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The Other Other Guys [2018 Season Review]

November 30, 2018 by Domenic Lanza

Twenty-three different position players came to the plate at least once for the Yankees this year, and we here at River Avenue Blues endeavor to give you a little something about each and every one of them in this series of reviews. These are the guys that opened the season in the organization and, for a variety of reasons, ended up playing relatively minor roles.

Brandon Drury

The Yankees have acquired quite a bit of talent from the Diamondbacks over the last five years; so much so that a deal between the two teams feels like an automatic win for the good guys. They’ve made five deals in that span, with the Yankees acquiring Brandon McCarthy, Martin Prado, Didi Gregorius, Tyler Clippard, and Drury, and giving up Vidal Nuno, Peter O’Brien, Shane Greene, Vicente Campos, Taylor Widener, and Nick Solak (the last two in the deal for Drury). That’s 17.3 WAR in, and 3.4 WAR out, for those of you scoring at home.

But I digress.

Drury was acquired by the Yankees in February as a part of a three-team trade with the Rays and Diamondbacks. The aforementioned Solak went to Tampa, and Widener went to the desert; and both spent the entirety of 2018 at Double-A in their respective organizations. It’s worth noting that both performed well in Double-A, to be sure, but neither is a standout prospect.

For his part, Drury opened the season as the Yankees third baseman, starting seven of the team’s first eight games and pinch-hitting in the other. He hit a more than serviceable .217/.333/.391 (101 wRC+) in that span, and it seemed as though the team had found a perfectly adequate infielder. And when he was placed on the disabled list with migraines on April 7, he was expected back in relatively short order.

It didn’t work out that way, of course. Miguel Andujar took over at the hot corner in Drury’s absence, and hit the ground running. And when Drury’s stint on the disabled list was over on May 14, he was optioned to Triple-A Scranton, where he would spend the next six-plus weeks tearing the cover off of the ball. It was clear that he didn’t belong there, but it was also clear that they didn’t have room for him on the big club.

Drury was called back up on June 29, and bounced around the infield for ten days before being sent back down. He only hit .136/.174/.182 in that stretch, so it was difficult to fault the Yankees. He came back up on July 20, and was essentially done as a Yankee on July 24, when he exited the game after being hit in the hand with a pitch. Drury was dealt to the Blue Jays (along with Billy McKinney) for J.A. Happ a couple of days later.

All told, Drury hit .176/.263/.275 (49 wRC+) in 57 PA in pinstripes. Injuries and superior options at second and third base hindered his chances of finding a role with the team before he really had a chance, and his bags were packed at the deadline. He followed that up by hitting .154/.241/.231 (33 wRC+) with the Blue Jays, albeit in just 29 PA as his season ended early due to a fracture in his left hand.

Clint Frazier

The 2017-18 off-season could not have been much fun for Frazier, who spent his time seeing his name in trade rumors, recovering from an oblique injury, and getting a much-publicized haircut. And seeing the Yankees add Giancarlo Stanton to an already crowded outfield picture was probably a bit disconcerting, as well. I don’t want to editorialize too much, but I can’t help but feel that he was relieved to start playing baseball again when February rolled around.

Unfortunately, Spring Training wasn’t any better, as Frazier suffered a concussion after crashing into the outfield wall, and missed the first several weeks of the season as a result. He was activated from the disabled list on May 1 and optioned to Triple-A, where he hit .362/.423/.702 in 52 PA before being called-up for a double-header on May 19. He started one game, going 1-for-2 with two walks, and was sent back down to Triple-A.

Frazier spent the next two months bouncing between Triple-A and the show; he obliterated the minor leagues, posting a .311/.389/.574 slash line in 216 PA, and was adequate in 41 big league PA, posting a 113 wRC+. Unfortunately, the lingering post-concussion effects never really let up, and his season was over in August. And given how mightily the Yankees struggled to fill the void left by Aaron Judge’s injury, Frazier missed a big opportunity, to boot.

Frazier’s status is one of the low-key but still important storylines of this off-season. He’s still only 24 with oodles of talent, but he hasn’t been able to stay healthy over the last two years, and concussions are tricky at best. Moreover, the Yankees still have a crowded outfield, even if Brett Gardner hadn’t re-signed. Frazier is ostensibly healthy and resting now, but this may well be another winter of trade rumors.

