The compensation draft pick it would have cost to sign Edwin Encarnacion to a multi-year deal for big money didn’t appeal to the Yankees.
Signing Carlos Beltran, 40 in April, didn’t light a fire for them, even if the switch hitter had a good year in The Bronx before being dealt to the Rangers at last season’s trade deadline.
With Beltran inking a one-year deal worth $16 million with the Astros and Encarnacion likely to land four to five years and in the area of $18 million per, the Yankees kicked off the winter meetings by signing Matt Holliday to a one-year contract for $13 million.
The deal is contingent on Holliday, who turns 37 next month, passing a physical.
Prior to the news of the deal leaking out Sunday evening, general manager Brian Cashman discussed how important the 2017 draft pick was to him.
“Our preference is to retain a draft pick if we can. We have a certain amount of money we want to allocate to allow us to do a number of different things,’’ Cashman said at the Heights & Lights event in Stamford, where he rappeled down a building. “Trying to get a bat, an arm and maybe more.”
Holliday isn’t Encarnacion, who has averaged 39 homers, 110 RBIs and a .921 OPS for the last five seasons for the Blue Jays. But Holliday for one year was likely more appealing than a long-term deal for the money Encarnacion, who’ll be 34 next month, is looking for.
Of course, the price on Encarnacion might come down, but the draft pick (17th) likely trumped the middle-of-the-order muscle Encarnacion would have provided to a lineup that could use it.
Holliday will be used as the DH, play some first base, where he has played 10 big league games, and in a pinch, patrol Yankee Stadium’s cozy right field. What he won’t do is play left field, where he played the majority of his 1,773 big league games.
The Yankees’ interest in the seven-time All Star spiked after they dealt Brian McCann to the Astros. Holliday is a career .303 hitter with 295 homers and 1,153 RBIs in 13 big league seasons.
With the DH spot filled, Cashman can turn his attention to landing closer Aroldis Chapman and possibly improving the rotation. Based on the Yankees coveting the draft pick, right-handed closer Kenley Jansen seemingly doesn’t fit because he will cost the team signing him a pick.
At the beginning of the free-agent process the word was Chapman, who helped the Cubs win the World Series after being deal by the Yankees to Chicago at the deadline, was looking for five years and $100 million. That appeared too high for the Yankees, although there is no draft-pick compensation affixed to Chapman.
Cashman said he talked to lefty starter Rich Hill’s agent, Seth Levinson, several times, but it appears Hill is headed back to the Dodgers. Cashman didn’t rule out finding a starter via trade or free agency, but he is unlikely to move high-end prospects for the White Sox’s Chris Sale, if he is available.
As for Holliday, a strained right groin in 2015 and a fractured right thumb that required surgery in 2016 limited him to 183 games over the past two seasons. However, he hit 20 homers and drove in 62 runs in 110 games last season, which ended his seven-plus years with the Cardinals.
Cashman talked to representatives for other DH candidates before signing Holliday.
“You name a hitter and I’ve talked to him. Whether it’s [Mike] Napoli, Encarnacion, [Jose] Bautista, whether it’s Holliday, whether it’s Brandon Moss,” Cashman said. “It’s a number of guys. Talked to [Chris] Carter’s agent after he got non-tendered.”