CF Jake Cave 0-4, K SS Brendan Ryan 1-3, BB, K DH Eric Jagielo 1-4 - batting .239 this season 3B Dante Bichette Jr. 2-4, RBI C Peter O'Brien 1-4, 3 K 1B Zach Wilson 1-4, RBI - batting .426 this season 2B Angelo Gumbs 1-3, RBI, BB, SB RF Jose Toussen 1-4, RBI, SB LF Claudio Custodio 1-3, 2 RBI
Brett Gerritse 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, hit batsman - 10/3 GO/AO Phil Wetherell 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K Tyler Webb 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB
The results haven't been great, but looking at Asdrubal Cabrera's process offers some signs of hope as 2014 moves forward.
When Asdrubal Cabrera came up in 2007, the then 21-year-old middle infielder lit the American League on fire, posting a .283/.354/.421 line, and earning a reputation as a clutch hitter. When 42,000+ witnessed Cabrera launching a home run in game one of the Division Series, helping lead a rout of the Yankees, there was no doubt we were witnessing the birth of a star.
Who would have guessed that seven years later, still only 28-years-old and theoretically in the midst of his prime, Cabrera would have worn out his welcome, with many fans loudly clamoring for the Tribe to be rid of him, and for Francisco Lindor to take over at shortstop? Cabrera has had an up-and-down run of it with Cleveland, and after a mostly down 2013, his start in 2014 seems pretty concerning, on the surface. Digging a little deeper though, I see signs that 2014 may be more up than down for Cabrera.
Let's start with the obvious - Cabrera's results so far are putrid. His OBP is sub-300, and while you can get away with a weak bat a SS, that only works if you back it up with a stellar glove (Asdrubal doesn't).
But take a look at what he is actually doing at the plate, and things look rosier. Cabrera's walk rate is up to 7.4%, compared to 6.2% last year. Cabrera's walk rate has been above 7% four previous times in his career. His OPS those four years: .775, .712, .799, .761. Last year he was at .701. Meanwhile, his strike out rate is down three and a half percentage points from last year, to 17.1%, lower than his 25-home-run-extravaganza in 2011.
And he is doing it by making better contact. Cabrera is swinging more often than he did last year (in fact, more often than he ever has), but he is focusing those swings on pitches over the plate. This is at least partially to thank for an 85.2% contact rate (up from 79.9% last year) and his swinging strike rate is down to 7.7% (from 9.5% last year).
It is early, the sample sizes are small, etc., but plate discipline numbers stabilize much earlier than most other statistics (strike outs around 100 PA, walks around 170). In the meantime, Cabrera is showing a career low .269 BABIP and a HR/FB rate at it's lowest since 2010, despite an average fly ball distance over 299 feet, compared to 278 feet last year and 279 in his 2011 power binge. That number is too early to analyze deeply (he has only 15 fly balls in the dataset), but he is hitting the ball with enough authority to have at least one or two more home runs by now.
Does this mean that Cabrera is going to be an All-Star? Has he returned to his peak form? Is likely to play for the Indians beyond this season? No, no, and no. But when you look at the numbers this way, there is reason to think he'' put up better numbers than he did in April, and can do more than just keep shortstop warm for until his replacement arrives. And if it happens that replacement comes knocking before July, Cabrera might be able to up his trade value before then.
Speaking to a couple of scouts, Josh Norris gives us some bad news about last year's first rounder Eric Jagielo thus far at his stay with the Tampa Yankees.
Baseball America's JJ Cooper and Josh Norris sat down for the Prospect Handbook Podcast the other day. They had some interesting things to say about some of the better prospects around the sport (mostly how Mookie Betts, Joey Gallo, and Gregory Polanco are crushing baseballs so far), but they also, mainly Norris, had things to say about Yankees' first round pick Eric Jagielo. Unfortunately, those things weren't exactly favorable.
At the 27:48 mark in the podcast linked above, Norris said the reviews on Jagielo "couldn't be uglier." He spoke to two scouts who told him there is "zero question" Jagielo will have to eventually move off of third base in favor of first base. Jagielo is said to have 3-grade range and a 4-grade arm (both of which are below/well-below average) at third. The 2013 first-round pick has already made six errors for the Tampa Yankees through only 17 games played at the position. Norris also notes that the High-A Tampa Yankees essentially have four glorified first baseman on the team right now in Jagielo, Dante Bichette Jr., Peter O'Brien, and Greg Bird (whenever he returns), which creates a bit of a messy situation now and potentially down the road.
What's worse than the negative defensive reports about Jagielo, though, is that the lefty swinger is "not going to hit," according to scouts. They say that Jagielo may make a minor league All-Star team simply because he'll hit a few home runs, but for whatever reason, scouts do not like his bat. In the early going, Jagielo is hitting .239/.343/.409 with a 120 wRC+ in 102 plate appearances at Tampa. At only 22, however, Jagielo does have plenty of time on his side to improve his game on both the offensive and defensive sides. Even for a guy coming out of college, Jagielo is still a little over a half of a year younger than the average player in the Florida State League.
On the positive-end of things, Norris had some good things to say about 22-year-old Triple-A outfielder Ramon Flores (~11:00 in the podcast). According to Norris, Flores is one of the three players, along with Polanco and Jonathan Singleton, he's seen to have an "advanced approach" at the plate, noting that he's not afraid at all to fall behind 0-2 in the count. Norris watched the RailRider/Bulls' series in Durham recently and said that Flores would have hit three home runs (two of which turned into doubles) in the series if not for the Green Monster-esque sized left field wall in Durham, NC.
Norris also called Flores a "professional hitter," but said that he doesn't have enough speed to play in center and doesn't have enough power to play at a corner spot, something we've heard for years now. He concluded that Flores is an "interesting trade chip," albeit more of a secondary piece in a potential trade than a headliner. In his first taste of Triple-A, Flores is hitting .280/.394/.463 with a 145 wRC+ through 99 PA's. Although it's still pretty early, it's nice to see Flores, who has been in the system for what feels like forever, get off to a strong start and be just a phone call away from the majors if needed.
I never trust anything I see on Twitter (or the Internet, for that matter) without checking out the bona fides of the party involved, and after a rigorous vetting process, determined the tweeter involved could be trusted--indeed, they appear to be a stunningly bright group of men and women at the forefront of sabermetric research, but I digress. It poses a legitimate question, and the data exists to check the veracity of the statement.
