Martin Prado Archives - Page 2 of 4

Prado begins baseball workouts following appendectomy, taking grounders all over infield

December 4, 2014 by Mike 209 Comments

Tentative starting third baseman Martin Prado has resumed baseball workouts after having an emergency appendectomy in September, he told Brendan Kuty at a charity event on Wednesday. Prado has been working out since October 20th — he had the season-ending appendectomy on September 16th — and he has been taking ground balls all over the infield in preparation for 2015.

“I’ve always been doing that. It’s not something new,” said Prado when asked about taking ground balls at all different positions in the offseason. “I just put myself in a spot where, whatever you need from me, I’ll be there. I can’t lock in with one spot.”

Prado, 31, hit .316/.336/.541 (146 wRC+) with seven homers in 37 games with the Yankees this past season after hitting .270/.317/.370 (89 wRC+) with five homers in 106 games with the Diamondbacks. He played mostly second base with New York but also saw time at third and in both outfield corners. Prado has played everywhere in his career but he’s best at second and third these days.

Prado’s versatility gives the Yankees a lot of flexibility and not just in games — he allows them to pursue either a second or third baseman this offseason. They can focus on getting the best deal knowing Prado can play the other position. I like him most at second and hope the Yankees can find a real — meaning not replacement level (or worse!) — third baseman this winter. Either way, it’s good Prado’s back to working out following the appendectomy.

Mailbag: Lowrie/Cabrera, Zobrist, Roller, Frazier

November 28, 2014 by Joe Pawlikowski 652 Comments

Just a few shopkeeping items before we dive into the questions:

1. If you’re giving Yankees/baseball gear as gifts this year, You can also give a gift to RAB at the same time, free of charge. When you buy from the MLB Shop, Fanatics, or Amazon using our links at the RAB Shop we get a little cut. Same price for you, a little cash in our pockets.

Here are some deals at the MLB Shop today:

Free Shipping on orders of $50 or more

Those deals last through Sunday.

2. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re experimenting with a new mailbag submission form. It’s in the sidebar. You only have to hit Send once — it might not look like it goes through, but it does. We’re working on slightly better functionality on that. You can still email us questions if you prefer, but this form seems to work for more people.

3. Starting Monday morning we’re sending out a daily digest email. You can read more about the daily digest here. You can also sign up there, or you can just enter your email address into the field above.

And now, onto the questions.

Mark L. asks: Do you see signing two of Lowrie / Drew / Cabrera to mix and match with Prado as a cost-effective alternative to big bucks Headley?

No, I cannot see that. It seems increasingly probable that some team offers Chase Headley a four-year deal. Since the Yankees are willing to give only three, they’ll have to find help elsewhere.

Would it cost them less to sign Lowrie or Cabrera? Maybe a little, but maybe not. If Headley signs elsewhere I think they allocate that money to other positions and use Refsnyder or Pirela at second with Prado at third.

JR asks: With the Rays appearing to be in rebuilding mode, What would the cost be to get Zobrist be?

I’m not sure the Rays are in complete rebuild mode. Maybe they’re not looking for win-right-now pieces, but they’re not doing some three-year project. That said, Ben Zobrist has just one year left on his contract, for a super reasonable $7.5 million (well, $7.75 really, because he gets $.25 million if traded).

It’s hard to find a reasonable value here, though. How much is one year of Zobrist worth to you? I’m guessing the Rays want something like Greg Bird and a pitcher, and I don’t think I’d go that far. Not where the Yankees stand right now.

If they’re on the brink of greatness — if they have three guys with power who you can count on in addition to the table setters, and a great pitching staff — then maybe I consider mortgaging a decent prospect for one year of a player as versatile as Zobrist. But right now? The roster is too weak right now to make a move like that.

Hmmm asks: Would it be in the Yankees best interest, for the overall future of the team, if they do not sign anyone to over a 4 or 5 year contract until they are a legitimate contender to win? I understand that those contracts can help them become a contender, but I feel like if they don’t have the young talent that will make them perennial contenders that those contracts will just prove to be a waste.

I don’t understand this mentality at all. What does young talent have to do with being perennial contenders? Look at the 1996 Yankees. They had one starting pitcher under 30, and a lineup of mostly imported veterans. That’s not to say that the 2015 Yankees have a Jeter or a Bernie, but the idea that young talent creates perennial winners is a bit off.

You can only work with the players available to you, whether that’s on the roster or available to you in trade or free agency. Cutting yourself off from that talent because of years in a reasonable range is silly. Avoiding 10-year deals? Sure, that’s something you might want to avoid in general. But 4-5 years deals are pretty standard.

nycsportzfan asks: Why did the Yanks not protect Kyle Roller?

