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Heyman: Yanks have inquired about Shelby Miller, Braves want Luis Severino

November 30, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

According to Jon Heyman, the Yankees are among the teams to call the Braves about right-hander Shelby Miller. Atlanta asked for Luis Severino in return, which is what I’d do. Heyman says that was merely a request and the Yankees are not seriously considering dealing Severino for Miller.

Miller, 25, had a 3.02 ERA (3.45 FIP) in 205 innings this past season, his first with the Braves after coming over from the Cardinals in the Jason Heyward deal. The Braves got Miller to emphasize his slider and cutter a little more and the result was more ground balls and fewer home runs. Fewer pitches squared up, basically.

MLBTR projects Miller to earn $4.9M next season, his first of three trips through arbitration. He can’t become a free agent until after 2018. The Yankees are looking for young pitching they can control beyond 2017 and Miller fits the bill, albeit slightly. He only has that one extra year of team control.

The Braves have been after Severino for a while. The two teams talked about a potential blockbuster trade last year that would have brought Heyward and Andrelton Simmons to New York, and we know Severino was part of those talks. New GM John Coppolella, a former Yankees intern, recently told Dave O’Brien they made a “strong run” at Severino.

“We made a strong run last year with the Yankees at Luis Severino, and we didn’t get the deal done last year, and now he’s off-limits this year. I mean, if you feel like you have a chance to get special talent, you can’t shy away from it. You’ve got to really jump at it and take that plunge. We were not sure that we could get these sorts of players, (the Simmons trade) was such a good opportunity for us that we wanted to seize it once it was available to us.”

With their new ballpark set to open in 2017, the Braves are in the middle of a massive rebuild and are still going through the tear down process. It’s hard to believe this same team won 96 games in 2013 and had all sorts of young talent on the roster. Heyward, Simmons, Justin Upton, Craig Kimbrel … all gone now.

The Braves have been emphasizing young pitchers in all of their trades, arguably too much. The attrition rate seems way to high to put all your eggs in that basket, but that’s just me. Beyond Severino, the Yankees have young arms like James Kaprielian, Ian Clarkin, and Bryan Mitchell to offer. My guess is the Braves are looking for something better in return for Miller.

Friday Links: Braves, Upton, Severino, Chen, Marlins, Cuba

November 13, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Upton and Simmons a few years back. (Presswire)

Hang in there, the weekend is only a few hours away. Here are a handful of stray links and notes to check out and help pass the time.

Yankees, Braves talked Upton and Severino last year

Last offseason the Yankees and Braves discussed a potential blockbuster trade that would have brought Jason Heyward and Andrelton Simmons to New York. Obviously things didn’t work out. Heyward was traded to the Cardinals last November and Simmons was traded to the Angels last night. The Yankees ended up acquiring Didi Gregorius to play shortstop and that worked out pretty well.

According to Jeff Passan and Mark Bowman, other iterations of the Heyward/Simmons blockbuster included Justin Upton — presumably instead of Heyward — and also Luis Severino. You’ve got to give something to get something, right? Last offseason Severino was still a Double-A pitching prospect who was ranked a top 35-ish prospect in baseball. Heyward fetched Shelby Miller, an established big leaguer, and Simmons by himself landed Sean Newcomb, a top 35-ish prospect.

A Heyward or Upton plus Simmons trade would have been mighty fun, though I’m happy with the way things turned out. Gregorius looks like a keeper at shortstop and Severino dazzled in his MLB debut this summer. Plus the Yankees can still sign Heyward or Upton this winter. That really would have been a fun trade though. Blockbusters are cool.

Yankees planning run at Chen

Last week we heard ex-Orioles lefty Wei-Yin Chen is a “possible target” for the Yankees this offseason, and now Mark Feinsand has corroborated the story, hearing the team will indeed make a serious run at Chen. The southpaw is said to be seeking at least a five-year contract. The O’s made Chen a qualifying offer as well, so the Yankees or whoever signs him will have to surrender a high draft pick.

