Is Nakajima worth more to the Yankees as trade bait?
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Dec 15, 2011 
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When the Yankees won the right to negotiate with Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima, the natural question was, why? He’s not going to replace Derek Jeter, and he might not be an upgrade over Eduardo Nunez, so why go after him?
Partially for depth. Partially because he comes with both tangible and intangible skills. Partially the Yankees believe Nakajima and Nunez both could play a role on the roster. Mostly, though…
“It’s an area for us to pursue talent,” Brian Cashman said on the day the rights were announced. “It’s having access to a middle-of-the-diamond type player, and in this game, that’s becoming rarer and rarer on a yearly basis.”
With Jeter at short and Nunez playing a utility role, is that type of player worth more to the Yankees as a trade chip?
Ken Rosenthal reported last night that Nakajima’s agent has pitched the idea of a sign-and-trade to the Yankees. Rosenthal even mentions the Giants and Cubs as teams interested.
The Yankees could deal Nakajima to another team with a greater need for him, and use that swap to fill an area of obvious need. Now the question is, what would Nakajima bring in return, and how valuable is that additional infield depth for the Yankees?
To be honest, though, this isn’t the first time the idea of a sign-and-trade has been mentioned. It was one of the first questions Cashman was asked after the Yankees won the rights to Nakajima.
“The purpose of this process was not for a sign-and-trade,” Cashman said. “I don’t even know if we can or can’t do that. If we sign him, we plan on adding his talents to this franchise, going to big-league camp and seeing where it takes us.”
By the way, I recommend checking out that Rosenthal article linked above. Lots of good scouting information on Nakajima.
What I don’t get is why these teams that had interest didn’t bid for him in the first place. It isn’t like the bid was all that high.
The posting bid was lunch money. If other teams were all that interested, why wouldn’t they bid?
Well, if they get him in a trade, they don’t have to front the posting fee, no matter how “little” that fee was. Some teams don’t have that money or don’t want to spend their money that way.
Bobby V has said the Yankees won’t be able to sign Nakajima.
So it must be true.
True, but these days teams are putting a premium on prospects, so dropping short money probably is the more appealing option. Then again, this guy probably doesn’t bring you back much of a prospect.
well he is the expert on Japanese baseball MTU
yes Kate.
According to him he is the expert on just about everything.
How does he get thru a door with a head that size ?
Might have trouble with that at Fenway.
dogface -
Or maybe there really are not any other teams interested, and even though the agent suggested it doesn’t mean there is anywhere to trade him.
Nakajima for Matt Cain!
……or is that too much?
Sounds like the Rangers and Jays have joined the Yankees and Cubs as confirmed bidders on Darvish.
“The purpose of this process was not for a sign-and-trade,” Cashman said. “I don’t even know if we can or can’t do that.
Is anyone buying that? Cashman doesn’t know?
no Nats in on Darvish?
I read the Toronto Star newspaper this morning. The paper certainly believes the Jays are very interested in Yu, and I bet that’s where he ends up.
Nakajima for Melky!
no Nats in on Darvish?
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Only seen a no comment from the Nats, but would be surprised if they didn’t.
Nevermind Cain.
If Valentine is so giddy about Nakajima, let’s deal him for Johnny Lestah…:D
MTU, can’t sanction your rotation: no Betances in it.
Ill be really surprised if the Nats didn’t bid.
Bobby V. is an expert at fake mustaches and eyebrows.
A master of disguise if you will..
A dissembler…though not a very convincing one…:D
Buster Olney @Buster_ESPN 1h The Red Sox landed Mark Melancon, but they are continuing their pursuit of other relievers, including Andrew Bailey.
Please go ahead and gut whats left of your farm system for a closer coming off surgery to avoid the luxury tax.
JAP-
I like my lefties for the Stadium.
Betances can compete with Hughes and Nova.
If he somehow beats them out he’s in.
Fair enough ?
Got to run.
Hike day again today.
