The LoHud Yankees Blog

Last winter, Brian Cashman’s best offseason signing was a minor league deal with Freddy Garcia. That contract was a steal long before Garcia started Game 2 of the division series, and in theory, a similar deal would make sense for the Yankees again in 2012.

“The conversation I have to have with him (this winter) is different than what I had last winter,” Cashman said.

Cashman said he doesn’t expect a non-roster invitation to be enough to land Garcia this winter, not after he went 12-8 with a 3.62 ERA and provided some rotation stability from start to finish. Garcia seems like a good fit for the Yankees — still relatively cheap, provides rotation depth without a long-term commitment — but his value has gone up.

“I liked what he did for us this last year,” Cashman said. “Obviously he was good enough to run the whole distance.”

A few other very quick notes:

• Cashman said he’s going through the usual “dances” of checking in with agents and getting a feel for the market. “I haven’t made any offers to anybody but expressed an interest in talking further,” Cashman said. “That’s it.” Cashman said he hasn’t received any offers either. It’s just a lot of talking right now.

• Cashman laughed a little bit about the sudden flurry of calls he’s gotten from reporters about Cuban center fielder Yeonis Cespedes. Cashman wouldn’t say whether he’s interested in the player, only said that the Yankees have scouted him.

• Without getting into specifics, Cashman said he’s spoken to other Yankees free agents — not only Garcia — but again, no offers are on the table one way or the other.

• Does the thin free agent market create a problem of potentially overspending on a player? “I guess it would be bad if I felt like I had to spent the money regardless,” Cashman said. “But that’s not what I feel.”

Associated Press photo

The Yankees have their ace, which is good for them, because this free agent market doesn’t offer a no-doubt No. 1 starter. The Yankees need rotation depth — maybe a upgrade at No. 2 and a veteran alternative to round out the group — which is good, because this free agent market has a handful of those sort of pitchers.

In a way, this market works well for the Yankees. It doesn’t offer much, but it has pieces that fit the Yankees needs. Of course, a thin market has its downside. In writing about Mark Buehrle this morning, George King quoted an AL executive talking about the thin crop of free agent pitchers.

“They are in the right time in the right place,’’ the AL exec said. “What’s behind them isn’t much.’’

Brian Cashman always checks in with everyone, and he’s doing that now. Guys like Buehrle and Edwin Jackson — who fit just behind C.J. Wilson in the perceived pecking order — appear to be affordable options who could round out the rotation and add some depth should Ivan Nova stumble in his second year, or Phil Hughes get hurt again, or A.J. Burnett give the Yankees more of the same frustrations.

But in a world of supply and demand, does the limited supply mean the Yankees might have to overpay for these “affordable” rotation options?

Associated Press photo

Be honest, how many of you knew the name Yeonis Cespedes three days ago? Even if you vaguely remembered him from the World Baseball Classic, how many of you had strong feelings about him one way or the other? How many of you knew his name of the top of your head?

How many of you desperately want the Yankees to sign him now?

Every now and then, something like this happens. A player who hardly anyone knows anything about grabs the baseball world’s attention and becomes a sensation. Not sure I’ve ever seen it happen this quickly, but you really can’t predict baseball, and right now Cespedes is the unpredictable star of the offseason.

He and Yu Darvish rule the world. And most of us have only seen a few highlight clips and exhibition innings of them actually playing the game.

Of course the Yankees have seen Cespedes. The Yankees have always been heavily involved in the international market, and I can’t imagine they needed a Baseball Prospectus story — which was terrific, by the way — to find out about this guy. Is he as good as advertised? I have no idea. I’m one of those people who wouldn’t have recognized his name on Saturday morning. But I get it. I get the excitement.

The world of prospects is all about high hopes and best-case scenarios. It’s about seeing a young player and thinking about what he might become, and Yeonis Cespedes might become a great major league player — he’s certainly hyped that way — so of course Yankees fans should want the Yankees to sign him. He’s the name of the moment, and he’s out there, and one guess is as good as the next about what he’s really worth.

