With all the free agency splashing this week, the news of Brian Cashman's willingness to eat some of AJ Burnett's salary in a trade has gone relatively under the radar. The Yankee Analysts hits the nail pretty squarely on the head about Burnett's tenure in New York, and wonders if this is really a sign of things to come:
By outing themselves for their lack of support, the Yankees have effectively killed any chances they had of getting something positive from A.J. over the next 2 years. After making these offers, there’s no way the Yankees can bring him back and expect anything from him. He’s a wasted roster spot. And the $33 million they still owe him has now gone from being an opportunity cost to essentially a sunk cost for the Yankees. The majority of the contract is a sunk cost already, so if it’s about money you’re really just putting a lipstick on a pig at this point.
The Yankees typically haven't been a team that eats a ton of salary in trades, or simply cuts bait on players with multiple years remaining, but Burnett probably stands the best chance of being the first player to buck that trend. Expecting anything other than 2010-11 results from him going forward is just fantasy, and with all the baggage he brings to the table, I say it's time to move on.
- It's About The Money reports that the Yankees aren't optimistic about signing Hiroyuki Nakajima. If that's the case, then my question is, why bother throwing a lowball bid at him in the first place? Nakajima is unknown here, but he's actually a pretty good player in Japan, and if they don't think he'd sign as a utility player, what's the point?
- Brian Cashman has what might be the quote of the year:
(Pujols is) a special player. I don't know him personally, but I see what he does with that bat. It's Montero-like.
- In some minor roster moves, the Yankees released Greg Golson and picked up a couple of young arms in the Rule V draft.