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Taking stock of the 2019 Yankees with two months to go until Spring Training

December 17, 2018 by Mike

Where does Bird fit in? (Omar Rawlings/Getty)

At the moment the Yankees are a little more than halfway through their offseason. It has been 68 days since their ALDS Game Four loss and there are 58 days to go until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training. Hooray for being closer to Spring Training than the ALDS. Baseball is approaching.

The Yankees have been fairly busy this offseason, most notably adding James Paxton and re-signing several players (Brett Gardner, J.A. Happ, CC Sabathia). They also added some depth pieces through waiver claims and minor trades. Still on the offseason to-do list is find a Didi Gregorius replacement and also bolster the bullpen. That’s the short version. There are still other needs as well.

With the Winter Meetings over and the Yankees slightly more than halfway through their offseason, I figured this was as good a time as any to take a step back and examine the current state of the roster. The projected 25-man Opening Day roster, that is. Here’s what we know right now:

Catcher	Infielders	Outfielders	Rotation	Bullpen
Gary Sanchez	1B Luke Voit	LF Brett Gardner	J.A. Happ	Dellin Betances
	2B G. Torres/OPEN	CF Aaron Hicks	James Paxton	Aroldis Chapman
	SS G. Torres/OPEN	RF Aaron Judge	CC Sabathia	Chad Green
	3B Miguel Andujar	OF Giancarlo Stanton	Luis Severino	Jonathan Holder
			Masahiro Tanaka	OPEN
BENCH	DISABLED LIST			OPEN
Austin Romine	Didi Gregorius	LIMBO		OPEN
OPEN	Ben Heller	Jacoby Ellsbury		OPEN
OPEN	Jordan Montgomery	Sonny Gray

Also on the 40-man roster: RHP Albert Abreu, RHP Domingo Acevedo, RHP Chance Adams, RHP Parker Bridwell, RHP Luis Cessa, RHP A.J. Cole, RHP Domingo German, RHP Joe Harvey, RHP Tommy Kahnle, RHP Jonathan Loaisiga, LHP Stephen Tarpley, C Kyle Higashioka, IF Hanser Alberto, 1B Greg Bird, IF Thairo Estrada, UTIL Tyler Wade, UTIL Tim Locastro, OF Clint Frazier.

That is a sneaky number of OPEN spots! I count seven. Four in the bullpen, two on the bench, and one at either second base or shortstop. The Yankees of course have in-house options for those seven OPEN spots and, in some cases, the in-house options are preferable to spending on a back of the roster player(s). Why spend money on a utility infielder who is no lock to perform better than Wade or Albert or Locastro, you know?

There are 18 healthy players on the 40-man roster who are not part of my projected big league roster in that table. We can drop those 18 players into one of five buckets. Let’s do exactly that.

1. Going to the minors (4). I think we can safely assume Abreu, Acevedo, Higashioka, and Estrada are going to begin 2019 in the minors. Higashioka is the third catcher and both Abreu and Acevedo have development remaining. They’re not MLB ready. Estrada missed basically the entire 2018 season with various injuries and needs to catch up on lost at-bats. The Yankees have plenty of other infield options.

2. Out of options (6). Six of those 18 players can not be sent to the minors next year without passing through waivers: Alberto, Bridwell, Cessa, Cole, German, and Kahnle. Chances are a few of these guys will be gone before Spring Training begins — the Yankees still have to open a 40-man spot for Happ, for example — but they’re on the roster right now, so they get dropped in this bucket.

Being out of options does not guarantee a player an MLB roster spot but it can be a tiebreaker. If, for example, the final bench spot comes down to Alberto or Wade, it could go to Alberto because he can’t be sent down and Wade can. Give the Yankees a truth serum and I think they’d tell you they want German (long man/spot starter) and Kahnle (middle reliever) to shove in Spring Training and grab bullpen spots. But, if Bridwell or Cessa or Cole appear to be better options, then they’ll get the Opening Day bullpen assignments.

3. Other bullpen candidates (4). Adams, Harvey, Loaisiga, and Tarpley are bullpen candidates in addition to those out-of-options arms. Tarpley strikes me as most likely to win an Opening Day roster spot simply based on the fact he impressed enough in September to get an ALDS roster spot. Also, he and Chapman are the only lefty relievers on the 40-man roster, and Chapman’s the closer. He’s not going to be brought into a sixth inning matchup situation. Left-on-left relievers are largely disappearing from baseball, but Tarpley could crack the Opening Day roster.

