Step Back From The Ledge, Folks!

I'm not the least bit surprised to see so many Yankees fans overreact to the news about Aaron Judge's injury.

Before I get into why there's little to no reason to be worried, I want to say that losing Judge for a month or so stinks. Aaron is one of the best players in baseball. And yes, I said "players", not just "hitters". While I shouldn't have to go into why Judge is one of the best batters in the game, I feel the need to point out that he's also one of the best right fielders too. Among all qualified right fielders in Major League Baseball, Judge is #1 in Defensive Runs Saved. As for UZR/150, Aaron ranks 2nd behind Mookie Betts, and well ahead of the third place Max Kepler.

So don't confuse what I'm about to say, and make it into a "Bryan doesn't think the Yankees need Aaron Judge" type of things.

Aaron clearly makes this team better and is perhaps the biggest reason the Yankees made it to within one game of the World Series last year, and may very well get them all the way this season. But losing him for the next month is not a season killer what-so-ever.

Here are the teams the Yankees will face in the next month...

Kansas City - 3 times
Baltimore - 6 times
Boston - 4 times
Chicago White Sox- 4 times
Texas - 4 times
New York Mets - Once
Tampa - 3 times
Miami - 2 times

Now, let's look at each team individually...

Kansas City
The Yankees have not only outscored the Royals 27-11, Kansas City has the worst offense in the entire league with just 367 runs scored (the Yankees have scored 524)

Baltimore
The Yankees have outscored the Orioles 60-42, and Manny Machado was responsible for 10 of those 42 runs. Baltimore was already the second worst offense in runs scored, and they just traded away their biggest (and arguably only) weapon.

Boston
This is the only stretch of games in which I have any level of worry. I don't think losing this series would be the worst thing to happen (as long as they aren't swept), as they could still make up the 4.5 games they are currently behind, but the Red Sox are the only team the Yankees will face over the next month to have outscored them (53-49). But note that Gray has been better as of late, and he gave up a combined 12 runs in just 5.1 innings against them in two starts this season. Gray's not the only starter that's been hit hard, as Tanaka gave up six runs in five innings, and Severino gave up five runs in 5 innings. I don't know about you, but I firmly believe Gray, Tanaka, and Severino can and will do better.

Chicago White Sox
The Yankees have yet to face the southsiders, but I'm hardly concerned about the Yankees' four games against them coming up in the next month. The Bombers have scored 112 more runs than the White Sox this season.

Texas
The Rangers are not a bad offensive team, and in their three games against each other, the Yankees have only outscored them 24-23. But when I see poor starts from Sabathia (seven runs in 4.1 innings) and German (six runs in 3.2 innings), along with a couple bad relief performances from Shreve (two runs in .1 innings) and Robertson (a run in .2 innings), I'm actually not worried at all.

New York Mets
When you look at the fact the Yankees have only outscored the Mets 20-19 in their five games, there may be reason for concern. But keep in mind that three of the runs the Mets have scored came in that horrible relief appearance from Chapman. Furthermore, the Mets scored four runs against German in just 3.2 innings.

Tampa Bay
In three games the Yanks have outscored the Rays 51-36. Yeah... I think the Yankees will be okay without Judge's offense.

Toronto
In three games the Yankees have outscored the Blue Jays 51-36, and there's a good chance the Toronto offense will be worse as the Jays may be selling some of their bats before the trade deadline.

Miami
And finally, there's the Marlins, who have actually hit the Yankees fairly well, as you can see by their 10 runs against us in just two games. But when I see that seven of those ten runs came in just five innings against Tanaka, and two more were against Cessa in just one inning, my level of concern drops very low.


So, like I said, there's very little reason to be concerned and absolutely no reason for Brian Cashman to make a knee-jerk reaction and trade prospects of any value for another bat. If the Yankees lose at all, and not just in the next month, the blame is much more likely to fall on the pitching staff. Which makes the acquisitions of Zach Britton and JA Happ that much bigger than what it already was.

How Things Are Going For Four Rehabbing Yankees

I was looking through the recent comments here, and I came across a poster that was concerned about some of the injuries to certain young players and prospects. I started to respond with some updates, but decided to simply write a post about it, seeing as how others might want to know and don't go digging through our comments (although you should!).

