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River Ave. Blues » Jace Peterson

The Other Other Guys [2018 Season Review]

November 30, 2018 by Domenic Lanza

Drury. (Tom Szczerbowski/Getty)

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

(Duane Burleson/Getty)

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

(Mike Stobe/Getty)

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

(Joel Auerbach/Getty)

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

(Patrick McDermott/Getty)

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.

Filed Under: Players Tagged With: 2018 Season Review, Billy McKinney, Brandon Drury, Clint Frazier, Jace Peterson, Kyle Higashioka, Shane Robinson

2018 Midseason Review: The Depth Players

July 19, 2018 by Steven Tydings Leave a Comment

Austin and Drury: Scranton Bash Brothers (Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

A team is only as good as its weakest link, so the saying goes. The Yankees have had a series of bench players, mop-up relievers and forgettable characters so far this year. Why not grade them?

Ronald Torreyes

The skinny: Torreyes got the chance to start plenty of games at second base until Gleyber Torres was called up and Toe did nothing but rake in that interim. It was mostly singles, but he finished April with a .390/.405/.488 line. He has been sent down and called up twice with the Yankees not having room on their infield for even semi-regular time. Gotta love Toe.

Best game/highlight: He’s had a trio of three-hit games this season, but one of his one-hit games stands out. On Apr. 19, he knocked in a run early before walking and scoring the go-ahead run in a 4-3 win vs. Toronto.

Midseason Grade: A

Brandon Drury

The skinny: The Yankees acquired Drury with the idea he’d be their starting third baseman, but vision problems and the emergence of Miguel Andujar have kept him away from the big league club. He has just eight hits as a Yankee thus far, though he excelled in Scranton. Hopefully, he’ll receive a larger chance now that his vision is better and he can make an impact in the second half.

Best game/highlight: In the second game of the year, he drove in two runs while going 2-for-3 with a walk. His double in the second inning came mere inches away from going out of the park.

Midseason Grade: C/Incomplete

Tyler Wade

The skinny: Wade’s first stint with the Yanks in 2018 was seriously disappointing. Though he provided the Yankees with stable defense at second, he simply didn’t hit. He had a real chance to win playing time at second base to start the year and blew it. His second opportunity in replacing Gleyber has been much better with six hits in his last 13 ABs with some good defense as well. He’s going to play a role down the stretch, even if it’s just as a pinch runner.

Best game/highlight: Last week, Wade came a triple short of the cycle, knocking his first career home run to right field at Camden Yards. It’s surprising a player that fast doesn’t have a triple in his career yet.

Midseason Grade: D

Clint Frazier

The skinny: Frazier is a victim of the Yankees having one of the best outfield rotations in baseball. He’d be starting in a corner for most other teams. When he’s been with the big league club, he’s shown strong patience and sports a .390 OBP. He was robbed of a game-winning home run by the monstrosity that is Tropicana Field. He’ll get an opportunity soon if he’s not traded for a top-line starting pitcher.

Best game/highlight: His first game of the year came on May 19 in Kansas City and he lined a double, drew two walks and scored a run. Always nice to see him show off both a strong approach and his Legendary Bat Speed.

Midseason Grade: B+

Tyler Austin

The skinny: Austin was the fill-in first baseman for Greg Bird for the first month and a half and was perfectly adequate. He hit eight home runs and put up a .471 slugging percentage. However, he didn’t get on base often enough and was prone to prolonged slumps. The 26-year-old remains a solid contingency plan waiting in Triple-A, though you’d rather see Bird out there for sure.

Best game/highlight: He has two two-homer games this year and the second one was an impressive day in Kansas City. He drilled a pair of two-run shots to knock starter Eric Skoglund out of the game and begin a blowout win.

Midseason Grade: B-

Billy McKinney

The skinny: Two games. Four at-bats. One hit. One injury. That’s a basic summary of McKinney’s big-league career thus far. He was called up for Game No. 2 after Aaron Hicks went down with an injury and was sidelined himself in his second start by banging into the left field wall at Rogers Centre. Not ideal. He’s been good once again in Scranton.

Best game/highlight: Obviously, it’s his one full game where he recorded his first career hit. March 30 in Toronto, a win to boot.

Midseason Grade: Incomplete

Cessa time. (Getty Images)

Luis Cessa

The skinny: Anyone else forget Luis Cessa was in a mop-up role in mid-April? He apparently threw four innings that month before suffering an oblique strain. He came back up in June, threw two innings of relief and then had a forgettable spot start in Philly. He then started in Baltimore during last Monday’s doubleheader with further detail below.

Best game/highlight: July 9 in Baltimore wasn’t a pretty day for the Yankees, but Cessa helped them salvage a win against the last-place O’s with six shutout innings. He put on six baserunners but pitched well and had two double plays turned behind him. Not bad!

