the Jays are division rivals - they traded us Happ not necessarily expecting the Yankees to offer him a contract. Stroman is ''signed' through 2020 & Toronto knows that he would be offered a deal for another maybe 4/5 years & continue pitching against them. Call it spiteful but those GMs would consider it good business to hold the Yankees to a higher level. Maybe they are still remembering how George would go for the high leverage pitchers or AS players without thinking about the future. Hal & Cash work together to field the best possible team not just today but for years ahead. Gone are the days when the Yankees will trade the farm for a 2-month rental during a pennant drive.
Cash is willing to wheel & deal to improve the Team BUT not at the expense of the future. We pretty much know where we stand in negotiations though we don't always come up with the prize because we set a limit (try stay within a budget) & pretty much stick to it. There is a lot of research & crunching numbers to come up with a prospective player's value to the team How many future stars did George trade to get that one pitcher, one more bat in an attempt to win it all for one year and then we had to deal with exorbitant contracts for those extra years. We still have Ellsbury on the books though part of his contract is covered by insurance when was the last time he even had spikes on? How much was ARod payed to not play the final year + of his contract & then get another contract for working with minor leaguers? Giambi, Randy Johnson, Burnett, those in more recent years. Not every trade works out for both teams like Paul O'Neill for Roberto Kelly. I am not an owner not even a GM just a fan who has thoughts & tries to understand the thinking behind deals.
