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Sabathia close to throwing off mound, says knee has “been feeling great”

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Via George King: CC Sabathia is close to throwing off a mound as he rehabs from surgery and stem cell treatment on his right knee. “I will play catch at 90 feet for three or four days and then go to 120 feet and after that probably get off a mound,” he said following the end of the season last weekend. “It feels good after the stem cell. It’s been feeling great. I am definitely coming back.”

Sabathia, 34, was limited to eight starts and 46 innings (5.28 ERA and 4.78 FIP) because of knee problems this year. He says he’s anxious to pitch after missing almost the entire season — “Having almost a year off has gotten the fire back in me. Having baseball taken away from me stunk. I am excited to get going,” he said — but the Yankees have to assume Sabathia can give them nothing in 2015. If he comes back and pitches well, great. But they have to prepare for the worst case scenario, which means adding pitching depth and maybe penciling Shane Greene into the sixth starter’s spot rather than the number five.

Judge ranks 15th among Baseball America’s top 20 FSL prospects

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Baseball America published their list of the top 20 prospects in the Florida State League today as they continue looking at the best players in each minor league in 2014. As always, the list is free but the scouting reports are not. Pirates RHP Tyler Glasnow, Phillies SS J.P. Crawford, and Blue Jays LHP Daniel Norris make up the top three. OF Aaron Judge ranked 15th and is the only Yankees’ farmhand on the list. RHP Luis Severino didn’t throw enough innings with High-A Tampa to qualify.

Judge, 22, hit .283/.411/.442 (149 wRC+) with eight homers in 66 games for Tampa this summer after a midseason promotion from Low-A Charleston. “He has prodigious tools to go with his jumbo frame, yet the separating factor in his success may be his short swing for a man his size … Judge works with a swing geared for the gaps, so his huge raw power may not necessarily translate into future 30-homer seasons … He fits the right-field profile, running well enough for the spot and flashing double-plus arm strength, with improved arm accuracy,” said the scouting report.

The write-up also notes 3B Eric Jagielo had support from league personnel but fell short off the top 20. Others like OF Jake Cave and 1B Greg Bird are good prospects but not top 20 in the entire league material. The Double-A Eastern League is next up, and C Gary Sanchez should make the list while 2B Rob Refsnyder is a good bet as well. Other possibilities include OF Tyler Austin, RHP Bryan Mitchell, and LHP Manny Banuelos. Severino didn’t throw enough innings with Double-A Trenton to qualify.

Other League Top 20s: Low-A South Atlantic League, Short Season NY-Penn League, Rookie Gulf Coast League.

Jeter declines to play in MLB’s November exhibition series in Japan

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Via Steven Marcus: Derek Jeter has declined an invitation to play for a team of MLB All-Stars heading to Japan to play a five-game exhibition series against the Japanese national team in November. Robinson Cano, Adam Jones, Albert Pujols, Yasiel Puig, Jose Altuve, Bryce Harper, and Justin Morneau are the only players committed to play so far. Red Sox skipper John Farrell will manage the team.

Since this is an international promotional event, I’m guessing MLB will want to include someone from the Yankees. I’m just not sure who it will be. I don’t think it’ll be a pitcher since they will have had several weeks off by time the series takes place, which leaves position players like Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Mark Teixeira, and Brian McCann as the likely candidates. Ellsbury (hamstring) and Teixeira (wrist) ended the year hurt. So I guess that leaves Gardner and McCann? I’d be very surprised if MLB sent a team to Japan without a Yankees representative. The pinstripes are way too marketable.

King: Long-time scout Gordon Blakeley leaves Yankees for Braves

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Via George King: Long-time pro scout Gordon Blakeley has left the Yankees for a position with the Braves. He will be a special assistant to their new GM whenever they hire a permanent replacement for the recently fired Frank Wren. King says Blakeley’s contract was up later this month. “I was with the Yankees a long time. But this is a new challenge, and I am looking forward to it,” he said.

Blakeley held a few different positions during his 21 years with the Yankees, including VP of Baseball Ops and head of pro and international scouting. Blakeley had been working in the pro scouting department since 2004, focusing mostly on Latin American prospects. He was the scout who originally signed Robinson Cano, Orlando Hernandez, Jose Contreras, and Phil Hughes, among others. VP of Baseball Ops Mark Newman is retiring and some other player development folks are said to be on the chopping block, so there will be a lot of turnover among the head farm system honchos this winter.

Cuban outfielder Yasmany Tomas declared free agent by MLB

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According to his agent, Cuban outfielder Yasmany Tomas has been declared a free agent by MLB. He already established residency in Haiti and has been unblocked by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, so this was the final step in the process. Tomas is free to sign with any team and he reportedly already has a $75M offer in hand.

Tomas, 23, held a showcase for scouts a week ago and is currently visiting teams for private workouts. It’s unclear if the Yankees have invited him for a private workout — they did have Aledmys Diaz and Rusney Castillo come to Tampa for firsthand looks earlier this year, for what it’s worth — and their level of interest is unknown at this point. Tomas is said to be a middle of the order right-handed hitter with power, and, if true, I think the Yankees should be all over him.

Once again, Yankees led AL in attendance in 2014

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For the 12th consecutive season, the Yankees led the American League in attendance in 2014, according to Maury Brown. The Yankees drew 3,401,624 fans this summer, third most in baseball behind the Dodgers (3,782,337) and Cardinals (3,540,649). The Giants (3,368,697) and Angels (3,095,935) were the only other teams to draw 3M+ fans. The Indians (1,437,393) had MLB’s worst attendance.

The Yankees averaged 41,995 fans per game this season, up from 40,489 last year but down from 43,733 from 2012. Brown says total MLB attendance has dropped 1.5% since 2012 and the Yankees are a bit higher than that (3.9%). They averaged 45,839 fans per game during the first three years of the new Yankee Stadium and 42,072 in the three years since. With no Mariano Rivera or Derek Jeter farewell tour to prop up attendance, the Yankees could take a big hit next year if the team’s on-field performance doesn’t improve dramatically.

Jagielo out 4-6 weeks with broken bone in face following hit-by-pitch

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3:44pm: Jagielo had to undergo surgery to repair the fracture, he announced on Instagram. (The picture isn’t gross.) Everything went well.

1:01pm: Third base prospect Eric Jagielo is out 4-6 weeks with a broken bone in his face, VP of Baseball Ops Mark Newman confirmed to Josh Norris. Jagielo took a fastball to the face during an Instructional League game over the weekend. He will be replaced on the Arizona Fall League roster, according to Newman.

Jagielo, 22, was the Yankees’ first round pick in the 2013 draft. He hit .259/.354/.460 (132 wRC+) with 16 homers in 85 games around an oblique injury with High-A Tampa this year. The broken bone stinks but that seems like the best case scenario whenever you talk about a pitch up around the head. Jagielo could have suffered a concussion or serious eye damage. All things considered, this is good news. Heal up and get ready for 2015.