S.T. Game 25. Donaldson homers twice in Yanks’ 6-3 win.

Josh Donaldson homered twice and drove in four runs in the Yanks (10-14-1 in spring training) 6-3 win over Detroit on Tuesday.

Now is the time to start seeing results, with Opening Day 9 days away. You want to hit the ground running.

Luis Severino has not had a good spring before today, even though everyone says he is healthy. The day didn’t start out well, as he gave up a HR to the leadoff hitter and 2 runs in the first inning, but he settled in after that. His performance this spring has been concerning so far.

Torres 1 for 3, RBI.
Donaldson 2 for 3, 2 HR 4 RBI
Volpe 1 for 2. Double, walk, SB. #1 prospect. I think he should be starting SS.
Kiner-Falefa 1 for 3, was in LF
Alexander Vargas 1 for 1 double
Mickey Gasper 1 for 1
Ortega 1 for 3, SB

Severino 4 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 1 W, 9 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Holmes 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K
Loaisiga (Winner) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 3 K.
Peralta 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K.
Norwood 2 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 2 W, 3 K. 1 WP

S.T. Game 24. Yanks fall to O’s, 5-3.

Gerrit Cole had one bad inning (he’s had a good spring training) and as a result, the Yanks (9-14-1 in spring training) lost 5-3 to Baltimore on Sunday.

Now is around the time I really pay attention to results. Because now most of the minor leaguers have been sent down and others cut.

I read from Jon Heyman that he thinks the best Yankees infield would be Rizzo at 1B, Volpe at 2B, Peraza at SS and D.J. at 3B. Fine, but what then happens with Donaldson and Gleyber? It’s basically a given right now that IKF will serve as a utility man.

My thoughts. I think Rizzo, Gleyber, Volpe and D.J. would be best. Peraza could still go to the minors until the infield glut is resolved. Maybe there will be a trade soon. But Donaldson is hitting just .179 this spring, and despite manager Aaron Boone’s confidence that Donaldson still has something in the tank, concerns abound after Donaldson’s off year in 2022 and with Donaldson’s age (37). Maybe at the trade deadline Gleyber would be dealt, opening a spot for Volpe or Peraza, whoever doesn’t make the Opening Day cut. But in order to get Peraza and Volpe on the team, someone has to go.

As far as LF is concerned, Hicks will probably be there, but I’d prefer Cabrera. Hicks is hitting .290 this spring but mostly with no one on. When there are RISP, then nothing. Actually, the best hitter among the LF candidates has been Willie Calhoun. (.344). Rafael Ortega can play all OF positions, but after a hot start to spring training, has cooled off. Jasson Dominguez (#2 prospect) isn’t a consideration. He’s only played five games at AA, and that is where he’ll probably start the season. He isn’t far away, though.

So, my choices? Gleyber at 2B, Volpe at SS, Cabrera in LF. Until Bader is over his oblique injury, the OF alignment won’t be what I’d like (who plays CF? Hicks? Judge? Cabrera? Heck, IKF was out there the other day. Ortega?)

Boone says that Volpe is a leadoff or middle of the order hitter. As of now, he is committed to LeMahieu leading off. I beg to differ. I’d have Volpe lead off for a few reasons.1) He’d be helped by Judge behind him. No pitcher wants runners on base with Judge coming up. He wouldn’t want to walk Volpe. Volpe would see better pitches to hit. 2) Volpe would disturb pitchers more than DJ. He is a better SB threat. If the pitcher is concentrating on Volpe, there is less concentration on Judge. 3) Volpe is more likely to get the extra base, like scoring from first on a Judge double, or going first to third on a Judge single, than DJ. I’d have DJ batting fifth.

So my lineup would be:

Volpe SS #1 prospect
Judge RF
Rizzo 1B
Stanton DH
LeMahieu 3B
Torres 2B
Cabrera LF
Bader CF
Trevino C

Today’s highlights:

LeMahieu 2 for 3
Judge 1 for 4, double.
Rizzo 0 for 2, RBI, walk.
Stanton 1 for 3
Donaldson 0 for 3
Cabrera 2 for 3, RBI.
Hicks 1 for 2
Peraza 0 for 3 #3 prospect.
Calhoun 0 for 2
Trey Sweeney 1 for 2 #7 prospect

Cole (L) 5 IP, 4 R, 6 H, 1 W, 7 K. Gave up 1 HR. 1 HBP. All runs in fifth.
Abreu 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Cordero 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.
Marinaccio 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 W, 3 K.
Ramirez 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K.

