Yankees Get JA Happ for Drury, McKInney

The New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a deal that would send left-handed starter JA Happ to the Bronx for third baseman Brandon Drury and outfielder Billy McKinney. Man, starting pitchers are expensive right now before the trading deadline. Drury, despite his struggles, has shown versatility and has three years of team control remaining and is being traded for a rental. I get the logistics of it, both players are expendable on the roster and both players have struggled with the team at the Major League level... but man.. for a rental?

Meet a Prospect Special Edition: Zach Britton

The New York Yankees not only bolstered their bullpen for the stretch and postseason run on Tuesday, but they also kept two of their biggest rivals in the American League from doing the same all in one big move acquiring Zach Britton from the Baltimore Orioles for three prospects. While many may have thought that giving up a trio of young pitchers up in the deal others would argue that the fact that the acquisition kept Britton out of the bullpen for the Boston Red Sox and the Houston Astros make the cost worth it. Will Britton, a true rental, be worth the cost of RHP Dillon Tate, RHP Cody Carroll and LHP Josh Rogers? Before we begin to even think about answering that question we first have to meet the man, so let’s do it. This is Meet a Prospect Special Edition: The Zach Britton Edition.

Zachary Grant Britton was born on December 22, 1987 in California and was raised as the youngest of three brothers in Santa Clarita, California. Britton attended Canyon High School before his family moved to Texas. It was in Texas where the left-hander attended Weatherford High School and played as an outfielder and a pitcher for the school’s team. While pitching there the Baltimore Orioles drafted him as a starting pitcher in the third round of the 2006 MLB First Year Player’s Draft, 86^th overall. Britton had offer sheets for scholarships from Texas A&M University but ultimately decided to forego his commitment and begin his professional career with the Orioles immediately by accepting a $200,000 signing bonus.

Britton spent parts of the 2006 – 2010 seasons in the minor league system for the Orioles before finally getting a true shot with the club in 2011. Britton was sent down to Triple-A to start the 2011 season but an injury to starter Brian Matusz led the team to call up Britton to fill in for him. Britton spent time down in Triple-A later in the season, many wondered if it was because the Orioles were trying to manipulate his service time in order to gain an extra season of team control before he hit free agency but ended his season with 28 starts with the Orioles amassing a 4.61 ERA, a 1.45 WHIP and an 11-11 record.

Britton had to wait until July of 2012 before he could begin his sophomore season after heading to the disabled list with a left shoulder impingement. Britton suffered a bit of a sophomore slump in 2012 posting a 5.07 ERA in 12 games, 11 as a starter, with a 5-3 record. The Orioles optioned Britton back down to Triple-A to begin the 2013 season and would only pitch in eight games for the Orioles Major League club, seven of them starts, pitching to a 2-3 record in just 40 innings of work. The Orioles begun the process of converting Britton to a bullpen arm rather than a starter after another tough campaign for the young left-hander.

Britton made the Orioles Opening Day roster in 2014 as a relief pitcher and eventually as their closer where he converted 37 of 41 save opportunities while pitching to a 1.65 ERA. Britton would help the Orioles sweep the Detroit Tigers in the 2014 American League Division Series before losing in the American League Championship Series. After a strong 2014 season the Orioles and Britton agreed to a $3.2 million deal for the 2015 season thus avoiding an arbitration hearing. Britton rewarded the Orioles that season with 36 saves in 40 opportunities, a 1.92 ERA and his first MLB All-Star Game selection.

Britton once again avoided arbitration with the Orioles in 2016 after signing a one-year deal worth $6.75 million and once again earned a trip to the All-Star Game with Baltimore that season as well. Britton converted his first 33 saves to start the season setting a new MLB record for the most consecutives saves to start a season by a left-handed pitcher and matched the seventh longest stretch of all-time to start a season. Later that season Britton set the MLB record for the most consecutive relief appearances without allowing an earned run, 39 appearances at that point. Britton pitched in 43 straight appearances without giving up a run that season before allowing a run to the Washington Nationals on August 24. Britton pitched in 69 games that season and allowed just four runs all season, which equated to a 0.54 ERA. This mark broke the MLB record for the lowest single-season ERA by a pitcher with at least 50 innings pitched and helped the Orioles lefty convert all 47 of his save opportunities on the season.

In 2017 Britton saved his first game that season, a victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, which gave him his 50^th straight save dating back to October of the 2015 season. Britton would end up converting 55 straight saves to set an American League record before blowing a save on August 23^rd against the Oakland Athletics. Britton would only make 38 appearances in 2018 due to spending time on the disabled list with left forearm tightness twice and would ultimately suffer a ruptured Achilles tendon after the season which kept him out of action for six months.

