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The Backup Infielders [2018 Season Review]

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(Maddie Meyer/Getty)

While we’ve gone through the Yankees’ key offensive and defensive contributors this season, they had plenty of part-time players that made smaller but memorable impacts. Here’s a look at the 2018 season for Tyler Austin, Ronald Torreyes, Tyler Wade and Adeiny Hechavarria, the primary backup infielders.

Tyler Austin

It’s easy to forget, but Tyler Austin was the Yankees’ Opening Day first baseman. Look it up! He batted ninth and struck out once. However, thanks to the constant injuries to Greg Bird and the early-season struggles of Neil Walker, Austin earned himself a long look at first base.

Beginning with the third game of the year, where Austin slugged a pair of homers off Marco Estrada, the right-handed first baseman tore up April. He hit five home runs and had seven multi-hit games, slugging .629 for the month.

However, Austin went 0-for-3 on April 26 and had to serve a four-game suspension. Why? Because of the epic brawl started with his fight against Joe Kelly on April 11. Austin’s hard slide into second base caused a fracas earlier in the game and Joe Kelly throwing at him had tension boil over.

Starting with his final at-bat on April 25 and ending on May 15, Austin went 0-for-23 with one walk and 12 strikeouts, cooling off significantly. He recovered with three straight two-hit games, including a two-homer game against the Royals, but he was demoted soon after thanks to Bird’s return.

While Austin finally achieved a healthy season in pinstripes, he would only play four more games after May. He would be traded along with MiLBer Luis Rio for Lance Lynn on July 30 after the Yankees acquired Luke Voit. Austin would go 1-for-4 with a walk in lone game vs. Yankees after the trade.

In all, Austin hit a respectable .223/.280/.471 (98 OPS+) with the Yankees in 2018, though his on-base percentage and 40 percent strikeout rate wouldn’t be palatable long-term. Joe Mauer’s retirement in Minnesota gives him a chance to play more first base, particularly after he had another home run binge after the trade. However, C.J. Cron’s acquisition makes it harder to find playing time.

Ronald Torreyes

Like Austin and Wade, Torreyes found himself the recipient of some early starts in the Bronx in 2018. Toe earned the chance to take over second base with Wade struggling early. He put up three three-hit games in April, including one against the Orioles on April 7.

However, Torreyes’ playing time quickly dried up once Gleyber Torres was called up. This happened despite Torreyes having a nine-game hitting streak and batting .410 until his last game in April.

Once Torres and Miguel Andujar took off by the end of April, it was all but over for Torreyes in the Bronx. With those two young players surrounding Didi Gregorius, the Yankees had three guys playing practically every day at Torreyes’ three positions. Toe would start just six times in May before he was sent down.

He came up for two games in June and then didn’t get significant playing time until Didi went on the shelf in August. In the game Didi was injured at first base, Torreyes had a three-hit game off the bench.

Torreyes had just 102 plate appearances in 41 games this year, batting .280/.294/.370 in sporadic playing appearances. That led to his designation for assignment this week to make room for Parker Bridwell. Hopefully, Toe will find a new start in Chicago after being dealt to the Cubs.

Tyler Wade

It was a real bummer of a season for Wade, who had a prime opportunity at second base before Torres’ call-up. In his age-23 season, Wade couldn’t crack a .500 OPS. over 70 plate appearances, batting just .167/.214/.273 (31 OPS+), which was actually an improvement over his cameo in 2017.

In nine April starts, Wade hit in just three games. He came through with big hits in the second game of the year, knocking in the game-winning runs in the middle innings. However, his inability to get the ball out of the infield led to his demotion once Torres came up.

Wade wasn’t back up until July. He had his first career homer against the Orioles while notching his first three-hit game. He had five hits over consecutive starts with two-hit game vs. Indians. Those games knocked his line from .103/.167/.154 to .188/.235/.333. giving him a season-best .569 OPS.

He was only a pinch runner or defensive replacement in September, scoring two runs and stealing one base in only his attempt.

Wade also took a step back in hitting at Triple-A in 2018, so confidence in the former prospect has to be at a low. He’s still just 24, but the idea that he can be the Yankees’ Ben Zobrist or Marwin Gonzalez seems out the window until proven otherwise.

Adeiny Hechavarria

Shortly after the Andrew McCutchen trade, the Yankees acquired Hechavarria from the Pirates just in time to get him eligible for the postseason. The Bombers were Hech’s third team of 2018 (Rays) and fourth team in two years.

Hechavarria was essentially acquired just for defensive replacement value. He had exclusively played shortstop since his rookie season and was thrust into that role initially as the Yankees waited for Didi to get healthy. However, Hechavarria was brought in to take over as a defensive replacement for Andujar on a regular basis down the stretch.

Though he hit just .194 with a .216 OBP in the Bronx, he had a couple signature offensive moments. He hit an insurance run homer against the Athletics just after Labor Day and a go-ahead homer against the Rays on Sept. 25th.

Still, he had a 51 wRC+ in 37 PAs and 18 games. He made one throwing error in the regular season and a couple misplays, but he was a clear step up from Andujar with his smooth glove in the field.

Hechavarria played in four playoff games, relieving Andujar in the sixth inning (!) of the Wild Card Game. He made a dazzling leaping catch as the Yankees pulled away.

He also replaced Andujar in the sixth inning of ALDS Game 2. While he can certainly field, it said more about Andujar’s ineptitude than Hechavarria’s talent.

