The LoHud Yankees Blog

The Yankees began this offseason by making a strong trade for an outfielder, Curtis Granderson. Then, last week, they completed a deal for Nick Johnson (that’s still being finalized) which shored up the DH spot left open by Hideki Matsui’s departure. Now it appears that a starting pitcher is the next target.

Who is it? Rumors abound. Word is that this move, whatever it turns out to be (if it does indeed turn out to be something) is substantive. The last source I spoke to about the Yankees earlier today said pitching was clearly the Yankees next priority but didn’t indicate anything was close so it seems that something either a) heated up quickly; or b) was revived from previous discussions.

Aaron Harang would fit the latter since he was someone the Yankees had discussions about in the past, but he’s been ruled out as a possibility in several reports. To me, that makes a deal with Atlanta as an obvious possibility with Derek Lowe being one intriguing option as well as teammate – and former Yankee – Javier Vazquez.

Several sources have said that Braves GM Frank Wren plans to move a starter this winter to free up money, and Lowe was quoted in an MLB.com story just last week saying he has basically resigned himself to the idea that he won’t be in Atlanta to start 2010. “I’m just waiting for it to happen,” Lowe said. “I don’t think it’s a matter of if anymore. It’s just a matter of when.”

For what it’s worth, Vazquez would be the more cost-effective option at this point. Lowe is owed $45 million over the next three years, while Vazquez – whose time in New York was, admittedly, hardly idyllic – is owed $11.5 million next season before becoming a free agent. Given that, one would think he’d cost less, player-wise, in any deal. It’s also worth nothing that Vazquez has a limited no-trade clause in his contract, but it doesn’t include any AL East teams (he can veto deals only to NL West and AL West clubs).

Are the Yankees going to get Lowe or Vazquez? Not necessarily. But it seems more and more likely that we’re going to find out who is behind Door No. 3 for the Yankees sooner rather than later.

UPDATE, 12:25 a.m.: I know that Josh Johnson is a name that has been mentioned and bandied about both tonight and over the past month or so, and it’s interesting to hear that Johnson was apparently very angry about the Marlins reportedly offering a five-year deal to Aroldis Chapman.

That said, Florida has Johnson under control for two more years and has indicated previously that they aren’t interested in dealing him. Back in November, Johnson’s agent, Matt Sosnick, gave this fantastic quote to Fox Sports: “I’d be less surprised if Elijah showed up at my parents’ house this Passover than if they trade (Johnson) before the start of the season.”

(For those not getting the reference, here’s a quick primer.)

As we’ve discussed here a few times, the Yankees have four young middle infielders on the 40-man roster, and unless they make a move to bring a veteran into spring training, one of those four will win the utility infield job in New York. Here’s Mark Newman’s take on the four candidates.

Eduardo Nunez
• Least experienced of the group, having advanced to Triple-A only for the playoffs last season.
• There’s little reason to question the bat. He hit .322 with nine homers and 19 stolen bases in Trenton, and Newman was encouraged by improved plate discipline in the second half.
• The ugly number is the 33 errors he commited. “There’s nothing more common than young infielders making errors,” Newman said. “It’s concentration and fundamental consistency.”
• It’s the need for consistency that will likely send him to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre instead of New York. “He’s needs to be more consistent defensively so that the staff (in New York) can be comfortable.”

Reegie Corona
• Has moved between second and shortstop throughout his career, but played a lot of short late last season in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. “He was better (at shortstop) than we thought he was going to be,” Newman said.
• Corona can run and he’s good enough on defense, especially at second base. He’s also shown a good eye at the plate throughout his career. He spent most of last year in Double-A and had more walks than strikeouts there.
• After a horrible first few weeks in Triple-A, and a demotion back to Double-A, Corona seemed to wake up at the end of the season and played well in the Triple-A playoffs. He’s continued playing well in winter ball.
• “We just needed to get his head out of his rear end in Triple-A,” Newman said.

Kevin Russo
• Probably the most advanced hitter of the bunch, but the one with the least shortstop experience. He’s been mostly a second baseman in his career, but shows a strong arm at third. Also has some time in the outfield.
• “He can play enough shortstop to be (a utility infielder),” Newman said. “And some outfield. I think he’s probably best at third.”
• Russo was the Triple-A International League’s postseason all-star at second base. He hit .326 with a .397 on-base percentage and 13 stolen bases. He started to show some power in the last month or so of the season.
• “He’s an interesting player,” Newman said. “There’s some Jerry Hairston in him, and Jerry was a heckuva player for us. Of course, the key with those guys is being good enough defensively that the manager is comfortable putting you out there.”

Ramiro Pena
• If he were to open the season back in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pena would probably have to split time at shortstop with Nunez, but Newman doesn’t expect that to be a problem.
• “I think Pena is going to be in New York,” Newman said. “Those guys really like him.”
• Pena is the star defensive player of the group. He’s outstanding at shortstop and quickly proved himself at third, having hardly played the position in his life. He saw some time in center field late last year in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
• Pena has never been a great hitter in his career, but at the end of 2008, his bat started to show some signs of life. Those signs kept showing when he went to winter ball a year ago. Last year, in New York, he hit .287, higher than his single-season batting average at any minor league stop along the way.
• Ideally, with Pena in the mix, a team would like to have a second utility guy who handles the infield corners (kind of like Eric Hinske this year). “Get a little more bat off the bench with that corner utility guy,” Newman said. “And then have Ramiro Pena who can play anywhere and pinch run.” Getting that second utility guy depends on how the bench shapes up, though.

