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Scouting the Free Agent Market: Low-Cost Infielders

January 17, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Drew rhymes with boo. (Patrick McDermott/Getty)

With Spring Training less than four weeks away, the Yankees do not have established second or third basemen, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You could do worse than going into the season with Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar at those positions. A lot worse. A lack of established players doesn’t mean a lack of options.

At the same time, going with rookies at two infield positions is risky, especially when one has not played in nine months due to an injury. The Yankees have already signed Jace Peterson to a minor league deal for depth, and in all likelihood, another infielder is on the way. Maybe it’ll be Josh Harrison. The Yankees have been connected to him for weeks and the Pirates are clearly selling.

If the Yankees don’t swing a trade for Harrison or sign a bigger name free agent like Neil Walker or Todd Frazier, they could seek out a lower cost option, which would fit nicely under the $197M luxury tax threshold. They’ve done this stuff before. Remember Brian Roberts? Kelly Johnson? Stephen Drew? All bargain pickups to plug roster holes. Here are some low-cost free agent infielders who could interest the Yankees.

Stephen Drew

2017 Stats: .253/.302/.358 (70 wRC+) and +0.1 WAR
2018 ~~ZiPS~~ Steamer: .234/.301/.407 (86 wRC+) and +0.1 WAR

What does he offer? Drew has spent the last two seasons as a utility man with the Nationals, playing the three non-first base infield positions and occasionally running into a fastball off the bench. He’s still a fine defender — Drew’s always had that going for him — and as a left-handed hitter in Yankee Stadium, there’s always a chance his offense will tick up. With Drew, you’re getting a good glove and at least a chance at some offense.

Why should the Yankees avoid him? We’ve been here before, right? Drew was terrible in his only full season with the Yankees, hitting .201/.271/.381 (76 wRC+) and falling out of favor. Even with a new manager — Aaron Boone would represent a fresh start after Drew played under Joe Girardi — the Yankees may not want to go down this road again. Been there, done that.

Yunel Escobar

2017 Stats: .274/.333/.397 (100 wRC+) and +0.8 WAR
2018 ZiPS: .263/.319/.353 (87 OPS+) and +0.0 WAR

What does he offer? Escobar is one year removed from hitting .304/.355/.391 (107 wRC+) and he’s a high contact bat who would help balance out a lineup that probably has more strikeouts than the Yankees would like. He’s been a full-time third baseman for three years now, but he could play shortstop in a pinch. His second base experience is limited. Contact and some infield versatility. That’s what you’re getting here.

Why should the Yankees avoid him? At this point, Escobar’s value is tied up almost entirely in his batting average. He doesn’t walk much, he doesn’t hit for power, and the defensive stats hate him at the hot corner. Also, Escobar has long had a reputation for being a headache in the clubhouse. He wore out his welcome in Atlanta, in Toronto, in Tampa, in Washington, and in Anaheim. Even when he produced, those clubs weren’t sad to see him go.

Danny Espinosa

2017 Stats: .173/.245/.278 (41 wRC+) and -1.0 WAR
2018 ~~ZiPS~~ Steamer: .202/.280/.344 (66 wRC+) and +0 WAR

What does he offer? Espinosa is a more extreme version of Drew. He’s a worse hitter and better defender, plus he’s also played a little first base and left field. And he’s a switch-hitter, which is potentially useful. Keep in mind the Yankees have had interest in Espinosa before. So much so that I once wrote a Scouting The Market post on him. That was back when Espinosa was coming off a few good seasons with the Nationals and seemed salvageable. That interest could linger.

Why should the Yankees avoid him? Good gravy Espinosa was sooo bad last year. So bad he was released by two teams. This is a guy who has hit .207/.282/.353 (70 wRC+) in his last 1,839 plate appearances dating back to Opening Day 2013. Espinosa is Brendan Ryan with a lesser glove, basically. At the same time, it would be the most Yankee thing ever for them to sign Espinosa and have him inexplicably hit .280/.395/.500 for two months until Gleyber is ready.

