Yankees sign Jon Weber
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Nov 25, 2009 
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I’ve been away from a computer for a while, but according to Ken Davidoff, the Yankees have signed Jon Weber to a minor league contract. He will, without question, be assigned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Weber isn’t the kind of guy who will get anyone too excited, but he’s a nice hitter who can play either outfield corner and has a little bit of time in center. The Yankees don’t have a lot of outfield depth in the upper levels, so Weber is exactly the kind of guy the Yankees need to sign to a minor league deal. River Ave. Blues called him this year’s John Rodriguez, and it’s a pretty solid comparison.
If Colin Curtis sneaks through the Rule 5 and Austin Jackson doesn’t open the season in New York, the Triple-A outfield could be set with Curtis in left, Jackson in center and Weber in right.
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Speaking of the Yankees minor leaguers, earlier today I emailed Mark Newman to ask about Jesus Montero, who is playing in Venezuela but hasn’t been playing much lately. I thought he might have aggravated that finger injury.
Not the case.
“He is not injured,” Newman said. “They are playing someone else.”
Nothing you can do in that case. The team in Venezuela makes the call, and right now Montero isn’t getting the starts.
They’re playing someone else? I wouldn’t be too happy if I were the Yankees……..what’s the point of Montero being there if he’s not going to get any playing time?
Chad, thanks for the info on Weber…….a prelude, I’m sure, to a hot hot stove league, lol
Pat M, I meant to respond earlier. You’re right about the truckload of $$ the Yanks raked in this year thanks to the WS – lets hope Hal doesn’t get too caught up in his budget to make the necessary improvements.
Betsy – high on pie
No one doubts the Yankees’ monster revenue streams.
The issue that probably concerns the Yankees is if they spend as much as they could afford, the new CBA would probably contain an even more onerous luxury tax.
Ugh, Rich – that bugs me. The Yanks get penalized for spending, so how about we penalize the pathetic franchises that sit on their wallets (like the Pirates, Royals, etc….)?
Montero is from Venezuela so what is the big deal. He’s at home.
What does being home have anything to do with anything? Montero missed weeks of the regular season with his finger injury; I’m sure the Yankees had hopes that he would play quite a bit…….and it seems that’s not the case.
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/yankees/
The Yankees’ publications department, which produced two tremendous books on the old Yankee Stadium last year, is back at it again just in time for the holidays.
“Twenty-Seven: The Official Yankees World Series Championship Commemorative,” a hardcover book, and “Yankees Magazine — World Series Commemorative,” a softcover book, will be on sale beginning on Friday. They are the only officially licensed publications about the Yankees’ 2009 World Series championship team.
The books provide a breakdown of the Yankees’ title run with more than 75 never-before-seen photographs and an introduction by manager Joe Girardi. Features include a regular season review, postseason game stories and exclusive essays written by some of New York’s most renowned writers. Looking for the perfect holiday gift for that Yankees fan in your life? Look no farther.
The Venezuela league is a serious league. It’s not an instructional league. It’s not the AFL. It’s a professional league.
As such, they very much play to win there. And if you don’t produce you don’t play.
That’s why Montero isn’t playing.
Betsy, the Venezuelan league is not a MLB developmental league like the AFL, it’s a professional league. Yes, major league and minor league players play there, but the league and the teams are not beholden to major league teams.
They play to win.
Thanks, CB and Stuckey. I wonder why the Yankees didn’t send him to the AFL? It seems to me that it’s natural that Montero was going to struggle after all that time on the sidelines…….why not send him to the AFL where they don’t care about winning and where Montero would get sufficient playing time?
They sent Romine to AFL and they are trying to get them as much time away from being on the same team as they can, so they’ll develop faster. Montero was in instructs and lit it up.
Phil, oh that’s right – I forgot about Romine. That makes sense……..Will both start in AA next year?
Probably for awhile, though Montero was unchallenged by it this past season before he got hurt.
I don’t believe Montero is struggling because of sporadic playing time, I believe he got early playing time and struggled mightily (at the plate, who knows how he played behind the plate).
As to why he went there, I believe its his home country and perhaps they simply let a 19 year old kid play close to home for a few months.
Stuckey, that too – it’s always nice to go home.
Phil, thanks. It’ll be fun to follow Montero and Romine (and Jackson) as they develop…….
