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What Went Right: Cody Eppley & Clay Rapada

November 19, 2012 by Mike 16 Comments

If there’s one thing the Yankees do consistently well, it’s mine the scrap heap for useful players. They hit the jackpot with Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, Eric Chavez, et al a year ago, but in 2012 the contributions were a little more subtle. The Bombers added a pair of funky, side-winding relievers during Spring Training, both of whom would up spending the majority of the season on the active roster and contributing more than expected.

(Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Cody Eppley
The Yankees claimed Eppley off waivers from the Rangers in early-April, and pretty much the only reason why fans may have recognized his name was because he served up this grand slam to Frankie Cervelli a year ago. The 27-year-old was a nondescript relief prospect, but New York needed to replenish depth after dealing George Kontos for Chris Stewart. It was a typical end-of-camp transaction.

Eppley started the year in Triple-A and was recalled for the first time after Brett Gardner was placed on the DL with his elbow injury. That move was temporary — 13-man pitching staffs are far from ideal, but the Yankees needed bullpen help at the time — as he was sent down roughly a week later. Eppley was recalled for good in early-May, after Mariano Rivera blew out his knee. It was hardly the way the Yankees wanted to give the low-slot right-hander a chance, but that’s the way the cookie crumbled.

After being used primarily as a low-leverage arm in blowout situations, Eppley eventually climbed the bullpen totem pole and saw his fair share of important innings during the summer. He threw 46 innings across 59 appearances for New York this year, missing more bats than I expected (6.26 K/9 and 16.5%) while generating a ton of ground balls (60.3%). As you’d expect given his arm slot, Eppley was death on righties, holding them to a .262 wOBA with a 61.9% ground ball rate.

Although he was left off the ALDS roster, Eppley took Eduardo Nunez’s ALCS roster spot (Nunez was later re-added when Derek Jeter got hurt) and threw 3.2 scoreless innings against the Tigers while appearing in all four games. He also had a 27-appearance (20.1 innings) stretch from mid-May through mid-July in which he pitched to a 1.77 ERA (3.34 FIP). By no means did Eppley save the bullpen or anything like that, but he produced more than expected and helped the Yankees a bunch after Rivera went down.

(Leon Halip/Getty Images)

Clay Rapada
The Yankees have wasted a ton of money in their never-ending pursuit of left-handed relief, yet they stumbled across a solid southpaw option early in Spring Training. The Orioles had released the 31-year-old Rapada right before the start of camp and that’s when the Bombers pounced, inking him to a minor league contract. He pitched well during the Grapefruit League schedule and won the second lefty reliever job after Cesar Cabral fractured his elbow.

Rapada stayed on the big league roster all season, appearing in 70 games but throwing only 38.1 innings in true LOOGY form. He pitched to a 2.82 ERA (3.20 FIP) overall, but we can’t judge him by his overall results. Rapada was on the roster for one reason and one reason only, and that was to neutralize the other club’s left-handed hitters. He excelled in that role, holding same-side hitters to a .238 wOBA with a 28.7% strikeout rate and a 44.9% strikeout rate thanks to his funky side-arm delivery. Only five lefty relievers were more effective against same-side hitters in terms of wOBA against this year (min. 100 lefties faced).

Rapada retired five of six lefties faced in the postseason, with a walk to Prince Fielder being the lone exception. He set a new (and ultimately irrelevant) franchise record this year by facing exactly one batter in eight consecutive appearances, breaking Mike Myers’ old record of seven straight. After all the money given to Damaso Marte and Pedro Feliciano, it was Rapada who gave the Yankees the type of reliable left-handed relief they’ve been searching for, and he did it while earning close to the league minimum.

Filed Under: Players Tagged With: Clay Rapada, Cody Eppley, What Went Right

Davidoff: Yankees have “significant interest” in re-signing Ibanez

November 19, 2012 by Mike 51 Comments

Via Ken Davidoff: The Yankees have “significant interest” in re-signing Raul Ibanez, but have asked him to hold tight while they take care of more pressing matters first. Those matters involve re-signing Mariano Rivera, Hiroki Kuroda, and potentially Andy Pettitte.

