Seriously, this is not 2009…

Credit:  William Perlman, The Star Ledger

I have to admit that I was not expecting CC Sabathia to be named the #2 starter in the rotation.  Last year, he was fighting Ivan Nova for the fifth spot, and this year he leap-frogs Michael Pineda?  He went 9-12 last year, with a 3.91 ERA in 30 starts.  Better than what we expected but certainly not front-of-the-line stats.  At this point in the former ace’s career, I just hope that we get 5 solid innings with the game still within reach at the time of the hand-off to the pen…and a few Hail Mary’s for that knee.  I get Joe Girardi’s logic.  It’s better to give the first series opponent, the Tampa Bay Rays, different looks with the ‘righty-lefty-righty’ strategy.  Still, I am not sure that I would have placed CC ahead of Pineda.  In the grand scheme of things, I know it doesn’t really matter and Girardi is already on record saying that he’ll skip the #5 spot early in the season due to the number of days off during the month so the top four will get their turns.  

My prime objective:  I want Michael Pineda motivated.  If this is something that helps spur him to his potential, so be it.  I still believe the success of the season depends upon Pineda.  If he is able to produce a career year, this should be a solid season for the Yankees.  Maybe not a World Series championship year, but they won’t be anybody’s pushover.  

I am not sure what to think about Luis Severino.  He always looks incredible in relief but continues to struggle when starting.  He finished off yesterday’s game with three scoreless innings in relief, with five strikeouts.  More about the game later, but he is an enigma.  I’ve heard people say that his only potential is in the bullpen with limited turns through an opposing batting order but I guess the optimist in me keeps hoping that he’ll put it together for a solid run in the rotation.  I want him to succeed and I hope that he delivers in 2017.

So, let’s say that Severino takes the #4 as originally expected.  I think I may be re-thinking the #5 spot.  Bryan Mitchell has been my favorite all spring but I am starting to climb aboard the Jordan Montgomery train.  I love the guy’s size and his no-fear approach for throwing inside.  As Daniel Burch has painstakingly detailed, Montgomery has proven himself in AA and AAA.  I’m in.  I am on Team Montgomery.  Let’s give him the ball.  Mitchell, go to the pen!

Training camp is getting smaller.  More players were re-directed to minor league camp for re-assignment.  RHP Luis Cessa is out of the competition for the #5 spot with his departure.  Others crossing the street are OF Clint Frazier, OF Dustin Fowler, OF Billy McKinney, 1B Ji-Man Choi and LHP Jason Gurka.  If he shows maturity  this season, I think Frazier will be a finalist for an Opening Day roster spot this time next year (sooner if Brett Gardner departs).  I’d love for Dustin Fowler to find a way, but the $89 million man is blocking his way in center.  

The Yankees received the first of their Rule 5 losses back, but unfortunately, it wasn’t one of the guys I am hoping for.  The Arizona Diamondbacks returned right-hander Tyler Jones.  At 27, Jones can’t rate as much of a prospect but he did put up solid numbers in the minors last year.  Jones pitched 8 games for the D-Backs this spring for 6 2/3 innings.  He failed a couple of save opportunities, and finished with a 4.05 ERA.  To his credit, he did strike out 8 batters.  It’s possible that we may see Jones in the Bronx for short stints via the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre shuttle this year.  Meanwhile, I continue waiting to see if Luis Torrens (San Diego) and/or Tyler Webb (Pittsburgh) will be returned.  Although I’d like to see both players back, it is very possible that one or both will be lost if they make Opening Day rosters (of course they do have to stick all season at the major league level or must be offered back to the Yankees).  

In yesterday’s Grapefruit League action, the Yankees won again.  They scored an improbable come-from-behind victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2, with names you definitely will not be hearing in the Bronx this year.  Trey Amburgey delivered the game-winning RBI with a single in the bottom of the 9th, scoring Wilkin Castillo.    Sabathia started the game and went 5 1/3 innings.  He allowed 9 hits but only gave up 2 runs as he worked out of trouble a few times.  Severino finished off the game with his masterful final three innings of no-hit ball to pick up the win.  Dellin Betances made his first appearance since the WBC for two outs in relief of Sabathia.  Aaron Judge’s arm also showed why he should be the team’s starting right fielder.       

The Yankees are now 20-7-1 as we begin the final curve before the home stretch to Opening Day.  Next week should be very interesting as the Yankees begin the final cuts in the march to 25.     

Have a great Saturday!

