When the Josh Donaldson/Isiah Kiner-Falefa/Ben Rortvedt for Gary Sanchez/Gio Urshela trade went down last week the feeling was that another big move was on the way.
Carlos Correa was going to be wearing pinstripes, you say?
How about Trevor Story playing in the Bronx with some witty John Sterling home run call?
Oh, I know…the Matt Olson trade that we have been waiting for all offseason was finally going to happen!!!
WRONG.
Freddie Freeman went to the Los Angeles Dodgers (I dream of the Yankees operating like them), Carlos Correa is going to the Minnesota Twins (THANKS TO THE TRADE WITH THE YANKEES…LET THAT ONE SINK IN AS I POUND THE KEYS OF MY KEYBOARD AND TYPE IN ALL CAPS), Trevor Story is signing with the Red Sox (do I really need to comment here) and Matt Olson was traded to…the Atlanta Braves (for a lot of prospects).
WHAT THE #$@!
So, what moves followed the big trade last week that we thought was going to open up the floodgates for another big move?
Anthony Rizzo was re-signed (which isn’t a surprise and is fine), sadly Luke Voit was traded to the Padres for Justin Lange and the Yankees signed utilityman/former Astros cheater Marwin Gonzalez to a minor league deal. Not great, Bob!
Spring Training has started, the Regular Season is quickly within reach thanks to the lockout and there are just several weeks left for the Yankees to make some moves to improve this team for 2022, if that is the front office’s plan of course. The only rumor mill chatter that we know of right now is that the Yankees are in on potentially trading for Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea. Trading for Montas and/or Manaea would be really great, but I am lowering my expectations.
I really thought a week ago that the trade for Donaldson, Kiner-Falefa and Rortvedt was going to be leading to something bigger, whether by free agent signing or trade, immediately. Days passed and we were still waiting for that “needle mover” deal that cemented the Yankees offseason heading into the 2022 campaign.
There is still a chance that happens, but I am losing hope barring something completely unexpected at this point. As April 7th draws closer, I just can’t help feeling pretty disappointed in the Yanks offseason thus far.
Catcher Ben Rortvedt is headed to the Yankees along with Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, sources tell ESPN. Catcher Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela are going to Minnesota.
I have spent literally every day since the lockout feverishly checking Twitter about once every 30 minutes, give or take, waiting to see some sort of “tweet bomb” from the likes of Jack Curry, Jeff Passan and Ken Rosenthal describing some sort of big Yankees signing and/or trade. Yankees fans having been waiting on the front office to do something since the season ended. Then, we finally got something to happen.
As on Sunday night at 10:30pm EST (of course), Jeff Passan dropped the first real big Yankees move of the offseason (no offense, Tim Locastro) as the Yankees sent Gary SanchezandGio Urshela to long-time “October punching bag,” the Minnesota Twins, for Gerrit Cole’s BFF Josh Donaldson, the recently acquired Isiah Kiner-Falefa and catcher Ben Rortvedt.
This deal has “precursor” written all over it. There is no way the Yankees are done dealing. Where and how the Yankees go from here remains to be seen but if I had to guess, I would say it’s next focus is adding a left handed hitting first baseman to a still heavy right handed lineup.
Is that Matt Olson (I hope so)? Is that Freddie Freeman (probably not)? Is that Anthony Rizzo (probably yes based on the reported ask for Matt Olson)?
The Yankees upgraded defensively at shortstop with 2020 Gold Glove winner (even though it was for 3B) Isiah Kiner-Falefa a.k.a. “IKF” (get used to that nickname now and it’s soooooo much easier to remember) and got the “stopgap” shortstop as we await the eventual debuts for Anthony Volpe or Oswald Peraza. This is what Yankee fans reluctantly anticipated all offseason and held out hope for a Carlos Correa signing (I think all signs are pointing to a 1-year deal reunion for Correa and Houston which is maybe why the Yanks moved forward with this deal) or any of the other big shortshops on the board.
Josh Donaldson brings personality question marks thanks to his vocal displeasure with Gerrit Cole amid cheating accusations last season, question marks on his injury history and question marks on his productivity at age 36. It’s also a peculiar move for the Yankees because it’s in a way a salary dump trade as the Yankees are picking up Donaldson’s remaining 2 years and $42MM remaining on his contract. There is also a mutual option at $16MM or a $6MM buyout in 2024.
Based on everything I am reading regarding Ben Rortvedt, this is a defense-first move for the Yankees. As for offense, it’s very hard to tell what type of player the Yankees acquired as Rortvedt was a career .241 BA hitter in the minors and batted .169 BA in 98 PAs last season in the bigs for the Twins. From what I am reading Rortvedt will bring a left-handed bat to the Yankees lineup and barring another move, will more than likely platoon with the right-handed Kyle Higashioka.
As for the players leaving New York for Minnesota, it’s a bittersweet trade. When it comes to Gary Sanchez, Yankee fans either defended the now former starting catcher or wanted to see this change come to fruition. This paragraph on the love/hate relationship from the Yankee faithful to Gary Sanchez won’t do the true history justice and will have to be covered in another blog, for another day. Truthfully, I was in the camp of defending Gary Sanchez rather than wanting him off the roster ever since he burst onto the scene in 2016 and delivered this incredible run during a period of time where the future looked bleak for the Bronx Bombers:
Goodbye our sweet Kraken.
When it comes to Gio Urshela, how could you not cheer for the guy? He was traded from the Blue Jays to the Yankees for cash considerations and a player to be named later. Gio would burst onto the scene in 2019 after Miguel Andujar tore his labrum and for a period of time looked like he had “Wally Pipped” the 2018 Rookie of the Year runner up at third base. Gio was an underdog story everyone could get behind and played hurt at the end of last season to help the Yankees get into the postseason in 2021.