Before showing the data, it's important to draw an important distinction. When John Smoltz shaves, he loses more baseball knowledge than I'll ever possess in my lifetime. In testing questions like this, my purpose isn't to demean someone or show off my vast knowledge as much as check if the facts line up with the statement. There will never be an instance when my opinion should be given greater weight that John Smoltz's.
With the advent of PITCHf/x in 2008, we can move beyond the Opinion Era to the Fact Era. All data comes from Daren Willman's outstanding baseballsavant.com, and this picture shows how the strike zone is defined:
Pitches in zones 1-9, as determined by the MLBAM PITCHf/x database, are strikes, and those in zones 11-14 are balls. Dan Brooks and Harry Pavlidis at brooksbaseball.net further refine the balls outside the strike zone by breaking down the four zones outside the strike zone into sixteen, but for our purposes that level of detail isn't necessary. This allows for four different outcomes:
Smoltz's comment suggests that in later innings, a smaller strike zone could lead to the two incorrect call states, a pitch in the strike zone that is incorrectly called a ball or a pitch outside the zone that is incorrectly called a strike.
PITCHf/x uses the following pitch result descriptions:
We're not interested in occasions where the batter swings at the ball--the umpire didn't make a call on those occasions. This first chart shows the number of called strikes on balls outside the strike zone and differentiates between earlier and later innings (all data through Tuesday's games):
CS=called strike CS OZ=called strike on pitch outside strike zone
There are two interesting facets to this chart. First, it shows very little difference between calls in the first six inning and the seventh inning and later--the number of "incorrect" calls is very similar. Second, before starting a movement to eliminate umpire calls due to the fact that almost one-third of these calls are "incorrect," consider this image:
This shows every called strike outside the strike zone for the New York Yankees since 2008 in innings 1-6 and is representative for all teams. It shows that relatively speaking, while there are high and low pitches that are called for strikes, far and away it's pitches wide of the plate that caused the most incorrect calls. This is an issue for another post but I felt it important to show the data.
What about balls that are called on pitches inside the strike zone?
B IZ=ball on pitch inside strike zone
The number of pitches incorrectly called balls on pitches inside the strike zone is far smaller, but also doesn't move appreciably depending on the inning.
Close games in the later innings create more tension for all involved, and every pitch takes on greater meaning. In this case every "incorrect" call takes on outsized weight and sticks out greater in a pitcher's mind. It's easy to understand Smoltz being more upset about an incorrect call with a game tied 2-2 in the eighth inning than on one in the first, but the numbers don't substantiate his claim. This chart ties it all together:
People with more knowledge than me can explain why more strikes are called outside the strike zone than balls called inside, but it probably comes down to it being easier to determine if a ball is inside vs. outside the strike zone. No matter what, there doesn't appear to be much difference in the later innings. Daren's site allows for this data to be drilled down to the umpire level, and while I suspect there might be an outlier or two, I doubt there would be much difference between umpires.
We can only work with the data that is available. STATS LLC or Elias Sports Bureau may have pitch data that goes back further than 2008, but it isn't publicly accessible. It would be interesting to see if balls and strikes are called more "correctly" in the PITCHf/x Era as umpires are aware that every pitch is being watched, but many of the incorrectly called pitches are those right on the line. Try being right every single time while crouched in 95 degree heat wearing tons of protective clothing--it's not easy.
In a just world, John Smoltz will be part of the Hall of Fame Class of 2015 (along with Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson and Craig Biggio), and in no way am I diminishing his credibility as an analyst. In this case, the facts don't support his statement, which is what the availability of data allows for: the testing of "conventional wisdom." Sometimes it holds up . . . and sometimes it doesn't.
Tanya made a return to the Pinstripe Alley podcast for some minor league talk, which everyone knows she dislikes. Check out her thoughts on how the Baby Bombers did in April.
In an attempt to start a monthly segment, we've brought back PSA Mother of Dragons/former podcast co-host Tanya Bondurant to discuss some Yankees minor leaguers with us now that their first month of play is over. We also got into the Michael Pineda injury and its effect on the rotation and bullpen. Hopefully the monsoon didn't threaten you like it did to our Internet connections, though the call fortunately kept going.
[00:27] Pineda's lat strain and its effect on the starting rotation [3:18] Should we be concerned about Hiroki Kuroda or CC Sabathia? (CC at [5:05]) [8:46] Farm system talk with Tanya: Greg Bird's return [10:10] Aaron Judge needs a promotion [12:35] Mike Ford: for real? [15:37] Gosuke Katoh: Rookie Ball mirage? [17:18] Dante Bichette Jr.'s hot start [18:50] Eric Jagielo and Cito Culver's disappointing defensive reviews [20:09] Peter O'Brien destroying the Florida State League [23:27] RIP Jose Campos's UCL [25:40] Rob Refsnyder: Getting better? [27:30] Gushing over Manny Banuelos [29:44] Rafael De Paula's resurgence [31:45] Could Shane Greene be a legitimate MLB starting option? [32:45] Figuring out where Ian Clarkin will start the season [33:19] Where have you gone, Mason Williams? [35:13] Will Slade Heathcott ever stay healthy? [37:12] Brief sidebar about the roster spot open once Pineda can go on the DL [40:14] Disappointment over Jose Ramirez, but joy about Luis Severino [42:45] Thoughts on Gary Sanchez, John Ryan Murphy, and the Yankees' future catching situation [50:23] Tweetbag: External/internal help for starting pitching, riffing on Hector Noesi, bacon heresy, 2015 rotation, A-Rod in 2015?, Jagielo/Judge ETA [1:02:50] Yankee/Mitre of the Week
John Sickels of SB Nation's Minor League Ball released his Top 150 prospects list for 2014 today, and a familiar name has come out on top. Masahiro Tanaka, the Yankees' prize offseason acquisition from Japan, was Sickels' highest rated prospect with a grade of A. Not everyone will agree with Sickels choosing to put Tanaka on the list at all, considering that he'd been pitching in professional baseball in Japan for many years. Baseball's rules make him eligible for Rookie of the Year honors, so it probably makes sense that he would be on this list. If he's going to be eligible to make the list, a #1 ranking also makes a lot of sense. The Yankees have really struggled to draft and develop top prospects over the last few seasons, and though they can take no credit for doing either with Tanaka, it is nice to see someone on our side at the top of one of these lists again.
