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Post by fwclipper51 on Jul 29, 2024 14:02:43 GMT -5
From MLB Rumors
Yankees Discussing Nestor Cortes In Trade Talks
By Steve Adams | July 29, 2024 at 11:58am CDT
The Yankees are firm deadline buyers, but they’ve also been discussing left-hander Nestor Cortes with other teams, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He adds an unexpected name to the starting pitching market — presumably one for whom the Yankees would prefer to add big league talent. (Heyman adds that the Yankees have some interest in Cardinals utilityman Tommy Edman but does not go so far as to suggest the 2 sides have discussed a Cortes-for-Edman swap.)
On the one hand, it’s always a bit surprising to see a win-now club of this nature discuss an active member of its rotation in trades. On the other, the Yankees went down a similar path just 2 years ago with another left-hander, Jordan Montgomery, when they traded him to the Cardinals in exchange for CF Harrison Bader.
At the time, Montgomery was a quality 4th option in a deep Yankees rotation, but not one who was going to make the team’s postseason rotation. There’s similar context here. The Yankees could go with a postseason rotation including a combination of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Luis Gil and/or a returning Clarke Schmidt. There’s also the possibility that GM Brian Cashman adds a more impactful arm to the group before tomorrow’s deadline.
Cortes, 29, is in the midst of a generally solid season, but he has floundered of late. He’s pitched to a 4.13 ERA in 124 1/3 innings, striking out 22.5% of his opponents (right on par with league average) and issuing walks at a tiny 5% clip along the way. However, he’s run into a rough patch of late, failing to complete 5 innings in each of his past 3 starts and serving up a total of 15 runs over the course of 13 2/3 innings during that mini-slump.
Like Montgomery in 2022, Cortes is affordable ($3.95MM salary) and controlled for 1 additional year. A new team would be able to retain him for the 2025 season via arbitration. He’ll be owed a raise of some note but should still see his salary fall well shy of $10MM.
This hasn’t been Cortes’ best season, but he’s solidified himself as a quality big league starter — and taken a unique path to getting there. The Oriole had selected Cortes out of the Yankees’ system in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft but designated him for assignment that April and returned him to the Yankees. Just 18 months later, Cortes was designated for assignment by the Yankees, this time getting traded to the Mariners for international bonus allotments. Things didn’t pan out in Seattle and Cortes returned to the Yankees as a minor league free agent in the 2020-2021 offseason.
Since returning to the Bronx, Cortes touts a 3.38 ERA in 439 innings. He’s entrenched himself into the New York rotation, but with their control over the lefty dwindling and a solid collection of alternative options on the big league roster, flipping Cortes for some big league help in the infield — be it Edman or any number of other infield options presently on the market — or an outfielder who could push Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base more regularly could work to the Yankees’ benefit.
All that said, it’d be somewhat surprising if the Yankees moved Cortes and didn’t backfill the rotation with a different addition. Cole has only made 7 starts after spending the 1st 2 months of the season on the injured list with an elbow issue. Gil looks to have recovered from a rough patch he hit in June, but he’s up to 107 1/3 innings after pitching only 4 innings last year, while mending from Tommy John surgery. Schmidt has been on the injured list since late May due to a lat strain. Rodon, like Gil, hit a rough spot in June and has righted the ship of late — but his track record in New York is spotty, to put things lightly. Stroman’s results have been solid (3.64 ERA) but he’s sporting career-worst strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates (leading to a 5.22 FIP and 4.85 SIERA).
There’s some sense to moving Cortes to address needs in another area — but only if they’re also adding a starting pitcher who’d more concretely slot into a playoff rotation and make up the remainder of Cortes’ innings for the balance of the regular season. That’s a tricky tightrope to walk, but it’s one the Yankees have navigated in the very recent past.
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Post by qimqam on Jul 29, 2024 14:07:13 GMT -5
If I got the quote right, he said “I’m a second baseman. I play second.” Pretty succinct. By now he and Boone have probably had further discussion to put the subject to bed. Sadly, initial reactions aren’t always the best ones… There’s a lot expected for just a few million bucks a year…I worked for a company where every word and every action were scrutinized, too. It’s not fun… “I’m a second baseman. I play second.” Yes, it is succinct...and true. So? Again...did he say anything like "no way I'd give 3B a shot"?
