Yankees Interested in David Phelps, AJ Ramos

The New York Yankees are said to be interested in adding to their bullpen during this year’s July 31^st trading deadline and the team’s search for bullpen relief may lead them to the Miami Marlins and a familiar face. According to reports the New York Yankees are said to be interested in both David Phelps and AJ Ramos of the Miami Marlins.

According to that guy that blocked us over at the New York Post because we broke a story before him and then requested that he at least mention us or credit us in his article the Yankees have been in connection with Miami regarding Justin Bour, which we knew and have reported here on the blog, but the Yankees have also been poking around asking about both Phelps and Ramos as well. Both Phelps and Ramos are under team control through the 2018 season.

Phelps should be familiar with New York and the atmosphere here as the righty pitched in the Bronx for three seasons before being traded to the Miami Marlins in the Martin Prado deal back in December of 2014.

Heading into the break here are the stat lines for both Phelps and Ramos from Baseball Reference:

There’s no speculation or reports on what it would take to land either of these arms, Bour or Martin Prado who the Yankees have also been linked to and I don’t pretend to know much about the status of the Miami Marlins farm system. It seems like Miami is destined towards another rebuild though and fire sale this July so that opens the door to a plethora of prospects options, something the Yankees have plenty of finally. Stay tuned as this develops, we’ll have it here. 

My MLB Midseason Awards

The Home Run Derby is over and the All-Star Game is in the books so what in the world do we talk about here on the blog until Friday when play resumes? Well how about we take advantage of the lull and bring you my midseason awards for all the major awards around Major League Baseball.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

MVP: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

Cy Young Award: Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox

Manager of the Year Award: Paul Molitor, Minnesota Twins

Rookie of the Year Award: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

All rise for the Judge. You may be seated. Really these picks are no-brainers in my opinion. Aaron Judge is dominating the world right now in every offensive category it feels like making him not only the obvious choice for the Rookie of the Year but for the MVP as well. Also, who is going to argue against Chris Sale for the AL Cy Young right now? That guy has been fantastic for Boston as much as I hate to admit and acknowledge that outloud. Then you have the Minnesota Twins who no one expected to compete in 2017 hanging around the top of the American League Central Division race and that is due in large part to the Hall of Famer, Paul Molitor. I wanted to go with AJ Hinch in this spot but he has much more talent and many more established players than Minnesota giving Molitor the slight edge in my book.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

MVP: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals

Cy Young Award: Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals

Manager of the Year Award: Torey Lovullo, Arizona Diamondbacks

Rookie of the Year Award: Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers

Trust me guys, I wanted to go with Paul Goldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the National League MVP Award. I did. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Harper has comparable or better stats in my opinion and is on a better team. It’s really a 1 and 1A type situation at this point for me and it was a hard decision. I also wanted to go with Craig Counsell of the Milwaukee Brewers for manager of the year but I doubted whether his team was that good or if his team just benefited from down seasons and slow starts from the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates. That’s why I gave the nod to Lovullo. 

The Very Complicated Deal That Comes With a Very Complicated Thread Title That Could Lead the Yankees to the World Series in 2017

The New York Yankees are said to be approaching the 2017 July 31^st trading deadline as “cautious buyers” according to many reports over the break. What that means is anyone’s guess and is totally open to interpretation thus making any trade rumor, proposal or idea technically not out of the realm of possibilities which brings me to an extremely complicated trade proposal with the Philadelphia Phillies that could not only propel the Yankees back to the top of the American League East Division but maybe to the top of the American League in general as well.

It’s no secret that the Yankees need and are looking for bullpen help at the trade deadline as well as some first base help which leads me to the Phillies RHP Pat Neshek and power-hitting first baseman Tommy Joseph. The Phillies are in the midst of a rebuild so presumably their GM Matt Klentak would ask for prospects in return for the duo and that is something that the Yankees have plenty of.

