Jesse Cohen of All The Kings Men joined me to talk about the state of the Kings and what’s gone wrong for the organization.
While the Rangers were picking up a 4-1 win over the Kings on Sunday night at the Garden, I couldn’t help but think back to nearly six years ago when the two teams met in the Cup Final. I preached back then about the Rangers needing to win that series because you never know when or if the team is going to get back there, and since then, they haven’t been back. While the Rangers have been rebuilding for the last few seasons, the Kings have started their own rebuild as well. The difference is Kings fans can look back on recent happy memories as their team got the job done during its window of opportunity.
Jesse Cohen of All The Kings Men joined me to talk about the Kings’ trade of Jack Campbell and Kyle Clifford to Toronto, what’s happened to the team since their last championship, the team’s recent head coach carousel, if the franchise’s organizational shift is the right plan, why Ilya Kovalchuk didn’t work out in Los Angeles and current Kings who might not be Kings two weeks from now.
Erik Boland of Newsday joined me to talk about the storylines surrounding the Yankees to begin spring training.
Spring training is here. It’s been a long, cold offseason made even longer and even colder by the way last season ended, but baseball is back.
Newsday Yankees beat writer Erik Boland joined me to talk about the start of spring training, the questions Gerrit Cole will have to answer about his time with the Astros, the James Paxton injury news, the position player battles and how Clint Frazier avoided being traded for another offseason.
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My book The Next Yankees Era: My Transition from the Core Four to the Baby Bombers is now available as an ebook!
Spring training has yet to officialy begin and already the Yankees are once again proving you can never have enough pitching.
Wednesday is the big day. Wednesday is when pitchers and catchers officially report to spring training for the Yankees (though many of the Yankees are already in Tampa and have started their spring training). There’s still more than six weeks until Opening Day and real, meaningful baseball, but spring training is here.
This week’s questions and comments are related to the current roster and if the Yankees did enough this offseason to improve it.
Email your questions to KeefeToTheCity@gmail.com or engage on the Keefe To The City Facebook page or on Twitter to be included in the next Monday Mail.
We need another bonafide starting pitcher. – Mario
I understand you can never have enough pitching, except when you’re talking about a 37-year-old coming off the worst season of his career and set to earn $17 million.
What felt like minutes after writing those words, it was announced that James Paxton will be out for the next three to four months after undergoing a back procedure. It was almost as if the Baseball Gods were upset with me mocking the idea that you can never have enough pitching.
The Paxton news certainly isn’t ideal, but it’s not the worst thing ever either. Paxton has never pitched a full season in the majors. Not one. His career-high innings came in 2018 when he threw 160 1/3. In his first season with the Yankees, he only managed 150 2/3 when he missed nearly four weeks and then admittedly pitched with a knee problem for most of the season before being shut down in his final start of the regular season with a back problem, which he eventually needed this recent surgery for.
The Yankees won’t have Paxton for at least the first month of the season and I would expect him to miss at least the first two months of the season. So now, instead of having Happ as the team’s fifth starter in what needs to be a bounceback season, Happ moves up to the No. 4 spot and Jordan Montgomery, most likely, becomes the No. 5 starter.
There isn’t really an available free-agent starting pitcher the Yankees could go out and sign at this point like the comment suggests. If Happ sucks again and Montgomery proves to be not ready as he separates himself from his Tommy John surgery, I would rather see what Deivi Garcia or Mike King or someone else within the organizatio can before giving an opportunity to the scrap heap.
So it’s true, you can never have enough pitching, even when you’re talking about a 37-year-old coming off the worst season of his career and set to earn $17 million.
Nolan Arenado is the best third baseman in baseball. You get the best when you can. No need to be concerned with costs. If they don’t mind paying the luxury tax, I’m not complaining. – Vinny
The problem is while we aren’t worried about the luxury tax, Yankees ownership certainly is. It’s why they held back the last few years on free agency. The Yankees are the best team in baseball right now and good enough to win the World Series as currently constructed and ownership likely looks at Arenado as a luxury and not a necessity. They know they can win with a third base combination of Gio Urshela at $2.5 million and Miguel Andujar at somewhere around the league minimum, so there’s no need for them to go take on another nine-figure contract.
The franchise can more than afford to take on Arenado’s contract, but they know they can win with a third base making $32 million less.
I don’t get this obsession with Nolan Arenado, what the Yankees actually need is to lock up and secure our infield with Francisco Lindor. The kid makes perfect sense across the table. We need left-handed punch and to fill the hole that Didi Gregorious left at short. Gleyber Torres with all due respect is a much better second baseman than he is a shortstop. – El
The obsession with Arenado is that he’s the best all-around third baseman in baseball. As for Lindor, if the Yankees could somehow trade for him I would also be all for it. The difference is Arenado would cost only money as the Rockies are looking at moving him in a straight salary dump the way the Marlins moved Giancarlo Stanton, while Lindor will cost actual players.
