The Yankees on Tuesday signed utility man Bill Hall to a minor league contract.  Hall by all accounts is a good guy, he is also one of CC Sabathia best friends.  They were teammates in Milwaukee, it will be interesting to see if he and Eduardo Nunez will both make the team or will Hall be the utility guy and they still could sign Eric Chavez.  I wonder now if they will not look at Chavez at all with Hall in the mix and go with him and Nunez to play the infield positions.  The Yankees last major act of the off-season will be to sign a lefty hitting DH.  The talk has been about Raul Ibanez, Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui.  The reports coming out on Tuesday were that the Yankees and Ibanez were getting close to a deal.  I think that would be a pretty good move but I would like to see Matsui or Damon back in the Bronx.  They both have had success there and there is something to be said for that.  Ibanez did play in Philadelphia but there is nothing like New York.  I am sure he can handle it but in a hitters park in Philadelphia his numbers were pretty down last year and he is 40 years old.  Lets stay tuned to see how this plays out, I would expect them to sign someone by the end of the week or beginning of next week.

I will start looking into the upcoming season and start reporting on the news out of spring training as the baseball season will be here quickly.  If you have any questions, comments please feel free to contact me through the comments on the site.  I can also be reached @gmarchesej if you are on twitter.  If you would like to email me please do so at gmarchesej@aol.com  Thank you for reading and I appreciate all of your support. 

Hall’s deal comes with an opt out option if he does not make the Major Leagues by April 4 but if he does make it he can earn $600K and more with incentives.

Hall batted .211/.261/.314 sharing time between the Houston Astros and the San Francisco Giants playing mostly second base. In 2010, Hall hit 18 home runs with the Boston Red Sox and could benefit from hitting coach Kevin Long this season.

I do think that I like the idea of Ibanez DH’ing a little more than I do Damon, but neither one is going to stop me from incessantly beating the “upgrade the offense” drum over the next several weeks or months.

Why Ryan Braun?

This is one of those questions worthy of that blank stare when your teacher/professor/manager/etc. asks you a painfully obvious question.  Anyway, Braun is one of the truly elite hitters in the game and an improving player overall.  A career .312/.371/.563 hitter with a .402 wOBA, Braun could step into the Yankees lineup and immediately surpass Robinson Cano as the best hitter on the team.  Since his rookie year in 2007, Braun has not only posted three .400+ wOBA seasons, but he has increased his BB% and decreased his K% each season.  In other words, we still may not have seen the best Braun has to offer.  His glove work isn’t quite as impressive, but his UZR numbers suggest that he has improved as he has gained more experience in the outfield.  I have no doubts that Braun could manage the real estate in front of the short porch at Yankee Stadium without a problem.

Thinking about Braun in Yankee pinstripes definitely gets your juices flowing, but let’s reign it in a bit and get back to the real world.  Braun is signed through 2020.  Not a typo – 2020. If the Yankees were serious about acquiring Braun they would pretty much have to empty out the top shelf of their system.  Dellin Betances, Manny Banuelos, Mason Williams, Gary Sanchez…most, if not each, of those players – plus more perhaps – would have to head over to Milwaukee if Braun is to ever be Bronx bound.  Guess what though?  I’d be perfectly fine with this and after the initial shock, most Yankees fans would warm up to it as well. Braun and Cano would form one of the most electric duos in the middle of the order along with the customary supporting talent. You know what else?  The Yankees would build their system back up.  It would take time obviously and it would be more challenging under the new CBA, but there would be enough firepower in the lineup and in the rotation to carry the team to World Series contention for the next several years.  In this hypothetical situation, Braun is clearly the type of elite bat that a team should empty the farm for.

Why MIGHT the Milwaukee Brewers Trade Ryan Braun

Certainly everything I wrote above makes it seem impossible for the Brew Crew would move Ryan Braun, but as the saying goes, “everyone has a price”.  The only reason the Brewers would entertain dealing Braun though – at any price – is if they needed to embark on a complete rebuilding project.  Let that sink in for a minute…….Where are the Brewers headed these days?  With the departure of Prince Fielder and Braun’s 50 game suspension*, 2012 is likely a lost season.  After this season 40% of the starting rotation (Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum) are likely headed for free agency.  They’ll just fill holes from within, right?  Well, the Brewers cleaned out their system to bring Greinke and Marcum aboard in trades and are currently building it back up.  Heading into 2011, Baseball America tagged the Brewer’s organization with a No. 30 ranking.  Also known as dead last.  It might have improved a bit since then, but it could still use plenty of help.  Combine those two points with the fact that it would take a minor miracle for the Brewers to beat out the competition for a playoff berth, and it is safe to call their World Series window slammed shut.

