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Game One: Opening Day

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The last time the Yankees played a game that meant something, they were sent home for the winter and the Red Sox celebrated an ALDS victory at Yankee Stadium. That was 171 days ago. A busy winter followed, one still more notable for who the Yankees didn’t sign rather than who they acquired, and then came an injury-filled Spring Training. The Yankees are not close to full strength at the moment.

And yet, optimism is abound. The Yankees did upgrade their roster over the winter (at least when healthy), and they remain on the short list of the best teams in baseball. It feels like you can count on one hand the number of teams with a realistic chance to win the World Series in 2019. The Yankees are one of those teams. They hit dingers aplenty and the pitching staff is perpetually underrated.

“They’ve had a couple of really good teams here that have been close, and the disappointment of an ending when you feel like you have a team capable of greatness I think does add a log to the fire,” said second year manager Aaron Boone to Scott Orgera yesterday. “It does add a little extra kick to wanting this to get done, and I think that adds to everyone’s hunger a little bit.”

The Yankees snapped their six-year Opening Day losing streak last season. The next goal? Win back-to-back Opening Days. The Yankees haven’t done that since winning four straight season openers from 2005-08. They are 2-8 in their last ten Opening Days. Some notes about today:

  • Masahiro Tanaka is making his fourth career Opening Day start, breaking a tie with Hideo Nomo for the most ever by a Japanese-born pitcher. That’s pretty cool.
  • Five Yankees are on an Opening Day roster for the first time: Miguel Andujar, Domingo German, Gleyber Torres, Stephen Tarpley, and Luke Voit. That’s also pretty cool.
  • This is the earliest regular season game in Yankees history. The previous record? Last year’s March 29th season opener. For what it’s worth, the Yankees are 5-2 all-time in March.

The various injured Yankees are in Tampa rehabbing and won’t take part in today’s pregame introductions, which is kinda lame. “Opening Day is not that special. I’d rather be there for the World Series,” said CC Sabathia to Mark Didtler. Shows what I know. I thought Sabathia wouldn’t want to miss his final Opening Day. Anyway, here are today’s starting lineups:

New York Yankees
1. CF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. LF Giancarlo Stanton
4. DH Luke Voit
5. 3B Miguel Andujar
6. C Gary Sanchez
7. 1B Greg Bird
8. 2B Gleyber Torres
9. SS Troy Tulowitzki

RHP Masahiro Tanaka

Baltimore Orioles
1. CF Cedric Mullins
2. LF Dwight Smith Jr.
3. 2B Jonathan Villar
4. DH Trey Mancini
5. 3B Rio Ruiz
6. RF Joey Rickard
7. 1B Chris Davis
8. C Jesus Sucre
9. SS Richie Martin

RHP Andrew Cashner

The good news: The home opener will not be rained/snowed out for the third time in the last four years. It is a glorious day in the Bronx. The bad news: It is pretty dang cold. Windy too. I hope you dressed warm if you’re at the ballpark. The baseline introductions will begin at approximately 12:44pm ET and they’ll probably be shown on the YES Network. Mariano Rivera is throwing out the ceremonial first pitch, so that’s cool. Today’s game will begin at 1:05pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and ESPN nationally. Enjoy the first game of the new season, folks.

Injury Updates: Luis Severino (shoulder) and Dellin Betances (shoulder) are both tentatively scheduled to throw a bullpen session this weekend … CC Sabathia (knee) threw three innings in a minor league game Tuesday and everything went well … Aaron Hicks (back) is running and doing core exercises. Still no baseball activities though.

Roster Notes: The Yankees officially announced the Opening Day roster and it is as expected. No surprises. Betances, Hicks, Severino, Didi Gregorius (elbow), Ben Heller (elbow), Jordan Montgomery (elbow) and Jacoby Ellsbury (hip) are all on the injured list. Sabathia is serving his five-game suspension, so the Yankees have a 24-man roster right now.

Uniform Notes: Domingo German has a new number. He was No. 65 last year, then switched to No. 63 in Spring Training in deference to James Paxton, and now he’s No. 55. Congrats to all you Hideki Matsui fans for coming into a free a Domingo German jersey. And last but not least, the Yankees have a black armband on their uniform today to honor Mel Stottlemyre. Stottlemyre passed away in January.

