By Anthony Leo (Contributor)
The 2013 season for the New York Yankees was a disappointment to Yankee fans. The team had numerous amounts of injuries that had major affects on the outcome of the season. Players like Kevin Youkilis, Curtis Granderson, Mark Texiera, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter all missed significant amounts of time. Despite all of these injuries, the Yanks were able to stay competitive by patching up the roster with a wide variety of different players. The Yankees finished with 85-77 record, which put them 6.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for that final playoff spot.
After coming off of such a disappointing season, the Yankees needed to open their wallets a little bit this offseason. Ever since George Steinbrenner acquired the team, spending big has been part of the Yankee way, and that has not changed at all this offseason.
They have already signed 7 time All Star catcher Brian McCann to a 5 year $85 million dollar deal. They didn’t stop there. They also signed Jacoby Ellsbury away from their bitter rivals, the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees essentially gave Ellsbury an offer he could not refuse of 7 years $153 million dollars. Next, the Yankees signed veteran outfielder Carlos Beltran for 3 years and $45 million dollars to come to the Bronx.
Ironically, in 2004, Beltran wanted to come to the Yankees but ended up signing with the cross-town rival New York Mets. The Yankees also made a very under-the-radar move in signing Kelly Johnson. The former Rays utility man will look to be this year’s version of Jayson Nix. Johnson will be able to help the team in a wide variety of ways and should be much more productive than Nix was at the plate.
Of course on the flip side, there is the loss of star second basemen Robinson Cano, as he signed the third largest deal in MLB history with the Seattle Mariners. Seattle signed Cano for a crazy 10 years $240 million dollar deal to be the face of their franchise. The Yankees wanted Cano to come back to the Bronx but Cano’s asking price was too much for the Yankees. The Yankees know first hand how these long-term deals can backfire, so Brian Cashman let Cano walk, and in turn has extra money to spend on the rest of the lineup.
While the New York Yankees have made plenty of noise this offseason, they are far from done. They still have numerous holes to fill. They have already filled the gaping hole at catcher with the signing of Brian McCann. The question is who will be throwing to pitches to the new Yankee catcher.
Right now the Yankees have some of their starting rotation from last year returning. CC Sabathia, who is supposed to be the leader of the rotation, is coming back and hopes to have a bounce back year. Ivan Nova will also be coming back to be the Yankees’ third starter. Hiroki Kuroda, who last year showed he was the Yankees number one pitcher, was a free agent until the Yankees signed him back to a one-year deal for $16 million dollars. The 39 year-old Kuroda is towards the end of his career but can still offer the Yankees some valuable innings pitched.
Then there is Michael Pineda. Pineda was acquired in a trade with the Mariners when the Yankees sent catcher Jesus Montero to Seattle in return for Pineda. Pineda is yet to pitch a game for the Yankees. He has been in rehab fighting back from an injury. The Yankees are hoping he can comeback to offer than some much needed innings in the starting rotation.
After the signing of Jacoby Ellsbury, the Yankees have now started to field offers for Brett Gardner. If the Yankees decide to trade Brett Gardner it will probably be for a middle of the rotation starter. Then there is the new hole that the Yankees have not had to address in 17 years because there was 17 years of greatness there with Mariano Rivera. They now need a new closer to shut down games. They have many options available such as moving David Robertson to the closer role or going out into the field to sign a closer like Grant Balfour or Fernando Rodney.
While the Winter Meetings may be over, there is still plenty of time left in this offseason. Surely some big moves have yet to come for many teams. The Yankees definitely need to keep spending to fill in some holes on this roster. That being said, the Yankees are on the right track. They already made numerous additions that should help them get back to becoming legitimate World Series contenders. While it remains to be seen what types of move the front office will make going forward, one thing is for certain. The New York Yankees are back baby!
Third Floor Crew 