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Britton would ultimately sign a one-year deal worth $12 million to avoid arbitration in his final season of eligibility before beginning the season on the 60-day DL due to the Achilles tendon. Britton made his debut off the disabled list on June 12 and notched his first save 11 days later on June 23. Now Britton, a left-handed closer that possesses a 99 MPH sinker, a four-seam fastball that sits around 96 MPH, and a curveball that ranges in the 82-83 MPH range, is a member of the New York Yankees after being acquired by the team late on Tuesday night.

Welcome to the organization Zach and welcome to the family… even if it is temporary!

Did the Yankees Miss an Opportunity w/ Nathan Eovaldi?

The Boston Red Sox have done thus far this trade season what the New York Yankees could not, they acquired a starting pitcher. In a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays the Boston Red Sox acquired RHP and former Yankees starter Nathan Eovaldi for prospect Jalen Beeks, did the Yankees miss an opportunity to acquire the flame throwing right-hander?

I think every Yankees fan already knows what to expect out of Eovaldi, even after his second Tommy John surgery. Eovaldi has shown he can still reach back and touch 97MPH or faster with his fastball but has also shown a tendency to give up runs which is evident by his 4.26 ERA at the time of the trade. Eovaldi is sporting a 20.1 K/BB ratio, the best of his career, and has generated more swings and misses, 11.0%, than he ever has (a huge issue for him during his tenure as a Yankee), and in my opinion would have been a great upgrade over Luis Cessa, Domingo German, Jonathan Loaisiga and whomever the team decides to throw out there not named Justus Sheffield between now and October.

Beeks is a left-handed arm that has seen the MLB level here in 2018, although both appearances left much to be desired. Over 16 starts at Triple-A this season Beeks has pitched to a 2.89 ERA with a 12.1 K/9 ratio and a 2.6 BB/9 ratio over 87.1 innings at the time of the trade. Beeks was the Red Sox’ sixth-best prospect in their system, a thin system at that, due to his four-pitch mix. Beeks is projected to be a 4^th or 5^th starter at the Major League level by many scouts which makes you wonder if the Rays see something that the rest of the league doesn’t see in Beeks, or if New York couldn’t have matched or exceeded the cost to acquire Eovaldi.

Would the Rays have taken Chance Adams plus a lower-level minor league player to sweeten the pot for Eovaldi? Not likely, Adams has not had the type of season down in Triple-A that Beeks has had, but I truly believe the Rays would have been intrigued by one of Luis Medina, Freicer Perez, Matt Sauer, Domingo Acevedo, Clarke Schmidt or Trevor Stephan… and honestly, I would have traded any of them for Eovaldi, although I would prefer to hold onto Medina and Perez if at all possible.

Eovaldi would have been perfect for the Yankees given that the righty is a pure rental that is making just $2 million this season, plus incentives. Unless the Yankees and their GM Brian Cashman have something else in the works or up their sleeves to spend their remaining (estimated) $11.5 million they have to spend while still staying under the luxury tax threshold I think they absolutely missed out on a huge chance here.

It Might Happ-en Today...

Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports (David Butler II)

Yankees at Home Seeking Reinforcements…

If you believe the rumors, the Toronto Blue Jays are closing to dealing free agent-to-be LHP J.A. Happ and the frontrunners are the New York Yankees and the pitching-starved Milwaukee Brewers. Until a deal is consummated, there is always the potential for a mystery team to strike and nab Happ at the eleventh hour.

I am not trying to prospect-hug, but the Yankees should not move any of their highest prospects or Clint Frazier for a two-month rental. It is said the Blue Jays like Brandon Drury. Great, I like Drury too and so does Baltimore Orioles GM Dan Duquette, but it doesn’t mean he should be included in a rental trade. 

As it stands, I am not interested in Happ if the cost is too high so I appreciate Brian Cashman’s commitment to retaining his best prospects. I do think Happ would be an upgrade for the starting rotation. A better option than Luis Cessa (despite some good starts recently), Domingo German or Jonathan Loaisiga.  So if the Yankees do make the trade, I’ll be supportive. If not, so be it. Happ is not the great savior that Justin Verlander turned out to be last year for the Houston Astros.    

Cole Hamels is available but the guy hasn’t pitched a quality start since mid-June. He also makes too much damn money for a team trying to stay under the luxury tax threshold, even if the Texas Rangers pitch in a few dollars. There is not really anything that appeals to me about Hamels other than once upon a team he was a part of a World Series championship but c’mon, he was 25 at the time. At 34, he is not exactly the same pitcher anymore and more times than not makes Sonny Gray’s stats look legendary. 

