Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Yankees Acquire Former NY Met Fernando Martinez


The Yankees have acquired former New York Mets player Fernando Martinez from the Houston Astros today for minor leaguer Charles Basford. Martinez is not on the Astros 40 man roster after being outrighted to AAA so he will presumably be sent to Scranton to play with the Railriders for now. The 24 year old left handed hitting outfielder will replace Zoilo Almonte and Melky Mesa in the Scranton outfield and does not figure to be part of the big league clubs plans.

Game Thread LAD @ NYY 6/18

UPDATE:

This game has been postponed and will be made up tomorrow as a part of a double header. Hiroki Kuroda will pitch the day game and Phil Hughes will pitch in the night cap. Feel free to use this as an open thread!


The return of Don Mattingly was supposed to be the Yankees story line of the day before yet another superstar was added to the DL in Mark Teixeira, another star went under the knife in Kevin Youkilis, and another Yankee was designated for assignment in Chris Bootcheck. The only constant in New York these days is change as the Yankees look to get a win tonight to ruin Don Mattingly's return to the Bronx. The game will be on MY9 and MLB Network tonight as Phil Hughes takes on Hyun-Jin Ryu. 

Here is the Yankees lineup

Brett Gardner CF
Jayson Nix SS
Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells LF
Thomas Neal DH
Ichiro Suzuki RF
David Adams 3B
Lyle Overbay 1B
Chris Stewart C


Follow the Greedy Pinstripes on Twitter by following @GreedyPinstripes!

Francisco Rondon Promoted From Trenton To AAA


Left handed pitcher Francisco Rondon has been promoted from the Trenton Thunder to the AAA Scranton Wilkes Barre Railriders. In 15 games including six starts Rondon has put up a  respectable 3-3 record with a 5.93 ERA for the Thunder. Rondon will now take his talents to Scranton where he is one step closer to the majors. I think this more has to do with the fact that the Railriders bullpen is depleted with the loss of Adam Warren and Chris Bootcheck but either way congrats to him!

Yankees 2013 Draft Signings Update For 6/18


The Yankees and 9th round pick Conner Kendrick have agreed to a deal to bring Conner to the Yankees family. His slot recommendation is set at $140,000 but it is not expected that the left handed pitcher will receive that much.


The Yankees and 10th rounder Tyler Webb have agreed upon a deal that will pay the left handed pitcher $30,000 which is $105,000 below the slot recommendation for his pick. Webb is already playing for the short season Staten Island Yankees and made an appearance last night.


The Yankees and 12th round pick Phil Walby agreed to a $100,000 deal to bring the right handed pitcher to the Yankees. This is exactly what the slot recommendation was for Walby.


The Yankees also agreed to a slot deal worth $100,000 with 14th round pick Caleb Smith. Every pick past the 10th round is slotted at $100,000.


The Yankees and 21st round pick Ethan Carnes have agreed to a $75,000 deal which is below the $100,000 slot recommendation. There is no savings unfortunately as that only applies to the first ten rounds but either way Carnes is a part of the organization.


The Yankees also signed their 39th pick when they signed Ty Afenir to a deal. There is no word on what the contract was worth yet but I highly doubt that it exceeds the $100,000 slot recommendation.

In other news the Yankees signed undrafted free agent Chad Taylor out of the University of Southern Florida. Taylor pitched and played outfield for USF's baseball team but we have not been told which he will do for the Yankees. The maximum we can pay Taylor without penalties is $100,000 but I doubt he comes anywhere near that.

Chris Bootcheck DFA'd, Adam Warren Called Up


Adam Warren is rested after throwing 85 pitches in the 18 inning marathon game with the Oakland Athletics and has been called back up to the majors. Chris Bootcheck has been designated for assignment to make room for Adam on the 25 man roster. I fully expect Bootcheck to clear waivers and end up back in AAA with the Scranton Wilkes Barre Railriders and Adam Warren to get into a game in this Los Angeles Dodgers series to keep him fresh. Welcome back to the show Adam!

Mark Teixeira Placed On 15 Day DL, Almonte Called Up


The Yankees have indeed added Mark Teixeira to the 15 day DL with inflammation in his right wrist that he tore during the World Baseball Classic. Switch hitting outfielder Zoilo Almonte has been called up to replace him on the roster. Zoilo should get a real shot coming off the bench and sharing time with Thomas Neal filling in for our veterans so I am happy to see an induction of youth to this team because they really need some kind of spark. I just hate that we had to lose Teixeira to get this new found youth...

Kevin Youkilis Out 10-12 Weeks After Back Surgery


Kevin Youkilis is currently on the 15 day disabled list after a second lumbar strain in his back this season. This one is more serious obviously as it will require back surgery that will keep Youk out 10-12 weeks, ouch! Kevin has a herniated disc in his back and surgery will happen to fix it this Thursday. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Youk and we hope for a speedy and full recovery. The Yankees should expect Youk back sometime in September if all goes well but will it be too late for the Yankees and their playoff push? Time can only tell I guess as the Yankees third basemen is probably headed to the 60 day DL.

Los Angeles Dodgers @ New York Yankees 6/18


The Yankees are coming off an ugly west coast road trip and an off day to return home to host another west coast team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Yankees and Dodgers will play a quick two game series at Yankees Stadium this week before returning west to play at Dodgers Stadium later in the season. The Yankees will send Phil Hughes to the mound to face off with Hyun-Jin Ryu. The game will be televised at 7:05 pm ET on MY9, MLB Network, and MLB TV.