Every rebuilding teams needs prospects and honestly it doesn’t look like the Phillies will be competing any time soon. With this in mind the Yankees could likely get away with sending players with higher upside but that are farther away from the Major Leagues in the deal. The first four names that really came to mind for me were RHP Dillon Tate, RHP Albert Abreu, RHP Jose Guzman and third baseman Miguel Andujar.

Andujar is essentially blocked at third base due to Gleyber Torres being blocked by Starlin Castro and Didi Gregorius as second base and shortstop so moving Andujar now while his stock is high may make the most sense for the Yankees and the 22-year old. Adding in power arms that the team received from the Houston Astros in the Brian McCann trade like Guzman and Abreu would sweeten the pot although I would likely only include one of them AND Dillon Tate. The Phillies aren’t getting all three, even if the stock is pretty low on Tate right now and the stock for Joseph and Neshek are pretty high.

I don’t claim to be a prospects expert and I don’t claim to even know all that much about the state of the Phillies system but I do know one thing, when you are rebuilding you take upside and talent and worry about finding a place to play them all later. That’s my line of thinking in this trade, would that package be enough to get it done? I’m not sure but certainly that would be a great starting point. Make the call, Cash. 

So it Seems Today is Going to Be a GOOD Day… A Much Needed Day

Yes, it’s a normal and boring Wednesday for most but for me today is going to be a good day. I am going to start it off with some breakfast and some much needed rest and relaxation. Then I am going to follow it up with some rest, relaxation and the best cardio possible and finish it with some rest and relaxation. Today is going to be a good day and I absolutely cannot wait for it to begin. HEY YOU!

This Day In New York Yankees History 7/12: Denny Neagle

The New York Yankees had an absolutely loaded pitching staff in the late 90's and early 2000's but it was the off the radar type deals that really put New York over the edge and into the World Series in 2000 against the New York Mets. Deals like the Yankees made on this day in 2000 where Denny Neagle (8-2, 3.52 ERA) and outfielder Mike Frank were to sent to the Yankees and Drew Henson, Jackson Melian, Brian Reith, and Ed Yarnall (basically nobody) was sent to Cincinnati in return.

Also on this day in 1989 Major League Baseball lost another great arm as Louisiana Lightning Ron Guidry called it a career. Guidry finishes with a 170-91 record and a 3.29 ERA during his 14 year career, all with the Yankees. Guidry won the 1978 American League Cy Young Award unanimously after posting a 25-3 record with a 1.74 ERA. Incredible.

2017 MLB All-Star Game Open Thread

Here we go, the game that used to mean something that no longer does is about to kick off down in Miami inside Marlins Park. The 2017 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Here are the lineups and the starters, enjoy the game. This time, thankfully, it doesn’t count.

American League

Jose Altuve, 2B, Astros (.347, 13 HR, 50 RBI)

Jose Ramirez, 3B, Indians (.332, 17 HR, 48 RBI)

Aaron Judge, RF, Yankees (.329, 30 HR, 66 RBI)

George Springer, LF, Astros (.310, 27 HR, 61 RBI)

Carlos Correa, SS, Astros (.325, 20 HR, 65 RBI)

Justin Smoak, 1B, Blue Jays (.294, 23 HR, 56 RBI)

Corey Dickerson, DH, Rays (.312, 17 HR, 42 RBI)

Salvador Perez, C, Royals (.290, 18 HR, 57 RBI)

Mookie Betts, CF, Red Sox (.272, 16 HR, 53 RBI)

Starting pitcher: Chris Sale, Red Sox (11-4 with a 2.75 ERA, 178 strikeouts)

National League

Charlie Blackmon, CF, Rockies (.319, 20 HR, 61 RBI)

Giancarlo Stanton, DH, Marlins (.277, 26 HR, 58 RBI)

Bryce Harper, RF, Nationals (.325, 20 HR, 65 RBI)

Buster Posey, C, Giants (.324, 10 HR, 35 RBI)

Daniel Murphy, 2B, Nationals (.342, 14 HR, 64 RBI)

Nolan Arenado, 3B, Rockies (.301, 17 HR, 70 RBI)

Ryan Zimmerman, 1B, Nationals (.330, 19 HR, 63 RBI)

