Yankees activate Curtis Granderson, option Vidal Nuno to Triple-A

May 14, 2013 by Mike Axisa 70 Comments

The Yankees have officially activated Curtis Granderson off the 15-day DL, the team announced. In a corresponding move, Vidal Nuno to optioned down to Triple-A. That’s no surprise after yesterday’s start rendered him unavailable for at least the next three days. The fresh Brett Marshall remains with the team as the long man for the time being.

Get Phelps Up

Great news! Hopefully Benny F. is gone for Adams tomorrow.
- Robinson Tilapia
  
  I, gulp, hate to say this, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see Nelson or Gonzalez gone instead.
  
  If they truly intend on giving Adams the chance to play everyday until Youk comes back, you’ll have SS covered with Nix and wheover doesn’t go.
  
  I do wonder, though that, if what Francisco would now become is a true fifth outfielder, whether Mesa and his gazillion strikeouts would be a better fit for the main roster as some late-inning speed and defense.
  - http://www.twitter.com/mattpat11 Matt DiBari
    
    Plus. neither Nelson nor Gonzalez have the pictures
  - http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
    
    Pretty sure it’ll be Nelson since Gonzalez can play SS.
    - Brian S.
      
      So when exactly does Francisco get cut?
      - Robinson Tilapia
        
        My thought is cut him for Mesa, who could actually fit as a fifth outfielder type, anyway.
        
        Let’s see what happens with Hafner, though.
        
        Robinson Tilapia
        
        Whoops. Didn’t realize I said just that above.
Greg

what is actually fun is seeing the contributions the young pitchers have made. We should spend the rest of this year determining what roles guys like Phelps, Warren, (Pineda), Nuno, Claibone, etc can play. That will help determine what to do about Hughes, and will prepare us for the day of no Pettite or Kuroda.
- BFDeal
  
  No, they (not we) should spend the rest of the year focused on making the playoffs.
- Robinson Tilapia
  
  Claiborne remains in the bullpen until someone more effective takes his spot, if that actually happens.
  
  Phelps remains in the rotation under pretty much the same conditions.
  
  Warren in 2013 is David Phelps from 2012.
  
  Pineda focuses on getting back to form, and both he and Nuno spend the year making a case that they’re better than David Phelps and Adam Warren.
  
  Ivan Nova tries to figure out what happens when things go right for him, then goes and stands in front of the line with Pineda and Nuno in it.
  
  Mark Montgomery tries to get his secondary pitches where they need to get and focuses on 2014.
  
  Stairs, obviously, lurks.
Eddard

I’d take Chad Curtis or Curtis Pride over Ben Francisco right now. He does nothing and survives yet again. At least Nelson is giving some offense.
- Leg-End
  
  I’d say he’s gone the moment Adams become eligible, I can live with that.
- Curtis Pride
  
  WHAT????
  - jsbrendog
    
    i get it. cause he was deaf.
Robinson Tilapia

I feel like we’ve been on this long, but good, drive, and are finally starting to see the “Exit – 5 miles” signs for our destination showing us.

WELCOME BACK, CURTIS!!!!
- Robinson Tilapia
  
  “showing up”
- flamingo
  
  This exactly. Next up: Tex, the All Star break, and both A-Rod and Jeter. (Thinking positive thoughts here.)
  - Robinson Tilapia
    
    I have this fantasy of Lyle Overbay accepting a AAA assignment nce Tex comes back because he loves it so much here and wants to be around in September for the stretch run.
    
    These are baseball players, though. Who am I kidding?
    - flamingo
      
      I’m more flabbergasted by the fact that keeping Lyle Overbay around is an option that doesn’t make me want to vomit.
      - Robinson Tilapia
        
        Hey, he really has ressurected his career in pinstripes. Good for him.
  - Brian S.
    
    Probably Youkilis even before Teix right? And then we’ll be following Pineda starts in AAA in a few weeks too.
    - Robinson Tilapia
      
      I sure hope so with Youk.
    - flamingo
      
      Yeah, good point! I’d completely forgotten about Youkilis. Oops.
- jsbrendog
  
  “you should’ve bought a squirrel”
- mustang (The Has Been & Wannabes Bunch 2013)
  
  Agree.
  
