River Avenue Blues

  • About
    • Privacy Policy
  • Features
    • Yankees Top 30 Prospects
    • Prospect Profiles
    • Fan Confidence
  • Resources
    • 2019 Draft Order
    • Depth Chart
    • Bullpen Workload
    • Guide to Stats
  • Shop and Tickets
    • RAB Tickets
    • MLB Shop
    • Fanatics
    • Amazon
    • Steiner Sports Memorabilia
River Ave. Blues » Ryan Bollinger

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.

See ya in Seattle (Mike Stobe/Getty)

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.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: 2018 Season Review, Chance Adams, David Hale, Domingo Acevedo, George Kontos, Gio Gallegos, Justus Sheffield, Ryan Bollinger, Stephen Tarpley

Friday Links: Gardner, Free Agents, NYPL Prospects, Severino

October 26, 2018 by Mike

(Al Bello/Getty)

Later tonight the 2018 World Series will resume with Game Three at Dodger Stadium. At this point it appears the question is not whether the Red Sox will win the World Series, but whether the Dodgers will win even one game. My guess is no. But we’ll see. Here are some links and notes to check out as the workweek winds down.

Gardner would “love to be back”

Not surprisingly, Brett Gardner recently said he would “love to be back” with the Yankees next season, reports Sean Farrell. “I’m not going to stand here and say that I don’t want to play anymore baseball. My body feels great. I feel healthy. I would love to be back. We’ll sit down and figure that out at the right time,” said Gardner. His contract includes a $12.5M option for next season with a $2M buyout, so the Yankees have a $10.5M decision to make.

Here’s our Gardner season review post. He finished at .236/.322/.368 (90 wRC+) this year but his defense and baserunning still made him a +2 WAR player. As a part-time player who gets maybe 300-350 plate appearances against righties and also plays defense in the late innings, I definitely think Gardner can still be a contributor to a championship caliber team. Left field is a little up in the air for the Yankees. I know they love Gardner and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him back next year, but they have to at least look for an upgrade first, right?

Bollinger, Kontos, Robinson elect free agency

Lefty Ryan Bollinger, righty George Kontos, and outfielder Shane Robinson have all elected free agency, reports Matt Eddy. All three players spent time with the Yankees this season and were later outrighted off the 40-man roster and sent to Triple-A (in Robinson’s case, multiple times), and had the ability to elect free agency after the season. I could totally see the Yankees re-signing Bollinger as a minor league organizational depth arm. Kontos and Robinson figure to look for teams that offer a greater MLB opportunity in 2019.

Bollinger, 27, had two one-day stints with the Yankees as an emergency long man but never did appear in a game. He threw 111.2 innings with a 3.87 ERA (3.46 FIP) for Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton this year. Bollinger spent 2014-17 in independent leagues and Germany before signing with the Yankees last winter. Kontos threw 1.2 scoreless innings in his only appearance in pinstripes this year after coming over from the Indians in a cash trade. Robinson got 54 plate appearances with the Yankees and that was entirely too many. He hit .143/.208/.224 (16 wRC+).

Contreras, Sauer among top NY-Penn League prospects

Baseball America (subs. req’d) has continued their annual look at the top 20 prospects in each minor league with the short season NY-Penn League. Astros OF Gilberto Celestino sits in the top spot. RHP Juan De Paula, who the Yankees acquired in the Ben Gamel trade and dealt away in the Andrew McCutchen trade, ranks fourth. RHP Roansy Contreras is fifth. A snippet of the scouting report:

Contreras, who has added 22 pounds since signing, has a low-90s fastball that touched as high as 96 mph this year. He backs it up with a downer curveball with 11-to-5 break and a promising changeup. He needs to work on finishing his delivery more often in order to drive his entire arsenal down in the zone, where it will be most effective. He also shows advanced pitchability for his age, and he could grow into a little more velocity.

