The LoHud Yankees Blog

The Yankees passed along information about tomorrow’s Yankees Holiday Food Drive at Yankee Stadium. Joe Girardi and Robinson Cano will be on hand to help with donations. Here’s the release from the Yankees with all of the details.

The New York Yankees will continue another great tradition this holiday season with the 18th annual Yankees Holiday Food Drive, presented by White Rose Foods. On Wednesday, December 14, between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. at Gate 2 at Yankee Stadium (corner of 164th Street and Jerome Ave.), any fan bringing at least 30 pounds of non-perishable food will receive a voucher good for two (2) complimentary Grandstand or Bleachers tickets or two (2) half-price tickets in select general seating areas* to one of 22 designated games during the 2012 regular season.**

Joe Girardi and Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano (arrival time TBA) will be on hand to assist in collecting food items. The Yankees, in conjunction with Bronx clergy, will distribute the food throughout the Bronx to those in need. To help kick off the Yankees Food Drive, White Rose Foods and Domino – along with their Good Neighbor Brands General Mills, Unilever, ConAgra, Smucker’s, Barilla, Nestle, Red Gold, Georgia Pacific, Pinnacle, Motts and Kraft – will donate over 40 pallets of food (approximately 60,000 lbs).

Fans driving to the Stadium may pull up to Gate 2 to drop off their donation. Rice and bottled water will not be accepted.

WHAT: The 18th annual Yankees Holiday Food Drive

DATE: Wednesday, December 14, 2011

TIME: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

PLACE: Yankee Stadium — Gate 2

* Excludes Audi Yankees Club, Legends Suite, Delta SKY360° Suite, Champions Suite, Jim Beam Suite, Luxury Suites and Party City Party Suites.

** Designated Games: 4/16/12 vs. Minnesota; 4/17/12 vs. Minnesota: 4/18/12 vs. Minnesota; 4/19/12 vs. Minnesota; 4/30/12 vs. Baltimore; 5/1/12 vs. Baltimore; 5/2/12 vs. Baltimore; 5/8/12 vs. Tampa Bay; 5/9/12 vs. Tampa Bay; 5/10/12 vs. Tampa Bay; 5/21/12 vs. Kansas City; 5/22/12 vs. Kansas City; 5/23/12 vs. Kansas City; 6/5/12 vs. Tampa Bay; 6/6/12 vs. Tampa Bay; 6/7/12 vs. Tampa Bay; 8/27/12 vs. Toronto; 8/28/12 vs. Toronto; 8/29/12 vs. Toronto; 9/18/12 vs. Toronto; 9/19/12 vs. Toronto; 9/20/12 vs. Toronto.

Just a few names that standout from yesterday’s long list of non-tendered players. To various degrees, these new free agents might make sense as targets for the Yankees. As always, that’s only true if the price is right.

LHP Jose Mijares
Twins
He’s a 27-year-old lefty, hence the potential match for the Yankees. Once upon a time Mijares was pretty highly touted, but his numbers are trending the wrong direction. He had a 0.87 ERA in a short big league stint in 2008, then a 2.34 in 2009, 3.31 in 2010 and 4.59 in 2011. Perhaps most importantly, lefties hit .253/.330/.368 against him last season, not nearly as good as the .155/.228/.252 they hit against him two years ago.

OF Ryan Spilborghs
Rockies
He hit just .210 last year, and his splits the past two years have not been very good. But, Spilborghs is right-handed, he can play all three outfield positions, and he has a career .273/.357/.443 hitter against lefties, which isn’t too shabby. He could be a cheap alternative to that platoon outfield spot on the bench (but the Yankees are probably better off trying to get Andruw Jones to come back).

LHP Doug Slaten
Nationals
Like a lot of these guys, any interest in Slaten would surely depend on the contract, but he’s a left-hander, and the Yankees are looking for left-handed depth. The bad news is that lefties hit .333/.368/.639 against Slaten last season. The more intriguing news is that lefties hit .151/.235/.151 against him in 2010.

LHP Hong-Chih Kuo
Dodgers
A lot of the lefties you see on this list fit a similar profile: Bad last year, good the year before. Kuo was knocked around last year, with lefties hitting .289/.396/.489 against him. In 2010, he held lefties to a .095/.159/.111 slash line.

INF Jeff Keppinger
Giants
He’s not quite at David DeJesus status, but Keppinger always seems to be a popular topic of emails and chats. He’s a nice player, with some defensive flexibility and a solid bat for a utility infielder. He would make sense for the Yankees primarily as a backup at third base — with the ability to play second, short and a little bit of the outfielder — but he’s coming off a .255/.285/.333 season that’s quite a bit below his career numbers. With Eduardo Nunez and possibly Hiroyuki Nakajima already in the mix, the Yankees don’t have a pressing need for Keppinger, but he’s a nice player who seems popular in some corners of the fan base.

