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New York Yankees Editorial: The one move that the Yankees got right this offseason

By Caleb Gebrewold|

The New York Yankees made several moves this offseason that could be scrutinized for a long time.  According to talent evaluators, only one of these moves was viewed unanimously as a good move, and that was replacing former closer David Robertson with Andrew Miller and the 30th overall pick in this years draft.  A National League evaluator had the following to say:

"I have to go with Miller there.  Robertson did the job but at times last year he had you on the edge of your seat.  Miller has been very good."

Entering Wednesday, Miller is a perfect 17-for-17 in save opportunities with a 1.03 ERA in 26 games.  In 26 1/3 IP, he has only allowed eight hits, while striking out 43, and walking just 10 batters.  Robertson, on the other hand, is 12-for-15 in save opportunities with an ERA of 2.10 across 24 games for the Chicago White Sox.  He has allowed 17 hits, while striking out 38, and walking three across 25 2/3 IP.  Miller knows that the contracts will not be defined by the first two months:

"There is a long way to go.  It’s been great, everything has been first class.  I have been treated better than anywhere else.  So far, so good."

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Evaluators were split on all of the Yankees winter moves, outside of the closer situation.  The trade for Didi Gregorius was widely viewed as a draw, as one evaluator stated:

"I think it’s a wash and I am not big on Gregorius."

Another evaluator added that Gregorius isn’t as bad as he showed early on:

"Shane Greene got off to a great start but has struggled lately.  I think Didi is a better player than he showed early."

Greene started the season pitching to a 3-0 record with an ERA of 0.39, leading many to believe that the Yankees made a terrible move.  He has since cooled off pitching to an ERA of 8.41 and a record of 1-5 across his last nine starts.  Gregorius, who started the season hitting .204 (22-for-108) in his first 34 games, has since heated up and is batting .304 (17-for-56) in his last 18 games, but one scout warned not to be fooled, stating Gregorius’ bat won’t do enough to help the Yankees win:

"He is not a championship-winning shortstop because of the bat."

While trades such as the move to acquire Nathan Eovaldi, or the trade for the recently DFA’d David Carpenter and Chasen Shreve have had mix views from evaluators, most agreed that trading Francisco Cervelli, who is hitting .331, for Justin Wilson was a “horrible” move, as one even said Cervelli could be an All-Star:

"Cervelli is a starting catcher.  I like him better defensively than [Brian] McCann.  Cervelli could be an All-Star.  Wilson is a bullpen piece."

Although Cervelli’s 172 plate appearances aren’t enough to qualify him for the league leaders, if he had seven more, his .331 average would rank sixth in the entire MLB, and first among all catchers.

While the Yankees only had one move that was unanimously viewed as a good move, two of their moves were viewed as bad by all the questioned evaluators.  They all agreed that $5-million was too much for Stephen Drew, who has blocked the path to the majors for Rob Refsnyder and taken playing time away from Jose Pirela.  It was also agreed that the Yankees overpaid Chase Headley by giving him $52-million across four years.

Even if the scouts and evaluators felt that Brian Cashman botched many of his offseason moves, one thing that is not debatable is that the Yankees will enter play Wednesday winners of seven straight, and eight games above .500 with a 2 1/2 game division lead.

Next: New York Yankees Editorial: Does The Team Need More From The Big Four?

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