The LoHud Yankees Blog

Look at that, Mariano Rivera’s name got mentioned today!

Jeff Passon from Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Rivera is looking for a two-year deal worth roughly $18 million per year.* The Yankees, Passan says, want to offer one year.

Could be negotiation posturing by both sides. Could be a legitimate gap. Seems too early to know how exactly these negotiations will go.

* Sorry. Left that part out earlier. It’s kind of important!

Today MILB.com published its Yankees minor league all-star team. Taking into account only the season stats — not a player’s prospect status or long-term future — the team was built on the players who had the best seasons at each individual position.

Follow the link to read about the individual selections. Here’s the team itself.

C: Jesus Montero
1B: Luke Murton
2B: Corban Joseph
3B: Brandon Laird
SS: Eduardo Nunez
OF: Justin Christian
OF: Melky Mesa
OF: Dan Brewer
DH: Juan Miranda

RSP: Dellin Betances
LSP: Shaeffer Hall
RP: Jonathan Albaladejo

Christian is no longer considered a prospect, but I think he was a pretty solid choice given the options. The Yankees minor league system is fairly thin in the outfield, especially in the upper levels. That helps explain the minor trade to acquire the free-swinging Cody Johnson.

I think my only disagreement with MILB.com’s list is at right-handed starter, and that’s kind of nit-picking. Betances was outstanding in his  17 starts between Tampa and Trenton, but I might have leaned toward Graham Stoneburner, David Phelps or Ivan Nova. What Betances did was impressive — and it was exactly what the Yankees wanted to see — but if this is strictly about celebrating which pitcher had the best season, I’d go with a starter who threw more than 86 innings.

Tomorrow is the deadline for teams to offer arbitration to Type A and B free agents. Without an arbitration offer, there will be no draft-pick compensation if those free agents sign elsewhere.

Of course, an arbitration offer comes with one obvious risk: The player might actually accept.

The Yankees have six qualifying free agents, which is more than most teams.

Lance Berkman
Type B
Berkman doesn’t want to be a part-time player, which suggests he would turn down an arbitration offer. That said, his hometown Astros have already said they don’t plan to pursue Berkman. Given that sort of uncertainty — there’s no obvious fit for Berkman right now — he could very well decide to take the arbitration money, hope for a bounce-back year with a good team, then try to hit the open market after 2011. It’s a risk in terms of both dollars and roster space. The Yankees don’t have room for a DH-only hitter like Berkman. Offer arbitration? No.

Derek Jeter
Type A
This is probably a pointless discussion because I don’t think either side would expect these negotiations to actually reach an arbitration hearing. That said, taking Jeter to arbitration wouldn’t be a terrible situation for the Yankees. Granted, it would cost big-time money, but a one-year deal wouldn’t be too bad. Offer arbitration? Sure. But I have to think these two sides can work something out before it gets to that point.

Andy Pettitte
Type A
Pettitte has said he won’t sign with anyone but the Yankees, which means no draft pick compensation anyway. Plus, agreeing to arbitration takes too much control out of the Yankees hands. I don’t see what there is to gain. Offer arbitration? No.

Mariano Rivera
Type A
Similar to Jeter, this is probably a pointless discussion because the the Yankees and Rivera are likely to work something out before a hearing. Also similar to Jeter, a one-year deal with Rivera isn’t a terrible situation for the Yankees. They’d have to pay quite a bit, but their long-term risk would be minimized. Offer arbitration? As long as the Yankees are willing to pay big for one year, I don’t see why not. But I don’t think it matters.

Javier Vazquez
Type B
Of these six candidates, Vazquez is the big risk-reward decision. Vazquez seems to be generating legitimate interest on the free agent market, and there’s little doubt he would like to get out of New York. Those two factors suggest he might decline arbitration and net the Yankees a draft pick. On the other hand, Vazquez could see arbitration as a chance to make considerable money for one year, during which he could reassert himself as a viable big league starter. To me, that risk is both very real and very significant.  Don’t make the offer unless you’re OK with actually going to arbitration. I don’t think the Yankees want to do that with Vazquez. Offer arbitration? No.

Kerry Wood
Type B
I think the Yankees would love to have Wood back in the eighth inning, but they chose not to pick up his $11-million option for 2011. That tells me they don’t think Wood is worth what he’ll surely make in arbitration. He’s a good pitcher and a good fit, but given the Yankees offseason needs, I’m not sure it’s a practical option. Offer arbitration? No.

A first baseman not named Albert Pujols has won the National League MVP award.

Today, Joey Votto was named the Most Valuable Player in the National League. No real surprise that Votto, Pujol and Carlos Gonzalez finished first, second and third.

One name that jumps out in the top 10 is Aubrey Huff, who finished seventh despite the fact he had to wait until January to settle on a small $3-million contract with the Giants. Last winter’s best signing? Could be.

Of all the Yankees free agents, could Javier Vazquez be the first to sign elsewhere?

