Pettitte's back and Curtis Granderson is wearing pinstripes!

[Sam56]

"In one hectic day, the Yankees completed two high-priority moves, bringing left-hander Andy Pettitte back to help stabilize the starting rotation and officially completing a three-team trade for All-Star center fielder Curtis Granderson.

But after several grueling days of negotiations, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman made it clear Wednesday that difficult decisions remain ahead. “We are not a finished product,” Cashman said.

The Yankees are still considering the addition of a starting pitcher and perhaps another outfielder. But how they intend to fill those needs while adhering to an organizational goal to reduce payroll will dominate the remainder of the offseason.

On the pitching front, Cashman said the Yankees have narrowed their pool of free-agent starting candidates and have already met with all of their agents, including that of John Lackey, the right-hander who is considered the premier starting pitcher on the open market.

Highly touted Cuban lefty Aroldis Chapman isn’t viewed as a candidate for next season’s rotation but the Yankees intend to watch a scheduled bullpen session by the hard-throwing 21-year-old next week.

Cashman didn’t rule out a trade for another arm, leaving open the chance that an effort may still be made to land Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay.

The inclusion of top prospects, such as catcher Jesus Montero, is widely believed to be key to any trade for the coveted Halladay. But Cashman, speaking generally, said he hasn’t ruled out dealing homegrown products, a practice he avoided in recent years. “It’s obviously dependent on the player I’d be getting,” he said. “I would in the right circumstance.”

In signing Pettitte to a one-year, $11.75 million deal, the Yankees eased the pressure to fill holes in their rotation.

With Pettitte on board, Cashman said the Yankees have the option to use pitchers already in the organization.

Pettitte said he considered retiring partly because of the way he finished the season. The 37-year old Pettitte, who posted a 14-8 mark and a 4.16 ERA, won all three clinching games in the postseason. He was 4-0 in the postseason. He also has 6 postseason series-clinching wins (MLB record) and 18 career postseason wins (MLB record).


“What else is there to do?” he said.

But with the blessing of his wife and kids, Pettitte said he knew by Thanksgiving that he wanted to return to the Yankees. His new contract more than doubles the guaranteed money he made last season, when he accepted an incentives-heavy deal.

“We’ve just totally fallen back in love with being back up there,” Pettitte said.

The addition of Granderson added some clarity to the outfield situation and lineup.

With the potential losses of free agents Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui, Cashman said the move protects the team from losing a big chunk of offensive production.

Granderson, 28, is a career .272 hitter with 102 homers, and is known as an above average defensive player.

“Whatever the situation calls for, I can pretty much kind of handle it when I’m at my best,” Granderson said. “I’m not going to be the guy you’re constantly worried about. But if you don’t keep an eye on me, hopefully I can sneak in and do some positive things for my team.”

As of now, Cashman envisions Granderson as a center fielder and a No. 2 hitter against right-handed pitchers. But while Damon excelled hitting behind leadoff man Derek Jeter last season, Granderson’s
struggles against left-handers would force him lower in the lineup.

Cashman called Damon one of the better No. 2 hitters in the game. Now Cashman must decide whether he’ll be willing to pay for Damon’s services.

The Yankees’ payroll stands at an estimated $180 million, but the team has not divulged its final salary target.

“Maybe the budget is something people laugh at,” Cashman said. “It’s high. Clearly it’s the highest in the game. But it’s very defined and so I won’t exceed it.”

[Sam56]

"The Yankees completed their final order of business at the winter meetings on Thursday morning by acquiring Dodgers minor league outfielder Jamie Hoffmann in the Rule 5 draft.

Technically, Hoffmann, 25, is the player to be named later to complete the Brian Bruney trade to the Nationals. For their half of the deal, the Nationals agreed to use the draft's top pick to select for the Yankees, who settled the former hockey player turned outfielder.

The Dodgers signed Hoffman as an amateur free agent in 2003. He had previously been drafted by the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes.

Hoffman, who bats from the right side, hit .291 with 10 homers and 64 RBI in 97 minor games mostly at Triple-A Albuquerque. Though he started the year in Double-A, Hoffmann made his big league debut last season and appeared in 14 games for the Dodgers, going 4-for-22 with a homer.

"This guy has some thump," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said.

Hoffmann's success against lefties may fill a need for the Yankees, who just acquired Curtis Granderson, who struggled badly against southpaws last season.

With Hoffmann in the fold, the Yankees could be facing a glut in the outfield as well, with center fielder Brett Gardner (a left-handed hitter whose primary value is his speed and defense) looking like he's in danger of being the odd man out.

Hoffmann has been named by Baseball America as the best defensive outfielder in the Dodgers' minor league chain four years running.

The Yankees lost two unprotected players in the Rule 5 draft: left-handed pitcher Zack Kroenke (chosen by the Diamondbacks with the sixth pick) and right-hander Kanekoa Texeira (by the Mariners with the 14th pick).

[Sam56]

A professional baseball statistical analysis opinion on the Granderson trade. Sounds great for Yankee fans.

Analyst: NY Yankees score 'big win' in Curtis Granderson trade
By Marc Carig/The Star-Ledger
 
December 21, 2009, 5:11AM

NEW YORK -- Not long after the Yankees completed the three-team deal to bring Curtis Granderson into the fold, I approached a good friend about offering some thoughts on the trade.

