※ [本文轉錄自 NY-Yankees 看板 #1Idlp1hH ]
作者: jeffchen106 (超哥) 看板: NY-Yankees
標題: [外電] 紐約郵報
時間: Wed Dec 4 17:58:22 2013
Yankees agree with Ellsbury for 7 years, $153M
http://tinyurl.com/oqro7kk
The Yankees promised to move swiftly with or without Robinson Cano — and
they are keeping that promise.
The Bronx Bombers agreed to a seven-year, $153 million deal with free-agent
outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury on Tuesday pending a physical, according to
multiple sources. A friend of Ellsbury’s said he flew from Phoenix to New
York on Tuesday to take the physical, but another person involved in the
negotiations insisted the matter remained “close, but fluid” with a few
items to complete to finalize a contract that would include an option for an
eighth year that, if triggered, would bring the total value to $169 million.
The Ellsbury agreement came on the same day that the Yankees made Brian McCann
’s five-year, $85 million deal official. So that is $238 million already
spent on two big free agents. The Yankees’ shopping list remains long and
Cano remains on it. But the organization has insisted publicly and privately
and even in meetings with Cano’s officials it is going to keep making
purchases and if the money allocated for Cano dries up, the Yankees will
either lower their bid or remove it completely.
At $21.85 million per season, the contract would make Ellsbury the
second-highest paid outfielder in baseball behind Josh Hamilton, who is
making $25 million per season from the Angels.
The Yankees still believe they could come in under $189 million next year
with McCann, Ellsbury, Cano (at their price, about $23 million per year) and
Hiroki Kuroda. But they would then be unable to do a second high-priced
starter, such as Masahiro Tanaka, unless Alex Rodriguez’s contract for next
season comes off the books because his suspension is upheld. But the Yankees
probably won’t know that until the new year, by which time most of the
higher-price pieces should be gone.
A club official said there are no plans to trade Brett Gardner, but instead
put him in left, Ellsbury in center and build an offense around speed,
on-base skills and a strong defense with two players capable of playing
center.
The Yankees had been engaged with Carlos Beltran to play right, but that job
now probably will belong to Alfonso Soriano. It is still possible, if Cano
does not work out, the Yankees could turn to Shin-Soo Choo to play right
field and shift Soriano to DH.
Ellsbury, 30, batted .298 with 52 stolen bases and a .781 OPS in 2013. Only
two Yankees last season produced a higher OPS — Cano at .899 and Soriano at
.850.
Ellsbury brought speed to the Red Sox and that is what the Yankees will need
from him and his 30-year-old legs.
Ellsbury is a table-setter, a player who can easily go from first to third
for the Yankees, who had become too slow and too old in winning 85 games last
season. Ellsbury hit 32 homers in 2011, but just 13 over the last two seasons
as injuries limited him to 208 games. The Yankees are surely hoping his
left-handed swing will play well in Yankee Stadium.
Said one AL scout Tuesday night, “Ellsbury gives the Yankees speed and makes
them a better ballclub.’’
In a twist of financial fate, the small-market Mariners and Royals are making
big pushes for Cano and Beltran, and Beltran’s chance to sign with the
Yankees appears to be gone.
The Mariners have money to spend and a desperate need for offense. It was the
perception of one official from an AL team that Seattle had yet to get
anywhere near the $200 million mark in bidding for Cano. If the Mariners do
get there, however, the Yankees continue to insist they will not follow and
will, instead, walk away and pursue other avenues.
One Seattle insider said the need to bring a veteran bat to help the young
hitters reach their potential has finally arrived.
“It’s time to get the best bat out there,’’ the source said.
The Mariners have the cash, but they always seem to finish a distant second
trying to acquire free agent bats.
The Yankees are sitting on their seven-year offer in the $165 million range
for Cano, and have shown a willingness to go to about $170 million and put in
an eighth-year option.
大意是：原來洋基完全沒有放棄189門檻(甚至仍然相信他們可以達到目標)，他們也對
簽CANO展現霸氣，說會持續其他補強，如果補強完留著簽CANO的錢不夠了，他
們將會提出更低的報價或是直接放棄。
他們並不打算交易掉腿弟(Brett Gardner)，而預計將他移到左外野，讓
Ellsbury守中外野。並希望Ellsbury能帶來攻擊及在壘包上速度的破壞，
而且如此一來，還能有兩位能力足以守中外野的防守球員。
水手目前還有錢可以花，且也急需要攻擊上的補強。目前還沒有聽說水手打算
準備200M的合約跟CANO談，如果水手真的打算拿出那麼高價位的合約，洋基霸
氣回應：我們不會跟進，並把眼光放在其他自由球員。