Didi Gregorius

How The New York Yankees Could Keep Thairo Estrada Long Term

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New York Yankees, Thairo Estrada

Thairo Estrada has been one of those guys that have came out of nowhere to help the New York Yankees. Many people assume that he will head to AAA once Didi Gregorius is healthy, but that may not necessarily be the case.

Team versatility

So many guys in the Yankee infield can play different positions, and that is super beneficial to the team.

Because DJ LeMahieu can also play first, I think that the Yankees should get rid of Kendrys Morales and keep Estrada as the utility man.

If you do that, the starting infield would look like this: Gio Urshela at third, Didi Gregorius at shortstop, Gleyber Torres at second, and Luke Voit at first.

However, the Yankees could instead make DJ LeMahieu the everyday first baseman and move Voit to the DH spot. LeMahieu is definitely quicker and more defensively sound compared to Voit.

Estrada is primarily a middle infielder, so he could play the field if Didi or Gleyber need rest or DH. If Urshela needs a break, you could move DJ to third and bring Voit back to first.

Estrada would likely play once or twice a week in that scenario, or he could play a bit more if he comes off the bench to pinch run.

In my opinion, there is really no need to keep Morales. He isn’t producing, batting just .188. He only has two home runs, and isn’t getting consistent solid contact. His fielding is also poor, as he is very slow and immobile.

Keeping Estrada would be the best option for the team for a better bat and more versatility.

 

New York Yankees: Didi Gregorius expected return date

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New York Yankees, Didi Gregorius

The New York Yankees might be getting starting shortstop Didi Gregorius back from Tommy John surgery just in time. Gleyber Torres has been fantastic filling in for Didi and Troy Tulowitzki, but he has committed two errors in two consecutive series at the position.

Gaining back a consistent defensive player and bat in the lineup should help tremendously as they fight off the injury bug and extended fatigue. Gregorius is now with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and will remain with the Yankees minor-league team for six days.

On Wednesday, the Yankees worked Didi for seven innings in the infield, enjoying what seemed to be a full bid of health as he progresses quickly through his rehab program. On Thursday, he will feature at the designated hitter position and play nine full innings of defense.

This is a great sign for the Yanks as they might prefer to move Torres back to second-base and insert Didi at shortstop immediately. However, they do have the DJ LeMahieu at second currently who’s had a consistent season, hitting .313 on the year and has committed just one error 38 games.

It will be difficult to justify moving LeMahieu from a position he’s dominating on a daily basis, but it’s a move that has to be done if the Bombers wish to play Gregorius in his usual role. Although, they could utilize DJ as a reserve option to limit fatigue around the infield. That’s the ideal scenario as getting Didi back into baseball shape will be essential as we move further along in the regular season.

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When should the New York Yankees expect Gregorius to return?

The Yanks could bring back Didi as soon as June 4th against the Toronto Blue Jays. If not that exact date certainly during that series. He’s already looking sharp in the minors and should be able to slide right into the starting team. Gaining back their esteemed leader should help the Yankees succeed even more than they already have with a glorified minor-league roster.

 

New York Yankees’ Didi Gregorius hits home run on first at-bat

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New York Yankees shortstop, Didi Gregorius.

The New York Yankees have designated shortstop Didi Gregorius Tampa as a part of his rehab progression that predicts he will return to the starting team in the next 20 days.

Manager Aaron Boone stated that he anticipates Didi will likely return under 20-days, and clearly, he’s making significant progress through the assignment.

On his first at-bat with Tampa, Gregorius launched a home run, showing his excitement to rejoin the first team and help them on their quest to the playoffs. The Yankees have been surprisingly good after losing a majority of their starting team to injury earlier in the years.

They’re still without Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Luis Severino, Dellin Betances, James Paxton, and others.

https://twitter.com/MaxWildstein/status/1132695422097608704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1132695422097608704&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.12up.com%2Fposts%2Fvideo-didi-gregorius-just-homered-for-first-time-since-tommy-john-surgery-in-rehab-start-in-tampa-01dbtkk6wn0f

This is vintage Didi, pulling a fastball to right field and rounding the bases. It’s very exciting to see the Yankees’ starting shortstop progressing so well. He will likely fit right into the starting team moving Gleyber Torres back to second base, his natural position. However, I could see the Bombers featuring Didi as the designated hitter for a few days before supplanting him at the SS position.

