Kuzul

It’s the end of November, and the Yankees have stalled with their negotiations with Derek Jeter and his agent, Casey Close.

So now it looks like they are putting the negotiations with Jeter on hold to go after the biggest prize on the free agent market that they have coveted since last winter.

According to the New York Post‘s George King, there are major signs that are pointing to Lee signing with the Yankees once the Baseball Winter Meetings begin in Orlando next week.

The Rangers have already prepared to begin their 2011 season without Lee and may in fact know that he may be heading to the Yankees.

They have a possible plan to move closer and 2010 Rookie of the Year Neftali Feliz to a starter and then go after a closer like Rafael Soriano.

Or they could pursue a trade for Kansas City Royals ace and 2009 Cy Young Winner Zack Greinke, and with the Texas farm system being very deep, Texas could be able to pull off a trade like that for Greinke.

Many have felt that Greinke would be the Yankees back-up plan if Lee didn’t sign with New York, but Greinke has the Yankees on his no-trade list, plus any deal involving Greinke would almost include catching prospect Jesus Montero, who will have a chance to win the starting job for the Yankees in 2011.

Last week, Yahoo’s Tim Brown wrote a story which said the Yankees had an offer of six years and $140 million ready for Lee, which was not confirmed and was just mostly speculation through the baseball executives.

However, a possible offer could still be handed out to Lee by the Yankees and according to King’s story, if the Yankees offer Lee that type of contract, Texas wouldn’t be able to match it.

Earlier this month in a free agent prediction story, I had predicted the Yankees would sign Lee because with so many question marks around the Yankees rotation, getting Lee has become more of a necessity than a luxury. If the Yankees offer a six-year deal anywhere near $140 million, I, like over 80 percent of the poll I did in my last story, felt as if Lee will accept that offer and sign with the Yankees.

Once the winter meetings in Orlando get closer, we’ll start to hear more and more speculation as to where Lee will be signing long term.

As far as where the Yankees stand, they haven’t advanced in progress with the Jeter negotiations, the talks with Mariano Rivera are starting to pick up a little, and they are waiting to hear whether Andy Pettitte will pitch in 2011 or retire, so that makes Lee the main priority in the offseason plans, which was no secret to begin with.

Right now, it looks as if the Yankees are becoming the odds-on favorites in the Cliff Lee Sweepstakes.

Stay tuned, Yankees Universe.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The New York Yankees‘ two biggest free agent targets this season are most definitely long-time shortstop Derek Jeter and star pitcher Cliff Lee. 

It seems unlikely that they’ll sign both, so in the hypothetical case that they only sign one, which will be more valuable to the team?

In my mind, there’s not even a question about this—Cliff Lee.

Lee is one of the best pitchers in all of baseball; he may even be the absolute best. 

The Yankees had a 4.06 team ERA last season, good enough to rank 15th in the MLB. For an elite team, that’s simply not going to get it done. Just for comparison’s sake, the Texas Rangers finished ninth and the San Francisco Giants were first last year. 

Anyone besides me think that Lee could help the Yankees in that department?

Who would want to play a team that had a one-two punch of CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee, although not necessarily in that particular order. 

Plus, we all know that Lee pitched dominantly in the playoffs. In the six playoff series of his career, Lee has compiled seven wins and a 2.13 ERA in his 10 games started. 

Now, let’s consider Derek Jeter. 

Yes, he’s a Yankees icon and will go down as one of the greatest of all time to wear the pinstriped jersey, but the contract he’s asking for is completely ridiculous. Baseball is still a business and Jeter needs to understand that. The Yankees just can’t pay him superstar money when he’s no longer a superstar. 

New York has made it quite clear to Jeter that they still want him on their team, yet Jeter, with his ridiculous demands, hasn’t made the same clear to New York. Until he does that, I consider the contract situation his fault. 

Last season, Jeter only hit .270 with 10 home runs and 67 RBI. His OPS+ (a sabermetric stat that compares a player’s OPS to the league average OPS with anything over 100 being better than average) was only 90. That’s the first time since 1991 that it was any lower than 102. 

Yes, Jeter won another Gold Glove and appeared in the All-Star game, but that was only because of his reputation, not his production. Jeter, as he’s done consistently throughout his career, actually hurt his team with his glove. 

Doesn’t that all make this situation pretty obvious?

Unless Jeter is willing to accept far less money and be paid what he’s actually worth, the Yankees need to make Lee their first priority. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

This is an extremely rough first draft of my pitching rankings and faces a lot of changes as the offseason progresses (as well as being expanded significantly).  Keep that in mind as you look things over.

