The Yankees’ decision to be under the imaginary salary cap this season looks even worse than it already did.
Brian Cashman recently called the Yankees’ bullpen “very strong,” and it’s still strong, but no longer “very strong.” Zack Britton will undergo an MRI for elbow soreness, and that’s very bad news. As a 33-year-old who has thrown as hard as Britton does for as long as he has, Britton knows his body and for him to report the soreness, there’s something there. The Yankees’ decision to be under the imaginary salary cap this season and trade Adam Ottavino looks even worse than it already did.
Brian Cashman recently spoke about the state of the Yankees and the health of his new-look rotation at the halfway point of spring training.
If you thought the Yankees could go two straight weeks without an injury, you’re a fool. Zack Britton will undergo an MRI on his elbow soreness and all Yankees fans now await word on the health of the team’s best reliever. The Yankees still have to three-plus weeks until Opening Day and that’s a lot of games and innings and batting practices and bullpen sessions for things to go wrong.
Brian Cashman recently spoke about the state of the Yankees and the health of his new-look rotation at the halfway point of spring training, and when Cashman speaks I listen since he’s the most important voice in the organization.
On the health of Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon. “Still kicking. It’s early. Everybody is getting their work in, and so far so good is all I can say.”
Cashman’s joke was a good joke, but it was also the truth. Still kicking in early March is a good sign for them. Still kicking after pitching in spring training games and simulated games is a good sign for them. Cashman is also right when he says “It’s early” because it is. The Yankees still have a little more than three weeks to leave Florida in one piece and not suffer any injuries to the expected Opening Day roster. As Cashman said, “So far, so good.”
On the rehab of Luis Severino. “I’m sorry I don’t want to give the wrong information. I know it’s going really well. I don’t want to give you the wrong information.
You could hear in Cashman’s voice that he knows how many times he and his manager and the organization have looked foolish over the last three seasons by giving incorrect injury timetables that he wasn’t about to venture down that road when it comes to Luis Severino. Especially since it was Severino who Cashman admitted wasn’t thoroughly checked out before being allowed to throw following a spring training injury back in 2019. Everything does seem to be going well with Severino and he seems to be on track for the mid-summer return, which was anticipated when Cashman said he would undergo Tommy John surgery a little more than a year ago.
On trading Adam Ottavino. “I remember when I had to talk to Otto on the phone and give him the surprise news that not only were you traded, or being traded, but you’re going to our arch-rival. As you all know, were completely right-handed lineup for the most part and we play, obviously, Boston within our division more times than you want so it’s going to create great lanes for him.”
Cashman didn’t want to trade Ottavino. I know he didn’t. He was forced to by the mandate from ownership to get below the imaginary salary cap and not spend a single penny over the luxury-tax threshold. Ottavino ending up in Boston means the Red Sox were the Yankees’ only option.
Cashman laid out my biggest fear: Ottavino dominating the Yankees’ right-handed in the late innings of close games. The Yankees and Red Sox play 19 times, which means there will be plenty of opportunities for Ottavino to come in to face DJ LeMahieu or Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton or Luke Voit or Gary Sanchez or Gleyber Torres or Clint Frazier or Gio Urshela. Thankfully, the Yankees have Aaron Hicks and Brett Gardner to combat left-handed pitching!
On the depth of the bullpen. “I think we have a very strong bullpen on paper, but we have to wait and see how it plays out. And if it’s not, we’ll have to make adjustments along the way like any team fighting for something has to do.”
Well, so much for that “very strong bullpen on paper” after the news that Britton was sent for an MRI due to elbow soreness. Britton is 33 and knows when something doesn’t feel right, and for him to need an MRI, something is clearly not right. Even if the result of the MRI is to rest, a shutdown will be implemented and Britton will eventually have to redo spring training. Very rarely does a pitcher undergo and MRI and nothing is found and they pick up where they left off. When it comes to the Yankees and the handling of injuries, you can forget about that option.
The bullpen might be strong, but just think about how strong the 2019 bullpen was supposed to be with Britton, Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, Chad Green and Ottavino. Betances appeared in one game, Green had to be sent down in April and Chapman was as wild as ever before throwing the season on a hanging slider. The Yankees were fortunate Tommy Kahnle bounced back after a down 2018 and that Ottavino lived up to his $9 million salary. The 2021 bullpen isn’t as good as that bullpen was supposed to be, and it will be a lot worse if Britton’s soreness is something serious.
