ORLANDO, Fla. — In the two-plus weeks since the World Series ended, you can already feel some of the momentum seeping away from the Rangers’ confidence when it comes to keeping Cliff Lee.
Suddenly, like the rest of the sport, even Texas seems to have a growing belief that what the Yankees want, the Yankees ultimately get.
During the postseason, after the Rangers eliminated the Yankees in the ALCS and advanced to their first World Series, Texas officials were offering some tough talk about going mano a mano with the Yankees for Lee. But that passion was harder to find at the GM Meetings.
In fact, Rangers president Nolan Ryan said he envisions the Yankees making the top offer for the No. 1 free-agent starter available. Which means Texas would have to appeal to Lee on issues beyond money, although the belief of those who have gotten to know Lee is that dollars will be — by far — the deciding factor.
“You know the history of the Yankees [in free agency] going in and that is always a factor,” Ryan conceded. “You have to do what you think is right. You have to do what is prudent for your organization.”
Asked if it would be “prudent” to bid enough to win for Lee over the Yankees, Ryan hesitated for a few seconds then said, “We will have to talk more about that.”
*
The Diamondbacks were approached by 15-16 teams at the GM Meetings about OF Justin Upton
and, according to a person briefed on the subject, five showed a strong inclination to push talks further along. The Yankees were not one of those teams. They like their current outfield enough that they do not see the merit of surrendering the four-to-five big prospect pieces necessary to complete a deal.
The Yankees and Diamondbacks did make a trade yesterday, with Juan Miranda
going to Arizona for 19-year-old righty Scott Allen
.
Miranda, 27, was out of options and blocked at first base (Mark Teixeira
) and designated hitter (Jorge Posada
), so the Yankees thought it would be wise to free a 40-man roster spot now.
Allen, 19, was drafted in June 2009 and since then, the Yankees say, his fastball has climbed from 86-88 mph to 89-93 mph and his curve has shown real growth potential, as well. He was 4-4 with a 4.73 ERA in 16 starts at Low-A last year with 79 strikeouts in 78 innings.
*
There is a real split on whether or not Royals ace Zack Greinke
will get traded.
Those who believe the Royals will move him think now is the best time, not only because Greinke is two years from free agency and unlikely to stay with Kansas City long-term, but because the falloff from Cliff Lee to the next-best available starter is gigantic this offseason, meaning Greinke’s value is at a peak.
Those who do not expect the Royals to deal the righty think that the organization is not emotionally to alienating their fan base by giving up their best player. But an AL executive brought up two interesting reasons why he thinks Greinke will be traded:
1) He said the success of the Giants pitching in the postseason, Lee’s impact on Texas and the impact of Roy Halladay
and Roy Oswalt
on the Phillies have reinforced to contenders the value of ace-level pitching, and that will motivate big bids the Royals cannot ignore.
2) The Royals, in the words of the executive, are “spooked” by what happened to David DeJesus
. They had a deal worked out with the Rays as the trade deadline approached last season, but on July 23, DeJesus tore tendons in his right thumb and the deal had to be scratched. “They can’t afford Greinke to have a mental relapse or a physical issue and his value to go to zero,” the executive said. Greinke has a well-documented battle with anxiety in his past.
*
As part of his Phoenix Desert Dogs team in the Arizona Fall League, Don Mattingly
‘s roster includes several Yankees prospects, notably Austin Romine
, Brandon Laird
and Manuel Banuelos
. Romine is in the spring competition mix to replace Posada behind the plate and Mattingly said of him, “The kid is just a good player.”
Laird, a third baseman, used the AFL to play the outfield. The Yankees like his right-handed pop, but his value to the big league team is only if he can play first base, third base and outfield.
“Early on he was a little rough,” Mattingly said of Laird’s transition. “But as it has gone on, he has gotten a lot better. He has good hands. If he gets to it, he catches it. And his arm is getting better, too. Plus, he has some real pop in his bat.”
Banuelos and Dellin Betances
are the Yankees’ best pitching prospects. Banuelos, a little lefty, is 19, but he is expected to begin next year at Double-A with Betances.
“He’s going to be good,” Mattingly said of Banuelos. “He’s got a good arm. It is not going to take him long to get to the majors. He throws hard, sneaky hard. It just jumps out of his hand. For a 19-year-old kid, I will tell you, he really held his own out there.”