River Avenue Blues

A-Rod to begin minor league rehab assignment tomorrow

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Via Peter Botte, third baseman Alex Rodriguez will begin a minor league rehab assignment with High-A Tampa tomorrow. He will DH in that game and if all goes well, he’ll play the field on Saturday.

A-Rod has been on the DL since late-July with a broken hand suffered when Felix Hernandez hit him with a pitch, and since then the team’s replacements at the hot corner have hit .319/.367/.555 with seven homers. Most of that stems from Eric Chavez’s crazy hot streak earlier this month. With Mark Teixeira on the shelf with a calf problem, getting A-Rod back (even as a DH) would be a huge help to the offense.

The September 40-Man Roster Crunch

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(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

The calendar flips over to September this Saturday (already?), meaning teams will be able to supplement their roster with players from the minors for the final month of the season. The Yankees need some extra pieces due to all of their injuries, though not all of the call-ups happen at once. The first wave is usually a third catcher, an extra position player, and an arm or two. Once the Triple-A (and sometimes Double-A) season ends, more players join the big league club. Some might even get to play in a game later in the season.

Assuming the Yankees stick to a similar script, we’ll probably see Frankie Cervelli, Eduardo Nunez, and Cory Wade rejoin the team this weekend. Pedro Feliciano will make one more minor league rehab appearance today, and rumor has it that if all goes well, he’ll come off the DL on Saturday to provide another left-handed reliever. I’ve already lobbied for Chris Dickerson to be called up in the wake of Mark Teixeira’s injury, but the problem there is that he is not on the 40-man roster. That’s a problem for Feliciano as well. In fact, it’s a problem beyond those two.

At the moment, the Yankees have 48 players on the 40-man roster thanks to a whopping eight players on the 60-day DL. Feliciano is one of those eight and so is Andy Pettitte, so the team will have to clear two spots just to activate those two next month. Calling up Dickerson or any other non-40-man player — Mark Montgomery? Chase Whitley? Ronnie Mustelier? — will require more moves. There isn’t a lot of dead weight that can be dumped, just a bunch of a Grade-B/C prospects like David Adams and Zoilo Almonte, who are are interesting enough but not quite yet ready for the big leagues. Those guys are really gumming up the works.

The easiest way to clear one 40-man spot would be to promote Dellin Betances to the big leagues and place him on the 60-day DL. He was placed on the Double-A DL with shoulder tendinitis last week, though we don’t know the severity of the injury or the timetable for his return. I doubt the Yankees will be anything but conservative with him though, especially since he’s had shoulder issues in the past. If Betances is going to miss more than a month, calling him up and sliding him to the 60-day DL is the easiest way to free up a 40-man spot for Feliciano. Things will get real tricky if it’s a minor injury and he’ll be able to return to action in a week or so.

Left-hander Justin Thomas stands out as an obvious candidate to be taken off the 40-man roster, though he may be safe because he is one of just three healthy pitchers on the 40-man roster and not in the big leagues (Wade and Adam Warren are the others). A healthy return from Feliciano makes Thomas expendable though, so consider him to be on the chopping block conditionally. Ramiro Pena should be among the next in line to lose his spot, especially with other infielders like Nunez, Adams, and Corban Joseph also on the 40-man. Both Thomas (a left-hander who is stretched out to throw 80+ pitches) and Pena (speedy, defense-first infielder) are useful pieces to carry in September, but they might be out of luck this season.

After Betances, Thomas, and Pena, the only other player on the 40-man roster who stands out as a prime release candidate is Chris Stewart. The Yankees have two younger catchers on the 40-man in Cervelli and Austin Romine, so they could cut their season-long backup catcher and still be able to carry three backstops in September. Will they actually do that though? I highly doubt it. They seem to love Stewart’s defense (I’m skeptical) and he’s hit for just enough average (.252) to come off as not useless offensively. It would be a surprising move, but at that point it would be the only one they could make. I suppose the Yankees could opt to remove either Casey McGehee or Steve Pearce from the 40-man next month, but that would surprise me since there really isn’t any internal option who would be an upgrade.

