November 13th, 2020: Simmons, Molina, NPB Players, Winter Ball, Mailbag

Awards season is over and now we enter what is traditionally the busiest few weeks of the offseason. Teams like to get their major business handled before the holidays (and free agents like to sign before then too) so they can focus on arbitration and fine-tuning the roster in January and February. Hopefully the action picks up soon. Now here are today’s thoughts as I keep trying and failing to order a PS5.

1. Hot Stove rumors. Hark, some hot stove rumblings involving the Yankees. We got our first actual offseason rumors this week. Let’s go over them one-by-one.

Yankees “considering” Simmons

Jon Heyman and Dan Martin report the Yankees are “considering” various shortstops this offseason, including Andrelton Simmons. He was discussed during their organizational meetings, which is meaningless because the Yankees discuss every free agent during their organizational meetings, but they have reportedly been in contact with his camp, adding legitimacy to this rumor.

Simmons, 31, is what he is at this point. He’s a fantastic defender at a premium position and a below-average hitter. His .297/.346/.356 (99 wRC+) batting line this year was his best offensive season in years, and his average exit velocity (86.5 mph) ranked near the bottom of the league. Simmons is a very low strikeout hitter (8.4 K% from 2018-20) who managed zero barrels this year (what’s a barrel?). How do you not square up a ball once in 127 plate appearances? Even Thairo Estrada and Tyler Wade managed a barrel.

Anyway, Simmons is not much of a hitter, but no one is signing him for his bat. At his peak, he was a historically great defensive shortstop and a joy to watch, though some defensive numbers indicate a downward trend:

• 2017: +40 Defensive Runs Saved and +16 Outs Above Average
• 2018: +23 DRS and +12 OAA
• 2019: +12 DRS and +16 OAA
• 2020: -2 DRS and -1 OAA

This was a short season and Simmons did play through a left ankle injury, so I’m inclined to disregard 2020 defensive numbers entirely. DRS had Simmons as an all-world defender in 2017 (2013-17, really). Then his defensive value was basically cut in half in 2018, and then cut in half again in 2019. OAA did hold steady from 2017-19, so that’s good.

Simmons is at the age where you’d expect defensive decline, especially for a guy who plays a demanding up the middle position, and if he’s playing something less than great defense, it’s kinda hard to keep him in the lineup. That said, it’s not unreasonable to think Simmons will bounce back defensively with a healthy ankle next year. Not unreasonable at all.

This is likely to be a tough winter for free agents and next year's free agent shortstop class (Javy Baez, Francisco Lindor, Corey Seager, Trevor Story) isn’t going to help Simmons. Can’t imagine many contenders are going to want to lock into a multi-year shortstop now with those guys on the horizon. The contract projections are all over the place …

• FanGraphs crowdsourcing: 3 years, $14M per year
• MLBTR: 1 year, $12M (with the Yankees!)

… and if you’re the Yankees, and you’re losing DJ LeMahieu (pretty much the only scenario in which they sign a shortstop), do you go multiple years for Simmons right now, or do you find a stopgap to hold you over until next offseason? You kinda have to find a one-year stopgap, right? You can’t close the door on next year’s shortstop class.

I don’t hold Simmons opting out during the final week of the season against him at all. He was playing hurt, the Angels were out of the race, and there's a dang pandemic. I don’t see a reason to stick around. I saw some fans calling Marcus Stroman a quitter after he opted out then accepted the qualifying offer, but fans are stupid. No problem with what Simmons did.

The Yankees love Simmons. Or, rather, they loved him once upon a time. He was Plan A after Derek Jeter retired. Didi Gregorius was Plan B. And as soon as Billy Eppler left the Yankees to take over as Angels GM, his first move was to trade for Simmons. No doubt his interest carried over from his time with the Yankees. Simmons being on the radar definitely passes the sniff test.

I would be underwhelmed by replacing LeMahieu with Simmons -- this isn’t the guy I’d pull the plug on Gleyber Torres at shortstop to get into the lineup -- but it’s sensible. Boringly adequate. In the world of “cheap moves to plug roster holes so we can cut costs during the pandemic,” it’s not horrible. Now, if the Yankees give Simmons multiple years, I’m out. Not a guy I want beyond 2021, at least not without seeing how 2021 goes first.