“I wonder why the Yankees didn’t send him to the AFL?”
Because he’s 19, in a relatively new country and it’s probably a good idea for him to be able to spend some time with his parents and family. He’s from venezula.
For what it’s worth he absolutely tore up this same league last winter.
Montero is fine.
http://www.thestar.com/sports/.....t-halladay
I wonder how strongly Doc prefers to be with an East Coast team who trains in Florida – that’s been the buzz for awhile now. Still, would he go anywhere just to get out of Toronto? If he prefers the East Coast, he could refuse to sign an extension so that he could sign with the Yanks or Sox next year…..
Doc wants to play for the Yankees, if it can be worked out.
CB, yep – that makes sense. Good for the kid that he’s getting to spend some time with his family. I hope he proves all those scouts wrong about not being able to catch…..though I admit that I really like Romine as well.
Halladay should tell the Jays that it’s the Yankees or no one.
Phil, as I said before, I’m very hesitant to move our youngsters (well, particularly Phil), but it’s impossible to avoid dreaming about Doc in pinstripes.
Rich, I don’t think he would ever do that. Even though he wants out, he still loves the team. Last year, he spoke of how ideally he could finish his career in Toronto. Now, who knows how annoyed he got with the whole situation last year, where he had no idea if he was going to be traded or not. In fact, has any player ever used his NTC that way?
Rich,
They certainly burned a lot of good will with him when they didn’t trade him at the deadline. And he’s already undercut them by saying he wouldn’t sign an extension with them. Saying Yanks or bust could be next.
Betsy, both Romine and Montero will/should open at Trenton in 2010. Right now, they’re both on almost equal footing in their defensive development.
I’d really like to see Butch Wynegar shifted from Scranton to Trenton to instruct both of them to hasten the development of their defensive and offensive skills. Wynegar was a good defensive catcher with the twins and Yankees back in the ’70s and ’80s. He’s been a minor league manager and now scranton’s hitting coach and one of the organization catching instructors.
Scranton’s catchers will consist of Chris Stewart and Kyle Anson. Not sure what happens to PJ Pilittere. If he stays in the organization, he may end up as a player/coach at Trenton. He’s a typical organization filler and may want to look at getting into coaching. He’s a very good defensive catcher, and he’d be fine in that roll. He’s now 28 years old and at an age close enough to the players where he could talk on their level. These aren’t rumors that I’ve read, but, just something that would make sense.
“And he’s already undercut them by saying he wouldn’t sign an extension with them.”
I may be wrong on this but I don’t believe Halladay himself has publicly said anything to this effect.
That’s what makes that information particularly interesting.
It was Beeston – not Halladay – who publicly stated that Halladay wouldn’t reup with the jays.
Now it was commonly assumed Halladay wouldn’t resign with the Twins but I don’t think Halladay himself every publicly stated his intentions.
Beeston made that public and did so in an interview with a NY Paper.
holy hotcakes, the Weber signing was unexpected and changes everything. Wow. Just like that the entire foundation of baseball has been shook to its very core. I expect Halladay in Red Sox by the morning.
People focus on Montero and Romine, as well they should, but, it’s a mistake to disregard the talents of Brandon Laird. Not so high on Colin Curtis as others though. Maybe he makes it through the Rule 5 Draft and returns to Scranton and shocks everyone as a late bloomer.
I have put a lot of thought into this. I am prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice and trade myself to Toronto for Roy Halladay. They would be fools not to take the deal!!!
On that note, I am obviously delusional and need to go to bed. Good night Yankee people. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!
Look at Laird’s ceiling as opposed to Montero or Romine, not to mention their positions. Laird is a fine hitter, he really isn’t anything worth getting excited over. He is total organizational depth. He may sniff the big leagues at some point, but not in this organization. He isn’t good enough defensively.
I don’t know Erica, I hear the Sons of Sam Horn are offering Foulkey Reese, Yecul and a PTBNL (poster to be named later) for Halladay.
We might need to throw in another regular to get the deal done.
GB, I remember Wynegar – I was pretty young, so I don’t have clear memories of him, but I did like him. I like that idea of yours as well…..having Wynegar shift to Trenton. Would it even be possible for Tony Pena to arrive at ST early, with Montero and Romine, to work with them?
