Zack Greinke: Can New York Yankees Recover From Not Landing Him and Cliff Lee?
Zack Greinke is on his way to Milwaukee, not Yankee Stadium.
The Kansas City Royals ace is being shipped to the Brewers in exchange from outfielder Lorenzo Cain, shortstop Alcides Escobar, and pitching prospects Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress. Milwaukee, in turn, lands the former Cy Young Award winner, who was 10-14 with a 4.17 ERA in 2010.
Greinke seemed to be the next likely target for New York, which lost out on a second potential acquisition. Last week, their No.1 offseason priority, pitcher Cliff Lee, announced he chose to return to Philadelphia, picking the Phillies over the Yankees and Texas. With both ace pitchers off the market now, it's easy to consider the offseason a miserable failure for New York.
General manager Brian Cashman has remained steady and says he has no regrets over how the team handled their pursuit of Lee. He also continues to say it's important to remain patient, adding this remains a good team.
So is there still reason to be hopeful during the offseason? Can it be salvaged? Here are five reasons why it can, and five why it can't:
Reason No. 5 It Can't: A More Daunting Problem
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The Yankees may have lost out on two big-time pitchers, but a bigger problem is age. Derek Jeter (36), Alex Rodriguez (35), Jorge Posada (39) and Andy Pettitte (38) are key pieces of what is an old team. You can't exactly gut the lineup, but it's critical for New York to develop its farm system and finding potential successors for each of them.
Reason No. 5 It Can: No Need To Panic
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The worst possible decision any team can make is to make a move for the sake of it. New York lost out on Zack Greinke and Cliff Lee, but can't rush to land a big name, and overpay or mortgage away its future by trading valuable prospects.
General manager Brian Cashman told the New York Daily News he suspects teams will try to take advantage of them.
"I think the first phase of this will be people trying to test us a little bit," Cashman said. "The price tags are going to go up a little bit to see if we'll bite because they're going to sense blood in the water. I assure you we're going to have patience. We're going to pursue what we think makes sense. If it doesn't, we'll wait. We've got a good team."
Reason No. 4 It Can't: Answer Is In The Kids
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New York has always had a 'win now' mentality, but to really be successful, the Yankees need to build for the long haul and stockpile its farm system. The farm system appears to be improving, but still isn't to the level of Tampa Bay or Texas, which have the best farm systems in the majors according to many rankings.
New York's dynasty in the late 1990s was due in large part to its farm system, and the development of Pettitte, Jeter, Posada and Mariano Rivera.
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Reason No. 4 It Can: Rotation Is Still Decent
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It's easy to have a emotional reaction and think New York's rotation is awful, when it fact it's still fairly talented. CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes and AJ Burnett will be back, and it's still unknown if Andy Pettitte will return or retire. Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre could also compete for the final spot.
Last year, New York's rotation was 15th in the majors in ERA (4.06) and seventh in the American League, still ahead of Boston, Toronto and Baltimore. Individually, Sabathia was tied for first in the majors in wins (21).
Reason No. 3 It Can't: Spending Didn't Work
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The Yankees' usual m.o. is simple: spend, spend, spend.
But it didn't produce what they hoped, and New York came away with nothing.
"The Yankees figured even then that in the offseason they would just buy Lee in free agency," wrote Joel Sherman of the New York Post. "But in making the lefty their main priority, the Yankees never followed the shock-and-awe path they did with Sabathia two offseasons earlier. With Sabathia, the Yankees threw the majors’ thickest wallet on the table for the whole sport to see, which essentially translated to: 'We will never stop until we get this pitcher.'"
Reason No. 3 It Can: The Pettitte Factor
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The most realistic goal for New York is to hope Andy Pettitte returns for one final season.
The talent is there, but it is showing signs of age. Last year, Pettitte was 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA. The wins were his fewest since 2004, but his ERA was the lowest since 2005. In 129 innings, Pettitte allowed 123 hits, 47 earned runs, and still had a great strikeout/walk ratio (101/41).
Reason No. 2 It Can't: Boston's Blockbusters
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Forget about Lee and Greinke. New York will finish well behind Boston this offseason, and there's simply no way to match their acquistions of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez.
Both are young, athletic and tremendously talented: Gonzalez, who is approaching 1,000 hits for his career, finished last season with a .298 average, 176 hits, 31 home runs, 101 RBIs and 87 runs scored. Crawford finished 2010 with a .307 average, 184 hits, 90 RBI and 110 runs scored.
Reason No. 2 It Can: Goals Still Remain
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New York still needs another starting pitcher, bench strength and another arm in the bullpen. It can cross one of those off the list, after signing Mets reliever Pedro Feliciano to a two-year deal.
Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com also pointed out that one long-term goal could be found in Kansas City's Joakim Soria.
"As opposed to a Rafael Soriano, Soria really could be the heir to Mariano Rivera's closer throne," Marchand said. "Soriano just turned 31 so he would be 33 if Rivera were to retire at the end of his current contract. Who knows what Soriano would be by then, plus he is asking for way more than the Yankees want to spend for an eighth-inning guy."
Reason No. 1 It Can't: Unrealistic Expectations
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Whether they would have got one or both big-name pitchers, New York fans would still have their doomsday, sky-is-falling, we-won't-win-a-thing mentality. Yankees fans are a passionate bunch (I've been one since I was a kid), and demand excellence. Some have no problem with them throwing around money with disregard for the future, and many are also the same ones who say anything less than another World Series title is an abject failure.
The goal is to compete for them on a yearly basis, and at least give yourself a chance. I'd say New York does as good a job as any at this.
Reason No. 1 It Can: Check out King Felix
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One other option is Seattle ace "King" Felix Hernandez. The Cy Young winner could come at a hefty price, however, and there's no reason for New York to go do what the Minnesota Vikings did in the infamous Herschel Walker trade that helped the Dallas Cowboys build its dynasty.
One key piece in a blockbuster trade? Sure. You've got to give something to get something. But don't send away four future parts, plus current starters, just for another name.
Conclusion
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By New York standards, this offseason won't have the same pop and luster that fans are accustomed to. As Brian Cashman has preached, patience is key, and better to go with what you've got, and give any up-and-coming players a shot than mortgage your future just so you can be big spenders just for the sake of it.
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