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Game 41: Rainy D.C.

May 15, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

For the first time this season, the Yankees are heading over to the land of no DH. Tonight they start a quick two-game series in Washington and hey, this might be a World Series preview. The Yankees and Nationals are both very good, and if they qualify for the postseason, anything can happen. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though. There’s a lot of season remaining.

Both the Yankees and Nationals come into this series playing very well. The Yankees are 19-3 in their last 22 games whereas the Nationals are 13-2 in their last 15 games. They just swept four games from the first place Diamondbacks in Arizona. Of course, the Yankees have played the majority of those last 22 games against very good teams, so they’re up for the challenge. Here are the starting lineups:

New York Yankees
1. CF Aaron Hicks
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. LF Giancarlo Stanton
4. C Gary Sanchez
5. SS Didi Gregorius
6. 1B Tyler Austin
7. 3B Miguel Andujar
8. RHP Masahiro Tanaka
9. 2B Gleyber Torres

Washington Nationals
1. SS Trea Turner
2. RF Bryce Harper
3. 3B Anthony Rendon
4. LF Matt Adams
5. 2B Howie Kendrick
6. 1B Mark Reynolds
7. CF Andrew Stevenson
8. C Pedro Severino
9. LHP Gio Gonzalez

Aaron Boone’s a “hit the pitcher eighth” guy, eh? Well, anyway, the weather forecast in Washington is a problem. There are on and off thunderstorms in the forecast pretty much all night, so we could be in for a delay(s) at some point. Sure hope not. Tonight’s game is scheduled to begin at 7:05pm ET and you can watch on YES. Enjoy the game.

Roster Move: Welcome back, Red Thunder. Clint Frazier has been called up and David Hale has been designated for assignment, the Yankees announced. They now have a seven-man bullpen and four-man bench. Well, five-man bench this series, because of whole no DH thing.

Montgomery placed on the 10-day DL with elbow strain, Hale called up

May 2, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

5:12pm ET: During a radio interview this afternoon, Aaron Boone said Montgomery is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with a flexor tendon strain. He won’t throw at all the next 2-3 weeks. Montgomery is not out of the woods yet, but all things considered, the initial news could’ve been worse.

3:26pm ET: As expected, the Yankees placed left-hander Jordan Montgomery on the 10-day DL today. He has been diagnosed with a left elbow strain, the team announced, though they did not say anything about the severity of the strain. I imagine we’ll hear more later today.

Montgomery left last night’s start with elbow tightness and went for tests today. A strain may indicate the ulnar collateral ligament has been compromised to some degree. Minor strains can be rehabbed fairly quickly, even in as little as two or three weeks, whereas a severe strain requires Tommy John surgery. The severity of a strain is the big unknown here.

Update: I’m a dolt. The Yankees announced an elbow strain, not a sprain. That one letter makes a big difference! A sprain would apply to the elbow ligament. A strain, which is what Montgomery has, indicates an injury to the muscle or tendon. Pretty big difference. We’ll see what the Yankees say later today. Sprains can be bad, but at least it appears Montgomery’s ligament is sound.

With Montgomery out for at least ten days, the Yankees are expected to use Domingo German in his rotation spot. German tossed four gutsy and scoreless innings in long relief last night. Thanks to off-days, the Yankees will only need their fifth starter twice in the next 22 days. That’s convenient.

In corresponding moves, David Hale has been called up and Jacoby Ellsbury has been transferred to the 60-day DL to clear a 40-man roster spot. Hale was re-signed to a new minor league contract yesterday and he was set to rejoin Triple-A Scranton. Now he’ll replace German as a long reliever.

Game 29: Time To Start A New Winning Streak

May 1, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

The nine-game winning streak came to an unceremonious end last night, so you know what that means, right? Time to start a new winning streak tonight. You can’t win ’em all. The key to a successful season is to not let one or two losses spiral into a four or five-game losing streak. Shake off last night’s one-run loss and get after the win tonight.