Ibanez, 40, hit .240/.308/.353 (102 wRC+) with a number of huge late-season homers this year, and I think it’s fair to say the team wouldn’t be interested in bringing him back without those homers. He didn’t exactly kill the ball from June through mid-September. The two sides have already had preliminary discussions and Ibanez told Davidoff that his first choice was to return to the Yankees next year, plus the free agent DH market stinks. The Yankees are going to need a DH capable of playing the field a bit, and despite how poor he is defensively, Raul can at least fake the corner outfield if needed.

Filed Under: Asides, Hot Stove League Tagged With: Raul Ibañez

Fitting the 2013 bullpen pieces together

November 19, 2012 by Mike 41 Comments

(Jared Wickerham/Getty)

Despite losing Mariano Rivera to a season-ending injury in early-May, the Yankees still got a solid 3.43 ERA (3.62 FIP) out of their bullpen this season. David Robertson and Rafael Soriano did most of the heavy lifting while lefties Boone Logan and Clay Rapada were solid overall. Right-handers Cory Wade, Joba Chamberlain, Derek Lowe, Cody Eppley all had their moments. Ten different players made at least ten relief appearances for New York in 2012, and one of them was not Rivera (nine games).

Mo is due to return next season — he is still unsigned, however — and he’ll replace the departed Soriano. The rest of the bullpen falls into place behind him with Robertson in the eighth inning, Joba in the middle innings, and the two lefties doing the matchup thing. That’s five of the seven bullpen spots already accounted for, and the Yankees will have David Aardsma available on Opening Day as well. The former Mariners closer is coming off Tommy John (and hip) surgery and adds some dirt cheap ($500k) bullpen depth. So that’s already six of seven spots theoretically accounted for.

That final spot would presumably go to a long man, be it David Phelps or Adam Warren or some free agent. Joakim Soria has made it no secret that he would like to pitch in New York next season, and frankly I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t love to see the 28-year-old former Royals closer with the Yankees on an incentive-laden one-year contract. The only real issue with adding him is that it would leave the Yankees without a true long man, unless they (gasp!) stretched Joba out so he could go multiple innings. That would be pretty awesome actually, but let’s assume that’s not an option.

The Yankees could, in theory, trade a reliever so they could sign Soria and still carry a long man. Carrying two left-handed relievers is a luxury but not a necessity, and there is definitely some merit to the idea of trading Logan as he comes off a career-high workload (80 appearances and 55.1 innings) and is one year away from free agency. Rapada has been better against lefties both this year and over the last few years anyway, though Logan can at least fake it against righties in an emergency. There’s always the option of trading Joba, who is also a year away from free agency. I’d rather keep him and deal a lefty, but that’s just me.

Aardsma, Logan, and Rapada can not be sent to the minor leagues next season without first clearing waivers, and that definitely won’t happen. Some team would grab ’em. Robertson’s definitely not going to Triple-A and I suppose there’s a chance Joba could go down, but it would surprise me if the team made the move. Eppley figures to be the up-and-down guy, and it would behoove the Yankees to add another arm or two on minor league contracts if they don’t feel Chase Whitley or Mark Montgomery are ready. Even if they are, adding the extra depth is never a bad thing. Remember, the team’s projected primary right-handers for 2013 (Rivera, Robertson, Joba, Aardsma) all spent time on the DL this season.

I’m not quite sure where I’m going with this, I just kinda started thinking out loud about the bullpen and which spots were already accounted for. Ideally, I would like to see the Yankees trade one of their lefties — Josh Spence, Juan Cedeno, and possibly even Cesar Cabral serve as left-handed depth in Triple-A — add Soria, and carry a true long man who would allow Joba to remain a one-inning setup-ish man. Neither Logan nor Rapada will fetch much of anything in a trade, but maybe they serve as a second or third piece in a package. With Rivera, Aardsma, and potentially Soria coming off injury and expected to be handled carefully, carrying two LOOGYs might be a little inflexible.

