Three Yankees Minor Leaguers Elect Free Agency

It's that time of the year again when minor league players are designated for assignment and outrighted to minor league camps and off 40 man rosters. Three members of the New York Yankees minor league system elected free agency tonight rather than spend another season in the Yankees farm. Antoan Richardson, Zoilo Almonte, and Scott Sizemore are now all free agents and will presumably be looking for major league deals or minor league deals with better chances to make the big show.

Good luck to these three men and thank you for the memories while you were here in New York.

Yankees Re-Sign Scott Sizemore, Daley Sent To AAA

The New York Yankees have brought Scott Sizemore back on another minor league deal after releasing him last week. Many around the league thought that Sizemore would return to the Oakland Athletics who were interested in him before his release but ultimately Sizemore returned to the Yankees.

Matt Daley was passed through waivers after being designated for assignment once again and was sent to Triple-A Scranton with the RailRiders. Daley should be back before the season is over for another run in the bullpen.

Meet a Prospect: Esmil Rogers

Esmil Rogers is the latest arm to be thrown into the revolving door that is the Yankees bullpen. The Yankees acquired Rogers off waivers on July 31st from the Toronto Blue Jays. Scott Sizemore was released to give Rogers a 40 man roster spot and Zoilo Almonte was optioned back to Triple-A to make room on the 25 man roster for Rogers. Rogers is now a right handed option for Joe Girardi out of his bullpen so we might as well get to know him. This is Meet a Prospect, the Esmil Roger edition.

Esmil Antonio Rogers was born on August 14, 1985 in the Dominican Republic. Rogers was signed as a amateur free agent in 2003 by the Colorado Rockies and wouldn't begin his professional career until he reached rookie league ball in 2006. Rogers was not long for the minor leagues as he was promoted to the big leagues for the Rockies in September of 2009 and made his major league debut on September 12, 2009. Rogers spent his 2010 season in Colorado as well and pitched in 28 games, eight of them being starts, going 2-3 with a 6.13 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. Rogers was a start in Colorado in 2011 as well after he replaced Ubaldo Jimenez in the starting rotation and went 3-1 with a 6.33 ERA in April. Rogers would join Jimenez in Cleveland in 2012 when the Rockies traded him to the Indians for cash considerations after Rogers was designated for assignment. Rogers had a 0-2 record with an 8.06 ERA with Colorado in 2012 and went to Cleveland looking for a new start.

Rogers was well improved in Cleveland after getting out of Coors Field and went 3-1 with a 3.06 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 53 innings and 44 games with the Indians. Rogers opened eyes up in Toronto and was traded to the Blue Jays in the offseason before the 2013 season for Mike Aviles and Yan Gomes. The first time Rogers would face his old team in Colorado he took a no hitter into the sixth inning and left the game with an 8-2 lead after 6.2 innings. After the game Rogers ERA was lowered to 1.71 and continued to have a great season for Toronto. Rogers pitched with Toronto until this season when he was designated for assignment after starting the 2014 season with a 6.97 ERA in 16 appearances. He cleared waivers and accepted his Triple-A assignment only to be designated again on July 27 without making another appearance with the team.

The Yankees claimed him and acquired Rogers on July 31st to be a part of their bullpen and hoping that another change of scenery will help the right hander. Welcome to New York Esmil, make us proud.

Quick Hit: Catching Up From An Active Trade Deadline

Just a quick hit to get everyone caught up from the flurry of roster moves and such out of Yankee land yesterday. The Yankees were very active at the trading deadline and while New York didn't make any blockbuster deals I think Brian Cashman gets a good grade for this deadline. Cashman did not give up any top notch talent and definitely bolstered our depth problem and our infield defense problems. A new right fielder, starting pitcher, or bullpen help would have been nice but there is always August for that I guess.

Anyway here is what happened to catch you up on this Friday:

The Yankees and Red Sox swapped Stephen Drew for Kelly Johnson. The Yankees will pay basically all of Drew's remaining $5 million on his deal. All signs point to Drew being the every day second baseman from here on out.

New York also acquired Martin Prado for prospect Peter O'Brien and a player to be named later or cash considerations. I am a big fan of O'Brien but I am a huge fan of this deal. O'Brien has shown incredible power in the minor leagues but Prado has shown a versatility and flexibility the Yankees seem to be missing this season. Not to mention that Prado has a very affordable contract for next season and 2016 as well. If I was a betting man I'd say Prado, while getting bounced around, will play a lot of right field this season and will be New York's every day second baseman next season.