Jordan Montgomery will be on the mound this evening and the last time out was a grind. The Twins worked him hard for five innings before Gary Sanchez’s walk-off heroics. Montgomery seems to have that quality where even his bad starts are still pretty good. The bullpen is ostensibly rested, so Montgomery doesn’t need to pitch super deep into the game, though it would be appreciated. Here are the starting lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. SS Didi Gregorius
4. DH Giancarlo Stanton
5. C Gary Sanchez
6. CF Aaron Hicks
7. 3B Miguel Andujar
8. 1B Tyler Austin
9. 2B Gleyber Torres

LHP Jordan Montgomery

Houston Astros
1. RF George Springer
2. 2B Jose Altuve
3. SS Carlos Correa
4. 1B Yuli Gurriel
5. 3B Alex Bregman
6. LF Marwin Gonzalez
7. DH Evan Gattis
8. C Brian McCann
9. CF Jake Marisnick

RHP Justin Verlander

The Minute Maid Park roof will be closed enough, so I guess it’s either hot or rainy in Houston. Baseball outside is better than baseball inside. Tonight’s game will begin at 8:10pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and MLB Network nationally. Enjoy the game.

Roster Move: Welcome back, David Hale. The Yankees have re-signed him to a minor league contract. He’s going to Triple-A Scranton. Hale was called up last week, threw two scoreless innings in a blowout, got designated for assignment after the game to make room for A.J. Cole, was claimed on waivers by the Twins, threw three innings in a blowout, then was designated for assignment and released after the game. Now he’s back with the Yankees. Been a busy couple days for him.

Game 25: Severino for Seven

April 27, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

The Yankees just completed a very successful 8-2 homestand and now they’re out on the road for three games against the Angels and four games against the Astros. Very possible they will see those two teams in the postseason, though let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. Still lots of regular season to go. The Yankees are kicking butt right now and they come into tonight’s series opener against the Halos riding a six-game winning streak.

The good news: Luis Severino is the mound tonight! He’s pretty awesome. The bad news: The Yankees have a 24-man roster. Tyler Austin will begin serving his four-game suspension tonight, and because the Yankees are carrying eight relievers, they currently have a two-man bench. Not ideal, but what can you do? Austin (and Brandon Drury) will be back soon enough. Here are tonight’s starting lineups:

New York Yankees
1. CF Aaron Hicks
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. SS Didi Gregorius
4. LF Giancarlo Stanton
5. C Gary Sanchez
6. 1B Neil Walker
7. DH Miguel Andujar
8. 2B Gleyber Torres
9. 3B Ronald Torreyes

RHP Luis Severino

Los Angeles Angels
1. 2B Ian Kinsler
2. CF Mike Trout
3. LF Justin Upton
4. 1B Albert Pujols
5. DH Shohei Ohtani
6. SS Andrelton Simmons
7. 3B Zack Cozart
8. RF Kole Calhoun
9. C Martin Maldonado

LHP Andrew Heaney

As always, the weather is pretty much perfect in Anaheim. Best weather for the Yankees so far this season. Tonight’s game will begin at 10:07pm ET and you can watch on YES. Enjoy the game.

Injury Updates: Drury (migraines) played in his second rehab game with Triple-A Scranton tonight and Aaron Boone said there is “no hard set plan” for his return. They’re essentially monitoring him day-by-day. He could return during the road trip though … Greg Bird (ankle) and Billy McKinney (shoulder) both traveled to Tampa today to continue their rehab while the Yankees are on the road … Jacoby Ellsbury (oblique, hip, foot) has started light baseball activities but is “probably still a ways off,” according to Boone … Brett Gardner is fine. Just an off-day against a lefty.

Roster Note: So long, David Hale. He was claimed off waivers by the Twins, the Yankees announced yesterday. He made one appearance in pinstripes, throwing two scoreless innings in a blowout win earlier this week. Hale was designated for assignment after that game to clear a roster spot for A.J. Cole. Don’t be surprised if the Yankees make a minor move to add a depth arm at some point, just to make sure Triple-A Scranton has enough pitching and the actual prospects don’t get overworked.

Yankees get A.J. Cole from Nationals in minor trade

April 23, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Following tonight’s win, the Yankees announced they have acquired right-hander A.J. Cole from the Nationals for cash considerations. He’s joining the big league team. David Hale was designated for assignment to clear 25-man and 40-man roster space.

Cole, 26, opened the season as Washington’s fifth starter but lost the job after allowing 15 runs in 10.1 innings. Yikes. He’s been an up-and-down guy for the Nationals for a few years now and has a 5.32 ERA (5.34 FIP) in 110 career big league innings. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Yankees think he’s a good candidate for their “stop throwing fastballs” approach. Cole does have a decent looking slider:

In all likelihood Cole is nothing more than an eight reliever capable of providing innings, which is basically the role Hale filled the last few days. Cole is out of options, so there’s no stashing him in Triple-A. He’s younger than Hale and possibly better. That’s pretty much all there is to it.

