Who is Melky Mesa and why is he on the Yankees’ 40-man roster?

The Yankees added Melky Mesa to the 40-man roster. But why?

Chad Gaudin and Royce Ring were both outrighted to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, removing them from the 40-man roster. Gaudin immediately elected free agency.

Filling one of those spots is toolsy outfielder Melky Mesa. Mesa would have been eligible for free agency had he not been added to the 40-man, hence this move being made immediately before other players are protected from the Rule 5.

OK. Now who is this Mesa guy?

Well, he’s a 23-year-old outfielder in the low minor league levels of the Yankees organization. He’s a career .236 hitter, but he’s coming off his best year to date with the Tampa Yankees.

Here are his career minor league statistics (all from the Gulf Coast League and three levels of A-ball).

And below are some links to Mesa’s scouting reports from last winter:

• Scouting the Sally
• Blogging About Baseball

Giants prove pitching wins championships

Take notes, Brian Cashman. The Giants won the World Series with dominant pitching and a little bit of hitting. Here are the numbers:

Postseason Stats	Team ERA	Team WHIP	Team BA	Team OPS
Giants	2.47	1.01	.237	.670
Rangers	3.70	1.17	.255	.738
Yankees	5.01	1.47	.241	.739

The trend isn’t too hard to spot. Between the two World Series teams and the Yankees, the champion had the best pitching and the worst hitting statistics.

I expect the Yankees to make at least one big splash on the free agent market this offseason. I’m hoping Cashman will fish the pitching market, rather than the hitting market.

Post: Yanks, Long reach three-year deal

One week after letting go of pitching coach Dave Eiland and then re-signing manager Joe Girardi, the Yankees have agreed to re-sign Kevin Long to a three-year deal, according to the New York Post.

The Post reported Long will receive a raise from his previous deal, which earned him $400K annually.

The Post also reported bullpen coach Mike Harkey is a “strong candidate” to replace Eiland as pitching coach.

Nothing here is official, but assuming it’s true, I of course am not complaining. Several Yankees raved about Long the past few years. And I can’t say I’ve heard the same about Eiland.

As for Harkey, here are his career pitching stats:

Berkman and Wood fit for Yankees in 2011

The Yankees last week declined 2011 options on Lance Berkman, Kerry Wood and Nick Johnson. It’s almost certain Johnson won’t be back in pinstripes next year, but I believe Berkman and Wood fit right into next year’s puzzle.

Just to clarify, the Yanks declined their options because of their overpriced contracts.

Berkman's option was for $15 million, Wood's for $11 million and Johnson's for $5.5 million.

On Soon-to-Be 35-Year-Old Berkman:
Although Berkman is bound for Houston again, I think Berkman at a discount would fit nicely with the Yankees in 2011. He’s definitely in line for a serious pay cut, as his six-year, $85 million deal just expired and his numbers are in great decline.

Unfortunately, it’s a “two-way street,” as my pal said. Berkman probably wants to go back home to Houston. Perhaps Andy Pettitte’s decision to return or not will impact Berkman’s. We’ll see how this all plays out, but I think the best-case scenario is he’s back in pinstripes on a one-year, $5 million deal with a club option.

On 33-Year-Old Wood:
Do I really have to explain? He allowed two earned in 26 innings for the Yankees in the second half. He earned a new contract. As far as I’m concerned, he’s first in line to take Mariano Rivera’s place if the unthinkable happens (or if he gets injured).

Poll Results: Time for Cano to move up

The majority of voters in my latest poll said Robinson Cano should hit third in 2011, rather than Mark Teixeira.

Cano only has 19 at-bats in the three-hole in his regular-season career. Even more surprisingly, just 12.5 percent of his career at-bats have come from any of the top four spots. That’s not the number you would expect from a leading MVP candidate this year.

For Cano Hitting Third:
He was undeniably the best hitter for the Yankees in 2010. That reason alone could convince some people to switch him with Teixeira. Some people have argued a higher OBP is necessary to hit third. Well, in 2010 Cano reached base 38.1 percent of the time compared to Teixeira’s 36.5 percent.

For Teixeira Hitting Third:
As Tom Moccia put it on Twitter, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” That’s absolutely a valid point. The Yankees led the league in runs scored last year, and Teixeira hitting third in 157 games definitely factored into that.

Prediction:
I think this will be one of the questions Joe Girardi will answer in spring training. As always with spring training, the decision won’t be based on stats; it will be judged by the quality of Cano’s at-bats, his feedback and Kevin Long’s opinion. I’ll predict now Cano and Teixeira will swap places for 2011. However, one big free agent signing could change my opinion.

Next poll: Should the Yankees invest in a full-time DH?