11/03: Yankees Likely to Decline Marte's Option?
Posted by: Patrick
I'm not sure I put much stock into this article by George King of the Post where he states that the Yankees are not likely to pick up Damaso Marte's $6 million dollar option, with a $250,000 buyout. The style of the Post aside, it's unclear what the source of this speculation is. Usually, at least, there would be an "industry insider," or a "person close to negotiations." None of that here, so I'm not sure if it is Mr. King's opinion or intuition or something else.
Since Marte is a Type A free agent, if he goes to another team, he'll net us a 1st or 2nd round draft choice, as well as a pick in the sandwich round between the to rounds. You could certainly argue for the picks and if that happens, I'd be fine with it. But at the same time... it's been challenging for the Yankees to find a left handed reliever with a proven track record, forgetting his numbers last year once he was traded. I could go either way, but I think I'd rather see his option be picked up. I'm all for giving some of the younger arms an opportunity to nail down bullpen spots, but I'd like us to go into the season with one veteran, established reliever besides Mo.
Since Marte is a Type A free agent, if he goes to another team, he'll net us a 1st or 2nd round draft choice, as well as a pick in the sandwich round between the to rounds. You could certainly argue for the picks and if that happens, I'd be fine with it. But at the same time... it's been challenging for the Yankees to find a left handed reliever with a proven track record, forgetting his numbers last year once he was traded. I could go either way, but I think I'd rather see his option be picked up. I'm all for giving some of the younger arms an opportunity to nail down bullpen spots, but I'd like us to go into the season with one veteran, established reliever besides Mo.
