Hal Steinbrenner apparently wasn't kidding.Back in March, the New York Yankees' principal owner told the New York Times that he wants the team's payroll cut by $20 million to get below MLB's $189 million luxury tax threshold for 2014.As ESPN's Buster Olney explained in a recent column, general manager Brian Cashman is simpatico with that philosophy. In the past, Yankees ownership and upper management has gone over his head to sign Bernie Williams, Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Soriano to exorbitant contracts against Cashman's recommendation.But according to the New York Post's ...
The New York Mets, cash strapped as they are, figured out a way earlier this week to dump outfielder Jason Bay and the $21 million they still owed him through 2014. Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com wrote early Friday that the New York Yankees could use that move by the Mets as inspiration as they move forward with third baseman Alex Rodriguez. In any event, it’s not a move the Yankees could think of making now. The Mets owed Bay, according to Newsday’s report on Thursday, his $16 million salary for ...
I think the Yankees' right field situation has become a little clearer.Fellow Bleacher Report writer Phil Watson reported on Thursday that the Yankees will not pursue Torii Hunter in free agency or Justin Upton in a trade, as per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.Sherman said that the team is really determined to get to the $189 million mark for its payroll, and it isn't even interested in giving Hunter a two-year, $20 million offer.So with the Yankees unlikely to go after Hunter and Upton this winter, plus Nick ...
Going into offseason, the Yankees' bullpen is sure to be one of Brian Cashman's major focuses. David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain and Boone Logan will be back but the rest is far from certain.Mariano Rivera will return to the Yankees after tearing his ACL in May and missing most of the season, but he will be 43 and coming off major surgery. Whether he will be the Mariano Rivera of the past is anything but certain and the Yankees need to be prepared if he is not.Rafael Soriano, who filled in ...
The New York Yankees are reportedly not in the running for free-agent outfielder Torii Hunter. Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote on his “Hardball” blog this morning that the New York Yankees would not be willing to offer Hunter even a two-year deal in the neighborhood of $20 million. This comes according to a source that Sherman said had been “briefed on (the Yankees’) plans.” Meanwhile, Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton has become available at the general managers’ meetings. Sherman reported, according to a source, that “The Yankees ...
There is no question that New York Yankees slugger, for the time being, Alex Rodriguez is going through one of the roughest patches in his highly publicized and superstar career. The three-time American League MVP currently sits fifth on the all-time home run list (647), just 13 long shots behind the great center fielder Willie Mays. However, the last two seasons, critics and fans have jumped all over the third baseman after his decrease in power numbers, especially in the postseason. Not only did he fail to help his team ...
As I traveled out to Arizona last weekend to scout the Arizona Fall League’s Rising Stars Game, there was admittedly only a few pitchers I was genuinely excited to see. One name toward the top of my very short list was New York Yankees’ right-hander Mark Montgomery, a player who I’ve grown increasingly fond of over the last year. After he posted a 0.89 ERA and 14.2 K/9 at Longwood University in 2011, the Yankees made Montgomery their 11th-round draft pick in June and signed him for $65,000 shortly thereafter. ...
We all know that Brian Cashman tries to improve the roster through bargain deals.Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, Eric Chavez and Raul Ibanez are just some of the players that he has picked up and gotten great results out of.I have another suggestion for the Yankees to potentially look into for next season: Jason Bay.Bay and the New York Mets agreed on a separation from his contract, making him a free agent this coming winter. Bay will get paid the remaining $21 million left on his deal on deferred money.Because of ...
Mariano Rivera may have told New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman that he intends on pitching in 2013, but that still doesn't change the fact that he is currently without a contract for next season.There's nearly no chance that he plays anywhere else, though, so it's really only a matter of the Yankees and Rivera agreeing on a deal.According to CBSsports.com's Jon Heyman, that deal could potentially be worth less than the $15 million he earned last season.The Yankees are expected to ask Rivera to take a significant pay ...
Michael O’Keeffe of the New York Daily News reported Tuesday evening that attorneys for embattled former pitcher Roger Clemens are considering ways to try to sway members of the Baseball Writers Association of America to cast their Hall of Fame votes for their client. The 50-year-old Clemens is on the ballot for the first time this winter, but his reputation has taken a beating in retirement. Federal prosecutors accused Clemens of lying to Congress during a 2008 hearing when he said he had never used performance-enhancing drugs. Clemens was acquitted ...