LHP Joe Saunders 
Diamondbacks
After paying him $5.5 million last year, the Diamondbacks cut ties with Saunders despite a solid 3.69 ERA through 33 starts last season. He’s not a big strikeout guy, but he throws from the left side — with decent career splits against lefties — and he had a few solid years in the American League when he was pitching with the Angels. Could be a back-of-the-rotation or a lefty/long reliever candidate if the price is right.

LHP Aaron Laffey
Royals
The Royals claimed Laffey off waivers from the Yankees in October, only to non-tender him in December. Some of Laffey’s potential value comes from the fact he’s a left-hander with rotation experience, meaning he could — in theory — serve as a second lefty and also a second long man. But the Yankees didn’t seem overly impressed the first time around, and I doubt they’d want him back on anything but a minor league deal.

A few fairly small non-Yankees moves that might be of interest.

• The Reds have reportedly agreed to a deal with former Yankees top draft pick Andrew Brackman. And the shocker is that it’s a big league deal. I’m fairly certain Brackman is out of options, and there’s little about his Triple-A season to suggest he’s ready to play a role in the Majors, but Brackman’s a good guy who seems to work hard, so all the best to him. If he can bounce back to 2010, the Reds might have something.

• Speaking of former Yankees, the Mets have reportedly agreed to a deal with former Yankees reliever Jonathan Albaladejo. After being stuck in Triple-A through most of 2010, Albaladejo went to Japan this season. The Mets seem like a good opportunity for him, even with all of their Winter Meetings additions.

UPDATE: Nevermind, didn’t see Joel’s second tweet. Apparently Alby landed with the Diamondbacks, not the Mets.

• Up in Boston, the Red Sox have reportedly agreed to a deal with backup catcher Kelly Shoppach. It’s significant around here only because it’s the Red Sox, and because it makes you wonder whether Jason Varitek is finished.

After yesterday’s decision to non-tender no one, the Yankees roster sits at 40 players, a full mix of high-dollar veterans and unproven prospects. Depending on offseason additions — perhaps an Andruw Jones-type, or an additional rotation candidate, or Japanese infielder Hiroyuki Nakajima — the Yankees will probably to open a few spots before spring training. For now, here’s the 40-man roster, loosely grouped by player status.

Veteran players on multi-year deals 
A.J. Burnett, CC Sabathia, Rafael Soriano, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson

Burnett is signed through 2013, Granderson and Cano have team options for 2013 and Soriano has a player option for 2013. The rest are signed beyond next season (including Jeter’s player option for 2014). Not surprisingly, this group makes up the core of the Yankees including their ace, their MVP candidates, their top free agent signing from last winter and their heart of the order.

Veteran players in their final contract year 
Freddy Garcia, Mariano Rivera, Nick Swisher 

Garcia signed a one-year deal, Rivera is the second year of a two-year contract, and Swisher just had his 2012 option picked up. Depending on Garcia’s performance, Rivera’s desire to keep playing and Swisher’s price tag, the Yankees might or might not bring these three back beyond 2012.

Arbitration eligible
Joba Chamberlain, Brett Gardner, Phil Hughes, Boone Logan, Russell Martin, Dave Robertson 

Some of the Yankees key, young players are starting to make serious money through arbitration. This will be Logan’s third year of eligibility, the second year for Hughes and Chamberlain, and the first year for Gardner and Robertson. Martin came to the Yankees last winter having one last arbitration year remaining.

Young, established players not yet arbitration eligible
Ivan Nova, Cory Wade, Francisco Cervelli, Eduardo Nunez, Ramiro Pena 

These five have a year’s worth of big league experience, but they’re still making nearly the minimum as players not yet eligible for arbitration. Pena is kind of the outlier here as a guy who does not seem to be in line to win a roster spot out of spring training. Nova has clearly established himself as the biggest name of this group, while Wade is the only one who’s not homegrown.

Prospects
Dellin Betances, George Kontos, D.J. Mitchell, Hector Noesi, David Phelps, Kevin Whelan, Jesus Montero, Austin Romine, David Adams, Corban Joseph, Brandon Laird, Zoilo Almonte, Melky Mesa

Easily the largest group, it’s made up of players without a full year of big league experience, ranging from guys with some big league playing time to guys with no experience beyond Double-A. Of this group, obviously Montero and Noesi are poised to make the most significant, immediate impact. Mitchell, Phelps, Almonte, Adams and Joseph were added to the roster this winter.

Players without options
Cesar Cabral, Brad Meyers, Chris Dickerson, Justin Maxwell

Two Rule 5 pitchers and two out-of-options outfielders. There’s a solid chance none of these four will still be in the organization on Opening Day, but right now, there’s also a chance any one of them — maybe more than one — could make the team as a role player. Cabral is a lefty, Meyers is a potential long man, and both Dickerson and Maxwell have the ability to play all three outfield spots as bench players.

Likely out for the season
Pedro Feliciano 

After shoulder surgery late last season, Feliciano’s two year deal looks like a complete loss for the Yankees. He didn’t pitch at all last year, and he’s not expected to pitch at all next year.