Tanya, Jason, Andrew, and Jesse rank the Yankees' top prospects heading into the 2014 season.
Three other Yankees prospects made Sickels' Top 150: catcher Gary Sanchez at #38, third baseman Eric Jagielo at #122, and outfielder Aaron Judge at #145. Sickels also lists outfielder Tyler Austin and first baseman Greg Bird as players who are in the picture. Early high ratings for Jagielo and Judge hopefully means success ahead for all the draft picks the team raked in last season with two of their three first round picks already finding their way onto a top prospect list. Judge is off to a booming start with the Charleston RiverDogs and Jagielo was aggressively placed in High-A to start the season, hopefully meaning that the Yankees are willing to move him through the system quickly with infield help desperately needed at the big league level. Sickels gave Jagielo a B rating and Judge a B- rating.
Gary Sanchez received a B+ grade from Sickels, continuing to be the most promising asset the Yankees have on the farm. There have been mixed reviews about whether or not Sanchez will be able to stay behind the plate with some saying he's made great strides and others saying they don't think it'll work out. Still, he's managed to carry himself with his bat and finds himself performing very well for the Trenton Thunder in the early going in 2014. The Yankees did give Brian McCann a five-year deal this offseason, but I'd expect some kind of first base/DH/catcher/backup catcher rotation to go on between McCann, Sanchez, and Mark Teixeira by the time Sanchez is ready for the majors. That is, of course, assuming that Sanchez continues his development. Sometimes it is overlooked how young Sanchez is because he hasn't flown through the system. He's still got plenty of time to make it.
You can view the whole Top 150 by heading over to Minor League Ball by clicking here. What do you think of the decision to put Tanaka at #1? Do you agree with where Sickels has ranked the rest of the Yankees' prospects?
It's time to award someone the coveted BCB Minor League Pitcher of the Month award. The plaque these players will win will no doubt sit in their trophy room for a long time, right next to the Emperor's New Clothes and their rabbit named Harvey.
The rules are the same as they are for the player of the month. If you need to review, go back to the last article. On thing I should make clear. While you don't have to be a prospect or have rookie eligibility to win this award, someone like Jake Arrieta who was only in the minors on a rehab assignment is ineligible.
The candidates are:
Iowa CubsTsuyoshi Wada. At 33, Wada is hardly a kid after a nine-year career in NPB and two injury-filled seasons in the Orioles system. But for the first time, Wada started to show some of the skills that gave him a 107-61 record in Japan. In April, Wada was pretty much unhittable, posting a 3-1 record in four starts with a 0.68 ERA. Both runs he allowed in April scored on solo home runs (and he didn't give up any unearned runners either). Wada pitched 26⅓ innings, struck out 29 and only walked three. Opposing hitters only hit .156 off him.
Tennessee Smokies Corey Black: The guy the Cubs got back from the Yankees for Alfonso Soriano continues to impress. He had not one but two starts this month in which he was pulled after reaching his pitch count despite having not allowed a hit in the game. Yep, he got pulled from a no-hitter twice in April. In 23 innings, opposing teams only got ten hits off of him for a .128 batting average. He did walk 13 in those 23 innings while striking out 21. He had a record of 2-1 with a 2.35 ERA.
Tennessee Smokies Ivan Pineyro: Pineyro was the return from the Nationals for Scott Hairston last season and despite an 0-2 start to the season, he pitched very well in April (Sometimes I wonder if I should just "kill the win" and not even bother to mention W-L records). In five starts and 26⅓ innings, Pineyro struck out 23 and walked 12 on the way to a 2.39 ERA.
Daytona Cubs Felix Pena: Pena is the first player on this list who was originally signed by the Cubs. He's been around since 2009 and has shown promise, but has always been more solid than anything spectacular, although he was a mid-season Midwest League All-Star last year. But Pena was consistent in a good way in April, allowing exactly one earned run in each of his five starts in April. (He had one unearned run for the month.) This left him with an ERA of 1.55, although the D-Cubs didn't score him any runs so he finished the month with a 1-3 record. Over 29 innings, he struck out 18 and walked 11, while holding opposing hitters to a .188 ERA.
Kane County Cougars Zack Godley: In the second game of the season, Godley got called to nail down the save in game one of a doubleheader, and the Cougars ended up losing when he allowed two runs in a third of an inning. Since then, Godley has been lights out. He went 5 for 5 in save chances and didn't allow a run the rest of the month, encompassing 11⅓ innings. His ERA, when counting his first bad game, was 1.54. Godley struck out 21 and walked only four while he held opposing batters to a .128 batting average. Maybe he's a little old for the Midwest League, but that doesn't diminish how dominant he's been. (Also, age isn't nearly as important for pitchers as it is for hitters.) At 24, I'd expect Godley to head off to Daytona sooner rather than later.
In a more limited role than he's ever played before, Ichiro Suzuki - perhaps with a newfound chip on his shoulder - has provided excellent defense and surprising production at the plate, showing that maybe the revered veteran has something left in the tank.
Ichiro Suzuki began the 2014 season in an unfamiliar position: lacking a starting spot in the outfield, being dangled by the Yankees in trade talks, and seemingly on the outside looking in, unsure of what role he would play on his team. For a player as storied as Ichiro, this had to be frustrating. In spring training, reporters began asking him if he would retire soon. Ichiro rebuked the idea; instead, he wanted to play "many" more seasons. But how many people can honestly say they believe Ichiro will play many more seasons? Probably not a lot. Ichiro knows this, and perhaps this realization put a chip on his shoulder coming into the 2014 season. Perhaps, for the first time since being a rookie in Japan, Ichiro felt that he had something to prove.
Ichiro has always been expected to produce throughout his career. He experienced great success immediately upon being called up to the majors in Japan, hitting .385 in his first full season for the Orix BlueWave, winning the first of his seven consecutive batting titles and becoming the first player in the league to record more than 200 hits in a season. After arriving in Seattle, everyone expected great things of him, and Ichiro calmly exceeded expectations to the tune of a .350/.381/.457 triple slash with a 124 wRC+ and a 6.0 fWAR en route to winning the AL MVP (oh yeah, and he won the batting title and the Rookie of the Year as well). Even after a few years of decline, the Yankees still expected him to be a better option that either Andruw Jones or Raul Ibanez when they traded for him in 2012 (he was). After signing him a two-year, $12 million deal in the 2012 off-season, the Yankees clearly gave Ichiro a signal that they expected him to continue contributing for the foreseeable future.