Now a free agent, he’ll likely be elsewhere next year, though Didi’s injury creates an opening at short. He can’t hit well enough to deserve that spot on a regular basis to begin the year but could be good insurance in the minors.

So long, Toe: Yankees trade Ronald Torreyes to Cubs

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(Jim McIsaac/Getty)

Adios, Joltin’ Toe. The Yankees have traded Ronald Torreyes to the Cubs for cash or a player to be named later, the team announced earlier today. Torreyes was designated for assignment earlier this week to clear a 40-man roster spot when Parker Bridwell was claimed on waivers. This is the first Yankees-Cubs trade since the Gleyber Torres deal.

The 26-year-old Torreyes is projected to make $900,000 through arbitration next season and the Yankees are loaded with utility infielder types (Hanser Alberto, Thairo Estrada, Tim Locastro, Tyler Wade), so the most expensive (and least tooled up) of the bunch got the heave-ho when a 40-man roster spot was needed. Sucks, but that’s the business.

Torreyes spent parts of three seasons with the Yankees — he was originally acquired from the Dodgers in a minor trade, then lost on waivers to the Angels, then reclaimed on waivers — and managed a .281/.308/.374 (80 wRC+) batting line with +1.6 WAR in 221 games. Pretty good for a utility dude. Torreyes is fun and I am pro fun. I’ll miss him.

For Torreyes, the trade represents a homecoming of sorts. He spent a year and a half in Chicago’s farm league system earlier in his career. Here is his career transactions log:

  • February 23rd, 2010: Signed with Reds as an international free agent.
  • December 23, 2011: Traded to Cubs in the Travis Wood/Sean Marshall deal.
  • June 2, 2013: Traded to Astros for cash.
  • May 15th, 2015: Traded to Blue Jays for cash.
  • June 12th, 2015: Traded to Dodgers for cash.
  • June 12th, 2016: Traded to Yankees in the Rob Segedin deal.
  • June 25th, 2016: Claimed on waivers by the Angels.
  • February 1st, 2016: Claimed on waivers by Yankees.
  • November 28th, 2018: Traded to Cubs for cash or a player to be named.

It’s possible the Cubs will non-tender Addison Russell come Friday’s deadline and, if they do, Torreyes will be their only shortstop capable backup infielder behind Javier Baez. He very well could be on their Opening Day roster. That said, Torreyes has an option remaining, so he could wind up in Triple-A.

Anyway, at this time of year a player to be named later could be a Rule 5 Draft eligible player — once the Rule 5 Draft is over and the player is unselected, he’s sent over to complete the trade — though I don’t think that’s the case here. The cash part is a dead giveaway. That suggests it was a “take this or we’ll just claim him on waivers” deal. So it goes.

Yanks claim Parker Bridwell off waivers from Angels, Ronald Torreyes designated for assignment

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(Sean M. Haffey/Getty)

The Toe-night Show is no more. This afternoon the Yankees announced they have claimed right-hander Parker Bridwell off waivers from the Angels, and, to make room on the 40-man roster, Ronald Torreyes has been designated for assignment. Aw geez.

Bridwell, 27, had a decent year with the Halos in 2017, throwing 121 innings with a 3.64 ERA (4.84 FIP). His strikeout (14.8%) and ground ball (38.1%) rates were not good though. This past season Bridwell allowed 40 runs in 34.2 innings between Triple-A and MLB before surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow ended his season in June. As best I can tell, he’s expected to be ready for Spring Training.

I assume the Yankees claimed Bridwell because he’s a spin rate guy. The performance and recent elbow surgery certainly don’t stand out, after all. His fastball (2,433 rpm), curveball (2,821 rpm), and cutter (2,525 rpm) have all shown comfortably above-average spin rates in his relatively brief MLB career, and I guess the Yankees believe he can be better with a healthy elbow.

As for Torreyes, everyone’s favorite utility guy went up-and-down in 2018, hitting .280/.294/.370 (78 wRC+). The non-tender deadline is this Friday and I kinda had a feeling Torreyes might lose his 40-man spot, so much so that I wrote about it for tomorrow’s thoughts post. Here’s that now defunct blurb:

One more potential non-tender candidate: Ronald Torreyes. Torreyes is projected to make $900,000 through arbitration next year and that’s not much in the grand scheme of things. It also might be more than the Yankees are willing to spend on an up-and-down utility guy with Tyler Wade, Thairo Estrada, Hanser Alberto, and Tim Locastro also on the 40-man roster and Go Urshela in Triple-A. Torreyes is a quality utility guy. Nothing more, nothing less. He puts the bat on the ball and he can play the three non-first base infield positions competently. His ceiling is limited because he has no power, doesn’t walk, and doesn’t steal bases. Wade is a better defender and a better runner. Thairo has more thump in his bat. Alberto and Urshela are much better glovemen. Locastro is more versatile and a better runner. Torreyes is very popular in the clubhouse but that didn’t stop the Yankees from sending him to Triple-A multiple times this year. I’m not sure non-tendering him and re-signing him to a minor league contract is possible — another team could swoop in with a guaranteed Major League contract and an easier path to big league playing time — but, if there’s a 40-man roster crunch, Torreyes could get non-tendered. The Yankees are fairly deep in up-and-down utility infield types and Torreyes is the most expensive (and least tooled up) of the bunch. A non-tender wouldn’t be a popular move but it could happen. (As for the clubhouse, if the Yankees can’t overcome the loss of Torreyes, then they have much bigger problems than losing a utility infielder.)

