The Yankees made a HUGE splash by trading for flamethrower Aroldis Chapman from the Cincinnati Reds for four minor leaguers. By doing so, they didn't trade any of their main prospects or part with any major league talent. This was a move I'm in favor of for so many reasons. Some of them I just listed but I'll explain why this is a win-win for the Bombers.

The addition of Chapman now gives the Yankees the best 1-2-3 punch in baseball...by far. If they all play up to their caliber, this season will be very special in the Bronx. This end of the bullpen gives the starting rotation some wiggle room and takes some pressure off their shoulders. With an already question filled rotation with each of the five starters, all that's going to be asked is to get 5-6 solid innings on any given night. The three headed monster awaits at the end of games. Now the bridge to the trio needs to worked out by manager Joe Girardi but honestly, will it be that much of an important role? The answer is yes, but the pressure to be an Adam Warren 2-3 inning guy won't be there. An inning of solid relief is all the Yanks need , ala Chasen Shreve pre- August 2015.

The pending suspension of Chapman can very much work in the Yankees favor. Should Chapman be suspended more than 45 games, he forfeits his rights to be a Free Agent at the end of the 2016 season, which then gives the Yankees control of Chapman for another season.

“We felt this was an opportunity to add a big arm to our bullpen, even though there are some things that are unresolved,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said after the trade.

If this does end up being the case, then it gives the Yankees time during his suspension to figure roles and lets Girardi see who has what coming out of his bullpen. Who's reliable, who's going to implode. That way once Chapman returns, everyone can settle into their roles and hopefully we see a simple formula, starter goes 6, Bridge, then ANY combination of the trio can be used to mix and match for the rest of the game.

Dellin Betances will get less work this season and get a chance to rest an arm that was overtaxed the last two seasons. Last year Betances' stuff wasn't as sharp going down the stretch. Andrew Miller can pitch multiple innings much like he did with Balitmore and Boston the year before he won the Yankees closer's job. It's very possible we could see the trio of Betances, Miller and Chapman for FIVE innings on any given day. That's how lethal this group can be.

Chapman gives the Yankees the top three relievers by strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings in the majors. Miller had 36 saves in his first year with New York and Betances made his second straight All-Star team as the setup man. After defecting from Cuba in 2009, Chapman spent the past six seasons with the Reds and saved 146 games in 164 chances. He had a 1.63 ERA this year, when he struck out 116 in 66 1-3 innings. Betances struck out a league-best 131 and Miller fanned 100.

Big things are ahead for the Yankees this season. Of course the excitement for the flamethrowing trio could all be for naught if the offense can hit and score runs, but that's a story for a different day. For now lets enjoy the big move the Yankees just made and picture how this could look come October 2016 under the lights at Yankee Stadium for the World Series :)

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Tags: Adam Warren, Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman, Brian Cashman, Chasen Shreve, Dellin Betances, Joe Girardi

On Tuesday night the Yankees made their first big move of the offseason. They sent pitcher Adam Warren and infielder Brendan Ryan to the Chicago Cubs for Second Baseman/Shortstop Starlin Castro. This is a good move for both sides and gives the Yankees another young solid infielder. Gone are the days of overpriced aging players. I love this!

There are many things to like about this. But first lets say goodbye to Adam Warren. He was the most consistent pitcher the Yankees had and most reliable in 2015. Wherever they put him, he was dependable. In the rotation or in the bullpen, he was good. He always gave the Yankees just what they needed that day and there's a lot of value in that, especially with a team full of question marks. Warren seemed to fit the role of 4th or 5th starter just fine but he was pushed to the bullpen after 17 starts in '15 because Ivan Nova came back from Tommy John surgery. Warren then filled the gap from starter to the trio of Justin Wilson-Dellin Betances- and Andrew Miller. THAT role he filled proved to be so vital because once he was inserted back in the rotation late in the season, his absence in the bullpen was felt. Manager Joe Girardi tried replacing Warren's absence with kid after kid from the minors in BIG spots. They rarely delivered. It ended up costing them the division. Warren now joins a World Series contender and probably one of the best rotations in the National League.

With Castro, the Yankees get a 25 year old 2B/SS with 6 years of major league experience. He hit just .237 through the end of July, but hit .335 in the final two months. For the Yanks, he fits the profile of their recent targets as a young, cost-controlled player in a buy-low opportunity. Castro is signed through 2019 with a team option for 2020. He has $38 million guaranteed left on his contract. The idea of him and Didi Gregorious as the Yankees new double play combo lights up my eyes and gets me excited to see what they can do

“You could be greedy (at second base),” manager Joe Girardi said at today’s Winter Meetings before news of the Castro trade went public. “You look for outstanding defense and offensive production. I mean, that’s the greedy part of it; that you can get a lot of production, too, offensively."

 The move gets the Yankees younger, cheaper and hungrier. GM Brian Cashman went on the Michael Kay Show last week and said he was focusing on acquiring players through trades as opposed to signing the usual big free agent contract. Today we see that Cashman and company have a plan they're sticking to. The Yankees are getting younger and more athletic....and I'm ok with that. Good job!

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Tags: Adam Warren, Andrew Miller, Chicago Cubs, Dellin Betances, Didi Gregorius, Joe Girardi, Justin Wilson, Starlin Castro, Yankees

It's been two weeks since the Yankees were eliminated at the hands of the Houston Astros in the Wild Card Playoff game and it still hurts.

