Comments on: Yankees Sign Murphy For $1.25 Million

By: AEC

AEC — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:55:49 +0000

The Yankees are the most mystifying team of the draft. Remember Lance Parrish’s kid?

No team consistently overdrafts players like the Yanks, and then last year they won’t pay Gerrit Cole.

When they draft and sign a kid like Phil Hughes that is what stands out. In the last ten years Hughes is probably the only high school talent like that who they drafted and signed in the first round. Gerrit Cole would have been the second.

Why? They have all the money in the world but seem to refuse to use it here.

By: John Manuel

John Manuel — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:58:51 +0000

You made the point that he was considered a fifth-round talent; I was refuting that. I wasn’t approaching your other point, that he’s not worth $1.25 million. I am of the opinion that the Yankees’ recent draft track record, in terms of the money they throw around at players, has not been fruitful. They overpaid for Ian Kennedy, Andrew Brackman, Carmen Angelini, Dellin Betances, Bradley Suttle . . . I know there are others, and some of the guys they’ve given a lot of money in recent years are off to good starts, such as D.J. Mitchell. But in general, it seems the Yanks aren’t getting huge bang for their bucks in the draft, so signing Murphy for $1.25 million fits that track record. Let’s hope for Murphy’s sake that his career gets off to a better start than those of Angelini, Brackman, etc.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:47:40 +0000

John,
You stated that if you beleive in his catching skills then he was worth a 2nd round pick, but BBA had him as a 3rd rounder. You seem to have missed the point. The Yanks paid him as if he was a mid 1st round selection in a draft that they did not pick some guys becuase they claim to have had a restrictive budget – They gave Murphy twice what even you thought on his high side he could get!

By: Steven

Steven — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:43:26 +0000

Has there been any word on the Yankees signing Chad Thompson or not?

By: John Manuel

John Manuel — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:08:41 +0000

For what it’s worth, Mark, we had Murphy in the top 100 (No. 95, to be precise), which is a top-three-rounds guy. He wasn’t seen as a fifth-round pick here; the only question was the defensive position. No one I talked to questioned his bat, just the profile. If you believe in him behind the plate, then he’s definitely in play in the second round.

By: Bob Michaels

Bob Michaels — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:42:16 +0000

They had to go that high, the system in now healthy with catching prospects. Posada turned 38 today.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:36:18 +0000

Nice to see that the Yanks continue to over pay what a person’s worth. They paid mid-1st $’s for a guy who was seen as 5th round pick. No one thought he even expected more then 2nd round money.

By: Yanks Sign 2nd Round Pick

Yanks Sign 2nd Round Pick — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:36:35 +0000

[...] Again, courtesy of Baseball America, the Yanks have come to terms with their second round pick (JR Murphy). He signed a healthy, $1.25M bonus. [...]