Shouldering the Arm of Discontent...

Credit: Charles Wenzelberg - The New York Post

Rotator Cuff Inflammation Derails Luis Severino for 2 Weeks…

Spring Training threw us its first curve ball yesterday with the news that ace Luis Severino was pulled from his scheduled start against the Atlanta Braves due to pain in his right shoulder. With the words made famous by former professional boxer Roberto Duran in his 1980 bout with Sugar Ray Leonard, “No Mas!”, Severino let pitching coach Larry Rothschild know that something was wrong during his pre-game bullpen session. A subsequent trip to the hospital for an MRI revealed inflammation in the rotator cuff but thankfully, knock on wood, no indications of a possible tear.  You certainly worry about high velocity guys like Sevy and concerns that ‘where there’s smoke, there’s fire’. Hopefully this proves to be nothing that a little rest cannot cure. 

The Yankees will shut down Sevy for two weeks. Assuming there are no further setbacks or recurrence of pain, he’ll resume throwing again around the first day of Spring (March 20th). Unfortunately, due to the injury, Severino has been scratched as the Opening Day starter. While Masahiro Tanaka is probably the sentimental favorite to start Opening Day, his history to open the regular season has not been great. In his last Opening Day start, Tanaka was dreadful. On April 2, 2017, for Manager Joe Girardi, Tanaka gave up seven runs on eight hits over 2 2/3 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays. He walked two and gave up home runs to Logan Morrison and Evan Longoria in the 7-3 loss. As Girardi probably said that day, it’s not what you want. Tanaka’s start was the shortest on Opening Day since Ron Guidry was pulled after 2 2/3 innings against the Seattle Mariners in 1983. Severino started Opening Day last year, a 6-1 victory over current teammate J.A. Happ and the Toronto Blue Jays. Personally, I’d probably roll with the new guy, James Paxton, but it would be hard to argue with Tanaka despite the lack of success the last time around for no other reason than his tenure as a Yankee.

Credit: Lynne Sladky - AP

When the news broke about Severino, many Yankee fans were immediately clamoring for the Front Office to sign free agent starter Dallas Keuchel. As much as I’d like to see Keuchel as part of the starting rotation, the truth is it will never happen. Keuchel, despite being unsigned this late in March, will still command a multi-year deal for as much as $20 million annually. He also carries draft pick compensation for the Houston Astros since he received and rejected a qualifying offer. I just don’t see the Yankees making that type of financial commitment for rotation insurance. Gio Gonzalez, as many have said, represents the most logical choice on the free agent market. After that, we’re talking about guys like “Big Game” James Shields who hasn’t seen a big game in years and has pitched like it. The Yankees could stay in-house and simply use guys like Jonathan Loaisiga, Domingo German, and, ugh, Luis Cessa. I guess I am in favor of bringing in an experienced arm so I’d take Gonzalez. The Yankees head into the season with only three of five starters healthy and ready to go. CC Sabathia is behind the other starters after his angioplasty in December and resulting late start to Camp so he’ll begin the season on the Injured List. He also has to serve the five-game suspension from last season once he’s activated. In all likelihood, the Yankees will not see either Severino or Sabathia until the latter part of April (after series against the two of the best teams in the American League, Houston and Boston). I’d rather have a proven, dependable starter that can keep the team in games to help bridge the gap to full health. Keep Loaisiga and German in limited spot starts until they prove they are ready for more. The ship with Cessa as a starter has sailed for me. I’d rather keep him in a relief role so that he is not overexposed. He becomes more hittable the second and third time through lineups as the hitters gain familiarity. I’d rather keep him as a mystery in the pen facing a minimal number of batters. 