I truly don’t know how I feel about this trade. We wanted the front office to shake up this team after abysmal 2020 and 2021 seasons, and they did. One of those players Yankee fans groaned about the most, Gary Sanchez, was dealt. We wanted them to become better defensively, and it looks like they have with Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt. We wanted them to spend money, and for better or worse, they did by bringing on Josh Donaldson.
This appears to be the first domino in an interesting week of transactions ahead for the New York Yankees as spring training begins and opening day is less than 30 days away. No matter how we feel, things needed to change, and change they did as something needed to be done.
During last week’s end of season press conference with Yankees GM Brian Cashman & Manager Aaron Boone, the question was asked about the coaching staff’s future and Cashman replied that they haven’t reviewed coaching staff plans heading into 2020 at that time. When I heard Cashman say that, I felt that there was going to be some sort of moves made, but wasn’t necessarily sure.
Initially I thought, and still do, that Railriders manager Jay Bell was going to find a spot on the coaching staff in 2020, however we quickly found out that the Yankees decided to part with longtime pitching coach Larry Rothschild instead:
The New York Yankees today announced that Larry Rothschild will not return to the coaching staff for the 2020 season. pic.twitter.com/5rTA6a3noA
While I know there is a majority of the Yankees fanbase that is anti-Larry Rothschild, I was surprised by this move. Reason being is because he and bullpen coach Mike Harkey were the only holdovers from the Girardi regime. Clearly the Yankees front office valued what Rothschild (and Mike Harkey for that matter) do as coaches and wanted them to be part of Aaron Boone’s staff when he was named manager heading into the 2018 season.
It seemed like, from the outside at least, that Larry Rothschild was a “2nd in command” of sorts for Aaron Boone during his first 2 seasons as manager. Often you would see Boone leaning on Larry in the dugout during in-game decision making. Those types of roles are typically reserved for the bench coach but Josh Bard, like Aaron Boone, had no managerial or in-game coaching experience like Rothschild does (Bard was the Dodgers bullpen coach previously).
It also felt like Larry was pretty well respected among his pitching staff. CC Sabathia would put Larry over any chance he could get during R2C2 podcasts and I thought that was very telling as CC was (sad to use past tense here) a locker room leader for the Yanks. The in-game managerial experience and the relationship with his players is probably what bought Rothschild two more years as the Yankees pitching coach post-Girardi regime.
Statistically, as pointed out by Views From 314 Ft. during their reactions blog, Larry’s pitching staff was pretty strong during his tenure. Take a look at these #’s from the Yankees pitching staff from 2011-2019 and how they ranked against the rest of MLB (h/t VF314):
Average Four-Seam Velocity: 93.8 mph (T-1st)
Strikeout Rate: 22.9% (2nd)
Strikeout-Walk Rate: 15.3% (2nd)
Average Fastball Velocity: 92.9 mph (2nd)
Walk Rate: 7.6% (T-3rd)
fWAR: 169.5 (4th)
ERA-: 93 (T-4th)
Ground Ball Rate: 44.7% (T-6th)
FIP: 3.95 (8th)
VF314 also pointed out the discrepancy between the starters and bullpen #s during Larry’s time, so go check that out as well.
All in all, it seemed like Larry was a pretty good pitching coach and probably one that we will not truly be able to appreciate. Unfortunately for him, it was revealed back in late June that the Yankees had hired Sam Briend of Driveline Baseball to become their new Director of Pitching:
I’m excited to announce that I will be joining the New York Yankees as the Director of Pitching. I can’t thank @DrivelineBB enough for everything they’ve done for me over the past 3 years and the friendships I’ve made while there. #Drivelinefamily#GoYankeespic.twitter.com/KSJZOZAZNS
I didn’t realize it at the time, but a major change was a-comin’ to the Yankees pitching staff throughout the entire organization and boy, has that happened. Along with Larry Rothschild, the Yankees have also fired Scott Aldred (High Minors Pitching Coordinator), Tim Norton (Thunder Pitching Coach), Gabe Luckert (Riverdogs Pitching Coach), Justin Pope (Gulf Coast Yankees Pitching Coach) and Danny Borrell (MiLB Pitching Coordinator) left the team to become the Georgia Tech pitching coach.
Those are some pretty significant changes across the organization and that is pretty reflective of Sam Briend’s hiring back in June.
So, what’s next for the Yankees and our now former pitching coach?
For Larry Rothschild, I would suspect a reunion with Joe Girardi in Philadelphia seems pretty likely as they worked together from 2011-2017 and there is a mini-reunion already in place there with former Yankees bench coach Rob Thomson.
As for the Yankees, I am not too sure because we don’t have an idea what Sam Briend or the Yankees will be looking for in their next pitching coach. Obviously the belief would be that it will be a coach that is analytically driven rather than a pitching coach of yesteryear (like Larry). I know many fans, myself included, would love to see David Cone in that position but it would appear based on the first two rumored candidates that the organization may not be going in that direction:
The New York Yankees have interviewed Chris Fetter, the University of Michigan pitching coach, for their open pitching coach job, sources tell ESPN. Fetter is considered a rising star in the industry and has drawn significant interest from major league teams, including the Mets.
SOURCE: In addition to interviewing @umichbaseball pitching coach Chris Fetter yesterday, the @Yankees are interviewing heralded @RazorbackBSB pitching coach Matt Hobbs in NYC today.
I don’t expect the list of college pitching coaches interviewing with the #Yankees to end there.
Chris Fetter and Matt Hobbs are both young, technologically driven, pitching coaches that fit what Sam Briend is more than likely looking for in the Yanks next pitching coach. So while the names of David Cone, Al Leiter, Andy Pettitte or CC Sabathia would be cool, it looks like the organization has a better idea of where they would like to head towards next rather than fans who post on Twitter or write a blog 🙂
While I was a fan of Larry Rothschild, it was time for a change at the Yankees pitching coach helm and I am excited to see what improvements the organization makes this offseason at the position.
