Part three of our series takes us back to 2008, which was memorable for being the first season with Joe Girardi as manager and the final year in the old Yankee Stadium, but little else. It was something of a transition year, or at least as close as the Yankees will ever get to having one. The sheer volume of moves is indicative of how many problems there were with the team that broke camp, and the Yankee GM spent much of the season trying (mostly in vain) to plug holes. Not a banner year for Brian, so if you’re a Cashman basher, this one’s for you.

Alex Rodriguez granted Free Agency.

I’m going to break my rule on not covering Yankee players who were retained as FAs for this doozy of a contract, but will refrain from giving it a grade since I didn’t grade the other Yanks who were retained after hitting free agency. Many of us a gasped the day the contract was signed, and that was before the steroid allegations were brought to light the following year, or the hip injury that has nagged Alex the past two seasons. As he did this year with the Soriano contract, Brian made it known at the A-Rod press conference that it wasn’t a contract he would have signed. He was right, Alex had thus far been paid 91 mil through the first three years of the contract and produced 14.4 WAR, or about 63 mil worth of production. Further, Alex is guaranteed 113 mil over the next 4 seasons (his ages 35-38 seasons) and has another 61 mil guaranteed for the next 3 years after that (ages 39-41). Its widely regarded as one of the worst contracts in Baseball, and while Alex is still a very good, very productive player it’s the type of deal you’re better off not signing.

No grade

November 24, 2007

Signed Dan Giese as a free agent.

Brian takes flyers on no-name pitchers all the time, but this one actually paid off. Called up on June 3rd to be a long man/spot starter, the 31 year old Giese exceeded all expectations. He pitched to a 3.53 ERA and 1.22 WHIP appearing in 20 games and starting 3 of them. Maybe it was just a first time through the league effect, but it counts.

Grade-Net plus

November 27, 2007

Signed Cody Ransom as a free agent.

Yankee fans may forget, but 2008 was actually a productive year for Cody Ransom. He produced 0.4 WAR (1.8 mil) playing for MLB minimum and won a few games with his bat late in the year. It was the first 5 weeks of 2009 when he filled in at 3B for the injured Alex Rodriguez that he was overexposed. In 2009, he produced a -0.7 WAR, wiping out the positive production from 2008 and then some.

Grade-Net minus

December 3, 2007

Signed Jose Molina as a free agent.

‘Panda’ was a fave with the pitchers and in the clubhouse, but was another backup who got overexposed when the starter, in this case Jorge Posada, went down with an injury. He produced 0.6 WAR in his 2 seasons with the Yanks (2.4 mil) and was paid about 4 mil. He would have been fine as a backup Catcher, but the bottom line is he didn’t earn his salary.

Grade-Net minus

December 4, 2007

Traded Tyler Clippard to the Washington Nationals. Received Jonathan Albaladejo.

Albaladejo produced a grand total of -0.2 WAR over three seasons with the Yanks, while Tyler Clippard blossomed into a valuable reliever for the Nats in 2010, producing 1.4 WAR. Alby was recently released by the Yanks, so this deal’s a clear win for the Nats.

Grade-Net minus

December 21, 2007

Signed LaTroy Hawkins as a free agent.

Latroy was awful for the Yanks, and Brian should have known better. He had a nice 2007 season pitching in the NL West, but the last time he pitched in the AL East was 2006 in BAL and he got hammered. He was the best pitcher available on a 1 year deal, and Brian wanted to avoid long term commitments so he could work in his up and coming prospects, but Hawkins just didn’t get the job done.

Grade-Net minus

January 4, 2008

Signed Billy Traber as a free agent.

The former 1st round draft pick (#16 overall NY Mets 2000) did little to solve the Yanks need for a Lefty specialist, pitching to a 7.02 ERA after breaking camp with the club out of spring training. Low risk move that provided zero reward.

Grade-Net minus

January 31, 2008

Signed Morgan Ensberg as a free agent.

