baseball

BREAKING: Two Yankees test positive for coronavirus

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New York Yankees, DJ LeMahieu

Following team workouts on Saturday, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced that two players on the team are positive for coronavirus. Those two players are DJ LeMahieu and Luis Cessa.

LeMahieu is reportedly asymptomatic, while Cessa has mild symptoms. The players gave Boone permission to announce the positive tests. Both players tested positive before returning to New York and are isolating at home.

These are the first two players known to test positive for coronavirus on the Yankees. Just 31 players across the league tested positive during preliminary testing.

Besides those two, not all players have reported to camp yet. That’s because some players are still waiting to receive a negative test to clear them to the facility. That includes guys like Gary Sanchez and Aroldis Chapman.

The announcement of LeMahieu and Cessa testing positive for coronavirus comes on the same afternoon that Masahiro Tanaka was rushed to the hospital after an injury in a simulated game. He was hit on a come-backer off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton. Tanaka is expected to be released on Saturday night as his CT scans came back clean.

Hopefully, these issues will be it for the Yankees in 2020. They’ve gone through an awful string of injuries and bad luck over the past few years, including earlier this year. The baseball gods have been against them, so it would be great if the team could make it through a season without many issues.

But, on the other hand, it’s not unexpected that players are testing positive for coronavirus. That’s just going to happen this year, and players know that. Hopefully, players will see what happened to LeMahieu and Cessa and use that as a warning that anyone can get it and that they need to be careful.

 

MLB: 31 players have coronavirus in preliminary testing

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As Major League Baseball players and staff returned to home stadiums for “summer camp”, they had to undergo coronavirus testing. With everyone now tested and results available, the league has released the general results of the tests.

3,185 tests were conducted across the league between players and staff, with just 38 positive results. 31 of the positive results were for players. 19 of the 30 teams had at least one player or staff member come back positive.

When you crunch all the numbers, it comes back to be a 1.2% positive test rate. That number is actually quite good.

New York State is a state that has beaten and lowered the coronavirus curve. Although the state saw a high infection and positive test rate this spring, the virus is now under control. Right now, the state has a 1.38% positive test rate. The MLB’s rate is lower than the rate of one of the best states right now, so that’s impressive. In contrast, Florida is seeing a 14.59% positive test rate.

The test results are very encouraging in terms of getting the season started as planned. Obviously, things are still very fluid and can change very quickly, but the league is in good shape right now.

Now that players are back in home cities, they should be able to cut down and limit their contacts to reduce the chances of picking up the virus on the street. Although the league isn’t in a “bubble”, players need to be super cautious about where they go and who they see away from the stadium.

Opening Day is less than three weeks away, and that’s very exciting. Hopefully, baseball can prove to be a great distraction during these unprecedented times.

New York Yankees: 2020 is crucial for Tyler Wade and Clint Frazier

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New York Yankees, Tyler Wade

In the shortened 2020 Major League Baseball season, teams are permitted to have up to 30 players on the active roster. With that being said, young up-and-comers Tyler Wade and Clint Frazier are very likely to see a spot on the New York Yankees roster all season.

Over the last few seasons, both players have been on the “taxi squad”, going up and down from AAA frequently. Neither of them have been able to make a big enough impact to stay on the roster for an extended period of time.

But, with the two players aging and minor league options dwindling, the Yankees may have to make decisions on them soon. Because of that, 2020 may be the most important season of their young careers.

Young and unproven

Although both players have shown promise, neither has been good enough to sustain a long-term roster spot.

Clint Frazier has shown a ton of offensive promise, but lacks defensively. He has a career .254 average in at-bats, but has -11 defensive runs saved in 100 games in the outfield.

Tyler Wade is kinda the opposite of Clint Frazier. Wade can play everywhere and has a ton of speed. His defense isn’t great with -5 defensive runs saved, but it’s the offense that really lacks. His career average is only .197 in 218 at-bats.

Unless either of the two has a breakout season, I have a hard time seeing them as possible pieces in the future. I’m sure they are frustrated with the lack of Major League playing time and wishing to develop on a younger and less crowded team. Trades for the players during the offseason may be what’s best for everyone if something doesn’t come out of this season.

Yankees Owner Hal Steinbrenner Expects Fans at Yankee Stadium

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New York Yankees, Hal Steinbrenner

New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner is very optimistic that the Yankees will have some sort of fan presence at Yankee Stadium this year.

In an interview earlier today with YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits, Steinbrenner said, “I do expect to see fans in our stadium at some point to some degree, and that’s going to be a great day as well.” 

He went on to say the stadium will “at first” be 20-30% full. He is confident that management can provide the proper precautions for fans to stay safe in the stadium. 

Teams can create their precautions regarding fans in stadiums. However, Commissioner Rob Manfred must approve them before they can be put into action. 