Kyle Higashioka

Higashioka entered the 2018 season as the team’s third-string catcher, and the expectation that he wouldn’t have much of anything to do in the majors this year barring some calamity. There was a calamity, of sorts, in Gary Sanchez’s injury-riddled and disappointing season, which resulted in Higashioka spending about three months on the Yankees roster. Unfortunately for him, that meant a lot of sitting on the bench if deference to Austin Romine.

The 28-year-old backstop spent most of the first three months of the season in Triple-A, where he struggled mightily. He slashed just .196/.272/.337 through 52 games, which was a far cry from his strong performances there in 2016 (131 wRC+) and 2017 (113 wRC+). There was no clear path to playing time for Higashioka for most of this time, and he certainly wasn’t forcing the issue.

When Sanchez hit the disabled list with a groin injury on June 25, Higashioka was called-up. He served in a timeshare with Romine, starting nine of the team’s nineteen games in this stretch, and he slashed an intriguing .167/.242/.500 in 33 PA. Higashioka had the first three hits of his major-league career during this stint … all of which were home runs.

Higashioka was sent back down when Sanchez returned from the DL, and was recalled when Sanchez aggravated the groin injury a few days later. He’d go on to spend the rest of the season with the team, picking up eleven more starts along the way. Higashioka finished the season hitting .167/.241/.319 (51 wRC+) in 79 PA.

There were some reasons to be excited about Higashioka after his dominance of Triple-A in 2016, but that ship has likely sailed at this point. He’ll be 29 in April, and the team clearly prefers Romine off of the bench. That doesn’t mean that he can’t be a useful bench piece – it just might not be for the Yankees.

Billy McKinney

McKinney was acquired alongside Gleyber Torres way back in 2016, and was poised for a real opportunity with the Yankees when Frazier, Aaron Hicks, and Jacoby Ellsbury went down with injuries. He earned his first big league start (and hit) on March 30 … and was placed on the DL with a left shoulder strain after crashing into the wall on March 31.

By the time McKinney was activated on May 24, the Yankees outfield rotation was set, and he headed to Triple-A. He flashed some power there, slashing .226/.299/.495 (120 wRC+) with 13 HR in 234 PA, but his tenure with the team ended before he could claw his way back to the majors when he was sent to Toronto in the Happ trade.

McKinney spent his first month with his new organization in the minors, but he was called-up on August 18 (against the Yankees), and spent the rest of the year starting for the Blue Jays. He hit .252/.320/.470 (114 wRC+) in 128 PA down the stretch, and should have one of the corner outfield spots locked-up for 2019.

Jace Peterson

Not-so-great baserunning, Jace. (Jim McIsaac/Getty)

Peterson spent a whopping 112 days in the Yankees organization, a tenure that included one game in Triple-A and three at the highest level. That was long enough to have a play for the team’s highlight reels, though, in the form of this excellent catch against the Orioles:

Peterson was claimed off of waivers by those same Orioles on April 24, and his Yankees career was over. He did hit .300 with the team, though (in 11 PA), so he has something to tell his grandchildren one day.

The 28-year-old utility player did find a good home in Baltimore, though, playing all over the field and appearing in 93 games. He hit just .195/.308/.325, but he stole 13 bases in 15 attempts … so, there’s that.

Shane Robinson

The aforementioned injuries to Clint Frazier, Ellsbury, and Judge as well as the trade of McKinney paved the way for Robinson to make 17 starts for the Yankees this year. That in and of itself is a fine argument both for how necessary depth is, and how quickly it can disappear. And it haunts me to this day.

Robinson was signed by the Yankees way back in February to serve as Triple-A depth. When he was signed, he was something like ninth or tenth on the organization’s outfield depth chart, and for good reason. The now-34-year-old was a Quadruple-A player, having spent the previous eight years as an up-and-down guy for the Cardinals, Twins, and Angels, racking up a .226/.294/.297 line in 795 PA along the way. He’s the sort of player every organization needs, but doesn’t really want to see at the highest level.

He was called-up in early April for a two-game cup of coffee, going 1-for-3 with two walks in two games before being sent back down. He spent the rest of April through late-July in Triple-A (and missing all of June), posting a .628 OPS in 192 PA. But Judge’s injury and McKinney’s trade mere days beforehand forced the Yankees hand, and Robinson was recalled on July 28.

