S.T. Game 27. Nestor is Nasty in Yanks 1-1 tie with Cards.

Opening Day is one week away.

Nestor Cortes. because of a hamstring strain, is a little behind the other pitchers and as a result, today was only his second start of spring training.

But Nasty Nestor was in midseason form, tossing four scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in what turned out to be a 1-1 tie game with the Cardinals.

The Yanks are 10-15-2 in spring training.

Both teams only got three hits apiece, and the Yankees run was on a HR by Oswaldo Cabrera.

Notes:

Volpe 0 for 4 #1 prospect.
Stanton 1 for 3
Cabrera 1 for 3, the HR
Peraza 0 for 3, #3 prospect. So neither Volpe or Peraza was outdoing the other today in the SS competition battle.
Trevino 1 for 3.

Cortes 4 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 7 K.
Weissert 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 1 HBP.
Marinaccio 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 3 K.
Ramirez 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K.

S.T. Game 26. Yanks lose to Washington, 5-2.

Clarke Schmidt was so-so and the Yanks bats were a bit quiet as the Yanks (10-15-1 in spring training) lost to Washington Wednesday, 5-2.

Notes

Peraza 0 for 4. #3 prospect. .188 in spring training, as for me, Volpe should be starting SS.
Stanton 1 for 3, scored a run.
Cabrera 2 for 3. SB
Elijah Dunham 1 for 1, RBI. #18 prospect.
Rafael Ortega 0 for 2, RBI. .161 in spring training. Does he make team? I’d go with Calhoun.
Willie Calhoun 0 for 1. Not as versatile in OF as Ortega, but .306 this spring training
Estevan Florial 0 for 3, 2 strikeouts. .167 in spring training, and out of options. Could be DFA’d soon.

Schmidt (L) 3 2/3 IP, 3 R, 6 H, 2 W, 1 K.
King 2 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K.
Krook 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. Has good chance of making team as 2nd lefty in bullpen.
Danish 1 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. Gave up 1 HR. No chance of making team with a 33.23 spring training ERA.

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 22. German roughed up in Yanks 8-7 loss.

It was not a good outing for Domingo German, who gave up 7 runs on 4 HR and 2 HBP in an outing that lasted less than three innings. The Yanks (9-12-1 in spring training) lost to Detroit, 8-7.

The lineup featured mostly prospects and minor leaguers. The most notable thing was IKF in CF.

Volpe 0 for 4 #1 prospect.
Benjamin Cowles 1 for 1, 2-run HR.
Peraza 1 for 3, was HBP. #3 prospect
Hicks 2 for 3 with walk but made his third bad fielding play of spring training.
Kiner-Falefa (IKF) 1 for 3
Spencer Jones 2 for 2 #5 prospect
Estevan Florial 2 for 4, 3 RBI
Wilmer Difo 2 for 4, 2-run HR
Mickey Gasper 1 for 1

German (L) 2 2/3 IP, 7 R, 9 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 4 HR. 2 HBP.
Krook 2 1/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 2 W, 3 K. Gave up HR
Deivi Garcia 2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 W, 3 K.
Danish 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.

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 18. Yanks fall to Twins, 1-0.

The Yanks (8-9-1 in spring training) lost 1-0 to the Twins on Monday, getting just three hits, one of them a double by #1 prospect Anthony Volpe.

Of all the contenders for the LF job, Willie Calhoun (1 for 2 with a walk today but also picked off first) has done the best. It still looks like Aaron Hicks will be in LF (because of his contract. Hicks was 0 for 3, 2 strikeouts) unless he is traded. But Calhoun has done the best so far in spring training.

Notable:

Oswald Peraza 0 for 2 with a walk. .176. By contrast, Volpe is hitting .321 this spring in SS competition. #3 prospect.

Oswaldo Cabrera 1 for 3. Made error.

Volpe 1 for 3, double.

Rafael Ortega 0 for 3. Competing with Hicks, Cabrera and Calhoun for LF spot.

Estevan Florial 0 for 2, walk, strikeout. SB .125 in spring training and out of options.