My hunch is the Yankees want Loaisiga to go to Triple-A to begin next year. He impressed in his four-start cameo this summer (not so much in September) but the kid has never pitched in Triple-A and he has 196 career innings to his credit. I don’t think the Yankees would hesitate to carry Loaisiga in their bullpen next year if he’s one of their best options — he has a scary injury history and you might as well get whatever you can out of him before he gets hurt again — but, in a perfect world, they’d be able to send him to Triple-A for more tune-up work.

Adams and Harvey are straight up bullpen candidates. Surely the Yankees hope to have better options come Spring Training, but, if they don’t, Adams and especially Harvey could win bullpen jobs. Adams might be at a disadvantage given his ability to start. The Yankees could send him to Triple-A to remain stretched out as the sixth starter and go with someone else in the bullpen. Adams wouldn’t be the first guy to lose out on a big league bullpen gig because the team wants stash him in Triple-A as a starter.

4. Second base/shortstop options (2). Assuming Estrada is indeed ticketed for Triple-A, the top in-house second base/shortstop candidates aside from Alberto are Locastro and Wade. I expect the Yankees to add a middle infielder at some point between now and Spring Training, but, if they don’t, those are the internal options. Locastro and Wade (and Alberto). Seeing how Wade was the Opening Day second basemen this year, and Locastro is more of an outfielder who can play second base than the other way around, I think Wade would be the guy right now. If the season started today, Wade and Gleyber Torres would be the starting middle infielders. That’s what I think.

5. Other bench candidates (2). We’re down to two names: Bird and Frazier. Two former top prospects who have lost a lot of time to injuries in recent years. We know all about Bird’s problems. Last year’s oblique injury and this year’s concussion issues have limited Frazier to 745 plate appearances and 182 total games the last two years. That’s a real bummer. Had he been healthy this past season, Clint could’ve filled in for Judge in August and who knows, perhaps he plays well enough to win the 2019 left field job outright and convince the Yankees to move on from Gardner.

As for Bird, gosh, I don’t know what the Yankees will do with him. Voit has clearly jumped him on the first base depth chart, but the Yankees do love Bird, and would it really shock anyone if they carried him on the bench next year? I mean, they did this year, right? It’s one thing to do it in August and just buy time until rosters expand on September 1st. It’s another to do it on Opening Day. The Yankees are an eight-man bullpen/three-man bench team and using two of those three bench spots on a backup catcher and a backup first baseman seems … unwise.

The x-factor here is Ellsbury. He’s coming back from major hip surgery and Brian Cashman is already hedging against Ellsbury being ready for Opening Day, but, if he is ready, he might get a bench spot by default. I think it is far more likely the Yankees will release Ellsbury than carry him on the roster next year, but what do I know? If he’s healthy and Frazier needs Triple-A time after all the injuries, carrying Ellsbury as the reserve outfielder could very well be in the cards. As for Gray, the other guy in limbo, he’s a goner. He’ll be traded at some point.

* * *

To me, Locastro is the under-the-radar guy to watch. He can play almost anywhere, he’s a .307/.402/.443 (128 wRC+) hitter in 471 career Triple-A plate appearances, he’s a great runner (169-for-208 career stealing bases, an 81% success rate), and he doesn’t strike out much (career 11.5% strikeouts). I’m not saying I want Locastro on the Opening Day roster. I’m just saying he’s currently the odds on favorite to be this year’s “no one expected him to make the team but he did” guy.

Anyway, we had seven OPEN spots in our original table and this is how I think the Yankees would fill them if the season started today, which thankfully it does not.

Catcher	Infielders	Outfielders	Rotation	Bullpen
Gary Sanchez	1B Voit	LF Gardner	Happ	CL Chapman
	2B Torres/Wade	CF Hicks	Paxton	SU Betances
	SS Torres/Wade	RF Judge	Sabathia	SU Green
	3B Andujar	OF Stanton	Severino	MR Holder
BENCH			Tanaka	MR Kahnle
C Romine	DISABLED LIST			MR Tarpley
IF Alberto	Ellsbury	Heller		LG Cessa
UTIL Locastro	Gregorius	Montgomery		LG German

That leaves the out-of-options Bridwell and Cole out in the cold — the Yankees really seems to like Cessa — Loaisiga and Frazier getting regular playing time in Triple-A, and Bird in Scranton. As much as the Yankees like (or liked, once upon a time) Bird, I think they’re at the point where they need to see health and production before giving him a roster spot. That Voit is around as a viable first base alternative makes this even more likely.