Buy your Yankees tickets for this series here

Meet A Prospect Ian Clarkin


The Yankees used one of their three first rounds picks, this time the 33rd overall, to pick Ian Clarkin out of Madison High School. His Yankees career did not start off as well as he would have hoped after previously that night stating that he hated the Yankees and enjoyed watching us lose the 2001 World Series. Little did he know that he would be apologizing later that night after the Yankees drafted him and the fans back lashed a bit. The big 6'2" 190 lb left hander has huge upside and was considered to be a huge steal for the Yankees even after quotes of him not signing unless he got "life changing money" although I wonder when over $1,000,000 was not life changing but maybe that's the poor guy in me speaking. Either way Clarkin signed above slot and is now a proud member of the Yankees organization.


We all have to remember that Clarkin was drafted due to his upside and not his readiness to step in and dominate now. Clarkin is still considered to be raw with sketchy command but his upside and high ceiling make him worth the risk in the end. Clarkin's fastball velocity sits around 90-92 MPH but will probably sit around 95 MPH when he fully develops physically. While he is considered to be below average with his command, even with his fastball, he still shows signs of life with his command from time and time. His curve ball is considered to be his best pitch right now and will be a plus plus pitch for him if he fully develops it. His 12-6 curve ball right now still needs work as sometimes it buckles knees and other times bounces a few feet in front of the plate. His projection is that he will be a power pitching above average command pitcher but right now he is still fine tuning all of these things.


In my opinion Clarkin's ceiling is as a #2 starter although I see a comparison with Phil Hughes when he is right. Clarkin is a big guy who repeats his delivery well but changed his arm angle and release point too much right now to consider him in the ace range. Then again he is so far away from the majors right now and so much can change between now and the time he will reach the majors so it is anyone's guess at this point.


MLB ETA Late 2017

Game 70 Lineup: Dodgers vs. Yankees

Welcome home Don Mattingly to Yankee Stadium. Now, let's give Mattingly a proper welcome, shall we? Here is the lineup.

Brett Gardner CF
Jayson Nix SS
Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells LF
Thomas Neal DH
Ichiro Suzuki RF
David Adams 3B
Lyle Overbay 1B
Chris Stewart C

Phil Hughes RHP

Some Notes:

-- Mark Teixeira has been placed on the 15-day DL. Yankees have recalled RHP Adam Warren--AND they called up OF Zolio Almonte. Chris Bootcheck has been DFA'd.

Sam Demel, Ronnier Mustelier, & Melky Mesa To DL


A trio of Scranton Wilkes Barre Railriders have been added to the AA DL. Melky Mesa has been added retroactive to June 13th after his right shoulder was injured after a collision in the outfield with the wall. Ronnier Mustelier was added retroactive to June 15th after experiencing some tightness in his groin muscle. Sam Demel was added retroactive to June 16th but the reason has not yet been released to the media and the fans. Adam Warren was activated finally to take Demel's spot while Randy Ruiz will rake Mustelier's spot and Caleb Cotham will take Melky Mesa's spot on the roster. The roster shake up continues for the New York Yankees on all levels huh?

Baseball Cards Don Mattingly


The former Yankees captain Don Mattingly is now the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and with the Dodgers traveling to Yankees Stadium tonight I wanted to take the chance to share some of my Mattingly baseball cards out of my personal collection. Enjoy!!

Ian Clarkin Signs For Slot Recommended Deal


Ian Clarkin we learned signed a deal with the Yankees after being picked in the supplemental first round in the 2013 MLB First Year Players Draft. Surprisingly Clarkin signed for exactly his slot value at $1,650,100 which is apparently the "life changing money" he needed to sign. I am really surprised that he signed this quickly let alone for a slot deal. Either way this guy has a ton of upside and we got him signed and signed quickly so whether he hates the Yankees or not welcome to the team and welcome to the family.

Morning Bits

Good morning everyone!

After a travel day back to New York the Yankees will kick off a nine game home stand at Yankee Stadium tonight against the Dodgers.

Game time is at 7:05 PM ET and WWOR will broadcast the game.

Phil Hughes(3-5, 4.89 ERA) will face Hyun-Jin Ryu(6-2, 2.85 ERA).

Here are today's news links:

Dayn Perry of CBSSPORTS.com says Yankee GM Brian Cashman is leaning towards putting Mark Teixeira on the DL again.

Bryan Hoch of MLB.com has this article about Cashman saying that he isn't counting on Kevin Youkilis to return this year.

George A. King III of the New York Post reports that Cashman isn't happy about Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long's comments to the media about Mark Teixeira's condition.

Have a great day everyone!

This Day In Yankees History 6/18


On this day in 1977, showcased on The Bronx Is Burning, manager Billy Martin yanks Reggie Jackson out of the game after turning a lazy fly ball into a double by not hustling to the ball. The two can be seen in the dugout screaming at each other after they are broken up by Yankees teammates.


On this day in 2005 Derek Jeter hit his first career grand slam after having 136 at bats and 155 plate appearances in his career with the bases loaded. This was currently the longest drought of any major leaguer without hitting the grand salami.