But after last year's disaster - Ichiro posted an fWAR of just 1.1 and a wRC+ of 71 in 2013 - coupled with the hefty outfield investments the Yankees made in the offseason (which added to an already crowded outfield since they traded for Alfonso Soriano at the 2013 trade deadline), Ichiro became expendable. He clearly became a player the Yankees expected little productivity from this season. His name came up in trade rumors, not through his own wishes as in 2012, but because his own team thought he wasn't good enough to help them win anymore. This season, more so than any other in his major league career, no one expected much from Ichiro.
And so far this year, Ichiro has been proving his doubters wrong. While it's barely May and the sample size is still small (he only has about half as many at bats as regular starters), Ichiro is hitting .357/.386/.405 with a 120 wRC+. He's got a 2.2 UZR so far and has generally provided great defense in the outfield. While he's certainly not appearing in every game - and not even starting all of the ones he does show up in - Ichiro has not been the liability at the plate many expected at the beginning of this season. His ability to hit this year has meant that Joe Girardi can be much more flexible with his lineups, and can even sometimes field an outfield of Ichiro, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Brett Gardner (which would be one of the best defensive outfields in the league) without losing too much at the plate. This flexibility lets Girardi give Soriano and Carlos Beltran days off, which is vital to keeping them fresh over the long season. It also lets Girardi rest Ellsbury and Gardner every so often, or even get by if one of them (knock on wood) has to go on the DL for a short stint without a black hole in the lineup. Ichiro's ability to keep producing solidly at the plate is the key to making these different lineups respectable, as anyone he'd replace is a major offensive contributor. With their pitching staff dealing with so many injuries currently, the Yankees need all the offensive production they can get.
Yes, this could turn into a Travis Hafner/Vernon Wells situation from last year, where a player's strong start quickly turned into an awful season. However, Ichiro is a much better defensive player than either of those players, as well as much more valuable on the basepaths, so he doesn't have to be as dominant with the bat to mask other deficiencies. Just being average at the plate will make him valuable, and while some regression will no doubt happen (which is obvious to anyone anyway, but a .455 BAPIP makes it clear just how lucky Ichiro has been so far this year), a .280 average and a wRC+ around 100 does not seem completely out of the question. If Ichiro can manage this, he'll certainly be an asset to the Yankees all year long.
Either way, it's still nice to see Ichiro playing well again. While I've never cared much for the Mariners, Ichiro was always an exciting player to watch, and I was genuinely sad that he would waste away in obscurity on the Yankees, or someone else's, bench. While that fate may still await him in the future, Ichiro is showing the Yankees that he's still a productive player, even when everyone doubted him.
Maybe he just needed, for once in his career, something to prove.
The Yankees were rained out last night, but they return today to finish out their series with the Mariners. David Phelps has been skipped in the rotation, so Hiroki Kuroda will be starting tonight. Seattle is pushing back starter Roenis Elias, meaning the Yankees will miss Felix Hernandez for this series.
At this point, it doesn't make sense to keep playing Brian Roberts over Kelly Johnson. Neither are exactly lighting up the world right now, but at least we know that Johnson has been the better player over the last few seasons. Roberts isn't even playing a decent second base, so why keep running him out there when it's likely he is at the end of his career?
We know that Michael Pineda has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 teres major strain. He will have to miss his next scheduled start on Monday, but won't be able to go on the disabled list until his pine tar suspension is over on Sunday. That means the Yankees will continue to play with a 24-man roster for another three days. Pineda is expected to miss around a month and will be replaced by Phelps in the rotation.
Brendan Ryan, on the other hand, continues his rehab assignment as he tries to make it back from a nerve injury in his spine. He shouldn't be out for too much longer, but it's unknown who he could replace when he returns.
Brendan Ryan will begin a rehab stint with Double-A Trenton. Girardi estimated he's at 38-40 at-bats. Team wants around 50.
Due to the rain, Felix Hernandez missed his start, so Roenis Elias did his best Felix-at-Yankee-Stadium impression.
It seemed like the Yankees caught a break when it was announced yesterday that Roenis Elias would be making tonight's start instead of ace Felix Hernandez. King Felix has always dominated the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, and instead it looked like the Yankees could feast on a rookie. Welp.
Hiroki Kuroda ran into trouble early. With one out, Stefan Romero lined a single to center and Robinson Cano shook off the boos to drill an opposite-field double. That scored Romero for the first run of the game, but it could have been worse. After Corey Hart grounded out, Kyle Seager laced a ball to left-center field that seemed destined to fall for an RBI double. Jacoby Ellsbury had none of that though and made a terrific diving catch to rob Seager and end the inning. Ellsbury followed this defensive display by drilling a leadoff homer to the right field seats, his first dinger as a Yankee, and the Yankees' first leadoff homer since August of 2012.
The Yankees were the recipients of some luck in the second, as Dustin Ackley appeared to be thrown out at second on a strike-'em-out/throw-'em-out double play to end the inning. Despite a laser throw from Brian McCann that was in plenty of time, Brian Roberts lifted his glove too early and Ackley was safe. The umpire called him out and the Mariners didn't challenge it for some reason, so the blown call stood.
The Mariners broke the 1-1 tie thanks to some shoddy defense. Derek Jeter booted a grounder to start the third and Michael Saunders singled up the middle to move him to third. Cano hit a 3-0 pitch slowly toward Jeter and they were only able to get one out, so the runner from third scored. Meanwhile, following Ellsbury's bomb, the Yankees were quiet, striking out the side against Elias, and missing opportunities in the second thanks to a double play by the ice-cold McCann an easy two-out grounder to third by the elderly-looking Brian Roberts with runners on first and second. Carlos Beltran also bounced into a double play to end the third.
The Mariners added to that lead in the fourth, though the blame for that falls on Kuroda. Seager singled to right, and with one out, Dustin Ackley walked to move him into scoring position. Kuroda fanned Mike Zunino, but Brad Miller lined a single just in front of Brett Gardner, scoring Seager. Saunders made matters worse by slugging a ground rule double to left. Ackley scored and the Yankees lucked out that the ball went into the stands since Miller had already crossed home plate but had to go back to third. Romero flew out to end the inning and Kuroda settled down over his last two innings, but the damage was done. Even though, it wasn't the worst of days for Kuroda and his infield defense betrayed him, he could certainly have pitched a little bit better.