The 2019 New York Yankees body is still somewhat warm following the ALCS Game 6 exit on Saturday and we got our first Gerrit Cole/Yankees rumor of the offseason on Wednesday courtesy of Andy Martino of SNY.
Martino writes the following:
“Our early feel, based on conversations with major league sources, is that the Yanks are expected to engage on Gerrit Cole, for the simple reason that he’s currently the best pitcher in baseball and would look great at the top of their rotation.”
To me, this rumor passes the “sniff test” as Martino was spot on about the Yankees interest in Manny Machado and Bryce Harper last offseason (despite how hard that was to believe a year ago). Last offseason the Yankees really (*ducks from Yankee fan online vitriol*) didn’t need a SS/3B in Machado nor another outfielder in Harper (especially after they re-signed Brett Gardner prior to him entering free agency in 2018). However, they do head into this offseason with a need to acquire/sign an “ace” starting pitcher.
We learned this past offseason that the Yankees may have to (dare I say, should have to) pivot from their strategy that a dominate bullpen can carry a team to a World Series Championship. Adding Gerrit Cole to a rotation that will have James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino makes their World Series chances in 2020 rise to the potential favorite to win it all next season. Everyone keeps pointing to the Yankees pursuit of a workhorse/ace starting pitcher during the 2008 offseason when they acquired CC Sabathia as the final move that put the New York Yankees over the top in 2009, and they are right.
Plus, there has been a long standing “love fest” for Gerrit Cole in the Brian Cashman led front office as they drafted him with the 28th overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft and nearly traded for him prior to the 2018 season (spoiler alert: Houston swooped in). So, there is some “smoke” to the chances of Gerrit Cole being a Yankees offseason target since they originally drafted and attempted to trade for him throughout his career.
What will it take and who is the competition for Cole’s services? I think Cole will get a deal in the range of 5-7 years (with an option year) and in the range of $30-33MM a season. The competition, as noted by SNY’s Andy Martino, will be most of the West Coast teams (Angels, Dodgers, Padres & Giants) as Cole went to High School and College in the California area. I would have to guess that the Los Angeles teams will be the most aggressive to pursue him with the Angels being my early favorite to sign him after naming Joe Maddon as their manager a couple weeks ago (the Angels need to make some big moves). I also wouldn’t count out San Diego either as Cole could be the final piece of their puzzle to be a competitive team going forward with all the young talent they have.
The question for the Yankees isn’t if they can afford to sign Cole, it will be will they pony up the money to sign Cole. New York has a lot of free agent questions to consider this offseason with Didi Gregorius, Dellin Betances, Brett Gardner and Aroldis Chapman (should the Yankees closer opt out) all being available. To sign Gerrit Cole and bring back the players previously mentioned, will result in the Yankees going over another threshold in the luxury tax cap. Which is something the Yankees front office hasn’t been too comfortable in doing the last several offseasons as they prepare themselves to keep their core talent (Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Gary Sanchez, etc.) in pinstripes for most of their careers.
My early feeling on Gerrit Cole is that the Yankees do not sign him this offseason to a deal. I feel like the last several offseasons have shown us that the Yankees have changed their approach regarding free agency and will only strike when a deal makes the most financial sense (i.e. DJ LeMahieu’s now absurd 2-year/$24MM deal last year). The organization has been more conscious of signing their current crop of stars for the future and not exceeding the luxury tax cap.
What is most frustrating is that signing Cole makes so much sense for this current Yankees structure. We clearly can see from this most recent failed postseason run that an “ace” could legitimately swing their World Series chances in bringing a 28th World Championship to New York. Adding Manny Machado or Bryce Harper last season didn’t make a whole lot of sense for the current Yankees structure (we can admit that now), but adding Gerrit Cole does.
The most telling sign of how the Yankees approach this offseason will be how they handle the exclusive negotiating window for their own free agents and if they extend a qualifying offer or a long term deal to Didi Gregorius. If they let Didi walk into free agency, then I think the chances of the Yankees spending money on Cole is more likely than it is at the moment.
I am keeping my expectations of a Cole signing this offseason at a tepid level right now, and I would suggest you do the same…even if the signing makes too much sense.
If you asked any Yankee fan last season whether or not Didi Gregorius should be a.) extended to a longer term contract to avoid free agency or b.) receive a qualifying offer, the answer would have been a resounding yes from a majority of the fanbase. But here we are post-ALCS Game 6 devastation debating if the Yankees should bring back the fan favorite in 2020 and beyond.
The qualifying offer this offseason will be at $17.8MM (down from last year’s $17.9MM – not good for the MLBPA btw!) and would be an increase in salary for the Yankees shortstop who made $11.75MM last season and coming off of a disappointing 2019 campaign where he hit .238 BA / 16 HRs / 61 RBIs / .276 OBP / .718 OPS in 82 games (324 ABs).
The fact that we are even debating this subject right now is disappointing as I feel like Didi is currently, and should forever remain, part of the current Yankees core. Yes, I know that Gleyber Torres can play shortstop, that DJ LeMahieu can play second base, that the returning Miguel Andujar could move from third to first, that the salary flexibility could bolster the rotation, etc. etc. etc. but you don’t let someone of Didi’s talent walk away!
During Didi’s current time in pinstripes (2015-2019), he averaged .269 BA / 19 HRs / 72 RBIs / .313 OBP / .759 OPS and brought personality to a franchise that desperately needed it coming out of the “Core Four/Jeter era” lead Yankees. Didi also had a flare for the dramatic, quickly becoming one of the team’s fan favorites after performances like this:
This:
And this:
And most recently, this:
To me, Didi should be a Yankee forever as he resembles leaders of recent memory that the Yankees kept in the clubhouse longer than we probably envisioned at times (Brett Gardner and CC Sabathia). His personality helped make the team fun again and his bat set the tone in many big moments of the last 3 seasons.
