Yankees 2006-07 offseason thread

Learn To Swim · Nov 10, 2006

Sanchez is a Bronx native, too. He must be loving this.

AMJets · Nov 10, 2006

Humberto Sanchez: http://thebaseballcube.com/players/S/Humberto-Sanchez.shtml
Kevin Whelan: http://thebaseballcube.com/players/W/Kevin-Whelan.shtml
Anthony Claggett: http://thebaseballcube.com/players/C/Anthony-Claggett.shtml

AMJets · Nov 10, 2006

A few tidbits from the minor league guys at NYYFans:

- Sanchez throws an intimidating fastball with incredible sinking action. He also has an above average curveball and an average changeup.

- Wheelan throws a mid-90s fastball, a sinking 2-seamer and a nasty splitter. Sanchez throws a mid-90s fastball, a low 80's plus curve and an OK changeup. Both should join our top-10 prospects. I know nothing of Claggett, except that he went 7-2 with a 0.9 ERA in 60 innings as a reliever for low-a last year. (Scouting reports courtesy of BAs 2006 handbook)

- In the Futures Game this summer, Sanchez struck out Stephen Drew, Howie Kendrick (yes, the same guy who killed us all season), and Alex Gordon (the 2006 Minor League Player of the Year) consecutively.

- In this years' rankings of the Tigers' system, Sanchez was #5, Whelan #6 and Clagett #13.

- Humberto Sanchez, age, RHP (SP/RP):
92-95mph FB, tremendous sinking action
mid-80s above-average curve
average change
weight/arm issues

- Kevin Whelan, age, RHP (RP):
Mid-90s FB
Sinking two-seamer
solid-split finger
excellent command

- Anthony Claggett, age, RHP (RP):
Plus fastball
Devastating slider
[need more info - new to pitching]

Sanchez:

Background: Born in the Dominican Republic, Sanchez moved to New York City when he was 10. The Tigers drafted him out of a New York junior college in 2001, and he signed for $1 million as a draft-and-follow after facing better competition at Connors State (Okla.) JC. He missed the first two months of the 2005 season with muscle spasms and an oblique strain, as well as most of August with a groin injury, but he finished strong as one of the top starters in the Arizona Fall League.fficeffice" />>>
Strengths:
At his best, Sanchez has stuff just a shade behind Verlander's and Zumaya's. Sanchez' fastball often sits at 93-95 mph. His low-80s curveball is a plus pitch with excellent depth. He uses his size for power, to intimidate hitters and to keep his stuff down in the zone.>>
Weaknesses:
Sanchez can get out of sync with his mechanics, which contributed to his early injury problems and to the fact that he was never quite right all year. He needs to keep himself in better shape and repeat his delivery more consistently. His changeup is just fair.>>
The Future:
If Sanchez puts it all together, his big fastball and power should make him a solid middle-of-the-rotation starter. He also could be a factor in the Detroit bullpen fairly soon if needed. He'll return to the Double-A rotation to begin 2006.>>
>>
>>
>>
Whelan:

Background: Whelan took control of his career in the Jayhawk League in 2003, asking his coach to move from catcher to pitcher, but had to move back behind the plate at Texas A&M due to injuries to the Aggies’ other backstops. He exploded as a pitching prospect in the Cape Cod League in 2004 with a 0.42 ERA and a league-best 11 saves. He finally became a full-time pitcher in 2005, signed for $265,000 as a fourth-round pick and had a sterling pro debut.>>
>>
Strengths:
Whelan has classic closer stuff. His four-seam fastball tops out at 96 mph, and his two-seamer has wicked sink. When he widens his grip on the two-seamer, it morphs into a mid-80s splitter that buries hitters. His delivery has some deception as well, complicating matters for hitters even more. He’s a dogged competitor.>>
Weaknesses:
Just 6 feet tall, Whelan has to make sure he maintains his over-the-top delivery to keep his fastball from flattening out. He generally succeeds. He continues to pick up pitching nuances as he gains experience on the mound.>>
The Future:
Whelan hasn’t yet to pitch above low Class A, but few in the organization will be shocked if he reaches Detroit in a set-up role this year. With no defined closer in Detroit, he could step forward and seize the role by 2007.
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Scranton rotation: Hughes, Sanchez, Clippard, White, Karstens/Rasner

One of the best AAA rotations in baseball.

MisterMoss · Nov 10, 2006

I like this. I like how all 3 players were pitchers. You don't get hard throwing pitchers from the street. You see all these pitchers, they get signed to extensions by the teams that raised them (unless you're Oakland)

Certainly better than Scott Linebrink

BIG COUNTRY · Nov 10, 2006

I like this trade a lot, good work Brian Cash money.

MisterMoss · Nov 10, 2006

Just a small portion:

NEW YORK (AP) -- Gary Sheffield was traded from the New York Yankees to the Detroit Tigers on Friday for three pitching prospects.

