The LoHud Yankees Blog

This seems relevant, given recent discussion about Yu Darvish, Hiroyuki Nakajima and a pair of Cuban outfielders… Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Union released a joint statement this morning announcing plans for a committee to discuss changing the way international free agents flow into the Major League system. No decisions have been made yet, but here’s the press release with some bullet points about things the committee will discuss.

New York, NY, Thursday, December 15, 2011 … In accordance with the recently negotiated Basic Agreement, the Major League Baseball Players Association and Office of the Commissioner today announced their respective appointees to the International Talent Committee responsible for discussing the development and acquisition of international players.

MLBPA Executive Director Michael Weiner and MLB Executive Vice President for Labor Relations and Human Resources Rob Manfred are co-chairs of the committee, and per the Basic Agreement each appoints three members to the committee.

Joining Weiner on the committee are MLBPA Director of Player Relations Tony Clark, MLBPA Senior Advisor Rick Shapiro and MLBPA Special Assistant Stan Javier, while Kim Ng of the Commissioner’s Office, Sandy Alderson of the New York Mets and Andrew Friedman of the Tampa Bay Rays join Manfred.

By agreement, the Committee will hold its first meeting on or before January 15, 2012 and will meet twice a month thereafter to discuss issues related to the development and acquisition of international players, including but not limited to:

• If there is an international draft, whether international players should be part of a single worldwide draft (including players currently covered by the Rule 4 Draft) or a separate draft (or drafts).

• The appropriate age at which international amateur players should be signed to professional contracts.

• If there are to be multiple drafts, whether players from Puerto Rico should remain in the Rule 4 Draft or instead be part of an international draft.

• The development of appropriate country-by-country plans for playing and development opportunities for players prior to draft eligibility.

• The development of appropriate plans to provide undrafted or unsigned players (including players age 18 to 21) from Latin America with an opportunity to continue their development, including the creation of a new league or leagues, or the addition of centrally-operated Clubs in the Dominican Summer League (“DSL”).

• Whether and how regulations should be put in place regarding representation of international amateur players (e.g., “independent trainers” and agents).

• Improving the education and acculturation programs of Clubs at their international academies.

• What safeguards should be established in relation to any signing bonus payments made to international amateur players.

• The laws of the countries from which international players are signed and how those laws should affect the actions of the parties.

• What actions are necessary in order to achieve the negotiation of a revised agreement between MLB and the Mexican League that allows players greater choice of where to play and promotes a fair and open system of player movement.

• What actions are necessary in order to achieve the negotiation of revisions to the protocol agreements with the Korean Professional Baseball League, the Japanese Professional Baseball League, and the Taiwan R.O.C. League to accommodate a draft.

• How Cuban players should be treated under an amateur talent system in light of the legal and political factors that affect their signability.

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.

It could take a few days before anyone knows the winner of the Yu Darvish sweepstakes. Adam Kilgore reports that the choice could be announced tonight or early tomorrow, but ultimately, the Nippon Ham Fighters have time and can decide for themselves when to make an announcement.

The Yankees reportedly put in a bid. I haven’t heard any confirmation that they definitely did, but I also have no reason at all to doubt George King. Regardless, the current expectation is that the Yankees might not have been willing to commit the kind of money it will take to win the negotiating rights.

Jeff Passan — whose done a nice job following Darvish this winter — reports that the highest bid will be accepted, no matter the amount.

I have to assume that the Red Sox are the competing team you’re all most interested in, and they reportedly did not enter a bid at all, so they won’t be adding Darvish.

• Joe Girardi and Robinson Cano were in the Christmas spirit today, helping at the Yankees annual Holiday Food Drive. “Coming from a poor country, this really means a lot to me, especially in the situation right now,” Cano told Bryan Hoch. “The economy is really down. These are the kinds of things I always like to (do), help other people.”

• Although he was a closer last year with the Astros, Mark Melancon might end up in a setup role with the Red Sox. Boston is still in the market for a Jonathan Papelbon replacement.

• The Red Sox also added utility infielder Nick Punto (another player I covered in Scranton). He’s tremendous defensively, and probably helps fill the void left by Jed Lowrie being sent away in the Melancon deal.

• One last Red Sox note: Don’t rule out the idea of them carrying Jason Varitek as a third catcher next season. Hey, it worked for the Yankees.

