Frazier released; Ex-manager Virdon passes away at the age of 90.

Clint Frazier is now a free agent. With his health issues, it appears the Yanks couldn’t get anything for him in a trade, so Frazier, DFA’d a few days ago, was released.

One-time Yankees manager Bill Virdon has passed away at the age of 90. Virdon was a CF for St. Louis (1955-1956) and Pittsburgh (1956-1965, 1968). He won the ROY award with the Cardinals in 1955 when he hit .281-17-68, OPS+ 100. He got MVP consideration once, finishing 18th in 1956.

Virdon was the CF for the 1960 WS Champion Pirates. A year in which he hit .264-8-40, OPS+ 99. He won a Gold Glove award in 1962. Amazing when you consider some of the other outfielders in the league at the time. Namely Willie Mays and teammate Roberto Clemente.

More a defensive CF than offensive, Virdon’s 162 g. average was .267-9-51, OPS+ 89 (100 is average).

After the Pirates won the 1971 WS, manager Danny Murtaugh resigned for health reasons (only to return later) and Virdon took over. In 1972 Virdon managed the Pirates to the NL East title, but they lost the fifth and deciding game of the NLCS to the Reds in the bottom of the ninth on a wild pitch. When the Pirates struggled in 1973, Virdon was fired and replaced by Murtaugh.

The Yankees tried to hire Dick Williams as manager for 1974 after Williams left Oakland and long-time Yankees manager Ralph Houk resigned, but Charlie Finley held Williams to his contract and blocked the deal. The Yanks then got Virdon, and Virdon won Manager of the Year for leading the Yanks to an 89-73, second place finish, just two games behind Baltimore. In August 1975, with the Yanks just 53-51, Virdon was fired and replaced by Billy Martin. It was the first of Billy’s five terms as Yankees’ manager.

Virdon, as Yankees’ manager, never managed a game at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees played 1974 and 1975 at Shea Stadium since Yankee Stadium was being renovated.

Virdon was picked up by Houston shortly after the Yankees fired him. He stayed with Houston 1975-1982, leading the Astros to the 1980 NL West title. They lost a classic NLCS to the Phillies that year. The Astros made the strike-playoffs in 1981 but lost in the first round to the Dodgers.

Virdon managed the Expos in 1983 and most of 1984. He won 995 games as manager and lost 921, winning pct. .519, which translates to a 84-78 record over 162 games.

Yanks made deal, protect a couple prospects from Rule 5 draft. DFA Frazier, Wade and Odor.

The Yanks had to set a 40 man roster by 6 PM and in so doing try to protect some prospects from the Rule 5 draft on December 8.

To clear room on the 40 man roster, the Yanks traded RHP Nick Nelson and C Donny Sands to the Phillies for LHP Joel Valdez and 1B T.J. Rumfield.

They also DFA’d Clint Frazier, 27, who hit .186-5-15 in 66 games with them in 2021. Frazier has faced a lot of problems dealing with a concussion and vertigo. In 228 games as a Yankee, Frazier hit .239-29-97, OPS+ 104. Too bad he didn’t get much of a shot, and when he did, the injuries hurt him. With Gallo in LF, Frazier didn’t have much playing time, apparently. Miguel Andujar does remain on the roster.

They also DFA’d Tyler Wade, soon to be 27, who hit .268-0-5 this year while leading the Yanks with 17 SB. In 264 games as a Yankee, Wade hit .212-6-33 with 30 SB. Apparently the Yanks feel Oswaldo Cabrera see below) may translate better as a utility infielder, especially with the pop.

Also DFA’d was Rougned Odor, who hit .202-15-39 for the Yanks this year, OPS+ 82.

Nelson, soon to be 26, was 0-2, 8.79 for the Yankees this year in 11 games. For his MLB career, he is 1-2, 6.43 (ERA+ 68) in 22 games, two of them starts. Remember average OPS+ for hitters and ERA+ for pitchers is 100.

Sands, a righty hitting catcher, 25, hit .261-18-56 between AA and AAA this year.

This removed them from the 40 man roster. Replacing them on that roster are two prospects who would have been subject to the Rule 5 draft (recall the Yanks lost Garrett Whitlock to the Rule 5 draft last year and Whitlock went 8-4, 1.96 for Boston this year).

The two prospects are:

Oswaldo Cabrera. 22. Switch-hitter. Plays 2B, SS and 3B. .272-29-89 with 21 SB between AA/AAA.
Everson Pereira. CF/2B. Righty bat. 20. In only 49 games Rookie/Low A/High A, hit .303-20-57 with 9 SB.

