Yankees Acquire Chris Martin, DFA Gonzalez Germen

Correction: Yankees have acquired right-handed RELIEVER Chris Martin from the Rockies for cash. I wrote catcher earlier. Whiff by me.
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) January 13, 2015

The New York Yankees have acquired big, and I mean big, right handed reliever Chris Martin from the Colorado Rockies for cash considerations. In a corresponding roster move the team has designated Gonzalez Germen for assignment. There is a great possibility that Germen clears waivers and will be back with the team anyway but that's always far from a given.

Germen was acquired and thought of as an upgrade over Preston Claiborne and now Martin is being thought of as an upgrade over both at 28 years old.

Yankees Lose Preston Claiborne to Miami Marlins

The New York Yankees have lost RHP reliever Preston Claiborne after he was claimed off waivers by the Miami Marlins. As you probably remember Claiborne was designated for assignment last week when the team acquired Gonzalez Germen from the New York Mets. Presumably Claiborne was designated with the hopes of clearing waivers and heading back to the club on another minor league deal but unfortunately that did not occur.

Basically New York traded Claiborne who had his struggles and injuries in New York but also shared his successes for an older and less of a sure thing in Germen. That doesn't make much sense to me but that's probably why I am a blogger and not a scout or a GM. Carry on.

Yankees Acquire Gonzalez Germen from Mets

Okay so this is about to get confusing. Hours after the Yankees acquired Domingo German from the Miami Marlins the team acquired relief pitcher Gonzalez Germen from the New York Mets. Preston Claiborne was designated for assignment to make room on the roster for Germen, although I thought the roster was at 39 players anyway unless I missed something,  and the Yankees sent cash considerations back to their neighbors from Queens.

This marks the first time these two teams have swapped players since the Felix Heredia for Mike Stanton trade of 2004. Germen is basically a marginal upgrade over Claiborne and Claiborne will likely stick with the organization on a minor league deal anyway so the deal makes sense. Both players have one minor league option remaining as well if that counts for anything.

Germen strikes out a lot of guys, 22.7% of the time, but walks a lot of batter, 10.6 %, and gives up a ton of fly balls and home runs, think Phil Hughes, so who knows what to expect here.

Should New York Take a Flyer on Rafael Soriano Again?

It seems extremely likely that the Washington Nationals will not have the roster space nor the money to keep Rafael Soriano and his club option after the 2014 season, should the Yankees prepare for a #untuck redux? Yes and no.

Soriano was the saving grace of the Yankees during the 2012 season as he filled in for the great, and injured, Mariano Rivera as he untucked his way to the American League Championship Series with New York. Soriano went from the most expensive 7^th inning man in the history of Major League Baseball to the Yankees closer in a matter of a calendar year and was a free agent at just the right time. Washington swooped him up after that successful 2012 season and plugged him into an already strong bullpen to be the team’s closer.

Since then Soriano has fallen out of grace in Washington and has struggled mightily which led him to lose the closer’s job with the Nationals. Soriano had a vesting option in his contract for the 2015 season that did not vest due to his inefficiencies and will likely make him one of the better free agents in the relief market this season.

If the Yankees can get Soriano on a shorter term deal, one year preferably, then I don’t necessarily have a problem with it. With all his struggled withstanding in his first season in New York and his time in Washington Soriano is probably still better than either Shawn Kelley or Preston Claiborne. It would likely be an expensive addition by subtraction but an addition by subtraction nonetheless.

If New York can get Soriano to come in once again to be the 7^th inning guy but this time at a reasonable salary and contract than I am all for it. If he wants to get greedy again then I just hope and pray that Hank and Hal Steinbrenner and Randy Levine aren’t reading and preparing another lucrative contract loaded with opt out clauses. 

Possible 40 Man Cuts for the Yankees

We looked at the Yankees Rule 5 Draft eligible players that will need to be protected by being added to the 40 man rosters and we looked at potential impact players off the 40 man roster but we haven't mentioned the players that could be non-tendered contracts or ultimately cut,released, or designated for assignment off the 40 man roster. Until today, anyway.

I believe Ivan Nova will start the season on the 60 day DL as he continues to rehab his Tommy John surgery so there is an immediate open roster spot until at least May or June at the best.