The Brewers would probably say that they still have Rickie Weeks and Yovanni Gallardo adding to the foundation (maybe they’d even throw Corey Hart’s name into the mix) and that they don’t need to rebuild.  I would call their bluff.  They would be embarking on a long road of mediocrity before another serious opportunity presented itself. Perhaps they would prefer that road over a complete overhaul, but mediocrity is like quicksand.  Once you get stuck it’s hard to get out and the harder you try the deeper you sink.  Of course the fans and front office people in Milwaukee probably don’t (want to) agree with me, but everyone is entitled to his or her opinion.

Final Thoughts

The New York Yankees are no stranger to big names and bold moves.  If there is a chance to add a perennial All-Star to the mix, they have no problem parting with top prospects to do so.  There are growing concerns regarding the potency of the Yankees lineup over the next few seasons and Ryan Braun would go a long way to alleviating those concerns.  By now you might be thinking to yourself “this guy needs to come back to reality” and perhaps you’re correct.  I wouldn’t put this type of mega-move past the Yankees though.  The organization has been..”tamer”..since George Steinbrenner relinquished full control, but their commitment to championships has not wavered.

*I am not concerned with Ryan Braun being a “tainted” player nor am I suggesting that the Milwaukee Brewers should be more willing to trade him due to this recent “steroid” issue.

There is a new, shiny toy that Yankees fans are falling in love with though.  A young ballplayer oozing with athleticism and in possession of substantial raw ability has taken hold of much of the spotlight that Montero left behind upon his departure.  I’ll cut the suspense because I’m confident that most of you have realized that I’m speaking about outfielder Mason Williams.  Not only has Williams – on the strength of a stellar performance in his first sitting of pro competition – emerged from the shadow cast by Montero and the Killer B’s in his own organization, but he is quickly emerging as a “household prospect” around the league as well.  Jon Heyman tweeted that he’s hearing “raves” about Williams and also mentioned that the Seattle Mariners asked about him in the Pineda-Montero negotiations.  Clearly, Williams is making some noise around the game.

This is my first official warning to all of the fans preparing to attach themselves to the next “Baby Bomber”- or those already attached as I type this:  Mason Williams could easily be the next blue chip prospect traded in a blockbuster deal – and possibly sooner than you would imagine.

If you want a detailed scouting report, David Gershman does a good job and you can check it out here.  If you want a brief version, I’ll hook you up.  As I mentioned above, Williams has a ton of athleticism and tools.  There is absolutely no question regarding his speed and his ability to play defense.  His hitting potential is respected as well.  The main question about his game is if he will develop any power as his 6’0″ 150 lb frame (I’m sure he’s tacked on a few pounds over the past year or so) fills out.  Scouts and other baseball people are so seduced by his athleticism and potential at this point that future power is not much of a concern right now.  This is why I think that the fans falling in love with Williams’ prospect hype could find themselves heartbroken sooner rather than later.

Power is certainly only one aspect of the game.  It might be the loudest, most captivating and most profitable, but there are several other ways to achieve success on the diamond.  With that said, you have to ask yourself what type of player, realistically, do the Yankees have in Williams if he doesn’t develop more pop down the road?  Brett Gardner?  Juan Pierre?  Baseball America’s 2011 Prospect Handbook drops Doug Glanville’s name in Williams’ scouting report.  To be fair, most scouting reports cite more athleticism and more “electricity” from Williams than those guys, but he hasn’t played an inning against full-season competition yet.  That makes it hard to sit here and project that a 20-year old fresh off of his first season in the New York-Penn League is going to be better than guys who have played in the bigs for over a combined 20 seasons. This brings up the main question: if Willliams is ultimately the “next” Gardner, Glanville or Pierre, how important of a prospect is he to the Yankees?

Forgive me if it seemed as if I was trying to knock any of the three guys I mentioned in the paragraph above.  That was absolutely not my intention.  Let’s be honest though, how excited about Williams would you be if you looked into a crystal ball and saw that Williams was simply Brett Gardner 2.0?  That isn’t a bad thing by any stretch, but it’s certainly not worth the hype that is building around Williams.  If this figures to be the case – and that is still a significant “if” – it makes sense for the Yankees to include him as the centerpiece or a co-centerpiece in a blockbuster deal while teams are still drooling as they dream over the potential.  The Yankees will have the best idea of what type of player Williams will become and despite what they say to outsiders, only they will know what type of role Williams has or doesn’t have with the organization.