I can't say there won't be any questions about these players upon their returns, but beyond gut feelings there's no reason to be overly concerned.


Greg Bird

Not long ago the Yankees released information on the recovering Bird, including video of him exercising the shoulder. However, he has yet to start throwing, so Yankees fans shouldn't get their hopes up. The fact is... he's not returning this year.

But Greg looks to be doing well in rehab, and is on track to possibly take over first base next season.


James Kaprielian

You have to keep in mind that Kaprielian has a flexor tendon strain, not an injury to his ulnar collateral ligament. Injury to the UCL is what often leads to Tommy John Surgery, and an unwanted vacation from baseball for 12-18 months.

That doesn't mean James' injury is insignificant, but the fact that he remained in Baseball America's Top 100 Prospect (check my article regarding this list here) list makes me think he'll come out of this okay, and still battle for a rotation spot some time next season.

Sadly, I can't find any recent updates to his condition and rehabilitation. Kaprielian was scheduled to visit another doctor last week, but there has been no news about the visit.


Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge was diagnosed with a mild strain of his Posterior Cruciate Ligament. and is going to miss 3-4 weeks. I don't believe this is the end of the World, or his development and ETA in the Majors (late-season callup, and probable starting spot next season).

Baseball Prospectus has a great article on PCL injury in regards to the PCL strain suffered by current Blue Jays player Darwin Barney in 2011. They go pretty in-depth regarding the injury, but the bottom line is we shouldn't need to worry much.


Bryan Mitchell

While he's not a top prospect, Bryan Mitchell could play a nice role for the Yankees out of the bullpen. And seeing as how he started all 20 games he appeared in between AAA and the Puerto Rico Winter League in 2015, I wouldn't rule him out as a starter down the road, either. Anyway, no injury is a good one, but the broken toe suffered by Mitchell is only concerning to me because of his time lost, not his ability to come back after said injury.

That's not to say a broken toe could not lead to other issues. Coming back from any foot injury could have an adverse effect on a pitcher's balance, which could throw everything off. But I have yet to hear anybody predict doom for Mitchell, either. And in this day and age when predicting doom is apparently the "cool thing to do", that leaves me feeling optimistic.

Is Mark Teixiera Being Selfish?

So Mark Teixiera is going to do everything he can to avoid surgery on his knee. It would actually be a debridement procedure to remove damaged cartilage, the same procedure he had done to his other knee after the 2007 season.

You might be thinking "Mark should have the surgery, as he played in 157 games the following season and was awesome", however I would like to point out that Tex was just 27 years old then, and certainly not the same player then as he is now.

At first I was upset about this news, as it initially came off as selfish. My thought being that the only reason he's opting not to have the procedure is to improve his numbers for his impending free agency. After all, if you were a MLB General Manager, would you be rushing to sign a 37 year old that would not only be coming off of major knee surgery, but who also just had the worst offensive season of his career?

However, after taking a moment to think about it, Mark is not somebody that I believe would knowingly hurt the Yankees. I have not read one bad word about Teixeira, as he seems to be well respected and liked among everybody in the organization. Honestly, seeing him go will be a little sad, as I have a lot of good memories... on and off the field... of the guy.

Regardless of those memories, though, I'd like to see the Yankees move on from veterans such as Tex, Carlos Beltran, Alex Rodriguez, etc. Things have to evolve, and they can't when roster space, along with a truckload of money, is tied up like that. The Yankees have to see what their options are for the future. For example, can Rob Refsnyder handle first base regularly? Or can they at least give Ref more MLB at bats and see if he fits in anywhere on the team in the future?

Perhaps re-signing Teixeira for next season, in order to ease Greg Bird back into action, would be an okay scenario. I'm sure Greg could learn a thing or two from Mark about playing defense at first base. But things have to change... that's for sure.

Gary Sanchez Has Crack In His Thumb

Earlier today Brian Cashman confirmed that Gary Sanchez does indeed have a crack in his thumb, which occurred after being hit by a foul tip in last night's game.

It sounds like this injury is not bad enough that it will cause Sanchez to miss a large chunk of time. However, fans that think it'll only be a few days are probably being way too optimistic. I can see him going on the disabled list before the day is up, but make a return before too long.