"Fans Rage At Torres For Resisting Jazz Chisholm Plan"
Really? IMO classic click bait...but any fan who "rages" at Gleyber's desire to stay at 2B needs psychological help. No he didn't but he didnt say something like this either Jazz Chisholm himself is open to the challenge, albeit with some reservations. “I went out and there and played center field for the first time last year. It was pretty difficult at first, but I feel like I can go and play anywhere and help my team win. Especially a winning team, if they’re asking me to go somewhere and help them win, I’m definitely going to do it,” he said. |
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Post by qimqam on Jul 29, 2024 14:09:26 GMT -5
I'm hearing lots of things. For example, the Yankees are looking to trade Torres and Verdugo. Ironically, both have started to hit. Right and they are both gone after this season ... makes no sense to throw them away unless it's for Pitching help Now! |
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Post by yankeesfaninboston on Jul 29, 2024 14:11:36 GMT -5
I think it makes sense to explore Nestor's market. As things stand now, the rotation is Cole/Rodon/Stroman/Nestor/Gil. All of those guys are signed for next year too, and Schmidt will be back by then. If they're planning to go out and trade for a starter (presumably a playoff rotation guy behind Cole with multiple years of control), then it could make some sense to move Nestor out to offset some of the prospect cost or just swap for a position player they need. They'd still have a capable rotation this year and next on paper without Nestor if there's a new high end guy coming in too.
I don't think the rotation is good enough where they should be thinking of trading him without another starter coming back though.
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Post by fwclipper51 on Jul 29, 2024 14:13:40 GMT -5
Yankees Designate Jahmai Jones For Assignment
By Darragh McDonald | July 29, 2024 at 1:53pm CDT
The Yankees have designated Infielder/Outfielder Jahmai Jones for assignment, reports Joel Sherman of The New York Post on X. It appears to be the corresponding move for designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton’s return from the injured list. Jones, 26, was claimed by the Yankees in February. Out of options, he has lasted on the roster through roughly two thirds of the season but didn’t get much playing time in his bench role. To this point, he has been sent to the plate 47 times while appearing in 33 contests. He hit .238/.304/.381 while striking out in 34% of his trips to the plate, lining up defensively at 2nd base, 3rd base and the outfield corners.
Throughout the year, the Yankees have welcomed DJ LeMahieu back from the IL and acquired Jazz Chisholm Jr., bolstering their position player mix and nudging Jones off the roster. They will now have just over 24 hours to explore trade talks, but might end up putting Jones on waivers.
Jones may receive interest due to his previous prospect pedigree. He was a second-round pick of the Angels back in 2015 and subsequently got some top 100 love but he hasn’t really had much of a chance to prove himself at the major league level. The Angels added him to their 40-man roster in November of 2019, but Jones has only appeared in 69 MLB games over the past 5 seasons, bouncing to the Orioles, Brewers and Yankees.
But his work in the minors has continued to be impressive. Over the 2021 to 2023 seasons, he drew walks in 15.2% of his plate appearances, only striking out 21.8% of the time. He slashed a combined .254/.378/.441 in those seasons for a 114 wRC+. He also stole 25 bases in that time in 34 tries. He exhausted his final option year in 2023, which is why the Yankees haven’t been able to send him down this year.
Between his solid Triple-A offense, his past prospect pedigree and his defensive versatility, it’s possible that some club may give him a chance for the final few months of the season, likely a rebuilding club that has playing time to offer. He came into 2024 with less than a year of service time, meaning he can be retained for 5 seasons beyond this one if things click for him.
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Post by Max on Jul 29, 2024 14:15:44 GMT -5
3 team trade between WSox, Cards, Dodgers.
Cards get Fredde, Pham. WSox get Vargas, Perez, Albertus. Dodgers get Kopech, Edman.