Roller did rake last season, mostly in AAA, so it seems as though he’s knocking on the door. That said, he turns 27 before the season starts, so it’s not as though he’s some prime prospect that they just didn’t protect.

There’s a lot going on with Rule 5 protection. You have to take into account the roster implications. A few years ago Brian Cashman said something about sometimes the best way to protect a player is to not add him to the 40-man roster. Wish I could find the exact quote. His point was that because of roster crunch issues, sometimes you protect guys and later have to make some tough DFA choices.

Say you protect someone on the fringe, but have to DFA him in June for some roster crunch reason. A team might not have taken him in the Rule 5, because they didn’t see a way to keep him on the MLB roster all year. But on waivers he doesn’t have that restriction. You can stash him in the minors for a few years. So a team that wouldn’t have made a Rule 5 pick might jump in with a waiver claim.

The Yanks have plenty of needs this off-season, and they’ll need roster spots. They can’t afford to have one of those spots taken up by a 27-year-old first baseman. Also, Roller didn’t even make this enormous list of Rule 5 possibilities.

Elfi asks: Why would the Yankees sign Headley for 3B when they have a solid and capable player in Prado who could do it? Prado I’m sure can at least match Headley’s numbers. This would pave the way for Refsnyder to be the 2B and of course A-Rod at DH

It’s all about depth. If you go into the season with Prado at 3B, you’re stuck with the rookies as your first option at 2B. If they fail, then what? By creating some depth, they can react to injuries and failures. If Prado gets hurt, Pierla or Refsnyder steps in. If they fail as a depth option, that’s one thing. But to rely on them, and have no real backup option, would hurt quite a lot.

Chris R. asks: Doesn’t a run at Todd Frazier make a ton of sense? 28 year old that can play 1st & 3rd. Entering his arb years so he will start to cost Cincy some money now.

Cincinnati is in a tough spot right now, with the poor season they had combined with a number of their pitchers hitting free agency after 2015. They’re locked into a couple of huge contracts, so they could seem inflexible at this point.

That said, he’s one of their only weapons on offense. Unless they go into rebuild mode — and I’m talking trade-Votto rebuild mode — I can’t see them entertaining offers for Frazier.

That said, a Jersey-raised kid who went to Rutgers and walks up to “Fly Me to the Moon” Frazier sounds like a Yankee to me.

Lightning Round

Kenny asks: With the Yankees looking for a new shortstop, do you think Ruben Tejada is on their radar?

The Mets also need a shortstop, so that should answer the question right there.

Daniel asks: Assuming no major changes to the current rotation, who would be the opening day starter?

Have to imagine that’s CC’s job for at least one more season, if he’s healthy.

Matt asks: The Rays are reportedly listening on offers for Yunel Escobar, should the Yankees be interested?

He doesn’t seem like the Yanks kind of player. The Braves traded him for peanuts because they couldn’t stand his attitude. Plus, he’s not a very good SS, even if he can hit a little.

Dustin asks: Dave Martinez for 1B coach or hitting coach?

He’s as good a candidate as any. I have a feeling that the Yankees are more interested in Rays hitting coach Derek Shelton, though. But maybe they bring in both, given that they have two coaching openings.

2014 Season Review: Better than nothing from the keystone?

October 21, 2014 by Joe Pawlikowski 250 Comments

One of Roberts's final hits. ( Elsa/Getty Images) — One of Roberts’s final hits. ( Elsa/Getty Images)

Not gonna lie: The original title of this season review was “Nothing from the keystone.” It sure seemed that way, given that Stephen Drew and Brian Roberts combined for 458 of 631 total PA from the position. Add in Brendan Ryan for another 42 and it looks like a downright disaster.

Then I saw this, and I had to change my title.

The chart does not lie: Yankees second basemen ranked seventh in the AL for OPS. All I could think was:

To reiterate, Stephen Drew and Brian Roberts combined for 73 percent of the overall plate appearances at second base, and together produced a .603 OPS. That actually raises another decent question.

How the hell did the Yankees second basemen produce a .693 OPS if the guys taking 73 percent of the PA produced a .603 OPS? That 90 points has to come from somewhere.

1) Martin Prado is awesome. In his 63 PA as a 2B he had a 1.074 OPS. That moved the needle quite a bit.

2) Yangervis Solarte got 49 PA as a 2B and had a .777 OPS, which helped.

