Looks like the Yankees are close to a deal for Javier Vazquez.
37 replies on “Welcome Back Old Friend?”
Looks like it’s Melky and Mike Dunn for Boone Logan and Vazquez.
Looks like they are also giving up Arodys Vizcaino as well. 19 year old pitcher from the DR and the #5 prospect in the Yankees org.
Arodys numbers in Staten Island:
GS:10 IP:42.1 ERA:2.13 WHIP:1.157 K:52
Mrs. Krueg is going to be crushed…I don’t even want to tell her. :(
Here’s what they have on him:
Strengths: Arm strength. Loose arm action. 89-96 MPH fastball, curveball. Athleticism.
Weaknesses: Changeup. Durability. Fastball command.
Comments: Short and athletic pitcher with quick arm action that allows for plenty of projection. FB and CB give him two plus pitches with high DOM potential. Can be too aggressive and inefficient by overthrowing and going for Ks. Needs to focus on CU to succeed at higher levels, but offers high upside.
MLB Debut: 2012
I just want to say that Cashman is consistently outstanding at making deals. One of, if not the best in the game. I don’t think that’s hyperbole.
Hard to argue with this, if true. Loved Melky for being Melky, and wonders if it’ll affect Cano, but always been a huge Vazquez fan, as they gave him only one year to do anything the last time around. Hopefully his experience will come in handy nowadays..
1 year left on his contract for ~11 mil. Tons of flexibility for next year..
I wonder if the Yankees will be looking to extend Vazquez, depending on what he wants.
If not, at least he’ll give them two high draft picks, because I can’t imagine them not offering him arbitration.
now to target an outfielder…getting greedy
This is a good move, but lets not get out of control here. There are very few teams willing to eat 11 million dollars for a guy who has had his AL moments, and STILL send prospects to the giving team.
If Vazquez is able to reapeat his performance the last time in NY, he will be a great addition to the back of this rotation, but he’s not better than Pettitte, Burnett, or CC. This swings the “better on paper” rotation back to NY, IMHO.
Actually, there are a lot of teams who could eat $11 million for one year. And this isn’t about eating salary, it’s more about getting one of the best pitchers in the NL.
I have no clue what the Braves are thinking. You’d think they could get better than Melky, Dunn and Vizcaino simply by offering Vazquez arbitration. Or at least wait until midseason, when there would be more teams willing to give up prospects to get them over the hump.
Either Cashman is a great dealmaker, or anyone who deals with him turns into an idiot.
This also means that Damon is coming back, or another OF is in the mix that we haven’t heard.
The Yankees would be crazy to march Granderson, Gardner, and Swisher out there on a team worth 230 million doallrs, and I don’t believe they will at all.
Anyone see Johnny Damon on WWE last night? I don’t watch it, but apparently he made out with a really old lady and made himself look like a bigger fool than he really is. Johnny must really be hurting for cash at this point.
Speaking of Vazquez and Damon, Sox fans love those guys, too…
—————————— http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA200410200.shtml
Top of the 2nd, Red Sox Batting, Ahead 2-0
Javier Vazquez replaces Kevin Brown pitching
BOS J. Damon Home Run (Fly Ball); Millar Scores; Mueller Scores; Cabrera Scores
Vazquez is better than Pettitte. Now he just needs to prove that he can be better than Pettitte in NY.
Why would they be crazy to march those outfielders out there?
Swisher put up a 129 OPS+. Granderson will likely bounce back towards his career 113 OPS+. Yeah, Gardner sucks offensively, but by most accounts he’s a defensive wizard. And Hoffman, a righty, can platoon with him. Hoffman is also described as very strong defensively.
Honestly, I think the Yankees would love to have that defensive alignment in the outfield. Even Swisher is a slightly above-average fielder.
I agree Andrew, but I think the Braves are desperate to cut payroll, and Lowe is basically unmoveable. Desperation begets desperation, so in that much, I’ll agree that Cashman took advantage of a bad situation.
