tax budget), so he's basically making what JD gets, but for 10 years.

[jacksonianmarch]

If he can stay healthy with a full off-season, full spring and appropriate ramp up, then he will earn his keep. His issue is health and he has been awful with that the last 2 years

[Kimmi]

DJ thought he would get a $125 mil for 5. $90 mil for 6 is a steal, especially since it pushes the AAV down to $15 mil

I would have been very shocked if DJ signed with anyone besides the Yankees, but I'm surprised he accepted $15 mil AAV.

[Bellhorn04]

I would have been very shocked if DJ signed with anyone besides the Yankees, but I'm surprised he accepted $15 mil AAV.

I read that the Blue Jays offered 4/$78, which is $19.5 AAV.

This way he gets an extra $12 mill guaranteed and presumably gets to play where he wants.

Seems like a winner for both sides.

[Kimmi]

We'll see if it ends up being worse than signing Ellsbury. At least Stanton is good when he plays, whereas Ells was only good his first year. But health is a skill, and Stanton don't have it.

Stanton in 3 seasons: 199 G, .266/.352/.506, 5.1 total WAR (Postseason 17 G, .267/.352/.683)
Smellsbury in first 3 seasons: 408 G, .279/.326/.382, 6.5 total WAR (Postseason 7 G, .000/.153/.000)

Stanton has a long way to go with his contract. If he can stay healthy, he can certainly make up for some of that lost time. We'll see.

[Bellhorn04]

The other thing about Stanton is, he's basically a DH now. He has so many issues with his legs that it would be silly to play him in the field.

[Kimmi]

I read that the Blue Jays offered 4/$78, which is $19.5 AAV.

This way he gets an extra $12 mill guaranteed and presumably gets to play where he wants.

Seems like a winner for both sides.

He does get to play where he wants, which is not a small factor, IMO.

[jacksonianmarch]

Yanks sign Kluber. I hope he can stay healthy.

[5GoldGloves:OF,75]

The other thing about Stanton is, he's basically a DH now. He has so many issues with his legs that it would be silly to play him in the field.

Well, you know those large humans, with so much more surface and interior areas of muscles and joints, they're just bound to break down more often than more compact athletes.

[moonslav59]

Yanks sign Kluber. I hope he can stay healthy.

$11M/1

Not bad.

Not sure the Sox could have gotten him for $12M, but I'd have paid as much.

[Kimmi]

Yanks sign Kluber. I hope he can stay healthy.

I like this deal for the Yankees. I would have done this for the Sox in a heartbeat. $11M might seem like a lot for a 35 year old pitcher who hasn't pitched much in the last 2 years due to injury, but it's a one-year deal. If he's not healthy, the sunk cost is easy to absorb.

OTOH, he could end up being very good. He's very much worth the risk. A writer also mentioned the benefits of his intangibles, which I thought was a good point.

[bkzwhitestrican]

Not a fan of this deal. Our rotation beyond Cole is just a bunch of question marks, and now Kluber is one more.