You hope that power from Pereira is legit. 20 HR in 49 games? 57 RBI?

Cabrera is the #13 ranked prospect in the Yanks’ system, and Pereira #13.

Also added to the 40 man roster were three other players to replace the DFA’d Frazier, Wade and Odor.

26 year old Ron Marinaccio, RHP, 2-1, 2.04 between AA/AAA this year. 105 strikeouts in 66 1/3 IP.

The Yanks added Stephen Ridings. RHP, 26. 5 games with Yanks this year. 0-0, 1.80.
At AAA/AA was 5-0, 1.24.

Also added was JP Sears, 25, LHP. 10-2, 3.46 between AA/AAA this year.

As far as Valdez and Rumfield go, both are far away. Not 40 man roster additions. Valdez, 21, went 1-1, 1.63 in 15 games in the Dominican Summer League this year. Rumfield, a lefty bat, so far has played in just 27 minor league games.

Left unprotected (unless there is another deal brewing) are:


Josh Breaux. C. Righty bat. 24. hit .249-23-63 in 90 games, High A/AA. #18 prospect.
Brandon Lockridge. CF/2B. 24. 75 games, A+/AA. .298-13-46, 18 SB. #19 prospect.
Matt Sauer 22, RHP. A/A+ 5-6, 4.69. 23 games, 21 starts.

There may be a few others. I don’t have a whole list.


To sum up 40 man roster, 5 off, 5 on.

OFF: Frazier, Wade, Odor, Nelson, Sands

ON: Cabrera, Pereira, Marinaccio, Ridings, Sears.

You can’t protect everyone.

Game 118. Cole & Gallo lead Yanks past Halos, 2-1.

In a makeup game from a previous rainout, the Yankees (66-52, 3rd in AL East, 5 1/2 out, 1 1/2 out of a playoff spot) beat the Angels 2-1 Monday night.

The Yanks have another makeup today, since today is a day/night doubleheader vs. Boston. This doubleheader is huge because the Yanks are 1 1/2 behind Oakland and 2 behind Boston when it comes to the wild card race.

Before the game, the Yanks activated Gerrit Cole off the Covid-IL list, and sent down Brooks Kriske. Cole didn’t miss a beat, as he picked up the win.

Cole gave up a HR to Justin Upton in the top of the first inning, but the Yanks got two in the bottom of the first when Aaron Judge singled with one out, and Joey Gallo followed with a 2-run HR (29, 4th as NYY). That was all the scoring in the game.

The Yanks placed Clint Frazier on the 60-day IL, and it looks like his season is over. A very disappointing one for him, and you hope he gets healthy.

The Yanks will activate Jordan Montgomery off the Covid-IL today and also bring back up Luis Gil. We will see who else (Sanchez? Rizzo?) comes off the Covid-IL list, so there could be a lot of moves today.

It looks like Sanchez is back. The Yanks sent Brantly down after last night’s game. Stephen Ridings also was sent down.

Judge 2 hits
Gallo 2-run HR (29)

Cole (W, 11-6) 5 2/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 W, 9 K. Gave up 1 HR. 3.04
Britton (H, 9) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 6.06 Struck out the only batter he faced.
Abreu (H, 1) 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 4.13
Rodriguez (H, 11) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 5.29 (Tex/NYY) Struck out the only batter he faced.
Green (S, 4) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 3.08

Minor league scores, 8-14-21

AAA: SWB (51-33) won 6-5 in 10 innings. 1B Chris Gittens 3-run HR. 2B Kyle Holder 2 hits.

AA: Somerset (53-35) won 6-2. Starter Jhony Brito 7 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 5 H, 1 W, 7 K. 1 WP.
CF Brandon Lockridge 2 hits. LF Clint Frazier 1 for 3 on rehab. C Josh Breaux 3-run HR. DH Michael Beltre 3 hits.

High A: Hudson Valley (55-34) lost 2-0 in 12 innings, and got just one hit. Starter Randy Vasquez 7 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 2 W, 7 K. 1 WP.

Low A: Tampa (59-27) won 4-3 despite getting just 3 hits. #1 draft pick this year, SS Trey Sweeney, solo HR. 3B Benjamin Cowles solo HR.

Standings:

SWB 2nd, 1 GB
Somerset 1st by 1/2 game
Hudson Valley 1st by 7 games
Tampa 1st by 6 games.

