Archive for Asides
Granderson singles, plays right field in first Triple-A rehab game
Posted by: | CommentsIn his first minor league rehab game with Triple-A Scranton, Curtis Granderson went 1-for-3 with an infield single and two ground ball outs. He played seven innings in right field and only had to make two plays — retrieve a double from the corner and reel in a single hit in front of him. The seven innings thing was planned according to Donnie Collins, and it’ll probably be a few days before Granderson plays a full nine innings. I suspect he’ll see time in all three outfield spots as well.
2013 Draft: Baseball America Mock Draft v1.0
Posted by: | CommentsJim Callis of Baseball America posted his first mock draft today, and the link is free for all. You don’t need a subscription. He has the Astros and Cubs taking Stanford RHP Mark Appel and former Yankees draft pick/Oklahoma RHP Jonathan Gray first and second overall, respectively, which is no surprise. Those two are the clear top two prospects this spring.
The Yankees have three first round picks, and Callis has them taking Notre Dame 3B Eric Jagielo (#26), New Jersey HS LHP Rom Kaminsky (#32), and Oklahoma HS C Jon Denney (#33) with those picks. I wrote up profiles on Jagielo and Kaminsky, and Denney is the classic offensive-minded catcher the Yankees always crave. He’s a right-handed bat who projects to hit for both power and average, but although he has a strong arm and quick release, his defense needs work overall. Scouting director Damon Oppenheimer has drafted just one college bat higher than the third round during his tenure, so Jagielo would be bucking the trend with that 26th pick.
Damon Oppenheimer speaks out in favor of pre-draft physicals
Posted by: | CommentsVia George King (subs. req’d): Scouting director Damon Oppenheimer wants baseball to begin giving pre-draft physicals to draft prospects every year. “Baseball is in the dark ages,” he said. “We are the only sport that doesn’t do pre-draft physicals … We go into this thing blind. Without the physical, you make an assumption.”
The Yankees, of course, have gotten burned in recent years by drafting players who turned out to be injured. A pre-signing physical showed an “abnormality” in first rounder Ty Hensley‘s pitching shoulder last year, and you can also go back to recent second rounders Sam Stafford (2011, shoulder) and Scott Bittle (2008, shoulder). Yeah, I think every scouting director of every club would love pre-draft physicals. Examining the 1,500+ draft eligible players every year is not feasible, but the top 200 prospects (according to MLB’s Scouting Bureau) are drug tested before the draft. Those guys should undergo a physical as well.
Wednesday Night Open Thread
Posted by: | CommentsAnother game against the Rockies means another 8:40pm ET start, so here’s an open thread to hold you over until the regular game thread. The Mets are playing and ESPN is showing Red Sox-Twins, plus you’ve got NHL (Rangers!) and NBA playoff action. Talk about any and all. Enjoy.
Curtis Granderson to join Triple-A Scranton tomorrow
Posted by: | CommentsVia Donnie Collins: Curtis Granderson will join Triple-A Scranton tomorrow, officially starting his 20-day rehab stint. He’s expected to play four or five games with the team. The 32-year-old slugger hit a homer and played all three outfield positions during an Extended Spring Training game today. Barring any setbacks, it sounds like Granderson could join the Yankees within a week.
Newman: Ty Hensley expected to miss all of 2013
Posted by: | CommentsVia Chad Jennings: VP of Baseball Ops Mark Newman confirmed right-hander Ty Hensley is likely to miss the entire 2013 season after having surgery to repair labrum damage in his hip. “Spring Training,” said Newman when asked about a target return date.
Hensley, 19, was the team’s first round pick (30th overall) last summer. He agreed to a $1.6M bonus shortly after the draft, but a pre-signing physical revealed a shoulder “abnormality” and the bonus was adjusted down to $1.2M. I can’t say this is the most surprising news in the world — hip surgery is always pretty serious and when Yankees’ pitching prospects get hurt, they usually stay hurt for a while. I think we’re beyond the point of calling all these minor league pitching injuries bad luck.
Ivan Nova and Monday’s doubleheader
Posted by: | CommentsVia George King & Chad Jennings: Joe Girardi confirmed Ivan Nova is a candidate to start one game of Monday’s doubleheader against the Indians if he comes through today’s Extended Spring Training game well. “As long as he feels good and throws the ball well (it’s possible),” said the skipper. “We are allowed to add that 26th man [for doubleheaders].”
Nova, 26, is on the DL with a triceps issue and is eligible to be activated on Sunday. I’m probably reading too much into this, but I thought it was interesting Girardi mentioned the 26th man. The rules say the 26th player has to go back to the minors immediately following the doubleheader, so either they’ll have to rearrange the bullpen — technically send down Vidal Nuno or Preston Claiborne, called them back up as the 26th man — or Nova’s going to minors to work on things following that game. My money’s on the former.
Tuesday Night Open Thread
Posted by: | CommentsThe Yankees are in Colorado to play the Rockies, which means they’re in the Mountain Time Zone. That means we have to wait longer than usual for baseball. The game doesn’t start until 8:40pm ET, so here’s an open thread to tide you over until the regular game thread goes up. The Mets (and Matt Harvey!) are playing the White Sox, MLB Network is airing a game (teams depend on where you live), plus there’s NBA (Knicks!) and NHL (Isles!) playoff action going on. Plenty of ways to kill the time.
Cervelli still five weeks away from resuming baseball activities
Posted by: | CommentsVia Anthony McCarron: Frankie Cervelli said he is still five weeks away from resuming baseball activities due to his broken right hand. He’ll begin hand strengthening exercises in three weeks and is not eligible to come off the DL until early-July. Basically the All-Star break.
Cervelli, 27, was expected to miss at least six weeks when he suffered the injury 11 days ago, but the Yankees acknowledged that timetable wasn’t going to happen when they placed him on the 60-day DL last week. That whole “at least” part was pretty important. Chris Stewart hasn’t hit a lick since being thrust into a full-time role and it’s clear Joe Girardi has little trust in Austin Romine right now, so losing Cervelli for two months is a pretty big deal. I doubt they look to make a trade for a backstop, but they should.
Girardi hedges against Granderson remaining in center field
Posted by: | CommentsVia Brian Heyman: Joe Girardi hedged a bit when talking about Curtis Granderson‘s position yesterday. “We’ll decide that as time goes on,” said the skipper. “We’ve talked about Grandy; we just want to get him healthy … We might toy around with some other things (with Granderson), left, right, other things. He’s getting reps everywhere right now.”
Granderson, 32, has been playing all three outfield spots during his rehab in Extended Spring Training. Brian Cashman has said they will keep him in center when he returns from his broken forearm, though this stuff is never official until he actually gets back out on the field. The team’s best all-around outfield probably has Granderson in left, Brett Gardner in center and Vernon Wells in right, but I’m guessing we’ll see some kind of rotation when (if) everyone’s healthy. Hopefully they make a final decision soon though, I’m sure everyone involved would like to have some clarity.