S.T. Game 23. Yanks fall to Toronto, 5-2. Cortes’ first outing.

Because of a hamstring strain, Nestor Cortes is a little behind the other pitchers. He made his first spring training start today and the rust showed as he gave up five runs as the Yanks (9-13-1 in spring training) lost to Toronto 5-2.

I usually don’t pay too much attention to spring training results until the last 10 days or so. That time is coming up.

Today’s highlights:

Volpe 1 for 3, walk, run scored. #1 prospect. As far as I’m concerned, he should be starting SS.
Judge 1 for 4, double.
Stanton 2 for 3, RBI
Donaldson 0 for 3
Willie Calhoun 1 for 3. Doesn’t play all OF positions like Hicks or Ortega, but as far as LF goes, he has hit better this spring than Hicks, Cabrera, Florial or Ortega.
Kiner-Falefa 0 for 1, walk
Cabrera 0 for 2.
Ortega 0 for 3.
Chaparro 0 for 1
Sweeney 0 for 1 #7 prospect

Cortes (L) 3 1/3 IP, 5 R, 3 H, 3 W, 4 K. Gave up 2 HR.
King 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1 HBP
Loaisiga 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Holmes 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Hamilton 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 0 K. 1 HBP

S.T. Game 21. Schmidt perfect, bullpen not in Yanks 9-6 loss.

Clarke Schmidt was perfect in his five innings of work, but the bullpen wasn’t as the Yankees (9-11-1 in spring training) lost to Pittsburgh Thursday night, 9-6.

15 up, 15 down with 7 K’s for Schmidt. Jasson Dominguez continued his hot spring with a double.

LeMahieu 2 for 4
Judge 1 for 4, double, RBI.
Stanton 2 RBI
Dominguez 1 for 1, double. #2 prospect
Donaldson 1 for 3, RBI double.
Peraza 1 for 2, walk. #3 prospect

Schmidt 5 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 7 K. 15 up, 15 down.
Cordero 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Peralta 0 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 0 W, 0 K. gave up HR.
Abreu (BS) 1 1/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K
Evans (L) 1/3 IP, 4 R, 5 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Norwood 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K.

S.T. Game 19. Yanks hit 5 HR in 10-3 win.

The Yankees (9-9-1 in spring training) hit 5 HR, 3 in the first inning, in beating Toronto 10-3 Tuesday night.

Andres Chaparro is having a heck of a spring, and it makes me wonder. I’m not too sure about his defense at 3B, but could he be putting himself in the mix to be the 3B in 2024? Josh Donaldson is 37 and I don’t see the Yanks picking up his option for 2024. Of course the Yanks could go with LeMahieu or Cabrera at 3B in 2024, but what if they want them both in a super-utility role? What if they don’t want to move Torres or Volpe to 3B? In any case, Chaparro is making the Yanks take notice.

D.J. LeMahieu, Donaldson and Estevan Florial all homered in the first inning, and Oswald Peraza added one later on.

LeMahieu 2 for 4, solo HR leading off bottom of first.
Chaparro 3-run HR.
Donaldson 3-run HR.
Peraza solo HR.
Florial 2-run HR.

Cole (Winner) 4 2/3 IP, 3 R, 6 H, 0 W, 6 K. Gave up 1 HR.
King 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Peralta 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K.
Hamilton 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K.
Danish 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K

In order to get more versatility out of their players (and be better prepared for injuries) the Yanks will try out IKF in CF in an upcoming spring training game. IKF already is a C (bet you didn’t know that), SS, 3B, 2B … so ….

S.T. Game 15 & 16. The Martian homers again, but Yanks lose both split squad games

You have to remember that Jasson Dominguez, aka as “The Martian”, is only 20 years old and has only played a handful of games in AA, where he will probably start out at in 2023.

But it is ok to dream of him being in the Bronx soon. He homered yet again today in one of the Yankees (8-8 in spring training) split squad games. He played in the home game, in which they lost to the Phillies, 6-3.

The Yanks only had four hits in this game.

