Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Who Wants to Join the Yankees?...


Trading Deadline May Bring More New Faces…

I am not sure which time is more important today…4 pm Eastern when the Non-Waiver Trading Deadline ends or 7:05 pm Eastern when the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles get after it on the Yankee Stadium turf. This is always one of my favorite days of the year and there is generally a flurry of activity. Whether or not our favorite team decides to play remains to be seen but I am sure it will be thrilling to the finish. Then, let’s go out and beat the Orioles. 

Friggin’ Boston won last night, unfortunately. The Philadelphia Phillies took the Red Sox into extra innings before Blake Swihart won it with a walk-off ground rule double in the bottom of the 13th inning, scoring Eduardo Nunez with the winning run. So, the Yankees begin play tonight six games behind the Red Sox in the AL East. Boston also plugged a hole at second base last night when they acquired the hard-nosed Ian Kinsler from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to fill in for the injured Dustin Pedroia. Thanks for nothing, Billy Eppler. 

I was very surprised with yesterday’s moves by the Yankees. After the dust settled, the Yankees had replaced reliever Adam Warren with a better swingman pitcher, Lance Lynn, and they were able to do it without adding payroll. The news of Adam Warren’s trade to the Seattle Mariners struck first. Maybe I am not so surprised that Warren was traded (we eventually have to make room for Tommy Kahnle, and A.J.Cole, though seldom used, has proven valuable in long relief). However, I was surprised the Yankees traded him to the Seattle Mariners, a team the Yankees are likely to face in a Wild Card elimination game if they are unsuccessful in catching the Red Sox. The Yankees seem to be on a mission to rebuild the bullpens for both the Orioles and the Mariners. Warren, a free agent after the season, will join former Yankee James Pazos in the Mariners pen. David Phelps is also a Mariner but he’s on the disabled list after undergoing Tommy John surgery earlier this year.To the Yankees’ credit, they didn’t trade Phelps to the Mariners but Pazos and outfielder Ben Gamel were ‘roster-crunch’ deliveries to the Great Northwest. Warren was not flashy but it always seemed like the guy did his job. I will miss his consistency in the pen. For Warren, the Yankees acquired more international bonus pool money. You can’t blame GM Brian Cashman for looking ahead to the future while making his ‘right now’ moves. 

Later, the Warren trade became clearer when the Yankees swung a deal with the Minnesota Twins for starter Lance Lynn. The cost was first baseman Tyler Austin (which explains why the Yankees acquired first baseman Luke Voit from the St Louis Cardinals) and minor league pitcher Luis Rijo.  Lynn (7-8, 5.10 ERA) does not excite me as a starter but I recognize he fills a void as the rotation’s sixth man.  Lynn has also started two games against the Boston Red Sox this year and fared well both times. In his most recent game last Friday, Lynn held Boston to two runs over six innings but did not factor into the decision (a game the Twins lost 4-3). On June 20th, Lynn was the winner when he held the Sox to only one run (none earned) and three hits with five innings of work. Lynn walks too many guys (62 batters in 102 1/3 innings or 1.632 WHIP, Yikes!) but maybe Cashman is right that Lynn’s stuff plays up in the bullpen. We’ll see. I am a little sad to see Tyler Austin go.  The guy loved being a Yankee and I had felt he should have been the one to get the call when Aaron Judge was placed on the DL. I will miss his attitude on the team even if he never really delivered the results that warranted his place on the roster. Maybe he was never given enough of a chance. Regardless, I hope he prospers in Minneapolis when he gets his opportunities. A good guy that I am sorry to see leave.   

I am not sure what today will bring. With the Yankees so close to the luxury tax threshold, I honestly do not see any major moves of significance. If the Yankees do make a trade or two, they’ll most likely have to shed some payroll as the team needs money for September callups and any other necessary roster additions between now and the end of the season. So, as much as Yankees fans would love it, there’s no scenario where I see the Yankees making the bold decision to shed high level prospects for the great Bryce Harper. If there’s anything about this afternoon’s deadline that excites me, it is the end of the ‘Harper to the Yanks’ rumors. Team Hal is not going to pay (prospects or money) to bring Harper to New York regardless of how we may feel.   

