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River Ave. Blues » Aroldis Chapman

The Yanks can get by without Aroldis Chapman in the regular season, but the postseason is another matter

September 4, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

(Michael Owens/Getty)

The Yankees have been hammered by injuries in the second half this season. Gary Sanchez missed roughly two months, Aaron Judge hasn’t played in nearly six weeks now, Didi Gregorius is closing in on two weeks missed, Clint Frazier hasn’t been available since the All-Star break, and CC Sabathia missed time as well. At one point the Yankees were without their starting catcher, starting shortstop, starting right fielder, and a starting pitcher. Rough.

Another injured Yankee: Aroldis Chapman. Chapman has been on the disabled list since August 22nd with tendinitis in his left knee. He pitched with the tendinitis for months — Chapman first revealed he had a knee issue on June 9th, when he said his knee had been barking for weeks — and eventually there was just too much discomfort. Chapman exited a game in Miami and has been out of action since.

The Yankees did all they could to manage Chapman’s injury. He skipped the All-Star Game to rest and made only nine appearances in the month following the All-Star break. Three times he received at least six days of rest between appearances. Chapman was automatic in the first half. As good as he’s ever been. After the break though, he walked eleven in seven innings and there was a noticeable plummet in fastball velocity.

The knee had become a significant issue, not a manageable injury, and it was time for Chapman to hit the disabled list. He’s since received two platelet-rich plasma injections (it was a planned series of two injections) and has been resting. That’s really all he can do. There was some talk Chapman could begin throwing in the coming days, then, over the weekend, Brian Cashman admitted it’s possible Chapman will miss the rest of the year.

“I can’t guarantee when we’re going to see him. I’m hopeful we’ll see him. The hope is (the injections) solve the issue and we get him back to where he was,” said Cashman to Dan Martin. “I know he’s going through the motions now of getting the treatments necessary. Until he’s out there doing what we’ve seen him do in the past to the level he’s capable of doing it, it’s probably best for me to be cautious on that. The timeline is tougher because the season now only has a month left to go.”

Cashman all but admitted he is being extra conservative with Chapman’s timetable after the Yankees so badly botched the announcement of Judge’s timetable, but it doesn’t seem crazy to think Chapman won’t return before the end of the year. There’s less than four weeks to go in the regular season and Chapman just received two PRP shots. Those usually take some time to kick in. Then he has to resume throwing and get back in game shape and all that.

On paper, the Yankees have the bullpen pieces to cover during Chapman’s absence. It hasn’t worked out quite that well in reality. The bullpen has allowed a run in eleven of the last 13 games and no one really seems to have a role. For all the sabermetric fantasizing about a flexible, role-free bullpen in which anyone can pitch at any time, players do like knowing their role. They like to know when they’re going to pitch. There’s been a lot of mixing and matching lately. Five different relievers have a save since Chapman went down.

The concern isn’t so much the regular season though. No, the Yankees haven’t clinched anything yet, but they’re pretty well locked into a postseason spot. It would take a massive collapse — a massive collapse caused by far more than the closer being hurt — for the Yankees to miss the playoffs right now. The greater concern with Chapman is the postseason. The Yankees are built from the ninth inning forward. They win with their bullpen and Chapman is an important part of that bullpen.

A healthy and effective Chapman changes the bullpen outlook entirely. When he’s ready to go, Aaron Boone & Co. know the ninth inning is locked down, freeing up the Dellin Betances, David Robertson, Zach Britton, Jonathan Holder, and Chad Green quintet for the middle innings. With Chapman, the Yankees really only need four innings from their starter in the postseason. Maybe even only three. That’s always been a plan.

Without Chapman, that’s one more inning — one more high-leverage inning, at that — that has to be soaked up by someone else. Maybe that means squeezing another inning from the starter, or pushing someone like Green or Holder for a second inning, or asking (gulp) A.J. Cole or Lance Lynn to step into important situations. During the regular season, a deep bullpen allows you to spread the workload around and always have quality relievers available. During the postseason, a deep bullpen allows you attack every single game.