The bullpen entered in the seventh inning following Kuroda's departure, as Matt Thornton came on to face Miller. The lefty induced a fly ball but gave up a softly-hit single to Saunders. Joe Girardi decided to mix and match, bringing in Adam Warren to face Stefan Romero. It seemed like an odd move since Cano was the next hitter, but it paid off as Saunders was gunned down stealing and Romero fanned to end the inning. Warren continued his superb relief work with a perfect eighth inning. It's great to see him adapt to his bullpen role so well.
The Mariners repaid the Yankees for their shoddy third inning defense with some misplays of their own. With two outs, With two outs and a runner on, Mark Teixeira hit a grounder toward the left side of second base. Cano reached it, but Miller did not cover second base so when Cano threw it to him, he was not on the bag. Cano also could have simply tagged Soriano, but the Yankees received an extra out. McCann broke out of his slump a little bit with a single through the shift to score Soriano and make the score 4-2. Yangervis Solarte grounded out to end the threat. Elias threw a perfect seventh and his evening ended with seven brilliant innings and 10 strikeouts. The Yankees never really looked comfortable against him. They briefly had a chance to tie the game down to their last out in the ninth when Ichiro Suzuki lined a pinch-hit single against Fernando Rodney, but he induced a called strike three from Gardner to close out the Seattle victory.
Sorry, just had to get that out of the way before proceeding with the rest of the recap. More on him later, but the Mariners did a great job striking early in this game against Hiroki Kuroda and were able to put well-located pitches in play to get themselves plenty of baserunners to work with.
The scoring started out with an excuse-me swing by Stefen Romero on an outside breaking pitch that he had no business swinging at that ended up lacing into center field for a hit. Then, just as the boos were beginning to subside, Robinson Cano smacked a double down the first base line on a pitch that damn near hit him. Cano would be stranded but Jeff Sullivan's prophecy from December 5th finally came to pass:
Cano returns to Yankee Stadium, a Mariner. announced by PA; fans boo, throw fake cash, call him a selfish traitor. Ellsbury homers
And I'm sure you can guess by now what happened in the bottom of the first. That's right, good ol' Jacoby Ellsbury crushed one into the right field bleachers for his first round-tripper of the year, tying the game at 1-1.
The second inning would bring no runs for either team but Cano would get an RBI in on a ground out in the third to give the M's a 2-1 lead. The Mariners would score again the fourth thanks to Brad Miller, who swung at a pitch that was way outside the zone but dropped in for a single just over Derek Jeter's head. I the very next at-bat, Michael Saunders rocketed a ball into the gap that hopped over the fence for a ground-rule double, one of his three hits on the night. After that, the score sat at 4-1 and was only touched by an RBI single off the bat of Brian McCann in the sixth.
The real story tonight was Roenis Elias, the Cuban lefty who continues to dominate despite making the hop straight from Double-A (because who needs Triple-A anyway?). Elias went seven innings of two-run ball in which he walked just two and struck out tenYankees. Elias was pitching excellently and seemed to get virtually every hitter to at least two strikes. The command was there, the stuff was there, everything was there. This sure is getting impressive for the rookie. It's not easy playing in New York and pitching perhaps the best game of your young career. He sure is fun to watch and as others have alluded to, he will likely be the M's No. 5 starter once everyone returns from the DL. Can you imagine tuning into games and having one of Felix/Kuma/Paxton/Walker/Elias pitch every night? Gives me the chills just thinking about it.
Yoervis Medina would come in to relieve Roenis and pitched a perfect eighth before Fernando Rodney came out and slammed the door, hurting the Yankees' metaphorical ears in the process. In a game that featured a man named Roenis, a man named Yoervis, and another named Yangervis, you might wonder what is up with the names of these Cuban players. Turns out there's a trend going on in Cuba when it comes to names. Here's a short quote if you don't want to read the whole article from BBC (which is actually pretty interesting):
But in the 1970s, imaginations really began to fly. That's when the letter Y, rarely used in Spanish names, became a hit with parents competing for ever more exotic sounding creations - Yulieski, Yumilis, Yaraleidis. Even so-called normal names were hijacked. Daniel became Yaniel.
This would help to explain the various unique "Y" names found throughout Major League Baseball (Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Cespedes, Yuniesky Betancourt, etc.)
Anyway, here are some various other observations from the game tonight:
Saunders did a great job with the playing time he was given tonight, and he might have earned himself another start in the near future with his work on both offense and defense. He had some great hits today from the leadoff spot and it might tempt LLoyd to change things up a bit. On defense, he certainly didn't look any worse than Almonte out there in center (even though LLoyd decided to bring Almonte in as a defensive replacement late in the game). He had a couple of bad jumps on balls that didn't end up costing the team any outs, but that's not something we as fans are unaccustomed to seeing this year.
Stefen Romero still looks pretty much lost at the plate. Despite his solid hit early in the game (and it's pretty easy to see how he could have missed that one too), he struck out twice and really doesn't deserve to be batting second in the order especially when you remember that Kuroda is a right-handed pitcher.
This lack of playing time might be really getting to Brad Miller, who messed up pretty badly on a defensive play in the sixth that allowed an unnecessary base-runner (which later led to an unearned run being scored). The error was given to Cano, but what happened was Miller wasn't covering second base while he should have been and started walking off towards the dugout mid-play while Cano assumed Miller was going to be covering second. Cano threw to Miller who to his credit had good enough reflexes to launch the ball to first base, nearly taking Cano's head off in the process. This isn't the first of weird defensive miscues we've seen from Miller lately though, and I'm beginning to become a little concerned about what might be up with him.
The Mariners start a road series against Houston tomorrow. Felix will take on Brad Peacock tomorrow at 5:05pm PT and Hisashi Iwakuma will make his season debut on Saturday. This is a series the M's really need to take advantage of as it's a serious shot at getting them back above .500. Go Mariners.
Nick Carfardo answers some important -- and not so important -- questions about the Red Sox season so far. Like, should Xander be playing third base? (Nick Carfardo; Boston Globe)
The good folks at Sox Prospects have a look at the minor league system over at ESPN Boston, with some extra attention paid to Mookie Betts. (Mike Andrews; ESPN Boston)
In the grand scheme of Boston rivalries the Sox and the Yankees could be doing better, especially with Jeter's impending retirement taking even more heat off the rivalry's most recent heyday. But at least it's not the Celtics and the Lakers. (Comcast SportsNet; Rich Levine)
Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from May 1st.