As for the knock on Torres, I disagree. I would expect Torres to be a better second baseman than shortstop the same way I would expect any major leaguer to be a better second baseman than shortstop since it’s an easier position to play. But Torres came up as a shortstop (except for the brief time he playing third base in the minors before a season-ending injury in 2017, so the Yankees could stop playing Chase Headley), and he was only playing second because of Gregorius. Gregorius is gone, so Torres is the shortstop the way he was before Gregorius came back last season, and he’s going to be playing shortstop for a long, long time … unless the Yankees do something like acquire Lindor.
I’d like to have the best player in baseball at every position, but there are financial implications. They got in trouble chasing every free agent and came back to prominence developing their farm system. They laid out big money with Gerrit Cole, and huge payouts lie ahead for Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres and Luis Severino. – Michael
There are financial implications to signing big-name free agents, but the Yankees are the Yankees and have more financial resources than any other team in the sport and should use that to their advantage. It was disgusting when they came one win away from the World Series in 2017 and then cut payroll by nearly $50 million for 2018, and their decision to sit out on every free-agent pitcher not named J.A. Happ for 2019 cost them the AL pennant once again.
The Yankees have returned to prominence by building up their farm system, but when you have a young core making the league minimum or in arbitration years, that’s when you should add free agents to the roster before the young core needs to be paid. Judge and Sanchez both got significant raises this season and Severino got a four-year, $40 million contract last season. Those numbers are only going to continue to go up, and that’s why it’s more important than ever for the Yankees to win a championship as soon as possible before ownership decides to go back into a signing freeze due to an increasing payroll they can more than afford.
I predict Giancarlo Stanton will have a banner year. Hope he has a great year and opts out. – Jack
Last week, I wrote that I’m going to give a clean slate to Stanton for 2020. No sarcasm to start the season, no snarky comments, no “Ladies and gentlemen” tweets on Opening Day. I’m going to be positive when it comes to Stanton for as long as he lets me be positive.
The response to that blog hasn’t been great. Either people don’t believe me, saying I won’t be able to last through the fourth inning of Opening Day, or they despise Stanton so much that they’re appalled that I’m willing to be positive when it comes to him.
I really do believe Stanton is a luxury for the Yankees. He was a luxury when the Yankees were able to acquire him for nothing and he’s become even more of a luxury with the team proving it can win without him. They don’t need him to be his pre-Yankee self to win. Last season, they were able to win 103 regular-season games and get to within two wins of the World Series without him. But even though he’s a luxury, I would very much welcome him returning to his pre-Yankee self and being an MVP candidate, especially with Aaron Hicks out for most of the season and the unpredictability of what Brett Gardner, Mike Tauchman and Clint Frazier will provide.
When it comes to his opt-out clase though, you can forget about that. Even without a 2017-like season, on the open market, Stanton wouldn’t come close to getting what he’s owed as a 31-year-old who will obviously spend his later years as a DH. Even if he thought he was worth more and could get more, who would pay him? The Yankees would be out on him. The now small-market-operating Red Sox would be out on him. The Astros? No. Unless the NL adopts the DH, I can’t see any NL team wanting him. He will be three years removed from his historic season with one good season (2018), one nine-game season (2019) and whatever he does in 2020 since his MVP campaign. Stanton isn’t going anywhere. He’s going to be a Yankee.
Want to be included in the next Monday Mail? Email your questions to KeefeToTheCity@gmail.com or engage on the Keefe To The City Facebook page or on Twitter.
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My book The Next Yankees Era: My Transition from the Core Four to the Baby Bombers is now available as an ebook!
Allan Kreda of The New York Times joined me to talk about the Rangers’ trade deadline options.
There are so many different ways the Rangers can approach and handle the trade deadline that there’s no way to predict exactly what the roster will look like a little over two weeks from now. But that’s not going to stop everyone from trying to predict what it will look like.
Allan Kreda of The New York Times joined me to talk about the three-goalie situation and if Henrik Lundqvist might now be the odd man out, the chances of a Chris Kreider extension, what to do with Ryan Strome, the possibility of Jacob Trouba or Brady Skjei getting traded and Vitali Kravtsov getting called up in the final month of the season.
I understand Henrik Lundqvist’s age and his salary and cap hit for 2020-21. I also recognize what he has done for the organization for nearly 15 years and I will never not feel indebted to him as a Rangers fan.
The Rangers returned from their long layoff and won three of four. It’s what they need to do keep their playoff dreams alive and prolong a third straight deadline selloff from the front office. The Rangers still have nine games left before the deadline to showcase their available players while at the same time try to prove they can make a miraculous run to the playoffs.
1. The only person who was happier for Henrik Lundqivst than Lundqvist following his 1-0 shutout on Saturday in Detroit was me. More than two years since his last shutout, a feat that used to be accomplished weekly it felt like, Lundqvist once again posted a zero. The Rangers’ defense was never anything special when it featured Ryan McDonagh, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Anton Stralman, Dan Boyle, Keith Yandle or Kevin Klein as Lundqvist routinely made that group and many others appear much better than they actually were from a scoreboard standpoint. But I’m sure Lundqvist longs for the days when he had some of those names given the current state of the Rangers’ defense and what he, Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev, need to do each game to prevent lopsided results.