I don’t doubt the reporting, but I’m not sure this one passes the sniff test. The Yankees seem disinclined to both spend big and give up their first round draft pick. And if they are going to spend big and give up a pick, there are better pitchers available in free agency, right? No knock on Chen, but you know what I mean. I can’t help but wonder if the Yankees are being used to create leverage. Them going after an AL East proven pitcher is believable, and hey, getting the Yankees involved is never bad for business. I dunno. We’ll see.

Donnie Baseball's new home. (Presswire) — Donnie Baseball’s new home. (Presswire)

Big market teams upset with Marlins

According to Jon Heyman, several big market clubs are upset with the Marlins and their financial situation. Miami generates the lowest revenue in baseball and thus receives the most revenue sharing money despite having a four-year-old ballpark. The big market clubs that pay into revenue sharing aren’t happy. “They’re a joke,” said one executive to Heyman.

The Yankees have paid more money into revenue sharing than any other club since the system was implemented, so it’s fair to wonder if they’re one of the teams upset with the Marlins. The Marlins receive roughly $50M in revenue sharing each year, according to Heyman. I’m not sure what MLB and the MLBPA can do about the Marlins — the union complained the team wasn’t spending enough money a few years ago, then poof, Josh Johnson got a nice extension — but getting rid of Jeffrey Loria is a good start. No reason to think that’s happening anytime soon though.

Yankees a candidate to play spring games in Cuba

At the GM Meetings earlier this week, commissioner Rob Manfred said MLB is looking into playing Spring Training games in Cuba next year. League officials visited different parks in Cuba recently and I guess gave the thumbs up, which is why Manfred is still talking about it. According to Joel Sherman, the Yankees are one of ten teams being considered for potential spring games in Cuba.

This makes a lot of sense, right? The Yankees are the most popular and most recognizable brand in baseball, if not all of sports. I don’t think selling out exhibition games in Cuba would be a problem no matter who plays, but getting the Yankees involved would create a lot more interest. Also, from a logistical standpoint, it’s a nice quick flight from Tampa. I don’t think MLB would drag teams from Arizona to Cuba in the middle of Spring Training. Either way, nothing is final yet. There are still hurdles to clear before exhibition games are played in Cuba next year.

Yankeemetrics: Sweep in scorching Hot-lanta (Aug. 28-30)

August 31, 2015 by Katie Sharp Leave a Comment

Sir Didi The Great
The Yankees ended their offensive slump in style, routing the Braves 15-4 in Friday’s series opener in Atlanta. They scored five runs in the first inning — one more run than they had scored in 27 total innings against the Astros last week.

Didi Gregorius had a truly historic night, going 4 for 5 with a home run and six RBIs, becoming the first shortstop in franchise history with at least six RBIs and four hits in a single game. He also is the only Yankee ever to have that many hits and RBIs against a National League team — in interleague play or the postseason. And, at 25 years old, he is the youngest Yankee to record four hits and six RBIs in a game since a 25-year-old Yogi Berra on Aug. 22, 1950 against the Tigers.

Brian McCann had a homecoming to remember in his first game back at Turner Field since leaving the Braves after the 2013 season. He pretty much did it all for the Yankees, reaching base four times, scoring three runs and driving in four runs. McCann is the first Yankee catcher in team history to have the unusual box score line of at least three walks, three runs scored and four RBIs. The last Yankee (at any position) to reach those totals in a game was Roy White in 1972.

Three is enough
Luis Severino’s fifth start was perhaps the best of his young major-league career, as he threw six scoreless innings with just four hits allowed in the Yankees 3-1 win on Saturday night. The Braves couldn’t touch his slider … the pitch got five whiffs and nine outs for Severino, without yielding a hit.

Severino lowered his ERA to 2.17, the second-lowest by any Yankee pitcher in his first five career games (all starts) in the last 50 years. The lowest belongs to El Duque Hernandez, who had a 2.04 ERA in his first five career starts in 1998.

