New York Yankee notes: Randy Winn edition

Over at Minor League Ball, the Yankee’s system ranked 20th. From most ranks that I’ve seen, it looks like they’ll drop to near the bottom once Montero graduates.

Back to Winn, I’m not opposed to the signing but from what I’ve seen I hope he’s going to play the 4th outfielder role instead of the starting/platooning LF role. I have no doubts about his character or his previous level of production, just his current ability to play a significant OF position.

I am confused as to what Winn really brings to this team. He’s a switch hitter, but only hit something like .160 against LHP last year. He also had like the sixth lowest slugging percentage in the NL. That’s not much of a platoon partner for Gardner or the rest of our left handed outfield.

If we were going to go with a Winn-caliber player, a right handed bat would have been nice. Winn will probably be a defensive upgrade over Swisher in late innings, but what else does he bring?

I would have thought he would have been in the top 10 at least.

On Winn, to be completely honest, I hate this move. He’s old. He can’t hit. He has no power. He’s an older, slower version of Brett Gardner. The Yanks didn’t gain anything by adding him. If they had to add an OF that wasn’t Johnny Damon, why not Xavier Nady, who only made 3.3 million with the Cubs? Could they have afforded that? Or Reed Johnson, who kills lefties? Jerry Hairston Jr, who plays a million positions? Jermaine Dye, who is just as old as Winn but at least still has a bat in him? Or just spill out the extra 3 million over the budget and bring back the guy that just singlehandedly won them a World Series game? I think all of those guys would have been better options than Winn. However, whats done is done and all I can do is wait, and hope it works out.

I think Winn is a good deal for him and the Yankees. I imagine he agreed to have a clean face per Yankee policy. Regardless what anybody says I predict this will work.

I say good. Every now and then somebody needs to stand up and call Boras on his bullshit. It doesn’t happen often enough.

Assuming Damon signs somewhere in the neighborhood of $4M for one year, Boras has basically cost Damon $10M upfront- since he had a 2 yr / $14M offer on the table from the Yanks a while back. Meanwhile, playing out side of Yankee Stadium his power numbers will more than likely diminish, affecting what kind of deal he’ll get going forward. So who knows how much of a hit Damon is really taking by sticking by his agent. Dumb if you ask me.

In any case, I wish Damon well- hoped he’d come back- but I’m fine the addition of Winn, especially at $2M. And if he doesn’t work out, there’s always the Jerry Hairston’s and Eric Hinke’s of the world that are always available mid-season to shore up the bench. Bottom line is, the Yanks don’t truly need Damon in their lineup- and they didn’t have to pay for it, so they didn’t.

there are no significant injuries this season. Our bench is atrocious.

To all the negative commentors, Winn’s signing was a dandy!! He is a switch hitter. He played on a BAD Giants team last year. Their offense ranked near the bottom in most offensive categories. Name me one player on the Giants that was near or close to Tex or ARod’s stats? Not one player on the Giants! That was the knack on the Giants! Great pitching, but no runs scored per game to match the great pitching!
  Winn is a better defender than Damon. He can play all the OF positions. Damon cannot. He is a good base runner. Sure Damon had a great year last year, but don’t all players in the final year of their contracts? Sure Damon will be missed, but Cash assembled some downright great pros, maybe not stat wise, but on and off the field! I think this is one of the best offseasons in Yankee history! Sure they did not sign a prime huge FA, but they signed guys who will make the clubhouse stronger and more refreshing. I just like Winn! He plays hard and gives 100%! I will miss Damon’s personality and lefty bat, but I will not miss his bogus comments about wanting to be a Yankee for life!
  Hey Johnny you screwed up! You let Boras bully you and Cash. You should have listened and saw what Boras did to ARod a couple of years ago! Have fun playing for the hapless Tigers or whatever bottom feeders that have some money to pay you! Johnny screwed Johnny and the Yankee fans!! Good riddance Benedict Damon!! The Red Sox fans were right…you are a me first player!!

It’s nice to have a good vibe going on in there, but performance on the field is all that matters. Obviously hanging out at basketball games and playing pool helps the on-field performance, but it won’t make a difference if we don’t play well.

Not harassing Cashman, but it’s a word of caution.