2. To see Lundqvist get pulled against Dallas in the game immediately following his shutout was disheartening and rather unfair, but the reason for the goals didn’t matter to many Rangers fans, just that there were goals. The franchise legend was turned on as the reason and not the unnecessary penalties, slot deflections, odd-man rushes and defensive-zone turnovers, which set up the goals. The loss was hardly Number 30’s fault.
3. The three-goalie situation has now been going on for a month. Here’s how it’s gone since Shesterkin’s debut:
Sometimes the next game’s starting goalie has been based on the previous game’s performance, sometimes it has been based on being already scheduled and sometimes it’s been based on past performance against the next game’s opponent. It’s been hard to predict who will start from game to game, but I’m going to make a prediction for the games between now and next week’s Thoughts.
Friday vs. Buffalo: Georgiev Sunday vs. Los Angeles: Shesterkin Tuesday at Winnipeg: Lundqvist
4. Toronto was seen as the favorite to land Georgiev in a pre-deadline deal and then Los Angeles had to step in and trade them Jack Campbell. After ruining Lundqvist’s chance at the elusive Cup, it might be the Kings who once again ruin his legacy. With Toronto no longer in need of a goalie, the odds on Georgiev getting traded this season take a hit and it makes it more likely Lundqvist is somehow talked into waiving his no-trade clause or is bought out in the offseason. I hate the Kings.
5. Georgiev getting moved is still the most likeliest outcome of the three-goalie issue, but with each passing day and especially with Toronto no longer a suitor, it’s not as likely as it was just a few days ago. The cold, rainy winter days coupled with all of these Lundqvist trade and buyout rumors are depressing. I understand the Rangers’ love for Georgiev and their reluctance to trade him for anything less than their seemingly over-the-top demands, but it’s still the right move. I also understand Lundqvist’s age and his salary and cap hit for 2020-21. I also recognize what he has done for the organization for nearly 15 years and I will never not feel indebted to him as a Rangers fan. An offseason buyout would be even worse.
6. On the topic of buyouts, how many buyouts are the Rangers doing to need to do? They bought out Brad Richards and Dan Girardi and Kevin Shattenkirk, and should have bought out Staal. (Maybe start rethinking the organization’s handling of contracts and when extensions should be made?) If the Rangers do decide to extend Chris Kreider, there’s a good chance I will be writing about the Rangers needing to buy him out in a few years as well. I get that Kreider makes the Rangers better right now and next season as well and the season after that, but they’re not even a playoff team this season and next season they won’t be close to contending and might still not be ready in 2021-22. Realistically, the Rangers are three years at best from possibly being one of the elite teams in the league and by then Kreider will be 31-32 and getting paid to do things he did on the other side of 30. Given the weak expected rental class for this deadline, let some team overpay for his services for two months and use the return to actually help the team win in three and four years from now.
7. Given Artemi Panarin’s recent drop in even-strength production, I gladly welcomed Ryan Strome being removed from his line. It didn’t last long though as David Quinn put the two back together during Wednesday’s win over Toronto. One day I will get my dream of a Panarin-Mika Zibanejad-Kaapo Kakko line. One day.
8. I was a fan of the trade for Jacob Trouba and still am, but I completely understand why he is a potential trade asset. He’s signed long-term at a solid number and he’s now a luxury for the Rangers. Given the abundnace of young defense and the eventual need to pay that young defense, Trouba isn’t needed the way he was when they traded for him. I will still happily have him as a Ranger, but I now almost expect him to be traded before his no-trade kicks in this offseason. When it comes to trading young defensemen with long-term deals, how about Brady Skjei? There has to be a landing spot for Skjei is his $5.25M cap hit through 2023-24. After Georgiev (because it helps Lundqvist remain a Ranger) and Kreider (because extending would be a mistake for when the team is ready to contend), I most want Skjei to be traded.
9. The best day of the season will be the day the day Greg McKegg, Brendan Smith and Micheal Haley no longer play. We’re getting closer to that day. With the deadline approaching and the Rangers’ playoff odds on the brink, it’s only a matter of time until the Rangers start to implement more young players into the NHL lineup and stop wasting valuable regular-season minutes and icetime on three players who should have never been a part of this season’s roster.
10. The Rangers came out of their 10-day layoff needing to win 75 percent of their remaining 34 games, and they have done that so far, going 3-1 against Detroit, Dallas and Toronto. They are now on pace for 88 points, and the second wild card is on pace for 99 points. That’s a lot of points to make up and every projection I have seen gives the Rangers a single-digit percentage of reaching the playoffs. The Rangers are going to need a 21-6-3 finish to play an 83rd game.
