Options Declined For Berkman, Johnson, and Wood

From the Yankees PR department:

The Yankees today declined the options for Lance Berkman, Nick Johnson and Kerry Wood; excercised option for Andrew Brackman

Those options were $11M for Wood, $15M for Berkman, and $5.5M for Johnson, so these were obvious decisions for the Yanks. Berkman gets a $2M buyout and Johnson get $250K.

I do think they should look try to resign Wood, just not for anything near $11M.

Updates From The Disabled List

Here's a summary of some injury updates from Chad Jennings:

Marcus Thames - Is rehabbing with the SWB Yanks and will play a full game for them today. He could be back with the Yankees as soon as tomorrow.

Sergio Mitre - He threw a 10-pitch inning yesterday for the Single-A Tampa Yankees. On Monday, he is set to throw two-innngs for Tampa.

Girardi said it’s “reasonable to assume” that Mitre will be ready to join the team after the all-star break.

Alfredo Aceves - Monday, Aceves will throw his first “advanced” bullpen session, is scheduled for 40 to 45 pitches off a full mound, and will throw all of his pitches. He's still behind Mitre in returning to the Yankees, but this is a good sign.

Nick Johnson - Johnson is still a long way away. He's "scheduled take dry swings with a light fungo bat this afternoon," and he could he’ll hit up to 20 balls of a tee. If he gets through that with no problems, Johnson will go to Tampa to continue his rehab.

Girardi said Johnson is “weeks” from rejoining the team. “This is a process we understand is going to take a while,” Girardi said.

Out of this group, I think Aceves is the most important. I've said this many times, but he was one of the keys to last year's bullpen success, and the Yankees could use him desperately right now.

Rosenthal: Nick Johnson Will Have Surgery

This tweet comes from Ken Rosenthal:

Sources: Yankees' Nick Johnson to undergo surgery on right wrist Tuesday. Likely out until July.

Here's a little more from Ben Shpigel:

“This is not a quick fix,” Manager Joe Girardi said. “This is going to be a while.”

Johnson said he would have the surgery “probably tomorrow.” He has been told that he will need four to six weeks of rest before he can swing a bat again. Johnson elected to have surgery after an injection of anti-inflammatory medication did not help, and after he reported no improvement from the exercises and treatment he was doing with the training staff.

“I’d rather not keep waiting and take care of it,” Johnson said.

...

“We’ve done all the treatments we can do,” said Johnson...

This is obviously bad news for the Yankees, who now are without a DH for the next 6-8 weeks. Juan Miranda is probably not the long-term answer, although I'm sure the Yankees will see what they can get from him over the next few weeks when they face right-handed pitching. Expect to see a lot of Marcus Thames against lefties, and Randy Winn will also get some more at-bats while Johnson is out.

Like I've said a few times over the last few days, I'd like to see the Yankees give Jorge Posada a few more games at DH while Johnson is out. Mainly because it will give Francisco Cervelli more playing time. So that's another option.

Johnson May Be Headed For Surgery

Since the Yankees signed Nick Johnson this offseason, the main concern on everybody's mind was his health. Now, with the season six weeks old, we've already seen how fragile he is. He's already missed over 10 games due to injury, and now we find out he may be headed for surgery. Here's more from Joe Lapointe:

Nick Johnson, the Yankees’ often-injured designated hitter, may require surgery on his right wrist, General Manager Brian Cashman said Saturday.

Johnson, who went on the disabled list May 8 with what was called an inflamed tendon, had a cortisone injection about a week ago, Cashman said. If the shot solves the problem, Johnson might return in three weeks.

“But if it doesn’t heal it, we’ll have to have surgery,” Cashman said. The procedure would sideline Johnson for four to six weeks. At worst, Johnson could be out until July.

The article goes on to say that the Yankees will know is 10 days whether Johnson will need surgery or not.

This is the risk you take when you sign a player who can't stay healthy on the hopes that this will be the year he finally keeps himself in the lineup.

(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Updates on Johnson & Cano

Nick Johnson left tonight's game in the fifth innin with soreness in his right wrist. During the postgame show on YES they said that he was headed back to New York for an MRI. Marc Carig reports that the wrist has been bothering Johnson for a few weeks, and a trip to the DL is likely.

Robinson Cano also left tonight's game after being hit on the knee with a 92 mph fastball by Josh Beckett. He tried to stay in the game and run the bases but took himself out two pitches into the following at-bat. After the game Joe Girardi told Marc Carig that he'd "be surprised if Robbie played tomorrow."