The New York Yankees are getting reinforcements:

With Aaron Hicks returning last weekend, the Yanks are slowly gaining back their every-day players. With Miguel Andujar having season-ending surgery, I expect Gio Urshela to be the starting third baseman for the remainder of the season. The infield could like like this in the next two months:

3B: Gio Urshela

SS: Didi Gregorius

2B: Gleyber Torres

1B: Luke Voit

Reserve: DJ LeMaheiu 

New York Yankees: Aaron Boone sets timetable for Didi Gregorius return

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New York Yankees, Didi Gregorius

With Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton out of the lineup, the New York Yankees have been forced to muscle on without their sluggers. However, they’ve managed to crawl to a 32-17 record, an impressive bout of execution for a team battling the injury plague.

Another influential player that has been missing for the Bombers is starting shortstop Didi Gregorius. After tearing a ligament in his arm and having Tommy John surgery, Didi has been spending his days rehabbing. Luckily, he has made significant and efficient progress and will see the starting team sooner than expected.

What did New York Yankees manager Boone have to say about Didi?

Before the Yankees were rained out against the Kansas City Royals, in which they will play a doubleheader on Saturday, manager Aaron Boone updated us on the shortstop’s timetable for return.

Boone stated, “there’s a good chance” Gregorius return in fewer than 20 days, according to Bryan Hoch. He will likely beat out Judge and Stanton who are both battling significant injuries, the latter suffering a strained calf in a rehab game down in Tampa.

Gaining Didi back will not only provide the Yankees with a seasoned veteran, but he will also offer leadership and direction for the younger players on the team. A solid player that is loved in the clubhouse will certainly benefit the organization as a whole.

His return will likely force Gleyber Torres back to second base, his normal position, and DJ LeMahieu to a reserve or DH role. I wonder if the Yankees will feature Didi as the DH upon his return in an attempt to ease him back into baseball shape. They don’t want to rush his progress in fear of causing inflammation or any bi-product of over-usage.

Nonetheless, he will be a huge addition for a team succeeding with minimal talent on the roster. The roster is slowly gaining back their every-day starters.

 

New York Yankees: Didi Gregorius Begins Gameplay

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New York Yankees, Didi Gregorius

On Monday, Didi Gregorius entered the final stage of his rehab for the New York Yankees. He played five innings of a live, extended spring training game.

During the game, he got two hits in four tries, also fielding three clean balls in the field. However, he did have an error on an apparent overthrow. Aaron Boone jokingly said that his arm is “feeling a little too good”.

Gregorius was expected to play in another extended spring training game on Tuesday, but he was actually feeling a bit under the weather and was scratched from the lineup. With the 90 degrees heat in Tampa on Monday, he seemed to be a bit dehydrated and they hooked him up to an IV for a while and is now feeling much better. He hopes that he will resume play on Wednesday.

When will we see Didi again with the Yankees?

My guess is that it would be around two weeks before we see Didi in the pinstripes again.

The plan for the meantime is to play a few more games in extended spring training, before being transferred to the Tarpons within a week. After a few games there, he would likely spend time with the Railriders the weekend of 5/30-6/2, before hopefully rejoining the team after.

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Remember, these are just estimates. This would be the plan if nothing else goes wrong, and he feels no pain in the arm. They want to be absolutely sure that he is 100% before calling him up.

Once Didi is indeed ready, it will likely be time for Thairo Estrada to be sent down. Estrada has been playing really well, there just isn’t enough room to carry everyone.

It will be exciting once Didi comes back for the Yankees. His play, along with his clubhouse presence benefits the team a ton.

 

New York Yankees: Good News On Injury Front For Two Stars

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On Saturday, New York Yankees Skipper Aaron Boone announced positive news on the injury front.

He said that Didi Gregorius will begin extended spring training games and Giancarlo Stanton will begin rehab with the Tampa Tarpons on Monday.

The Impact

Gregorius and Stanton are two of the Yankees best players, and it’s good to know that they will be ready to play very soon.

Last season, Gregorius hit .268 with 27 home runs and 86 RBIs. He also had a sellar April, winning player of the month. Didi finished 20th in the MVP voting the last two seasons. He also has gold-glove caliber defense, and with all of that it makes him one of the league’s best shortstops.