Preston Claiborne struggled in 2014 and fell out of Joe Girardi's circle of trust. He also missed much of the 2014 season battling a shoulder injury. He will be there for the Yankees if a batter option does not present itself but could easily be one of the first to go if the team decided to break camp with a Tyler Webb or Jacob Lindgren. Esmil Rogers and David Huff fall into the same category as Claiborne in my opinion although Rogers comes with a much heftier price tag than Claiborne does.

With the Yankees carrying five catchers on their 40 man roster and Gary Sanchez sniffing Triple-A one of the catchers is likely to be moved or traded. When I say I moved I mean, for example, moving Austin Romine to first base to act as a backup for Mark Teixeira. Obviously he or John Ryan Murphy could be traded as well as Francisco Cervelli. I cannot see a scenario where the Yankees carry five catchers again with such a 40 man roster crunch this season.

Zelous Wheeler seemed like a lock to at least attend spring training with the Yankees in 2015 before Jose Pirela made an immediate impact in the majors. Now Wheeler could easily be released for DFA'd to make room for the soon to be minor league free agent Pirela.

Eury Perez, Antoan Richardson, and Ramon Flores all fall into the light hitting speedy outfielder that come into games to steal bases and play defense category. Why keep all three? Or any of them to be honest? We have Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner and could retain Ichiro Suzuki if we chose to. I don't personally see a need, or not a bigger need than a right handed power bat off the bench.

Capuano's Struggles Cancelled Out By Offensive Explosion in 8-5 Win Over Rays

Chris Capuano surrendered four earned runs in a 1/3 of an inning and Jacoby Ellsbury went 0-for-4, but since the bullpen was able to back up the veteran with 26 outs of one-run ball and the Brian McCann/Chris Young duo led a rally throughout the Yankees luckily escaped the Stadium tonight with an 8-5 win over the Rays. 

In his outing this evening, contrary to what he usually does, Capuano labored with each guy he faced, overall letting six of the seven reach base. 

Nonetheless, due to the fun-to-watch endeavors of McCann and the recently-signed Young things eventually turned out alright for the Pinstripes, with McCann taking Jake Odorizzi (4 1/3 IP, 6 ER) deep and connecting on a two-run single early to help Preston Claiborne (2 IP, 0 R) get the W.

No, that pair of hits by the Yanks' catcher didn't force a tie, but after Young homered to left, Mark Teixeira collected an RBI Triple, and Chase Headley got him in with a routine knock in the middle frames their effects were definitely noticeable, with Ichiro and Young also doubling in runs in the bottom of the eighth to somewhat make the contest a laugher.

Quick Hit: I'm Finally Convinced, Fire Brian Cashman

Brian Cashman 20 minutes before making his September call up decisions........

I have been one of the biggest supporters and apologists for Brian Cashman during his tenure as the New York Yankees general manager but after yesterday's round of roster moves and September call ups I'm done defending him. Fire Brian Cashman, sooner rather than later. If you want to save face let him continue to ruin the team and the organization for the remainder of the season and give him the boot after the season. This is ridiculous and I'm tired of it.

So you let Matt Thornton go and build up Tyler Webb and Jacob Lindgren to call up Rich Hill and trade for Josh Outman. What do we do in September? We bring Hill back and totally ignore Lindgren (more on him later specifically) and Webb.

We start the clock on Slade Heathcott and designate switch hitter Zoilo Almonte for a month's worth of Chris Young and some guy named Antoan Richardson. To be completely honest I am pretty familiar with Richardson but I was trying to drive home my point with the decisions going on right here.

You call up John Ryan Murphy and once again slap Austin Romine in the face. You make a roster move for Preston Claiborne but you leave Manny Banuelos in the minor leagues, oh yeah we have Rich Hill. Is this guy doing it on purpose or do the personnel people really know something I don't?

I'm utterly wordless right now.

Finding Gems Late In The MLB First Year Players Draft

The MLB First Year Players Draft starts tonight on MLB Network and the Yankees will once again look to find some gems for cheap in the later rounds of the draft. The Yankees don't have a pick in the first round and will have to wait patiently for their turn until the second round, 55th overall.  The Yankees have made a killing, which we will highlight here, finding absolute gems in the later rounds of the MLB draft. Granted we haven't drafted a Albert Pujols type but who has besides the St. Louis Cardinals, you know? Let's hit the high spots of the gems in the rough that the Yankees have found in recent drafts.

