Cashman: A-Rod should just shut the f*** up

From Andrew Marchand:

Livid over Alex Rodriguez's decision to tweet an update on his rehab process, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman had a message for the third baseman.

“You know what, when the Yankees want to announce something, [we will]. Alex should just shut the f--- up. That's it. I'm going to call Alex now.”

Rodriguez tweeted Tuesday that he has been cleared to play in rehab games. Rodriguez's comments seemed to contradict what Cashman told ESPN New York's Wallace Matthews on Monday.

"Visit from Dr. [Bryan] Kelly over the weekend, who gave me the best news - the green light to play games again!" Rodriguez tweeted.

Rodriguez, in a statement released Wednesday morning though a spokesman, said "the tweet was pure excitement" over the doctor's prognosis.

"I will continue to work hard until my efforts get me back in pinstripes and help my team win," Rodriguez said.

Cashman had on Monday shot down a report that Rodriguez had been given the go-ahead to play in games.

"He has not been cleared by our doctors to play in rehab games yet," he said. "He's getting closer. There's no doubt about it. But we don't have a date for him to start playing games yet. It could be July 1. It could also be July 5 or maybe June 25."

Here is the tweet in question:

Looks like Cash wishes that A-Rod and all the nonsense he brings would just go away. I'm sure many of you feel the same way.

Yankees Still Looking For Outfield Help

From Dan Martin:

“I’m open,” Cashman said following the Yankees’ 7-0 split-squad loss to the Phillies at George M. Steinbrenner Field. “Opening Day’s not till a ways down the line. I’m keeping my eyes open elsewhere. Our guys are competing for a spot, and there are other guys not even wearing this Yankee uniform right now that might be competing for a spot that we’re watching elsewhere.”

...

In the meantime, Cashman made it clear he’s not done looking for help for an injury-depleted lineup.

“Toward the end of camp, we’ll evaluate what we have and evaluate what’s available outside of our camp,” Cashman said.

“[Longtime scout and former GM] Gene Michael taught me to sift through the nuggets and separate the gold from the rest of the debris. We’re trying to get as much sifting as we can get and hopefully run into some gold.”

As for anyone that's available who would actually help, I'm drawing a blank. Is there anyone you'd like to see the Yankees go after?

A-Rod: Everyone is just out to get me

From the NY Daily News:

Alex Rodriguez is taking his wildest swing yet in his fight against steroid allegations: The Yankees and MLB are conspiring to push him out of the game.

Sources say the embattled Yankee star is “scared” that bigger forces are at work to try to discredit him and sink his career. Holed up in Miami, Rodriguez has been huddling with an army of lawyers and PR people as the performance-enhancing drug scandal enveloping him intensifies.

“He’s scared, because he thinks this is so unbelievably false, and he’s wondering who could be behind this,” said a source, referring to last week’s Miami New Times report linking A-Rod to an alleged Miami-area performance-enhancing drug scandal. “He thinks something could be going on larger than anyone might think.”

The source added that Rodriguez is wondering if the Yankees or even Major League Baseball are behind the latest controversy.

A-Rod’s concerns intensified as agents from MLB’s Department of Investigations met in Miami Monday with editors of Miami New Times, a weekly newspaper that posted hand-written records and files last Tuesday linking Rodriguez and several other players to Anthony Bosch, a self-described “biochemist” who is being investigated by baseball and federal authorities for possibly providing performance-enhancing drugs to the players.

To be quite honest, I don't really buy this story. One reason, the NY Post of all papers, had a much different take on the situation including quotes from named sources, mainly Brian Cashman:

The Yankees have been cagey about Alex Rodriguez’s spring-training schedule, and they intend to stay that way.

Mindful of the heat generated by the recent Miami New Times story alleging massive illegal performance-enhancing drug usage by Rodriguez, the Yankees will give the public no advance warning of their rehabilitating third baseman’s whereabouts.

“I’m not going to say to try and keep away the extra, whatever you want to call it, paparazzi, whatever it is, the stakeout, wherever he is working out,” general manager Brian Cashman said last night at the Hard Rock Café in Manhattan, where the Yankees held a fundraiser for WCBS-AM radio producer-engineer Carlos Silva, who is battling cancer. “That’s the only reason I’m not going to say where he is going to be on a given day.”