While the top pick is clear-cut, after that things are extremely wide open.  Especially from about 14 through 25 (though not all are shown on the rankings), there is likely to be a lot of movement because all of the pitchers are so closely bunched together.  Let’s take a look at how things currently stand:

1. Roy Halladay – Philadelphia Phillies
2. Felix Hernandez – Seattle Mariners
3. Tim Lincecum – San Francisco Giants
4. Jon Lester – Boston Red Sox
5. CC Sabathia – New York Yankees
6. Clayton Kershaw – Los Angeles Dodgers
7. Adam Wainwright – St. Louis Cardinals
8. Ubaldo Jimenez – Colorado Rockies
9. Justin Verlander – Detroit Tigers
10. Jered Weaver – Los Angeles Angels
11. Francisco Liriano – Minnesota Twins
12. Yovani Gallardo – Milwaukee Brewers
13. Cliff Lee – Free Agent
14. Josh Johnson – Florida Marlins
15. Chris Carpenter – St. Louis Cardinals
16. Clay Buchholz – Boston Red Sox
17. Mat Latos – San Diego Padres
18. Cole Hamels – Philadelphia Phillies
19. Tommy Hanson – Atlanta Braves
20. Zack Greinke – Kansas City Royals

Just Missed: Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants; Roy Oswalt, Philadelphia Phillies; David Price, Tampa Bay Rays; Dan Haren, Los Angeles Angels; Ricky Nolasco, Florida Marlins

• For as good as Ubaldo Jimenez was for the first two months of the season, he had some real struggles (at times) after that.  There’s no doubt he’s entrenched himself as one of the elite starting pitchers in the game, but his .273 BABIP could really regress.  We’ll touch on him again in much more detail, but I wouldn’t over draft him based on his early season performance.
• Where Cliff Lee ultimately lands will help determine exactly where he belongs on these rankings.  His spot is probably the most in flux at this point.
• Surprised at Mat Latos’ presence?  His performance at Petco Park alone (2.59 ERA) gives us a lot to like.  When you add in his strikeout upside (10.6 minor league K/9) and solid control, there is reason to believe he could develop into a SP1 this season.  He emerged last season and should continue to be one of the better options available.
• Is Zack Greinke going to be traded or not?  For now, he’ll hang on at the bottom of these rankings, after he struggled in 2010, but if he gets traded to a contender, his value will increase significantly.  If he doesn’t, he is likely to find himself off the list completely.
• Wainwright or Kershaw?  Kershaw or Wainwright?  That’s certainly going to be an interesting debate as the offseason progresses.
• Yovani Gallardo has the stuff to be among the best of the best, if he could only put it together for a full season (5.77 ERA after the All Star Break).  His overall numbers are nothing to complain about (3.84 ERA, 200 K), but there is so much more that could.

What are your thoughts on these rankings?  Whose too high?  Whose too low?

Make sure to check out our early 2011 rankings:

• Top 15 Catchers
• Top 15 First Basemen
• Top 15 Second Basemen
• Top 15 Third Basemen
• Top 15 Shortstops
• 2011 Fantasy Draft First Round Breakdown

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Baseball is a unique sport for a lot of different reasons.

One of them is payroll. Unlike the NBA, NFL and NHL, there isn’t a salary cap in MLB.

That’s the main reason the Yankees and Red Sox are able to compete every year while the Pirates are close to 20 years of consecutive losing seasons.

Traditional big spenders like the Angels and the Tigers are going to have some money to blow. But there are some traditionally cheap teams looking to dish out some dough as well. Don’t sleep on the Orioles, Nationals and A’s to make a splash in free agency.

Here is the rankings on how much money teams have for free agency this off-season.

Begin Slideshow

Trades are a funny thing.

They are a part of every sport, and the one common characteristic that can describe their nature is their inherent volatility. Trades can be a savior to teams, bringing them to the pinnacle of success. Or they can be the perpetual oppressor, blamed by fans for years of struggle and hardship. Sometimes, the same trade can be viewed either way, depending on the point of view of the fan.

No sport has such a voluminous history of transactions as America’s pastime, so it’s no surprise that deciding which were the absolute worst was no small task.

Think I have anything out of place or that I haven’t included a trade that deserved to be on here? Let me know.

Begin Slideshow

Today’s baseball players simply have no idea the leverage and position they hold in negotiations thanks to sacrifices of some of the game’s greatest players such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays.

Before Curt Flood and the reserve clause, players either played or sat out.

Ownership held all the cards and ownership wasn’t afraid to clench its teeth when it came to salary negotiations with some of the game’s most loved and important icons.

The very frugal Horace Stoneham, who owned the New York and San Francisco Giants, demanded Willie Mays take a salary cut in 1961 after the team finished fifth.

Despite filling the stands with his taxpayer-built Candlestick Park to the tune of 1.7 million fans, Stoneham fired Bill Rigney and looked to his new Latino players such as Juan Marichal and the Alou brothers to lead the team with smaller salaries, despite the fan allegiance to the great Willie Mays!