Contreras is one of my favorite prospects in the system right now. He was the top Dominican pitcher available during the 2016-17 international signing period and the Yankees were able to sign him to a $300,000 bonus, their maximum allowed while still dealing with the penalties from their 2014-15 spending free. Love Roansy’s stuff and pitchability. Anyway, RHP Matt Sauer is 13th on the NYPL list. Here’s part of his scouting report:

Sauer’s fastball sits in the low 90s, but he can dial it up to 97 mph when he needs a little extra. His breaking pitch, a curveball, is currently average but has the potential to be a plus offering in the future … While he does feature a good fastball and developing curveball, scouts wonder if he is more of a finished product than many young arms. Sauer has time to hone his command, but the profile reads more as a back-end rotation piece.

In the chat, Justin Coleman (subs. req’d) had some good things to say about RHP Harold Cortijo. “Cortijo shows pitchability and is very athletic. Threw a lot of strikes, low 90’s FB that touches 94. His advanced fastball command is notable, needs to work on the breaker,” he wrote. The just turned 20-year-old Cortijo had a 2.63 ERA (3.29 FIP) with 29.1% strikeouts and 5.8% walks in 51.1 innings with Short Season Staten Island this summer.

Super Two cutoff set at 2.134

According to Jerry Crasnick, the Super Two service time cutoff has been set at two years and 134 days this offseason. (It is more commonly written as 2.134.) A player must be in the top 22% of service time between two and three years to qualify as a Super Two. The cutoff does move around each year but is generally around 2.120. I can’t remember the last time it was as high as 2.134 (that’s good for teams and bad for players). Anyway, that number is set.

The Yankees have one player who qualifies for Super Two this winter and he’s an important one: Luis Severino. Severino is at 2.170 of service time right now. He’s well over the Super Two cutoff. One-hundred-and-seventy-two days of service time counts as a full season, so Severino will miss qualifying for free agency by two days during the 2021-22 offseason. The Yankees kept him in Triple-A juuust long enough in 2016 to push back free agency. Gary Sanchez falls 48 days short of the Super Two cutoff this offseason. He’s closest to the cutoff after Severino.

Filed Under: Hot Stove League, Minors, Transactions Tagged With: Brett Gardner, George Kontos, Luis Severino, Matt Sauer, Prospect Lists, Roansy Contreras, Ryan Bollinger, Shane Robinson

Game 138: Wild Card Game Preview

September 3, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

(Presswire)

In all likelihood, the Yankees and Athletics will meet in the AL Wild Card Game four weeks from Wednesday. The Yankees have gained some ground on the Red Sox recently but not enough to make the AL East interesting. The Astros have righted the ship after a midseason skid and are starting to separate themselves from the A’s in the AL West. Here are the current wild card standings:

  1. Yankees: 86-51
  2. Athletics: 82-56 (4.5 GB)
    ——————————
  3. Mariners: 76-61 (10 GB)
  4. Rays: 73-63 (12.5 GB)

Last season the Twins won the second wild card spot almost by default. All those second wild card contenders stunk. The A’s are a legit threat this year. They’d be in a virtual tie with the Cubs for the best record in the NL. Remember, whatever happens this series tells you everything you need to know about the forthcoming AL Wild Card Game, unless the Yankees win, in which case it’s meaningless. Here are today’s lineups.

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

LHP CC Sabathia

Oakland Athletics
1. SS Marcus Semien
2. 3B Matt Chapman
3. 2B Jed Lowrie
4. DH Khris Davis
5. RF Stephen Piscotty
6. 1B Matt Olson
7. LF Chad Pinder
8. CF Mark Canha
9. C Jonathan Lucroy

RHP Trevor Cahill


It is a nice and sunny day in the Bay Area. Seems like a fantastic afternoon to spend at the ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and ESPN nationally. Enjoy.

Injury Update: Big news: Aaron Judge (wrist) swung a bat today. He took 25 dry swings and 25 off a tee, all at 100% effort, and didn’t feel anything other than normal soreness. “It was a good sign … definitely a big step,” he said. There’s still no firm timetable for his return, but this is a major step forward. Yay.

Roster Moves: Both outfielder Shane Robinson and lefty Ryan Bollinger were outrighted to Triple-A Scranton, the Yankees announced. They remain in the organization as non-40-man roster players and will join the RailRiders for the postseason this week. Robinson and Bollinger were both designated for assignment in recent days.

