The Losing Skid Continues...

Credit:  Andrew Villa-USA TODAY Sports

A’s 4, Yankees 3…

The Yankees finished their West Coast trip with a six-game losing streak.  After winning the first game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim last Monday, they did not win another game in the Pacific Time Zone (finishing the trip with a 1-6 mark).  The A’s series is the first time the Yankees have been swept this year. This has been a long, agonizing road trip. Late games, blown leads, emotional losses, pileup of injuries, etc.  Every loss was a winnable game which makes it that much harder to accept. The starting rotation was 0-2 with 6.98 ERA for the last six games. The Yankees fly back home for a much-needed day off before resuming play on Tuesday in the Bronx against the Angels.

On Sunday, the Yankees jumped out early to a 2-0 lead over the Oakland A’s.  Matt Holliday homered off A’s starter Jharel Cotton in the top of the 2nd inning to start the scoring.  In the third, Brett Gardner led off with a double.  After Gary Sanchez struck out, Aaron Judge singled to right, scoring Gardner.

Unfortunately, like the other games, the Yankees couldn’t hold the lead.  In the bottom of the third, the A’s tied the game at two on a two-run double by Chad Pinder.  They then took the lead when Khris Davis hit his 18th home run of the season off Luis Cessa to put the A’s up, 4-2. 

Didi Gregorius quickly answered with a home run leading off the fourth to pull the Yankees within a run.  But unfortunately for our guys, it would represent the last run scored in the game.

Luis Cessa (0-1) was pulled after four innings, allowing a total of 5 hits and 4 runs. One bad inning but enough to push the team to another loss.  He walked one and struck out 4 in an outing that will most likely buy him airfare to Scranton, PA.  

Credit:  Thearon W Henderson-Getty Images

The Yankees had a scoring opportunity in the 9th against the A’s Sean Doolittle.  Didi Gregorius reached second on a two-base throwing error with one out.  Sadly, Chase Headley struck out and Chris Carter weakly popped out to Yonder Alonso in foul territory to strand Gregorius, the potential tying run.  

It’s incredibly painful to lose so many close games.  After showing signs of fighting back in the earlier losses, the last two were feeble offensive performances after the Yankees lost their early leads.  Chris Carter is killing this team.  There’s a reason that the Milwaukee Brewers said ‘thanks, but no thanks’ when they cut Carter after a season in which he hit 41 home runs.  At least they got a plethora of bombs.  Although Carter has gotten a hold of a few mistake pitches this season, he is mostly providing rally-killing outs.   

Aroldis Chapman was able to get one inning of work in to at least justify the cross-country flight to join the team for one game before boarding the eastbound plane back to NYC.  It was a clean inning for Chapman as he retired the three batters he faced with just 8 pitches.  He struck out the first batter he faced.  The other two were groundouts.  

Credit:  Tony Avelar-Associated Press

The Yankees (38-29) will now have a day to regroup with the return to New York.  The Eastern Time Zone never looked so good.  The Boston Red Sox beat the Houston Astros 6-5 to move into a first place tie with the Yankees.  Every team in the AL East picked up a game on the Yankees yesterday.  The Tampa Bay Rays are just 3 1/2 games behind, followed by the Baltimore Orioles (4 1/2) and the Toronto Blue Jays (5 1/2).  The Red Sox play this evening against the Royals in Kansas City so it’s very possible the Yankees could find themselves in second place when play resumes tomorrow.

Odds & Ends…

After a two-day stint backing up Austin Romine while Gary Sanchez sat out a couple of games, Kyle Higashioka is headed back to Scranton.  He was optioned on Sunday to make room for closer Aroldis Chapman.  Higashioka did not appear in any games so he remains in search of his first Major League hit (hitless in 18 at-bats this season).

Chance Adams gets the attention at Triple A, but RHP Caleb Smith is now 5-0 for the RailRiders after throwing a one-hit shutout on Sunday.  The RailRiders defeated the Buffalo Bisons, 2-0.  Smith, 25, went the distance (7 innings), walking two and striking out seven.  His season ERA is 2.44.  Adams, who also won this weekend, is 4-2 with 2.43 ERA.

