Looking Ahead to 2019 & the Trevor Rosenthal Showcase

Let me be clear and let me be as frank as possible, my entire focus is here on the 2018 team. I am in no way conceding the playoffs, or even the division, and in no way am I counting against or rooting against my team, yes this is MY team in my heart and in my mind, here in 2018. Just because I am “all-in” on 2018 doesn’t mean that this has to be Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman’s only focus though. His focus should be on this season and beyond, and the beyond part of that statement may begin with Trevor Rosenthal and his pitching showcase that he will put on this October.  

Rosenthal has decided to sit out the 2018 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in late August of 2017 with his eyes on a return to the Majors in 2019. While some pitchers, Nathan Eovaldi and Michael Pineda for a couple Yankees-related examples, have decided to sign modest two-year deals while still rehabbing from the ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery, others, Greg Holland for example, have decided to simply sit out the season in hopes of getting a larger contract when they are physically able to pitch again. It is risky, but it is sometimes a risk worth taking if you look at it from a simple financial outlook. Eovaldi signed a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays after being released from the New York Yankees worth $4 million total, $2 million in each season now that the team option was picked up by the club this season. Meanwhile, Holland signed a one-year deal worth $7 million with a load of incentives and a vesting player option which, unless they have changed math since I have been in school, is at least $3 million more than Eovaldi will receive, and Eovaldi is a starting pitcher throwing 100-200 innings a season while Holland is a reliever that will likely throw less than 80 IP here in 2018.

Rosenthal will have youth on his side if and when he decides on a new home for the 2019 season as he was just 27-years old when he underwent the surgery and will be still just 29-years old when the 2019 season begins. If Rosenthal shows that he is healthy in October when he has his showcase and can replicate his 2017 success that saw the right-hander toughing 98 – 99 MPH with a 15.9% swinging-strike rate he would be a welcomed addition to any club, especially to a Yankees club that is presumably losing David Robertson to free agency.

Rosenthal will not likely sign a deal with a club to be their closer, so he could be the perfect and the most economical fit for the Yankees aside from calling up another young and talented arm from their farm system. It all depends on the health of his right elbow and how his showcase looks in October. I am not looking ahead too far right now, but Brian Cashman certainly should. Maybe he can even get a brownie point or two from Hal Steinbrenner if he books his flight now and saves the organization some money, money that could be then filtered to Rosenthal and back into the on-the-field product. Stay tuned.

The Yankees Don’t Need Curtis Granderson

The Toronto Blue Jays placed former Yankees and Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson on waivers as a part of the waiver wire trade deadline here in August, and recently the left-handed hitting outfielder cleared revocable waivers. What does that mean for Toronto? Well, in a nut shell that means that the Blue Jays can trade Granderson to any team for the remainder of the season and that they can presumably get more for the veteran’s services if they trade him before the August 31^st trade deadline since Granderson would be postseason eligible. What does it mean for the Yankees? Honestly, it shouldn’t mean anything for New York because they don’t necessarily need him anymore.

The need arose for an outfielder for the Yankees when Aaron Judge was hit on the wrist suffering a chip fracture in his wrist that would require him to not swing a bat for at least three weeks. That was July 26th this is August 15^th. This Friday, the 17^th of August, will be three weeks. You have to assume that Judge will miss at least a week after being able to swing and pick up a bat and that he may even play in a rehab game or two. Is it truly worth acquiring another outfielder for, best case scenario, two weeks? I guess it depends on the cost associated with acquiring Granderson, but the Yankees are 10 games out of the division. Will two weeks of an aging Granderson really make that much of a difference, and is he worth taking at-bats away from Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, Judge and Giancarlo Stanton once the Yankees regular right-fielder returns? I am leaning towards no.