And instead of “able” i did use a more realistic adjective in “willing”. If the Red Sox ate another 11M dollars and sent prospects for a guy who is the epitome of NL success, I wouldn’t be happy about it at this point. I’m not poo-pooing the guy at all, as I have agreed that he’s a great addition, I just don’t think it’s as much of a robbery as you do. If the Phillies made this move, it’s a steal, but an AL team should be ready for his normal regression to this league and the pressure that comes with it.
It’s just my opinion, and again, I think it’s a good move.
I wonder if Paul is going to redo his ‘compare the starting rotations’ post.
The Yankees gave up what equates to realistically a 4th OF’r on most teams, a LHP who was formerly an OF’r and is a work in progress and a 19 year old (???) from DR who won’t be ready until 2013. In addition to a guy who had a sub 4.00 ERA, a WHIP of 1.14 AND 206 K’s in 203 innings, they got a 25 year old proven ML lefty reliever. I don’t think by any means they overpaid or let the Braves off the hook. Vizcaino could be the stud people think he will be, but he’s 19 and years away from being ready, he’s far from a slam dunk. I like the deal, it’s fair on all sides.
Wow! This is great…I think. That’s my first reaction. Of course, as Hudson (helpfully?) brings up, we don’t have the greatest memories of Javier here, but he’s been a tremendously valuable and durable pitcher during most of his career.
Yeah, I like the move.
Also, I’m leaning toward liking this move more because of Brad’s reaction to it. He seems to consistently underrate the players the Yanks acquire (see Swisher last year and Nick Johnson this year).
Those numbers are wrong for Vazquez, they were far better in 2009 than what I posted.
Javier Vazquez was a true ace in 2009. Of course, he was in the NL. But he was ridiculously good last year.
2.87 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 9.8 K/9…
I like it too Nick. Sentimental, man crush me wanted Sheets, but Vazquez is the better move. Now let’s work on LF, whether that be DeRosa or an Abreu-ish type deal for Damon, the Yankees can’t go into the season with Gardner in LF, nor do I think they would. Nobody loves Gardner more than this guy, but I am not really ready to see what he can do over 500+ AB’s quite yet.
Olney is now reporting no Vizcaino in the deal.
He is in the deal, Olney just didn’t mention him, probably because he’s not on a 40-man roster like the others are.
I would imagine he’d have to be…right? Why else would the Braves make that trade? I think you are right Andrew.
hopefully this doesn’t turn into a shitfest in violation of our gentleman’s agreement at brad’s request not to poop on each other’s transactions…in brad’s defense here, he did say this is a good acquisition…he just doesn’t think it’s a big steal…that’s all…it filled a yankee need, and we didn’t give up a lot…i’m happy with it, even as i said on the other thread, being realistic, my memories of javy’s last round with us were not all fond ones…thanks for that additional reminder hudson ;) we’ll see…in the meantime, in that paper game we like to play in the off season, the yanks just closed the gap a bit with the sox starting pitching…
Now, all the Yankees need to do to replace the loss of Vizcaino is sign Chapman…he’d slide nicely right behind Montero in their prospect rankings.
Sabathia
Lester
Vazquez
Beckett
Burnett
Lackey
Pettitte
Matsuzaka
Hughes/Joba
Buchholz
What a fun matchup. I do think the Sox still beat the Yankees in their top 3, but the Yankees easily close that small gap with Pettitte vs. Matsuzaka
“…Now, all the Yankees need to do to replace the loss of Vizcaino is sign Chapman…”
yeah, what’s another 20-25m?…
Exactly dc, exactly…although it would be more like $4 or $5 million a year for 5 years, and if they gave that to Kei Igawa, they can surely give it to Chapman.
Nice move for the Yanks. I think Gardy in center and moving Granderson to left is a good move, at least defensively. Gardy hit an OK .270, which could improve with better health and job stability. A .345 OBP guy with speed at the #9 spot is nothing to complain about.
Curious: Is Miguel Cabrera still on the trading block? I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Sox go after him now.
New YanksFan to the site as a poster.
The rotations look more even now, it’ll really come down to who stays healthy.