Yankees have interest in Molina

The Yankees have interest in free agent catcher Yadier Molina and have reached out to him, reports Heyman. Molina is seeking a two-year contract and I assume that’s a negotiating ploy (you can’t get what you don’t ask for). I can’t imagine any team would give a soon-to-be 39-year-old catcher with that many innings on his legs multiple years unless they came at a steep discount. Not even in non-pandemic times.

I have a good friend who’s a die hard Cardinals fan and he’s ready for the Molina era to be over, which is kinda how I felt near the end of Derek Jeter’s career. I fully appreciate his greatness and understand his place in history, but the limp to the finish was not enjoyable and it actively harmed the team. I was ready to turn the page and at least one Cardinals fan feels the same way about Yadi.

Molina missed time with a positive COVID-19 test this past season and hit .262/.303/.359 (82 wRC+) in 156 plate appearances, which is about where his offense has been the last few years. He doesn’t strike out much (13.5% in 2020), so he still has some offensive value as a put the ball in play hitter. Of course, he’s a below-average exit velocity guy and maybe the slowest runner in the sport, making him a huge double play (and triple play) candidate.

That said, offense has always been secondary with Molina. He’s going to the Hall of Fame (I’d vote for him) because of his work behind the plate. My favorite Yadi stat is the number of stolen bases attempted against the Cardinals since 2005, his first full season:

1. Cardinals: 1,234
2. Diamondbacks: 1,665

Forget caught stealing rate. Teams haven’t even bothered to try to steal bases against St. Louis because they respect Molina’s arm so much. The gap between No. 1 and No. 2 on that list is the same as the gap between No. 2 and No. 23 (the Yankees, coincidentally).

Molina was a historically great defender at his peak but he is no longer at his peak. Not even close, really. His caught stealing rate, which was consistently above 40% earlier in his career, is now about league average, and his framing has slipped to average as well. His pitchers love him and that’s important. We just can't quantify that impact.

Signing Molina now would be very similar to the Yankees re-signing Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro is a historically great player, clearly, but he was well past his prime and had built up no goodwill with the Yankees. The Yankees saddled themselves with the crummy end of the line years of some other team’s legend. Signing Molina would be a repeat.

If the Yankees want to sign Molina to replace Kyle Higashioka as their backup catcher, fine, but I don’t see Yadi accepting that role. If they want to sign Molina to replace Gary Sanchez as the starter, then kill it with fire. Hardest of passes. There is little upside there and a ton -- a ton -- of downside. You’re better off hoping Sanchez rebounds in his age 28 season.

My guess is Molina is going back to the Cardinals. Heyman says the Mets and Yankees have been in touch with Molina and this reeks of a free agent using two wealthy teams as leverage. The Yankees kick the tires on everyone each offseason and there's no harm in putting in a phone call. I just don’t see Molina as a fit at all, particularly financially.

(For what it's worth, MLBTR and FanGraphs crowdsourcing have Molina at $10M and $12M on one-year deals, respectively. Spending that on a declining 38-year-old catcher at a time when payroll is coming down would be unwise.) 

Yankees will listen to offers for Sanchez

From the no duh department: Ken Davidoff, Dan Martin, and Joel Sherman report the Yankees will at least listen to trade offers for Gary Sanchez this offseason. They add it is unlikely the Yankees will do anything drastic with their roster until resolving DJ LeMahieu's situation (i.e. re-signing him or knowing they'll lose him to free agency).

This is the epitome of a non-rumor. Brian Cashman & Co. would not be doing their jobs if they didn't listen to trade offers for any and all players on the roster. Sanchez, Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, Tyler Wade, whoever. You have to listen otherwise you're derelict in your duties. Sanchez is a lightning rod though, so this will be made into a Very Big Deal even though it's business as usual.

2. NPB targets. In addition to Korean shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, several players are expected to make the jump from Nippon Pro Baseball in Japan to MLB this offseason. One of them will not be Chunichi Dragons ace Yudai Ohno, this year’s favorite for the Sawamura Award (Cy Young equivalent). He just signed a three-year extension, according to Jon Morosi. Ohno, 32, had a 1.79 ERA and 137 strikeouts in 135.2 innings this year.