Andrew Marchand says that Girardi said Robbie is day-to-day and that the Yankees will call up an infielder to take Johnson's spot on the roster when he hits the DL.

More info as it comes.

The Incomparable Nick Johnson

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Nick Johnson has been the target of a great deal of criticism thus far this season. With the exception of the much-maligned Javier Vazquez, I'd wager that Johnson has drawn more venom than any other Yankee. I, for one, have thoroughly enjoyed watching him draw walk after walk, standing at the plate with his bat over his shoulder, compiling a very good OBP of .375 - I could be wrong, but I believe he's taken a walk despite forgetting his bat in the dugout. That being said, while OBP is incredibly valuable, I'm not sure that it can make up for a .135 BA and .231 SLG. With that in mind, let's examine Johnson's work thus far this season.

First, I'll look at his batted ball profile. Despite much snark to the contrary, much of which is my own, Johnson has swung the bat this season... with marginal success. Two things are worth noting in particular - his BABIP (.182) and his xBABIP (.327). If we apply his xBABIP to his balls in play, his batting average jumps to .231. Even assuming those five extra hits were singles, his overall line would still increase to .231/.444/.327. That's still not very good, but it looks and sounds much better, in my opinion. Regardless, his line-drive percentage is solid (23.5%) and he's hitting a great deal of flyballs (44.1%), so there is room for improvement.

Second, it's worth checking out his plate discipline. As you can well imagine, Johnson's swinging at far less pitches than most major leaguers. Johnson's taken a cut at 28.6% of his offerings... the league-average is 44.5%. That's incredible. However, I was more surprised by his contact profile. When Johnson does swing, he's making contact (and solid contact, based on his liner and flyball numbers) 88.0% of pitches, versus the 80.8% league-average. That's fairly impressive, as well.

In the end, I think there's reason for optimism here. The walks are likely to keep on coming (likely at a lesser rate), and his batted ball numbers suggest that he's been unlucky thus far. While many have suggested that his bat has slowed, it seems as if that's not the case either - he's making a great deal of contact (when he does swing) and, again, he's hitting the ball well.

Some Monday Links

With the struggles of Javier Vazquez on everybody's mind today, I thought this article from Jeff Roberts of The Record was particularly interesting. It's about the mental side of pitching.

...

Beside Javy, everyone is also talking about Joe Girardi's mishandling of the seventh inning yesterday. Marc Carig, Mark Fiensand, George King and Ben Shpigel all have stories on the manager's blunder.

...

Nick Johnson has changed his number from 26 to 36, but insists it had nothing to do with the slump he's in... Sure Nick, whatever you say.

...

Mark Feinsand spoke to some Yanks about today's trip to the White House and Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

"You never get tired of meeting the President," Jeter said. "Everyone enjoys trips to the White House, because not too many people get the opportunity to do it. If you have that opportunity, it's something people remember."

...

"Hopefully we can raise their spirits and bring a smile to their faces," Mariano Rivera said of the wounded soldiers. "That's special."

...

Bobby Wilson isn't mad at Mark Teixeira for running over him the other day.

"He was playing baseball," Wilson said. "He was playing hard. I know he got hit a few pitches earlier, but he was playing baseball.

"Now I wish he would've [slid], but there's no hard feeling toward Tex. I know the kind of person he is. I know his intent wasn't to hurt me. People can say what they want, if they think it's clean, or they think it's dirty, it's baseball. Next time it comes around I'm not going to back down. I'm not going to shy away from contact just cause this happened. It's part of the game."

...

Larry over on IIATMS wrote this interesting article about the Yankees payroll. He informs us that out of the top 8 revenue-earning teams in baseball, the Yankees spend the smallest percentage of revenues on player payroll at 46.8%. The Tigers spend the highest percentage, at 65.4% and the Red Sox and Phillies are right behind them at 61.1% and 60.9%.

If the Yankees spent revenue on payroll at the same percentage as the Tigers, the Yankees could add another $80 million in player salaries! They could add Ryan Howard, John Lackey, Matt Holliday and Roy Halladay, with money left over.

Think about that the next time someone wants to complain about the Yankees payroll.

Bad Back Will Sideline Johnson Until Tuesday

Expect Nick Johnson to get another day off tomorrow, because according to Joe Girardi, Johnson's back is a little more stiff than expected. Here's more from Chad Jennings:

Girardi indicated that Johnson thought it would loosen after some time in the whirlpool but that didn’t happen.
...

“I expect him back on Tuesday,” Girardi said.