Roster Note: Sonny Gray is not with the Yankees. He’s home with his wife, who is due to give birth to their second child soon. Congrats to them. Sonny will rejoin the team later this week. He threw 62 pitches yesterday and wasn’t going to be available for a few days anyway, plus rosters have expanded, so there are plenty of relievers available.

Awards!: For the second time this season, Gleyber Torres has been named the AL Player of the Week. He won the award the week of May 27th as well. The Gley-Hey Kid went 11-for-23 (.478) with three homers last week. Slump’s over.

Filed Under: Game Threads Tagged With: Aaron Judge, Awards, Gleyber Torres, Ryan Bollinger, Shane Robinson, Sonny Gray

Previewing the Yankees’ crop of potential September call-ups

August 23, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Sheffield. (Times Leader)

In one week and two days all 30 MLB teams will be able to expand their active roster from 25 players to 40 players. Most teams wind up carrying 30-35 players in September. September call-ups have become somewhat controversial but I am 100% for them. I explained why a few years ago. It seems likely the rules will change at some point in the future. Right now, the rules are what they are, and teams can have 40 active players on their roster as of next Saturday.

In recent years the Yankees have been a very aggressive September call-up team. They tend to call up lots of players and they call them up early. Some teams only add a third catcher and an extra reliever on September 1st. Not the Yankees. They go all out. Last year they called up five players on September 1st. The year before it was seven players on September 1st. The year before that? Eight players on September 1st. I expect lots of September 1st call-ups again.

So, with that in mind, let’s take a moment to sort through the team’s September call-up options and figure out where each player fits, if at all. Some call-ups are kept around for emergencies only. Spare long relievers and a third catcher, guys like that. Others are brought up for a specific reason or to fill a specific role. Let’s get to it.

Injured Players

Might as well start here. The Yankees have lots of players on the disabled list right now and sometimes, rather conveniently, players will get healthy on September 1st. That happened with Matt Holliday last year. He was on the disabled list with a back issue and was activated on the first day rosters expanded. Funny how that works.

Aaron Judge (wrist) and Clint Frazier (post-concussion migraines) are both making progress but it seems very unlikely either will be ready to return next Saturday. Gary Sanchez, however, will begin a minor league rehab assignment either today or tomorrow. He’s going to play a few games in the rookie Gulf Coast League before joining Triple-A Scranton for what Aaron Boone called a “week’s worth of games.” Sure seems like Gary will return on September 1st.

Didi Gregorius is eligible to be activated next Thursday and it’s unclear right now whether he’ll be ready to be activated that day. The Yankees said they have to see how his heel responds the next few days before knowing when he’ll return. If Gregorius is ready to go Thursday, would the Yankees give him the proverbial two extra days and wait until Saturday to activate him? I don’t think so, but you never know. It would be quite easy to give Didi those two extra days to make sure he’s 100% ready to go.

Aroldis Chapman landed on the disabled list yesterday and he isn’t even eligible to be activated until next Saturday, so even if he comes back after the minimum ten days, he’ll return with expanded rosters. That makes life easy. Whenever Chapman is healthy, the Yankees will activate him and add him to the roster. They won’t have to send someone else down to accommodate him.

The Up & Down Guys

Okay, let’s get to the minor leaguers. Generally speaking, the first wave of September call-ups — those are the September 1st guys — are players who have been going up and down all year. Many of them are already in the big leagues because of the injuries though. Tommy Kahnle, Ronald Torreyes, Luke Voit … they’re with the Yankees now. If I’d written this post a week ago, those three would’ve been identified as September 1st call-ups.

There are two up-and-down guys in Triple-A right now: Tyler Wade and Luis Cessa. I expect both to come up on September 1st. Wade to give the Yankees another bench player (a four-man bench? madness!) and Cessa to be another long man and occasional spot starter. The only thing with Cessa is that he might come up as the 26th man for Saturday’s doubleheader game in Baltimore. If he does, he has to go back down after the game, then he’ll have to wait ten days to be called back up. The ten-day rules means Cessa won’t be eligible to be called back up until September 4th. Point is, as soon as he’s eligible, I think Cessa comes up.