Since Chapman went down the Yankees shifted Justus Sheffield and Chance Adams to the bullpen — that was not a coincidence, I don’t think — and of course they will be considered for the postseason roster. That was going to be the case even with a healthy Chapman. Now though, with Chapman’s injury, Sheffield and Adams have an even greater opportunity to earn a postseason roster spot. There’s a potential opening, so pitch well and you could find yourself on the October roster.

For now, the Yankees and Chapman do have some time on their hands. The minor league season is over, which means no rehab games, so in a perfect world Chapman would return with enough time to get five or six appearances in before the end of the season. Start out with some low-leverage work to get back into the swing of things, then finish up with a few save opportunities before the season lets out. That’d be ideal and hopefully it happens.

If Chapman doesn’t come back, the Yankees will have a problem on their hands. Yes, they are better equipped to absorb losing their closer than most teams, but that doesn’t make losing Chapman hurt less. He’s very good when healthy and the Yankees, who are built around their bullpen, would be short a high-leverage arm going into the postseason. Adding Britton was a hedge against Chapman’s injury. Maybe Sheffield or Adams can pick up the slack, but that’s a lot to put on a rookie. Either way, no Chapman in the postseason changes the dynamic for the Yankees.

“The expectation is we’ll get him back,” Cashman added. “Will he still feel it? I don’t know. We’re going to find out, one way or the other. I know he’s tough. He pitched through a lot of this all year … We have our fingers crossed that we get him back and put everybody else where we want them to be, but we’re also thankful we have players that are more than capable of doing the job. We’re better equipped than most to handle losing your closer for a period of time, if not the entire time.”

Filed Under: Injuries Tagged With: Aroldis Chapman

Game 136: Happy Cutch & Gary Day

September 1, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

(Presswire)

Today is a pretty cool day in Yankeeland. Literally. Temperatures are in the 70s today. After a week with real feel temperatures in the triple digits, this feels like the arctic. Pretty great.

But seriously, today is a pretty cool day because Andrew McCutchen will wear Yankee pinstripes for the first time. Also, Gary Sanchez is back from the disabled list. The Yankees have been scraping by with a bare bones lineup the last few weeks. Some of those 7-8-9s were ugly. That changes today.

Cutch is a Yankee, Gary is back, and this afternoon the Yankees go for their second straight win over the Tigers. The first two games of this series have been a bear. Far more difficult than they needed to be. Hopefully the new guys (well, new guy and returning guy) help correct that. Here are the lineups:

New York Yankees
1. RF Andrew McCutchen
2. DH Giancarlo Stanton
3. CF Aaron Hicks
4. 3B Miguel Andujar
5. C Gary Sanchez
6. SS Gleyber Torres
7. 1B Luke Voit
8. 2B Neil Walker
9. LF Brett Gardner

RHP Masahiro Tanaka

Detroit Tigers
1. LF Mikie Mahtook
2. 1B Jim Adduci
3. RF Nick Castellanos
4. DH Victor Martinez
5. 3B Niko Goodrum
6. SS Ronny Rodriguez
7. C Grayson Greiner
8. CF JaCoby Jones
9. 2B Dawel Lugo

LHP Daniel Norris


It is a bit cloudy in New York today but it is relatively cool and there is no rain in the forecast. Good afternoon for a ballgame, I’d say. This afternoon’s game will begin at 4:05pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and FOX Sports 1 nationally. Enjoy the game.

Roster Moves: In case you missed it earlier, the Yankees announced their first round of September roster call-ups. McCutchen and Adeiny Hechavarria were added to the active roster, Sanchez was activated, and Luis Cessa, Tyler Wade, and Stephen Tarpley were all called up.

Injury Update: Didi Gregorius (heel) is progressing but is more likely to be activated for the Mariners series late next week than the Athletics series that begins Monday … Aroldis Chapman (knee) is expected back this season, but Brian Cashman said that’s not a guarantee. Gulp.

Filed Under: Game Threads Tagged With: Aroldis Chapman, Didi Gregorius

Game 132: Lynn vs. White Sox, Part Deux

August 28, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Next up on the outfield depth chart. (Presswire)

Last night was a bit of a hiccup. The Yankees lost for only the sixth time in their last 21 games, and after their two previous losses, they responded with four straight wins. Losses happen. Preventing one loss from becoming a losing streak is the most important thing the Yankees can do, and they’ve done that well the last three weeks now.