March 25th Spring Training Notes: Andujar, Severino, Dellin

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(Presswire)

The next time the Yankees play, the game will count. The rain held off and the Yankees dropped their exhibition finale to the Nationals in Washington tonight. Troy Tulowitzki hit a home run and Greg Bird drove in a run with a Juan Soto-aided double. Soto got all turned around and the ball landed behind him. Brett Gardner had a double down the line. Lots of quick at-bats tonight. Everyone was ready to get on the plane to New York.

Stephen Tarpley waited until final spring outing to allow a run. He gave up a two-run homer to Anthony Rendon. Zack Britton retired both batters he faced and Adam Ottavino struck out one in a 1-2-3 inning. He’s a video game. His stuff moves all over the place. Nestor Cortes allowed a run in 3.1 workmanlike innings. Here are the box score and video highlights, and here are the notes from the last day of camp:

  • Miguel Andujar took a pitch to the ribs tonight, just below the armpit. He lifted his arms to jump out of the way and the ball deflected off his elbow guard and into his ribs. Kinda weird. Andujar was in obvious pain but remained in the game, and Aaron Boone said he’s fine following the game, so there you go. Another injury would’ve been just swell. [Kristie Ackert]
  • Dellin Betances (shoulder) played catch today for the first time since being shut down, and everything went well. Luis Severino (shoulder) stretched out his throwing from 90 feet to 120 feet today. I thought today would be a rest day after Severino played catch the last two days, but nope. CC Sabathia (shoulder) has a bullpen session tomorrow. [James Wagner, Coley Harvey]
  • Aaron Boone didn’t feel the need to talk to Tyler Wade after he said he was “blindsided” by not making the roster. “Guys are allowed to be upset … I get the frustration and that’s okay. The thing I’ll be looking for is, what’s his response?,” said Boone. [Coley Harvey, Pete Caldera]
  • The Orioles officially scratched Alex Cobb (groin) from their Opening Day start. It’ll be Masahiro Tanaka vs. Andrew Cashner on Thursday. The O’s haven’t set their rotation after Cashner. I have to think the Yankees will see Dylan Bundy at some point this weekend. [Roch Kubatko]

Spring Training is officially over. Thank goodness for that. The Yankees went 17-10-4 with one rainout and a +39 run differential in their 32 exhibition games. Up next: Opening Day. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05pm ET on Thursday, and I imagine the pregame introductions will begin around 12:30pm ET or so. Tanaka vs. Cashner. Game One of 162. Let’s do this.

March 24th Spring Training Notes: Severino, Hicks, Wade

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The Yankees closed out their Grapefruit League season with a win this afternoon. The win clinched the best record in Spring Training. The Red Sox had the best record in Spring Training last year and they went on to win the World Series, so start planning the parade. Anyway, Clint Frazier’s bases-clearing double was the big hit today. Greg Bird went hitless in his first game action since taking a pitch to the elbow Wednesday.

James Paxton started and went through the motions for 5.2 innings until reaching his pitch limit. He struck out five and allowed two runs. Next time we see him will be next Saturday, in the second game of the regular season. Luis Cessa was betrayed by his defense and charged with a run in 1.1 innings in his final tune-up outing of the spring. All in all, a good day. Here are the box score and video highlights, and here are the day’s notes from Spring Training:

  • Luis Severino (shoulder) played catch at 90 feet again today. He’ll stretch it out to 120 feet next. “Moving in the right direction. Today was a good day,” said Aaron Boone. Severino played catch two days in a row, rested the third day, then played catch two days in a row again. Based on that, I assume tomorrow’s rest day. [Bryan Hoch]
  • Aaron Hicks (back) still hasn’t resumed baseball activities. The hope is the Yankees can “start ramping him up” with his core work tomorrow. Hicks and the other injured players are staying behind in Tampa to continue their rehab work, which I guess means we won’t see them during the Opening Day baseline introductions. Lame. [Coley Harvey]
  • In case you missed it earlier, the Opening Day roster has been finalized and it will include Stephen Tarpley and newly acquired Mike Tauchman. The official roster announcement will come in a few days. Tauchman will join the Yankees in Washington tomorrow. [Randy Miller]
  • Tyler Wade was optioned out today. “It blindsided me … Just the way I performed this spring, I did everything they asked me to do. I played well. I made the adjustments offensively, and now it’s my defense that’s not good enough,” said the refreshingly candid Wade. This feels like the Francisco Cervelli/Chris Stewart situation back in 2012. [Coley Harvey, Erik Boland]
  • And finally, Orioles righty Alex Cobb left yesterday’s start with a groin issue. He will see how he feels during a bullpen session tomorrow. Andrew Cashner made an abbreviated two-inning tune-up start today in case he’s needed to start Opening Day on short rest. Long story short, the Yankees might see Cashner rather than Cobb on Thursday. [Joe Trezza]