LeMahieu 1 for 2 with a walk
Judge 0 for 2 with a walk.
Stanton 2 for 3, single and double.
Dominguez 1 for 3, 2-run HR #2 prospect
Volpe 0 for 1 with a walk, also was HBP #1 prospect

German 2 1/3 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 0 W, 3 K
M. Gomez 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K.
Peralta 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K
Holmes 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K 1 HBP
King 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K.
Krook (L) 2 2/3 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 1 W, 3 K. 2 WP has shot at bullpen spot.
Keating 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1 WP

They lost the away game, 3-0 to the Pirates, getting just 5 hits.

Peraza 0 for 3 #3 prospect
Kiner-Falefa 1 for 3
Florial 0 for 2, 2 strikeouts. I expect him to be DFA’d soon.
Donaldson 0 for 3
McKinney 2 for 3
Jones 0 for 2, 2 strikeouts #5 prospect.

Weber (L) 2 2/3 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 2 W, 1 K. Gave up 2 HR 1 balk
Hamilton 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Ramirez 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. Has shot at bullpen spot.
Santos 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 3 W, 1 K.

S.T. Game 11. Judge homers in Yanks’ 9-2 win.

Aaron Judge hit a 3-run HR and Domingo German looked sharp at the Yankees (7-4 in spring training) beat the Pirates 9-2 Monday night.

Highlights

LeMahieu 2 for 3, 2 RBI
Judge 1 for 2, 3-run HR
Florial 1 for 2, walk, 2 SB
Rizzo 1 for 3
Donaldson 1 for 3
Volpe 1 for 2, 2 walks, SB but also was picked off. Nice defensive play. #1 prospect.
Hicks 2 for 3 but an error in the field.
Calhoun 2 for 3. Interesting. Non-roster player hitting .571 this spring in trying to win LF job. Intriguing.
Pereira 1 for 2 #6 prospect
Trevino 1 for 2 RBI
Dominguez 1 for 2 #2 prospect.
Ortega 0 for 1, 2 walks. Also after LF job. (Along with Hicks (the favorite), Calhoun, Cabrera, Florial)

German (Winner) 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 4 K. Probably the favorite for the #5 rotation spot.
Cordero 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. Trying to win bullpen spot.
Hamilton 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Yoendrys Gomez 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. #11 prospect.
Norwood 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K
Bowman1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR.

S.T. Game 6. Narvaez walk-off HR gives Yanks 4-2 win. #4 Prospect Austin Wells out 2 months with broken rib.

C Carlos Narvaez hit a two-out, two-run HR in the bottom of the ninth to give the Yankees (4-2 in spring training) a 4-2 win over Washington Wednesday afternoon.

Before the game, #4 prospect C Austin Wells found out his rib problem was actually a fractured rib. He will be out 6-8 weeks.

The Yanks had a lot of regulars in this game, and the starting lineup resembled a regular season lineup.

LeMahieu 2B 1 for 2
Judge RF 0 for 2
Rizzo 1b 1 for 2
Stanton DH 0 for 2
Donaldson 3B 0 for 1, walk, run
Bader CF 1 for 2, RBI triple, run
Hicks LF 1 for 2
Higashioka C 0 for 2 going soon to WBC (World Baseball Classic) for games
Kiner-Falefa SS 0 for 2

Key reserves:

Volpe (#1 prospect) 0 for 2 1 strikeout. Trying to grab SS job.
Florial 0 for 2, 2 strikeouts. Out of options. If doesn’t make team, would be DFA’d
Cabrera 1 for 2
Calhoun 0 for 1, walk (trying to win LF job)
Dominguez (#2 prospect) 0 for 1, walked in front of Narvaez HR, struck out.earlier.
Narvaez 1 for 2. 2-run GW HR in bottom of 9th.

Pitchers

German 2 1/3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 3 K. 1 HBP (competing with Schmidt for #5 rotation spot with Montas out)
Weissert 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. Let inherited runner score (Charged to German) fighting for bullpen spot
Loaisiga 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. going soon to WBC
Yoendrys Gomez 3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 2 K. 2 HBP #11 prospect
Ryan Weber 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. Longshot for a bullpen spot.

News and Notes.

To no one’s surprise, Aaron Judge was named as one of the three finalists for the AL MVP award. He is considered the favorite to win the award. I still get ticked by people pushing for Alvarez (it’s a regular season award, people!) or Ohtani (the Angels finished 33 games back. So, you are telling me that without him they are 45 back? Whoopdie damn do.).