40-Man Guys Who Might Have To Wait

At the moment the Yankees have five healthy players on the 40-man roster and in the minors: Cessa, Wade, Albert Abreu, Ryan Bollinger, and Chris Rabago. I am fairly certain Chance Adams will be sent down tomorrow when CC Sabathia is activated — Adams threw 46 ineffective pitches last night and I don’t see the Yankees keeping him around when Sabathia returns — so it’s really six healthy players on the 40-man and in the minors.

Abreu is a Single-A pitcher who’s thrown 62.2 innings around injuries this year. There is no reason to call him up in September only to have him sit in the bullpen as the 38th or 39th or 40th guy on the roster. Abreu needs to pitch. He needs to spend September in Instructional League in Tampa. That’s the best thing for his development. Rabago was claimed on waivers yesterday and is a light-hitting Double-A catcher. He’s not a call-up candidate. He’s a guy who gets dropped from the 40-man roster when a spot is needed.

Bollinger has had two one-day stints with the Yankees as an emergency arm this year and I don’t think he’s getting a September call-up. He is much more likely to be dropped from the 40-man roster to clear a spot for someone else. Bollinger is not even in Triple-A. He’s a 27-year-old journeyman with a 4.03 ERA (3.42 FIP) in 91.2 Double-A innings. Those two call-ups were “we need a warm body” call-ups, not “we like this guy” call-ups. Sorry, Ryan.

Adams. (Presswire)

As for Adams, assuming he is sent down for Sabathia, he will be back in September for sure. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Yankees leave him in Triple-A until Scranton’s season is over though. They might not make the postseason, so it might be over soon, but if they do make the postseason, Adams could be part of the rotation. Remember, when the Yankees called Adams up for that spot start a few weeks ago, it was only because Cessa was unavailable. Letting Adams pitch in Triple-A through the end of their season seems like the way to go.

The Yankees have three injured minor league pitchers on the 40-man roster right now: Domingo Acevedo, Domingo German, and Jonathan Loaisiga. All three recently started pitching in rehab games but might not be ready to come up on September 1st. I think German comes up right away, as soon as he’s deemed fit for MLB. Acevedo and Loaisiga need innings and I expect both to stay with Double-A Trenton through the postseason. (Trenton is definitely going to the postseason.) German comes up as soon as he’s healthy. Acevedo and Loaisiga are probably going to have to wait.

Non-40-Man Roster Players

The shift to the bullpen earlier this week all but confirmed Justus Sheffield will be called up in September. The Yankees say they are going to give him 3-4 relief appearances in Triple-A — that suggests he could be a September 1st call-up — to prepare him for bullpen work in the big leagues. A September call-up has felt inevitable for weeks now. Now we know it’ll happen, and we know Sheffield will work out of the bullpen.

“We’re starting to transition him to the bullpen so that hopefully he can get a couple of outings under his belt down there, and then play a part with us in our ‘pen down the stretch,” said Boone after the Sheffield move was announced. “We think there’s some great value he could bring.”

Sheffield is getting called up in September. Stephen Tarpley might as well. Brian Cashman mentioned the southpaw by name last week when discussing call-up candidates. Tarpley has been excellent this year — his 71.0% ground ball rate leads affiliated baseball — and he’ll almost certainly be added to the 40-man roster after the season to avoid Rule 5 Draft exposure. I think he’ll get added to the 40-man in September and called up. Will he pitch? Probably in mop-up duty only, and that’s fine. Countless relievers broke in as September mop-up guys.

There are three other non-40-man players who I think I have a chance to be called up in September: George Kontos, Erik Swanson, and Gio Urshela. I don’t see guys like Mike Ford or Ryan McBroom or Abi Avelino getting called up. Avelino is the only real prospect of the bunch and he’s a fringe guy who might not get a 40-man spot after the season. Injuries could always force a call-up. I just don’t see the Yankees creating 40-man space to call those guys up though.

My hunch is George Kontos will be a September 1st call-up guy. I thought it was pretty weird a guy with his track record and service time accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A when he was designated for assignment last week. Usually a guy in his spot elects free agency and finds a team with a better shot at MLB playing time. Seems like their might’ve been an “accept the outright, go to Triple-A for two weeks, and we’ll call you up on September 1st” conversation at some point.

