jaysfan2014

That $200M+ was estimated to include arb raises and minimum salary players, insurance ($11M), and $5M for call-ups. Unless A-Rod gets suspended, they have nothing to spend on anything else without paying 50% extra on top of the contracts on payroll over $189M.

Kershaw- no. He's expected to resign with L.A. Remember, they're as big as the Yankees financially. Scherzer- Also no. Detroit freed up money to try to resign him due to the Prince Fielder trade. Tanaka- wait and see.

Grant Balfour's physical found potential trouble. Deal's in jeopardy. Roch Kubatko @masnRoch #orioles deal with Grant Balfour in serious jeopardy due to issues with physical that a source said "need to be resolved."

I said the Red Sox are slightly worse. They're still a top team, but losing Ellsbury does hurt in the leadoff spot. Whoever replaces him, either Victorino or Nava, will be a downgrade regardless. And AJ Pierzynski is a downgrade over Salty, and is basically there as a stopgap for their top catching prospects Blake Swihart and Christian Vazquez. But they will see upgrades at SS with Bogaerts playing every day offensively. And they do still have Middlebrooks, unless he's dealt due to Drew resigning, if he does. And the rotation and bullpen are strong, but one pitcher may get dealt in order to free up money and playing time for their younger pitchers. I feel Ellsbury is a poor fit, considering they already have Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter in the lineup, and are expecting Beltran, Tex and McCann to produce runs.. the problem is that McCann hasn't hit for a decent average since 2011, and can't hit lefties. And don't get me started on Tex. And who's gonna hit 3rd? Losing Cano and his .300/30/100 numbers are going to hurt. Ellsbury's not the answer, as he's never hit more than 10 HR outside of 2011.

The only way the Yankees are getting under 189 is if A-Rod gets the 211 game suspension, as they are over 189 as it is. Current projections have them over $200M as is, including benefits and taxes, along with call-ups and arb raises. And if you're expecting the Yanks to get Kershaw, dream on. The Dodgers are going to resign him at any cost. Ditto for Scherzer with the Tigers and Lester in Boston. Most other "elite" options have options years for 2015 as well. So don't start think the Yanks will be able to reload.

Offseason's not over yet. -Sox may be the champs, but they did lose Jacoby Ellsbury and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and we don't know what Bogaerts and Bradley will bring, and have not decided on Drew. But they are still probably the best team in the AL East at the moment if they stay healthy. 90-95 wins as it stands. -Rays are the same, but it's still dependent on whether David Price gets dealt or not. Rays are demanding a lot for him, and nobody's biting. Still an 85-90 win team as long as Longoria stays healthy. -Yankees aren't any better. They lost Cano, Granderson, Pettite and Rivera and are expecting health and rebounds from Tex (who has been declining since he came to NY) and continued performance from Beltran, Ellsbury and McCann to offset the losses. They need another pitcher in that lineup, but the options aren't impressive, and Tanaka seems destined to stay in Japan. And don't expect a trade, as the Yanks lack any assets on their farm outside of Gary Sanchez. As it stands, without any major upgrades, that Yankees team is a 80 to 85-win team at best, with high risk of being under that. -Orioles are worse. They need a bat (Markakis is in decline), but ownership won't spend the money. They may actually be worse than the Jays right now, even with Gausman, especially if they can't hit enough outside of Davis and Jones, and possibly Hardy. There's no guarantee Machado will be healthy by Opening Day. And that bench.. yuck! 80-85 wins, but that rotation needs upgrades in order to contend. -Jays can't be any worse than 2013--but we could use another pitcher and better defense, even if it means Goins at 2B. Getting rid of JPA helps. Please note that things can change between now and spring training. We'll see what happens.

Strasburg had better stuff than Gausman (and managed to blow out his elbow). And the jury's still out on Wacha, as Boston figured him out in Game 6 of the World Series, especially when the rest of the league catches up to him. Outside of the Red Sox, most teams have only seen him once. And of course, there's the 30.2 IP pitched in the postseason on top of his regular workload. How he can adjust after throwing 180 IP between AAA/MLB will be something to watch in 2014. Leake is difficult to call--and he DID pitch in AAA in 2011.