Marcell Ozuna, LF, Marlins (316, 23 HR, 70 RBI)

Zack Cozart, SS, Reds (.316, 9 HR, 35 RBI)

Starting pitcher: Max Scherzer, Nationals (10-5 with a 2.10 ERA, 173 strikeouts)

REPORT: White Sox Want Torres AND Frazier for Quintana

Oh, hey guys. Sorry for all that empty space, I didn’t know this thing was on and I have been dying laughing for the last 30 minutes after reading the report that the Chicago White Sox want not one but both of Gleyber Torres and Clint Frazier for left-handed starter Jose Quintana. Yeah, no.

According to Jon Heyman the White Sox are “believed” to have asked New York for shortstop Gleyber Torres and Clint Frazier in a trade for LHP Jose Quintana. Don’t get me wrong, Quintana may be worth two top prospects seeing as he has pitched well the last several seasons and is under team control on a team-friendly deal for a couple more seasons but I don’t think the Yankees should necessarily be the one to pay that kind of price.

Long story short, no. I would be reluctant to give up one of them for Quintana although I understand you have to give something to get something. I would definitely not give up them both. Not in any deal. Period.

What are your thoughts? Would you give up both Torres and Frazier for Quintana? Leave your thoughts below in the comments sections.

So it Seems… My Thoughts on the Yankees First Half

The New York Yankees didn’t exactly finish the first half of the season strong losing 15 of their last 26 games heading into the break. There is limping into the break and then there’s getting drug kicking and screaming into the break… and then there’s what the Yankees did. They were terrible but this can be turned around. There’s too much youth, aggression and talent not to.

The Yankees will be fine. They will either continue the youth movement if they feel too far out of contention and move contracts like Chase Headley and Brett Gardner or they will use a few prospects (Tyler Wade, Billy McKinney and Jorge Mateo most notably) to acquire what they feel the team needs to compete in 2017. I’m not ready to wave the white flag yet, not by a long shot.

Aaron Judge is awesome and Gary Sanchez hasn’t really fully awoken just yet. The best part is that there’s more reinforcements on the way from Triple-A. Clint Frazier was only the beginning. Wait until Chance Adams comes up. This is going to be a fun summer in Yankee-land, playoffs or not.

Stick to the plan and succeed. Hey you. I love you. Kari Ann Burch I love you.

This Day in New York Yankees History 7/11: Robbie Cano Wins the Derby

The New York Yankees have not been well represented over the years at the Home Run Derby but in 2011 they had Robinson Cano donning the pinstripes. Cano chose his father to throw his pitches to him in what turned out to be a great decision. Cano would hit 12 home runs in the final round of the derby to beat Adrian Gonzalez to become the fourth straight left handed swinging player to win the derby. What a moment for all families and baseball fans alike as Cano and his father shared an amazing moment.

Also on this day in 2010 the legendary Bob Sheppard died at age 99 as the "Voice of God" returned to God. Sheppard earned the nickname from former Yankee Reggie Jackson and announced over 4,500 games during his 56 years behind the microphone in Yankee Stadium.

Finally on this day in 1999 Major League Baseball held its first Future's Game and the Yankees Alfonso Soriano made the best of it going 2 for 3 hitting two home runs. The World would beat the USA 7-0 at Fenway Park and Soriano would be named the game's MVP.

Open Thread: Home Run Derby 2017

The Home Run Derby has arrived!!! Here are the contestants once again, now let’s watch some balls clear that fence over in Miami! Good luck to Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez tonight for the Yankees.

American League

(2) Aaron Judge – NYY – 30 home runs

(4) Mike Moustakas – KC – 25 home runs

(5) Miguel Sano – MIN – 21 home runs

(8) Gary Sanchez – NYY – 13 home runs

National League

(1 seed & defending champion) Giancarlo Stanton – MIA – 26 home runs

(3) Cody Bellinger – LAD – 25 home runs

(6) Charlie Blackmon – COL – 20 home runs

(7) Justin Bour – MIA – 20 home runs