TGP’s Daniel Burch recently mentioned Zack Wheeler (4-6, 4.33 ERA) as a good target. When I first heard it, I was very skeptical. But the more I think about it and if the New York Mets are not willing to move Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard, Wheeler actually makes some sense. Who knows, maybe Daniel likes Wheeler because he is from Georgia but Zack’s numbers are as good as those for Happ or Hamels. Plus, the righty is on the right side of 30 (28) as opposed to the other two.  In his last start this week against the San Diego Padres, Wheeler held the Padres to two runs on four hits over seven innings, picking up the win.  Granted, I’d get confused with names like Zach and Zack on the roster, but Wheeler represents more than a rental and his contract this year was only for $1.9 million (the prorated portion would fit easily into the Yankees budget and still allow room for another major acquisition). Wheeler enters his final year of arbitration eligibility for next year and will be a free agent after the 2019 season. I think Daniel may have been on to something when he called out Wheeler as a possibility. I know that I’d prefer him over Happ or Hamels if the price is right.

One potential name fell off the board yesterday morning when the Boston Red Sox acquired former Yankee Nathan Eovaldi from the Tampa Bay Rays. Boston has been plagued by injuries on the back half of their rotation so Nasty Nate fills a void for them.  In the post-season, Eovaldi can be flipped to the bullpen to provide Red Sox manager Alex Cora with another weapon. The cost was high (25 year old lefty Jalen Beeks). Beeks was winless in two starts for the Red Sox this year, but he has good 2018 minor league numbers (5-5, 2.89 ERA, 16 games started, 117 strikeouts in 87 1/3 innings). I think it was a solid move for the Rays but Eovaldi certainly makes the Red Sox pitching staff better. I do hate it when former Yankees end up in Boston. I still haven’t really forgiven David Cone or David Wells for putting on that uniform. 

As much as I like Brandon Drury, I would flip him to Baltimore for RHP Kevin Gausman, Greg Bird’s high school buddy. Gausman, 27, has been a Crown Prince of Underachievement since he was the fourth overall selection in the 2012 MLB Draft, but I like his potential.  If someone could unlock his talent, he has the potential to be a very good Major League starter. This year for the O’s, Gausman is 4-8 with 4.54 ERA in 20 starts. I heard a rumor (fake news) yesterday that the Colorado Rockies were going to send their top prospect (infielder Brendan Rogers) to the O’s for the Colorado native. Gausman doesn’t warrant that level of return. If Duquette can land Rogers, he’d be foolish not to send Gausman home to the Mile High City. Gausman is only making $5.6 million this year and won’t be a free agent until after the 2020 season. If Cash is able to package Drury with a couple of prospects, he should make the move to acquire Gausman before the Rockies can pounce on him.    

Today should bring more trade speculation and maybe another deal or two. Yesterday saw two pitchers changing their uniforms. We already talked about Eovaldi moving to Beantown, but the Tampa Bay Rays also sent another pitcher (Matt Andriese) to the Arizona Diamondbacks. I like the move for the D-Backs. The right-handed Andriese, 28, has the ability to start or relieve. 

Brian Cashman could have us all fooled and pulls an ace out of his sleeve before next Tuesday. But if not, he has good options without having to part with talent that represents our future to secure a middle-of-the-rotation arm. I am sure that sleep has been a very limited resource for Cash and his team this week while they work the phones and turn every stone. He has already brought us a great left-handed reliever for three Rule 5 eligible prospects who are easily replaceable in the Yankees farm system. No reason that Cashman’s run of good luck (or rather, judgment) should stop now. My only fear with Cashman right now is sleep deprivation. 

Every time I see a headline that says the Yankees are the frontrunners for this guy or that guy, it seems like the player’s team is just trolling to see if they can raise the price for others. When Cashman wants his guy, you generally do not hear about it until it happens. So, in the case of J.A. Happ, I’ll believe it when I see it. Until then, I think he’ll be pitching in Milwaukee or Philadelphia or some other location this time next month.

Yesterday was not so great for the Yankees as they dropped yet another series to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees need to figure out how to drive home runners in scoring position and beat the poorer teams.  These narrow losses with high RISP are aggravating. The Yankees have lost their swagger and now look more like the team that stumbled out of the gate with a 9-9 mark. After their 3-2 loss yesterday, the Yankees are 5 ½ games behind the Red Sox in the AL East Standings. It could have been six if not for the rainout of Boston’s game. The Sox used dingers to build a 5-0 lead on the Orioles in the first two innings, only to see them wiped out for the postponement. When the game is made up, they’ll restart the scoreboard at 0-0.  Bummer, sucks for them. 

The Yankees will have a new teammate when they take the field today. The Yankees will need to make a roster move on the active roster to make way for LHP Zach Britton. No word (at least not what I’ve seen) on Britton’s new number although I expect third base coach Phil Nevin to relinquish his #53. No move on the 40-man roster is needed since Britton slid into the spot vacated when David Hale was released. Sounds like Britton had a tough time leaving Baltimore and he had a long talk with Orioles manager Buck Showalter following the news of his trade which lasted into the wee hours of Thursday morning. There’s always the potential for Britton to return to Baltimore in the off-season through free agency, but I am hopeful that he adapts to his new surroundings and teammates very quickly. The Yankees Clubhouse seems to be a very fun and close knit group and I see no reason why Britton cannot be a part of it.