So if the Yankees are trying to protect him, how would they be trying to derail his career at the same time? Either way, this story is a complete clusterf*ck that nobody needed this close to spring training. Also, if you haven't heard, Ryan Braun, Francisco Cervelli and Jesus Montero were also linked to this PED clinic.

In other, completely unrelated news, did you know you can buy Yankees tickets from Sliding Into Home? Well you can. Check out the banner on the right for the best deals on tickets to all spring training and regular season games.

Cashman Pineda With Throw Off Half Mound

Not a big step, but a step nonetheless.

Cashman Says There's A Chance A-Rod Could Miss The Entire Season

From WCBS:

there’s a chance that you might not see the 14-time All-Star wearing pinstripes at all in 2013, general manager Brian Cashman told WFAN co-hosts Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts on Friday.

“Yeah,” Cashman replied when asked if there was a chance that A-Rod could miss the entire season. “I think because (of) the serious nature of the surgery and the condition that he’s trying to recover from, you know, there is that chance.”

The Yankees said in a statement after A-Rod’s surgery that recovery was anticipated to take six months, but Cashman warned that “there’s no guarantees in this stuff.”

I assume Cashman is just covering all his bases, but you never know. At this point, let's just hope he comes back and that Youkilis can hold down the fort in A-Rod's absence.

Cashman Believes Pettitte Wants to Play

From Jon Lane:

Pettitte, who ended his one-year retirement during Spring Training, continues to mull his immediate future and stated he’ll make a decision sooner rather than later. Speaking with reporters at this week’s general manager meetings, Yankees GM Brian Cashman shared details of a conversation that didn’t reveal answers, but he’s holding on to hope that the veteran left-hander will help anchor the rotation for at least one more season.

“I talked to Andy a few days after we got eliminated,” Cashman said. “In that conversation, he was going to take his family away, his son was playing in a tournament. He just said he’s going to take some time, talk to his family.

“It wasn’t going to take long. I didn’t ask how long ‘long’ was, but he’ll call me. I’m not going to push him. He’ll let me know when he’s made a final decision about whatever he’s choosing to do. I hope he plays. I believe that it’s in his blood that he wants to play. I believe that, but it doesn’t guarantee anything. But I think he wants to play, and I’m hoping he’ll call and tell me that.”

I'm not really sure why Cashman feels this way, but I'm sure he knows how Andy's thinks. Let's hope he's right.

Cashman on Yanks Recent Struggles

From Chad Jennings:

Before last night’s win put the Yankees back into sole possession of first place in the American League East, general manager Brian Cashman provided a pretty blunt assessment of what the Yankees had been doing for the past seven weeks and what they planned on doing for the next month.

“We’re just not playing up to the best of our abilities, that’s all,” he said. “It’s a collection of stuff like that. You can talk about it all you want, but it’s not about where we were, it’s where we’re going to be. We intend to win the American League East.”

...

“This stuff happens,” Cashman said. “It’s not easy when you’re going through it, but we’re better than the way we’re playing recently. We look forward to proving that out. I’m not embarrassed that we’re in a pennant race because there’s a lot of good teams here. We expected to be in one all year. I’m a little more surprised, to be honest, that we pulled 10 games up for a period of time.”

...

“When you’re talking about age, age implies veterans,” Cashman said. “We’ve got a lot of veteran leadership here. These guys have been through a lot over the course of their careers. A lot of them have tasted a lot of success, and certainly at times, they’ve had to deal with failure. All that stuff will serve you well when you’re running into struggles.”

...

“The security blanket is over,” Cashman said. “The only way to do anything about that is to try to separate yourself from the pack again. We’ve done it once. Why can’t we do it again?”

Cashman calling it like it is, which is nice. The win yesterday was even nicer. Maybe it can be a start of a good stretch that can propel them back into form as the season comes to its close.

Cashman Says The Roster Is Just Fine

From Pete Caldera:

Amid the executive offices at Yankee Stadium, there were no pangs of remorse as the non-waiver trade deadline passed.

The Yankees’ motivation to add a prime player could be summed up in a few words.

"Only if it fell into our lap," said general manager Brian Cashman, asserting the stance that valuable prospects in the low minors and millions of dollars were not a suitable price for a rental.

...

"I believe we’re a championship-caliber club," Cashman said by phone Thursday, on the eve of a three-game home series against the Seattle Mariners. "I also know we’ve got our work cut out. There’s still work to be done, but we deserve to be in the race.

"We just have to play good baseball and be consistent the rest of the way. We want to win the division like everyone else does, with the way the wild card is set up."

