LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Terry Francona and John Farrell both won a World Series as Red Sox manager with Jacoby Ellsbury and — independent of each other — they both used the same word to describe their former center fielder: “Dynamic.”
They also did not sugarcoat matters. Francona, now the Indians manager, and Farrell, Boston’s skipper, conceded there were injury worries with Ellsbury and that he was not a demonstrative clubhouse presence. But they also said they believed the lefty swinger will benefit from home games with a short porch and become more of a power threat than he has been in recent years, after signing a seven-year, $153 million pact with the Yankees.
“He will impact them,” Francona said. “We had Johnny Damon in center and he set a high bar seeing pitches, scoring runs, stealing bases. And Jacoby did that replacing him. He plays hard and speed is part of his game, and he gets beat up because he uses that speed.”
Ellsbury nearly won the AL MVP, finishing second, for Francona in 2011, when he delivered 32 homers, 105 RBIs and a .928 OPS. He has not been nearly that good since, generating an injury-filled horror in 2012 and a very good campaign last season, when he finished 15th in the MVP tally.
“He has that [2011] ability,” Francona said. “No doubt. And you put him in Yankee Stadium rather than Fenway, and you might see those power numbers go up again.”
Farrell praised Ellsbury as “a student of the game.” He said his high stolen base totals and success rate are not just the result of high-end speed, but also hours spent studying pitcher tendencies.
Farrell acknowledged the reputation for aloof behavior, but explained “[Ellsbury] certainly wants to be a good teammate. I think it just reflects a reserved personality rather than he is not engaged with a team.”
Asked for a summation of what the Yankees were getting in his now former center fielder, Farrell responded, “A hell of a player.”
Passing on Cano like 6-for-1 deal
The Yankees rejected Robinson Cano’s initial request for $310 million, and you can say they diversified that money in a different way — spending $307 million so far on six free agents: Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran, Hiroki Kuroda, Kelly Johnson and Brendan Ryan.
The expectation is they will not be spending a ton more, despite needs with the rotation, bullpen, second base and third base. They had planned this offseason to make Masahiro Tanaka a priority, but there were delays and changes to the posting system plus uncertainty whether the righty will even be posted. That should be clarified by early next week, since the MLB Executive Council will vote to ratify a new posting system Monday and it should be learned soon after if the Rakuten Golden Eagles are posting their ace.
So I wondered if Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is keeping money in reserve, slowing down other moves, to get a clear picture on Tanaka.
“No, we are ready to rock and roll,” he said.
It is still possible if Tanaka is posted, the Yanks will put in the maximum $20 million bid and be among the teams that negotiates with him just to get a better feel for his market and desires. But it has become clearer Tanaka is not the same priority now that he even was a month ago, despite the Yanks’ hunger to add another quality starter.
Indians ace move unlikely
Indians manager Terry Francona told a Cleveland reporter he called Justin Masterson to tell his ace righty he was not being traded. And that is the strong likelihood despite Arizona’s huge interest — among others.
The Indians felt since Masterson took up so much of their payroll (roughly $10 million of $90 million), they needed to explore the market to see if someone were willing to overpay, which would better fill the roster and give greater financial flexibility. One executive said the chances of that occurring were now close to zero percent. Cleveland already has lost Ubaldo Jimenez and Scott Kazmir from its rotation to free agency.
So with Masterson leading an otherwise tenuous rotation with Danny Salazar, Corey Kluber, Zach McAllister and Carlos Carrasco, Cleveland intends to use a good chunk of the $6 million it has left to spend on bullpen pieces to try to better support the starters.
The Yankees like Arizona shortstop Didi Gregorius, who is viewed as available because the Diamondbacks also have Chris Owings. But the Yanks likely would have to find a third party to help make a deal, because Arizona is looking to use Gregorius (also interesting to the Mets) as a chip to get a quality starter, which the Yanks do not have to offer.
For the Yanks, Gregorious probably would have to play second in 2014 and serve as Derek Jeter shortstop insurance, then perhaps inherit the job in 2015.
The Mariners made two moves yesterday that absolutely, positively helped the Mets in their attempts to trade Ike Davis — or didn’t.
Seattle signed Corey Hart and traded for Logan Morrison. The Brewers had been trying to retain Hart and now must find a first baseman and have had interest in Davis. Morrison, obtained form the Marlins, was seen as potentially going to Milwaukee, Tampa Bay or Pittsburgh — all places that have inquired on Davis.
So that is good. But by obtaining two first basemen, Seattle now may trade Justin Smoak, crowding an already crowded first-base market that includes free agent James Loney and trade candidates Mitch Moreland and Adam Lind. Also, it now appears the Mariners will not work to retain free agent Kendrys Morales, who could become more of a priority now to other clubs.