There isn’t a ton of help coming in September, but that’s typical. Feliciano might give the bullpen a little boost and Wade could do the same, but the other guys are depth pieces to pinch-run, play defense, and soak up playing time in blowouts. You know, the blowouts the Yankees never seem to play anymore. Anyway, the 40-man roster is overstuffed at the moment and the Yankees are going to have to make some tough decisions just to get Feliciano and Pettitte on the club next month. Add more pieces beyond those two will require some serious roster machinations.

Thoughts following the series loss to the Jays

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(Jeff Zelevansky/Getty)

These last nine games have been just brutal. The Yankees have lost six of the nine, including three to the lowly Indians and Blue Jays. Those games should be gimme’s — I probably would have been a little bummed out if they had only won four of the six. Instead, they got just three. The injuries have been piling up and their impact is starting to catch up with the club, particularly offensively. There’s only so many platoon players you can sandwich into one lineup. Anyway…

1. This goes without saying, but the next ten games are enormous. Three at home against the Orioles, three at the Rays, then four at the Orioles. That’s make or break type stuff for New York and Baltimore. If one of them wins seven or eight of ten, they’ll probably be sitting atop the AL East in two weeks. On the other side of the coin, seven or eight losses will really bury someone. If all three clubs kinda tread water these next two weeks, it’s good for the Yankees since they’re already in first place. Obviously I would like to see them increase their division lead during that time, but staying in first place is most important thing.

(Jeff Gross/Getty)

2. The Angels are a ways back (with a lot of teams ahead of them) in the Wild Card chase and I wonder if (hope?) they’d be willing to trade Torii Hunter to the Yankees like, today. Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez aren’t coming back anytime soon and the Bombers need the extra bat for these upcoming games. Hunter is having a decent year (.294/.347/.430) and he’d give the Yankees someone capable of hitting both lefties and righties (splits), which I consider a glaring need. They could continue to play Nick Swisher at first and not have to deal with Raul Ibanez/Andruw Jones-level defense in right as well. Hunter has expressed interest in playing for the Yankees recently, though I have no idea if he’s been passed through trade waivers yet. He’s due to become a free agent after the season and the Angels could save about $3M by dumping him on New York for September. The only problem is time: they would have to swing a trade by midnight tomorrow for Hunter to be eligible for the playoff roster. I wouldn’t get my hopes up.

3. Since the start of August, David Robertson and Rafael Soriano have combined for a 2.22 ERA (2.64 FIP) with a 7.67 K/BB in 24.1 innings. The rest of the bullpen? They’ve combined for a 4.97 ERA (3.45 FIP) with a 2.92 K/BB in 41.2 innings. I actually thought the second batch of numbers would be much worse than that. Boone Logan has been the team’s third best reliever all season, and Joe Girardi really doesn’t have another reliable right-hander in the bullpen other than his two top guys. Derek Lowe and Cody Eppley are far too hittable while Joba Chamberlain has zero control (nevermind command) coming off Tommy John surgery. Maybe Cory Wade will be effective when he rejoins the team next month, but otherwise the only other right-handed relief help on the way is David Phelps when Andy Pettitte gets healthy and returns to the rotation. I shouldn’t even say “when,” I should say “if.”

4. Be honest, did you really think Derek Jeter would be hitting .321/.363/.448 through the team’s first 130 games when the season started? Even if you completely bought into his second half last summer and felt that the mechanical fix he made while on the DL cured him of all his ills, this still feels like 90th-percentile outcome stuff. Thirty-eight-year-old middle infielders just aren’t supposed to hit like this. In fact, Jeter’s 118 OPS+ is the sixth highest by the full-time shortstop that age behind two guys: Luke Appling (1947 and 1949) and Honus Wagner (1912, 1915, 1916). The only other middle infielders in the last 50 years with a 117 OPS+ at age 38 (or older) are second baseman Jeff Kent (123 in 2007) and Joe Morgan (136 in 1982). This is historic stuff from the Cap’n. Shortstops this age just aren’t supposed to be this productive.

Report: Yankees will remain with WCBS 880 in 2013

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Via Phil Mushnick, the Yankees have decided to remain with WCBS 880 for another season, rejecting ESPN’s bid to purchase their radio broadcasting rights. This almost certainly means John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman will remain the radio voices of the club for at least one more year.

