Meet a Prospect: Trayce Thompson

The New York Yankees quickly went from being an offensive juggernaut to the walking wounded here in 2018, especially with their outfield depth. Clint Frazier went down with a concussion, Jacoby Ellsbury strained an oblique and then began dealing with hip issues, Aaron Hicks was later added to the 10-Day disabled list, Billy McKinney lasted an inning in his MLB debut before getting hurt, and the team traded Jake Cave away over the winter. All-in-all the Yankees still have one of the best outfields in all of Major League Baseball with Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge and Brett Gardner but the team felt like they needed some depth and insurance off the bench leading the team to acquire outfielder Trayce Thompson off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ben Heller was added to the 60-Day disabled list in a subsequent roster move. Let us meet the latest talented outfielder to grace the Yankees active roster this season. This is Meet a Prospect: The Trayce Thompson Edition.  

Trayce Nikolas Thompson was born on March 15, 1991 and is the brother of Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson. Thompson attended Santa Margarita Catholic School in Rancho Santa Margarita, California where he committed to play college baseball for the University of California, Los Angeles, or more commonly known as UCLA. Thompson ultimately decided to forego his commitment to UCLA though after the Chicago White Sox drafted him in the second round of the 2009 MLB First Year Players Draft. Thompson signed and immediately began his professional career with the Rookie level Bristol White Sox. Trayce got 106 at-bats under his belt in 2009 and continued to work his way through the White Sox minor league system through the 2013 season. On November 20, 2013 the White Sox added Thompson to their 40-man roster and by August of 2015 Thompson was at the Major League level and making his MLB debut with Chicago. 

Thompson did enough in his two-month stint with the White Sox in 2015 to garner the interest of the Los Angeles Dodgers who acquired Thompson in a three-team trade. The White Sox sent Thompson along with Micah Johnson and Frankie Montas to the Los Angeles Dodgers while the White Sox received Todd Frazier back from the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds received Jose Peraza, Brandon Dixon and Scott Schebler back in the deal. Thompson made the Dodgers Opening Day roster for the 2016 season and appeared in 80 games hitting .225 with 13 home runs and 32 RBI. Thompson’s season was cut short after being placed on the disabled list with a sore back. X-Rays eventually revealed that Thompson had multiple fractures in his back, an injury that ended his season on July 16, 2016. 

Thompson was back with the Dodgers for the 2017 splitting time between the Minor Leagues and the Major Leagues, but never found the power stroke that he had during the 2016 season. The Dodgers designated Thompson for assignment on March 27, 2018 and the Yankees snatched him up off of waivers this week to fill their outfield depth need. 

Oh, and before I forget. Scott Fiedler wants Golden State Warriors tickets. Make that happen, Trayce. Welcome to the family, enjoy your stay. 

Potential Destinations For New Expansion Teams

There isn't any talk of expanding Major League Baseball to 32 teams anytime soon but we here at The Greedy Pinstripes like to be ahead of the curve. I was bored the other day and got to thinking about potential city landing spots for any hypothetical expansion teams. I believe I came up with a few interesting spots that could support a Major League Baseball franchise.

Major League Baseball seems destined to have a team in Mexico before it is all said and done with the emergence of the Mexican League and the influx of players from Mexico over the past few years. While Mexico City has the population to support a franchise it is nearly 1,000 miles away from it's closest MLB franchise in the United States. Enter Monterrey, Mexico which is right across the border of the United States and Mexico and could easily be protected and support a franchise in my opinion.

There are also rumors circulating that MLB may be headed back to Canada and Montreal specifically. Putting a franchise back in Montreal could work if it's done right and that plan would have to include a new stadium deal. The Montreal and Toronto rivalry would automatically be born, especially if an AL East team like the Rays were to relocate there, and the league would extend its global reach. If Montreal could not build a new stadium for the team then Vancouver could be a viable second option for MLB.

