LIVE MIKE – by Mike Smith
It may have been a while since we heard from them, but after this week’s hot stove news, one thing is clear; the Evil Empire is back.
On Tuesday, Dec. 10 the New York Yankees made an enormous splash on the free agent market when they agreed to terms with reigning American League ERA leader Gerrit Cole. The 29-year old right-hander is one of the best pitchers in the game right now, giving the Yanks a true top of the rotation arm and completely shifting the balance of power in the American League. But beyond the practical ramifications of the signing—and its immediate and deleterious effect on my Red Sox—I have to say, I’m excited about the move for one simple reason: this is becoming the kind of Yankees team I grew up hating.
In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, the Yanks truly lived up to their nickname of ‘the Evil Empire,” signing high-priced free agent after high-priced free agent, outspending their competitors by a wide margin and generally treat-ing cash-strapped Major League teams as if they were another ex-tension of their farm system.
In short, their wanton spending made it easy for opposing fans to look at their payroll with great disdain.
But over the last decade and a half, Yankee GM Brian Cashman has exerted more control over the team and changed the way the Bombers operate. Sure, they still spend a lot of money—their $206 million payroll was third among all MLB teams— but Cashman has devoted consider-able energy to revamping the farm system and developing its own players. Sure, the Yanks have traded for some big name stars like Giancarlo Stanton, but the core of the team over the last several years has been comprised of homegrown talent like Aaron Judge, Luis Severino and Gary Sanchez.
Even though I still maintained a deep antipathy for the Yankees over the years, I found it difficult to dismiss the success they have had as simply a byproduct of their deep pockets.
This Cole deal, however, will see the Yankees pay the righty $324 million over the next nine years, an astounding contract anyway you want to slice it. I’m sure the organization will look to cut costs in other ways, perhaps by trading JA Happ or Stanton, but the message was clear nonetheless; the Yanks targeted a player they saw as essential to their success and threw enough money at him until he decided to sign. They refused to be outbid on Cole, something that reflects the old George Steinbrenner school of thinking more than it jibes with the more thoughtful approach to free agency that Cashman has preferred.
Will the move pay off in the Bronx? That remains to be seen. But if the Yankees ultimate goal was drawing the ire of the rest of the league, I’d have to say they have accomplished their mission.