3) Jose Pirela had three hits, including a double and a triple, in 13 PA, so he and Dean Anna, who hit a home run as a 2B, topped off the tank.

Here’s where the effect on the field doesn’t quite line up with the aggregate stats. Prado excelled while playing 2B, but no matter his overall numbers (7 2B, 3 HR, both more than Drew in a little more than half the PA) he affected only 17 games. Drew and Roberts infected affected a combined 121 games with their .603 OPS.

So I suppose the title could be, “Nothing from the keystone most of the time.” That’s a little clunky. The question mark will suffice.

No matter what, the Yankees were going to be disappointed at second base this season. In 2013 they had the highest OPS in the AL at second base — by 119 points. Once Robinson Cano signed with the Mariners, what options did the Yankees have?

Mark Ellis? Plenty advocated for that, but go look at his B-R page. I’m not even going to link it here. It’s too offensive.

Omar Infante? Sure, he’s ready for a World Series appearance, his second in three years, but his OPS was 37 points lower than Roberts’s during the regular season. And Kansas City is paying him through 2017.

Trade? Since zero second basemen were traded from the time Cano signed through Opening Day, it’s tough to say that the Yankees missed any opportunities. Once Cano left, they had essentially no chance to field a decent second baseman.

Mike wrote glowingly of Prado in his season review, and for good reason. He not only provided offense in the second half, but will be around for the next two seasons. That’s the big 2014 story for the Yankees at second base: how it will affect 2015 and beyond.

I could spend a few paragraphs ripping Roberts and Drew, but what’s the point? We saw some brilliant moments out of Roberts, but we mostly saw an aging, oft-injured player on his last legs. (Roberts confirmed that by announcing his retirement last Friday.) We saw — well, we really saw nothing from Drew save for a few line drives towards the very end of the season.

What we saw from Prado, though, was a glimpse of what he might provide in 2015. It’s almost certain he’ll start the season at second base, with Alex Rodriguez, Chase Headley, or a combination thereof manning third base. He might move at some point, perhaps to the outfield, perhaps to third base, making room for Rob Refsnyder or Jose Pirela. However the situation shakes out, Prado gives them a level of versatility they’ve lacked in recent years.

There you have it: a positively spun review on what seemed like one of the worst positions for the 2014 Yankees. Next up on my plate: What the hell happened at first base. And yes, the first basemen produced a lower OPS than the second basemen.

2014 Season Review: The Prado of the Yankees

October 17, 2014 by Mike 162 Comments

Despite all of last winter’s free agent signings, it wasn’t much of a surprise when the Yankees needed offensive help at the trade deadline. They started the season with question marks at second and third bases, plus no one really knew what to expect out of Derek Jeter following his lost 2013 season. Add in disappointing seasons from Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran and you had a team in need of a bat or three at the deadline.

The Yankees made their first move to add offense about a week before the deadline, grabbing Chase Headley from the Padres. That was a nice start but they needed more. Brian Cashman swung a minor trade with the Red Sox to acquire Stephen Drew on deadline day, then, just a few minutes before the deadline, he acquired the versatile Martin Prado from the Diamondbacks for minor league slugger Peter O’Brien.

The trade for Prado almost didn’t happen, however. Cashman had been talking to D’Backs GM Kevin Towers about Prado for a while but the asking price was high, so, a few hours before the trade deadline, he pulled the plug on talks and went after Drew. That’s when Arizona circled back around and lowered their demands, which complicated things. John Harper explains:

Within minutes (of the Drew trade), however, Towers called back to say, OK, he was willing to trade Prado for O’Brien. Cashman was exasperated because the Drew deal, which meant taking more than $3 million in salary, was suddenly an obstacle.“I said, ‘Dude, we just did a deal (for Drew),’ ” Cashman recalled. “I told him I’d have to talk to ownership.”

Cashman called Hal Steinbrenner and explained how important Prado’s versatility could be both this season and beyond. He also told him he thought Prado’s intangibles make a difference as well.

“He has a great reputation around the game as a tough kid and a gamer,” Cashman said of Prado.

Steinbrenner immediately signed off on the proposal, and Cashman called Towers back and said they had a deal, with a half hour or so to spare.

Like so many players on the D’Backs, the 30-year-old Prado was in the middle of down year, hitting only .270/.317/.370 (89 wRC+) in 106 games before the trade. He hit .282/.333/.417 (104 wRC+) last season after putting up a .294/.342/.436 (114 wRC+) line as a full-time player with the Braves from 2009-12. There were no injury concerns or anything like that. His performance just slipped and that’s always kinda scary.