What Did the Yankees Lose in the Rule 5 Draft?

This is the busiest and most stressful, and wonderful of course as the Christmas song states, time of the year for me and my family. For that I apologize because I am a bit behind on my news so this morning and for most of today I’ll be trying to play catch up a bit. We begin with the Rule 5 Draft that happened on Thursday which saw the Yankees lose seven of their players to other teams, four in the Major League phase and three in the Minor League phase.

In the Major League phase the Cincinnati Reds took catcher Luis Torrens second overall and immediately traded him to the San Diego Padres, the Arizona Diamondbacks took RHP Tyler Jones 7^th, the Milwaukee Brewers took LHP Caleb Smith 9^th and immediately traded him to the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates took LHP Tyler Webb 13^th. Meanwhile in the minor league phase the Tampa Bay Rays took RHP Ty Hensley 4^th, the Kansas City Royals took RHP Kelvin Magallanes 15^th and the Chicago Cubs took infielder Kevin Cornelius.

Losing Torrens hurts a bit as he was once thought of to be the Yankees best catcher in the system, including Kyle Higashioka and Gary Sanchez. Torrens hasn’t hit much and he has missed parts or all of the last two seasons with shoulder injuries (torn labrum surgery) but he is still just 20-years old and was ranked as high as 17^th on Yankees Top 20 Prospects lists by MLB.com and Baseball America. I can’t see how a player who has played just 49 games in Low-A Ball can stick on a roster for an entire season, especially in the National League, and I can’t see why they would want him to as that would surely stunt his development in a huge way but there may be some sort of loophole or under-the-table type agreement where the Yankees are offered him back and refuse or something like that. Who knows?

Losing Webb, a MLB-ready left-handed relief pitcher, isn’t the biggest loss but that’s what I am saying now. Give the Yankees bullpen another injury or three and we may be all missing Webb here in a few months. He was almost a lock to be picked and he isn’t coming back without an injury or an implosion in Spring Training. Good luck to him in Pittsburgh.

Smith is also a left-handed reliever but he hasn’t pitched above Double-A during his minor league career. He is going to be a tough “stick” on the defending World Series champs roster but at this point in the game it doesn’t hurt to try. The Cubs obviously see something in him that other teams did not or they wouldn’t have used their selection on him.

Moving on to the minor league phase and the loss of Ty Hensley. As a fan and as a follower of his true determination, hard work and class this is crushing to me personally to lose him. I have the utmost respect for him and his family, especially his wonderful mother, but on the baseball side of things I don’t know whether to be upset or not. Since being drafted in 2012 Hensley has thrown just 42.1 professional innings and is not in the middle of rehabbing from his second Tommy John surgery since the draft. Throw a few other injuries on that pile including a hip and a hernia surgery and Houston, well now Tampa, we have a problem.

Magallanes is in Rookie ball and admittedly a name I had never heard before the draft while Cornelius is an organizational depth player at this point for the Cubs. They aren’t huge losses yet I hope they prove me wrong and get the playing time they need while in Kansas City and Chicago respectively.

As a reminder the four players in the Major League phase have to stick on the team’s 25 man roster all season long or they have to be offered back to the New York Yankees. This is not the case obviously in the Minor League phase, Hensley and company are no longer members of the organization going forward.

Yankees Also Sign Jonathan Diaz and Tyler Jones

The New York Yankees are doing everything they can to bulk up their depth in the minor leagues which was never more evident than after the team signed infielder Donovan Solano and acquired Kirby Yates from the Cleveland Indians. According to Matt Eddy of Baseball America the Yankees made a couple of other moves with Triple-A insurance and Scranton/Wilkes Barre depth when they signed infielder Jonathan Diaz and RHP Tyler Jones.

Diaz is primarily a shortstop but has also played a bit in the outfield, at third base and at second base in his professional career. Diaz has spent parts of the last three seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox and has earned a reputation for having a good on-base percentage, defense and being extremely versatile. Diaz could win the last bench job out of spring training but it's likely he will be the RailRiders utility player in 2016.

Jones is a classic starter turned reliever who was twice ranked in the Minnesota Twins Top 30 Prospects list according to Baseball America. Hones has a fastball that can get up into the upper 90's in velocity with nasty cut and sink. Jones is a classic strikeout pitcher and will be 26-years old in 2016. Jones, like recently traded Rookie Davis, finally reached Double-A last season and could be a Triple-A candidate depending on how spring competitions shake out.