Credit:  Fred Adams-For Times Leader

Gleyber Torres has been placed on the 7-Day Disabled List with the hyperextended elbow.  He will consult with Yankees team physician Dr Christopher Ahmad on Monday.  They are saying that Torres could be out of action for more than a week.

Former Yankees prospect Peter O’Brien, who has become much-travelled, has been claimed by the Los Angeles Dodgers.  O’Brien was designated for assignment by the Texas Rangers earlier this month and subsequently placed on waivers.  The Yankees traded O’Brien to the Arizona Diamondbacks in July 2014 in the deal that brought Martin Prado to New York.  The D-Backs traded O’Brien to the Kansas City Royals this past January.  He was subsequently claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds, and then the Rangers.  The Dodgers become the fifth team to take a chance on O’Brien this year.  Teams love his power but quickly grow weary of his plate discipline and questionable defense.  

Have a great Monday!  On the bright side, it is impossible for the Yankees to lose today. Here’s hoping for better results tomorrow.  

Excuse Me As I Continue To Beat The Drum For A Youth Movement In New York

"You mean to tell me Mark Teixeira will play an entire month injury free before I get called up?" - Robert Refsnyder

I am feeling very ranty today, yes I know that's not a word and I don't care, because I feel the Yankees could be doing so much better this season. The team heading into last night's game was ranked 24th in team WAR in the league ahead of only the Chicago White Sox (terrible), Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers (terrible), San Diego Padres (terrible), Philadelphia Phillies (terrible), and the Houston Astros (terrible). Brian Cashman did his typical Brian Cashman moves at the trading deadline trading away young talent for aging veterans and the moves are not working. I admit that I was heavily in favor of the Chase Headley and the Martin Prado moves but the team has not improved all that much on the offensive side with these additions.

Stephen Drew is batting .171/.216/.257 as a Yankee but as improved the Yankees defense at second base. Brian Roberts wasn't hitting well at all but he was hitting better than Drew by about 50 points on a bad week. While I admit and agree with letting Roberts go I do not agree with the fact that Cashman absolutely refuses to call up Robert Refsnyder. Refsnyder is your best hitter in your highest minor league affiliate batting .301/.393/.474 and plays, wait for it, second base. You can call for Drew's sample size as a Yankee but I will simply counter with the fact that these numbers are right in line with his stats while in Boston as well and trump your argument so don't bother.

Mark Teixeira will probably be injured again by the time I publish this post but the Yankees refuse to get a true backup first baseman. Brian McCann has filled in well and Chase Headley has surprised me with his play at first base but once again Cashman refuses to call up his second best hitter in Scranton, Kyle Roller. Roller is batting .279/.374/.487 with 14 home runs and plays a more than adequate first base. If Roller had a few more home runs he'd probably be in someone else's Triple-A squad right now like Peter O'Brien, and he'd be better off for it as a player.

The Yankees caught fire for a few months with Yangervis Solarte why not try it again with one of these two? My only hope at this point is that Cashman walks away after this season, by his choice or not, and the younger and more in tune Billy Eppler takes control of this team. It may take a few years but I'd rather miss the playoffs for two straight years and have a future rather than miss the postseason for two years and continue to dump years and cash into 30 something has-beens and salary dumps.

ICYMI: Bryan Mitchell, Come On Down

It is definitely a small world and I don’t believe in coincidences, I’ve said that a few times on this blog before, and it’s definitely not a coincidence that the Yankees decided to hold on to Bryan Mitchell at the trading deadline. The Seattle Mariners were prepared to trade second overall pick Dustin Ackley to New York for the Triple-A right hander but the Yankees declined. Instead the Yankees traded catcher Peter O’Brien to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Martin Prado and the rest is history. David Phelps left Sunday night’s game with elbow inflammation and he had reportedly been dealing with the inflammation for three starts or so before leaving the game. Coincidence? Probably not, the Yankees knew they may need Mitchell sooner or later.