Brian McCann’s eighth inning double gave the Yankees a 3-1 lead and it was his 15th two-bagger of the season. He’s now the seventh catcher in major-league history with at least seven seasons of 15-or-more doubles and 20-or-more homers. The others? Mike Piazza, Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra, Jorge Posada, Carlton Fisk and Gary Carter.

Braves move to the AL East, please?
The Yankee bats were once again scorching-hot in Atlanta on Sunday afternoon, as they erupted for 20 runs and 21 hits in yet another blowout win against the Braves. Here we go …

With the sweep, the Yankees are now 12-2 at Turner Field in the regular season, their best record at any ballpark — and the best record by any major-league team at any current ballpark (min. 10 games).

The 20 runs matches the most the team has ever scored against any National League team, interleague and postseason included. The only other time it happened was when they beat the Rockies 20-10 on June 19, 2002.

This is also the second time they’ve scored at least 20 runs this season (also a 21-5 win at Texas), making this the first time since 1939 that they’ve scored 20-plus runs twice on the road in a single season. That 1939 team — which had a major-league record run differential of plus-411 — did it three times.

It was less than a week ago that these same Bronx Bombers were on the losing end of a 15-1 disaster against the Astros. So that’s a 14-run loss and a 14-run win in the span of six days! Yup, this is the first time in franchise history that the Yankees won a game by at least 14 runs and lost a game by at least 14 runs in the same week.

Nathan Eovaldi had his worst start since his June 16 disaster against the Marlins, allowing five runs in five innings as his ERA rose to 4.17. But he still got the win, and is now 14-2 on the season, good for a .875 win percentage. Looking ahead … the highest win percentage in a season by any Yankee pitcher that qualified for the ERA title with an ERA above 4.00 is .778 by Bump Hadley, who went 14-4 in 1936 while splitting time between the rotation and the bullpen. #KillTheWin

The biggest offensive star of the game was — not joking — Stephen Drew, who was 4 for 4 with two walks and four RBIs. He is just the third Yankee infielder (not including catchers) in franchise history to reach base at least six times, not make an out and drive in at least four runs in a game. The others were second baseman Tony Lazzeri on May 22, 1930 and first baseman Wally Pipp on August 6, 1922.

8/28 to 8/30 Series Preview: Atlanta Braves

August 28, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Time for some more interleague play. The Yankees open a three-game series with the Braves in Atlanta tonight. This is their first visit to Turner Field since 2012, when they swept three games. The Yankees are 11-2 all-time at Turner Field, including the postseason. This is the only series of the season between these two clubs; there won’t be a return series in New York.

What Have The Braves Done Lately?

Boy do the Braves stink. They had an off-day yesterday and dropped two of three to the Rockies earlier this week. The Braves have lost 13 of their last 16 games and 48 of their last 76 games. They are not good at all. Atlanta is 54-73 with a -109 run differential overall this year, and, remarkably, they are in third place in the NL East. That’s because the Marlins and Phillies are even worse.

Offense & Defense

The Braves are the worst offensive team in baseball in terms of runs per game (3.65) and third worst by wRC+ (86 wRC+). They’ve hit 81 home runs this year, ten fewer than any other team. Atlanta has a small army of pitchers on the DL but their position players are all healthy. No one on the DL or even day-to-day.

Manager Fredi Gonzalez does have some brand names in his lineup. The team’s best player is 1B Freddie Freeman (126 wRC+), and he’s been on and off the DL all season with wrist and oblique problems. OF Nick Markakis (110 wRC+) leads off and OF Cameron Maybin (104 wRC+) typically hits second. Freeman bats third and usually C A.J. Pierzynski (108 wRC+) cleans up. Ex-Yankee OF Nick Swisher (78 wRC+ in limited time), OF Jonny Gomes (92 wRC+), and OF Michael Bourn (63 wRC+) are in a three-way left field platoon at the moment.

