Minor League Report.

AAA: SWB (7-4) won 9-5. 2B Thairo Estrada 2 hits, RBI. 1B Mike Ford 2 hits, 3 RBI. HR.  (.471=5-14). Doing much better than Greg Bird right now. DH Ryan McBroom solo HR. SS Gosuke Katoh 2 hits, RBI. LF Zach Zehner 2 hits. C Kellin Deglan 2 run HR.

Gio Gonzalez 5 IP, 2 R, 8 H, 2 W, 8 K. Interesting call coming up for the Yanks soon.  I really don’t know if he has pitched well enough to be brought up to the big league club yet. Opt out date, April 20.

AA:  Trenton won 10-0 to go to 6-3 on the season. SS Kyle Holder 2 hits, 2 RBI. RF Ben Ruta 3 hits, 3 RBI. C Francisco Diaz 2 hits, RBI. Despite 3 pitchers giving up 6 hits and 8 walks, an ugly shutout. The other team was 0 for 15 w/risp and stranded 13.

High A: Tampa (4-7) won 4-3 DH Dermis Garcia 2 hits, 2 RBI. RF Isiah Gilliam 2 hits, 2 RBI, HR. Rony Garcia 5 shutout IP.

Low A: Charleston (5-6) lost 11-2, getting just 4 hits.

 

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Minor League Report. Gio rebounds nicely.

AAA: SWB (3-3) wins 5-1 over Lehigh Valley. Gio Gonzalez, who after the Yanks had signed him to a minor league deal, gave up 13 R, 12 ER in six innings in his first two appearances (one spring training and one AAA game) , put it together last night, pitching six shutout innings, giving up just 3 hits, and striking out 10. He walked one.

DH Mike Ford and SS Thairo Estrada each had 2 hits and an RBI. CF Billy Burns 2 hits.

With Luis Severino shut down, and, it appears, out until late June/early July, Gonzalez could now become an option for the Yankees’ rotation, or even the bullpen.

Another option could be signing free agent Dallas Keuchel.

But both options as far as the rotation goes, would most likely affect Domingo German, who so far, has pitched very well. As far as the bullpen, it most likely would affect Stephen Tarpley.

AA: Trenton (3-2) won 7-2. 2B Wendell Rijo 2-run HR. SS Hoy Jun Park solo HR. DH Rashad Crawford 2 hits. 3B Angel Aguilar 2 hits, 2 RBI. Three bullpen pitchers 5 IP, 0 R, 1 H.

High A: Tampa (2-4) lost 9-8. DH Matt Pita 3 hits, 4 RBI. 1B Dermis Garcia 2 RBI. 3B Oswaldo Cabrera 2 hits. Starter Rony Garcia 5 IP, 1 R, 7 K. End of game bullpen meltdown.

Low A: Charleston (3-3) lost both games of a DH, 17-3, then 8-3.

Game 1: CF Josh Stowers 2 hits. 2B Kyle Gray a 3-run HR.
Luis Medina 2 IP, 10 R, 10 H, 4 W, 3 K. Gave up 3 HR
Rodney Hutchinson 3 2/3 IP, 7 R, 3 H, 4 W, 3 K. Also gave up 3 HR.

Game 2: Got just four hits.
Alex Vizcaino 4 2/3 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 W, 7 K
Aaron McGarity (L) 1 1/3 IP, 6 R, 7 H, 1 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR.

Game 11. Bullpen blues. Yanks lose late again, 6-3. Severino shut down for 6 weeks.

The bullpen, supposed to be a strength of this Yankees’ (5-6) team, so far hasn’t been. Leading 3-2 going into the bottom of the seventh, the Yanks’ bullpen gave up four runs after that as the Yanks lost 6-3 to Houston.

Clint Frazier had, let’s say, an interesting night in LF playing defense, and Brett Gardner made a mistake on a bunt attempt in thinking a ball was foul when it was fair. That resulted in bunting into a DP.