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders: W 4-3 vs. Norfolk Tides
LF Ramon Flores 2-4, double, BB, K - batting .350/.435/.550 over his last 10 games 3B Scott Sizemore 2-4, double, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K SS Dean Anna 1-5 1B Russ Canzler 0-5, RBI, 3 K DH Zoilo Almonte 2-4, double, SB - batting .272 this season 2B Zelous Wheeler 1-3, BB RF Adonis Garcia 0-3, RBI, 2 K C Austin Romine 1-4 CF Antoan Richardson 1-4
Caleb Cotham 2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K - 39 of 68 pitches for strikes Diego Moreno 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, BB, 4 K Robert Coello 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K Cesar Cabral 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, BB, K Mark Montgomery 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, K Matt Daley 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K
Double-A Trenton Thunder:L 3-4, W 2-1 vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats
Game 1:
CF Mason Williams 0-3, BB LF Ben Gamel 2-4 3B Rob Segedin 2-4, K DH Gary Sanchez 0-1, 3 BB, K 2B Rob Refsnyder 1-4, double, 2 RBI RF Yeral Sanchez 0-3, BB, 2 K SS Carmen Angelini 1-3, K C Tyson Blaser 0-3, 2 K 1B Dan Fiorito 1-2, double, BB
Matt Tracy 5 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 5 K - 53 of 96 pitches for strikes Cole Kimball 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Game 2:
CF Mason Williams 1-3, double - batting .190/.292/.214 over his last 10 games LF Ben Gamel 0-3 DH Rob Segedin 0-3 C Gary Sanchez 0-3, K 1B Kyle Roller 0-3 SS Carmen Angelini 0-2, BB RF Taylor Dugas 1-3, triple, RBI 3B Dan Fiorito 1-3, RBI, K 2B Ali Castillo 0-2
Jeremy Bleich 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, BB, 2 K - 49 of 77 pitches for strikes Branden Pinder 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:L 2-6, W 2-0 vs. Augusta GreenJackets
Game 1:
SS Tyler Wade 1-5, 2 E6 - two throwing errors (4th and 5th this season) LF Jose Rosario 2-5, double, K RF Aaron Judge 3-5 DH Mike Ford 1-4, BB 3B Miguel Andujar 0-3, BB, K 1B John Murphy 1-3, BB, SB C Kale Sumner 1-3, HR, RBI, BB, K, passed ball - second homer of the season 2B Gosuke Katoh 2-4, double, RBI, K CF Mikeson Oliberto 0-3, BB, K
Caleb Smith 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB - was pitching when the game was suspended Rookie Davis 4 IP, 7 H, 5 R/4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K - 50 of 77 pitches for strikes Andy Beresford 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K Cesar Vargas 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K
Game 2:
SS Abiatal Avelino 1-3, K, CS 2B Tyler Wade 1-3, K - batting .298 this season DH Aaron Judge 0-3 - batting .459/.512/.649 over his last 10 games 1B Mike Ford 0-2, E3 - fielding error, second of the season CF Michael O'Neill 0-2, 2 K 3B Miguel Andujar 0-2 RF Jose Rosario 1-2 LF John Murphy 0-1 C Eduardo de Oleo 1-2, HR, 2 RBI, K
Jaron Long 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, BB, 2 K - 36 of 58 pitches for strikes Philip Walby 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, BB, K, WP Nick Rumbelow 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 2 WP - fourth save of the season
The Yankees are exactly 1/6 of the way through the 2014 season. Let's how look at how they have compared to their division rivals thus far.
I will admit it: part of the reason I felt like writing a piece looking at how the AL East was shaping up this far in the season is because the Yankees are sitting on top. But regardless, things have been just about as tight and contentious in the division as you would have assumed they would be. Injuries have already played a big factor and certain players have surprised thus far, but everyone is still pretty bunched together. All five members have been mostly crummy and the division is the only one in baseball where every team has a negative run differential. Let's look at where everyone is as May has just begun.
New York Yankees: 15-12, - GB, -13 run differential, Pythagorean record: 12-15
Free agent Ubaldo Jimenez was brought in to try bring more high-end depth to the Orioles rotation but has been awful (6.59 ERA, 5.31 xFIP). Like last year, it's been Wei-Yin Chen and not much else. Offensively, even with Chris Davis regressing from his Ruthian 2013 (.382 SLG) Nelson Cruz has bopped seven dingers and Matt Wieters has finally looked like the superstar catcher he was expected to be (144 wRC+). It's all offense for the O's again this year.
Toronto Blue Jays: 12-15, 3 GB, -6 run differential, Pythag record: 13-14
The Blue Jays have been the mirror of the Orioles, boasting a dangerous offense while sporting a tame starting staff. Jose Bautista (193 wRC+, .463 OBP) and Melky Cabrera (157 wRC+) both are healthy and back to how they were at their very best career points, which is particularly scary of Bautista since he was a really good hitter last year anyways. Mark Buerhle has been his normal steady self, and while R.A. Dickey continues to struggle Comeback Player of the Year candidate Drew Hutchison has given them a nice lift (0.9 fWAR, 10.36 K/9).
Tampa Bay Rays: 13-16, 3.0 GB, -10 run differential, Pythag record: 13-16
The injury bug crippled the Rays as Matt Moore went down for the season and Alex Cobb has thrown only 19 innings. David Price and Chris Archer both have an ERA over four, but their peripherals suggest they'll lower these very shortly. The normal crew of Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist have been good in the heart of the Rays order, while Desmond Jennings (138 wRC+) has developed into an excellent all around player. The Rays have been done no favors by intended closer Grant Balfour getting off to a terrible start (1.00 K/BB, 5.11 ERA) but his two saves yesterday may get him going.
Boston Red Sox: 13-16, 3.0 GB, -14 run differential, Pythag record: 13-16
The Red Sox lineup has been hit by the Regression Monster as Daniel Nava and Mike Carp are both well off their torrid 2013 paces (Carp 77 wRC+, Nava 36). Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr. have been solid, but the offense is just not near the juggernaut it once was. On the pitching side, Jon Lackey and Jon Lester are in the Top 25 in fWAR (Lester is second only to Jose Fernandez) while Jake Peavy has danced around unimpressive peripherals to the tune of an ERA under 3.00.