  I just get the feeling that some in the “The Has Been & Wannabes Bunch 2013” are going to hit a wall soon so its good to have some reinforcement.
  
  Cano, Gardner, and Hafner all look like they can use some rest.
I’mVernonI’mVernon4U

Welcome back Grandyman!
Jon

Feel bad for Vidal, wow great game kid. Heres a bus ticket
- Robinson Tilapia
  
  It’s called “riding the shuttle,” and it’s happened to the best of them. He’ll be back. Don’t feel too bad.
  - emac2
    
    The bus feels so much better when other people are on it and it has a cool name like Shuttle
    - Robinson Tilapia
      
      Hey, David Robertson rode that shuttle plenty his first season. He lived.
- mustang (The Has Been & Wannabes Bunch 2013)
  
  Feel bad, but the kid showed he belongs and built up some credit with the FO.
  
  He is 25, a starter, and left-handed he not going anywhere.
- pat
  
  And a pro rated 365k salary for the rest of the year. He doin aight.
Mandy Stankiewicz

It’s been weird not hearing Vinnie shout, ‘YO, CURTIS!’
Welcome back, my dude!
- Mandy Stankiewicz
  
  that is, if he plays center field again…
Gonzo

Nuno Time takes a breather. Good job by a guy with a great name.
Naved

So finally a Gardner – Granderson – Ichiro outfield?

Yeah they going to cover a ton of ground
- Winter
  
  I hope it’s a Wells-Gardner-Granderson outfield.
VCR1111

Can’t wait for those 1-5 3Ks and a homer games. Can’t wait for those 1-for-18 ruts with 9Ks run. Can’t wait for the shifts, and the slumps to return. But the ball goes a long way when they hit them. Me like ball when go far. Woohoo!! Grandy, Tex, Arod…we’re waiting.
- steve (different one)
  
  Yankee fan problems: waaah, the classy guy who hits 40+ HRs every year is coming back, and now we might have to sit Ichiro a few times a week and now there will be some more strikeouts!!
  
  Met fan problems: wow, things are so bad we had to sign Rick Ankiel to start in the OF
  - Robinson Tilapia
    
    Thank you.
  - flamingo
    
    Not gonna lie, the power is awesome, but so are Curtis’s measured, thoughtful responses to all interview questions. I’m looking forward to those, too. The guy’s a class act.
    - VCR1111
      
      Granderson is a GREAT guy (by all accounts). Never questioned that. The argument I am trying to make (and I appreciate this blog because most respondents have a respectful conversation) is not that the folks we have on the roster now are better than those coming off the DL. Never did I advocate replacing Tex with Overbay or replacing Granderson with Ichiro. The fact is players like Tex and Granderson are susceptible to prolonged slumps. The key to a winning offense in baseball is not run production but sustained run production. Sustained being the key word.
      
      Example: Let’s assume (for discussion sake) a season is 10 games long.
      
      Player 1 from Team A gets 15 hits in those 10 games. Games 1-5 he gets 2 hits each, game 6-7 held hitless, game 8 3 hits, game 9-10 1 hit. Total 15 hits.
      
      Player 2 from Team B also gets 15 hits in those 10 games. However Games 1-5 he gets 0 hits, game 6-7 monster game, 5 hits each, game 8-9 0 hits, and game 10 another monster 5 hit game.
      
      I see Granderson and Tex more as this Player 2 example. Someone who has the ability to be a dominant player but can go into stretches like we have recently see doom the Yanks in the playoffs where hits are non-existent.
      - Robinson Tilapia
        
        And if you would have presented this first, instead of what you presented above and below, you would have gotten more thoughtful responses.
        
        Don’t confuse this for a second for me wanting to engage in the discussion.
        
        VCR1111
        
        Who are you? Confused about you wanting to engage in a discussion? If you don’t want to comment on the post…fine. Bye.
      - http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
        
        Focusing on raw hit totals is pointless if you don’t consider the quality of the hits.
        