The Yankees claimed starting pitcher Esmil Rogers off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays and will stash him in Triple-A for now. Scott Sizemore was released to make room on the 40 man roster for Rogers. Rogers has struggled with Toronto this season, doesn't miss a lot of bats, but keeps the ball on the ground and that may be enough with this new look infield the Yankees have.

The Yankees did not acquire Marlon Byrd. Naturally I learned this after I typed out about a 2000 word article about it. Oh well, so is life. Now you know and knowing is half the battle. Happy Friday.

Kelly Johnson Released, Jose Pirela Called Up - In My Dream Last Night

Yesterday afternoon it was reported that the Yankees were trying to trade Kelly Johnson. Chances are, they wouldn't get much in return for Johnson, who is batting a lowly .216/.279/.392 this season. Apparently for that reason, the team has decided to make a move now rather than later and release him.

In his place the Yankees have called up Jose Pirela. Pirela was having an excellent season at AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, hitting .330/.367/.464 in 224 at bats (most on the team). In case any of you feel that Jose's six errors this season could be an issue, keep in mind that Brian Roberts has the same number of errors in the same number of games.

So much for easing Jose into things, as he's already been inserted into the starting lineup (see below). I'm glad to see this, as there's no reason to keep starting Brian Roberts, who's had a pretty rough time at the plate this year too.

1. Brett Gardner - LF
2. Derek Jeter - SS *
3. Jacoby Ellsbury - CF
4. Brian McCann - C
5. Yangervis Solarte - 3B
6. Mark Teixeira - 1B
7. Carlos Beltran - DH
8. Ichiro Suzuki - RF
9. Jose Pirela - 2B

*even in my dreams I couldn't see the team moving Jeter from this spot.

I had originally started to write that the Yankees had released Brian Roberts as well as Johnson, but decided to take it back. It's not that I believe Brian will turn things around and play an important role on the team, it's that I don't believe calling up Scott Sizemore is going to help anything. Scott's hitting .258/.325/.351 against AAA pitching, so I have no reason to believe he'd be much of an upgrade... if any at all.

I also thought about releasing Soriano and calling up Almonte, but I don't see Almonte doing a whole heck of a lot in MLB either. Perhaps it's just a matter of giving the guy another chance in MLB, but I don't know.

The Time For Change May Have Finally Arrived

Time and time again Yankees fans, myself included at times, call for a younger player to get more playing time or get brought to the majors. This usually occurs when the team isn't playing well, so the prevailing thought in doing so is "it can't hurt". And here we are saying it again in 2014.

"Yada, yada, yada."

The Yankees are currently 31-31, six games out of first place. Only going that far it would seem the team has a good chance to climb back to the top of the division, what with 100 games remaining. But if you dig a little deeper you'll see that things are more dire.

Take for instance the team's run differential of -31. The Boston Red Sox may be 3 games behind New York, but Boston's run differential of -16 makes me wonder if their records hide the fact that the Red Sox are actually a better team. Furthermore, only two teams in the American League have a worse run differential, and one of those teams... the perennial laughing stock Houston Astros... have actually scored one more run than the "Bombers".

Let's see what else I can find to make me feel worse about the '14 Yanks...

Here we go! How about a team offensive WAR of 4.4, which ranks them 26th in MLB and 2nd worst in the AL. Oh, and remember how I put the word "Bombers" in quotes? That's because the team's Isolated Power is .128, which is good for 25th in baseball. If the Yankees are indeed "Bombers", then they need to fly back to base and reload.

So what can they do to reload?

"I can get you this extra large capacity magazine, which will cut down on the number of times you need to re-"

"Not THAT type of 'reload'!"

First thing's first... when it comes to trades it's always easier said than done. While there may be some fine trade candidates the Yankees would like to acquire, plenty of fans seem to forget that the team has little to nothing to offer in return. We may get a kick out of calling Brian Cashman a "ninja", but ninjas can't use the Jedi mind-trick and tell Miami Marlins General Manager Dan Jennings "you will trade us Giancarlo Stanton for Nik Goody and Jake Cave."

However, while the Yankees' farm system is hardly overrun with top prospects, there have been rumblings of a few of them getting a chance in the big leagues soon.

Brian Cashman had the following to say in an interview yesterday...

"We're just trying to move this thing along. If there are guys struggling in New York, I can't wait."

"As you see us moving the chess pieces around, you can see us struggling with the defensive part with the backup to Teixeira at first base. We've moved Sizemore over there a little bit. Now we're moving Pirela over just to prepare for what ifs."

Cashman may not have mentioned anybody that could be in jeopardy of losing their spots, but those comments seem to point to Kelly Johnson. Johnson has played 181.2 innings at first base, and while he's far from a defensive whiz at the position, Kelly is also batting a measly .216/.279/.392.

