Yankees miss out; looking like last guests to the party

There is a report that catcher A.J. Pierzynski has agreed Thursday on a one-year deal to join the Texas Rangers.

There has been only one free agent (from another team) that I've been adamant about the Yankees going after this winter--this guy. A few weeks ago, Brian Cashman said that the Yankees would not pursue Pierzynski and they were preparing to play with Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart fighting for the starting catcher position. As if that makes any sense.

What's Cashman thinking? The Yankees couldn't offer A.J. a one or two year deal for $6 or 7 million? Even though they do sign a declining Kevin Youkilis for a ridiculous $12? In fact, among any of the significant players they did sign (Pettitte, Rivera, Kuroda, Ichiro, Youk) all of them were signed for over $10M, much more than A.J. was asking. And it's not like A.J. was dying to go to Texas. He felt slighted that Rangers' skipper Ron Washington left him off the All Star team during a well-deserved season. The Yankees could have gotten him easy.

They lost Swisher. Pierzynski is another fiery, energetic guy that could fill that void. He's durable, playing at least 128 games eleven straight seasons. He has hit at least .270 for five straight years with the White Sox. (Jorge Posada never had three in a row.) He's a career .300 hitter in the postseason (not Swisher). A.J. also hit 27 home runs in 2012, one less than most in the majors among catchers. He's no Mike Piazza, but he is a helluva lot better than Stewart and Cervelli.

Not only did the Yankees miss out on him, but he is going to Texas, one of the Yankees' toughest opponents. That's a double whammy for New York. I don't like the strategy of signing a player just to keep him away from a rival, but when you and the team that has beat you to the World Series two of the last three years are both in need of a catcher, and there is just one legitimate catcher available, and the asking price is reasonable, what are you waiting for?

The Rangers have been losing key players (Napoli, Hamilton, Young) so there was a chance this was one less team the Bronx Bombers would have to worry about. But after losing the top hitting free agent catcher they are able to sign the number two. Not too bad.

A.J. is not my favorite human being. He is probably most well known for being punched in the face. And maybe Cashman just doesn't want to deal with another A.J. after Burnett. However, catcher is one of the toughest positions to fill and there are so few that provide anything on offense. This offseason the Yankees have let loose Russell Martin and watched as the Red Sox reeled in Mike Napoli and the Rangers grabbed Pierzynski.

Cervelli and Stewart offer nothing offensively or defensively. They should be contending for the backup job. It won't take long for the Yankees to realize that in a season where competition in the AL East is a lot tougher, lacking a legitimate catcher is costing them wins. And it's a shame because this guy would have given them a good boost.