Former Yankees farmhand UTIL Adonis Garcia (93 wRC+) has been playing third base on an everyday basis the last few weeks. What a world. SS Andrelton Simmons (85 wRC+) and 2B Jace Peterson (82 wRC+) is the double play combination. C Christian Bethancourt (26 wRC+), C Ryan Lavarnway (83 wRC+), and IF Pedro Ciriaco (68 wRC+) round out the bench with their small sample size stats. That seems like a really weak bench by NL standards.

The Braves have tremendous defenders at short (Simmons), second (Peterson), and in center (Maybin), plus Freeman is solid at first. Simmons is in the conversation for the best defensive player in baseball, regardless of position. The rest of the team? Not so good in the field. Swisher and Gomes are a disaster in left — Swisher’s defense was always underrated during his time in pinstripes, but his knees are shot now — and Markakis isn’t as good as his reputation in right. Pierzynski has never been a good defender behind the plate and that is still true at age 38.

Pitching Matchups

Friday (7:30pm ET): RHP Masahiro Tanaka (vs. ATL) vs. RHP Williams Perez (No vs. NYY)
Perez, 24, has a 4.76 ERA (4.95 FIP) in 79.1 innings spread across 13 starts and three relief appearances this year, and he does it with ground balls (49.6%). His strikeout (14.3%), walk (11.1%), and homer (0.91 HR/9) rates are really bad. Lefties (.375 wOBA) have also hit him a ton harder than righties (.309 wOBA) in his relatively brief big league career. Perez is a sinkerballer, sitting right at 90 mph with the pitch and throwing it nearly 70% of the time. He also throws an upper-70s changeup and a mid-70s curveball. When in doubt, guess sinker. That’s his bread and butter.

Saturday (7pm ET): RHP Luis Severino (No vs. ATL) vs. RHP Matt Wisler (No vs. NYY)
Fun fact: Severino and Wisler were ranked consecutively on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list before the season. Wisler was No. 34 and Severino was No. 35. A few weeks after the list was released, the Padres shipped Wisler to Atlanta as part of the Craig Kimbrel trade. The 22-year-old northpaw has a 5.43 ERA (5.43 FIP!) in a dozen starts and 64.2 innings this year. His peripheral stats don’t jump out at you at all: 14.1 K%, 7.9 BB%, 35.3 GB%, and 1.67 HR/9. Wisler has gotten clobbered by lefties (.464 wOBA) during his short big league career. Righties (.304 wOBA) haven’t had as much success. Wisler throws two fastballs — low-to-mid-90s two and four-seamers — which set up his low-80s slider. He also throws a few mid-80s changeups per start but not many.

Sunday (1:30pm ET): RHP Nathan Eovaldi (vs. ATL) vs. RHP Julio Teheran (vs. NYY)
Teheran, 24, has taken a big step back this year. He has a 4.29 ERA (4.35 FIP) in 157.1 innings in 2015 after pitching to a 3.03 ERA (3.58 FIP) in 406.2 innings from 2013-14. His strikeout (20.5%) and grounder (40.2%) rates are in line with the last few years, but his walk rate (8.2%) has jumped and he’s more homer prone than ever (1.20 HR/9). Teheran has always given up some long balls, but not this many. Like Perez and Wisler, Teheran has been hit harder by lefties (.376 wOBA) than righties (.278 wOBA). Low-90s four-seamers and upper-80s two-seamers are Teheran’s two fastballs. A low-80s slider is his go-to breaking ball, though he also offers low-80s changeups and mid-70s curveballs. When he’s on, Teheran is a borderline ace. He just hasn’t been on all that often this year.

Bullpen Status
Gonzalez has a weak bullpen overall (4.28 ERA/4.18 FIP) and it’s been even weaker these last few weeks, with Jim Johnson traded away and Jason Grilli hurt. Former Yankees farmhand Arodys Vizcaino (0.48/2.21) is closing now. He was part of the Javy Vazquez/Boone Logan trade back in the day. (Atlanta traded Vizcaino to the Cubs then re-acquired him this past offseason.)

