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Hot Stove Rumors: Cano, Ellsbury, Goldschmidt, Sheffield, Gray

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I do miss that swing. (Stephen Lam/Getty)

Thanksgiving weekend is over and the hot stove is starting to heat up. Earlier today the Braves signed both Brian McCann (one year, $2M) and Josh Donaldson (one year, $23M), so the defending NL East champs are makin’ moves. The Yankees still have a lot to do this offseason even after re-signing Brett Gardner and CC Sabathia, and trading for James Paxton. Here are the latest hot stove rumblings.

Yankees, Mariners talked Cano for Ellsbury

Earlier this offseason the Yankees and Mariners briefly discussed a Robinson Cano for Jacoby Ellsbury trade, reports Ken Rosenthal (subs. req’d). Talks didn’t advance much because the Yankees wanted Seattle to include “significant cash” in the trade in addition to taking Ellsbury. Cano has five years and $120M remaining on his contract. Ellsbury has two years and $47M. Rosenthal adds the Yankees are wary about having to commit their DH spot to Cano down the line. There are also two no-trade clauses to navigate (Robbie would probably okay a trade back to New York in a heartbeat).

Cano, 36, hit .303/.374/.471 (136 wRC+) with ten homers in 80 games around his performance-enhancing drug suspension this year. The Yankees could stick him at second until Didi Gregorius returns, then slide him over to first base, which he played briefly in 2018. Cano is a better player than Ellsbury, there’s little doubt about that, but those last five years on his contract could be heavy decline years. The Yankees limited their offer to seven years back when Cano was a free agent because they wanted to avoid those age 38-40 seasons, remember. When we’re talking two years vs. five years in a bad contract swap, my preference is the shorter deal. Just get it over with, you know?

Yankees pushed Sheffield in Goldschmidt talks

According to Buster Olney (subs. req’d), the Yankees pushed Justus Sheffield in trade talks with the Diamondbacks about Paul Goldschmidt before sending Sheffield to the Mariners in the Paxton deal. Actually, Olney says “rival executives report” the Yankees pushed Sheffield in Goldschmidt talks, which is an important distinction. This is a secondhand rumor. Hmmm.

Three weeks ago we heard the Yankees had not yet shown interest in Goldschmidt, though things could’ve easily changed since then. And, even though Goldschmidt will be a free agent next winter, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for the D’Backs to seek a Sheffield caliber prospect in return. Goldschmidt’s really good! The Yankees pushing Sheffield in talks though? That’s interesting, assuming it’s true. This would hardly be the first time the Yankees weren’t as high on a prospect internally as they let on.

More teams showing interest in Gray

We can add four more teams to the Sonny Gray trade rumor mill. Nick Cafardo reports the Braves, Padres, Rangers, and Twins have expressed interest in Gray in recent weeks. The Athletics and Reds are in on him as well. I reckon more than those six teams are interested in Sonny. Even with only one relatively inexpensive year of control, he’s a good buy-low candidate who makes sense for contenders and rebuilders alike.

The Yankees are going to trade Gray at some point, Brian Cashman has made that very clear, and my hunch is it will happen fairly soon. Likely at some point before the Winter Meetings in two weeks. Trading Gray eliminates the distraction to some degree. More than anything though, it’ll provide clarity. What do the Yankees get in return? How much money do they save, if any? Answering those questions will help shape the rest of the offseason going forward.

Yankees trying to move Stanton?

There are “long-shot rumblings” the Yankees are trying to move Giancarlo Stanton, reports Cafardo. That’s a weird way to phrase it. “Long-shot rumblings?” Huh. Anyway, I don’t really buy this. I’m sure the Yankees are open to moving Stanton because they’re open to moving anyyone in the right deal, but his no-trade clause complicates things, as does having to replace him. Dudes who hit 38 homers with a 127 wRC+ in a down year are hard to find.

The Yankees could of course trade Stanton and replace him by signing Bryce Harper (or Manny Machado), but get outta here with that. For starters, the Yankees should be trying to add Harper (or Machado) to Stanton, not replacing one with the other. And secondly, Stanton carries a $22M luxury tax hit and Harper (or Machado) will come in around 150% of that, if not more, for similar production. If the Yankees are going to obsess over payroll, and it sure seems like they are, Stanton’s the far better value. Well, whatever. There’s no sense in dwelling on this because it probably won’t happen.