J.J. Hardy

2017 Stats: .217/.255/.323 (50 wRC+) and -0.6 WAR
2018 ZiPS: .232/.274/.330 (63 OPS+) and +0.1 WAR

What does he offer? Remember when there was some thought the Yankees would sign Hardy to replace Derek Jeter? Good thing that didn’t happen. Hardy signed an extension with the Orioles before becoming a free agent and the Yankees wound up with Didi Gregorius. Phew. Anyway, Hardy lost his shortstop job to a wrist injury and the Tim Beckham trade last season, but he still offers a good glove and a contact-oriented approach.

Why should the Yankees avoid him? The wrist problems and the fact he hasn’t been even a league average hitter in five years. Also, Hardy has never played a position other than shortstop in his big league career. Not even DH!. So, to sum it all up, the Yankees would be asking a guy who hasn’t hit much the last few years to learn a new infield position on the fly. What could go wrong?

Brandon Phillips

2017 Stats: .285/.319/.416 (93 wRC+) and +1.6 WAR
2018 ZiPS: .267/.297/.375 (86 OPS+) and +0.3 WAR

What does he offer? Phillips for Brett Gardner, who says no? Remember those days? That was a long time ago now. Anyway, Phillips had arguably the best offensive season of any player in this post last year, and he also played third base for the first time in deference to some younger players with the Braves. The ability to play second (well) and third while being more than a zero at the plate seems like exactly the kind of low-cost veteran the Yankees would target.

Why should the Yankees avoid him? As with any 36-year-old player, there’s a chance Phillips will suddenly fall off a cliff, though the fact he’d be on a small one-year contract would mitigate the risk. If he stinks, you cut him. Also, Phillips has a rep for being a bit of a jerk, though I wonder how true that really is. Is he cool with his teammates and a jerk to the media? Being a jerk to the media is the fastest way to get a bad clubhouse rep. I mean, Phillips spent eleven years with the Reds. Would they have kept him around that long if he was really a bad clubhouse dude?

Jose Reyes

2017 Stats: .246/.315/.413 (94 wRC+) and +2.0 WAR
2018 ZiPS: .255/.311/.405 (93 OPS+) and +0.9 WAR

What does he offer? I’m surprised Reyes’ numbers are as good as they were given how much Mets fans complained about him last summer. (He bottomed out at .184/.261/.286 on June 15th, then hit .292/.356/.511 the rest of the way.) Reyes is a switch-hitter who makes contact and can still run a little — he went 24-for-30 in steal attempts last season — and last year he embraced a true utility role, playing second, third, short, left, and center. The defensive numbers weren’t good anywhere, however. They weren’t even average. The stats say Reyes is a bad defender all around the field.

Why should the Yankees avoid him? Even with that big finish last year, Reyes has hit .261/.315/.406 (92 wRC+) in his last 1,359 plate appearances, and he’s at the age when middle infielders tend to fall off a cliff. The versatility is nice and we can’t ignore his big finish last season, but the bad defense means that if he doesn’t hit, Reyes has no redeeming qualities at all.

* * *

There are other potential low-cost infielders out there like Darwin Barney, Alcides Escobar, Ryan Goins, and Cliff Pennington, all of whom are no bat/good glove players. If the Yankees were going to go that route, the defense-first route, I think they’d target someone who offers a little offensive upside, like Drew or Espinosa. Those guys are at least capable of making a pitcher pay for a mistake. Barney, Escobar, Goins, or Pennington? Nah.

Here’s what we know. One, the Yankees have about $22M to spend under the luxury tax threshold, minus what they set aside for midseason additions. And two, they want Torres to take over at second base sooner rather than later, and chances are they feel the same about Andujar at third. In a perfect world they would spend as little of that $22M as possible on a stopgap infielder who won’t block Torres or Andujar long-term. That could lead them to one of these flawed low-cost infielders who don’t appear to have much of a market right now.