If the league wants to keep their teams domestic then cities who have popular and successful NBA, NHL, or NBA franchises come to mind in Indianapolis, Charlotte, New Orleans, and Portland. Portland would give the Seattle Mariners a travel break every once in a while and a true rival in the West. Charlotte and New Orleans have booming economies and no legitimate MLB franchises close by to have a true fandom for. Indianapolis supports the Indiana Pacers and the Indianapolis Colts pretty well and could be the perfect addition to a Central Division for either league.

This is not based on any rumors, speculation, etc. this is just for fun so take it as that. It's the offseason when everything is not so realistic and not so active. Have fun with it and add your location ideas in the comments section.

The Final Off Day Open Thread of 2016

Here we go, the last off day of the regular season before that long stretch of time where it's colder than I'd like it to be, darker earlier than I'd like it to be and that long stretch of time where baseball takes a back-burner to sports like the NFL and the NBA. The offseason sucks without the Yankees being in the postseason but that just may be a reality in 2016 unfortunately. Many aren't surprised, or will say they aren't anyway, but truth be told I predicted the Yankees winning the 2nd Wild Card this season. Insert egg on face.

But we will worry about that when the math says the Yankees are eliminated from postseason play, tonight we rest. With that said I leave you with this open thread for the evening, the last Yankees off day open thread of the 2016 season. Have a great evening.

Greedy Pinstripes Saturday Night Open Thread

The New York Yankees game is in the book, the grass is mowed, the honey-do list is done for another Saturday and frankly, I’m whooped. I’m not as young as I was yesterday so tonight I leave you with this open thread for the evening. Talk about whatever you would like just keep it classy and respectable please, all I’ve ever asked.

-         - Do you think the Yankees have a shot at sneaking into the playoffs this season?

-        -   If Donald Trump would shut up long enough to take a breath do you think he would be elected the President of the United States?

-         -  Who did Negan kill in the season 6 finale of the Walking Dead?

-        -  Are you ready for some football?

Talk about all that and more. Have fun and enjoy the rest of your Saturday night. 

Revisiting the Idea of a Salary Cap in MLB

Whenever I was asked the question, as a Yankees fan, whether I would care if Major League Baseball instituted a salary cap I always claimed that I would be all for it. Much like we see in the NFL or the NBA year after year there are always those one or two veterans who have always wanted to play for (fill in the blank) or are chasing a championship ring or trophy who sign for the league minimum. There are also the players who are willing to take less money and restructure their contracts to bring in or keep another player a la Peyton Manning or Tom Brady which are all factors that I think would help the Yankees still “get their man” while playing within the rules. Then I got rethinking the whole salary cap thing with the new collective bargaining agreement expiring after the 2016 season.


First and foremost why would you want to fix what isn’t broken? Major League Baseball has been flourishing in attendance, television deals etc. for quite a few years now with loads of young talent and money flooding the game right now. Why mess with that by forcing a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Yankees or other high market teams to carry lesser players just to save a few bucks here or there? Also, why bankrupt (for lack of a better word) teams like the Miami Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays who aren’t lighting $100 bills in their fireplace all winter long to stay warm because with any sort of salary cap comes a salary floor as well.


Player salaries are down across the board in Major League Baseball believe it or not from a high of 56% of all revenue being paid to players in 2002 down to 38% as recent as 2014. These rates will continue to go down as you see fewer and fewer Alex Rodriguez type mega contracts and more and more reliance on young studs and rookies, not to mention new television deals like the St. Louis Cardinals just signed last year for an easy $1 BILLION.


The Yankees would continue to win with or without the salary cap simply because of the team’s popularity and such not only domestically but around the world as well. The problem here is that I think the league would lose in the long run more than the individual teams with a salary cap so let’s hope the owners and MLB Players Association pass on that before the beginning of the 2017 MLB regular season.

The Korean Baseball Organization Holds a “Bunt Derby”

Okay so without ranting and raving too much about the All-Star Game, the fact that it “counts” now and dictates which team will have home-field advantage in the World Series and the subsequent popularity fan vote that comes attached to that I think the Korean Baseball Organization could have something that could help spice up All-Star Game week in Major League Baseball. A bunt derby.