...

"I think we have enough, collectively between our hitting and our pitching to win in October," said Cashman, whose two late July deals were for offense – acquiring veteran outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and right-handed hitting corner infielder Casey McGehee.

Typical Cashman here. He's never really be one to say the team wasn't good enough, and I suppose it's good that he's not starting now. Still, don't be surprised if Cash still has a trick or two up his sleeve, especially if the team struggles during this rough August stretch that's ahead of them.

Boras On Cano's FA Situation

From Joel Sherman:

“I had a meeting with Hal [Steinbrenner] and Randy [Levine, Yankees president] at the owners meetings [in May], and I certainly did not get any indication from them that there will be any dramatic changes in how the Yankees do business,” Boras said by phone.

And Boras did not sound like he would have much sympathy for the Yankees trying to go frugal. He cited Yankees “revenues triple most major league teams.” But, mainly, he invoked the “George Steinbrenner legacy” of building the brand, a TV network and revenues by enlisting and keeping stars — no matter the cost.

“If that continues, the Yankees will still be viewed as a destination for players that is highly coveted,” Boras said.

...

Brian Cashman has said he would like to break the Yankees’ practice of waiting until free agency to negotiate contracts and would prefer to attempt to extend both Cano and Curtis Granderson (like Cano, also a free agent after 2013) this offseason.

If I'm Brian Cashman there's no way I'm letting Cano walk and money shouldn't be an issue. The Yankees will be just fine. They make enough money, and there's no reason for them to start acting like the Royals when it comes to their own big name free agents, especially one who happens to be one of, if not the best second basemen in the game. That said, this isn't going to be an easy negotiation for the Yanks, at least not based on this:

However, according to a friend, Cano has felt underpaid on the current six-year, $57 million pact he signed under previous representation and wants to make a score this time — hence the presence of Boras.

So Cano definitely is going to blow away the current second base record total package of $85 million (Chase Utley) and annual average value of $15 million (Ian Kinsler). But by how much?

Sherman speculates that even offers like $154MM for 7 years or $160MM for 8 will just be the "minimum ante" for Cano. And if you listen to Boras, it appears that he's thinking something more along the lines of $200+ million for 10 years.

“When you go to sign great players and you know you are going to get six or seven years more of greatness, you have to spend by paying more years. You may pay over 10 years for the privilege of having the great seven. That is how it goes with big franchises and acquisitions. And the Yankees under George were one of the first teams to do that.”

This is typical Boras. Set the bar so high that even the middle ground ends up being a ridiculous contract. But again, I'm not going to sit here and pretend like this is something the Yankees cannot afford. I'd prefer if the Yankees could avoid any kind of deal for more than 7 or 8 years, but at the end of the day the Yankees just need to make sure Cano remains a Yankee.

What do you think? If you're Brian Cashman, how much are you willing to ante up for Cano?

Updates on Gardner and Joba

George A. King III is reporting that Brett Gardner had arthroscopic surgery on his injured right elbow today and everything went as planned. Team physician Chris Ahmad performed the surgery and said there told Gardner's agent that there were "no surprises" and "they found what they expected to find."

On the positive side of things, Brian Cashman was raving about Joba Chamberlain's recovery today while on WFAN:

“Joba’s out of control. The stuff he’s featuring is remarkable. He’s as high as 100 (mph) but upwards consistently (at) 96, 97, 98. He looks really good.”

...

“He’s an amazing guy,” Cashman said on WFAN. “He’s been hurt, he gets hurt a lot, but then his recovery time is like super-human -- always beats the standard. So yeah, he’s due back here shortly. I mean, the worst-case scenario would be the first week of August, but he should be here ahead of that.”

Cashman: Martin is our Catcher

From Marc Carig:

The Yankees have no plans to trade for a new catcher.

Despite starting catcher Russell Martin's horrendous first half, general manager Brian Cashman said today that he has no plans of wading into the trade market for catching help.

"We have our catching," Cashman said. "I believe in Russell Martin, period."

There's no doubt that Martin has been awful at the plate for most of the last season and a half, but he's a solid defensive catcher and the Yankees haven't seemed to be too hurt by his struggles. I'd rather them stick with what they have instead of dumping a bunch of prospects for a catcher they don't really need.