Trade Notes: Cubs, Gallo, Tigers, Fulmer, Norris, Reyes

June 15, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

The draft is now over, which means teams will soon shift their focus to the trade deadline. The way things are going right now, the Yankees are much more likely to be sellers than buyers this summer. We’ll see what happens. Here are some miscellaneous trade notes, both past and present.

Cubs scouting Yankees’ top relievers

According to George King, the Cubs had a scout at Yankee Stadium last week taking a look at New York’s big three relievers. The Cubbies already know those guys are awesome. They’re just doing their due diligence. Chicago could really use a shutdown lefty reliever, and I’m guessing they’d prefer Andrew Miller to Aroldis Chapman. Miller is under contract two more years and is willing to pitch in any role. Also, Theo Epstein and Miller have a connection dating back to their time with the Red Sox.

I’ve already written about the Cubs as a possible trade partner a few times (here and here) and something tells me I will end up writing about them a few more times before the trade deadline. As always, it’s going to come down to what Chicago is willing to give up in a trade. We’ve already heard they won’t trade Kyle Schwarber straight up for Miller. Javier Baez and Jorge Soler were involved in trade rumors all offseason, so I imagine they’re available.

Rangers won’t trade Gallo for Miller

From the “no duh” rumor mill: the Rangers are unwilling to trade third base masher Joey Gallo straight up for Miller, reports Jon Heyman. The Rangers have the best record (40-25) and worst bullpen ERA (5.12) in the AL, so yeah, a reliever or three figures to be on their trade deadline shipping list. It’s the glaring need right now. Manager Jeff Banister has to hold his breath each time he signals for a reliever.

Texas GM Jon Daniels has a history of making big moves at the trade deadline, and no team will have more bullpen help to offer than New York, so I expect to see a ton of Rangers-Yankees rumors these next few weeks. I can’t help but wonder if the Yankees will push for Jurickson Profar. They’ve had interest in him in the past, and it appears the Rangers have no place to play him. That’s the kind of talent the Yankees should be targeting, anyway.

Tigers were unwilling to part with top prospects for Miller

Prior to the Justin Wilson trade in December, the Yankees and Tigers were discussing a Miller trade, reports Ken Rosenthal. Rosenthal says Detroit was not willing to move their top prospects, specifically righty Michael Fulmer and lefty Daniel Norris, so nothing happened. The Tigers then shifted their focus to Wilson, and that trade eventually came together.

This jibes with everything we heard about the Miller trade talks over the winter. The Yankees wanted high-end young pitching in return. They talked to the Astros about Lance McCullers Jr. and Vincent Velasquez, for example. Fulmer and Norris are cut from a similar cloth. When it comes time to take offers for Miller again — I imagine the Yankees will listen even if they’re unwilling to sell — I assume they’ll again prioritize young power arms.

Yanks didn’t offer Mateo for Reyes

Remember a few weeks back when we heard the Yankees reportedly offered the Rockies shortstop prospect Jorge Mateo for Jorge Reyes last year? That didn’t pass the sniff test at all. As it turns out, the report was wrong. Tracy Ringolsby says the Yankees did not offer Mateo for Reyes, but Mateo’s name did come up during talks about a larger multi-player trade. That makes much more sense.

I wonder who else the Yankees could have been targeting in such a deal? The Rockies don’t exactly having pitching to spare — Jon Gray had not made his MLB debut at that point, and I can’t imagine Colorado was willing to trade him anyway — and the Yankees had no other massive needs since Reyes would have presumably replaced Stephen Drew at second. Maybe Mateo and stuff for Reyes and prospects? I have no idea what it could realistically be otherwise. Intrigue!