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Post by azbob643 on Jul 29, 2024 14:38:10 GMT -5
No he didn't but he didnt say something like this either Jazz Chisholm himself is open to the challenge, albeit with some reservations. “I went out and there and played center field for the first time last year. It was pretty difficult at first, but I feel like I can go and play anywhere and help my team win. Especially a winning team, if they’re asking me to go somewhere and help them win, I’m definitely going to do it,” he said. "We had a conversation. Everything is still on the table. I think in a couple of days, I'm going to take some grounders at third, just in case, [so] I'm just kind of ready for anything." |
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Post by fwclipper51 on Jul 29, 2024 14:42:27 GMT -5
From MLB Rumors 7/28/2024
Yankees Interested In Tommy Edman
By Nick Deeds | July 28, 2024 at 7:49pm CDT
The Yankees are among the teams that have inquired with the Cardinals regarding the availability of INF/OF Tommy Edman, according to The Athletic’s Katie Woo. The Yankees join the Dodgers, whose interest in Edman’s services was discussed earlier today, in inquiring after the versatile switch-hitter.
Edman, 29, has yet to make his 2024 season debut in the majors after undergoing wrist surgery last fall. The recovery from that surgery has taken much longer than expected, and while he’s begun a rehab assignment at the Double-A level, that’s come entirely as a DH. It seems unlikely that Edman, who hit just .248/.307/.399 in 137 games for the Cardinals last year, would garner much interest from any club as a DH-only player. Any suitor would likely need to be confident of Edman’s ability to play the field for them this year in order to make a deal.
While his health status is something of a question mark, it’s hardly a surprise that the Yankees would be interested in Edman’s services. After all, the versatile defender has experience at every position on the diamond besides 1st base and Catcher and has shown the ability to be a plus glove at each of those positions. That combination of versatility and defensive excellence is rather rare and, in conjunction with a switch-hitting bat that has produced an almost exactly league average wRC+ of 99 throughout his career, it would make Edman a valuable piece for almost any team. The Yankees, who have gotten below average production from virtually every spot in the lineup not occupied by Juan Soto or Aaron Judge this year, are no exception to that.
It may seem as though the recent deal that sent INF/OF Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the Bronx would leave the Yankees without much motivation to acquire Edman. After all, Chisholm is another versatile defender who has experience at both shortstop and center field, and his 103 wRC+ this year is significantly better than the 92 wRC+ Edman posted with the Cardinals in 2023. It’s easy to imagine both players co-existing in the same lineup, however. After all, Manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Brendan Kuty of The Athletic) earlier today that the club plans to use Chisholm at 3rd base, when he’s playing the infield. It’s a position that Chisholm has never played before in the majors, but Boone expressed a preference for keeping incumbent 2nd baseman Gleyber Torres (who also has no experience at the hot corner) where he is, at least for the time being.
The addition of Edman, who has 94 games at 3rd in the majors under his belt, could allow the Yankees to add a more experienced glove to the lineup at the hot corner while still providing a significant offensive upgrade over other internal options like DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera. By adding Edman to the mix at 3rd base, the club could either utilize Chisholm as a super-utility type to maximize the club’s offensive production by resting players like Torres and Alex Verdugo against tough matchups, or perhaps the club could even look to deal a bat like Torres or Trent Grisham in order to acquire bullpen help as they’ve been rumored to be considering. Edman could also pair with Chisholm to offer some additional certainty to the Yankees headed into a 2025 season where Soto, Torres, Verdugo, and potentially Anthony Rizzo could all be ticketed for free agency, leaving plenty of holes to fill in the Bronx.
That doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be obstacles to a potential deal, however, even if Edman is healthy enough to be worth dealing for. According to Woo, the Cardinals are believed to be targeting “cost-controlled major-league starting pitching” in return for Edman’s services, with Woo suggesting that St. Louis could target Yankees southpaw Nestor Cortes in return. Cortes, 29, is controlled through the end of the 2025 season just like Edman is and has posted a 4.13 ERA with a 3.99 FIP in 22 starts this year. It’s unclear if the Yankees would be willing to part ways with Cortes or any of their starting pitching options, particularly as rumors swirl surrounding the possibility of them acquiring another arm that would allow them to manage Luis Gil’s innings with a 2nd-half bullpen assignment.
