Grading Each Knicks Center at the All-Star Break

The 2016-2017 season has moved along at a rapid pace, and the Knicks have been a massive disappointment in the Eastern Conference. As a team that bulked up in the off-season, all eyes were on New York to see if they could compete for a playoff spot for the first time since 2012-2013. Since that time, the franchise has hit a major snag and will enter the All-Star Break with more questions than answers. 

Wily Hernangomez (pictured) has been an incredible find by the Knicks

In this article, we will grade each center on the Knicks and provide a quick recap for what they have done this year. 

Grades for Guards: HERE

Grades for Forwards: HERE

Grading Each Knicks Forward at the All-Star Break

The 2016-2017 season has moved along at a rapid pace, and the Knicks have been a massive disappointment in the Eastern Conference. As a team that bulked up in the off-season, all eyes were on New York to see if they could compete for a playoff spot for the first time since 2012-2013. Since that time, the franchise has hit a major snag and will enter the All-Star Break with more questions than answers. 

Carmelo Anthony (left) and Kristaps Porzingis (right)

In this article, we will grade each forward on the Knicks and provide a quick recap for what they have done this year. Please make sure to keep an eye out for the other positions, which will be released within the coming days. 

Grades for Guards: HERE

Grades for Centers: HERE

Grading Each Knicks Guard at the All-Star Break

The 2016-2017 season has moved along at a rapid pace, and the Knicks have been a massive disappointment in the Eastern Conference. As a team that bulked up in the off-season, all eyes were on New York to see if they could compete for a playoff spot for the first time since 2012-2013. Since that time, the franchise has hit a major snag and will enter the All-Star Break with more questions than answers. 

Ron Baker (left) speaks to Courtney Lee (right)

In this article, we will grade each guard on the Knicks and provide a quick recap for what they have done this year. Please make sure to keep an eye out for the other positions, which will be released within the coming days.

Grades for Forwards: HERE

Grades for Centers: HERE

Giants part ways with Cruz and Jennings

On Monday, the New York Giants announced that they released wide receiver Victor Cruz and running back Rashad Jennings, thus clearing up a significant amount of salary-cap space. 

It appears that Victor Cruz's time in NY is over

Cruz, now 30 years old, had made his NFL debut in 2010 and quickly transformed into an elite receiver by the 2012 campaign. That year, the New Jersey native racked up 1092 receiving yards with 10 touchdown catches. However, his career began to diminish in 2014, as a torn patella tendon kept him out of action for two seasons. Cruz made his return to the gridiron in 2016, but had just 39 catches for 586 yards as he was stuck behind both Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard on the team's depth chart. 

Cruz took a major pay cut to remain with the Giants last year, and it would not be unreasonable to hope that he is brought back at a reduced rate. Despite the injuries, Cruz still believes he has plenty to offer, saying "I think I have a lot of good football left ahead of me. I think there is still a lot of miles left on this body." 

By releasing Cruz, the Giants are saving roughly $10 million against the salary cap, and that money is expected to be used to replenish areas of weakness, such as running back or defensive end. 

New York has saved over $12 million by cutting Cruz (left) and Jennings (right)

For Rashad Jennings, the 31 year old averaged a mere 3.3 yards per carry in 2016, which was a far cry from his 4.4 ratio in 2015. The veteran, who had been in the third season of a four year, $14 million pact, was let go particularly due to his lackluster performance, as well as the emergence of Paul Perkins. 

Cutting Jennings will save New York about $2.5 million in cap space, and his return to Big Blue is certainly less likely than Victor Cruz. The team already has the aforementioned Perkins, in addition to Shane Vereen and Orleans Darkwa. It is also possible that the Giants aim higher and target Adrian Peterson, who has shown interest in joining New York. 

Overall, the Giants absolutely had to make both of these moves. While the loss of Cruz is a tough pill to swallow for the die-hard fans, the team is far better off with the young duo of Beckham Jr. and Shepard, and could use the money elsewhere on the roster. While the Giants could bring back the oft-injured veteran, his status seems up in the air after he posted this on Instagram following his transaction. 

With Jennings, he had looked off all season in 2016, and Perkins simply passed him on the pecking order. The Giants clearly had issues with their running game last year, and GM Jerry Reese will be actively surveying the market once free agency officially opens on March 9th. 

Yankees ink Chris Carter to one year deal

The New York Yankees have agreed to a one year, $3 million contract with first baseman Chris Carter. The 30-year old will receive a $500K signing bonus and is eligible for $100K in incentives each time he reaches 250, 300, 350, 400, and 450 plate appearances. 

Carter spent the 2016 season with the Milwaukee Brewers, finishing with 94 RBI and a league-leading 41 home runs. With supreme power like that on the open market, some were surprised that he was not scooped up faster by a power-starved team. However, the one way to justify Carter's market, or lack thereof, was the fact that he struck out 206 times (in 644 plate appearances) and hit a mere .222/.321/.499 in 160 games.

Carter led the NL in HR (41) in 2016

Carter has always been a "high-strikeout, high-power" type of player, and the Yankees have every reason to expect that to continue. It will be very interesting to see how they handle the five-team veteran, as they already have youngster Greg Bird and 37-year old Matt Holliday slated to man first base. Of-course, the Yankees will need a designated hitter, so it is safe to say that we will see Carter in that role at some point. 

At first glance, one may see Carter as a player that smashes lefties, but that is not actually the case with the seven-year veteran. In his career, Carter has hit .221/.337/.459 against southpaws, and .217/.303/.466 with 105 of his 150 career home runs coming off of right-handed pitching. 