And in no way am I bringing up the fact that the Yankees are down by 10 games as an excuse or as a reason to concede the division. I’m not. While I am comfortable with playing in a one-game playoff because I think this team is built better than any other to win a one-game playoff with their offense, bullpen, and potentially top-heavy rotation, I also wouldn’t mind watching the Red Sox play either the Houston Astros or one of the Oakland Athletics or Seattle Mariners either.

Trade for him, or don’t trade for him, I am indifferent really, but at the end of the day I truly do not believe that Curtis Granderson is necessarily a need for the New York Yankees.

The Curious Case of the CC Sabathia DL Trip

Good morning everyone and welcome back to the blog. Just a quick hit for you this morning concerning CC Sabathia and his sudden trip to the disabled list… because I’m not buying it. Now before I dive too deep into this I want to preface that I do believe there are processes in place that prevent a team from simply “Phantom DL’ing” someone for no reason. There is protection in place for the teams and there is protection in place for the players, but with the case of CC Sabathia and his troublesome knees it makes you wonder if the Yankees are somehow taking advantage of that.

Sabathia was placed on the disabled list with knee inflammation, a diagnosis that has cost him time a lot recently over the past few seasons in the Bronx, but I wonder just how inflamed the knee really is. I am sure at any given time, given the status of his knees, if there was an MRI or whatever test the Yankees had run on his knee that there would be inflammation in the knee. It is bone-on-bone essentially and inflammation is just going to be a thing that CC has to deal with for the rest of his life, period. It makes you wonder if the Yankees are taking advantage of that and placing him on the disabled list now before the stretch run of the season.

What benefit would the Yankees get by placing CC on the DL with a phantom ailment? Well, looking at the Yankees schedule you see that the Yankees have a couple of days off going forward that may have factored into the decision. CC last pitched on August 12^th against the Texas Rangers firing six innings of one-hit ball in a victory meaning that he would not be in line to start again until August 17^th against the Toronto Blue Jays, a start that Luis Cessa will make according to Aaron Boone. After that start though the Yankees have an off day on August 23^rd (CC’s next scheduled start) giving the Yankees the ability to “skip” his start and let the rest of the rotation pitch on normal rest. The Yankees may have just found a way to manipulate the disabled list process and given CC at least 10 days’ worth of rest while still allowing him to only miss one start against a sub-.500 team.

I am sorry, but something just seems off here. I am not a conspiracy theorist by any means, but this just doesn’t seem right. Look at the way CC pitched in his last start, that is not the way you pitch when your weight-bearing knee is inflamed to the point to where you need to go on the disabled list. It just doesn’t add up. Something else is up here and I think that something else is the Yankees are taking advantage of the system to give CC some extra rest down the stretch.

I’m not saying that I am not okay with it, but I am saying that if it looks like fish… and smells fishy…

Breaking News C.C. Hits the DL

The Yankees today placed CC Sabathia on the 10-day D.L. with right knee inflammation. They then optioned 1st Baseman Luke Voit to SWB, transferred LHP Jordan Montgomery to the 60-day DL, recalled Ronald Torreyes from AAA, and selected the contract of George Knotts from the Rail Raiders.  

James C Palma

@Jamescpalma 

Rain Gods Stopping Mets Plans?

   The Mets decided to switch today’s starter from Jason Vargas to Jacob DeGrom, which would have led to Ace vs Ace which would have been the matchup had the original game not been rained out. The rain gods however seem to be intent on having the game rained out once more.  Haha talk about the Mets luck!  Anyways if the game is played DeGrom will meet Severino in a classic battle of aces tonight at the stadium.  The Yankees are 6-1 in there last 7 games.  Stanton hit his team leading 30th Homer of the season yesterday, and the Yanks have put the horrible Red Sox series behind them.  I for one hope the game is rained out, no not to avoid DeGrom but it gives the Yanks a shot of having Judge and maybe even Sanchez back for one more game. 😎  I’ll be back later on today it’s off to work I go.  

I can be reached at JamesCPalma@Yahoo.Com or via Twitter at JamesCPalma Remember if you are reading this in the MLB News App or any other Social Media be sure to check us out at TheGreedyPinstripes.Com 

Enough is Enough!!!

