The Yankees September Hero, Another Arm and Unleash the Kraken v2

Good morning once again everyone reading and everyone in the Yankees family. This morning I wanted to throw a little mashup of things into one post as I collect my thoughts before this big weekend for the Yankees. The Yankees need a September hero and I am prepared to tell you who that hero could be, the Yankees could be bringing up another arm as rosters expand in September and this arm wasn’t listed in my post from earlier in the week covering September call ups and someone poked the bear and woke up Gary Sanchez, didn’t they? Keep reading as I transfer my thoughts to a theoretical piece of paper for you all this morning.

Greg Bird hasn’t played for the Yankees in about three months and the last time he did the left-handed first baseman for New York was seen hitting a cool .100 so surely I am not about to nominate him to be the Yankees hero here in September, am I? You’re damn right I am. Bird was not healthy at all this season after trying to play through an ankle injury that he suffered in spring training and never seemed completely right at the plate since. Bird has since had ankle surgery and has been rehabbing down in Triple-A with the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders. Bird was slated to play a full nine innings at first base last night with Scranton and is set to be re-evaluated sometime today. The Yankees are probably not going to bring Bird up to the Majors with less than a week to go unless they have to but I fully expect, if healthy and that is a big “if” with Bird this season, Bird to be up on September 1^st.

If Bird won’t be the savior, and the Yankees need a left-handed bat so they may be putting all their eggs in one Bird basket, then maybe Starlin Castro can be. Castro isn’t far behind Bird in terms of rehab after spending time on the disabled list for a second time with a hamstring injury. Ronald Torreyes has filled in admirably for Castro in the wake of his injury but having an impact and power bat like Castro’s makes everyone around him better and ultimately the Yankees better as well.

Giovanny Gallegos could become a big part of the Yankees bullpen and plans when rosters expand to 40 players on September 1^st. At the time of this writing Gallegos has logged 14.0 innings at the Major League level and has a 5.79 ERA and 1.43 WHIP to show for it but don’t let that small sample size fool you. At the time of this writing Gallegos has logged 42.1 innings in Triple-A and has posted an impressive stat line that includes a 4-2 record with five saves, a 1.70 ERA, a 0.87 WHIP and an impressive 14.7 K/9 ratio. With strikeout numbers like that any team can find a spot for you in their bullpen, especially in September. Gallegos is already on the 40 man roster and since being converted from a starting pitcher to a relief pitcher back in 2015 the right-hander has been nothing short of dominant. Gallegos won’t be Dellin Betances but he could be a very effective bridge from the starter to Dellin, David Robertson and Aroldis Chapman while Tommy Kahnle struggles to find himself back in pinstripes.

Finally, who pissed off Gary Sanchez and where can I send the thank you card? Somebody poked the bear and somebody has unleashed the Kraken because it seems like every time this guy makes contact he is either hitting a mammoth home run or knocking in a run. Sanchez is out to prove that last season was not a fluke and despite some questioning his defense that his bat is strong. It has always been strong. It will always be strong. Unleash the Kraken v2!!! All the way to the postseason. Have a great Friday Yankees family.