This is more of a prospect hugging homer type beginning but the Yankees originally drafted outfielder Chris Dickerson back in the 2000 draft in the 32nd round. Dickerson did not sign but it makes you think what could have been (and what should be for that matter) had he signed and we had an extended look at him in our minor league system.

Phillip Humber was originally drafted by the New York Yankees in the 29th round of the 2001 draft. This was all obviously before his perfect game with the Chicago White Sox, not that he has done much since. Still worth noting that the Yankees originally drafted a guy who has thrown a perfect game.

Tyler Clippard was drafted by the Yankees in the 9th round of the 2003 draft and quickly became the Yankees #1 prospect before Phil Hughes came along. Not given his fair shot in the majors until he made a name for himself in the Washington Nationals bullpen but has had quite the career since being traded for some guy named Jonathan Albaladejo. The Yankees also drafted David Purcey, Jeff Karstens, Daniel Bard, and Daniel McCutchen in this draft. Obviously Bard and Purcey did not sign but Karstens and McCutchen all had careers in the major leagues before falling victim to pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates and basically ending their careers.

Austin Jackson was taken in the 8th round of the 2005 draft and has become one of the best center fielders and lead off men in the game. Granted the Yankees also took Brett Gardner earlier in this draft but still I think I would rather have A Jax at this point in their careers. Another notable Yankees draft pick in this draft was Doug Fister in the 6th round before making his career in Detroit with the Tigers.

David Robertson was taken in the 17th round of the 2006 draft out of Alabama and has made a name for himself as the heir apparent to Mariano Rivera's closing job when he hangs up his cleats after 2013. Other notable picks in this draft were Daniel McCutchen (again), Zach McCallister who has pitched well in Cleveland, and Dellin Betances and Mark Melancon who once were considered to be big time Yankees prospects.

Pat Venditte, the ambidextrous pitcher we have stashed in AAA, was drafted in the 45th round of the 2007 draft. While Pat has not made the majors yet he has still drawn some attention to himself and the Yankees for throwing from both sides of the rubber and I thought that was worth mentioning. Most 45th round picks do not even make it for AAA so there is always that. The Yankees also got current minor league hitting coach Eric Thames in the 39th round in this draft as well as Nationals closer Drew Storen in the 34th round. Astros 3B Brandon Laird was drafted in the 27th round of this draft and current catcher Austin Romine in the second round.

David Phelps signed with the Yankees in 2008 after being drafted in the 14th round of the draft and that signing has worked out pretty well for the Yankees in the last two seasons. David Adams is the current Yankees 3B and has done nothing but impress since coming up and was drafted as well in this draft in the 3rd round.

The 2010 draft brought the Yankees a couple interesting pieces as we saw the Yankees grab current bullpen guy Preston Claiborne in the 17th round and current top prospect Tyler Austin in the 13th round.

Who will the Yankees add this year that we will be talking about in two or three years? You have to tune in to find out on MLB Network. Go Yankees!

Claiborne Down, Ramirez Up, Saying Goodbye To Aceves

The New York Yankees announced a flurry of roster moves today including calling up Jose A. Ramirez from Triple-A, sending down Preston Claiborne to take Ramirez's spot in Scranton, and designating the Mexican Gangster Alfredo Aceves for assignment. Wade LeBlanc has been called up to take Aceves' spot on the 25 man roster.

LeBlanc as you remember was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels yesterday. Aceves has been terrible and has some real attitude problems so even if LeBlanc wets the bet this is still addition by subtraction and I like it.

Three Home Runs Hurt Nuno, Yankees in 6-1 Loss to Twins

After taking two of three from the Cardinals earlier this week, the Yankees looked invincible.

The Bombers, who came into tonight's game against the Twins 4-1 over the last five days, had gotten the injured Mark Teixeira back in their lineup, to go along with a weak opposing starter in Ricky Nolasco.