Hale, 30, started the season with Triple-A Scranton before being called up this past weekend. He threw two scoreless innings to close out tonight’s blowout win. So, thanks for the two innings, David. My guess is he’ll accept his outright assignment and return to Triple-A.

Game 20: Happy Gleyber Day

April 22, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Less than two years ago the Yankees plotted a course that changed the direction of the franchise. They decided to sell at the 2016 trade deadline, not buy, and as good as the Yankees were last year and as talented as the roster is this year, we’ve yet to see the impact of those 2016 deadline trades. Adam Warren is still around and Clint Frazier was up for a few minutes last season, but that’s about it so far.

Today, the prized 2016 trade deadline pickup arrives in the big leagues. As expected, the Yankees have called up Gleyber Torres, and he is in this afternoon’s starting lineup at second base. Aaron Boone made it clear this morning that the plan does not call for Torres to be a short-term addition to the lineup. He’s here for the long haul. The plan is primarily second base, but Gleyber may see some shortstop and third base as well, depending on the team’s needs.

“I think you all realize how much we value him as a player short-term, and certainly for our future,” said Boone this morning. “(Calling him up has) been something we’ve been having conversations about over the last week. When’s the right time? It just felt like today — lefty going — we just feel like he’s ready. We feel like he helps up on the short-term, but we feel like he’s checked the boxes we’ve wanted him to to be here. We’re excited to have him.”

Torres hit .370/.393/.510 (154 wRC+) with one homer in 13 Triple-A games and, interestingly enough, Boone seemed to indicate Gleyber would’ve been called up sooner had he not missed time with back stiffness last week. The Yankees wanted to make sure he’s right physically — both the back and after last year’s elbow surgery — and is back up to speed at the plate before calling him up. They feel he is, and now here he is, starting at second base in the Bronx.

Oh, and by the way, the Yankees have a chance to win a series this afternoon. Kind of a big deal. The Yankees have won two of the first three games of this four-game series with the Blue Jays, and they have their ace on the mound this afternoon, so locking down this series win over a division rival would be appreciated. The Yankees have yet to win a series of at least three games this year. To be fair, they’ve only played three such series, but still. Here are the lineups:

New York Yankees
1. CF Aaron Hicks
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. SS Didi Gregorius
4. LF Giancarlo Stanton
5. DH Gary Sanchez
6. 1B Tyler Austin
7. 3B Miguel Andujar
8. 2B Gleyber Torres
9. C Austin Romine

RHP Luis Severino

Toronto Blue Jays
1. RF Curtis Granderson
2. LF Teoscar Hernandez
3. 1B Justin Smoak
4. 3B Yangervis Solarte
5. C Russell Martin
6. DH Kendrys Morales
7. CF Kevin Pillar
8. 2B Devon Travis
9. SS Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

LHP Jaime Garcia

It is a wonderful day for baseball in the Bronx. Nice and sunny with a slight breeze. A little chilly, but that’s better than freezing cold. This afternoon’s game will begin at 1:05pm ET, and you can watch on YES locally and MLB Network out of market. Happy Gleyber Day, everyone. Enjoy the game.

Roster Moves: As expected, Tyler Wade was optioned to Triple-A Scranton to clear a spot for Gleyber. Wade will play everyday for the RailRiders (duh). Torres was already on the 40-man roster, so no other move was required … Also, the Yankees have called up righty David Hale to serve as a long man. He’d been starting in Triple-A and is stretched out to 90-ish pitches, so he’s available for super long relief, which I hope is not needed. Jace Peterson was designated for assignment to clear 25-man and 40-man roster space for Hale. The Yankees are now carrying eight relievers and three bench players.

Injury Updates: Brandon Drury (migraines) has been diagnosed with irritation in a tendon running up his neck and into his head, which is causing his headaches and blurred vision. Doctors have developed a treatment plan. Drury is taking batting practice and fielding grounders and all that in the meantime, though his return is not imminent. He’ll need a minor league rehab assignment first … Greg Bird (ankle) feels good and is expected to increase his hitting and running workloads this week. He’s still looking at a return at some point in mid-to-late May.