Giancarlo Stanton has played three games, and made a huge impact in them. He went 2-for-8 with seven walks. Last season, he hit .266 with 38 home runs and 100 RBIs. He finished 19th in last year’s MVP voting, a year after winning the award in the National League.

Who goes to AAA?

It will likely be Clint Frazier and Thairo Estrada that will go to AAA once Stanton and Gregorius return.

Both players have played well with the Yankees, but Frazier has struggled of late. However, there is no way that the Yankees would keep both on the team, and obviously no way Stanton or Gregorius goes anywhere.

It is worth noting that since Gregorius is on the 60 day IL and the 40-man roster is full, somebody will have to be DFA’d to make room for him.

But, the Yankees knew that they would have to make those decisions, and it’s almost time to do so again. It sucks they have to, but it shows the depth of this organization.

New York Yankees Injury Updates: Hicks’ Return, Judge Timetable, and More

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New York Yankees, Aaron Hicks

As the weeks go on, the New York Yankee’s main guys are starting to roll back in off the injured list. Yankee fans are anticipating the return of these players.

New York Yankees: Aaron Hicks preparing to make a return

Homering in his last triple-A game in his rehab assignment, Aaron Hicks will be returning to the Yankees’ roster Monday. He will most likely not be in the starting lineup but he will definitely be on an option on the bench.

Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge obtained an oblique injury on April 20th and has not resumed any baseball activities yet. It seems he will not return until late May or early June. However, manager Aaron Boone said, “[Judge] is making good improvements every day.”

Giancarlo Stanton

Injuring his bicep in early April, Giancarlo Stanton was taking steps back in the recovery process. After injuring his bicep, he obtained a shoulder injury during rehabbing. Stanton said that he believes the shoulder injury came from the bicep strain. The Yankees management believes that he will not be in the lineup anytime soon. It is worth noting however that Stanton was throwing before the Mariners game on Wednesday night. Stanton has also been working out at the minor league complex, where he was taking swings in the cage and doing some fielding work.

Didi Gregorius

Last season following the playoffs, it was announced that Didi Gregorius was to undergo Tommy John surgery. Gregorius has been rehabbing ever since the procedure and recently is making very positive progress. YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits talked with Didi yesterday prior to the game where he said, “I’m feeling pretty good, getting there, almost ready to go.” Gregorius has been traveling with the team and has been fielding groundballs, taking swings, and throwing consistently. His return is expected in the next few weeks, most likely in early June.

Dellin Betances

Dellin Betances (shoulder) was throwing a flat-ground at 60 feet before yesterday’s game and said to be feeling good. Betances has been traveling with the team and following their return to New York, he will begin to throw at 75 feet. He is making a positive improvement, but will not be returning anytime soon.

Luis Severino

General manager Brian Cashman confirmed that Luis Severino will not return until after the All-Star break. He is currently in a six-week shutdown, and will not be throwing until late May or early June. Once healthy again, Severino will most likely be given a multi-start rehab assignment before being reinstated to the active roster.

Greg Bird

Greg Bird (foot) is no longer wearing a boot but is still walking with pain. With a left plantar fascia tear, it seems Bird is not close to making a return anytime soon.

 

With Players Beginning to Return, the New York Yankees Face Tough Decisions

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New York Yankees, Aaron Hicks

The New York Yankees faced and are still facing an injury crisis, but soon a lot of their stars will be back. However, it will likely be three outfielders to return next. How will the Yankees work this out? Also, once Didi Gregorius comes back, which infielder will go?

The decisions:

Clint Frazier will be returning from a brief IL stint on Monday, and the Yankees sent Stephen Tarpley down for the corresponding move. But, Tarpley isn’t an outfielder, he’s a pitcher.

Tyler Wade has currently been playing the outfield, but I believe that he will begin to play the infield again. People thought for sure though that Mike Tauchman would go once Frazier returns, but Aaron Boone has confirmed that his time as a Yankee has not expired just yet.

Once Aaron Hicks returns in ~10 days, it will certainly be Tauchman’s time to go. A .176 average ain’t gonna cut it in the MLB, especially with Cameron Maybin hitting .333 while playing good defense. Maybin will 100% stay over Tauchman. Maybin is a proven outfielder with a lot of MLB experience.

But once Giancarlo Stanton returns, sometime shortly after Hicks, it will likely be Maybin’s time to go. They may be able to trade Maybin and get some cash or a prospect, because he deserves a spot on a MLB team, but won’t have one with a healthy Yankee squad.