Saturday Links: Mateo, Reyes, Ticket Revenue, Nova

June 4, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

The present and future of the leadoff spot. (Presswire)

The Yankees and Orioles continue their three-game series with an always annoying Saturday night game today. Blargh. Hate those. Give me day baseball on the weekend. Anyway, check out these two recent Players’ Tribune posts from Jorge Posada and Carlos Beltran, then check out these links and notes as you wait for first pitch.

Yanks offered Mateo for Reyes?

According to Jon Heyman, last summer the Yankees were “willing to send” top shortstop prospect Jorge Mateo to the Rockies for Jose Reyes and cover half the $44M left on Reyes’ deal. This was right after Colorado picked up Reyes in the Troy Tulowitzki trade, before all the domestic violence stuff in the offseason. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard the Yankees talked to the Rockies about Reyes.

This one doesn’t pass the sniff test at all. Mateo would be a Rockie right now if the Yankees were indeed willing to make that trade. The Rockies didn’t want Reyes — they took him in the trade as a way to offset some money — and they tried to flip him at the deadline and again in the offseason. Reyes has been in obvious decline for a few years now. You mean the tell me the Colorado turned down a top 100 prospect and a ton of cash for a player they didn’t even want in the first place? C’mon. I don’t buy this rumor at all.

Ticket revenue dropped again in 2015

The Yankees’ ticket and suite revenue dropped for the sixth straight year in 2015, reports Jim Baumbach. The team reported $276.9M in ticket revenue to bondholders last year, which includes $36.6M in postseason sales. (That includes ALDS and ALCS tickets that were sold in advance but we’re needed.) Ticket revenue was $396.9M in the first year of the new Yankee Stadium. Even though they’re down 30% in six years, the Yankees still generated more ticket revenue last year than they did in the final year of the old Yankee Stadium ($266.9M).

It’s no secret attendance is lower this year than it has been at any point since the new Stadium opened. We see it every night. (To be fair, the park does seem to fill up in the second and third innings as people get out of work, make their way up to the Bronx, and get through the metal detectors.) The Yankees are averaging 38,457 fans per game this season, down from 39,894 last year and 45,918 in 2009. At the same time, they still lead the AL in attendance this year and are fourth in MLB overall.

“There was a real identification with those players who were great players and won a lot of championships. They were big stars, big attractions. There’s no doubt about it. I think the fact that they all retired in a period of time had an impact,” said Randy Levine to Baumbach, referred to Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, and Jorge Posada. An attendance and ticket revenue drop was inevitable once those guys were gone. But the Yankees kinda suck now too, so it seems like things are going to get worse before they get better.

Nova being sued by landlord

It’s been a while since we had a good hard-partying Yankee story. According to Emily Saul, Ivan Nova is being sued by his former landlord for trashing his former White Plains home. The lawsuit alleges Nova and his wife lived in the house from 2014-15 and left the place “uninhabitable” due to “raucous partying.” They smashed lights, broke appliances, all sorts of stuff.

The landlord is suing Nova for more than $150,000 to recover damages and lost income. Ivan told Julie Kayzerman he is fighting the lawsuit because he didn’t live there during that time. He was in Tampa rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. “I haven’t done anything. People want to take advantage of opportunities, but you have to understand that I’m good and I had nothing to do with that and I’m going to fight it,” he said.

Rosenthal: Yankees talked Jose Reyes trade with Rockies

January 29, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Early in the offseason the Yankees engaged the Rockies in trade talks about Jose Reyes, reports Ken Rosenthal. The Yankees were planning to play him at second base had a deal gone down. The Bombers eventually moved on and acquired Starlin Castro after a trade with Colorado failed to come together.

Here’s a little more on the trade talks from Rosenthal:

The teams talked about different ways to make a Reyes trade work, according to major-league sources. The Yankees, who wanted Reyes to play second base, would have required the Rockies to pay a significant portion of his remaining salary. But the two sides never got close to a deal, sources said.