The Yankees renewed their long-term deal with WCBS for this season about a year ago, which figured to set off a bidding war as ESPN shifted over from 1050 AM to 98.7 FM back in April. The 98.7 signal is stronger than 880’s, but it’s not as far-reaching. The current deal with WCBS pays the team about $14M per season, and supposedly the company loses money with the broadcasts. Ben wrote more about a potential radio broadcast shift back in April.

Yanks lose to Blue Jays, look bad doing it

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These were supposed to be the easy games, three at home against the last place and injury-riddled Blue Jays. Instead, the Yankees lost the rubber game on Wednesday to drop the series, continuing their second half skid.

(Jeff Zelevansky/Getty)

Needed More (Pitching)

The bullpen was short-handed and the Yankees needed a real quality outing from CC Sabathia, but instead he turned in his worst start against Toronto since 2005. It was his first lost at the hands of the Jays since 2007. The offense handed their ace two leads — 2-0 and 4-3 — and he blew them both with some help from his defense (more on that later). Sabathia did complete seven innings of work and only two of the five runs he allowed were earned, but it wasn’t good enough.

In the third inning, the Jays loaded the bases with no outs on two dinky singles and walk, and it appeared as though the Yankees would escape unscathed after Mike McCoy bounced into a 5-2 double play. Instead, the Jays came through with three straight two-out hits to plate three runs. The first two singles were dinky, but the double down the left field line was well-struck. In the sixth, Yunel Escobar took Sabathia deep after an Adam Lind single. Outside of those two innings, Sabathia retired 15 of 16 batters faced with the one exception being a Derek Jeter error. He struck out eight and walked zero, but those two innings did him and the Yankees in.

Needed More (Hitting)

(Jeff Zelevansky/Getty)

You know what was nice? The Yankees jumped out to a two-run lead right in the very first inning. They’ve been struggling in a bad way offensively, so scoring early is always a relief. Andruw Jones (single to center) and Curtis Granderson (fielder’s choice) did the run-driving-in honors after Jeter singled and Nick Swisher walked. In the third, one half-inning after Toronto took the lead, the Yankees responded with two runs when Granderson doubled over the head of Rajai Davis with two outs. Swisher and Jones came around to score after drawing walks.

But, of course, there were plenty of blown opportunities. Jayson Nix drew a leadoff walk in the fifth and moved to third on Ichiro Suzuki’s double, putting men on second and third with no outs. The Yankees didn’t capitalize because Chris Stewart popped up on the first pitch and both Swisher and Robinson Cano struck out following an intentional walk to Jeter. It was his first intentional walk in two years. Leadoff double in the sixth? Stranded. One-out double in the seventh? Stranded. Raul Ibanez and Russell Martin hit back-to-back doubles to score a run leading off the eighth — Martin’s hit the third base bag and bounced over Adeiny Hechavarria — but Martin was left stranded at second. All told, the Yankees went 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position as Jeter, Cano, Ichiro, and Eric Chavez each came up empty on multiple occasions.

Visual representation of the team’s play of late. (Jeff Zelevansky/Getty)

Needed More (Defense)

The Yankees didn’t just pitch poorly and hit poorly, they also played the field poorly as well. Jeter botched a ground ball in the first inning that didn’t come back to bite them, but Nix booted a grounder in the third that contributed to the three-run inning. Chavez misplayed a ground ball of his own in the ninth, eventually leading to two more runs. Jones made a pair of diving grabs in right but didn’t manage to hold onto the ball either time — I didn’t see the first one, but the second one was a ball that had to be caught — leading to runs in the sixth and ninth. The Bombers aren’t a great defensive club to start with, but having three infielders boot ground balls while two catchable balls find grass in the outfield is too much to take. You can only give a Major League team so many extra outs before they make you pay. To Toronto’s credit, they turned four of the five miscues into runs.