On re-signing Brett Gardner. “We didn’t bring him back as a reward for what he’s done in the past. We brought him back because we think he can impact us in the present. We know he can and we know he will as long as he stays healthy he’s going to help us a lot.
I’m still very scared about Gardner continuing to wrongfully stunt Frazier’s growth. Boone claims Frazier is the team’s starting left fielder, but I don’t buy it. Boone didn’t start Frazier over Gardner in the playoffs, and what has changed since then? Nothing.
I would say maybe Boone was talked to by the front office during the offseason and instructed to play Frazier over Gardner, but then that would go against what Cashman said at his end-of-the-season press conference when he said:
“In terms of the lineup and in-game strategies, those are the manager’s. It always has been and as long as I’m the general manager, it never will be different.”
Or when he said:
“I know there’s that narrative about the manager being a puppet and none of that’s true. I’ve never ordered a manager to do anything specifically and Aaron would be able to testify to that as well as Joe Girardi and Joe Torre. They’ve never been directed at any time by me or our front office to do something they didn’t want to do.”
It’s going to be Boone’s call as to who plays left field and when. Frazier being in the starting lineup only against left-handed starting pitching isn’t enough. Gardner needs to be what he was re-signed to be: the fourth outfielder who plays infrequently.
On Derek Dietrich or Jay Bruce being on the Opening Day roster. “They were brought in to get a legitimate shot to try and find a way to make this roster, and it’s a strong roster. But so far the early returns are strong. They look like they are going to make us have decisions. That’s what we want. We want to be in a position to make tough calls.”
There seems to be a general consensus that Mike Tauchman is going to make the Opening Day roster. I’m not sure why. The Yankees have outfielders in Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks, Clint Frazier and Brett Gardner. (We’ll leave Giancarlo Stanton out since Cashman said at his end-of-the-season press conference that Stanton is only a DH now.) Tyler Wade has also played all three outfield positions in his career. Keeping Tauchman would mean keeping yet another outfielder, and even though he’s left-handed, he isn’t very good. His entire career is being kept up by a six-week stretch in 2019. That shouldn’t be enough to have him on the team over Derek Dietrich, who is also left-handed hitter, but can play the infield in addition to the outfield, or Jay Bruce, who is also left-handed and has had the best career of three. I expect Tauchman to be on the Opening Day roster with the other two either no longer in the organization or at the alternate site.
There are two available spots on the Yankees’ roster. One is the last bench spot and the other is the last bullpen spot.
There are two available spots on the Yankees’ roster. One is the last man on the bench and the other is the last man in the bullpen. Mike Tauchman, Miguel Andujar, Derek Dietrich and Jay Bruce are competing for the last spot on the bench, and Albert Abreu, Nick Nelson and Michael King are competing for the last spot in the bullpen.
It’s been a clean week of health for the Yankees in spring training. That’s all I care about this month. No injuries. Performance is meaningless. Not losing anyone to injury is all that matters.
It’s been a clean week of health for the Yankees in spring training. That’s all I care about this month. No injuries. Performance is meaningless. Not losing anyone to injury is all that matters.
1. Jameson Taillon and Corey Kluber have both pitched and both looked good and both came out injury-free. The results don’t matter in March, but the health certainly does, and the Yankees’ 2021 championship aspirations rest on the elbow of Taillon and the shoulder of Kluber. It’s not exactly what you want for a team built to win now, but it’s what the Yankees have built. Each day of March in which you don’t hear the words “soreness” or “discomfort” or the phrases “being evaluated” or “shut down” is a good day. There has only been one of those days so far (Clarke Schmidt’s injury). Let’s keep it that way.
2. Aaron Boone has said he’s going to bat Aaron Hicks third this season. I’m not surprised because I was expecting this. He batted him third in the past and in the postseason, so why wouldn’t he bat him third in 2021? It’s the same reason why I think he will have Kyle Higashioka unnecessarily serve as Gerrit Cole’s personal catcher and why he won’t hesitate to play Brett Gardner over Clint Frazier. Hicks is not a 3-hitter. He’s just not. If DJ LeMahieu leads off and Aaron Judge bats second, there is still the option of batting Giancarlo Stanton, Luke Voit, Gleyber Torres or Frazier third. (I would even bat Sanchez third like it’s 2017 over Hicks, but I know that’s not realistic right now.) The idea the right-handed hitters have to be separated in the Yankees’ lineup makes no sense because if Frazier really is going to be the everyday left fielder over Gardner, then there will be eight right-handed bats in the Yankees’ lineup “every” day. That means no matter where Hicks bats, there’s going to be eight consecutive right-handed batters. Over the course of the season, Hicks shouldn’t be getting more at-bats than Stanton, Voit, Torres or Frazier, or Sanchez (if he’s right this season).
