July 31st Trade Deadline Countdown: First Base

EDIT: The Gleyber Torres mention was written before his Tommy John surgery prognosis.

The countdown until the July 31^st trading deadline in Major League Baseball has officially begun. Why? Because we said so. In years past, and this year will likely be no different, it seemed like teams were jumping the gun earlier and earlier thus grabbing the best talent before the hot stove even had time to reach its optimal baking temperature. With the news that Greg Bird is, according to Bryan Van Dusen anyway, not ready to fly the Yankees may look at first basemen before the deadline. Or they may not and may opt to stay within the organization to fill the void, we will touch on both possibilities in this blog post this morning.

Brian Cashman himself has said that the Yankees would stick with what they have while they wait on Greg Bird to return, which means more Rob Refsnyder, Matt Holliday and Chris Carter, but who really trusts anything that Brian Cashman says at this point? Remember when Bubba Crosby was the team’s starting center fielder? Johnny Damon does. I did find it interesting though that Cashman did not at least mention or seem to entertain the idea of bringing Tyler Austin back to the Major Leagues to give him a shot. Austin would be a defensive upgrade over any of the three players mentioned above and he can also play the outfield making him versatile and all the more useful in my opinion.

Obviously the Yankees aren’t going to sell the farm for a first baseman so maybe a rental that could easily be designated for assignment would be the best course of action for New York. The team is still sold on Bird, he is just taking longer to heal than expected and honestly the team probably didn’t truly believe they would be in first place right now either. Eric Hosmer is out there but he would be expensive, even as a rental, so it makes you wonder if a Pedro Alvarez, a James Loney or even a Ryan Howard could make sense. I’m not looking for a guy that is going to set the world on fire with a .300 average and 30 home runs in the second half but someone who will take his walks and man the position adequately. The Yankees first base defense is horrendous right now and with players like Chase Headley who already struggle with their throwing arms the team may give away more runs with a Chris Carter at first base than he will ever drive in.

This question is not easily answered in my opinion. It all depends on Bird and how he bounced back from fouling that ball off his knee and whether his bruised ankle is healthy. If it is then the Yankees can survive with Carter, Holliday and Refsnyder. If it isn’t healthy then the Yankees may need to make a move or three like, and here is something to think about as we end the post, moving Chase Headley to first and bringing up Gleyber Torres for third. Again, just a thought. Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. 

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays 5/27

The New York Yankees made the trip down to Florida overnight and will face off with the Tampa Bay Rays inside the Trop. In front of the presumable 1500 fans tonight, 900 of them being Yankees fans, the New York Yankees will send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound to face off with Chris Archer to begin the series. The Rays send three of their best pitchers to the mound this series while the Yankees counter with three of their best as well. This is going to either be extremely fun or extremely, extremely frustrating for New York and their fans. There will be no in between.

Tanaka has been everything the Yankees have advertised him to be lately which is a sight for sore eyes in New York. Tanaka has been getting stronger and sharper with almost every start this season and has seemingly gotten the train back on the rails after a pair of rocky starts earlier in the month. Tanaka faces one of the teams the Yankees are chasing in the standings tonight, no pressure.

Archer is coming into this start fresh off a disappointing start against the Detroit Tigers last time out. In the start Archer lasted just three innings and allowed six runs seeing his ERA balloon all the way up to 5.16. Archer doesn’t tend to have back-to-back bad starts and Archer doesn’t generally pitch badly against the Yankees, his 5-2 record and 2.25 career ERA are proof of that, so except a lot of frustrated Yankees fans tonight in Tampa.

The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside of Tropicana Field and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11 and MLB TV. This rivalry doesn’t hold the same luster it once did with James Loney and David Price on the Rays side but that doesn’t mean I’m sleeping on this team either. They still have a talented core, Evan Longoria and some dude named Archer so this will by no means be an easy series for either side. Let’s just hope this side gets the better of that side and New York brings home another series victory. Go Yankees!

James Loney, Come on Down?

If the 2015 season taught us anything about the relatively unchanged New York Yankees it’s this, Mark Teixeira is the real MVP. The New York Yankees had the second highest run scoring output in all of Major League Baseball last season and were firing on all cylinders until Teixeira fouled a ball off his shin fracturing his leg and ending his season. New York enjoyed a breakout of sorts from his replacement, Greg Bird, but nonetheless the offense scuffled as a whole without Teixeira and barely limped into the postseason before losing to Dallas Keuchel and these same Houston Astros that they face today. Teixeira is no less injury prone this season than he was last season and Bird is on the disabled list for the entire 2016 season meaning the Yankees will need depth behind Teixeira more so than ever, should that include James Loney?

