I thought he’d be a good enough enticement to get the Brewers to absorb a little more money, that’s all. But there was an article about this move that made a ton of sense. Tarpley allowed a .168 BA to lefties but got destroyed by righties. With the new 3 batter rule going in, guys like Tarpley are going to become obsolete
Not to mention, he was never much of an enticement anyway.
The Giants took on Zack Cozart’s contract to get first rounder Will Wilson. Cozart makes about 2/3 of what Happ makes. Translation - it’s going to take an actual good prospect to get a team interested in Happ. Guys like Tarpley and Cessa won’t work. It might take someone more like Estevan Flovial, Everson Pereira or Clarke Schmidt...
The Giants- the only team to rival the Sox with WS victories, recently (3 in 5 years not too long ago) have a lot of dead weight and overpaid players, even after losing Bumgarner.
Posey owed $45M+/2
Cueto owed $47M+/2
Longoria $59M/3
Samardzija $19.8M/1
B Belt $34.4M/2
Crawford $30.3M/2
Cozart $12.7M/1
Sox 4 Ever
He’s also 3 years younger, makes $5mill less and was a 5fWAR player before his injuries.
You’ve always stated Happ was a worthwhile gamble to return to his previous level. Cozart is even less of a gamble.
Or - maybe you’re right and all some team needs to get excited about Happ is someone like Tarpley, Cessa or Holder. Of course, if that’s all it takes to shed $17mill, it does pose the obvious question about why it hasn’t happened yet...
Last edited by notin; 01-14-2020 at 11:20 AM.
Holder and Cessa don't belong in the same group with Tarpley, these two had some level of success in the past few season, I'm willing to bet that Cessa will take a step up this season as one of the most reliable arms in the Yankees BP, Holder has still some injury concerns, Tarpley is just a guy who is just potential and no results for a couple years now
Tarpley may end up being good down the line like some other castoffs with potential we've had (Kirby Yates, Gio Gallegos, Mark Melancon, James Pazos) but the Yankees are in win now mode and he has the least to offer out of any one else on the 40 man roster.
Cessa and Holder are certainly better than Tarpley, but I don't think any of the three will entice a team to take Happ's contract. And maybe that will work out to the Yankees advantage. Certainly they are aware of the effects of injuries by now and would be flat out stupid to not be prepared for them in 2020...
Yanks are also loading up on minor league lefties. Yanks picked up Avilan and Lyons. Neither are expected to make the team, but AAA depth ain’t too bad.
It seems to be all quiet on the Yankee front. There was chatter about Hader and then chatter about the Yanks moving a combo of Frazier and or Andujar for another reliever. It seems all of that chatter has fizzled. I like the squad we have. I like the depth. Cole and Sevy, if they stay healthy, are a fearsome top 2, quite possibly the best top 2 in baseball. Our 3-4 are damn good as well and if Paxton puts it together in his contract year (as many players do), he could give us a 3 headed monster. Our 4 is a playoff ace in Tanaka. The pen is deep and closed out by 2 elite level closers. The lineup is deep, powerful and has tons of contingencies. There are no excuses in 2020
Happ will be the Yanks 5th starter per Cashman. JMont likely to AAA. May actually get an extra year of control by doing so.
So the Yanks are now painted into a corner with Happ and that makes it all the more likely that they end up above the final threshold and will move their pick back 10 slots. It's not like they do shit with their first rounders anyway! My bet is they keep Happ to midseason. If he is good, move him to a place that will want him for 2021. If he sucks, he may get cut once the cavalry arrives. If he is in the middle, he will hang in there likely as a long reliever.
Hal sucks
Yanks have added Tony Zych and Chad Bettis. Neither are likely to make the club out of ST