Urshela. (Jason Farmer/Scranton Times Tribune)

Urshela is an interesting case. The Yankees got him in a cash trade earlier this month and he’s played well with Triple-A Scranton, hitting .310/.333/.483 in 16 games. He’s a fantastic gloveman who would be a great defensive replacement for Miguel Andujar. How many infielders do the Yankees want to carry though? They’ll already have Wade and Ronald Torreyes on the September bench, plus Neil Walker could always play the infield as well. The x-factor here might be whether the Yankees want to keep Urshela for next year. Add him to the 40-man, play him in September, keep him over the winter, then bring him to camp next year? Hmmm.

Swanson? I think he’ll fall victim to the numbers crunch. Cashman did mention him by name along with Tarpley last week, but Swanson has already thrown a career high 109.1 innings this year, and the Yankees are already set to carry several spare September long men (Cessa, German, eventually Loaisiga). Do they need another one? Do they want to clear a 40-man spot to carry another one? I don’t think so. Either way, Swanson figures to stay in Triple-A through the postseason before being called up, if he is called up at all.

As for 40-man space, the Yankees are full after claiming Rabago yesterday. Both he and Bollinger can easily be dropped to open space though. Is Clint Frazier a 60-day DL candidate at this point? The Yankees could call up the injured Thairo Estrada and put him on the 60-day DL to clear another spot. That means giving Thairo a month of big league pay and service time, but that’s not a huge deal. They’ve done it before. Looks to me the Yankees have three easily available 40-man spots (Sheffield, Tarpley, Kontos?), and possibly a fourth if Frazier is indeed a 60-day DL guy.

What About A Designated Pinch-Runner?

Contending teams will often call up a crazy fast guy specifically to pinch-run and sometimes that guy winds up on the postseason roster too. Two years ago the Yankees made a minor trade for Eric Young Jr. to be their designated pinch-runner. Remember Rico Noel in 2015? Heck, Freddy Guzman was on the 2009 postseason roster as the pinch-runner. He pinch-ran twice in the team’s 15 postseason games.

Last year the Yankees did not acquire a designated pinch-runner. Why? Because they had Jacoby Ellsbury on the bench, and also Wade, who is fast as hell. Shane Robinson can also run. I don’t think the Yankees will trade for a Young or Noel or Guzman type this year, even with Ellsbury injured. I think they’ll use Wade as their primary pinch-runner with Robinson the secondary option. Never say never. Trading for a dude to pinch-run just seems so unlikely this year.

What About The Luxury Tax?

September call-ups of course count against the luxury tax payroll. Every player on the active roster or big league disabled list counts. Based on my last estimate, the Yankees have about $3.3M in wiggle room under the $197M luxury tax threshold. That number is probably closer to $2.8M or $2.9M now because the Yankees have had to call up injury replacements the last few weeks, but still, that’s plenty.

Just consider the “worst” case September call-up scenario. Say the Yankees call up the maximum 15 players on September 1st and they’re all making $600,000 at the MLB level. That is $3,225.81 per day per player. Call it $3,300 to make the math easy. Fifteen players times 30 days in September (the season ends September 30th) times $3,300 per day equals $1.485M added to the luxury tax payroll. That fits within the team’s available payroll, and remember, this is a very conservative example. Fifteen players making $600,000? Not happening. The luxury tax won’t be an issue for September call-ups.

* * *

Now that I think about it, I don’t expect Acevedo to get a September call-up. He did spend one day in the big leagues earlier this year, but that was an emergency situation. Injuries have limited Acevedo 63.2 innings this season — he threw a career high 133 innings last year — and the Yankees may rather send him to Instructional League so he can actually pitch. Acevedo would be what, the 15th option out of the bullpen in September? Yeah, I think he gets a call-up.

Okay, so based on all that, here are the call-ups I expect to happen in September:

  • September 1st: Cessa (September 4th?), Kontos, Sheffield, Wade
  • Called up/activated once healthy: Chapman, German, Gregorius, Sanchez
  • Called up after minor league seasons ends: Adams, Loaisiga, Tarpley

Not including the injured big leaguers, that is eight players added to the roster in September. Judge and hopefully Frazier will be activated at some point as well. So that’s eight minor league call-ups (Adams, Cessa, German, Kontos, Loaisiga, Sheffield, Tarpley, Wade) and five injury activations (Chapman, Frazier, Gregorius, Judge, Sanchez), giving the team 13 additional players in September and a 38-man roster.

