Would You Sign…..

By Moshe Mandel On October 24, 2011 · 25 Comments · In General Musings

I am trying to get a sense of the level of interest that the fanbase has in the Yankees’ free agents, as well as the major targets available on the free agent market. Please vote in the polls below as if you were the GM, so signing Prince Fielder means you need to find somewhere to put Jesus Montero, and signing CJ Wilson means it is unlikely that you pursue Yu Darvish. Also, assume that the players are available at market value contracts similar to those received by similar players in the past (ie Darvish at Dice-K money, Wilson at Burnett money). Tomorrow, we will look at the results and sift through the plan that the readers have provided.

25 Responses to Would You Sign…..

J-Doug says:

October 24, 2011 at 5:16 pm

The number of people who want the Yanks to overpay for an unproven Japanese pitcher through the posting system alarms me.

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- Cris Pengiucci says:
  
  October 24, 2011 at 5:23 pm
  
  Are you in favor of signing CJ Wilson, who is considerably older, would require approximately the same dollars (factoring in the luxury tax) and has 2 years as a proven starter? Doesn’t seem like too much difference to me. I’d take my chance with the younger, highly regarded Darvish.
  
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  - J-Doug says:
    
    October 24, 2011 at 5:40 pm
    
    The Yanks don’t have to pay for either of them, and I don’t buy your claim that they’d be the same value after the posting price.
    
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  - bg90027 says:
    
    October 24, 2011 at 6:17 pm
    
    I’m not in favor of either but you are quick to dismiss CJ Wilson’s 2 years of experience when Darvish has 0 years of MLB experience.
    
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    - Michael P. says:
      
      October 24, 2011 at 7:39 pm
      
      Darvish vs Wilson is the classic case of what do you prefer the higher ceiling or the higher floor.
      
      Darvish is certainly a boom or bust candidate, but if this kid was in our AAA system, we would be clamoring to hand him a rotation spot.
      
      Wilson has a very short track record as a starter so it is difficult to project how he will perform going forward. He is also 31. Doesn’t mean he will definitely decline, but it means he almost certainly wont be getting any better.
      
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    - Tony Rubberknuckles says:
      
      October 24, 2011 at 7:41 pm
      
      Yeah but 2 years of pitching in the Al west is like pitching in the minors.
      
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- Moshe Mandel says:
  
  October 24, 2011 at 6:19 pm
  
  I’m all for Darvish.
  
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- Steve S. says:
  
  October 25, 2011 at 6:39 am
  
  I put it is this way. If somehow one became available, would you spend 80-100 million for a 24 year old who was putting up similar numbers in AAA? Of course not, guys dominate AAA all the time who can’t cut it at the MLB level for a host of reasons. The stuff about ancillary income is overrated, I saw reports that had Matsui pull in 1-2 mil per year.
  
  If we were talking Igawa money 40-50 mil spread out over 4-5 years, then fine. I don’t think anyone can argue the Igawa contract hampered the Yanks in any way, or even forced him to get MLB playing time. But at 100 mil he’s going to be force fed no matter how much he struggles, and I’d rather spend that on a proven MLB player. Or 10 kids from the Dominican and Venezuela.
  
  Would I love to have Darvish? Sure, he’s probably one of the 2-3 best pitchers on the planet not pitching in the MLB or MILB. But at these prices? No.
  
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  - Joe G says:
    
    October 25, 2011 at 10:49 am
    
    With Darvish though you aren’t just going on stats, it’s the scouting reports on him. And I think teams would pay that much for a guy with his stuff. Strasburg had no track record other than what he did on college, but if he were on the open market he would of gotten huge money. Teams pay for upside based on their scouting reports.
    
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says:

October 24, 2011 at 5:20 pm

If Tex could play right (or Albert) he would be awesome– won’t happen though

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PortlandYankee says:

October 24, 2011 at 6:02 pm

Hey, I got all of them “right”!

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JP says:

October 24, 2011 at 6:12 pm

Don’t all of these questions depend on the salary and length of contract? I’d be happy with the Yankees signing any of these guys for the right price, and I’d be unhappy with the Yankees signing any of them if the price were too high.

I guess you are asking us to answer whether we think it will make sense to sign each player given what we think the going rate will be?

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- Moshe Mandel says:
  
  October 24, 2011 at 6:19 pm
  
  Yes, exactly.
  
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  - Steve S. says:
    
    October 25, 2011 at 6:43 am
    
    Yeah, I’d love to see this if folks were forced to stick to a budget somehow. Maybe phrase it like this?
    
    “You have 40 mil to spend, here’s what each FA will cost (CC-24 CJ-16 etc) Now go build your roster”
    
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- Michael P. says:
  
  October 24, 2011 at 7:24 pm
  
  Thats why I answered unsure on many of them.
  