Loney was recently told by his Tampa Bay Rays organization that he would not make the team despite his $8 million in salary and that he would either be traded or released this week. Should the Yankees be listening? New York has an obvious need for a backup first baseman, no I’m not sold on Chris Parmelee or his underachieving spring training he just put up and no I’m not sold on the combination of Dustin Ackley, Chase Headley and Brian McCann, but there is one issue with adding Loney. The 40 man roster. Yes the Yankees could simply add Greg Bird to the 60 day DL to accommodate the move but Loney adds little in terms of a lot of things for this team.

Loney doesn’t add any versatility or flexibility to a roster built on versatility and flexibility and his defense is nothing much to write home about either. Loney wouldn’t add power to a lineup and bench that may need to hit for power with Ronald Torreyes and Austin Romine already on it and his batting average leaves much to be desired as well.

Look, there’s no such thing as a bad minor league deal. If Loney wants a minor league deal I believe the Yankees should give him one. If not, and you would have to think that is an unlikely scenario, then I believe New York has to pass on the “Yankee Killer.” Sorry James.

Spring Training Competitions & Fantasy Baseball

Pitchers and catchers have reported to their various spring camps and first workouts are already underway as we inch closer to the 2016 regular season. As we inch closer to the 2016 regular season we also inch closer to the 2016 Fantasy Baseball season and your fantasy baseball drafts if you haven’t had yours already. I tend to like to wait until March, sometimes even late-March, before having my draft because so many things can happen between the beginning of spring training and the beginning of the regular season with injuries and spring training competitions being at the top of my precautionary list. You can’t predict or analyze injuries for the most part but you can analyze and take a stab at predicting the spring training competitions though and I will attempt to do just that in hopes of helping you with your upcoming fantasy baseball drafts.

We’ll start in the American League East with the Toronto Blue Jays and their closer situation. Will it be Roberto Osuna or will it be recently acquired Drew Storen? Storen could close and the Blue Jays could opt to place Osuna in the starting rotation or they could place Aaron Sanchez in the rotation and let Osuna and Storen battle it out for the 9^th inning. In my opinion I think the team attempts their own dominant back end of the bullpen and at least starts the season, barring one disaster or amazing spring training from either one of these men, with Storen in the 8^th and Osuna in the 9^th.

Sticking with the AL East theme we head down to Tropicana Field with the Tampa Bay Rays to try and sort out their outfield, first base and DH position battle they have going on. As it stands now Kevin Keirmaier is a lock for the team with Corey Dickerson, Steven Souza, Desmond Jennings, Steve Pearce, Logan Morrison and Mikie Mahtook vying for playing time. The team also has James Loney at first base but with capable first base options like Morrison and Pearce his job may be on the line as well. This is going to be one of the tougher ones to predict but you have to think Dickerson gets one of the starting spots with Keirmaier and Jennings while Loney stays at first base and Morrison spends much of his time at the DH position. Pearce should see plenty of time off the bench though and is eligible at multiple positions this season once again.

I’ve said many times this winter that even the worst team is going to have around 30-50 saves throughout a season. Even a team that loses 100 games is going to have 62 wins so giving a team 30-50 saves is not out of the realm of possibilities. The real question is will all those saves go to one person, which is ideal in fantasy, or to multiple people, which obviously is not. This is the question you should be asking if you’re in need of a closer and trying to decide who will close games for team’s like the Miami Marlins, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers to name a few. Spring competitions are all over with Will Smith battling Corey Knebel and Jeremy Jeffress in Milwaukee, David Hernandez battling Ernesto Frieri and Edward Mujica in Philadelphia, AJ Ramos battling Carter Capps in Miami and Jason Grilli battling former Yankees prospect Arodys Vizcaino in Atlanta. If I had to pick a winner in each of these competitions I would have to go with Will Smith in Milwaukee, David Hernandez in Philadelphia, AJ Ramos in Miami and Jason Grilli in Atlanta but all will have extremely short leashes on from Opening Day on. If you’re set elsewhere and you absolutely need a closer it may be worth grabbing two options from one team just to make sure you have the saves situation handled, one can easily be traded or passed through waivers to the free agent market later on.

So there you have it, the spring competitions that could impact your fantasy baseball draft and league this season. There are more, the Yankees bullpen, the Washington Nationals shortstop situation, the Tigers center field situation, whether Hanley Ramirez will stick at first base in Boston, various starting pitching competitions around the league and almost the entire Atlanta Braves team is up for grabs. Spring training is close and I can’t say how excited I am to be talking about it and how excited I am to be talking about fantasy baseball. That means real baseball is near and that makes me smile. Hope this information helps and if it does pass it on!