I don’t think we should look at the 2019 season as a sign of things to come for Gregorius as he was coming off an extremely tough injury and made it back into the lineup way earlier than expected on June 7th. For anyone to think the Yankees should let Didi walk because they could acquire Francisco Lindor is crazy. Didi is a player you lock up and keep as part of your core rather than let walk away to another team.
The Yankees can afford re-signing Didi Gregorius and adding a top of the line starter this offseason (Yankees brass needs to spend some more money and go for it all which is another blog topic for another time) while keeping players like Dellin Betances (who will probably be at a discount now), Brett Gardner (1 year deal?) and Aroldis Chapman (I don’t think he is opting out – If anything he may receive a new deal too).
I could see New York signing Didi to a 3 or 4 year deal with an option year attached worth $45MM-$60MM total ($15MM+ annually). I think the Jean Segura contract (5 years & $70MM) is probably a good barometer even in a down year for Didi. We are in a current climate where MLB teams are locking up their talented players and keeping the core together rather than letting them walk.
In reality, this decision is probably a 50/50 split in either direction and the Yankees brass will be deciding in the next few weeks the direction they will end up going with their free agent superstar shortstop. I think the likelihood they go after Gerrit Cole is slim and the chances Cleveland really trades away their generational talent in Francisco Lindor is a pipe dream (while parts of it do make sense for how they are currently operating).
I am on Team #BringBackDidi this offseason and hope the Yankees brass is too.
One of the crazier, and almost at times, biggest storylines of the 2019 American League Championship Series was not the behavior of players on the Yankees or Astros, but the behavior of Yankee fans in the stands.
It all started late in Game 3 of the ALCS when fans started throwing debris on the field following the overturned replay call of Edwin Encarnacion when any hope of a Yankees rally started to fade away. Those actions led to post game comments from Josh Reddick calling Yankee fans “disrespectful.” You can’t help those things being said about the fanbase when they are throwing their $11-$14 cans of beer onto the field during a playoff game.
It was on a national stage that embarrasses all Yankee fans and should embarrass the organization as a whole. You haven’t heard any stories of Twins or Astros fans treating Yankee fans like this, have we?
And if there couldn’t have been any more “salt in the wound” of Yankee fans following the devastating ALCS Game 6 loss, these videos were shared online of Yankee fans treating Astros fans pretty terribly at Yankee Stadium throughout Game 3-5 this past week:
These actions are embarrassing and warrant any human being (especially the Yankees haters) to mock the fanbase for being trash. This is also one year removed from this viral video following the 2018 American League Wild Card game against the Oakland Athletics:
It has reached the point where it is becoming a problem for the Yankees organization. First off, these fans do not represent the entire fanbase at all. There are two different levels of bad fans that plague the Stadium each year:
1.) “The Opening Day/Week fan”
2.) “The Postseason fan”
“The Opening Day/Week fan” are the fans who haven’t been outside of the house all winter, don’t really follow the team, just want to get drunk and will hop back aboard in October.
“The Postseason fan” are the fans who haven’t really followed the team, get really drunk and hop back off once October ends (until March/April for Opening Day/Week). They can’t tell you if Gio Urshela or Miguel Andujar is playing 3rd base for the Yankees and they only know about DJ LeMahieu (“omg where did he come from” they may say) because he dominates every Yankees highlight on the news/SportsCenter/YouTube, etc.
Mix this all together with the current attitude of Yankee Stadium being perceived as a hard place to play in October (4-4 record the last 2 seasons…), a couple of $11-$14 beers and it’s become a recipe for an embarrassing disaster. Frankly, the Yankees organization should be reflective of these last 2 years and truly reconsider not fueling up these types of fans with the liquid courage they are giving them at expensive prices.
I don’t care how much the Yankees make on their beer sales, it’s time they consider going back to the rule from old Yankee Stadium and ban beer from the bleachers again or closely monitor/regulate fans intake. You cannot have this type of behavior and put opposing teams fans in a spot like this because at some point, someone will get hurt.
Throwing beer on the field near players, throwing beer in the fan of an opposing teams face and throwing beer at an opposing teams fan while they are going to the bathroom (why are you filming in a bathroom anyway!?) is unacceptable behavior that needs to stop because it’s making the fans who actually follow the team look bad.
Before you make any offseason moves, the Yankees need to make this change ASAP.
This week’s guest on R2C2 with CC Sabathia & Ryan Ruocco was Yankees outfielder Mike Tauchman. “The Sockman” gives us some insight on what it was like being accepted by the Yankees clubhouse, how he is trying to make the most of his time in the bigs and more.
As always, it’s a fun listen and here are some things I learned from this week’s R2C2 episode:
Mike Tauchman is genuinely happy to be playing in the Bigs:
Getting into the big leagues is extremely tough to do and I’m sure there were times that the 28 year old outfielder didn’t think it was ever going to happen. But thanks to some playing time opening up due to the IL, Mike Tauchman has taken full advantage of playing in the big leagues this season. Already a fan favorite, it was really cool to hear the passion Tauchman has for the game and how he is genuinely soaking everything in.
Players like Tauchman is what makes them so dangerous for the opposing team and it has shown in his recent stats since returning to the lineup in late June. These are players who know that their time can end at any given moment and are literally playing their heart out. To hear the Yankees outfielder voice that passion during this interview was very easily a highlight during the episode.
Tommy Kahnle is loud:
One of the most common themes in several episodes of R2C2 is how “loud” Tommy Khanle is. CC and his Yankee teammates always make it a point to mention how Kahnle will randomly scream to fire the team up on the pod. There are times we see the Yankees reliever enthusiastic on the mound but not to the degree that I guess is shown in the clubhouse.