In 1938, Joe DiMaggio asked for a pay hike to $40K only to settle for $25K and just a $5,000 raise. He would be booed by Yankee fans at his first at-bat of the season.

In 1959, Mickey Mantle batted just .285 with 31 homers and 75 RBI. General Manager George Weiss asked Mantle to take a $17,000 pay cut from $72K to just $55K!

Negotiations with Mantle had become so strained that trade rumors with Cleveland rocked the Bronx as it seemed Mantle would be shipped to the Indians for pitcher Herb Score and Rocky Colavito!

In the end, Mantle would absorb a $7,000 pay cut in 1960 after all.

In fact, even former New York Yankee shortstop, teammate and color man Phil Rizzuto would go public against Mantle and side with Weiss and Yankee management in these tense negotiations.

With just 10 homers, 67 RBI and a .270 batting average, how does an aging Derek Jeter justify a $22.6M salary in these waning days of his career?

Yes, Jeter will become the first Yankee to reach 3,000 hits in 2011, but where is the market for an aging shortstop with limited range and a 60-point drop in his batting average?

Consider the fact that the game’s best player, Albert Pujols of the St Louis Cardinals, led the National League in homers (42) and RBI (118) while flirting with a Triple Crown run most of the 2010 season only earns a mere $14.5M and has finished first or second in MVP voting six times, the most since the legendary Ted Williams.

So who is Derek Jeter negotiating with?

Will the Yankees offer their captain a ridiculous salary increase and extension simply to keep him in a Yankee uniform?

The great Eddie Matthews hit 493 homers as a Brave in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta only to be shipped to the Houston Astros, where he would eventually hit his 500th homer in 1967 and end his career in the American League with the Detroit Tigers in 1968.

When the New York Yankees acquired the contract of DiMaggio, they moved Gehrig in the lineup to accommodate their new hitting star despite Gehrig’s Hall of Fame resume in pinstripes.

Manager Joe McCarthy announced DiMaggio, not Gehrig would hit third.

For better or for worse, Derek Jeter’s greatest days are now behind him.

The popular Yankee captain and arguably the fifth greatest Yankee of all time (Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle and Berra before him), he needs to understand his new role as the team’s elder statesman and behave accordingly.

It will be how Derek Jeter conducts these negotiations and how he’ll be ultimately perceived as one of the finest Yankees ever to wear the uniform.

His No. 2 will be retired and he will go to Cooperstown. The question is will his exit be graceful and memorable or undignified and disruptive?

That is a decision for Derek Jeter to make.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

In the digital age, rumors fly much quicker than they used to.  It literally takes only seconds to post a rumor online and create a huge buzz over basically nothing.  The same applies to Phillies free-agent  right fielder, Jayson Werth.  Early this morning, a talk-show radio host mentioned that the Phillies had offered Werth a contract and that it was good enough for him to possibly sign.  Should you give credence to this rumor?  The simple answer is “No.”

Black Friday came and went and no “sale” on outfielders was ever advertised.  Tomorrow is Cyber Monday. For those awaiting a holiday miracle and second-chance sale on Werth, put it out of your mind.  

…READ MORE

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The New York Yankees have once again failed to reach their goal of winning a World Series Championship.  While the team was solid, it won nothing last year but a single playoff series.  Granted, it sounds pretentious to 29 other teams to call a trip to the ALCS a failure, but in Yankee town, that’s all it is.

However, in the offseason, youth springs eternal, and the Yankees will no doubt look to reload.  They already made the mistakes this offseason of resigning emotionless Joe Girardi (aka Joe Torre Jr without the great baseball mind and with a silly notebook) and passing on legendary pitching coach Leo Mazzone for their vacant opening.

That being said, the Yanks could still rebound this offseason and become champions in 2011 and beyond by making these moves:

Begin Slideshow

Derek Jeter has been the subject of much debate in the off-season so far, ranging from his value as a fielder in the Gold Glove voting to his overall value as a player and icon to the New York Yankees.

Here’s a debate that won’t rage long with respect to Jeter: there can be no doubt that Derek Jeter is a no-brainer, first ballot Hall of Famer.

Now that the 2010 season, playoffs, post-season, and award season are all in the books, we have everything we need to take an extended team-by-team look at today’s players and their Hall of Fame potential.

Begin Slideshow

       Will he’ll be the third best shortstop on the team in a couple years?  Sure.  Don’t his career numbers make him a rich man’s Craig Biggio?  Of course.  But the Yankees need Derek Jeter as much as the Yankee captain needs the pinstripes.  The Yankees are built on quiet professionalism and championship legacy, and no player, now or on the horizon (sorry, Robinson Cano), represents the Yankee brand like Derek Jeter.

       Don’t believe me?  Well, close your eyes and imagine Jeter in an Astros uniform.  Then open them and read the top nine reasons why the Yankees need to pony up and sign Derek Jeter before it’s too late.

Begin Slideshow