Note: 07/29/24 Edman has been traded to Dodgers
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Post by qwik3457bb on Jul 29, 2024 15:20:59 GMT -5
I don't like the idea of moving Chisholm to 3rd with zero experience; the reaction time is much shorter there than maybe any position other than pitcher. Teams will bunt on him and take extra bases and steals at 3rd, challenging his thinking/reactions. On the other hand, they weren't going to dump Torres there with no prepartion either, and at least Chisholm is the better, quicker athlete at this point.
Maybe they should have thought of that before acquiring Chisholm, or maybe they can work out a deal or deals involving trading Torres and acquiring a real 3rd baseman, like, say, Matt Chapman of the Giants (although his 4 year contract with 3 years left is very likely to turn into more dead weight within a year of two).
Maybe it works out next season with Torres potentially leaving, and Chisholm moving back to 2nd, but right now, he's another talented by misfit toy on the Yankees roster. And they can fit Chisholm in in centerfield only against tough righties, with Stanton sitting, unless they trade Verdugo as well. Grisham and LeMahieu appear to be out of a job, for better or worse (mostly better, it would seem). Wouldn't surpise me if Grisham gets dealt or DFAed soon, despite his somewhat improved hitting of late.
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Post by donniebaseball23 on Jul 29, 2024 16:02:21 GMT -5
I don't like the idea of moving Chisholm to 3rd with zero experience; the reaction time is much shorter there than maybe any position other than pitcher. Teams will bunt on him and take extra bases and steals at 3rd, challenging his thinking/reactions. On the other hand, they weren't going to dump Torres there with no prepartion either, and at least Chisholm is the better, quicker athlete at this point. Maybe they should have thought of that before acquiring Chisholm, or maybe they can work out a deal or deals involving trading Torres and acquiring a real 3rd baseman, like, say, Matt Chapman of the Giants (although his 4 year contract with 3 years left is very likely to turn into more dead weight within a year of two). Maybe it works out next season with Torres potentially leaving, and Chisholm moving back to 2nd, but right now, he's another talented by misfit toy on the Yankees roster. And they can fit Chisholm in in centerfield only against tough righties, with Stanton sitting, unless they trade Verdugo as well. Grisham and LeMahieu appear to be out of a job, for better or worse (mostly better, it would seem). Wouldn't surpise me if Grisham gets dealt or DFAed soon, despite his somewhat improved hitting of late. Chapman's contract should be a non-starter. He's 31, and while he's an excellent defensive 3B, he isn't anything special with a bat in his hands, and there's a good chance we're looking at that contract and shaking our heads by this time next year. It isn't ridiculous by today's standards, but do we really need to pour another $18-20MM/season into a guy that's already on the wrong side of 30 and has never provided much above replacement-level offense? If it was an expiring contract, that's one thing, but it's not. I'd say pass...but I guess I don't make those calls. |
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Post by fwclipper51 on Jul 29, 2024 17:04:27 GMT -5
From MLB Rumors
Yankees Discussing Jack Flaherty Trade, Planning To Deal Nestor Cortes If Completed
By Tim Dierkes | July 29, 2024 at 3:41pm CDT
The Yankees are in “extensive trade talks” for Tigers righty Jack Flaherty, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The Yankees plan to trade starter Nestor Cortes, if they land Flaherty, adds Nightengale. Earlier today, we learned that Flaherty has been scratched from tonight’s start against the Guardians, with a trade expected soon.
Flaherty, who will be a free agent after the season, has experienced a resurgence this season and is sporting a career-best 27.5 K-BB% through 18 starts. The Tigers are 5.5 games out in the wild card and are a long shot to reach the playoffs, so Flaherty seems very likely to be dealt before tomorrow’s 5pm central time trade deadline.