Still, nothing went their way in the contest, causing them to fall in overall non-competitive fashion, 6-1.

For Yanks Pitcher Vidal Nuno, the game started out well, but with one out in the top of the second things began to fall apart.

At that time, Oswaldo Arcia homered on an 0-2 pitch, giving the Twins an early 1-0 lead.

It wouldn't last long, as Jacoby Ellsbury would tie the game in the bottom of the third with an RBI Double, but from then on it was all Minnesota.

To lead off the fourth, Josh Willingham homered to left-center, immediately followed by a bloop single from Arcia and another, two-run shot to Monument Park from Trevor Plouffe, quickly making it 4-1.

That would be all the Twins would get off Nuno on the night, although it was more than enough, knocking #57 out after 6.2 frames to drop his record to 1-2.

At that point, the game was over, although the Twins weren't quite done scoring yet, knocking in another two late off Preston Claiborne thanks to a duo of RBI Singles from former Yankee Eduardo Nunez and new Catcher Kurt Suzuki. 

Nunez, who was traded from the Bombers to Minnesota back in April, hit eighth and DH'd in this one, unsurprisingly not getting any cheers or jeers when he stepped up to the plate for the first time. Overall, Jeter's former replacement went 1-for-4 in the W, bringing his 2014 batting average down to a low .256.

Whitley Solid, Bullpen Lights Out in 12-inning win over Cardinals

When the pitching matchup of Michael Wacha vs. Chase Whitley was revealed for this contest, things didn't look too promising for the Yankees.

Wacha, 3-3 with a 2.54 ERA this season, is arguably the Cardinals' best starter, so it was only logical to assume his team would emerge victorious.

That didn't happen today though, as the Yanks' offense was able to score three times off Wacha on way to a 12-inning, 6-4 win, their third consecutive.

It wasn't always pretty, as the Bombers did blow multiple leads throughout, but in the end, it was good enough, largely thanks to a three-run top of the twelfth that broke a longstanding tie.  

In that frame, the Pinstripes took the lead thanks to a duo of RBI Singles from Brian Roberts and Brendan Ryan and a PH Sac Fly from Alfonso Soriano, setting up David Robertson's unearned run-including save, his 11th in 12 chances this season.

All of that in the wake of Whitley's first five-inning start, in which the Cardinals scored three times on eight hits. 

Going into the bottom of the sixth, Whitley actually had a 3-1 lead, before loading the bases with nobody out, eventually leading to a tie game.

Still, Whitley was overall solid in the outing, making a couple of run-scoring singles from Jacoby Ellsbury and Kelly Johnson and a Sac Fly from Brett Gardner stand up.

He didn't dominate by any means, but overall, he did keep the team in the game, allowing the bullpen, led by Preston Claiborne, Dellin Betances, and Alfredo Aceves, who threw 1.1, 2, and 2 scorless innings respectively (Aceves getting the win, improving his record to 1-2), to pave the way to victory, the third time he's done so already this month.

Should The Yankees Sign Wandy Rodriguez?

"Something stinks... oh wait that's me."

The New York Yankees and Brian Cashman have long sought left handed starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez and they now finally have their chance. Wandy was designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday and can be had for just his salary, a salary that the Houston Astros ($5.5 million) and Pittsburgh Pirates ($7.5 million) will pay much of. The Yankees have the option to trade for Wandy and pay the prorated league minimum of $500K or hope he clears waivers and try to work out a deal as a free agent. That's the good news about Wandy.

With the good you have to take the bad and the bad is really bad with Rodriguez. Wandy has been pitching in a weaker National League Central and has a 6.75 ERA and a 7.34 FIP in six starts this season. In a rotation that includes David Phelps, Vidal Nuno, and Chase Whitley this would somehow make the rotation worse, not better. Even with only having Matt Thornton in the bullpen as a left handed reliever I cannot even think of a reliever I would send down for Wandy, and my dislike and lack of trust in Preston Claiborne has been well documented.

Could you imagine Wandy's 3.38 HR/9 ratio in Yankee Stadium? Just to put that into perspective Phil Hughes' HR/9 was a third of that last season and he seemed like an automatic home run ball for a month or more last season. So to answer my question, should the Yankees sign Wandy Rodriguez? Not only no but hell no.