So long, Florida. The Yankees are done with Grapefruit League play and will close out the spring season with an exhibition game at Nationals Park tomorrow, weather permitting. There is rain in the forecast throughout the evening. Nestor Cortes is scheduled to make that start. I assume J.A. Happ will stay behind in Tampa and pitch in a minor league game to avoid having his final spring tune-up start rained out. Anyway, tomorrow’s game will be televised live, assuming they play.

Update: Yankees finalize 2019 Opening Day roster

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German. (Presswire)

Sunday: Tyler Wade was optioned to Triple-A Scranton earlier today, the Yankees announced, clearing the way for new pickup Mike Tauchman to make the roster. Also, Aaron Boone told Coley Harvey that Stephen Tarpley will be in the bullpen, so between that and yesterday’s news, the pitching staff is set. Boone confirmed to Bryan Hoch that the updated roster below will in fact be the Opening Day roster.

Saturday: Although the official announcement will not come until Thursday morning, the Yankees have more or less finalized their 2019 Opening Day roster. Clint Frazier was sent to minor league camp Friday, taking him out of the running for the final bench spot, and George King reports Domingo German will be the 13th pitcher on the Opening Day roster.

Based on that, here is the 25-man Opening Day roster the Yankees will take into the regular season:

CATCHERS (2)
Austin Romine
Gary Sanchez

INFIELDERS (6)
3B Miguel Andujar
1B Greg Bird
IF DJ LeMahieu
2B/SS Gleyber Torres
SS Troy Tulowitzki
1B Luke Voit

OUTFIELDERS (4)
CF Brett Gardner
RF Aaron Judge
LF Giancarlo Stanton
UTIL Tyler Wade OF Mike Tauchman

STARTERS (5)
RHP Luis Cessa RHP Domingo German
LHP J.A. Happ
LHP James Paxton
RHP Masahiro Tanaka
LHP CC Sabathia (five-game suspension)

RELIEVERS (8)
LHP Zack Britton
LHP Aroldis Chapman
RHP Domingo German RHP Luis Cessa
RHP Chad Green
RHP Jonathan Holder
RHP Tommy Kahnle
RHP Adam Ottavino
LHP Stephen Tarpley

The Yankees will also have seven — seven! — players open the 2019 regular season on the injured list. The seven: Dellin Betances (shoulder), Jacoby Ellsbury (hip), Didi Gregorius (Tommy John surgery), Ben Heller (Tommy John surgery), Aaron Hicks (back), Jordan Montgomery (Tommy John surgery), and Luis Severino (shoulder). Sabathia (knee) will become the eighth once his suspension ends.

At this point, the only spots still maybe up for grabs are Bird’s and Tarpley’s. Bird is supposedly fine but he has not played since taking a pitch to the elbow Wednesday. Given his history, I worry this will be something that lingers and forces him to be replaced on the Opening Day roster. Tarpley could be swapped out for someone like Gio Gonzalez or Jonathan Loaisiga, but nah, he’s pretty much a lock.

The Yankees have eight more big league Spring Training roster cuts to make: Nestor Cortes, Francisco Diaz, Raynel Espinal, Estevan Florial, Gio Gonzalez, David Hale, Jonathan Loaisiga, and Jorge Saez. Florial will miss the next few weeks as he recovers from his broken wrist. Those cuts will happen soon (duh).

March 23rd Spring Training Notes: Severino, Bird, Loaisiga, Montgomery, Roster Cuts, Tarpley

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The Yankees dropped this afternoon’s game to the Blue Jays. Gleyber Torres provided the only offense with a three-run home run. Miguel Andujar doubled while Brett Gardner, Austin Romine, and Tyler Wade had singles. Masahiro Tanaka was sharp in his two scoreless innings. Next time we see him will be Opening Day. Aroldis Chapman faced four batters and retired one. It was ugly. Better he gets it out of his system now than next week.

