Prior to Opening Day, New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner kept the door open for prospective signings, possibly major ones.
Steinbrenner told the reporters Thursday that he was open to any trade offered by GM Brian Cashman that would help the team. While he declined to comment on any specific free players, he did state that the Yankees were still looking to improve, despite the fact that the organization had exceeded the luxury tax.
“I’m just going to continue to tell you that we’re looking at a lot of different options,” Steinbrenner said, according to Chris Kirschner and Brendan Kuty of The Athletic. “Given our current wage situation, any addition to the team will be pricey. I’m still open to anything Cash and his team bring my way. I will leave it at that. “We’re not done trying to improve this team.”
Steinbrenner fueled the speculation by admitting that the depth of the team’s starting rotation is “somewhat concerning.”
These remarks are relevant as long as players like Blake Snell remain on the market. The Yankees have been linked to Snell for much of the winter, but they have not been willing to provide the reigning NL Cy Young winner the type of long-term contract he is seeking. According to recent sources, the Yankees may still consider Snell if he agrees to a short-term deal.
If the Yankees make another deal, starting pitching appears to be the most important issue they want to address. Marcus Stroman was the team’s key offseason acquisition in that category, but after setting loftier goals earlier in the summer, they may still be interested in acquiring an ace-level pitcher.
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Expansion debates and attitude modifications.
Good afternoon, everyone. It’s time to get back into the mailbag and address some of your questions. Remember to give us your questions for our weekly call at pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.
Thor14 inquires: How did Yankee prospects fare in winter ball?
If you missed it over the winter, our own Kevin Winterhalt provided a weekly breakdown of the Yankees’ results in Arizona; you can find the final recap here. To summarize, the Yankees’ hitters, Caleb Durbin and Benjamin Cowles, delivered terrific performances. Durbin, a middle infielder, was one of seven players to have an OPS above 1.000 and terrified the basepaths with 21 thefts while being caught only twice.
Cowles had a.956 OPS, falling just short of becoming the eighth member of that record, and he launched four bombs in 20 games. Aside from them, the Yankees sent out a squadron of pitchers with mixed success, the most noteworthy of which was Matt Sauer, who was selected in the Rule 5 Draft by the Royals.
Fivetwos asks: Expansion appears to be a hot issue these days, and given the possible windfall for the owners, it is likely to occur within the next five years. Which cities are the most deserving, and how might the division structure and playoff format look?
When it comes to expansion markets, I believe North Carolina is the best bet — whether it’s in Asheville, Charlotte, or Raleigh, there are a plethora of solid locations that could support a team and provide another option for the American Southeast, which has long been Braves country by default. Nashville would also suit the bill in this way, with Dave Stewart spearheading the charge there. San Antonio is also frequently mentioned in expansion discussions, and while I’m sure the Texas market could handle three professional teams, I’m not sure I’d want to see another club relocate there, but they’re a popular option.
Re-opening a franchise in Montreal is also a constant topic of discussion, but there’s a lot of baggage associated with how the Expos left, and I’m not sure how to handle reintroducing a successor to their legacy, especially given that Olympic Stadium, their old home, had aged significantly even by the standards of the time.
In terms of realignment and playoff formats, MLB has a number of choices if and when they need to deal with this problem.
They’ve pushed hard for playoff expansion in recent years, and the latest CBA discussions showed that the owners clearly want to push the envelope even further, but I’d rather they give us some time to work out the kinks with the existing system in place. I dislike the best-of-three format for the Wild Card in comparison to the one-game dramas, and if we’re going to persist with it, I’d prefer that this round become a genuine series and at least match the LDS at five games.
This might work well with the addition of two franchises, resulting in a four-division arrangement with the top two teams receiving byes and two lower division champions competing for two wild cards. It’s essentially the structure that the NFL used until a few years ago, and I believe it was a stronger format than the one they currently use. MLB will most likely add more teams and spoil this picture, although it would be wonderful.
Keiter71 asks: Many shocking photographs of Stanton. Clearly, he dedicated himself to being leaner than ever before. Did he make any alterations to his swing? What are his prospects of bouncing back? I always root for Big G. I’m thinking average-wise.235 home runs; 27 RBIs; 82 runs. What do you have over there?
It’s early, and guys are going to try a lot of things that may not work, but I’ve noticed Stanton smoothing out his stance in the box rather than taking his front-foot forward approach. We’ll see if that, his weight loss, or a mix of the two leads to stronger performances from him, but the longevity element is the most important consideration when betting on his season totals. A more mobile Stanton, who isn’t lumbering as much, may be able to avoid the nagging leg issues that have plagued him so frequently during his Yankees career, allowing his savage power to come through even with some of the heft from his enormous frame shaved away.
We’ve all witnessed Stanton blasts that seem like he just flicks the ball out of the stadium – I’d believe that power will remain even if his frame changes drastically. RBI are too unpredictable a category to bet on, and I believe a.235 average would be a near-top percentile performance for Stanton at this point in his career, but I’ll go over on home runs, albeit marginally. I believe he’s good for approximately 25, with the potential to add a significant amount more if he sticks around the entire year.
The moron who stated, “Harper is coming” asks: Is it just me, or does it appear that we’re hearing a lot more discussion about a championship than we have in the last several years? Cashman, Stanton, and Soto… I’ve heard that from numerous players. This year, it appears like there is a greater degree of concentration and attention on that goal.
I believe there are several elements at play here, but two are particularly essential. First, the pressure is certainly on to perform after the club has only regressed in terms of championship prospects over the last several seasons, and the core continues to age out of their prime years. In my opinion, the most important thing is that they acknowledge that they were kicked in the face last year.
It’s easy to believe that teams like the 2022 Yankees or the 2019 roster were undone by a few unlucky events, but there are no excuses for failing to make the postseason at all, as they did in 2023. They weren’t even close, and September was irrelevant.
The 2008 setback taught the squad to come back with a vengeance as the Empire reborn in 2009, and while this offseason didn’t quite match in terms of the number of players added, the front office went all in with the Soto trade and pursuit of Yamamoto. Sometimes removing the garbage and admitting your own failure can be the most important aspect in future improvement, and I hope the Yankees learned that lesson for 2024.