Little Things Mean a Lot!

Question; How many perfect bunts do the Yankees, or for that matter, any AL East team lay down a year?
Answer; Very few are perfect bunts, as was done by Claiborne last night! Oh ya, we see bunts, but how many are that good? Most are Sac Bunts to move a runner over, with Claiborne's bunt, it would have been an easy hit by most position players. Not bad for a pitcher and it had one heck of an impact on the game...like, a win!
The little things are what helps win games sometimes! The player that hits the three run home run gets a lot, if not all the credit for the winning HR but, he could never have knocked in three runs without the other two guys getting on base!
Thus, 25 players make up a TEAM not one, not even two or three...25 people playing as a team win.
We have 27 World Series Wins and I keep hearing how this or that guy, won the World Series for the Yankees...NO, he helped win!
One of the most unforgettable, and heads-up plays in the last 20 years was made by Jeter! But, not only did he get in the right position, he had the instincts to make a flip to the other half of the story Posada, the unsung hero!
Team work, helped win that game, not one player...two guys being in the position they were trained to be in at the right time and not giving up on the ball being off line...saved the day!
May I say; two very good players, that don't know how to quit, and will do whatever they can to win.
Fans wonder why some of us are big on Defense, a look at last nights game will explain an awful lot. One bad throw to the 1st baseman and the game turned from a loss into a tie, and a wild pitch turned a tie into a win for the Yankees. Offense and defense in conjunction make winning easier!
The Little Things are the difference between winning and losing!

Bullpen's dominance, late rally lead Yankees to 13-inning win over Cubs

This game couldn't have gone better.

Not only the Yankees see that Jeff Samardzija is the real deal, but they also got a much-needed W today at Wrigley Field, beating the Cubs in a 13-frame thriller 4-2.

For just about all of the contest, the Bombers' offense showed no life, getting no runs in 7 innings against one of their possible future-starters in Samardzija.

Still, the Pinstripes did find a way to win in the end, picking up a pair of runs in the top of the ninth (Cubs led 2-0 after 8) off Chicago Closer Hector Rondon. The rally wasn't at all fancy, as its main highlight was just a bases-loaded Fielder's Choice from Ichiro followed by a run-scoring error, but overall it was definitely exciting. 

Anyway, after that AB this one became a battle of the bullpens, with the Yankees getting threw the ninth, tenth, and 1/3 of the eleventh thanks to a scorless outings from Matt Daly and Matt Thornton. Following Thornton's departure, the eventual winning pitcher Preston Claiborne came in, collecting another 5 outs.

In the top of the thirteenth, the Yankees would finally get to the Cubs' bullpen, scoring twice off Jose Veras when Claiborne bunted a couple of runners into scoring position, Brendan Ryan scored on a wild pitch, and John Ryan Murphy singled home an insurance run. Following those heroics, David Robertson would end the game in the bottom of the frame, recording the last three outs for his ninth save of the young season.

Yankees blow multiple three-run leads in tough loss to Mets

You gotta hand it to the Mets; the Yankees sure did. 

On a night when Bartolo Colon was starting for New York's NL team and Brett Gardner hit a grand slam, it's logical to assume that the Yankees would win.

They didn't though, as they fell to the Mets in excruciating fashion, 9-7.

The Bombers didn't get a great start this evening from Hiroki Kuroda, who gave up 4 earned runs in 6 innings, but since the veteran still left the game with a 7-4 lead you can't blame this loss all on him. 

Who can you blame this defeat on? Matt Thornton and Preston Claiborne. After a three-run bottom of the sixth which included an RBI Single from Yangervis Solarte, an RBI Triple from Kelly Johnson, and a run-scoring error, the Pinstripes looked to be in pretty nice control, but due to double and a single in the top of the eighth the Mets quickly tied the game. 

After that, Curtis Granderson's, who hit a two-run home run in this contest's top of the sixth, new team finally took the lead they'd been waiting for, as Chris Young took Preston Claiborne deep to left to pretty much end this evening's time of entertainment.

Now the game wasn't technically over when that long ball was hit, but still, it was. The Yankees had blown two three-run leads, so it was obvious to everybody watching that they simply didn't have enough left in them for another rally, one that would have to consist of a comeback, not just a tiebreaker.