On paper, looked like a good move. First Base caddy for the aging, addled Jason Giambi who just three years earlier was garnering MVP votes with the Houston Astros. Batted just .203/.263/.243 (.506  OPS) from a corner infield spot. Was released on June 10th by the Yanks and despite catching on with the Indians and Rays, never played in the majors again.

Grade-Net minus

February 1, 2008

Signed Alfredo Aceves as a free agent.

The ‘Mexican Gangster’ was a godsend to the Yanks in 08/09 producing 1.5 WAR (6.7 mil) while making MLB minimum. Big part of their championship teams bullpen in 2009, and whoever scouted him out of Mexico deserves a raise.

Grade-Net plus

March 12, 2008

Signed Chad Moeller as a free agent.

As with Molina, a backup catcher who was forced into more playing time  than he should see due to the injury of Jorge Posada. But injuries are why you have backups around to begin with. Produced 0.1 WAR (300K) while earning around 700K for the season. Small potatoes, but didn’t work out.

Grade-Net minus

June 19, 2008 (Standings)

Signed Sidney Ponson as a free agent.

Ahhh Sir Sidney. Admit it, you miss the chubby lil guy, don’t ya? A mid season desperation move for a starter who bestowed a 5.85 ERA and 1.638 WHIP upon Yankee fans in 15 torturous starts.

Grade-Net minus

July 17, 2008 (Standings)

Signed Richie Sexson as a free agent.

A glittering example of statistical noise. The Yanks were getting killed by Lefties in 2008. Sexson was a horrendously undisciplined hitter who just happened to have good numbers facing Lefties that particular season. His Career platoon splits, however, were much more ambiguous. Brian was desperate, so he tried to see if he could ride the wave a bit longer, and would up wiping out on a jetty. Sexson was painful to watch, struck out in about 1/3 of his PAs with the Yanks and was released in under a month.

Grade-Net minus

July 26, 2008 (Standings)

Traded Jeff Karstens, Daniel McCutchen, Ross Ohlendorf and Jose Tabata to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Received Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady.

Complex deal, so I’ll just use WAR. Pitchers in this deal provided modest returns for the Pirates. Karstens has produced a total of 0.8 WAR in his 3 years with the Pirates, McCutchen was given a shot last year and pretty much flopped, producing a -0.6 WAR over 2009/10. Ohlendorf has been a nice addition to the Pirates, producing 1.9 total WAR over the past two seasons. But the centerpiece of the deal was Jose Tabata, and he provided the Buccos with a tidy 2.0 WAR in his rookie season last year.

From the Yankee side, they didn’t even get back modest returns for their investments. Marte has barely pitched, logging just 49.1 IP over three seasons with the team. He produced a grand total of -0.2 WAR, and is expected to miss all of 2011 as well. Nady produced a meager -0.1 WAR in 2008, then quickly hurt his elbow in April of 2009 which required the 2nd TJ surgery of his career. From the Yanks perspective, this was a trade you were much better off not making.

Grade-Net minus

Totals:Net Plus-2/Net Minus-10

For part 2, I’ll look at 2009. The Yanks obviously went on to win the World Series that year, but as with any other season the GM had his share of good and bad moves. Again, I’m only going to look at major moves, ones involving a player that spent time on the 25 man roster. I won’t look at retaining their existing players as free agents since I want to see if the changes he made worked out or not, but I will look at free agents they let walk, such as Bobby Abreu from this year. I’ll do a quick analysis of each move, and assess a grade of net plus or net minus for the franchise which will largely be based on WAR. I’ll total up each at the end of the post, and give a final total at the end of part 5.

2009 New York Yankees Trades and Transactions

October 30, 2008

Bobby Abreu granted Free Agency.

Controversial move at the time for the popular Abreu, but Cashman wanted to get younger and more athletic after 2008. Was replaced with Nick Swisher, who at the time was coming off a horrible year (1.2 WAR) in CHI. After coming off a down year (1.7 WAR) in 2008 for the Yanks, Abreu had a bounce back season in 2009 for the Angels (2.9 WAR) but Yankee fans barely noticed. Swisher posted a 3.3 WAR in 2009, and an even better 4.1 WAR in 2010. All totaled, Abreu has been worth 5.1 wins since leaving while Swisher has been worth 7.4, and Nick appears to be entering his prime years.