Britton’s post on Twitter yesterday portrayed his high character: “Well, 12 years went by pretty fast. I remember my first day in the Orioles organization, wide eyed and anxious to pursue my childhood dream. Through Bluefield, Aberdeen, Delmarva, Frederick, Bowie, Norfolk and ultimately Baltimore. I’ve met people that forever impacted me as a player and a person. I’m sad to leave those memories behind but beyond grateful that I had the opportunity to be an Oriole for this long. Birdland – thank you for your support throughout my entire career, through the ups and downs you were always there. I SALUTE YOU!”

Britton’s road now leads him to the Bronx and new memories. Let’s help him close the door on Baltimore and begin his new journey in Pinstripes. I am sure when he pulls on his Pinstriped jersey today, he will experience the pride that goes with the history and tradition of Baseball’s most storied franchise. Welcome, Zach! We are glad you are here.

Photo Credit: Getty Images (Elsa)

The Yankees are back home today and begin a four-game set against the Kansas City Royals. Sonny Gray (7-7, 5.34 ERA) looks to build upon the positive vibes from his last start. For the Royals, they’ll start the only pitcher that I’ve ever heard of for this series (Jakob Junis, 5-10, 5.03 ERA). For the rest of the games, the Royals will throw out Brad Keller, Heath Fillmyer, and Burch Smith. In other words, who? The Yankees need to win these games. The Royals are a beatable team. I know the Yankees have struggled against teams with losing records this year but past performance does not have to equal future results (or so they say). Today is a new day, a day which needs a Yankees victory. Guys, please make it happen even if you don’t make it “Happ-en”. 

Go Yankees! 

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals 7/26

The New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals will begin a four-game extended weekend set tonight in the Bronx with an interesting pitching matchup. The Yankees will send Sonny Gray to the mound looking to build on another impressive start last time out while the Royals will counter with potentially the future of their rotation in Jakob Junis. Let’s get to it here in the Bronx in what is not considered to be a must win, but a win that would certainly help propel the team back to the top of the American League East before the end of the season.

Gray has won in consecutive starts for the first time since being acquired by the Yankees in August of 2017 and both wins come after working on his mechanics with Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild. In those two starts that resulted in victories for the Yankees right-hander Gray has permitted just two earned runs with six hits and 14 strikeouts in 11.1 innings combined.

Junis will make just his second start since coming off the disabled list against the Yankees inside Yankee Stadium. In his first start fresh off the DL he allowed just one run in four innings of work against the Minnesota Twins before departing due to being on a limited pitch count by the team.

The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11 and MLB Network. You can also follow along with the game on MLB TV, with the MLB At-Bat app and by tuning into the Yankees radio broadcast on WFAN with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.

Enjoy the game, I am bored and greedy…let’s acquire another arm… and go Yankees!!

Hello… Phantom DL Gate

Good morning everyone and welcome back to the blog. Let’s put the final nail in this coffin and beat this dead horse one last time here on this beautiful Thursday morning. Gary Sanchez is injured. There are rules, regulations and processes put in place to keep a team from getting pissed off at a player for his lack of performance and simply placing him on the disabled list. Gary Sanchez may be lazy, or he may not be, but he is not on the disabled list because of it and he is not on the disabled list because of his lack of hustle on a passed ball and a ground ball that subsequently ended the game and gave the Yankees a loss earlier in the week. This is not Phantom DL Gate.

Also, I want to apologize for my lack of a presence on the blog. North Georgia had some major weather come through the area over the weekend that knocked out power in some places for five days due to rain, heavy wind and confirmed tornados. We were fortunate enough to not sustain any damage to our home, our vehicles or our families but some were not so lucky. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them with hopes and wishes of a speedy recovery.

And you, I love you and hope that you know that every single second of every single day.

This Day In New York Yankees History 7/26: Yankees Acquire Alfonso Soriano

Saying that the New York Yankees offense struggled in 2014 is probably the understatement of the year so New York needed a savior. On this day they got one when they acquired Alfonso Soriano from the Chicago Cubs for minor league relief pitcher Corey Black. The 37 year old came back to New York with come cash from Cubs after making his major league debut with the Yankees way back in 1999. The Yankees ultimately traded him to the Texas Rangers before the 2004 season for Alex Rodriguez. Soriano would go on a tear and almost brought the Yankees all the way back to the postseason before falling just short in late September.