The Yankees don’t seem to be pursuing him, but Vazquez has built a legitimate market for himself. The Washington Nationals and Florida Marlins are both said to be interested, apparently hoping 2010 was nothing but a bump in the road.

They’re hoping to sign Vazquez on the cheap, then reap the benefits of a rebound.

The interest also seems to be a acknowledgment of the pitching emphasis in baseball. There’s never enough, which means teams are always looking for it, and they’re willing to look anywhere.

Injury risks. Age issues. Pitchers coming off awful seasons. No option is off the table.

It’s yet another reason Cliff Lee’s value is so high.

Here we go again. Another Monday. Another week that begins with the Yankees trying to chase Cliff Lee, re-sign Derek Jeter and get the ball rolling on Mariano Rivera.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

One week ago, Brian Cashman showed up in Orlando for the GM meetings and immediately squashed any idea that the Yankees might make significant progress. In the end, they actually did more than expected last week: Choosing a pitching coach and making two minor trades with Arizona and Atlanta.

What’s next on the list? And will anything get done this week?

There’s no real indication that anything is close. The Yankees and Jeter seem locked in a bizarre game of chicken, no one seems sure what exactly is going on with Rivera and Lee is the top free agent on the market. He’s going to make his decision whenever he wants to make it.

Another week begins.

Associated Press photo

It’s the Sunday before Thanksgiving, and it’s been a predictably slow day for baseball. Aside from the Mets finally settling on a manager, there hasn’t been a whole lot going on. That’s not a bad thing every once in a while.

Last night was the Army vs. Notre Dame football game at Yankee Stadium. Here’s an official statement on the game from Hal Steinbrenner, followed by a few Sunday night links.

A night like tonight reinforces our goal of continuously bringing memorable, meaningful events to Yankee Stadium and the Bronx throughout the years to come. We want to thank and commend Notre Dame and Army for their dedication and desire in bringing a historic night of football to Yankee Stadium. We can think of no two finer educational institutions to christen our new home with the great game of football. Their impact on the landscape of our nation — scholastically, athletically and through service — cannot be overstated enough.

• Great stuff from Ben Shpigel looking back at the 2000 Derek Jeter contract negotiations.

• Apparently Casey Close has been surprised by this year’s negotiations between Jeter and the Yankees.

• Nick Cafardo has heard the Yankees are in the $115 million-$120 million range for five years in their pursuit of Cliff Lee.

• The Athletics have cutoff their negotiations with Japanese starter Hisashi Iwakuma. He was looking for big-time money.

• The Frames played a great show at Terminal 5 last night. If you don’t know that band, I highly recommend them.

My approach to following minor league baseball has always been to focus on Double-A and Triple-A. I keep an eye on the lower levels, but those really young guys are always works in progress and — from my point of view — there’s only so much to learn from their day-day-to-day.

There are going to be a lot of hot streaks and cold streaks between Staten Island and New York.

Most of my attention is focused on Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Trenton, which is why I didn’t get too caught up this week in the Yankees signing of Jose Rafael DePaula, a Dominican right-hander who has drawn a lot of attention on the international free agent market.

Based on everything I’ve read and heard about the guy, the talent seems to be real. Even in a Yankees minor league system loaded with pitching, DePaula is a name worth knowing. He’s had some issues getting out of the DR, but the Yankees were ultimately able to get him, and it’s a nice addition to the system. He’s got a long way to go, but he’s one to keep an eye on, for sure.

During the first week or so of the offseason, both the Yankees front office and Derek Jeter’s representation seemed to be preparing the fan base for a lengthy negotiation. It was going to take more than a handshake and a signature to get the deal done, and so far they’ve been right.

Jeter’s still not signed, and the sides don’t seem especially close.

But what about Mariano Rivera?

The Yankees closer is also still on the market, but he’s been a free agent before and neither side seems especially anxious. Jon Heyman reported last week that Rivera has told friends he wants a two-year deal. During the GM meetings, none of the Yankees brass seemed to have anything to add.

“I haven’t heard anything about Mariano,” Randy Levine said. “I don’t know whether (Brian Cashman) has talked to him.”

Doesn’t sound like a lot of urgency or concern there, and the Yankees certainly have not hinted that these negotiations will be difficult. Compared to the Jeter negotations, the Rivera situation seems simple for both sides, if only because we’ve heard hardly anything about it.

Associated Press photo

It was our good friend Pete Abraham who asked the question over at the Extra Bases blog.

As a strictly hypothetical — acknowledging the situation will never actually happen — would Red Sox fans be OK with Derek Jeter coming to Boston?

The answer was an overwhelming, yes.

As Pete wrote, it’s not a legitimate scenario, and he certainly wasn’t suggesting it might happen, but it’s interesting to see that most Boston fans would welcome the Yankees captain should he actually become a viable option.

Remember, Yankees fans not only welcomed Johnny Damon, they came to embrace him and even miss him when he was gone.

Associated Press photo