3. Sanchez looks right in spring training. Two home runs already and one that nearly left Tampa. I know it’s March and these games don’t count, but having two home runs is better than having none, and if Sanchez had none right now or was 0-for-spring training, he would be hearing about it. I think he will bat no higher than seventh to begin the season, and I can see him batting eighth ahead of Gio Urshela or even ninth behind Urshela. If 2016-17, the Yankees will have the best 8- or 9-hitter in history. If that Sanchez returns, there will be a lot of Yankees fans who owe Sanchez an apology, and I want handwritten apologies, not social media apologies.
4. Opening Day is four weeks from today. Four weeks! This is what I would do on Opening Day against the Blue Jays’ left-handed Hyun Jin Ryu:
DJ LeMahieu, 2B Aaron Judge, RF Giancarlo Stanton, DH Luke Voit, 1B Gleyber Torres, SS Clint Frazier, LF Gary Sanchez, C Aaron Hicks, CF Gio Urshela, 3B
(I know that’s not what’s going to happen.)
5. I think this is what we will see on Opening Day:
DJ LeMahieu, 2B Aaron Judge, RF Aaron Hicks, CF Giancarlo Stanton, DH Luke Voit, 1B Gleyber Torres, SS Clint Frazier, LF Gary Sanchez, C Gio Urshela, 3B
6. No one from the fifth starter “competition” has pitched yet, so the “competition” has yet to actually start. However, I don’t think there’s a competition anyway. It’s Domingo German’s job. As I wrote on Monday, the Yankees didn’t keep scumbag German through his suspension and through all the negative attention, publicity and backlash to not have him pitch. They didn’t purposely insert a cancer into their clubhouse and then try to tip toe around his presence by not having him address his teammates until the team’s veteran bullpen leader spoke out against him to send him to the minors. German is still a Yankee because the Yankees think he can help them win and think his disgusting act will be forgotten if he helps them do so.
7. Miguel Andujar, Mike Tauchman, Derek Dietrich and Jay Bruce seem to be competing for one roster spot. If the Yankees are going to have four bench spots, one goes to Higashioka, one to Gardner, one to Tyler Wade and one to one of those four. As a left-handed outfielder, Tauchman is redundant with Gardner, so I don’t see how he’s on the 26-man roster. Andujar can play third base and I guess outfielder and first base? The Yankees will want Andujar to get everyday at-bats, and he’s yet another right-handed hitter on a team full of them, so I don’t see him being on the Opening Day roster.
8. That leaves one spot for Dietrich and Bruce. Dietrich can play first, second, third and outfield, and Bruce can play first, second and outfield. Right now, I think Dietrich holds an edge on Bruce. He’s younger, more versatile and a much better on-base option. I would pick Dietrich for the final bench spot.
9. There’s also one spot available in the bullpen, if the Yankees have 13 pitchers. Yes, they can have 14 relievers to begin the season and then send someone down for the fifth starter when they eventually need a fifth starter for the first time, which could be April 6 or 7 depending on if they go in full rotation or go back to Cole after four days of rest. If they go with 13 pitchers and go with five starters, and then you count Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, Chad Green, Darren O’Day, Justin Wilson, Jonathan Loaisiga and Luis Cessa, that leaves one spot. If they hold off on the fifth starter, there’s two spots.
10. Albert Abreu is out of options, so he might be the front-runner if there’s only one spot. If there are two spots, Michael King and Nick Nelson would then seem to be competing for the last spot. No one should care about the last man in the bullpen because they should only be pitching in lopsided games, but when it comes to the Yankees, you can never count out seeing the last man in the bullpen in a high-leverage situation they don’t belong in. Every bullpen spot matters on this team.
The Yankees need their best catcher to play the most games possible. They don’t need to be assigning personal catchers.