The MLB put out a statement that read, “The commissioner has made no decisions regarding permitting fans at games. The decision will be based both on whether local health authorities approve fans to attend games and whether our medical advisors believe it is appropriate to do so.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been very vocal about allowing sports venues to hold sporting events but hasn’t talked about allowing fans in attendance. 

The Yankees will stay in their home stadium for workouts and simulated games leading up to July 23rd. From there they will travel to Washington to take on the defending champs in primetime action. 

New York Yankees announce 58-man “summer camp” roster

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On Sunday, the New York Yankees announced their 58-man “summer camp” preseason training roster. This roster will be practicing at Yankee Stadium until the season begins. Once the season begins, the team can only carry 30 players. The roster is as follows:

Catchers:

Kyle Higashioka, #66

Chris Iannetta, #22

Erik Kratz, #38

Max McDowell, #78

Gary Sanchez, #24

Josh Thole, #30

Infielders:

Matt Duffy, #18

Thairo Estrada, #71

Mike Ford, #72

Kyle Holder, #76

DJ LeMahieu, #26

Gleyber Torres, #25

Gio Urshela, #29

Luke Voit, #59

Infielders/Outfielders:

Miguel Andujar, #41

Rosell Herrera, #12

Tyler Wade, #14

Outfielders:

Estevan Florial, #90

Clint Frazier, #77

Brett Gardner, #11

Zach Granite, #74

Aaron Hicks, #31

Aaron Judge, #99

Giancarlo Stanton, #27

Mike Tauchman, #39

Pitchers

Albert Abreu, #84

Domingo Acevedo, #95

Daniel Alvarez, #97

Luis Avilan, #70

Zach Britton, #53

Luis Cessa, #85

Aroldis Chapman, #54

Gerrit Cole, #45

Deivi Garcia, #83

Luis Gil, #81

Chad Green, #57

David Hale, #75

JA Happ, #33

Ben Heller, #61

Jonathan Holder, #56

Tommy Kahnle, #48

Michael King, #73

Brooks Kriske, #82

Jonathan Loaisiga, #43

Tyler Lyons, #58

Luis Medina, #80

Jordan Montgomery, #47

Nick Nelson, #79

Dan Otero, #36

Adam Ottavino, #0

James Paxton, #65

Adonis Rosa, #96

Clarke Schmidt, #86

Masahiro Tanaka, #19

Nick Tropeano, #35

Alexander Vizcaino, #87

Miguel Yajure, #89

Tony Zych, #62

The team can have up to 60 players on their summer roster, although the team is choosing to have just 58. The players are expected to report to Yankee Stadium by Wednesday. The season opener will be on July 23rd against the Washington Nationals. Teams can schedule a few scrimmages prior to the season opener.

Like the regular spring training roster, many of the players on the summer roster are not expected to make it onto the Major League club. But, with Minor League baseball expected to be canceled, it’s important for young players to show the big-league coaches what they are made of.

After a long wait, baseball is finally back this week!

New York Yankees to face Washington Nationals on Opening Day

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Could the New York Yankees pursue Max Scherzer in a trade?

Today, multiple sources indicated that the New York Yankees will be playing the Washington Nationals on Opening Day on July 23rd. The entire MLB scheduled hasn’t been released yet, but it was announced that July 23rd will have two nationally televised games to open the season. The Yankees and Nationals will be one of them, and the game is expected to be in primetime.

An Opening Day for the ages

Not just that the 2020 Opening Day will be historic, but the day will provide a big time match-up in a big time environment. When play begins, it will be almost nine months since the last Major League Baseball game. And the last Major League Baseball game featured the Nationals winning the World Series in 2019.

The Yankees were eliminated in six games in the ALCS, but are hungry to bounce back and see themselves in the 2020 fall classic.

What a game we should have to open the 2020 season. Two of the best teams in the league, with it most likely being Gerrit Cole going against Max Scherzer in his first Yankee start. Not just that, but the game will be played in Washington D.C. That’s pretty cool starting the season in the capital city, being that baseball is the National Pastime.

Within a week, official summer training will resume for teams in home ballparks. Players are in transit to meet up with their teams and get the season underway.

Will there be an asterisk this season? Absolutely. But, it’s better than having no baseball and will be a great distraction during these unprecedented times.

New York Yankees: Who will play left field?

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New York Yankees, Brett Gardner

With an MLB restart plan finally in check, things are looking up for the New York Yankees. One of the advantages that they had with the coronavirus shutdown was that it allowed the team to get mostly healthy again. That includes the outfield duo of Aaron Hicks and Aaron Judge, the starting center and right fielders, respectively.