No NPB (or KBO) players have been posted yet because their postseasons are ongoing. Once the season is over, players will hit the market. Here are the NPB players expected to be made available to MLB teams this winter.

RHP Tomoyuki Sugano

Sugano, 31, has been the best pitcher in Japan since Masahiro Tanaka left to join the Yankees. He’s a six-time All-Star, a two-time Sawamura Award winner, and a one-time MVP. Sugano also has a postseason no-hitter to his credit, and has led the league in various categories (strikeouts, ERA, etc.) multiple times. He won the pitching Triple Crown in 2018. His last three seasons:

The pandemic limited NPB teams to 100-110 games this year, hence the lack of innings in 2020. Last year Sugano missed time with back and hip discomfort, leading to the worst season of his career. He did bounce back marvelously this year though. Sugano is healthy and he was back to where he was in 2018, when he won his second Sawamura Award.

According to veteran NPB scribe Jim Allen, Sugano has reinvented himself in recent years. He used to be a two-seamer/cutter/curveball guy but is now a four-seamer/slider/splitter guy, and his command has always been excellent. With the new approach Sugano has gone from being an extreme ground ball pitcher to an extreme fly ball pitcher who is adept at getting infield pop-ups a la Justin Verlander.

Allen also notes that Sugano changed his mechanics recently and increased his velocity. After sitting 88-91 mph most of his career, he’s now 91-94 mph (going from a two-seamer to a four-seamer would explain that too). Here’s video and here’s his robot-like delivery, in which he rotates his torso, then his lower half catches up (GIF via @BrothersStan):

Sugano has pitched under the spotlight his entire career -- he's a career Yomiuri Giant (Hideki Matsui’s former team) and the Giants are the Yankees of Japan given their popularity and winning tradition -- and excelled, and he’s still playing in fact. The Giants have qualified for the Japan Series, which could run as late as Nov. 29th.

Unlike Tanaka and Yu Darvish, who were considered potential MLB aces, Sugano is viewed as more of a solid big leaguer than a star. Joel Sherman spoke to two scouts who “project him as a strong No. 3 type starter in the majors,” and hey, there’s nothing wrong with that. No. 3 starters are damn valuable. They get eight figures a year in free agency every offseason.

Sugano will play the entire 2021 season at age 31 and it stands to reason he’s coming to MLB to make money -- he made about $6M this past season as the highest paid player in Japan -- and win a World Series. The Yankees have lots of experience with Japanese players (Matsui, Tanaka, etc.) and they can offer money and a chance to win. I imagine that’s appealing.

The Giants refused to post players until last year (Matsui was a true free agent), when Shun Yamaguchi forced their hand by signing a free agent contract that stipulated he had to be posted once requested. Sherman and Morosi both report MLB teams expect Sugano to be posted this offseason. He wants to pitch in MLB and Yomiuri seems willing to allow it.

Of course, the team stands to gain as well. The Giants would lose their star pitcher but recoup a few million dollars in posting fee, which would help amid the pandemic. Here’s the current posting fee structure:

• $25M contract or less: 20% of contract value
• $25M to $50M contract: $5M plus 17.5% of amount over $25M
• $50M or more contract: $9.375M plus 15% of amount over $50M

Given his age, I can’t see Sugano getting a Tanaka contract. Tanaka was 25 when he signed with the Yankees. Sugano is 31. Yusei Kikuchi received a four-year, $56M deal two years ago, at age 27. He was not nearly as accomplished as Sugano, however. The Dodgers gave Hiroki Kuroda three years and $35.3M at age 32. Maybe that’s the contract benchmark?

The posting period is already open. It will run from Nov. 8th to Dec. 12th this offseason and Sugano won’t be posted until after the Giants are done playing. Once posted, Sugano will have 30 days to meet with teams and listen to their sales pitches. The absolute latest he could sign with an MLB team is Jan. 11th.

Everything I know about Sugano is in this post and I am definitely intrigued. The performance is obviously great, and the fact he’s made major changes this late in his career indicates a level of pitching acumen that should allow him to make adjustments as he ages and transitions to a new league. He’s played for a high profile team with big expectations too. That matters.

