Does the bottomless pit really have a bottom?

July 16, 2009 by Jason@IIATMS

The Yanks have long been the bottomless pit of cash, able to absorb every mistake they make (Irabu, Igawa, Pavano, Jaret Wright, the last few years of Giambi, Farnsworthless, etc.) and often the mistakes of others (Abreu, Swisher to name just two). And that’s just within the last decade or so.

What the Yanks have is the deepest revenue stream that gets deeper daily, via the new ballpark, streaming games, insipid fan clubs, etc. That puts the Yanks in the fortuitous position of being able to “relieve” a small/mid-market team of their over-priced players for virtually nothing. I have gotta believe that many teams would be eager to deal their priciest players for next to nothing, if only to regain the “financial flexibility” to start over (and eventually overpay someone else).

The Yanks hoisted bags of cash to keep CC from heading to California, Teixeira from Baltimore or Boston, Burnett from Atlanta. They already got Madoff’d by ARod to the tune of a 10 year, $275m contract. Jeter’s contract is up after next year but clearly he’s showing that he can still play at a high level, even at age 35. He’ll want a big contract to take him from age 37-41, no doubt.

So that leads us to the pursuit of Roy Halladay. Sure, the Yanks could send Joba and Jesus Montero and a few other highly thought of players to Toronto for a year and a half of Doc…. assuming that Toronto really would deal Halladay intra-division, which I still doubt.

Select View Full Post to continue reading about Doc, Wells and the Yanks’ 2011 payroll’.

Except… except if some team (THE YANKS!) takes Vernon Wells and his horrible contract along for the ride. Maybe you didn’t realize just how awful Wells’ contract really is:

Wells, 30, is due nearly $110 million through 2014 … He has a no-trade clause and can opt out of the deal after 2011. He would be crazy to since he’s guaranteed $21 million a season after that.

In 2011, the Yanks would have quite the handful of exorbitant contracts:

  • Wells: $23m
  • ARod: $31m
  • Sabathia: $23m
  • Teixeira: $22.5m
  • Jeter: $21m (the amount he will be paid in ’10, assuming he signs a similar contract to stay)
  • Burnett: $16.5m
  • Posada: $13.5m
  • Cano: $10m
  • Swisher: $9m
  • TOTAL for these 9 players: $169.5m

That’s flat out insane. Of course, this doesn’t include resigning Halladay or any other free agents. They might try to overpay Jason Bay (assuming he’s not signed to an extension by Boston), sign Matt Holliday or any of the eventual Rays free agents. Bottom line, that money’s gonna be spent.

Wells might be another Bobby Abreu with a lower OBP and less SB; a solid player with 20 HR power. Is he “worth” $23M? Not a chance. Is he worth absorbing that contract to land Halladay, assuming you don’t have to give up Joba, Hughes, Montero? I’m not sure. I’ve been debating this for a long time and I’ve been staunchly saying that “there’s no way the Yanks take on Wells”, but maybe I am wrong. Damon and Matsui are gone after this year. Nady, too. Can you put Wells in CF for the next few years and have greater productivity than Gardner and/or Melky? Probably. Can you absorb Wells’ abortion of a contract for the year and a half (at least) of Halladay’s services? I’m not sure.

If you trade for both Halladay and Wells, it puts a better team on the field tomorrow. The financial ramifications are imposing. The payoff would be to sign Halladay to an extension. The concern is that he’ll be 33-34 when his contract expires. Halladay seems the kind of player who will pitch effectively for years, but who knows. The risk component climbs. However, please remember, too, that it was under Halladay’s wing that Burnett matured as a pitcher. That can’t be ignored.

Remember, too, these are the Yanks. They love to eat other people’s mistakes to get a better on-field product. But does the bottomless pit have a bottom? We’ll see.

UPDATE: I totally forgot about this, shame on me. The Yanks have to consider the impact of being over the Luxury Tax threshold. That means that adds 40% to any contract. That puts a $23m “face value” contract at $32m “actual value”. This might be the stone that finds the bottom of the pit.

 
Digg Delicious Mixx StumbleUpon Digg

Sorry, comments are closed.



Go To Top »
premium wordpress themes