Yankeemetrics: End of road, hello rock bottom (Sept. 10-12)

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(Getty)

Welcome back, El Gary
Monday’s series opener in Minnesota had a familiar feel through the first five innings: too many wasted scoring opportunities amid mounting pressure to beat up on a below-average team. Locked in a pitchers duel, Gary Sanchez broke a scoreless tie with a solo homer in the sixth, and then the Yankees bats finally woke up in the next frame as they exploded for six seventh-inning runs en route to the 7-2 win. At 90-54 on the season, this was the fastest to 90 wins for the team since 2009, when they reached the mark in their 140th game.

Sanchez’s home run was a titanic blast that traveled an estimated 460 feet into the left field seats, his second home run this season of 460-plus feet (other was a 461-foot shot on May 4 against the Indians). He is one of four players this season to hit two 460-plus-foot bombs, along with Trevor Story, Joey Gallo and Carlos Gonzalez.

The most interesting part of Sanchez’s two mammoth homers is that they couldn’t have been more different in terms of their vertical location, highlighting his ability to crush pitches regardless of where they’re thrown. On Monday, Sanchez somehow golfed a pitch that was at his shins and sent it into the upper deck at Target Field; back in May, he tomahawked an elevated fastball deep into the left field bleachers at Yankee Stadium.

Through Monday, there had been 32 homers hit at least 460 feet. Sanchez’s against the Twins came on a pitch that crossed home plate just 1.2 feet off the ground, the lowest in the 32-homer sample. His one against the Indians in May came on a pitch that crossed home plate just 3.6 feet off the ground, the highest in the 32-homer sample.

Miguel Andujar ignited the fireworks in the seventh inning with an RBI double, his 40th two-bagger of the season. Cue the Joe-D comparisons:

Andujar is one of 14 Yankees all-time to hit at least 40 doubles and 20 homers in a season, but he is the first third baseman to achieve the feat in franchise history. And impressively, only five other American League rookies as young as (or younger than) the 23-year-old Andujar have produced a 40-double, 20-homer season:

AL Rookies Age 23 or Younger 20+ HR and 40+ Doubles
Year
Miguel Andujar 2018
Nomar Garciaparra 1997
Fred Lynn 1975
Ted Williams 1939
Joe DiMaggio 1936
Hal Trosky 1934

Slammed!
One up, one down continues to be an annoying trend for the Yankees this month. They followed up Monday’s win with an embarrassing and disappointing 10-5 loss on Tuesday. The Twins pummeled the Yankees pitching from start to finish, roughing up starter Sonny Gray for three runs in the first three innings, and then turning the game into an unsightly rout with seven more runs on nine hits against the bullpen.

After his implosion against the Twins, Gray’s ERA as a starter is 5.26 in 23 games. Since 2001, three other Yankee pitchers have finished a season with an ERA that high in as many starts as Gray: A.J. Burnett (5.26 in 2010), Javier Vazquez (5.56 in 2010) and Jeff Weaver (5.73 in 2003).

Jonathan Loaisiga took over for Gray and was somehow worse, tagged for six runs while getting just four outs. The six runs matched the same number he had allowed in his first 20 major-league innings pitched before Tuesday.

(AP)

Three of those runs came courtesy of a grand slam allowed by Tommy Kahnle, who inherited a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth and poured gasoline on the fire when Joe Mauer deposited a center-cut fastball into the seats. It was the first grand slam allowed by Kahnle in his big-league career.

Kahnle has now inherited 11 baserunners and allowed eight of them (73%) to score. Among the 200-plus pitchers with at least 10 innings pitched and 10 inherited runners this season, that inherited score rate is the highest in MLB (the league average rate is 31%).

Didi Gregorius kept the game from being a total disaster with his own grand slam in the sixth, his third career dinger with the bases loaded and second this season. He is the first shortstop in franchise history to hit multiple grand slams in a season.

Both of his slams this year came against the Twins (also on April 23 at in the Bronx), giving us our #FunFact of the series. Here’s the list of Yankees to hit multiple grand slams against the Twins/Senators franchise since 1925:

  • Lou Gehrig (5)
  • Babe Ruth (3)
  • Mickey Mantle (2)
  • Alex Rodriguez (2)
  • Didi Gregorius (2)

Nearly no-hit
The Yankees dropped a rare series in Minnesota thanks to Wednesday night’s debacle, a 3-1 loss in which they nearly got no-hit by Jake Odorizzi. They entered this series 20-8 all-time at Target Field, the best record by any AL team at the ballpark and the Yankees best record at any current AL stadium.