Grade-Net Plus

November 13, 2008

Traded Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez to the Chicago White Sox. Received Nick Swisher and Kanekoa Texeira.

One of Brian’s all time best deals, buying low on a good player coming off a bad year in a bad situation with the White Sox and their manager. We just went over how good Swisher has been, so lets look at it from the White Sox perspective. They got one year of  Wilson Betemit at -0.6 WAR. Nunez got a look with the Sox in 2009 and pitched to a 9.53 ERA in 7 games, and followed that up pitching to a 5.48 ERA last year pitching for their Charlotte AAA affiliate. Marquez has posted ERAs of 9.85 (11 games) in 2009 and 4.48 ERA in 2010 in AAA. Kenny Williams pretty much got nothing, except maybe to get his manager to stop complaining about a good player.

Grade-Net Plus

December 12, 2008

Signed A.J. Burnett as a free agent.

The ever-enigmatic AJ had a solid season for the Yanks in 2009, posting a 3.4 WAR and pretty much earning his 16.5 mil salary, give or take a mil. But he was awful in 2010, worth just 1.3 WAR and on the days he was off, he didn’t give his team much of a chance to win. The Yanks didn’t feel they had an in house replacement ready to take his place after the Hughes-IPK experience in April and May of 2008. The main FA alternative was Derek Lowe, and given the age on the Yanks left side of the infield and the fact Lowe doesn’t miss many bats, I would have made the same move. But AJ barely earned 1/3 of his 16.5 mil salary last year, and his fastball velocity has been dropping steadily for the past 3 seasons. When you win a WS and go deep into the playoffs the following year, its hard to argue the move was a total negative, but AJ’s contributions didn’t help last year. Net minus, mostly on the fact he hasn’t earned his salary.

Grade-Net Minus

December 20, 2008

Signed CC Sabathia as a free agent.

This one’s a no-brainer. Can you imagine the Yanks without CC? Worth 11.4 WAR and has even outproduced his hefty salary.

Grade-Net Plus

January 6, 2009

Signed Angel Berroa as a free agent.

Depth move with the 2003 Rookie of the Year that didn’t work out. Moves like this are why Brian prefers in house options like Ramiro Pena, who at least won’t complain about playing time.

Grade-Net Minus

January 6, 2009

Signed Mark Teixeira as a free agent.

Replaced the aging, addled Jason Giambi and more than doubled Jason’s 2.5 WAR with a 5.4 WAR in 2009. Had a down year in 2010, but is another no-brainer. Has roughly earned his high salary, give or take a mil.

Grade-Net Plus

February 13, 2009

Signed Brett Tomko as a free agent.

Low risk, back of the bullpen depth option that paid off nicely for the Yanks, pitching to a 0.64 ERA in 10 games. Wanted to be released to get more playing time, the Yanks obliged and was awful for the A’s. Brian just got lucky on the sample size here, but hey, it counts.

Grade-Net Plus

August 7, 2009 (Standings)

Purchased Chad Gaudin from the San Diego Padres.

Pitched nicely for the Yanks, even if his peripherals didn’t look great. Pitching Coach Dave Eiland was said to have tweaked his slider, maybe it was that or just another case of Brian getting lucky on the statistical noise chart. But again, it counts.

Grade-Net Plus

Totals-Net Plus-6

Net Minus-2

Brian Cashman has become something of a lightning rod this off season, drawing criticism from fans and media types for both his lack of activity and distancing himself from the Soriano deal. But he also has his defenders, and while appearing on Mike Silva’s radio show last night Mike cited a poll he ran where the voting came in 2/3 positive on Cashman. We all know GMs will have their share of good and bad moves, but who’s more right here? On balance, is he a good or bad GM?