Leftovers

(Jeff Zelevansky/Getty)

In a not-so-shocking turn of events, the non-David Robertson and non-Rafael Soriano portion of the bullpen allowing multiple runs after Sabathia exited the game. Derek Lowe (two hits, zero outs), Boone Logan (struck out the only batter he faced), Cody Eppley (one inning, one walk), Clay Rapada (walked the only man he faced), and Joba Chamberlain (one hit, two outs) combined to allow three late-inning runs in two innings of work. Some of that poor defense was a factor, but that’s five pitchers allowing five baserunners while record six outs.

The Yankees had eight hits total but no one had more than one. Jeter (single, walk), Swisher (single, two walks), Jones (single, walk), and Nix (double, walk) all reached base multiple times. Stewart and Steve Pearce were the only starters not to reach base while Ibanez and Martin provided knocks off the bench. Somehow the Yankees mustered six doubles and only one of those guys came around to score. They needed a bad read from Davis and a lucky bounce off the bag to score three of the five runs.

Escobar came into the game with a .246/.292/.328 batting line on the season, and he managed to go 4-for-5 with three doubles and a homer. It was just his second multi-extra-base hit game of the season (double and a triple against the Rangers in May) and the first four-extra-base hit game of his 758-game big league career. In terms of WPA (+.486), it was the fifth best game of his career. Again, a .246/.292/.328 batting line coming into the afternoon.

Box Score, WPA Graph & Standings

MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, ESPN the updated standings. The Orioles lost and the Rays won, so they’re now three and four games back in the loss column, respectively. The magic number actually dropped down to 30. That’s entirely undeserved on the Yankees’ part, but I’ll take it.


Source: FanGraphs

Up Next

The Yankees will look themselves in the mirror and try to regroup during Thursday’s off-day before welcoming the Orioles to town for a three-game weekend series. It is unquestionably the most important series of the season (to date), and that could have been avoided had the Yankees not been playing .500 baseball since the All-Star break. Hiroki Kuroda and Miguel Gonzalez kick things off Friday. Check out RAB Tickets if you want to catch the game.

Gamel stays hot with three-hit night in win

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The Arizona Fall League rosters were partially announced, and the Yankees are indeed sending OF Slade Heathcott, C Austin Romine, and IF David Adams to the desert this year. They still have four pitching slots to fill, and I’m willing to bet all four will be relievers.

In other news, both LHP Nik Turley and 1B Kyle Roller have been named to the High-A Florida State League end-of-season All-Star Team. Congrats to both.

Triple-A Empire State (5-2 loss to Lehigh Valley) clinching the division will have to wait one more night
SS Eduardo Nunez: 0-5, 1 K
1B Kosuke Fukudome & 2B Corban Joseph: both 0-3, 2 BB — CoJo struck out
LF Ronnie Mustelier, C Frankie Cervelli & 3B Ramiro Pena: all 1-4 — Mustelier struck out … Cervelli scored a run … Pena drove in a run and struck out
DH Austin Romine: 0-4, 1 K
CF Melky Mesa: 0-2, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
RF Cole Garner: 3-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI
LHP Mike O’Connor: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 7/2 GB/FB — 58 of 90 pitches were strikes (64%)
RHP Kelvin Perez: 1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K — 20 of 31 pitches were strikes (65%)
LHP Juan Cedeno: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1/0 GB/FB — five pitches, three strikes
RHP Manny Delcarmen: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 3/2 GB/FB — 15 of 27 pitches were strikes (56%)

[Read more…]

Wednesday Night Open Thread

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Can the kids from Uganda get a runner in from second? Maybe throw a scoreless inning out of the bullpen? Inquire within. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

The Yankees are playing like absolute trash right now. Lose a series to the last-place Blue Jays and go 3-3 against them and the Indians? Pathetic. They need a spark in a big way, and maybe getting shown up by the Orioles at home this weekend will do the trick. The Yankees are just lucky they still have a month left in the season to wake the frig up, because right now this hilarious level of garbage play is taking them nowhere.

Anyway, I just needed to get that off my chest. Here’s your open thread for the night. The Mets are playing the Phillies (Harvey vs. Tyler Cloyd) and the Pirates and Cardinals will be on ESPN (Rodriguez vs. Joe Kelly). The Giants are also playing a preseason game for those of you with the NFL Network. Talk about those games or whatever else you want here. Have at it.