The Braves have a few guys in the bullpen you’ll recognize: RHP Edwin Jackson (3.52/3.78), LHP Ross Detwiler (6.58/5.96), and RHP Peter Moylan (2.45/6.12 in very limited time). Moylan didn’t pitch at all year. The rest of the bullpen? You need to be the diehardest of diehards to recognize these guys: RHP Sugar Ray Marimon (6.35/4.10), LHP Matt Marksberry (5.54/4.20), and LHP Andrew McKirahan (4.35/3.32). Amazing. Atlanta had an off-day yesterday, so the bullpen is fresh. Here is our Bullpen Workload page. Check out Talking Chop for the latest on the Braves.

Braves claim Danny Burawa off waivers from Yankees

August 14, 2015 by Mike 71 Comments

The Braves have claimed right-hander Danny Burawa off waivers from the Yankees, the team announced. He’s been assigned to their Triple-A affiliate. New York designated Burawa for assignment a few days ago when they re-signed Garrett Jones following Dustin Ackley’s injury.

Burawa, 26, is a local kid from Long Island who was the team’s 12th round pick in the 2010 draft out of St. John’s. He has vicious stuff, sitting mid-to-high-90s with a knockout slider, but control has always been an issue. Burawa has a 3.51 ERA with a 22.6 K% and an 11.3 BB% in 276.2 career innings in the minors.

The Yankees added Burawa to the 40-man roster last offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft and he made his big league debut earlier this season, allowing four runs in two-thirds of an inning. The club is loaded with righty relievers, so Burawa should have a much greater opportunity in Atlanta, where they have guys in the bullpen even I’ve never heard of.

King: Yankees declined Gary Sanchez for Cameron Maybin overtures from Braves

August 3, 2015 by Mike 172 Comments

According to George King, the Yankees “turned down overtures” from the Braves regarding a deal that would have sent catcher prospect Gary Sanchez to Atlanta for outfielder Cameron Maybin before the trade deadline last week. The Yankees made their top prospects off limits in trade talks but it’s unclear whether Sanchez was included in that group alongside Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, and others.

First of all, Sanchez for Maybin doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for the Yankees. Maybin, 28, is having a nice year, hitting .280/.332/.380 (100 wRC+) with eight home runs and 17 steals to go along with strong center field defense, but where does he play? The Yankees are locked into their three starting outfielders and they already have a quality right-handed hitting fourth outfielder in Chris Young, who’s been awesome.

I suppose the Yankees could have picked up Maybin and then looked to flip Brett Gardner for a pitcher or whatever, but that seems like a lot of work, doesn’t it? Maybin doesn’t fit the 2015 Yankees at all, and paying him $8M to be the fourth outfielder next season — and then another $1M to buy out his $9M option for 2017 — just doesn’t make sense from a baseball standpoint. I don’t see how that trade helps.

As for Sanchez, he is in the middle of a big year offensively, hitting .266/.333/.489 (136 wRC+) with 17 doubles and 15 homers in 309 plate appearances with Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton. Lots of people seemed to get Sanchez fatigue waiting for a season like this. He is still only 22 though, plus he’s never actually been bad, and the bat is often the last thing to come around for catcher prospects because they spend so much time focusing on defense.

Now, that said, I do think the Yankees were willing to trade Sanchez at the deadline and will be willing to do so again this offseason. Just not for someone like Maybin though. The Yankees prioritize defense behind the plate and Sanchez simply doesn’t offer it, plus Brian McCann is signed for another few seasons and John Ryan Murphy has been crazy impressive this summer. Catcher isn’t a pressing need. That all makes Sanchez a prime trade chip.

I could see the Yankees moving Sanchez this winter as part of a package for a high-end player with a year or two left on his contract or a younger, less established guy with multiple years of team control remaining. Not someone who would only be a spare part like Maybin. Sanchez has rebuilt his prospect stock in the eyes of some this year but I don’t think it ever took a hit. He’s taken a step forward this year and is having the big offensive season lots of people have been waiting to see. If nothing else, Sanchez has boosted his trade stock.