When you look at it, the Yankees should consider themselves pretty fortunate to be where they are. Aside from the run differential, they've been lucky to have their rivals either suffer major injuries or stumble out of the gate. They face a real test this weekend, as a bad series against the Rays could send them tumbling down the standings in a hurry.
Who started off the 2014 season in the best possible way?
It is difficult to quibble too much with the Yankees' results during the first month of the season. They ended the month at 15-11, tops in the American League East, and third-best in the AL. Obviously they went through some hurdles that will have to be overcome in May, most notably the loss of both Ivan Nova and Michael Pineda from the rotation, but they also faced challenges in April, as they played the majority of the month without Mark Teixeira or David Robertson. Their 15-11 start was led by a few different players, but which one was your Yankee of the Month?
(All GIFs are from our Twitter GIF account, @PSA_GIFs, which you should follow if you don't already.)
Ma-Kun was brilliant during his first month in pinstripes, quieting the critics (at least for now) who did not like the Yankees committing $155 million to man who had never thrown a pitch in the United States aside from the World Baseball Classic. He has plenty more work to do to validate the investment, but Tanaka really could not have gotten off to a much better start than he did. Tanaka averaged just over seven innings in his five starts, pitching to a 2.27 ERA, 2.95 FIP, and most remarkably, an 11.6 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9. Tanaka set a Yankees record for most strikeouts within the first five starts of a career with 46, a mark exceeded by only two other pitchers in MLB history. With the rest of the starting rotations off to mixed beginnings, Tanaka emerged as the clear-cut ace of the staff, a trend that will hopefully continue for the 25-year-old throughout the 2014 season. It would not be surprising to see him named AL Pitcher of the Month, or at the very least, AL Rookie of the Month.
Of course, if MLB feels like spreading the love to other Yankees, here's another guy they could name AL Rookie of the Month:
On the last day of spring training, the Yankees made the relieving decision to finally part ways with Eduardo Nunez, one of the worst players in franchise history, and instead took a chance on infielder Yangervis Solarte. While it was pretty much a consensus opinion on the site that Solarte was a worthy choice given Nunez's suckitude and the likely need for Scott Sizemore to continue rehabbing, no one expected him to do what he did in April, his first month of big-league ball. When Teixeira went down a hamstring injury just a couple days into the season, Solarte was forced into everyday duty at third base with Kelly Johnson moving across the diamond to cover first. Baseball being baseball of course, Solarte skipped right on by more accomplished batters like Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann to become arguably the Yankees' best hitter of the month. The beautifully-named switch-hitter batted .303/.404/.461 with nine doubles, a homer, and a 143 wRC+. He looked just fine in the field too, even kicking off a crazy triple play during a game against the Rays. Even if Solarte hits the regression train, we'll always have this exciting month.
Tanaka was the Yankees' best pitcher, Solarte was the Yankees' best hitter, but perhaps the Yankees' greatest all-around player in April was Ellsbury. Many fans were surprised when the Yankees gave the former Red Sox rival a seven-year, $153 million deal in December to be their center fielder. It seemed like an odd decision, but just one month into Ellsbury's Yankees career, it is evident just how valuable he can be on a baseball field. Circus catches like the one above became common to see, and while defensive metrics have struggled to adjust for the frequent defensive shifts used by the Yankees thus far, Baseball Prospectus FRAA (fielding runs above average) seems to have handled Ellsbury the best so far, rating him with a 2.1 FRAA already, albeit in a small sample size. Ellsbury complemented his excellent defense with a consistent bat, as he hit .312/.369/.441 with eight doubles, two triples, eight stolen bases, and 121 wRC+. Here's hoping we see more of this terrific overall performance from Ellsbury thus far.
***
So which player do you think was the Yankees' Player of the Month in April? Is it someone not mentioned, like Carlos Beltran, who led the Yankees with five dingers, or maybe Shawn Kelley, who stepped in when Robertson was hurt and used his improved control (2.2 BB/9) to save all four of his opportunities with a 2.19 ERA? Vote in the poll below, and defend your position in the comments!
Instead of good hitters gone lousy, let’s look at lousy hitters gone good. Well, "lousy" is a strong term. These players are better at hitting than any of us will be at anything we attempt in our nasty, short, and brutish lives. Within their own elite group, though, they’ve historically been a step or two behind their peers. This year they’ve been fantastic. What gives?
Prognosis It was okay to chuckle smugly at the Dodgers spending six billion on a roster and starting the season with Dee Gordon at second base. It was like Terrence Malick tacking a "Featuring Fred Savage" to the front of his Thin Red Line credits. They couldn’t be serious, right?
They were serious, and Gordon has been one of their very best players. The 26-year-old is hitting for average, and he even has a home run to keep pitchers honest! Pitchers will not stay honest. If you’re wondering if Gordon’s batting average on balls in play is out of whack, it’s at .360, which is certainly high, but not out of the question for one of the fastest players in the game.
It’s easy to dismiss the hot April — just watch me! — but it’s worth noting that Gordon was the #26 prospect in baseball before the 2011 season. He was supposed to field enough to stick at short, and he was supposed to be a high-average, pesky feller. Since then, he’s had stretches where he looked like a retired track star trying baseball on a whim — Herb Washington without the natural baseball instincts — so he’s been mostly forgotten and/or dismissed.
He got an RBI on this swing. Photo: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Random month like this that no one paid attention to because it wasn’t April September, 2011, when he hit .372/.398/.451 with 12 steals. Yowza. Then he was abysmal the following season.
Scouting the breakout tool (20-to-80 scale) 50. Decent chance of this being somewhat sustainable.
Here’s where you were expecting a note about how this is a fluke, and how this is going to fade away. Instead, I’m going to prepare for eight to 10 years of Gordon alternating pesky with pungent, similar to Juan Pierre. Average-dependent players with elite speed are at the blackjack table, forever hitting on 17, and every second or third year, they’ll get a three or a four. Pierre spent his career being a stathead punchline, except he had a pretty danged solid career in retrospect, with several valuable high points. Gordon would be lucky to do the same, but he’s certainly capable.
Prognosis Really, you could pick anyone on the White Sox. Adam Dunn looks like his old self, Alexei Ramirez has been one of the best players in baseball, and Tyler Flowers is leading the American League in hitting. But Viciedo sticks out because he’s just 25, which makes him one of those non-prospects that you give a hard time because you’re used to him performing at a certain level, as if he were a finished product.