Urshela is the wildcard here, moreso than Swanson. I don’t expect the Yankees to open up a 40-man spot to carry yet another pitcher in September. (Another pitcher who doesn’t figure to pitch much.) Urshela would be a high-end defensive caddy for Andujar and another warm body for mass substitutions in blowouts. The Yankees will need 40-man spots for Kontos, Sheffield, and Tarpley. If they open another one, I think it goes to Urshela. Another pitcher is overkill, even in September.

Filed Under: Players Tagged With: Albert Abreu, Aroldis Chapman, Chance Adams, Chris Rabago, Didi Gregorius, Domingo Acevedo, Domingo German, Erik Swanson, Gary Sanchez, George Kontos, Gio Urshela, Jonathan Loaisiga, Justus Sheffield, Luis Cessa, Ryan Bollinger, Stephen Tarpley, Tyler Wade

Game 106: Calm Before The Storm

August 1, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

(Presswire)

The Yankees wrap up this six-game homestand against the two worst teams in baseball this afternoon with the second of two against the Orioles. Tomorrow the Yankees head up to Boston to start a super important four-game series. Could very well be the biggest series of the season. Gotta take care of business against the O’s today first. The Yankees have lost enough games to Baltimore already. Focus on the task at hand.

Sonny Gray is on the mound this afternoon and he has pitched quite well the last few times out, not coincidentally against bad teams. The Yankees lined up the rotation out of the All-Star break in such a way that Gray would only face crummy teams like the Mets and Royals and Orioles. Can’t say I blame them. Beat the Orioles today then get ready for that massive series at Fenway Park. The lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. DH Giancarlo Stanton
3. SS Didi Gregorius
4. CF Aaron Hicks
5. 2B Gleyber Torres
6. 1B Greg Bird
7. 3B Miguel Andujar
8. C Austin Romine
9. RF Shane Robinson

RHP Sonny Gray

Baltimore Orioles
1. SS Tim Beckham
2. RF Jace Peterson
3. CF Adam Jones
4. DH Danny Valencia
5. 1B Chris Davis
6. LF Trey Mancini
7. C Caleb Joseph
8. 3B Renato Nunez
9. 2B Breyvic Valera

RHP Alex Cobb


Pretty cloudy in New York with rain in the forecast later today. Fortunately things cleared up enough that there shouldn’t be much of a problem getting today’s game in. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and MLB Network out-of-market. Enjoy the game.

Roster Move: Lance Lynn has arrived and is on the active roster. He is wearing No. 36. Ryan Bollinger was sent down to clear a roster spot. I get the sense he’s going to be outrighted off the 40-man roster pretty soon. Lynn last started last Friday and is available to pitch today.

Injury Update: Aaron Judge (wrist) is getting better but he has not started baseball activities aside from shagging fly balls during batting practice. The hope is he can start taking dry swings within a week … J.A. Happ (hand, foot, and mouth disease) is doing better and tentatively remains on track to make his scheduled start Saturday. The Yankees will have a better idea about his availability tomorrow. If Happ can’t start Saturday, Lynn and Luis Cessa are the alternatives.

Filed Under: Game Threads Tagged With: Aaron Judge, J.A. Happ, Lance Lynn, Ryan Bollinger

Game 105: Tanaka Tuesday

July 31, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

(Elsa/Getty)

Goodbye trade deadline, hello actual baseball. The Yankees did not sneak in one last trade prior to this afternoon’s deadline, though they made six deals in the last seven days, effectively swapping Brandon Drury, Adam Warren, and Chasen Shreve for Zach Britton, J.A. Happ, and Lance Lynn on the big league roster. Works for me. I was really hoping for that last minute Jacob deGrom blockbuster. Alas.

Anyway, the Yankees are back in action tonight, with the first of two against the Orioles. The O’s really tore things down prior to the deadline. Adam Jones remains because he invoked his no-trade clause, otherwise Britton, Kevin Gausman (Braves), Brad Brach (Braves), Jonathan Schoop (Brewers), and Manny Machado (Dodgers) are all gone. No Schoop or Machado? Thank goodness for that. The Yankees won’t miss them.