Minor League Action 8-13-21.

AAA: SWB (50-33) lost 6-4 to Lehigh Valley. DH Greg Allen 2 hits, solo HR. C Donny Sands 3-run HR.

CONCERNING NEWS: Luis Severino scratched himself from this SWB rehab start because he didn’t feel right. No further news.

AA: Somerset (52-35) lost 4-1. DH Clint Frazier, rehab, 1 for 3 with a walk. 1B Dermis Garcia HR.

High A: Hudson Valley (55-33) lost 8-4. DH Anthony Volpe 2 hits, solo HR. C Austin Wells 2 hits. LF Elijah Dunham 2 hits, 2 RBI, solo HR. SS Robert Chirinos 3 for 3, solo HR.

Low A; Tampa (58-27) swept a DH.

Game 1: Won 6-0. The Martian, CF Jasson Dominguez, the Yanks’ top prospect, went 3 for 3, RBI. This year’s #1 draft pick, SS Trey Sweeney, 2 hits. 2B Cooper Bowman 2 RBI.

Not to be outdone, this game was a 1-hitter, Beck Way 6 IP (out of the 7), 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 5 K.

Game 2: Won 5-3. RF Ryder Green solo HR. 1B Tyler Hardman 2 hits. LF Juan De Leon 3-run HR.

Starting P Tyrone Yulie: 4 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 3 W, 3 K.

Minor league recap. Frazier starts rehab.

AAA: SWB (49-31) lost 8-1. Another rough outing for Deivi Garcia (2-5, 7.25 at AAA this year). 4 1/3 IP, 5 R, 3 H, 5 W, 4 K. Gave up 1 HR. C Donny Sands solo HR. SS Kyle HOlder 2 hits.

AA: Somerset rained out.

HIgh A: Hudson Valley (54-31) won 7-4. SS Anthony Volpe 2 hits, 2 RBI, a 2-run HR. CF Everson Pereira 2-run HR. LF Pat DeMarco solo HR. Starting P Mitch Spence (W, 5-2, 3.00) 6 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 2 W, 5 K, gave up 1 HR.

Low A: Tampa (56-27) lost 3-2, getting just three hits, two by DH Clint Frazier, who just started rehab. Top prospect Jasson Dominguez is in a slump. Down to .237 at Tampa, .229 overall.

Game 102. Yanks make one last deal before defeating Marlins, 3-1

Before the game, the Yankees added Joey Gallo, Anthony Rizzo and Joely Rodriguez. They sent down Estevan Florial and Albert Abreu, and DFA’d Ryan LaMarre. (And Gallo is wearing #13, not worn since A-Rod).

They also made one last deal, getting Andrew Heaney from the Angels for minor leaguers Janson Junk and Elvis Peguero.

Heaney probably goes into the rotation for now, but I see him more as a long reliever, especially when Corey Kluber and Luis Severino come off the IL. As for who goes when Heaney arrives, we’ll have to see. Sal Romano? Besides, who will Heaney replace in the rotation? Cortes has done great filling in.

Already I have questions. Rizzo is here, and the Yanks were not able to make a deal for Luke Voit. So what happens this weekend when he comes off the IL? Does he just rust on the bench? Now that Gallo is here, what happens with Clint Frazier and Miguel Andujar when they come of the IL (and no word on if and when that would happen for Frazier, still undergoing neurological testing). What about Greg Allen or Brett Gardner? Who goes when Kluber and Severino are ready? The trade deadline has passed but there still are LOTS of questions for the Yanks to answer.

Rizzo answered one question last night, hitting a 449-foot HR in his Yankees debut. The Yanks (54-48, 3rd, 7 1/2 back, 3 1/2 out of a playoff spot) beat Derek Jeter’s Miami Marlins, 3-1.

Jameson Taillon continued his resurgence with 5 2/3 scoreless IP. He has dropped his ERA by around 1.6.

It was a scoreless game until the top of the sixth, when Rizzo hit his blast.

The Yanks added two runs in the top of the eighth. With one out, Aaron Judge was HBP, and Rizzo singled. Gio Urshela got a PH single and was PR for by Nestor Cortes, Jr. Rougned Odor singled in two runs.

Miami got a run off of Zack Britton in the bottom of the eighth.