TGP’s Daniel Burch made a very compelling argument this morning for why the Yankees should avoid Gonzalez based on his stats in American League parks. I do not dispute Daniel’s opinion even if I may not agree. For a team with aspirations to win the World Series, a little experience goes a long way. I know that Gonzalez is not going to pitch like the second coming of Max Scherzer but, conversely, he is much better than his other former Washington Nationals teammate, A.J. Cole, whom we got to know too well last season.  Inevitably, the Yankees need to prepare for the worst-case scenario. What if Sevy’s shoulder becomes more problematic than something two weeks of rest can cure? I guess with the other questions in the starting rotation, I am not ready to pin our hopes heavily upon Loaisiga and German.  Ease them in, yes. Throw them into the fire, no way. So, while I respect Daniel’s opinion, I’d rather go with the strong arm of experience. 

Credit: USA TODAY Sports

Hopefully the Yankees can avoid any further injuries in the remaining three weeks of Spring Training.  Center fielder Aaron Hicks has missed a few games with back stiffness but it does not seem too severe.  In their first nine games of the regular season, the Yankees play the Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers, two teams that collectively only won eleven more games than the Yankees did last year. The Yankees need to take advantage of those teams to get off to a good start this year which means we need everyone healthy. A season is not lost in April, but as the Boston Red Sox showed last year, a great start can help propel a team to tremendous accomplishments. 

I am not sure why Aaron Judge was issued a warning by MLB for telling Manny Machado last year that he’d look good in pinstripes, but Bryce Harper can go on the radio saying, “But if you don’t think I’m not gonna call Mike Trout in 2020 to have him come to Philly, you’re crazy” without retribution. Harper’s words carry much stronger implications of tampering than Judge’s innocent words did. Hopefully, MLB, at the very least, issues the same type of warning to Harper as they did Judge.  In my mind, Harper’s words are premeditated as he has been saying for days that he intends to recruit players to come to Philadelphia to play. Judge’s comments seemed to be a random, spur of the moment thing.

Not sure what I think about Sonny Gray’s comments yesterday. In large part, I think his interview with Eno Sarris of The Athletic was taken out of context. Still, Gray was a little harsh in his words when he said the Yankees “love sliders” and added “Sliders are a great pitch. The numbers say slider is a good pitch, but you might not realize how many shitty counts you’re getting in while throwing all those sliders. They wanted me to be (Masahiro) Tanaka and I’m way different from him.” In describing his lack of command with his slider, Gray said, “When I try to throw sliders for a strike, I get around it and it’s just a shitty spinning pitch. I don’t know how people throw sliders for strikes that are still tight, good pitches. I’m at 2-0 and I’m throwing a slider, and either I’m throwing a shitty slider in the zone, or I’m yanking it into the direct and it’s 3-0 and I’m screwed either way.” Frankly, these words make me question Gray’s decisions on the mound.  He is in control of the pitches he throws.

I thought Manager Aaron Boone responded well when asked about Gray’s “shitty” comments. “We tried as best we could to try to get him to be successful,” Boone conveyed.  “I think we all kind of shared in the frustration at times. I know he was frustrated. We were. But we just tried to get him to be the best he could be and as successful as he could be.” Regarding the slider, Boone added “I don’t know if I’d characterize it as we pushed him to throw sliders. He throws a slider.”

I am glad that Sonny is a Cincinnati Red and not a New York Yankee. Some guys just aren’t made for the Pinstripes and Gray was not. I wish him the best in Cincinnati but I hope he takes the high road moving forward. It didn’t work out for him in New York. It happens. New York is not Oakland nor is it Cincinnati. The Big Apple is not for everyone. He has a clean slate in his new city to rewrite his accomplishments. Have at it. As for the past, it’s just water under the bridge.