Will he live up to this instant hype? Maybe. Maybe not. For now, that uncertainty is enough to grab our attention.

During today’s meeting, the New York chapter of the BBWAA voted on its annual awards which will be handed out at our awards dinner on Saturday, Jan. 21, at the New York Hilton. Yankees Mariano Rivera, Dave Robertson and Gene Monahan were among those chosen for the chapter’s awards.

William J. Slocum/Jack Lang Long and Meritorious Service
Gene Monahan

Joe DiMaggio Toast of the Town
Mariano Rivera

Joan Payson Award for community service
Dave Robertson

Milton & Arthur Richman You Gotta Have Heart
Gary Carter

Sid Mercer/Dick Young Player of the Year
Jose Bautista

Babe Ruth Award for postseason MVP
David Freese

Ben Epstein/Dan Castellano Good Guy
Jose Reyes

Casey Stengel You Could Look It Up
Tommy Davis

Willie, Mickey & The Duke (given to a group forever connected in the game)
1962 Mets

• Speaking of Robertson and community service: He and his wife Erin were in New York this weekend to support cancer awareness during the marathon. He spoke to Ed Coleman on WFAN and talked about his offseason plans.

“I’m just going to start training and try to stay on the same path that I did last year,” Robertson said. “Do a lot of cardio and try to get body as strong as I can and basically get ready for that long stretch that’s coming up. If I can keep it going and hopefully come out in spring training and feel just as good as I did at the end of last season, I’ll be happy.”

• In the past two days or so, Cuban center fielder Yoenis Cespedes became one of the most discussed international prospects on the market. Kevin Goldstein wrote a scouting report that doubled as a review of Cespedes’ unusual scouting video, and Jeff Passan reported that Cespedes is expected to be cleared for free agency soon.

• In the coming days and weeks, Brian Cashman is going to be checking in with a lot of agents and general managers. The New York Post today reported that Cashman talked to the agent for Edwin Jackson, who’s one of the rotation options on the market.

• Another nice story out of Taiwan for Jack Curry, who wrote about the relationship between Robinson Cano and his father during the exhibition series.

Associated Press photo

18Wade Boggs and Jim Rice are the guests on tonight’s episode of Studio 42 with Bob Costas. During the interview, Boggs is asked about Derek Jeter joining the 3,000-hit club, and he uses that to predict a unanimous Hall of Fame vote in Jeter’s future.

“That’s the way he does things,” Boggs said. “He’s the master of Hollywood scripting, he’s the master of it… Whenever anything revolves around doing something special, Derek’s always involved with it and I’ve got good company now… Within six, seven, eight, nine years down the road, he’s going to be sitting right here (in Cooperstown) walking around the veranda, easily. He may be the only guy to get 100 percent of the vote.”

The interview with Boggs and Rice airs at 9 p.m. ET on MLB Network.

The New York chapter of the BBWAA had its annual postseason meeting today, and thanks to traffic, I just got back to my apartment. I could write an entire blog post about the experience, but I won’t. Instead, let’s focus on Melky Cabrera.

If you haven’t heard, Melky was traded today. The Royals used his outstanding 2011 season to swing a deal with the Giants for left-handed starter Jonathan Sanchez. The Giants needed a hitter, the Royals needed pitching, and so the deal makes sense. Of course, it also begs the question:

If Cabrera is worth this — a straight-up swap for a 28-year-old left-hander with good stuff — why didn’t the Yankees get that for him? Did the Yankees miss out?

The trade to Atlanta
When the Yankees got rid of Cabrera, he was part of the package that brought Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan from the Braves. The Yankees also lost a legitimate pitching prospect (Arodys Vizcaino) and a good young lefty (Mike Dunn) in that deal, so it’s hard to pinpoint the return value of Cabrera alone, but it’s important to remember that it’s still too early to fully evaluate that deal. Logan for Dunn was something of a wash — L0gan’s slightly older and more expensive, but ultimately it’s lefty for lefty — and although Vazquez was a massive disappointment, it’s important to remember two things about him: 1. He had considerable trade value at the time, and 2. As a Type B free agent, he netted the Yankees the draft pick they used on Dante Bichette Jr. Have to consider Bichette part of that haul as well.

