I think its probably a good idea to sign him now. I think there is something to the idea of signing him long term to a below market deal rather than waiting and seeing and paying a premium later. Pitching has gotten so expensive that the money they can save by getting a deal done now is not insubstantial. Any decent free agent is making ten to twelve a year now and Wang may not be an ace but he has won 19 games two years in a row and is a pretty reliable innings eater. He’s been pretty durable, the only exception being the hamstring that may have been trainer related. If he wants to do a deal they can probably get a good will discount so it’s certainly worth considering at this point.

I didn’t assume anything. I used a lot of “ifs.”
Yankees did a good job of pissing off Bernie Williams, but in the end he signed.

I agree with Steve on his take.
First of all, You guys assume most young pitchers Yankees have will pan out. you guys assume this won’t send bad message to Wang and all the young pitchers yankees have. You guys assume Wang won’t go anywhere else when he become free agent.

I think it’s a great way to go about dealing with Wang. Not only do they wait and see where the big three end up, but they can monitor how well Horne and Marquez do at AAA. It also gives them time to see how Brackman can respond to his TJ surgery. If those guys flourish Wang is expendable just in time for him to hit the free agent market and demand a big contract. If not then they’ll have to shell out assuming he’s not injured.

I think it’s the right move. In addition to the consideration that pitchers are more prone to injury, right now the yankees would be signing Wang at a likely “peak” price, after two great seasons and his role as a quasi #1 type pitcher (most wins on the team, most reliable). My take, and perhaps the Yankees, is that Wang may prove to be more of a middle of the rotation type guy. (I kind of view him as having a Brad Radke like reliability and talent but he’s not a dominating strikeout number 1 type ace. Of course I hope I’m wrong and Wang becomes the best pitcher in baseball – or even stays the same.) Between that, the money tied up with the new contracts for Rivera/Posada, the additional information we will have in the next 1-2 years about the progess of joba/hughes/ipk (which will help put into perspective Wang’s value to the team), and the money coming off the books in the next year, it seems prudent to wait.