Replacing Didi Gregorius: Part Two

The New York Yankees will be without their starting shortstop Didi Gregorius for at least six weeks, four of those weeks running into the regular season, after Didi strained his shoulder playing for Team Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic. As we discussed earlier I opined that it would be foolish, not very fiscally responsible and simply unnecessary to acquire a shortstop in a trade to replace Didi just for a month so in this post we will discuss the potential internal replacements for Gregorius and how the Yankees can mix and match on the field until Gregorius returns from the disabled list.

On the short list to replace Gregorius on the 25 man roster you have infielders Tyler Wade, Ronald Torreyes, Pete Kozma, Ruben Tejada and Rob Refsnyder while the Yankees also have Starlin Castro who will undoubtedly make the team as either the starting shortstop or the team’s starting second baseman. Gleyber Torres will not make the club out of spring training as much as many Yankees fans would like him to and neither will Jorge Mateo unfortunately but that still gives Yankees manager Joe Girardi an absolute ton of options to choose from.

Now the likeliest option to occur here is that Castro would move over to shortstop while some combination of Refsnyder and Torreyes man second base for the first month of the season. Kozma or Tejada could always break camp with the team but honestly I think the combination of Refsnyder and Torreyes could more than fill the job plus fill the jobs on the bench since both men can play most anywhere in the infield as well as the outfield. Tyler Wade unfortunately will not be making the team this spring unless a whole lot happens between now and April 2^nd, and it won’t.

The Yankees have already stated that they would prefer Wade to start the season in Triple-A Scranton after spending the entire 2016 season in Double-A with the Trenton Thunder. Wade hit just .259 with five home runs and 27 RBI in 133 games last season in Double-A but he has had a strong spring training camp and his work ethic and dedication to the game has impressed many Yankees coaches and players. Will it be enough to snag a roster spot? Not likely. Not as long as Refsnyder has a minor league option and not as long as Torreyes is healthy. But hey like the New York lotter, you never know. Stay tuned. 

Congratulations to Team USA in the WBC – My Thoughts

The World Baseball Classic came to an end on Wednesday and while I have been absent from the blog this week, once again my apologies, that doesn’t mean I have been absent from my fandom with the sport. I watched and rooted on Team USA as they blanked Team Puerto Rico in the WBC finale to win their first championship from the tournament in its short history and I wanted to take the time to not only congratulate them this afternoon but I also want to give my thoughts on the game and the entire tournament as a whole for Team USA.

I have to say that as a whole I am not a huge fan of the World Baseball Classic. I get the whole idea behind it, representing your country on a worldwide stage, but I think my biggest beef with it is when the games are actually played. In years past I have always said that teams like Team Dominican Republic and Team Venezuela and Team Puerto Rico to name a few have a clear and concise advantage because they have warm weather nearly year round and they have winter leagues such as the Dominican Winter League where players can play baseball year round. While Americans can play baseball and stay in shape all year long there is and always will be a huge difference in training and exhibition type baseball and the real live thing giving players outside the country a distinct advantage in my opinion, well until this year of course.

Team USA stormed the mound on Wednesday night not after only beating Team Puerto Rico but completely dominating and shutting them out 8-0 to capture the championship. Players hoisted the decorative bald eagle mascot on their shoulders and ran across the field with American flags across their backs and dammit I’d be lying if it didn’t make me proud to be an American. The chants of USA-USA-USA inside Dodger Stadium were echoing and chilling and they sent shivers down my spine as Team USA simply lowered their heads and received their gold medals in pride.

Honestly I think the WBC, until this week anyway, was a much bigger deal and was way more important to countries like the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Japan etc. than it was to the United States. We have Major League Baseball…. But now we have a World Baseball Classic championship and we earned it in front of over 57,000 fans in Dodger Stadium. This may change the WBC for Team USA forever. You think Mike Trout and Bryce Harper so “no” to defending the title again in a few years? Part of me wants to say “hell no” they won’t. Stay tuned. 

Replacing Didi Gregorius: Part One

The New York Yankees will be without their starting shortstop for at least the first month of the 2017 campaign after losing him to a sore shoulder while with Team Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic. Now before you think this is about to turn into another “The WBC is played too damn early in the season” rant, and trust me I feel another one of those coming but I’ll refrain for now, I’d rather spend my time and energy into discussing and plotting on how to replace Didi Gregorius. We will break this down into a two-part sessions and focus on potential trades in one post, this post, and later on we will discuss internal options. Enjoy them both.

The Cincinnati Reds have made basically anyone and everyone that isn’t tied down available and reportedly the New York Yankees have already shown preliminary interest in Zack Cozart. The Detroit Tigers are also in the midst of a rebuild and have at least began discussing deals for Jose Iglesias although the New York Yankees have not publicly shown any interest in pursuing a deal with the Tigers for their shortstop.

Both players make more money than the Yankees are presumably willing to take on for a month of the season. Cozart is a free agent following the 2017 season and is set to make $5.325 million this season which should be more money than any team is comfortable paying for essentially a bench player. Now the financial hit is a little less significant in the case of Iglesias, the Tigers shortstop is set to make $4.1 million in 2017, but is still in the area of discomfort when it comes to paying a glorified bench player.

Looking around the league the possible shortstops that could be acquired for a decent price include the Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Freddie Galvis and Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed with the usual dark horse thrown in there, as always. The bottom line is though that it’s just for a month and as I explain later on today the Yankees have plenty already on the roster to fill in for a month. There’s no need to make a panic move here ladies and gentleman. Period.

Get well soon Didi.

The 2017 Ex-New York Yankees Opening Day Roster…

Credit:  Jason Miller, Getty Images

As training camp nears its final days, I was thinking about former Yankees (or players that spent time in the Yankees organization) and thought that I’d try to take a crack at an All Ex-Yankees Team using players that are currently on other teams’ 40-man rosters.  So, for my pool, I did not include any non-roster invitees.  For manager, the pool was only open to current MLB managers so Joe Torre was out of the mix.

Admittedly, this is a very subjective roster and I had to tweak some positions due to a limited pool of players.  I am sure that I left off some good ex-Yankees and you might not agree with this starting lineup but it was my thoughts based on the available player pool.

STARTING LINEUP

C- Russell Martin

1B- Steve Pearce

2B- Robinson Cano

SS- Eduardo Nunez

3B- Yangervis Solarte

RF- Carlos Beltran

CF- Curtis Granderson

LF- Melky Cabrera

DH- Brian McCann

BENCH

OF: Chris Young

INF: Martin Prado

INF: Stephen Drew

OF: Ichiro Suzuki

STARTING ROTATION

SP: Jose Quintana

SP: Rich Hill

SP: Ian Kennedy

SP: Ivan Nova

SP: Bartolo Colon

BULLPEN

RP: Shawn Kelley

RP: Boone Logan

RP: Justin Wilson

RP: Arodys Vizcaino

RP: David Robertson

SU: Andrew Miller

CL:  Mark Melancon

MANAGER  

Don Mattingly

Mattingly never managed the Yankees but he’s a Yankee by birthright.  There was no way that I was going to hire Buck Showalter to manage my team.  

I wasn’t crazy about putting Granderson in center but I needed to get Melky Cabrera into the lineup.  Outside of Martin Prado, I am not thrilled about the bench at all.  Brian McCann at DH is my backup catcher so that’s the only reason that I did not add Francisco Cervelli.  I suppose that if I made McCann a DH only, I’d drop Suzuki to add Cervelli. 

If I had to pick a closer between Andrew Miller and Mark Melancon, I’d easily take Miller.  But for the purposes of my roster, Miller has the most flexibility so he was the best fit in the setup role.  I like David Robertson but at this point in his career, he is behind both Miller and Melancon. 

This exercise does tend to show you that the Yankees have done a very good job evaluating talent.  Very few superstars have gotten away.  Robinson Cano and Jose Quintana are probably at the head of the class with no return for the Yankees, but at least Andrew Miller brought in top prospects Clint Frazier and Justus Sheffield. 

Yangervis Solarte and Eduardo Nunez stand out as two players that have performed better than I expected they would when they left New York.  Man, I how I would love to have Martin Prado back.

It was tough to leave Mike Dunn off the bullpen list.  I also wanted to put Phil Hughes in the starting rotation but his health has been too unreliable for me.  David Phelps was another strong candidate for the #5 spot in the rotation.

I doubt this team would win the World Series but it would certainly win a few games.

I know it's just spring training and we shouldn't read too much into stats, but I thought Jordan Montgomery did an excellent job on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays.  He pitched 4 1/3 innings, giving up three hits and two runs.  He struck out eight.  When he departed, he had only given up one run, but he left a runner who subsequently scored against an ineffective JR Graham.  Thanks to heads up base-running by Tyler Wade (he stole third and scored on a throwing error by Rays catcher Michael McKenry) in the top of the 9th, the Yankees came away with a 5-5 tie after trailing most of the game.  Mighty Mouse (Ronald Torreyes) also homered in the game.  

Montgomery has firmly inserted himself as a finalist for a spot in the rotation.  I would not be disappointed to see Bryan Mitchell and Montgomery take the final spots, with Luis Severino on an outbound bus for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  

With the tie, the Yankees' spring record is 19-7-1 although no one seems to be reporting the tie in Grapefruit League standings.  I know it's not a real game but it did happen!  Didn't it?...

Have a great Friday!

So it Seems Life Resumed My Ass Kicking

First off I want to start off yet another day and another post with an apology for my absence. It’s been about a week now since I have been on the blog and for good reason, life has resumed my ass kicking from earlier on in the year. When it rains it pours and when it pours it apparently turns into snow and that’s when the snowball effect happens. Some things are just out of your control and some things are just overwhelming to me when you have as much going on in my life that I do. Not an excuse though, I’m just talking to you guys and girls this morning because I miss it. I miss you. And I love you all.

I’m back, again, and for however long life lets me. Now let’s get this Friday going because TGIF. Love you all and thank you for your patience and understanding. I’m sick and tired of having to apologize so maybe this will be the last one for a while. Have a great Friday everyone.

Oh and if you haven’t checked out Bryan van Dusen’s epic post on Aroldis Chapman and whether to root for him or not you should definitely check it out. He put in an awful lot of work into it and even went as far as to get police reports and such to show that Chapman’s girlfriend may not have been as innocent as some may seem or think because it’s portrayed that way in the media. You don’t have to agree with it but please at least check it out. Thank you in advance. 

This Day in New York Yankees History 3/24: Babe Ruth Takes a Pay Cut

On this day in 1933 Babe Ruth, another victim of the great depression in the United States, was forced to take a pay cut of $23,000 from his $75,000 salary. #Merica

Bird Hunting On A Warm March Day…

From Tyler Austin’s foot to Didi Gregorius’ shoulder, I prefer when the talk is about things other than injuries…like Greg Bird’s cat, Mr Delicious.  I can’t say that I’d want a hairless cat but Mr Delicious, or “Lish”, has an interesting background.  He is the grandson of Mr Bigglesworth of Austin Powers fame.  Mr Bigglesworth, a Sphynx cat named Ted NudeGent, was in a deleted scene in which holding him was “like holding somebody’s ass” according to Dr Evil.  I guess I know what Bird likes to hold when he’s not catching and throwing baseballs.  But seriously, I wonder if Lish can play shortstop?  I found it funny when there were a number of stories written about Lish on Tuesday so I am doing my part to add to the fodder.

Speaking of shortstops, the Yankees have been linked to shortstop Nick Ahmed of the Arizona Diamondbacks as a possible trade candidate.  The 27-year-old Ahmed reminds me more of a Brendan Ryan-type.  Good defender, below-average bat.  Maybe he has better upside than Ryan did, but I’d prefer to stay with the in-house candidates, all things considered.  I realize that my favorite, Tyler Wade, is only 22 and was only in AA ball last year for the Trenton Thunder, but I like his potential as a long-term Ben Zobrist-type.  He has performed well during spring training and I feel he deserves first crack at replacing Didi in the line-up, with an assist from Ronald Torreyes. 

I saw a column on Bleacher Report yesterday that has Chad Green and Adam Warren winning the final two spots in the starting rotation.  Although they have not been my choices, I can’t argue with Green’s results this spring.  Through four appearances and ten innings, he carries a 1.50 ERA and has struck out eight batters.  He hasn’t pitched more than 3 1/3 innings in any appearance so I’d like to see him stretched out a little longer.  If he is in fact one of Girardi’s final candidates, there’s no doubt he’ll be featured in a couple of upcoming games.  For whatever reason, I just can’t get excited about Warren in the rotation.  I love the guy as the swingman in the bullpen, with the occasional spot starts.  But as a ‘take the ball every 5 days’ pitcher, I am less enamored.  I still prefer the potential of Bryan Mitchell at this point.  I had felt Luis Severino was on the right track, but after his recent performances, he’ll need to impress during the final days of camp.  Otherwise, he could find himself in Scranton/Wilkes Barre.

I haven’t written much about DH Matt Holliday but I have been quietly very impressed with him this spring.  He brings an attitude and confidence that a young team needs, and so far, he’s shown he has a clutch bat.  I watched Holliday from afar when he was with the Colorado Rockies and the St Louis Cardinals, but I think he’s better than I had given him credit for.  We know that he is no longer able to play the field on a regular basis.  His injury history in recent years with the Cardinals proved that.  But as the team’s primary DH, he’s a perfect fit.  Time will tell if this is Matt’s one and only season in pinstripes or if he’ll be here for a few.  Nevertheless, I feel 100% better about the DH position this year than I did last year at this time.

On Tuesday, in an intrasquad “camp day” game between the High-A Tampa Yankees and the Low-A Charleston RiverDogs, top pitching prospect James Kaprielian put on a show for the Yankees.  He pitched 3 official innings, throwing 30 strikes in 38 pitches, striking out 7 RiverDogs.  I hope this is a healthy year for Kaprielian as he begins his ascent to the Bronx.  I can’t wait for the day that the California Kid pulls on his pinstripes for his first appearance at Yankee Stadium.  

Farewell to former Yankees manager Dallas Green.  Green passed away yesterday at age 82.  He briefly managed the Yankees in 1989 (for 121 games) before being replaced by Bucky Dent.  Green was a great baseball guy and I remember him most as the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies when they won the World Series in 1980 (with images of Tug McGraw leaping in the air still fresh in my mind).  Green was Old School until the end.  May he rest in peace.

New strategy.  Before every game, give Greg Bird good news.  Prior to yesterday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies, manager Joe Girardi acknowledged that Greg Bird will be the starting first baseman for the Yankees on Opening Day (to the surprise of no one).  Gregory Paul Bird promptly proceeded to smash two homers, driving in five runs, in the Yankees' 7-3 win over the Phillies.  If Bird keeps playing like this, he's setting himself up to be a fan favorite!  

Masahiro Tanaka pitched another great game, shutting out the Phils for 5 1/3 innings.  But he did allow three hits...the nerve of him!  I got used to those perfect frames. I guess we'll just have to deal with a few hits now and then.  Seriously, I think Tanaka's primed for a tremendous year.  Tyler Wade started at short but went 0-for-3.  

The Yankees improved their record to 19-7.  

Jordan Montgomery gets the start on Thursday in Port Charlotte, FL against the Tampa Bay Rays.  A strong performance could very well place Montgomery in the thick of the competition for the final rotation spots.  

Congratulations to Team USA for their 8-0 victory over Team Puerto Rico in the WBC Final!  It was a great pitching performance by Marcus Stroman of the Toronto Blue Jays.  Not looking forward to facing that dude this year.

Credit:  Getty Images

Have a great Thursday!

This Day In New York Yankees History 3/23: Howard Spira Arrested

On this day in 1990 Howard Spira was arrested for extorting money from George Steinbrenner, the former Yankees owner. The Yankees owner paid Spira $40,000 in January to dig up dirt on outfielder Dave Winfield.

As Training Camp Nears The Stretch Run…

We have less than two weeks until Masahiro Tanaka takes the mound at Tropicana Field in St Petersburg, FL to face the Tampa Bay Rays on Opening Day. 

In my opinion, Aaron Judge is still the victor for right field.  The stats between Judge and Hicks have tightened, but even on a level playing field, the nod should still go to the 6’7” #99.  Both players have hit 2 home runs with 3 RBI’s.  Judge is batting .273, while Hicks is at .256.  Judge has struck out 11 times in 44 at-bats, while Hicks has gone down swinging 7 times in 39 at-bats.  When Judge figures it out at this level, there’s no doubt he’ll be the Jury and Executioner too.

Greg Bird has clearly nailed down first base (as if there was ever any doubt).  I keep forgetting that Chris Carter is even on this team.  His spring batting average of .118 and 17 strikeouts are not pretty.  Is it possible that a man who hit 41 home runs last year could be DFA’d when Tyler Austin recovers from his foot injury?  Carter may be capable of hitting monster home runs, but I think I’d prefer the dependability of better at-bats, something that Austin would provide (particularly for a bench role).