The original plan called for Prado to play right field full-time — Beltran was the full-time DH and Ichiro Suzuki was moved back to the bench — even though he had two whole innings of experience at the position in his career. Prado joined the team the day after the trade deadline and he made his debut that night, pinch-hitting for Ichiro and grounding out in the seventh. He stayed in the game and struck out in the ninth inning as well.

Prado started in right field the next day and singled before being lifted for a defensive replacement in the late innings. He started again the next day and the same thing happened, minus the single. Prado went 2-for-5 with a homer off David Price in his fifth game with the team, though otherwise his first two weeks in the Bronx were pretty underwhelming: 7-for-43 (.163) with a double and the homer plus eleven strikeouts. He was playing mostly right field but also filled in at third base when Mark Teixeira was banged up (Headley slid over to first).

Then, on August 16th, it seemed like someone just slipped the switch. Prado went from drain on the offense to the team’s best hitter practically overnight. He hit a two-run homer off Drew Smyly on that day, went 2-for-4 with a double the next day, and 3-for-4 with a double the day after that. On August 22nd against the White Sox he went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and a walk-off single.

With Drew not hitting at all and Prado tearing the cover off the ball, Prado had taken over as the team’s regular second baseman and number three hitter by the end of August. He went 22-for-60 (.367) with six doubles and three homers in the final 15 games of August and maintained that pace in September, going 5-for-7 with two doubles and a homer in the first two games of the month.

Prado was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning of the team’s September 2nd game because he hurt his hamstring at some point earlier in the game. Tests confirmed a strain that was bad enough to keep him on the bench for six of the next eight games — he started two of those eight games but the hamstring didn’t like that — before coming back for good on September 11th. Prado went 8-for-19 (.421) with two homers in the next six games.

Another injury struck on September 15th, this one a bit more serious. Prado returned to the team hotel in Tampa following that night’s game and complained of stomach pain overnight, bad enough that the trainers send him to the hospital, where he eventually underwent an emergency appendectomy. The procedure ended his season. Just like that, the Yankees lost their starting second baseman and most productive hitter with 13 games left in the season and their postseason hopes fading fast.

Despite those slow first two weeks, Prado hit .316/.336/.541 (146 wRC+) with nine doubles and seven homers in 37 games after the trade. (He hit only five homers with the D’Backs.) He appeared in 17 games at second base, eleven at third base, eight in right field, and four in left field while playing anything from solid to above-average defense at each spot. His performance checked in at 1.4 fWAR and 2.1 bWAR and that passes my sniff test. I can totally buy Prado adding 1-2 wins to the Yankees after the trade thanks to those last four weeks, which were so impressive.

Arizona’s motivation for the trade was shedding the $26M or so they owed Prado though the 2016 season, so the Yankees have him for two more years. In O’Brien, they gave up their top power hitting prospect, but a prospect without a position and concerns about his plate discipline and ability to tap into that power at the MLB level. O’Brien hit 33 homers with a ~147 wRC+ in 102 games split between High-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton before the trade, then played only four Double-A games for the D’Backs before fouling a ball off his leg and suffering a season-ending shin injury. (He’s healthy now and playing in the Arizona Fall League.)

As good as Headley was down the stretch, Prado had the most impact of the team’s trade deadline position player pickups. He shook off those slow first two weeks — adjustment period to a new team, a new league, etc.? — and was a force the rest of the way, deservingly batting in the middle of the order and playing whatever position the team needed him to play that night. Prado’s versatility will give the Yankees some flexibility to pursue upgrades this winter because they plug him in at second, third, or right field next year and feel comfortable. Prado wasn’t enough to get the Yankees into the postseason, but he might be part of the solution these next two years.

(“The Prado of the Yankees!” is John Sterling’s homer call for Prado. It’s so cheesy but I love it.)

Update: Prado out for season following appendectomy, Yankees call up Jose Pirela

September 16, 2014 by Mike 147 Comments

12:05pm: The Yankees officially announced Prado is done for the year following the appendectomy. He has been placed on the 60-day DL and utility man Jose Pirela was called up. Pirela, 24, hit .305/.351/.441 (117 wRC+) with ten homers and 15 steals with Triple-A Scranton this year. He was due to become a minor league free agent after the season and was a borderline 40-man roster candidate.

11:12am: Martin Prado will likely miss the remainder of the season after undergoing an emergency appendectomy, according to Meredith Marakovits. The season ends in 12 days and most players need several weeks to recover from an appendectomy, though Matt Holliday only missed seven games following the procedure a few years ago. Holliday is the exception, not the rule. The Yankees are out of the race and there’s no sense in rushing Prado back though. Let him heal up and get ready for next year.