It’s time to give Sonny Gray the ✖️. Sonny Gray once again was a Major disappointment. 1IP 5 hits 2 ER. 0Ks. It’s time the Yankees bite the bullet and shut down Gary for the rest of the year.  It’s what’s best for the team. Sonny is living up to his late name Gray, more then his first name Sonny. Whether any one will admit it within in the Yankees but Mr Gray is not what we signed on for.  Luckily his bad outing didn’t kill us today. The Yankees still managed to pull out the W, with a 7-2 showing vs the Rangers. The Bronx Bombers were powered by Stanton’s 30th jack of the season, and Didi’s 21st long ball.
Sorry for the short post was actually typing this up 6 hours ago and had issues with apple.  While it was corrected took Apple four hours to figure it out, thus I’m kinda shot.  Don’t worry I’ll be back tomorrow ready to go.  Have a great night!
Let’s G⚾️ Yankees!!
James C Palma                                                                        Email: JamesCPalma@Yahoo.com                                Twitter: @JamesCPalmaRemeber if you are reading this on the MLB News App. Be Sure To Check Us Out at TheGreedyPinstripes.Com

Fan Time......

Hello there Readers and Followers, how are you all doing? It’s that time again, and today I am proud to be conducting my 1st Fan Time Interview with a random fan. Also due to a overwhelming interest from many more fans, you will be treated to a few of these this week. 😎

Jay: Hello sir please tell us about yourself. 

Fan: My name is Robert Roman. I was born and raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I currently live in Beaverton, OR. I’ve been a Pediatric ICU nurse for 7 years. Let’s go Yankees!

Jay: Well hello Mr. Rob, pleasure having you today. Let’s begin. 

How long have you been a Yankee Fan ?

Rob: Been a Yankees fan since birth! 1980! First onesie my mom put on me was a pinstripe onesie! LOL!

Jay: Very cool we are born in the same year.   

1st Yankee memory you remember ??

Rob: First Yankee memory...getting a signed baseball from Lou Pinella when I was a patient at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in NYC. I was only 4 or 5 years old, in the pediatric ward with really bad asthma, and he came in to see all of us, and sign balls and stuff. Still have it!

Jay: That is amazing. The Yankees have always been good about doing things like this. I bet that made you very happy? Rob: I was ecstatic! Pinella was always one of my parent’s favorite Yankees from those late 70’s teams. So I had a great appreciation for who he was, and what he meant to the franchise.

Jay: Very cool! Biggest Yankee memory you have?

Rob: So many BIG Yankee memories! One would have to be being in the stadium for game 4 of the 1999 World Series! So awesome getting to see them celebrate winning the championship in person. 

Jay: What A Night!! Rob: Close second and third would be being at World Series game 1 in 1998 for Tino’s grand slam, and World Series game 5 for Brosius’ game tying homer in the bottom of the ninth after Tino did the same thing the night before! The old ballpark was just so dang electric! I miss it!

Jay: Favorite all time Yankee and Why?Rob: Favorite all time is easily “Donnie Baseball”, Don Mattingly! He was/is the epitome of what a Yankees player should be! Played his butt off every day of his career, and woulda been a sure fire HOF’er had his back not cut him down.

Jay: Do the Yankees win the division or Wild Card? Why? 

Rob: I’m thinking it’s another wild card year for them this year. They’re having a great season, but Boston is just playing at a historic clip. Not much you can do about that, except beat them in October!

Jay: In your opinion what’s the Best trade deadline move the Yankees made ? 

Rob: It’s looking like Lance Lynn right now with how well he’s pitched since getting here. By season’s end, I suspect it’ll be between him and J.A. Happ.

Jay: Does the injury to Judge or Sanchez hurt us more? 

