Good call Slammin6, Eric Chavez is the real winner here. Yes he has been a waste for 4-1/2 of the last 5 years, but was a perfect fit for the Yankees off the bench at the end of the season. Along with Nunez, the Yankees have enough surplus to carry A-Rod to the finish line and hold down 3B while that wuss has more knee, hip, and thumb* issues.

(*Went on DL in 2011 for stepping on his own thumb. Somehow he makes more than 2,000 times the money I do)

Yankees were never serious about Nakajima and probably were surprised they won the bid. Cashman would have signed him as a backup infielder but also wanted to give him backup money. This was nothing to get excited about either way as I see it.

Chevez is quality and proven

are you serious?  this guy hasn't played a full season in 5 years--he will be on the DL in May---he hasn't proven anything in years--he is a waste

Yankees already have Eduardo Nunez as a back up infielder for shortstop and second. Chavez can play third and first. The Yanks really didn't need Nakajima..
 

Who would of ever confused the Yankees with penny-pinching.....this is indeed an alarming development

That could certainly happen. However I would think that if a posting fee of say 80 Million was bid then the Japanese team would offer the player a cut to get his salary where he wants it so he can accept the offer and the MLB team playing the game gets screwed. I understand that if the player cannot be signed they become an international free agent the next year and it's a better deal for the player. I believe they only have to go thru the posting process once. Japaneese players have a lot of loyalty to their teams and want them to get the posting fees.

Yanks Thin At Short After Jeter - Pass on Weak Prospect Nakajima

How can you compare a posting fee of $2 Million for Nakajima to the $51 Million for Yu Darvish plus salary for $100 M? There are tons of shortstop prospects with good gloves who swing a light bat - just like Nakajima. He would back up Jeter, a hall of famer. So can 100 other kids from the Dominican, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Cuba, or the US. Nakajima is nothing special. Darvish is a power pitcher in an age where pitchers blow their arms out fast and there is a scary shortage of starters - so he is worth $100 Million for the posting fee and the salary - 50 times what Yakajima is worth. Yanks' prospects at short make Cashman break out into a midnight sweat-  Eduardo Nunez has good power and a bad glove, Cito Culver is ranked # 36 in prospects at Short - an average fielder who is a contact hitter, and Yadil Mujica is a Cuban ranked $37 - he has a great glove and range and hits for average. So Yanks will have to deal for a young shortstop or a veteran to fill in until they develop a new Jeter. The other option if Jeter gets hurt is move A Rod to short and get a new third baseman. As for Nakajima, he can play but not for the money he wants.

It is incorrect to describe Eric Chavez as an infielder instead of a corner infielder because he cannot play 2B or SS. So to say he is a fallback wen the Yankees could not sign Nakajima is misleading.

I think MLB has a formal agreement with the Japanese Baseball League.  The Japanese players aren't slave labor.  They could leave any time they wanted if it weren't for the MLB/JBL agreement.


If there wasn't an agreement, they'd be subject to the Amateur draft or, like many other foreign players, they'd find themselves living in a country not covered by MLB's amateur draft rules.