Also on this day in 1961 the Yankees made some history with the home run ball but it had nothing to do with Roger Maris surprisingly. Instead it was the Yankees Johnny Blanchard as he hit his fourth consecutive home run over three games to set a new major league record. The backup catcher of the Yankees hit two home runs on this day to help New York beat the White Sox 5-2.

Also on this day in 1939 the Bronx Bombers earned their names by scoring in every inning to beat the St. Louis Browns 14-1. This is only the second time in franchise history that the Yankees have achieved this feat.

Finally on this day in 1933 Joe DiMaggio showed the Yankees brass that he was made for long hitting streaks. As a minor league player Joe D saw his 61 game hitting streak come to an end in a PCL game against the Oakland Oaks. DiMaggio played for the San Francisco Seals as a 19 year old when he set a new minor league record destroying the mark of 49 consecutive games with a hit set by Jack Ness in 1914.

Great Britton Has Joined the War...

Yanks acquire elite Reliever for Stretch Run…

I am not sure how I felt when I first heard that trade negotiations were heating up between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles.  In 2016, there was not a more dominant reliever in baseball than Zach Britton. He was 2-1 with 47 saves and was virtually unhittable with 0.54 ERA (giving up only four earned runs in 67 innings pitched). He struck out 74 batters and was only touched for one home run. He thrust his name in the arena of elite closers, but then the last couple of years have been injury-filled. After accumulating 120 saves between 2014 and 2016, he has only 19 this year and last. By comparison, the interim closer for the O’s, Brad Brach, has 29 saves for 2017 and YTD 2018. 

When healthy, there are not too many pitchers better than Britton. Plus, he’s a lefty so that’s huge plus for Yankee Stadium. Hopefully this means that Chasen Shreve’s days are numbered. When Britton returned from the DL, he was generally effective although his ERA was torched by a bad outing in Atlanta on June 22^nd when he gave up 4 runs on 5 hits while recording only a single out. But in July, he’s been his dominant self, allowing no runs over 7 innings and striking out 13. He shut down the Yankees for an inning on July 10^th (the two-homer game by former Oriole Manny Machado), picking up the win on the walk-off single by Jonathan Schoop. He struck out the last two Yankees he faced (Miguel Andujar and Greg Bird). 

I am in favor of the Britton trade, but I think I was as grateful he wasn’t traded to the Houston Astros or the Boston Red Sox as I was with the thought of him restoring the three-headed beast in the bullpen that has been missing since the Yankees traded away Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman in 2016 (with no offense to David Robertson, who remains one of my favorite Yankees). 

Yesterday must have been weird for Britton.  His team was playing the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards in Baltimore. When the game started, Britton and the Orioles were 42 ½ games behind the Red Sox in the AL East Standings. By the time the rain-delayed game ended, Britton had gained 37 ½ games on the Red Sox, thanks to his new Pinstripes. Britton first became aware of the potential Yankees trade during the rain delay when he was met with countless messages and texts on his cell phone so it must have been bittersweet for him to watch his teammates defeat the Red Sox when play resumed. Part of me wished that the O’s had brought Britton out one last time (nothing better than to see him defeat the Red Sox), but the Orioles were not going to risk potential injury to jeopardize the trade. So Brad Brach came in to close it out and nearly blew the game in the rain-marred 9^th inning. But in the end, he left the game-tying and -winning runs stranded on base by inducing the great Mookie Betts to hit into a game-ending double play. The win allowed Britton to walk away from Camden Yards on a positive note. 

So, welcome to the New York Yankees, Zach Britton! Whether your stay is only for a few months or long-term should you decide to sign with the Yankees in the off-season, we are glad to have you. With Chapman’s knee issues, I am sure that there will be save opportunities for you. Looking forward to watching you send AL hitters home frustrated with that deadly sinker. 

Photo Credit: Getty Images (Rich Schultz)

As for the guys the Yankees gave up, the one I probably hated to see leave the most was Cody Carroll. I’ve liked the reliever for the last few years but the loaded Yankees pen has kept him at Triple A. Although he has been assigned to the O’s Triple A club in Norfolk, there’s no doubt he’ll soon be making his Major League debut for his new club. Former Yanks like Richard Bleier and Yefry Ramirez (the winner pitcher in Baltimore’s win over the Red Sox yesterday) have done very well for the Orioles and I expect no less from Carroll. The headliner was Dillon Tate who has restored his stock as a quality prospect this year after once being selected fourth overall in the 2015 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers. Tate, acquired in the trading deadline deal that sent Carlos Beltran to the Texas Rangers two years ago, may turn out to be a fine middle-of-the-rotation starter or a good setup reliever but he was never going to get that opportunity in New York. There are too many better guys in front of him. Josh Rogers has been a nice left-handed starter for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders but I agree with one Yankees beat writer that labeled him as a “poor man’s Jordan Montgomery”. With so many players needing protection from the Rule 5 Draft in December, I have no problem clearing the board of some of the fringe prospects. The fact the Yankees got an elite reliever without giving up a player from the cream of their prospects is incredible. The Yankees paid more for Britton than the A’s paid for Mets closer Jeurys Familia but it was worth it. Casey Stern’s famous quote (“Prospects are cool…Parades are cooler”) is very appropriate in this situation. If the Yankees win the World Series, I am not going to worry about future damage that Tate, Carroll and Rogers may do to the Yankees just like Cubs fans do not regret the trade that sent the very talented young Gleyber Torres to the Yankees. 