Last year’s stint in Double-A was cut short by a finger injury, but the Yankees believe Jesus Montero is ready to open next season in Triple-A.

Vice president of baseball operations Mark Newman said this afternoon that the Yankees plan to have Montero open the season as the regular catcher with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Austin Romine, the team’s No. 2 prospect according to Baseball America, will open in Trenton.

Newman said Gary Sanchez and J.R. Murphy – the other catchers who rank among Baseball America’s top 10 Yankees prospects – will likely open in extended spring training and play short-season ball. Kyle Higashioka is slated to open in Low-A Charleston. High-A Tampa doesn’t have a set catcher now that Chase Weems has been traded.

The Yankees have been encouraged by Montero’s improved footwork behind the plate. He threw out 31.8 percent of base runners in Trenton, which is pretty solid and much better than the 12.5 percent he threw out in the first half of the season in Tampa. Actually, Montero’s caught stealing percentage in Trenton was better than Romine’s season percentage in Tampa (though I don’t think anyone would suggest Montero is at Romine’s level in that regard). Newman said some of the improvement came because Montero adjusted his footwork so that he pivots on his right foot rather than taking a step or a slide.

“That seems to work for him,” Newman said. “It’s an older school approach.”

Newman stressed – as he’s done pretty much every time I’ve mentioned Montero’s name the past few years – that the Yankees still see their top prospect as a catcher. With Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, though, there’s a chance Montero will get some time at first base, at least during drills. It’s something all catchers in the Yankees system do. I’ve seen Francisco Cervelli, Chris Stewart and Kevin Cash take ground balls at third base. P.J. Pilittere has gotten a bit of playing time at first.

“He’ll get that as a matter of course,” Newman said. “But all of our guys do. It won’t be anything special for him.”

Although there was never any indication the Yankees were especially interested in signing him, it seems Jason Marquis is no longer among the available free agent starters.

Marquis has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Washington Nationals.

Earlier this month, Brian Cashman flew to the Winter Meetings with the Levinson brothers, who represent Marquis. Cashman acknowledged that he discussed the right-hander during the flight, but that seemed to be the extent of any link between the two.

CC Sabathia and his wife Amber will be playing Santa to two groups of kids in California today. There’s no word on whether CC will be dressing up – though it’d be something to see if he did – but he’s going to be greeting foster children at a Toyota dealership in Vallejo and then giving kids from his PitCCh In foundation a shopping spree at a Sports Authority in Vacaville.

Sabathia has proved to be one of the few superstars to come to New York from a smaller market and have a near-seamless transition. Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson both had their share of speed-bumps in their first years in the Bronx, but Sabathia stayed healthy, was incredibly effective and became a team leader without ever stumbling at all.

His greatest quality may have been his stability: Every time out, the Yankees could almost bank on what Sabathia would give them. Look at his game log and it’s ridiculous – in August and September he went six innings or more in 11 consecutive starts, seven innings or more in 10 of those 11. In the AL East, especially, that kind of reliability is worth plenty.

One of the first things CC (and Amber) said at the introductory press conference last year was that they were making New York their permanent home. Unlike most players, Sabathia didn’t want to be going back and forth between New York and somewhere else, and he wanted his kids to be comfortable and settled in New York. He still has family in California, though, so it’s not surprising to see him doing charity work in his hometown area.

What can we expect from Sabathia in 2010? There’s no reason to think anything less than more of the same. As the Yankees try to figure out the back end of their rotation – Joba? Hughes? Sheets? Duchscherer? – they can take comfort in knowing that they are one of the few teams with a genuine rock-solid ace at the front.

That’s right, the headline is a Bangles reference. I’m not proud of it.

Last week, I woke up on Monday morning expecting a day more or less like any other. I needed to stop by the office and the bank, but otherwise I was just checking around for news. There was little reason to expect anything out of the ordinary.

Then there was some chatter about John Lackey taking a physical in Boston. Then a rumor about Roy Halladay and his agent being camped out in a Philadelphia hotel. Then Hideki Matsui was on his way to Los Angeles.

There’s a solid chance the Nick Johnson signing will become official, but it’s going to be tough for this Monday to rival last Monday. One of the top three free agents on the market signed a five-year deal, the World Series MVP signed a one-year deal and arguably the best pitcher in baseball was traded.

Unless Matt Holliday is involved, it’s going to be tough for this day to compare with that day.

Reegie Corona made his Triple-A debut this season, and the result was … unimpressive. He was fine defensively, especially at second base, but he hit just .200 with a .241 on-base and a .300 slugging. He was a speed guy who seemed to hit everything in the air.

But I wouldn’t rule him out for the big league utility job next year.