Sheffield played for Tigers manager Jim Leyland and team president Dave Dombrowski in 1997, when Leyland managed the Marlins to the World Series title and Dombrowski was Florida's general manager.

"I'm more than happy to be reunited with guys that I'm familiar with," Sheffield said.

Detroit and New York reached a tentative agreement on the deal on Tuesday, and the Tigers had a three-day window to agree to a contract extension. Sheffield and the AL champions agreed Thursday night to a two-year extension through 2009, and Sheffield had a physical Friday.
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Interesting. I wonder if Sheff knew about this while he was blasting the "middle men."

"This is one of the ultimate bats in baseball and one of the ultimate people in baseball," Leyland said. "I have the utmost respect for him."
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:lol: :lol: :rofl:

AMJets · Nov 10, 2006

Well Sheff loves Leyland, he's the only manager that Sheff respects, so I guess he is a great person around Leyland.

AMJets · Nov 10, 2006

http://www.motownsports.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43967

Tigers fans react. Some like the deal, but most seem upset at what they gave up.

Jake · Nov 10, 2006

I guess I'm one of the few who wanted to keep Sheff around. He will be pissed off all year long and put up huge numbers if he stays healthy. When he has a chip on his shoulder he is dangerous.

AMJets · Nov 10, 2006

http://sonsofsamhorn.net/index.php?showtopic=12815&st=0

Sox fans not too happy with the trade. :rofl2:

AMJets · Nov 10, 2006

Cash Money speaks.

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/NASA...t_id=1738740&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy

Yanks deal Sheffield to Tigers
11/10/2006 4:50 PM ET
By Mark Feinsand / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- The Yankees added pitching depth to their system on Friday when they traded Gary Sheffield to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for right-handers Humberto Sanchez, Kevin Whelan and Anthony Claggett.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, in picking up Sheffield's contract option for next season, had been determined to make a deal for the outfielder, who became expendable when right fielder Bobby Abreu was acquired from the Phillies last July.

"This trade allows us to add three quality arms to our system," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said in a statement. "I wish Gary Sheffield and his family all the best as they move forward."

The prize in the deal may be Sanchez, regarded as one of the top prospects in the Tigers farm system and whose name repeatedly came up in trade deadline talks last July.

Sanchez, 23, was 10-6 and ranked second among all Tigers Minor League pitchers with a 2.63 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 20 games (20 starts) with Triple-A Toledo and Double-A Erie in 2006. He struck out 129 in 123 innings while allowing 97 hits and 47 walks.

He began the season with Erie, where he went 5-3 with a 1.76 ERA and held opposing hitters to a .190 batting average in 11 starts before being promoted to Triple-A Toledo in June. In his first five starts with Toledo, Sanchez went 4-1 with a 2.05 ERA and was named the International League Pitcher of the Week from June 12-18. He finished the season with a 5-3 record and a 3.86 ERA in nine starts with the Mud Hens.

Sanchez, who attended high school in the Bronx, was named the Tigers' Minor League pitcher of the month in back-to-back months (May and June) after allowing just three earned runs over seven consecutive starts from May 17-June 18 (47 2/3 innings, 49 strike outs). Sanchez entered the 2006 season ranked as the Tigers' sixth-best prospect, according to Baseball America. He was selected by the Tigers in the 31st round of the 2001 First-Year Player Draft.

Of all the prospects in a deep Detroit farm system, none caught as much attention as Sanchez. His name was intertwined with Nationals outfielder Alfonso Soriano for most of July, though Washington had more interest in Class A West Michigan outfielder Cameron Maybin. At least three other teams reportedly watched Sanchez in his last start July 19 at Pawtucket, and others have eyed him from afar. Just when Sanchez might've been the most-discussed prospect on the trade market, he was off of it. A tender throwing elbow in mid-July prompted the Tigers to shut him down for two starts, taking him past the July 31 trade deadline.

The interest last summer was a microcosm of Sanchez's career. While Joel Zumaya and Justin Verlander rose quickly to the big leagues last spring, Sanchez has been in the system as long or longer with somewhat comparable potential -- a big right-hander with a similarly big arm. It simply took this long to translate it into a season of results.

His 2002 season was interrupted by shoulder and bicep strains. He was an All-Star selection at Class A West Michigan in 2003, but struggled down the stretch after inflammation in his elbow. He rose among the Tigers top prospects in 2004, but a knee injury cut his season short.

The most frustration came in 2005, when three different disabled list stints held him to 11 starts at Double-A Erie. He put up a 10-strikeout game and fanned 31 batters over 24 2/3 innings in June, but after missing two months with a lat strain before missing most of August with a groin strain. He pitched in the Arizona Fall League last offseason simply to get some innings.

Still just 22 years old entering the 2006 season, he earned his first Spring Training invite and watched Verlander and Zumaya pitch their way onto the Major League club.

"I think seeing some of the other guys up there sort of lights a fire under you," Toledo manager Larry Parrish said.

"It just makes you more hungry," Sanchez said. "It makes you want to compete more, because you feel like you've got some ability."