Yes you read that correctly, a bunt derby. The NBA has a skills competition and such before the three point shootout and the dunk contest, why not a bunt derby in MLB? Watching Giancarlo Stanton hit 61 home runs out of Petco Park was awesome but watching someone try to lay down a bunt on a scoring field that is designed like a dartboard sounds enticing as well. It would take a bit of skill and precision, not that hitting home runs doesn’t, and I think this is an idea MLB should look into. I think the fans would love it personally.

Even if just for a year or two to try it out. I’ve always wanted a skills competition added to MLB All-Star week. See who could run the bases the quickest. See who could call their shots and try to hit targets in the outfield or over the fence for points. See who could throw the ball from the outfield into a barrel at home plate, fun stuff like that. A bunt derby though, I never thought of that one. Good call KBO, good call.

Fun Things to do This Weekend besides Watch the Yankees

This post is all in fun, please treat it as such.

The New York Yankees travel home to the Bronx tonight to play host to the Boston Red Sox in the first of a three-game set. We’ve all watched the Yankees this season and in the immortal words of myself on twitter, the Yankees suck! Not really but they aren’t playing exceptionally well and they especially struggled against the Boston Red Sox in a sweep inside Fenway Park last weekend. Do you really want to sit at home or sit inside Yankee Stadium and watch the Yankees lose three more games against a guy that looks like Shrek, a guy that looks like a garden gnome, a guy that got arrested for stealing laptops in college and a guy that refused to shave his beard to come to the Yankees? I know I don’t so here are a few fun ideas to do this weekend besides watch the Yankees.

Captain America Civil War is coming out in theaters. I’m not a big movie guy personally and I’m especially not a big superhero movie guy, although I did enjoy Deadpool, but this one looks good. It may be worth checking it out if you can’t wait for it to come out on the internet.

The NBA playoffs are going on as are the NHL playoffs. Again, not a huge fan of either but I will check in with the NBA playoffs from time to time. 

Read a book. The good people at Summer Game Books have been nice enough to send me some complimentary copies of their baseball related books in PDF format that I need to catch up on. I think I will! 

The Walking Dead: Road to Survival game for iOS and Android is incredibly addicting. Incredibly. 

Go outside and do something. It’s good for the soul! 

And the final thing you can do for fun this weekend besides watching the New York Yankees is to go to your local Wal Mart after 9:00 pm. That sounds incredibly boring on paper but just try it and thank me later. There is always something going on after 9:00 pm. PeopleofWalMart.com stuff going on. You’re welcome.

Quick Hit: The Yankees NBA Pickup Team

Many fans of Major League Baseball and the New York Yankees in specific are solely baseball fans but other enjoy other sports. I've seen many of my Twitter follows tweet #KnicksTape or #LGR or tweet about the firing of this Jets coach or this Giants coach and that got me thinking, how would these Yankees stack up against other leagues in other sports? The Knicks and Nets are the home teams so let's compare them to these Yankees but not in the way you would think. It would be impossible to compare how Carmelo Anthony would do with a bat in his hand and it would be impossible to judge how Aroldis Chapman would do down in the paint at Madison Square Garden but we can see how they stack up another way, literally.

Yankees:
Lane Adams 6'4"
Greg Bird 6'4"
James Kaprielian 6'4"
Chasen Shreve 6'4"
Aroldis Chapman 6'5"
Ivan Nova 6'5"
CC Sabathia 6'6"
Tyler Webb 6'6"
Aaron Judge 6'7"
Andrew Miller 6'7"
Michael Pineda 6'7"
Dellin Betances 6'8"


Knicks:
Jose Calderon 6'3"
Arron Afflalo 6'5"
Thanasis Antetokounmpo 6'7"
Carmelo Anthony 6'8"
Robin Lopez 7'0"
Kristaps Porzingis 7'3"



Nets:
Jarrett Jack 6'3"
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 6'7"
Thaddeus Young 6'8"
Willie Reed 6'10"
Brook Lopez 7'0"

FanDuels and DraftKings Still Under Attack

Every day it seems like we hear more and more criticism and litigation against popular daily fantasy sports sites like FanDuels and DraftKings. It all started when the daily fantasy sports leagues dealt with an insider trading bout and has gone downhill from there. It has even gotten to the point now that if you live in the state of New York you cannot participate in the daily fantasy “gambling” that’s going on at these two sites. FanDuels and DraftKings are in hot water and big trouble and now leagues such as Major League Baseball are getting dragged down with them.

