Yankees Sign Hicks to 7-Year Deal Worth $70 Million

The New York Yankees have signed Aaron Hicks to a new seven-year deal worth $70 million that will begin in 2019 and keep the switch-hitter in Yankees pinstripes through his age 35 season. There is also a club option for an 8th season. The deal runs from age 29 until Hicks is 35, 36 if the club option is exercised.

Here is a breakdown of what the deal looks like:

2019 - $6 million salary, plus $2 million signing bonus
2020- $10.5 million
2021 - $10.5 million
2022 - $10.5 million
2023 - $10.5 million
2024 - $9.5 million
2025 - $9.5 million
2026 - $12.5 million club option or $1 million buyout

Hicks does not receive a no-trade clause, but gets $1 million in bonus money if traded

FYI, according to Fangraphs and their "value" stat, Hicks was worth a $26.4 million contract in 2017 and worth a $39 million contract in 2018... and the Yankees just got him for $10 million a season.

The Red Sox Offense vs. CC Sabathia Career

All stats and imagery credit go to ESPN and Baseball Reference. 

The Yankees Offense vs. Rick Porcello Career

All stats and imagery credit go to ESPN and Baseball Reference.

The Red Sox Offense vs. Masahiro Tanaka – Career

Masahiro Tanaka wants Red Sox blood, and he is going to have all he can handle tonight inside Fenway Park. Do these stats matter tonight? Probably not, especially given how much rest the Japanese-born right-hander will have tonight. Enjoy!

All stats and imagery credit go to ESPN and Baseball Reference.

The Yankees Offense vs. David Price – Career

David Price has to have a mental block built up when facing the New York Yankees by now. If he doesn’t, he should anyway. Price has officially become his own worst enemy against New York, adding in the playoff atmosphere and all the bright lights that the postseason brings, and this may be a fun game for the Yankees offense and fanbase alike.

All stats and imagery credit go to ESPN and Baseball Reference.

The Red Sox Offense vs. JA Happ – Career

JA Happ was held back from the AL Wild Card Game specifically to pitch against the Boston Red Sox twice in a potential five-game series. Was that a wise choice? History would seem to indicate that it was, but will it mean anything in October? Stay tuned…

All stats and imagery credit go to ESPN and Baseball Reference.

The Yankees Offense vs. Chris Sale – Career

What have the New York Yankees done against tonight’s Boston starter, Chris Sale, throughout their careers? And does it mean anything for tonight? Only one way to find out, stay tuned…

All stats and imagery credit go to ESPN and Baseball Reference.

Yankees Statistical Leaders Through 162 Games

The Yankees Offense

At Bats:

Giancarlo Stanton – 617

Games:

Giancarlo Stanton – 158

Hits:

Miguel Andujar – 170

Doubles:

Miguel Andujar - 47

Home Runs:

Giancarlo Stanton - 38

RBI:

Giancarlo Stanton - 100

Batting Average:

Miguel Andujar - .297

Aaron Judge - .278

The Yankees Pitching

Wins:

Luis Severino – 19

Losses:

Sonny Gray – 9 

ERA:

Starters:  JA Happ – 2.69 ERA

Bullpen:  Aroldis Chapman – 2.45 ERA

Strikeouts:

Starters: Luis Severino – 220 K’s

Bullpen: Dellin Betances – 115 K’s

Saves:

Aroldis Chapman – 32

Shutouts:

Luis Severino – 1

Masahiro Tanaka - 1

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference

Hello… Respecting Jacob deGrom’s 2018 Season

Good morning Yankees family and welcome back to the blog. Give credit where credit is due, Jacob deGrom was an absolute animal here in 2018 despite not having much of a team behind him to speak of. I saw this tweet on Twitter the other day, but I cannot find it since so I am having to paraphrase (after doing the research myself on Baseball Reference).

If the Mets had scored just four runs or more in each of deGrom’s starts entering last night the Mets righty would be 30-0.

If the Mets had scored just three runs deGrom would have been 25-1.

If the Mets gad scored just two runs deGrom would have been 20-6.