Hopefully Torreyes clears outright waivers and remains in the organization as a non-40-man player. Cheap utility guys have a tendency to get claimed on waivers though, especially when they have minor league options remaining (Torreyes does) and have shown they can be effective at the MLB level. Hopefully Torreyes clears. I don’t think it’ll happen though. Sucks.

Bridwell, meanwhile, is out of minor league options, meaning he can’t go to Triple-A without passing through waivers. The Yankees have quite the collection of out-of-options fringe starter/reliever types in Bridwell, Domingo German, Luis Cessa, and A.J. Cole. I’m curious to see how this all shakes out. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Bridwell wind up on outright waivers at some point as the Yankees see whether they can keep him as a non-40-man guy.

The Yankees have their priciest arbitration class in years this offseason and some big decisions are required

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(Elsa/Getty)

Given the roster situation and contention window, the Yankees figure to be very active this winter. The team is ready to win now but they need help, particularly in the rotation, but also elsewhere on the roster. The injured Didi Gregorius has to be replaced, as do impending free agents David Robertson and Zach Britton, among others. These next few months should be busy.

The Yankees already have their core in place — they need to supplement this offseason more than overhaul — and they’re going to spend at least part of the offseason keeping that core in place. Guys like Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres and Gary Sanchez are still in their pre-arbitration years and will make something close to the league minimum next year. Others like Gregorius and Luis Severino are arbitration-eligible and will cost a bit more.

Last week Matt Swartz released his 2019 salary arbitration projections at MLB Trade Rumors. There are always exceptions, but Matt’s system is very accurate overall. These aren’t “in the ballpark” numbers. These tend to be close to dead on. Here is the Yanks’ arbitration class and their projected 2019 salaries:

  • Didi Gregorius: $12.4M (fourth time eligible as a Super Two)
  • Sonny Gray: $9.1M (third time)
  • Dellin Betances: $6.4M (third time)
  • Aaron Hicks: $6.2M (third time)
  • Luis Severino: $5.1M (first time as a Super Two)
  • Austin Romine: $2.0M (third time)
  • Tommy Kahnle: $1.5M (second time as a Super Two)
  • Greg Bird: $1.5M (first time)
  • Ronald Torreyes: $900K (first time as a Super Two)

The nine-person arbitration class projects to cost the Yankees a whopping $45.1M in 2019. Goodness. Last year’s arbitration class ran $29.2525M even when including Adam Warren’s full salary. The Yankees have about $55M in free agents coming off the books this winter. Going from a $29.2525M arbitration class last year to a $45.1M arbitration class this year eats up about $15M of that $55M. Hmmm. Anyway, let’s talk about the arbitration class a bit.

1. What happens with Gregorius? Sir Didi needs Tommy John surgery and I have to think that means the Yankees will not pursue a long-term contract extension, if they were even planning to pursue one in the first place. Don’t you have to wait and see what Gregorius looks like post-surgery before committing? I mean, he’ll probably be fine, but you never really know. It’s a major surgery.

As I mentioned yesterday, I don’t think the Yankees will non-tender Gregorius, but I don’t think it would be as egregious as it may seem. He might not be back until August or September. Is it really smart to commit $12.4M to a guy who may not help you much, if at all, when he’ll become a free agent next winter? That’s a lot of money to give to a guy who is going to spend most of the year rehabbing. The potential reward isn’t all that great.

Perhaps there’s a compromise to be made here? Rather than a one-year contract at the projected arbitration salary, the Yankees and Gregorius could work out a two-year agreement? Something like, say, two years and $25M? Or maybe even $30M? That ensures two things:

  1. The Yankees won’t pay Gregorius a hefty sum during his injury shortened 2019 season only to possibly lose him to free agency next winter.
  2. Gregorius gets a nice little guaranteed payday and will still be able to become a free agent prior to his age 30 season, when he’ll still have good earning potential.

The Gregorius injury is really unfortunate. He’s a great player who proved difficult to replace during his short time on the disabled list this past season. The injury also complicates his contract situation for next year. Maybe the Yankees will fork over that projected $12.4M contract for the season then worry about Didi’s free agency next winter. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

2. Gray’s salary is higher than I expected. I didn’t expect Gray’s salary projection to come in north of $9M. He made $6.5M this season and was terrible. His past accomplishments (2015 All-Star, third in the 2015 AL Cy Young voting, etc.) are doing the heavy lifting here. No player has ever had his salary cut during arbitration and Sonny sure as heck won’t be the first. I thought maybe he’d get $8M to $8.5M. I underestimated.

Brian Cashman was very open about trading Gray during last week’s end-of-season press conference. I can’t remember him ever being that candid about trading a player. Here’s what Cashman said, via Brendan Kuty:

“I think it’s probably best to try this somewhere else,” Cashman said. “It hasn’t worked out this far. I think he’s extremely talented. I think that we’ll enter the winter unfortunately open minded to a relocation. Probably to maximize his abilities would be more likely best somewhere else. But then it comes down to the final decision of the price in terms of trade acquisition and matching up with somebody, if we match up.”

I don’t think Cashman would’ve said that unless he was confident he could find a trade match for Gray and get something decent in return. The Yankees very clearly want to get rid of him. It doesn’t mean they’ll give him away. Pitching is in demand and hey, if you were another team, wouldn’t you have interest in buying low on Gray? I think there will be enough of a market that the Yankees get something good in return. Not great, but good.

Now, that said, if the Yankees have trouble finding a trade partner for Gray, would they consider non-tendering him? I don’t think so, but it’s not impossible. Worst case scenario is you take Sonny into Spring Training and essentially audition him for teams. Some team is going to suffer an injury and need a starter. That team might be the Yankees! But yeah, Gray’s a goner. His projected salary is higher than expected but I don’t think it’ll be an obstacle during trade talks.

