Ken Rosenthal joins Pinstripe Territory: Latest Yankees Buzz

00:00:01
Speaker 1: Welcome you.

00:00:04
Speaker 2: It's been a quiet winter for Yankees fans, but today we are firing up the hot stove with legendary baseball reporter Ken Rosenthal. We're going to talk about the Yankees' quest for pitching, perhaps even Freddie Peralta. We're going to talk about the stalemate that exists between the Yankees and Cody Bellinger. Coming up next, this is Pinstripe Territory.

00:00:23
Speaker 1: Wanted to talk at Zoel.

00:00:25
Speaker 2: That's kind of going all right, Welcome back, everybody, and welcome to my friend and friend of the show and friend of the network, host of Fair Territory, and legendary baseball writer Ken Rosenthal. Ken, how's your winter going?

00:00:40
Speaker 1: Oh, it's going just grand Derek, How are you doing well?

00:00:43
Speaker 2: I'll tell you what. There are worse jobs to have. I could be tarring a road. But it's a tough winter to be a Yankees' podcaster because there's not a lot to talk about. It's been kind of slow. I think fans are getting frustrated, but it hasn't just been the Yankees that have been slow. All of baseball seems to be kind of moving at a galacial pace right now. What do you make of this.

00:01:06
Speaker 1: I'm not sure what to make of it, actually, Derek, and it seems we have this issue every couple of off seasons, or so maybe really every off season if you think about it. But I looked up the other day and the Athletic has a big board of the top fifty free agents. Top three are still unsigned, Tucker, Bregman, Bischett, six of the nine are still unsigned, twenty of the top fifty. So there's no question there is still a lot of unfinished business in the sport. And then the question becomes, well, why is this? And there are probably a combination of reasons why. I wrote today about how the luxury tax might be slowing down some teams at the top, the ones that would get penalized the most. But honestly, I don't think that is the main reason. And I don't think the lockout is the main reason either, the potential for a lockout at the end of this season, because one, we don't know that that lockout is actually going to happen in terms of missing the lockout is going to happen. There will be a lockout December first, you can bank on that. The question then becomes, though, will they actually eat into the schedule, and I don't know that that's the case. And even if they do, is it a month that they miss or is it a whole season. I seriously doubt this sport is going to take a full step back and miss a whole season when right now it has momentum for the first time in quite a while. So I'm not exactly sure. But it's just the nature of the baseball calendar. There are no signing deadlines, there are no trade deadlines in the winter, and teams and agents stare each other down. Teams and other teams stare each other down and wait for the best possible deals, and we get these endless delays.

00:02:45
Speaker 2: So just a quick opinion, do you think baseball would benefit for more of like a signing period, kind of like to have other sports. I think that would be super fun.

00:02:54
Speaker 1: I do too. And the Union's position on this, Derek has always been, we don't want any restriction on the open market, so we don't want a date where free agents have to sign by because we think the clubs will manipulate that. Okay, I can see the argument, even if I don't necessarily agree with it, But how about a trade deadline at the end of the winter meetings. So then you have an actual exciting winter meetings for sure, not just a couple of signings here or there and a couple of trades. You have a frenzy, and then at that point the free agent market remains open and you have at least some things that have gotten done. I don't know why anyone would oppose that. Baseball has not adopted it. And the problem we get in collective bargaining negotiations, Derek, is that both sides are so focused on the financial end of things they don't get to these kinds of things which are actually important. So I don't know. I think the sport would benefit from that kind of deadline. Even if the Union is opposed to a free agent signing deadline, at least put something in there about aids and how you can only make trades until whatever December fifteenth.

00:04:04
Speaker 2: That would be fun. I want to talk about the Yankees quiet Winter. This is a Yankee show, after all, and you know I've been watching the Yankees since roughly nineteen ninety two religiously. You know, I've maybe missed a handful of games, and I stay dialed in all winter. I'm one of these people that stays up till midnight during the winter meetings or one o'clock in the morning, waiting for news to break, waiting for that tweet from Ken Rosenthal. But this has been kind of a slow winter. I got to go see Marty Supremes three hours long, and I didn't worry at all about missing any Yankees news. So what do you make of kind of how cautious the Yankees seem to be, you know, approaching this winter, And do you make anything of sort of the the comments from hal Steinbrenner about maybe, you know, profit versus revenue, Are they having any kind of financial troubles or could they go out and sign somebody if they wanted to.