Rob: It’s been tough not having both of them in the lineup, but losing Judge is proving to be more problematic because of what it’s doing to the rest of the lineup. Our bench is shorter because we have to play Stanton, Hicks, and Gardner more frequently. And having to play Shane Robinson on the occasions we do has definitely shortened the lineup.

Jay: Who from next years free agent class do you sign ? Why ?

Rob: I suppose it would have to be a starting pitcher. Patrick Corbin seems like a good one to pursue. I wouldn’t be surprised if we sniff around on Dallas Keuchel too. He’s always pitched well in NY against us. I’d be interested to see if that would translate to success on our staff.

Jay: Very nice id love to have Corbin, have always been a fan. I think I’d stay away from Keuchel I see signs that say this is more than just a down year. No interest in Bryce Harper ? 

Rob: Not terribly interested in Harper OR Machado for that matter. They’re both going to command a King’s ransom on the open market, and I think our money is best spent shoring up our rotation. Besides, in a few years time, we’ve gotta start paying our own superstars too!

Jay: Very true I am still interested in Harper myself :)

What is your all time Yankee team using only players you have seen play ? (Tv or live) lineup and all. Full 25 man roster.....players can’t play out of position.  

Rob: Hmmm.......25 Man Roster of Yankees I’ve Seen Play:

Starting Lineup

LF: Rickey Henderson

SS: Derek Jeter

2B: Robinson Cano

3B: Alex Rodriguez

1B: Don Mattingly

RF: Dave Winfield

DH: Hideki Matsui

C: Jorge Posada

CF: Bernie WilliamsBench (assuming I can put anybody here)

Mike Stanley - C/1B

Willie Randolph - 2B/SS

Paul O’Neil - RF

Brett Gardner - OF

Starting Pitchers

Ron Guidry

Jimmy Key

David Cone

Andy Pettitte

CC Sabathia

(So many lefties! LOL!)

Bullpen

Mariano Rivera

Goose Gossage

Dave Righetti

Dellin Betances

Jeff Nelson

Mike Stanton

Ramiro Mendoza (ultimate swing man!)Jay: That he was Mendoza was money💲💲

Like it man!! Very interesting. Lineup should produce plenty of offense. Pitching staff would be shut down, and the bullpen would be lights out. However I think for me I’d have to take out one of the guys and add John Wetteland. 

The following questions are the fun True or False part of Fan Time.  

Jay: Sonny Gray deserves another start?

Rob: False - Sonny doesn’t deserve another start unless Lynn or Happ struggle

Jay: Stanton Hits 50 HRs ? 

Rob: False - Stanton probably finished with 42-45 HR’s

Jay: Judge still Hits 40 HRs ? 

Rob: False - Judge probably doesn’t see the field again until mid-September unfortunately

Jay: The yanks break the record for team Home Runs ? 

Rob: False - they’ve fallen off the pace for the HR record, plus Sanchez and Judge STILL aren’t in the lineup.

Jay: Yankees have 4 players with more then 30 Home Runs?

Rob: False - there will be quite a few with 20+ though!

Jay: Yankees Win the World Series ? 

Rob: True - I genuinely feel like we’re going to hit our stride with a couple of weeks left in the season, and ride that wave to a WS championship.

Jay: Greg Bird hits 25 Home Runs?

Rob: False - Bird might get to 20 if he gets hot though!

Jay: Sevy Wins CY Young ? 

Rob: False - Sevy’s recent streak of bad starts will keep him out of the running.

Jay: Even with Sale hitting the DL ? Don’t you think that helped Sevy’s case ? 

Rob: I think Sale’s injury helped the Astros pitching staff’s case for the Cy Young, more than Sevy’s to be honest! Lol!

Jay: Hope Not.....Brett Gardner is a Yankee next Year? 

Rob: False - This answer is totally dependent on Clint Frazier’s health going into next season. If he is, then he’s our 4th OF. If not, we might bring Gardy back for one more season.

Jay: Any Final thoughts on the Yankees this year or next ?