Would the Yankees play Wade at second base and Torres at shortstop, or the other way around? Either way works, really. I think I’d prefer Wade at short and Torres at second because second base is Gleyber’s likely long-term position and he still has only 132 career games worth of experience at the position. My preference, whether the Yankees go internal with Wade (nah) or bring in a middle infielder from outside the organization (yup), is to keep Torres at second base. I’d have no problem with him at short. Second would be my preference though.

Anyway, this is all a very long way of me saying the Yankees still have some unresolved roster spots, maybe more than anyone realized. The middle infield is unsettled, two bench spots are unclaimed, and there are four open bullpen spots. It’s easy to see why the Yankees want two relievers, right? Yes, they can fill some of those spots internally and I’m sure they will. Filling all of them internally seems like a non-option though. The good news is there’s lots of offseason remaining. The bad news is the Yankees still have a sneaky large amount of work to do this winter.

Long Relievers, Traded Prospects and Phantom Pitchers [2018 Season Review]

December 3, 2018 by Steven Tydings

If he doesn’t use ABBA for his entrance music, our money back. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

While there are some other topics to cover, we’ve come to the end of the player portion of our 2018 Season Reviews. Therefore, we’ve covered all of the important players (and plenty of replacement level ones as well). That leaves the miscellaneous relievers that racked up innings as the last guys in the bullpen or received a spot start and little else. Let’s get to them!

Giovanny Gallegos

After debuting over 16 games in 2017, Gio Gallegos’s sophomore campaign was both brief and mostly irrelevant. He made four appearances for the Yankees, coming up as the eighth or ninth guy in the bullpen and the average leverage index was 0.23.

He would throw two innings in May and then came back up as an extra arm for the Phillies/Red Sox series in late June. The game against Philly was his best in New York as he tossed three shutout innings of relief, striking out six batters. He’d come up as the 26th man for the July 9 doubleheader in Baltimore and got a save with three innings of OK pitching.

On July 29, he was dealt along with Chasen Shreve for international money and Luke Voit, ending his Yankee tenure. He would throw two games for the Cardinals after helping their Triple-A team to the National title with a walk-off hit. Yes, you read that right: a base hit.

David Hale

David Hale signed with the Yankees three separate times in 2018 and made one appearance per signing. The Princeton University product tossed two scoreless innings in the April 23 blowout of the Twins and was subsequently designated for assignment. The Twins picked him up and he gave them one bad outing before yet another DFA.

His last two outings, May 11 and July 6, came in relief of Sonny Gray after Gray was shelled by the Athletics and Blue Jays, respectively. He saved his best for last up in Toronto when he gave the Bombers 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball, keeping them in the game even if they would eventually lose.

A week after his last Yankee appearance, he signed with the KBO’s Hanwha Eagles and made 12 starts with them to end the season.

Chance Adams

Take a chance, take a chance, take a chance? After J.A. Happ was stricken with hand, foot and mouth disease shortly after his New York debut, the team needed another starter. Domingo German and Jonathan Loaisiga were both hurt and Chance Adams was on turn, so the Arizona native got the call. His task? Face the eventual World Series champion Red Sox.

Adams held his own in Boston. He allowed a pair of homers and three runs over five innings, holding the Sox to just three hits and a walk. Considering his struggles in Triple-A, it was better than expected. However, he got just one run of support in a loss.

The 24-year-old made just two more relief appearances in the majors the rest of the year. He gave up four runs to the Marlins and threw a scoreless inning on the last day of the season, again in Boston.

He pitched to a 4.78 ERA while repeating Triple-A, taking plenty of shine off his prospect status. However, with both his age and previous success, there’s still something to hope for with Adams. He’s on the 40-man roster now and should get another chance, perhaps in relief.

Stephen Tarpley

We detailed Stephen Tarpley’s LOOGY status late in the season, so I’ll spare you most of the details. He struck out 13 over nine innings in the Bronx after receiving a September call-up and worked around some control issues to hold opponents to three runs. Not bad for one’s first taste of the majors.

Left-handed batters faced Tarpley 18 times and reached base just four times, three via walks. Eight struck out and none got extra bases. That’s pretty superb in an extremely small sample size.

After being groomed for a 25th-man/LOOGY role for the postseason, he was tagged for three runs in the Yankees’ 16-1 Game 3 loss to Boston. The team likely wanted him to take the final two innings but gave the ninth inning to Austin Romine instead.

Tarpley will now ride the shuttle between the Major Leagues and Scranton as a matchup lefty and long reliever. His two-seamer and sinker make him worth the 40-man roster spot and a longer look in the majors. I’m a big fan and think he could stick, though perhaps not in the Bronx.

