Sonny Gray:
5-10, 190 pounds
Born: November 7, 1989 (Age: 27 and 267 days)
July 31, 2017: Traded by the Oakland Athletics with international bonus slot money to the New York Yankees for James Kaprielian (minors), Jorge Mateo (minors) and Dustin Fowler.
Ah, James Kaprielian. Cashman drafted him number 16 in the first round in 2015. That's two years ago. Including 18 innings in A+ ball and rookie and fall leagues, Kaprielian has pitched 56 innings in those two years. Cashman wouldn't have needed starting pitcher Sonny Gray if Cashman hadn't wasted a first round draft pick on a guy whose arm fell off.
Moving right along ...
 |
| Nationals starter Max Scherzer, fifth inning NLDS Game 5, October 13, 2016 by Arturo Pardavila III from Hoboken, NJ via Wikimedia Commons |
Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman, after trading Aroldis Chapman to the eventual champion Chicago Cubs July 25, 2016 for minor league infielder Gleyber Torres, whom Cashman had tried but failed to sign as an amateur, then signed Chapman as a free agent after the season: $17 million for each of five seasons...
Cashman had twice granted free agency to lefty starter Jose Quintana (28), who was just traded from the White Sox to the Cubs for top prospects. 2013-2016 Quintana threw at least 200 innings each season. With White Sox: 2012-2017: 1,055 innings, 115 ERA+.
Cashman signed free agent starting pitcher from a Japanese league Masahiro Tanaka (28 now) 1/22/2014: 592 innings, 119 ERA+. In 2017 Tanaka is having by far his worst Yankee season: 102 innings, 84 ERA+...
... (Cashman) has not even considered signing any other big free agent starting pitchers. Here are the big ones with their current ages and what they've done with the team that signed them for big bucks.
Jon Lester (33): 2015-2017 Cubs: 516 innings, 126 ERA+
Max Scherzer (32): 2015-2017 Nationals: 585 innings, 153 ERA+; no-hitter or two; 2016 Cy Young award; in 2017 at age 32 leads NL in ERA, SO, ERA+, FIP, WHIP, HR9, SO9
Zach Greinke (33): 2016-2017 Diamondbacks: 275 innings, 122 ERA+; 163 ERA+ in 2017 bounceback
David Price (31, 323 days) 2016-2017 Red Sox: 283 innings, 113 ERA+; in 2016 led AL in GS, IP, H, BF ...
Brian Cashman ... became GM for the 1998 season, inheriting the team that won 114 regular season games, which accounts for Cashman's perceived early success. But Cashman had no championships 2001-2008, eight years, then one in 2009 anchored by 1998 holdovers Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera. Then another long drought of seven years and counting...
Cashman had a chance to pull off a Roger Maris (trade; MVP 1960, 1961; 100 Home Runs) but failed when he was looking for a third baseman while Oakland traded Josh Donaldson to Toronto, where Donaldson was AL MVP in his first season. A month after Donaldson was traded, Cashman signed Chase Headley for four years.
And most recently Cashman lacked the imagination, nerve and minor league talent to trade for lefty Chris Sale (28): 2017 Red Sox: 128 innings, 168 ERA+ ...
But isn't Cashman responsible for young stars Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez? Yes, although ...
Yankees drafted Eric Jagielo before Aaron Judge in 2013. Oops. Friday, July 14, 2017
Cashman has one championship 2001-2016. One, in 2009, surrounded by droughts of 8 and 7 years. Cashman is timid and unimaginative.
___________________________
No trades during the season! And a no trade clause as part of the standard contract. Monday, July 31, 2017
... the Yankees are still trying to trade for yet another starting pitcher, Sonny Gray ... Gray is still only 27.
Career: 705 innings, 112 starts, 44-36, ERA+ 114...
... the rebuilding Chicago White Sox ... traded TWO lefty starting pitchers, both of whom are in their late 20s and were under club control at reasonable salaries relative to their value:
Chris Sale:
December 6, 2016: Traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Boston Red Sox for Luis Alexander Basabe (minors), Victor Diaz (minors), Michael Kopech (minors) and Yoan Moncada.
Jose Quintana:
July 13, 2017: Traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Chicago Cubs for Dylan Cease (minors), Bryant Flete (minors), Eloy Jimenez (minors) and Matt Rose (minors)...
... lest we forget: the aforementioned White Sox lefty starter Jose Quintana:
March 10, 2008: Signed as a Free Agent with the New York Yankees.
November 6, 2010: Granted Free Agency.
December 15, 2010: Signed as a Free Agent with the New York Yankees.
November 2, 2011: Granted Free Agency.
November 9, 2011: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox.
Yes, Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman released Quintana TWICE! Quintana never pitched an inning for the Yankees. Now Cashman is out there bargain hunting at the trading deadline acting like the General Manager of the Pittsburgh Yankees.
__________________________
OK, but is it Cashman's fault that Michael Pineda got hurt and what about Luis Severino?