He’s also intriguing because he might set a career-best mark for walks by the end of May.
Instead of writing "small sample" 500 times, I’ll just point out once that this is an article about the first month of the baseball season, and that month is always, always, always a chronic liar. Still, Viciedo is swinging at fewer pitches out of the strike zone and making more contact. He’s hitting more balls in the air, too, which is probably good for someone with his skill set, even if the dingers aren’t showing up.
Random month like this that no one paid attention to because it wasn’t April Well, he had similar walk rates last May before resuming his hacking ways, and he hit .303/.364/.517 last July.
Scouting the breakout tool (20-to-80 scale) 65. He’s the same age as Michael Choice and Travis d’Arnaud, prospects of moderate promise who are still expected to do good things. It’s easy to forget because we’re used to the idea of Viciedo as a Delmon-like limited slugger, but he’s still rather green.
Prognosis Maybe there’s a method to Brian Sabean’s madness; when playing in a park that swallows home runs, get players who are strong enough to hit the ball out of the Astrodome on a check swing. Morse isn’t just hitting dingers, he’s hitting them faaaaaar.
I can think of maybe two or three right-handers who have hit a homer there at AT&T Park over the last 14 seasons. He already has more home runs than Giants left fielders combined for last year, and he’s becoming something of a cult hero for dinger-fetishists.
Random month like this that no one paid attention to because it wasn’t April That’s easy. And sobering. Morse had eight home runs last April, and after every one a Mariners fan would tweet something snotty at me because I ripped Jack Zduriencik for the trade before the season. The tweets stopped.
Scouting the breakout tool (20-to-80 scale) 40. He’s still Cerrano-like with breaking balls, and he’s still swinging and missing at the same rate. He’s had one truly outstanding year at the plate in his 10-year career, and he’s 32, so the odds are against him keeping this up. Still, it’s fun to ride the dinger dragon while it’s still in the air.
Prognosis The most valuable position players in baseball, according to Baseball-Reference.com:
1. Troy Tulowitzki 2. Mike Trout 3. Charlie Blackmon 4. Josh Donaldson 5. Andrew McCutchen
Annotated: Yep, of course, whaaat, sure, of course. Blackmon was hitting .500 for the first two weeks of the year, so you might think he’s been a dud since then, but the hot start is still buoying his April numbers. Since that high-water mark of .500/.512/.737, though, he’s hit .292/.356/.523, with almost half of those games coming in San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. He has a decent shot of playing in the All Good In the First Half Game at Target Field in July.
He was never a top prospect, but he was always an interesting prospect, with an intriguing blend of contact, speed, and doubles power. He’s also never really had a clean shot at an outfield spot because the Rockies had two spots locked down with Carlos Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler for years, and they blocked Blackmon with Michael Cuddyer two years ago. It’s hard to dismiss a player when his last two seasons basically get "incomplete" grades.
Random month like this that no one paid attention to because it wasn’t April Blackmon hit .343/.366/.500 last September, which ostensibly put him in consideration for the starting job this year. He did it with a wonky strikeout-to-walk ration of 4/21, though, so it was easier to dismiss. He’s at seven walks to eight strikeouts in 116 plate appearances this year. That’s much better.
Scouting the breakout tool (20-to-80 scale) 60. Good chance that he’ll be valuable, though not a star. Like Vicideo and Gordon, Blackmon is young enough to believe he’s not necessarily the player we’ve seen (or not seen) the past few years. He always had solid contact numbers in the high minors, and that seems like a skill that would play especially well at Coors Field.
The raw stats .304/.402/.456, nine doubles, one HR. Dammit, Yankees.
Prognosis Dammit, Yankees.
Random month like this that no one paid attention to because it wasn’t April Solarte does not have another month to look at because the Yankees just made him up.
Scouting the breakout tool (20-to-80 scale) 80. Because dammit, Yankees.
The Yankees were supposed to be old and broken and broke, and then they spent the offseason spending money on last-ditch semi-stars to keep the team alive. It made sense, except there were still problems with the lineup. The team had a little extra money because Alex Rodriguez was suspended, sure, but who was going to play third for them?
A create-a-player, that’s who. Auto-generated by the computer, with attributes that were futzed with using a Game Genie. Do you know what Solarte hit in the PCL last year? .276/.323/.403. Do you know what the entire PCL hit last year? .270/.342/.414. Solarte was 25 and completely average in Triple-A. Now he’s an OBP monster. You may cry "sample size" because we’re talking about 92 plate appearances, but the Yankees are in first, and crap like this is how they’ll stay there.
Dammit, Yankees.
(He’s actually a solid 20 because there’s no way. There’s just no way. Dammit, Yankees.)
Q: What do you call a 26 year old reliever with an electric fastball, a 2.03 ERA and a K/9 over 15, who is under team control through 2019?
A: Trade bait.
Dellin Betances is a tremendous luxury for Joe Girardi. With David Robertson and Shawn Kelley locking up the late innings, Girardi is using Betances when he needs multiple innings. In 6 of his 9 appearances this month, Betances has pitched when the score was 4+ runs one way or the other.
Adding a marginally competent everyday infielder would help prevent Yangervis Solarte, Brian Roberts and Kelly Johnson from being overexposed (and probably result in one of them being cut/ optioned/ traded). While half of you are ready to push me from the concourse for suggesting trading a young, cost controlled player, half of you realize that a reliever with a history of control problems couldn't get a deal done on his own (unless Ninja Cashman!).
Could Pablo Sandoval's recent Cano-esque contract demands put him on the block? Could Chase Headley's trade finally be upon us after years of speculation (and a start as brutal as Sandoval's)?
Might the Mets' terrible bullpen lead them to want to move Daniel Murphy (under control through the 2015 season)?
Could a team off to a terrible start like the Diamondbacks decide to move a Martin Prado (locked up through 2016)?
Expect the Yankees to upgrade their infield in the next three months, and expect the cost to hurt.
While the Yankees were believed to be one of the finalists for reliever Joel Hanrahan, it turns out they weren't the ones who ended up signing him. The Tigers inked the right-hander to a one-year-deal with a $1 million base salary and incentives that could give him another $3 million. Hanrahan will begin the season on the DL until he can build up arm strength and join the major league team sometime in June. If the Yankees want to find a way to bolster their bullpen they will have to look elsewhere. Perhaps there could be a surprise reliever waiting in the system for a chance to have an impact.