Major League Baseball along with the NBA, NHL and MLS were part of a motion that seeks to add them as defendants to a class-action lawsuit filed against these two companies. All told a whopping 51 companies were named in the lawsuit after either having invested into FanDuels and/or DraftKings or facilitated gambling. The lawsuit includes claims for “negligence, breach of contract, unjust enrichment as well as civil RICO and civil conspiracy.”

Other notable companies being listed in the lawsuit are Visa, MasterCard, American Express, J.P. Morgan, Capital One and PayPal.

It’s awfully convenient for MLB to be making money off of, advertising for and partnering with DraftKings and FanDuels in the same season that new Commissioner Rob Manfred meets with Pete Rose about his lifetime ban for betting on baseball… isn’t it? 

Potential Destinations For New Expansion Teams

There isn't any talk of expanding Major League Baseball to 32 teams anytime soon but we here at The Greedy Pinstripes like to be ahead of the curve. I was bored the other day and got to thinking about potential city landing spots for any hypothetical expansion teams. I believe I came up with a few interesting spots that could support a Major League Baseball franchise.

Major League Baseball seems destined to have a team in Mexico before it is all said and done with the emergence of the Mexican League and the influx of players from Mexico over the past few years. While Mexico City has the population to support a franchise it is nearly 1,000 miles away from it's closest MLB franchise in the United States. Enter Monterrey, Mexico which is right across the border of the United States and Mexico and could easily be protected and support a franchise in my opinion.

There are also rumors circulating that MLB may be headed back to Canada and Montreal specifically. Putting a franchise back in Montreal could work if it's done right and that plan would have to include a new stadium deal. The Montreal and Toronto rivalry would automatically be born, especially if an AL East team like the Rays were to relocate there, and the league would extend its global reach. If Montreal could not build a new stadium for the team then Vancouver could be a viable second option for MLB.

If the league wants to keep their teams domestic then cities who have popular and successful NBA, NHL, or NBA franchises come to mind in Indianapolis, Charlotte, New Orleans, and Portland. Portland would give the Seattle Mariners a travel break every once in a while and a true rival in the West. Charlotte and New Orleans have booming economies and no legitimate MLB franchises close by to have a true fandom for. Indianapolis supports the Indiana Pacers and the Indianapolis Colts pretty well and could be the perfect addition to a Central Division for either league.

This is not based on any rumors, speculation, etc. this is just for fun so take it as that. It's the offseason when everything is not so realistic and not so active. Have fun with it and add your location ideas in the comments section.

Join us on Tap Sports Baseball 2015

The offseason is long, cold and boring at times so why not spend your winter playing video games? Words to live by, yeah I know. When the playoffs are over and the World Series is won some of you will switch over to the NFL, then to the NBA before coming back to Major League Baseball but I’m not much of a fan of either leagues. I’m a gamer, as much of a gamer as my wife, two kids and two jobs will allow me to be anyway, and I found a great baseball game that we can play together. Tap Sports Baseball 2015.

I’m not being paid to play or promote this game in anyway, I truly just like the game and enjoyed playing with our Twitter followers and readers in the 2014 version of the game. It’s fun. It’s not as deep as MLB The Show 15 or as arcade oriented as RBI Baseball, it’s just simple and fun, yet competitive.