The Contemporary Baseball Committee will be looking at 8 ex-players for the HOF. Albert Belle, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Fred McGriff, Rafael Palmeiro and Curt Schilling. Five of the eight would be controversial selections because of steroids and/or personality issues, despite in some cases 3000+ hits, 500+ HR, 300+ wins. I won’t get into that. We know about all that. That leaves McGriff, Mattingly and Murphy. I believe McGriff, who is tied on the all-time list with Lou Gehrig with 493 HR (and no steroids) should have already been put in. I’d love Mattingly, but Mattingly’s 1994-1989 pre-back injury (HOF quality) and 1990-1995 post-back injury numbers (merely above average) are drastically different. If Donnie could have only stayed healthy and put up numbers 1990-1995 that matched his 1984-1989 numbers, then he would be a more serious candidate. Murphy I am on the fence on. A back-to-back MVP (1982 and 1983) that like Maris (1960 and 1961) isn’t in the HOF. Maybe a few more HR (he had 398) or a higher average (.265) would have given him a better shot. Once he turned 32, he wasn’t the same player. A few more seasons at his peak would have given him a better chance.

The Yanks have not only players as free agents, but coaches too. Pitching coach Matt Blake is a free agent. (GM Brian Cashman is coming back but as of now is working pro bono. His contract expired October 31 and no new deal has been done yet). Assistant pitching coach Hensley Meulens is gone to be hitting coach for Colorado.

As expected, the Yanks picked up the team option for Luis Severino at $15MM for 2023. Anthony Rizzo opted out of his contract and is a free agent. Here are the Yankees’ free agents and my thoughts.

Andrew Benintendi. Yanks will make an offer to try to keep him.

Zack Britton. Interesting call. With Chapman departing, Yanks could use a lefty reliever, but Britton will be 35 next year and missed almost all of 2022 after a poor 2021 and TJ surgery. Pass. Use $ for Judge.

Matt Carpenter. A tough call. Turns 37 around Thanksgiving. If Stanton is DH most of the time, where does that leave Carpenter? I think it depends on if Judge stays or goes. If Judge stays, pass. If Judge goes, then the Yanks may look to sign Carpenter and Stanton and Carpenter could switch between RF and DH.

Miguel Castro. Pass. The Yanks could probably replace him with Weissert at a lower cost (save $ for Judge). They already have Trivino, Marinaccio, King, Holmes, as RH relievers, as well as Schmidt and German if Schmidt and German aren’t starters. And Stephen Ridings should be over his injury issues that cost him 2022.

Aroldis Chapman. Pass. Goodbye and Good Riddance for missing that mandatory workout before the ALDS.

Marwin Gonzalez. Pass. Only hit .185 in 2022. Since 2019, has only hit .198. Oswaldo Cabrera can fill his utility role for less money. 34 next year. Like Britton, pass, go with youth and less $$. Save $ for Judge.

Chad Green. Pass. Will miss most if not all of 2023 because of TJ surgery. Instead of paying him will need to throw that $ at Judge.

Aaron Judge. Obviously the #1 Yankees target and priority.

Anthony Rizzo. The Yanks will look to retain him.

Jameson Taillon. Questionable. Even if the Yanks get Judge back, is there enough money left to go after a Carlos Rodon (my choice)? Would they give a low in years but high in $$ deal to Verlander, DeGrom or Kershaw? Could go either way here.

Of course, getting rid of the salaries of Donaldson and Hicks would help. As of now, the Yanks think both have something left (excuse me while I get sick), but of course they aren’t going to say anything that diminishes whatever trade value they have.

Notes from Boone/Cashman press conference

Since I’ve been out on disability for a while, I was able to watch the Boone/Cashman press conference yesterday. Here are a few takes from it.

Since everything revolves around Aaron Judge, they would like a deal sooner rather than later. Nothing would be as bad as being scorned and then having no backups to fall back on. Cashman denied any friction with Judge from this spring’s negotiations.

Neither thinks a drastic retool is necessary. They think the Yankees would have been far more competitive in the ALCS vs. Houston if LeMahieu, Benintendi and Carpenter were healthy. I can agree there. Judging by their comments about Benintendi’s and Carpenter’s injuries, it appears that they will be reaching out to both of them to see if they can get both back.

One thing that concerned me was their defense of Josh Donaldson. Now if anyone were on the trading block, neither Boone nor Cashman would be tipping their hand on that. But to state that Donaldson, 37 next month, underachieved offensively but still has something in the tank goes against everything we saw this year. He looked cooked. But with Donaldson’s contract being horrible, I guess they have to hope. They did think Donaldson deserved to be among the three Gold Glove finalists at 3B, though.