Robinson played in 23 of the team’s Judge-less games, starting sixteen. He hit .130/.167/.217 in that time, which thankfully (mercifully?) came to an end when Andrew McCutchen was acquired on August 31. Robinson spent the rest of the season in purgatory, and became a free agent on October 10.

Friday Links: Gardner, Free Agents, NYPL Prospects, Severino

October 26, 2018 by Mike

Later tonight the 2018 World Series will resume with Game Three at Dodger Stadium. At this point it appears the question is not whether the Red Sox will win the World Series, but whether the Dodgers will win even one game. My guess is no. But we’ll see. Here are some links and notes to check out as the workweek winds down.

Gardner would “love to be back”

Not surprisingly, Brett Gardner recently said he would “love to be back” with the Yankees next season, reports Sean Farrell. “I’m not going to stand here and say that I don’t want to play anymore baseball. My body feels great. I feel healthy. I would love to be back. We’ll sit down and figure that out at the right time,” said Gardner. His contract includes a $12.5M option for next season with a $2M buyout, so the Yankees have a $10.5M decision to make.

Here’s our Gardner season review post. He finished at .236/.322/.368 (90 wRC+) this year but his defense and baserunning still made him a +2 WAR player. As a part-time player who gets maybe 300-350 plate appearances against righties and also plays defense in the late innings, I definitely think Gardner can still be a contributor to a championship caliber team. Left field is a little up in the air for the Yankees. I know they love Gardner and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him back next year, but they have to at least look for an upgrade first, right?

Bollinger, Kontos, Robinson elect free agency

Lefty Ryan Bollinger, righty George Kontos, and outfielder Shane Robinson have all elected free agency, reports Matt Eddy. All three players spent time with the Yankees this season and were later outrighted off the 40-man roster and sent to Triple-A (in Robinson’s case, multiple times), and had the ability to elect free agency after the season. I could totally see the Yankees re-signing Bollinger as a minor league organizational depth arm. Kontos and Robinson figure to look for teams that offer a greater MLB opportunity in 2019.

Bollinger, 27, had two one-day stints with the Yankees as an emergency long man but never did appear in a game. He threw 111.2 innings with a 3.87 ERA (3.46 FIP) for Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton this year. Bollinger spent 2014-17 in independent leagues and Germany before signing with the Yankees last winter. Kontos threw 1.2 scoreless innings in his only appearance in pinstripes this year after coming over from the Indians in a cash trade. Robinson got 54 plate appearances with the Yankees and that was entirely too many. He hit .143/.208/.224 (16 wRC+).

Contreras, Sauer among top NY-Penn League prospects

Baseball America (subs. req’d) has continued their annual look at the top 20 prospects in each minor league with the short season NY-Penn League. Astros OF Gilberto Celestino sits in the top spot. RHP Juan De Paula, who the Yankees acquired in the Ben Gamel trade and dealt away in the Andrew McCutchen trade, ranks fourth. RHP Roansy Contreras is fifth. A snippet of the scouting report:

Contreras, who has added 22 pounds since signing, has a low-90s fastball that touched as high as 96 mph this year. He backs it up with a downer curveball with 11-to-5 break and a promising changeup. He needs to work on finishing his delivery more often in order to drive his entire arsenal down in the zone, where it will be most effective. He also shows advanced pitchability for his age, and he could grow into a little more velocity.

Contreras is one of my favorite prospects in the system right now. He was the top Dominican pitcher available during the 2016-17 international signing period and the Yankees were able to sign him to a $300,000 bonus, their maximum allowed while still dealing with the penalties from their 2014-15 spending free. Love Roansy’s stuff and pitchability. Anyway, RHP Matt Sauer is 13th on the NYPL list. Here’s part of his scouting report:

Sauer’s fastball sits in the low 90s, but he can dial it up to 97 mph when he needs a little extra. His breaking pitch, a curveball, is currently average but has the potential to be a plus offering in the future … While he does feature a good fastball and developing curveball, scouts wonder if he is more of a finished product than many young arms. Sauer has time to hone his command, but the profile reads more as a back-end rotation piece.