Mitchell may be in line to join the revolving door that has been the Yankees pitching staff this season as David Phelps is being placed on the 15 day DL. It is worth mentioning that Phelps pitched two stellar stars with the aforementioned inflammation and had a great start going in Texas in the start against Yu Darvish before losing his grip halfway through the game. The Yankees sent Phelps for an MRI and an evaluation and the ulnar collateral ligament is intact so there is always that bit of good news. Phelps will be out at least a month with the injury, two weeks of rest and two weeks of rehab, and the Yankees have yet to announce a starter for this Friday. Why not Mitchell?

The Yankees are hoping this is a quick two week rest and two week rehab program but if this goes how any of the other injuries we have had this season I am not holding my breath. The Yankees season may be over anyway as Phelps has been one of the Yankees best starters this season since Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia, and Michael Pineda have gone down. I’m not trying to be pessimistic and honestly I am generally an optimistic kind of guy but I also deal in realism and this hurts the Yankees chances realistically.

Stay tuned… 

Bryan Mitchell, Come On Down

It is definitely a small world and I don’t believe in coincidences, I’ve said that a few times on this blog before, and it’s definitely not a coincidence that the Yankees decided to hold on to Bryan Mitchell at the trading deadline. The Seattle Mariners were prepared to trade second overall pick Dustin Ackley to New York for the Triple-A right hander but the Yankees declined. Instead the Yankees traded catcher Peter O’Brien to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Martin Prado and the rest is history. David Phelps left Sunday night’s game with elbow inflammation and he had reportedly been dealing with the inflammation for three starts or so before leaving the game. Coincidence? Probably not, the Yankees knew they may need Mitchell sooner or later.

Mitchell may be in line to join the revolving door that has been the Yankees pitching staff this season as David Phelps is being placed on the 15 day DL. It is worth mentioning that Phelps pitched two stellar stars with the aforementioned inflammation and had a great start going in Texas in the start against Yu Darvish before losing his grip halfway through the game. The Yankees sent Phelps for an MRI and an evaluation and the ulnar collateral ligament is intact so there is always that bit of good news. Phelps will be out at least a month with the injury, two weeks of rest and two weeks of rehab, and the Yankees have yet to announce a starter for this Friday. Why not Mitchell?

The Yankees are hoping this is a quick two week rest and two week rehab program but if this goes how any of the other injuries we have had this season I am not holding my breath. The Yankees season may be over anyway as Phelps has been one of the Yankees best starters this season since Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia, and Michael Pineda have gone down. I’m not trying to be pessimistic and honestly I am generally an optimistic kind of guy but I also deal in realism and this hurts the Yankees chances realistically.

Stay tuned… 

The Greedy Pinstripes Had The Martin Prado Deal First

I don't generally like to toot my own horn here on the blog but toot freaking toot. Bryan Van Dusen and myself had Martin Prado coming to New York months ago, weeks before anyone else even mentioning his name. Yesterday as we all know Peter O'Brien and a player to be named later or cash was sent to Arizona for Mr. Prado and I felt inclined to remind people where this all started. Right here...

Bryan Van Dusen brought up the fact that the Yankees should try and trade for Prado on June 22. CLICK HERE. Here's an excerpt:

While Prado's batting line so far in 2014 is not impressive (.274/.318/.377, with only 1 SB in 2 attempts), he's hit pretty well this month (.307/.338/.427). Along with having a solid bat, Martin's versatility would work well in New York, since last season he played over 200 innings at both 2B and LF, while playing almost 900 innings at 3B.
Improving in the infield may not be the Yankees most pressing need, but Yangervis Solarte's fall from grace and Brian Roberts being... well... Brian Roberts, should make Brian Cashman take a hard look at Prado.

The fire got going again on June 30 when I reminded fans that the Prado trade rumors were heating up and that they started here. CLICK HERE. I asked fans to remember where they heard it first when it happened and it happened, so remember....