Trevor Bauer is the top starter in free agency. The second tier is Tanaka and Charlie Morton and maybe Jake Odorizzi, then there’s the reclamation projects (Chris Archer, Corey Kluber, James Paxton, etc.) and everyone else (Rick Porcello, Jose Quintana, etc.). It’s not a great class at all. Sugano in a depressed market may be the best bet outside the top 3-4 guys at this point.

OF Haruki Nishikawa

Could the Yankees replace Brett Gardner with a younger, Japanese version of Brett Gardner? Sure they could. Will they? Probably not, but you never know. Nishikawa, 28, is a lefty hitting low power speedster who gets on base, grinds out at-bats, runs the bases well, and plays good defense. His numbers:

Yeah, looks 2010-13 Brett Gardner-y to me. Nishikawa has spent his entire career with the Nippon Ham Fighters and he is a three-time Gold Glover -- Gold Gloves go to the best all-around player at each position in NPB, it’s not a defense-only award -- and a two-time All-Star. I will have failed as a baseball internetsman if I did not show you Nishikawa’s bat flip (GIF via Tom Mussa):

That’s the good stuff right there. Nishikawa’s profile is similar to Shogo Akiyama’s and Akiyama really struggled this season with the Reds, hitting .247/.357/.297 (85 wRC+). The 13.7% walk rate was nice, but Akiyama had trouble with velocity, and his 85.1 mph average exit velocity was among the lowest in baseball. That said, Nishikawa is three years younger than Akiyama. He’s in his prime. Akiyama is leaving his.

Sherman reports Nishikawa is very likely to be posted this offseason. Here are some recent MLB contracts for Japanese outfielders. There haven’t been many of them the last few years:

• Shogo Akiyama: 3 years, $21M (free agent)
• Yoshi Tsutsugo: 2 years, $12M (posted)
• Nori Aoki: 2 years, $2.5M (posted)

Aoki’s contract was signed nearly 10 years ago now, so I don’t want to go back any further. We’re already reaching for contracts that aren’t especially relevant today. The Akiyama contract is the obvious benchmark here, though he was three years older than Nishikawa is now, and that was before the pandemic. A lot has changed in a year.

The Yankees have a full starting outfield (Clint Frazier, Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge) and a good enough fourth outfielder (Mike Tauchman) already, and they might bring back Gardner as well. Nishikawa could be an option to replace Gardner (or Tauchman), though I can’t imagine he’s eager to accept a bench role out of the gate. He’s an interesting player but the Yankees don’t seem like the best situation for him.

RHP Hirokazu Sawamura

Sawamura, 33 in April, was Sugano’s longtime teammate with the Giants. He started poorly this past season though and was traded to the Chiba Lotte Marines. The veteran reliever finished 2020 with a 3.09 ERA but an unsightly 32/25 K/BB in 35 innings. From 2018-19, Sawamura posted a 24.9% strikeout rate and a 9.3% walk rate, which is much more like it.

Steve Adams reports multiple MLB teams have shown interest in Sawamura, who “has a fastball that can reach 97 mph, a low-90s splitter that functions as his primary out pitch and a slider.” Here’s video. Extra-base hits in that video aside, the stuff looks pretty good. Probably wouldn’t hurt to elevate a fastball once in a while rather than dot everything at the knees though.

Anyway, Sawamura has enough service time to qualify as an unrestricted free agent and does not need to be posted. Here are some recent MLB contracts for Japanese relievers:

• Kyuji Fujikawa: 2 years, $9.5M (free agent)
• Yoshihisa Hirano: 2 years, $6M (free agent)
• Ryota Igarashi: 2 years, $3M (free agent)
• Kazuhisa Makita: 2 years, $4M (posted)
• Shun Yamaguchi: 2 years, $6.35M (posted)

Fujikawa is maybe the greatest Japanese closer ever, but he blew out his elbow two months into his contract with the Cubs and needed Tommy John surgery. Hirano’s been a serviceable middle reliever in his three MLB seasons. Igarashi, Makita, and Yamaguchi were all duds (the book is still out on Yamaguchi, I suppose).

Japanese relievers tend to be hit or miss in MLB -- there have been some really great ones (Akinori Otsuka, Hideki Okajima, Takashi Saito, etc.) -- which I guess makes them no different than MLB relievers in general. I am intrigued by Sawamura, but in a market that is expected to be flooded with non-tenders, I’d focus my attention elsewhere.