Sabathia vs Lester: I’m saying Lester is now the Sox’s true #1, he’s still young enough to improve, but will be less consistent and durable than Sabathia. Yanks edge
Vazquez vs Beckett: Beckett has proven himself to be more capable of pitching in the AL, despite Vazquez’s monster 2009. Yanks have had a easier time getting to Beckett lately, but Sox still get the edge here.
Burnett vs Lackey: Lackey had been a top starter on one of the top 3 teams in the AL for a while, while Burnett is still in my mind a #4 starter at best who strikes out a lot of batters. Sox get the edge here too.
Pettitte vs Matsuzaka: Pettitte is nothing if not consistent, while Matsuzaka is an injury risk with terrible control. Who really knows what to expect from Dice-K? Yanks edge
Hughes vs Bucholtz: I’m putting Hughes in as the #5 starter out of hopes that the Yanks will let him have a real chance at it this year. We can expect him to have a few rough outings while also having a few solid starts. The Yanks have to allow him to develop, though, and their depth this year should help in that. Bucholtz really started to show growth as a starter last year, I expect a solid season from him. Sox edge here.
What gives the Yanks an advantage overall is their depth (still have Gaudin, Chamberlain, and Mitre while the Sox have Wakefield). The Sox have more injury risk with their starters (Matsuzaka, Wakefield, Lackey has had a few issues the last couple of seasons) and less options in the case of an injury or meltdown.
it’s a steal. Melky was totally disposable following the Granderson trade – Gardner will be the fourth OF/defensive replacement.
They gave up a legit prospect, a bullpen arm, and a fifth wheel for a guy who received finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting last year. It’s a steal by any measure.
Going to be interesting to see how this one turns out. Vazquez had one good year out of four in the AL, but you can’t fault Cashman for making this deal for the little he had to give up.
Perhaps Atlanta knows they’ll be hard-pressed to compete this year – no way they beat the Phillies – and knowing he’s a free agent next year, they took what they could get.
“it’s a steal. Melky was totally disposable following the Granderson trade – Gardner will be the fourth OF/defensive replacement.
They gave up a legit prospect, a bullpen arm, and a fifth wheel for a guy who received finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting last year. It’s a steal by any measure.”
…and for a fourth starter??? No brainer.
37 replies on “Welcome Back Old Friend?”
Looks like it’s Melky and Mike Dunn for Boone Logan and Vazquez.
Looks like they are also giving up Arodys Vizcaino as well. 19 year old pitcher from the DR and the #5 prospect in the Yankees org.
Arodys numbers in Staten Island:
GS:10 IP:42.1 ERA:2.13 WHIP:1.157 K:52
Mrs. Krueg is going to be crushed…I don’t even want to tell her. :(
Here’s what they have on him:
Strengths: Arm strength. Loose arm action. 89-96 MPH fastball, curveball. Athleticism.
Weaknesses: Changeup. Durability. Fastball command.
Comments: Short and athletic pitcher with quick arm action that allows for plenty of projection. FB and CB give him two plus pitches with high DOM potential. Can be too aggressive and inefficient by overthrowing and going for Ks. Needs to focus on CU to succeed at higher levels, but offers high upside.
MLB Debut: 2012
I just want to say that Cashman is consistently outstanding at making deals. One of, if not the best in the game. I don’t think that’s hyperbole.
Hard to argue with this, if true. Loved Melky for being Melky, and wonders if it’ll affect Cano, but always been a huge Vazquez fan, as they gave him only one year to do anything the last time around. Hopefully his experience will come in handy nowadays..
1 year left on his contract for ~11 mil. Tons of flexibility for next year..
I wonder if the Yankees will be looking to extend Vazquez, depending on what he wants.
If not, at least he’ll give them two high draft picks, because I can’t imagine them not offering him arbitration.
now to target an outfielder…getting greedy
This is a good move, but lets not get out of control here. There are very few teams willing to eat 11 million dollars for a guy who has had his AL moments, and STILL send prospects to the giving team.
If Vazquez is able to reapeat his performance the last time in NY, he will be a great addition to the back of this rotation, but he’s not better than Pettitte, Burnett, or CC. This swings the “better on paper” rotation back to NY, IMHO.