With the way he's been swinging the bat maybe a few days off will be a good thing.

What's the Real Plan for Montero?

Continuing our Jesus Montero theme this morning, we take a look at this from RealGM Baseball.com. It's about a rumor originally from ESPN Insider that was going around yesterday that top prospect Jesus Montero could be replacing Nick Johnson soon. Although Johnson is struggling (he is hitting only .146), it's ridiculous to start talking about this now. Johnson is a professional hitter who has a career .273 batting average and hit .295 last year. There is no reason to believe he won't start hitting again soon. In the meantime, despite his slump, he is getting on base ahead of Tex and A-Rod (.406 OBP) which is what he was brought here to do.

But writers need stuff to write about, especially when it comes to the Yankees. Discussion like this only fuels the fire with Yankee fans. All the talk about Montero has Yankee fans on edge wanting to see what this 20 year old kid, regarded as the 2nd best prospect in all of baseball, can do in the majors. It doesn't help hearing about how great young phenom, Jason Heyward is performing with the Braves. It just makes us want him up here more. Starting his first year in Triple-A, Montero has been solid offensively. He is hitting .295 through 11 games with 2 HRs and 9 RBI. Based on the "talk", I would have expected more power (he has only 5 XBHs), but it's early and he has hit his 2 HRs over the last few games, so maybe the power is coming.

More of a concern though, is that he is not showing any signs of disproving the theory that he doesn't have the ability to play behind the plate. Defensively Montero makes some strong throws and works well with the pitchers, but there is still questions about his footwork and ability to block pitches in the dirt. Most scouts blame his big 6' 4" 225 pound body for causing slow footwork which in turn affects how long it takes him to make his throws. This translates into the opposition stealing at a very high success rate as evidenced by his overall CS% of 25% in 2008 and 20% in 2009. Through 11 games this year he is 0 for 8 in throwing out runners on steal attempts, has 2 passed balls, 2 errors and 1 catcher's interference. So Jorge seems safe for now.

But how much patience will the Yankees have? If he doesn't catch, Montero will not be able to find a slot in the field with the Yankees any time soon. He has been more than willing to work hard at improving as a catcher. If the Yankees are serious about him becoming the catcher of the future, it's obvious he needs more time in the minors to work on his defense. However, if Johnson continues struggling or makes the much expected trip to the DL (he's averaged less than 80 games a year over last 4 seasons), will they be tempted? Remember, Johnson has a 1 year contract, which leads many to believe that this could be the path which takes Montero to the full time DH roll in 2011.

Supporting the fact that Montero's best asset is his hitting ability, Keith Law called Montero, "a catcher in name only." And from this quote, it seems he endorses the idea of calling him up this year as a DH:

Behind the plate, he has arm strength and has improved his accuracy, but he's so big that he doesn't move quickly enough to catch in the big leagues, and his receiving has never been a strength. His bat is so far ahead of his glove anyway that it might end up making sense for the Yankees to employ him as a major league DH soon rather than wait for him to develop as a catcher, knowing that there's a good chance the latter won't happen.

Fangraphs also had an interesting take in "Updating the Top Prospects:AL Edition":

At first glance, you might say a line of .295/.367/.500 through 11 games is nice. But consider the fact that Montero is just 20 years old and he hasn’t been fazed one bit by the move to triple-A. His triple-slash line is actually pretty awesome. Rumor has it he occasionally plays with one arm tied behind his back just to make things interesting. If the Yankees offense sputters at any point this season, expect to see him penciled in to the DH spot.

How soon before writers and fans start clamoring for Montero to get his chance on the big stage?

Some Injury Updates

Chad Jennings just posted some updated on injured Yankees Nick Johnson, Alfredo Aceves, Damaso Marte, Jorge Posada and Francisco Cervelli. Here's a summary:

• Nick Johnson said he was “Stiff and sore right now,” and that he wasn't "going to do anything tomorrow," just "get some treatments and see how it feels.” When asked about Opening Night he said he would be in the lineup, but Joe Girardi felt a little differently, saying, "I’m somewhat concerned about Sunday.” So we'll have to wait and see.

• Alfredo Aceves had a successful day in minor league game. He threw a painless eight-pitch scoreless inning, and also threw off flat ground. “Everything was good. I didn’t feel nothing in my back," said Aceves. Girardi will see how Ace feels tomorrow, but I think he'll be ready to go on Sunday.

• Damaso Marte said he feels "maybe two or three days” will be all the rest he needs for his back.

• According to Jorge Posada, his neck feels "much better."