RHP Kohei Arihara

I first wrote about Arihara way back in 2016. The 28-year-old has been good rather than great with the Nippon Ham Fighters since then, including pitching to a 3.52 ERA with 19.7% strikeouts and 5.4% walks in 2020. In 2019, he had a 2.46 ERA with 25.2% strikeouts and 6.3% walks. In 2018, it was a 4.33 ERA with 19.2% strikeouts and 3.3% walks. All over the place.

Arihara works in the low-90s with his fastball and backs it up with a cutter, a slider, and a splitter. Here’s some video. That’s a dandy of a splitter. Arihara does not have Sugano’s track record (few do) but “he is regarded as possessing an MLB-caliber repertoire,” according to Morosi. Sherman says Arihara is very likely to be posted this offseason.

Since the Kei Igawa fiasco, the Yankees typically only pursue the very best of the best from Japan. Tanaka, Darvish, Shohei Ohtani, and that’s pretty much it. Sugano could be up their alley. Arihara? Eh, he’s interesting enough and I’d kick the tires, but I don’t think the Yankees have him high up their shopping list, especially since there’s a posting fee involved.

RHP Spencer Patton

Patton is not Japanese but he’s spent the last four years in NPB, and several fringe big league pitchers have turned their careers around in Japan, then come back to MLB and had success. Colby Lewis was the first to do it. Pierce Johnson and former Yankee Chris Martin have done it more recently. Patton is a free agent and expected to try to do it now.

Truth be told, Patton probably stayed in Japan too long. The former Ranger and Cub joined the Yokohama BayStars in 2017 and had a 2.47 ERA with 27.9% strikeouts and 6.6% walks in 124 relief innings from 2017-18. From 2019-20, it’s a 4.55 ERA with 28.3% strikeouts and 12.2% walks in 87 innings. Probably should’ve attempted the MLB comeback after 2018, eh? Here's video.

Patton is a classic mid-90s four-seamer/mid-80s slider reliever. Martin got two years and $4M when he returned from Japan. Johnson got two years and $5M. Those two were dominant in NPB though. They didn’t have the same hiccups Patton had these last two years, so maybe it’s more like one year and $2M? Maybe two years and $3M?

Similar to Sawamura, I’d focus my attention elsewhere this offseason rather than pursue Patton. Free agency is expected to be flooded with non-tenders and there’s bound to be better ways to use $2M or $4M or whatever it ends up being than on a soon-to-be 33-year-old who was at best decent overseas the last two seasons.

3. Deivi goes to winter ball. The Dominican Winter League season begins Sunday -- it's $15 to watch every game online -- and Miguel Andujar, Domingo German, and Gary Sanchez will indeed suit up for Toros del Este, as previously reported. German will start Opening Day, Andujar has been playing third base in exhibition games, and Sanchez is expected to join the team later this month.

A few other Yankees will play winter ball this year, including Deivi Garcia. Tigres del Licey GM Junior Noboa told Enrique Rojas the Yankees have given Garcia permission to play winter ball, which is good news after the shortened season. Deivi threw 35.1 big league innings this year plus who knows how many at the alternate site. If his workload was a concern, the Yankees wouldn’t let him play winter ball. The innings are a good thing.

Albert Abreu and Luis Gil will also play for Tigres del Licey. Gil spent the entire season at the alternate site. Abreu made a few scattered MLB appearances but was in Scranton most of the year as well. “I will never forget (the year at the alternate site) because I did not expect to be so soon very close (to MLB),” Gil said. The Yankees helped Gil replace his curveball with a slider this summer. Winter ball is a chance to keep working on it.

Abreu could use a good winter ball showing. He’s out of minor league options, so next year it's Yankees or out of the organization for him, realistically. Hard to see him clearing waivers to go to Triple-A. The better Abreu performs in winter ball, the better his chances of latching on somewhere else next year. I hope it works out with the Yankees and Abreu can be an impact (or even just serviceable) reliever in 2021. If not though, he wants to make himself desirable for other clubs.

Roansy Contreras is also listed on the Toros del Este roster but I’m not sure whether he is going to play this winter. Being listed on the roster just means the team controls your winter ball rights. Manny Machado is on the Toros del Este roster, for example, but that doesn’t mean he's playing. Contreras was not at the alternate site this year. If he could squeeze in a few winter ball innings, it would be better than nothing.