I already know when the first time Aaron Boone will affect my life during the 2021 season. I have it narrowed down to two possibilities.
One possibility is in Game 3 of the season, on Easter Sunday (April 4). The Yankees will have played the day before, so it will be their first time playing on consecutive days in the season, and with three games in three days following, Boone will inexplicably give guys a scheduled day off in the third game of the season after having played 67 games in the previous 17-plus months.
The other possibility is even before the third game of the season. It’s on Opening Day. With Gerrit Cole scheduled to start the first game of the season, there’s a good chance Boone will pair him with Kyle Higashioka and bench Gary Sanchez on Opening Day, a decision that will have severe consequences in Game 1 of 162.
On Monday, Sanchez caught Cole’s first spring training start, and Cole said he thought the two “worked well today” and that they did “a nice job together” and called it “a good day.”
Last season, Sanchez was pulled from catching Cole starts, and Higashioka was inserted as a personal catcher for the right-hander. It wasn’t promising for the Yankees’ ace to need a personal catcher a month into what will be nearly a decade with the team. The Yankees cited the smallest of sample sizes for their decision and as a backup, they used a high school relationship with the two being teammates more than a decade ago as a reason for the pairing. Higashioka had very little to do with Cole’s success, if he anything to do with it all. There’s a reason Cole is arguably the best pitcher in the world, and it’s not because of a career backup catcher with 72 career games to his name.
Either Cole went to Boone and asked to have Higashioka catch him, or the Yankees made the decision and he didn’t argue it. Either way, Cole allowed Higashioka to become his personal catcher, and he allowed an inferior player to start two playoff games, and Boone, on his own, had Higashioka start another three.
Boone has said Sanchez would have caught Cole’s next start in the ALCS if the Yankees had won Game of the 5 ALDS, but I believe that as much as I believed Boone when he said he didn’t pull Judge from a game last season due to injury and then the right fielder missed half the season.
Boone has very little idea what he’s doing as Yankees manager. His in-game managing is detrimental to the team’s success that he is at times more of an opponent for the Yankees than their actual opponent. His communication skills, which were praised upon his hiring, haven’t been what they were hyped up to be. Under his watch, his 2018 ALDS Game 3 starting pitcher didn’t know what time the game started in what resulted in the Yankees’ worst home postseason loss in history; he has been as wrong as you can be about injury updates and return timetables; he blatantly lied about the health of Aaron Judge in the 2020 regular season; he benched the team’s best catcher in the 2020 postseason without an explanation; most recently, he admittedly didn’t “gauge the temperature” of his team when bringing a scumbag, who committed domestic abuse in front of his teammates, back into the clubhouse. Boone’s best quality as a manager is that he appears to be a nice guy, and that’s not nearly enough for someone whose job it is to manage a Major League Baseball team. I know a lot of nice guys. I don’t want them in charge of the Yankees, allowed to pull Deivi Garcia after the first inning of a playoff game for J.A. Happ as part of a preconceived strategy.
Brian Cashman, in his end-of-the-season press conference, said Boone makes all lineup decisions (clearly not wanting his name attached to the disastrous ALDS Game 2 pitching strategy).
“In terms of the lineup and in-game strategies, those are the manager’s,” Cashman said in October. “It always has been and as long as I’m the general manager, it never will be different.”
The decision to play Higashioka over Sanchez was Boone’s. Just like it was his decision to pull Garcia for Happ, play Brett Gardner over Clint Frazier and use mike Ford as a pinch hitter instead of Sanchez or Frazier with the season on the line.
“I know there’s that narrative about the manager being a puppet and none of that’s true,” Cashman also said. “I’ve never ordered a manager to do anything specifically and Aaron would be able to testify to that as well as Joe Girardi and Joe Torre. They’ve never been directed at any time by me or our front office to do something they didn’t want to do.
It will take very little for Boone to pair Higashioka with Cole again this season and to start the season. I mean very little. If he was willing to play Higashioka over Sanchez in October, whether or not Cole was pitching, he will gladly play Higashioka over Sanchez in April. Or it might not take anything at all. Boone already knows if he’s going to have Higashioka be Cole’s personal catcher, andif he’s going to bench Sanchez on Opening Day. It won’t be a surprise, it will just be the latest idiotic decision on the long list of idiotic decisions Boone has made. A decision that will have severe consequences in the first game of 162.