Midseason Grade: B

David Hale

The skinny: Hale was up and down as a mop up reliever, taking almost exclusively the lowest leverage innings and saving the rest of the bullpen, all before receiving an unceremonious DFA. He threw exclusively multi-inning outings and also had one game with the Twins. While his last outing was impressive, he won’t be making another with the Yankees this season as he has signed with the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO.

Best game/highlight: He saved the best for last in relief of Sonny Gray. He threw 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball against the Blue Jays in a 6-2 loss. While he gave the team a chance to win, it was more important that he simply absorbed innings.

Midseason Grade: A

Gio Gallegos

The skinny: Like Hale, Gallegos has come up to take on mop up innings. In four multi-inning outings, he hasn’t come in with a leverage index higher than .30. It’ll be tough for him to earn any sort of permanent role with the Yankees this season, so it’s the up-and-down role the rest of the way. He’s one of three Yankees with a save as he threw three innings to close Cessa’s win in the doubleheader.

Best game/highlight: In Cessa’s other start vs. the Phillies, Gallegos came in out of the bullpen and dazzled hitters with his stuff. Three innings, two hits, no runs and six strikeouts. Six! It was his best outing as a Yankee. Two of the Ks were the opposing pitcher, but he also punched out Cesar Hernandez and Rhys Hoskins.

Midseason Grade: B

Jace Peterson

The skinny: McKinney, Hicks and Jacoby Ellsbury all were on the disabled list in early April, thus giving Peterson a shot. He got a chance to play three games (two starts) in the outfield, going 3-for-10 with a walk over 10 days. He joined Baltimore afterwards and, funny enough, has played as many games against the Yankees as he has for the Bombers.

Best game/highlight: He manned left field in his first Yankee start on Apr. 7 and saved the game with a nice catch to rob Pedro Alvarez of two go-ahead RBI in a game the Yankees would go on to win.

Midseason Grade: B+

Shane Robinson

The skinny: With the Yankees still short on outfielders and facing lefties in Boston, Robinson got the call-up in place of Peterson. He went 1-for-3 with two walks and a stolen base in his two games in pinstripes.

Best game/highlight: He pinch ran for Tyler Austin and stole second base on Apr. 11 in Boston. I guess that counts as a highlight?

Midseason Grade: Incomplete

Filed Under: Players Tagged With: 2018 Midseason Review, Billy McKinney, Brandon Drury, Clint Frazier, David Hale, Gio Gallegos, Jace Peterson, Luis Cessa, Ronald Torreyes, Shane Robinson, Tyler Austin, Tyler Wade

Game 22: Looking For A Fourth Straight Win

April 24, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

(Jim McIsaac/Getty)

The Yankees are in the middle of their best stretch of the young season. They’ve won their last three games — the Yankees have held their opponents to one run in all three games — and seven of their last ten games overall. Thanks to this stretch, the Yankees now lead baseball in runs per game (6.05) and are merely 19th in runs allowed per game (4.81). That’s a heck of a lot better than where they were a week ago at this time.

Tonight the Yankees will get a look at one of the best young pitchers in baseball in Jose Berrios. He’s sitting on a 1.63 ERA (1.77 FIP) and is tied for second in fWAR and tied for fourth in bWAR. The Yankees worked Berrios hard last year — he allowed six runs and threw 149 pitches in 6.1 innings at Yankee Stadium in 2017 (two appearances) — but last season is last season. Hopefully they have the same kind of success against him tonight. 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. 1B Neil Walker
8. 3B Miguel Andujar
9. 2B Gleyber Torres

LHP CC Sabathia

Minnesota Twins
1. 2B Brian Dozier
2. RF Max Kepler
3. DH Miguel Sano
4. 3B Eduardo Escobar
5. LF Eddie Rosario
6. C Mitch Garver
7. 1B Logan Morrison
8. SS Ehire Adrianza
9. CF Ryan LaMarre

RHP Jose Berrios


Cloudy, cool, and windy in New York this evening, and there is some rain in the forecast later tonight. The internet tells me the heaviest stuff isn’t due to arrive until after midnight, so things should be fine for the game. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and MLB Network out of market. Enjoy the game.

Injury Updates: Greg Bird (ankle) is heading to Tampa on Friday to continue his rehab work. He’s making good progress so far … Brandon Drury (migraines) will play seven innings at third base with Triple-A Scranton tomorrow, rest Thursday, then play a full nine innings Friday. It’s possible he could rejoin the Yankees after that, if all goes well … Tommy Kahnle (shoulder, biceps) is still doing rehab work. He’s yet to resume throwing. Kahnle was placed on the disabled list April 17th and the Yankees said he would be shut down ten days, so nothing’s changed, really.