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Jonathan says:

October 24, 2011 at 6:31 pm

There is a circumstance in which I could envision answering yes to any of these players. Obviously, some take priority over others but of the listed free agents, I don’t see one that the Yankees should sign under no circumstances.

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bg90027 says:

October 24, 2011 at 6:52 pm

The easy answers are Yes to CC and Andrew Jones and no to Fielder/Pujols. Jones may prefer to go to a team that can offer him more playing time though.

I’d prefer exploring the trade market before signing any of the other free agent pitchers. I’m against CJ Wilson and Yu Darvish. The Yankees should be stingy with who they’ll give long term contracts too. Flexibility is important. CJ Wilson isn’t a guy you build around and Yu Darvish is a talented prospect but still a big question mark.

If they can’t find a starter via trade, I’d be interested in Buerhle or Jackson for 3 years or less, $10-12MM per year. I’d also be willing to take a look at Oswalt or Kuroda on a 1 year deal. Buerhle is said to want to pitch in stay in the midwest. Jackson might get a better contract than that and Oswalt/Kuroda seem unlikely.

In that case, I’d be willing to consider bringing Garcia or Colon back or kicking the tires on someone like Joel Piniero or Jon Garland on a low base salary deal with some incentives. Not that any of these guys are that attractive but I’d rather go that route or fill the rotation internally and look to make upgrades at trade deadline than commit 5 years to someone that is either not that great (Wilson) or completely unproven (Darvish).

Why no Sergio Mitre poll?

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Phil says:

October 24, 2011 at 7:03 pm

The thing to like about Darvish, aside from his talent, are that he is still quite young, and would only cost money and not a draft pick. I’d like the Yanks to re-up CC and get Darvish, then try to make up the rest of the starts from the system.

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Michael P. says:

October 24, 2011 at 7:28 pm

Everyone knows I have been banging the Yu Darvish drum hard for a while. Wouldn’t be opposed to a Wilson signing provided its for less than the Burnett contract. CC is an obvious yes. No for pretty much everyone else.

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Scout says:

October 24, 2011 at 8:23 pm

If there’s going to be a Sergio Mitre poll, I want to see one for Sidney Ponson.

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Scout says:

October 24, 2011 at 8:24 pm

And let’s not forget Nick Johnson, either.

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nyyankeefanforever says:

October 24, 2011 at 9:05 pm

With the exception of bench player Jones, any discussion of these other position players are moot as our lineup is about as locked in contractually as it can be; which I don’t necessarily consider a bad thing. As for pitching, we all know Wilson and Darvish are both going to cost more than they’re worth and require long-term commitments nobody is truly comfortable with, and rightly so.

We also know CC is a lock to return at whatever price and years he requires, and Ivan is now an uncontested member of the rotation. So all that’s realistically left to discuss is if and how a legit #2 SP can be had; and who fills the back two spots of the rotation. As for the latter question, there’s no dearth of available back-end candidates both within and without the Yankee system. And as for the #2 SP, I’m of the apparently optimistic minority opinion that Brian C’s likely target will come not from this coming winter’s thin FA pool, but in a blockbuster trade for a proven high-quality arm under team control with a record of success vs our prime divisional foes.

He will come in exchange for a fistful of our prime MLB-ready farmhands and young benchers (so long Jesus, Eddie and/or Killer B’s), perhaps in a three-team swapadeedo not unlike the one that brought us Curtis. And like Curtis, he will be worth everybody we dump to get him and it will be a great deal for all parties involved.

…In Brian I trust, I guess you could say. :-)

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CY says:

October 24, 2011 at 9:09 pm

A one-year deal plus incentives (like those Pettitte received) with Oswalt is definitely a safe go provided his back is fine. Going for Darvish makes sense but it is surely a bet. C.J Wilson, as rumors/reports have pointed, isn’t yet a solid Ace. Even though not everyone buys the small sample of postseason records, he certainly hasn’t fared well in playoffs.

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Henny says:

October 25, 2011 at 12:50 am

The thing that always makes me cautious about approving of the back end signing types is that the farm system. Freddy and Bart were great for the Yankees this year, but I remember the frustration of watching Nova go back down to the minors. He could have won 20 if the rotation spots didn’t have to go to Bart and Freddy (veterans). I agreed at the time that it was right to keep them in the rotation, but I want to see Hughes Noesi Mitchell Phelps and Warren get their shots in 2012. If one of them is decent and one is good that leaves us with a very solid rotation of CC, Nova, AJ and those 5 options. I realize that it’s good to have options, but the upside is developing a lot of serviceable young pitching. Come July there is always the trade market or the possibility of promoting Betances Banuelos or even Brackman if he gets his act together. I think it’s possible that this could work given the strength of the bullpen and the potent offense. I just want to see the Yanks give these guys big league opportunities over the usual retread suspects.

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theboogiedown says:

October 25, 2011 at 2:15 pm

Gotta add Oswalt now. Fun stuff!

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