This person worked in the statistical analysis department of a major league club and has been kind enough to help me with stat-related questions all season. So I was thrilled when this person agreed to chime in.


So, here goes:

What a deal.

Last week, the Yankees managed to upgrade one of their few weak spots in 2009, and did so without giving up anything they will miss. Sure, Austin Jackson, Phil Coke and Ian Kennedy have value, but Coke and Kennedy are easily replaceable, while Granderson is essentially a best-case scenario for what Austin Jackson could become. Although Jackson will be significantly cheaper than Granderson for the next few years, Granderson won’t be a free agent until after 2013 and the Yankees can easily afford him.

Granderson, 29, has played in the major leagues for long enough that we have a good handle on what he is: an-above average defender who can hit right handed pitching. Granderson’s UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) per 150 defensive games is +5 runs in over 660 career games. This is a significant upgrade over Melky Cabrera, who’s UZR/150 is -6 runs in 361 career games. In statistical analysis, 10 runs is equivalent to approximately one win, meaning that switching from Cabrera to Granderson in center field is likely worth approximately one win. That may not sound like a lot, but remember: we are only evaluating their defensive prowess, and a one-win defensive upgrade is huge.

Granderson has shown significant platoon splits throughout his entire career. In over 2200 plate appearances against right handed pitchers, he has hit .292/.367/.528; however, in 685 plate appearances against lefties, he has hit .210/.270/.344 – his OPS is nearly 200 points higher against righties, in a pretty large sample size. It’s fair to say that Granderson is an excellent offensive player against righties, but is worse than replacement level against lefties.

Granderson’s platoon split is well known, but his home/road splits are less known. Granderson has hit .261/.334/.451 in Comerica Park, and .284/.353/.516 on the road. The new Yankee Stadium presents an interesting challenge for Granderson: in 2009 (an admittedly small sample size), Yankee Stadium was the easiest ballpark to hit home runs in (as Johnny Damon can attest to), but depressed both doubles and triples. Granderson excels in hitting triples, totaling 55 in the last four years. Playing in Yankee Stadium will likely depress his triples, but could help him improve his home run total. Despite playing in a pitcher’s park, Granderson managed 30 home runs in 2009 and has 94 homers in his last four years.

Although Granderson’s batting average slumped to .249 in 2009, his walk and strikeout rates remained the same. It appears that the primary cause of this low batting average for a low batting average on balls in play (BABIP). Granderson’s BABIP in 2009 was .277, much lower than his career .323 BABIP. If his BABIP rebounds in 2010, his batting average should as well.

One interesting note about Granderson is that in 2009 he hit far more fly balls than he ever had before. It’s possible that his 49% fly ball rate was a fluke – his career rate is 43% and his fly ball rate has fluctuated from year to year – but if he can maintain this fly ball rate, it should serve him very well in Yankee Stadium. Remember, 17 of the 24 homers swatted by fellow left handed batter Johnny Damon came in Yankee Stadium.

Granderson’s primary weakness is his inability to hit lefties. Therefore, it makes sense for the Yankees to pair him with another outfielder who can hit lefties – a skillset that should not be overly difficult to find. Jamie Hoffman, the Yanks’ Rule V pick, may fit the bill, having just posted a .974 OPS against lefties in 2009 (don’t get too excited, however – his career OPS against lefties is only .752).

Overall, this trade is a big win for New York. Although Granderson has a clear weakness, this can be offset by finding another player who can spell him against lefties. Meanwhile, Granderson is probably a full win upgrade defensively over Melky Cabrera, and is significantly better offensively than either Cabrera or Brett Gardner, even considering his deficiencies against lefties. At 29, he is in the middle of his prime, and is likely to benefit both from getting out of Comerica Park and from going in to Yankee Stadium. Furthermore, although Jackson, Kennedy and Coke are probably going to help the Tigers and Diamondbacks, they are easily replaceable on the Yankees roster."

[retrojint]

Granderson is a good player.  However he's become an Urban Legend of sorts because he fits the 20-20-20-20 (2b-3b-HR-SB) model.  That profile hides the blemishes in his game.  The guy makes a ton of outs.  He can't hit before or after Jeter.  He's really a 6-7 hitter.  He doesn't hit left-handers.  As a CF, he's way overrated.  Gardner is better in CF than he is.  I suspect Granderson will play LF for the Yankees.

Ian Kennedy will have a nice career pitching for the D-Backs.  He'll be a steady member of the rotation.  However, he was never going to get another chance to start with the Yankees.  Austin Jackson was an over-hyped prospect, who I can't see at all.  I saw him about 12 times last summer.  He has a weird swing.  His pitch recognition is not good.  His athletic skills, though impressive, are hardly the stuff of a 5-tool status. 
Coke lost velocity last year.  He gave up an alarming number of homeruns, especially against left-handed pitching.  They kept the correct left-hander in Dunn.  I was happy for that.  Then they traded Dunn to the Braves, which I did not like. 

[katkavage]

Good to hear you wise words on the Yankees again, Retro. Happy New Year.

[retrojint]

Thank you, and same to you, Kittie.