In the chat, Justin Coleman (subs. req’d) had some good things to say about RHP Harold Cortijo. “Cortijo shows pitchability and is very athletic. Threw a lot of strikes, low 90’s FB that touches 94. His advanced fastball command is notable, needs to work on the breaker,” he wrote. The just turned 20-year-old Cortijo had a 2.63 ERA (3.29 FIP) with 29.1% strikeouts and 5.8% walks in 51.1 innings with Short Season Staten Island this summer.

Super Two cutoff set at 2.134

According to Jerry Crasnick, the Super Two service time cutoff has been set at two years and 134 days this offseason. (It is more commonly written as 2.134.) A player must be in the top 22% of service time between two and three years to qualify as a Super Two. The cutoff does move around each year but is generally around 2.120. I can’t remember the last time it was as high as 2.134 (that’s good for teams and bad for players). Anyway, that number is set.

The Yankees have one player who qualifies for Super Two this winter and he’s an important one: Luis Severino. Severino is at 2.170 of service time right now. He’s well over the Super Two cutoff. One-hundred-and-seventy-two days of service time counts as a full season, so Severino will miss qualifying for free agency by two days during the 2021-22 offseason. The Yankees kept him in Triple-A juuust long enough in 2016 to push back free agency. Gary Sanchez falls 48 days short of the Super Two cutoff this offseason. He’s closest to the cutoff after Severino.

Game 138: Wild Card Game Preview

September 3, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

In all likelihood, the Yankees and Athletics will meet in the AL Wild Card Game four weeks from Wednesday. The Yankees have gained some ground on the Red Sox recently but not enough to make the AL East interesting. The Astros have righted the ship after a midseason skid and are starting to separate themselves from the A’s in the AL West. Here are the current wild card standings:

Yankees: 86-51
Athletics: 82-56 (4.5 GB)
——————————
Mariners: 76-61 (10 GB)
Rays: 73-63 (12.5 GB)

Last season the Twins won the second wild card spot almost by default. All those second wild card contenders stunk. The A’s are a legit threat this year. They’d be in a virtual tie with the Cubs for the best record in the NL. Remember, whatever happens this series tells you everything you need to know about the forthcoming AL Wild Card Game, unless the Yankees win, in which case it’s meaningless. Here are today’s 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. 2B Gleyber Torres
7. 1B Luke Voit
8. SS Adeiny Hechavarria
9. LF Brett Gardner

LHP CC Sabathia

Oakland Athletics
1. SS Marcus Semien
2. 3B Matt Chapman
3. 2B Jed Lowrie
4. DH Khris Davis
5. RF Stephen Piscotty
6. 1B Matt Olson
7. LF Chad Pinder
8. CF Mark Canha
9. C Jonathan Lucroy

RHP Trevor Cahill

It is a nice and sunny day in the Bay Area. Seems like a fantastic afternoon to spend at the ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and ESPN nationally. Enjoy.

Injury Update: Big news: Aaron Judge (wrist) swung a bat today. He took 25 dry swings and 25 off a tee, all at 100% effort, and didn’t feel anything other than normal soreness. “It was a good sign … definitely a big step,” he said. There’s still no firm timetable for his return, but this is a major step forward. Yay.

Roster Moves: Both outfielder Shane Robinson and lefty Ryan Bollinger were outrighted to Triple-A Scranton, the Yankees announced. They remain in the organization as non-40-man roster players and will join the RailRiders for the postseason this week. Robinson and Bollinger were both designated for assignment in recent days.

Roster Note: Sonny Gray is not with the Yankees. He’s home with his wife, who is due to give birth to their second child soon. Congrats to them. Sonny will rejoin the team later this week. He threw 62 pitches yesterday and wasn’t going to be available for a few days anyway, plus rosters have expanded, so there are plenty of relievers available.

Awards!: For the second time this season, Gleyber Torres has been named the AL Player of the Week. He won the award the week of May 27th as well. The Gley-Hey Kid went 11-for-23 (.478) with three homers last week. Slump’s over.

Yankees activate Sanchez; call up Cessa, Wade, and Tarpley

September 1, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

September 1st has arrived and that means rosters have expanded. Teams can carry up to 40 players through the end of the season rather than the usual 25. Most teams will wind up carrying 30-35 players this month. Every team will have extra relievers and bench players starting today.