Anyway, Lance Lynn is on the mound tonight and he dominated this same White Sox team three weeks ago, in his first start as a Yankee. Remember that? He struck out nine in 7.1 scoreless innings and retired a career-high 19 straight batters at one point. Would be pretty cool if he could do something close to that again, especially after back-to-back duds. Here are tonight’s lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. RF Giancarlo Stanton
3. CF Aaron Hicks
4. 3B Miguel Andujar
5. DH Luke Voit
6. SS Gleyber Torres
7. 1B Greg Bird
8. C Austin Romine
9. 2B Ronald Torreyes

RHP Lance Lynn

Chicago White Sox
1. 3B Yolmer Sanchez
2. LF Nicky Delmonico
3. RF Avisail Garcia
4. DH Daniel Palka
5. 1B Matt Davidson
6. C Omar Narvaez
7. SS Tim Anderson
8. 2B Yoan Moncada
9. CF Adam Engel

RHP James Shields


Hot hot hot in New York today. Slightly less hot tonight, but still hot. Nice day though. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm ET and YES will have the broadcast. Enjoy the game.

Injury Updates: Didi Gregorius (heel) hit in the cage and fielded grounders hit right at him today. He could start running at full speed as soon as tomorrow … Aroldis Chapman (knee) received the second of two injections as part of his treatment regiment today. He could start throwing at some point in the next few days … Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring) is improving and could see more time in the field going forward, but they’re not going to push it. Stanton has started the last 81 games now and there’s no plan to give him a day off anytime soon … Aaron Judge (wrist) says he’s improving but he’s not yet ready to swing a bat. (Get an outfielder pls.)

Filed Under: Game Threads Tagged With: Aaron Judge, Aroldis Chapman, Didi Gregorius, Giancarlo Stanton

Bullpenning the Wild Card Game

August 26, 2018 by Matt Imbrogno Leave a Comment

(Presswire)

In the 2017 AL Wild Card game between the Yankees and the Twins, lightning struck three times. First, Luis Severino, who’d established himself as an ace in the regular season, had nothing and gave up three runs while recording just one out. Second, the Yankees’ offense immediately came back in the bottom of the first. And third, and perhaps most importantly, the Yankees’ bullpen was virtually flawless, going 8.2 innings, surrendering just one run, and allowing only five hits and three walks. While it wasn’t the plan, the Yankees bullpened their most important game of the season to date.

While the Yankees certainly had the bullpen strength to plan that sort of game, it wasn’t what they intended. It happened by necessity and paid off. Had they planned to go the bullpen route, who knows what would’ve happened.

Once again, the Yankees are poised to make the Wild Card game and have a strong bullpen. Their ace has struggled at times, as has his ‘back up’ in Masahiro Tanaka. Should the Yankees employ the bullpen strategy during the Wild Card game?

It’s easy to see the bare bones of how they could do such a thing. Chad Green or Dellin Betances could start the game, using their high-octane stuff against the top of the order. For argument’s sake, let’s say it’s Green who goes first and handles the first two innings. After that, you could throw in one inning of Jonathan Holder against the bottom of the lineup to get you through the third, then Betances for two in the fourth and fifth. From there, David Robertson takes the sixth and seventh with Zach Britton and Aroldis Chapman for an inning each to end it.

Alternatively, the Yankees could have a reliever start the game, throw two innings, and hand the ball to a starter for the next three before he makes way for the back end of the bullpen–Robertson, Betances, Britton, Chapman playing matchups.

This strategy is certainly tempting, but ultimately, I think only the absolute right set of circumstances would need to exist for it to be something the Yankees should try. First, the Yankees would need to be ‘out’ of viable starters. To me, that means that they had to fight for a playoff spot or division title down the stretch and used one of Severino or Tanaka before the Wild Card game. Second, they would need to try it at least once or twice in the regular season. Pitchers tend to be creatures of habit and having them break those habits for the first time before the biggest game of the season would likely be unwise.

Despite any struggles they’ve had this year, I’m much more inclined to trust Luis Severino or Masahiro Tanaka in a big game like the Wild Card game than I am a new strategy, even if it should work in theory. It’s something the pitchers are likely to be unfamiliar with and the playoffs is not the time to make your own players uncomfortable.