Actually, there are a lot of teams who could eat $11 million for one year. And this isn’t about eating salary, it’s more about getting one of the best pitchers in the NL.
I have no clue what the Braves are thinking. You’d think they could get better than Melky, Dunn and Vizcaino simply by offering Vazquez arbitration. Or at least wait until midseason, when there would be more teams willing to give up prospects to get them over the hump.
Either Cashman is a great dealmaker, or anyone who deals with him turns into an idiot.
This also means that Damon is coming back, or another OF is in the mix that we haven’t heard.
The Yankees would be crazy to march Granderson, Gardner, and Swisher out there on a team worth 230 million doallrs, and I don’t believe they will at all.
Anyone see Johnny Damon on WWE last night? I don’t watch it, but apparently he made out with a really old lady and made himself look like a bigger fool than he really is. Johnny must really be hurting for cash at this point.
Speaking of Vazquez and Damon, Sox fans love those guys, too…
——————————
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA200410200.shtml
Top of the 2nd, Red Sox Batting, Ahead 2-0
Javier Vazquez replaces Kevin Brown pitching
BOS J. Damon Home Run (Fly Ball); Millar Scores; Mueller Scores; Cabrera Scores
Vazquez is better than Pettitte. Now he just needs to prove that he can be better than Pettitte in NY.
Why would they be crazy to march those outfielders out there?
Swisher put up a 129 OPS+. Granderson will likely bounce back towards his career 113 OPS+. Yeah, Gardner sucks offensively, but by most accounts he’s a defensive wizard. And Hoffman, a righty, can platoon with him. Hoffman is also described as very strong defensively.
Honestly, I think the Yankees would love to have that defensive alignment in the outfield. Even Swisher is a slightly above-average fielder.
I agree Andrew, but I think the Braves are desperate to cut payroll, and Lowe is basically unmoveable. Desperation begets desperation, so in that much, I’ll agree that Cashman took advantage of a bad situation.
And instead of “able” i did use a more realistic adjective in “willing”. If the Red Sox ate another 11M dollars and sent prospects for a guy who is the epitome of NL success, I wouldn’t be happy about it at this point. I’m not poo-pooing the guy at all, as I have agreed that he’s a great addition, I just don’t think it’s as much of a robbery as you do. If the Phillies made this move, it’s a steal, but an AL team should be ready for his normal regression to this league and the pressure that comes with it.
It’s just my opinion, and again, I think it’s a good move.
I wonder if Paul is going to redo his ‘compare the starting rotations’ post.
The Yankees gave up what equates to realistically a 4th OF’r on most teams, a LHP who was formerly an OF’r and is a work in progress and a 19 year old (???) from DR who won’t be ready until 2013. In addition to a guy who had a sub 4.00 ERA, a WHIP of 1.14 AND 206 K’s in 203 innings, they got a 25 year old proven ML lefty reliever. I don’t think by any means they overpaid or let the Braves off the hook. Vizcaino could be the stud people think he will be, but he’s 19 and years away from being ready, he’s far from a slam dunk. I like the deal, it’s fair on all sides.
Wow! This is great…I think. That’s my first reaction. Of course, as Hudson (helpfully?) brings up, we don’t have the greatest memories of Javier here, but he’s been a tremendously valuable and durable pitcher during most of his career.
Yeah, I like the move.
Also, I’m leaning toward liking this move more because of Brad’s reaction to it. He seems to consistently underrate the players the Yanks acquire (see Swisher last year and Nick Johnson this year).
Those numbers are wrong for Vazquez, they were far better in 2009 than what I posted.
Javier Vazquez was a true ace in 2009. Of course, he was in the NL. But he was ridiculously good last year.
2.87 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 9.8 K/9…
I like it too Nick. Sentimental, man crush me wanted Sheets, but Vazquez is the better move. Now let’s work on LF, whether that be DeRosa or an Abreu-ish type deal for Damon, the Yankees can’t go into the season with Gardner in LF, nor do I think they would. Nobody loves Gardner more than this guy, but I am not really ready to see what he can do over 500+ AB’s quite yet.
Olney is now reporting no Vizcaino in the deal.
He is in the deal, Olney just didn’t mention him, probably because he’s not on a 40-man roster like the others are.