Tell me again why New York held onto him at the trading deadline?

Baby, I love you and I hope you have the very best day.

Yankees Statistical Leaders Through 149 Games

The Yankees Offense

At Bats:

Giancarlo Stanton – 573

Games:

Giancarlo Stanton – 147

Hits:

Miguel Andujar – 156

Doubles:

Miguel Andujar - 40

Home Runs:

Giancarlo Stanton - 34

RBI:

Giancarlo Stanton - 89

Batting Average:

Miguel Andujar - .298

Aaron Judge - .285

The Yankees Pitching

Wins:

Luis Severino – 17

Losses:

Sonny Gray – 9 

ERA:

Starters:  JA Happ – 2.70 ERA

Bullpen:  Aroldis Chapman – 2.11 ERA

Strikeouts:

Starters: Luis Severino – 207 K’s

Bullpen: Dellin Betances – 108 K’s

Saves:

Aroldis Chapman – 31

Shutouts:

Luis Severino – 1

Masahiro Tanaka - 1

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference

Andrew McCutchen Brings a “Clutch” Factor the Yankees Have Been Missing

The New York Yankees this season have not been “clutch” here in 2018 like they were during the 2017 season. If that is even a real thing or whether it is merely something made up by fans and sports writers remains to be seen, but it has gained enough steam regardless among the baseball community that Baseball Reference (and I’m sure others) have tried to find a way to quantify it. Enter Baseball Reference’s “Leverage” stat. Basically what the leverage stat tabulates is a player’s performance in high, medium, and low leverage situations. For example, having the bases loaded with two outs would be considered a “high” leverage stat, while leading off a game would be considered a “low” leverage situation. If you want to know the exact verbiage and the way the stat is tabulated head over to Baseball Reference for their in-depth explanation.

Here are McCutchen’s stats in each leverage situation, courtesy of Baseball Reference:

As you can see McCutchen is a different, and better, hitter in high leverage situations than he is in low or even medium leverage situations, which can only be a good thing for the Yankees heading into the postseason.

Let’s compare that to someone who is universally thought of as “clutch” on this team, Brett Gardner:

Many also consider Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres, albeit in small sample sizes, to be clutch as well:

Torres:

Andujar:

This, my friends, is how you win in October, and this is how you win a World Series. This team is built to do so whether the naysayers believe it or not, now they just have to do it. *Insert Nike add mocking Colin Kaepernick while inserting a Yankees face into the meme*

Yankees Statistical Leaders Through 78 Games

The Yankees Offense

At Bats:

Giancarlo Stanton – 302

Games:

Giancarlo Stanton – 77

Hits:

Giancarlo Stanton - 80

Doubles:

Miguel Andujar - 23

Home Runs:

Aaron Judge - 20

RBI:

Aaron Judge - 52

Batting Average:

Gleyber Torres - .284

Aaron Judge - .277

The Yankees Pitching

Wins:

Luis Severino – 12

Losses:

Sonny Gray – 5 

ERA:

Starters:  Luis Severino - 2.10 ERA

Bullpen:  Aroldis Chapman - 1.29 ERA

Strikeouts:

Starters: Luis Severino – 132 K’s

Bullpen: Dellin Betances – 62 K’s

Saves:

Aroldis Chapman – 23

Shutouts:

Luis Severino – 1

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference

New Faces & Slow Starts in New York Are Nothing New

There is a lot that can be said about the George Steinbrenner era of New York Yankees baseball, but one thing that could not be said is that the team did not tend to always get their man. If the Yankees needed a first baseman they went out and got the best first baseman available each and every time. Need a pitcher? A few days after the determination was made prospects were being shipped out the door and a fresh new arm was headed to the Bronx. It was where the “Get Greedy” mantra began, and we got a glimpse of the past this winter when Brian Cashman and son of the Boss, Hal Steinbrenner, acquired reigning NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton from the Miami Marlins. Stanton has started his Yankees tenure off slower than expected, but he isn’t the first big time Yankees slugger to be acquired only to have a slow start to his Big Apple career. Let’s compare.