This Yankee team that no one gave a shot at winning before the season started far exceeded expectations. By the end of July it looked like the Yanks would coast into October, except three things happened that derailed the entire season. Mark Teixeria went down with a season ending injury hurting the offense. Nathan Eovaldi ultimately went down for the remainder of the season hurting the starting rotation and the bullpen. The Yankees got old very quickly.

Teixeria was on his way to a 40 home run 115 RBI season when he fouled a ball off his shin and fractured his shin. Eovaldi was 14-2 and on his way to 200 innings when he went down with a forearm strain and he threw the balance of the pitching off its rocker. It put trusted pitcher Adam Warren back into the rotation, which was ok because he excelled during his stint in the rotation earlier in the year BUT it left a gapping hole in the bullpen. The 2-3 innings Warren would solidify in case a game was close or within reach now went to young inexperienced kids and boy did the Yankees pay for having to go that route. The Yanks lost countless games down the stretch because their starters just couldn't give them enough length. When they did, the offense was non-existent causing there to be more pressure on the lineup to produce. This formula was the demise of the 2015 Yankees.

So much could be said of how manager Joe Girardi handled the bullpen down the stretch in the final month and a half of the season but the REAL cause for concern is the lineup. The lineup that produced 20 runs in Atlanta, two potential Comeback Players of the Year in Teixeria and Alex Rodriguez, the future first baseman in Greg Bird, and a 7 game lead in the A.L. East on July 29th could only muster up 3 hits against the Astros. They went 1-7 in the final 8 games of the overall season. Pitiful, pathetic and embarrassing.

I'm not sure where the Yankees go from here but the answer to me is crystal clear. Get younger, get hungry, get rid of the old. Look around the MLB LCS's going on. All young teams going around. Out are the days of the high priced payrolls, In are the young and hungry want to make a name of themselves kinda players. This is what the Yankees should be aiming for. The new core is ready to be unleashed, Bird, Luis Severino, Rob Refsynder, Aaron Judge, Dellin Betances are just some of the homegrown talent waiting to make this THEIR team. I'd say make this happen sooner rather than later.




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Tags: Aaron Judge, Adam Warren, Alex Rodriguez, Dellin Betances, Greg Bird, Joe Girardi, Luis Severino, Mark Teixeira, Nathan Eovaldi, Rob Refsnyder, Yankees

I was going to post during the Toronto series but the rain out and god awful play of the Yankees delayed that until I had a better understanding of where they stood in terms of the playoff picture. I wanted to post yesterday after Monday night's amazing comeback but it seems after last night's loss, the Yankees are destined for the Wild Card.

Last night was a missed opportunity to gain ground on the Toronto Blue Jays when they lost to the Atlanta Braves in the bottom of the 9th inning. The Braves are one of the worst teams in baseball and for them to beat one of the best teams in baseball was a gift. A gift they might get again. So the Yankees blew a 3-2 lead and lost 6-3 and stayed 3 games out of first.

“It’s tough,” Joe Girardi said after watching his team blow a 3-2 lead in the sixth. “It’s tough that we’re not able to hold them down.”

The reasoning for the Wild Card over the Divsion is simple. Last night was the prime example of why the Yankees are in trouble. The Yankees that played like one of the best in baseball in June and July would've had Nathan Eovaldi on the hill and his 14-2 record. In the 5th when the Yanks went to the bullpen, Joe Girardi would've summoned Adam Warren to bridge the gap to Justin Wilson and Dellin Betances but with the injury to Eovaldi, that wasn't possible. We got Warren going 4 innings then went to young inexperienced relievers to hold a one run lead. That didn't go too well as Nick Rumbelow gave up a two run homerun to Nick Franklin who's batting .133 (!!) on the season.

“They’ve come up all year and done a pretty good job,” Girardi said. “It’s a lot to ask of them, but we think they’re capable of doing the job and we need it.”

Now with the opportunity missed, the Yankees don't gain ground and are just as close to losing that top Wild Card spot as they are overtaking Toronto. By this time next week we will have a better idea where the Bombers stand but I don't think it'll be good news. This team relies too much on the long ball. Their top two hitters Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner are the spark plugs, but they don't steal bases like they're supposed to. Ellsbury is batting .250 on the season and in the middle of an 0 for 28,29, 30 slump. That's very alarming. The offense goes into spurts of knocking the cover off the ball but it hasn't happened much since the beginning of August. This team is talented and have the tools to win it all but I feel with the injuries to Eovaldi and Mark Texieria, it may be too much to overcome. You lose your best pitcher and most productive hitter in the lineup. That kind of loss will eventually catch up to you.

I certainly can see the Yankees turning it around within the blink of an eye. I thought that was the case after Monday night's comeback but after what I saw last night, it's back to the same old story we saw this weekend against the Blue Jays. The Yanks aren't ready and they're just not as good as the Jays. It may be too late for the Yanks to turn it around, but then again..who says the Wild Card is a bad thing. It may be the best thing that happens to the Yankees.

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Tags: Adam Warren, Atlanta Braves, Brett Gardner, Dellin Betances, Jacoby Ellsbury, Justin Wilson, Nathan Eovaldi, Toronto Blue Jays, Yankees