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Thursday, December.27, 2012

This guy might be a great defensive catcher when all is said and done, but how can you trust this team with a rookie catcher with their limited window to win?

Chuck Booth (Yankees Correspondent/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024

As of this very moment, you are not the happiest of campers if you are a Yankees fan.   Francisco Cervelli, Chris Stewart and Austin Romine look to start the year out catching for the Bronx Bombers!  Really??? You are telling me that you will spend 215-225 Million Dollars on (Luxury Taxable) Payroll and you couldn’t find a mere 7.5 Million for a 1 Year Deal to sign A.J. Pierzynski?  The club will receive some insurance money for A-Rod’s injury this year, however the Luxury Tax is not affected by that.  So maybe knowing that they will pay 40% more for a guys salary (more than he really makes as a salary) is another thing stalling the franchise from plunking some serious cash down on a real quality veteran catcher.  In my opinion, this is a brutal mistake that will leave the fans frustrated beyond belief if it blows up in the Yankees face.  The good news is that if the team is playing well in every other department other than the Catchers position, they can always address the situation at any point next year by a trade.  With no significant catchers left on the FA Market, New York will probably go this route. If you can manage to keep atop of the standings, then you may land a veteran catcher that will only have a pro-rated salary for the rest of the year.

If I were Ichiro Suzuki, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera or Andy Pettitte, I would not be happy with the club not landing a proven offensive or defensive catcher.  (Boy does that Jesus Montero Trade not look so favorable right now.) These 4 veterans are in the last year or two of their contracts and possibly their careers will end once their contracts.  While these guys would never panic, you only need to look what the Blue Jays are doing north of the border for real ‘transaction aggression.’ I just think that you have re-signed and brought in Free Agents that all point to a “Win Now” mentality, yet you are going towards one-dimensional catchers that all have limited experience.  It doesn’t feel right and the Yankees ‘Faithful’ will have a field day on Management and ownership should this position end up being a crutch on the teams success chances for 2013.

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