The story Mike Tauchman tells about where he heard Tommy Kahnle screaming during an actual game is a must-listen part of this week’s episode as it will truly amaze you just how far the voice of the “AL Reliever of the Month” for July can carry.
HBO Hard Knocks is having a reverse effect on CC:
The HBO “Hard Knocks” series is covering CC Sabathia’s Oakland Raiders this season and if the goal was to get fans excited for the 2019 team, it’s not working with the former Cy Young winner. The most interesting part of this discussion was CC’s thoughts on the Super Bowl winning head coach, Jon Gruden. There are things that Gruden is saying that doesn’t mesh with what CC is feeling about his black & silver team heading into 2019.
It’s always funny to hear an athlete talk about a favorite team of theirs outside of MLB because you quickly realize they are just like one of us. It would be pretty cool to hear guys like CC Sabathia and Philadelphia Eagles fan, Tommy Kahnle (who is said to be one of the biggest and most knowledgeable sports fans on the Yankees), preview the upcoming NFL season on R2C2 in the future.
Other topics covered on this week’s R2C2 include:
What is the correct pronunciation of Mike Tauchman’s last name
The welcome Tauchman got coming to the Yankees and how it always wasn’t that way in MLB
Why Tauchman sounds like a WWE Superstar when he does his “belt speeches”
How “The Sockman” felt about the “Game of Thrones” finale
Download R2C2 and don’t forget to rate, review & subscribe!
We are 48 days (6 weeks away) from the American League Wild Card game. As it stands right now, the Yankees (and my health) is in great position not to be in the Wild Card game for the 4th time in 5 years or 3rd straight season. The Yankees are currently looking down the barrel of playing in the ALDS and an opportunity to be the home team against several potential opponents.
As the elimination #’s begin to chip away with every win and/or division rival loss, I thought it would be a good time as any to see how the Yankees would shape up against any of the potential American League postseason opponents that currently sit above the .500 mark (sorry, Texas).
Houston Astros (78-44): 1st in the AL West (+8.5 games) 2nd in the American League (2.5 GB) 4-3 vs. NYY in 2019 (No more games remaining between the 2 teams)
If you go back to July 31st, the Houston Astros won the World Series Championship once they acquired former Cy Young winner, Zack Greinke, from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Despite being crown Trade Deadline Champions, the Astros have gone 9-4 in the month of August and have lost 4 of their last 5 games dating back to the walkoff loss against the Baltimore Orioles.
Houston and New York matched up pretty well in their 7 games this season as the Astros won the season series 4 games to 3. During that series Houston only outscored New York 39-37 with the Yankees winning 3 of the last 4 games at Yankee Stadium in June. Of course, the only loss for New York that series came at the hands of known “Yankees assassin,” Justin Verlander.
Offensively both teams match up very well with edges for Houston in the starting rotation and to New York in the bullpen (though Houston doesn’t have a bad bullpen either now). Should these two teams battle it out in October, this will be one heck of a series that should go 7 games (again) with the winner heading to the World Series. The key for the Yankees now is to continue holding Houston off for homefield advantage in the American League.
Minnesota Twins (73-48): 1st in the AL Central (+0.5 games) 3rd in the American League (7 GB) 2-4 vs. NYY in 2019 (No more games remaining between the 2 teams)
October Baseball between the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins has dated back since the 2003 ALDS with history being on the Yankees side for every single Postseason matchup. The Yankees are 5-0 all-time against the Minnesota Twins in a playoff series (4 in the ALDS and 1 Wild Card Game in 2017). New York has been responsible for eliminating the Minnesota Twins in 5 of their last 6 Postseason appearances with the Oakland Athletics (2006) being the only other team to eliminate them during that span.
The Twins have been stumbling a bit lately as their near 11 game lead in the AL Central back on June 15th is now down to a half game in front of Cleveland with 6 games left to be played between the two top AL Central teams. The Twins currently sit with a record of 17-15 since the All-Star Break and a 7-7 record in the month of August. Since starting the season at 38-18, the Twins have gone 35-30 since June 1st. As Joe Girardi used to say, “it’s not what you want right now.”
Outside of the Astros, there may be no other team that matches up offensively with the Yankees like Minnesota does (though Cleveland is starting to creep up into conversation now too). Outside of the offense, Minnesota doesn’t scare me like some of the other teams do and as noted in the paragraph above, they have had their fair share of struggles lately that has helped Cleveland get right back into it.
Cleveland Indians (73-49): 2nd in the AL Central (0.5 GB) 1st in the AL Wild Card (+2.0 games) 3-1 vs. NYY in 2019 (3 games remaining between the 2 teams)
On June 15th the Cleveland Indians sat 11 games back in the AL Central at a record of 36-33 and have ended up going 37-16 since that day to get within striking distance of the AL Central race with 6 weeks to go. Cleveland has been one of the best teams in Baseball during that span and it showed following the 19-5 drubbing of the New York Yankees last night.
Part of the reason for Cleveland’s success has been to due to the resurgence of Jose Ramirez at the plate. Since the All-Star Break, Ramirez is hitting .321 BA/12 HRs/38 RBIs/1.068 OPS (134 ABs) and helping propel the Indians offense to being the top team in the American League Wild Card race right now.
Once again, Cleveland’s offense is scary (if you couldn’t tell from last night’s game) and has the look of a Wild Card team that could make a run into the World Series if the season ended today. Given the fact that the season isn’t over yet, the Indians still have plenty of time to make a run at the AL Central crown and potentially a first round matchup against Houston or New York. As a Yankees fan, even before last night’s horrific loss, I would not want to see Cleveland in the ALDS at the moment.