Justus Sheffield

Justus no longer rules in the Bronx after just three appearances. His September debut came with a nine-run lead, yet he loaded the bases and narrowly escaped unscathed. Sheffield allowed an inherited runner to score in Tampa Bay a week later and was beat up by the Red Sox on the season’s final day.

The 22-year-old starter’s control issues made him unlikely to claim a Major League spot to begin 2019 and cast doubt on his future as a starter. Therefore, he was expendable as the headlining piece of the James Paxton trade, the Yankees’ first big move of the offseason. In Seattle, he’ll get a bigger ballpark and a longer leash to develop. Hope to see him back in the Bronx as an opponent soon!

George Kontos

Forget about George Kontos’ role for the 2018 Yankees? Me too. With the Yankees looking for a depth arm in early August, they purchased Kontos’ contract from the Indians. That brought Kontos’ career full circle after he was drafted by the Yankees and came up with them in late 2011 before being traded for Chris Stewart.

In his only game, he took over for an ineffective A.J. Cole and delivered 1 2/3 scoreless innings during an 8-5 loss to the Mets. If the game had any historical significance, it was as one of Jacob deGrom’s 10 wins of the year. Other than that, just makes Kontos a good name for the end-of-the-year Sporcle quiz.

Ryan Bollinger and Domingo Acevedo

The phantom ballplayers! Ryan Bollinger and Domingo Acevedo didn’t actually pitch for the Yankees in 2018, but they both spent brief moments on the 25-man roster. The team gave them call-ups when they were short on arms and sent them down immediately afterwards.

It was particularly frustrating to see Bollinger not get a chance. The 27-year-old southpaw is a former 47th round pick and worked for years in the independent leagues to return to affiliated ball. He even pitched in Australia (and has gone back there this offseason). The Yankees gave him 20 starts in 2018, most of which came in Double-A Trenton’s employ. Ultimately, he was called up twice., but he ever got into a game. Hopefully next year is the year.

As for Acevedo, the 24-year-old received a similar fate. He was added to the 40-man roster before the season and was called up straight from Trenton in July. Perhaps he would have gotten a September cup of coffee, but injuries kept him away, plus the team had plenty of arms. He was fine in Double-A and unlike Bollinger, he’s still on the 40-man roster. His debut could be in the cards next season.

Building the 2018 Wild Card Game roster

September 27, 2018 by Mike

With four days to go in the 2018 regular season, we know one thing for certain: The Yankees will play the Athletics in the 2018 AL Wild Card Game next Wednesday. The game will likely be played in Yankee Stadium, though that is not set in stone yet. The magic number for homefield advantage in the Wild Card Game is two. The Yankees-Athletics matchup is set though.

The Wild Card Game is its own postseason round. The Yankees and A’s will set a 25-man roster for the Wild Card Game, then whichever team advances will be able to set a new 25-man roster for the ALDS. Because of that, we’ve seen some funky wildcard rosters in recent years. The Yankees carried only nine pitchers on their 2015 Wild Card Game roster. Last year they carried ten. That means a great big bench.

So, with the Wild Card Game now only six days away, this is as good a time as any to try to piece together the 25-man roster the Yankees will carry next Wednesday. It’s a bummer the Yankees are going to finish with 100-ish wins and have to play in a winner-take-all Wild Card Game, but hey, if you don’t like it, win more games. Let’s dig into the potential Wild Card Game roster.

The Locks

Might as well start here. The way I see it, the Yankees have 17 players who are absolute locks for the Wild Card Game roster right now. The 17:

Catchers (2): Austin Romine, Gary Sanchez
Infielders (5): Miguel Andujar, Adeiny Hechavarria, Gleyber Torres, Luke Voit, Neil Walker
Outfielders (4): Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge, Andrew McCutchen, Giancarlo Stanton
Pitchers (6): Dellin Betances, Zach Britton, Aroldis Chapman, Chad Green, Jonathan Holder, David Robertson

I was initially on the fence about Hechavarria, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized he’s going to make the Wild Card Game roster. Worst case scenario is he serves as Andujar’s defensive replacement. The rest is pretty straightforward though, right? Right. We still have eight roster spots to fill, so let’s get to it.

Locks, If Healthy

Didi Gregorius is out with torn cartilage in his right wrist and he could play in games before the end of the season. He got the okay to resume baseball activities yesterday, so that’s good. If he’s able to play this weekend and has no problems, he’ll be on the Wild Card Game roster. If not, it opens up the possibility for Ronald Torreyes to make the roster. The Gregorius/Torreyes spot is our 18th player.