I would imagine he’d have to be…right? Why else would the Braves make that trade? I think you are right Andrew.
hopefully this doesn’t turn into a shitfest in violation of our gentleman’s agreement at brad’s request not to poop on each other’s transactions…in brad’s defense here, he did say this is a good acquisition…he just doesn’t think it’s a big steal…that’s all…it filled a yankee need, and we didn’t give up a lot…i’m happy with it, even as i said on the other thread, being realistic, my memories of javy’s last round with us were not all fond ones…thanks for that additional reminder hudson ;) we’ll see…in the meantime, in that paper game we like to play in the off season, the yanks just closed the gap a bit with the sox starting pitching…
Now, all the Yankees need to do to replace the loss of Vizcaino is sign Chapman…he’d slide nicely right behind Montero in their prospect rankings.
Sabathia
Lester
Vazquez
Beckett
Burnett
Lackey
Pettitte
Matsuzaka
Hughes/Joba
Buchholz
What a fun matchup. I do think the Sox still beat the Yankees in their top 3, but the Yankees easily close that small gap with Pettitte vs. Matsuzaka
“…Now, all the Yankees need to do to replace the loss of Vizcaino is sign Chapman…”
yeah, what’s another 20-25m?…
Exactly dc, exactly…although it would be more like $4 or $5 million a year for 5 years, and if they gave that to Kei Igawa, they can surely give it to Chapman.
Nice move for the Yanks. I think Gardy in center and moving Granderson to left is a good move, at least defensively. Gardy hit an OK .270, which could improve with better health and job stability. A .345 OBP guy with speed at the #9 spot is nothing to complain about.
Curious: Is Miguel Cabrera still on the trading block? I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Sox go after him now.
New YanksFan to the site as a poster.
The rotations look more even now, it’ll really come down to who stays healthy.
Sabathia vs Lester: I’m saying Lester is now the Sox’s true #1, he’s still young enough to improve, but will be less consistent and durable than Sabathia. Yanks edge
Vazquez vs Beckett: Beckett has proven himself to be more capable of pitching in the AL, despite Vazquez’s monster 2009. Yanks have had a easier time getting to Beckett lately, but Sox still get the edge here.
Burnett vs Lackey: Lackey had been a top starter on one of the top 3 teams in the AL for a while, while Burnett is still in my mind a #4 starter at best who strikes out a lot of batters. Sox get the edge here too.
Pettitte vs Matsuzaka: Pettitte is nothing if not consistent, while Matsuzaka is an injury risk with terrible control. Who really knows what to expect from Dice-K? Yanks edge
Hughes vs Bucholtz: I’m putting Hughes in as the #5 starter out of hopes that the Yanks will let him have a real chance at it this year. We can expect him to have a few rough outings while also having a few solid starts. The Yanks have to allow him to develop, though, and their depth this year should help in that. Bucholtz really started to show growth as a starter last year, I expect a solid season from him. Sox edge here.
What gives the Yanks an advantage overall is their depth (still have Gaudin, Chamberlain, and Mitre while the Sox have Wakefield). The Sox have more injury risk with their starters (Matsuzaka, Wakefield, Lackey has had a few issues the last couple of seasons) and less options in the case of an injury or meltdown.
it’s a steal. Melky was totally disposable following the Granderson trade – Gardner will be the fourth OF/defensive replacement.
They gave up a legit prospect, a bullpen arm, and a fifth wheel for a guy who received finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting last year. It’s a steal by any measure.
Going to be interesting to see how this one turns out. Vazquez had one good year out of four in the AL, but you can’t fault Cashman for making this deal for the little he had to give up.
Perhaps Atlanta knows they’ll be hard-pressed to compete this year – no way they beat the Phillies – and knowing he’s a free agent next year, they took what they could get.
“it’s a steal. Melky was totally disposable following the Granderson trade – Gardner will be the fourth OF/defensive replacement.
They gave up a legit prospect, a bullpen arm, and a fifth wheel for a guy who received finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting last year. It’s a steal by any measure.”
…and for a fourth starter??? No brainer.