Projecting the Yankees’ 2018 Opening Day roster

March 15, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Two weeks from today the Yankees will open the 2018 regular season at Rogers Centre against the Blue Jays. Spring Training has gone well so far. The injuries have been kept to a minimum, and the Yankees addressed their two biggest roster questions (second and third bases) with a trade (Brandon Drury) and a free agent signing (Neil Walker). Knock on wood, it has been a good camp so far.

As things stand, the Opening Day roster is mostly set. Jacoby Ellsbury’s oblique injury and Clint Frazier’s concussion complicate the bench a bit, otherwise I count 22 of 25 roster spots already claimed. I suppose another surprise signing could go down at any moment, and of course injuries can change things, but right now, this is the Opening Day roster:

CATCHER	INFIELDERS	OUTFIELDERS	STARTERS	RELIEVERS
Sanchez	1B Bird	Gardner	Gray	CL Chapman
	2B Walker	Hicks	Montgomery	Betances
	SS Gregorius	Judge	Sabathia	Green
	3B Drury	Stanton	Severino	Kahnle
			Tanaka	Robertson
BENCH		DISABLED LIST		Warren
C Romine	???	Ellsbury		???
IF Torreyes	???	Frazier

Ellsbury has started some light baseball activities, though time is running out and he’s probably not going to be ready for Opening Day. “We’re probably getting into that range where we’re butting up against it,” said Aaron Boone to Bryan Hoch earlier this week. As for Frazier, he’s still experiencing symptoms and things are moving slow. He’s not going to be ready for Opening Day. No way, no how.

So, with Ellsbury and Frazier sidelined, the Yankees have three open Opening Day roster spots. One reliever and two bench players seems likely, though two relievers and one bench player is possible as well. Eight-man bullpens are increasingly becoming a the norm these days. Let’s talk about those last few unoccupied Opening Day roster spots.

1. Shreve is likely making the bullpen. Yeah, one bullpen spot is open, but it’s really not. Chasen Shreve has been on the veteran reliever “brought along slowly” plan this spring, not the roster hopeful “you’re going to pitch a lot and you need to impress to make the team” plan. Shreve is out of minor league options and there’s almost no chance he slips through waivers unclaimed. As the seventh guy in the bullpen, Shreve is fine. He misses bats, he doesn’t have a platoon split, and he can go two innings at a time if necessary. Shreve’s going to be on the roster. Get ready for it.

2. Who’s the backup outfielder? Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton all figure to be in the starting lineup most days between the three outfield spots and DH. That means the Yankees need an outfielder on the bench. Gardner can back up center field, so the reserve outfielder needn’t be center field capable. Would be nice though. The outfield candidates still in big league camp:

Tyler Austin
Estevan Florial
Billy McKinney
Jace Peterson
Shane Robinson
Tyler Wade

Florial isn’t making the Opening Day roster. He’s going back to the minors, probably High-A but maybe Double-A. Austin is an emergency outfielder more than someone you want to play in the outfield intentionally. He’s a pretty bad defender in the corners. I’d rule him out as a backup outfielder option. Austin could still make the Opening Day roster! But not as the reserve outfielder.

That leaves McKinney, Peterson, Robinson, and Wade. Both McKinney and Wade have impressed this spring. Peterson and Robinson not so much. McKinney is a natural corner outfielder who can fill in at first base, though his experience is limited at the position. Wade is a natural infielder who the Yankees started to expose to the outfield two years ago. He started a handful of games in left and right fields during his big league cameo last year.

I see two reasons to believe McKinney will be the bench outfielder on Opening Day. One, he is on the 40-man roster. That is not insignificant. Peterson and Robinson are not on the 40-man roster and adding them means cutting someone, likely a young player given the state of the 40-man. I don’t think the Yankees want to do that. I suppose Frazier could be a 60-day DL candidate, so maybe the Yankees can open a 40-man spot that way, though it’s too early to say.

And two, Wade hasn’t played the outfield at all this spring! That’s kind of a big deal. Wade is on the 40-man, so he has that going for him, but he has limited outfield experience as it is and the Yankees haven’t played him out there at all during Grapefruit League play. I suppose they could put him through an outfield crash course before Opening Day, but that seems un-Yankee-like. All that points to McKinney and his Yankee Stadium friendly left-handed bat making the Opening Day roster. Fun!

