From Jeff Passan (which is the only reason why I’m discussing this, as it’s Passan, so if he says it, it’s almost certainly true):
The Yankees are unquestionably a deeper team — and they’re not done, either. They’ve continued to discuss Luis Arráez with San Diego and inquired about Gavin Lux, whom the Dodgers could trade, to fill their open second-base slot. When the contract demands for relief pitching drop, the Yankees could dabble there, too
Like I said, if Passan says it, there’s likely fire with this smoke, and since the Padres sure seem to be motivated sellers, I suspect there is a VERY good chance an Arraez deal gets done, and if so, well, let’s just hope he hits like 2023 (when he was a legit star) instead of 2024 (when he, you know, wasn’t).
Replacing a shitty defensive second baseman with ANOTHER shitty defensive second baseman certainly is AN idea. Maybe they think Ben Rice can back up catcher AND first?
In that case, you could run a bench of:
Waldo (for utilty)
Grisham (for outfield utility)
Rice (for catcher/first)
DJ (late game defensive replacement for Arraez?)
More likely it’ll be DJ as the back-up at first, and Rice in the minors, which is…not ideal.
The featured image is Arraez from an RBI he had against the Yankees (a single, of course).
Brian, I always enjoy your explanations of the featured image.
concur.
we just need to bring back cairo for spring training. the underlying assumptions must be adjusted to make the yanks look better, of course.
Dodgers deal Lux to the Reds for fringy OF prospect and a competitive balance pick.
The word is that the Reds (who now have way too many infielders) might be willing to flip Lux to the Yankees.
Jim Bowden now says he was wrong, and Reds have no plans to flip Lux.
I guess it’s Arraez or bust now…
Never mind that Arraez is a liability in the field, but if his future is like his 2024, then he also doesn’t get on base enough to bat at the top of the order. His unique skill – putting the ball into play – is most useful when there are runners on. The only inning you want him leading off is the tenth, with the Manfred man on second. Arraez makes sense as a PH or middle-of-order DH, and not much else.
I mean, that’s the rub, right? If he has another 2024, then yeah, he’s no better than Gleyber, and possibly even worse. But the previous TWO years he had OBPs of .393 and .375. Those are elite OBP numbers, and perfect for a leadoff hitter.
Does anyone miss when the Yankees would get guys like Gary Sheffield? Just wondering.
Pretty sure Sheff is still a free agent. 😉
But yes, the Yankees need big boppers. It killed me last year that they got almost no offensive production from LF, 1b, and DH. If any positions are places for a statuesque hitter to stand between PAs, it is those 3 (or at least 2, LF in NY is hard, so they say.)
It has been that way for a few years now, too. There were way too many games over the last few years where Willie Calhoun is the DH. Surely there is a AAA hitter somewhere who could do a better job at least.
Maybe it’s bad to acquire players where Fangraphs has written articles about them starting with “They Myth of …”?
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-myth-of-luis-arraez/
I knew I was cooked when they headlined an article about me like this
You really shoulda had your PR flack spike that article.
Heyman says Arraez is not seen as a fit for now.
Another reason why he would be a bad fit-he hit 366 with RISP last season.
lol.
if they did get him they’d be sure to lead off with him to score as little as possible though.
Athletic: In 339 innings played at second base this season, Arraez finished with minus-7 outs above average, the same number Torres ended the season with. However, the latter played over 1,300 innings at second base. In 585 career innings at third base, Arraez also has minus-7 outs above average.
i can’t with this team if they pick him up. it’d be one of the worst pickups since ellsbury or donaldson. it’d be one thing if he was 1M but he gets paid a real salary. no reason to bail out the Pads.
I was glad to see Gleyber go, but if they replace him with Arráez at what looks like will be the same salary Gleyber signed for, im
going to be pretty annoyed. And so will the fans once they see him in the field.
The fans will love Arraez because he’s really good at the one thing no one is really good at anymore.
San Diego fans love him. The reason he gets articles written about his “myth” is BECAUSE people love him so much.
And speaking of PTSD… I love how we’re all certain that if a player the Yankees look at had an up year last year, he’ll revert to norm… but if he had a down year, we’re absolutely certain it’s only going to get (precipitously) worse.
Have admit it, bop, I think, said it – the Dodgers are the Yankees.
The Yankees are known to be looking for infield help and Bob Nightengale of USA Today relays that they have had discussions with free agent Brendan Rodgers, though it’s unclear when those talks took place or how serious they were.
He’s a lifetime 820 OPS vs LHPs, 818 last year. Might be an interesting platoon partner with Waldo. I don’t know how much is Coors effect.