Cash may have mentioned Sizemore and Pirela in those quotes, but he's also brought up Rob Refsnyder and Peter O'Brien as players that could be due for a promotion. And if you take that and the first quote above, then you can conclude that Brian Roberts could also be out of a job soon.

Roberts is currently hitting .239/.317/.350, and coupled with his UZR/150 of -18 this season, there is plenty of reason for the Yankees to eat the remainder of Brian's $2 million contract this season and cut him loose.

I will admit that I'm not holding my breathe when it comes to the team making these moves. You don't have to be a an expert on the Yankees to know that the team never gives up, and is more apt to lean on veterans to get the job done rather than prospects. However, this season has been different, and that's thanks to Yangervis Solarte.

Yep, what Solarte has done on the field may mean more than the stats show.

Solarte did not appear on Baseball America's Top 10 list of Yankee prospects, nor did anybody else believe he would be as good as he has been. Personally, I've been waiting for him to fall back to Earth, but in the last couple of weeks he's hit .325/.372/.500, which tells me he may not be going anywhere. And that emergence out of nowhere may be the kick in the pants the team needs to call up players like Sizemore, Pirela, Refsnyder, and/or O'Brien to shake things up.

Not only that, but seeing what those guys can do this season could also save the Yankees from having to spend a lot more money on free agents this offseason. Also, they wouldn't have to deal away good/young players like John Ryan Murphy, Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, etc.

So while I'm not going to sit on the edge of my seat waiting to hear that Sizemore and the rest get the call up, while Roberts and Johnson are shown the door, I have reason to think this could be the year the Yankees actually pull the trigger on their youth.

Scott Sizemore & Francisco Cervelli News

I know I am a little late to this party but Scott Sizemore has been designated for assignment to make room for Carlos Beltran on the active roster. Beltran was activated today and went 0-3 with two strikeouts in the game. Sizemore will likely clear waivers but it is unclear whether he will accept a minor league assignment again after losing his opt out clause in his contract the first time he was called up. Sizemore is not cut from the team and this is merely a procedural move. Sizemore is still on the 40 man roster and will be in Scranton tomorrow night.

Francisco Cervelli will start a minor league rehab assignment tonight with the Tampa Yankees. Cervelli is still a little under two weeks away from being eligible to come off the 60 day DL but this is still encouraging news. Expect Cervelli to use most if not all of his 30 day clock.

Sizemore Called Up, Zoilo Sent Down, LeBlanc Claimed

The New York Yankees have sent down Zoilo Almonte with the return of Carlos Beltran on the horizon. With four healthy outfielders on the roster already Zoilo was a bit of a wasted roster spot. The Yankees called up Scott Sizemore to take his place on the roster, at least temporarily. Kind of ironic that Sizemore started the season wearing #24 and Zoilo had been wearing it since he was called back up.

Sizemore is expected to be sent back down when Carlos Beltran is activated Friday against the Kansas City Royals. Sizemore will look to make the most of his call up though and is in the lineup tonight against the Oakland A's.

The Yankees also claimed Wade LeBlanc off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim after he was designated for assignment this week. LeBlanc is only 29 years old and left handed and could mark the end of the Alfredo Aceves Part Duex experiment in New York, and not an inning too soon.

Quick Hit: I'm Selfish & I Hate The 10 Day Roster Rule

I know this is going to sound somewhat bitter, and I am not bitter whether you believe that or not, but I truly hate the rule that states a player has to wait 10 days after being sent down to the minor leagues before being called back up. The New York Yankees sent down Scott Sizemore on Easter Sunday, April 20, and would not be eligible to come back to the major until at least tomorrow. Why this is significant is because it would be nice to call up Sizemore and let him start at second base tonight.

It would be nice to have #24 back in pinstripes playing at second base tonight and #22 in center field, both of Cano's old uniform numbers, while Robinson Cano comes back to the Bronx for the first time since darting for Seattle.

Quick Hit: NY Did Well Without Teixeira & Robertson

Just a quick hit to get this Tuesday morning going, the New York Yankees had to exceed everyone's expectations when they found out they lost both Mark Teixeira and David Robertson, no? The Yankees lost Teix to a hamstring injury on April 4 and lost Robertson to a groin injury on April 8. The Yankees doom and gloom parade had already started after losing their middle of the order hitter and closer but New York responded admirably.

While Teixeira was on the DL the Yankees had a 8-6 record with the likes of Francisco Cervelli, Kelly Johnson, Scott Sizemore, and even Carlos Beltran filling in for the injured slugger. The Yankees also won the first game of Teixeira's return Sunday against the Rays. With Robertson on the DL the Yankees had a 7-5 record with Shawn Kelley filling in well.

