I usually begin my day with a cup of coffee and a quick scan of Google’s Yankees News Page. It’s always fascinating how many names of players appear which the team is reportedly interested in acquiring. Soon, The Kitchen Sink will be listed among those names.
The Yankees and I did the work for you, are interested in acquiring via trade or as a free agent signee: Yu Darvish (the latest), Manny Machado, Michael Fulmer, Patrick Corbin, Gerrit Cole, Eduardo Nunez, Alex Cobb, Todd Frazier, Mike Moustakas, and Adam Lind. And those are the names appearing on only the first two pages of Google’s summary.
Each rumor is adequately sourced, and the accompanying stories appear in reputable media publications. To add to the noise, occasionally a story will appear as an “idea” with no sourcing or backup such as this one from Yanks Go Yard linking Jacoby Ellsbury to Jeff “The Shark” Samardzija in a deal between the Yankees and Giants.
The trouble, of course, is we all have these “ideas.” Radio airwaves are filled with them 24/7. And they’re fun and part of the baseball offseason and Hot Stove League we enjoy to keep the fires of our passion for baseball burning.
But these stories begin to fall on deaf ears when you consider; for instance, the Yankees already have a full complement of five starters for their rotation. Adding a sixth would be a step the Yankees have never taken. Nevertheless, even CC Sabathia is open to the idea as indicated by his remarks to the New York Daily News.
So in effect, that leaves us with five names from the list who are connected to the Yankees, potentially, as that sixth man in the rotation. And when I go back to the Google News Page, CBS Sports, NJ.com, the New York Post, the New York Daily News, and Sporting News all have recent stories published insisting the Yankees are “this close” to a deal for Gerrit Cole.
Jetting back among the victims of this lure for Cole is also ESNY. But no apologies need be offered as the story has forcible “legs”.
Of course, the Yankees were also that close to bringing Cole over from the Pirates over the summer before they settled on Sonny Gray at the trade deadline.
Discerning Yankees fans can fight their way through the fog most of the time. The stories, for instance, about the Yankees interest in Darvish can be pretty much thrown in the trash bin unless Brian Cashman can find a way to add his projected $25 million to the payroll without climbing back into a luxury tax scenario. And the chances of Cashman maneuvering to accomplish that appear to be nil. So why bother even reading those stories?
There have been stories about the Yankees going after Detroit’s Michael Fulmer, who would cost a small fortune to pry away from the Tigers. And of the team’s interest in free agent Alex Cobb, who isn’t likely to return to the rebuilding Tampa Bay Rays. Though if the Rays are rebuilding, perhaps we’ll soon see Chris Archer added to this list.
See what I mean? It’s endless. And none of this even considers the fact as MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reported back in November that Chad Green is a potential pick, from where Brian Cashman sits, to join the Yankees starting staff.
Brian Cashman said that the Yankees will probably have Chad Green come to camp as a starter, with the bullpen as a fallback.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) November 14, 2017
Let me clear it all up for you, though. Gerrit Cole will become a Yankee, and Clint Frazier will be wearing a Pirates uniform in the next day or so. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