A healthy Aaron Hicks pushes Brett Gardner out of centerfield, with him potentially being able to play left. Additionally, the Yankees have Giancarlo Stanton and Clint Frazier. Who will start in left field come Opening Day?

The Gardy Party

I believe that it will most likely be Brett Gardner in left field in 2020. Gardner had a good 2019 season, hitting .251 and slugging a career-high 28 home runs. He still has speed, resulting in a good glove despite a poor arm. Although Stanton and Frazier may be better hitters, Gardner is a much better defender compared to the other two.

It will mainly be Giancarlo Stanton in the DH role. His bat is far too valuable to leave out of the lineup, and using him as the DH can help him stay healthy. He had 38 home runs and 100 RBIs in 2018 as 2019 was significantly shortened due to injuries. Stanton also won the 2017 NL MVP.

Now that leaves us with Clint Frazier. Frazier had success at the plate in 2019, hitting .267 with 12 home runs and 38 RBIs. Defense was a completely different story, having -8 defensive runs saved and ended up with just a 0.1 WAR because of it.

Although he is getting older and his time in pinstripes could soon be over, left field is currently Brett Gardner’s to lose. However, young guns like Clint Frazier will be waiting in the wings if something ever happens.

MLB: Prepare for a significant number of positive coronavirus tests

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Finally, after months of negotiations, the MLB has a plan to return to the field. The owners and players were finally able to reach a compromise and end the historic labor battle between the two sides.

Now that there is an agreement, there’s only one common enemy; the coronavirus. With how intense the labor talks were, it was easy to forget the fact that the season was on halt due to the coronavirus.

Right now, the plan is to play a 60 game season ending at the end of September with the postseason in October. Teams will play all regular season games regionally to reduce travel and potential exposure.

The league is doing all they can to limit positive tests, but unfortunately, positives are just going to happen. There will be a special injured list in 2020 for coronavirus positive players.

Over the next week, players will begin to trickle back into home cities to begin a three week training camp. Once reported to camp, players will begin to get tested almost daily for coronavirus. As players and staff report to camp, don’t panic if and when there are a lot of positive tests.

Players and staff are coming from all over, and many are coming from areas with increasing numbers. So, as long as they can trace their contacts and isolate, then everything should be good. But, we are likely to see the most positive tests in the beginning before players go into more of a “bubble” as the season goes on.

Although there may be a lot of positive tests over the next week, it shouldn’t be a huge cause for concern — yet. If we continue to progress through camp and into the season with more and more positive tests, then things might need to change.

BREAKING NEWS: MLB has a plan to start season

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After almost two months of negotiations, the MLB is finalizing a plan to start the 2020 season. Players need to approve the safety plan and if they promise to report to camp within a week, then the season is officially on.

We will see a 60 game season with a universal DH and expanded playoffs. This is due to the length of the season and the fact that there will only be three divisions instead of six. The AL and NL division counterparts will merge together to form divisions. For example, the AL East and NL East will merge for this season. All regular season games will be played in home ballparks and within divisions only.

The players will be receiving prorated salaries like requested all along. They never gave into the owners and held their ground throughout negotiations to get what they wanted and what was right. In this set season, players also don’t have to waive grievances and could potentially opt-out if they don’t want to play.

Although the owners will lose money this year, not all hope is lost. There will still be TV deals, and even more games on national television than normal. Additionally, limited attendance at games may still be a possibility.

It’s great that the MLB finally got their act together and set up a season. The game of baseball needed this desperately, as the sport is already losing popularity and the negotiations certainly didn’t help with that. Baseball will also serve as a distraction during these unprecedented times.

Although the 2020 season may have an asterisk next to it, PLAY BALL!

MLB awaits vote from Players Association

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New York Yankees

On Friday, the MLB informed the Players Association that the league will play no more than 60 games in the 2020 regular season. However, in a 60 game season, players would receive the prorated salaries that they so desired.

But, for the 60 game season to be approved, the Players Association will need to vote on it. The players are expected to vote on it on Sunday.

However, coronavirus numbers are beginning to increase again, especially down south. There were confirmed cases in multiple Florida spring training facilities, forcing the MLB to shut all training camps down to deep clean and develop a testing protocol. Hopefully, training facilities will be able to reopen soon, as the shutdown is temporary.

But, the players want to wait to vote for a few days until they reopen and see what the MLB comes up with in terms of a testing and cleaning protocol. Players won’t vote “yes” on the proposal unless they feel safe.

Right now, time is ticking and a decision needs to be made soon. Within a few days, we will be away from the possible dates to play 60 games. No matter what, the MLB wants to finish the regular season by September 27th.

Waiting much longer could lead to renegotiations again, but for an even shorter season. All the sides need to figure this all out fast, as it’s killing the sport each day that this goes on.

But, safety is the number one priority. If the players don’t feel safe about a season, then a season won’t happen.