Bronx Spenders
There are a few signs that winter is upon us; the weather turns cold, it gets dark earlier, and the Yankees spend a lot of money. You can add these events to death and taxes, and this year should be no different.
With Jason Giambi, Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Carl Pavano, Bobby Abreu, and Ivan Rodriguez all having their contracts expire, the Yankees lost about $86 million in committed salaries from the end of the ’08 season. $86 million.
Some of that will get redistributed to players already on the roster, such as raises for Alex Rodriguez, Xavier Nady, Robinson Cano, and Chien-Ming Wang. However, even if the Yankees just maintain a $205 million payroll (a $5 million decrease from 2008), they’ll still have about $65 million to spend even after taking care of the guys already under contract.
What can they buy for $65 million this winter? How about CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte to fill the rotation with a side of Mark Teixeira to play first base? Or if Sabathia decides he doesn’t want to pitch in New York, they could try to get both A.J. Burnett and Ryan Dempster for a similar cash output.
Or, they could take a flyer on Ben Sheets‘ health and use the money saved on the rotation to go after Manny Ramirez, who could team with Teixeira to return their line-up to the most fearsome in the game.
Regardless of which way they decide to head, and who ends up taking their money, it seems clear that the Yankees are going to land at least two big name free agents this winter, and it could easily be three or four. There’s no doubt that Scott Boras has his eye on the Bronx as a cash cow for the free agents he represents, and we’re likely going to see some big money press conferences in the next few months.
The Evil Empire is about reload.
Dave is the Managing Editor of FanGraphs.
It is scary on the surface, however they have tryed this method before and faltered. Sabathia would be key, but locking more and more money up in guys who will spend the majority of their deal north of 30 is simply not the way to win anymore. And as great as an addition Tex would be, think back to what their 2004 lineup looked like on paper, and they still didnt win the Series.
Define “faltered.” Do you mean have one of the best run differentials in baseball, but fail to win the World Series in the crapshoot that is the MLB playoffs?
That is exactly what I am referring to. You can not buy a championship which is the end result is it not? While I agree the playoffs are a crap shoot, it is hard to simply slug your way to a championship. And maybe I am wrong but I figured the article was being penned with regards to them spending towards winning a title.
A raise for Alex Rodriguez?! What are you talking about? He makes 27 million dollars a year, where are you coming up with saying that he will get a raise? The same goes for Cano. He just got a raise last year to the tune of 30 million and promptly hit .260 this year. Stick to the Mariners
Alex Rodriguez Salary, Per Cot’s Baseball Contracts:
2008: $27M
2009: $32M
Robinson Cano:
2008: $3M
2009: $6M
Those look like raises to me, Scott. These things take <2min to look up, so please stick to, you know, not posting stupid comments on FanGraphs.
Nice backhanded insult thrown at Dave though. Seriously, what is up with the posting lately? I don’t see why the logical, informed, courteous readers of this site have disappeared in the past month or two in favor of these rude morons. Sucks, really.
Scott-
Cano made $3million in 2008. He will make $6million in 2009. That’s a raise.
A-Rod made $27million in 2008. He will make $32million in 2009. That’s also a raise.
You only look foolish when you make comments like that.
I can’t recall off hand if this is true, but I believe a team is not allowed to sign more than 3 type A free agents. I don’t believe it includes retaining one’s own FA’s, however.
Mike P and I posted at the same time (that’s why we wrote the same thing), and I agree with the last part of his comment as well. Dave’s bad readers seemed to have followed him here.
@Mike Ketchen
You acknowledge the playoffs are a crapshoot (Which, they most definitely are). A team goes on a hot streak at the right time and it can take the championship. All a GM can do is try to put together a team that scores more runs than it gives up. Not trying to sound like Billy Beane here, but after that, it’s luck – a GM can’t really make his players go on a hot streak in the playoffs. Yes, the Yankees have “faltered” since 2001 by not winning a World Series. No, this “failure” has nothing to do with their acquisitions of Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, and Mike Mussina.
And don’t forget that Bonds’ perjury trial could be over before Opening Day!
If they sign Teix, they might actually have 3 infielders that can actually field! imagine that!
Considering the complete lack of acceptable alternatives and the massive difference in glove work, Teix might be a even higher priority than CC.