The Yankees announced a series of call-ups and roster moves today. A recap:

Andrew McCutchen and Adeiny Hechavarria added to the active roster.
Gary Sanchez activated off the 10-day DL.
Tyler Wade and Luis Cessa recalled from Triple-A Scranton.
Stephen Tarpley added to 40-man roster and promoted to MLB.

Andrew McCutchen! The Yankees acquired McCutchen from the Giants yesterday and he spent the day traveling to New York. He wasn’t put on the active roster yesterday because there was no reason to do so. He wasn’t going to be available and there’s no sense in playing with a 24-man roster. McCutchen is in today’s lineup. Hooray. I’m not sure whether Hechavarria, who came over in a trade late last night, is with the team yet. No harm in adding him to the roster now that rosters have expanded though.

The big news is Sanchez returning from the disabled list. For all intents and purposes, he’s missed the last two months with a groin injury. He went on the disabled list June 25th, returned July 19th, played three games, then returned to the disabled list after reaggravating the groin injury. All told, Gary has missed 54 games with the groin injury and reaggravation of the groin injury.

While Sanchez was out the Austin Romine/Kyle Higashioka catching tandem hit .201/.258/.350 in 231 plate appearances and opponents went 43-for-56 (77%) stealing bases. The overall team ERA also went from 3.43 to 3.72 during Sanchez’s absence. It has not been pretty behind the plate the last few weeks. I’m looking forward to Gary being back and him getting back to being the player he was last year.

The other big news today is Tarpley’s call-up. The left-hander came over as one of the two players to be named later in the Ivan Nova trade with the Pirates, and thanks to a new pitch and a new role, he posted a 1.94 ERA (3.23 FIP) with 25.6% strikeouts, 9.4% walks, and 68.1% grounders in 69.2 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this year. That 68.1% ground ball rate is the highest among the 1,011 minor leagues with at least 65 innings pitched in 2018.

Tarpley will be making his big league debut, and, like most first time September call-ups, I expect him to work in mop-up duty, at least at first. He held left-handed batters to a .148/.219/.193 batting line in the minors this year and could always get the call in low-to-mid-leverage left-on-left spots. Phil Coke quickly worked his way into the Circle of Trust™ in September 2008. Maybe Tarpley can do the same in September 2018. That’d be cool.

The Yankees have not yet announced a 40-man roster move for Tarpley. I wonder if it’ll be Shane Robinson now that McCutchen is with the team and Wade, who can also play the outfield, has been added to the roster. The Yankees might be waiting to make sure no one gets hurt during batting practice today before announcing Robinson has been designated for assignment, assuming he is the move. That’s a fairly common practice.

Update: Yep, Robinson has been designated for assignment, the Yankees announced. That’s the 40-man move for Tarpley.

Cessa and Wade have been up and down a bunch this season and are just extra bodies now that rosters have expanded. Wade is a speedy utility guy who can play pretty much anywhere. With Quintin Berry not being called up (not yet, anyway), I assume Wade takes over as the designated pinch-runner. Cessa is stretched out as a long man, so now the Yankees have him and Sonny Gray available for long relief work for whenever things go haywire.

Notably absent among today’s call-ups: Justus Sheffield. Aaron Boone said yesterday Sheffield would not be called up today, but could be later this month. I think it’ll happen fairly soon. Sheffield moved to the Triple-A bullpen last week in preparation for a call-up, but he missed a few games with an illness earlier this week, and fell behind a bit. I expect him to come up after one or two more relief appearances with the RailRiders.

As always, more call-ups will take place throughout September. Sheffield will be up at some point and I assume Chance Adams will as well. Probably once Triple-A Scranton’s season ends, which could be as soon as Monday. Berry is another call-up candidate. Domingo German and Jonathan Loaisiga will likely return later this month, plus Aroldis Chapman and Didi Gregorius will eventually be activated off the disabled list, hopefully soon.

Making a case for adding Tyler Wade to the bench

August 15, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

For the fourth consecutive game, Neil Walker started in right field last night. They’re the only four right field starts of his career. Aaron Judge is out with his fractured wrist and Giancarlo Stanton is nursing a tight hamstring, which has pushed Walker into right field. Who would’ve guessed it would come to this back in April and May? Goodness.