Tap Sports Baseball 2015 username: GreedyPinstripes

Rethinking the Idea of a Salary Cap in MLB

Whenever I was asked the question, as a Yankees fan, whether I would care if Major League Baseball instituted a salary cap I always claimed that I would be all for it. Much like we see in the NFL or the NBA year after year there are always those one or two veterans who have always wanted to play for (fill in the blank) or are chasing a championship ring or trophy who sign for the league minimum. There are also the players who are willing to take less money and restructure their contracts to bring in or keep another player a la Peyton Manning or Tom Brady which are all factors that I think would help the Yankees still “get their man” while playing within the rules. Then I got rethinking the whole salary cap thing with the new collective bargaining agreement expiring after the 2016 season.

First and foremost why would you want to fix what isn’t broken? Major League Baseball has been flourishing in attendance, television deals etc. for quite a few years now with loads of young talent and money flooding the game right now. Why mess with that by forcing a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Yankees or other high market teams to carry lesser players just to save a few bucks here or there? Also, why bankrupt (for lack of a better word) teams like the Miami Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays who aren’t lighting $100 bills in their fireplace all winter long to stay warm because with any sort of salary cap comes a salary floor as well.

Player salaries are down across the board in Major League Baseball believe it or not from a high of 56% of all revenue being paid to players in 2002 down to 38% as recent as 2014. These rates will continue to go down as you see fewer and fewer Alex Rodriguez type mega contracts and more and more reliance on young studs and rookies, not to mention new television deals like the St. Louis Cardinals just signed for an easy $1 BILLION.

The Yankees would continue to win with or without the salary cap simply because of the team’s popularity and such not only domestically about around the world. The problem here is that I think the league would lose in the long run with a salary cap so let’s hope the owners and MLB Players Association pass on that before 2017. 

Saturday Night Open Thread

Well the Yankees game is in the books and so is my energy level for the day, sounds like the perfect opportunity to utilize one of these nifty little open threads for the night. The Yankees have been playing 8:00 pm ET games the last three Saturday’s in a row so it will be nice to be able to watch a movie with the kids or something, you know?

So here is the thread for the night, use it to talk about whatever you like. The Knicks draft score? The Yankees inability to hit Dallas Keuchel or any bad teams this season? Alex Rodriguez’s run at an ESPN ESPY Award? Have fun and enjoy.

I leave you with this music recommendation out of my own personal iPod. The band is called “Seether” and the name of the song is "FMLYHM." Enjoy!

My Plan to Expand MLB to 32 Teams: Part 1

About a year ago I thought it would be fun to take a look at whether it would be a good idea for Major League Baseball, or whether it would be conceivably possible, to expand to 32 teams much like the NBA and NFL. The key word to that first sentence is that this was done for fun so if you have constructive criticism or something that I missed or that could be improved on by all means let me know in the comments section but just keep that in mind, this is all hypothetical. I felt the need to update this post with the recent events in the world surrounding the diplomatic ties between the United States and Cuba with potential exhibition games, spring training games and possibly more coming to the native island that sits just 85 miles off the coast of Miami.

My reasoning for this post was that ever since the second Wild Card in each league was added the fun has been taken out of the July 31st trading deadline. As a Yankees fan I used to constantly refresh MLBTradeRumors and such waiting to see who the Yankees would acquire or trade for every season and I used to love getting on my Playstation on August 1st and trading all the players on my MLB game to keep the rosters current (before online game play really got popular). The fun of the July 31st trading deadline has been taken out of the game because with the second Wild Card there are just too many contenders and pretenders and not enough sellers in the market.

MLB wants five playoff teams in each league and wants the television ratings that come along with it (this is a business after all) then have no fear because I have a solution. Rather than contracting teams like the Miami Marlins and the Minnesota Twins, which has been discussed in years past under the Bud Selig regime, why not add two more teams? You turn three divisions of five teams each into four divisions of four teams each and go back to a single Wild Card winner. You can always go to the eight teams making the playoffs like the NFL later on if you would like, although I don't think that works in MLB unless you want World Series games in December.

What lucky cities would be presented with the new franchises you ask? I'm glad you asked!

To be continued.....