• Francisco Cervelli had the same thing to say about his mildly strained hamstring. Cervelli, who caught in the bullpen and took BP, also said he could have played today.

So Johnson, Posada, Cervelli, and Aceves all seem like they'll be fine for Sunday night, while Marte might miss a game or two. Not too bad, it could have been much worse.

Johnson Leaves Game After Fouling Ball Off His Knee

For the second time this spring Nick Johnson was forced out a game due to an injury, but luckily it doesn't seem to be anything major. Here's an update from Chad Jennings:

Nick Johnson has a bruised right knee. The Yankees have labeled him, day-to-day. No diagnostic tests were performed.

While it's not a major injury, we're already getting a dose of how fragile Johnson is. I'm doubting his ability to make it through the season healthy more and more with each passing day.

To Girardi, Batting 2nd is All About OBP

From Marc Carig:

"On-base is extremely important to me because the guys behind him can all hit the ball out of the ballpark," Girardi said, again not naming names. "So, yes, you'd love to have a guy that had an extremely high on-base percentage that can run and hit for power. But if you had that guy he might hit somewhere else."

But what about speed? Shouldn't the guy hitting second have enough speed to avoid double plays?

"You like to have guys who can run," Girardi said. "But as I said, because of the guys in front of him, that becomes less important. You don't have to be a flyer."

Johnson's career OBP - .402.

Granderson's career OBP - .344.

It would appear that Nick Johnson is currently in the lead for that no. 2 spot.

Johnson Trying To Get Ready For DH Role

From Bryan Hoch:

When your most important job assignment is getting into the batter's box, there can be a lot of down time. That's something that Nick Johnson is trying to get used to.

Back with the Yankees primarily as a designated hitter, Johnson can glance at the first baseman's glove in his locker and know it probably won't be seeing too many summer afternoons in the Bronx. But he just can't stow it away.

"I'll always take my ground balls," Johnson said. "I love going out there, but I know I won't be. I'll just get in a routine DHing, embrace it and get comfortable with it, and get four or five quality at-bats, whatever it is."

...

"I'll probably have to not think too much," Johnson said. "You'll have whatever it is between the at-bats, so you try not to beat yourself up over an at-bat. Maybe you take a peek at the video room here and there, but you don't kill yourself over something, because you can do it for a long time. You stay loose, stretch a lot, hit off the tee or do flips, and go get 'em."

Joe Girardi also spoke about Johnson's DH duties:

"It's something that we're going to work on getting him used to in [Spring Training]," Girardi said. "Physically, you would think that it's a little easier to stay healthier. It's something that he's going to learn how to do. He might take to it real quick, you never know."

...

"The only thing you can do is give him a lot of DH days in Spring Training, so he figures out what he's most comfortable doing in between at-bats," Girardi said. "I think sometimes guys can get too caught up with going to watch too much tape."

I expect Johnson to handle the DH role well. He seems to have the right attitude about it and I don't think he'll be hurt by all that time in between at-bats. As we all know Johnson has had a history of being injury prone, so the time away from the field will probably be a good thing.

What are you guys expecting from Nick Johnson in his return to Pinstripes?

Nick Johnson Looking For A Power Boost

No, not the illegal steroid kind. He's looking to improve his swing on inside pitches. Here's more from George King:

Instead, the hitting coach is focused on Johnson using the lower half of his body to keep from getting beat on inside pitches.

Long believes even if the left-handed hitting Johnson doesn't attempt to become a dead-pull hitter -- something Johnson says won't happen intentionally -- the jet stream that flows to right field and Yankee Stadium's short porch will result in Johnson's home run totals rising.

Johnson went to Arizona last week for a two-day session with Long and the batting cage rat immediately went to work on Johnson's feet.

"We worked on trying to keep his back foot [left] in place, trying to keep it from flying back," Long said of Johnson's approach. "When it moves he collapses the inside right away. That takes away the inside of the plate. We talked about Yankee Stadium and figured we might want to address that."
...

"I never used my legs in the past," the career .273 hitter with a .402 on-base percentage said. "It felt good to work on that."

Known for a keen eye and the ability to lay off pitches, Johnson and Long also talked about the patient Johnson attacking a bit more.

"Being ready to hit from pitch one and staying more aggressive," Johnson said of Long's message.

Remember when I used to complain about Kevin Long? Well, that's not going to happen again any time soon. He has consistently shown that he is a very hard worker, something that paid off big time last year with several guys in the Yankees lineup. I'm hoping, and somewhat expecting him to do the same for Johnson as well as Curtis Granderson.