Aaron Hicks, meanwhile, has a tight left hamstring and is day-to-day. He too could play before the regular season ends, and, if that happens, he’ll be on the Wild Card Game roster as well. If Hicks can’t play in the Wild Card Game, I think Tyler Wade makes it instead. Wade can play the outfield, if necessary, but more importantly he can run. No Hicks on the roster means Gardner is in center field rather than on the bench as a pinch-running option. With Hicks out, Wade becomes the pinch-runner. The Hicks/Wade spot is our 19th player.

The Starting Pitcher(s)

We still don’t know who will start the Wild Card Game. Aaron Boone has indicated the decision could come soon and he’s made it pretty clear it’ll be either J.A. Happ, Luis Severino, or Masahiro Tanaka. The Yankees aren’t going to do a straight bullpen game. Two weeks ago RAB readers wanted Tanaka to start the Wild Card Game. I think the Yankees want it to be Severino. Happ is a perfectly fine candidate as well.

At the moment Happ is lined up to start the Wild Card Game on normal rest and Tanaka with two extra days of rest. Severino would be on three extra days of rest, though he could wind up starting Game 162 should the Yankees need to win that game to clinch homefield advantage. Hopefully it doesn’t come down to that. Based on the way things are set up now, all three guys will be available to start the Wild Card Game. That’s not an accident. The Yankees made sure they had options.

Instead of focusing on names, let’s focus on roster spots. The Yankees carried three starting pitchers on the 2015 Wild Card Game roster (Severino, Tanaka, Ivan Nova) and three starting pitchers on the 2017 Wild Card Game roster (Severino, Sonny Gray, CC Sabathia). I expect them to carry three starting pitchers again this year. That gives the Yankees:

The starting pitcher.
An emergency guy for extra innings.
An emergency emergency guy in case there’s an injury or things really go haywire.

It is entirely possible Happ, Severino, and Tanaka will all be on the Wild Card Game roster even though only one guy is starting the game. Or it’s possible Happ and Severino are on the roster with Lance Lynn, who has bullpen experience, replacing Tanaka. I don’t think the Yankees would carry Sabathia as a reliever at this point, but it can’t be ruled out. Gray? Eh. Seems like a worst case scenario.

I suspect that, unless he has to start Game 162 on Sunday, Severino will be on the Wild Card Game roster. Even if he doesn’t start the Wild Card Game, he could be another bullpen option. Heck, he might be on the roster even if he starts Game 162. The Wild Card Game would be Severino’s throw day and he could give you an inning or two out of the bullpen. Yeah, one way or the other, I think Severino’s on the roster. He’s our 20th player.

My hunch is both Happ and Tanaka will be on the roster as well. I was thinking maybe the Yankees would carry Lynn instead of one of those two because he has bullpen experience, but I keep going back to Brian Cashman saying it is “all hands on deck for that one game,” and Happ and Tanaka are objectively better than Lynn. The bullpen experience is nice. I don’t think it trumps effectiveness. Happ and Tanaka are the 21st and 22nd players (and eighth and ninth pitchers) on our roster.

The Last Bullpen Spot

Whoever starts the Wild Card Game, that guy will be on a very short leash. It could devolve into a bullpen game rather quickly. For both teams. Because of that, I think the Yankees will carry ten pitchers on the Wild Card Game roster like last season, rather than nine like in 2015. I wouldn’t rule out an 11th pitcher, honestly. I’m going to stick with ten though. That seems like plenty for a one-game scenario.

With Happ, Severino, and Tanaka joining the six late-game relievers, we are left with eleven candidates for the final pitching spot: Gray, Lynn, Sabathia, Chance Adams, Luis Cessa, A.J. Cole, Domingo German, Tommy Kahnle, Jonathan Loaisiga, Justus Sheffield, and Stephen Tarpley. I think we can rule out Adams, German, Loaisiga, and Sheffield right now. They would’ve gotten a longer look this month if they were Wild Card Game candidates.

Tarpley has gotten some run lately as a left-on-left guy and the other night Boone told Erik Boland that Tarpley has put himself “in the conversation” for the Wild Card Game roster. Since his ugly big league debut, Tarpley has thrown 5.2 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, and lefties are 1-for-11 (.091) with five strikeouts against him. In the minors this year Tarpley held left-handed batters to a .141/.213/.183 line with a 29.4% strikeout rate. Really good!

There is one reason to carry Tarpley on the Wild Card Game roster: Matt Olson. Oakland’s lefty swinging first baseman went into last night’s game hitting .247/.338/.496 (128 wRC+) against righties and .251/.329/.369 (96 wRC+) against lefties. He’s someone you can LOOGY. That said, if you bring in a lefty for Olson, A’s manager Bob Melvin will counter with righty swinging Mark Canha, who’s hitting .274/.331/.596 (148 wRC+) against southpaws. Melvin’s been doing it all year.

