Well, this likely puts the cap on a very interesting offseason for our New York Yankees. It all started with an announcement of our GM Brian Cashman saying that we won’t pass the second threshold (cap space), after hearing that I knew we won’t be signing any real big name FA’s. However, we were still linked to trading for Yu Darvish, Trevor Bauer, Francisco Lindor, and Joe Musgrove. None of them ended up being Yankees, so much for that. I really wanted Bauer at first, but after I saw his HUGE price tag, I didn’t want him as much. Then, I got realistic and looked at possibly getting Trevor Rosenthal, that signing would’ve solidified our bullpen. Cashman says eh and signing Justin Wilson. He signed Jay Bruce, who’s supposed to be this HR smasher but didn’t even hit double-digits last year. Then, signs Robinson Chirinos…. but Gary Sanchez is supposed to be the next Thurman Munson. After all these signings, James Paxton goes back to the Mariners and that Yankees-Mariners trade now looks dumb. Now, it looks like we are going to resign Brett Gardner and we will yet again clog up the OF position and stump Clint Frazier’s growth. Oh, don’t forget Trevor Rosenthal is still on the market but Justin Wilson is just as good. Cashman is just settling for the small names and hope they become something, yikes. What a mess! Let’s dig in:

Yankees sign OF Jay Bruce

This is just a weird signing. On Saturday, the Yankees signed Journeyman OF Jay Bruce to a minor-league deal. Which is odd considering the fact we already have a stacked outfield. Bruce is left-handed HR hitter, and the Yankees have a weird obsession for lefties due to the Short Porch. Bruce is 33 years old and here were his 2019 stats, let’s go by those because 2020 does no one favors, besides Trevor Bauer:

– .216 Batting Average
– 26 HRs
– 59 RBIs
– 67 Hits
– 82 Strikeouts
– .261 OBP
– .784 OPS
– 98 GP

They are not that great and he’s honestly not someone I’d be willing to start on Opening Day. I’m really big on Clint Frazier, and I think if given the opportunity he will be a baller. Bruce had a disappointing batting average, decent HRs, decent RBIs, a lot of strikeouts, below average OBP, and he didn’t play too many game either. I don’t hate the signing but I will be very disappointed if the Yankees start him over Clint Frazier at a consistent rate. He hasn’t played at a good level since 2017.

Yankees sign C Robinson Chirinos

Another odd signing, last night the Yankees signed Robinson Chirinos to a minor league contract. I saw we acquired a catcher from the Astros and immediately thought Martin Maldonado, because that’s Cole’s favorite catcher, but he wasn’t the signing. We signed Chirinos instead of trading for Martin. Chirinos is more of a catcher than a hitter from what I have heard about him. This signing has to clearly show everyone that Gary is on thin ice and Cashman is getting as many catcher he can get to compete with Gary. I’m very surprised that Cashman is going this route with Gary since everyone thought he was the next Thurmon Munson, hehe. Here are Cole’s pitching stats with Robinson Chirinos catching him:
– 102.1 IP
– 2.46 ERA
– 10.4 K/BB

His hitting stats with the Houston Astros in 2019 aren’t too shabby but I don’t know if we should really trust it. Due to the fact that, there were trash cans involved. BANG BANG! Here were his hitting stats:
– .238 Batting Average
– 17 HRs
– 58 RBIs
– 87 Hits
– 125 Strikeouts
– .347 OBP
– .790 OPS
– 114 GP

Yankees sign LHP Justin Wilson

This is an intriguing signing, not a huge fan but it’s cool. As I said, I’m disappointed we didn’t sign Rosenthal instead but another lefty isn’t bad. Our bullpen looks way better than it did previously: Britton, Green, German, O’Day, Cessa, Nelson, King, Loáisiga, Wilson and Chapman. In my humble opinion, Rosenthal takes us over the top. I really need to get that point across. As we know, Justin Wilson used to be a Yankee until we traded him to the Tigers. These were his 2019 stats with the Mets:

– 4-2 Record
– 2.54 ERA
– 44 Ks
– 45 GP

Not bad, we’ll see how he does this year in the Bronx. We could use a good reliever right now, hopefully he’s that guy.

Mariners sign LHP James Paxton

This is a big time, wow we got fleeced move. We traded for Paxton two year ago and we traded Justus Sheffield, Erik Swanson, and Dom Thompson-Williams for him. Sheffield had a rocky start to his career but has started to turn a tide, Paxton was solid last year but he was a failure this year. We got some good starts out of him and I hope he gets his game together and becomes the pitcher he once was. We could’ve had Patrick Corbin instead, but I wish Pax the best and farewell! These were his stats in the two years he was with the Yankees:
– 16-7 Record
– 4.16 ERA
– 171.0 IP
– 212 Ks
– 34 GP

Nobody has signed RHP Trevor Rosenthal

This is probably the weirdest thing that’s happened this offseason. How in the world is Rosenthal not on a 40-man roster yet?! He just had an incredible season with the Royals and Padres. However, teams probably think it’s a fluke since he had a horrible 2019 campaign with a 13.50 ERA on 3 different teams. I hope it’s not a fluke because he had a really impressive season and wasn’t bad in the playoffs. I would still love for the Yankees to sign him, so we can officially solidify our bullpen and say we have the best bullpen in the game. Here were his 2020 stats:
– 1-0 Record
– 1.90 ERA
– 23.2 IP
– 38 Ks
– 23 GP

Where now for Brett Gardner?

This is a good question, and I have a sad speculation. Since, Cashman is going cheap I don’t think Gardy will get the contract he wants. Therefore, he may not sign with the Yanks. If he’s a true Yankee like Tanaka, his career may come to a close in 2021. Maybe he ends up resigning but if he doesn’t it’ll be the end of a great Yankee life. If he doesn’t sign, I think it’s official that Frazier will likely be a Opening Day starter in the outfield alongside Judge and Hicks. I hope he resigns and I hope he doesn’t stump anyone else’s growth, it’s been fun having Gardy Party in the Bronx. Here were his 2019 stats:
– .251 Batting Average
– 28 HRs
– 74 RBIs
– 123 Hits
– 108 Strikeouts
– .325 OBP
– .829 OPS
– 141 GP

Thanks for reading everybody. This has been Jose Calderon III with FiveBoroughDispatch, have a great day; everybody!