Is It Too Early To Start Thinking About #28?

If you're a baseball fan, January is the worst month of the year. Normally there is never any big Hot Stove news, and everybody in the Sports world is tuned in to College Basketball and the NFL Playoffs. I'm a football fan, but still, baseball is no where to be seen in the first month of the year. So, do you think we should start looking ahead to when baseball returns and the Yankees begin their pursuit of back-to-back championships? I think so.

During the offseason, the Yankees lost both Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon (so it seems) to free agency. Many were upset with the moves, and personally, so was I. But of course the Yanks had something up their sleeve, and sure enough they acquired Curtis Granderson and Javier Vazquez via trades. They also re-signed Andy Pettitte and brought back Nick Johnson on a 1-year deal. These three guys aren't CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixiera, but they were all very nice pickups for the Yankees.

As for that other team down in Beantown, they signed John Lackey, Adrian Beltre, Mike Cameron, and Marco Scutaro to try and get on par with the Yanks. While those are all nice moves, you still have the aging Jason Varitek, the sluggish slugger David Ortiz, and except for J.D. Drew, you wouldn't really want that outfield on your team. Am I saying they can't win the AL East? Of course they can, but like all teams, they have some weaknesses that may separate them from the Yankees.

Now let's go back to New York. When you mix the newest Yankees in with the Core Four and the likes of Nick Swisher, it’s a match made in heaven. Granderson will hit around .270 and may smash 40 out of the park. Javier Vazquez finished fourth in the NL CY Young voting last season and has thrown 200+ innings the past five years. And we can't forget about Nick Johnson; he's an OBP machine, and while he may not hit for power or average, he'll get on base most of the time.

Right now I say the Yanks will win the AL East again. All in all they are still the best team in the American League and maybe the best team in baseball. Am I going to jump the gun and say the Yankees will win their 28th World Championship this season? No, but I think there's a good chance.

Johnson and Granderson Versus Matsui and Damon

In 2009 the Yankees benefitted from nearly miraculously productive seasons from Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon. Matsui in particular had detoriated to the point where if somebody had picked him for World Series MVP back in March, they would have been laughed at. Coming off a major surgery expectations for the longtime Yankee were very low. Damon was also seen as a broken down former centerfielder who was now a liability in the field.

In reality, the two were huge bats for the Yanks. Although Damon's defense continued to fall apart, he had the best offensive year of his career and hit homerun after homerun into the right field seats. Matsui surprised everybody with his .509 SLG% and was a much needed power threat in the middle of the lineup. Altogether the two combined for 52 home runs and 172 RBI's. They were worth 47.4 offensive runs and a 5.4 WAR if you prefer more sophisticated stats. That's a lot of offense no matter how you look at it.

In the aftermath of the Nick Johnson signing and the Curtis Granderson trade their were a lot of people claiming that the chances of those two replicating the 2009 performances of Damon and Matsui were slim. My intial reaction to this claim was to note that the chances of Damon and Matsui replicating their 2009 performances were ever lower. However, it ocurred to me to wonder whether or not this claim was true and I don't think it is at all.

First a look at Damon and Granderson. Although Granderson is not directly replacing Damon in left field, he is the guy that ultimately made Damon expendable by allowing Gardner to slide over to left. Over the past three years their average offensive numbers are pretty close with Damon providing the more consistent number. Granderson has ranged from a .395 wOBA. I would say his true talent level is probably around what he did in 2008. Damon's 2009 was a pretty good year for him. He put up a line of .282/.365/.489 with a .376 wOBA. Offensively, it wouldn't really be a surprise if Granderson pulled off a season like that, after all he did essentially that in 2008 and was worlds better in 2007. Besides that, Granderson will now have the benefit of that short porch in right that Damon used so well to his advantage in '09. Granderson is coming off of the worst year of his career though and I think its fair to call them a wash in this area.

What really makes the difference between Damon and Granderson is their defense. Granderson contributed 14.2 runs to his team on defense in 2007, -8.9 in 2008, and 1.6 in 2009. Not spectacular but all signs indicate that he plays a solid centerfield. On the other hand, Damon is a major liability in the field. His defensive value has declined steadily from contributing 4.8 runs in the field in 2007, to costing the Yanks 1.1 in 2008 and 9.2 in 2009. He's gone from a solid centerfielder to a leftfielder who should really be DH'ing at this point. Its not even close, Granderson has a huge edge defensively that will push him over the top. Again, the age factor comes into play and its pretty safe to say that Damon's range will probably decline even further in 2010.