Reyes, 32, is owed $48M over the next two seasons, assuming his $22M option for 2018 is bought out. He was arrested in Hawaii on domestic abuse charges in early-November — Reyes and his wife got into an argument and she ended up in the hospital with injuries to her face, neck, and leg — and his trial is scheduled to begin on Opening Day.

I have to think trade talks with the Rockies took place before that, so very early in the offseason. I know the Yankees used Aroldis Chapman’s domestic dispute to get him at a bargain price, but man, Reyes put his wife in the hospital and he’s facing criminal charges. (Chapman is not.) Nope. Nope nope nope. Reyes has to be a non-option after that.

From a pure baseball perspective, Reyes is starting to slow down, and I don’t just mean on the bases. He hit .274/.310/.378 (80 wRC+) last year with seven homers and 24 steals, and his defense has been on the decline for a few years now. He did play some second base with the Mets very early in his career. It’s one thing to hope a young guy like Castro rebounds. Reyes might be in irreversible decline.

Earlier this offseason Brian Cashman said “if it’s old and expensive, it’s more likely that we didn’t check in on that,” so Reyes was one of the exceptions. Rosenthal says the Yankees wanted the Rockies to pay down a ton of that $48M, and in that case I guess Reyes qualifies as old and cheap. Either way, the Yankees didn’t get him. Phew.

Heyman: Yankees among teams “poking around” on Jose Reyes

August 17, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes has cleared trade waivers and the Yankees are among the teams “poking around,” reports Jon Heyman. They remain on the periphery of the Chase Utley chase but generally seem unlikely to make any sort of major addition this month, whether it be Utley or Reyes or someone else.

“We got a shortstop, we are good,” said Brian Cashman to George King when asked about adding an infielder recently. “Adding money in the short term and long term, how does it fit? (Hal Steinbrenner) is open to money, that’s never an issue. Hal is also sensible and practical and not doing something just to do it.”

The offense has sputtered of late — the Yankees have scored 26 runs in their last eleven games (!) — yet the only position they can realistically make a change is second base. We’d all love to see Greg Bird get regular at-bats but there’s no way to do it without sitting Mark Teixeira or Alex Rodriguez, who have been the team’s two best hitters this season.

Stephen Drew is hitting .194/.261/.392 (77 wRC+) with 15 home runs, and those homers are his only redeeming quality at the plate. Making an out nearly 74% of the time is not acceptable. At least not to me it isn’t. (It is to the Yankees apparently.) Rob Refsnyder is not necessarily out of favor, but it’s telling the Yankees have opted not to call him up for an extended trial.

Reyes, 32, is hitting .274/.308/.365 (81 wRC+) overall this season, so he hasn’t been that much better than Drew, especially since he’s only stolen 19 bases. The days of 50+ steals are long gone. Reyes is also owed $48M from 2016-17 and hasn’t played second base in about a decade, so that would be an adjustment. Then there are all the leg injuries he suffered over the years.

While I certainly understand why more than a few folks want Reyes, I think there’s too much downside. I mean, it’s almost all downside. Speed guy whose legs aren’t what they once were, bat clearly in decline, defense slipping, ton of money left on the contract … yeah that’s a deal to avoid, even if the Rockies are willing to eat money and take Grade-B prospects in return.

At this point, with September call-ups just two weeks away and Refsnyder likely to take platoon at-bats from Brendan Ryan, I think the best thing the Yankees can do is wait. Just ride out this second base situation, hope some other slumping players snap out of it, then look for a long-term solution in the offseason. Maybe it’s Refsnyder, maybe it’s a player in another organization.

Trade Deadline Notes: Price, Reyes, Prado, Gyorko, Shields

August 10, 2015 by Mike 255 Comments

The Yankees swung just one minor deal before the trade deadline ten days ago, landing Dustin Ackley in a three-player swap with the Mariners. The lack of activity was not due to a lack of effort, however. The Yankees were reportedly in on all the available pitchers, starters and relievers, plus some second base candidates. Nothing made sense, I guess. Here are some postmortem trade deadline notes, most via Jon Heyman.