There’s now less than a week to go to the non-waivers trading deadline next Tuesday. I still fully anticipate a trade for a proven starter although I do not feel the Yankees will be making any surprise stealth moves to acquire premium starters like Jacob deGrom or Madison Bumgarner. At this point, I probably feel more strongly than ever that J.A. Happ of the Toronto Blue Jays has a future in the Bronx. Given the Yankees are responsible for the full pro-rated balance of Britton’s one-year deal, I think they’ll tread lightly for luxury tax avoidance purposes. So, Happ makes more sense to me than Cole Hamels even though the latter has the better post-season resume. Although Happ has generally been awful for his last few starts, he held the Orioles to 1 run on 4 hits over 5 innings in his most recent start, striking out 9. He has shown the ability to beat the Astros and Red Sox so I’d have no qualms about adding him to the rotation. Zach Britton represents huge insurance and protection for Happ’s addition. 

Lost in the Britton trade was the dominating performance of Masahiro Tanaka last night as the Yankees took down the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-0. Tanaka pitched a complete game shut-out, giving up only three hits and avoiding his usual obligatory home runs. He walked a batter and struck out 9 while throwing 105 pitches and lowering his season ERA to 4.09. After watching Luis Severino fall down against the Rays the night before, the Yankees needed a solid effort from Tanaka and they got it. 

Photo Credit: Getty Images (Mike Ehrmann)

The win allowed the Yankees (64-35) to pick up a game on the Red Sox (71-32). The Yankees are 5 games behind the Red Sox entering play today and they are 5 games up on the Seattle Mariners in the AL Wild Card Standings. 

I haven’t heard yet when Britton will join his new team but I think it would be foolish to make him travel to Tampa, Florida for today’s game, particularly given its early start time. The Yankees bullpen is rested and they can afford to wait a day for Britton’s arrival. Therefore, I’d send Britton to New York in anticipation of Thursday’s game against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. It would give Britton a breather to adjust to the change and to make temporary living accommodations. I’ve wondered if third base coach Phil Nevin will give up #53 for Britton. It’s not like he is married to the number. I guess we’ll soon find out.

Luis Cessa (1-1, 3.00 ERA) makes his return to the Yankees today for the start in the series finale with the Rays. He’ll be opposed by former (and maybe future?) Yank Nathan Eovaldi (3-4, 4.26 ERA). The Yankees are expected to activate Gleyber Torres before today’s game. It will be interesting to see the roster move made to open a spot for Torres. Cessa’s spot was opened by last night’s demotion of Giovanny Gallegos to Triple A. The most likely guy to join him with the RailRiders is Tyler Wade although Brandon Drury could certainly be an option if he needs a stint on the DL following his hand injury yesterday. Test results on the hand were negative but Drury’s hand is bruised and he could miss a few days.  A short stint on the DL might be good for him. Inevitably, I see the road coming to an end for Neil Walker but I don’t expect to see his name on the transactions wire today. Getting Torres back might be the single greatest “acquisition” the Yankees make this month. The Yankees have done a much better job winning with Gleyber’s name in the lineup than not so his presence is tremendous for the team.   

Today is a great day for a Yankees victory. Cessa, please make it happen. Go Yankees!

Update: Nasty Nate goes to Boston. The Red Sox acquired Nathan Eovaldi this morning so Ryne Stanek (1-2, 1.91 ERA) opens for the Rays.  

Implosion of the Cuban Missile...

Photo Credit: AP (Julie Jacobson)

Yanks avert loss despite ‘outta control’ Chapman…

Let me get this straight. The Yankees take a four-run lead into the ninth inning, bring in closer Aroldis Chapman to finish off the Mets, nearly lose the game, and Chappy has to be “saved” by Chasen Shreve? You’re kidding me, right?  

Chapman’s very forgettable (maybe not so forgettable for us) ninth inning was directly attributable to his inability to throw strikes. Only 3 of 19 pitches were strikes and the last 11 pitches he threw were outside of the strike zone. In order, Chapman walked a batter, gave up an infield single, walked two more batters and then plunked a hitter before giving way to the bullpen’s weakest link. Shreve inherited the bases loaded situation with no outs and the Yankees clinging to a two-run lead. In other words, he had to walk a high wire without a net.  Fortunately, Shreve and the Yankees held on to beat the New York Mets, 7-6, to even up the series at a game apiece.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Hopefully it was “just a bad day” as Chapman described to the media after the game. Health-wise, Chapman seemed fine, balky knee and all. His meltdown nearly deprived Sonny Gray (7-7) of his first win at Yankee Stadium since May 5th.  

