Game 48. Bird back, Toe sent down, Gray bombed in Yanks’ 11-4 loss.

Sonny Gray was bombed, and there were surprising and questionable decisions made yesterday before and during the Yanks’ 11-4 loss to the Angels Saturday night.

Greg Bird came off the DL and made his season debut, going 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts. But the expected move, sending Tyler Austin down to AAA, didn’t happen. Instead, it was Ronald Torreyes, the supersub who was hitting .339, who went down to AAA. It was a tough, difficult decision to make, and one that shook up the team. Manager Aaron Boone even said it was undeserved, but the Yanks have a numbers crunch. You can only have so many players on a team, and as a result, some deserving players who could be starting for other teams are playing for SWB right now.

Which means, as an article in the NY Post states, that the Yanks really need to establish their identity. What is the roster of this team? And as for the guys at AAA who could be starting elsewhere, maybe the Yanks should look into dealing these guys. Especially for starting pitching help. And maybe include Sonny Gray in the deal for other starting pitchers.

In order to catch Boston in the AL East (the Yanks are now 32-16 and two games back. Still a great record but we are thinking ahead here) and/or to deal with Boston and Houston and maybe others in the postseason, the Yanks will need for Tanaka (5-2, but with a 4.95 ERA, ERA+ 88) and Gray (3-4, 5.98, ERA+ 73) to step it up or they need to trade for someone to bolster the rotation. CC turns 38 in July. Montgomery is on the DL. Maybe Justus Sheffield in the future comes up, but he isn’t ready yet and just came off the DL himself. The Yanks need another starter (Severino can’t do it himself) and they have the prospects to get one. Especially with guys like Torreyes, Drury and Clint Frazier. Also with guys like Estrada, Avelino and Tyler Wade, all infielders who are stuck behind Didi and Gleyber Torres.

They also, surprisingly, could use bullpen help. The bullpen, hyped as maybe the best ever, right now has guys with ERAs of 4.76 (Robertson), 4.71 (Betances), 4.82 (Shreve) and 7.88 (Kahnle).

How soon will Cashman pull the trigger?

As for Sonny Gray, he was bad again, getting knocked out in the fourth, and failing to hold a 4-1 lead. After Gray gave up a run in the top of the first, courtesy of a Mike Trout RBI double (Trout went 5 for 5, HR, 3 doubles, scored 3 runs and had 4 RBI), the Yanks took the lead back on back-to-back homers by Gardner (2) and Judge (14). For Gardner, it was his first HR since Opening Day.

Austin Romine sliced a 2-run HR (3) off the right-field foul pole in the bottom of the second to put the Yanks up 4-1. Then the roof fell in.

Gray gave up two runs in the third as the Angels cut the Yanks’ lead to 4-3.

In the fourth, Boone made a decision that I disagreed with. With two out and a man on third, he elected to pitch to Trout, who already had two doubles. You don’t let the big guy beat you. I was mentioning to a friend that I’d walk him. Now Boone did say that Trout would probably have stolen second anyway, taking the force away, and that you weren’t throwing through with the runner on third, and he didn’t want to put the go-ahead run on second. Fair enough. But Trout already had two doubles, and was the go-ahead run in the batter’s box. You guessed it. 2-run HR to give the Angels a 5-4 lead.

The Angels got four runs, two of them unearned, in the sixth off of Tommy Kahnle, and here I wonder about Kahnle being back with the team off of the DL. I don’t know if he had more time to be on the DL, but it seemed as if he was rushed back. (You wonder that about Bird, too). Kahnle had a couple of rehab stints before being reactivated on Friday, but he didn’t exactly put up impressive numbers in those rehab minor league games and he didn’t look good last night.

Chasen Shreve gave up a 2-run HR in the seventh to close out the scoring.

Judge 2 for 2 with 2 walks, solo HR.
Didi’s slump continues. Down to .234. We need him to snap out of it.
Andujar 2 hits.
Romine 2 hits, a 2-run HR

Gray (L, 3-4, 5.98) 3 2/3 IP, 5 R, 7 H, 3 W, 7 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Holder 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 3 K. 3.31
Kahnle 2/3 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 W, 0 K. 7.88
Shreve 1 1/3 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 W, 0 K. 4.82 Gave up 1 HR.
Cole 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 7.11 (but 0.00 as a Yankee)

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Yanks’ game suspended, meanwhile, Seattle’s Cano suspended, too.

The Yankees game vs. the Nationals was suspended after 5 1/2 innings with the score tied at 3. The game will be resumed Wednesday at 5 PM, before the regularly scheduled game.

I hate inter-league games at NL parks where the Yanks lose the DH. Masahiro Tanaka started tonight and batted 8th in the lineup.

My grammy beating a rug had a better swing than most pitchers. I am a traditionalist when it comes to baseball except for the DH. Watching a pitcher hit is like enduring Chinese water torture.

Because of inter-league, and the possible need for another PH on the bench, Clint Frazier was called up from SWB and David Hale was DFA’d (again… the Yanks DFA’d him earlier this year, he went to the Twins, THEY DFA’d him and he came back to the Yanks. Some spring for Hale). How long Frazier’s call up lasts, who knows. It could be just for these 2 inter-league games vs. the Nationals.

Robbie Cano was suspended for 80 games by MLB. A couple things about this. When asked if he knew about PED use by Cano, and if that was why the Yanks didn’t re-sign Cano when Robbie became a free agent, Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman stated that he had no knowledge, because knowledge requires you to report it and if not reported, it is a $1MM fine. But, Cashman stated, knowledge is one thing and suspicions another. A very telling line by Cashman.

Maybe there were suspicions. The Yanks did offer 7 years and $180MM, but were blown away by Seattle’s $240MM, 10 yr offer.

Maybe the suspicions made the Yanks low-ball Cano.

The suspicions would be this: Cano’s two best friends on the Yankees were A-Rod and Melky, both of whom were busted. His charity was run by someone whose name became linked to Biogenesis. It could be Robbie was getting away with it for years but finally was caught.

What he was caught for was furosemide, the generic of Lasix, a diuretic. Furosemide in and of itself is not a PED, or steroid. But it can be used as a masking agent to hide steroids. Cano denies that it was used for that purpose, but MLB apparently had evidence that it was.

So Cano is suspended for 80 games, and is ineligible for the postseason should Seattle make it.

But here is the rub. The suspension begins immediately. Cano was appealing the suspension until he had his hand broken while hit by a pitch the other day. So he’d have been out 6-8 weeks anyway because of the break. So the suspension runs concurrently with his time on the DL.

This is wrong. MLB should change the rules so that any suspension like this starts AFTER THE PLAYER COMES OFF THE DL. That is why Cano dropped the appeal, because he knew that because of the broken finger, he would miss only a few weeks of REAL time.

Cano is listed as one of the top 10 2B of ALL TIME. His HOF credentials just took a serious hit today. Because of this, he may never make the HOF.

S.T. Games 29 and 30. Yanks take both Split-Squad games, but Bird hurt.

Here we go again…. we hope not. Greg Bird was pulled before his game today, complaining of a sore foot. It is the same foot that had the ankle problem last year. Did one thing lead to another? He had a CT scan and an MRI and will be seeing a specialist. GM Brian Cashman is concerned.

The Yanks announced, as I hoped they would, that Jonathan Holder is the 13th pitcher on the team and that Domingo German will be sent to AAA to stretch out and get ready to be an emergency starter should they need one.

A couple of Rule 5 picks were returned to the Yankees—P Anyelo Gomez and 1B Mike Ford. Ford will go to AAA and he and Billy McKinney could now come into play if Bird’s situation is serious. Miguel Andujar is also working out at 1B. You also have Neil Walker and Tyler Austin in case Bird has to be DL’d. As one person wrote or said, maybe Adam Lind left too soon.

As for today’s games, the Yanks had a split squad and won both games. 13-6 over Toronto at home and 8-3 over the Braves on the road. I’ll try to be brief.

The home game:

The Yanks got three two-run homers in the game, and they were hit by Didi, Stanton, and minor leaguer Zach Zehner. Rashad Crawford and Erik Kratz each had 2 hits, Kratz driving in 3 runs.