I wonder if the Yankees are considering hiring Kevin Towers….he and Cash are best friends and he seems like he’d be a good addition.
Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!
I echo Phil’s Thanksgiving wishes.
My pies are baked, table set and as prepped as I can be for dinner for 17 tomorrow.
I am thankful for the excitement the Yankees gave us in 2009 and for all the good company here that made the journey more fun and educational.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Betsy – high on pie
November 26th, 2009 at 12:21 am
GB, I remember Wynegar – I was pretty young, so I don’t have clear memories of him, but I did like him. I like that idea of yours as well…..having Wynegar shift to Trenton. Would it even be possible for Tony Pena to arrive at ST early, with Montero and Romine, to work with them?
I wonder if the Yankees are considering hiring Kevin Towers….he and Cash are best friends and he seems like he’d be a good addition.
————————————————————
I’m sure that Pena will be down in Tampa early, but, not in an official capacity. There’s a date that official camps can open (I’m thinking that it’s about 7-10 days) for injured and rookie players. NYY used to get around this with Instructional camps and get the kids practice and schedule games against college kids. They’d stop games in the middle and make corrections. Not sure if the union or MLB stopped these things, though, this year, other teams have put them together, Something on the order of the AFL.
GB, To you & your family, Happy Thanksgiving Day old buddy…..
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
THankful for 27!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am going to start a movement on this blog for Clay Buchholz to be known as Clay Clubine.
He married a Lindsay Clubine, and if there ever was a guy who looked like he is Whipped, it’s Clay Court Clubine.
Future Blue Jay, Future bust, I give you Clay Clubine!!
PAT M, thank you very much for the kind thoughts and words. Hope that you and your family have a wonderful family time tomorrow and a great holiday season. Best wishes to you and yours.
One of my favorite Thanksgiving Day rituals is watching the Macy’s Parade and watching The Rockettes perform….Just like clockwork, after they finish their routine, in goes the turkey……
Happy Thanksgiving to LoHudders and to all members of Yankees Universe.
AMAZING COINCIDENCE! weber was born the same day as the player he replaced (rodriguez)!
Good Morning.
First, Happy Thanksgiving.
Second, a huge congrats to #27. The best team won the WS.
Sorry for the long absence. I had both my Mom and Dad in and out of the hospital as well as lost a good friend to cancer. I have had no free time.
Again, congrats on the WS and hope the regulars that I usually chat with are doing well.
-dennis
dennis-Costanza:
I’m sorry to hear about your bad news, dennis. I hope you can use this passionate distraction known as baseball to ease your stress and mourning.
Happy Thanksgiving to all from Canada. Wishing you all a great day filled with family, feasting, and football.
Big Joe–I have my son’s Canadian college friend and fellow ballplayer here this weekend. I will give him your wishes and some turkey.
No Yankee coach works harder in spring training than Tony Pena does. He drills the catchers hard in all aspects.
This will be Montero’s 3rd spring training as an invitee and Romine’s 2nd. They will both get special attention.
Frankie Cervelli has seen 2 springs with Tony Pena and this spring all the attention he needs will be given to him seeing as it looks like he’ll be the backup to Jorge in 2010.
Kevin Long will give him special attention also.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY TO ALL …….
Happy Thanksgiving to all. Enjoy the holiday.
Is CC at the parade?
that AAA team is gonna have a monster offense this year, even without Shelley.
Montero plays with Magallanes (the team I root for here in Venezuela). The Venezuelan league is, like others before me said, a very, very competitive league. This is a league that sent Barry Bonds packing (in his early years) because he didn’t produce.
Magallanes is right now at 28-13, one game away from first place (Caracas), and the regular Catcher is Robinson Chirinos, who’s numbers right now are .347/.435/.574 (ouch).
So, I would love to see Montero playing more, but it’s just a no brainer now, even more when you have a regular season of 60+ games.
Someone please tell me why Zach Kroenke, the triple A Yanks best releif pitcher in 2009. Hes left handed, a 1.91 era and kills lefty’s with a .194 average against. He will be taken in the Rule V draft. Guaranteed. Yet we protect Romulo Sanchez. A minor league journeyman.
Granted, they protected Kevin Russo, their star 2nd baseman. But how can you let a left handed RP , that you have groomed for 4 years go for nothing. Sanchez era was over 4.00. YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME.