RAB Thoughts

December 20th, 2022: Benintendi, Kiner-Falefa, Rodon, Minor League Signings

Remember the guy who caught Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run ball and turned down $3M so he could sell it at auction? Well, the ...

December 16th, 2022: Bauers, Norwood, Warren, Mailbag

In case you missed it Thursday night, Carlos Rodon is coming to the Yankees. It's a six-year contract worth $162M. Not gonna lie, I didn't think the Yankees would do it after locking up Aaron Judge. Glad...

Quick thoughts after the Yankees sign Carlos Rodon

2022 fastball whiff rate leaders: 1. Gerrit Cole, 2. Carlos Rodon.

The Yankees just made the 2023 team a whole lot better. Lefty Carlos Rodon is coming to the Bronx on a six-year contract worth $...

December 13th, 2022: Murakami, Kepler, Carpenter, Rodon, LeMahieu, Mattingly, Blake

On this date 21 (!) years ago, the Yankees signed Jason Giambi to a seven-year contract worth $120M. At the time it was the fifth largest contract in baseball history behind Alex Rodriguez ($252M), Derek Jeter ($189M), Manny Ramirez ($160M), and Mike Hampton ($121M). Giambi hit .260/.404/.521 (14...

December 9th, 2022: Judge, Rodon, Taillon, Red Sox, Rule 5 Draft, Mailbag

By projected 2023 WAR, 13 of the top 30 free agents remain unsigned, and the trade market has been weirdly quiet this offseason. The most notable trades involved Teoscar Hernandez, Hunter Renfroe,...

Quick thoughts after the Yankees re-sign Aaron Judge

“Just park the Brinks truck over there.”

In the end, the Yankees couldn’t afford to let Aaron Judge leave and Judge wanted to remain a Yankee. Judge is returning to the Yankees on a nine-ye...

December 7th, 2022: Kahnle, Judge, Yoshida, Rule 5 Draft

Tuesday was a day. I don’t know if it was a good day or a bad day, but it was definitely a day. We seem to be inching closer to Aaron Judge’s decision and I’m ready for this to be over. His free agency, I mean. Not his time as a Yankee. Anyway, I’m hitting publish on this before I go to s...

December 6th, 2022: Cashman, Judge, Verlander, Arraez, Hendriks

The first real day of the Winter Meetings is in the books and Aaron Judge remains unsigned. The good news is he’s unsigned and not a San Francisco Giant or a Los Angeles Dodger or a Yakult Swallow or whatever. But, he’s still unsigned, which means he’s not a Yankee. Not a fan. I hope the Ya...

December 5th, 2022: Judge, Reynolds, Donaldson, Hicks, Torres, Britton, Rodon

Good thing I ran that Jacob deGrom vs. Max Scherzer poll Friday morning, eh? That one avoided the 2022-12-05 13:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post

Free Agent Faceoff: Jacob deGrom vs. Justin Verlander

Why not both?

The calendar has flipped to December and the No. 1 priority in Yankeeland remains Aaron Judge. He has not signed yet but might at the Winter Meetings next week. The Yankees are sai...

December 1st, 2022: Judge, Winter Meetings, Cortes, Mattingly, Mailbag

I apologize if you saw this post in your inbox and thought it was Friday. I know how soul-crushing it can be to think it’s Friday, only to realize it’s really Thursday. It’s the worst. I have something else in the works for Friday though, so I figured I’d run this post a day early. Sorry ...

November 29th, 2022: Judge, Gallo, Smith, Nimmo, Torres, Carpenter, YES

The long holiday weekend is over and I’m already out of leftovers. I am sad. I didn’t miss anything important by skipping Friday’s post, so I feel less guilty, though earl...

November 22nd, 2022: Non-Tender Deadline, Hot Stove, Bold Predictions, Biggest & Best of 2022, Mailbag

Reminder: I am skipping this Friday’s post and

November 18th, 2022: Hot Stove Rumors, Awards, Mailbag

Reminder: I am planning to skip next Friday’s post. I’ll cover any breaking news that pops up, otherwise I’m going to take it easy during Thanksgiving weekend and I hope you do too. It’s good to take your mind off the Yankees every once in a while. Let’s get to today’s post.

2022-11-18 13:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post

November 16th, 2022: Rizzo, Vasquez, Ridings, Minor League Free Agents, Bullpen Market

I apologize for pushing Tuesday’s post back a day, but a) the Offseason Plan went live Monday, and b) I figured I’d wait a day so I could cover Tuesday’s various deadlines. That proved to be a go...

The Official 2022-23 RAB Offseason Plan

November 11th, 2022: Qualifying Offers, Roster Moves, Hot Stove Rumors, Rule 5 Draft, Mailbag

Offseason Plan update: It will be published next week. I hope to get it up before the Rule 5 Draft protection deadline Tuesday so it doesn’t look like I’m just copying whatever the Yankees do, but I’m also not going to work myself to the bone this weekend. I’m going to try for Tuesday. If...

November 8th, 2022: World Series, Boone, Cashman, Judge, Diamondbacks

Site note: I am planning to skip the regularly scheduled post on Friday, Nov. 25th. That is two weeks from Friday and it is the day after Thanksgiving. If there is breaking news, I will happily cover it, otherwise I’m going to lay low during the long holiday weekend. Thanks as always for readin...

The Yankees and the 2022-23 Offseason Calendar

The Astros are the 2022 World Series champions and the offseason is here. This will be the first “normal” offseason in a few years. Last offseason was cut into two halves by the lockout and the offseason before that was mid-pandemic, when no one knew its long-term financial impact on the spor...

November 4th, 2022: Aaron Hicks Trade, Mailbag

The Yankees finally put the 2004 Red Sox highlights away and will hold their end-of-season press conferences with Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman on Friday. Cashman’s contract expired on Oct. 31st, so the fact the Yankees are trotting him out there to represent the organization tells you he eithe...

November 1st, 2022: Arbitration, Qualifying Offers, Hot Stove

The Yankees’ season ended nine days ago and we’ve yet to hear anything from the organization beyond a few quotes from Hal Steinbrenner. Eventually they�...

Quick thoughts after Hal Steinbrenner says Aaron Boone will return in 2023

Another year, for some reason. (Getty)

The only manager in Yankees history to return for a fifth season after failing to win a World Series within his first four years gets to come back for a six...

October 26th, 2022: World Series, Judge, Rizzo, LeMahieu, Holmes, Effross, Blake, Mailbag

The first post of the offseason. Always a weird one. We haven’t heard a peep from the Yankees since their season ended Sunday night, and if they're going to make a significant change (like firing Aaron Boone), I think Wednesday would be the day. Thursday is World Series media day and the start ...

Thoughts after Game 4 of the 2022 ALCS

See ya. (Getty)

You know when I knew the 2022 Yankees were doomed? It wasn’t when they crashed in August or when they waited until the postseason to make a change at shortstop or when Aaron Ju...

Thoughts after Game 3 of the 2022 ALCS

The end is coming. (Getty)

The Yankees are down 3-0 in the ALDS and, honestly, that makes the series seem closer than it really is. This has been a dismantling. Maybe the Yankees will win Game 4,...

Thoughts before Game 3 of the 2022 ALCS

The ALCS resumes Saturday evening at Yankee Stadium and it is as close to a must-win as it gets without being a literal must-win. The Astros are starting Cristian Javier in Game 3. He of course started the combined no-hitter earlier this year. The Yankees then get Lance McCullers Jr. in Game 4, a...

Thoughts after Game 2 of the 2022 ALCS

Yawn. (Getty)

New day, same ol’ loss to the Astros. The Yankees are down 2-0 in the ALCS because Houston capitalized on the few opportunities they had while the Yankees struggled to get the ba...

Thoughts after Game 1 of the 2022 ALCS

Go away, Josh. (Getty).

Hey, the Yankees batted with a lead against the Astros! That lead lasted only six batters, but they had a lead. That’s more than they could say during the regular season...

Thoughts before Game 1 of the 2022 ALCS

This place again. (Getty)

The ALDS finally concluded Tuesday night in the Bronx and the ALCS begins Wednesday night in Houston. The Yankees are right back at it with Game 1 against the Astros. A...

Thoughts after Game 5 of the 2022 ALDS

Three wins down, eight to go. (Getty)

What felt like the longest best-of-five series in baseball history is finally over. The Yankees are going to the ALCS and the Guardians are going home, and ...