Jonathan Loaisiga (who was sent down after the game, what with CC coming back off of the DL) struck out the side in the first, but Houston worked up his pitch count and he was gone after just three innings. He did strike out five in those three innings.

Luke Voit homered (3) for the Yanks in the first, and Gary Sanchez had a two-run double in the sixth.

Loaisiga 3 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 2 W, 5 K. 3.86
Tarpley 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 6.75
Cessa 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 W, 2 K.  1.29
Holder (BS, 1) 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K.  5.40
Green (L, 0-2. 9.00) 2/3 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 2 W, 0 K.
Kahnle 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 R, 0 H, 2 K. 0.00

So far this season, we’ve seen Chapman take a loss, Green take two losses, Ottavino one. Not the bullpen that was expected so far.

Luis Severino has a grade 2 lat strain and has been shut down for six weeks. Since he’ll need to build himself back up (basically have to go through a “spring training”), we won’t see him on the mound for the Yanks until late June/early July at the earliest.

Gio Gonzalez (see minor league report) is a possibility. Gio rebounded well last night from two prior poor performances. Gio can opt out if not with the Yanks April 20.

Another possibility could be looking into free agent Dallas Keuchel.

 

Minor League Report. Gio stinks, Schmidt dominates.

Opening Day for the minors. AA Trenton opens up Friday.

AAA: SWB lost 8-3. Gio Gonzalez was horrible, giving up 8 runs in 4 IP. LF Trey Amburgey 3 hits. CF Matt Lipka 2 hits, 2-run HR.

High A: Clarke Schmidt, RHP, 23, the first-round pick of the Yanks in the 2017 draft, missed most of 2018 recovering from injury, but dominated last night for Tampa, throwing five no-hit innings and striking out 9. Tampa lost 4-3, however, blowing a 3-1 lead they took into the bottom of the ninth. DH Dermis Garcia and 1B Steven Sensley each had 2 hits and an RBI.

Low A: Charleston won 2-1. 1B Eric Wagaman 2 hits. 2B Kyle Gray 2 hits, RBI.

Roansy Contreras 5 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 0 W, 6 K.
Aaron McGarity 4 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 4 K. (S)

 

Game 7. Yanks hit 4 HR (2 by Gleyber) to win 8-4.

After the first inning, it didn’t look good. James Paxton gave up 3 runs in the first, and one run scored on a balk, another via a WP.

Gleyber Torres homered in the third, but after five innings, it was 4-1 Orioles and you feared the worst.

But in the fifth, Sanchez homered (3) to make it 4-2 and later that inning, Torres homered (2) to give the Yanks a 5-4 lead.

Luke Voit, who was slumping, hit a 3-run HR (2) in the top of the ninth for the cushion and the final score of 8-4.

The win puts the Yanks at 3-4 on the season. Tampa Bay is off to a good start, but take a look at Boston, 2-6.

Paxton did settle in after the first inning to get the win.

Torres 4 for 4. Single, double, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Voit HR, 3 RBI
Sanchez HR
Gardner 2 hits

Tough day for Aaron Judge, who may be trying to do too much to carry the team with all the injuries. 0 for 5, 4 strikeouts.

Paxton (W, 1-1, 4.09)  5 1/3 IP, 4 R, 8 H, 2 W, 9 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Kahnle (H, 1) 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. 0.00
Britton (H, 2) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 0.00
Chapman 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 4.50.

Greg Booker, a setup man who pitched for the Padres in the 1984 WS, passed away, age 58.  1983-1989 SD, Twins 1989, Giants 1990. 5-7, 3.89 in MLB career, ERA+ 95.

HOF manager Bobby Cox, mostly known for his managerial work for the Braves, but a Yankees’ 3B 1968-1969, is in the hospital after what appears to be a stroke. Prayers go out to him.

The Yanks are off Friday.