Hale 3 IP, 3 R, 7 H, 0 W, 3 K. Gave up HR.
Gallegos 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Feyereisen (H) 1 2/3 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 1 W, 0 K. Gave up HR.
Rogers (S) 2 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.

In the road game, the Yanks scored six in the top of the ninth to win. Their spring training record is 17-12-1.

Aaron Hicks had 2 hits, inc. a HR. Ryan McBroom had two hits, 2 RBI and homered. Gleyber Torres had two hits and an RBI.

Luis Severino pitched well in his last tuneup before Opening day.

Severino 5 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 2 W, 7 K. Gave up HR.
Green 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Warren 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 3 K.
Heller 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.
Carroll 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.

 

Is Torres ready? and thoughts on the Red Sox’ pickup…

From MLB Trade Rumors:

The Yankees would buy themselves an extra year of control by having infield prospect Gleyber Torres spend at least 16 days in the minors this year, but that’s not going to factor into whether he earns a roster spot, according to GM Brian Cashman (via David Lennon of Newsday). “It’s not part of my evaluation process,” Cashman told Lennon. “We’re trying to win. If we feel that somebody could benefit from more time in the minors, we’ll make that decision at the end of camp. But I’ll take all the information from what I see and factor that into the evaluation. Every win for us is valuable.”

Meanwhile some thoughts on the Red Sox’ expected, just completed, (and long drawn out) signing of J.D. Martinez to a 5 yr. $110MM deal. It does have two opt-out opportunities after the second and third years of the deal. But where does he play?

Martinez is not a good defensive OF, and Boston already has Benintendi, Bradley and Betts in the OF. Hanley Ramirez was the DH last year, and the Red Sox re-signed 1B Mitch Moreland. They also re-signed Eduardo Nunez (Noon-E, because is D isn’t too hot, either) because Dustin Pedroia will miss the beginning of the season. So it appears like there are square pegs for round holes, that in order to fill some spots, some pieces don’t fit defensively. Offensively, ok, an upgrade, esp. in power, which the Red Sox needed, but …

Once again, according to MLBTR:

His (Martinez’) addition calls the role of Hanley Ramirez with the Red Sox into question, as Ramirez now appears to be, at best, a backup DH and a part-time first baseman that is on the short side of the platoon.

Therefore, I expect the Red Sox to make another move. We Yankees fans will have to see what it is and how it may affect the Yanks. By the way, guess who has the highest payroll in MLB? According to spotrac, it’s Boston. The Yanks are eighth, and Stanton, the Yanks’ highest paid player, is #13 in MLB.

Lastly, a new rule to speed up the game. Teams will be allowed just six non-pitching-change visits to the mound over the first nine innings of a game, one per inning in extra innings.

Did Yanks make Darvish an offer?

Yahoo sports is reporting, through Yanks’ broadcaster Michael Kay, that the Yanks did make a 7 yr./$160MM offer to Yu Darvish with a 48 hour window that Darvish walked away from.

What they DON’T say, is WHEN that offer was made.

I can’t see it happening after the Stanton acquisition.

What I would think happened, is that the Yanks had Stanton on the back burner, didn’t know if they would get him (whether Stanton would waive his no-trade to St. Louis or SF or if another team was hot for him and was agreeable to Stanton where Stanton could have gone there) and would get back to Stanton if Darvish turned them down. Which Darvish did.

Now that Darvish turned them down, they then refocused on Stanton, knowing they had to strike while the iron was hot for Stanton, thus the 48-hour window they gave to Darvish.

But knowing now that Darvish turned them down, the Yanks could now refocus on CC too, hoping to get CC back on a hometown discount with incentives.

In order to do that, to get CC back on that discount, the Yanks needed the Marlins to pick up some of Stanton’s salary, which they are. About $30MM of the $295MM left on it.

So now the Yanks go after & get Stanton, and shortly after, get CC back on a 1-yr., $10MM deal with some incentives.

Do I have any proof of that? No, of course not. But if the Yanks DID make that offer to Darvish, they couldn’t have done it in the past week and still stay under the cap that they are hard-pressed to stay under unless they dump some salary (Ellsbury, Gardner, Robertson, Betances).