3. Time to talk extension with Betances? Next season is Dellin’s final season of team control. He’ll be a free agent next winter. Historically, players who sign extensions the year before free agency get free agent contracts. There’s no discount. I don’t think Betances would get Wade Davis money (three years, $52M), but Bryan Shaw money (three years, $27M) ain’t cutting it. I could see Dellin’s camp pushing for four years and $44M or so next year.

Betances is an all-time personal fave and he had a tremendous bounceback season this year. He went from completely unusable in the postseason last year to being the team’s No. 1 bullpen weapon this postseason. There were a lot of folks (a lot of folks) who wanted Betances traded last offseason. Fortunately the Yankees kept him. That said, there are some reasons the Yankees should pass on an extension this offseason.

  1. Betances turns 31 in March and his free agent contract begins during his age 32 season. Dellin’s not that young anymore! He’s almost certainly had his best years already.
  2. As we know, Betances is extremely volatile. When he’s good, he’s unhittable. It’s so fun. When he’s bad, he’s unusable. What if it goes bad again in 2019? I hope it doesn’t happen, but it might.
  3. Dellin does have an injury history. He’s been very durable as the big leaguer, so he deserves credit for that, but he has Tommy John surgery in his past and also shoulder issues while in the minors.

As much as I love Betances and hope he gets to record the final out of the World Series for the Yankees one day, I wouldn’t blame the Yankees one bit for not signing him long-term this offseason. Relievers are inherently volatile and Betances is more volatile than most. They have him for another season and that means another year of gathering information. If he’s willing to take a sweetheart deal, then by all means, sign him. Otherwise I think waiting is the right move.

4. Time to talk extension with Hicks? Yes, I think so. Switch-hitting center fielders who provide big value on both sides of the ball are worth keeping. Hicks turned 29 only two weeks ago, so he has several peak years remaining, and I want him to spend those peak years in pinstripes. Both versions of WAR had Hicksie as a top seven outfielder in baseball this season. Dude’s legit.

Hicks will be a free agent next offseason and, as noted earlier, players who sign extensions at this service time level usually get free agent contracts. There’s no more discount. The contract comparables for Hicks are pretty straightforward. He figures to seek Dexter Fowler (five years, $82.5M) and Lorenzo Cain (five years, $80M) money. And you know what? I’d give it to him. That’s the going rate for a comfortably above-average center fielder.

It’s important to note here that a five-year contract would cover Hicks’ age 29-33 seasons. He’s younger now than Fowler (age 31-35) and Cain (age 32-36) were when they signed their deals. Hicks is younger but he also doesn’t have as long a track record, which kinda balances things out. If the Yankees give Hicks a five-year deal this winter, they avoid all those nasty decline years in his mid-to-late 30s, at least in theory. This should be a thing they pursue this winter.

(Getty)

5. Severino’s cheapest years are over. The Baby Bombers are growing up. Severino is arbitration-eligible for the first of four times as a Super Two this season. He has two years and 170 days* of service time, which is well over whatever the Super Two cutoff will be this winter. (It varies year to year and is usually somewhere around two years and 120 days.) Severino’s first big payday has arrived.

* The MLB season runs 186 days but it only takes 172 days to qualify for a full season’s worth of service time. That means, come the 2022-23 offseason, Severino will be *two days* short of qualifying for free agency. Ouch. He spent juuust enough time in Triple-A in 2016 to push his free agency back and I doubt that was a coincidence.

The salary record for a first time arbitration-eligible pitcher belongs to Dallas Keuchel, who received $7.25M for the 2016 season, the year after he won his Cy Young award. Severino doesn’t have a Cy Young but he didn’t finish third in the voting last year, which will boost his earning potential. Within the last three offseasons five starting pitchers went through arbitration for the first time as a Super Two. Their salaries:

  • Kevin Gausman, 2016-17: $3.45M
  • Marcus Stroman, 2016-17: $3.4M
  • Chase Anderson, 2016-17: $2.45M
  • Taijuan Walker, 2016-17: $2.25M
  • Mike Foltynewicz, 2017-18: $2.2M

Severino’s been better than all those dudes and, frankly, it’s not all that close either. His first year salary is considerably higher than theirs, as it should be. Using the $5.1M projection as a starting point, Severino’s salaries during his arbitration years could go something like $5.1M, $10M, $15M, $20M. More high finishes in the Cy Young voting will equal more money.

Should the Yankees sign Severino to an extension this winter? Eh, I don’t see the need to rush into it. The Yankees can of course afford big arbitration salaries and pitchers are known to break down. It sucks, but it happens. We spent a few years here saying the Yankees should sign Chien-Ming Wang long-term, they didn’t, then he broke down. Baseball can be cruel like that. I am totally cool waiting at least one more year before discussing a Severino extension. Free agency is still a ways away.

* * *

Even subtracting out the likely to be traded Gray, the Yankees have a very expensive arbitration class this offseason. Their most expensive in years. That tends to happen when you have a lot of good young players. The Yankees will have to make some big decisions with this year’s arbitration class too. Do they approach Gregorius, Hicks, or Betances about extensions the year before free agency? Or just let the year play out? There’s a case to be made for both approaches.