Tully 2 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 W, 2 K. 1 WP
Deivi Garcia (L) 3 1/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 2 W, 2 K. Gave up HR.
Norwood 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K
Bowman 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K.

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 13. Yanks lose 11-7, but bigger news is that 3 pitchers (including Rodon) join Montas on the IL.

Forget the score today. It’s only spring training. I’ll get to today’s game in a moment. The bigger news is that three more pitchers join Frankie Montas on the injured list to start the season. They are Tommy Kahnle (strained biceps), Lou Trivino, and Carlos Rodon.

Rodon has a mild strain in the forearm, which set off Tommy John surgery concerns, but it doesn’t affect the UCL. He won’t throw again for 7-10 days.

So, with Montas down, and also Rodon for a short time, it appears as if the rotation on Opening Day will be Cole, Severino, Cortes (himself just getting over a hamstring issue), German and Schmidt.

Clarke Schmidt pitched today, and so far, his spring training has been meh. (8.10 ERA) He gave up 2 runs (2-run HR) in 3 IP today as the Yanks (7-6 in spring training) lost 11-7 to Boston. Tyler Danish has had an atrocious spring training (ERA 94.50!), and that continued today.

Jasson “The Martian” Dominguez continued to have a hot bat, hitting a 3-run HR. The 20-year-old is targeted for AA, but we can dream about him making the big leagues soon. Also homering was Andres Chaparro, who also is having a hot spring. Chaparro has shown a good bat, but when he goes back to the minors, he needs to work on his defense. The minor league numbers for the 3B/1B defensively don’t look good. Improve that, continue to hit, and maybe he can be a future option. After all, Josh Donaldson is 37 and the Yanks probably will not pick up Donaldson’s option after this season.

Volpe 0 for 3. #1 prospect.
Judge 1 for 1 with a walk.
Dominguez 1 for 2 with a walk and a 3-run HR. #2 prospect
Chaparro 2 for 2, solo HR. He and Dominguez went back-to-back.
Peraza 1 for 3 #3 prospect.
Trevino 1 for 2, 2 RBI

Schmidt 3 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 0 W, 3 K. Gave up HR.
Cordero 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. With Trivino and Kahnle out, has shot at opening day roster.
Marinaccio (H) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.
Danish (BS, L) 1/3 IP, 6 R, 6 H, 0 W, 0 K. Gave up 3 HR. As mentioned, a brutal spring training. ERA 94.50.
Jennings 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K.
Evans 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Vasquez 2 IP, 2 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K. Gave up 1 HR. #14 prospect.

S.T. Game 9. Yanks lose slugfest, 14-10.

The Yankees (5-4 in spring training) lost a slugfest to Tampa Bay, 14-10 Saturday afternoon.

Five Yankees hit homers, and the interesting thing is that four of them were hit by guys trying to win the LF job.

#1 prospect Anthony Volpe 1 for 4, double in trying to win SS job.
Oswaldo Cabrera 3-run HR trying for LF job. Yanks probably will use him as utility man.
Oswald Peraza 0 for 3 in trying to win SS job. (#3 prospect).
Trey Sweeney 2-run HR (#7 prospect and yet another SS)
Aaron Hicks solo HR in trying to keep LF job.
Jasson Dominguez 2 for 3 (#2 prospect)
Esteven Florial 1 for 3 tying for LF job and out of options.
Willie Calhoun 2 hits, 2 RBI. HR trying for LF job
Rafael Ortega 2-run HR and he too is aiming for LF job.

Not a good day for the pitchers.

Severino 2 2/3 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 1 W, 6 K. 1 HBP Both hits back-to-back HR
McGarity 1/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. 1 WP
Loaisiga (BS) 1 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 0 W, 2 K.
Weissert (H) 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. Gave up HR. Aiming for bullpen job.
Ramirez (BS, L) 1 IP, 4 R, 2 H, 2 W, 1 K. 1 balk. Gave up HR. Aiming for bullpen job.
Brito 2 2/3 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 W, 2 K. #27 prospect.
Vrieling 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. #17 prospect.