Roster Move: So long, Jace Peterson. He was claimed off waivers by the Orioles earlier today, the Yankees announced. Peterson went 3-for-10 with a walk in pinstripes. Could’ve been worse.

Filed Under: Game Stories, Transactions Tagged With: Baltimore Orioles, Brandon Drury, Greg Bird, Jace Peterson, Tommy Kahnle

Game 20: Happy Gleyber Day

April 22, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

(Yankees Magazine)

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.

Filed Under: Game Threads Tagged With: Brandon Drury, David Hale, Gleyber Torres, Greg Bird, Jace Peterson, Tyler Wade

Game 15: Back to Baseball

April 16, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

(Presswire)

After back-to-back rainouts in Detroit, and despite heavy rain in New York this morning, the Yankees are finally back in action tonight. It’s still chilly and very windy in New York, but the rain has stopped, and that’s the most important thing. The Yankees haven’t played since Friday and they’ll be back at it tonight, thankfully.

Derek Jeter’s Marlins are in town for a quick two-game series — Jeter didn’t make the trip because he said it would be awkward — and with the Yankees looking to get on some kind of hot streak, two games against a team that has won four times in 15 games, and been outscored by 35 runs in the process, could be just what the baseball doctors order. Taking care of business against the Marlins tonight and tomorrow sure would be swell. Here are the lineups:

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

RHP Luis Severino

Miami Marlins
1. LF Derek Dietrich
2. SS Miguel Rojas
3. 2B Starlin Castro
4. 1B Justin Bour
5. 3B Brian Anderson
6. DH Tomas Telis
7. CF Cameron Maybin
8. RF J.B. Shuck
9. C Bryan Holaday

LHP Caleb Smith


The rain has cleared out but, like I said, it’s still cold and windy in the Bronx. Not a great night to sit in the ballpark, really. Tonight’s game will begin at 6:35pm ET — the Yankees are testing out some early start times this month — and you can watch on YES. Enjoy the game.

Roster Move: Welcome back, Jace Peterson. Sunday he cleared waivers and elected free agency rather than accept his outright assignment to Triple-A Scranton, then this afternoon the Yankees re-signed him to a new contract, the team announced. Peterson is on the MLB roster. He replaces Luis Cessa, who was sent down yesterday. The Yankees have a four-man bench for the first time this season.

Injury Updates: Brandon Drury (migraines) still has headaches and blurred vision, and it gets worse during physical activity. He did take batting practice today though. Drury has been prescribed medication by a specialist, and has more tests pending. When asked whether he’s ever gone up to the plate with blurred vision, Drury said “all the time.” Okie dokie … Jacoby Ellsbury (oblique, hip) also has plantar fasciitis now. He hurt his foot while rehabbing his hip, which he hurt while rehabbing his oblique … Greg Bird (ankle) played catch and took ground balls today. He had his stitches removed last week and this is the first time we’ve heard about him doing any sort of baseball work. Aaron Boone said the Yankees are optimistic Bird will return “on the shorter side” of his 6-8 week timetable.

Suspension Update: Tyler Austin is expected to have his appeal heard later this week, likely Thursday. He received a five-game suspension for last week’s brawl with the Red Sox. It might get knocked down a game or two, but the suspension won’t be wiped away. Austin did charge the mound, after all. The Yankees will have to play with a 24-man roster during the suspension.

Site News: More information is coming, but we’re having an RAB Day at Yankee Stadium next month (May 12th vs. Athletics). Here are some of the details. We’ll post more info in a day or two. I just wanted to get that on everyone’s radar.

Filed Under: Game Threads Tagged With: Brandon Drury, Greg Bird, Jace Peterson, Jacoby Ellsbury, Tyler Austin

Game 11: Ace vs. Ace

April 10, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

(Jim McIsaac/Getty)

The Yankees are facing the Red Sox tonight for the first this season and of course it’s a Very Big Deal. Games between these two teams always get hyped up beyond belief. It is what it is. The Red Sox are hot (8-0 in their last eight games) and the Yankees are not (3-5 in their last eight games). Couldn’t think of a better series for the Yankees to turn things around after that yucky series with the Orioles.

Anyway, we’ve got a premium pitching matchup tonight. Luis Severino vs. Chris Sale, both of whom finished in the top three of the Cy Young voting last year. These two actually squared off twice last season, and the Yankees won both games. The Yankees went 3-1 in Severino starts against the Red Sox last year and also went 3-1 when facing Sale last year. Would be cool to see a repeat this year. Here are the starting lineups.