Building the 2018 Wild Card Game roster

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(Mike Stobe/Getty)

With four days to go in the 2018 regular season, we know one thing for certain: The Yankees will play the Athletics in the 2018 AL Wild Card Game next Wednesday. The game will likely be played in Yankee Stadium, though that is not set in stone yet. The magic number for homefield advantage in the Wild Card Game is two. The Yankees-Athletics matchup is set though.

The Wild Card Game is its own postseason round. The Yankees and A’s will set a 25-man roster for the Wild Card Game, then whichever team advances will be able to set a new 25-man roster for the ALDS. Because of that, we’ve seen some funky wildcard rosters in recent years. The Yankees carried only nine pitchers on their 2015 Wild Card Game roster. Last year they carried ten. That means a great big bench.

So, with the Wild Card Game now only six days away, this is as good a time as any to try to piece together the 25-man roster the Yankees will carry next Wednesday. It’s a bummer the Yankees are going to finish with 100-ish wins and have to play in a winner-take-all Wild Card Game, but hey, if you don’t like it, win more games. Let’s dig into the potential Wild Card Game roster.

The Locks

Might as well start here. The way I see it, the Yankees have 17 players who are absolute locks for the Wild Card Game roster right now. The 17:

  • Catchers (2): Austin Romine, Gary Sanchez
  • Infielders (5): Miguel Andujar, Adeiny Hechavarria, Gleyber Torres, Luke Voit, Neil Walker
  • Outfielders (4): Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge, Andrew McCutchen, Giancarlo Stanton
  • Pitchers (6): Dellin Betances, Zach Britton, Aroldis Chapman, Chad Green, Jonathan Holder, David Robertson

I was initially on the fence about Hechavarria, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized he’s going to make the Wild Card Game roster. Worst case scenario is he serves as Andujar’s defensive replacement. The rest is pretty straightforward though, right? Right. We still have eight roster spots to fill, so let’s get to it.

Locks, If Healthy

Didi Gregorius is out with torn cartilage in his right wrist and he could play in games before the end of the season. He got the okay to resume baseball activities yesterday, so that’s good. If he’s able to play this weekend and has no problems, he’ll be on the Wild Card Game roster. If not, it opens up the possibility for Ronald Torreyes to make the roster. The Gregorius/Torreyes spot is our 18th player.

Aaron Hicks, meanwhile, has a tight left hamstring and is day-to-day. He too could play before the regular season ends, and, if that happens, he’ll be on the Wild Card Game roster as well. If Hicks can’t play in the Wild Card Game, I think Tyler Wade makes it instead. Wade can play the outfield, if necessary, but more importantly he can run. No Hicks on the roster means Gardner is in center field rather than on the bench as a pinch-running option. With Hicks out, Wade becomes the pinch-runner. The Hicks/Wade spot is our 19th player.

The Starting Pitcher(s)

We still don’t know who will start the Wild Card Game. Aaron Boone has indicated the decision could come soon and he’s made it pretty clear it’ll be either J.A. Happ, Luis Severino, or Masahiro Tanaka. The Yankees aren’t going to do a straight bullpen game. Two weeks ago RAB readers wanted Tanaka to start the Wild Card Game. I think the Yankees want it to be Severino. Happ is a perfectly fine candidate as well.

At the moment Happ is lined up to start the Wild Card Game on normal rest and Tanaka with two extra days of rest. Severino would be on three extra days of rest, though he could wind up starting Game 162 should the Yankees need to win that game to clinch homefield advantage. Hopefully it doesn’t come down to that. Based on the way things are set up now, all three guys will be available to start the Wild Card Game. That’s not an accident. The Yankees made sure they had options.

(Jim McIsaac/Getty)

Instead of focusing on names, let’s focus on roster spots. The Yankees carried three starting pitchers on the 2015 Wild Card Game roster (Severino, Tanaka, Ivan Nova) and three starting pitchers on the 2017 Wild Card Game roster (Severino, Sonny Gray, CC Sabathia). I expect them to carry three starting pitchers again this year. That gives the Yankees:

  • The starting pitcher.
  • An emergency guy for extra innings.
  • An emergency emergency guy in case there’s an injury or things really go haywire.

It is entirely possible Happ, Severino, and Tanaka will all be on the Wild Card Game roster even though only one guy is starting the game. Or it’s possible Happ and Severino are on the roster with Lance Lynn, who has bullpen experience, replacing Tanaka. I don’t think the Yankees would carry Sabathia as a reliever at this point, but it can’t be ruled out. Gray? Eh. Seems like a worst case scenario.

I suspect that, unless he has to start Game 162 on Sunday, Severino will be on the Wild Card Game roster. Even if he doesn’t start the Wild Card Game, he could be another bullpen option. Heck, he might be on the roster even if he starts Game 162. The Wild Card Game would be Severino’s throw day and he could give you an inning or two out of the bullpen. Yeah, one way or the other, I think Severino’s on the roster. He’s our 20th player.

My hunch is both Happ and Tanaka will be on the roster as well. I was thinking maybe the Yankees would carry Lynn instead of one of those two because he has bullpen experience, but I keep going back to Brian Cashman saying it is “all hands on deck for that one game,” and Happ and Tanaka are objectively better than Lynn. The bullpen experience is nice. I don’t think it trumps effectiveness. Happ and Tanaka are the 21st and 22nd players (and eighth and ninth pitchers) on our roster.

The Last Bullpen Spot

Whoever starts the Wild Card Game, that guy will be on a very short leash. It could devolve into a bullpen game rather quickly. For both teams. Because of that, I think the Yankees will carry ten pitchers on the Wild Card Game roster like last season, rather than nine like in 2015. I wouldn’t rule out an 11th pitcher, honestly. I’m going to stick with ten though. That seems like plenty for a one-game scenario.