Injury Updates: Tanaka, Gardner, Prado, Phelps

September 10, 2014 by Mike 131 Comments

The Yankees continue to fade out of the postseason race, but at least there is some good news on the injury front. Also some bad news, but whatever. Here are a few injury updates, courtesy of Bryan Hoch, Chad Jennings, George King, and Mark Feinsand.

Masahiro Tanaka (elbow) threw 45 pitches across three simulated innings yesterday, saying afterwards that everything went fine and he feels strong. He will throw a bullpen session in the coming days, and after that the Yankees will decide whether Tanaka will throw another simulated game or pitch in an Instructional League game in Tampa. It’s entirely possible he will rejoin the rotation after that. “I think he wants to feel that he can go home and have a normal offseason and he can be healthy and come back,” said Joe Girardi. “I do believe it’s important to him.”
Brett Gardner (abdomen) underwent an MRI and was diagnosed with a mild strain. There is no timetable for his return right now and it’s possible his season is over. “We’re not sure exactly when we’ll get him back,” said Girardi. “He does feel better. He’ll see the doctor again tonight and then we’ll try to make some decisions on when he’ll start doing some baseball activities … I’m not sure when we’ll get him back. It is a concern of mine. We’ll continue to talk to the doctors, measure how he feels and how he’s improving and go from there.”
Martin Prado (hamstring) is not improving. His mild strain hasn’t gotten any worse — he did play two games over the weekend — but it just isn’t getting any better right now. “There’s concern about him playing on that, where he could really make it worse in his hamstring to where it becomes a serious issue,” said Girardi. “It’s still bothering him. Even though I told him to guard it — and he did a good job — there’s concern.”
David Phelps (elbow) will throw a bullpen session on Wednesday and is likely to be activated on Friday, in advance of the team’s doubleheader against the Orioles. He feels great and is ready to go. The Yankees are bringing Phelps back as a reliever.
Frankie Cervelli (migraines) is on medication and resumed working out Monday. He should be available soon. “I got treatment and I’m back. Doctors say we have to make sure it doesn’t come back, but I feel good so I think I am going to play soon,” he said.

Injury Updates: Tanaka, Nova, Prado, Sabathia

September 4, 2014 by Mike 38 Comments

Got a bunch of injury updates to pass along prior to tonight’s series finale against the Red Sox. The updates come courtesy of Meredith Marakovits, Chad Jennings, Mark Feinsand, Jack Curry, Brendan Kuty, and Dan Martin.

Masahiro Tanaka (elbow) felt fine after playing long toss earlier this week. He is scheduled to throw off a mound in the bullpen on Saturday. “He does feel better. Our doctor said he basically just had arm fatigue, and that’s not abnormal for a pitcher. He does feel better. He played long toss the other day and felt good, so hopefully it’s pretty soon,” said Joe Girardi.
Ivan Nova (elbow) started a throwing program last week as part of his rehab from Tommy John surgery. “It was awesome to be throwing a baseball again. For me, I always worried about how I’m going to be. It feels a little weird, but once you start throwing, you’re more confident,” he said. Nova, who is right on schedule with his rehab, is making 25 throws at 60 feet every other day and will eventually start to stretch it out. He will spend the winter rehabbing in Tampa rather than going home to the Dominican Republic.
Martin Prado (hamstring) received some treatment yesterday and does not feel anything when he’s walking. He will test the hamstring with some baseball activities today — batting practice, running, fielding grounders, etc. — to see how it responds. “I think we made a little progress and we’ll see how it responds,” he said. “I just want it to be one or two days and not the rest of the season. I don’t feel it walking. I’m not going to play 50%. I have to be 100%.”
Carlos Beltran (elbow) will have the bone spur removed as soon as the season ends and the rehab is not expected to limit him at the start of Spring Training. He’ll need two months of rest before he can resume throwing and swinging a bat — Beltran will spend the winter living in New York so he can go for regular check-ups — which still gives him plenty of time to get ready for camp.
As scheduled, CC Sabathia (knee) received another stem cell injection last week. “It went well. I’ve got no crutches. I feel good,” he said. Sabathia is expected to begin throwing in another week or two.
This isn’t really an injury update, but Hiroki Kuroda admitted he skipped his usual between-starts bullpen session this week in an effort to avoid fatigue, something he’s done late in each of the last two years. He added that he’s thrown less between starts all season.