With better conditioning, the 6-foot-6 Sanchez finally had the health. Once he struck out eight batters in five scoreless innings for Erie in his season opener, he started putting up the numbers.

Back-to-back eight-strikeout games preceded a 13-strikeout gem over seven shutout innings April 29. He came within one out of a shutout on May 23, the first of three straight nine-strikeout games that wrote his ticket to Toledo. After a short first start there, he racked up 13 1/3 scoreless innings over two outings.

The ability wasn't any different. The consistency was the major difference.

"He's starting to get a pretty good feel for what he's doing," Triple-A pitching coach Jeff Jones said. "There's times when he gets a little bit out of whack, I won't tell him what he's doing. I'll ask him, and he'll tell me, and he's usually right. That's a big, big key. They've got to have a little feel for what's going on."

Said Sanchez: "It goes back to not trying to do too much worrying if I'm going to tweak this or being sore here. I'm going free and easy."

Whelan, 22, ranked third among all Tigers Minor League pitchers with 27 saves in 2006, going 4-1 with a 2.67 ERA in 51 games for the Class A Lakeland Tigers. He limited opposing hitters to a .178 batting average (33-for-185) and held right-handed hitters to a .158 average (18-for-114). In addition to being named a top prospect in the NY-Penn League following the 2005 season, Whelan also ranked as the 10th-best prospect in the entire Tigers organization according to Baseball America. He was originally selected by the Tigers in the fourth round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft out of Texas A&M University.

Claggett, 22, posted a 7-2 record with a team-best 0.91 ERA and 14 saves in 51 games for Class A West Michigan in 2006 (59 1/3 innings, 35 hits, seven runs, six earned, 20 walks and 58 strike outs). He held opposing hitters to a .174 batting average (35-for-201) and did not allow a run in his final 10 appearances of the season. He was selected by the Tigers in the 11th round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft out of UC Riverside.

Sheffield, 37, batted .298 (45-for-151) with six home runs and 25 RBIs in 39 games for the Yankees in 2006. He missed a total of 117 team games while on the disabled list recovering from an injury to his left wrist. Sheffield was signed by the Yankees to a three-year contract with a club option for a fourth year on Dec. 17, 2003.
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AlioTheFool · Nov 10, 2006

Well if it makes Sox fans unhappy, it makes me ecstatic!

AMJets · Nov 10, 2006

Just saw on YES, Jeter and Cano win Silver Sluggers.

AlioTheFool · Nov 10, 2006

10Pennington10 said:

Just saw on YES, Jeter and Cano win Silver Sluggers.
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Isn't that more of a title, rather than an award? It's for the highest hitting positional player in the league isn't it?

AMJets · Nov 10, 2006

AlioTheFool said:

Isn't that more of a title, rather than an award? It's for the highest hitting positional player in the league isn't it?
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I guess. Meh, who knows (or cares).

King Koopa · Nov 10, 2006

from a tigers board:

This is insane. They vastly overpaid for a 38 year old player with a questionable future. 3 year deal???!!! Insane. The Tigers will rue the day they traded Humberto Sanchez. He will be the AL ROY this upcoming season, guaranteed. I'm incredibly disappointed in DD. Whelan and Claggett would have given this bullpen amazing depth. There is no way to justify giving up Sanchez for someone on the wrong side of 37. Insane.

i like this trade....alot of them are pissed about losing sanchez.......but whalen even more so it seems, good deal, i like

AMJets · Nov 10, 2006

Great quote from Dombrowski:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2656847

"We gave up a lot," Dombrowski said. "I winced."
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:grin:

Learn To Swim · Nov 10, 2006

Way to be reassuring to your fans, geez.

AMJets · Nov 10, 2006

A few notes from Peter Abraham's latest blog update:

http://www.lohud.com/blogs/2006/11/cashman-makes-good-move.html

Just got back from Joe Torre's charity event. I'm on deadline for the paper and I will blog more later. But for now:

* Brian Cashman seemed thrilled with the trade - and with good reason. Young pitchers are the most valuable commodity in baseball under the current economic structure. The Yankees got three solid kids for an older player they didn't need or want. Sanchez could be in the majors in 2007.

* Nobody with the Yankees has heard anything about Matsuzaka. ESPN is running with it but the Boston Globe hasn't done anything since before 3 p.m. I don't know what to believe but I still have trouble believing Boston would bid that much. If they did, good for them. They deserve him.

* Joe Girardi has accepted a job with YES.

* Andy Pettitte doesn't know if he wants to pitch next season. When talk of returning to the Yankees came up, his wife stared daggers at us.

* Bernie said he doesn't know if he wants to play next season, but he "still has a passion for the game." Cashman and Torre said that decision on Bernie could be contingent on how many pitchers they want to keep.
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I hope that last line is just a nice way of saying there's no chance in hell Bernie returns next season.

BadgerOnLSD · Nov 11, 2006

Bye Gary. It's been real.

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