The Yanks did make a move, acquiring Jake Barrett from the Pirates and he will go to AAA SWB.

From Pinstripe Alley

In order to make room on the 40-man roster, the Yankees moved pitcher Ben Heller to the 60-day injured list.

Barrett has just 93.1 major-league innings to his name, all out of the bullpen with the Diamondbacks, along with a 4.05 ERA. The 27-year-old posted his best season in 2016, when he ran a 3.49 ERA, good for a 129 ERA+, across 59.1 innings. He’s spent little time in the majors since, making just seven appearances in 2018, allowing four runs in seven innings in the process.

He did play well in the minors last season, maintaining a 2.87 ERA in 53.1 innings for Triple-A Reno. Barrett struck out 11.3 batters per nine, but also ran a 4.9 BB/9 rate. According to Statcast, during Barrett’s brief time in the bigs last year, he relied heavily on his fastball, throwing his four-seamer 60% of the time. His slider made up 35% of his repertoire, while a splitter served as more of a show-me pitch with 5% usage. He averaged just over 94 mph on his fastball.

Now that the minor league season has started, I’ll be posting reports on the Yanks’ farm teams.

Spoiler alert: Gio Gonzalez sucked for SWB in their opener Thursday. Minor league Report coming tomorrow morning.

 

Game 5. Chapman blows game in 9th, Yanks fall 3-1.

Without some power like Sanchez, Bird and Tulo (nights off), Stanton, Hicks or Andujar (injured) in the lineup, the Yanks batting lineup looked like something out of a spring training game what with Frazier, Wade and Romine in the lineup and Gleyber Torres hitting cleanup.

You can still win games like that, especially with speed, pitching and defense, and for eight innings, it looked like the Yanks might just do that.

Masahiro Tanaka was brilliant, and so was Adam Ottavino.

But Aroldis Chapman came in and blew the game in the ninth. The Yanks lost, 3-1, to fall to 2-3 on the season.

Personally, I don’t think Brett Gardner should be the leadoff hitter anymore, but with this spate of injuries, I am wondering who should be. D.J. LeMahieu comes to mind, as does Tyler Wade. Gardner isn’t what he used to be. Not to me, anyway. I think he should be at the bottom of the order.

Why Wade leadoff for now? Because he’s faster than Gardner right now. He may see better pitches batting in front of Judge, enabling him to hit better, and also, with Wade’s speed at first, maybe Judge sees more fastballs.

LeMahieu did have 2 hits tonight, 2 of the Yankees’ six.

The Yanks’ only run came in the second when LeMahieu singled, Tauchman doubled and Clint Frazier hit a SF.

With Wade on second and two out in the fifth, Judge was intentionally walked but Voit struck out.

The only run Tanaka gave up came when with two outs, he gave up back-to-back doubles, the first hitting the bag and bouncing past Voit. Otherwise it would been the third out of the inning. Tough break.

Tanaka 6 2/3 IP, 1 R, 8 H, 0 W, 7 K. 1.46
Ottavino 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 3 K. 0.00
Chapman (L, 0-1, 6.00) 1 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 W, 2 K.

Gio Gonzalez will start for SWB Thursday in a minor league game. CC will go Sunday, but I forget where.

 

S.T. Game 29. Yanks lose, Gio rusty. Roster set? Trade made.

You may be working out on the side, but until you get that game experience ….

Newly signed Gio Gonzalez showed his rust as the Yanks lost to Toronto Saturday afternoon, 7-3.

The loss puts the Yanks S.T. record at 16-9-4.

Gleyber Torres had a 3-run HR for the Yanks in the first inning.

Masahiro Tanaka only worked two innings in preparing for his Opening Day start this coming Thursday and looked sharp. We can only hope he’s like this on Thursday. Two scoreless innings.

Besides Gonzalez’ rust, Aroldis Chapman had a rough outing. His velo is down and I am a bit concerned about him.