In a high-leverage situation — is there such a thing as a low-leverage situation in a game as important as the Wild Card Game? — I’d rather have one of the regular late-inning relievers facing Olson than Tarpley facing Canha. All the late-inning guys have good numbers against lefties. I have a hard time envisioning a scenario in which Tarpley faces Olson/Canha in the middle (or late) innings rather than one of the usual late-inning guys. Worrying about the platoon matchup there seems like paralysis by analysis. Overthinking it.

I’m tossing Tarpley into the maybe pile right now. A good series against Andrew Benintendi, Mitch Moreland, and Rafael Devers this weekend would really help his cause. For our purposes, we’re down to Cessa, Cole, Gray, Kahnle, Lynn, Sabathia, and Tarpley for the final bullpen spot. Hard pass on Gray and Cole. They’ve pitched too poorly for too long. Can’t see it being Cessa either. Kahnle was excellent in the Wild Card Game (and postseason) last year …

… but that was 2017 Tommy Kahnle. 2018 Kahnle is not 2017 Kahnle. 2017 Kahnle would be on the Wild Card Game roster no questions asked. 2018 Tommy Kahnle? Nah. So we’re left with Lynn, Sabathia, and Tarpley. So maybe it will be Tarpley? Either way, we’re talking about the last guy in the bullpen, someone who won’t pitch in the Wild Card Game unless things go really crazy. I’d take Lynn. Tarpley has a shot. Whoever it is, this is our tenth pitcher and 23rd player on the roster.

The Rest of the Bench

A ten-man pitching staff means a six-man bench. Romine gets one bench spot. (No, Romine shouldn’t start the Wild Card Game.) Another spot goes to Wade (Hicks out) or Gardner (Hicks in). If Gregorius plays, both Hechavarria and Walker are on the bench. If Gregorius does not play, either Hechavarria or Walker is in the starting lineup and the other is on the bench. Depending on Didi, either three or four bench spots are already claimed. There are four candidates for the remaining bench spots. The four and their potential roles:

Greg Bird: Lefty bench bat
Kyle Higashioka: Third catcher
Ronald Torreyes (if Gregorius is in): Utility infielder
Tyler Wade (if Hicks is in): Utility guy and speedster

The big name bench candidate is Bird. We know Voit is starting at first base in the Wild Card Game, even against a right-handed pitcher. He’s been too good and Bird’s been too bad. The question is this: What would Bird provide the Yankees? A backup first baseman and a lefty bench bat who could take aim at the short porch? Sure. But Walker could do that too, and Bird offers zero defensive versatility.

Then again, if Gregorius is unable to play in the Wild Card Game, Walker would presumably start at second base — it would be either Gleyber at short and Walker at second, or Hechavarria at short and Gleyber at second — thus leaving the Yankees without a backup first baseman/lefty bat on the bench. Given his performance, leaving Bird off the Wild Card Game roster would be completely justifiable. I still think he’ll be on. The Yankees love him and they have the spare bench spots. I hereby declare Bird our 24th player.

Don’t dismiss Higashioka as a Wild Card Game roster candidate. His presence would allow the Yankees to pinch-run for Sanchez without worrying about Romine potentially getting hurt. Or they could pinch-hit for Sanchez in a big spot. I wouldn’t do it and I don’t think the Yankees would, but it would be an option. The Yankees only had two catchers on the roster last year because Sanchez was the man and he wasn’t coming out of the game. They did carry three catchers on the 2015 Wild Card Game roster though (Sanchez, Brian McCann, John Ryan Murphy).

Right now we have a 24-man roster that includes either Gregorius or Torreyes, and either Hicks or Wade. This is starting to get confusing. Let’s recap everything. This is how I think the bench and 25-man Wild Card Game roster shakes out:

Catchers	Infielders	Outfielders	Starters	Relievers
Sanchez	Andujar	Gardner	Happ	Betances
Romine	Bird	Judge	Severino	Britton
	Hechavarria	McCutchen	Tanaka	Chapman
	Torres	Stanton		Green
	Voit	Hicks/Wade		Holder
	Walker			Robertson
	Didi/Toe			Lynn/Tarpley

Those are 24 roster spots. Ten pitchers and 14 position players. The Gregorius and Hicks injuries are the x-factors. There are three scenarios here with regards to the 25th roster spot:

Gregorius and Hicks are both hurt: Torreyes and Wade both make it, and the Yankees carry either Higashioka or an 11th pitcher.
Only one of Gregorius or Hicks is healthy: Ten-man pitching staff, Torreyes and Wade both make it.
Gregorius and Hicks are both healthy: Ten-man pitching staff, only one of Torreyes or Wade makes it.