I wanted to take a look at what his track record has been since taking over full control of Baseball Ops in 2005. That’s an important milestone for Brian, taking full control (and responsibility) for baseball decisions. In the previous period, some moves were made by George, others by ‘The Crack Committee’ so the waters are too muddied to know whether or not Brian was 100% behind those moves. I’m going to look at each year the way BR does it, beginning in November (when the off season begins) and ending in October of the following year. This way I capture the off season and mid season moves on the same list. I won’t look at any of this year’s off season moves, since its obviously too soon to know whether they’ve worked out or not. I’m only going to look at major moves, ones involving at least one MLB player that spent time on the 25 man roster. I won’t look at retaining their existing players as free agents (such as A-Rod, Mo, Pettitte or Jeter) since its simply maintaining the status quo. But I will look at free agents they let walk, such as Johnny Damon from last year. I’ll do a quick analysis of each move, and assess a grade of net plus or net minus for the franchise. I’ll total up each at the end of the post, and give a final total at the end of part 5.

2010 New York Yankees Trades and Transactions

December 8, 2009

As part of a 3-team trade, traded Phil Coke and Austin Jackson to the Detroit Tigers and Ian Kennedy to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Received Curtis Granderson from the Detroit Tigers.

Very complex deal, so I’m just using WAR here. Phil Coke (1.1), Austin Jackson (3.8) and Ian Kennedy (2.4) combined for 7.3 WAR last year, while Curtis posted 3.6 WAR. I think Curtis has more upside in him, and we all know A-Jax’s BABIP was sky high last year and unlikely to repeat. But Austin Jackson alone outproduced Granderson last year, so there’s no positive way to spin this. You can’t make a final determination for a few more years, but as things stand now the team would have been better off standing pat.

Grade-Net minus

November 9, 2009

Johnny Damon granted Free Agency.

Fans were sorry to see the popular Damon go, but the Yanks didn’t miss him much. Brett Gardner put up a surprising 5.4 WAR playing LF while Johnny posted a 1.9 WAR with the Tigers. Defense counts, folks.

Grade-Net plus

Hideki Matsui granted Free Agency.

Another popular Yankee fans were sorry to see go. Had a solid season for the Angels, posting an .820 OPS and 1.9 WAR despite the big positional adjustment for DH. Yanks wound up getting 3.1 wins out of their DH spot between Posada, Thames and Johnson.

Grade-Net plus

December 22, 2009

Traded Arodys Vizcaino (minors), Melky Cabrera, Michael Dunn and cash to the Atlanta Braves. Received Boone Logan and Javier Vazquez.

Melky was awful for the Braves, posting a -1.2 WAR. Dunn spent some time with the Braves, posting a 0.1 WAR but was quickly traded. Arodys Vizcaino hurt his elbow and had TJ surgery. From the Yankee side, Vazquez was very bad at the beginning and end of the season, but managed a good mid-season stretch  that kept his WAR (-0.2) from getting too ugly. Boone Logan was the best part of this trade for either team, giving the Yanks a much-needed LOOGY and posting a positive 0.4 WAR.

Grade-Net plus (for Logan)

February 8, 2010

Signed Randy Winn as a free agent.

Low risk/low reward move for bench help, which didn’t work out. Not significant, but not positive since Winn did nothing as a Yank and was quickly released by the team.

Grade-Net minus

February 10, 2010

Signed Marcus Thames as a free agent.

Low risk, medium reward move which paid off nicely. Thames added a potent lefty bat as DH and off the bench, and was worth about double in production what the Yanks paid him.

Grade-Net plus

February 28, 2010

Signed Chan Ho Park as a free agent.

Low risk move in terms of dollars, but Park was unusable except in low leverage situations. Signed to add veteran stability to bullpen, didn’t deliver.

Grade-Net minus

July 30, 2010 (Standings)

Traded a player to be named later to the Cleveland Indians. Received Austin Kearns. The New York Yankees sent Zach McAllister (minors) (August 20, 2010) to the Cleveland Indians to complete the trade.

Kearns did little as a Yank, but Zach McAllister was exposed at AAA and in all likelihood won’t be missed. Brian deserves credit for getting something out of Z-Mac while he still had some value, but the player he landed didn’t pay off. I’ll give Brian a generous net plus, only on getting some actual MLB production in exchange for someone like McAllister.