The value of Cabrera
In his five years with the Yankees, Cabrera hit .269/.331/.385, and his value was slightly diminished when the Yankees no longer needed him to play center field. He was good enough, but rarely great, and the Braves didn’t want him back after he hit just .255/.317/.354 during his lone season in Atlanta. Suddenly, he showed up in Kansas City and hit .305/.339/.470 in a breakout, age-26 season. Cabrera is young enough that there might be more of this to come, but I’m not sure the Yankees did a bad job by selling low on him. I think the Royals might have done a good job of selling high.

The value of Sanchez
Sanchez is a nice pitcher who should be just entering his prime, but let’s not build him into Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum. After a terrific 2010 season, Sanchez had a 1.44 WHIP and was limited to just 19 starts this season. He was considered a non-tender candidate before the Giants traded him to the Royals. He made $4.8 million this year, and he’s due for a raise through arbitration. None of that is to knock Sanchez — obviously the Yankees would be happy to have him — but he’s not cheap and he doesn’t have a clean health record, so there’s some risk involved. The Giants and Royals simply matched up, swapping two players they could each afford to lose.

Associated Press photo

The headline of this post should come with a subhead: Why this morning’s post doesn’t really matter.

Exactly one year ago, I wrote a post identical to this morning’s. I looked at the Yankees organization as it was and came up with an Opening Day roster based on players under team control. Of the spots that weren’t obvious, I got exactly none of them right (to my credit, I think I was making reasonable guesses at the time).

I point this out only to show how much better the Yankees roster is today than it was at this time last year.

Here’s what I came up with exactly a year ago.
I beg you to remember this was based strictly on players who were under contract at the time. It wasn’t meant to be a roster prediction, more to give a sense of what the team looked like at the moment.

Starters
C Jesus Montero, 1B Mark Teixiera, 2B Robinson Cano, 3B Alex Rodriguez, SS Eduardo Nunez, LF Brett Gardner, CF Curtis Granderson, RF Nick Swisher, DH Jorge Posada

To be fair, I knew the shortstop prediction was wrong, but Derek Jeter wasn’t under contract and Nunez was clearly the best choice available. At catcher, it might have been Montero had the Yankees not signed Russell Martin.

Bench
C Francisco Cervelli, INF Ramiro Pena, OF Colin Curtis, OF Greg Golson

Not even close. Cervelli and Curtis were hurt on Opening Day, Golson’s spot was upgraded with Andruw Jones, and Pena was bumped to Triple-A as a trickle-down effect of Jeter agreeing to a new contract.

Rotation
LHP CC Sabathia, RHP Phil Hughes, RHP A.J. Burnett, RHP Ivan Nova, RHP Dustin Moseley

Obviously this was before the Yankees decided to non-tenter Moseley and long before they signed either Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon. Moseley wound up pitching pretty well in San Diego.

Bullpen
RHP Joba Chamberlain, RHP Dave Robertson, LHP Boone Logan, RHP
Sergio Mitre, RHP Jonathan Albaladejo, RHP Romulo Sanchez, LHP Kei Igawa

To my credit, the inclusion of Igawa was a joke, and this was obviously before the Yankees had agreed to a new deal with Mariano Rivera. It was long before they’d agreed to contracts with Rafael Soriano, Luis Ayala, Cory Wade or Pedro Feliciano. Basically, at this time last year, the Yankees bullpen was a mess. It’s kind of amazing how much better it looks today.

Associated Press photos

The free agent market is wide open. Players not under contract are free to sign with any team, and the Yankees could make a big move at any moment… but Brian Cashman has talked about a conservative offseason approach.  The Yankees have taken care of their greatest offseason priority, and now they are free to go into this winter without an overwhelming need. Based on the players currently under contract, here’s a look at the potential 25-man roster as it is today.

