Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles 7/10

And just like that it is game time here in Baltimore as the Baltimore Orioles play host to the New York Yankees in the third of a four-game set this week inside Oriole Park and Camden Yards. After the double-header last night these two teams are back at it again tonight with the return of Masahiro Tanaka to the Yankees rotation. Opposing Tanaka tonight will be Andrew Cashner for Buck Showalter’s fighting Orioles. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Oriole Park and Camden Yards and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB Network. You can also follow along with the game on MLB TV, with the MLB At-Bat app and by tuning into the Yankees radio broadcast on WFAN with the legendary Yankees duo of John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.

Follow us on Twitter, @GreedyStripes, and “Like” us on Facebook, The Greedy Pinstripes, to keep up with us and the team all season long. Enjoy the game, give Showalter another reason to cry about the Bronx Bombers, and go Yankees!!

ICYMI: 2018 MLB All Star Game Rosters & Final Vote

American League Starters

C Wilson Ramos, Rays
Reserve: Salvador Perez, Royals 

1B Jose Abreu, White Sox
Reserve: Mitch Moreland, Red Sox 

2B Jose Altuve, Astros
Reserve: Gleyber Torres, Yankees 

3B Jose Ramirez, Indians
Reserve: Alex Bregman, Astros 

SS Manny Machado, Orioles
Reserve: Francisco Lindor, Indians 

OF Mookie Betts, Red Sox
OF Mike Trout, Angels
OF Aaron Judge, Yankees

Reserves: Michael Brantley, Indians; Shin-Soo Choo, Rangers; Mitch Haniger, Mariners; George Springer, Astros.

DH J.D. Martinez, Red Sox
Reserve: Nelson Cruz, Mariners.

AL Pitchers

Starters: Trevor Bauer, Indians; Jose Berrios, Twins; Gerrit Cole, Astros, J.A. Happ, Blue Jays; Corey Kluber, Indians; Chris Sale, Red Sox; Luis Severino, Yankees; Justin Verlander, Astros (inactive). 

Relievers: Aroldis Chapman, Yankees; Edwin Diaz, Mariners; Joe Jimenez, Tigers; Craig Kimbrel, Red Sox; Blake Treinen, Athletics.

AL Final Vote

Andrew Benintendi, OF, Red Sox; Eddie Rosario, OF, Twins; Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Yankees; Jean Segura, SS, Mariners; Andrelton Simmons, SS, Angels. 

National League Starters

C Willson Contreras, Cubs
Reserves: Buster Posey, Giants, J.T. Realmuto, Marlins

1B Freddie Freeman, Braves
Reserve: Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks, Joey Votto, Reds 

2B Javier Baez, Cubs
Reserves: Ozzie Albies, Braves, Scooter Gennett, Reds

3B Nolan Arenado, Rockies
Reserve: Eugenio Suarez, Reds 

SS Brandon Crawford, Giants
Reserve: Trevor Story, Rockies 

OF Nick Markakis, Braves
OF Bryce Harper, Nationals

OF Matt Kemp, Dodgers

Reserves: Charlie Blackmon, Rockies; Lorenzo Cain, Brewers; Christian Yelich, Brewers.

NL Pitchers

Starters: Patrick Corbin, Diamondbacks; Jacob deGrom, Mets; Mike Foltyniewicz, Braves; Jon Lester, Cubs; Miles Mikolas, Cardinals; Aaron Nola, Phillies; Max Scherzer, Nationals.

Relievers: Sean Doolittle, Nationals; Josh Hader, Brewers; Brad Hand, Padres; Kenley Jansen, Dodgers; Felipe Vazquez, Pirates.

NL Final Vote

Jesus Aguilar, 1B, Brewers; Brandon Belt, 1B, Giants; Matt Carpenter, INF, Cardinals; INF/OF Max Muncy, Dodgers; Trea Turner, SS, Nationals.

The game will take place on July 17 inside Nationals Park, home of the Washington Nationals.

The New York Yankees Won’t Get Nathan Eovaldi… Or Could They?

Yankees Twitter, their respective Facebook groups, and other outlets of news and media went crazy over the weekend when it was reported that the New York Yankees had a scout in attendance when the Tampa Bay Rays, and namely right-handed starter Nathan Eovaldi, faced off with the New York Mets inside Citi Field. Without any real knowledge or reports of why the scout was there, the Yankees could have been scouting the Mets for all we know, the hypothetical starting pitching rotations including a healthy Masahiro Tanaka, the ace Luis Severino, and Nathan Eovaldi began popping up everywhere while forgetting the most important factor of them all, the Rays. Why would the Rays trade Eovaldi, or anybody, to the New York Yankees? They wouldn’t… or would they? 

Before we get too far into this let’s look at the most important bit of information surrounding a potential trade, would the Yankees benefit from acquiring Eovaldi? In a word, yes. Eovaldi, who is no stranger to pitching in New York, has been stellar overall since his return off the disabled list after a second Tommy John surgery and even took a perfect game into the seventh inning against the Mets on Sunday. Eovaldi now has eight starts under his belt since returning from the DL including two no-hitter or perfect game attempts, the other coming in his first start since the injury.  

Why would the Yankees want him? If the right-hander is pitching the way he has he would be an immediate and tremendous upgrade in their starting rotation for the remainder of the season. His contract is team friendly and it expires at the end of the 2018 season making him a rental in terms of dollars and the prospects needed to acquire him, both of which are important to New York. The Rays will likely be looking to trade him to a contender this summer, but why would they trade him to New York? Well, there could be a couple of reasons.  