• Sticking with the AL East: The Rays did not bid on Darvish.

• Take J.C. Romero off the left-handed relief market. He’s apparently heading to St. Louis. 

Associated Press photo

I know everyone is camped out at home, having secured bottles of water and plenty of candles, ready to wait indoors until the Yu Darvish winner is announced. While you’re waiting, turn on the television.

Derek Jeter is going to be featured tonight on ABC, named one of the “Most Fascinating People of the Year.”  You can watch that tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET.

Before that, turn to YES Network at 8 p.m. ET to see Yankees Access featuring Robinson Cano. Jack Curry profiles Cano’s trip to Taiwan, showing the incredible reception both Robinson and his father — who played professionally in Taiwan — receiving during this winter’s exhibition series.

What’s done is done.

The posting period for Yu Darvish ended at 5 p.m. ET, which means all of the bids are in. Now we wait for an announcement and a decision. As you might expect, calls to Brian Cashman’s office and cell phone went quickly to voicemail as I’m sure the Yankees general manager is getting plenty of calls right about now.

If the Yankees say anything definitive about their Darvish interest, it will be now that the bidding has closed. Even then, this organization usually keeps its cards pretty well hidden.

It is amazing how thoroughly expectations have changed. Not so long ago, the Yankees were seen as a favorite. Now they seem like bit players, engaged only to make sure the price doesn’t fall lower than anyone expects.

Associated Press photo

The Yankees can’t offer Andruw Jones an everyday job, and they wouldn’t want to. Their regular outfield is full, Jones’ left-right splits are significant, and the Yankees are strictly looking for a reserve outfielder who can hit lefties. They liked what Jones did last year, and Brian Cashman has made it clear that the Yankees would be interested in bringing him back.

Question is, do they need to make that happen sooner rather than later?

Jones is reportedly a fallback option for the Rockies should they miss out on better everyday options in right field. Jones’ overall slash line last season was pretty good — .247/.356/.495 — and although his batting average against right-handers was terrible, he hit for some power against them.

In a thin outfield free agent market, is it possible Jones would be able to find more playing time outside of the Bronx? If so, it adds pressure for the Yankees to make a move.

Associated Press photo

Former Yankees reliever Mark Melancon is on the move, and this time he’s moving to the other side of the game’s biggest rivalry.

Ken Rosenthal reports that Melancon has been traded to the Red Sox in exchange for utility man Jed Lowrie and pitcher Kyle Weiland.

Long considered an underperforming prospect with the Yankees, Melancon finally had big league success last year in Houston where he went 8-4 with a 2.78 ERA and 20 saves as the Astros replacement closer. He was originally shipped to Houston at the 2010 trade deadline as part of the Lance Berkman deal.

I touched on it late last night, but here are more details about the Major League Baseball’s new labor deal. All of this comes straight from The Associated Press, which obtained a copy of the deal yesterday. Some of these will be noticeable changes, but none strike me as unreasonable.

Instant replay
MLB wants to expand replay to include fair-or-foul calls, “whether a fly ball or line drive was trapped” and fan interference all around the ballpark. Umpires still must give their approval and it’s uncertain whether the extra replay will be in place by Opening Day.

All-star break
The All-Star break will be expanded to four days, rather than the traditional three-day gap. The five-year deal says starting in 2013 that MLB “shall have the right to elect to switch the All-Star game from Tuesday to Wednesday and the Home Run Derby from Monday to Tuesday.” Sixty-nine of 82 All-Star games have been played on Tuesday, according to STATS LLC.

Number changes
Players must tell the commissioner’s office by July 31 of the preceding year if they want a new jersey. That is, unless “the player (or someone on his behalf) purchases the existing finished goods inventory of apparel containing the player’s jersey number.” As in, every replica jersey, jacket, T-shirt, mug and anything else with a number that’s anywhere in stock.

Schedule
The deal includes a new schedule format starting in 2013, when there will be six five-team divisions, with no more than 20 interleague games per team. Teams will play 17 or 18 times against division opponents, with the exact format still to be worked out. Along the same lines, the AP also reports that teams in the same division can play one another in the playoffs before the league championship series.

Scoring decisions
The deal also bans players and team officials from asking official scorers to reconsider decisions — clubs must instead send video to MLB to appeal calls — and increases punishments for slow-moving hitters and pitchers, raising pace-of-game fines up to $10,000 each for the sixth violation and beyond.