Yankees Off Night Open Thread

The New York Yankees are off tonight after their second quick two-game series with the Washington Nationals this season sandwiched in between a pair of off days. Tonight the Yankees rest and presumably travel to Baltimore to prepare to take on the Baltimore Orioles tomorrow night inside Camden Yards and Oriole Park. Michael Pineda will be making his first start in almost two weeks tomorrow after New York skipped his last start in hopes of limiting his innings this season.

Should the Yankees go to a six man rotation when Ivan Nova returns off the disabled list? Should New York be skipping starters to preserve innings for later in the season and potentially a postseason run? Will the Cleveland Cavaliers shock the planet and win the NBA Finals? Talk about all of that and more tonight in this thread, go crazy.

I leave you with this musical recommendation out of my own personal music collection. The name of the song is “I Hate My Life” and the name of the band is Theory of a Deadman. Have a good night Yankees family. 

Sunday Night Open Thread

The Yankees game is over and it's now Sunday night so it sounds like the perfect time for a Sunday Night Open Thread here on the blog. The Yankees are fresh off a three game set with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and are entering an off day tomorrow with the MLB Draft going down at 8:00 pm ET. We have plenty of mock drafts to look at, scouting reports to read and preparations to make for draft night so I leave you with this open thread tonight to chat about it all.

Who should the Yankees draft with their pair of first round picks? Pitching or hitting? College or high school? Game Two of the NBA Finals is set to kick off here in about an hour with the Golden State Warriors leading the series 1-0 over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Talk about any of that or anything else you'd like, have fun with it.

I leave you tonight with another musical recommendation. I have received a complaint or two that I am only posting one genre of music in these so I decided to switch it up a little bit with some Hoodie Allen. The name of the song is All About It and it features Ed Sheeran. Enjoy.

Wednesday Night Open Thread

The Yankees game is in the books and so is their seven game road trip out on the West Coast. Presumably as I type this and as you read this the team is boarding or are already on an airplane heading back to the Bronx and Yankee Stadium. With the Masahiro Tanaka roster decisions in the books and things slow around here until Friday I figured I would leave you tonight with an open thread.

Talk about whatever you would like! The NBA Finals FINALLY kick off on Thursday night, the upcoming home stand starting off with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, whatever you’d like. I leave you tonight with a song like we have been in all of these open threads and tonight’s music recommendation is America’s Suitehearts (acoustic version) by Fall Out Boy. Enjoy

Sunday Night Open Thread

The New York Yankees are fresh off a four game series with the Oakland Athletics and are preparing, if they aren’t already, for their flight to Seattle to take on the Seattle Mariners. This should be an interesting series as well with the Yankees facing off against notorious Yankees killer Felix Hernandez in Game One, the return of Masahiro Tanaka and all the catching up the team can do with former Yankee Robinson Cano. It ought to be a fun series but it will only be fun if the Yankees can win unlike this series against the Athletics where the team struggled.

But anyway this is an open thread so it doesn’t just have to be baseball we talk about, go crazy. NBA Finals, music, movies, video games, whatever. Have at it. I leave you with this music recommendation like I do in many of these open threads, "Balance" from Smile Empty Soul. My favorite song from my favorite band. Enjoy! 

Saturday Night Open Thread

Hey guys look, I remembered the open thread for the week two weeks in a row, something must be wrong in the universe right now. Anyway it’s Saturday night and the Yankees game has already come to a close so let’s chat it up about anything you guys want to. Mother’s Day is tomorrow, what are you getting your mom, wife or significant other? NBA playoffs are going on with some Game Three matchups, who you got?

I took my boys fishing today and ran all my errands and did my grocery shopping so I could devote tomorrow to the wife so I’m beat but the kids thoroughly enjoyed it. Making memories is all that matters, remember that. With that said I’ll leave the stage to you, have at it and enjoy. 

Saturday Night Open Thread

The New York Yankees have already played an afternoon game today with the Boston Red Sox so I decided to go with a Saturday Night Open Thread for you guys. The long awaited Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather fight is tonight on PPV so there’s that to talk about and plenty of hockey and playoff NBA basketball to discuss along with some MLB games still in progress or yet to get underway. Have at it and enjoy the rest of your evening Yankees family.