Have fun.
austinmac December 15th, 2011 at 9:30 am
I read the Toronto Star newspaper this morning. The paper certainly believes the Jays are very interested in Yu, and I bet that?s where he ends up.
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I have a feeling he’ll either end up there or with the Nationals
2 hikes in 2 days…doesn’t seem quite fair
Kate-
You know me. It never stops.
I’d love to have you by my side on the trail.
With the 2nd cutest dog in the world as well.
Later.
When I get back later today Darvish, Nakajima, and Soler better be ours.
Or else.
I want Soler!
The anticipation is killing me.. I wonder if its killing Yu.
The more I hear about Soler the more it seems like we’d be crazy NOT to take a shot on him. Like I said… Williams and Soler could make quite the dynamic duo in our OF in 2014 or 2015.
,The more I hear about Soler the more it seems like we’d be crazy NOT to take a shot on him. Like I said… Williams and Soler could make quite the dynamic duo in our OF in 2014 or 2015.”
And Santana! I’ve never seen the kid play at all…..but it sounds like the type of risk they should take…….both for the value and because of their needs.
“Soler power” is ready-made for John Sterling.
Wow, MTU. You have some pretty high expectations for today.
Soler power” is ready-made for John Sterling.
___
Unless he goes for the less obvious, “Soler….. is LOOSE”
MTU,
I’m not counting Hamels as a Yankee just yet. Not even going to think about him until/unless he becomes a FA.
hardwired7 December 15th, 2011 at 9:55 am
“Soler power” is ready-made for John Sterling.
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Haha, true, but will the old boy still be calling the games when the kid is ready?
If we like Soler, and I daresay, Cespedes, just sign them both. Last chance to grab these guys without penalty…
OF is not the strongest suit of this Yankee team (but I it sounds as though Cespedes, if he’s the real deal, would be able to make an impact sooner than Soler. The latter should be signed, any way, but his era may just coincide with Williams/Santana/Heathcott class. Our issue is the next couple of years, so if they think Cespedes has the goods at all, sign him, too.
blake – We should definitely focus on getting more guys developed for those outfield roles. We can control them cheap while we extend contracts on guys like Cano and its the one area where we actually have a lot of flexibility to improve before the Jeter/Arod contracts are up.
blake December 15th, 2011 at 9:23 am
Nakajima for Matt Cain! ……or is that too much?
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Nakajima is far too much to give up for Matt Cain
I’m curious, but not exactly breathless re the Darvish bid. Haven’t hooked into the YuDar cult, I guess
re: Darvish, from a majority of the reports it really looks like Toronto c-ckblocked the Yankees but bidding high, probably believing he won’t agree to pitch for the Jays….
*by bidding high.
Nakijima is here to make Yu Darvish feel more comfortable as a Yankee. The transition for Japanese players has been well documented.
Id love to see Hamels in pinstripes …….but there are a couple of concerns with putting all your eggs in that basket.
One of course is that he may never become a FA at all…..the Phillies could extend him at any time…..personally I think he will test the market but its far from a given.
Another is that even if you do sign him…..Jeter will be a year older……Arod will be a year older……Rivera may be retired…..etc and that does nothing to help in 2012.
Basically I think they should keep him in the back of their minds…..but at the same time I wouldn’t pass on something to improve now if it made sense just because of Hamels………you don’t pass on Dan Haren to wait on Cliff Lee……and Im not saying there is an opportunity like that out there again right now…..but if one arises then they shouldn’t wait around IMO.
MTU, Newman reportedly said attorneys in the DePaula saga think he’ll be getting his papers soon.
He is supposed to be a paragon of pitch variety, easy motion, velocity and command. If the advance is accurate, could be a knockin’ by 2014. Unfortunately, he’s lost a year because of the immigration stuff, but knock on wood sounds like it could be resolved finally. That would put another dynamite arm into the system and before long, at Trenton, where I can keep an eye on him.