Many thought we here at The Greedy Pinstripes were just pulling this awful idea out of our behinds and then Pinstripe Alley, one of the biggest and best Yankee blogs, wrote a piece on it. Now The New York Daily News and Billy Madden wrote about it. Now it's on MLB Trade Rumors. The fire is spreading, remember where you heard it first.

I even went as far as to ask Prado to be the new Kelly Johnson. Johnson was traded for Drew but Drew will be the new Roberts and it seems like Prado will be the new Johnson. Don't be mad at me for being happy for getting one right, it doesn't happen often. CLICK HERE.

Welcome to pinstripes Mr. Prado. I've had your name for a long time.

Quick Hit: Catching Up From An Active Trade Deadline

Just a quick hit to get everyone caught up from the flurry of roster moves and such out of Yankee land yesterday. The Yankees were very active at the trading deadline and while New York didn't make any blockbuster deals I think Brian Cashman gets a good grade for this deadline. Cashman did not give up any top notch talent and definitely bolstered our depth problem and our infield defense problems. A new right fielder, starting pitcher, or bullpen help would have been nice but there is always August for that I guess.

Anyway here is what happened to catch you up on this Friday:

The Yankees and Red Sox swapped Stephen Drew for Kelly Johnson. The Yankees will pay basically all of Drew's remaining $5 million on his deal. All signs point to Drew being the every day second baseman from here on out.

New York also acquired Martin Prado for prospect Peter O'Brien and a player to be named later or cash considerations. I am a big fan of O'Brien but I am a huge fan of this deal. O'Brien has shown incredible power in the minor leagues but Prado has shown a versatility and flexibility the Yankees seem to be missing this season. Not to mention that Prado has a very affordable contract for next season and 2016 as well. If I was a betting man I'd say Prado, while getting bounced around, will play a lot of right field this season and will be New York's every day second baseman next season.

The Yankees claimed starting pitcher Esmil Rogers off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays and will stash him in Triple-A for now. Scott Sizemore was released to make room on the 40 man roster for Rogers. Rogers has struggled with Toronto this season, doesn't miss a lot of bats, but keeps the ball on the ground and that may be enough with this new look infield the Yankees have.

The Yankees did not acquire Marlon Byrd. Naturally I learned this after I typed out about a 2000 word article about it. Oh well, so is life. Now you know and knowing is half the battle. Happy Friday.

Yankees Deadline Moves: Prado, Drew, Rogers Heading to New York

Going into today's trade deadline, it was well known to us all that the Yankees needed a few pieces.

The 55-52 team, currently three games behind the Blue Jays for the second and final wild card spot, is presently stuck with an unproductive second basemen in Brian Roberts and an unreliable middle reliever in Chase Whitley, two of their many big problems.

No, not all of those issues were resolved this afternoon, but yes, the said two definitely seem to be, with the Yanks acquiring both the Diamondbacks' Martin Prado and Red Sox' Stephen Drew while also claiming Toronto's Esmil Rodgers off waivers.

According to MLB.com, Arizona will get catching prospect Peter O'Brien and a PTBNL for the .270-hitting Prado, arguably the biggest name in the group.

As for Drew, he's been exchanged for injured veteran Kelly Johnson, something that could turn out badly considering the former's hit just .176 this season. 

Either way, it seems fair to declare that today was a good one for New York's AL representative, as the Prado/Drew duo is obviously an upgrade over what they have now and Rogers (who's been in the minors since May 21 after putting together a 6.57 ERA in 20 2/3 innings) has thrown the ball well lately at Triple-A.

The New York Yankees & The MLB Futures Game 2014

One of the better parts of All Star week in Major League Baseball is the Home Run Derby and the Futures Game. The Yankees didn't send anyone to the derby but they did send two to the Futures Game in Peter O'Brien and Luis Severino. In case you missed it you can check out these two doing work with Severino pitching and O'Brien taking batting practice. Consider this a glimpse into the Yankees future, no pun intended. 