00:04:53
Speaker 1: I am sure they are not having financial troubles now are they having financial restrictions imposed by the That could be the case. And certainly they are not done yet. And anyone who thinks they're done is kidding themselves. And while the pace obviously is frustrating, not just for Yankee fans, but for cub fans, for a lot of teams that are still not really doing much at the same time, none of this can be judged until the winter is over, and really until opening day until we see what the rosters look like. So I still expect the Yankees to be focused on Bellinger as they have been all winter, and right now it's a staring match with Boris the agent and Cody himself, and we'll see how that goes. Now, my question is, and I think I raised this on one of the shows recently, Fair or Foul Territory, what happens if Bellinger signs elsewhere? Then, in my opinion, you have a problem if you're not interested in signing Kyle Tucker and giving him a massive contract. So that's a problem that is yet to really arise, because the Bellinger thing is ongoing, and their search for a starting pitcher that continues as well. And again, who has been traded of consequence so far that the Yankees have wanted. I'm not sure any of the pictures who have been traded are guys the Yankees really focused on. It's more of an industry wide thing than a Yankee thing, in my opinion. But it's certainly fair to be concerned, and it's certainly fair to judge later. I just don't know that we can judge them right now. Now. One other thing on this whole Yankee subject. Aaron Judge is turning thirty four soon, thirty four years old. Now, Aaron Judge is coming off an amazing season. He's had several amazing seasons, but at some point he's not going to be this version of Aaron Judge, and it's probably coming, I don't know, within the next two or three seasons where the dip starts. They need to take advantage of Aaron Judge while he is still in his prime. Yankee fans know this. I'm not telling them something that they don't know, but it kind of is the backdrop to this whole thing, and it gives one pause when looking at them and thinking, okay, are things really going to be okay? Well they better be okay, because not only is Judge aging, Garrett Cole is aging. He's coming off Tommy John. You've got a lot of questions here and they need to provide answers.

00:07:21
Speaker 2: I was concerned with re signing Garrett Cole after he opted out. I thought this is the perfect get out of jail free card. Even though he's a great pitcher, he had just missed half the season with an injury, and you're thinking, at some point, this guy's elbow is going to go. I mean, how many guys throw one hundred miles an hour forever? And unfortunately that was the first thing that happened last spring, was that he broke. But hopefully he returns strong this year. I want to visit the Cody Bellinger situation because the Yankees are obviously interested. We've heard rumors that they are making him their top priority. I don't blame them. He gives them versatility. He was excellent last year. What are their main competitors right now? Is Toronto interested? Are there other sleepers that you put out there in the mix? Or is this basically just the staring contest between Bellinger and his agent and the Yankees.

00:08:06
Speaker 1: In a general sense, Derek, I would never say that the Yankees are the only team in the mix. Now. Do I know exactly who else is in No, but the Mets certainly seem to be a player here. There has been talk of the Dodgers maybe on a shorter deal, and the Blue Jays seem more focused on Tucker. But I don't know that they can be ruled out of any player right now the way they're proceeding, So I am quite certain there's competition for Bellinger. I don't know that any team wants Bellinger more than the Yankees do and see him as more of a priority. So free agency is always difficult for even the reporters who cover it to read because things are going on that we don't know about. And I always kind of caution people that we're getting I don't know ten twenty thirty percent of what actually is happening, and it's really tough to judge. And I always tell people too, Hey, things come out of nowhere. You might see something happen today or tomorrow or the next day that no one has talked about. In fact, most of these moves fall into that category. Okamoto was not going to Toronto. Until he was going to Toronto, no one had heard about that. So you don't know what's going on exactly. You don't know where the Yankees competition might be. But the only thing I will say is I am quite certain that there is competition. I just don't know who and to what extent.