CC Sabathia Placed On DL w/ Fluid In Knee

CC Sabathia has been placed on the 15 day DL with fluid build up in his right knee. Matt Daley has been called up to take his place on the 25 man roster. CC had an MRI on the knee after last nights loss and fluid was seen but no tear was present thankfully. Alfredo Aceves seems headed to the mound to take his spot in the rotation, although obviously all of this is subject to change.

Things are subject to change because soon after CC's news was announced Scranton Wilkes Barre's Chase Whitley had his start scratched for an unknown reason. Whitley is not on the 40 man roster so a roster move would need to be made and also one of Daley, Preston Claiborne, etc will have to head back down to AAA.

I don't think fluid in the knee explains his disastrous up and down season but let's hope the rest and rehab can help right the ship.

Tanaka remains undefeated after 9-3 win over Rays

Masahiro Tanaka tossed 7 innings of three-run ball and Dellin Betances followed him with a three-out performance of his own today as the Yankees bounced back nicely from last night's extra-inning loss with a win over the Rays, 9-3. In this one's early stages, Tanaka struggled pretty badly, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits in Tampa Bay's first 4 at-bats, but after that he seemed to get things under control, surrendering just one more hit in his last three innings to earn the W. 

Anyway, the Yanks offense somehow didn't put a baserunner on until this afternoon's bottom of the fourth, but still, they definitely had a good day. After getting that first guy to first, the Bombers got on the board with two-run home run from Mark Teixeira, followed later by an RBI Double from Jacoby Ellsbury, a solo shot from Kelly Johnson, and another RBI hit from #25. After those big plays, the Pinstripes tacked on another 4 just for the fun of it, as Alfonso Soriano drove in a guy with a Sac Fly, Ichiro hit an RBI Double, and the struggling Brett Gardner connected on a 2-run single. 

Besides those guys, Brian Roberts and Preston Claiborne also contributed to this victory, going 1-for-4 with a single and an run and throwing a scoreless inning of relief respectively. That three-out performance, impressively, lowers Claiborne's ERA to just 1.17, something not bad for a guy who started the year in the minors.

Bruce Billings To DL, Preston Claiborne Recalled

How about that?

A few hours after I post something regarding the number of transactions and injuries for the Yankees another one happens.

This time it involves Bruce Billings, who was placed on the 15-Day DL with a right forearm strain. In his place the Yankees have recalled Preston Claiborne.

Claiborne & Anna Down, Billings & Greene Up

My apologies for being late to this party, I was at the hospital with my mother in law all night last night so I am a little behind. Just to get you caught up in case you missed it Shane Greene and Bruce Billings have been called up to the Yankees bullpen. To make room on the 25 man roster Dean Anna and Preston Claiborne have been sent down. To make a 40 man roster spot for Billings the Yankees added Ivan Nova to the 60 day DL. Caught up?

Yankees beat Rays 5-1 in Teixeira's return

Replacement starter Vidal Nuno threw 5 shutout innings and Preston Claiborne got the W with 2 more frames of scoreless relief today as the Yankees earned a split in this 4-game series with a twelve-inning win over the Rays, 5-1. In this contest, Nuno dominated through 9 outs, giving up no hits and just one base runner, but after that he started to struggle, giving up 3 hits and a walk before limping out of the outing okay. 

Anyway, the Bombers offense was overall bad this afternoon, collecting just 1 run (Gardner - RBI Double) through their first 11 at-bats, but in the top of the twelfth that all changed, as the bats circled the bases four times thanks to a bases-loaded walk from Dean Anna, a 2-run Single from Carlos Beltran, and another bloop RBI Single from Alfonso Soriano. Before Anna came up, the Rays actually intentionally walked the 0-for-5 Jacoby Ellsbury, a mistake that obviously proved to be costly.

Besides those guys, David Phelps, Adam Warren, and Shawn Kelley also contributed to this victory, tossing 1.1, 1.2, and 2 shutout innings of relief respectively. On the offensive end of things here, 1B Mark Teixeira finally came back from his hamstring injury, going 2-for-6 with a hard-hit sac fly.