        VCR1111
        
        The point was that Player 2 only had 3 games where he had hits, so the quality of the hits really doesn’t take into effect since it’s just 3 games. The other 7 games he was absent and could cost the team with his lack of production. Player 1 is more likely to contribute in more wins.
        
        http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
        
        And more likely to contribute to losses by never having a big game. Walks, steals, power, etc. all matter too.
        
        Winter
        
        To put some numbers to the issue:
        
        In 2012 Curtis Granderson was 6th on the team in WPA. Teixeira was 2nd (Cano was first)
        In 2011 Curtis Granderson was 2nd on the team in WPA and Teixeira was 3rd (again Cano was first)
        
        Whether you see them as “streaky” or not, Granderson and Teixeira help the team win.
  - Jay
    
    Hahaha true. Grandy coming back is a good thing. Yankees need some more run producers. Granderson will strike out a lot, but he’s a run producer.
- Winter
  
  Ichiro’s OPS+ since 2010: 97
  Granderson’s OPS+ since 2010: 123
  If you only look at 2011-present it’s 129 to 89 in favor of Curtis.
  
  But yeah, sometimes he strikes out. I’d definitely prefer a singles hitter who can no longer hit singles.
  \sarcasm
  - VCR1111
    
    Who brought the Mets into the discussion…who bought up sitting Granderson because Ichiro is better. How quickly we forget…remember how most on here was asking for Kevin Long to be fired?? His name hasn’t come up much at all huh? How quickly we forget. All you have to do is type in Yankee slump in google and BOOM…article after article on the Grandy Man and Tex “mysterious slumps”. Can’t wait for those 1-5 games!:
    
    http://riveraveblues.com/2012/08/the-curtis-granderson-slump-74129/
    
    http://riveraveblues.com/2013/02/must-click-link-mark-teixeira-on-the-declining-and-overpaid-mark-teixeira-81946/
    
    http://riveraveblues.com/2011/08/the-all-or-nothing-mark-teixeira-54962/
    
    http://riveraveblues.com/2012/05/on-offensive-slumps-and-frustration-68687/
    - http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
      
      Height of stupidity.
      - VCR1111
        
        Wow…and you are a founder of this blog, and that’s the way you talk to someone who participates in it. Shame. Height of stupidity was actually engaging and reading your posts I guess. Just lost a reader.
        
        jsbrendog
        
        don’t let the door hitcha where the good lawd splitcha
        
        Robinson Tilapia
        
        Tonight, the debut of new commenter DVD2222!
        
        Robinson Tilapia
        
        I highly doubt that.
        
        BFDeal
        
        Good.
    - Robinson Tilapia
      
      “remember how most on here was asking for Kevin Long to be fired??”
      
      No.
      - VCR1111
        
        Read the links. You’ll find it there.
        
        Robinson Tilapia
        
        From who, though?
        
        If you’ve been here long enough, you know how to separate the nonsense from folks who actually know what they’re talking about. Something like “Fire Kevin Long” is something you may have read several time in threads on here……from the typical crowd of overreactors. Is that really going to be your metric here? C’mon, man.
        
        BFDeal
        
        +1
        
        BFDeal
        
        Just read the links…only about three people were screaming to fire Long. Three doesn’t equal “most”.
- Betty Lizard
  
  Dearest VCR1111:
  
  Bite me.
  
  Fondly,
  
  Betty
  
  (No patience today. None.)
  - VCR1111
    
    Awww…you have no patience today. You said bite me…how cute.
    - Betty Lizard
      
      I’ve been around that ~~trashy behavior~~ stupidity all my life, I’m gettin’ tired of puttin’ up with it. Now you can stay out of this pool hall, out of my cafe, and my picture show too – I don’t want no more of your business.
      - VCR1111
        
        What?
- Steve (different one)
  
  Man, I just thought it was funny that the Mets had to sign Rick Ankeil while we’re worried about how to fit an above average player back into our lineup.
  
  Sorry I started this….
trr

Granderson comes in, Hafner goes out (maybe)
So it goes
- Winter
  
  I’d much rather have Granderson, though.
|!| B |) @ [@$ |-| |V| @ |\|

Hopefully Thomas Neal comes back and gets called up in place of B -Fran