Pinstripe Alley Jan 18, 2020
Reflecting on Masahiro Tanaka’s contract with the Yankees
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports Tanaka is entering the final year of his $155 million deal. How has it panned out? Almost exactly six years ago to the day (Jan. 22, 2014), the Yankees announced that they had signed coveted ace Masahiro Tanaka to a seven-year, $155 million deal. The right-handed workhorse from Japan, before ever throwing a pitch in the major leagues, had inked the second-largest free agent contract ever at the time by a pitcher, trailing only teammate CC Sabathia. Fast forward to today, and Tanaka is getting set to begin the final season of that seven-year mega-deal. Through...
Pinstripe Alley Jan 15, 2020
The Yankees rotation appears flexible for the future
Several pitching prospects appear capable of going alongside Gerrit Cole and company after 2020. For the 2020 season the Yankees will be running out one of the top starting rotations in all of baseball thanks to this offseason’s addition of Gerrit Cole. His signing immediately made the Yankees rotation better while simultaneously adding stability into a rotation which had an uncertain future. Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton and J.A. Happ could all become free agents after the post season, and the Yankees only have three pitchers locked down for 2021 who have currently pitched more than 200...
Pinstripe Alley Jan 8, 2020
Checking in on the state of the Yankees’ 40-man roster
Photo by Emilee Chinn/ How is the roster currently constructed, and how might it change? As the offseason hits its final stretch (yay!), the Yankees’ 40-man roster has remained largely unchanged for most of the winter. With that in mind, now is a good time to check in at the current roster, and see how things might expect to change in the upcoming weeks. Starting Pitching On MLB roster in 2019: Gerrit Cole, J.A. Happ, James Paxton, Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka Prospects/Rookies: Deivi Garcia, Luis Gil, Luis Medina, Nick Nelson Between the full-time starters and the swingmen listed...
Pinstripe Alley Jan 1, 2020
Should the Yankees sign Masahiro Tanaka to an extension?
Photo by Dan Istitene/ The Yankees should consider every avenue they have for improving future rotations, including extensions for current pitchers. Last week, I advocated for the Yankees to sign James Paxton to an extension. The argument for signing Paxton long-term is fairly simple. Paxton may not be particularly young, or have a spotless injury record, but he’s still productive, talented, and one of the best pitchers the Yankees could realistically get their hands on for future rotations. He’s not the only player they could try to lock down, however. The Yankees have another...
Pinstripe Alley Dec 28, 2019
Pinstripe Alley open thread - 12/28/19
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports An open thread to open your weekend. We’re steaming towards the end of what’s thankfully been a mostly quiet holiday season in terms of baseball news. Hopefully, once the calendar flips, the 30 clubs sort of the rest of their offseason business, and we can really start anticipating the coming new season. Fun Questions Who records more wins next year, Gerrit Cole, or Masahiro Tanaka and Jordan Montgomery combined? Do you prefer to go out on New Year’s Eve, or keep things quiet and stay in?