3. So what happens with the final open roster spot? Reliever or bench player, bench player or reliever. You can make a case for both. You really can. The April schedule is not as pitching staff friendly as it has been in previous years. The Yankees can’t skip their fifth starter at all in April. Not once, unless they get rained out or something. Because of that, carrying an eighth reliever as the pitchers ease into things might not be a bad idea.

At the same time, eight relievers almost always feels like overkill. Domingo German sat in the bullpen for long stretches of time as the eighth reliever last season. He was on the MLB roster from June 15th to July 16th and he pitched four times. Four times in a month! Maybe things will be different in April because it’s early in the season and every team tries to make sure their pitchers don’t do too much, too soon. Here are the possible eighth reliever candidates in camp:

Luis Cessa
Gio Gallegos
Domingo German
David Hale
Ben Heller
Jonathan Holder
Brady Lail
Wade LeBlanc

Can’t see Hale, Lail, or LeBlanc making it. They’re Triple-A depth arms and it is too early in the year to dip that far down the depth chart. None of them are on the 40-man roster and I don’t think the Yankees want to cut someone to carry an eighth reliever this early in the season. Not when Cessa, Gallegos, German, Heller, and Holder are all on the 40-man and likely to outpitch Hale, Lail, and LeBlanc anyway.

My personal preference would be German or Heller as the eighth reliever, if the Yankees decide to go that route. I am also curious to see what Cessa could do as a full-time reliever. That all said, I expect the Yankees to carry a fourth bench player come Opening Day, not an eighth reliever. They could always adjust on the fly if another reliever is needed early in the season. Here are the remaining bench player candidates:

Miguel Andujar
Tyler Austin
Estevan Florial
Kyle Higashioka
Jace Peterson
Shane Robinson
Tyler Wade

We ruled out Florial, Peterson, and Robinson earlier. There’s no need for a third catcher either, so sorry Higgy. The Yankees wouldn’t use Andujar as a bench player. He’ll go to Triple-A Scranton and play everyday. Realistically, the final bench spot comes down to Austin and Wade now that Adam Lind has been released. Wade has had the better spring and he’s more versatile, plus he’s fast. Austin would be a right-handed power bench bat and a natural platoon partner for Greg Bird.

The Walker signing means the Yankees don’t absolutely need a backup first baseman on the bench. Walker can back up Bird and hey, so can McKinney. Wade is the more functional piece. He can play the infield, play the outfield, and run like hell. Dingers are cool, but the Yankees have enough right-handed hitters who hit dingers. Aside from back up first base, Austin doesn’t do much. Wade can do more things. Plus the Yankees seem to love him. That can’t hurt. I think Wade makes the bench over Austin.

* * *

Alright, so after all that, this is the projected Opening Day roster at the moment:

CATCHER	INFIELDERS	OUTFIELDERS	STARTERS	RELIEVERS
Sanchez	1B Bird	Gardner	Gray	CL Chapman
	2B Walker	Hicks	Montgomery	Betances
	SS Gregorius	Judge	Sabathia	Green
	3B Drury	Stanton	Severino	Kahnle
			Tanaka	Robertson
BENCH		DISABLED LIST		Shreve
C Romine	OF McKinney	Ellsbury		Warren
IF Torreyes	UTIL Wade	Frazier

If Ellsbury does indeed begin the season on the disabled list, Gardner and Walker would be the only position players on the Opening Day roster over 30. (Austin Romine would be the only other position player over 28.) If Ellsbury manages to get healthy, I think McKinney would go back to Triple-A, not Wade. No need for two lefty hitting outfielders on the bench. Maybe in the NL, but not the AL. Even after the Drury and Walker pick-ups, it really seems like the Yankees want Wade on the roster. And hey, why wouldn’t they? He’s pretty rad.

There are still two weeks to go before Opening Day and that is an eternity in baseball. Lots can change between now and then. For the most part though, the Yankees’ Opening Day roster seems set aside from the final three spots. Shreve is a pretty safe bet to get that final bullpen spot. The Yankees have been talking up Wade all spring, and his versatility and speed could make him quite valuable, so I think he’s making it too. McKinney feels like a classic “sneak onto the Opening Day roster thanks to an injury” player. Hopefully everyone stays healthy these next two weeks, because that projected Opening Day roster is awfully exciting.