By Chad Jennings
Not sure when we started calling this day Black Friday, or why the retail world agreed to put a bunch of stuff on sale so early in the morning on the day after Thanksgiving. I just know that I was asked to get up this morning so that I can shop for a new coat because my current coat is not very warm — which is true — and today is apparently a good day to buy a new coat.
So, I’m coat shopping. Not my ideal Friday, but what can you do? Being cold stinks and people who love me say I need to be warmer. I pick my battles.
All of this is a long and pointless way of saying, it’s Black Friday, a day when we gather together to eat leftovers and look for bargains. And since this is a Yankees blog, I figured it’s a good day to go looking for bargains on the Yankees roster. On a team often defined by its outrageous contracts, these 10 players could provide value well beyond their salary.
1. Dellin Betances — Still not eligible for arbitration, Betances stands out as the greatest bargain on the roster. He’s a proven commodity as one of the best relief pitchers in baseball, and he’s making barely more then the league minimum. Amazing that only two years ago we weren’t sure this guy would even make the team.
2. Luis Severino — If the best-case scenario plays out, Severino will be the greatest bargain on the roster, which is to say he’ll be exactly the type of player the Yankees haven’t had in many years: a legitimate star making next to nothing (in baseball terms) while potentially leading the rotation (or at least providing an occasionally electrifying No. 2-3 starter).
3. Didi Gregorius — Projected to make a little more than $2 million in his first year of arbitration eligibility, Gregorius is still very cheap, but it’s also worth noting what it cost to acquire him. The Yankees successfully sold high on Shane Greene and bought low on Gregorius, who emerged last season as a Gold Glove candidate who just might provide some decent offense. There’s a chance Nathan Eovaldi could be a similar story.
4. Brett Gardner — Owed $13 million next season, Gardner can’t match the raw value that comes from an impact rookie or a pre-arb lineup regular, but relative to the free agent market and the players around him, Gardner’s playing out a perfectly reasonable contract (he makes basically the same as Chase Headley; much less than Brian McCann or Jacoby Ellsbury). Multi-year contracts are often outrageous; Gardner’s extension looks relatively reasonable.
5. Aaron Hicks — Potential is the key word here. Hicks has the potential to be a bargain. Still not arbitration eligible, the Yankees’ new fourth outfielder certainly looks ready to play a platoon role, but he’s still young enough — and he’s shown enough signs of steady improvement — to think he just might be ready to provide even more production. Much like they bought low on Gregorius and Eovaldi, the Yankees have attempted to buy low on Hicks.
6. Adam Warren – We still don’t know how the Yankees plan to use Warren, but we know he’s projected to make about $1.5 million in his first year of arbitration, and we know that last season was something of a revelation as Warren showed himself to be a strong rotation candidate who can still slide easily into a key bullpen role. Plenty of value in that kind of versatility.
7. Rob Refsnyder – Plenty of young Yankees position players could make a significant impact while earning the minimum next season — Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Greg Bird — but most require some sort of injury to get more than backup playing time. For Refsnyder, there’s a chance to simply hit his way into everyday duty. Assuming the Yankees don’t make a move for a second baseman, that position has the potential for cheap impact.
8. Dustin Ackley – Another second baseman with potential to be a bargain, Ackley is projected to make a little more than $3 million next season. If his numbers regress to what they were in Seattle, he won’t be much of a steal, but if he really has found a way to finally achieve his early potential, Ackley could provide low-cost impact either as a regular season baseman or as a kind of super utility guy. Didn’t cost much on the trade market either.
9. Jacob Lindgren – Of all the young, cheap relievers who could provide significant impact next season — much like Chasen Shreve did for the first five months of this season — Lindgren stands out because he’s pretty easy to overlook and carries significant upside. Could make a case for Nick Goody or Nick Rumbelow or James Pazos or Johnny Barbato in this spot, but I’ll go with Lindgren.
10. Brendan Ryan – By accepting his player option for next season, Ryan took a pay cut to make just $1 million as the Yankees’ glove-first utility infielder (who’s currently their only backup for third base or shortstop). He provides value in that he has a good glove, plenty of big league experience, and plays positions where the Yankees are incredibly thin. And considering Cliff Pennington got two years, $3.75 million, Ryan looks like a steal.
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