Tampa Bay Rays (71-51): 2nd in the AL East (9.5 GB) 2nd in the AL Wild Card (2.0 GB from CLE and +1.5 games over OAK) 5-12 vs. NYY in 2019 (2 games remaining between the 2 teams)
Despite most fans believing the shoe would eventually drop from this Cinderella story in the 2019 Tampa Bay Rays, the team remains in the hunt with 6 weeks of the season remaining. The AL East race got out of hand once the calendar flipped to June as the Rays have gone 27-28 in June & July while the Yankees went 28-20 during that time. New York had a 2.5 game lead on June 1st and currently sits at 9.5 games on August 16th.
It was also that 4 game series dating back to July 15th that it felt like the New York Yankees got into a groove that propelled them from a really good team to potentially really great team. That July 16th comeback victory may end up being the turning point of the season if New York can successfully capture it’s 28th World Series trophy this October:
When it comes to potential postseason matchups, it’s always tense when you face a division rival because of your normal fan disdain for them, but this Tampa team doesn’t strike too much fear into my pinstriped heart. Sure, what they have done this season is incredible and good for pure Baseball, but for some reason the Yankees just seem to get up a little more when they play Tampa throughout the season.
Oakland Athletics (69-52): 2nd in the AL West (8.5 GB) 3rd in the AL Wild Card (1.5 GB from TB) 0-0 vs. NYY in 2019 (6 games remaining between the 2 teams)
Last year’s AL Wild Card game opponent has not played the Yankees since that October night nearly a year ago. That will all change come this Tuesday as the two teams will meet for the first time since that October matchup in Oakland.
While the Athletics may not be as good as they were last season, they still are a very competitive team giving a solid run at a postseason spot this October. With Tampa Bay in their line of sight and their next 6 games against the two best teams in the American League in Houston & New York (OAK defeated HOU 7-6 last night), we should get a pretty good idea what type of team this truly is heading into the final month of the regular season.
As for how they matchup against the Yankees? We truly don’t know right now until we get some games between these two teams played. On paper, the Yankees stack pretty well against Oakland in most aspects of the game but until we see how the Athletics respond to playing the two top teams in the AL (OAK is 3-9 vs. HOU in 2019), we have no idea how it could look come October.
Boston Red Sox (64-59): 3rd in the AL East (17 GB!) 4th in the AL Wild Card (7.5 GB from TB!) 4-11(!) vs. NYY in 2019 (4 games remaining between the 2 teams)
The 2019 season for the defending World Series Champions hasn’t been as kind as we all originally believed. In fact, Boston has lost more games already this season (59) than they did all of last season (54). A team that wins 108 regular season games the season prior and captures their 3rd World Series title in the last 15 years seems pretty poised to be competitive again in 2019.
It has been a tough season for the defending champs as they have also gone 15-18 so far in the 2nd half and were recently swept by the New York Yankees in a 4 games series nearly 2 weeks ago. While I am always worried about the Red Sox figuring things out and making a miracle run into the postseason, it seems like that at least this year, is not their year.
Despite their struggles in 2019, if Boston was somehow able to make a stretch run into postseason Baseball, they actually matchup with the Yankees pretty well. The Red Sox have a lineup comparable to the Yankees and a starting rotation that is still scary, despite all their troubles this year.
If I had to rank the opponents I am most concerned with the Yankees facing this October, I would go with the following:
Houston Astros
Cleveland Indians
Minnesota Twins
Boston Red Sox
Oakland Athletics
Tampa Bay Rays
What are your thoughts on the potential postseason matchups for the Yankees? Tweet us at @BronxCheersBlog!
The Yankees enter the weekend sitting at a record of 76-39 and 10.5 games up (!) on the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East Division. Barring a historical collapse, the New York Yankees are on their way to winning the division for the first time since 2012 (how much was gas and a gallon of milk way back when?).
All of this has happened despite the Yankees placing 26 (!) different players on the IL this season which is a total of 31(!) different IL stints and they still have 16 active players on the IL at this time. It is absolutely bonkers how the Yankees have maintained not only keeping their heads above water, but playing as one of the best teams in Baseball this season. New York has done this all despite Giancarlo Stanton only playing in 9 games this season (31 ABs) and Luis Severino & Dellin Betances playing in 0 games this year.
In honor of this insane feat, I figured it would be only right to look at the “Top 10 most unlikely Yankee heroes so far in 2019:”
10. Austin Romine
For whatever reason, Austin Romine is a pretty debatable player amongst Yankee fans. There were fans last season who felt that Romine should be the Yankees catcher ahead of Gary Sanchez due to the poor season “El Gary” had at the plate in 2018 which is just insane, but whatever. Romine even said on a recent episode of R2C2 that Gary Sanchez deserves to be the everyday catcher for the Yankees. Austin makes no bones about it and is a team player, for sure.
With that said, I am an Austin Romine fan as he always seems to step up when the Yankees need him most (with Gary on the IL). In 48 games this season (151 ABs), Romine has hit to the tune of .272 BA / 6 HRs / 28 RBIs / 89 wRC+ and a .372 BA / 4 HRs / 12 RBIs in the last month. I’ll take that from a backup catcher who has had some pretty fun moments in recent weeks:
I got to be honest here, I didn’t know how to feel about the Adam Ottavino signing over the winter. I thought he was an awesome addition, but I was so “Team D-Rob” (David Robertson) that I was upset we let “Houdini” walk to Philadelphia. In a very unfortunate circumstance, due to David Robertson needing Tommy John Surgery, the Adam Ottavino signing has really worked out for the Yankees. Ottavino has become Boone’s trusted “fireman” this season appearing in 54 games (51.0 IP) to the tune of a 1.41 ERA in 2019 thus far (1.2 WAR).
