Source: Gleyber Torres Could Unseat Chase Headley THIS SEASON

According to an unnamed source, and you all reading this likely know my thoughts on the whole unnamed source thing but it’s Friday so just roll with it, the New York Yankees are grooming Gleyber Torres not to come up sometime in 2018 but to come up with the Major League club as soon as July of 2017. Yes. Next month! Which position would Torres play and which current Yankees bomber would he bounce out of the starting lineup? Well reportedly that player will potentially be Yankees third baseman Chase Headley.

Torres, just 20-years old, is seemingly being groomed and fast-tracked to the Major Leagues by the Yankees and could be up with the team as early as July of this season. Torres is a natural shortstop but has been playing short, third base and second base all season long in Double-A and Triple-A as the team looks to add versatility and flexibility to his game. If the Yankees call Torres up it would likely be at the expense of Headley who would be demoted to utility infielder playing third base and first base off the bench.

Torres is off to a slow start in Triple-A with the bat, at the time of this writing he was barely above the Mendoza line of .200, but was hitting .273 with five home runs and 18 RBI in 32 games for Trenton leading me to believe that this is more of an anomaly than anything.

Torres is ready defensively at any of the three positions described above and the source claims that the Yankees organization feels as though Torres will be MLB ready in the next two months. Could we see Torres by the end of July? Could Torres be one of potentially many Yankees additions at the July 31^st trade deadline a la Luis Severino from a couple seasons back? Well if you believe in anonymous sources found on the internet…. Then yes. Stay tuned. 

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays 6/2

Two days into June and it is getting hot Yankees family. Not only on the thermometer but also in the American League East standings as this division has all the signs of going down to the very last weekend of the season. The Red Sox are climbing since getting David Price back off the disabled list, the Yankees are cooling off after an absolutely torrid beginning to the season, the Baltimore Orioles are always hanging around, the Tampa Bay Rays are much improved from 2016 despite what their record says and these Toronto Blue Jays are now flirting with the .500 mark again. This is going to become very interesting very fast and that all continues tonight as the Yankees and Blue Jays square off head-to-head. In the contest the Yankees will send Michael Pineda to the mound to face off with Toronto’s starter Francisco Liriano.

Pineda leads the Yankees with six victories this season after shutting down the Oakland Athletics in his last start. Pineda had six wins all of last season which goes to show you how much the Yankees right-hander has improved this season in what will be a contract year. This will be the first time that Pineda sees the Blue Jays in 2017.

Liriano will make his first start since coming off the disabled list tonight after shoulder inflammation kept him out since May 10. Liriano made just one rehab start in Triple-A before returning to the Major Leagues allowing three runs in 4.1 innings pitched. Good luck kid, have you met Aaron Judge?

The game will be played at 7:07 pm ET inside the Rogers Centre, I won’t use the “eh” joke again here I promise although I had to struggle with myself not to, and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along in your cars and on the radio by tuning into John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN. 

Whatever You Can Do, I Can Do Better...

Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-Getty Images

Yankees 12, Blue Jays 2…

Oh, that's the way, uh-huh uh-huh,

I like it, uh-huh, uh-huh.

Forget the Toronto Blue Jays are in last place in the AL East.  This is a dangerous club and one that was predicted to battle the Boston Red Sox for the division championship in most pre-season polls.  They’re a good club and much better than their record might indicate.  They've been very hot recently (winners of 8 of their prior 10 games) and previously injured stars Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzski have rejoined the team.  So, it is that much sweeter to emerge from the first game of the Yankees-Blue Jays series with such a convincing win.

I love the way Manager Joe Girardi said before the game that Gary Sanchez was due to break out and then Sanchez promptly parks one in the second deck in left during the second inning at Rogers Centre for his fifth homer of the season, followed by another shot to left for his sixth round-tripper in the fourth, a two-run blast.  As John Sterling put it, "Gary is scary!".  The two home runs traveled a combined distance of 874 feet.  Now if I could just get Girardi to say that GM Brian Cashman is really close to trading (i.e., dumping) Jacoby Ellsbury and Chris Carter…

Credit:  Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

If you purely looked at numbers between two players, who would you start in center field?

Player 1:  135 AB, 4 HR, 14 RBI, .281/.349/.422, .771 OPS

Player 2:  126 AB, 8 HR, 30 RBI, .317/.437/.579, 1.016 OPS

Let’s just say that I am glad Jacoby Ellsbury was unable to come off the DL when he was eligible to be activated on Thursday.  Aaron Hicks is on fire.  It’s hard to say he was the star of the game when Sanchez smacked two massive home runs, but Hicksie was 4-for-5 with 6 RBI’s to achieve at least co-star honors.  A very impressive performance for the player who was slow to realize his potential but seems to be breaking out with full force this season.

Credit:  Tom Szczerbowski-Getty Images

Aaron Judge, moved up to third in the batting order, singled in the game’s first run.

The Yankees were in control from the start.  They jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning off Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada and never looked back.  