Odds and ends

• Now, all players on 40-man rosters are assured of single rooms during spring training. They’ve had that perk during the regular season since 1997.

• The agreement says “no player may have any visible markings or logos tattooed on his body” as part of the uniform regulations. “Just trying to head something off at the pass,” said Rob Manfred, baseball’s executive vice president for labor relations.

• Eliminating a practice of some teams, there is a prohibition on “taxi squads” — calling up players from the minors and not activating them. Also, teams may only invite players to offseason minicamps if they are not yet eligible for salary arbitration.

• Possible suspensions for intentionally throwing a ball or equipment at non-uniformed personnel with the intention of causing bodily harm; for assaulting fans, media or umpires; or for making public statements that question the integrity of the game, the umpires, the commissioner or the commissioner’s staff.

• The agreement calls for nicknames written on equipment to “not reasonably likely to offend fans, business partners, players and others associated with the game.”

• For the postseason, the sides agreed to negotiate on tiebreaker rules — do teams tied for the last wild-card berth meet on the field, or will the tie be broken by a formula?

It’s been a year since Russell Martin agreed to a free agent contract with the Yankees. He’d been injured and non-tendered, and the Yankees swooped in with a one-year deal worth $4 million. Because Martin was a Super 2 eligible for a fourth year of arbitration, the Yankees had the added benefit of holding the rights to Martin for 2012 as well.

It’s now clear the Yankees plan to keep him around for at least one more season.

“There’s no debate about how good Russell is that he should be the guy (starting at catcher next season),” Brian Cashman said during last week’s Winter Meetings. “But at the same time, it’s important for our future to make sure (Jesus) Montero continues his development because he has a chance to be something spectacular at that catching position.”

The Yankees are committed to Montero as a catcher. There are no plans to movehim to the outfield, and Cashman said he doesn’t expect Montero to get much time at first base during spring training. The expectation is that he’ll get a lot of time at designated hitter next season, and he’ll do a fair share of work behind the plate where the Yankees believe he’s steadily getting better.

But the catching job still belongs to Martin, who last season stayed healthy, hit for power and developed a total-confidence reputation with the pitching staff.

“We have a tremendous catcher in Russell Martin,” Cashman said. “He’ll be our catcher. We have a player with such a high ceiling in Jesus Montero that needs to catch and continue finishing off his development as a catcher. I expect him to catch a lot this spring, and I would think that he’ll continue that development as a catcher in-season as well at the Major League level.”

Associated Press photo

Before we get into the links, The Associated Press is reporting some of the changes in baseball’s new labor contract.

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball’s new labor contract includes more video replay, the chance for a longer All-Star break and a small, but likely welcome perk for players: the chance to get a private room instead of a roommate during spring training.

The Associated Press obtained the document that includes several changes, many of them starting next year.

Teams from the same division will now be allowed to meet in the playoffs before the league championship series. There’s also a ban on players getting tattoos with corporate logos and the possibility that major leaguers can wear microphones during games.

• In a reader poll over at MLBTradeRumors, the Yankees were picked as the favorites to sign Yu Darvish, but the Yankees themselves are creating the exact opposite impression, saying they like Darvish but don’t want to pay the lofty cost to acquire him.

I realize this seems odd coming from the Yankees, but this is the impression they’ve been making — both publicly and privately — all winter. Maybe it’s a misdirect, but right now this doesn’t look like a winter of heavy spending, and Darvish certainly counts as heavy spending.

• Lou Piniella is reportedly on his way back to the Yankees to serve as a special instructor in spring training and as an occasional analyst on the YES Network.

• Didn’t take Greg Golson long to land on his feet. The former Yankees outfielder — released just a few days ago — has already signed a minor league deal with the Royals.

• Speaking of former Yankees, Jose Veras has been traded from the Pirates to the Brewers for third baseman Casey McGehee (meant to mention this yesterday). Veras was pretty good for Pittsburgh last year, but the Pirates traded him before paying him more money through arbitration.

• The Twins have reportedly come to an agreement with Josh Willingham (or maybe they’re just close to an agreement) but you have to assume Willingham takes them out of the mix to re-sign Michael Cuddyer.

• I know how much all of you love Dallas Braden: He’s agreed to a one-year deal with Oakland, avoiding arbitration.

Assocaited Press photo