The only player ever to have the number zero on the Yankees has been downright filthy this season in his first year in pinstripes and has been a trusted savior this season:
The longest tenured Yankee is forever cool with me. One of only two players remaining from the 2009 World Series Championship team (CC Sabathia is the other), it appeared that Gardner’s time in pinstripes was coming to an end after the 2018 season when he would become a free agent. Gardner ended up hitting an awful .209 BA / 3 HRs / 12 RBIs in the 2nd half and ended up being replaced by Andrew McCutchen at the August waiver trade deadline (RIP). Despite that, the Yankees re-signed Gardner this offseason on a 1-year, $7.5MM deal after declining his $12.5MM option (and $2MM buyout).
There wasn’t a lot of expectations for the veteran going into this season and many fans, myself included, felt that Gardner would eventually be replaced by Clint Frazier in LF at some point this year. But that didn’t happen and instead Gardner has been pretty productive this season hitting at a .255 BA / 17 HRs / 46 RBI / 112 wRC+ (.270 BA / 9 HRs / 23 RBIs in the 2nd half) clip in 99 games. On the most recent episode of R2C2, CC Sabathia & Zack Britton actually credited “Gardy” as being one of the reasons why all these “unlikely heroes” have been playing so well as “Brett the Jet” is an example for the rest of the team.
I really disliked the strategy of an opener last season when the Tampa Bay Rays deployed it. However, I have really come to enjoy it watching the Yankees have so much success with it (go figure). A lot of that success is due in part to the pairing of Chad Green and Nestor Cortes Jr. this season. As a starter in 9 starts, Chad Green (who thankfully looks like the Chad Green of old) has a 2.13 ERA (12.2 IP) and Nestor Cortes Jr. has had a 4.37 ERA as a reliever (45.1 IP) in 2019. They have played a big part of the reason why the Yankees remain undefeated when deploying an opener this season and why they have been able to get by with 4 starters in the rotation.
When the Yankees acquired the veteran outfielder from the Cleveland Indians for cash considerations in late-April it felt like a deal that would have a short shelf life as Maybin would probably be DFA’d once one of the OFs on the IL at the time (Judge, Hicks or Stanton) returned. But that didn’t happen. In fact, Maybin played so well that he forced the Yankees to keep him on the bench once the OFs were healthy again and carry 5 OFs (unfortunately he got hurt shortly thereafter).
Maybin’s career renaissance has been one of my favorite things to watch this season as he is hitting .335 BA / 7 HRs / 23 RBIs / 155 wRC+ (155 ABs) in 2019 and has fit right into the Yankees clubhouse perfectly. With the status of Aaron Hicks unknown at this time and Giancarlo Stanton presumably back in the lineup next month, we still have plenty of time to watch “Cammerin’ Cameron” in pinstripes.
Tommy Kahnle is making a strong case for the “comeback player of the year” in my opinion. After spending most of 2018 in Triple A and ineffective when called up to the bigs (23.1 IP and a 6.56 ERA), it’s great to see “Good Tommy” back in the Bronx after winning AL Reliever of the Month honors in July (0.77 ERA in 12 appearances with 17 strikeouts and did not give up a HR). Kahnle looks to be back to his 2017 form pitching to a 2.72 ERA with 67 Ks in 46.1 IP and it could not have come at a perfect time. With Dellin Betances out for most of this season, Kahnle has climbed up the bullpen depth chart joining Ottavino, Britton and Chapman with locking down the late innings this season.
With Luis Severino spending most of the season on the IL and James Paxton or Masahiro Tanaka not living up to fans expectations, Domingo German has become the Yankees “defacto” ace in 2019. Sitting on a pitching line of 15-2 with a 4.05 ERA in 109.0 IP from your 5th starter is pretty amazing. While German has had his “ups and downs” recently (4.91 ERA in the 2nd half), he has clearly become the best player from the 2014 trade with the then Florida Marlins that sent Nathan Eovaldi to the Yankees (just how it was drawn up).
It also appears that German has (almost) figured things out as his 1st inning troubles last year (8.36 ERA) are no longer an issue this year (1.89 ERA). However, German is struggling once going through the lineup a 3rd time around in 2019 (.286 BA / 8 HRs allowed / 23 runs scored). German is young and is starting to look like he could be a pretty solid talent in the rotation moving forward.
Yankee fans should be collectively sending DJ LeMahieu an edible arrangement for his first season in the Bronx. Miguel Andujar goes down, DJ fills in at 3rd. Luke Voit, Greg Bird and Edwin Encarnacion go down, DJ fills in at 1st. Gleyber or Didi hurt at some point? DJ slides over to 2nd or SS. “LeMachine” has been an absolute lifesaver for the Yankees in 2019 and is the favorite right now for “Team MVP” (and maybe AL MVP) this season. DJ currently leads the American League in BA (.338 BA) all the while setting career marks in HRs (18) and RBIs (79). His worst month hitting wise was in July and he hit (only) .282 BA. His WAR is 4.2 and his +wRC is 142. With 2 outs and RISP, DJ is hitting .415 BA / 5 HRs / 36 RBIs.
I’m not sure what else you can say? DJLM has been unbelievable and I can’t believe fans groaned when the Yankees chose signing DJ over Harper or Machado.
HAVE A DAY, DJ!
DJ LeMahieu with his 2nd HR off of Chris Sale today!
“The Sock Man” has been playing out of his mind lately. When Tauchman was traded from the Rockies to the Yankees on March 23rd for Phil Diehl, the early word on him was that the Yankees loved his Triple A stats (.323 BA / 20 HRs / 81 RBIs) and felt like he could be this season’s “Luke Voit-like find” to improve the team. Luke Voit last season in 39 games (132 ABs) hit .333 BA / 14 HRs / 33 RBIs, Mike Tauchman is hitting .297 BA / 11 HRs / 40 RBIs in 62 games (182 ABs). I think the Yankees were right in that comparison.