Four Thunder Players Named EL All-Stars

Tracy, Gamel, O'Brien and Sanchez Named
Eastern League All-Stars
Tony Franklin & Staff To Manage The Game

The Trenton Thunder, in conjunction with the Eastern League, announced today that four players, LHP Matt Tracy, LF Ben Gamel, OF/1B/C Peter O’Brien and C Gary Sanchez have been selected to play in the 2014 Eastern League All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 16 at Peoples Natural Gas Field in Altoona, PA. LHP Matt Tracy is in his second season with the Thunder and has a 8-2 record and a 3.28 ERA. The former-24th round draft pick leads the Thunder with 82.1 IP and has made a team-high 14 starts. His 3.28 ERA ranks 10th best amongst qualified starting pitchers in the Eastern League. LF Ben Gamel, a former 10th round draft pick in 2010 out of Bishop Kenney HS (FL), has primarily hit second in the Thunder batting order and has compiled a .284 batting average in 85 games during the 2014 season. Gamel leads the Thunder in doubles (23) and hits (102) while those totals rank him second (doubles) and tied for fourth (hits) in the Eastern League.  OF/1B/C Peter O’Brien currently ranks third in all of Minor League Baseball with 25 home runs. In 53 games with the Thunder this season, O’Brien has hit 15 home runs, which is tied for the fourth most amongst league hitters, and driven in 39 runs; tied for second most on the team. The former 2nd round pick in 2012 played the first 30 games of his season with Single-A Tampa where he hit 10 home runs. C Gary Sanchez entered the season as the top prospect in the Yankees system according toBaseball America. In the first six games of the season, Sanchez drove in 10 runs. Overall in 60 games, Sanchez leads the Thunder with 44 runs driven in and is tied for the second on the team with nine home runs. Peter O’Brien and Matt Tracy were chosen via fan voting. At least one position player, and one pitcher, from each team were selected by fans through online and stadium balloting. The remaining selections were made through voting by league media, managers and officials. Trenton Thunder skipper Tony Franklin and his staff will manage the Eastern Division squad after representing the Eastern Division in last year’s Eastern League Championship (which they won). Host team Altoona Curve will have their manager Carlos Garcia and his staff manage the Western Division squad in the game. The Eastern Division is comprised of the Binghamton Mets, New Britain Rock Cats, New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Portland Sea Dogs, Reading Fightin’ Phils and Trenton Thunder while the teams in the Western Division include the Akron RubberDucks, Altoona Curve, Bowie Baysox, Erie SeaWolves, Harrisburg Senators and Richmond Flying Squirrels. For the full roster for each team, please CLICK HERE.

O'Brien & Severino Represent The Yankees In Futures Game

Major League Baseball will hold their annual Futures Game on July 13 at Target Field in Minnesota and the Yankees catcher/outfielder/first basemen Peter O'Brien and starting pitcher Luis Severino will represent New York. Last year the Yankees had Rafael DePaula represent the team and also had Jesus Montero represent us at one point not too long ago. 

O'Brien is leading the world of the minor leagues with 25 home runs and Severino has a 2.99 ERA and 78 K's in 72.1 IP in 2014. The future is bright in New York no matter what the "experts" who make the preseason prospects lists say. 

The Time For Change May Have Finally Arrived

Time and time again Yankees fans, myself included at times, call for a younger player to get more playing time or get brought to the majors. This usually occurs when the team isn't playing well, so the prevailing thought in doing so is "it can't hurt". And here we are saying it again in 2014.

"Yada, yada, yada."

The Yankees are currently 31-31, six games out of first place. Only going that far it would seem the team has a good chance to climb back to the top of the division, what with 100 games remaining. But if you dig a little deeper you'll see that things are more dire.

Take for instance the team's run differential of -31. The Boston Red Sox may be 3 games behind New York, but Boston's run differential of -16 makes me wonder if their records hide the fact that the Red Sox are actually a better team. Furthermore, only two teams in the American League have a worse run differential, and one of those teams... the perennial laughing stock Houston Astros... have actually scored one more run than the "Bombers".