As for him being promoted to the big leagues, I think that will happen not long after he returns. After all, it's not like Gary was struggling, as he's hit .290/.333/.529 for Scranton so far this year, and according to various reports has made strides on defense.

Meanwhile, Austin Romine has done a fine job backing up Brian McCann, hitting .273/.304/.386 in 47 plate appearances for the Yankees. Something that makes me believe Austin's name will come up in trade discussions here soon.

A-Rod Headed for an MRI After Tweaking an Oblique

Alex Rodriguez was pulled from Sunday's contest against the Rays after tweaking his oblique. Dustin Ackley took over at DH for the Yankees in the eighth inning. Jack Curry of the YES Network reported that the injury occurred while Alex was hitting in the cage, not on the field.

Hearing ARod tweaked an oblique while taking some swings in the cage between at bats. Yankees aren't yet sure of extent of injury.

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) April 24, 2016

 He'll be sent for an MRI this afternoon to determine the extent of the injury. Obviously any injury to any of the Yankees' key hitters is not ideal when they have been struggling to put runs on the board, but with A-Rod batting .132/.233/.245 in his first 60 PAs, a little time away from the field may not be the worst thing for either the player or the team.

Of course, with Aaron Hicks expected to miss the next 4-5 days (at least) with a shoulder injury, the Yankees will likely need to make a roster move if Alex needs to miss any length of time. The same candidates I discussed earlier as potential replacements for Hicks would also be fits to take A-Rod's spot. Nick Swisher, Slade Heathcott, Ben Gamel, and Rob Refsnyder all make sense to some extent. Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira would probably see increased time at DH in the meantime.

Injury Update: Hicks to Miss at Least 4-5 Games with Shoulder Injury

There's a possibility that Aaron Hicks shoulder injury will end up being more serious than was initially thought. An MRI Saturday revealed "traumatic bursitis" in his left shoulder, which he sustained attempting a diving catch in Friday night's loss to the Rays. The team still considers him day to day, with the hope that the inflammation will subside with some short rest.

 The best case scenario is that Hicks misses the next four to five games. After Saturday's win, he told reporters, "I’ll be down a couple of days. It all depends on how I feel.” The team can get by with a 24 man roster for a few days thanks to Dustin Ackley's versatility. The disabled list remains a distinct possibility, however. If the injury doesn't improve, New York will have to decide between Slade Heathcott, Ben Gamel, Nick Swisher, or even Rob Refsnyder as a replacement.

Aaron Hicks Sent for MRI on Sore Shoulder

Yankees fourth outfielder Aaron Hicks is considered day-to-day with a sore left shoulder he sustained while attempting a diving catch against Tampa Bay Friday night. You can see the play here. Hicks hit the ground pretty hard and was very slow getting up. He was removed from that game in the fourth inning and was not available Saturday either. The latest news is he will be sent for an MRI to make sure there is no more permanent damage. The injury was reportedly no better after a night’s rest, which concerned the team’s staff. "We told him, see how you feel when you wake up. If you're really sore, we're going to send you for an MRI. And that's what happened," Joe Girardi told reporters.

Hicks has struggled at the plate in limited action thus far, going 2-22 in 14 games for the Yankees. That’s not to say he’s been a total disappointment. His cannon arm and flair for the dramatic catch has been a game-changer for the New York defense. Dustin Ackley will serve as the backup outfielder until the team determines the severity of Hicks’s injury. The Yankees have a number of options at Triple-A Scranton if Hicks goes down for any length of time. Slade Heathcott and Slade Heathcott are both on the 40 man roster. So is Mason Williams, but he’s recovering from his own shoulder injury.

Nick Swisher is another interesting possibility. It’s not clear that he should be considered an outfield option at this point in his career, but given Brett Gardner’s ability to backup Jacoby Ellsbury in center, it could work passably. The one advantage Swisher has is he could replace Hicks as a platoon option against lefties. The majority of New York’s Triple-A outfield options bat from the left side. Swish has a 125 wRC+ against LHP for his career and even managed a respectable 96 wRC+ against them last year despite his struggles overall.