Marchand: Yanks "Strongly Considering Adding Payroll"

From Andrew Marchand:

After the slumber of their quiet offseason, the Yankees are strongly considering adding payroll in a deal to bring in a starting pitcher via free agency or a trade, a baseball official with knowledge of the team’s thinking told ESPN New York.

The official said that with prices coming down as spring training approaches, the odds were “60-40” that the Yankees will become more aggressive and add to a roster that has been unchanged from last year’s club. A source predicted that things will heat up next week.

Adding payroll is fine, and it's something I thought they'd have to do if they wanted to improve. But I would have rather seen them come to this conclusion earlier in the offseason so they could have at least known this before 95% of the FA market was taken off the board.

Nothing has changed regarding free agent targets, they're still eyeing Jackson & Kuroda:

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner met with agent Scott Boras to discuss starter Edwin Jackson, but he is not the only free agent on the team’s radar. Hiroki Kuroda may turn out to be their top choice over Jackson. Roy Oswalt seems more unlikely, but can’t be completely ruled out.

The key to any contract will be the length. The Yankees are looking to make a one-year deal. A source said that while Boras is no longer looking for five years for Jackson, he is still asking for a multi-year contract. If Boras doesn’t come down further, it seems highly unlikely the Yankees will sign Jackson.

A source termed a two-year offer unlikely, but didn’t completely rule it out. The Yankees will not go three years because they want to get beneath the $189 million luxury tax number by 2014. This would cut their payroll tax more than half, down to 17 percent, if they were able to do so.

Kuroda, who turns 37 next month, has been a pitcher the Yankees have had interest in dealing for, but he has been hesitant to leave Los Angeles. However, with the Dodgers not having room for him, he may be more open-minded about coming to the east coast. Kuroda may also return to Japan.

Marchand also mentioned and earlier Buster Olney report that said the Yanks were "quietly shopping Nick Swisher" and could deal the right fielder to free up some salary.

Swish, This Team Isn't Amazing

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and all that jazz to Yankee fans everywhere. It's been an incredibly quiet off season for the 27-Time Champs, as Brian Cashman has been far too busy repelling down buildings than improving a, quite frankly, borderline 90 win team as it stands today.

As much as I'd love to say "this team is great, they won 97 games last year!", I really can't. Yes, last year was a great season considering the circumstances the team was under. Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon, and Ivan Nova all pitched above and beyond anyone thought going into the season. But ultimately, the Yankees fell short of even the ALCS, losing to the Tigers in a heart-breaking 5-game series. While Game 5 was not to hang on the pitching (the Yankees left the bases loaded, what, 15 times that game?), it still doesn't change the fact that the pitching is the Yanks' #1 concern once again.

CC, Nova, and what? A.J. is, well, he's A.J. A bounce back season from him should not be anticipated. Garcia, as great as he was last year, is still 35, and I wouldn't bank on him having another year like 2011. And then you have the 5th spot. Whoever gets it - Phil Hughes or Hector Noesi; well, they don't even have real expectations going into the season. If the Yankees were to make the playoffs again, I don't think even the Mets would be scared to face this staff.

The offense, while still one of the best in baseball, also has some red flags. Alex Rodriguez is probably the biggest concern. Turning 37, A-Rod is no longer an MVP-candidate. No longer in the top 5 players list. He is an aging star who hasn't played in 150 games since 2007. While it seems like he can still hit around .280 and play an above-average third base, he's not a cleanup hitter anymore, and probably won't hit 30 home runs again unless he makes some calls to his cousin Yuri.

Another concern in that offense has to be the captain, Derek Jeter. While having a superb second half of the season, Jeet too is declining and will be 38 next June. As ageless a legend Jeter will go down as, every great player goes through this. This could be Jeter's last year as the starting shortstop, and it's hard to say he'll play so well that the front office decides otherwise next season.

The reason why I don't go out and say "Cash, you need to this....." is because I really don't see him doing anything. They want to stay under the luxury tax, and, despite there being still nice pieces on the market in Roy Oswalt or Edwin Jackson, if Cash really wanted to do something, he would have done it already.

And the Yankees, as they stand today, are in for a wake-up call next season. We can hope and pray that the Yanks will surprise us again, but I'm an optimistic realist. I can't see the Yanks making the playoffs next season, and if they were to, they'd fall well short of #28, as they did in 2011.

Rumor: AJ's Available But Nobody Wants Him

From George A. King III:

The Yankees have inserted A.J. Burnett into the trade market at the Winter Meetings, The Post has learned.