Gray’s comments also brought around a new round of hate directed at Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild. While I may not be a big fan of Rothschild, I recognize the Yankees have great faith and trust in the man and he is recognized, right or wrong, as one of the best pitching coaches in the business.  I also know the Yankees know more about Yankee players and coaches than I do. As long as they believe in Rothschild, I will too.  As for Aaron Boone, I really believe we’ll see an improved version in 2019 now that he has a season under his belt. There is an inevitable learning curve for any first-time manager. The Yankees knew it when they made the decision to go with Boone prior to last season. To expect him to manage a game, at the beginning of his managerial career, as well as Terry Francona or even Alex Cora, who had a year as a bench coach on a World Series championship team, is foolish and set false expectations. I think Boone will be better this year as I expect he’ll be even better in 2020. Contrary to what some may believe, the Yankees can win a World Series with Aaron Boone as the manager. He is universally liked by the players, the Front Office and the Steinbrenner Family. I am probably less concerned about the last two but as long as Boone has control of the clubhouse, all is good. As they say, analytics drive decisions these days anyway. I do not feel that either Boone or Rothschild will hold this team back from achieving its destiny if the team believes it can.    

As always, Go Yankees!

Predicting the 2019 Season: The Standings

The 2018 saw three teams in the American League win at least 100 games, but on the flip side of that coin we also watched as teams like the Kansas City Royals, Baltimore Orioles, and others struggled mightily to win games all season long. To have just one team win 100 games is not the most common thing in the league in recent memory, so to have three is downright special. Will we see a repeat of that here in 2019? Only time will tell, but I will do my best to predict whether they will, or they won’t, as well as what teams will make the postseason and win their respective divisions as well. Bookmark this. I have a feeling by the end of the season I will be eating a whole lot of crow with these predictions, as usual.

American League East

New York Yankees: 96-66

Boston Red Sox: 92-70

Tampa Bay Rays: 87-75

Toronto Blue Jays: 66-96

Baltimore Orioles: 59-103

I know, most will call me a homer for picking the New York Yankees to win the division. Guess what? I don’t care. Maybe I am a homer, or maybe I can just see better than most that the team has done a lot to improve themselves here in 2019, especially on the pitching side of things. Boston will undoubtedly take a step back with that bullpen and the loss of Craig Kimbrel while you cannot expect Ian Snell to repeat what he did in 2018. Not to say that the Red Sox or Rays are necessarily worse teams in 2019, but an awful lot has to go right for a team to win 90 games, 100 games, or even 108 games. There’s a certain luck factor there and that historically just doesn’t translate from year-to-year.

American League Central

Cleveland Indians: 88-76

Minnesota Twins: 82-80

Chicago White Sox: 74-88

Detroit Tigers: 72-90

Kansas City Royals: 70-92

I don’t think there are any real surprises here other than maybe the win total of the Minnesota Twins. I know the Twins lost one of their better and more consistent starters, when healthy, in Ervin Santana, but I really like the young core of guys that the Twins have. Extending a couple of their guys allows them to focus solely on the game, and that generally translates into production on the field. I think they will at least be in the conversation for the second Wild Card this season, assuming the health of their key contributors.

American League West

Oakland Athletics: 91-71

Houston Astros: 90-72

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: 81-81

Texas Rangers: 73-89

Seattle Mariners: 70-92

Kill me if you want to, but the Houston Astros lost a whole lot of pitching this offseason, Justin Verlander has to age eventually, and the Oakland Athletics are just a damn good team. I could end up with egg on my face by the end of the season, but these are my predictions regardless. Also, I love how Seattle “reinvented their roster” rather than rebuild the team. Same difference, at least according to the above.

Wild Card #1 – Boston Red Sox

Wild Card #2 – Houston Astros

National League East

Atlanta Braves: 93-69

Washington Nationals: 91-71

Philadelphia Phillies: 88-74

New York Mets: 80-82

Miami Marlins: 60-102

I truly believe that the Atlanta Braves are a much better team than they were in 2018, and here’s why. Josh Donaldson, if healthy and we all presume he will be, is a monster on a one-year deal and will provide a legitimate bat in the middle of that lineup. I also think that Brian McCann, even a shell of his former self, will help more than can be expressed or quantified with the Braves pitching staff. I expect Washington to be in the thick of things again and better than they were last year, maybe even in spite of Bryce Harper, while the Phillies “stupid money” offseason plan will fall just short.