This is not something I would like the Yankees to get in habit of doing but if they can replace their injured big names and well paid stars from within and still win games I feel pretty good about things for the season and the long haul.

Mark Teixeira Added To Roster, Scott Sizemore Down

The New York Yankees have activated Mark Teixeira from the 15 day DL and will have him in the lineup this afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays. Scott Sizemore will be sent down using his last minor league option. Just as a reminder Sizemore's opt out dates have disappeared since his contract was purchased and he was called up to the big league roster.

In other Yankees roster moves it looks like Matt Daley is headed back down to AAA after throwing 41 pitches last night. This will make room for Bryan Mitchell on the roster. Ivan Nova will be added to the 15 day DL to make room for Preston Claiborne.

Got it all? Good, hopefully I didn't confuse you too much.

Scott Sizemore Has A Minor League Option Left

Scott Sizemore confirms he has an option remaining. Could come into play when Teixeira is activated tomorrow. Dean Anna also has an option.
— Lohud Yankees Blog (@LoHudYankees) April 19, 2014

Scott Sizemore confirmed himself that he has a minor league option remaining which makes him the likeliest of players to be sent down to AAA when Mark Teixeira returns off the disabled list tomorrow. Dean Anna also has a minor league option remaining but Anna can play shortstop and Sizemore can't and that may be the straw that breaks the camels back.

Since Sizemore was called up before his May 1st opt out date those opt out dates disappear so no worries of losing him. His August 1st opt out date also goes by the wayside with his contract being purchased earlier in the week.

Comparing Robinson Cano To His Replacements

Not smiling now, are ya?

Okay, who is ready to have a little bit of fun with some small sample sizes mixed in with some hot and slow starts for various players around the league? When I say various players around the league I mean how smart the New York Yankees look less than three weeks into the season for letting Robinson Cano go and for signing the likes of Dean Anna, Scott Sizemore, Kelly Johnson, Brian Roberts, and Yangervis Solarte. It's early so don't put much into these numbers but it is still interesting to look at while we wait for the game tonight.

WAR - Wins Above Replacement Player:

Dean Anna - 0.1
Scott Sizemore -  -0.1
Kelly Johnson - 0.4
Brian Roberts - 0.2
Yangervis Solarte - 0.4

Combined 1.0 WAR for New York

Robinson Cano - 0.1

Salary:

Dean Anna - $500,000
Scott Sizemore - $500,000
Kelly Johnson - $3,000,000
Brian Roberts - $2,000,000
Yangervis Solarte - $500,000

Combined $6.5 million in salary for New York

Robinson Cano - $24,000,000

ICYMI: Video Proof Of The Latest Yankees Triple Play

Solarte, to Roberts, to Sizemore, triple play!

Quick Hit: Teixeira Back Tomorrow, Who Goes Down?

Mark Teixeira is eligible to come off the disabled list for tomorrow afternoon's game with the Tampa Bay Rays and is expected to be activated before game time. The Yankees will obviously need to make a 25 man roster move, who stays and who goes?

Yangervis Solarte seems like a safe bet to stay as well as Brian Roberts so is the odd man out going to be Dean Anna? Unfortunately for Raccoon I think his time has come to end, at least for now. Scott Sizemore has come up and hit the cover off the ball. Sizemore showed an ability to play first base on Thursday night and can play all three of the other infield positions in some capacity. His versatility and right handed bat gives him a slight step up above Anna's left handed, and struggling, bat.

I love Anna, I was a kid in a candy store when we interviewed him as a part of our Prospects Month this past February, but the guy has not hit a lick since coming up. Anna did have his first major league home run and has been eerily absent in the Yankees lineup since and his time in Yankee pinstripes may be coming to an end.

Stay tuned.

Yankees bullpen finally folds in 11-5 loss to Rays

Hiroki Kuroda threw 5.2 innings of 3-run ball and the bullpen ruined that solid outing by giving up 8 more trips around the bases tonight as the Yankees had their 5-game win streak snapped by the Rays, 11-5. In this one, pretty much every Yankee reliever who pitched struggled, as David Phelps and Matt Thornton (his first with the team) each gave up a run and Adam Warren and Cesar Cabral followed them with 6 more. 

Anyway, the Yanks offense scored 4 runs in this evening's second inning thanks to a 3-run Double from Scott Sizemore and a Fielder's Choice from Brett Gardner, but after that they simply fell apart, collecting just 1 run (Soriano - RBI Single) on 3 hits in their last 7 at-bats. They still should've had enough offense to win the game, but, you know, that ended up not happening. 

