Settling Things

There have been some writers, including Ken Rosenthal and our pals over at River Ave. Blues, that have been sharp enough to catch a very interesting point; if the Yankees sign another Type-A free agent, they would only be required to surrender a 4th round pick in the June Amateur Draft. While this may sound like a bargain to some for a Juan Cruz or a Ben Sheets, the Yankees are a different case in this conversation (as in all conversations) for one reason: money.

The positioning of draft picks has a very different effect on the Yankees than it does other teams. Due to their economic clout, the Bombers have the ability to draft elite talent in later rounds. Names like Dellin Betances, Brad Suttle, Mark Melancon and Austin Jackson show up in round four or later in recent drafts. These were players that had tags like "strong commitment" and "unlikely to sign" attached to them before the Yankees opened their checkbook. Now, they are four of the top ten prospects in the Yankees organization according to Baseball America.

What this illustrates is that every pick counts for the Yankees, especially after Type A free agents like Bobby Abreu did not net the team extra picks. The smart move would be to stand pat on free agents; with one exception.

That exception is Andy Pettitte. I am unwavering in my belief that Pettitte will begin this season as the Yankees number five starter. Sources cited by SI's John Heyman say that there is a "less than a 50%" chance that Andy returns, but I can't see it. At the end of the day, Pettitte doesn't want to pitch anywhere else, but he doesn't want to stop pitching. The Yankees are said to be holding firm at their offer of $10 million, but I think they bend. Call it one year, $13 million and everyone is happy. There, I fixed everything again.

Winter Meetings: Day 3

CC Sabathia - Done. Here's some more details. Source: nypost.com/seven/12102008/sports/yankees/how_the_sabathia_deal_was_made_143549.htm Derek Lowe - Reports of his signing were pre-mature, but the Yankees are continuing in negotiations. Gordon Edes says that Lowe is not, in fact, on the verge of signing. Source: sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ge-loweupdate121008&prov=yhoo&type=lgns Mike Cameron - WFAN in New York is reporting that the Yanks have acquired Cameron for Melky Cabrera. Good move defensively, but still leaving some to be desired with the bat. Source: http://www.wfan.com/ AJ Burnett - The Yankees are in active discussions with Burnett also, according to Ken Rosenthal. ESPN radio reported that it was possible that the deal was appraoching $90 million. For a guy that has made 30+ starts twice in his career. TWICE. Wow. Source: http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8922020/Wednesday-MLB-winter-meetings-blog Ben Sheets - No new news here.

Winter Meetings: Day 2

CC Sabathia - This is the biggest news in all the league today. As reported here earlier, Joel Sherman broke the story at abuot 4:30am - CC has accepted the offer. This comes after Newsday reported that Cashman blew off his media time to fly to San Fran and meet with Sabathia and his family. This is a big day for the Yankees, as they have gotten their man. In listening to fan feedback, many felt that the Yankees have been made to look bad during the process, but honestly, who cares? This is exactly what they needed; an ace in his prime. This is the first time that the team can say that since Ron Guidry in the late 70's, so get over it.
Source - http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spwebyanks1210,0,3840560.story

AJ Burnett - John Heyman over at SI reports that the Yankees have topped the offer set forth by the Braves. God help us all
Source - http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/hot_stove/posts/30781-yankees-may-consider-fifth-year-for-burnett

Derek Lowe - In that same article, Heyman suggests that the Yankees are working on a four year deal for low worth over $65million. This sits a lot better with me than the $80 million+ that they are throwing at Pavano v2.0

Ben Sheets - It seems as though the team has offered Sheets a two year deal worth around $26million, according to Mark Feinsand of the NY Daily News
Source - http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2008/12/08/2008-12-08_yankees_brewin_up_multiyear_offer_for_fr-2.html

Mark Teixeira - No source here, but in my own estimation the Yankees are out on Teixeira after offering approximately $300 million to three pitchers. Although I have heard ignorant Yankee fans suggesting otherwise.

Winter Meetings: Day 1

Here is the latest news on the Yankees' activity at the Winter Meetings, with links included:

CC Sabathia - There seems to be reason piling up as to why CC does not want to play in New York, with the most recent being that he wants to train in Arizona according to SI's John Heyman. However, the Yankees seem to be confident that the 140,000,000 reasons that they will land Sabathia will be enough. Also, according to Peter Abraham, the Yankees have met with CC twice since the meetings started.
Sources - http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/hot_stove/posts/30144-brewers-open-to-upping-efforts-to-keep-cc, http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2008/12/08/update-from-the-suite/

Robinson Cano - Somebody is lying here. First there was a report by Fox's Ken Rosenthal that teased our collective penis that the Dodgers had re-opened discussions about Cano and possibly Melky Cabrera for Matt Kemp, and about ten minutes later Dodgers GM Ned Colletti stated that he hadn't spoken with the Yankees since July.
Sources - http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8912072, http://www.yankees.lhblogs.com/

AJ Burnett - Lots of buzz around the injury-waiting-to-happen today. Heyman reported that the Yankees are aggressive, and about to make an offer. Ken Rosenthal also reported that Burnett reached out to training room buddy Carl Pavano to ask about the Yankees. I wonder how that conversation went...

AJ - Hey Carl, what do you have to say about the Yankees?
Carl - They have a beautiful facility in Tampa.
AJ - What about playing in New York City?
Carl - I heard it is wonderful.
Sources - http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/hot_stove/posts/30383-yanks-ready-to-top-braves-offer-for-burnett, http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8912072

Mark Teixeira - Though Cashman flew to DC to meet with Teixeira last week, there was no offer made according to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
Source - http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/08/yanks-meet-with-sabathia-again/

Andy Pettitte - Abraham says that the Yankees have no meeting scheduled with Pettitte's agents.
Source - http://yankees.lhblogs.com/

Ben Sheets - In maintaining the "pitchers that are a strain away from a career ending injury" theme, the Yankees met with Sheets, and are about to extend an offer.
Source - http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2008/12/08/2008-12-08_yankees_brewin_up_multiyear_offer_for_fr.html

Derek Lowe - Not a whole lot on Lowe today, except that his "priority is winning" when searching for a new team according to Ken Gurnick of mlb.com. This may be an advantage for the Yankees, unless they fail to make significant improvements before spring training.
Source - http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081206&content_id=3704514&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp&partnerId=rss_mlb

Check back tomorrow for a recap of Day 2, and keep checking http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/ for information. Tim Dierkes is doing one hell of a job compiling information on the Yankees and the rest of the MLB, totaling over 70 posts today.