Rob: Final thoughts? Here’s hoping this is just the beginning of a dominant run for this ball club! We’re VERY young, super talented, and have a few more pieces coming up the line to join these guys in the coming years. It’s definitely exciting being a Yankees fan right now!

Jay: Boy I hope you are right. I do feel the same way but in baseball you just never know.

That about wraps things up it was a pleasure having you. Thank You for your time.   

Rob: Thanks for having me Jay! It was great chatting about the Bombers with you! Let’s go Yankees!

Jay: Your Welcome!! & Yes Let’s G⚾️ Yankees!!!

As always I can be reached at JamesCPalma@Yahoo.Com                                    or on Twitter @JamesCPalmaRemember if you are reading this is the MLB News App be sure to Check us out at TheGreedyPinstripes.Com 

Saving Private Britton...

Photo Credit: AP (Rich Schultz)

Yanks Overcome Weather & Rangers for the Win…

It was raining and we had a closer with a bum knee on the mound who has shown an inability to consistently throw strikes (recently). A walk, a single, and a hit by pitch had the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the ninth inning for Aroldis Chapman. He fell behind the next hitter, Jurickson Profar, on a 3-1 count. With the Yankees leading by two, a misplaced pitch could have brought the Rangers within one and the bases still juiced. Fortunately, the Cuban Missile rose to the occasion and delivered two well-placed four-seam fastballs to send the Rangers back to their NYC hotel on a losing note. Yankees win, 5-3.

Credit to Lance Lynn. I can’t say I was too excited when the Yankees acquired him last month (it felt kinda like ‘Jaime Garcia Revisited’) but this guy has a mental toughness that I did not know or expect. I guess if I had been paying better attention to the St Louis Cardinals the last few years, I would have known but the Cards are not exactly high on my priority list. Lynn didn’t provide the Yankees with length since he was gone after five innings and 99 pitches, but at least he held the Rangers to only one run on five hits. He issued three free passes but at least he struck out eight. If he had given up three or four runs, the Yankees most likely would have lost this game. He may not have gotten the win (thanks to Zach Britton’s meltdown), but he put his team in position to win. That’s all you can ask.  

Photo Credit: NY Post (Corey Sipkin)

As for Britton, I am not going to rip the guy. He missed most of the season after rupturing his right Achilles while sprinting during an off-season workout last December. He was still working himself back to form when the Yankees acquired him from the Baltimore Orioles. With the Yankees, his role changed from closer to basically seventh inning setup. The other night, after Chad Green had given up a couple of runs, he placed some of the blame on his role change. The same can be said for Britton. He’s a pro, and he is only a couple seasons removed from being the most elite reliever in baseball before injuries derailed him. I think as he rounds back into form, he’ll give the Yankees the pitcher they thought they were acquiring from the O’s.  

Nevertheless, the seventh inning was ugly. After retiring the first two batters, Britton loaded the bases on a couple of hits and a walk. He then walked future Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre to cut the Yankees’ lead to 3-2. Exit Britton and enter Dellin Betances. A balk on the big guy tied the game and removed Lynn’s ability to get the win.  

There will be better days for Britton. I have faith and confidence he’ll get this right. Although Britton is quick to admit that his troubles have been “self-inflicted”, Manager Aaron Boone remains in his corner (as he should). If the Yankees make it to October, I have no doubt Britton will come up huge.  

For most of the season, I’ve been supportive of Gleyber Torres for AL Rookie of the Year over Shohei Otani of the Los Angeles Angels. But yesterday showed the real ROY should be Miguel Andujar. His two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh restored the Yankees’ two-run lead which ultimately gave the Yankees (and ironically Dellin Betances) the much-needed win. 17 homers, 55 RBI, .296/.329/.511, .841 OPS, all those extra base hits. And to think I actually wanted the Yankees to re-sign Todd Frazier last winter.  ESPN projects Andujar’s final stats to read 24 homers and 77 RBIs with the nearly .300 batting average. Sign me up all day long. That’s better production than we’ve seen out of third base for a long time or before age caught up with Alex Rodriguez.  