Besides those guys, Pinstripes CF Jacoby Ellsbury also played alright in this loss, going 2-for-5 with a couple of singles. Those hits didn't end up affecting this one's outcome, but still, they happened. I guess that's something to know.

Brendan Ryan Inching Towards A Return, Now What?

Brendan Ryan will join fellow injured Yankees Mark Teixeira and David Robertson in a minor league game on Saturday, his first real action since an oblique/lower back injury and what was being classified as a pinched nerve in his back derailed the beginning of his season. This begs the question, what will happen when Ryan comes back?

We all know that it will likely be another couple of weeks before Ryan could be back with the big league club after missing most of spring training so we have some time to figure it out but what do the Yankees do on the roster? Do they send Scott Sizemore down after earning his spot albeit in a small sample size down in AAA? His first couple games were nothing to hang his head about either with a couple hits and an RBI. Sizemore also showed an ability to play first base last night against the Tampa Bay Rays which can only help his cause.

The biggest thing working against Sizemore is the emergence of Yangervis Solarte. How can you not keep this guy up and not keep his bat in the lineup as often as you can? He has hit the cover off the ball all spring and season long, especially for extra base hits, and has played all over the infield. His switch hitting bat also evens out the Yankees lineup and he possesses some much needed pop with the bat. He seems, again it is way early, like a better candidate for second base then say Brian Roberts.

Could the Yankees conceivably bench Roberts when Ryan comes back and let him be a replacement late in games? Your initial thought is that this is probably very unlikely but maybe it should be considered. Roberts has shown an inability to stay healthy for multiple consecutive seasons now and has not exactly been tearing the cover off the ball. Roberts has also lost a step in the field and on the bases and it only makes sense to concede him for Solarte, at least until he finally comes back down to Earth. Roberts when healthy is still a better option right now, as much as this pains me to say, then Dean Anna.

Anna has that one home run to be remembered by and not much else. If Sizemore continues to hit the way he has and fields the way he has all season long we may have seen the last of Mr. Dino "Racoon" Baseball.

Sabathia, offense overpower Rays in 10-2 win

CC Sabathia gave up just 1 earned run in 7 innings and the defense turned a 5-4-3 triple play in the bottom of the second tonight as the Yankees stunned David Price and the Rays in St. Petersburg, 10-2. In those 7 frames, Sabathia wasn't necessarily dominant, as he surrendered 7 hits while getting a lot of balls hit hard off him, but since those line drives rarely turned into runs I guess it's tough to complain about this outing. 

Anyway, the Yanks offense attacked early and often in this one, scoring 4 times in the first two innings thanks to 2 RBI Triples from Jacoby Ellsbury and Brian Roberts and 2 RBI Singles from Brian McCann and Derek Jeter. Later on, McCann, Ellsbury, and Roberts, along with Alfonso Soriano, struck again, collecting a Solo Home Run, a Sac Fly, a run-scoring single, and another Solo shot respectively to make this contest a blowout. 

Besides those guys, Yangervis Solarte and Scott Sizemore also contributed to this W, going 3-for-5 with a 2-run Shot (the first of his career) and 1-for-3 with a double. After that double, Sizemore scored easily on the triple by Roberts, giving the Pinstripes an early 2-0 lead.

Yankees Turn A Triple Play

The New York Yankees have turned a triple play tonight in the second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays! The Rays had runners on first and second with nobody out when a sharp line drive was hit to the third basemen Yangervis Solarte. Solarte stepped on the bag and threw to the second basemen Brian Roberts who stepped on the bag and threw to the first basemen Scott Sizemore to complete the triple play.

CC Sabathia was on the mound, if you remember correctly he was on the mound for the last Yankees triple play as well... Kind of cool.

Pineda's six scoreless frames lead Yankees to second win over Cubs

Michael Pineda gave up no runs in 6 innings and David Phelps, Matt Thornton, and Adam Warren combined for 3 more frames of relief tonight as the Yankees shut out the Cubs for the second time in 9 hours, 2-0. In this start, Pineda really only got into trouble twice, in the fifth and sixth when he allowed one and two guys on respectively, obviously getting out of both jams uninjured.

Anyway, the Yanks offense again struggled in this one, scoring just twice despite collecting 12 hits. Those two runs, surprisingly, each involved recently called-up 3B Scott Sizemore, who scored on a single by Gardner in the fourth before driving in Soriano with a one-base knock of his own in the next frame. Nothing amazing, but still, definitely something productive. 

Besides those guys, OFs Carlos Beltran and Ichiro Suzuki also played pretty well this evening, as each went 2-for-4. Neither of them scored or drove in runs, but really, does that matter? I mean, they still did okay, didn't they?