First and foremost, the Rays are not going to compete here in 2018, the year that Eovaldi’s contract expires, so trading Eovaldi to the Yankees for a couple of months is much different than trading New York a player like Blake Snell who Tampa Bay would have to watch dominate them for years to come. Secondly, the Yankees and Rays are no strangers to trades, although it is usually a three-team trade that brings the two teams together. It is not out of the realm of possibilities that the Yankees could work out another three-team trade, use your imagination on the third team because I have no idea, to bring Eovaldi to the Bronx for prospects.  

It is far more likely that Eovaldi comes to the Bronx than a Chris Archer or a Blake Snell, three-team trade or not, so keep things realistic when thinking about your potential starting rotation in a seven-game playoff series in the Bronx. Severino, Tanaka, Eovaldi and Sabathia sounds a whole lot better to me than a rotation with either Sonny Gray or the inconsistent rookie Domingo German. I’m just saying.

Meet a Prospect: Osiel Rodriguez

The international signing period opened up on July 2^nd like it does every single season, and much like every single season the New York Yankees were linked to and have signed many of the top available international free agents on the market including the focus of today’s post, Osiel Rodriguez. Rodriguez was ranked as the 5^th best IFA available by Baseball America while MLB.com had Osiel ranked as the 9^th best prospect in the class, either way the Yankees have potentially a great new arm to add to their farm system, so let’s meet him. This is Meet a Prospect: The Osiel Rodriguez Edition.

Rodriguez is a 6’3”, 205 lb. 16-year old right-handed starting pitcher out of Cuba that the New York Yankees have signed with the start of the international signing period for the 2018-2019 season. Rodriguez is a raw talent, obviously as most teenagers are, and may have to work on his “unorthodox” and “violent” delivery, but if he can harness his potential and drop his repertoire to about three or four pitches he could be an ace going forward. Currently the right-hander possesses a fastball that can touch 97 MPH, a plus slider, a curveball, changeup and splitter.

Here is what MLB.com had to say about Rodriguez:

The right-hander’s fastball has been clocked at 97 mph and the pitch usually hovers in the low to mid-90s. There is some concern about a drop in velocity at times, but evaluators attribute the decrease to normal fatigue or being overworked on the showcase circuit. A strike-thrower, Rodriguez has a good mound presence and demeanor. He changes his arm slot and throws several different pitches at different angles, which has proven to be both a blessing and a curse as far as scouts are concerned.

Rodriguez has signed with the Yankees for slightly above $1 million so let’s welcome him not only to the organization, but to the Yankees family as well. I look forward to seeing you grow and prosper as a minor league player with the Yankees. The Yankees just got the top pitcher in the international market guys, get excited!

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles 7/10

In the third game of the four-game set between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles the Yankees will watch as a key piece returns to the starting rotation. Happy Tanaka Day everyone. The Yankees will activate Masahiro Tanaka before the game to make the start for New York while the Orioles will counter with Andrew Cashner. How are the hamstrings, Tank? Let’s find out as we get to it here in Baltimore.

Tanaka sustained two strained hamstrings in his last start against the New York Mets on June 8^th. Tanaka tagged up from third base on a sacrifice fly and immediately exited the game. Tanaka made his last rehab start on July 4^th down in Triple-A and will be activated tonight after throwing 69 pitches in the contest.

Cashner has been solid in his last six starts posting five quality starts in that span, but the Orioles and their offense have done their right-handed starter no favors in terms of run support. Cashner has a 3.18 ERA over that six start span but also sports an 0-3 record to go along with it due to lack of run support.

The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Oriole Park and Camden Yards and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB Network. You can also follow along with the game on MLB TV, with the MLB At-Bat app and by tuning into the Yankees radio broadcast on WFAN with the legendary Yankees duo of John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.

Enjoy the game, why not… predicting a perfect game tonight, and go Yankees!!

Hello… And Welcome Back

Good morning Yankees family and welcome back to the blog. Man, it has been too long. In a word or two, work sucks. Not to get political here at all but the tariffs on trades that have been handed out to certain countries, China in particular, by President Donald Trump has really been hitting our industry hard. Some of our suppliers are adding an extra 20% or more to the price of material coming out of China which, in my particular field, has caused me an absolute ton of work. The tariffs are in place now and, despite what my managers thought, the world has not ended so maybe (hopefully) things will calm down enough to be able to get back into the swing of things here on the blog. I’ve missed you guys.

So let’s get caught back up and let’s get ready for the trade deadline that is looming.

And you… get ready to spend the rest of your life loving me. I can’t wait for forever with you. I love you.

This Day in New York Yankees History 7/10: Tanaka’s Torn Elbow Ligament

On this day in 2014 the New York Yankees learned that ace starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka had a partially torn ligament in his right throwing elbow. Tanaka’s UCL was less than 10% torn and five doctors including Tommy John surgery expert Dr. James Andrews suggested that a rest and rehab program could prolong him needing the surgery.


Also on this day in 2001 Derek Jeter became the first Yankee to hit a home run in an All Star Game in 42 years when he hit a sixth inning leadoff home run off Jon Lieber at Safeco Field in Seattle. Yogi Berra was the last member of the Yankees to hit an All Star Game homer when he hit one off Don Drysdale in 1959.


The New York Yankees, like most teams in baseball back in 1917, had pitchers that were known for throwing the spitball. No Yankee was more known for the now illegal pitch than Ray Caldwell and he had the spitter working on this day in 1917. Caldwell pitched 9.2 innings of relief and did not allow a single hit as the Yankees beat the St. Louis Browns 7-5 in 17 innings.

Caldwell would throw a no hitter against his former team, the Indians, in 1919 against Tris Speaker and the Tribe. Caldwell was also one of 17 pitchers that was allowed to continue throwing the spitball after the pitch was outlawed in 1920.