King: Yankees have interest in Braves infield prospect Jose Peraza

April 16, 2015 by Mike 307 Comments

The Yankees have interest in top Braves infield prospect Jose Peraza, reports George King. King says they’ve already made contact with Atlanta and recently sent scout Dennis Twombley to watch Peraza with Triple-A Gwinnett. The two teams discussed an Andrelton Simmons/Jason Heyward trade over the winter (plus they made the Manny Banuelos trade), so some groundwork has been laid. The Yankees may already know which of their prospects the Braves like the most.

Peraza, who turns 21 two weeks from today, is off to a 6-for-28 (.214) start in Triple-A after hitting .339/.364/.441 (126 wRC+) with 20 doubles, eleven triples, two homers, and 60 steals in 75 attempts between High-A and Double-A last year. He’s a contact machine from the right side, posting a 9.4 K% and a 3.4 BB% in 2014. Peraza is a shortstop playing second base — Atlanta shifted him to the other side of the bag last year because of Simmons. Here is a snippet of MLB.com’s free scouting report:

Scouting Grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 30 | Run: 75 | Arm: 50 | Field: 60 | Overall: 55

Peraza has raced through the Minor Leagues thanks to his feel for the game and his top-of-the-scale speed. As a 20-year-old in 2014, he reached Double-A Mississippi and played in the All-Star Futures Game.

Peraza has a quick, short swing and excellent hand-eye coordination. His swing produces minimal power and he mostly tries to keep the ball on the ground to use his considerable speed to his advantage. He’s a threat to steal whenever he gets on base and has swiped at least 60 bases in each of his first two years of full-season ball.

Baseball America (subs. req’d) says the 6-foot-0, 190 lb. Peraza displayed “steady, soft hands with above-average range and solid arm strength” in the field while noting “scouts questioned Atlanta’s decision to shift Peraza off shortstop to the less-demanding job at second base.” They also say his “modest pop (and) his unwillingness to walk … may set him back as a future leadoff man.”

Peraza is not some random young infielder. He’s a significant prospect. Keith Law (subs. req’d) and Baseball America ranked him as the 24th and 54th best prospect in baseball coming into the season, respectively. Coincidentally, Peraza ranked one spot behind Aaron Judge on both lists, which gives you an idea of his status within the industry.

I wouldn’t take the interest in Peraza as some kind of indication the Yankees have little faith in Didi Gregorius and/or Rob Refsnyder going forward. Quality middle infielders are really hard to find and, aside from Refsnyder, the Yankees don’t have any good shortstop or second base prospects above Single-A. Peraza is a very promising young player who potentially fills an organizational need. It fits.

Prospect for prospect trades are rare but the Braves did make one over the winter — president of baseball operations John Hart sent Double-A third baseman Kyle Kubitza to the Angels for rookie ball lefty Ricardo Sanchez. (Fun Fact: The Braves don’t have a GM. Hart and assistant GM/ex-Yankee executive John Coppolella are sharing GM duties.) Hart took over as the decision-maker last late year and it’s not uncommon for a new exec to trade his team’s prospects. Look at GM A.J. Preller with the Padres. They didn’t draft or develop these players. They’re not “their guys,” there’s no connection.

Anyway, King says the Yankees probably wouldn’t give up Luis Severino for Peraza but could deal Gary Sanchez as part of a two-player package. That sounds like speculation more than actual reporting though. Personally, I’d trade any prospect in the system for Peraza, including Judge or Severino. A two-player package featuring Sanchez plus a spare outfielder, say Georgia boy Tyler Austin, would be ideal, but I’m not sure why the Braves would do that. The Yankees have lots of outfielders and catchers, and good middle infielders are rare. Peraza makes a ton of sense if Hart & Co. are willing to move him.