Comparing the Yankees & Rays Lineups

We’ve had so much success in comparing the lineup for the New York Yankees to both the Toronto Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays that I decided to compare the Bronx Bombers to the rest of the American League East as well. That continues this afternoon with a comparison of the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays struggled to put runs on the board in 2015 and relied heavily on their pitching, led by Chris Archer and Nathan Karns. Karns is gone and Brad Miller is in, will that improve the Rays offense and put to bed their offensive woes that kept them in fourth place in the AL East in 2015? Not likely but let’s take a look anyway.

Catcher

Brian McCann/ Rene Rivera

First Base

Mark Teixeira/ James Loney

Second Base

Robert Refsnyder/ Logan Forsythe

Third Base

Chase Headley/ Evan Longoria

Shortstop

Didi Gregorius/ Brad Miller

Left Field

Brett Gardner/ Desmond Jennings

Center Field

Jacoby Ellsbury/ Kevin Kiermaier

Right Field

Carlos Beltran/ Steven Souza Jr. 

Designated Hitter

Alex Rodriguez/ Logan Morrison

Looking at the final tally I have the New York Yankees “winning” six spots out of the nine. Remember, bolded player wins. The Rays offense stunk up the joint for much of the 2015 season but the team stuck around in the second Wild Card chase despite it all. The Rays are now trading from a position of power, prospects and pitching, in hopes of improving the offense a bit. As it stands right now, and again we will do another one of these before the 2016 season begins after the free agency dust begins to settle, the Rays offense is only marginally better than it was in 2015. The pitching, in my opinion, took a step back both in the rotation and the bullpen. Alex Cobb will be back and Matt Moore should be better but that means very little when you’re losing games 1-0 and 2-1. As it stands today I see a lot of that happening and a lot of, well no probably not a lot of but a few, unhappy fans inside Tropicana Field this season. 

If the Rays Keep Selling…

The Tampa Bay Rays started the offseason off by sending right-handed pitcher Nathan Karns and CJ Riefenhauser to the Seattle Mariners for a package revolving around Brad Miller but the Tampa Bay GM may not be done there. According to Marc Topkin of TampaBay.com the Rays may not be done there and they may be in the market to sell off another starting pitcher or more, well a starting pitcher not named Chris Archer anyway. I know this is extremely unlikely, a team trading to a division rival they are in direct competition with inside the American League East Division, but if the Rays keep selling hopefully Brian Cashman is calling and hopefully Brian Cashman is buying.

Money is the ultimate motivating factor for Tampa Bay so having pitchers with question marks and health concerns surrounding them may move to the top of the trade list for the Rays. Players like LHP Drew Smyly who battled shoulder issues for much of the 2015 season and comes attached to around $4 million in salary through arbitration. Players like LHP Matt Moore who will make $5 million in salary in the final season of his deal before three team options kick in. Moore missed a significant chunk of the 2015 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and struggled with his command upon his return. Speaking of Tommy John surgery Alex Cobb should be back on the mound from the UCL ligament replacement surgery around August if there aren’t any setbacks.

Outside of the rotation the team could trade first baseman James Loney to one of the many teams that will miss out on Chris Davis on the free agency market. The team could also look at trading Brad Boxberger, although the team would have to be blown away since he is still relatively effective and on the cheaper side. Tampa has plenty of moveable contracts and attractive pieces that they could literally do as they pleased this winter. Any and all of these moves could open the door for a short-term deal with a veteran such as Rich Hill and could also open the door for top prospects LHP Blake Snell and RHP’s Taylor Guerrieri and Jacob Faria.

The Yankees would obviously have little interest in Boxberger, Loney or Cobb (unless it was essentially a salary dump which Tampa won’t do) but you have to think that either Moore or Smyly would at least interest Brian Cashman somewhat. I’m not saying a deal is going to get made, and I’m especially not saying it’s going to involve the New York Yankees, but what I am saying is that if the conversations are happening I hope Cashman is at least on the conference call list. 

Recap: Yankees 3, Rays 1

Luis Severino tossed 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball and the Yankees snuck past the Rays, 3-1, on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field.

Never Give In: Severino clawed his way to career win number four, holding the Rays to one earned run on six hits while walking one and striking out seven. The 21-year-old rookie -- who beat Tampa Bay for the second time in as many weeks -- ran into trouble in the second and fifth, but hunkered down with runners in scoring position as the hosts went 0-for-7 in such situations.