According to multiple teams, the Yankees have let it be known they will listen to offers for Burnett and are willing to pay $8 million of the $33 million Burnett is owed over the next two seasons.

“We will listen on anybody,’’ GM Brian Cashman said without getting specific.

Even with the Yankees swallowing about a quarter of Burnett’s contract, they haven’t gotten a nibble. First, Burnett, who will be 35 in January, would still be owed $12.5 million this coming season and next. Secondly, Burnett hasn’t pitched well (21-26) the past two seasons and has suffered a dip in velocity.

However, the fact that the Yankees have progressed to the point they are listening and willing to eat cash could be an indication they believe there is a move they can make to add a starter good enough to fall in behind ace CC Sabathia.

Cashman said, “I don’t have significant money for free agents’’ because of the dollars allotted for his bevy of stars, meaning adding an arm will likely come through a trade.

Not a surprise nobody is interested. I can't imagine this goes anywhere further unless the Yankees pick up even more money, and if that's the case then you have to wonder if making that kind of deal is even worth it.

Morosi: Yanks, Tigers, Marlins Most Interested in Cespedes

There was also this related bit of info from Chad Jennings:

Brian Cashman was asked today whether the new collective bargaining agreement will impact his pursuit of international free agents this winter. Teams are about to pay a premium when they spend big on the international market — and there are some premier international free agents out there — but Cashman wouldn’t comment on the issue.

“I’m not prepared to talk about what the new CBA does to us and how we have to adjust to it,” he said. “I’m still sifting through all of it. It’s a big document, and as you go through it you’re having meetings on every aspect of it as well as trying to do the job at the same time.”

Cashman Calls Wilson "The Most Attractive Candidate"

From Chad Jennings:

Brian Cashman was just on the Dan Patrick Show, and he was asked whether C.J. Wilson is at the top of his offseason wish list.

“I’d say it’s fair to say C.J. Wilson is probably the best pitcher on the marketplace right now since Sabathia’s been taken out and retained here,” Cashman said. “I don’t think it’s a stretch to tell anybody that he’s the most attractive candidate.”

...

Cashman cautioned that putting Wilson at the top of the list is strictly because of performance and talent. It does not take into account the contract Wilson might be after.

“You have your priority list and how it looks,” Cashman said. “But then it gets rearranged by cost analysis.”

It's rare for Cashman to talk like that, but with this free agent class, he's really just stating the obvious.

Cashman also said in the interview that the Yankees are not interested in Albert Pujols. 

In our circumstances, our roster, he doesn’t fit… It’s not an efficient way to try to allocate your resources.”

Yanks Resign Cashman For 3 Years

From Yankees.com:

The New York Yankees today announced that the club has re-signed Brian Cashman to a three-year contract to serve as the organization's Senior Vice President and General Manager.

You can read the entire press release here.

Heyman: Yanks & Cash Agree on Deal

Cash & Hal Meet

From Bryan Hoch:

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman met with managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner on Monday in New York, and a new contract for the GM is expected to be agreed upon before next Monday.

According to the New York Post, Cashman and Steinbrenner discussed the state of the Yankees in their meeting and not Cashman's expiring deal, which the GM has said is not his top concern at the moment.

"It'll get done between now and Oct. 31st, I'm sure," Cashman said last week. "I can't promise, but I think that's what everybody expects. I know it's something that everybody has to follow. But that's not a pressing circumstance, as far as something I'm worried about right now."

Cashman chaired the club's professional scouting meetings in New York last week. He was expected to travel to Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday to meet with other members of the team's hierarchy.

This will be done in no time.

Cashman Expects New Deal By End Of Month

From Bryan Hoch:

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman believes that he will have a new contract in place by the time his current deal expires on Halloween, remaining in the position he has held since 1998.

"It'll get done between now and Oct. 31st, I'm sure," Cashman said. "I can't promise, but I think that's what everybody expects. I know it's something that everybody has to follow. But that's not a pressing circumstance, as far as something I'm worried about right now."

Cashman said that he has no flights booked to meet with managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner at the Yankees' base in Tampa, Fla., but a new contract would not necessarily have to be negotiated face to face.

"I'm sure it could get done over the phone, from my perspective," said Cashman, who is completing a three-year, $6 million agreement with the club. "I don't want to speak for him."

It appears that these negotiations will go as smoothly as everyone pretty much expects.