National League Central

Milwaukee Brewers: 91-71

St. Louis Cardinals: 87-75

Chicago Cubs: 85-77

Cincinnati Reds: 81-81

Pittsburgh Pirates: 80-82

I think the NL Central will be the most competitive division in all of Major League Baseball in 2019. The Brewers should be the cream of the crop, but the Cardinals and Cubs should be right on their tails for much of the season. The Reds added a ton of pitching to go with their young group of players while the Pirates, while still rebuilding, still have great pitching with Chris Archer and others.

National League West

Los Angeles Dodgers: 97-65

Colorado Rockies: 89-73

San Diego Padres: 80-82

San Francisco Giants: 75-87

Arizona Diamondbacks: 73-89

No, I am not jumping on the Manny Machado bandwagon and donning him the reason the Padres improve by 16 games in 2019. He will help, sure, but the Padres have a great young team that is absolutely stacked with talent. That, alongside Machado, will be the reason the Padres make a real stride this season. I expect Eric Hosmer to be better as well, compared to what he produced in Kansas City to what he did in San Diego he almost has to improve you would think, which should help the Padres win more games in what should be a weaker division overall in 2019.

Wild Card #1 - Washington Nationals

Wild Card #2 - Colorado Rockies

What will happen in the postseason? You have to tune in tomorrow to find out!

Meet the 2019 Yankees: Mike Harkey

If you thought the Yankees pitching staff was good in 2018, wait until you see the 2019 version. With another year of experience under the belt of the likes of Luis Severino and others, the team should be just as good, if not better here in 2019 for a plethora of reasons. A full season of JA Happ, a more productive season by Masahiro Tanaka, the addition of James Paxton, and another great bullpen behind their starters should only help New York grow and achieve their goals here in 2019. The man in charge of that bullpen is a holdover from the Joe Girardi era and the current bullpen coach Mike Harkey. Let’s meet him. This is Meet a Coach: The Mike Harkey Edition.


Michael Anthony Harkey was born on October 25, 1966 and is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Before Harkey made it to the Show he was a Titan, a California State University Fullerton Titan. Harkey played college baseball at CSU Fullerton where he caught the eye of the Chicago Cubs who made him their first-round pick in the 1987 MLB First Year Players Draft. Harkey was not long for the Minor Leagues as he made his Major League debut with Chicago during the 1988 season.

When all was said and done Harkey appeared in 131 Major League games with the Chicago Cubs, the Colorado Rockies, the Oakland Athletics, the California Angels and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Harkey played in the Major Leagues during the 1988 season, the 1990 through the 1995 seasons, and finally the 1997 season before his eventual retirement. During his early years with the Cubs the current Yankees bullpen coach was plagued by shoulder and arm injuries as well as a knee injury in 1992 that occurred during a cartwheel attempt at Wrigley Field.


Harkey played through the 1997 season at the Major League level before taking a couple years away from the game after his retirement. Harkey returned to the game in 2000 when he accepted a position as a pitching coach in the Minor Leagues with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Harkey served in the same position with the Fort Wayne Wizards in 2001 and 2003, the Lake Elsinore Storm in 2002 and 2004, the Mobile BayBears in 2005, and the Iowa Cubs in 2007. Harkey did get a shot at the Major League level with the Florida Marlins in 2006, although the team struggled under new manager Joe Girardi.


Harkey would follow manager Joe Girardi to the New York Yankees for the 2008 season, once again as a pitching coach, after the Bronx Bombers hired Girardi to replace long-tenured manager Joe Torre. While the Yankees missed the playoffs for the first time in nearly two decades under Girardi’s and Harkey’s watch in 2008, the team bounced back in 2009 to win the World Series and get both men their first World Series ring as coaches and managers. Harkey stayed with the Yankees as the bullpen coach for six seasons through the 2013 season until the Arizona Diamondbacks came calling with an offer for Harkey to be the team’s pitching coach.