On the mound tonight is Masahiro Tanaka, who tossed a three-hit shutout last time out and has looked very good since returning from his dual hamstring strains. Getting the good version of Tanaka the rest of the season would be like trading for an impact pitcher. At his best, Tanaka is a true difference-maker and a pleasure to watch. Go beat up on the skeleton crew the O’s are sending out there tonight, boys. Here are the lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. RF Giancarlo Stanton
3. SS Didi Gregorius
4. CF Aaron Hicks
5. 2B Gleyber Torres
6. 1B Greg Bird
7. 3B Miguel Andujar
8. DH Neil Walker
9. C Kyle Higashioka

RHP Masahiro Tanaka

Baltimore Orioles
1. SS Tim Beckham
2. 2B Jace Peterson
3. CF Adam Jones
4. DH Mark Trumbo
5. 1B Chris Davis
6. LF Trey Mancini
7. RF Joey Rickard
8. 3B Renato Nunez
9. C Austin Wynns

RHP Yefry Ramirez


It is cloudy and humid in New York and there is rain in the forecast later tonight. Shouldn’t be anything that interrupts the game unless it goes to extra innings, which I hope aren’t necessary. Tonight’s game will begin at 7:05pm ET and you can watch on YES. Enjoy the game.

Injury Update: J.A. Happ has contracted hand, foot, and mouth disease and was sent home today. For real. That’s what we get for making fun of the Mets. Brian Cashman called it a “mild” case and Happ is still scheduled to start Saturday. I assume Lynn would fill in if Happ can’t go.

Roster Move: Welcome back, Ryan Bollinger. The journeyman southpaw was called up today to replace Adam Warren. Lynn has not arrived yet, so Bollinger is the placeholder. He was scheduled to start for Double-A Trenton today, so he’s available for super long relief, but again, I hope it’s not necessary. Bollinger spent one day on roster when the Yankees were in Texas back in May. Today is his second day as a big leaguer.

Filed Under: Game Threads Tagged With: J.A. Happ, Ryan Bollinger

DotF: Chance Adams gets rocked in Scranton’s win

May 27, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

LHP Ryan Bollinger has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Double-A Trenton, the Yankees announced. That opens up a 40-man roster spot. The Yankees will need that when they call someone (David Hale?) up to start one the doubleheader games against the Tigers next week. Bollinger spent one day in the big leagues earlier this week and, even though he didn’t pitch, that’s pretty cool. He gets affordable health care for life and a small pension in addition to the whole big league experience.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (7-4 win over Syracuse)

  • RF Tyler Wade: 2-5, 1 RBI, 1 K — he’s played every position except pitcher, catcher, and first base since being sent down
  • DH Clint Frazier: 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB — here’s video of the double and the single … the single featured a good ol’ double TOOTBLAN
  • 3B Brandon Drury: 2-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI — third homer in 26 minor league games this year
  • RHP Chance Adams: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 HB, 1/0 GB/FB — 19 of 38 pitches were strikes (50%) … shortest start of his career and a disaster outing all around … “Fastball wasn’t there at all. When you can’t command your fastball, it doesn’t really work,” said Adams to Conor Foley after the game … his walk rate in his three seasons as a starter: 7.9%, 9.6%, 11.6% … I know he had elbow surgery over the winter, but that’s not good
  • RHP Cody Carroll: 2 IP, zeroes, 1/4 GB/FB — 12 of 14 pitches were strikes (86%) … efficient!

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Down on the Farm Tagged With: Ryan Bollinger

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

RAB Thoughts on Patreon

Mike is running weekly thoughts-style posts at our "RAB Thoughts" Patreon. $3 per month gets you weekly Yankees analysis. Become a Patron!

Got A Question For The Mailbag?

Email us at RABmailbag (at) gmail (dot) com. The mailbag is posted Friday mornings.

RAB Features

  • 2019 Season Preview series
  • 2019 Top 30 Prospects
  • 'What If' series with OOTP
  • Yankees depth chart

Search RAB

Copyright © 2023 · River Avenue Blues