The recent solid run by CC Sabathia (6-2) has been nice.  Backed by superb offense, he pitched into the seventh inning.  He departed after allowing the first Blue Jays run on a homer by Kendrys Morales and subsequently striking out Justin Smoak.  The Blue Jays were only able to get five hits off CC, in addition to the one run.  CC had seven strikeouts and did not walk batter. Chad Green finished the game in relief.  He did allow a solo homer by Ezquiel Carrera but provided length to give the rest of the bullpen the night off.  

Brett Gardner, with a single in the fourth inning, achieved a career milestone with his 1,000th hit of his career.  

This was just a fun game.  The Rogers Centre has been a House of Horrors for the Yankees.  Last year, they dropped 8 of 10 games to the Blue Jays in the ballpark.  So the dominating performance made the win that much more enjoyable.  

The Yankees (31-20) were able to gain a game on the Boston Red Sox in the AL East.  The Red Sox lost to the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, 7-5.  The Red Sox are 3 games back, and the Orioles remained 3 1/2 games behind.  

Yankees in the News…

Reliever Ernesto Frieri opted not to exercise his opt-out yesterday.  Frieri, currently with AAA-Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, is 2-0 with 3.00 ERA.  Frieri has pitched in 17 games for the RailRiders, covering 21 innings.  He has struck out 24 batters and is currently carrying a WHIP of 1.05.  As the primary closer for the RailRiders, he has 7 saves.  Time will tell if he gets another big league opportunity but you probably shouldn’t hold your breath.

Greg Bird began a rehabilitation assignment with the High-A Advanced Tampa Yankees on Thursday.  Bird played first base in the game against the Charlotte Stone Crabs (you gotta love those unique minor league team names).  Maybe Tampa should be the Anti-Rays.  Bird walked in his first two at-bats showing his eyes are as strong as ever.  He finished the game with a single, in addition to the two walks, in the 6-4 loss. 

Credit:  Paul LoMoglio-Yankees

While Chris Carter was putting up another 0-fer night (hitless in 4 at-bats), Tyler Austin, starting at first base for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, was getting plenty of legwork with a 3-for-4 night that featured a two run home run in the first inning of the RailRiders’ 6-3 loss to the Columbus Clippers.  Carter’s batting average has plummeted to .179 and is making it much easier for the Yankees to eventually decide between Carter and Austin.  

Aroldis Chapman threw from 90 to 100 feet on Thursday.  Girardi said that the Yankees closer will probably throw a bullpen session next week.  The closer is slowly getter closer.

In the first release of All-Star Game balloting, Aaron Judge is currently third with 730,438 votes.  The only players he trails are Washington Nationals’ star Bryce Harper and the Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout (who is currently on the DL following thumb surgery).  I am hoping that Harper and Judge are teammates in 2019, but Judge says screw that, I want to be his teammate this year!  Not really but if Aaron gets the call for the ASG, I am okay if he does a little schmoozing with Harper and lets him know how wonderful us Yankees fans are.  

Have a great Friday!  It’s a wonderful time to be alive…and a Yankees fan!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

So it Seems We May See Chance Adams in 2017

The New York Yankees are in first place in the American League East Division and while the Boston Red Sox are creeping up and the Toronto Blue Jays are quietly climbing out of their early season cellar they stuck themselves in the Yankees don’t seem phased. New York has a plan and they are sticking to the plan, period, and that plan is the youth movement. The Yankees already have Aaron Judge potentially starting an All Star Game for them if the voting ended today, Gary Sanchez taking over the league behind the dish and the prospect of Gleyber Torres (more on him later) reaching the Major Leagues sooner rather than later. Having positional players is great but if the Yankees from the early to mid-2000’s taught us anything it’s that you need pitching because you simply won’t win enough of those 12-10 games to stick around in the postseason. That’s where Chance Adams comes in.

I have been talking about Adams since the year he was drafted and the young righty had finally reached Triple-A. It’s time to seriously get the discussions about him and his future with the organization started because Adams finds himself just one shuttle ride away from the Major Leagues. Who knows when that call from Yankees GM Brian Cashman will come but if he keeps dominating Triple-A hitters like he has since his call up that call may come sooner rather than later.

Adams, just 22-years old, is now considered to be the Yankees best pitching prospect and top pitching prospect in an absolutely stacked minor league system. As Adams continues to learn how to be a starter, remember the Yankees drafted him as a relief pitcher and converted him to a starter just a couple seasons ago, the right-hander is seemingly getting better and stronger the closer he gets to the Major Leagues. This week Adams made his fourth Triple-A start and he dominated Columbus holding the Clippers to just one hit and no runs with two walks and 12 strikeouts in six innings of work. The RailRiders won the game 6-0. Adams is 3-1 with a 1.57 ERA in Triple-A this season after posting a 4-0 record with a 1.03 ERA while in Double-A with the Trenton Thunder.

Adams is dominating and he is showing the Yankees that he has little to nothing left to prove and learn in the Minor Leagues. If CC Sabathia and Jordan Montgomery continue to struggle we just may see Chance Adams in the Major Leagues before July, you can bet on it. 

So it Seems the Yankees Have a Home Run Competition, the End of the Bald Brotherhood and an Incredibly Long Post Title to Start Off Your Friday! You’re Welcome.