“Nakajima is far too much to give up for Matt Cain”
Right now he’s not a Yankee…..if he signs though it becomes a big overpay
Villa Nova-Ya December 15th, 2011 at 7:27 am
Gary -
I don’t think they accept it. They have never been in rebuild mode (at least not officially, and certainly not full-blown). Each year their goal is to get better.
One of the problems is that over the years, since the early 2000?s you can see that they spent a lot of money and had the same issue – not progressing to and through the WS. Look at the FAs that were signed back then. It’s just a whole lot easier to say than to accomplish. The Yankees have won 27 WS and no other team is really close. But those 27 WS have come over, what, 70-80 years? That’s a lot of years that they have not won, and their mission (with the exception of the CBS years) has always been to win it all. GMS may have said it out loud, but it was always their goal.
In recent years, you can see that it is getting more and more difficult to sign the top players, because the league is so financially successful that other teams now have enough money to keep their own players and to have a fair shot in the FA market. And since other teams have won since the 90?s Yankees, players don’t feel that they must necessarily come to NY to get their ring (which I always hated anyway – oh, I need a ring so I’ll sign with the Yankees – I think THAT’S what did them in in the 2000?s, that attitude, and Brian Cashman seems to have recognized that and weeds those players out – the ones who don’t really want to play here). Plus with the WC, more and more teams are in the chase for a pennant spot later in the season, so the trade market isn’t what it used to be either.
It’s easy to sit here and say the Yankees should do this or that, but other teams have to be willing to deal, for one, and to deal reasonably for the other. I like that they don’t sell the farm anymore. And I like that they’re very choosy.
And like it or not, the Yankees are looking at their bottom line these days. For the money they’ve spent, you’re right, they don’t have enough to show for it – and I think they see that. Spending mroe money is not the answer. Being very careful about the money you spend is a good thing.
And you can do everything right – spend money wisely, make good trades, be choosy about the players on your team, etc., and STILL you may not win it all, because (1) it is hard to do, (2) these players are human, (3) “stuff” happens – like injuries; and (4) other teams want to win too and are not in existence to hand the Yankees championships on a silver platter.
Winning the WS is fun, but it’s not a Yankees birthright. Reasonably, if you root for a team that has a chance to win the WS every year, which the Yankees do, you’re in a really good spot.
And frankly, this team won the WS in 2009 and by the time the parade was over, most of the people here were already complaining. And that’s because it was seen as a “checklist” item and not the special thing it is.
—————
Kudos on your very accurate assessment in how baseball has changed the last decade or so.
Should be required reading for fans who think impulse spending and trades is a smart way to run this franchise. That strategy didn’t work very well in the 80s.
Just as a thought experiment –
Say Kevin DeLeon had been Cuban and was in the same position Cespedes and Soler are in now.
How much money would he have gotten just based on his physical ability and bat speed?
I’d guess 15-20M.
they didnt have solar power in the 30′s so john sterling has probably never heard of it. Unless there was a broadway show about it…
YESNetwork Did you know Babe Ruth reportedly wore a cabbage leaf under his hat? More whacky facts: http://bit.ly/uJZO0h
CB,
Haha good point, how about Montero or Gary Sanchez? They got nice bonuses when they signed with the Yanks but if they were Cuban? Wow..
players put cold pieces of cabbage under their caps to stay cool, cabbage is thick and holds its temperature for a long time. It was a common practice way back before air conditioning.
ya gotta wonder if too much cold cabbage under his cap caused brain-freeze when the Babe got thrown out stealing to end the 1926 World Series…
That’s interesting, Ys Guy. I’ve heard of celery juice being a good substitute for lack of air conditioning, but you have to drink it to get the desired result.
I’m fully prepared for the Yankees to not wind up with Darvish.
My plan going forward is this:
Sign Soler
Sign Cespedes
deal Romine, Nunez and a prospect pitcher to the Mets for Niese and Murphy
ideally I would like to deal AJ and a ton of his contract to someone (Marlins) for minor league depth but I don’t think it will be that easy – for the sake of this hypothetical I will.
