5 BOROUGH SPORTS

Oh god not Pavano!

Yes the Yankees actually almost signed Carl Pavano! Thank god they didn’t and that’s all on that situation…

The 2011 offseason in Major League Baseball has been highlighted by anyone but the Yankees. Any talk has been about how they have done nothing, and how they are in big trouble. So today I will go through all the moves they’ve made and discuss my opinions of what they have done, and what they need to do to get over the top this season.

The first step of the offseason for the Yankees was re-signing Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter. Although the dealings with Jeter got a bit rocky for a while, in the end it worked out. The contracts for both players might have been well above the market value, but it is the Yankees obligation to pay these stars their due for all the years they’ve played victoriously for the Bronx Bombers.

The Yankees have also signed five free agents this offseason. Lets go through them one by one:

First the Yankees signed Mark Prior, an interesting move that probably will have no effect on the 2011 season. Prior hasn’t pitched in the majors for years, but there is no fault in giving a guy with such talent a chance. I actually love when teams do this kind of thing. It’s a low risk, high reward situation. When you spend hundreds of millions every year on players, why not give a few guys with potential a shot for a few hundred thousand dollars?

Next the Yankees signed Pedro Feliciano, the former Met. This is a good signing in my opinion. A reliable lefty, Feliciano can eat alot of innings for the Yankees, and effectively. While the Yankees already have lefties in Boone Logan and Damaso Marte, Logan has been inconsistent and Marte is injured and might not be back until midseason. Any help is needed in the bullpen and Feliciano will be a help for sure.

Next, the Yankees got additional help in the bullpen with Rafael Soriano. Soriano is the biggest deal of the offseason but many people have complained the Yankees oversigned for him. I really don’t think they did because he was going to get a big deal this offseason, the only thing is he will be setting up Rivera. Now with him, the Yankees bullpen is the best in baseball, which they need considering the starting pitching situation.

Finally the Yankees signed a couple of interesting free agents in Russell Martin and Andruw Jones. I think both of these signings are great because they add depth to the two weakest offensive positions on the Yankees, Catcher and Outfield. Both are former all stars that could perhaps have a bit of a resurgence from a change in scenery. Jones I expect to platoon in the outfield and provide some power to the offense. Martin could get alot of time behind the plate as Jorge Posada grows older. It does provide an interesting situation for Jesus Montero, who could be battling for time at DH and catcher as well this spring.

Overall, I actually like all the moves the Yankees have made this offseason. Its unusual, but it doesn’t mean that they have solved all the problems. The starting pitching still is a long long ways from where it needs to be. Obviously getting Andy Pettitte to come back would be huge, but right now they need to go ahead and sign Justin Duchscherer. Duchscherer is a walking injury, but he has been extremely effective when healthy in his career. I understand he is a risk, but he is a risk worth taking that could end up being extremely rewarding if he can stay healthy. There are some other names left out on the market that are less sexy that they should explore as well. Right now I’m only comfortable with CC at the front of the rotation and can only hope for the best from Hughes and Burnett. Ivan Nova might have shown some bright spots last year, but he has a limited amount of potential based on his lack of plus pitches. Nova might be worth risking on a fifth starter, but he is nothing better than that. So anyway the Yankees have done alot of things that are positive so far, but they aren’t done yet.

Check back in a few weeks and I’ll hopefully have some positive news regarding some starter signings as spring training starts.

This entry was posted on January 25, 2011 at 11:39 pm and is filed under Yankees. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.