Gio Gonzalez made his Yankees debut and gave up five runs (four earned) in two innings. Gonzalez told Coley Harvey he is “just a tick off” right now but woof, he did not look big league ready. He looked like a guy who hasn’t gone through a proper Spring Training. Based on today, Gonzalez will need to some Triple-A time before potentially helping the Yankees. Here are the box score and video highlights, and here are the day’s notes from Tampa:

  • In case you missed it earlier, the Yankees traded lefty reliever Phil Diehl to the Rockies for outfielder Mike Tauchman. There’s a chance Tauchman will make the Opening Day roster, which would seem to be bad news for Greg Bird or Tyler Wade.
  • According to a report during the YES Network broadcast, Luis Severino (shoulder) played catch at 90 feet today as scheduled, and everything went well. He’s doing better mechanically after feeling a bit off during his first day of throwing. Not sure what the next step is for Severino.
  • Greg Bird (elbow) was scratched from the lineup after taking batting practice today. Aaron Boone said Bird is “fine,” but he wanted to sit him one more day so the swelling can go away completely. Bird is tentatively scheduled to play tomorrow afternoon. [Erik Boland, Lindsey Adler]
  • Jordan Montgomery (Tommy John surgery) is targeting mid-August for his return. Right now he is throwing fastballs only and at less than full effort from a half-mound. He’s about a week away from graduating to a full mound, though offspeed pitches are still a ways off. [Lindsey Adler]
  • Jonathan Loaisiga was sent to minor league camp today and Boone said he will rejoin the Yankees after CC Sabathia’s five-game suspension ends. Domingo German (or an opener) will start the fourth game of the regular season, Masahiro Tanaka the fifth game (on normal rest), and Loaisiga the sixth game. Luis Cessa will pitch in long relief. Didn’t see that coming! [Bryan Hoch]
  • Following last night’s game Gio Urshela and Kyle Holder were reassigned to minor league camp, the Yankees announced. Nestor Cortes, Estevan Florial, and David Hale were sent down today. The Yankees will begin the regular season with a 24-man roster while Sabathia serves his suspension, so there are still five more cuts coming following the Tauchman trade.
  • And finally, Stephen Tarpley was named the James P. Dawson Award winner as the best rookie in camp prior to today’s game. Congrats to him. Tarpley threw 11.1 scoreless innings during Grapefruit League play. Andujar and Torres won it the last two years.

The Yankees wrap up their Grapefruit League season on the road against the Twins tomorrow. Unlike Tanaka today, James Paxton will make a full start tomorrow because he won’t pitch again until the second game of the regular season next Saturday. Lindsey Adler says Greg Bird, Luke Voit, Tyler Wade, Clint Frazier, and Austin Romine are making the trip. Tomorrow’s game will be televised live.

March 22nd Spring Training Notes: Severino, Betances, Bird, Hicks, Sabathia, Roster Cuts

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The Yankees beat the Phillies in their penultimate Spring Training home game tonight. Giancarlo Stanton led the way offensively with two loud homers. One left George M. Steinbrenner Field entirely. DJ LeMahieu had two singles and Aaron Judge had two walks. Most importantly, no one got hurt.

On the mound, Jonathan Loaisiga struck out seven and allowed two solo homers in four innings to close out his Grapefruit League season. He allowed 13 runs in 16 innings this spring. Zack Britton tossed 1.2 scoreless innings and Adam Ottavino struck out one in a scoreless frame Here are the box score and video highlights, and here are the day’s Spring Training notes:

  • Luis Severino (shoulder) will stretch out his throwing out to 90 feet tomorrow. He played catch at 60 feet the last two days and rested today. Dellin Betances (shoulder) will start throwing in the next few days. Greg Bird (elbow) will return to the lineup tomorrow after getting hit by a pitch Wednesday. “I’m just glad it’s good,” he said.  [Associated Press]
  • Aaron Hicks (back) has yet to resume baseball activities and Aaron Boone said it is “too ambitious” to expect him back on April 4th, the first day he’ll be eligible to be activated off the disabled list. The Yankees are taking it slow because they don’t want Hicks suffering a setback. [Bryan Hoch]
  • Boone reiterated the Yankees are leaning toward carrying CC Sabathia on the Opening Day roster to get his five-game suspension out of the way. That makes the most sense. Five-day suspension then ten-day injured list means the earliest Sabathia can return is April 13th. [Bryan Hoch]
  • Rex Brothers, Danny Coulombe, Phil Diehl, Clint Frazier, and Drew Hutchison were all sent to minor league camp, the Yankees announced. There are 42 players still in big league camp, but with eight guys ticketed for the injured list (or suspended) on Opening Day, there are really 34 players still in camp. Ten more cuts to get down to a 24-man roster.
  • Masahiro Tanaka is starting tomorrow and James Paxton is starting Sunday. I assume J.A. Happ will start the exhibition finale Monday. Those will be shorter tune-up starts. Gio Gonzalez is expected to pitch somewhere tomorrow. Maybe in a minor league game [Pete Caldera]

The Yankees will play their final Grapefruit League home game tomorrow afternoon. Tanaka’s starting and maybe we’ll see Gonzalez piggyback. Tomorrow’s game will be televised.

March 21st Spring Training Notes: Sevy, Bird, Wade, Frazier, Florial, Gonzalez, Sabathia, Mazzilli

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The Yankees got thumped pretty good by the Cardinals today. Gleyber Torres had a double and a walk, Gio Urshela had a double and a single, and Miguel Andujar had a single. The B-Team couldn’t get much going on offensively. Then again, when Ryan Lavarnway leads the starting lineup in service time, what do you expect?

Domingo German gave up five runs, including three homers, in only 3.2 innings. He’d given up only three runs in 11.1 Grapefruit League innings going into today’s game. Given all the injuries, I doubt today’s outing hurt German’s chances of making the Opening Day roster. Anyway, Stephen Tarpley continued his strong spring with a scoreless inning. Here are the box score and video highlights, and here are the day’s notes from Tampa:

  • Luis Severino (shoulder) made 50 throws at 60 feet today as scheduled and everything went well. Tomorrow is a rest day. I’m not sure what comes after that. He probably has more flat ground work ahead of him before getting back up on a mound. [Bryan Hoch]
  • Apparently that pitch did not hit Greg Bird’s elbow pad yesterday. He was swollen today and sent back to Tampa for tests. “As a hitter, I don’t want to mess with his mechanics,” Aaron Boone said. X-rays and a CT scan came back negative, so all is good, at least in theory. Bird is likely to return to the lineup this weekend. [Coley Harvey]
  • Tyler Wade is fine after leaving yesterday’s game with tightness in both hits. He was examined today and is good to go for Opening Day. Clint Frazier fouled a pitch into his calf during today’s game but he’s fine too. Sore, probably, but fine. Estevan Florial (wrist) will only be in a cast three weeks, so that’s good news. [Bryan Hoch, Coley Harvey, Joel Sherman]
  • Gio Gonzalez threw a bullpen session today (here’s video) and is tentatively scheduled to pitch in a game Saturday, though it could be on the minor league side. Larry Rothschild said he “looks pretty close,” for what it’s worth. Also, Gonzalez said he added a cutter over the winter and likes where it’s at. [Erik Boland, Coley Harvey]
  • CC Sabathia threw two innings and 26 pitches in a minor league game today and everything went well. Here’s some video. Tommy Kahnle pitched in a minor league game as well, throwing 1.2 innings and 33 pitches. James Paxton and Luis Cessa threw bullpen sessions. [Bryan Hoch, Erik Boland, Kristie Ackert]
  • Billy Burns, Matt Lipka, and Ryan Lavarnway were all reassigned to minor league camp following today’s game, the Yankees announced. There goes any slim chance Burns had at making the team as Aaron Hicks’ replacement. I count 47 players still in big league camp, which is an awful lot with Opening Day one week away.
  • And finally, Lee Mazzilli is doing well after being hit in the head by a batted ball during batting practice yesterday. The Yankees say he’s in good spirits and will remain in the hospital one more night for observation. Good news. [James Wagner]

The Yankees are back home tomorrow night against the Braves. Only four more exhibition games to go. Jonathan Loaisiga is the scheduled starter tomorrow night. The game will be televised live.