If both Gregorius and Hicks are healthy — and we all hope that is the case — I think Wade makes the Wild Card Game roster over Torreyes because he’s more versatile and his speed could really come in handy in a late-inning pinch-running situation. If both Gregorius and Hicks are both hurt, the Yankees are kinda stuck. It’s either Higashioka or an 11th pitcher at that point.

The position player side of the Wild Card Game roster is going to depend on the health of Gregorius and Hicks. On the pitching side, the Yankees can pick and choose who they want. We know the six end-game relievers will be there. The Yankees are likely to carry three starters, no matter who they end up being. Do they carry Tarpley? That might be the most interesting Wild Card Game roster question.

Justus Sheffield, Chance Adams will come to Spring Training as starting pitchers next year

September 18, 2018 by Mike

According to Conor Foley and DJ Eberle, senior director of player development Kevin Reese confirmed pitching prospects Justus Sheffield and Chance Adams will report to Spring Training as starting pitchers next year. Adams made a spot start for the Yankees last month, but both moved to the bullpen in recent weeks as preparation for their September call-up roles.

“I think looking forward, (the bullpen) is something we should try a little bit sooner with guys to give them the ability to kind of learn a routine,” said Reese, while noting lots of big league starters broke in as relievers. Chris Sale, David Price, Max Scherzer … they all initially broke into the show as relievers. Luis Severino did the bullpen thing for a bit too, remember.

In Sheffield’s case, he is one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, with the three-pitch mix necessary to start long-term. He has to develop consistent control and command (10.5% walk rate this year), which is nothing unusual for a 22-year-old. Sheffield would’ve been in the big leagues a while ago if he could throw consistent strikes. Let him continue to start and keep working at it, even if it means more time in Triple-A.

As for Adams, he had a rough year in Triple-A (4.78 ERA and 4.87 FIP) and there have been doubts about his long-term viability as a starting pitcher dating back to when he made the reliever-to-starter transition three years ago. Of course the Yankees should bring him to camp as a starter. I think the Yankees are much more willing to keep Adams in the bullpen long-term than Sheffield though.

There’s no harm in bringing Sheffield and Adams to Spring Training as starters. Same with A.J. Cole, Domingo German, Luis Cessa, Jonathan Loaisiga, and anyone else like that. Bring them to camp ready to start and adjust as necessary. It’s much easier to go starter-to-reliever at the end of camp than the other way around. Sheffield will get plenty of chances to show he can hack it as a starter. Adams might not have the same luxury.

Game 146: Good Sevy or Bad Sevy?

September 12, 2018 by Mike

The nine-game winning streak against the Twins came to an end last night and tonight the Yankees will try to avoid doing something they’ve only done once in the last four years: Lose a series to the Twins. The Yankees dropped two of three to the Twins last July. Before that, you have to go back to late-May/early-June 2014 for their last series loss to Minnesota.

No matter who they’re playing, the Yankees really to see some improvement from Luis Severino tonight, because there’s not much season left. Severino has struggled badly for more than two months now. He has four regular season starts remaining, including tonight, and I’d sure like to see four great starts. Not okay starts or decent starts. Great starts. The Yankees will need Severino to be at his best to do anything in the postseason. The lineups:

New York Yankees
1. RF Andrew McCutchen
2. CF Aaron Hicks
3. 3B Miguel Andujar
4. LF Giancarlo Stanton
5. SS Didi Gregorius
6. C Gary Sanchez
7. DH Luke Voit
8. 1B Greg Bird
9. 2B Gleyber Torres

RHP Luis Severino

Minnesota Twins
1. 1B Joe Mauer
2. SS Jorge Polanco
3. DH Eddie Rosario
4. LF Robbie Grossman
5. 2B Logan Forsythe
6. CF Jake Cave
7. C Mitch Garver
8. RF Max Kepler
9. 3B Ehire Adrianza

RHP Jake Odorizzi

Warm with clear skies in Minneapolis tonight. First pitch is scheduled for 8:10pm ET and YES will have the broadcast. Enjoy the ballgame.

Injury Update: Aroldis Chapman (knee) threw a bullpen session in Tampa today. Depending how the knee responds, he could rejoin the team “sometime next week.” Hooray for that … Aaron Judge (wrist) took regular on-field batting practice with the team today rather than early work by himself. It doesn’t sound like much of a difference (and it’s really not), but it’s a sign he’s inching closer and closer to normal game preparation … Brett Gardner is out of the lineup for a second straight day with a sore right knee. He hurt it making a catch Monday.

