Applauding Duquette's "Non-Moves"

[Bradysburns]

My apologies if this idea has already been posted. But I have to say, the more I think about Duquette's non-moves this offseason, the better I feel.

- Not signing Miller... I think the Yankees possibly overpaid. And I certainly don't think paying him $9 million/year would have made sense for a set-up man... in Baltimore! We have our closer.

- Not signing Cruz... I could see Cruz falling off a cliff in years 3 and 4...

- Not signing Markakis... I was somewhat sad at this non-signing... until I learned that Nick might have received a 4/40 offer from us, and was injured anyway!

I don't think I would have paid any of these guys what they received.

Now, the only question that remains is: Can DD fill those holes and then some, without overspending?

[25 Nuggets]

I'm really really rooting for David Robertson to sign elsewhere, because it would mean:

Cruz - Seattle is not as big a player for the remaining free agents and trade possibilities the Orioles are looking over

Markakis - Atlanta is more prone to trade Upton or Gattis now than before

Miller - The Yankees gave the Robertson money to a slight improvement and have less room in the budget (yes they have a budget it's just really big)

[spiritof66]

(yes they [the Yankees] have a budget it's just really big)

I'm curious why you believe the Yankees have a budget. In this context, I would understand "having a budget" to mean that a team determines, whether based on its actual or projected revenues, the financial resources or whims of ownership, or something else, that it can spend no more than X dollars (or a narrow range of dollars) per season on player payroll, and that the team's player personnel decisions must comply with that budget, absent some extraordinary opportunity that would help the team much more than within-budget alternatives and/or lead to savings in other seasons.

While I have no inside information, I believe most teams make personnel decisions in a way that resembles the above, and I don't think the NYY do. Sure, the GM knows there's no blank check -- the team can't spend $800 million a year on payroll ($20 million a year on each of 40 roster spots) -- but to me that's not the same as operating under a budget. Rather, I think the NYY approach each contract, free agent or trade decision by asking themselves whether it's a good business decision and may fill a team need, with little if any regard for the total payroll in any season. (I think another important factor since the ridicule of Hank Steinbrenner's 2007 signing of A-Rod has been management's assessment of how its decisions will be viewed by the media.)

I think the same (minus the parenthetical) was at one time true for the Red Sox but no longer is, and probably has been true recently for the Dodgers. But I have followed those teams' decisions much less closely than I have the NYY, and the above is the only way I can make sense of the NYYs' moves decisions since Dumb and Dumber took the reins from Daddy.

[Loophole]

I'll applaud his non-move to Toronto if that's how it ends up.

[Scrat1]

I'll applaud his non-move to Toronto if that's how it ends up.

Came to post the same thing. Would be my favorite non-move of the offseason.

[Bradysburns]

Came to post the same thing. Would be my favorite non-move of the offseason.

I have to go back and read that thread... Just saw it. But Toronto, of all places, could use a GM with some restraint and ability to unearth hidden talent on the cheap. No franchise in recent years has seemed to spend more for fewer wins.

But then again, what franchise doesn't need that.