The Yankees, meanwhile, are 1 game back of the Orioles in the AL East and currently hold a wild card spot. The Yankees have limped to an 8-13 record in July, though they won their last 2 at Boston. Senior Vice President and GM Brian Cashman added Jazz Chisholm Jr. via trade yesterday, and is known to be seeking reinforcements for the pitching staff.
The New York Post’s Joel Sherman connected the Yankees to Flaherty on Saturday, and Sherman’s colleague Jon Heyman reported Cortes’ availability earlier today. Flaherty would form a dynamic 1-2 punch with ace Gerrit Cole. Even sans Cortes, the club could be adequately covered for the rest of the regular season with Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, and Luis Gil, with Clarke Schmidt on the mend from a lat strain. It’s also worth noting that Gil will surpass his professional career-high in innings (108 2/3) if he records 5 or more outs tonight in Philadelphia, so the Yankees may need to back off to keep him fresh for October.
Cortes, who leads the Yankees with 124 1/3 innings this year, owns a 4.13 ERA at present. With a 17.4 K-BB%, he’s an entirely capable big league pitcher, though he lacks the strikeout stuff Flaherty has shown this year. Cortes is under team control through 2025 as an arbitration eligible player, and will earn a raise on this year’s $3.95MM salary.
According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Yankees’ competitive balance tax payroll currently sits around $315MM. The club pays a 110% tax on anything above $297MM. A Cortes-Flaherty contract swap-out would increase the team’s CBT hit by around $3.3MM for the remainder of the season, which would carry a tax of about $3.6MM. But given that the Yankees are considering all sorts of different scenarios, we won’t know where the dust settles until about 24 hours from now.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Jul 29, 2024 17:19:45 GMT -5
I don't like the idea of moving Chisholm to 3rd with zero experience; the reaction time is much shorter there than maybe any position other than pitcher. Teams will bunt on him and take extra bases and steals at 3rd, challenging his thinking/reactions. On the other hand, they weren't going to dump Torres there with no prepartion either, and at least Chisholm is the better, quicker athlete at this point. Maybe they should have thought of that before acquiring Chisholm, or maybe they can work out a deal or deals involving trading Torres and acquiring a real 3rd baseman, like, say, Matt Chapman of the Giants (although his 4 year contract with 3 years left is very likely to turn into more dead weight within a year of two). Maybe it works out next season with Torres potentially leaving, and Chisholm moving back to 2nd, but right now, he's another talented by misfit toy on the Yankees roster. And they can fit Chisholm in in centerfield only against tough righties, with Stanton sitting, unless they trade Verdugo as well. Grisham and LeMahieu appear to be out of a job, for better or worse (mostly better, it would seem). Wouldn't surpise me if Grisham gets dealt or DFAed soon, despite his somewhat improved hitting of late. Chapman's contract should be a non-starter. He's 31, and while he's an excellent defensive 3B, he isn't anything special with a bat in his hands, and there's a good chance we're looking at that contract and shaking our heads by this time next year. It isn't ridiculous by today's standards, but do we really need to pour another $18-20MM/season into a guy that's already on the wrong side of 30 and has never provided much above replacement-level offense? If it was an expiring contract, that's one thing, but it's not. I'd say pass...but I guess I don't make those calls. I agree with you on the contract and the fact he'll decline into dead weight soon. I was mentioning him only as a player who couls re-assmeble the pieces on the roster into a viable, coherent team. I'm perfectly willing to aceept a different, cheaper 3rd baseman less likely to become a millstone, if one can be found. Preferably not named Donaldson. |
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Post by Rockaway Park on Jul 29, 2024 17:34:26 GMT -5
Flaherty is pretty damn good but he's been dealing with health issues. It'd be classic Yankees to bring him in and he goes on the IL. He's on my Fantasy Team and I was annoyed he got scratched for tonight, but if it means he's coming to the Bronx I'll let it slide. Still would rather have Skubal though.
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Post by chiyankee on Jul 29, 2024 19:02:23 GMT -5
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Post by inger on Jul 29, 2024 19:09:44 GMT -5
Beat me to this one, Chi… |
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