Since July 4th, Mike Tauchman is hitting .421 BA / 7 HRs / 26 RBIs. Fangraphs has Tauchman as a 144 wRC+ and 2.1 WAR player. Tauchman has forced the Yankees to keep prized popular talent Clint Frazier in Triple A. Tauchman is putting himself into the conversation of not only being an everyday Yankee player this season, but for years to come as well with an amazing bat and glove work to go along with it.
You can take any of the names listed above and say “where would the Yankees be if it wasn’t for _______ playing so well in 2019?” But there is no Yankees player who could hold that honor more than Gio Urshela in my opinion. Gio is hitting .323 BA / 16 HRs / 59 RBIs / 142 wRC+ / 2.4 WAR this season (303 ABs). To put it in perspective, Andujar was a 128 wRC+ and 2.7 WAR player last year in his rookie season.
What Gio has done, that Andujar noticeably couldn’t, was support the Yankees not only with a solid bat in the lineup but also an amazing glove in the field. Urshela has been especially amazing recently hitting .478 BA / 5 HRs / 10 RBIs in August (9 games) while being a major contributor for the Yankees all season long. Many of us, myself included, thought that this miracle run was coming to an end back in June when Urshela hit .232 BA for the month, but he quickly turned it around in July and hasn’t looked back since.
I am not sure where the Yankees would be if it wasn’t for “the most happy fella” in 2019.
Much to the dismay of many in the “Yankees Universe,” the New York Yankees did not make a single 25-man roster trade at the deadline on Wednesday. The team you see before you, is the team that we are riding with for the rest of this season and into the postseason (barring some sort of epic collapse). The same exact team that holds a 7 game lead in the AL East (a division they haven’t won since 2012), the 2nd best record in the American League (Houston is up ½ game) and the 3rd best record in all of Baseball (2 games behind the NL’s Los Angeles Dodgers).
Yet, at 4:00:01pm EST this past Wednesday, the “abort mission” button had been pressed and the Yankees fan base was whipped into a frenzy as Brian Cashman & Co. didn’t make a single move to improve the 2019 New York Yankees campaign. What made matters worse was that shortly after 4:15pm EST, news broke that Zack Greinke, who was on the mound for the Diamondbacks playing against our beloved Yankees during the final hours of the trade deadline, had been dealt to the Houston Astros.
The same Houston Astros that are arguably the biggest threat in the American League to stop the New York Yankees from capturing their 28th World Series Championship. The same Houston Astros that defeated the New York Yankees during the 2017 ALCS enroute to their very first World Series Championship. The same Houston Astros that already house Justin Verlander (14-4, 2.73 ERA and 196 Ks) & Gerrit Cole (13-5, 2.87 ERA and 216 Ks) in their rotation and have an offense (and possibly even a bullpen now) that rivals the New York Yankees.
(*Don’t hyperventilate and remember to breathe*)
The Houston Astros made a last second deadline deal that gave Yankee fans the shivers as it is reminiscent of when the Astros made a last second deadline deal at the August Trade Waiver Deadline (RIP) to acquire Justin Verlander in 2017. That last second deadline deal in 2017 was one of the deciding factors as to why the Houston Astros celebrated their 1st World Series Championship in franchise history and why the New York Yankees were sent home in the ALCS round. Zack Grienke brings his 10-4, 2.90 ERA and 135 Ks to a rotation that doesn’t need any help like the Yankees do. Houston looked to strengthen their October chances by taking an area of strength already in their rotation and making it extremely deadly this postseason.
Houston got better on July 31st and improved their World Series chances. The Yankees did not get better (nor did they get worse), but their World Series chances diminished some based off of what Houston did and what the Yankees didn’t do.
(*Start ESPN 30 for 30 voice*) But what if I told you (*end ESPN 30 for 30 voice*) the Yankees acquired an ace starting pitcher (Luis Severino), an ace reliever (Dellin Betances) and one of the best power hitters in the game (Giancarlo Stanton) at the deadline? I think you would be pretty excited, I know I am, but the only caveat here is we don’t know which Sevy, Dellin or Stanton we will be getting come late-August/September (hopefully) at this point. It’s a major roll of the dice but thankfully the Yankees have given themselves plenty of cushion (for now) to soften some of the blows or not even make a dent to close out the regular season.
For instance, prior to the July 20th game against the Colorado Rockies and shortly before the stretch of giving up 7 runs or more from July 21st to July 27th, the New York Yankees had the 10th-best starting pitcher ERA in MLB with a 4.10 ERA:
On Saturday morning, the Yankees had the 10th-best starting pitcher ERA in MLB (4.10). Six days later it’s 17th (4.64). I don’t think you can put much of this on Larry. https://t.co/Rk8xVMIVLp
I guess the next time the offense hits a slump we should look at adding another hitter?
Oh, we did that already in Edwin Encarnacion (.226 BA / 9 HR / 25 RBI w/NYY in 34 games and .319 BA / 5 HR / 18 RBIs since the All-Star Break) on June 15th? Man, crazy how we forget about upgrades that don’t happen right at the deadline…
Despite all that, I do agree that the Yankees could have used another starting pitcher at the deadline. But quite frankly what options were there? Stroman & Bauer had already been dealt, Noah Syndergaard was pulled off the market (so was Zack Wheeler too, I presume?), Madison Bumgarner was too in an effort to have Giants Manager Bruce Bochy go out in style for his final season coaching and Robbie Ray/Mike Minor/Matthew Boyd, etc. didn’t really move the needle outside of an innings eater.
Brian Cashman didn’t have many choices and he certainly isn’t going to let the fan base dictate what moves the Yankees should make (See: Harper, Bryce or Machado, Manny or Corbin, Patrick).
Cashman doesn’t mind rolling the dice and he certainly has opened himself up for criticism if this 2019 season ends in anything less than a World Series Championship…but there are worse things that could happen, like if this was your favorite team’s General Manager:
Dombrowski admitted not having a realistic chance to win the division played a big part in his decision not to make a deal.
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