Bronx Bomber Ball

After an incredibly nerve-wracking few weeks (six months) the Yankees and Aaron Judge have agreed to terms on a contract to keep the big man in pinstripes. The deal was broken by Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi Wednesday morning and the reported terms of the deal are nine years and a whopping $360 million. The eyes of the baseball world have been on Judge this offseason as he was the premier free agent in this year’s market. The Yankees obviously wanted to keep their homegrown star but there were not too many hard reports and facts about Judge’s movements and desires as the offseason wore on. In the face of fierce competition, the Yankees got their man and now the conversation will begin as to when he is made the next captain of the Yankees, something that has been widely assumed but that Ken Rosenthal reported is expected in his article for The Athletic Wednesday morning. Credit: The Associated Press

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There’s no easy way to answer this question. Or, rather, there’s no one answer. The surrounding factors change, creating different situations and, as such, different fits -- both from a financial and from a team standpoint. A case can be made to bring back either of these free agents, or both of them, or… neither. But it’s almost impossible to make a blanket answer that fits in every possible scenario. Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images

The Yankees kicked off day one of the Winter Meetings in a big way, officially introducing 2017 NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton as the newest member of the organization. In addition to that, the Yankees were involved in a number of rumors. However, not too much has gone down just yet. Let’s take a look at some rumors and rumblings from day one of the Winter Meetings. Photo Credit: Willie J. Allen Jr. | AP

The Yankees come into this offseason ahead of the curve. The team wildly defied expectations in 2017 behind an MVP-caliber season by Aaron Judge and a Cy Young-caliber season from Luis Severino. The 91-win Yankees season concluded with a game seven loss in the ALCS to the eventual World Champion Houston Astros. From there, the Yankees wasted no time with their surprising that manager Joe Girardi would not return as the Yankee manager in 2018. With that, it is clear that Brian Cashman has full control of the New York Yankees, and they will look toward making some minor upgrades to field another competitive team in 2018. Unlike this past season, the Yankees will enter next year as one of the favorites in the American League, so many of the decisions made this offseason will factor into how this team can compete for a World Series in 2018, while also looking at the bigger picture of building a dynasty that is ready to begin in 2019 and run into the 2020's. Let's take a...

It’s no secret that the best player in the Major Leagues that could be on the move this offseason is Marlin’s slugger Giancarlo Stanton.  Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports  reported that they Yankees are one of eight teams that have had contact with the Marlins about Stanton. Heyman reported that the brief talks were “initiated by the Miami” but that the Yankees “at least not at this point” are serious contenders for Stanton.    Photo Credit: Jasen Vinlove | USA TODAY Sports

As November approaches, the end of the Yankee season draws near as well, thus starting the 2018 free agency period. Although most Yankee fans are looking forward to the 2019 free agency, this winter is arguably more important, as there aren’t these can’t miss type of options out there like Bryce Harper or Manny Machado. Hal Steinbrenner has stated the team will be aggressive in free agency this year but don’t expect any 2009 like deals as the team is trying to get under the luxury tax threshold for the future. The Yankees do have some questions, and it will undoubtedly be an interesting winter for Yankee fans. Photo Credit: Kathy Willens | AP Starting Pitching Overview First off is pitching. Luis Severino, Jordan Montgomery, Sonny Gray, and now Masahiro Tanka after he opted into the remaining three years of his contract are under total team control or in arbitration for 2018, so that 3/5 of the rotation right there. After that, the most prominent question is CC Sabathia. CC ...

Here we are: The 2017-18 Offseason is finally upon us with the completion of the World Series Wednesday night. To kick off what should be a wild few months, I wanted to take a deep dive into the Yankees roster and payroll ahead of the many free agency signings and trades Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman will be involved in. Let's get started. The Yankees have a heavy offseason workload ahead of them this Winter as they try to construct a World Series Champion from the ashes of the 2017 roster.  In addition to Manager Joe Girardi not returning for the 2018 season, the Yankees have a number of pending free agents as well as a massive question mark in Masahiro Tanaka as he can opt out of the final three years of his contract this offseason and instead become a free agent.  Tanaka needs to make a decision by Saturday evening so this will be the first news to break. The Yankees have plenty of youth that shouldn’t be expected to go anywhere for the long term, but changes ...

As Toronto continues to try to dig out of the 1-9 hole they opened up the 2017 season with, they remain in last place with their current 19-26 record. Sitting at 8.5 games out of first place behind the Yankees, the Blue Jays could very quickly find themselves becoming sellers at this year’s trade deadline. One name that could come up in trade discussions is the former AL MVP Josh Donaldson, and the Yankees could enter the sweepstakes according to Jonah Keri of SportsNet.ca . Photo Credit: Getty Images

Photo via The Informer As many Yankees fans will know by now, Clint Frazier was forced to cut his hair this past Friday. According to Joe Girardi, Frazier’s hair did not violate the team policy of nothing below the shoulders, but it was “distracting.” Frazier later tweeted this: one goal - to be the best baseball player i can be. happy to be a yankee & play for this organization & honored to donate to Locks of Love 🦁 — Clint Frazier (@clintfrazier) March 10, 2017 …of which, of course he did. Twitter was blowing up at the time, and it would not have been a good idea for Frazier to say anything else. However, I have a few thoughts on this whole debate.