I do think the Yankees will pick up a bat today. I was sorry to see the Cincinnati Reds trade outfielder Adam Duvall to the Atlanta Braves because I thought Duvall would have fit nicely in the Bronx. More than likely, we’ll see a reunion with someone like former Yankee Curtis Granderson, which clearly does not exactly excite me. He is a wonderful character guy, one of the best, great for the clubhouse. But the skills have faded with age. I’d prefer to see a player with a greater ceiling added. 

I am keeping my expectations low for today. I’d love for Brian Cashman to shock the World but I don’t think it is going to be that kind of day. I think 2 pm will come and go quietly for the Yankees.

The Yankees acquired RHP Sonny Gray a year ago today. It will be interesting to see if he is still a Yankee at the conclusion of the day. Happy Anniversary…don’t let the door hit you on the way out. If the Yankees do somehow pry Chris Archer from the Tampa Bay Rays (improbable if you ask me), I think it is a certainty Gray will be wearing a different uniform tomorrow.

As for other transactions, the acquisition of closer Roberto Osuna by the Houston Astros was shocking to say the least. Osuna has been a brilliant closer (the Yankees certainly have not been able to hit against him), but for a team that is so concerned about character, the addition of a player who has missed the majority of the season due to a 75-game suspension for violating MLB’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse policy, it is alarming. I was saddened to see Ken Giles leave Houston since the Yankees seem to do so well against him but I guess we’ll have better opportunities now with the Blue Jays pen. From a talent-standpoint, Osuna was probably a great addition for Houston but you wonder what it will do to clubhouse chemistry. Osuna is eligible to return next week.

Okay, I will go ahead and dream a little…


It’s not going to happen but like Manny Machado, it is certainly fun to think about.

If anything, the flurry of Yankees activity over the past week has freed up some good numbers. 26, 29, 43, 45. Lately it has seemed like the last guy on the roster always gets 38. If I was A.J. Cole, I’d trade in 67 quickly before a newcomer snags one of the lower numbers. Or I wouldn’t blame Miguel Andujar for cashing in his pitcher’s number 41 for a more appealing one like 26. Chasen Shreve was unable to keep his number 45 with the St Louis Cardinals, thanks to some guy named Bob Gibson. Shreve opted for Luis Severino’s number. I had to wonder if it was a nod to Sevy.   

To go off topic, I am very glad to see the Minnesota Vikings re-sign wide receiver Stefon Diggs, the recipient of the Minneapolis Miracle catch last fall in the play-off game against the New Orleans Saints. When the Vikings paid huge money in the off-season to free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins, I was fearful there would be severe ramifications on other spots on the roster. Since then, the Vikings have signed key players to extensions like LB Eric Kendricks and DE Danielle Hunter, among others. The Vikings still need to find a way to secure LB Anthony Barr, but the nucleus of the its core is in place. A few years ago, wide receiver was such a troublesome spot for the Vikings. They failed miserably a few with former first round pick Cordarrelle Patterson and there were no apparent bright spots on the horizon. Now, Diggs and Adam Thielen have developed to give the Vikings a great catching duo, one of the best in the NFL, for Cousins, and the three will be in place at least through the 2020 season. Vikings EVP-Football Operations Rob Brzezinski is a master with the salary cap. He doesn’t get enough credit and recognition for his value to the Vikings. Diggs’ five-year extension is expected to be worth around $14 million per year. I am very glad to see the Maryland product back in the fold. Like the Yankees, the Vikings are a good, young team with lots of promise. 

Let’s see what this day and Brian Cashman have in store for us. Wins both on and off the field would be nice. We don’t want much. Total domination and annihilation of the American League is fine.

Go Yankees!