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

RHP Luis Severino

Boston Red Sox
1. RF Mookie Betts
2. LF Andrew Benintendi
3. 1B Hanley Ramirez
4. DH J.D. Martinez
5. 3B Rafael Devers
6. 2B Eduardo Nunez
7. CF Jackie Bradley Jr.
8. C Christian Vazquez
9. SS Brock Holt

LHP Chris Sale


The players are in for another cold game tonight. The temperatures will be in the low-30s all night and it’s pretty windy as well. At least the rain stopped. It rained in Boston for much of the afternoon. Miserable baseball weather. So it goes. Tonight’s series opener will begin a little after 7pm ET, and you’ll be able to watch on YES locally and ESPN nationally. Enjoy the ballgame.

Roster Move: Robinson has been added to the roster, obviously. He’s in the lineup. Jace Peterson was designated for assignment to clear 25-man and 40-man roster space. The Yankees want the right-handed hitting natural outfielder on the roster against Sale and David Price these next two days instead of the left-handed hitting infielder-turned-outfielder. I’m guessing Peterson will clear waivers and accept the minor league assignment, and stay in the organization as a non-40-man roster player.

Injury Update: CC Sabathia (hip) played catch today and said he’s been pain-free for a few days now. The next step is a bullpen session … Jacoby Ellsbury (oblique, hip) received a cortisone injection in the hip and the hope is he’ll be able to resume baseball activities Friday … Brandon Drury (migraines) went for a battery of tests yesterday and the Yankees are waiting for the results … Gary Sanchez (calf) is fine and could’ve caught today, but Aaron Boone decided to give him one more day away from catching as a precaution.

Rotation Update: As expected, Sonny Gray will start Thursday’s series finale. He’ll be on normal rest thanks to yesterday’s off-day. That is Sabathia’s spot. The Yankees waited until this afternoon to officially announce Gray as Thursday’s starter for whatever reason.

Filed Under: Game Threads Tagged With: Brandon Drury, CC Sabathia, Gary Sanchez, Jace Peterson, Jacoby Ellsbury, Shane Robinson

Yankees place CC Sabathia and Brandon Drury on 10-day DL

April 7, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

(Adam Hunger/Getty)

The list of injured Yankees keeps getting longer. As expected, the team announced a series of roster moves this morning, which includes sending two more players to the disabled list. Here’s a recap:

  • Placed CC Sabathia on the 10-day DL with a right hip strain.
  • Placed Brandon Drury on the 10-day DL with severe migraines.
  • Optioned Jonathan Holder to Triple-A Scranton.
  • Called up Luis Cessa and Domingo German from Triple-A.
  • Added Jace Peterson to the 40-man roster and called him up from Triple-A.

The Yankees had an open 40-man roster spot after losing Trayce Thompson on waivers a few days ago, so no 40-man move was necessary to accommodate Peterson. Three removed from the 25-man roster and three added to the 25-man roster. Straight swaps.

Sabathia left last night’s start with right hip soreness and an MRI came back clean. He said he didn’t believe he’d have to miss a start, and even if true, the Yankees are going to play it safe early in the season. Monday’s off-day means Sabathia will only miss one start if he misses the minimum ten days.

Drury left last night’s start with a migraine and blurred vision. Assuming Peterson takes on a bench role, Miguel Andujar could get an opportunity to play third base on an everyday basis for at least the next ten days. That’d be cool. Something tells me Ronald Torreyes will see some action there as well.

“Vision’s been very blurry. It’s baseball. I need my eyes to be right to play,” said Drury to Erik Boland, adding he’s been dealing with migraines since Spring Training. “I want to get that fixed up and see what’s going on with my vision.”

The Holder, Cessa, and German moves are all about adding fresh arms following last night’s 14-inning game. Holder has not been good this year (seven runs in 2.2 innings) and is the only optionable reliever in the bullpen, so down he went. Cessa was scheduled to start today for the RailRiders and German was due to start Monday.

Presumably either Cessa or German will step into Sabathia’s rotation spot for the time being, and it might come down to who is available. Monday’s off-day means Aaron Boone can use both in relief this weekend and still have them make Sabathia’s next start, which could be pushed back to next Saturday, on normal rest.

The Yankees now have eight (!) players on the MLB disabled list: Sabathia, Drury, Greg Bird (ankle), Jacoby Ellsbury (oblique, hip), Clint Frazier (concussion), Ben Heller (elbow), Aaron Hicks (intercostal), and Billy McKinney (shoulder). Hicks is expected back as soon as Tuesday. The other guys are all a little further out. Also, Tyler Wade left last night’s game with an illness, so he’s not 100% either.

Filed Under: Injuries, Transactions Tagged With: Brandon Drury, CC Sabathia, Domingo German, Jace Peterson, Jonathan Holder, Luis Cessa

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