Let's see what else I can find to make me feel worse about the '14 Yanks...

Here we go! How about a team offensive WAR of 4.4, which ranks them 26th in MLB and 2nd worst in the AL. Oh, and remember how I put the word "Bombers" in quotes? That's because the team's Isolated Power is .128, which is good for 25th in baseball. If the Yankees are indeed "Bombers", then they need to fly back to base and reload.

So what can they do to reload?

"I can get you this extra large capacity magazine, which will cut down on the number of times you need to re-"

"Not THAT type of 'reload'!"

First thing's first... when it comes to trades it's always easier said than done. While there may be some fine trade candidates the Yankees would like to acquire, plenty of fans seem to forget that the team has little to nothing to offer in return. We may get a kick out of calling Brian Cashman a "ninja", but ninjas can't use the Jedi mind-trick and tell Miami Marlins General Manager Dan Jennings "you will trade us Giancarlo Stanton for Nik Goody and Jake Cave."

However, while the Yankees' farm system is hardly overrun with top prospects, there have been rumblings of a few of them getting a chance in the big leagues soon.

Brian Cashman had the following to say in an interview yesterday...

"We're just trying to move this thing along. If there are guys struggling in New York, I can't wait."

"As you see us moving the chess pieces around, you can see us struggling with the defensive part with the backup to Teixeira at first base. We've moved Sizemore over there a little bit. Now we're moving Pirela over just to prepare for what ifs."

Cashman may not have mentioned anybody that could be in jeopardy of losing their spots, but those comments seem to point to Kelly Johnson. Johnson has played 181.2 innings at first base, and while he's far from a defensive whiz at the position, Kelly is also batting a measly .216/.279/.392.

Cash may have mentioned Sizemore and Pirela in those quotes, but he's also brought up Rob Refsnyder and Peter O'Brien as players that could be due for a promotion. And if you take that and the first quote above, then you can conclude that Brian Roberts could also be out of a job soon.

Roberts is currently hitting .239/.317/.350, and coupled with his UZR/150 of -18 this season, there is plenty of reason for the Yankees to eat the remainder of Brian's $2 million contract this season and cut him loose.

I will admit that I'm not holding my breathe when it comes to the team making these moves. You don't have to be a an expert on the Yankees to know that the team never gives up, and is more apt to lean on veterans to get the job done rather than prospects. However, this season has been different, and that's thanks to Yangervis Solarte.

Yep, what Solarte has done on the field may mean more than the stats show.

Solarte did not appear on Baseball America's Top 10 list of Yankee prospects, nor did anybody else believe he would be as good as he has been. Personally, I've been waiting for him to fall back to Earth, but in the last couple of weeks he's hit .325/.372/.500, which tells me he may not be going anywhere. And that emergence out of nowhere may be the kick in the pants the team needs to call up players like Sizemore, Pirela, Refsnyder, and/or O'Brien to shake things up.

Not only that, but seeing what those guys can do this season could also save the Yankees from having to spend a lot more money on free agents this offseason. Also, they wouldn't have to deal away good/young players like John Ryan Murphy, Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, etc.

So while I'm not going to sit on the edge of my seat waiting to hear that Sizemore and the rest get the call up, while Roberts and Johnson are shown the door, I have reason to think this could be the year the Yankees actually pull the trigger on their youth.

Trenton Thunder Game Recap 5/28

O'Brien's Slam Not Enough in 12-Inning Loss

READING, PA - Peter O'Brien's majestic grand slam in the third inning was the notable blast in Wednesday's ballgame until Reading's Cam Perkins launched a walk-off three-run homer in the bottom of the 12th inning for a 9-6 win.

With runners on first and third base with one out in the bottom of the 12th inning, Thunder reliever Francisco Rondon struck out Brock Stassi to bring up Perkins with a chance to push the game to a 13th inning. Instead, on a 2-1 pitch, Perkins crushed a three-run homer to left field ten feet inside the foul line and well over the 330-foot sign.