So, what can we make of this? It appears that Carter is much more patient at the plate when squaring up against left-handers, as his on-base percentage is over 30 points higher than the other side. Also, his 13.1% walk ratio against left-handers is slightly better than the 11.4% ratio against right-handers, but this statistic has fluctuated quite a bit in Carter's MLB career. For some reason, Carter's power dramatically spikes when he faces right-handed pitching, and 2016 was no different, as 29 of his home runs came against right handers. 

Overall, I think that this is an excellent signing by GM Brian Cashman and the Yankees. The team is getting themselves an elite power threat for under $4 million, and as we have seen, Yankee Stadium has proved to treat it's hitters very well. While his role remains unknown, I believe he will be the full-time designated hitter since his splits do not necessarily make him the ideal candidate to platoon with Greg Bird. 

It is always interesting to see what kind of deals players get around this time of the year since desperation begins to set in with Spring Training right around the corner. The Yankees did a great job in waiting out the market for Carter, and should continue to use the same tactic to build their rotation depth. 

Mets re-sign Jerry Blevins to one year deal

On Friday afternoon, the Mets reportedly came to an agreement with pitcher Jerry Blevins on a one year contract. The deal will be worth $6 million and includes a 2018 club option. New York had been connected to the veteran southpaw all off-season, and were at one point willing to give him a two year deal. Upon signing Blevins, the team had made two prior moves that day: bringing in left-hander Tom Gorzelanny and reuniting with Fernando Salas.

Blevins will suit up for his third season in the Big Apple

Blevins was acquired by the Mets back in March 2015 in exchange for outfielder Matt den Dekker. He managed to appear in just seven games during the 2015 year as a result of two major shoulder injuries, but redeemed himself in 2016. This past season, Blevins pitched to a 2.79 ERA in 72 outings while sporting a 3.2 BB/9 and 11.1 SO/9 ratio. 

Serving as the Mets' left-handed specialist, the 33-year old surprisingly fared much better against right-handed batters, as they hit a minuscule .182/.266/.345 in 65 plate appearances. Left-handed hitters went .255/.313/.324 in 113 plate appearances, and that certainly does raise some cause for concern. Nevertheless, Blevins proved that he was capable of handling situational outings as well as full inning workloads.

In a recent article, we took a look at Blevins' numbers in comparison to the other left-handed relievers on the roster. In his career, he has held lefties to a .214 average, so the Mets will hope that 2016 was a fluke for Blevins. 

While the Mets did not absolutely need to make this move, it shows the fan-base that the team is determined to beef up the bullpen as much as possible. Blevins should get the first crack at the left-handed specialist position, but he does have Josh Edgin, Josh Smoker, and Tom Gorzelany behind him on the depth chart if needed. 

As someone who has made a maximum of $4 million in a single season, Blevins is receiving a considerable salary boost here. However, I applaud Sandy Alderson for waiting the market out and talking the veteran down as much as possible.  

Mets bring back Fernando Salas

Salas received a $600K increase in salary from 2016

The Mets have agreed to re-sign pitcher Fernando Salas on a one-year, $3 million deal. According to Steve Adams of MLBTR, the hurler can earn an extra $350K in incentives. Salas started the 2016 year with the Los Angeles Angels, but was traded to the Mets on August 31 in exchange for prospect Eric Manoah. With New York, the reliever posted a 2.08 ERA in 17 appearances out of the bullpen. Additionally, he sported a 9.9 SO/9 ratio and, amazingly, did not walk a single batter in his entire Mets tenure. 

Once regarded as the St. Louis Cardinals' closer of the foreseeable future, Salas has been inconsistent over the past five seasons. However, since 2014, his career had begun to discover some stability. During that time period, he put up a combined 3.86 ERA in 204 appearances while posting a 2.1 BB/9 and 9.1 SO/9 ratio. 

Interestingly enough, Salas has had a decent amount of success against left-handed hitters in his career, holding them to a .239/.294/.383 clip. Conversely, right-handed batters have hit .225/.284/.393 in almost 900 total plate appearances. 

Right now, with the expected suspension of closer Jeurys Familia looming, the Mets will need Salas to play a key role in holding the bullpen together. Addison Reed will take over and be the team's temporary closer, leaving room for Salas to step in and and serve as New York's setup man. 

Let's take a closer look to see how Salas stacks up against his fellow relievers on the Mets. 

Career #’s	Salas	Reed	Robles	Goeddel	Lugo*	Wheeler*
v. RHP	.225	.242	.250	.212	.240	.225
v. LHP	.239	.235	.174	.216	.196	.259
BB/9	2.6	2.5	3.7	3.2	3.0	3.9
SO/9	8.9	9.6	10.0	9.0	6.3	8.5
H/9	7.8	8.2	7.2	7.1	6.9	8.1

 * Expected to begin the year in the bullpen

The one advantage that Salas has over players like Robles, Goeddel and Lugo is his experience in the bullpen. Robles remains a work-in-progress as he still needs to improve his control and develop a secondary pitch, while Goeddel has had issues with his health and being a consistent performer. 

For Lugo, it is expected that he will serve as the long-man out of the bullpen since he doesn't possess the "strikeout pitch" that teams often look for in their setup men. There lies Wheeler, who has been out of MLB action for two years now. The 26-year old will likely begin the 2017 season out of the bullpen as he looks to revamp his arm strength and return to throwing on a regular basis. Although it is unlikely, Wheeler could see an important role in the bullpen if he stays healthy and possesses the ability to command his pitches. 

Overall, the Salas signing was good work by Sandy Alderson. At $3 million, the price tag isn't too steep and still allows the club to take a hard look at other relievers who remain on the market. With the upcoming suspension of Jeurys Familia, Salas will have a good chance to serve as the team's setup man and reestablish his value in the process.