Doing Everything: First base sensation Greg Bird drove in two of the Yankees' runs, doubling home Carlos Beltran in the second before taking Andrew Bellatti deep to right in the ninth. In all, Bird plated four of New York's 10 runs in the series, his two homers bringing his total for the season to seven.

Clutch: Chase Headley blooped an RBI single to left with two on and two out in the sixth, increasing the Yankees' lead to 2-0 against Chris Archer. Headley had been hitless to that point in the contest, but following a lengthy battle that saw Archer's pitch count reach 108, was able to softly flare a slider to the opposite field.

Showing Off the Athleticism: Brian McCann ended the fifth with a diving catch in foul territory, retiring Evan Longoria with men on second and third. Severino originally looked like he might make the play -- he charged in from the mound and was near McCann when it happened -- but the catcher ultimately located the pop-up first and in doing so put a stop to the Rays' rally.

A Unique Escape: Dellin Betances walked three consecutive upon entering with two out in the seventh, but avoided any damage with a strikeout of James Loney. Betances was appearing for the first time since Sunday, and simply had no control over his knuckle curve until Loney came to the dish.

Next Up: The Yankees will have their final off-day of the regular season on Thursday, returning to action Friday with a crosstown visit to the Mets. Masahiro Tanaka (12-6, 3.40 ERA) will get the nod versus lefty Steven Matz (3-0, 1.88 ERA), beginning at 7:10 p.m. ET on YES and WFAN.

Yankees Should Trade Garrett Jones to Tampa Bay

The New York Yankees have played terribly of late, especially before the series sweep of the Kansas City Royals, let's not mince words, but have thankfully the team has managed to stick around in the American League East division race. The Tampa Bay Rays have struggled thankfully and have been hit from the injury bug recently including injuries to outfielder Steven Souza Jr. and first baseman James Loney. While the Yankees cannot be upset about the injury to Loney, a notorious Yankees killer, the team may be able to kill two birds with one stone while helping out the Rays at the same time by sending Garrett Jones in a trade to the Tampa Bay Rays for, well basically anything.

Jones has been terrible with New York, again let's not mince words, but has been a little better of late with the bat at least making him worth a potential trade for Tampa Bay. Jones is listed as a first baseman, the position that Loney has left vacated recently with his broken finger, and well as an outfielder, primarily a right fielder, and a part time pitcher giving Rays manager Kevin Cash a little to work with defensively. While Jones is not great offensively or defensively in either position by any means he may be a better option then what the team is currently employing at the position.The trade would give the Rays a warm body while giving the Yankees another automatic out in the Tampa Bay lineup with another defensive liability to pick on when these two teams face off head-to-head.

The Yankees will also benefit from an addition by subtraction as it would allow the team to keep Slade Heathcott on the major league roster even after Jacoby Ellsbury returns from the disabled list. Jones has been serving as the backup first baseman this season but with Chase Headley, Brian McCann, Alex Rodriguez and eventually Brendan Ryan on the roster as more than capable back up first base it won't be a huge deal offensively if Mark Teixeira needs a day off or two. With Chris Young, Heathcott and the rest of the Yankees outfield the team can give everyone ample playing time and can substitute for defense later into games for the aging Carlos Beltran by keeping Heathcott on the roster and removing Jones from the active roster with the trade.

I'm usually not for helping out an opposing team and a team that New York could potentially be chasing in the AL East division but this deal is a win-win for the Yankees. The team opens a roster spot up for a younger, better and more deserving player while potentially making the Rays worse overall both offensively and defensively. It reminds me a lot of what the Red Sox did to Brian Cashman last year when they traded the team Stephen Drew so he could suck it up last season and this season as well.

Yankees' Offense Still Missing After 4-3 Loss to Rays

Jacoby Ellsbury hit a solo home run and Chris Young connected on a two-run single in his team debut, but since Hiroki Kuroda gave up 4 earned runs in 3 1/3 innings and Stephen Drew was controversially called out at the plate around the contest's midpoint the Yankees continued their late-season free fall tonight with a 4-3 loss to the Rays.

In this one's early going, strangely, Kuroda just couldn't get anyone out, surrendering a solo homer to James Loney and three more RBI knocks in his short performance to seemingly-end things in frame #4.

Now ultimately, as you can clearly see by that final count, that wouldn't happen, with Yanks' offense rallying in the fourth and fifth to cut their deficit to one.