The game didn’t start out well when Sonny Gray gave up a homer to Michael Conforto, a solo shot to right, in the second inning for the game’s first run. Michael Kay of the YES Network was quick to point out that Gray has an 8.25 ERA at home compared to a road ERA of 3.62 to illustrate how challenging Yankee Stadium is for the Tennessean.  

The Mets’ Steven Matz, a favorite of TGP’s Daniel Burch, kept the Yankees off the board until the fourth inning. The Yankees were able to victimize Mets center fielder Matt den Dekker, who probably wished he was still playing Triple A ball in Las Vegas, for a few runs. Or perhaps it was the Mets fans wished he was still in Vegas. Giancarlo Stanton opened the bottom of the inning with an infield single. Matz had thrown three consecutive balls to give Stanton the perfect hitter’s count but he hit a soft grounder to third instead of one of his tailor-made homers. Oh well, no matter. Stanton was safe at first. After Gary Sanchez struck out (of course), Didi Gregorius laced a triple to deep center that den Dekker dived for but couldn’t reach. Stanton scored and the game was tied. Miguel Andujar followed with a fly to right that was caught by a fan. Miggy was awarded second with a ground-rule double, while Gregorius scored the go-ahead run. Greg Bird’s double to deep center, a ball that bounced off the side of den Dekker’s outstretched glove, scored Andujar. After Brandon Drury flied out, Austin Romine singled to, who else, a diving den Dekker who couldn’t make the catch and Bird scored to make it a 4-1 game.

There was a little drama in the top of the fifth for the Mets when Asdrubal Cabrera was tossed for throwing his bat down after a called strikeout on a checked swing (looked like his wrists broke on the replay to support the call). Cabrera continued barking at the third base umpire (Hunter Wendelstedt), throwing his batting helmet and gloves, before he eventually departed. Cabrera was the second Met to get tossed after hitting coach Pat Roessler was ejected earlier in the game for arguing balls and strikes.  

Sonny Gray took the three-run lead into the sixth inning but it unraveled for him. After getting Wilmer Flores to pop out, he walked the next two batters (Michael Conforto and Jose Bautista) to earn his exit from the game. David Robertson came in, striking out Kevin Plawecki after working the count full. He was not so lucky when the next batter, Amed Rosario, drilled a single to right center to score Conforto. Joey Bats slid safely into third. With Matt den Dekker batting, D-Rob was charged with an error on a throw to first to check the runner. The bad throw hit Rosario, sliding back to first base, in the foot with the ball bouncing away, and Joey Bats scored to close the gap to 4-3. 

Gray deserved better than his final line…5 1/3 innings, three hits, three runs (two earned), three walks, and six strikeouts…but it put him in position for the win even though the two Mets runs had scored to make it a one-run game.

Photo Credit: NY Post (Paul J Bereswill)

The Yankees picked up a run in the bottom of the sixth inning while Steven Matz was still on the mound for the Mets. Miguel Andujar led off for the Yanks with a double to right. Miggy was seemingly in the heart of every scoring opportunity on this day. Greg Bird ended Matz’s day with a single to right, scoring Andujar.  It was 5-3 Yankees.  

Aaron Judge homered leading off the bottom of the seventh inning against Mets reliever Tim Peterson. The line drive which fought against the wind landed in the Mets bullpen in left field.  It was Judge’s 26th home run of the year to make it a three-run game again.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees scored what would prove to be the decisive run. With former Yankee Anthony Swarzak pitching for the Mets, Miguel Andujar led off with a single to center, a ground ball that got past Amed Rosario. After Greg Bird struck out, Brandon Drury singled to right center, advancing Andujar to third. Drury took second on the throw when the ball, over the head of the cutoff man, bounced off third baseman Jose Bautista on a short hop. Austin Romine hit a grounder to second with the infield drawn but the play scored Andujar. The Yankees were up, 7-3.

Michael Kay asked the question “does Aaron Boone bring in Chapman to keep him fresh?” while the Yankees were still batting in the eighth. The answer would soon be provided but it was not the Chapman we wanted to see.