Starters
C – Russell Martin
1B – Mark Teixeira
2B – Robinson Cano
3B – Alex Rodriguez
SS – Derek Jeter
LF – Brett Gardner
CF – Curtis Granderson
RF – Nick Swisher
DH – Jesus Montero

It’s November 7th, and there’s a very real chance that we already know the Yankees starters for Opening Day. Obviously Montero will have to earn it, and the Yankees will have to settle on contracts with Martin and Gardner — both are eligible for arbitration — but this might actually be the group that fills the lineup out of spring training.

Bench
C – Francisco Cervelli
INF – Eduardo Nunez
OF – Justin Maxwell
OF – Chris Dickerson

This is one spot where the roster is likely to change quite a bit. Nunez is a natural fit as the utility infielder, and Cervelli could very easily reprise his role as the backup catcher, but two key spots on the bench seem to be up for grabs. The Yankees could obviously use a right-handed outfielder — for now I have Maxwell filling that role, coming back from an injury but coming off a solid showing in Triple-A — but the Yankees could very easily go after Andruw Jones or someone similar. The last spot on the bench could go to another Eric Chavez-type who can fill in at the infield corners, but Nunez could fill that hole, and right now Dickerson is the most proven option off the bench. He’d be a stronger choice if the Yankees outfield weren’t so left-handed already.

Rotation
LHP – CC Sabathia
RHP – Ivan Nova
RHP – Phil Hughes
RHP – A.J. Burnett
RHP – Hector Noesi

Four of the five starters might already be in place, and if the Yankees are not able to land a veteran fifth starter, Noesi could be in position to round out the rotation. This is far from a perfect rotation, but it might be already better than some teams. Basically, after Sabathia, the Yankees have a group of in-house starters who who could crumble but have plenty of potential. What they want is a proven presence to add to the mix (or maybe another high-end young guy like Yu Darvish).

Bullpen
Closer – Mariano Rivera
Setup – Dave Robertson
Setup – Rafael Soriano
Lefty – Boone Logan
Middle – Cory Wade
Middle – Joba Chamberlain
Long – George Kontos

Except for the last two spots, the Yankees bullpen seems to be in place. It’s kind of cheap to put Chamberlain in place right now — he probably won’t be ready until a few weeks past Opening Day — and the Yankees might have to fill his spot with an in-house option like Kevin Whelan or with a free agent addition (maybe a lefty or a Luis Ayala-type). I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to put Kontos in the long relief spot. Not saying the job is his — far from it — but as long as Noesi works as a starter, Kontos has as much claim to that job as anyone.

Associated Press photos

Sorry, I’ve been away from a computer most of the day, which really hasn’t mattered because there’s not much going on this weekend.

As expected, the Orioles have settled on Dan Duquette to be their new general manager. The decision came right when Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer seemed to have emerged as a legitimate candidate for the position. The Yankees had a couple of near-misses in the front office this winter, with Oppenheimer and pro scouting director Billy Eppler both becoming candidates for GM openings.

Otherwise, things seem pretty quiet, but if you happen to see MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, congratulate him on completing the New York City Marathon. I believe this was his second. Nice job, buddy.

Robinson Cano has been the star of the show during Major League Baseball’s exhibition tour of Taiwan. He’s played well in the games, but he’s also been wildly popular off the field. Thanks to Jack Curry’s always terrific coverage, we’ve seen a glimpse of what a true superstar Cano has become overseas. 

The five-game exhibition tour ended earlier today, and after the finale, the Chinese Taipei team posed for a team picture. Cano and Curtis Granderson got in it. Cano also made one last impression in the final game, hitting a home run — off a lefty — after his former teammate Chien-Ming Wang had already come out of the game.

The final game of the series is being shown on MLB Network tonight at 9 p.m. Click here if you want to know the full details of what happened.

Associated Press photo