Harkey has minimal success with the Diamondbacks from 2013-2015 and was eventually fired by the club after the 2015 season. Harkey would return to the New York Yankees for the 2016 season and remains their today, still as the team’s bullpen coach. There was much speculation as to whether Harkey would return to the Yankees this season given his close friendship and presumable loyalty to the recently fired Joe Girardi, but Harkey remained with the organization at least through the 2019 season under new manager Aaron Boone. Harkey came back for the 2019 season as well under Boone and the Yankees, so a huge welcome back to him!

Good luck on another season Harkey, do us proud. You have a lot of weapons to work with down there, it should be a fun season for you here in 2019.

The Sonny Gray Seige Finally Ends...

Photo Credit: New York Post (Paul J Bereswill)

Trade to Cincinnati is finally confirmed...

Jeff Passan and Ken Rosenthal (two sources!) brought great news to the Yankees Universe this afternoon with word the Sonny Gray trade with the Cincinnati Reds has been finalized.  Hallelujah!

LHP Reiver Sanmartin will accompany Gray to Cincinnati as part of the trade.  Martin was acquired from the Texas Rangers in November 2017 in a minor trade that sent RHP Ronald Herrera to the Rangers.  Martin was most recently with the Double A Tampa Tarpons.

As expected, the Yankees receive second baseman Shed Long and a competitive balance draft pick.  For more information on Shed Long, please see the Meet A Prospect posted earlier today by Daniel Burch.

Oops, scratch that.  Passan is reporting the Seattle Mariners are involved in the trade which will send Long to the Great Northwest.  Centerfield prospect Josh Stowers, currently rated as the Number 10 prospect for the Mariners by MLB.com, will head to the Bronx.  The 21-year-old Stowers spent last season with the Everett (WA) AquaSox (A Short).  He played 58 games, hitting 5 homers and 28 RBIs in 200 at-bats.  His batting line was .260/.380/.410 with .790 OPS. Stowers was Seattle's 2nd round pick (54th overall) in last year's MLB Draft.

Photo Credit: MiLB.com (Shari Sommerfield)

If true, this does free up a spot on the 40-man roster as Adam Ottavino, once his signing is official, will simply take Gray's spot.  While Long was on Cincinnati's 40-man roster, Stowers is a couple of years away before he needs to be protected.  Luis Cessa lives to see another day.

Per Rosenthal, Gray's extension with the Reds is for three years at $30.5 million.  He was already scheduled to receive $7.5 million for the upcoming season so the extension kicks in with the 2020 season, essentially giving the Reds four years of control.  The extension includes a club option for 2023 at $12 million.  Rosenthal indicated all salaries can grow based on numerous escalators.  There is also an incentive of $500,000 per year if Gray reaches a minimum number of innings pitched in each given year.

I think this is a great deal for Sonny Gray and his family.  He has financial security and will not have to face the gloomy free agent market next fall.  He gets to play in a lower-pressurized environment and he has a very good chance to rebuild his image through better performance.

I am so thankful the Sonny Gray Era has ended.  We can finally move on with our lives.

Sonny Gray Trade? Hold, Please...

And We Continue to Wait for Gray’s Departure…

I had two wishes for Sunday and neither one materialized for me. Sonny Gray is still a Yankee and the New England Patriots are headed to the Super Bowl. Some sports days really suck. Well, I guess it could be worse. It wouldn’t be fun to be a New Orleans Saints fan today but aside from their pain, yesterday was quite forgettable all things considered. Nevertheless, today is a new day and another opportunity to rip the Pinstripes off Sonny Douglas Gray. Please, Brian Cashman, work your magic and make it happen.

The hang up with the Cincinnati Reds appears to be their desire to sign Sonny, a free agent after the season, to an extension. Reports indicate the Reds have until later today (the conclusion of a 72-hour window) to see if they can get Sonny to put pen to paper.  MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch is reporting the deadline is sometime this evening.  Until the deal is finalized, there is a chance it could break down and the Yankees would need to pivot to other opportunities to unload young Mr Gray. 