The YES Network illustrated a grand shot of Chapman entering the game from center field (ala Mariano Rivera style) but the effort would not match the entrance. Kevin Plawecki, walk.  Amed Rosario, infield single under the glove of the diving Miguel Andujar. Ty Kelly, pinch-hitting for Matt den Dekker, walk. Bases loaded, no outs. With Michael Kay repeatedly saying Chapman had no control, he stayed in the game.  Jose Reyes, walk, which pushed Plawecki across home plate for a run. A visit to the mound by pitching coach Larry Rothschild. Rothchild’s visit didn’t help. Brandon Nimmo was hit by a pitch on his upper arm and the Mets had their second run to make it 7-5. Finally, Aaron Boone had seen enough (not sure what took so long) and made the call to the pen for Chasen Shreve, my favorite DFA candidate.  Devin Mesoraco hit a grounder to Brandon Drury who stepped on second and completed the double play with a throw to first. The Mets scored to make it a one-run game, but the DP was huge. It brought Wilmer Flores to the plate as the last hope for the Mets. Flores hit a slow roller back to the mound but Shreve picked up the ball and fired it to first to end the game. Yankees win, 7-6. Credit to Shreve for outperforming my expectations. It was his first save of the season and might have been one of the biggest saves of the year for the Yankees.   

It was not a great game for Gary Sanchez who finished the day hitless in four at-bats. He struck out twice. I saw one Twitter post that asked how you strike out Sanchez. You throw him a pitch outside the strike zone. Sadly, there is some truth to it.

Despite the horrific outing for Aroldis Chapman, credit to Jonathan Holder and Dellin Betances for their combined two innings of hitless relief with three K’s. If they had failed, the Mets most likely would have won this game.  

The Yankees (63-34) picked up a game on the Red Sox. They are back to four and a half games behind the AL East leaders after Boston fell to the Detroit Tigers and rumored trade candidate Mike Fiers, 5-0.  

Domingo Acevedo’s stay in the Big Leagues was short-lived. After getting to dress for Saturday’s game (but not pitching), Acevedo was returned to Double-A Trenton after the game. The demotion was not a surprise. Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com had speculated prior to the game that Acevedo was called up as insurance for Sonny Gray. With job complete and no need for his long relief services, Acevedo was sent “home”. Giovanny Gallegos is expected to take Acevedo’s place. I am not quite sure what Tommy Kahnle has to do to get back as he is a Major Leaguer stuck in Triple A like Drury was until recently.

In other Yankees transaction news, Clint Frazier was moved from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s 7-day DL to the Yankees 10-day DL for his concussion protocol.  

In an interview with the Seattle Times on Friday, Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto said second base belongs to Dee Gordon with the impending return of former Yankee Robinson Cano. Cano, who is eligible to return from his 80-game suspension on August 14th, is expected to see time at first base and designated hitter. It makes sense for the Mariners given Cano is not eligible for post-season play and they’ll need Gordon in top form at second base. But admittedly, it will be weird to see Cano playing first base even if he has the athleticism and bat to play the position.

Mets closer Jeurys Familia, who sat out the first two games of the Mets series with the Yankees, was traded to the Oakland A’s yesterday. The A’s are unexpectedly in the Wild Card hunt and even though Blake Treinen has had a breakout year as their closer, Familia deepens their pen. After the Padres grabbed one of the best prospects in baseball for their closer, I was surprised the best the Mets could do was land the A’s 17th best prospect among the two players they received along with international bonus pool money. But then again, they’re the Mets.

Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe is reporting Brandon Drury was the headliner in the Yankees offer for Manny Machado. I suppose that’s not a great surprise. Cafardo also mentioned that the general feeling around Baseball is that the Yankees are trying to move Sonny Gray. The thinking is Gray would be better served in a smaller market. Despite his win on Saturday, I can’t say I am in disagreement. But of course it is all dependent upon the level of pitching talent GM Brian Cashman can secure by the trading deadline. If Cash is unable to land at least two quality starters, they’d be foolish to move Gray.

The Yankees and Mets conclude their three-game series tonight. Jacob deGrom (5-4, 1.68 ERA), a pitcher most Yankees fans covet even if a trade with the Mets is improbable, will take on Masahiro Tanaka (7-2, 4.54 ERA). deGrom would like great in Pinstripes, I’m just sayin’.  I don’t think it will happen but until the trading deadline passes, it’s nice to think about. I’d love to charge into October with Sevy and deGrom leading the way. Anyway, I hope deGrom pitches great but not too great.  

Go Yankees!

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. New York Mets 7/21

And just like that it is game time here in the Bronx between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets. Subway Series Part 2, version 2018. Let’s do this. In the start this afternoon the Yankees will send Sonny Gray to the mound to face off with Steven Matz for the Mets, a trade target I wish Brian Cashman would look at acquiring. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11 and MLB Network. You can also follow along with the game on MLB TV, with the MLB At-Bat app and by tuning into the Yankees radio broadcast with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

Follow us on Twitter, @GreedyStripes, and “Like” us on Facebook, The Greedy Pinstripes, to keep up with us and the team all season long. Enjoy the game, hurt Matz’s trade value only to make our GM pay less after the game, and go Yankees!!