Filed Under: Musings Tagged With: Aroldis Chapman, Chad Green, David Robertson, Dellin Betances, Jonathan Holder, Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, Zack Britton

Game 127: Sabathia Returns

August 24, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

(Presswire)

Welcome back, CC Sabathia. Sabathia returns from the disabled list after the minimum ten days — well, eleven days because yesterday was an off-day — after dealing with some knee inflammation. It’s going to happen from time to time. The good news is Sabathia only missed one start and is good to go tonight, in the series opener in Baltimore. He returns just in time for Players’ Weekend.

The Yankees and Orioles are playing four games in three days this weekend. Fact No. 1: The Yankees are 46-22 against sub-.500 teams this year, the fifth best record in baseball. Fact No. 2: The Yankees are 6-6 against the sorry excuse of a baseball team the Orioles have fielded this season. Annoying. Please treat the team on pace for 115 losses like a team on pace for 115 losses. Here are the lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. DH Giancarlo Stanton
3. CF Aaron Hicks
4. 3B Miguel Andujar
5. RF Neil Walker
6. SS Gleyber Torres
7. 1B Luke Voit
8. C Austin Romine
9. 2B Ronald Torreyes

LHP CC Sabathia

Baltimore Orioles
1. CF Cedric Mullins
2. 2B Jonathan Villar
3. RF Adam Jones
4. DH Trey Mancini
5. 1B Chris Davis
6. SS Tim Beckham
7. 3B Renato Nunez
8. LF John Andreoli
9. C Austin Wynns

RHP Alex Cobb


The internet tells me it is warm and not overly humid in Baltimore, and the sky is clear. Should be a nice night for a ballgame. First pitch is schedule for 7:05pm ET and you can watch on YES. Enjoy.

Injury Updates: Didi Gregorius (heel) has started throwing and could begin swinging a bat early next week. He says the swelling has done down significantly … Aroldis Chapman (knee) received a platelet-rich plasma injection and will be reevaluated in two weeks … Aaron Judge (wrist) still isn’t ready to start swinging a bat. They’re waiting until he is completely pain-free … Gary Sanchez (groin) did not start his rehab assignment today as expected, and instead went through more workouts on a side field. He is going to DH in a rookie ball game tomorrow, then join Triple-A Scranton on Monday … Clint Frazier (post-concussion migraines) could return in September but it is “too early to tell,” according to Aaron Boone. Poor Clint.

Roster Moves: Chance Adams was sent down following Wednesday’s game to clear a roster spot for Sabathia, the Yankees announced. No surprise there … Chris Rabago, who the Yankees claimed off waivers from the Rockies earlier this week, has cleared outright waivers, according to the Yankees. The light-hitting catcher remains in the organization as a non-40-man roster player. He’s in Double-A. The Yankees now have one open 40-man spot.

Rotation Update: J.A. Happ will start the day game and Sonny Gray will start the night game during tomorrow’s doubleheader. The Yankees haven’t said anything, but with Gray making the start, I’d bet on Luis Cessa coming up as the 26th man to be the long reliever.

Filed Under: Game Threads Tagged With: Aaron Judge, Aroldis Chapman, CC Sabathia, Chance Adams, Chris Rabago, Clint Frazier, Gary Sanchez

Friday Links: Jones, Rosenthal, Best Tools, MLB Japan All-Stars

August 24, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Jones. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty)

Later tonight the Yankees and Orioles kick off Players’ Weekend with the first of four at Camden Yards. They’ll play one game today, two games tomorrow, then one game Sunday. Inexplicably, the series finale is an ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game. The 2018 Orioles have to be the worst team ever on Sunday Night Baseball, right? Well, anyway, here are some links and notes to check out.

Orioles called Yankees about Jones

According to Jon Heyman, the Orioles approached the Yankees about a potential Adam Jones trade at some point earlier this month. Jones has cleared trade waivers and can be dealt anywhere, but he has 10-and-5 no-trade protection, and he used it block a deal to the Phillies before the trade deadline. Heyman says there’s some belief he’d be more willing to consider a trade to an AL contender. Jones spoke about his decision to block the trade to Philadelphia during a recent R2C2 podcast.