Their offensive struggles reached near-DEFCON-1 levels with Odorizzi taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning before Greg Bird drilled a one-out RBI double into the left-centerfield gap. It was the longest the Yankees had been held without a hit since September 11, 2014 when Rays righty Alex Cobb had his no-hitter broken up with one out in the eighth inning by a double from Chris Young.

(Getty)

Bird might have been one of the most unlikely Yankees to make sure the team wouldn’t be on the wrong side of history. It was his first hit since August 29 and his first RBI since August 19. Bird had one hit in his previous 30 at-bats dating back to August 19 before Wednesday’s miracle hit.

Luis Severino delivered a strong bounceback effort with one run allowed on four hits in 5 2/3 innings. After giving up a leadoff single, he retired 15 straight guys before getting into trouble in the sixth. It was his fewest runs given up since July 1, when he threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the Red Sox. In between those dates — 11 games from July 7 through September 5 — Severino posted a 6.83 ERA and batters had a .934 OPS against him.

9/10 to 9/12 Series Preview: Minnesota Twins

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(Hannah Foslien/Getty)

The Yankees took two out of three from the Mariners this weekend, on the strength of terrific starting pitching and a bit of timely hitting. They remain just 2.5 games up for home-field advantage in the Wild Card game, though, as the A’s swept through the Rangers. The A’s face the Orioles this week, so it’s tough to see them slowing down – and that means the Yankees need to take care of business against the Twins.

The Last Time They Met

These teams played a four-game set back in late April, and it was just as the Yankees were hitting their stride – and the Yankees took all four games by a combined score of 33-11. Some notes from the series:

  • The Yankees won the first game 14-1, with every starter reaching base at least once. Didi Gregorius (via grand slam) and Tyler Austin (now on the Twins) both had four RBI, and Giancarlo Stanton went 4-for-4. The team went 5-for-11 with RISP, to boot.
  • Gregorius had a fairly absurd series, going 7-for-16 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI. By the time Minnesota left town he was hitting .354/.452/.793 on the season.
  • Aaron Judge reached base at least twice in every game, and went 5-for-12 with two doubles, a home run, and six walks overall.
  • Gary Sanchez did this in the final game:

Check out Katie’s Yankeemetrics post for more fun facts.

Injury Report

Jason Castro, Adalberto Mejia, Logan Morrison, and Ervin Santana are all done for the season. Tyler Austin (back tightness) and Miguel Sano (left leg contusion) are both day-to-day.

Their Story So Far

The Twins are 65-77 with a -70 run differential, which is good for second place in the awful AL Central. They have the starkest home-field advantage in baseball, sitting at 41-30 with a +8 run differential at home and 24-47 with a -78 run differential on the road. Unfortunately, they’re hosting the Yankees.

After overachieving a bit last year, the Twins were back to sellers in 2018. They dealt Eduardo Escobar, Ryan Pressly, Zach Duke, Lance Lynn, and Brian Dozier heading into the July 31 trade deadline, and sent Fernando Rodney and Bobby Wilson packing in August. The returns in these deals were generally quantity over quality, per most outlets, but the Twins still have some tantalizing young talent.

One of those talented youngsters is Byron Buxton, who has been making headlines for being shut-down by the Twins in what is clearly service time manipulation. He wasn’t good when he played in the majors this year (his 4 OPS+ is a testament to that), but he was brilliant last year and is still just 24. The front office has used the “he’s not fully healthy” and “there’s no place for him to play” arguments; the former may hold water (Buxton denies it), but the latter is tough to swallow when folk like Robbie Grossman and Johnny Field are playing in the outfield.

The Lineup We Might See

Manager Paul Molitor has used a slew of different lineups this year, which isn’t terribly surprising given the roster’s talent level, trades, and injuries. Predicting what they’ll trot out there on any given night is anyone’s guess – and I’m anyone, I suppose.