Roster Move: Welcome back, Chance Adams. The Yankees called him up from Triple-A Scranton today, the team announced. There are 33 players on the active roster now. Luis Cessa, Sonny Gray, and Jonathan Loaisiga all pitched the last two days, so Adams is the long man du jour.

DotF: Amburgey’s big game helps Trenton clinch playoff spot

August 26, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

RHP Chance Adams has been moved to the bullpen, the team announced. He’s not closing in on an innings limit — Adams has thrown 113.1 innings this year after 150.1 innings last year — so I assume the Yankees are preparing him for a bullpen role as a September call-up. Not as exciting as LHP Justus Sheffield moving to the bullpen for a big league role, but it’s the same idea.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (5-3 loss to Lehigh Valley)

LF Tyler Wade: 1-2, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB — he’s been on base 18 times in his last ten games
SS Gio Urshela: 2-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI — hitting .358/.385/.552 with an 11.4% strikeout rate in his last 18 games now
1B Ryan McBroom: 0-4, 2 K
DH Mike Ford: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 BB
RHP Raynel Espinal: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 1 WP — 31 of 50 pitches were strikes … 3.20 ERA and 90/26 K/BB in 64.2 innings … career reliever made a few spot starts earlier this year, and it looks like he’ll make some more with RHP Chance Adams now in the bullpen
LHP Stephen Tarpley: 2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1/1 GB/FB — 22 of 34 pitches were strikes (65%)
RHP Chance Adams: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 1 HB, 0/2 GB/FB — 25 of 38 pitches were strikes (66%) … like LHP Justus Sheffield, Adams allowed one run in two innings in his first outing since the move to the bullpen

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Game 127: Sabathia Returns

August 24, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Welcome back, CC Sabathia. Sabathia returns from the disabled list after the minimum ten days — well, eleven days because yesterday was an off-day — after dealing with some knee inflammation. It’s going to happen from time to time. The good news is Sabathia only missed one start and is good to go tonight, in the series opener in Baltimore. He returns just in time for Players’ Weekend.

The Yankees and Orioles are playing four games in three days this weekend. Fact No. 1: The Yankees are 46-22 against sub-.500 teams this year, the fifth best record in baseball. Fact No. 2: The Yankees are 6-6 against the sorry excuse of a baseball team the Orioles have fielded this season. Annoying. Please treat the team on pace for 115 losses like a team on pace for 115 losses. Here are the lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. DH Giancarlo Stanton
3. CF Aaron Hicks
4. 3B Miguel Andujar
5. RF Neil Walker
6. SS Gleyber Torres
7. 1B Luke Voit
8. C Austin Romine
9. 2B Ronald Torreyes

LHP CC Sabathia

Baltimore Orioles
1. CF Cedric Mullins
2. 2B Jonathan Villar
3. RF Adam Jones
4. DH Trey Mancini
5. 1B Chris Davis
6. SS Tim Beckham
7. 3B Renato Nunez
8. LF John Andreoli
9. C Austin Wynns

RHP Alex Cobb

The internet tells me it is warm and not overly humid in Baltimore, and the sky is clear. Should be a nice night for a ballgame. First pitch is schedule for 7:05pm ET and you can watch on YES. Enjoy.

Injury Updates: Didi Gregorius (heel) has started throwing and could begin swinging a bat early next week. He says the swelling has done down significantly … Aroldis Chapman (knee) received a platelet-rich plasma injection and will be reevaluated in two weeks … Aaron Judge (wrist) still isn’t ready to start swinging a bat. They’re waiting until he is completely pain-free … Gary Sanchez (groin) did not start his rehab assignment today as expected, and instead went through more workouts on a side field. He is going to DH in a rookie ball game tomorrow, then join Triple-A Scranton on Monday … Clint Frazier (post-concussion migraines) could return in September but it is “too early to tell,” according to Aaron Boone. Poor Clint.

Roster Moves: Chance Adams was sent down following Wednesday’s game to clear a roster spot for Sabathia, the Yankees announced. No surprise there … Chris Rabago, who the Yankees claimed off waivers from the Rockies earlier this week, has cleared outright waivers, according to the Yankees. The light-hitting catcher remains in the organization as a non-40-man roster player. He’s in Double-A. The Yankees now have one open 40-man spot.

Rotation Update: J.A. Happ will start the day game and Sonny Gray will start the night game during tomorrow’s doubleheader. The Yankees haven’t said anything, but with Gray making the start, I’d bet on Luis Cessa coming up as the 26th man to be the long reliever.