Tanaka 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 3 K.
Chapman (H) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 W, 1 K.
Green (H) 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K.
Holder (H) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K.
Gonzalez (BS, L) 2 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 H, 2 W, 0 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Kriske 1 1/3 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 2 W, 2 K
Bristo 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K.

I had to look up who Kriske was. Never heard of him. Brooks Kriske, 25, RHP, 2-2, 1.09 at short season Staten Island last year. 33 K in 24 2/3 IP. 2 games for Low A Charleston. 0-0, 4.50 in four innings. Far down on the “totem pole”. But had to see who was this guy? Was with Staten Island a bit in 2016, missed all of 2017. My guess is Charleston (low A) bound.

The Yanks basically set the 25 man opening roster today, but there could be a minor move yet.

C Sanchez and Romine
IF Bird (could still make a move here to put him on DL if elbow (HBP recently) problem lingers. If he is on DL, Wade AND Tauchman could make team? See below), Voit, Torres, LeMahieu, Andujar, Tulowitzki
UT Wade? See below.
OF Gardner, Judge, Stanton (Tauchman? See below).

The ? is Wade. I mentioned in my this blog earlier today that the Yanks could pick up an OF via someone getting cut by another team or by trade. I nailed that one. Just a few hours after I wrote that, the Yankees made a deal today for an OF.

The Yanks sent LHP Phillip Diehl to Colorado for OF Mike Tauchman. I was concerned about Wade’s lack of OF experience and the Yanks apparently are too.

So that final spot could come down to Wade or Tauchman.

UPDATE: Bird makes team, is OK. Wade sent down. Tauchman is backup OF.

First off, Diehl. 24. LHP. Goes to Colorado. Last year 2-3, 2.51 between High A Tampa and AA Trenton. Probably going back to AA. Boone was impressed with him in S.T.

Wade, mostly an IF (2B/SS/3B) has been used in the OF to increase his versatility, but is not a true OF. In 124 MLB at bats for the Yanks in 2017 and 2018, has hit only .161-1-7, 42 strikeouts, OPS+ 25. In 176 AAA games, .282-11-58 with 37 SB. He hasn’t taken that to the majors yet, and the 24 year old lefty hitter, although possessing great speed, hasn’t had a lot of OF experience.

Hence the trade for Tauchman. That last spot on the team for now (position player) is between Wade and Tauchman (unless Bird has to go on the DL, then both may make the team). Tauchman, a lefty bat, is 28, and is only 9 for 59 in his MLB career (.153-0-2, OPS+ 20). Like Wade, he needs his skills to translate from AAA to a major league level. While Wade has the speed, Tauchman could show the power, and is a true OF, which Wade isn’t. In 112 games at AA in 2018, Tauchman hit .323-20-81 with 12 SB. In 2017 at AAA, Tauchman hit .331-16-80 in 110 games with 16 SB.

Unlike Wade, Tauchman has a lot of experience in all three OF positions.

Whether it is Wade or Tauchman, expect neither to be there long. He’ll be gone once Hicks is ready.

As for what happens if or when Ellsbury is ready? We won’t go there.

The 13 ptichers are:

Tanaka
Paxton
Happ
Cessa (starter? Middle relief?)
CC (to start year w/suspension, then go on DL)
Chapman
Tarpley (I told you not to overlook him…. made team)
Britton
Green
Ottavino
Holder
German (starter? relief?)
Kahnle

When CC goes on the DL, Loaisiga, who was sent down, will replace him temporarily.

As for room for Gio (rusty today, see above) or Severino when ready, who knows. Same with Betances, and same with Montgomery this summer.

But you can never have enough pitching.

As I said in my prior post, sometimes you have to make tough decisions, and sometimes due to poor performance and/or injury, they are made for you.

Some decisions you just have to wait on. Cross that bridge when we get to it.

But also, don’t be surprised if, until Seve and CC are ready, Boone goes with an “opener” in a couple of games.