  1. Joe Mauer, 1B – .272/.343/.369, 5 HR, 0 SB, 94 OPS+
  2. Jorge Polanco, SS – .270/.326/.401, 4 HR, 4 SB, 97 OPS+
  3. Eddie Rosario, DH – .289/.326/.482, 23 HR, 8 SB, 116 OPS+
  4. Logan Forsythe, 2B – .236/.314/.304, 2 HR, 3 SB, 69 OPS+
  5. Jake Cave, CF – .257/.307/.476, 10 HR, 1 SB, 109 OPS+
  6. Mitch Garver, C – .260/.331/.406, 7 HR, 0 SB, 99 OPS+
  7. Max Kepler, RF – .226/.320/.414, 18 HR, 3 SB, 98 OPS+
  8. Robbie Grossman, LF – .261/.348/.368, 4 HR, 0 SB, 96 OPS+
  9. Ehire Adrianza, 3B – .249/.302/.374, 6 HR, 4 SB, 83 OPS+

Willians Astudillo (139 OPS+ in 38 PA) will see some time at catcher, and Tyler Austin (108 OPS+) and Miguel Sano (85 OPS+) should get into the starting lineup if they’re healthy.

(Robert H. Levey/Getty)

The Starting Pitchers We Will See

Monday (8:10 PM EST): LHP J.A. Happ vs. RHP Kyle Gibson

Gibson has had a mini-breakout this year at the age of 30, posting career-bests in ERA (3.74), ERA+ (118), strikeouts (158), and strikeout rate (22.0%). He has shown flashes of competence throughout his career, and may well have turned the corner via consolidation this year.

Gibson is a legitimate five-pitch guy, with a low-to-mid 90s four-seamer, a low-90s sinker, a mid-80s change-up, a mid-80s slider, and a low-80s curve. He gets a lot of whiffs on the slider and curve when they’re right.

Last outing (vs. HOU on 9/3) – 7.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 5 K

Tuesday (8:10 PM EST): RHP Sonny Gray vs. RHP Kohl Stewart

The fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft, Stewart made his big-league debut on August 12. His climb through the minors was slow and steady, and he did not reach Triple-A until his fifth professional season. Some of that is due to the Twins approach to pitchers, but his unspectacular performance once he reached Double-A certainly didn’t help. Stewart’s a former top-50 prospect, though, and his pedigree still means something as he’s still a month shy of his 24th birthday.

Stewart’s another five-pitch guy, with a low-90s four-seamer, a low-90s sinker, a high-80s change-up, a mid-80s slider, and a high-70s curveball. His stuff’s not too different from Gibson’s, but he hasn’t shown the ability to get whiffs just yet.

Last outing (vs. HOU on 9/4) – 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Wednesday (8:10 PM EST): RHP Luis Severino vs. RHP Jake Odorizzi

The Yankees beat-up on Odorizzi back on April 23, scoring five runs in 4.2 innings, and putting eight runners on-base. The 28-year-old has had a somewhat rough year, pitching to a 4.57 ERA (96 ERA+) in 147.2 IP with the worst full-season WAR (1.2) of his career.

Last outing (vs. HOU on 9/5) – 4.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 4 K

The Bullpen

Trevor Hildenberger inherited the closer mantle when Rodney was dealt, and he’s five-for-five in save opportunities with a 2.61 ERA since then. His overall numbers are solid, with a 4.21 ERA (105 ERA+) and 21.5% strikeouts in 66.1 IP. Taylor Rogers (3.02 ERA and 29.3 K%) is their best hand out there otherwise, with Trevor May (1.65 ERA and 36.4 K% in limited duty out of the bullpen) and the disappointing Addison Reed (4.70 ERA) chipping in from the 6th inning onward.

Who (Or What) To Watch

Willians Astudillo is kind of the position player version of Bartolo Colon, and is generously listed at 5’9″ and 225 pounds. He swings at everything (0.0 BB% and 5.3 K% in the majors, 3.3% and 4.6% in Triple-A), and is fun to watch at the plate and in the field.

Yanks acquire Lance Lynn for Tyler Austin, pitching prospect

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(Omar Rawlings/Getty)

Even with J.A. Happ on board, the Yankees have decided to add another starting pitcher. Tyler Austin and pitching prospect Luis Rijo have been traded to the Twins for right-hander Lance Lynn, it has been announced. It is a done deal. Officially official. Jon Heyman says the Twins are eating half Lynn’s salary.