Jon Heyman’s tweet yesterday that ended with “…or keep him” was rather jarring to me. Look, I want Sonny Gray to do well at his next destination. I hope the dude recaptures the luster he once had in Oakland and puts himself into Cy Young consideration in future years. But, and that’s a very BIG but, I do not want him on the 2019 New York Yankees. I’ve seen enough shades of Gray at Yankee Stadium. 

Photo Credit: AP (Julie Jacobson)

Despite Great American Park not being known as a pitcher’s park, Cincinnati seems to have everything that would appeal to Sonny. It’s approximately 275 miles from his home in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s a young team that has added some interesting pieces this off-season with Tanner Roark, Alex Wood, Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp. They have Joey Votto and a sound closer in Raisel Iglesias. A quick check of the current Reds roster shows that his old Oakland number and the number previously worn in Cincinnati by Aroldis Chapman (54) is available. The pitching coach is Derek Johnson who happened to be Sonny’s pitching coach at Vanderbilt. Cincinnati is considered a less-pressurized small market but a team with some history and tradition. I am sure that Yankees manager Aaron Boone could give some great insight into life in Cincinnati. Oh, wait a minute, Sonny has not heard from the Yankees since the off-season began. Scratch a talk with Boonie. The Reds offer a rotation that would not put any undue pressure on Gray.  He could be the best starter or he could be the worst. It’s really up to him and I think Reds fans will be more forgiving than us. 

Cash, get the Gray trade closed! We have faith in you.

I still don’t get why there is resistance among the fanbase for Adam Ottavino to be the first Yankee to wear the number 0. I am not sure if it is because “0” is not really a number, the fact no Yankee has ever worn the number or a preference for Derek Jeter to be the one to last wear a single digit number. Maybe there are other reasons but I really have no reason to believe Otto should not wear the number. Give it to the man. He’s a native New Yorker and he’s going to wear the Pinstripes proud. 

Emily Waldon of The Athletic recently reported the Yankees will attend a showcase for RHP Rookie Davis and LHP Adam Libertore on January 31st. Libertore, a 31-year-old former Dodgers reliever who was cut last August, does not really interest me, but I’d like to see the Yankees bring back Davis for an opportunity to kick start his career again. Davis was part of the deal that originally brought Aroldis Chapman to New York. Davis was one of four Yankees who went to Cincinnati, and he probably had the most success which really isn’t saying much since none of them panned out for the Reds. Davis underwent hip surgery in October 2017 and missed most of 2018 on the disabled list.  Davis appeared in seven games for the Reds in 2017 with six starts. The numbers were awful: 1-3, 8.63 ERA, giving up 38 hits, 23 earned runs, and 7 homers in 24 innings pitched. However, he was once a bright prospect and will only be 26 in late April.  Not sure if anything is there, but why not. I wouldn’t bring him in on a Major League deal but a minor league contract to allow him to rebuild value works for me assuming it works for him. 

Photo Credit: Cincinnati Enquirer (Zach Buchanan)

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr Day so let’s honor and remember one of the greatest men in American history. He may be gone but his voice is heard loudly today and will continue to resonate through many tomorrows to come.

  

As always, Go Yankees!

Meet a Prospect: Shed Long

The New York Yankees made a trade with the Cincinnati Reds this week that sent right-handed pitcher Sonny Gray to Cincinnati, while 2B prospect Shed Long, a draft pick, and a player to be named later returned to New York. Long was considered the Reds 6^th or 7^th best prospect in a great farm system, depending on what list you check, and could be a considerable talent for the New York Yankees going forward in their farm system… so let’s meet him. This is Meet a Prospect: The Shed Long Edition.

Shedric Bernard Long was born on August 22, 1995 and attended High School at Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, Alabama. While attending he played baseball for the school’s team and caught the attention of the Cincinnati Reds who drafted the then catcher in the 12^th round of the 2013 MLB First Year Players Draft. Long made his professional debut with the Arizona League Reds almost immediately after signing and finished his first pro season with a .256 batting average with one home run and eight RBI in 24 games played. Long played behind the plate again during the 2014 season before the Reds moved him to second base before the 2015 season with the Dayton Dragons. Long continued to work his way up the Reds organizational ladder until he was added to Cincinnati’s 40-man roster after the 2017 season. Shed spent the 2018 season in Double-A with the Pensacola Wahoo’s where he hit .261 with 12 home runs and 56 RBI in 126 games.