Keep in mind winter ball leagues are extremely competitive. Prospect status is irrelevant. If Garcia has two or three rough starts in a row, they won't hesitate to pull him from the rotation, developmental needs be damned. That's a good thing to some extent, you want a competitive environment, but you also want these guys to get their work in. They have to perform to stay in the lineup.

MLB.com seems to have abandoned their winter ball page, though I’m hopeful it will be updated regularly once the season begins. I’m not sure what’s going on with winter ball in Mexico, Puerto Rico, or Venezuela, but if those leagues play, there will surely be Yankees prospects on the rosters. There are every year. For now Abreu, Andujar, Garcia, German, Gil, and Sanchez are the winter ball names to keep an eye on. Maybe Contreras too.

4. Rapid fire thoughts. Earlier this week Marcus Stroman (and Kevin Gausman) accepted the $18.9M qualifying offer and that’s a pretty good indication Masahiro Tanaka would’ve accepted it as well. Stroman’s agent surely shopped around during the 10-day waiting period and accepting the qualifying offer tells us they weren’t confident a lucrative multi-year deal was out there. Stroman did opt out of the season, but I don’t think anyone holds that against him. He’s younger than Tanaka and has been better the last few years. If Stroman accepted the qualifying offer, then I’m guessing Tanaka would have as well. A one-year deal for Tanaka wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world, but $18.9M when payroll is coming down? Eh … As expected, Shane Bieber won the AL Cy Young award unanimously earlier this week (nice regular season you had there, Biebs). Gerrit Cole finished fourth in the voting, one stinkin’ point behind Hyun-Jin Ryu for third place. Cole received two second place votes, three third place votes, 10 fourth place votes, and four fifth place votes. He was left off eight ballots entirely. DJ LeMahieu finished third in the MVP voting (he was solidly in third and not particularly close to second or fourth) and Luke Voit finished ninth. LeMahieu is the first Yankee to finish in the top four of the MVP voting in back-to-back years since Don Mattingly in 1985-86, and this is the first time the Yankees have had two top 10 finishers in the MVP voting since 2012, when Robinson Cano finished fourth and Derek Jeter finished seventh. LeMahieu got just one first place vote. Voit topped out at fourth on someone's ballot and was left off three ballots entirely. I thought Cole might get a stray MVP vote or two but it didn't happen. Oh well. I am long past the point of obsessing over MVP voting. I have no qualms with this year's awards winners, though I would've given AL Manager of the Year to Charlie Montoyo seeing how the Blue Jays made the (expanded) postseason despite having to call a Triple-A ballpark home.

Mailbag Questions of the Week

Paul asks (short version): I personally find him annoying and I know you do too, but at some point do we have to acknowledge that Trevor Bauer is a perfect fit for the 2021 Yankees if he's serious about only taking 1 year? It puts him in a (the best?) position to win, with a young analytical pitching coach, and on a team that embraces analytics to the point where they would learn from each other. For the Yankees, it gives them another true workhouse ace behind Gerrit Cole and someone who only affects the luxury tax for 1 year (plus you could theoretically pitch him until his arm falls off).

Perfect? No. Cole last year was as close to perfect as it gets (excellent, durable, no off-the field concerns, etc.) and Bauer is not Cole. He’s very good! But he’s had one full season where he was comfortably better than average (2018) and his schedule was baby soft this year. Eight of his 11 starts were against the Brewers, Pirates, Royals, and Tigers (all bottom nine offenses by runs per game). Must be nice.

Bauer has already walked back his comments about taking only one-year contracts and unless the free agent market is just brutal, I think he’s getting multiple years. I know he likes to portray himself as the smartest guy in the room, but even he is not dumb enough to pass up nine figures amid an economic downturn and given the inherent injury risk of his profession (I could see him pushing for an opt-out after Year 1 of a multi-year deal).

The Yankees were completely out on Bauer for makeup reasons at the 2019 trade deadline but that is not necessarily the case now. Bauer and pitching coach Matt Blake know each other from their days with Cleveland (though they didn’t work together much), and, frankly, the Yankees should feel more urgency to win a World Series now than they did two years ago. They might be more willing to acquire him now.