Of course there is the chance that Williams does add a little loft and significant strength to his stroke over the next couple of seasons.  Would we be talking about a young, pre-San Francisco Giants Barry Bonds?  Ha, probably not, but maybe someone in the mold of Shane Victorino or Jacoby Ellsbury (minus the 32 HR power.)  If the Yankees ended up with a 23-24 year old Shane Victorino-type that they could keep under team control through his age 29-30 season, I’d be thrilled with that and I imagine the majority of Yanks fans would be too.

Even though I acknowledged that power is far from the only important aspect of a player’s game, I think Mason Williams’ future as a New York Yankee will eventually hinge on the type of power he develops and projects to possess as a Major Leaguer.  If the Yankees’ player development department can make the necessary tweaks and improvements to get Williams into that .420-.430 slugging range with 12-15 HR to compliment his plus-plus speed and Gold Glove potential they will have a player perhaps even more “untouchable” than Jesus Montero was.  If they’re looking at a player very similar to Brett Gardner though (again no disrespect intended), then I think they may pull the trigger on a deal while the buzz his still hot.

The Yankees ace is CC Sabathia.  He is a great pitcher and an even better person.  CC is here for the long term and should retire a Yankee.  I wouldn’t expect much less then 200+ innings, a 3 or so ERA and plenty of wins.  The number two pitcher would seem to be Michael Pineda who the Yankees gave away their top positional prospect for.  Pineda has all the tools and plenty of potential.  The problem with Pineda of course is that he has only been in the majors one year and needs to prove it.  He also needs to stay healthy, the Yankees want to work with him on his changeup.  He has a great fastball and a good slider, most want to see that third pitch.  If he is able to have three pitches he will be a number one or two starter at worst.  I think this was a good trade for the Yankees and one they had to made.

Ivan Nova is a guy who if he continues to progress can be a number two or three starter.  On the Yankees in 2012 he may be a third but probably a fourth starter.  The Yankees signed Hiroki Kuroda who is a risk coming west to east and NL to AL but he seems to be a pretty good number three starter.  I could see Nova and he flip flopping but for now I would put Kuroda at three and Nova at four.

The fifth starter is where this gets tricky, the Yankees have A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia.  Burnett is a high priced veteran with immense talent.  The problem for Burnett is he has never lived up to it and will have to earn it this season.  Garcia is a solid five starter, he will win 12-15 games and give you innings but get hit hard by some of the good teams.  Phil Hughes is somewhat of a mystery because of the terrible year he had.  He is someone the Yankees still envision as a number two or three starter who can win 15-20 games a year.

I would say that Burnett will probably win the job and Hughes will go to the bullpen along with Garcia at this point.  I think Garcia can be the long man and spot starter and Hughes has bullpen experience.  I don’t think Burnett could go to the bullpen and it doesn’t look like the Yankees can trade him unless they eat a huge portion of his salary.  The Yankees could also trade Hughes but his value right now is so low it wouldn’t be  a wise move.  The other possibility is that someone or more then one gets hurt.  I would let this all play out in the spring and see what happens.  It is also possible that someone doesn’t work out and they have to adjust.  It isn’t neccessarily a bad thing to have so many pitchers although right now it looks like it is.  The

“If they’re playing a big shift, I might lay some bunts down this year.  I’ve been so against it my entire career, [but] I might lay down a few bunts. If I can beat the shift that way, that’s important.”

Now everyone knows that the New York Yankees aren’t paying Mark Teixeira to bunt, but the main point is that he is thinking about ways to improve his production.  Maybe he lays a few bunts down in Spring Training just to put it in the opposition’s scouting reports.  I’m not sure you’ll see any bunts laid down in the regular season though.  If you catch every inning of every game, maybe you’ll catch one or two attempts, but I’d even bet against that.  You could argue that opposing teams would prefer Teixeira to bat 1.000 on bunt singles than for him to play his normal game – even if his batting average was at .249.

What we will see though is Teixeira taking what’s given to him more often.  In pitcher’s counts, we’ll see more instances of him settling for a single through the left side instead of the strikeout or pop up that have become too familiar over the past couple of seasons.  Theoretically, a line drive single with the bases empty has the same impact as a bunt single in the same situation.  However, consistent line drives singles through a shift will eliminate the advantage of a shift more quickly than a handful of bunt singles.

I’m confident that Mark Teixeira put in the necessary work this offseason to address his putrid batting averages.  I’m also confident that any adjustments that Teixeira makes are not going to take away from his ultimate strength – run production.  As I mentioned above, the New York Yankees pay Teixeira to make the scoreboard light up – not to hit singles.  More ducks on the pond over the course of the season will undoubtedly be a plus for the Yankees, but they don’t want Teixeira wearing out his Ichiro Suzuki impression.