Grade-Net plus

July 31, 2010

Traded Jimmy Paredes (minors) and Mark Melancon to the Houston Astros. Received Lance Berkman.

Berkman did little for the Yanks, but Melancon also did nothing for the Astros. Melancon excelled at AAA but lost his control in the majors, and then made matters worse by complaining about New York fans, which he made known after he was sent to Texas. Melancon wasn’t cut out for New York, but Brian would have been better off hanging onto him for another deal.

Grade-Net Minus

Traded players to be named later to the Cleveland Indians. Received Kerry Wood and cash. The New York Yankees sent Matt Cusick (minors) (October 21, 2010) and Andrew Shive (minors) (October 21, 2010) to the Cleveland Indians to complete the trade.

Best move Cashman made all year, and it came at little cost. Wood was terrific down the stretch as a Yank, stabilizing the bullpen and setting them up for a deep playoff run. Cusick is a career minor leaguer and Shive is a reliever with control problems.

Grade-Net plus

Total Net plus transactions-6

Total Net minus transactions-3

Tomorrow I’ll look at Brian Cashman’s 2009 transactions.

We are family, I got all my sistas and me. We are family, get up everybody, sing!

In recent days, fans and columnists have been speculating about Brian Cashman’s future with the organization because of some of the comments he’s recently made and the way he’s very publicly distanced himself from the Soriano signing. Some see this as a form of disloyalty, this sentiment is especially common among those who supported the Soriano deal. Some of these folks conveniently forget the comments he made just a week prior to the signing, which had to be addressed. Further, Brian aired his dissent publicly at the Soriano press conference, right in front of his bosses. Despite this, Hal Steinbrenner was interviewed by Joel Sherman and quoted saying he has no problem with Brian whatsoever:

“[Cashman] and I have a great working relationship.  There is no problem, right now. I think we have had a bunch of drummed-up drama.”

(snip)

“I keep reading about dissension and discord. We are a well-functioning company. The bosses have a decision to make. Sometimes people don’t agree with those decisions. So I told him, ‘You are always honest with the media, be honest now. Tell them what you have to tell them.’ I was already onto the next decision. I told him, ‘You and I are fine. Answer in any way you want.’”

Those aren’t the comments of someone who was just sandbagged at a major press conference. Brian made it known to his bosses he was going to go public with his position on Soriano, and they had no problem with it. But it seems pretty clear there are dissenting views in the Yankee hierarchy, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, unless too many chefs are cooking the roster. One move doesn’t mean Brian has been neutered. Looking at it long term, I think recent events will bolster his authority to make baseball decisions. Personally, I think Brian’s setting himself up to consolidate his power with the Yanks for the next few years and/or when he re-ups with the team on his next contract.

Think about it. We all know multi-year deals are a risky business when it comes to relievers. Brian has had much experience himself in this department, most of it (Karsay/Farnsworth/Quantrill/Marte) bad. By all accounts, Randy Levine is the one who pushed for the Yanks to sign Soriano all winter. Randy Levine is the one who’s sticking his neck out here, and his justification for signing Soriano was the Yanks had to ‘do something’. Which is what most people say before they do something really stupid. I think that’s why YES/Levine has been sensitive about criticism on the deal, because he knows he’s taking a risk here that could blow up in his face.

I think Brian is smart enough and experienced enough in this town to know if you get the Baseball right, everything else takes care of itself. Most of George Steinbrenner’s bad moves were ones made for business reasons, adding star power to sell tickets. That’s what led to some middling teams and very bad trades in the 80s, and the old, overpaid, under performing teams of the mid-2000s with zero roster flexibility or prospects to bring up/make trades with. I think Brian is making a calculated bet here, and odds are he’s going to be the one who the Steinbrenner brothers will be listening to if the Soriano deal doesn’t work out. I’m sure his stock was down after missing out on Lee and doing little else this off season, but if Cashman and Levine were both traded on the NYSE, I’d be buying Brian and selling Randy right now.