Via George King -
Add Damaso Marte to Jason Giambi and Carl Pavano as players the Yankees aren’t likely to exercise options on – which will make them free agents.
Giambi has a $22 million option with a $5 million buyout and Pavano has a $15 million option with a $1.95 million buyout.
Declining Marte’s $6 million option isn’t an indication the club doesn’t want the lefty reliever back. It means the Yankees don’t want to pick up the option ($250,000 buyout) that trailed Marte from Pittsburgh when he was acquired with Xavier Nady for Jose Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens and Daniel McCutcheon on July 26.
I’m shocked at this move.
Sure, $6 million is not chump-change. But, the Yankees can afford it.
Plus, as crazy as this may seem, Marte is one of the Yankees better bets in the pen after Mo.
The Save/Hold rates for Jose Veras and Edwar Ramirez last season were terrible. Can you trust Brian Bruney and his wild spells? Everyone else is green – including Phil Coke, the other lefty out there now.
Sure, no question, Marte will be hard pressed to get $6 million on the open market. But, some team (like the Mets?) might give him something close to that. So, for the few bucks that you might save, is it worth the risk to allow Marte to talk to other teams?
Seems silly to me…but, of course, Brian Cashman knows what he’s doing when it comes to making pitching moves…right?
11 Responses to “Yanks To Decline Option On Marte”
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November 2nd, 2008 at 10:20 am
Steve, my first reaction was similar to your’s. However, I think Marte’s designation as a type-a free agent is the reason the Yanks are doing this. If they lose him they get draft picks. At the same time, teams interested in him might be scared away by the prospect of losing a pick in order to sign a middle-reliever, thereby hurting his value on the market. I think it’s a gamble, but probably a decent one.
November 2nd, 2008 at 10:39 am
if true, i do not like this move. i generally agree with the logic of nick-yf above. but ultimately i’m with you steve. he’s out most seasoned non-mo reliever. i like a lot of the other arms back there, and the idea of building a bullpen around young power arms as opposed to veteran mediocrity. but marte has not been mediocrity for his career, and he certainly wasn’t once he got his feet dug in last year. you need some experience back there, and he’s left-handed. if we decline the option, we better be able to sign him, otherwise it will be a mistake.
November 2nd, 2008 at 11:17 am
He wants the Draft Picks obviously. The guy is a type A.
November 2nd, 2008 at 12:09 pm
An insane decision that proves Cashman has learned nothing from his mismanagement of the team over the last five years. Now which Felix Heredia-type reclamation project will he pick up off the scrap heap to be our lefty in the pen? Or will we hear again how one of our righties can dominate against lefty hitters because of his awesome changeup? Maybe this means Phil Coke can be the next Sean Henn.
November 2nd, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Draft picks. The Yankees have enough internal options. Marte will be 34 years old in February. He had a 5.40 ERA with the Yankees. He single-handedly lost games to the Rangers (08/04), the Angels (08/10) and the Blue Jays (08/30), during a month where the team really needed to make a push. He was terrible. The Yankees have enough internal options. Really. I’m glad he somehow managed to qualify as a Type A FA. It’s a good thing he pitched well enough in Pittsburgh over the past three years to give the Yankees *something* … by leaving.
November 2nd, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Could Marte be a valuable arm in the bullpen in 2009? Of course.
Does that mean that paying $6M for a reliever like Marte is reasonable, even if you have the money? No.
Cash-lover or Cash-hater, I just don’t understand why any fan would want to see $6M invested in a guy like Marte.
November 2nd, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Seems silly to me…but, of course, Brian Cashman knows what he’s doing when it comes to making pitching moves…right?
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Without putting words in your mouth, I do believe it would be fair to say that had Cashman picked up Marte’s $6M option for 2009, and had Marte proceeded to stink next year as he stunk last year, we’d hear something to the effect of “Cashman doesn’t know how to make pitching moves because only an idiot gives Marte $6M.”
November 2nd, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Cash-lover or Cash-hater, I just don’t understand why any fan would want to see $6M invested in a guy like Marte.
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I don’t understand it either…
November 2nd, 2008 at 2:46 pm
An insane decision that proves Cashman has learned nothing from his mismanagement of the team over the last five years.
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Did you see Marte’s platoon splits for this season?
Since when has the bullpen been a problem?
November 2nd, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Uhhh have you been awake for the last several years? Our bullpen has stunk.
November 2nd, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Uhhh have you been awake for the last several years? Our bullpen has stunk.
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?
Chamberlain, Rivera, Veras, Meyers, Proctor, Viz, Gordon, Bruney, etc, etc, etc, seemed to be the makings of a pretty good bullpen to me…