Rizzo 2 hits, solo HR (combined Cubs/NYY 15; first as NYY), RBI.
Odor 2 RBI

Taillon (W, 7-4) 5 2/3 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 2 W, 5 K. 1 WP 4.11 Sixth straight win.
Loasiga (H, 14) 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 2.68
Britton (H, 5) 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. 6.97
Chapman (S, 21) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1 HBP. 3.82


Back to the trade. Yanks get

LHP Andrew Heaney, 30, LHP. 6-7, 5.27 for Angels, all as starter (18 starts). ERA+ 88. For his career, 30-36, 4.57. 162 g. average 9-11, 4.57, ERA+ 94. Marlins 2014, Angels 2015-2021.

Yanks give up:

Janson Junk, RHP, 25. 4-1, 1.78 at AA Somerset this year (14 g, 12 starts). 16-15, 3.72 in minor league career.

Elvis Peguero, RHP, 24. 4-1, 2.23 combined between High A Hudson Valley and AA Somerset. 9-17, 4.63 in minor league career.

Game 90. Depleted Yanks get shut-out, 4-0.

Major problems. And these could sink the Yankees’ season.

The Yanks were already without Jonathan Loaisiga (Covid list). Clint Frazier and Miguel Andujar were on the IL, not to mention others like Corey Kluber, Aaron Hicks and Darren O’Day.

Now add to the Covid List Wandy Peralta, Nestor Cortes, Jr. Aaron Judge, Kyle Higashioka and Gio Urshela. Add Luke Voit (knee) to the IL.

As a result, a bunch of guys had to be brought up from SWB. Hoy Jun Park and Trey Amburgey each made their MLB debuts last night. Rob Brantly had to be brought up. Chris Gittens, just off the IL himself, had to come up. Zack Britton was activated off of the IL. Am I missing anyone?

The depleted Yanks lost to Boston 4-0, getting just three hits. They are 0-7 vs. Boston this year, and are now 9 back and in fourth place with a 46-44 record. They play Boston six more times between now and June 25. They have Tampa Bay June 27-29. (In between there are two games with the Phillies).

Those guys out will be out for a while, leaving it up to the scrubs. This could get ugly.

So what did we see last night? The Yanks had a #3 hitter hitting .219, a cleanup hitter hitting .215, A #5 hitter at .237, a #6 hitter at .190. The #7 hitter is 2 for 22 in his MLB career. The #8 hitter was making his MLB debut. The #9 hitter is at .180 and was pinch-hit for by another guy making his MLB debut. Hoo boy. Is it any wonder why the Yanks got shut out?

Poor Jordan Montgomery. No run support. Montgomery had just one bad inning, the second, when he gave up a walk, double, RBI groundout, and a 2-run HR for 3 runs. That was more than enough for Boston. The second straight game he lost 4-0. In his last five starts, Montgomery has lost four of them. In those five games, the Yankees have scored a total of seven runs.

Later, Justin Wilson, who has been absolutely brutal this season, gave up a solo HR for the last run of the game. 4-0, Boston.

Montgomery (L, 3-5) 6 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 2 W, 4 K. Gave up 1 HR. One bad inning. 4.18
German 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 4.72
Wilson 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 8.62 Gave up 1 HR.
Chapman 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. 4.40

Yanks rained out, DH on 7/4; Minor league games affected also.

For the second straight day, the Yankees were rained out, this time against the Mets. The game will be made up on Sunday, the 4th of July. A split DH, first game at 2:05 PM, second game ESPN game, 7:08 PM. Since DH, both 7 inning games.

The weather forecast for today, Saturday July 3, isn’t good. Don’t be surprised if there is a delay or (gasp!) another postponement. Both teams have off on Monday, which could be a makeup day, but it would have to be an afternoon game since the Yankees then fly out to Seattle.

The Yanks (41-39, 4th in AL East) did lose more ground. Boston won last night so the Yanks are 9 1/2 back. They are 5 games out of a wild card spot, and would have to surpass four teams to even get that. They have a lot of work to do.

The Yanks put Clint Frazier (vertigo) on the IL. Just acquired Tim Locastro takes his place on the roster.

As for the minors:

AAA: SWB rained out.

AA: Somerset (33-18) split a DH. Both 7-inning games.

Game 1: Won 7-0. JP Sears (4 IP) and Janson Junk (3) combining on a 4-hit shutout. 1B Dermis Garcia solo HR. 2B Oswaldo Cabrera 3 hits, 3 RBI, inc. a 2-run HR. RF Thomas Milone 3 RBI.