Corona hit .355 with two home runs and two stolen bases in his last eight regular-season games. He kept hitting in the International League playoffs, batting .295 with twice as many walks (6) as strikeouts (3). Now he’s hitting .328 with a .447 on-base percentage in Venezuela.

Upgrading the bench has been a low priority for the Yankees this winter, and last year they were willing to go into spring training with Cody Ransom as their top utility candidate and into the season with unproven Ramiro Pena on the big league bench. Unless the Yankees bring in a veteran, the utiilty job could very well come down to the four young guys on the 40-man: Pena, Corona, Eduardo Nunez and Kevin Russo.

Nunez and Russo have the best bats, but Pena and Corona are the best defensive and most versatile players in the bunch. Corona has a better career batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage than Pena. And while Pena has never stolen more than nine bases in a season, Corona had three straight years with at least 24. Pena has a better glove, but Corona can handle short. He’s not great there, but he’s good enough to play the position 10 times a year.

Corona wasn’t especially good when I saw him. But that doesn’t mean he won’t be good when the Yankees see him this spring.

An interesting Yankees note from Nick Cafardo, who talked to Chien-Ming Wang’s agent.

“Fifteen teams have inquired about the rehabbing righty, according to agent Alan Nero, and while Nero wouldn’t confirm which teams are involved (except the Yankees, who would like to match any final offer) you can bet the Red Sox are one of them.”

According to Cafardo, Wang has been long-tossing for almost three weeks and will soon have another evaluation to better set his expected return to the mound. Because of Wang’s past success, you can bet a lot of teams will be interested in the results of that check-up with Dr. James Andrews. The Yankees, it appears, are one of them and have not given up completely on bringing Wang back.

• Cafardo also notes that the asking price for Mark DeRosa seems to be going down. When DeRosa was Melky Cabrera’s age, he had a total of 11 major league at-bats and one major league hit. DeRosa didn’t become an everyday player in the big leagues until he was 31, and at that point, his career batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage were lower than Cabrera’s are today. I’m not writing that to suggest Cabrera is better than DeRosa, only to point out how far DeRosa’s stock has climbed in four years, from nice player to have on the bench to legitmately buzz-worthy free agent.

• Occasionally someone asks about Erik Bedard as a possible risk-reward target for the Yankees rotation. Part of the problem is, no one knows for sure when he’ll be ready to pitch again.

• Some numbers you might like. Here’s a comparison of Granderson/Johnson vs. Damon/Matsui.

I was awakened this morning to a phone call from a family member raving – and complaining – about the incredible accumulation of snow, and it reminded me of another time when something similar happened.

On the morning of April 7, 2003, the phone rang and it was the Yankees. PR assistant Ben Tuliebitz (who is now the Yankees excellent traveling secretary) was on the line to let me know that the game that day – Opening Day! – had already been canceled. Too much snow.

The next day, when the game against the Twins was finally played, there were literally snowdrifts in the dugouts and the game was played in freezing temperatures. Those fans who did show up – and I’m sure plenty of them are on this board – didn’t get to see full-on player introductions (that was canceled) but they did see a pretty dramatic game, with Hideki Matsui making a great play in the field (!!) and hitting a grand slam in his Yankees debut.

In an odd coincidence, that game was against the Twins and when Matsui makes his Angels debut in April it will also be against the Twins. I’m going to go out on a limb and say he won’t be snowed out again (the game is in Anaheim).

For those of us still in the Northeast, whiteouts like this one are a good opportunity to look at the calendar and count how many days are left until spring training. As you finish your shoveling today, just remember that baseball isn’t so far away. Only 60 days to go until the first workout, 105 until Opening Day at Fenway. Hopefully the snow is long gone by then.

Look for this sort of idea to be floated quite a bit the next month or so.

Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi wrote yesterday about the Chicago Cubs need for a center fielder. They mentioned Marlon Byrd and Scott Podsednik as free agent candidates, then they threw Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner into the mix as players who “could become available this offseason, depending upon how (the Yankees) roster evolves.”

The logic is hard to argue. The Yankees have a new center fielder. They just took a player in the Rule 5 draft who can play center field. They also have two center fielders returning from last season. It’s reasonable to think someone might be available in a trade (and to be perfectly honest, one of my first reactions to the Curtis Granderson deal was that Gardner would probably traded). Also, Rosenthal and Morosi are national baseball writers. They’re writing for an audience that doesn’t know the Yankees roster from top to bottom. It’s their job to make people aware of a center field situation such as New York.

But the key line seems to be, “depending upon how their roster evolves.”

Right now, Granderson, Gardner, Cabrera, Jamie Hoffmann and Nick Swisher are pretty much the extent of the Yankees outfield depth. Colin Curtis is in that mix somewhere, but he has only a half season of Triple-A experience, and he hit just .235 in that time. He seems to have made some strides in the Arizona Fall League, and it’s perfectly reasonable to think he could get to New York before the end of the year, but heading into spring training, the big league outfield mix is pretty much limited to five guys. Trading one, without bringing in another, would leave the options very thin.

The Yankees might try to make a move at some point, but right now their center field depth isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.