A bunch of their top draft picks are guys like Joba Chamberlain, who ask for a whole lot of money to sign. They would be drafted early in the draft if money wasn't an issue. Instead, teams pass them over for "signability issues", and the Yankees pick them up and overpay at the end of the round.
Or in Joba's case they sign him because other teams are afraid of their injury history. They also spend big in the international market which is where Montero came from. To be honest, they haven't really picked up any serious prospects in the way you described. Most of those guys haven't panned out to be much of anything. Hughes was not a signability guy and Joba slipped because of weight/injury.
Jose Contreras - $6,000,000 Andrew Brackman - $3,500,000 Gary Sanchez - $3,000,000 Cito Culver this year was way over slot, though from what I read no other team wanted him in the first round even if it wasn't required. And Joba was signed for about $500,000 over slot. Roughly the same for Ian Kennedy. For reference, where they were drafted, slot is around $800,000, so an extra 1/2 mil is significantly over slot.
Contreras and Sanchez were international FAs, you can't really use them in your slot argument. To my knowledge, Brackman's the only guy on that list who dropped to the Yankees due to signability issues (but of course, it wasn't exactly a well-kept secret that he was going to need TJ Surgery upon being drafted). Regardless, even if the Yankees do give those guys bonuses over slot, it's not like they're the only team that does so. And again, signability really isn't the main reason why those guys fell. With Brackman and Joba it was health, Kennedy was viewed as having limited upside, and Culver was just a freakin' head-scratcher for the first round. Still don't understand that pick.
Tons of teams pay over slot for guys. Kennedy and Joba did not drop though because of price, both fell because of injury. The Yankees pay EVERYONE over slot bonuses. Brackman again, fell because of injury. As for Sanchez and Contreras, both were international free agents.
Yeah.. Go look at the bonuses for the last few years. Tons of teams pay a nominal amount above slot (like $50,000 to $100,000). A handful of teams pay way over slot, like the Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Tigers. Exactly my point. I'm glad we agree. OK, fine. I amend my statement. The Yankees leverage their money to get better players in both segments of the rookie free agent period, international and domestic. It really means the same thing. They leverage their financial position to get better prospects. I also fully recognize that no Yankees fan will ever recognize this, as it would mean admitting that the team has an advantage. It is important for Yankee fans that they maintain the illusion that their team is on a level playing field with the KC Royals, and all their success is a result of hard work and innate intelligence.
Correct. Me too! Except it hasn't really proven true in the draft. The players they've taken chances on in the draft have been injury guys, not signability guys. Their major arena of financial leverage with prospects is IFA. Of course the Yankees have an advantage financially. To deny that would be to stoop down to YOUR level of obtuseness.
Remember when the Houston Astros used to be face of baseball in this state? Five years later, the Rangers are a top contender.