“It’s the New York Yankees. As a fan of the game growing up, it’s exciting for me as a young kid, seeing them in their heyday winning a lot of World Series championships,” said Lynn to Dan Hayes. “You look at their team now, they’re going for it. I’m excited for that opportunity and that challenge. It’s going to be a different experience. I’m just going to go in there and try to do everything I can to help, whatever that may be.”

The Yankees shipped Adam Warren to the Mariners for international bonus money earlier today, so they essentially swapped Warren for Lynn on the roster. It breaks down like this:

  • Yankees get: Lynn and $1.25M in international bonus money
  • Yankees give up: Warren, Austin, Rijo

Lynn, 31, has a 5.10 ERA (4.73 FIP) with 21.3% strikeout rate and a 50.8% ground ball rate in 102.1 innings this season, all as a starter. His walk rate (13.2%) is way too high. It’s been high his entire career (career 9.4% walk rate), but never this high. Free passes are bad news, though at least Lynn mitigates them with strikeouts and grounders.

For what it’s worth, Lynn has pitched better since an ugly April — seems like all the free agents who signed late started slow this year — throwing 78.2 innings with a 4.12 ERA (4.16 FIP). Walk rate (11.1%) is still too high, though the strikeouts (21.0%) and grounders (50.6%) have been there. Clearly, the Yankees are banking on track record here. Lynn owns a career 3.54 ERA (3.74 FIP).

The Yankees presumably swapped Warren for Lynn because they believe Lynn is better capable of stepping into the rotation, if necessary. I don’t disagree with that. Lynn does have bullpen experience, though it’s been a while. The Cardinals regularly used him out of the bullpen in the postseason during their glory days from 2011-15.

Austin was made completely expendable by the recent Luke Voit pickup. They’re both 27-ish year old right-handed hitting first basemen. Austin will be out of minor league options after the season. Voit will not. So there you go. Voit replaces Austin as the up-and-down platoon first baseman going forward.

When Greg Bird was hurt earlier this year, Austin stepped up and hit .290/.362/.629 (166 wRC+) with five home runs in April. He wasn’t so good after that, finishing with a .223/.280/.471 (111 wRC+) line with eight homers and 40.2% strikeouts in 132 big league plate appearances before being sent to Triple-A. Austin was good when the Yankees needed him. Props.

Rijo, 19, has a 2.77 ERA (2.47 FIP) with 19.5% strikeouts and 1.8% walks in 39 rookie ball inning this season. He is not among MLB.com’s top 30 Yankees prospects and he wasn’t going to be on my upcoming post-draft top 30 prospects list. The Yankees literally have more pitching prospects than rotation spots in the minors. They’re loaded with kids like Rijo. No surprise they dealt from that depth.

As for the financials, the Warren trade combined with the Twins eating half Lynn’s salary makes this effectively cash neutral for the Yankees. They’re still about $3M under the $197M luxury tax threshold, give or take. Some of that needs to be saved for injury call-ups and September call-ups. I think Warren is better than Lynn, but what I think doesn’t matter, plus Lynn can start. Warren can’t. The Yankees added more length to the pitching staff today.

Game 25: Severino for Seven

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(Presswire)

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

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

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

RHP Luis Severino

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

LHP Andrew Heaney

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

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

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

Yankeemetrics: Bombers streaking, sweep Twins (April 23-26)

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(AP)

Lucky 14
The Yankees welcomed their longtime punching bag –- the Twins –- to the Bronx for a four-game set starting Monday, and predictably whipped them, 14-1, in the opener.

Entering this year the Yankees owned a 78-31 (.716) regular-season record against the Twins since 2002 (the last time they lost a season series to the Twins was 2001!). That’s the highest win percentage by any team in a head-to-head non-Interleague matchup over the last 16 seasons. Including the postseason, that record improves to a whopping 91-33 since 2002, or the equivalent of 118 wins over a 162-game schedule.

Miguel Andujar continued to swing a scorching-hot bat, homering in the second inning and doubling in the sixth to extend his streak of games with an extra-base hit to seven games. That tied Joe DiMaggio (1937) and Mickey Mantle (1955) for the longest such streak in franchise history by a player age 23-or-younger. Andujar also joined A-Rod (twice in 2007) as the only Yankee third baseman with an extra-base hit in seven (or more) games over the last 75 seasons.

Giancarlo Stanton broke out of his early-season Bronx slump with a 4-for-4, 2-RBI night. The four hits on Monday were one fewer than he had in his first 12 games combined at Yankee Stadium this season.