Neither Judge nor Clint Frazier is expected back anytime soon, which means either Walker will continue to see time in right field (likely) or Shane Robinson will get more playing time than anyone would like (possible). Either way, it’s not an ideal situation. Walker has hit very well the last few weeks but he’s no outfielder. Robinson is what he is. A replacement level depth guy.

The Yankees traded away Billy McKinney at the deadline — they traded McKinney literally hours before Judge got hurt — so their Triple-A outfield options are limited. One of them: Tyler Wade, an infielder by trade. Wade has been up and down a few times already this year. Does it make sense to call him up to replace Robinson? Let’s talk it out.

1. He has more outfield experience. Not more than Robinson, obviously, but more compared to where he was earlier this season. The Yankees had Wade begin the process of learning the outfield during the 2016 Arizona Fall League and, since then, he’s played 36 total games in the outfield between Triple-A and MLB. Not much! But it’s more than Walker.

The Yankees have played Wade in the outfield in the big leagues and not only in emergency situations. He started a game in left field earlier this year and started one game in left and one game in right last year. They’re willing to play him out in the outfield at the MLB level despite his lack of experience. Heck, they’re playing Walker in right field now. They’re open-minded about this. A little added experience helps though.

2. He has more offensive potential. Look, I’m a Wade fan, but I am under no illusions that he’ll one day be an impact bat. He’s a slash-and-dash speed guy who figures to draw enough walks to post respectable on-base percentages. Maybe at his peak he can be a leadoff guy. More than likely, he’s a eighth or ninth place hitter long-term and that’s fine. Teams need those guys too.

Robinson, meanwhile, is the quintessential replacement level player. He’s less than three months away from his 34th birthday, so, even if he had much offensive upside, he’s at the point where you expect age-related decline anyway. Robinson is a career .223/.292/.295 (63 wRC+) hitter in 829 big league plate appearances and this year he authored a .261/.296/.330 (75 wRC+) line in 202 plate appearances with Triple-A Scranton before being called up.

We know what Robinson is. He’s a career up-and-down guy and hey, there’s nothing wrong with that. Robinson has played in parts of nine MLB seasons now and his career earnings are in the seven figures. We should all be so lucky. There’s not much upside here though. Wade is a young player who some ability who might be able to chip in more offensively. He might not be able to, but isn’t it worth it to find out?

3. He brings speed as well. If nothing else, we know Wade can run. Statcast has his sprint speed at 28.8 ft/s, which is on par with noted speedsters like Starling Marte and Ozzie Albies. The Yankees’ sprint speed leaderboard:

Brett Gardner: 29.0 ft/s
Tyler Wade: 28.8 ft/s
Shane Robinson: 28.4 ft/s

Turns out Robinson can run too. I’d trust the 23-year-old to retain his speed late into the season more than 33-year-old, however. Remember, Jacoby Ellsbury is done for the season, so he won’t be the designated September/October pinch-hitter. Wade is the obvious in-house candidate to fill that role. So, then, let him play and run the bases, and gain experience.

4. He has a chance to be a long-term piece. I have no idea where Wade fits long-term. Possibly nowhere. But I know where Robinson fits long-term: Nowhere. No offense to the guy, but he is a journeyman playing for his fourth organization in the last five years, and as soon as the season ends, he’ll be among the first guys dropped from the 40-man roster. Consider what had to happen for Robinson to get called up and receive fairly regular playing time:

Judge is on the disabled list.
Stanton is nursing a tight hamstring.
Ellsbury is on the disabled list.
Frazier is on the disabled list.
McKinney has been traded away.

Robinson is like eighth on the outfield depth chart and he is performing as expected. He’s a short-term fill-in who wouldn’t have been called up if Frazier was healthy or if McKinney had not been traded. Is Wade a long-term piece? I have no idea. It seems unlikely given the rest of the roster. I know Robinson is not a long-term piece though. Isn’t it time to find out what Wade can do? The kid has 117 big league plate appearances and 130 days on the MLB roster. That’s nothing.

* * *

Given Judge’s and Frazier’s timetables — or lack of firm timetables, more accurately — it stands to reason Robinson isn’t go away anytime soon. September call-ups are less than three weeks away and he very well might be on the roster for the duration of the regular season. Wade seems like the better option to me, but the Yankees know their players better than anyone, and if they’re not calling him up for outfield spot start duty, there’s probably a pretty good reason.

