Yes the winter meetings are over but that doesn't mean that teams around the league can't get better, the 2017 season is still months away so there is still plenty of time in the off-season to get better.
So far the Mets have re-loaded and will bring back Yeonis Cespedes on a deal that will have the 31 years old in the middle of the Mets lineup for another 4 years. The deal is worth $110 million and I have to say that most Mets fans have to be happy that the Cuban Defector is staying in Queens.
Since his arrival to the NY Mets, Cespedes career has taken off in a Mets uniform so this was a deal the Mets had to make. I thought for sure the Mets were going to at at least give Cespedes a 5 year deal but at 4 years I was happy and surprised.
Sandy Alderson's has secure the power bat in the Mets lineup but there are still plenty of other moves going forward that the GM can make to improve the team in 2017.
Like?
What to do with Jay Bruce?
Do the Mets ad another arm or 2 for the bullpen?
Do they go out and get a new catcher?
Is Jeurys Familia still the closer? and how do the Mets handle his domestic violence issue?
Mets outfield situation, who plays CF?
Those are just some of the question marks on the table for Alderson.
On the other side of town, a day after Yankee GM Brian Cashman made the statement that the Boston Red Sox were now the GS Warriors of baseball, Cashman turns around and signs mega closer Aroldis Chapman to a record deal for closers.
Chapman who was looking for a 6 year deal was able to get a 5 years deal from the Yanks who will pay him $86 million. I would had avoided this type of deal as I'm not a fan of giving all that money to closers, but it's done and the Yankees have their closer for the next 5 years.
Yes the NY Yankees are getting themselves ready for the 2017 campaign but I think that fans need to understand that this is a team still in transition. For the 1st time in a long time things are on the right track for the NY Yankees who will have some youth coming back in 2017 that will get your attention.
So far GM Brian Cashman has added veteran OF Matt Holliday to a 1 year deal that will pay him $13 mil in 2017. To me it looks like the Yanks will look for the 37 year old Holliday to come in and hopefully be that veteran bat that Carlos Beltran was in 2016. Looks like Matt Holliday will play a little outfield but will mostly serve as the Yankee DH.
Right now the Yankee outfield consist of Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury and Aaron Judge with Aaron Hicks looking as their 4th outfielder. This is not a move I would had made to bring in Matt Holliday but Cashman felt otherwise. I look for Cashman to try and move either Gardner or Ellsbury before the start of the season but Yankees fans may have to stick it out with Ellsury and Gardner for another year.
The Yanks won't have Brain McCann around either who they traded away to make room for Gary Sanchez, and you won't be seeing any more of Nathan Evoldi who the Yanks decided to release.
Without Evoldi the Yankees have a void or 2 to take care of in the rotation so I look for Cashman to bring in or trade for a couple of arms to fill in the void.
Well that's all I got for now....
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3 comments:
Well, its good to get back to some baseball talk. Let's start for the Mets. They opened their wallets for Cespedes. Everything worked out like I thought it would, Cespedes gambled on himself on the deal last year and it paid off for him. The Mets still have a few moves to make though, they have a logjam in the outfield and need to solidify the bullpen especially with all the uncertainty surrounding Familia.
As for the Yankees, of course the big deal is Chapman. It's always scary to give a pitcher that type of deal but really its the price of doing business in MLB now. When you see that Melancon got 4 for 62 and Jansen got 5 for 80, Chapman is better than both of those guys. I like the Yankees pen now with Warren, Clippard, Betances and Chapman. Plus, the other big thing with Chapman is that the Yankees didn't have to give up the draft pick for him. If the last 2 years have taught us anything is that the bullpen is what wins your championships. The Yankees have a lot of question marks in the starting pitching so the pen will be able to mask some of the weaknesses.
The other big move was trading McCann which you knew was happening, with the emergence of Gary Sanchez it was too much to keep McCann on the team and he's going to a really good Astros team where he'll be able to catch on a regular basis so good for him. I like the Holliday signing, 1 year and he'll DH and be insurance at 1st base, brings in a good veteran presence to the team. I still see the Yankees trying to swing a trade with Gardner, I'm sure they would love to move Ellsbury but that would be next to impossible. I think if you talk to any rational Yankees fan they know that 2017 isn't what they're playing for, its really about 2018 and beyond, they just want to stay competitive this upcoming season like they were last season.
Yo yea nice to be talking some baseball again, so let me continue on with the Chapman deal, it's true that these days MLB has seen a change in the game where relievers and closers are having more success in the last few years and dominating more in the playoffs.
Mark Melacon and Kelly Jansen got what they got so I guess the Yankees got the best of the trio and there for they made a good deal by getting the best guy out there, but that's a tough deal for me. My whole issue is all that money for a guy that will only come into play for about 10% of the game? I don't even like when a team gives a starting pitcher a 7 year type deal.
I just think that there are teams that would not had made this type of deal and I think my Mets would had been one of those teams to stray away from this type of deal cause to me the Mets are too conservative or cheap depending on who you ask.
Yea the Yankees bullpen looks good with Chapman ready to close games but it's the starting rotation that you worry about.
What the Yankees need to do now is get a starter or 2, now I don't expect them to get someone like Chris Sale but I look for them to add someone like Ruby De La Rosa or a Doug Fister type to help give them some innings 2017.
Yea hopefully the Yanks will be able to move Brett Gardner but you're right about Ellsbury, he will be impossible.
I think a rational Yankees fan has to come into the 2017 season with the expectations that the Yanks are trying to get better and if they make the playoffs it's all extra gravy. I can understand fans having high expectations for Gary Sanchez in 2017 for what he was able to do in 2016 but even with Sanchez you have to lower you're expectations.
Will the Yankees be a 500 team in 2017? This is what I mean about lowering expectations.
As for the Mets...
Yes there is still a lot of work to do, the logjam in the outfield is an issue that needs to be address and hopefully Sandy Alderson will fine a way to move Jay Bruce and get things to where they need to be when it comes to the outfield, but the way it is right now I expect the Mets to have some issues in 2017. Right now the way it is constructed the Mets will have Curtis Granderson playing most of CF so look for the Mets outfield defense to suffer.
Jeurys Familia domestic issues is another concern to start the season, Obviously if Familia and the Mets can avoid a 50 game suspension this would be a big relief so only time will tell.
Orioles, catcher Welington Castillo agree to 1-year, $6M deal
2 weeks ago I saw that the Arizona Diamondback had let go of 29 year old catcher Welington Castillo and with the Mets needing a change in the catching position I was thinking the Mets should get this guy. Oh well not going to happen. Last season with the Diamondbacks Castillo hit 264 with 14 homers and 68 RBI's in 111 games. I don't know why the Diamondbacks let Castillo go after putting up some nice numbers but the 1st thing that came to mind was that this guy maybe a headcase. Still I was ready to give him a chance, because it would be better than Travis d'Anaud. The Mets should now try and consider Matt Wieters who at 30 would be an even better fit.
WBC Rosters announced today. We'll have to dissect that all.
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