Didi Gregorius put an exclamation point on the rout with his second career grand slam in the eighth inning, boosting the lead to 12-1. The only other shortstops since 1925 to hit multiple grand slams in their Yankee careers were Frankie Crosetti (3), Phil Rizzuto (2) and Fred Stanley (2).

Gleyber Torres singled in the eighth, getting not only his first career major-league hit but also earning our #FunFact of the game: He became the youngest Yankee infielder with a hit in a game since a rookie named Derek Jeter in 1995.

(AP)

Rinse, repeat, another rout
The Yankees lived up to their Bronx Bombers nickname for a second straight night, belting four home runs en route to an easy 8-3 win on Tuesday.

The fireworks were supplied by the usual suspects — Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge and Didi “I’m Not a Home Run Hitter” Gregorius — who went a combined 8-for-13 with four dingers while driving in seven of the team’s eight runs (alas, the rest of the lineup was 2-for-22).

Sanchez delivered two blasts for his ninth career multi-homer game. He’s the only player in major-league history to tally nine multi-homer games within his first 200 career games.

Judge smashed an opposite field shot in the seventh, showing off his ridiculous power to right field. Since the start of last season he is slugging 1.075 and has an isolated power of .626 on balls hit to the opposite field. Not only are those two marks the best in MLB, but he’s lapping the field by a wide margin. No other qualified hitter even has an oppo-field slugging percentage of .900 or an oppo-field isolated power of .500.

Didi contributed an RBI single in the third inning and then hit a booming two-run homer in the fifth, increasing his team-leading totals to 27 RBI and eight homers. He is the first shortstop in baseball history to reach each of those marks this early into the season. Among Yankees, only A-Rod during his 2007 MVP campaign and Babe Ruth in 1921 have matched or bettered Didi’s totals in the team’s first 22 games.

CC Sabathia was in late-career vintage form, generating tons of weakly-hit balls with his crafty mix of sliders, cutters and sinkers. Per Fangraphs, 50 percent of the 16 balls in play were categorized as “soft contact”, tied for the second-best rate in any game of his career.

Statcast measured his average exit velocity at 76.4 mph and all 16 batted balls against him were clocked below 90 mph. Since Statcast tracking began in 2015, he’s the only pitcher in the majors to allow at least 15 balls in play in a game, with none them coming off the bat at 90 mph or faster.

(Newsday)

Didi and Tyler’s World
Not even another ugly start from Sonny Gray could keep this pinstriped train from chugging to another win over the Twins. Thanks to their relentless offense, another power barrage and a lockdown performance from the bullpen, the Yankees won their fifth game in a row, 7-4, on Wednesday night.

Another game, another dinger for the ridiculously hot Didi Gregorius. His game-tying solo shot in third inning –- his ninth of the season -– etched his name in the record books. He is the:

  • only shortstop in franchise history to go deep in four straight games
  • only Yankee shortstop with at least nine homers and 25 RBI in any calendar month
  • only shortstop in major-league history with at least nine homers and 25 RBI in April

For more context on Didi’s nine homers in 20 April games, consider this stat: In his first season as a Yankee in 2015 he hit nine homers in 155 games!

Tyler Austin delivered the game-changing hit, crushing a tie-breaking three-run homer in the third to give the Yankees a 5-2 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. It was his 12th career homer, and 10 of the 12 have either tied the game or given the Yankees the lead. He is slugging .914 with a 1.299 OPS in 35 career high-leverage at-bats. Since his rookie season in 2016, that’s easily the highest slugging percentage and OPS in high-leverage situations by any MLB player (min. 25 at-bats).

Gleyber Torres showed off his his lightning-quick bat speed with another two-hit performance, including his first career extra-base hit (a double in the fourth). He became the youngest Yankee with back-to-back multi-hit games since a 20-year-old Mickey Mantle pulled off the feat in 1952.

Kraken FTW
The Yankees capped off their sweep of the Twins in stunning fashion, with a dramatic walk-off win on a sunny Thursday afternoon in the Bronx. Gary Sanchez wore the hero’s cape as he crushed a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to turn a potential 3-1 loss into a thrilling 4-3 win.