Nonetheless, since the aforementioned Drew was thrown out at the plate on a play reviewed for a possible block of home (it appeared to be since Tampa Bay's Ryan Hanigan was standing on the baseline before catching the ball) and Derek Jeter lined into a double-play in that bottom of the fifth New York did eventually fall, a misfortune that gave Rays' Starter Chris Archer (6 1/3 IP, 3 ER) a W despite the fact he didn't throw that well.  

Rays Cruise Past Yankees in Opener as Bats Continue to Struggle

Brandon McCarthy gave up just two earned runs in 6 1/3 innings and Derek Jeter went 2-for-4, but since Alex Cobb bested the former with a scoreless 22-out performance and the offense remained nonexistent the Yankees were beaten easily by the Rays, 5-0, in tonight's opener at Tropicana Field.

For most of this evening's contest, in spite of the bats' continued struggles, the Yanks actually only trailed by two, a tolerable happening caused in the bottom of the first when a pair of singles and fielder's choices pushed across an early duo for Tampa Bay.

Nonetheless, due to the six-hit, eight-strikeout effort of the aforementioned Cobb the game didn't end up proving to be competitive, something that definitely wasn't helped out by a bottom of the seventh error by New York Third Basemen Chase Headley that allowed two more Rays to circle the bases. 

No, that mistake by Headley isn't fully to blame for Tampa's late outburst that also included a James Loney homer off Yankees' Reliever Esmil Rogers, but yes, you could argue that it gave Florida's AL representative a good amount of momentum, a luxury they certainly used to put things away in the final few frames. 

Kuroda's Dominance Not Enough for Ailing Yankees in Another Loss to Tampa Bay

So far this season, the Yankees have rarely gotten long outings from their starters.

Their ace, Masahiro Tanaka, has gone 8+ innings five times, but up until tonight he has been the only one to do so.

Fortunately, that painful trend finally

ended this evening, as the Yanks got a big, 8 frame performance from Hiroki Kuroda, a fun-to-watch effort ruined by offensive problems in a 2-1 loss to the Rays.

During his time on the mound, Kuroda did make a few mistakes (most notably a go-ahead solo homer to Tampa Bay First Basemen James Loney in the top of the sixth), but overall, he was still pretty dominant, giving up just two earned runs while striking out seven.

Usually, that kind of line is good enough to at least get a no-decision, but due to David Price tossing 7 innings of nearly-scoreless ball the Bombers obviously emerged as the losers, the fourth consecutive day that's been the case. 

Yes, Price did pitch pretty well, but considering that the Pinstripes went just 1-for-9 with RISP and left eight men on base you can't help but wonder how good he actually was.

For one, the Yankees never scored legitimately this evening, even though their one trip around the bases was technically earned. 

They put men on the corners with one out in the bottom of the fourth, but if not for a pickoff-ruining throwing error by Ben Zobrist they wouldn't have crossed home in that at-bat.

To put it simply, this contest was nothing but another long uphill battle for the slumping Bombers, who are now 3 1/2 games behind the Blue Jays for the division lead and 4 behind the Mariners for the second and final wild card spot, a position no trade acquisition can be expected to fix.

Roberts' 9th Inning Homer Wasted in Extras as Yankees Drop Third Straight to Rays, 4-3

Going into this season's trade deadline, it's common knowledge that the Yankees have a lot of holes to fill. 

With Michael Pineda set to miss most of summer and the entire infield struggling to hit above .250, it's obvious that a solid starter and a reliable bat would be much appreciated, although after tonight the Yanks just might have one more kind of player to acquire.

A long reliever.

Yes, that notion sounds a little dumb, but after Jose Ramirez blew another game this evening it just might become legitimate, as the Bombers fell to the Rays again, 4-3.

To start off his top of the twelfth outing, Ramirez actually retired the always-dangerous Evan Longoria and James Loney, a success that quickly went for nothing, as the youngster would go on to walk Brandon Guyer and surrender an RBI Single to Logan Forsythe that broke the tie.

That sudden and painful collapse wasted a pair of scoreless innings the Yankees had gotten from the struggling Shawn Kelley, as well as a huge, game-continuing solo home run from Brian Roberts in the bottom of the ninth. 

Prior to those seemingly momentum-shifting occurrences, David Phelps also gave the Bombers 5.2 frames of two-run ball (solo homers from Matt Joyce and Kevin Kiermaier), almost matching the line of the Rays' Chris Archer, who, besides an Brett Gardner triple and Derek Jeter groundout in New York's half of the third, was great in his 21-out performance.

Still, as I said earlier, everything the Yanks did in this one ended up being worthless, as they dropped to an ugly 2-7 in their last nine contests, 2.5 games out of the division lead, and 3 games out of the second and final wild card spot, again proving that things are not actually getting better for them.