Bald is the new sexy and the New York Yankees are bring bald back to the Major Leagues. The Yankees have a pair of players who completely shave their heads and I am aptly calling them the Bald Brothers. The Bald Brothers consists of Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner and designated hitter Matt Holliday and these two men have a bit of a home run hitting competition going on.

Gardner and Holliday are going to use the 2017 season as their playground as both players try to simply hit more home runs than the other. The winner gets bragging rights and the loser has to grow his hair out for an entire month. Oh the shame!

As a soon-to-be member of the bald brother hood I find this both entertaining and highly enjoyable as a fan. I look forward to seeing both Holliday and Gardner hit home runs and give each other stare downs as they round third base all season long.

Good morning from the Bald Brotherhood… and hey you. I love you KAB. 

This Day in New York Yankees History 6/2: RIP Lou Gehrig

Just a quick reminder to everyone that today was the day the New York Yankees All Star slugger Lou Gehrig lost his battle with ALS. ALS would soon be renamed Lou Gehrig's disease after the Iron Horse lost his battle with the deadly disease. The Yankees arrived in Detroit on this sad day in 1941 and learned of their captain passing away seventeen days prior to his 38th birthday.

Gehrig died in his sleep in his Riverdale home due to complications with ALS. It was also on this day exactly 16 years ago that Gehrig broke into the Yankees lineup for the first time.

Rest in peace Lou.





Also on this day in 1935 the Boston Braves outfielder Babe Ruth finally announces his retirement from Major League Baseball. The 40 year old former Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees slugger wanted to retire three weeks prior to this announcement but was persuaded to stick it out by Braves owner Emil Fuchs. His reasoning was that Boston hadn't played in every National League park yet, whatever that had to do with anything.

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays 6/1

The New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays are set to begin their four-game weekend set tonight inside the Rogers Centre as our neighbors to the north, Canada, welcome America's team. To kick off the four game series the Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound while the Blue Jays will counter with Marco Estrada. The game will be played at 7:07 pm ET inside the Rogers Centre and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along in your cars and on the radio by tuning into WFAN.

Remembering Derek Jeter on the Day he was Drafted

As we learned this morning in our “This Day in Yankees History” post that we showcase daily here on the blog it was this day back in 1992 that the New York Yankees made a decision that would forever form and shape this organization for the better. *in my best Bud Selig voice* It was on this day in 1992 that the New York Yankees, with the 6th pick in the MLB Draft, selected Derek Jeter out of Kalamazoo Central High School in Detroit, Michigan.

"Derek Jeter is not going to college, he’s going to Cooperstown." Boy was he right.

USA Today’s Weekly MLB Power Rankings

"What you talkin' bout Austin?"

Another week in the books for the 2017 Major League Baseball season and teams are still jockeying for position in their respective divisions. The New York Yankees are still at the top of the American League East Division but they may have plateaued a bit, which by the way is not a bad thing because the postseason is a second season and their plateau is still pretty damn good, which is reflected in these standings. In fact the American League East was all over these rankings this week so let’s dive right into them.

First and foremost the reason you are all here is for the Yankees. New York dropped two slots this week from their #3 overall position to the 5^th position. Top 5 is still “a-okay” with me. Meanwhile the Boston Red Sox were the biggest risers this week rising six spots to the #7 position while the Baltimore Orioles were the biggest fall of the week dropping five spots to the #10 position. Three AL East teams in the Top 10 though, and remember when everyone was saying how weak the division was before the season started?

The Houston Astros still occupy the top spot followed in order by the Washington Nationals, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies with obviously the Yankees coming in fifth on the rankings. The five teams nobody wants to be in the league right now are the #26 ranked Kansas City Royals followed by the Atlanta Braves, the Miami Marlins, the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Diego Padres.

The Yankees could drop to 10^th for all I care, just stay on top of the division and keep playing well. The trading deadline is coming and so are the playoffs, I’ll worry about it more when those dates draw closer. Not today. Enjoy the rest of your day everyone. 

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays 6/1

Welcome to June baseball Yankees family and welcome to our neighbors from north of the border as the country of Canada, the Rogers Centre and the Toronto Blue Jays welcome the New York Yankees to town for a four-game set. Get your Mountie hats, ride your moose and let's get ready to kick some ass, eh?

Sabathia has had a crazy progression this season with the Yankees. Sabathia has gone from one of the Yankees best pitchers to one of the worst. One of the most reliable to on the cusp of being designated for assignment, pure speculation, or being moved to the bullpen to now secretly wishing, probably not true and is pure sarcasm, that Jordan Montgomery continues to struggle so it saves his roster spot. Which CC will we see tonight? Who freakin' knows?

Estrada is putting together a strong season for a struggling Blue Jays in 2017. Estrada has allowed two earned runs or less in eight of his last 11 starts this season and is striking out more batters than ever. This is going to be a tough matchup for the Yankees tonight, especially in Toronto.

The game will be played at 7:07pm ET inside the Rogers Centre, eh, and can be seen on the YESNetwork, MLB Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along on the radio and in your cars by tuning into the John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman broadcast, Mr. and Mrs. Baseball, on WFAN.

Enjoy the game and as always….. Go Yankees!!