Sign Kuo
Sign Ronny Cedeno
My roster:
Jeter – SS
Grandy – CF
Tex – 1b
Alex – 3b
Cano – 2b
Swisher – RF
Montero – DH
Martin – C
Gardner – LF
Bench: Murphy, Cedeno, Cervelli, Cespedes (until he displaces Gardner), Maxwell
Rotation:
CC
Nova
Garcia
Niese
Hughes
Pen:
Rivera, Sori, Robertson, Logan, Wade, Kuo
As to WHY teams that might trade for Nakawhatever did Not just win the paltry bidding, I believe it snuck up on a lotta these teams. There were the GM meetings, the Winter Meetings, Free Agents to consider evaluate, etc., and Agents of Free Agents to wrangle with over the phone, you also had several teams in flux with No Mgr and or GM. For a paltry $2.5 Mill, it’s gotta be “operator error” for a team Not to have won him at the bidding. The fact Nakawhatever’s agent has mentioned the sign-and-trade, tells me he has told the Yanks which team(s) to get on the horn. The groundwork has already been layed. I would think the Yanks would get better player(s) in return, were they to deal the MLB proven Nunez, but dealing Nunez would depend on the Yankee appraisal of Naka who has yet to face MLB Chuckers in the states. Maybe Naka played in those exhibitions over there that MLB players participate in, giving the Yanks and others a look-see?
I’m told my Darvish Bid Projections were extremely close to the figures that were filed as of 5pm yesterday. Bud has subpoened me to appear and show cause blah\blah\blah, but my mouthpiece has blocked it with a Diminished Capacity defense.
Chip – I could get on board with the majority of that plan…
TJGoertz Buzz is huge in Toronto RT @andrewmarchand: @KenDavidoff made the point that compared to Dice-K Darvish buzz is much more minimal. I agree.
There’s “buzz” that Toronto had a “whopper of an offer,” according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). Grant suggests the Rangers bid in the $40-49MM range.
I’ll even be willing to drop Cespedes from the plan (and roster) and pop in a 12th pitcher…
good luck Toronto. At that expense, you can have him.
patrick – Eagles came up on that website at 64% to win today
patrick – Eagles came up on that website at 64% to win today
—
Wooo!
Yeah I’m an Eagles fan, don’t hate me
I just can’t see the Yanks putting up a $50+ million bid.
May Toronto get Yu and keep Yu.. and spend the next 5 years ‘on the cusp’ as they have been for the last 10.
just can’t see the Yanks putting up a $50+ million bid.
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They basically print money so why would they bid anything less then 60? To be outbid by Texas or Toronto is a joke
Triple Short of a Cycle December 15th, 2011 at 10:51 am
just can’t see the Yanks putting up a $50+ million bid.
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They basically print money so why would they bid anything less then 60? To be outbid by Texas or Toronto is a joke
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These aren’t George’s Yankees anymore. Time to re-evaluate the way you judge them I fear.
The possible Toronto bid sounds like Vernon Wells $$$ all over again. I guess that’s why owners in all sports want a Hard Salary Cap. These guys just cannot refrain from ham-stringing themselves.
DONNY what happened to your projections
Triple Short of a Cycle December 15th, 2011 at 10:43 am
Interesting, if that is so then they have $ 40 million (low end) as a posting fee and $ 30 million committed to Greenberg which is due soon. $ 70 million and they haven’t even signed Darvish yet. WOW ! $ 140 – 160 before all is said and done ?
DKnobler MLB, union say committee on international signing rules will hold first meeting by Jan. 15
New Post
MLB ready to discuss international acquisition changes ?
New Post: MLB ready to discuss international acquisition changes
-Patrick-
My lawyer has recommended that I refrain from commenting on that subject till the pending litigation with Bud is resolved. And you guys thought that haircut was bad on TV? You oughtta see it in person.
My lawyer has recommended that I refrain from commenting on that subject till the pending litigation with Bud is resolved. And you guys thought that haircut was bad on TV? You oughtta see it in person.
—
You are funny