For a few weeks, I had been convinced that Luis Severino had done enough to nail down the #4 slot in the starting rotation.  Now, I am not so sure.  Chad Green has pitched much better than either Severino or my favorite for #5, Bryan Mitchell.  You can probably also make an argument that Jordan Montgomery is starting to make a run for the rotation as his performances have gotten better while Severino trends in the other direction. 

There are still other roster fights but these are the primary ones that bear watching over the coming weeks.  With the upcoming roster cuts, the transactions wire should be very active over the course of the next 10 days.  There will probably be a few talented guys become available.  I am just hoping that the Yankees get back some of their Rule 5 losses, such as catcher Luis Torrens, currently with the San Diego Padres (batting .125 in 24 at-bats this spring but still mentioned as a possibility for the Padres if they go with two backup catchers).  I am also hopeful of getting Tyler Webb back from the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he’s a lefty with 3.86 ERA, 2 saves, and 7 strikeouts in seven innings pitched. 

The Yankees received bad news for Didi Gregorius as he has been diagnosed with a shoulder strain.  According to GM Brian Cashman, Didi could be out for up to six weeks.  

I guess Plan B is now fully in force or at least in active development.  I am surprised at the number of people who feel that Gleyber Torres should start at short during Didi’s absence.  Maybe you are one of them.  I just feel that it is important to be patient with a 20-year-old who has never played above A ball. For the creation of the best possible player, I hope Gleyber is given the time to move through AA and AAA, working on all facets of his game, before hitting the big league circuit.  As it is, there’s no doubt he’ll have some major league service time by age 21 or 22.  Baseball is a game of adjustments and the additional minor league service is invaluable to his maturation as a professional baseball player.  

Torres was sent down to minor league camp for re-assignment after last night’s game so hopefully that settles the debate.

Tyler Wade for President…

I feel the best in-house solution is shortstop Tyler Wade.  Ronald Torreyes is a decent backup, but he’d be exposed as a full-timer.  Given the Yankees are faced with up to a month without Didi, there needs to be a better answer than the 5’7” Torreyes.  I think Wade could be that guy.  It would also be an excellent stage for him to endear himself to manager Joe Girardi through performance.  Wade could be the all-purpose guy that we thought and hoped that Rob Refsnyder would be.  This might be the break he needs to make the major league roster, for now and after Didi returns.  

Another option is to move Starlin Castro to short, but I am convinced it would be detrimental to his continued development as a second baseman.  But if the Yankees go that route, it could open the door for Refsnyder at second.

The Yankees could decide to go outside the organization for help, but given the depth at the position, it would have to be very short-time.  

Non-roster invitees Pete Kozma and Ruben Tejada are also available but neither will provide much offense.  Given a choice between the two, I’d probably go with Kozma for his glove.

It’s going to be a long six weeks.  Hopefully, the rest of the team rises to pick up the slack.

Chris Sale continued his dominance over the Yankees yesterday, pitching 6 innings and allowing 2 runs with 10 strikeouts.  The Red Sox won the game 4-2.  Matt Holliday’s 2-run homer off Sale in the sixth accounted for the Yankees’ only runs.  Bryan Mitchell went 4 1/3 innings, giving up 2 runs and striking out 7, but allowed 7 hits.  Aroldis Chapman contributed his usual single inning of no runs, with 2 SO’s.  The subsequent pitchers (Tommy Layne, Luis Cessa and Jon Niese) allowed a total of 6 hits and 2 runs as the Sox departed the victory.

With the loss, the Yankees fell to 18-7.

Have a great Wednesday!

This Day In New York Yankees History 3/22: Britt Burns Pulls an Alex Rodriguez

On this day in 1986 the Yankees 18 game winner Britt Burns announces he will miss the entire coming season due to a degenerative hip condition.

Also on this day in 1972 the Yankees trade first baseman Danny Cater to the Red Sox for left handed reliever Albert Walter Lyle. Over the next seven years Albert, you may know him as Sparky, will pitch in 420 games in relief with a 57-40 record and a 2.41 ERA with 141 saves. Lyle appeared in three World Series with the Yankees and won two of them while with New York.

Finally on this day in 1962 the New York Mets defeat the New York Yankees the first ever time the two New York teams would meet. It was just a spring training game but the Yankees were the reigning World Series champions so that is worth mentioning. The former Yankee manager Casey Stengel and the Mets would beat the Bronx Bombers 4-3.