Jones, 33, is hitting .281/.315/.431 (101 wRC+) with 13 home runs this season, which is a typical Adam Jones season. He’s an impending free agent and he recently shifted over to right field in deference to center field prospect Cedric Mullins. I’m all in Jones. Good player, great and honest dude. The money doesn’t work with regards to the luxury tax plan, but Jones would be a great fit as an Aaron Judge fill-in and spare bat down the stretch. Heyman says the Yankees passed because they expect Judge back soon. Alas.

Rosenthal holding showcase in October

Former Cardinals closer and current free agent Trevor Rosenthal will throw for teams in October, he announced on Twitter. Rosenthal is currently rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He blew out his elbow late last year and St. Louis non-tendered him over the winter because it was his final season of team control, and there’s no sense in paying a dude several million dollars to rehab when he’ll become a free agent after the season. The Yankees did the same thing with Nathan Eovaldi in 2016.

Rosenthal, who is still only 28, struggled as he battled elbow woes in 2016 and 2017, but he was a monster from 2012-15, pitching to a 2.66 ERA (2.49 FIP) with 30.5% strikeouts as the top high-leverage reliever on a contending team. Greg Holland’s contract with the Rockies last year set the market for a former All-Star closer rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Colorado gave Holland a one-year deal worth $7M guaranteed that including a player option and bonuses that could’ve pushed the total value to $35M across two years. It’s been a while since the Yankees rolled the dice on one of these injured guys (I think Andrew Bailey was the last?), but I’m sure they’ll check out Rosenthal’s workout.

Baseball America best tools survey

The crew at Baseball America (subs. req’d) posted their annual MLB Best Tools survey last week, in which managers, scouts, and executives chime in on who does what the best. Several Yankees make appearances on the American League survey:

  • Brett Gardner: Second best bunter (behind Dee Gordon)
  • Aaron Judge: Best power, best outfield arm
  • Aaron Hicks: Third best outfield arm (behind Judge and Jackie Bradley Jr.)
  • Luis Severino: Second best fastball (behind Chris Sale), third best slider (behind Sale and Trevor Bauer)
  • Aroldis Chapman: Third best fastball, third best reliever (behind Edwin Diaz and Craig Kimbrel)
  • Giancarlo Stanton: Second best power

No Dellin Betances among the best relievers? Betances gets no respect. His failures get magnified and his successes are just something people ignore until the next time he fails. I still love ya, Dellin.

Mattingly managing MLB team for Japan All-Star Series

Here’s a fun one. According to Kaz Nagatsuka, Don Mattingly will manage a team of MLB All-Stars during an exhibition series against NPB All-Stars in Japan in November. The five-game series will be played in three different ballparks from November 9th to November 15th. The MLB Japan All-Star Series has been played irregularly since 1986. MLB is 48-20 all-time in the series but Japan did win three of five in 2014, the last time they played.

The MLB All-Star roster won’t be finalized until “sometime in October or late September,” according to MLB vice president for Asia Pacific Jim Small. I am certain MLB wants Shohei Ohtani there. I am also certain they’d like a Yankee on the roster because the Yankees are the sport’s most recognizable team. The Yankees are going to the postseason though. It might be tough to get a firm commitment from a player on any postseason bound team in September or early October. The last Yankee to participate in the MLB Japan All-Star Series? Mike Myers in 2006. For real. Jason Giambi and Bernie Williams both participated in 2002.

Filed Under: Hot Stove League, Trade Deadline Tagged With: Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge, Adam Jones, Aroldis Chapman, Baltimore Orioles, Brett Gardner, Giancarlo Stanton, Luis Severino, Trevor Rosenthal

Previewing the Yankees’ crop of potential September call-ups

August 23, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Sheffield. (Times Leader)

In one week and two days all 30 MLB teams will be able to expand their active roster from 25 players to 40 players. Most teams wind up carrying 30-35 players in September. September call-ups have become somewhat controversial but I am 100% for them. I explained why a few years ago. It seems likely the rules will change at some point in the future. Right now, the rules are what they are, and teams can have 40 active players on their roster as of next Saturday.