Yanks “shut out” of Price race when Norris was offered

The Yankees tried to acquire David Price before the trade deadline but they and several other teams were “shut out” of the race once the Blue Jays offered lefty Daniel Norris. For what it’s worth Luis Severino and Norris were ranked 17th and 18th, respectively, in Baseball America’s midseason top 50 prospects list a few weeks ago, but that doesn’t mean much. Prospect rankings are subjective as hell and the Tigers could have liked Norris much more than Severino. Could the Yankees have made up the difference by improving the quality of the secondary pieces? Maybe. Doesn’t really matter now. The Tigers seemed to prioritize Norris.

Reyes came up in talks

Most people, myself included, figured the Rockies would flip Jose Reyes after landing him in the Troy Tulowitzki trade, either at the deadline or this coming offseason. Heyman says Colorado did not shop Reyes at the deadline but his name did come up in trade talks, and if the Yankees made a call to get involved in talks for Reyes, “they were very brief.” Reyes hasn’t played second base in more than a decade now and that’s the only place he’d fit with the Yankees. Didi Gregorius has made way too much progress this summer to move him off short. I could definitely see “Reyes to the Yankees?” being a thing all winter.

Yankees checked in on Prado

The Yankees were one of several teams to check in on Martin Prado prior to the trade deadline. They were presumably looking to bring him back to play second base, or at least spend some time there while bouncing around other positions. Prado is under contract at a pricey $11M next season — the Yankees are paying $3M of that — and he’s not having a good season, hitting .268/.310/.351 (82 wRC+) overall, but he still hits lefties (111 wRC+) and is versatile, which is not nothing. You can do worst for your tenth position player. The Marlins seem to have allusions of contending next year and Prado is penciled in as their starting third baseman.

The guy they got and the guy they tried to get. (Otto Greule Jr/Getty)

Yankees planned to platoon Gyorko with Drew

As part of their talks with the Padres about Craig Kimbrel, the Yankees offered to take on at least part of Jedd Gyorko’s albatross contract to facilitate a trade. Had it gone down, their plan was to platoon Gyorko with Stephen Drew at second base. Gyorko, who is owed $33M through 2019, is hitting a miserable .218/.284/.336 (78 wRC+) since signing his extension prior to last season, though he has a 118 wRC+ against lefties during that time, including a 148 wRC+ against southpaws this year. Gyorko is only 26, so I guess there is a chance of a rebound, but gosh, betting that much money on it?

Shields clears trade waivers

As expected, James Shields has passed through trade waivers unclaimed, reports Buster Olney. That’s not surprising. Big salary guys almost always clear trade waivers. His contract is backloaded — Shields made $10M this year and has $21M annually coming to him from 2016-18 — and I think there’s at least a small chance the Padres would have dumped him on the claiming team just to rid themselves of the contract, but no one bit. Shields is having his worst season in a long time (3.75 ERA and 4.22 FIP), and at age 33 with all those innings on his arm, you have to wonder if this is the start of his Sabathia-esque decline. Either way, the Yankees can talk to San Diego about Shields if they want, he’s already cleared waivers. Jack Curry says they’re not interested, for what it’s worth.

Blue Jays & Marlins swing ten-ish player blockbuster

November 13, 2012 by Mike 221 Comments

The Blue Jays and Marlins are on the verge of completing a monster ten-ish player blockbuster that will send Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes, John Buck, and Emilio Bonifacio to Toronto for Henderson Alvarez, Yunel Escobar, and various prospects. The deal is not official yet and reports are still trickling in about who those various prospects actually are, so I suggest checking out MLBTR every so often until this thing is finalized.

Toronto lost 89 games and a ton of players to injury last year, but this trade obviously improves their outlook for next season. We have all winter to analyze this deal and how it relates to the Yankees, but for now here’s a thread to discuss this monstrosity.