The Thunder forced extras when Mason Williams led the top of the 9th inning off with a single. He then advanced to second base on his tenth steal of the season with no one out to set-up a go-ahead RBI triple by Rob Refsnyder to tie the score 6-6. Refsnyder stood at third base with no outs but was cut down at home plate on a fielder's choice by shortstop Edgar Duran to keep the game tied.

In the top of the 4th inning, the Thunder trailed 3-0 but Refsnyder, Austin and Gary Sanchez all reached to load the bases. That set-up O'Brien for his ninth homer in a Thunder uniform which set the Minor League lead with 19 on the season (10 with Tampa, 9 with Trenton). O'Brien, who hadn't walked in his first 69 plate appearances with the Thunder, also walked twice in the ballgame.

Refsnyder continued his hot hitting for Trenton and was the lone batter (3-for-5) to have multi-hit games. Prior to the walk-off home run, the Thunder bullpen had combined for 7.0 shutout innings in relief of starter Eric Ruth.

The Thunder conclude their three-game series and seven-game roadtrip against the Fightin Phils Thursday day with a 11:35 a.m. first pitch and 11:20 a.m. pre-game show on 91.3 FM and www.trentonthunder.com.

Being posted with permission from the Trenton Thunder, the original post can be seen HERE. 

Yankees Release Andrew Benak & Charley Short

It's that time of the year where the Yankees start making tons of roster moves in the minor leagues and unfortunately that includes releasing players. We already learned that Peter O'Brien was added to the Double-A Trenton and Kyle Roller was promoted to Scranton in Triple-A but what we don't know is that Andrew Benak and Charley Short were released from the organization.

Benak was the Yankees 14th round pick in the 2012 draft and Short was undrafted and also signed with the Yankees in 2012.

Peter O'Brien To Trenton, Roller/Pinder To Scranton

It's that time of the year again when the Yankees start moving some of their deserving players up the ranks and the first domino has fallen. Peter O'Brien has been called up to the Double-A Trenton Thunder. To make room on the roster the Yankees sent Kyle Roller to Scranton Wilkes Barre to join the RailRiders. Word is that Branden Pinder has also been called up to Scranton but that is not 100% confirmed yet and no corresponding roster move has been announced if he has. Stay tuned.

Peter O'Brien Named FSL Player of the Week

 Peter O'Brien Named FSL Player of the Week

Tampa, Fla. - The first Player and Pitcher of the Week for the 2014 FSL Season was named today by the Florida State League. This was for games played April 3-13, 2014.  

  

   The Player of the Week was Tampa Yankees Catcher Peter O'Brien. He played in 10 games, batting .333, with thirteen (13) hits in 39 plate appearances. His hits included four (4) homeruns and two (2) doubles. He had six (6) RBI's and scored (6) six times. His slugging average was .692 and his OBP was .366. This is Peter's third year in professional baseball and he resides in Miami Gardens, FL.

   The Pitcher of the Week was Dunedin Blue Jays Lefthander Matt Boyd. Matt started two (2) games and had two (2) wins. His ERA was 0.00. In (12) innings pitched he allowed eight (8) hits, issued one walk, and struck out nine (9) batters. This is Matt's second year of professional baseball and he was born in Mercer Island, WA.

   The Tampa Yankees are the Single-A Advanced Affiliate of the New York Yankees. For more information about the Tampa Yankees call (813) 673-3055 or visit www.tybaseball.com.

Being posted with permission from the Tampa Yankees organization. 

Yankees Announce 12 Cuts From Spring Camp

The New York Yankees have announced 12 cuts from spring training camp today. The cuts include outfielders Ramon Flores, Tyler Austin, and Mason Williams, catchers Peter O'Brien and Francisco Arcia, RHP's Robert Coello, Bruce Billings, Brian Gordon, Mark Montgomery, and Chase Whitley, and infielders Jose Pirela and Corban Joseph.