In recent years the Yankees have been a very aggressive September call-up team. They tend to call up lots of players and they call them up early. Some teams only add a third catcher and an extra reliever on September 1st. Not the Yankees. They go all out. Last year they called up five players on September 1st. The year before it was seven players on September 1st. The year before that? Eight players on September 1st. I expect lots of September 1st call-ups again.

So, with that in mind, let’s take a moment to sort through the team’s September call-up options and figure out where each player fits, if at all. Some call-ups are kept around for emergencies only. Spare long relievers and a third catcher, guys like that. Others are brought up for a specific reason or to fill a specific role. Let’s get to it.

Injured Players

Might as well start here. The Yankees have lots of players on the disabled list right now and sometimes, rather conveniently, players will get healthy on September 1st. That happened with Matt Holliday last year. He was on the disabled list with a back issue and was activated on the first day rosters expanded. Funny how that works.

Aaron Judge (wrist) and Clint Frazier (post-concussion migraines) are both making progress but it seems very unlikely either will be ready to return next Saturday. Gary Sanchez, however, will begin a minor league rehab assignment either today or tomorrow. He’s going to play a few games in the rookie Gulf Coast League before joining Triple-A Scranton for what Aaron Boone called a “week’s worth of games.” Sure seems like Gary will return on September 1st.

Didi Gregorius is eligible to be activated next Thursday and it’s unclear right now whether he’ll be ready to be activated that day. The Yankees said they have to see how his heel responds the next few days before knowing when he’ll return. If Gregorius is ready to go Thursday, would the Yankees give him the proverbial two extra days and wait until Saturday to activate him? I don’t think so, but you never know. It would be quite easy to give Didi those two extra days to make sure he’s 100% ready to go.

Aroldis Chapman landed on the disabled list yesterday and he isn’t even eligible to be activated until next Saturday, so even if he comes back after the minimum ten days, he’ll return with expanded rosters. That makes life easy. Whenever Chapman is healthy, the Yankees will activate him and add him to the roster. They won’t have to send someone else down to accommodate him.

The Up & Down Guys

Okay, let’s get to the minor leaguers. Generally speaking, the first wave of September call-ups — those are the September 1st guys — are players who have been going up and down all year. Many of them are already in the big leagues because of the injuries though. Tommy Kahnle, Ronald Torreyes, Luke Voit … they’re with the Yankees now. If I’d written this post a week ago, those three would’ve been identified as September 1st call-ups.

There are two up-and-down guys in Triple-A right now: Tyler Wade and Luis Cessa. I expect both to come up on September 1st. Wade to give the Yankees another bench player (a four-man bench? madness!) and Cessa to be another long man and occasional spot starter. The only thing with Cessa is that he might come up as the 26th man for Saturday’s doubleheader game in Baltimore. If he does, he has to go back down after the game, then he’ll have to wait ten days to be called back up. The ten-day rules means Cessa won’t be eligible to be called back up until September 4th. Point is, as soon as he’s eligible, I think Cessa comes up.

40-Man Guys Who Might Have To Wait

At the moment the Yankees have five healthy players on the 40-man roster and in the minors: Cessa, Wade, Albert Abreu, Ryan Bollinger, and Chris Rabago. I am fairly certain Chance Adams will be sent down tomorrow when CC Sabathia is activated — Adams threw 46 ineffective pitches last night and I don’t see the Yankees keeping him around when Sabathia returns — so it’s really six healthy players on the 40-man and in the minors.

Abreu is a Single-A pitcher who’s thrown 62.2 innings around injuries this year. There is no reason to call him up in September only to have him sit in the bullpen as the 38th or 39th or 40th guy on the roster. Abreu needs to pitch. He needs to spend September in Instructional League in Tampa. That’s the best thing for his development. Rabago was claimed on waivers yesterday and is a light-hitting Double-A catcher. He’s not a call-up candidate. He’s a guy who gets dropped from the 40-man roster when a spot is needed.

Bollinger has had two one-day stints with the Yankees as an emergency arm this year and I don’t think he’s getting a September call-up. He is much more likely to be dropped from the 40-man roster to clear a spot for someone else. Bollinger is not even in Triple-A. He’s a 27-year-old journeyman with a 4.03 ERA (3.42 FIP) in 91.2 Double-A innings. Those two call-ups were “we need a warm body” call-ups, not “we like this guy” call-ups. Sorry, Ryan.