Here’s a few #FunFacts to celebrate Gary’s first career walk-off hit. He is the …

  • First Yankee with a come-from-behind, walk-off blast against the Twins since Jason Giambi’s memorable game-ending grand slam on May 17, 2002.
  • Youngest Yankee since Don Mattingly on May 13, 1985 to hit a walk-off home run when trailing by multiple runs. Oh, and the losing team in that game? The Twins, of course.
  • Only Yankee catcher (since at least 1925) to hit a game-ending shot with his team facing a deficit of two runs or more.

There was little to celebrate about this game before El Gary snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the bottom of the ninth. Twins starter Kyle Gibson took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before Brett Gardner’s two-out single broke up the no-no. That was the only hit Gibson allowed in the game, and combined with his career-best 10 strikeouts, he joined an exclusive list of pitchers to allow one or fewer hits and strike out at least 10 Yankees in the Divisional Era (since 1969):

Date
Kyle Gibson April 26, 2018
Chris Sale May 22, 2014
Bartolo Colon Sept. 18, 2000
Pedro Martinez Sept. 10, 1999
Nolan Ryan Aug. 29, 1973

4/23 to 4/26 Series Preview: Minnesota Twins

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Mauer and Dozier … and Cervelli in between! (Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

The Yankees head into the final series of their homestand on a roll after winning three of four against the Blue Jays. Now, a familiar non-division foe enters the Bronx for a four-game set.

The Last Time They Met

In case you forgot, the Yankees and Twins met in the 2017 American League Wild Card Game. For the 10th straight time, the Yankees beat the Twins in the playoffs and this time in a winner-take-all game.

  • Luis Severino was out of the game six batters into the game (I kinda called it?), but the Yankees backed him up with 8 2/3 innings of one-run ball out of the bullpen. Chad Green, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle and Aroldis Chapman each had some of their best postseason moments in that game.
  • Didi Gregorius hit a tying home run in the bottom of the first inning and the Yankees never looked back. Aaron Judge and Brett Gardner added homers of their own while Greg Bird and Aaron Hicks each had an RBI.

For more information, check out Katie’s Yankeemetrics post on that game and the ALDS.

Injury Report

Byron Buxton is on the 10-day disabled list due to migraines and is on rehab assignment. He could be back mid-way through the series. Minor league/40-man roster OF Zack Granite is on the DL with a shoulder contusion.

On the pitching side, Trevor May and Michael Pineda are recovering from Tommy John surgery and won’t be in games for a while. Wild Card Game starter Ervin Santana is slated for a late-May return from middle finger surgery on his throwing hand.

Their Story So Far

Thanks to some unfortunate weather breaks and some scheduled days off, the Twins have played just 16 games and are 8-8. In fact, they’ve only played five games in the last 10 days. Minnesota is coming off an unfortunate sweep at the hands of the Rays of all teams. The team strikes out a fair amount at the plate, though the squad takes its walks and hits for some power. Still, their wOBA is 19th in baseball. The pitching staff has been a little walk happy but generally middle-of-the-pack.

As for their individual hitters, Brian Dozier has a 23-game hit streak dating back to last season. It’s 16 straight games this season. Joe Mauer has been hitting like his old self and recently eclipsed 2,000 hits for his career. And before he was shelved with migraines, Buxton had continued last season’s trend of starting off slowly despite his hot finish to 2017.

Lineup We Might See

The Yankees will toss two lefties and two righties against Minnesota this series, but the Twins toss out pretty similar lineups against pitchers of either side. Here’s how they often stack up against righties:

1. 2B Brian Dozier
2. 1B Joe Mauer
3. 3B Miguel Sano
4. LF Eddie Rosario
5. DH Logan Morrison
6. SS Eduardo Escobar
7. CF Max Kepler
8. RF Robbie Grossman
9. C Jason Castro

Berrios in the Wild Card Game (Elsa/Getty)

The Starting Pitchers We Will See

Monday (7:05 PM EST): RHP Masahiro Tanaka vs. RHP Jake Odorizzi
Traded from the Rays for a limited return, Odorizzi is plenty familiar with the Yankees. He went 0-2 while struggling through two starts against the Bombers last season and is 5-7 with a 4.31 ERA in 14 games (13 starts) against them in his career. Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Ronald Torreyes all have homers off him, but he’s fared well against the non-Judge healthy Yankees in his career.

Odorizzi is off to an OK start to 2018 with a 3.38 ERA over 21 1/3 innings in four starts. He’s traditionally outpitched his FIP, which is 5.35 this year thanks to too many walks and homers, both of which have been problems in his career. He’s an extreme flyball pitcher, which doesn’t play well at Yankee Stadium. So far this season, he’s used a sinker more than his traditional four-seamer while still working in a splitter, curveball, cutter and slider.

