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VF314 Live Chat - 1/5/2022
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Derek
12:01
Hey everyone, glad to be here again. There's still almost zilch going on in MLB, but we'll go through what we can today.
Mark from Brooklyn
12:01
Are you hearing anything regarding negotiations, or any movement towards working to end this lockout?
Derek
12:03
Nah, and I don't have any sort of connections to know anything anyway. All I saw this morning was the Jeff Passan tweet/article about both sides talking past each other. And eh, idk about that. Doesn't seem like they're talking period, and if we learned anything from the 2020 shortened season when the players were more than willing to proceed under the March agreement, it's that it's the owners being stubborn more than anything else.
Steven Tydings
12:03
Hi Derek, second time, long time. You need a stolen base to save your life: Freddy Guzman or Rico Noel?
Derek
12:04
Hey Steven, can always count on you for a question from outta nowhere. My gut reaction says Freddy Guzman, with no stats to back it up. So there ya go.
Neil
12:04
Given that the Yanks have 3 players for 2 positions (2B & 3B – and yes, I know you can never have too many good players and some of them can slide around and fill in elsewhere), does it make sense to try to package Gleyber in a trade to get a real first baseman and just slot DJLM in at his best position, 2B?
Derek
12:05
Gleyber's trade value isn't great and the Yankees very rarely trade low. Sonny Gray is the one exception I can think of right now, but considering how they held on to Frazier/Andujar and others over the years, I don't think he's going anywhere. He's still so young too.
Chewie
12:05
Am I crazy to think the yankees don't need Correa or Story? Plenty of offense everywhere else in the lineup. Give me speed and a great glove from the position and I'll be happy.
Derek
12:06
They don't need them, but they'd be a whole lot better with one of them. And are we sure about plenty of offense elsewhere? This was a pretty mediocre lineup in 2021. Who's the speed and glove option anyway?
JonInSTP
12:07
What criticism of the front office during the 2017 - present window do you think is the most accurate? What is the most unfair?
Derek
12:08
They were too conservative in terms of trading their prospects. When I did the mailbag about all the deals they could have made with Frazier (and Chance Adams or Andujar or others), it looks pretty bad in retrospect. And I get that hindsight is 20/20, but this is a contention window. You gotta take some chances.
On the unfair side: maybe spending? That's more of a Hal thing. I'd have to think of what's unfair so far though.
12:09
Oh, I guess we could say the criticism of not replacing Gary behind the plate is a little unfair. It's not easy to find catchers
Adam
12:09
How many consecutive years will the AL East have 3 playoff teams?
Derek
12:10
Maybe for a while, no? Houston should still win the west while Oakland is planning to step back, the Mariners probably regress next year, and the Angels are the Angels. I don't know if Texas has done enough yet, but probably not. So that's just 1 team from the ALW. The central stinks and should be Chicago's division for a while. Maybe the Twins bounce back, and yeah the Tigers are getting better, but it's still top heavy.
Jeb
12:11
Judge platform year in 2022 - how many HRs do you predict?
Derek
12:11
I haven't seen it firsthand but didn't he say 50 on IG or something? That would be fun. I'll say that.
Tim
12:12
How many innings do you think each of the Triple A starting pitchers (Gil, Schmidt, Garcia, Medina, etc.) will get at the major league level?  Me thinks Cashman is counting on more innings from these guys than fans expect.
Derek
12:14
I really only think Gil is going to get looks, at least early. Everyone else has question marks: Deivi is a mess, can Schmid stay healthy, and will Medina continue to improve control?
Jack H.
12:14
I can't get over Hal advocating for a lower luxury tax threshold. I know we're now the austerity Yankees, raising banners every time we reset the tax, but did this blatant display going against his own team's built-in advantage surprise you?
Derek
12:15
Not anymore. About a decade ago when it first started it was pretty eye opening. The motives have been crystal clear for a while now though.
Rashik
12:15
If the Yanks go stop gap at SS, what would they have to do elsewhere for you to think it was a successful offseason.
Derek
12:16
Probably need to sign Freeman/trade for Olson and then get Reynolds or Ketel Marte, then toss in a pitcher like Marquez or Castillo. Is that too much to ask? Maybe.
Jeb
12:17
You can add one last pitcher to the rotation before the season starts with the caveat that said pitcher can't come from Oakland. Who would you sign/trade for?
Derek
12:18
Kinda answered this in the last question I guess. Castillo a hair ahead of Marquez.
BaldingVinny
12:18
Hicks' contract as bad as it seems?
Derek
12:20
In the sense that it takes up 10 mill on the austerity Yanks, it's not great. But generally speaking it's more than a reasonable contract, I think.
Jeb
12:21
If you could trade pieces from the 40 man at fair market value, who would you move? Don't worry about destinations and "nobody" is a fine answer too.
Derek
12:22
Chad Green is the one guy that comes to mind, but I don't really *want* to trade anyone from this roster. I think Voit gets moved too but his value ain't much.
JJ
12:23
What about Robinson Cano at 1b?
Derek
12:24
Ha. I think he's sticking with the Mets this year. I don't see them releasing him and eating the money.
In any event I'd prefer a true 1B.
Steve
12:24
If Gary Sanchez wasn’t supposed to be the second coming as a prospect do you think he’d be more or less vilified today? Put another way if his name wasn’t Gary Sanchez would he still be such a lightning rod?
Derek
12:26
I think it's more of what he did in his '16 call up than anything else. I know he was a big time IFA signing but his prospect status wavered over the years. Then when he came up and tore things up it felt like he was the next great Yankee catcher. He set the bar too high.
Duffy
12:26
Do you think the Steinbrenner’s will ever sell the team?
Derek
12:27
I don't think so and they haven't given any indication that they want to. I know we give Hal a deserved hard time for not spending past the luxury tax, but I'd be careful what you wish for in terms of a potential new owner.
Michael
12:27
Which teams could be in the mix for Joey Gallo, and what kind of return could we expect ?
Derek
12:29
San Diego has to be in the forefront of everyone's mind, though there would be plenty of suitors. I'd target Cronenworth or Grisham, but you'd have to give up more than Gallo to get either of those two guys.
Jack H.
12:30
It's always fun to hate on the Astros, and since there's no new baseball news, let me ask you about a classic controversy: Do you believe Altuve was wearing some sort of buzzer for his game winning HR vs. Chappie?
Derek
12:30
I don't think so.
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