SS appears to be a competition next spring training. IKF could still be there but will be pushed by Peraza and possibly Volpe. Oswaldo Cabrera figures in here too. Peraza was described as impressive in his short 18 game stint at the end of the season. Other terms used for him was that he needed to improve and develop last year (done) hence not an earlier callup. Jack Curry, on the YES network, mentioned that IKF was a polarizing figure to the Yankees fanbase much as Sanchez was. Boone and Cashman were defending IKF at the presser, stating that IKF (as a bridge) did everything that was expected from him.

They would like Anthony Rizzo back. Rizzo will opt out of his $16MM deal, but the question is will he accept a qualifying offer of $19.65MM or go for more? Or accept more years at less than the qualifying offer? (2 yr/$18MM per). But the Yanks hope to work something out with him.

To no surprise, the Yanks WILL pick up Severino’s $15MM team option. One more rotation piece could be in play. It could be retaining Taillon (a free agent) or going elsewhere. After the front three of Cole, Cortes and Severino, there still is Schmidt, Montas and German even if Taillon goes, but you know what they say…. you NEVER have enough pitching.

The feeling is that Stanton was playing through something at the end of the year. I feel the same way. His batting average after June 1 was Gallo-like.

Cashman’s contract actually expired October 1. He wants to return, and Hal wants him back, so it is like Cashman is working pro bono as of now. But you figure something will be worked out soon there.

I wrote down notes haphazardly while the conferences were going on, but there is a quick synopsis for you.

UPDATE: One thing I didn’t like: From the NY Post: In other bits of info from Cashman’s press conference, he said he wouldn’t discuss trading players but noted that outfielder Aaron Hicks would be back and that the team felt he still had something to offer. Really? Ugh. But then, if he is on the market, they don’t want to say anything hurting Hicks’ trade value (which is probably low enough already).

Other things I came across:

A sad state of affairs. Graig Nettles states that the Yanks stopped inviting him to Old-Timer’s games and events some five years ago and he doesn’t know why. It’s a shame. Nettles should have a plaque in Monument Park (#9 is already retired for Roger Maris and I don’t think Nettles deserves that honor, but a plaque? Definitely). Apparently, someone in the front office has it in for Nettles, but who?

One tweet on Twitter accuses the Yanks of being more of a corporation than anything else, including a baseball organization. Looking at how they have the YES network, are involved with an Italian soccer team, have the Pinstripe Bowl, were in negotiations to play regular season games in France (and remember they played in England recently, also Japan) I have to wonder if that person is correct, and if so, that could be a scary thing. After all, I remember the CBS years, where the Yanks were not the priority of a corporation, but just part of it. You would like it to be 100% baseball. Does this explain the fan base’s exasperation with the owner and the front office? Or some of the postseason failures of recent times? After all, Hal is more corporate than the old man was as far as divesting his interests (or so it appears). And the last time the Yanks won, or even went to the WS, the old man was still alive (although much diminished in capacity). Hal’s track record does seem more corporate and bottom line than baseball oriented, and is that a problem and a cause of the postseason disappointments?

Finally, another Japanese player few have heard of to keep an eye on. Yesterday I mentioned RHP Koudai Senga.

Now, Masataka Yoshida. If the Yanks are not able to bring back Benintendi, Yoshida has many of the same skill sets as Benintendi. He is a lefty hitter. He turns 30 next July. He hit .336 with 21 HR and 89 RBI in Japan this season. His power would probably drop in the USA but then again, Benintendi only had five HR this season. Like Benintendi, a contact hitter. Benintendi had 52 walks and 77 strikeouts while hitting .304. Yoshida had 82 walks and only 42 strikeouts. Yoshida has hit .326 in Japan and has 427 walks to 307 strikeouts. He has had four seasons of 20 or more HR (which would be what here? 12-15?). If you take Yoshida’s career stats in Japan and divide by five, his average season in Japan comes out to something like .326-27-95 over 156 games. Taking into account the tougher MLB competition, could he hit .280-15-70 here? Be Benintendi-like for a cheaper price? Be a backup consideration if the Yanks can’t sign Benintendi? Just throwing his name out here because until recently, I hadn’t heard of Yoshida (or Senga) either. But most of us haven’t heard of these Japanese stars who could be MLB-bound. So just passing his name out there and informing you (and me).