Flores was the only man on the 40 man roster so he was technically assigned to Scranton Wilkes Barre with the RailRiders. None of these guys except for maybe Whitley or Montgomery had a legitimate shot at making the team so these cuts should not come as a surprise.

The real cuts will start coming later this week and next week as the roster continues to shrink to 25.

Prospects Month: Top 28 Yankees Prospects List #15

Continuing our look at The Greedy Pinstripes Top 28 prospects list as a part of Prospects Month we name our #15 prospect, Peter O'Brien!

Here is the complete up to date list. Check back every day as the list fills out and we continue our look at the prospects in the New York Yankees system during Prospects Month here on TGP.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15. Peter O'Brien
16. Aaron Judge
17. Ty Hensley
18. Luis Severino
19. Abiatal Avelino
20. Rob Refsnyder
21. Nik Turley
22. Cito Culver
23. Ramon Flores
24. Mark Montgomery
25. Rookie Davis
26. Jake Cave
27. Ben Gamel
28. Angelo Gumbs

Meet A Prospect: Peter O'Brien

Peter Robert O'Brien was born on July, 15 1990 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Peter spent his High School years at Braddock High School in Miami and split his college years between the Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Florida and the University of Miami. Peter was drafted in 2011 by the Colorado Rockies while with the Bethune Cookman College baseball team but decided to go back to school with the University of Miami.The New York Yankees, with their third round pick (94th overall) in 2012, selected O'Brien as a catcher in the MLB First Year Player's Draft after signing for $460K.

O'Brien drives the ball to all fields and has what is widely considered as plus raw power. He is not going to light up the base paths with his speed but he is no Jesus Montero either. His arm is definitely considered a plus and he has shown great improvements at Miami after transferring from Bethune Cookman. His agility, considering his size, is also somewhat of an amazing thing. The Yankees have since moved O'Brien to third base as a possible Alex Rodriguez replacement in the future and he has flourished since the move.

Here is a look at O'Brien's minor league numbers:

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev		G	Ch	PO	A	E	DP	Fld%	SB	CS
2012	21	2 Teams	2 Lgs	A--Rk	C	36	279	243	31	5	1	.982	48	13
2012	21	Yankees	GULF	Rk	C	3	19	17	2	0	0	1.000	5	2
2012	21	Staten Island	NYPL	A-	C	33	260	226	29	5	1	.981	43	11
2013	22	2 Teams	2 Lgs	A-A+	C	65	665	602	56	7	7	.989	71	32
2013	22	Charleston	SALL	A	C	53	555	503	46	6	6	.989	63	27
2013	22	Tampa	FLOR	A+	C	12	110	99	10	1	1	.991	8	5
2013	22	Tampa	FLOR	A+	3B	38	91	21	52	18	4	.802
2013	22	Tampa	FLOR	A+	DH	17
2 Seasons						156	1035	866	139	30	12	.971	119	45
C (2 seasons)					C	101	944	845	87	12	8	.987	119	45
DH (1 season)					DH	17
3B (1 season)					3B	38	91	21	52	18	4	.802

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Generated 12/7/2013.

There has been some grumbling, whether substantiated or not, about letting O'Brien come to Spring Training and compete for the third base job if Alex Rodriguez is suspended. I think he is still a little too raw for that and not a better option then Kelly Johnson or Eduardo Nunez but it is what it is, speculation. O'Brien won the inaugural Bowman Hitting Challenge with the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League this year but struggled a little bit at the plate. How final line was .190/.212/.413/.625 with four home runs, 13 RBI's, 12 hits, and 26 strike outs. Sounds like he could benefit from a few more seasons down in the minors before we start wanting O'Brien to fill the big shoes of A Rod.

O'Brien is likely to start this season in Tampa again to work on his fielding and such but he looks like one of the first candidates for a call up to AA Trenton mid season. My current ETA for O'Brien is sometime in late 2015 or early 2016.