With Happ, Severino, and Tanaka joining the six late-game relievers, we are left with eleven candidates for the final pitching spot: Gray, Lynn, Sabathia, Chance Adams, Luis Cessa, A.J. Cole, Domingo German, Tommy Kahnle, Jonathan Loaisiga, Justus Sheffield, and Stephen Tarpley. I think we can rule out Adams, German, Loaisiga, and Sheffield right now. They would’ve gotten a longer look this month if they were Wild Card Game candidates.

Tarpley has gotten some run lately as a left-on-left guy and the other night Boone told Erik Boland that Tarpley has put himself “in the conversation” for the Wild Card Game roster. Since his ugly big league debut, Tarpley has thrown 5.2 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, and lefties are 1-for-11 (.091) with five strikeouts against him. In the minors this year Tarpley held left-handed batters to a .141/.213/.183 line with a 29.4% strikeout rate. Really good!

There is one reason to carry Tarpley on the Wild Card Game roster: Matt Olson. Oakland’s lefty swinging first baseman went into last night’s game hitting .247/.338/.496 (128 wRC+) against righties and .251/.329/.369 (96 wRC+) against lefties. He’s someone you can LOOGY. That said, if you bring in a lefty for Olson, A’s manager Bob Melvin will counter with righty swinging Mark Canha, who’s hitting .274/.331/.596 (148 wRC+) against southpaws. Melvin’s been doing it all year.

In a high-leverage situation — is there such a thing as a low-leverage situation in a game as important as the Wild Card Game? — I’d rather have one of the regular late-inning relievers facing Olson than Tarpley facing Canha. All the late-inning guys have good numbers against lefties. I have a hard time envisioning a scenario in which Tarpley faces Olson/Canha in the middle (or late) innings rather than one of the usual late-inning guys. Worrying about the platoon matchup there seems like paralysis by analysis. Overthinking it.

I’m tossing Tarpley into the maybe pile right now. A good series against Andrew Benintendi, Mitch Moreland, and Rafael Devers this weekend would really help his cause. For our purposes, we’re down to Cessa, Cole, Gray, Kahnle, Lynn, Sabathia, and Tarpley for the final bullpen spot. Hard pass on Gray and Cole. They’ve pitched too poorly for too long. Can’t see it being Cessa either. Kahnle was excellent in the Wild Card Game (and postseason) last year …

… but that was 2017 Tommy Kahnle. 2018 Kahnle is not 2017 Kahnle. 2017 Kahnle would be on the Wild Card Game roster no questions asked. 2018 Tommy Kahnle? Nah. So we’re left with Lynn, Sabathia, and Tarpley. So maybe it will be Tarpley? Either way, we’re talking about the last guy in the bullpen, someone who won’t pitch in the Wild Card Game unless things go really crazy. I’d take Lynn. Tarpley has a shot. Whoever it is, this is our tenth pitcher and 23rd player on the roster.

The Rest of the Bench

A ten-man pitching staff means a six-man bench. Romine gets one bench spot. (No, Romine shouldn’t start the Wild Card Game.) Another spot goes to Wade (Hicks out) or Gardner (Hicks in). If Gregorius plays, both Hechavarria and Walker are on the bench. If Gregorius does not play, either Hechavarria or Walker is in the starting lineup and the other is on the bench. Depending on Didi, either three or four bench spots are already claimed. There are four candidates for the remaining bench spots. The four and their potential roles:

  • Greg Bird: Lefty bench bat
  • Kyle Higashioka: Third catcher
  • Ronald Torreyes (if Gregorius is in): Utility infielder
  • Tyler Wade (if Hicks is in): Utility guy and speedster

The big name bench candidate is Bird. We know Voit is starting at first base in the Wild Card Game, even against a right-handed pitcher. He’s been too good and Bird’s been too bad. The question is this: What would Bird provide the Yankees? A backup first baseman and a lefty bench bat who could take aim at the short porch? Sure. But Walker could do that too, and Bird offers zero defensive versatility.

Then again, if Gregorius is unable to play in the Wild Card Game, Walker would presumably start at second base — it would be either Gleyber at short and Walker at second, or Hechavarria at short and Gleyber at second — thus leaving the Yankees without a backup first baseman/lefty bat on the bench. Given his performance, leaving Bird off the Wild Card Game roster would be completely justifiable. I still think he’ll be on. The Yankees love him and they have the spare bench spots. I hereby declare Bird our 24th player.

Don’t dismiss Higashioka as a Wild Card Game roster candidate. His presence would allow the Yankees to pinch-run for Sanchez without worrying about Romine potentially getting hurt. Or they could pinch-hit for Sanchez in a big spot. I wouldn’t do it and I don’t think the Yankees would, but it would be an option. The Yankees only had two catchers on the roster last year because Sanchez was the man and he wasn’t coming out of the game. They did carry three catchers on the 2015 Wild Card Game roster though (Sanchez, Brian McCann, John Ryan Murphy).