Bad Timing: The Late Season Yankee Outfield

August 12, 2018 by Matt Imbrogno Leave a Comment

Now is the August of our outfield discontent. Aaron Judge is out, Giancarlo Stanton has a minor-but-nagging injury, and Shane Robinson has started ten of the last 15 games. Neil Walker started in right field yesterday. The perfect back up option–Clint Frazier–is also injured and the Judge injury happened so close to the non-waiver deadline that the team wasn’t able to get a suitable replacement in time. Bad timing has defined the Yankee outfield for much of the season, especially now in the penultimate month of the season.

When Aaron Hicks was injured in the first series of the year, Clint Frazier was dealing with his first concussion of the year. When Aaron Judge was injured, Frazier was dealing with his second concussion of the year. There is no better example of how cruel baseball can be with its timing than this. Frazier has shown all year that he’s done with AAA and is ready to contribute to the big club in a big way, yet he’s been unable to because of things he can’t control. Dealing with that alone would be challenging. Dealing with it while also being the subject of myriad trade rumors and speculation, along with an uncalled for, low blow from the team’s lead broadcaster is almost daunting. If Frazier can make it through this year in one relatively whole piece, he’ll be able to make it through anything as a baseball player.

In April, Aaron Hicks had an above .800 OPS and Aaron Judge had an above 1.000 OPS. Giancarlo Stanton had a .737 OPS that month, while Brett Gardner put up a paltry .601. Then, in May, Hicks OPS’d below .700 while Gardner got hot (.917 OPS) and Judge (.965) stayed hot. Stanton also improved to an .847 OPS. Stanton then had a great June while Judge was solid and Hicks got hot. Gardner, however, cooled off. July saw Hicks, Stanton, and Judge all rake while Gardner was merely adequate. That was the closest we’ve come to seeing all four of them clicking at the same time. Sure, it wouldn’t be likely that all four would hit to their max at the same time and it’s hard to complain with the Yankees’ results this year (try as we might), but getting them all on the same page at the same time would go a long way towards easing some ruffled hearts and minds.

The latest bit of bad timing–non Clint division–was Judge getting hurt just six days before the trade deadline. At that time, it’s unlikely the Yankees were focused on trading for another position player as they were trying to (successfully) beef up their pitching. There was still almost a week before the deadline, though, and we’re nearly halfway through August and the situation hasn’t quite been addressed. I’m sure the front office is working on it and we just don’t know, but it’s getting a little too late for a lack of action. There are concerns with acquiring a veteran–the Yankees have already given up prospects and there might be a lack of playing time for said veteran when Judge returns and, of course, the luxury tax concern.

To the the first two, I say, “Who cares?” To quote a great philosopher, we’re trying to win a ring around here. Despite the Red Sox’s dominance, the Yankees could still win a World Series this year and they should be doing everything they can to help that cause.

To the third, I roll my eyes. The luxury tax plan helps no one but the team’s bottom line and I remain unconvinced that they’ll go out and spend that savings money, especially with a crowded roster as it is.

It’s hard to fault anyone for the Yankees’ current outfield situation. When healthy, Judge has been himself. Stanton has turned back into the beast he is, Gardner has been mostly fine–despite a poor second half so far–and Hicks has been the AL’s best center fielder not named Mike Trout. Neither Clint Frazier nor Jacoby Ellsbury can or should be blamed for injuries. Aaron Boone can’t be blamed for playing the pieces he has. Brian Cashman probably didn’t have this in his plans, either, but he’s in position to make things recover a bit. Is it likely the Yankees catch the Red Sox and win the division? Not really, but they should make every effort, given how good this team can be and has been at times this year. Bad timing be damned; go get an outfielder and try to win a ring.

Aaron Judge’s wrist is “still fractured” and the Yankees should not stick with Shane Robinson as his replacement

August 10, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Last night Shane Robinson was in the starting lineup for the fifth time in the last six games and the eighth time in the last 13 games. He’s on the roster because Aaron Judge is out with a chip fracture in his wrist and he’s been playing so much because Giancarlo Stanton is nursing a tight hamstring and the Yankees don’t want to risk making it worse with too much outfield time.

