Yankees beef up rotation while Sox remain quiet

A relatively quiet off-season for the Red Sox, at least compared to the blockbuster moves made in recent years, has frustrated many fans in Boston.  Despite a glaring weakness at the back end of the rotation, the team seems content to roll the dice on attempting to convert Daniel Bard and Alfredo Aceves to the rotation while picking up some low risk options to fill in as organizational depth.  For a team that perennially expects to contend for a title, these under the radar moves are far from sufficient for a rabid fan base eager to see the team fix holes that derailed last year's once promising season.

Last week's moves by the division rival Yankees only made matters worse.  New York fixed their own rotation issues by trading for young phenom Michael Pineda and signing veteran Hiroki Kuroda to a reasonable 1 year, $10 million deal. 

Pineda, the young fireballer obtained from Seattle, should slot nicely into the second spot, behind rotation anchor CC Sabathia, and likely will remain a fixture in that spot for years to come.  He has ace caliber stuff, with a mid-90s fastball and a biting slider that can make left handed hitters look foolish.  In his promising rookie season he posted a respectable 3.74 ERA while striking out 9.1 batters per inning.  He got off to a great start mowing through lineups before teams adjusted to him and he hit the proverbial rookie wall down the stretch.  He struggled after the All-Star break to the tune of a 5.12 ERA before being shut down in September with the team cautiously looking to cap his innings total.  It's not unusual for young pitchers to wear down as they surpass new career highs in innings pitched, so his late season struggles aren't a long term concern.  The one concern that may be legitimate is how he'll fair in his new environment.  He'll face a drastic change in moving from pitcher friendly Safeco Park in Seattle to the launching pad in New York, especially when you consider his fly ball tendencies.  He also struggled against AL East opponents last season, particularly Boston and Toronto.  Even as he progresses as a pitcher, his stats may suffer just from the move to a tougher environment, despite that he may actually be pitching better.  That's life in the AL East.  It effects all but perhaps the elite pitchers.  Someday Pineda may join that group of elite that is unfazed by ballpark factors or deep lineups.  As long as he maintains his high strikeout rate, he'll find success.

It's not often a future ace with years of team control at a low cost is dealt, but in this case it may have made sense for Seattle.  The Mariners are deep in pitching prospects and were able to capitalize on their surplus by trading one of their young studs to fill their biggest need - a middle of the order bat.  In exchange for Pineda, Seattle receives Jesus Montero, the young slugger that had once been the Yankees top prospect.  Montero hits for average and power and will immediately improve the league's worst offense.  He became expendable for the Yankees given that he appears unlikely to stick at his primary defensive position at catcher.  Despite a strong throwing arm, he's too slow to remain behind the plate and projects to be primarily a DH.  The Yankees are as loaded on offense as they are on aging veterans with declining defensive skills.  They can ill afford to clog their DH spot with a young hitter when they would benefit more from using the slot to give some of their veterans a half-day off or add a better defender to the field without sacrificing a bat like A-Rod or Jeter from the lineup.  The Mariners have enough defense, but were in dire need of an impact bat.  Even if Montero doesn't stick at catcher, they have no issue with allowing him to become the best DH they've had since Edgar Martinez.  The Mariners and Yankees each traded an expendable player from a position of surplus to fill their most pressing needs, making them a perfect match in a trade that should be a win-win for each team.

Not content with adding just one piece to their rotation, the Yankees later added Kuroda.  The Japanese import compiled a 3.45 ERA in four seasons with the Dodgers.  He's not overpowering like Pineda, with a modest 6.73 K/9 in his career, but he's crafty and adept at keeping runs off the board.  While run prevention is certainly easier in Dodger Stadium than it will be in Yankee Stadium, his numbers on the road have been nearly identical to his numbers at home, showing he's not just a product of a pitcher friendly park.  While the $10 million price tag was a bit much for some teams, the Yankees found it a bargain given that it took only a one year commitment. 

The Yankees appear to have pulled off a major heist by dramatically improving their rotation without adding much to their long term payroll.  At only 23 years old and in his second season, Pineda will be a cost effective rotation mainstay for years, while Kuroda is signed for only one year.  That gives the Yankees some flexibility in future seasons with their payroll.  While the richest franchise in the league seemingly has endless pockets of cash to give out, new rules in the collective bargaining agreement will make it extremely costly for teams that continue to go over the luxury tax, as the Yankees have done each year for about a decade.  Their intention is to get below the threshold by 2014, when albatross contracts such as AJ Burnett and Rafael Soriano come off their books.  The moves they have made this off-season do nothing to jeopardize this plan, which they find essential in order to avoid heavy taxes that even they dare not face on an annual bases.  The times of recklessly throwing money to plug every hole appears to be over.  While the Yankees can still outspend other clubs, they intend to spend more wisely.

This brings us back to the Red Sox, who continue to remain quiet.  Having paid the luxury tax the past two years, the team has prioritized dropping below the line at some point in the next couple of years (four straight years of going over the tax line will result in heavy tax penalties).  With the dead weight contracts of John Lackey and Dice-K (neither of whom are expected to contribute this season) dragging down the team's payroll, the Sox can't afford to spend freely.  That's why they did not entertain serious offers for the top pitchers on the market, such as CJ Wilson or Mark Buerhle.  While those would be nice additions to have, their price tag didn't warrant committing so much to what would essentially amount to a #4 starter.  Also keep in mind that this was a relatively weak free agent crop for pitching, while next year's class could potentially include the likes of Cole Hamels and Matt Cain.  Of course fans want to see an upgrade now, but realistically there just aren't options out there that make sense given their financial situation.  It would be wise to save some payroll space for future off-seasons when better options may be available.  Kuroda would have been a good fit on a one year deal, but the Yankees likely would have outbid them and they had no interest getting into a bidding war.  Perhaps they'll take a similar short term risk on someone like Roy Oswalt, presuming he's healthy.  Otherwise, they'll stick with the plan of adding low cost, short term options, while continuing to explore the trade market. 

If at least one of their converted relievers succeeds in the rotation then they should be fine.  Personally, I have my doubts about Bard making a successful transition, considering his failures as a minor league starter are what forced him to the bullpen to begin with.  He won't be able to consistently dial up the fastball to the high 90's level we're used to seeing if he's starting and aside from his slider he doesn't have enough other plus pitches to keep hitters from laying off the fastball.  Don't be surprised if he's eventually moved back to the bullpen, but given his electric stuff and the team's need in the rotation, it's understandable why they are willing to give him a shot.  Aceves was invaluable in his role last year, able to fill in for whatever role the team needed - long relief, short relief, spot starter.  They will miss his versatility in the bullpen.  It remains to be seen how effective he will be as a starter over the course of the season, but he should still be sufficient enough for the back of the rotation.

Fans crying out about the lack of big moves by new GM Ben Cherrington aren't seeing the big picture.  Payroll and the luxury tax are going to become much bigger issues than in years past, so the team is rightfully being more prudent with it's spending.  Complaints about the rotation also ignore the savvy moves the team has made to restock it's bullpen, by adding closer Andrew Bailey and former Astros closer Mark Melancon to set him up.  They didn't give up much to acquire those players and avoided shelling out a massive contract to retain Jonathan Papelbon or sign another of the pricey free agent closers.

It's always painful to see your biggest rival pull off a great trade or free agent signing and the first instinct is to want to counter with a big move of your own.  The Red Sox are wisely resisting the urge to overreact to the Yankees moves.  They've learned their lesson from past mistakes (Lackey) and aren't willing to overpay on another long term contract that could hinder them down the line.  They may not be making a lot of splashy moves right now, but they are making the right moves.