Pineda pitched for the Yankees 2014-2017: 509 innings, ERA+ 102. That's an average of about 125 innings per season. Innings in the middle two years: 161, 176. But with ERA+ 93 and 91. The Yankees got value with Pineda because the primary guy ("catcher" Jesus Montero) Cashman traded to Seattle for Pineda was a complete failure. Good trade for Cashman, who can be good at the little ones. Another good one was Didi Gregorius, Yanks starting shortstop. Stuff like this is why I rate Cashman mediocre. That and the fact that Cashman spent more money each of his 20 Yankee GM years than any other AL GM.
Luis Severino is the best young starting pitcher on the Yankees. Credit Cashman. But as far as Cashman adding starters Sonny Gray and Jaime Garcia at the trading deadline, that's mainly for a stretch run now in 2017. Gray is under club control for a couple of more years but Cashman wants to make a drive in the 2017 tournament.
Severino was born: February 20, 1994 (Age: 23 and 162 days). Here are his innings, both minor and major:
2012 64
2013 44
2014 113
2015 (99+62) 161
2016 (80+71) 151
2017 133
For the 2017 regular season Severino projects to throw another 67 innings for a total of 200. That's 33% more than the previous year. So how far can Severino reasonably be expected to go in the tournament, if at all? Say what? The Yankees might shut down Severino? That would be the responsible thing to do. So then what's the fuss about Garcia and Gray? Beats me ... on multiple levels.
9 comments:
What you didn't mention is the difference between Gray, and Lester/Scherzer is the amount of dollars. They were both free agents who got big contracts and the Scherzer money went to Tanaka the following year. I would have preferred Scherzer as well.
Chris Sale would have cost the Yankees more talent than they gave up for Gray, and at the time many, yourself included, didn't think the Yankees would contend as most didn't see Judge having the year he had or Severino being this good after last year's performance.
The Yankees offer for Quintana got beat, the Sox liked Elroy Jimenez better than Rutherford. You don't see the big deal about Gray but lower whip, lower era this year and career compared to Quintana, so other than another chance to complain about Cashman, don't see the big deal there.
"Scherzer money": Tanaka was signed by Cashman 1/22/2014. Scherzer: January 21, 2015: Signed as a Free Agent with the Washington Nationals. Yanks could have had both and not traded any prospects.
Chris Sale was worth more talent than Yanks gave up for Gray.
Jose Quintana: "Yes, Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman released Quintana TWICE! Quintana never pitched an inning for the Yankees. Now Cashman is out there bargain hunting at the trading deadline acting like the General Manager of the Pittsburgh Yankees."
sorry meant previous year on Tanaka. Regardless. name one team that has paid over 20 million to 3 starting pitchers at the same time.
Missed the point on Sale. Why would you trade more young talent for a pitcher when you don't believe your close to contending? Obviously Sale's a better pitcher clearly not my point. They trade for Gray because they are contending and Pineda got hurt.
"Brian Cashman got Sonny Gray instead of Jon Lester, Max Scherzer, Chris Sale, Jose Quintana" If you don't think you are suggesting that Cashman missed out on Quintana, what did you include him in the title with the other three?
$20 million to three starting pitchers? Functional equivalent: 2017 Yankees: Sabathia, Tanaka, Chapman ($17 million for 60 innings).
You keep missing the point on Jose Quintana. Cashman released him twice. Quintana then had five productive seasons after which Cashman tired to trade for Quintana. That's incompetence by Cashman but I seem to be the only one who notices.
Michael Lynch comment (I approved and then inadvertently deleted; sorry):
So again what team has spent over 20 million on multi three starting pitchers? None.
It's well known the Yanks had Quintana and let him go. Mets had him before Yanks did the same. That was like six years ago and clearly isn't the point of your article, point of the article is players you think the Yankees should have acquired instead of acquiring Gray unless you're expecting Cashman to build a flux capacitor and bring 22 year old Quintana to this Yankee team.
______________________________
Cashman needed a time machine to go back to at least one of the TWO times that he let Jose Quintana go.
No, I don't have three pitchers getting $20 million on one team in one season. I thought that Cashman giving Chapman $17 million for each of five seasons was comparably consequential: $283,000 for each of 60 innings. How does that look?
So, Cashman could not sign Scherzer or Lester because CASHMAN had already given more that $20 million each to Sabathia and Tanaka. That only supports my point that Cashman is doing a bad job.
Sabathia was a bad signing? Tanaka was a bad signing? No. Lester's ERA is slightly lower than Tanaka's this year, neither one of those guys is why the Yankees haven't been successful. If you compare CC's to the Verlander and Matt Cains the big pitching contracts he held up well. Look, if you are pointing out the signing of Ellsbury when they had Gardner for much less which you have done, I'm with you. I think on these starting pitching acquisitions over the years Tanaka, Sabathia, Gray it's splitting hairs.
First Sabathia signing was great. Second was dumb. I loved the Tanaka signing. Today I asked another Yankee fan if he wants Tanaka to opt out. We're both on the fence but neither of us would re-sign Tanaka if he opted out.
Totally agree with not doubling down on Tanaka and I'm right with you both on the fence if I want him to opt out or not. Some time he looks so good sometimes so bad. Next year I don't see an option to replace him in free agency that I like better (considering, money years,
Post a Comment