Marte back for three

by Travis G on Nov 12, 2008 5:27 PM EST in News Comment 19 comments

Damaso agreed to a 3-year, $12 million deal (with a club option for a fourth year at $4 million).

I'm a bit disappointed by this, for Marte is a Type-A free agent, and would have netted the Yankees first and sandwich round draft picks (of course, there's the possibility he would have accepted arbitration).

He's not as bad as his Yankee ERA would suggest (5.40), so we should expect a regression to his mean next year (3.29 ERA).

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Smart move

Shows Yankees committment to improving their pitching.

A ball player's got to be kept hungry to become a big-leaguer. That's why no boy from a rich family ever made the big leagues. ~Joe DiMaggio, quoted in New York Times, 30 April 1961

by kdog on Nov 12, 2008 6:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Marte accepting arbitration wouldn't be bad.

He only made 600k last year, I think. It’s not like he would have had a gigantic pay increase.

by SanjiWatsuki on Nov 12, 2008 7:08 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

it's not about the money though

if he accepted arb, we wouldn’t get the draft picks, and he would’ve been back for just one year (pros and cons to that). but ultimately, i believe some other team would have offered him a deal (LHP, throws 95, history of success). two high picks are worth more than 3 years of Marte.

by Travis G on Nov 13, 2008 1:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'd trust him more to get Type A status in 2009 rather than 2011.

by SanjiWatsuki on Nov 13, 2008 8:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

3.29 ERA for a short reliever. I'm not impressed.

How about a 3-plus ERA in four of the last five season including 4.02 last season, 3.77 in 2005 and 3.77 in 2006. As usual, the Yankee brain trust will overspend in desperation but not give out the big money to the likes of Santana and Beltran while they were still at least making the playoffs. Marte, by the way, will be 34 in February. They should have taken him to arbitration.

by TheTruth08 on Nov 12, 2008 7:21 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Marte/Giambi

I’m a big fan of having a strong farm system. But I’m also a fan of winning. The Yankees aren’t the Oakland A’s, they have money to spend, they don’t have to constantly replenish their farm system and continue to release/trade good plaers. The Yanks have the cash to sign Marte, they need a solid lefty in the pen. A strong pen is underrated. it really helps in many different ways, and now since torre isn’t killing the arm of one guy, its being used fairly well by Girardi. We already have a decent amount of extra picks coming from Pudge, Giambi and Abreu. good move.

Also i have a feeling the yanks r going to re-sign Giambi. It just seems like a Yankee move. They would sign him for 2,3 yrs for alot less than they paid for him last yr, and he would play DH and 1st every now and then. He is also a valuable asset to have coming off the bench. Think about it, would the yankees have a OF of Damon, Matsui, Nady, and then have the DH be like Shelly Duncan? no its gonna be Giambi. If Melky starts to hit agian, i can also see Melk man playing center, Damon in left and Matsui DH.

"Hey Derek do you actually drive the Edge?","I don't drive that piece of crap!"

by Da Shiz on Nov 12, 2008 8:59 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

not so fast re: Pudge, Giambi

Cash should be careful offering them arb, bc they might accept it. Pudge i actually dont have a problem with, bc we really dont know how well Posada will come back. Giambi, only if a better option isn’t acquired.

by Travis G on Nov 13, 2008 1:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Fanpost

I published this news as a fanpost in a exclusive for pinstripealley.com well before MLB broke the news… but nobody noticed I guess because no comment were made.

by engelsol on Nov 12, 2008 9:37 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I noticed

but I’m always skeptical of unconfirmed reports. Next time you break something I’ll pay more attention.

"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."

by jscape2000 on Nov 12, 2008 11:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

there's not exactly a ton of lefties out there to be had...

…and he didn’t get a linebrink deal or anything… it could be worse. i agree we’ll probably see a more solid Marte next year- this is a guy who has closer stuff when on, so hope for the best there. and while the draft picks would have been nice, $4M a year ain’t breaking the bank, and leaves plenty of room for the CC’s and Tex’s of the world (who ever your pleasure is..)

The Jayfiss Report ...one fan's rants

by NumberSeven on Nov 12, 2008 10:29 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Like NumberSeven said....

Marte is one of the better lefthanders in baseball coming out of the pen and there aren’t many of those guys available.

Also, Coke has no track record so they can’t rely on him.

This was a no-brainer despite the Type-A status because they’ve really needed a good lefty out of the pen for years.

And it was an expected move because Cashman himself said months ago that he’s been after Marte for a few years after he made the deal, so he wasn’t going to let him get away.

I know Mr. Truth isn’t impressed by anything but Japanese pitchers on YouTube – but Cashman did the right thing here.

by anaconda on Nov 12, 2008 11:30 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I thought it was the right move to bring him back but

I would have offered him arbitration. When Cashman has to use his brain he usually makes the wrong choice.

by TheTruth08 on Nov 13, 2008 9:38 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Re:

Why offer him arbitration when your plan is to on lock him up to a multi-year deal?

That hardly makes any sense.

by anaconda on Nov 13, 2008 11:14 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It's a smart move

Marte is a strike-throwing lefthander with a history of success. 3 years/$12 million is the going rate for a middle reliever – think JC Romero last offseason – except I think Marte is a superior pitcher.

There is a difference between this signing and the Farnsworth signing 3 years ago. Farnsworth was pegged as the “go to” guy, which he clearly wasn’t. Marte has a more consistent history than Farnsworth did, and here, Marte solidifes what is already a solid bullpen.

Bullpens are fickle. There is some value in having a known quantity aboard.

by 3460kuri on Nov 13, 2008 9:45 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Make Up Your Mind, Alley!

A week or so a go y’all sounded confused that they DIDNT resign Marte, and now you are confused that they DID.
I like the guy and this is just the beginning of whats going to go on with this team in the offseason. Believe me, this will be the LEAST controversial move they make.

Munson15

by Munson15 on Nov 13, 2008 11:01 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

umm, i am pretty sure there are always going to be

differing opinions on a blog- even among the moderators… I agree this will probably be the least exciting/ distressing move over the next couple weeks..

The Jayfiss Report ...one fan's rants

by NumberSeven on Nov 13, 2008 12:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

in our defense

i dont think we’ve all ever completely agreed on anything.

by Travis G on Nov 13, 2008 1:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Decent move

We didn’t overpay, and there isn’t exactly an army of lefty arms out there.

"Baseball is the background music of my life." -George Will

by Ronster22 on Nov 13, 2008 12:51 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Just bustin' your eggs

We need lefties. The Yankees are not wasting time, they just got rid of betemit for NICK SWISHER (I’m cool with that, Betemit didnt play much the second half of the year) and are about to offer CC 150 mil.

Munson15

by Munson15 on Nov 13, 2008 8:11 PM EST reply actions 0 recs