00:09:29
Speaker 2: I always caution people the same thing that you're saying. No one saw Aaron Boone tearing his knee up and a Rod getting traded to the Yankees. That happened in a period of just a couple of weeks, and it was well into the winter. I believe it was February before that trade was commenced. So things can unfold and take shape that can throw things in radically different directions. One name we have heard is Edward Cabrera of the Miami Marlins. Now, he's a guy who has electric stuff. I don't think anybody would argue with that, But the injury hit has been kind of a concern. He's had some issues with locating the fastball. He's gotten hit hard from time to time. Who do you see as the major players in the market for Cabrera. I would think a lot of teams are in on him.

00:10:12
Speaker 1: Yes, there are a lot of teams in on him, and he's a guy with a couple of more years of control. That makes him appealing. Yes, the injury history is real. It cannot be denied. The Oils were in on him early, and I'm not convinced they're out even after adding Shane bas and Zach Efflin. The other teams in the mix, I'm not exactly sure about. But we've heard the Mets, we've heard the Cubs, all the usual suspects, all the teams that are in need of starting pitching. I'm sure are in touch with the Marlins about Cabrera, and my understanding, at least earlier in the week, was that this was going to happen with some team, whether it was the Yankees or someone else, that there just seemed to be a desire on the Marlins part to get this done. Now that said, it doesn't mean that it will get done if they don't get their price. They've been pretty disciplined about what they want in different trade talks. So I can see this happening for the Yankees, and I cannot see it happening for the Yankees. And I don't mean to be wishy washy, but it's just difficult to read right now with exactly what the Marlins are looking for and exactly who is in the mix.

00:11:16
Speaker 2: I've heard the Marlins fans are anxious to get some offense because they need a bopper down there. We had somebody suggest John Carlos Stanton, and I was like, man, that would be wild, but I don't see that happening. I want to talk about Freddy Peralta. This is a guy that if I had a wish list, you know that I was making for the Yankees. He's at the top of my list. This guy is durable. He pitches thirty starts a year, as you see the number seventeen and six ass here with a two point seven to zero more than a strikeout perating. I mean, he's a frequent guest on foul territory. This guy is an absolute stud. I'd imagine there's a lot of teams in on him too. What is the Brewers' motivation to move him? Is it just that they don't think they can resign him for the kind of market value he provides with this kind of resume.

00:11:58
Speaker 1: There are a lot of teams in on him, and I've heard everyone from the Dodgers to the Mets, to the Red Sox to the Braves and small market teams as well, because his salary for the season is eight million dollars and that is a relative pittance for a starting pitcher of his quality. Now, what is the Brewers' motivation? It's a good question, but this might be hard for Yankees fans to understand or grasp. But there are teams like the Brewers that can't operate the way the Yankees and Mets and big market teams do when they have a player who is eligible for free agency at the end of a season, when he has only one year of club control left, they're going to at least listen to offers for him, and they don't expect that they can sign him to an extension. The Rays operate this way, the Guardians operate this way, the Athletics, and any number of small market teams. So when you don't expect you're going to be able to sign a guy like this to an extension, you're of course going to listen. And the question is will anyone meet the Brewers price, which is going to be significant, because there is a draft pick on the end of this thing if you make Freddy paroltla qualifying offer and he rejects it. So that's part of the calculus here. You're not just getting this outstanding pitcher, You're getting a draft pick at the end of it. So there's a lot going on here. I do expect, and I said this on Foul Territory the other day, I do expect he's going to be moved. I just believe that the Brewers are going to get pushed to the point where they say, Okay, this is a good enough trade, we'll do it. They did it with Corbyn Burns two years ago. It was the exact same scenario. One you're left of club control and Peralta in some ways is more desirable because he's making eight million and Corbyn Burns was above fifteen.

00:13:43
Speaker 2: Nice well, Ken, thanks for joining. I know that you're super busy with all the news that's going on and all the stuff that's about to break, because at some point the DAN will break and I'm expecting a flurry of news and reports. Check out Ken on Fair Territory is a frequent guest on Foul Territory obviously the Athletic and all your great work. Thanks Ken once again for joining and giving us your time.

00:14:06
Speaker 1: Derek, thank you.

00:14:10
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