Last Outing (vs. CLE on Apr. 17 in Puerto Rico) – 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 3 HR

Tuesday (6:35 PM EST): LHP CC Sabathia vs. RHP Jose Berrios
This will be quite the matchup for the Yankees as Jose Berrios has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season. He entered Sunday second in both fWAR and bWAR for pitchers. Over four starts, he has a 1.63 ERA over 27 1/3 innings. He has a 29.3 percent strikeout rate … and a 1.0 percent walk rate. Yup, he’s issued just one walk this season (in addition to one hit-by-pitch). His control has been impeccable.

Berrios averages 94.2 mph on his fastball, which he throws just over a third of the time. He also works in a sinker and changeup, but his best pitch is his 82 mph curveball. For my money, it’s one of my favorite pitches to see in all of baseball. Berrios was lit up by the Yankees in the Wild Card Game and needed 90 pitches to get 10 outs in a start vs. them last September. Still, he’s gonna be a lot to handle.

Last Outing (vs. CLE on Apr. 18 in Puerto Rico) – 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K

Wednesday (6:35 PM EST): RHP Sonny Gray vs. RHP Lance Lynn
Lance Lynn was one of the pitchers hit hardest by the slow free agent market. A long-time cog in the Cardinals’ rotation, the 30-year-old settled for a one-year, $12 million deal despite expectations he’d get that much per year over at least 3-4 years. Good for the Twins to try and get a bargain late in the offseason (he signed March 12).

Lynn hasn’t looked very good in his new uniform. While he’s struck out 19 batters over 15 innings, he’s walked 15 as well, sporting a 6.00 ERA and 1.87 WHIP. For reference, he’s coming off 186 1/3 innings in 2017 where he had a 3.43 ERA and issued just 78 walks. Lynn comes after hitters with his low-90s fastball with the occasional curveball or slider. He hasn’t faced the Yankees since 2014, when he threw a five-hit shutout.

Last Outing (@ TB on Apr. 20) – 6.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 BB, 7 K

Thursday (1:05 PM EST): LHP Jordan Montgomery vs. RHP Kyle Gibson
Kyle Gibson is off to a mixed start to 2018. After throwing six no-hit innings in his first start (albeit with five walks), he’s struggled and hasn’t posted a quality start since. He was fine against Tampa his last time out, but two bad innings led to a loss.

The 30-year-old throws a low-90s fastball/sinker the majority of the time while working in a changeup, slider and curveball. Gibson has never fared all that well against the Yankees. He’s 1-4 with a 9.31 ERA over 29 innings in six starts against the Bombers, though he didn’t face them last season and doesn’t have an extensive history against the current lineup.

Last Outing (@ TB on Apr. 21) – 6.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 HR

The Bullpen

The Twins added a pair of relievers to the back-end of their bullpen this offseason: Fernando Rodney and Addison Reed. Rodney is his normal self, having blown two saves and converted two more while Addison Reed has allowed three runs in 11 innings. Trevor Hildenberger has been fine in his second season while Zach Duke and Taylor Rogers are the lefties in the ‘pen. Both Duke and Rogers have struggled.

Alan Busenitz has been effective in three outings while Ryan Pressly has yet to give up a run while mostly pitching in low leverage situations. Rule 5 Draft pick Tyler Kinley has pitched sparingly.

The team needed 4 2/3 innings out of its bullpen on Sunday, though Pressly (1.2 innings) was the only pitcher to record more than three outs. Reed, Pressly and Rogers have pitched two of the last three nights. None of their relievers pitched both Saturday and Sunday.

Yankees Connection

Phil Hughes made his first start of the season Sunday and struggled through 3 1/3 innings. Former Yankee farmhands Jake Cave and Zack Littell are in the minors but on the 40-man roster while Pineda is on the 60-day DL.

Who (Or What) to Watch?

Just like the Jays series, this is another measuring stick series. The Twins are a playoff contender and sport a strong lineup, plus they’ll toss their best healthy starters in this four-game set.

As for who to watch, Berrios. He’s been a force all season. Even though he took the loss in the Wild Card Game last year, he’s the one pitcher that would worry me if I’m Aaron Boone.