Exactly one year ago, December 13 started just like any other day of the offseason up to that point. That means it started with the Yankees waiting for a Cliff Lee decision.

“Dude, I got no idea,” Brian Cashman said that morning. “In terms of when are they going to make a decision, when they do, the whole world will know.”

The whole world knew much later that night — just a few minutes before midnight, actually — when news began to break that Lee was on the verge of a deal with the Phillies. The Yankees and Rangers had been heavy favorites, but Lee’s affection for Philadelphia was a game-changer.

“Plan B is patience,” Cashman said the next day. “The one thing The Boss has taught me personally is the fact that you have to get in the arena and fight. Sometimes you win the fight and sometimes you lose the fight… We’re not down and out at all.”

In the end, Cashman was right. The Yankees settled for a series of smaller names and smaller contracts to fill their rotation, and that decision — in some ways — led to the emergence of Ivan Nova and the discovery of Freddy Garcia. Losing out on Lee was a blow, and certainly the Yankees would feel better about their rotation going forward if they had him under contract, but the Phillies got no closer to the World Series than the Yankees did.

One year ago, December 13 was certainly not a good day for the Yankees, but it wasn’t the crushing blow many expected at the time.

Associated Press photo

Earlier today, The Associated Press moved this update on Freddy Garcia’s contract.

NEW YORK (AP) — Freddy Garcia can make up to $5,575,000 with the New York Yankees.

The 35-year-old right-hander is guaranteed $4 million under the one-year contract that was finalized Friday. He would make $250,000 each for 25, 27, 29 and 30 starts, plus $275,000 for his 31st start and $300,000 for his 32nd start.

Garcia was 12-8 with a 3.62 ERA in 25 starts and one relief appearance last season. He had a $1.5 million base salary and made an additional $1.85 million in performance bonuses for a total of $3.35 million.

• Adding to the ongoing question of John Danks as a potential trade target, Jon Heyman tweeted today that the White Sox have asked for two of Jesus Montero, Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances. I believe earlier reports said Montero and Banuelos, but subbing Betances for one of those two probably doesn’t make much of a difference. Still a huge price to pay.

• Writing about today’s non-tender deadline, good friend Tim Britton — did some Yankees coverage for MLB.com two years ago — looked at the acquisition and current role of Alfredo Aceves in Boston.

• Ken Rosenthal reports that the Rockies are being aggressive in their pursuit of Michael Cuddyer. He’s another guy who had some Yankees fans attention before the Yankees made it clear they weren’t spending big on a bat this offseason.

• The Blue Jays picked up a solid fourth outfielder today, trading for the Phillies Ben Francisco. Toronto gave up reliever Frank Gailey in return.

• Albert Pujols’ wife isn’t thrilled with the St. Louis Cardinals. 

Associated Press photo

The Yankees have announced that outfielders Colin Curtis and Greg Golson have cleared waivers.

Curtis was outrighted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Golson became a free agent.

With all of their arbitration-eligible players expected to play key roles next season, the Yankees have tendered contract offers to everyone on their roster. Brian Cashman has confirmed that the team will have no non-tenders this offseason. The 40-man roster still stands at 40 players.

By now you’ve heard all about Yoenis Cespedes, the YouTube sensation who became a household name almost overnight because of his bizarre scouting video and intense internet hype. And of courses you know Yu Darvish, the Japanese starter that was posted last week and might be the best pitcher available this winter.

But Cespedes and Darvish aren’t the only international players who who could land high-dollar contracts this offseason.

Another Cuban outfielder, Jorge Soler, isn’t nearly as hyped as Cespedes, but he’s younger — only 19 years old — and could be an impact player in the future. According to Baseball America:

Six-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Soler has explosive bat speed and power potential. He also has plus speed and arm strength and profiles as a classic right fielder, though he runs well enough to play center. Because of his youth, he’ll need some time to develop, but he should be worth the wait.

Given the Yankees current outfield needs — with much greater need for an affordable bench player than a high-dollar starter — would Soler make sense as an offseason target? The Yankees system is fairly thin in the outfield corners, and Soler would certainly fill that hole with a potentially impact bat.

Given the new CBA international spending restrictions that come into play next year, Soler is a name worth knowing (even without the YouTube hype).

The big pieces are steadily coming off the free agent market. Today, Aramis Ramirez has reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with the Brewers.

When the offseason started, I got a few emails and chat questions about the possibility of the Yankees  signing Ramirez to be their designated hitter/third baseman, essentially sharing those two spots with Alex Rodriguez. Very quickly it became obvious that the Yankees weren’t planning to spend that kind of money — or get into that sort of long-term commitment — to fill such a role.

So it looks like Ramirez will go to Milwaukee to try to fill some of the void left by Prince Fielder’s free agency. Of course, in Milwaukee, the Brewers have bigger issues at the moment…