Nick Johnson should be directly replacing Hideki Matsui in the DH hole. However, this comparison is quite a s straightforward. I think its pretty easy to say that Johnson is a better hitter than Matsui. Nick doesn't have quite as much power as Matsui and won't fit into his old #5 spot in the lineup. However, he's an on base machine. To pull out the stats is almost meaningless as he barely played in 2007 or 2008. However, in 2009 he put up a line of .291/.426/.405 while playing hurt. That all adds up to a wOBA of .373. Matsui did manage to match it though. His line was .274/.367/.509 with a wOBA of .378. If healthy, Johnson likely could have topped that though. The big question is will the DH spot and regular days off keep Johnson healthy, much the same way it did for Matsui last year.

Over at fangraphs.com they have Johnson and Granderson projected for a combined 5.8 WAR in 2010. Its an admittedly unscientific projection made by the fans. However, its worth a glance at least. Matsui and Damon combined for a 5.4 WAR. A lot depends on Nick Johnson staying healthy but the idea of the two new Yankees replacing the production of Damon and Matsui isn't nearly as ridiculous as some of you may think.

Yanks Finalize Deal With Nick Johnson

Today the Yanks have finalized their deal with Nick Johnson. The deal includes around a million in performance based incentives and a mutual option for 2011 worth at least $5.5 million.

Johnson, like Vazquez, seems very happy to be back. Here's a quote from Marc Carig:

"Just coming back to New York, (it's) a great place to play," Johnson said. "And having a chance to win, that's what it comes down to, winning. The last six years I haven't been close to doing that."

Grading The Yanks' Offseason (So Far)

We all know the Yanks haven't dug deep into their pockets so far this winter, but that doesn't mean the Yankees aren't having a good offseason. So, I'm gonna add in my two cents and look back on what (to me) has been a pretty successful winter so far for the World Champs.

Now I'm not going to say loosing Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui are smart moves, but acquiring Curtis Granderson and Nick Johnson aren't bad moves either. I love Godzilla and Damon, don't get me wrong, but Matsui is 35, and one little knee injury may spell the end for the Angels' new DH. Damon, on the other hand, is 36, and would probably get a scarce amount of starts in the outfield. And I know both players bring a lot of upside to the table as well, but I don't see them duplicating the success they had this past season in 2010.

So, let's get to the people the Yankees got to replace them - Curtis Granderson, and Nick Johnson. Granderson is a great player, as he hits for power, has great speed, drives in a lot of runs, and is really just a great guy. Still only 28, Granderson will be a solid player in the Yanks' lineup for many years to come, and to me, Granderson will do just as well, if not better, than Johnny Damon next season.

Johnson, who the Yanks signed today, also brings a lot of talent to the Bronx. He's been injury prone most of his career, but when healthy, he's a very good player. High on-base-percentage, a possible 20 home run hitter, and would probably get 400-450 ABs as the Yanks' new DH. He can also give Mark Teixeira a day off when he needs one, as Johnson also plays first base. I know it's a big "if", but if Johnson stays healthy he can be a solid replacment for Matsui this upcoming season.

All in all, I give the Yanks a solid B+. They got younger by letting Matsui and Damon, but managed to keep the talent with new players in Johnson and Granderson. It's still not over, and the Yanks still may sign a pitcher like Ben Sheets or maybe an infielder like Mark DeRosa. Not big superstar names like last season, but they're still making good moves. They'll get back to their spending ways next season with names like Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, and possibly Joe Mauer on the market.

So, what do you think of the Yanks' offseason so far?

Damon: "I'm not disappointed"

Sweeny Murti has this quote from Damon regarding the end of his days in Pinstripes:

"I'm not disappointed. I'm thankful I got 4 years there."

Then there's this from Tyler Kepner:

Damon came back to Yanks at 2 yrs/$20M late Thurs. But by then, Yanks and Johnson had essentially agreed to 1/$5.5M; there was no going back

Still not a fan of Johnson over Damon, not at all.

Johnson Deal Done

From George A. King III:

The Yankees and Nick Johnson have agreed on a one-year deal that will become official after Johnson takes a physical Monday.

The deal calls for a salary close to $5 million with a chance to add another $1 million in incentives for Hideki Matsui’s replacement at the DH spot.

King also mentions that Johnson will bat second if Johnny Damon doesn't come back. If he can stay healthy there is some value there since he is an on-base machine, but that could be a big IF.

Still, for about the same money they could have brought back Matsui, which is what I think they should have done.