Game 2: Lost 5-2. C Jason Lopez 2 for 2 w/a walk. RF Isiah Gilliam 2 RBI.

High A: Hudson Valley (32-18) lost 8-2, a nine-inning game, getting just two hits. The second game was rained out.

Low A: Tampa (34-16) split a DH, both 7-inning games.

Game 1: Won 6-0 on a 1-hitter. Completion of suspended game. When the game resumed, Matt Sauer picked up in the second inning and pitched the rest of the way. 6 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 10 K. RF Jake Sanford 3 hits, 5 RBI, a 3-run HR. 2B Jesus Bastidas added a solo HR.

Game 2: Lost 3-1, getting just 4 hits. 2B Trevor Hauver 2 hits, RBI.

Game 73. Yanks walk-off a wild one, 6-5.

When I think of last night game, two songs come to mind: Wild One, and We Shall Overcome. For it was one wild game, and the Yankees (39-34, 3rd in AL East, 4 1/2 back) overcame late bullpen implosions to pull out a 6-5 walk-off win over KC.

I think Brian Cashman needs to find a starter somewhere. Jameson Taillon, today’s starter, is just 1-4, 5.59. Michael King is more a long man than a starter, at least to me. More on King in a bit, but King’s ERA as a reliever (2.29 this year) is much better than as a starter (5.75). Luis Severino and Corey Kluber don’t look as if they’ll be back until August, and that will be a huge boost. Clarke Schmidt hasn’t thrown a pitch yet this season, and Deivi Garcia is not doing well at AAA. Other prospects, like Ken Waldichuk (see the minor league report), are still too far away from the majors to help now. Another thing is that neither Taillon or King give you long outings. Rarely do either give you so much as five innings.

For whatever reason, King is ok coming out of a bullpen, but has trouble when he starts a game. He has the first inning blues. David Cone even suggested on the YES broadcast that King needs to change up his routine. He has to get through that first inning. King got the first two batters out, then, one strike away from a scoreless inning, gave up a double and a 2-run HR and the Yanks were down 2-0.

Royals’ pitchers were wild all game, walking 11 Yankees batters. But while King settled down, the Yanks weren’t taking much advantage of the free passes. In the second inning, the Royals walked the bases loaded, but Rougned Odor struck out to end the inning. He’d redeem himself later.

The Yanks did tie it up in the fourth. After a couple of walks and outs, Clint Frazier hit a 2-run double. Odor walked, but D.J. LeMahieu flied out, stranding both Frazier and Odor.

The Royals loaded the bases in the top of the fifth with two out, but Chad Green relieved King and got a fly out to get out of the inning.

The Yanks loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, but Luke Voit struck out, stranding the three runners. It should be noted that at this point, most of the runners the Yanks kept stranding all got on base via the walk. Voit, like Odor, redeemed himself later.

Now things really got wild.

In the top of the eighth, Zack Britton gave up a HR to Carlos Santana and KC took a 3-2 lead.

In the bottom of the eighth, Gleyber Torres walked to lead off the inning, but Miguel Andujar GIDP. Frazier walked as KC pitchers kept trying to give the game away with their wildness. Odor hit a 2-run HR (8) to put the Yanks up 4-3.

But in the top of the ninth, Aroldis Chapman couldn’t hold the lead. A strikeout, a single and a strikeout, and things didn’t look so bad. But then another hit, and then Carlos Santana was intentionally walked so that Chapman could face a rookie with NO MLB hits to get that one more out (and set up a force at any base to end the game). Chapman inexcusably walked that rookie on 4 pitches to force in the tying run. A little nubber for a hit then made it 5-4, KC.

With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Gary Sanchez tied up the game with his 12th HR of the season. Giancarlo Stanton followed with a single and Tyler Wade pinch-ran for Stanton. Wade moved up to second on a WP, and then Luke Voit singled off the LF fence, just missing a HR, but it was good enough to score Wade with the winning run.

Rough game for Aaron Judge. 0 for 5 with 4 strikeouts.

Today’s game (Thursday) is an afternoon game.


Sanchez solo HR (12)
Frazier 2 RBI
Odor 2-run HR (8)


King 4 2/3 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 3 W, 5 K. 1 WP. 1 HBP. Gave up 1 HR. 4.05
Green 2 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.39
Britton 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 2 K. Gave up 1 HR. 2.25
Chapman (W, 5-2; BS, 3) 1 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 2 W, 2 K. 2.54

Today’s minor league report will be in a separate report.