Right now we have a 24-man roster that includes either Gregorius or Torreyes, and either Hicks or Wade. This is starting to get confusing. Let’s recap everything. This is how I think the bench and 25-man Wild Card Game roster shakes out:

Catchers Infielders Outfielders Starters Relievers
Sanchez Andujar Gardner Happ Betances
Romine Bird Judge Severino Britton
Hechavarria McCutchen Tanaka Chapman
Torres Stanton Green
Voit Hicks/Wade Holder
Walker Robertson
Didi/Toe Lynn/Tarpley

Those are 24 roster spots. Ten pitchers and 14 position players. The Gregorius and Hicks injuries are the x-factors. There are three scenarios here with regards to the 25th roster spot:

  • Gregorius and Hicks are both hurt: Torreyes and Wade both make it, and the Yankees carry either Higashioka or an 11th pitcher.
  • Only one of Gregorius or Hicks is healthy: Ten-man pitching staff, Torreyes and Wade both make it.
  • Gregorius and Hicks are both healthy: Ten-man pitching staff, only one of Torreyes or Wade makes it.

If both Gregorius and Hicks are healthy — and we all hope that is the case — I think Wade makes the Wild Card Game roster over Torreyes because he’s more versatile and his speed could really come in handy in a late-inning pinch-running situation. If both Gregorius and Hicks are both hurt, the Yankees are kinda stuck. It’s either Higashioka or an 11th pitcher at that point.

The position player side of the Wild Card Game roster is going to depend on the health of Gregorius and Hicks. On the pitching side, the Yankees can pick and choose who they want. We know the six end-game relievers will be there. The Yankees are likely to carry three starters, no matter who they end up being. Do they carry Tarpley? That might be the most interesting Wild Card Game roster question.

Yankeemetrics: White Sox end Bronx drought (Aug. 27-29)

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(AP)

How to snatch defeat from jaws of victory
The Yankees kicked off their week-long homestand with a frustrating loss to the White Sox, a spectacular crash back to reality, another late lead blown thanks to sloppy defense and baserunning mistakes.

It was a very winnable matchup based on the historical stats and the game conditions, facing Chicago southpaw Carlos Rodon, racing out to a 2-0 lead and Masahiro Tanaka completing seven innings. Consider that entering Monday, the Yankees this season were …

  • 26-9 against left-handed starters, the best record in MLB
  • 19-5 vs the AL Central, the best record by any team against another division
  • 60-10 when scoring first, the best record in MLB
  • 51-7 when their starter goes at least six innings, the best record in MLB

But that’s baseball, that’s why you play game the game on the diamond and not on paper.

The ugliest stat was the fact that the Yankees had as many hits as errors (3) in the game. Unsurprisingly, teams are 0-20 this season when the number of errors they make is the same or more than the number of hits they get. The last time the Yankees won such a game — while getting at least two hits — was June 2, 2004 against the Orioles (3 errors, 3 hits in a 6-5 win).

The lone highlight was Gleyber Torres’ two-run homer in the fourth inning, his 20th of the season. Torres is the third Yankee age 21 or younger to hit at least 20 home runs in a season, joining — shockingly — Mickey Mantle (1952, ‘53) and Joe DiMaggio (1936). He is also the only second baseman in MLB history that young to hit 20 homers in his rookie season. And combined with Miguel Andujar’s 20-plus longballs this year, we get a trio of #FunFacts:

  • First set of rookie teammates in franchise history to hit 20 homers
  • 10th team in major-league history to have rookie teammates reach 20 home runs in the same season, and the first since the 2008 Reds (Jay Bruce, Joey Votto). The last AL team to do it was the 1982 Twins (Tom Brunansky, Gary Gaetti, Kent Hrbek)
  • Fourth team in MLB history with rookie teammates age-23 or younger to hit 20 homers, along with the 1982 Twins, 1975 Red Sox (Fred Lynn, Jim Rice) and 1938 Indians (Jeff Heath, Ken Keltner)

Gleyber also was the sixth Yankee to reach the 20-homer mark in 2018, the most such players in MLB. This is the fourth Yankee club to have six (or more) players hit 20 bombs; the other seasons it happened were 2009, 2004 and 1961.

(USA Today)

”Neil Walker, the Home Run Corker” – John Sterling
From massive disappointment to mammoth jubilation, the Yankees quickly rebounded from Monday’s crappy loss with a thrilling comeback walk-off win 24 hours later. It was their seventh walk-off win of the season, two more than last year, and tied for the second-most among AL teams in 2018 (through Tuesday).

The rally started in the sixth with the team trailing 4-0, when Miguel Andujar blitzed a two-run shot deep into the leftfield seats. It was his 22nd homer and 61st extra-base hit of the season, putting him alongside a couple Yankee legends:

This was the Yankees fifth comeback win when facing a deficit of at least four runs, their most in a season since 2012 (also 5).

The Yankees were still down by two runs until Aaron Hicks evened the score with his own two-run blast in the bottom of the eighth. This was the first time in his career he tied a game in the eighth inning or later with a homer. It also paved the way for the Yankees fifth win this season when trailing by multiple runs at the start of the eighth inning, the second-highest total in MLB this season behind the A’s (7).

Neil Walker capped the rally when he ambushed the first pitch he saw as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the ninth inning and deposited it into the rightfield bleachers. It was just the second career walk-off homer for Walker, and the first time he ever went deep in a game as a pinch hitter.

Walker’s dinger was the 10th pinch-hit walk-off home run in franchise history and the first since Brian McCann delivered a game-winner off the bench on August 24, 2014 in the 10th inning against the White Sox. Only six others have done it in the ninth inning, like Walker:

Yankees Pinch-Hit Walk-Off HR in 9th Inning
Date Opponent
Neil Walker 8/28/2018 White Sox
Jason Giambi 6/5/2008 Blue Jays
Mike Easler 9/28/1987 Red Sox
Bobby Murcer 9/26/1981 Orioles
Oscar Gamble 9/27/1979 Indians
Curt Blefary 9/15/1970 Red Sox
Mickey Mantle 8/26/1966 Tigers

It’s been a while …
The comeback mojo disappeared on Wednesday as the Yankees dropped the rubber game, 4-1. This is the first time the Yankees lost a series to the White Sox at the new Yankee Stadium; the White Sox were the only AL team that had never won a series at the current ballpark in the Bronx.

