Yanks trade Cervelli; CYA winners announced

The Yanks traded backup C Francisco Cervelli to Pittsburgh on Wednesday for LH reliever Justin Wilson. Wilson, 27, was 3-4, 4.20 for the Pirates in 2014. He has a 2.99 career ERA.

Cervelli, 28, hit .301-2-13 with the Yanks in 2014, OPS+ 126 in 49 games. He is a .278 career hitter, OPS+ 97 for his career. His 162 g. average is .278-6-60. You wonder if, after the Biogenesis suspension, the Yanks were looking for just the right deal to dump him.

As for A-Rod, no dumping him. Too much $$$$. Not so with Cervelli.

The funny thing is that Pirates starting catcher, Russell Martin, is a free agent and now the Pirates have Chris Stewart and Cervelli, all three going from the Bronx to the “Burgh.”

This clears up a bit of a logjam that the Yanks had at catcher. Brian McCann remains the starter, but it appears as if John Ryan Murphy and Austin Romine will compete for the backup job, with the loser of the competition going to AAA to play there along with prospect Gary Sanchez.

The Yanks also signed a minor league lefty, 26 yr. old Jose De Paula, yesterday. De Paula is 33-27, 3.86 in his minor league career.

MLB announced the CYA winners yesterday. The Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw won the NL CYA unanimously. It’s his second straight Cy Young award and third in four years. He finished second in 2012. The AL CYA winner was Corey Kluber of Cleveland.

 

The minors.

AAA: SWB split a DH.

Reg. sched. game: They gave up 5 in the top of the 7th (7-inning games if DH) and lost 6-5. Rob Refsnyder (.307 at AAA) and Adonis Garcia each had two hits.

Makeup of 4/25 game:  8-3 SWB win. 1B Kyle Roller 3 for 3, double, HR, 3 rbi. SS Carmen Angelini 2 h, 2 rbi. 2 h, 2 rbi 2B Jose Pirela (.307).

AA:  8-2 win for Trenton. CF Jake Cave 2 h, HR, 3 rbi. 2B Dan Fiorito 3 rbi. LF Ben Gamel and C Gary Sanchez 2 hits each.

High A: 9-7 loss in 12 by Tampa which hurts their playoff chances. SS Cito Culver 4 hits, 2 doubles, HR, 2 rbi. 3B Eric Jagielo 2 hits, double, HR, 2 rbi. They are 3 back for the 2nd-half division title with just five games left.

Low A: Charleston won 8-0. LF Claudio Custodio HR, 2 rbi. 2 h, 2 rbi 3B Miguel Andujar.

The minors.

It doesn’t appear any of the top levels (AAA, AA, High A or Low A) will make it to the postseason.

AAA: SWB (65-72) lost 4-2. Preston Claiborne gave up 3 R in 2 IP. 1B Kyle Roller 2 hits, 1 rbi.

AA: Trenton (65-70) won 9-2. Dan Camarena 8 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 12 K. C Gary Sanchez (.269-13-65) a 3-run HR. CF Mason Williams with a Grand Slam. Solo HR for 1B Greg Bird.

High A: Tampa was off. They are 35-28 in the second half of the season, 2 games back with 7 to play. Their “tragic number” is 5. There is a chance, albeit slight, that they can win their division for the second half. They were 33-37 in the first half, 13 1/2 back.

Low A:  Charleston was off. They are 33-30 in the second half after going 33-37 in the first half.

High A and Low A leagues use split seasons.

The minors. Lindgren still smokin’

AAA: SWB won 4-1. Bryan Mitchell 5 scoreless IP. 3B Zelous Wheeler 3 h, double, HR, 2 rbi. SS Carmen Angelini a 2-run HR. 2 hits for 1B Jose Pirela (.303).

AA: Trenton lost 7-4 when they gave up 4 in the bottom of the 9th, but Jacob Lindgren continues to strike out batters at a phenomenal rate. 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks and 5 of his 6 outs via K. Since the Yanks signed him, he has pitched in 15 minor league games, is 2-0, 0.96, has pitched 18 2/3 innings (56 outs) and of those 56 outs, 39 are by strikeout. That is an worldly K/9 ratio of 18.8! Jaron Long gave up 3 r in 6 IP. CF Jake Cave had 2 hits. C Gary Sanchez 2 hits and 2 RBI and RF Tyler Austin had 3 hits, 2 of them doubles.

High A: A 7-2 win for Tampa. SS Cito Culver 2 h, 3 rbi.

Low A: Charleston lost 7-4. 1B Jackson Valera 2 RBI. RF Mike (nephew of Paul) O’Neill 2 for 2, 2 walks.

The Minors.

Michael Pineda could be close to rejoining the Yankees. Bruce Billings was picked up by the Dodgers.

AAA: Pineda tossed 4 1/3 innings for SWB in their 2-1 loss Friday night. 52 of Pineda’s 72 pitches were strikes. He took the loss, going 4 1/3, 1 R, 6 H, 0 walks and 7 K. SWB’s only run came on a HR by 1B Kyle Roller. C John Ryan Murphy had 2 hits.

AA: Trenton won 9-0. Jairo Heredia (4-1, 3.48 at AA) 6 scoreless, 6 K. RF Tyler Austin 3 h, double, HR, 4 rbi. CF Mason Williams 2 h, HR, 4 rbi. C Gary Sanchez 2 hits and just promoted 3B Dante Bichette, Jr. 2 hits and an RBI.

High A: Tampa off.

Low A: Charleston won 6-3. CF Dustin Fowler and 3B Kale Sumner each had 2 H, 2 RBI.

The minors.

AAA: SWB (57-60) lost 4-1. 2 hits, 3B Zelous Wheeler and 2 hits and the RBI for C Austin Romine.

AA: Trenton (57-60) won 7-5. Jaron Long, son of Yankees’ hitting coach Kevin Long, 2 R in 6 IP. He’s 5-0, 2.78 at Trenton. C Gary Sanchez 2 h, HR, 3 RBI. (.275-12-56). 1B Greg Bird, solo HR. He was just recently promoted. Another recent promotion, LF Jake Cave, 2 hits, rbi.

High A: Tampa (55-59) won 5-2. Brett Gerritse 1 R in 6 IP. DH Eric Jagiello 2 h, HR, 2 RBI. RF Aaron Judge a solo HR. SS Cito Culver 2 h, rbi.

Low A: Charleston (56-58) split a DH. Two 7-inning games.

Game 1: Won 6-2. CF Mike O’Neill (Paul’s nephew) 2 for 2, 2 rbi. 3B Miguel Andujar 3 hits, 2 doubles, rbi. 1b Mike Ford 2 hits, rbi.

Game 2: 1-0 loss. Just three hits by the team.

The minors.

AAA: SWB won 6-4. Recently DFA’d Chris LeRoux 6 IP, 1 R. 2B Jose Pirela 3 hits (.310). RF Rob Refsnyder 2 hits (.296). DH Kyle Roller 2 hits, rbi. 1B Austin Romine 2 h, 2 rbi. Romine is up to .249 after a brutal start to the season.

AA: 6-1 win for Trenton. Zach Nuding (7-2, 2.71) 1 R in 6 IP. 2 h, HR, 2 rbi for C Gary Sanchez (.279-11-53). 2 RBI CF Mason Williams. LF Ben Gamel 2 h, rbi. 3 hits for SS Ali Castillo.

High A: Tampa lost 3-1. RF Aaron Judge 0 for 1, 4 walks.

Low A: 6-5 win for Charleston. CF Mark Payton 2 h, HR, 3 rbi. 1B Rey Nunez HR, 2 rbi.