We all as Yankees fans know that there have been a few key acquisitions that started awfully slow, but ultimately rebounded to have good first seasons in New York and career's with the Yankees. That list of names includes Alex Rodriguez who was acquired in a trade with the Texas Rangers, Jason Giambi who was signed as a free agent from the Oakland Athletics and Johnny Damon who was signed as a free agent after leaving the Boston Red Sox. Does their past give us hope for Giancarlo Stanton's future?

Alex Rodriguez

2003 w/ TEX: .298/.396/.600/.995 with 47 HR and 118 RBI

2004 w/ NYY: .286/.375/.512/.888 with 36 HR and 106 RBI

Career w/ NYY: .283/.378/.523/.900 with 351 HR and 1096 RBI (12 seasons)

Jason Giambi

2001 w/ OAK: .342/.477/.660/1.137 with 38 HR and 128 RBI

2002 w/ NYY: .314/.435/.598/1.034 with 41 HR and 122 RBI

Career w/ NYY: .260/.404/.521/.925 with 209 HR and 604 RBI (7 seasons)

Johnny Damon

2005 w/ BOS: .316/.366/.439/.805 with 20 HR and 94 RBI

2006 w/ NYY: .285/.359/.482/.841 with 24 HR and 80 RBI

Career w/ NYY: .285/.363/.458/.821 with 77 HR and 296 RBI (4 seasons)

Giancarlo Stanton

2017 w/ MIA: .281/.376/.631/1.007 with 59 HR and 132 RBI

2018 w/ NYY: .227/.313/.455/.768 with 7 HR and 19 RBI (34 games)

Career w/ NYY: Stay tuned

As you can see a slow start or even a bad season to begin their tenures do not always spell the end or doomsday for these players. Stanton has plenty of contract left and an immense amount of talent to showcase before his Yankees tenure is in the books. I wasn’t worried when Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi or Johnny Damon got off to slower starts than you would like, and I am not worried about Stanton’s slow start either. We will try and revisit this post in October, that will be more telling than his stats as we entered the week here in May.

I said all that to say this, some fans need to just calm the hell down.

All stats courtesy of and thanks to Baseball Reference.

Yankees 2018 Statistical Leaders Through 34 Games

The New York Yankees were off yesterday after sweeping the Cleveland Indians at home over the weekend in the Bronx which gave us the perfect opportunity to check in with the boys in Pinstripes. Who is doing the most damage? Who can beat their chest the most like LeBron James after a buzzer-beating one-handed floater in the NBA Playoffs after this post goes live? And who should be worried with the impending returns of Brandon Drury and Greg Bird off the disabled list? Keep reading to find out…

The Yankees Offense

At Bats:

Giancarlo Stanton – 132

Games:

Giancarlo Stanton & Aaron Judge – 34 each

Hits:

Aaron Judge & Didi Gregorius – 37 each

Doubles:

Miguel Andujar - 12

Home Runs:

Didi Gregorius - 10

RBI:

Didi Gregorius – 30

Batting Average:

Didi Gregorius - .311

The Yankees Pitching

Wins:

Luis Severino – 5

Losses:

Masahiro Tanaka & Sonny Gray – 2 each

ERA:

Starters:  CC Sabathia - 1.39 ERA

Bullpen:  Aroldis Chapman - 1.80 ERA

Strikeouts:

Starters: Luis Severino – 52 K’s

Bullpen: Aroldis Chapman – 30 K’s

Saves:

Aroldis Chapman – 7 saves

Shutouts:

Luis Severino – 1

While it is still early, and the sample sizes are still pretty small it is easy to see who is carrying both the Yankees offense and the pitching staff right now. Didi Gregorius has gotten off to a red-hot start while Aaron Judge continues to be, well, Aaron Judge. Luis Severino is the ace of the staff and Sonny Gray still hasn’t quite figured it out yeah. That’s all well and great as long as the team keeps winning, so keep winning. Enjoy your day and get ready to renew this rivalry tonight here in the Bronx.