Long is just 5’8” and 180 lbs. Long hits from the left-side but throws from the right in the field at second base. Long has shown surprising power in the minor leagues and has even drawn praise from a Hall of Fame player in Barry Larkin. Larkin, in an interview with Cincinnati.com, said of Long, “Certainly, talent wise, he has big-league talent, no doubt about it.” Larkin went on to mention that Long has to work on the mental aspect of the game, but honestly that could probably be said about any minor league player, especially one that was drafted out of High School.

Here is a short clip from Bobby Nightengale, son of Bob Nightengale, showcasing Shed Long smacking a two-run single in the 3^rd inning of an Arizona Fall League game.

Shed Long, in his third plate appearance of Arizona Fall League, smacked a 2-run single in the 3rd inning. #Reds pic.twitter.com/mJOanaORoU

— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) October 11, 2018

And here are some stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.

Register Batting

Year	Age	Tm	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2013	17	Reds	24	88	78	9	20	2	0	1	8	1	1	17	.256	.333	.321	.654
2014	18	Billings	29	93	87	6	15	3	0	0	6	2	1	18	.172	.217	.207	.424
2015	19	Dayton	42	173	152	22	43	7	2	6	16	2	3	31	.283	.363	.474	.836
2016	20	2 Teams	132	548	478	69	140	30	5	15	75	21	4	120	.293	.371	.471	.842
2016	20	Daytona	38	159	143	22	46	6	4	4	30	5	1	35	.322	.371	.503	.875
2016	20	Dayton	94	389	335	47	94	24	1	11	45	16	3	85	.281	.371	.457	.828
2017	21	2 Teams	104	439	388	50	109	22	3	16	50	9	4	94	.281	.358	.477	.834
2017	21	Pensacola	42	160	141	13	32	6	2	3	14	3	1	31	.227	.319	.362	.680
2017	21	Daytona	62	279	247	37	77	16	1	13	36	6	3	63	.312	.380	.543	.922
2018	22	Pensacola	126	522	452	75	118	22	5	12	56	19	6	123	.261	.353	.412	.765
2018	22	Scottsdale	19	66	58	6	14	2	1	0	8	3	1	15	.241	.333	.310	.644
Mino	Mino	Mino	457	1863	1635	231	445	86	15	50	211	54	19	403	.272	.353	.435	.788
All	All	All	476	1929	1693	237	459	88	16	50	219	57	20	418	.271	.352	.431	.783

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

With that said, welcome to the organization, Shed, and welcome to the Yankees family! (pending an extension with Sonny Gray for Cincinnati)

Yankees Close to Sonny Gray Trade...

Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports (Noah K Murray)

Right-hander Appears Headed to Cincy…

It has not yet been finalized but it appears the Yankees are finally close to trading right-hander Sonny Douglas Gray to the Cincinnati Reds. Hopefully there are no last minute snags and this one gets pushed across the finish line.

For Gray, he’ll get a chance for redemption with Cincinnati, which is less than 300 miles from his Nashville, Tennessee home. The Reds have been one of MLB’s most active teams this off-season, having already rebuilt their pitching staff with the acquisitions of Tanner Roark from the Washington Nationals and Alex Wood, formerly of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They’ll join holdovers Anthony DeSclafani and Luis Castillo to provide the Reds with a solid starting rotation. Maybe not good enough to win the NL Central over the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers or St Lous Cardinals, but they’ll be better. Gray will also reunite with his pitching coach at Vanderbilt, Derek Johnson, who was named the Reds’ pitching coach in November. Maybe Johnson can do what Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild was unable to do. 