Photo Credit: AP (Bill Kostroun)

Despite the win, the Yankees (73-43) lost a half-game to the Boston Red Sox and now trail the AL East leaders by 9 1/2 games. The Red Sox took two from their 2018 punching bag, the lowly Baltimore Orioles, yesterday and they have Chris Sale on the mound for today’s series finale at Camden Yards. The Red Sox have forgotten how to lose. The Yankees maintained their 4 1/2 game lead on the Oakland A’s and 6 games on the Seattle Mariners in the Wild Card standings.  

The return of Chance Adams to Triple A did not go so well. After holding his own against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in his last start, he imploded in Durham, NC against the Bulls. Even though he wasn’t the loser, his final line was enough to keep him away from Yankee Stadium for awhile. 3 1/3 innings, eight hits, seven runs, four walks, two home runs allowed (including one to former Yankee Rob Refsnyder). The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders rallied in the ninth to take the lead but the Bulls won it with a walk-off two run homer by former Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Austin Meadows. Meadows, who came to the Tampa Bay Rays organization in the Chris Archer deal, had two home runs on the day.  

The Luke Voit acquisition has been a head-scratcher for most of us. I’ve seen the references that he is basically Tyler Austin but with an extra year of control. But he is not really doing anything for me. He has two hits in twelve at-bats for the Yankees and a couple of RBI’s. Meanwhile, Tyler Austin homered on Saturday in his debut with the Minnesota Twins. I haven’t seen anything to lead me to believe Voit deserves a spot on the active roster. With Neil Walker’s ability to play first base, I’d rather see Ronald Torreyes back in the Bronx. Another name that probably deserves stronger consideration over Voit is first baseman Ryan McBroom. The downside, and enough to keep him away from the Bronx, is that he does not have a place on the 40-man roster. McBroom got demoted to Double A when the Yankees acquired Voit, but he was elevated back to the RailRiders when Voit got the call for the Show. Between Double and Triple A, McBroom, acquired from the Blue Jays organization last summer for the aforementioned Rob Refsnyder, has hit .312/.354/.482, .836 OPS. He has 15 home runs and 54 ribbies with his time in Trenton and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 26 year-old is much more deserving of the Pinstripes than the weight room junkie Voit.   

Photo Credit: Todd Hiller

I’d love to see the Yankees dump outfielder Shane Robinson but that’s not going to happen as long as Giancarlo Stanton is nursing a tight left hamstring that has relegated him to strict DH duties. If the Yankees are not going to trade for outfield help, I can only hope that Clint Frazier gets healthy soon. At this point, I’d prefer Zack Zehner (SWB) or Trey Amburgey (Trenton) over Robinson but that darn 40-man roster will keep them away.   

I’ll be heading out to Coors Field soon to watch the Colorado Rockies host Manny Machado and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Last night was a tough game to watch. The Dodgers took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but with no closer (Kenley Jansen was sent back to LA on Friday night with an irregular heartbeat), the Dodgers bullpen collapsed to set the stage for Rockies rookie infielder Ryan McMahon’s walk-off three-run bomb. So, despite our bullpen woes yesterday, it could have been much, much worse as the Dodger fans will attest. Hopefully today is a better day for the Dodger Blue.

Photo Credit: Getty Images (Joe Mahoney)

For the Yankees, they have a chance to take three of four from Texas with a win today. We want a win and we need a win. CC Sabathia (6-4, 3.49 ERA) gets the call. He’ll be opposed by Martin Perez (2-4, 6.15 ERA). Keep Ronald Guzman from crossing home plate and put more runs on the board than the Rangers, that’s all I ask. After the Yankees conclude today’s game, they’ll prepare for a classic pitcher’s duel tomorrow at Yankee Stadium when the New York Mets come to the Bronx for a single makeup game. Luis Severino against Jacob deGrom. It should be a great one. I am really hoping Sevy has put his recent struggles behind him.  