I, for one, don’t want them to touch or break up what could be the best bullpen in baseball. Just about everyone in that ‘pen has a better than 10k/9 ratio. Some are in the 13-15K/9 ratio. Ridiculous.

So is this scenario what I described above what happened? Only Cashman and the front office know, and you can think for yourselves whether it may or may not have happened and even if it is plausible.

The Yanks did sign two players yesterday and avoided the arbitration process with them. Hicks for $2.8MM, Kahnle for $1.3 and both came in around what was predicted.

That is good. A couple more to come. You hope everything gets settled amicably and we don’t have the drama that occurred last year between Betances and the front office.

Stanton press conference today. Yanks to also announce new bench & 3B Coaches.

The Yanks will have a press conference at 2 PM today to announce their acquisition of slugger Giancarlo Stanton.

Also to be announced today are two new coaches.

From Replacement Yankees web blog:

Josh Bard will be Aaron Boone’s new bench coach. Bard, 39, was a catcher for the Indians 2002-2005, Red Sox 2006, Padres 2006-2008, Washington 2009, and Mariners 2010-2011. In 586 MLB games, he hit .254 with and OPS+ of 90. His 162 g. average was .254-11-61. He got into one postseason with the 2006 Padres, going 1 for 7. He had hit .330-9-40 as a platoon C that season.

Bard was a teammate of Aaron Boone’s in Cleveland in 2005 and has spent the last two seasons as the Dodgers’ bullpen coach. As a former catcher, he probably will also work with Gary Sanchez.

Phil Nevin will be the Yanks’ 3B coach. Nevin was the guy selected by Houston one notch above Derek Jeter in the 1992 MLB draft, much to the chagrin of Astros’ scout, HOF Hal Newhouser.

Nevin, 46, was the Giants’ 3B coach in 2017. He played for Houston 1995, Detroit 1995-1997, the Angels 1998, the Padres 1999-2005, Rangers 2005-2006, Cubs 2006 and Twins 2006.

He topped 100 RBI in 2000, 2001 and 2004, and hit 31 HR in 2000 and 41 in 2001. He played 3B, 1B, C and some corner OF.

He hit .270 with 208 HR in his MLB career, OPS+ 114. His 162 g. average was .270-28-99. He went 0 for 3 in his only postseason with the 2006 Twins.

The Yanks are expected to bring back Mike Harkey as the bullpen coach, and he would join returning pitching coach Larry Rothschild.

No word on the Yankees 1B coach or hitting coaches. Last year, Tony Pena was the 1B coach (and worked with catchers) and the hitting coaches were Marcus Thames and Alan Cockrell were hitting coaches.

UPDATE: From mlbtr.com: Nevin and Boone were high school teammates. Nevin was considered to be a strong candidate for the Tigers’ managerial opening before the club selected Ron Gardenhire to be their next skipper.

The Yankees’ extension of Brian Cashman’s GM pact is completed. 5 yr. $25MM

 

 

Yanks finalizing Cashman extension; Ohtani chooses Angels.

The Yanks are finalizing Brian Cashman’s extension as Yankees’ GM. 5 years, $25MM. Cashman has been GM since 1998.

The Angels won the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes. One downside to it for the Angels. It means that Albert Pujols, who is really slowing up, will have to play 1B more in order to let Ohtani DH.

Giancarlo Stanton has refused to waive his no-trade clause to the Giants and Cardinals and they have stopped trying to trade for him. Stanton apparently is interested in waiving it for one of last year’s four finalists: the Astros, Dodgers, Yankees or Cubs.

As interesting as it would be to see Stanton in the same lineup with Judge, Bird, Sanchez, Didi, etc., a few questions:

You are just getting out of A-Rod’s deal and would the Yankees really want to jump into something similar? Hal wants to get under that cap so he can actively pursue a great free agent class after the 2018 season. Getting Stanton negates that.

What kind of prospects would you have to give up? Torres? Andujar? Adams? Sheffield? What kind of combination of prospects do you give up and how much would that gut your farm system?

Where does Stanton go, DH?