Built like an NFL tight end, Aaron Judge has been a prospect with lofty expectations hanging over his head as he has come up through the Yankees’ minor league system. Listed at 6’7” and weighing 275 pounds, Yankees fans have been hearing about Judge’s towering home runs as a minor leaguer, and seeing him rise through the system so quickly has been rewarding. But after getting the call to the big leagues in 2016, Judge looked lost at the plate, striking out at an alarming rate, and failing to hit above the Mendoza line, albeit in just 27 games and 84 at-bats. Through his struggles and growing pains, the Yankees and their fans need to be patient with him as he continues developing into the middle of the lineup slugger that he is destined to be. Photo Credit: AP

Brian Cashman no longer has the unlimited budget to build a winner in New York as he once did. Though, he still faces the same pressure from the New York media, the Yankee fan base, and most of all his bosses, to be a contender year in and year out. There certainly have been growing pains under the new Hal Steinbrenner way of operating. Over the past four seasons, the Yanks have only seen the playoffs once and it was an abbreviated appearance, losing a one game wildcard playoff to the Astros in 2015. The idea of the Yankees NOT making the playoffs year in and year out is a difficult one for some of the most spoiled fans in all of sports. But this recent spell should not be considered a knock on Cashman, as much as it is on the “old guard.” Photo Credit: Brad Penner | USA TODAY Sports

The elite prospects are in place. The huge contracts of the old Yankees regimes will soon be gone, too. A bright future is imminent for the New York Yankees, that’s for sure. But, for now, we are here in the present. Yes, the Yankees have that unmistakable identity. It’s that sense of always contending, never being out of it. The reality is while the Yankees haven’t been totally out of it the past few seasons, they’ve been fringe contenders. The last time the Yankees were truly always a threat for the World Series every year was the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. AP Photo

Brian Cashman, fully embracing Hal Steinbrenner’s endorsement to sell off on the 2016 Yankees and begin preparing for a Yankee rebuild, while remaining competitive made a two blockbuster deals headlined by top prospects, and he continued his pursuit of young talent during today’s trade deadline. Cashman reached a deal with the Texas Rangers parting ways with the heart and soul of the offense, Carlos Beltran, in return for the Rangers fifth ranked prospect, RHP Dillion Tate, as well as two other right-handers Erik Swanson and Nick Green. Photo Credit: Adam Hunger | USA TODAY Sports

Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas | USA TODAY Sports As this season draws closer and closer to the postseason, the Yankees will start building for next season as they appear to be headed home after the regular season. Trade rumors have been a hot topic in the Bronx, as Carlos Beltran, Andrew Miller, and Nathan Eovaldi have been among the names thrown around, along with the team already trading away Aroldis Chapman for a plethora of young talent. In the last year of his mega contract, Mark Teixeira’s name hasn't really been thrown around as a potential trade option, but the Yanks front office has reportedly discussed cutting him, along with fellow teammate Alex Rodriguez. His disastrous season thus far leaves his future in the Bronx in severe doubt. If not released in the next month, it’ll be interesting to see what happens in the offseason. Here's options the Yankees have with Teixeira and which one I feel is the best move for the future of this team:

After taking two of three from the NL West leading San Francisco Giants, and completing a 6-4 homestand coming out of the All-Star Break, the Yankees hit the road against the surging Houston Astros for a three game set starting on Monday night. Going into Monday’s action, the Yankees have six games remaining before the MLB non-waiver trade deadline and remain 4.5 games out of a wild card playoff spot. The front office pulled the trigger on an Aroldis Chapman trade today, but it still remains to be seen whether they commit to being buyers or sellers, and the impact that this week’s games will have on that decision. The Yankees took two of three from the Astros back in April to open the season. Houston comes into this series one of the hottest teams in baseball, having won 37 of their last 53 games, and sweeping the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend.

This series possesses an interesting interleague matchup between the Yankees and San Francisco Giants. The Giants are currently battling for the best record in baseball, despite having been swept in the past two series against the Padres and Red Sox. Already having three World Series titles this decade, the Giants have continued their status as the best team in the 2010’s. On the other hand, the Yankees haven’t won one since 2009 and are likely not headed to this year’s postseason. Hovering around the .500 mark all season, the Yankees have come out of the All-Star break playing really good baseball. Despite the way they've played, they haven't gained much ground in the AL Wild Card race, still sitting 5.5 games behind the Blue Jays heading into Friday.

“We can’t keep treading water. I want to be a contender, not a pretender,” Brian Cashman said to reporters just this week. It’s pretty obvious that every team in the Major Leagues wants to be a contender. No team wants to lose on purpose or continually be regarded as a below average ball club. The biggest difference between the Yankees and other similar ball clubs though, is that other teams recognize they aren’t contenders, and don’t try to tell themselves otherwise. Julie Jacobson - AP Photo

Let me preface this by stating there is nothing I would like more than to be proved wrong by seeing the Yankees go on a championship run this season. Having this article become the laughing stock of the internet would not bother me if that were to be the case, however the probability of the aforementioned event occurring is slim to none. I hate to be blunt, but someone has to say it: THE 2016 YANKEES ARE NOT GOOD. Thus far, they have been an unmitigated disaster. Never in my life have I seen a Yankee team so apathetic and lifeless. Even the 2013 and 2014 clubs, who were for the most part bereft of talent, at least displayed a certain level of fight. The 2016 team, on the other hand, doesn't seem to care. Perhaps even more troublesome than the attitude and performance of the players is the reaction displayed by management. First and foremost, I'm sick and tired of Joe Girardi's "it's not what you want" routine after every loss. It's painfully clear that he ...