Adams. (Presswire)

As for Adams, assuming he is sent down for Sabathia, he will be back in September for sure. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Yankees leave him in Triple-A until Scranton’s season is over though. They might not make the postseason, so it might be over soon, but if they do make the postseason, Adams could be part of the rotation. Remember, when the Yankees called Adams up for that spot start a few weeks ago, it was only because Cessa was unavailable. Letting Adams pitch in Triple-A through the end of their season seems like the way to go.

The Yankees have three injured minor league pitchers on the 40-man roster right now: Domingo Acevedo, Domingo German, and Jonathan Loaisiga. All three recently started pitching in rehab games but might not be ready to come up on September 1st. I think German comes up right away, as soon as he’s deemed fit for MLB. Acevedo and Loaisiga need innings and I expect both to stay with Double-A Trenton through the postseason. (Trenton is definitely going to the postseason.) German comes up as soon as he’s healthy. Acevedo and Loaisiga are probably going to have to wait.

Non-40-Man Roster Players

The shift to the bullpen earlier this week all but confirmed Justus Sheffield will be called up in September. The Yankees say they are going to give him 3-4 relief appearances in Triple-A — that suggests he could be a September 1st call-up — to prepare him for bullpen work in the big leagues. A September call-up has felt inevitable for weeks now. Now we know it’ll happen, and we know Sheffield will work out of the bullpen.

“We’re starting to transition him to the bullpen so that hopefully he can get a couple of outings under his belt down there, and then play a part with us in our ‘pen down the stretch,” said Boone after the Sheffield move was announced. “We think there’s some great value he could bring.”

Sheffield is getting called up in September. Stephen Tarpley might as well. Brian Cashman mentioned the southpaw by name last week when discussing call-up candidates. Tarpley has been excellent this year — his 71.0% ground ball rate leads affiliated baseball — and he’ll almost certainly be added to the 40-man roster after the season to avoid Rule 5 Draft exposure. I think he’ll get added to the 40-man in September and called up. Will he pitch? Probably in mop-up duty only, and that’s fine. Countless relievers broke in as September mop-up guys.

There are three other non-40-man players who I think I have a chance to be called up in September: George Kontos, Erik Swanson, and Gio Urshela. I don’t see guys like Mike Ford or Ryan McBroom or Abi Avelino getting called up. Avelino is the only real prospect of the bunch and he’s a fringe guy who might not get a 40-man spot after the season. Injuries could always force a call-up. I just don’t see the Yankees creating 40-man space to call those guys up though.

My hunch is George Kontos will be a September 1st call-up guy. I thought it was pretty weird a guy with his track record and service time accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A when he was designated for assignment last week. Usually a guy in his spot elects free agency and finds a team with a better shot at MLB playing time. Seems like their might’ve been an “accept the outright, go to Triple-A for two weeks, and we’ll call you up on September 1st” conversation at some point.

Urshela. (Jason Farmer/Scranton Times Tribune)

Urshela is an interesting case. The Yankees got him in a cash trade earlier this month and he’s played well with Triple-A Scranton, hitting .310/.333/.483 in 16 games. He’s a fantastic gloveman who would be a great defensive replacement for Miguel Andujar. How many infielders do the Yankees want to carry though? They’ll already have Wade and Ronald Torreyes on the September bench, plus Neil Walker could always play the infield as well. The x-factor here might be whether the Yankees want to keep Urshela for next year. Add him to the 40-man, play him in September, keep him over the winter, then bring him to camp next year? Hmmm.

Swanson? I think he’ll fall victim to the numbers crunch. Cashman did mention him by name along with Tarpley last week, but Swanson has already thrown a career high 109.1 innings this year, and the Yankees are already set to carry several spare September long men (Cessa, German, eventually Loaisiga). Do they need another one? Do they want to clear a 40-man spot to carry another one? I don’t think so. Either way, Swanson figures to stay in Triple-A through the postseason before being called up, if he is called up at all.

