Hotspotoutdoors

Why do the Yanks even have a farm system? They just go out and buy what they need. Being a player in the Yanks farm system has got to be a kind of death sentence for a minor leaguer.

You're right, why have a farm system when you have a great one called the Minnesota Twins.

The entire league is the Yanks farm system.

I generally agree except if your a minor leaguer and are any good in their system you will get traded to a team where you will play in the bigs.

Good point. Teams like the Royals, Twins, Mariners, Indians, etc draft these guys, bring them up and when they get good they go to the Yankees. Aside from a very small handful of guys this years team is made up of guys from other teams.

CC- Indians
Burnett- Mariners
AROD- Mariners
Damon- Royals
Teixeira- Rangers/Angels
Molina- Cubs
Swisher- A's
Hinske- Jays

Alot of those guys played for other teams before the yanks got them...sabathia from milwaukee, burnett from toronto, damon from boston, and a-roid from texas (who payed him the huge amount, yanks just traded for him).

Yea, you have to wonder how much $$ the Yanks could save by shutting down their farm system. They don't need them, they don't need players to trade. They just sit back, wait for someone to get old or injured, and then paruse the league for the best at whatever position needed, and slide a blank check across the desk and tell them to fill in the blanks. Heck, by shutting down the farm system, the sky would be the limit. Like it ain't already.

I heard someone on the radio the other day say that cheering for the Yankees is like cheering for Microsoft. Ain't that the truth.

Derek Jeter
Robinson Cano
Melkey Cabrera
Andy Petite
Mariano Rivera
Joba Chamberlain
Jorge Posada
Phil Hughes

These are just the bigger name players that are currently playing for the Yankees who came up through the Yankees minor league system in one way or another. There are actually more than this on the active roster.

Posada, Jeter, Hughes and Chamberlain were all draft picks by the Yankees also.

I'm no Yankee's fan but this list of prospects looks pretty impressive to me.

Every team has a list at least that long of players who came to that team via free agency or trades. Here is the Twins list of players who did not come up through the farm system. These are just the players I can think of off the top of my head:

Delmon Young
Joe Crede
Orlando Cabrera
Nick Punto
Joe Nathan
Carl Povano
Mike Redmond
JJ Hardy
Brendan Harris

BUT, I would take CC, Burnett, Arod, Damon, Teix, etc... over the list of Twins players that you mentioned.

Well.......who wouldn't?

I'm just making a point that NO team is made up entirely of farm system guys. Every club has a pretty long list of guys that did not come up through the system. That does not mean that the Twins should shut down their farm system.

The original point by the OP...:

Yanks don't really need a farm system when they spend big bucks for the best free agents. Somehow you equated this to Young, Crede, Cabrera, Harris, etc...

The thing that the Yankees do so very well is keep their players. Very rarely are you going to see their players going somewhere else for more money because its just not there. They target their core group of players and compensate them very well; for that they are asked to play and behave a certain way- totally professional and poised. And if they need more pieces to fit the puzzle they have the revenue stream to go out and get what they want. Understand that there is tremendous pressure playing for the Yankees also, if you screw up in a game the media, both local and national let you have it. I guess it's all part of playing for the team.

Did you notice my post before this that listed all of the key players the Yankees have that came up through their system?

Exactly, someone questions the number of key players the Yanks buy and you compare that with mediocre talent signing by other teams. Your "every club" comment is just white noise and not pertinent to the OP.

the only reason the yankees have a farm system is because they can afford to sign the high dollar draft picks that other teams pass on.

most small market teams focus on the players that are the most signable and not the best overall talent.

just take a look at the peter strasburg kid. the nationals almost passed on him for fear of not being able to sign him. most people say he's one of the best pitchers to come along in like 20 years.

How much does a farm team really cost to run? These guys are paid peanuts, so if you can get one good player out of there every few years, good deal. Also gives them someone to trade if another team desires a player. Plus it gives them the opportunity to pull someone up for just a couple games if needed, then send them back without having to find and sign someone.

some of these draft picks are getting signing bonuses in the $4-6 million dollar range... hardly peanuts.

This is directly from the minor league website:

What do Minor League players earn?

Minor League Baseball player contracts are handled by the Major League Baseball office. Here are the salary ranges:

First contract season: $1,100/month maximum. After that, open to negotiation

Alien Salary Rates: Different for aliens on visas--mandated by INS (Immigration).

Meal Money: $20 per day at all levels, while on the road


I will agree there are those that can fetch a sizable signing bonus, but its not given. If a team is paying 4-6 million for a draft they are probably pretty sure they are headed for the bigs. I'm saying a farm team can be more there to find someone that breaks out later in there career (after HS and college, etc). Also provides returning MLB players a good opportunity to get some practice before returning after an injury. Doesn't make sense not to have one.

What do you mean mediocre talent? Joe Nathan was a mediocre talant signing?

Exactly. They get the best players in the major leagues, and are able to get the best players or at least the best talent in the draft because of money. Also, since there are no rules on who can have who when it comes to international signings, the money reigns supreme over there as well.

No, I meant Delm...
Or Cred...
How about Cabre...
Punt...
Pova..
Redm...
Harr...
JJ...

I guess you are right! The Twins went out and bought the best money can buy!

When we signed Joe Nathan, he wasnt even a closer, we had no idea what he was going to become when we traded for him.

a post season time bomb?

No, they bought the best they were willing to pay for.