Goins at 2B is a big improvement over the garbage of Bonizturis we had last year, even if Goins doesn't hit that much. Remember, we used to give Johnny Mac a lot of ABs as well at one time. And Kratz/Thole/Navarro won't strike out 148 and bat less than their weight like JPA did.

Kevin Gausman may have great stuff--but his AAA/MLB numbers as a starter last season weren't much to write about. He's going to have to earn a spot over guys like Brian Matusz, TJ MacFarland and Steve Johnson for the 5th spot. He may have great stuff--but he needs to command it better in starting duties (9.6 H/9IP), or he's going to end up as a reliever long term, like he was in the 2nd half of the season. Is it a wonder why the O's are looking for an upgrade, such as AJ Burnett?

Gausman hasn't had a full season in AAA yet, and needs more seasoning as a starter.

Unless you're the Red Sox or Rays, most of the AL East isn't exactly swimming in pitching depth either. Orioles, Yanks and us all have questions in our rotation

And apparently, many teams are balking on Garza. Apparently it's questions about the screw in his elbow and his injury risk. Nobody wants to give him a long-term deal due to this. Nobody will touch Ubaldo Jimenez either due to previous erraticness outside of the 2nd half of this season. Same thing with Ervin Santana--2013 was a career year, and not worth blowing a ton of money on. We're better off either making trades or seeing what we have in our farm--it is much deeper than last year with the progress of Nolin and Stroman, and the health of Hutchison and Drabek. And there's the possibility Romero might rebound as well.

A nice piece on Grantland about how all these signing the Yanks have made this offseason will not guarantee success versus teams like the Rays, Red Sox, Jays and Orioles: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/10150907/the-new-normal-new-york-yankees Of course, it won't mean anything to us unless AA does something to upgrade our pitching!

Yeah right, not with those declining peripherals (6.2K/9IP last season, a career low). They give money to this guy, and yet won't give Boone Logan a multi-year deal?

Why didn't they just keep Boone Logan? Thornton didn't exactly help himself in Chicago and Boston last year.

They have Dean Anna in AAA as well from the trade they made with the Padres. He has a good shot of making the Yankees according to NY media, as Roberts is no guarantee to stay healthy, and Johnson may be needed at 3B if A-Rod is suspended. Brian Roberts has had the following injuries: Abdominal strain Two concussions Hip surgery Hamstring surgery

Brian Roberts signs with the Yankees--no terms disclosed: ‏@Ken_Rosenthal Sources: #Yankees likely to sign free-agent 2B Brian Roberts.

Oft-injured Brian Roberts signs with the Yankees.

Yes it did. Delabar's a gem in or pen, while Thames toils in Korea.

Major league talent at 2B is difficult to find in this free agent market. Most of the talent that went off the board are either old (Ellis, Furcal, Roberts), below-average with gloves or bats (Johnson due to being a utility-man in Tampa and not a good 2B, Schumaker, Bloomquist, Punto), overpaid and overrated (Infante) or Robinson Cano. And of course there's the wild card in Alexander Guerrero. Any upgrades will require a trade, but we're better off looking for a pitcher than a 2B.

They're coming to Kingston too. Should've stopped in Belleville too.. there's a bus company there in Kingston (with offices in Belleville) that frequently offers bus trips to Blue Jays games. Also consider that these players are likely busy training during the offseason and are too busy to do winter tours like this. After that bad year last season, they're more likely preparing for 2014.

Possibly, since they have Iwakuma already on that roster as well.

And apparently, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that Floyd didn't want to go anywhere near the AL East: Dan Connollyt ‏@danconnollysun Industry source: #Orioles offered Balt native Gavin Floyd 2-yr deal worth, w incentives, $20M. Took 1yr, $4m (pot. $4.5 more w inctvs) w Atl Probably shows that Floyd either doesn't like Baltimore, wants to stay out of the AL East, or he feels he'll be better in Atlanta.

Likely candidates include the Yankees, Jays, Dodgers, Angels, Cubs, Rangers, etc.

And all 30 teams will likely be involved, with a posting fee of $20M, he's going to have plenty of options, including the Jays.