Filed Under: Death by Bullpen

Martin: Pettitte could give Yankees a “timetable” this week

November 19, 2012 by Mike 45 Comments

Via Dan Martin: Left-hander Andy Pettitte could give the Yankees a “timetable” sometime this week. Does that mean he’ll tell them he’s going to return? When he’s going to have a decision about his future? Something else? Your guess is as good as mine.

Pettitte, 40, pitched to a 2.87 ERA (3.48 FIP) in 12 starts and 75.1 innings sandwiched around his leg injury this year. He said he wanted to make a decision about 2013 as quickly as possible following the team’s ALCS exit, indicating that he hoped to have an answer within a month. It’s been almost exactly a month now, so hopefully he gives the Yankees an answer soon one way or the other so they can move on with their offseason. Most believe Andy will come back next year, but it’s not a guarantee.

Filed Under: Asides, Hot Stove League Tagged With: Andy Pettitte

Fan Confidence Poll: November 19th, 2012

November 19, 2012 by Mike 84 Comments

2012 Record: 95-67 (804 RS, 668 RA, 96-66 pythag. record), won AL East, swept in ALCS

Top stories from last week:

  • The Yankees didn’t make any notable moves this week, but their competition did. The Blue Jays swung a massive 12-player blockbuster with the Marlins while the Tigers reeled in Torii Hunter with a two-year pact.
  • Injury News: Derek Jeter (ankle) is “a little bit of a question” for Opening Day according to Joe Girardi. Michael Pineda (shoulder) continued his throwing program after being cleared by a doctor during a check-up.
  • Hiroki Kuroda is said to prefer playing in Southern California. The Yankees have had “preliminary discussions” about bringing Raul Ibanez back, and they’re reportedly open to re-signing Rafael Soriano to a two-year deal. Talks “are ongoing” with Russell Martin.
  • The Yankees are said to have interest in free agents Scott Hairston and Mike Napoli, and trade interest in Rickey Nolasco.
  • News Corp. is closing in on a deal to purchase a minority share in the YES Network.
  • The Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees have been renamed the RailRiders.
  • Robinson Cano finished fourth in the AL MVP voting.

Please take a second to answer the poll below and give us an idea of how confident you are in the team. You can view the interactive Fan Confidence Graph anytime via the nav bar above, or by clicking here. Thanks in advance for voting.

Given the team's current roster construction, farm system, management, etc., how confident are you in the Yankees' overall future?
View Results

Filed Under: Polls Tagged With: Fan Confidence

Sunday Night Open Thread

November 18, 2012 by Mike 74 Comments

Sunday nights usually suck a little because you know the workweek starts in a few hours, but at least Thanksgiving — hands down the best holiday of the year — is a few days away. If that’s not worth looking forward to, nothing is.

Here’s your open thread for the evening. The late NFL game is the Ravens at the Steelers, plus there’s miscellaneous NBA action as well. Talk about whatever you like here.

Filed Under: Open Thread

Heathcott & Adams wrap up AzFL season on hot streaks

November 18, 2012 by Mike 32 Comments

Some notes…

  • Thanks to his three homers last week, IF David Adams was named the Arizona Fall League’s Player of the Week. Meanwhile, OF Slade Heathcott placed second on this week’s Prospect Hot Sheet. He hit the snot out of the ball in Arizona.
  • Double-A Trenton has a new ballpark, at least in name only. Waterfront Park in Trenton has been renamed Arm & Hammer Park as part of a new 20-year licensing deal. The old name was way better, but it’s a good deal for the team.
  • The Red Sox will interview Low-A Charleston hitting coach Greg Colbrunn for their big league hitting coach position. UTIL Kevin Russo has hooked on with the Tigers, getting a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite.

The AzFL regular season ended on Thursday, and the Scottsdale Scorpions finished in second in the East division with a 15-16-1 record. The Peoria Javelinas beat the Salt River Rafter in the Championship Game yesterday. Here’s an update on the final week of action…

AzFL Scottsdale (4-3 loss to Surprise) Monday’s game
3B David Adams: 2-4, 1 2B
DH Austin Romine: 0-2, 2 K — ejected for arguing balls and strikes

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Down on the Farm

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