Go Yankees!

Andújar, Stanton Go Boom as Yanks Win!

Miguel Andujar’s Home was difference as the Yanks beat the Rangers 5-3, on a wet Saturday afternoon. The rain did not keep the fans away as there was a reported 45,933 in attendance. Not bad seeing as the stadium holds 47,422. Dellin Betances picked up the Win pitching 1 1/3 of a inning, with 2Ks to go along with zeros. Starter Lance Lynn was okay today 5.0IP with 3 Walks, 5 hits, and 8 Ks. Chapman picked up his 30th save, 1 walk 1 hit and 2Ks. Greg Bird doubled twice, and Stanton blasted his 29th HR of the season. I for one am thrilled to have Stanton on this team, and knew he would get out of the funk he was in earlier this year. Giancarlo’s HR produced his 75th RBI. With 279 AVG 29 HRS and 75 RBI you can sign me up 7 days a week and twice on Sunday.  

The Yankees have rebounded nicely since being swept by the hated Red Sox. They took all 3 from the White Sox, and have grabbed 2 of 3 from Texas so far in this 4 game series. The series concludes tomorrow @ 1:05 PM ET C. C. Sabathia 6-4 3.49 ERA goes against Martin Perez 2-4 6.15 ERA. The Yanks however can not afford to take anyone lightly, and must play every game with passion and pride. That is if the still want to win the division.  

Let’s G⚾️Yankees!!

As always I can be reached at JamesCPalma@Yahoo.Com & now you can follow me on Twitter @JamesCPalmaIf you are reading on the MLB News App please be sure to check us out at TheGreedyPinstripes.Com 

Jacoby Ellsbury and the Yankees Literal Insurance Policy

The New York Yankees announces earlier this week that they would be without their center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury for the remainder of the 2018 season after the lefty tore his labrum in his left hip. Ellsbury, who has not played a game thus far this season, will miss the entire season and will miss the fifth year in his seven-year contract that the New York Yankees handed him worth $153 million when Robinson Cano jetted to the Seattle Mariners via free agency. With two years left on his contract you would think the Yankees would be wanting him to get back on the field as healthy and as soon as possible, well you would think that until you realized just what the team had to gain via the insurance policy that they took out on Ellsbury when they signed him to his monster contract.

Ellsbury is set to make $21 million in 2018 and will earn every dime of it despite not playing in a single inning for the Major League club this season. Luckily for the Yankees they took out an insurance policy that would reimburse the team $15,857,142.86 according to Wallace Matthews of ESPN and Forbes.com. Reportedly the Yankees signed a similar insurance policy on Ellsbury that the New York Mets took out on third baseman David Wright, a policy that cost the team $2 million but would pay up to 75% of his salary if he were physically unable to play on the field in any given season. The policy does not kick in until a player has missed at least 60 games in any given season.

Now while I am not a conspiracy theorist one has to wonder if either Ellsbury, the Yankees, or a combination of the two are really slowing down his recovery process and timetable. Ellsbury went down in spring training with an oblique injury and has seen various other, less serious, injuries keep him out of Major League action including, but not limited to, a hip issue that required a cortisone shot, plantar fasciitis, “back issues” and then ultimately the torn labrum in his hip that ended his season. Ellsbury never stood a chance this season, and it makes you wonder why when both he and the Yankees benefit from it, both financially and in the Yankees case with the all-important roster spot on the Major League team.

I am sure there are procedures and policies and such that prevent against what basically equates to insurance fraud, but damn things look a little fishy right now as we look back… right? Oh well, here’s to 2019 and a speedy recovery for Ellsbury… so the team can dump him and trade him before the season with any luck and a healthy bill of health. Here’s to hoping, and here’s to the eating of salaries.