Another thing to keep in mind: Bauer and Cole are not on good terms and haven’t been since their time at UCLA together. It seems personal too. Here’s what Bauer told Jordan Bastian in May 2018:

"I have no problem with Gerrit," Bauer said. "We had a rocky relationship in college, because he told me that I had no future in baseball and he insulted my work ethic as a freshman. I don't take kindly to those couple things, so we had our issues. And I have, I don't know, those feelings have long since faded. Right now, it's cool to see him having success. He's done a lot of hard work. He's changed his mechanics around. He's changed his pitch repertoire and how he uses it and his attack plan and stuff like that, and he's having a ton of success with it.

That interview came not even a month after Bauer, without naming names, accused Cole of doctoring the ball with the Astros, so I have a hard time buying the “I have no problem with Gerrit” thing (Bauer said he’s fine with Cole again earlier this week). Actions speak louder than words and he called Cole out. (Bauer cited Cole’s spin rate as evidence he’s doctoring the ball and then Bauer’s spin rates skyrocketed this year. Hmmm.)

Lots of teammates don’t like each other and who’s to say Bauer and Cole couldn’t bury the hatchet? Even then, I find him insufferable. That is my personal opinion and you are welcome to feel differently. Bauer is a thin-skinned misogynist and he bullies people on social media (or, rather, he sics his fans on people who dare criticize him), and is just generally unlikable.

I don’t see the Yankees spending the money it will take to sign Bauer to a multi-year contract and he’s not someone I’d want to lock up long-term anyway. He’s worn out his welcome with two franchises (Diamondbacks, Cleveland) and I don’t see him as a “must have” pitcher. He had a great year, no doubt. I’d rather look elsewhere.

James asks: Francisco Lindor is your offseason plan for SS.  Why not Trevor Story instead?

Story would work too. He’s awesome. He was a legitimate +6 WAR player the last two years and he played at that pace again in 2020, hitting .289/.355/.519 (117 wRC+) with 11 homers and 15 steals in the 60-game season. Story is owed $18.5M next year and he will become a free agent after the season. The Rockies are looking to cut payroll this winter and will work hard to move Nolan Arenado, but that may be impossible, so Story could go instead.

I went with Lindor over Story for a few reasons. One, I think Lindor is the better player, and I say that while fully acknowledging Story is great. They’re very close but I like Lindor a little more as a lower strikeout guy with power and top notch defense. Two, I did want to balance the lineup a bit, and Story would give the Yankees yet another right-handed hitter. A very good right-handed hitter, but another right-handed hitter.

And third, I was more certain Lindor will actually be available. The Rockies do have a history of paying big to keep their own (Arenado, Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki, etc.), so keeping Story and extending him is possible. There’s basically no chance Cleveland can extend Lindor though, so they’re going to trade him, and that reduces their leverage. The Rockies don’t have to trade Story and can seek a king’s ransom. Cleveland kinda does have to trade Lindor though.

(A different) Paul asks: I'm excited about the Yankees coming to Somerset because it's more convenient for me, personally, and I'm selfish. But how does this all work? What happens to the current Patriots roster? Do the Yankees just bring their entire (A or AA) team over there? Are they even keeping the name? When do tickets go on sale?

The Patriots don’t have a current roster, not unless independent teams started handing out multi-year contracts at some point and I missed it. The Yankees will provide the players and coaching staff, and the Patriots are responsible for everything else (stadium workers, grounds crew, etc.). They’re not bringing Trenton Thunder employees over to Somerset. Somerset has their own people already. The Patriots nickname is staying and sorry, I have no idea when tickets go on sale. Might not be until after we know whether we’re getting a minor league season in 2021.

Brian asks: If all minor league levels operate next year, where do you think Jasson D starts? Low A Tampa?

Extended Spring Training then the rookie Gulf Coast League, I imagine. Maybe a late season cameo with Low-A Tampa if he really wows. As talented as he is, Jasson Dominguez is still only 17 (18 in February), and he just lost an entire season. I’m fine with not rushing him up to full season ball under these weird circumstances. Dominguez is still younger than many 2021 high school draft prospects. Nothing wrong with rookie ball at this age.

(Send your requests for Tuesday's random Yankee series and questions for Friday's mailbag to RABmailbag at gmail dot com.)