While I wanted Gray to leave, there is some sadness that it did not work out for him in New York. I think all of us were excited when the Yankees acquired him from the Oakland A’s in the summer of 2017. We thought he was the missing ace that could be paired with Luis Severino to provide the Yankees with two young stars atop the rotation. Unfortunately, it was never meant to be and now Gray gets a change of scenery that will hopefully benefit him and help restore some of his luster as he heads into his walk year at the age of 29. I wish him the best and I do hope that he pitches more like the ace he once was in Oakland.  

The Yankees will reportedly receive second base prospect Shed Long from the Reds. The 23-year-old Long, only 5’8” and 184 lbs, is rated as Cincinnati’s seventh best prospect per MLB.com. He is recognized as an excellent lefty hitter who has worked hard to bring up his defense to at least average. He spent last year in Double A with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos where he hit .261/.353/.412, .765 OPS and 120 +wRC+, with 12 home runs and 56 RBIs. Long has a little speed in those short legs, picking up 19 steals in 25 attempts. I probably would have preferred catching prospect Tyler Stephenson but the Reds resisted the Yankees’ attempts to pry him loose. Regardless, Long is a legitimate prospect and presumably will begin the year with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. His defense leads to speculation that he may need to be moved to a corner outfield position but all reports indicate he is working hard to improve his defensive game.  

Photo Credit: Cincinnati Enquirer (Kareem Elgazzar)

The Yankees will also apparently receive a competitive balance draft pick and a lesser minor league player. I doubt the second minor leaguer will be much but I will be anxious to see who the Yankees draft next summer with the draft pick. 

Many fans are calling this a heist for Yankees GM Brian Cashman. I guess my expectations are a bit more tempered. I need time to see how this plays out. There’s a good chance that Gray recaptures his magic in Ohio and until the prospects reach the Show, they’ve proven nothing.  

Since Long was on the Reds’ 40-man roster, the trade does not free up a spot for newly signed reliever Adam Ottavino. My hope is that we’ve reached the end of the line for RHP Luis Cessa, but the realist in me believes it will be RHP Ben Heller who continues to recover and rehab from last summer’s Tommy John surgery. The Yankees would hold out hope Heller goes unclaimed so that they can outright him to Triple A, but if I was a team with roster space, I’d make a claim to add Heller.  

Now that Gray is nearly out of the picture, Jonathan Loaisiga and Domingo German represent the insurance for CC Sabathia in the starting rotation. The Yankees also are bringing non-roster invitee RHP Drew Hutchison to Spring Training. There’s still time for Cashman to find another arm to bring to camp which is the current expectation.  

Let’s hope Cashman can seal the deal with the Reds today so that we can move on.

The upcoming week looms big for the Yankees. On Tuesday, the latest Hall of Fame selections will be announced. Leading the charge is the legendary Mariano Rivera who will make the Hall on his first ballot as the greatest Closer in Major League history. 

Photo Credit: Newsday (Thomas A Ferrera)

I am not setting myself up for the expectation that Mo will be unanimously voted in even though he should be. While he has appeared on all publicly revealed ballots, I expect someone to exclude him on the undisclosed ballots. While we may want Rivera, my favorite Yankee during his playing days (sorry Derek Jeter fans), to be unanimous, the bottom line is the guy will be a Hall of Famer. I don’t care about the final voting results as long as they ensure Rivera will be Cooperstown, New York this summer. Hopefully Mike Mussina will be there as well even if he has to wear an Orioles cap. I’d prefer he wears a Yankees cap but there is no dispute he was a great pitcher in Baltimore, his original team. I know I always hated it when the Yankees faced him. Generally-speaking, it did not go well for the Yankees.  

Today is a big football day with the AFC and NFC Championship Games. It’s time for some disappointment in Boston so hopefully Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs punch their ticket for the Super Bowl and send the New England Patriots home for the off-season. On the NFC side, I’m pulling for the Los Angeles Rams although it won’t be a disappointment if the New Orleans Saints advance. My only hope for today is a Boston loss…and for the Gray trade to be finalized.

As always, Go Yankees!