Robinson has been in the lineup regularly the last two weeks and he may not come out of the lineup anytime soon. Following last night’s game Judge, who saw the doctor for a checkup yesterday, told Mandy Bell his wrist is “still fractured” and he’s not yet been cleared to swing a bat. He’s making progress. Slow progress, but progress. The original three-week timetable that put Judge on track to return late next week? Seems optimistic now.

“I feel like we’re close to that point (of swinging a bat),” said Aaron Boone to Laura Albanese prior to last night’s game. “Once the pain is out of there, then it’s a go … He’s been able to lift. He’s been able to do all his conditioning … I think it progresses pretty quickly (once he’s cleared).”

Basically, Boone is saying that once Judge gets the thumbs up to swing, it shouldn’t take him long to get game ready. That’s great, but how long until the fracture heals, Judge is pain free, and he can start swinging a bat? Remember, Boone said he was hopeful Judge would be able to start swinging a bat last weekend. Now it might not happen this weekend. Eh. The skipper seems a little too optimistic here.

The timing of the injury was really unfortunate. The Yankees traded Billy McKinney, their best healthy Triple-A outfielder, only hours before Judge’s injury. The trade was announced at 4:09pm ET. Judge was hit in his first at-bat of a 7:05pm ET game. Yeah. The timing stinks, but let’s be real, McKinney had a .299 OBP while repeating Triple-A. I’m not sure he’d have been much help anyway.

Well, whatever. No sense in crying over an injury and a trade that already happened. The bottom line is Judge is still on the disabled list and he’s not progressing as quickly as hoped given the whole “he could start swinging a bat last weekend” thing that didn’t happen. Maybe he’ll make a miraculous recovery and be back within a week. I’m not going to hold my breath. Wrists are tricky.

The Yankees have three options to replace Judge. One, they could continue to run Robinson out there. Not my preferred option but it is an option. Two, they could get creative and put Neil Walker in right field. Boone told Brendan Kuty he wouldn’t rule it out. That’s a little too “Lyle Overbay in right field”-y to me, but hey, it’s an option. Walker’s hitting, so put him out there for six innings, then let Robinson replace him for defense. I suppose they could stick Tyler Wade out there? Seems unlikely.

Or three, the Yankees could make a trade for another outfielder. They tried to do this before the trade deadline and came up empty. Brian Cashman said he didn’t like the asking prices. That’s fair. Doesn’t solve the whole “Shane Robinson starting five times in the span of six games” problem though. The Yankees have about $3.5M to spend under the luxury tax threshold, though it’s really more like $2M to $2.5M once you factor in September call-ups.

Ideally, the Yankees would add a right-handed hitting outfielder who could easily slide into a bench role once Judge returns. Cameron Maybin is nothing special but he’s better than Robinson, and he would’ve filled this role nicely. He went to the Mariners at the deadline. A few possible trade targets:

Jose Bautista, Mets (101 wRC+): He stopped hitting weeks ago.
Keon Broxton, Brewers (93 wRC+ in AAA): Would the Brewers trade him? Could be a fit.
Carlos Gomez, Rays (91 wRC+): Like it or not he’s probably the best, most realistic option.
Curtis Granderson, Blue Jays (106 wRC+): A left-handed hitter, but he’d work for me.
Andrew McCutchen, Giants (114 wRC+): The Giants would have to eat money to make it work.

Do the Yankees ante up the prospects to get San Francisco to eat some of Cutch’s salary? Live with another lefty bat in Granderson? Hold your nose and remember it’s only temporary with Bautista or Gomez? Not sure there’s a right answer here. I’m kinda hoping Cashman pulls a rabbit out of his hat and finds a surprise outfielder who passes the “better than Robinson” test and soon.

I know this much: The Yankees without Judge are a very different team. He is a massive presence in the lineup. Would Rick Porcello and Nathan Eovaldi have pounded the strike zone against Judge like they did everyone else last weekend? Hell no. Judge is the kinda guy who leaves opposing teams counting down lineup spots until he comes up. There’s nothing the Yankees can do to replace him. He’s so good he is essentially irreplaceable. They just have to get by.

Robinson has been the Yankees’ answer the last few weeks and hey, if Judge were on track to return next week as the original timetable suggested, maybe sticking it out with a Robinson would be okay. Judge returning next week no longer appears to be the case though. The fracture isn’t healed yet and he’ll need some time to get back into game shape once it is healed. Finding a replacement outfielder should be the top priority right now.