As for 40-man space, the Yankees are full after claiming Rabago yesterday. Both he and Bollinger can easily be dropped to open space though. Is Clint Frazier a 60-day DL candidate at this point? The Yankees could call up the injured Thairo Estrada and put him on the 60-day DL to clear another spot. That means giving Thairo a month of big league pay and service time, but that’s not a huge deal. They’ve done it before. Looks to me the Yankees have three easily available 40-man spots (Sheffield, Tarpley, Kontos?), and possibly a fourth if Frazier is indeed a 60-day DL guy.

What About A Designated Pinch-Runner?

Contending teams will often call up a crazy fast guy specifically to pinch-run and sometimes that guy winds up on the postseason roster too. Two years ago the Yankees made a minor trade for Eric Young Jr. to be their designated pinch-runner. Remember Rico Noel in 2015? Heck, Freddy Guzman was on the 2009 postseason roster as the pinch-runner. He pinch-ran twice in the team’s 15 postseason games.

Last year the Yankees did not acquire a designated pinch-runner. Why? Because they had Jacoby Ellsbury on the bench, and also Wade, who is fast as hell. Shane Robinson can also run. I don’t think the Yankees will trade for a Young or Noel or Guzman type this year, even with Ellsbury injured. I think they’ll use Wade as their primary pinch-runner with Robinson the secondary option. Never say never. Trading for a dude to pinch-run just seems so unlikely this year.

What About The Luxury Tax?

September call-ups of course count against the luxury tax payroll. Every player on the active roster or big league disabled list counts. Based on my last estimate, the Yankees have about $3.3M in wiggle room under the $197M luxury tax threshold. That number is probably closer to $2.8M or $2.9M now because the Yankees have had to call up injury replacements the last few weeks, but still, that’s plenty.

Just consider the “worst” case September call-up scenario. Say the Yankees call up the maximum 15 players on September 1st and they’re all making $600,000 at the MLB level. That is $3,225.81 per day per player. Call it $3,300 to make the math easy. Fifteen players times 30 days in September (the season ends September 30th) times $3,300 per day equals $1.485M added to the luxury tax payroll. That fits within the team’s available payroll, and remember, this is a very conservative example. Fifteen players making $600,000? Not happening. The luxury tax won’t be an issue for September call-ups.

* * *

Now that I think about it, I don’t expect Acevedo to get a September call-up. He did spend one day in the big leagues earlier this year, but that was an emergency situation. Injuries have limited Acevedo 63.2 innings this season — he threw a career high 133 innings last year — and the Yankees may rather send him to Instructional League so he can actually pitch. Acevedo would be what, the 15th option out of the bullpen in September? Yeah, I think he gets a call-up.

Okay, so based on all that, here are the call-ups I expect to happen in September:

  • September 1st: Cessa (September 4th?), Kontos, Sheffield, Wade
  • Called up/activated once healthy: Chapman, German, Gregorius, Sanchez
  • Called up after minor league seasons ends: Adams, Loaisiga, Tarpley

Not including the injured big leaguers, that is eight players added to the roster in September. Judge and hopefully Frazier will be activated at some point as well. So that’s eight minor league call-ups (Adams, Cessa, German, Kontos, Loaisiga, Sheffield, Tarpley, Wade) and five injury activations (Chapman, Frazier, Gregorius, Judge, Sanchez), giving the team 13 additional players in September and a 38-man roster.

Urshela is the wildcard here, moreso than Swanson. I don’t expect the Yankees to open up a 40-man spot to carry yet another pitcher in September. (Another pitcher who doesn’t figure to pitch much.) Urshela would be a high-end defensive caddy for Andujar and another warm body for mass substitutions in blowouts. The Yankees will need 40-man spots for Kontos, Sheffield, and Tarpley. If they open another one, I think it goes to Urshela. Another pitcher is overkill, even in September.

Filed Under: Players Tagged With: Albert Abreu, Aroldis Chapman, Chance Adams, Chris Rabago, Didi Gregorius, Domingo Acevedo, Domingo German, Erik Swanson, Gary Sanchez, George Kontos, Gio Urshela, Jonathan Loaisiga, Justus Sheffield, Luis Cessa, Ryan Bollinger, Stephen Tarpley, Tyler Wade

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