The last time the Yankees lost a series to the White Sox at home was August 8-10, 2005 (lost 2 of 3 games). How long ago was that? The White Sox — on pace to lose nearly 100 games this season — won the World Series in 2005. And the three starters for the Yankees in that series more than 13 years ago were Mike Mussina (win), Shawn Chacon (loss) and Aaron Small (loss).

(USA Today)

White Sox outfield Ryan LaMarre was the Yankees kryptonite on Wednesday, and one of the most unlikely guys to play that role this season. LaMarre went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a homer, and drove in all four runs for the visitors. Entering the game, in 165 career at-bats, LaMarre had compiled six doubles, one homer and 11 RBI.

Ronald Torreyes made sure the Yankees wouldn’t get shut out when he delivered a bases-loaded one-out RBI single in the fifth inning. Torreyes definitely has a knack for bringing home baserunners that are 90 feet from home plate. Since the start of last season, in 23 plate appearances with a man on third and less than two outs, Torreyes has driven in the runner 19 times (82.6%) and has struck out zero times; the MLB average for scoring the runner from third with less than two outs is 50 percent.

Losing Gregorius would be a big blow, but the Yankees have the infield depth to get by

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(Jim McIsaac/Getty)

Yesterday was a good day and a bad day for the Yankees. It was a good day because they hammered the Blue Jays and completed the three-game sweep. It was a bad day because Didi Gregorius had to exit the game with what Aaron Boone called a “pretty significant” left heel bruise. He crashed into Kendrys Morales on a play at first base. Kinda dumb and fluky.

Here’s video of the collision. I guess Gregorius hit his heel hard on the ground after colliding with Morales? Not sure how else he could’ve bruised his left heel on this play.

“It’s something that we will monitor over the next 24 hours. Could potentially be a DL thing,” said Boone following yesterday’s game. “Nothing broken or anything like that. He’s got a pretty good — pretty significant — bruise on his heel, and there’s some swelling in there. We’ll know a lot more tomorrow, but it’s a possible DL situation.”

Gregorius rebounded from his brutal May and went into yesterday’s game with a .294/.347/.478 (123 wRC+) batting line in his last 70 games. He has a .298/.375/.536 (147 wRC+) batting line since Aaron Judge went down. Didi is an impact player on both sides of the ball. He helps drive the offense and is a vacuum at shortstop. Gregorius is a heart and soul player for the Yankees. He really is.

The Yankees are already without Judge and Gary Sanchez (and Clint Frazier), so losing another key everyday player like Gregorius could be pretty devastating. He’s just so good. That said, the Yankees are much better equipped to deal with an infield injury than they are another outfielder or catcher injury. They’ve pretty much exhausted their outfield and catcher depth. Imagine if Aaron Hicks went down? Oy vey. I don’t want to think about that.

The infield is a different story. Gregorius is essentially irreplaceable — he’s a top five shortstop in my opinion, so there aren’t many guys out there who can match his production — but the Yankees have decent in-house replacement options. There would be a drop-off in production, that’s unavoidable, but the drop-off may not be that drastic should Gregorius land on the disabled list.

For example, the Yankees could — and most likely would — stick Gleyber Torres at shortstop with Ronald Torreyes at second base while Didi is sidelined. Neil Walker could also be a second base candidate should Giancarlo Stanton’s hamstring heal up enough to play the field somewhat regularly. Tyler Wade is a call-up candidate with some potential and Gio Urshela started for a postseason team last year. He’s stashed in Triple-A.

Personally, I’d stick Gleyber at short and Torreyes at second, even if Stanton can play the outfield. That way Walker, the worse second base defender on the roster, can be the designated hitter. Consider the potential lineup without Gregorius:

  1. LF Brett Gardner
  2. DH Giancarlo Stanton
  3. CF Aaron Hicks
  4. 3B Miguel Andujar
  5. SS Gleyber Torres
  6. 1B Greg Bird
  7. RF Neil Walker
  8. C Austin Romine
  9. 2B Ronald Torreyes

Not great! But I reckon that is a better lineup than most teams could run out there if their starting shortstop, starting catcher, and starting right fielder (and backup right fielder) all landed on the disabled list simultaneously. Anchor a lineup with Stanton, Hicks, and Andujar (and Gleyber) and you’re in good shape. Also, Torreyes is hitting .329/.347/.425 (110 wRC+) in his limited time this year and you could do a heck of a lot worse for a short-term fill-in.

With any luck, the swelling will subside and Gregorius can avoid the disabled list. The Yankees have an off-day today and an off-day Thursday. Didi could get four straight days off and only miss two games. That would be ideal. If Gregorius has to go on the disabled list, then he has to go on the disabled list. That’s baseball. An injured heel can’t be comfortable. Let it heal and let him get healthy.

Fortunately, the Yankees do have decent infield depth at the moment, certainly moreso than outfield or catching depth. They’re scraping the bottom of the barrel there. Torres is an exciting young player capable of manning shortstop at the MLB level. Walker and Torreyes (and even Wade) are better than replacement level fill-ins. Make no mistake, the Yankees will miss Didi no matter how long he’s out, but they have the pieces the weather the storm.