Didi will begin his rehab assignment in a few weeks, and once he returns it will either be Tyler Wade’s or Gio Urshela’s time to go. Didi should be on the active roster in about a month or so.

I think that it should be Wade that goes because, well, Urshela has outplayed him in almost every aspect. Wade is a great base-runner and is very aggressive, but Urshela is more defensively sound and boasts a .338 batting average.

Wade just hasn’t proven himself enough to maintain a spot on a healthy roster, and needs to hit better to spend more time in the MLB. He is also beginning to run low on minor league options, so that could potentially be a problem in the near future.

And once you remove Wade, Gleyber can shift back to second and DJ can be the utility man the Yankees wanted.

Once more players become healthy, the Yankees will face several tough roster decisions. But, Brian Cashman doesn’t make very many bad decisions and you should trust that he will continue to make the right ones.

New York Yankees: Why There is No Need to Worry About Their Slow Start

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New York Yankees, Aaron Hicks

The New York Yankees have gotten off to a less than flattering 3-4 start in 2019, highlighted by losing two out of three to two of the league’s worst teams. There is disappointment with the four losses, but there shouldn’t be any worry, yet. There are a lot of contributing factors to their early struggles, so let’s review them.

Injuries

Obviously, injuries are the prominent factor in the Yankees early season struggles.10 main guys are on the IL in Jordan Montgomery, Miguel Andujar, Didi Gregorius, Aaron Hicks, Jacoby Ellsbury, Dellin Betances, CC Sabathia, Luis Severino, Troy Tulowitzki, and Giancarlo Stanton.

We know that Stanton will be back in about three weeks, and that Sabathia could possibly make his next start.

Hicks is just beginning baseball activities, Betances is throwing off a mound and should be ready for rehab soon, while Severino is still throwing on flat ground.

We don’t know a whole lot about the rest of the injuries. We’ll know in about 10 days weather the Yankees can start up Andujar again, or if he’ll need season-ending surgery.

Detroit and Baltimore are off to good starts

The Yankees have played two teams that got off to hot starts.

After taking two out of three against the Yankees, the Orioles went north of the border and took two of three from the Blue Jays before losing to the Yankees in their home opener on Thursday.

The Tigers started the season in Canada, splitting a four game series there. They came to New York to take two of three from the Yankees afterwards, then took their home opener against the Royals.

They aren’t alone

The Yankees are not the only World Series favorite to be losing a lot early. At 3-4, the Yankees are better than some other teams record wise.

The Red Sox are off to a terrible 2-7 start with the worst run differential in the MLB at -26. The Houston Astros have started off 2019 at 3-5. Like the Yankees, they have won the first game of each series and that’s it. Remember, the Yankees and the Astros play on Monday.

Off to the worst start in the MLB are the Chicago Cubs. After winning their opener, they have lost six straight to put themselves at 1-6.

This shows to tell that the best teams don’t always get out to hot starts.

This has happened before

Most years, the Yankees aren’t great out of the gate. They started 5-6 last year en route to a 100 win season.

In 2016, they started out 9-17 on the way to an 84 win season.

In 2009, the Yankees started out 3-4 as they would win it all come October.

The Yankees will get healthy and get back to normal. It may take a while, but they always seem to figure it out.

Morale of the story: the Yankees will be ok, and it’s just a matter of time until they win a lot of games and Baltimore and Detroit start to lose a lot of games. Sadly, it’s also just a matter of time until the team from Boston starts to win too.

New York Yankees’ Shortstops: Love the one you’re with

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The New York Yankees find themselves in the unique position of having an abundance of shortstops who can, and, in the absence of Didi Gregorius, will play the position until his return sometime in June.

Troy Tulowitzki was signed by General Manager Brian Cashman in a move that some have called genius, as Cashman sidestepped the high dollar free agents and opted instead for Tulowitzki for the league minimum with the Blue Jays paying the remainder of his salary in 2019.

Can the New York Yankees trust their veteran infielder?

As fans are well aware by now, Tulowitzki did not play at all in 2018 and had very limited playing time in 2017 due to numerous injuries.

Tulowitzki stepped into the batters’ box on Monday against Marcus Stroman of the Blue Jays and appeared to put all of that behind him with one swing of the bat – he went yard two pitches into his first at-bat in a year and a half and just like that Cashman’s gamble would appear to have paid off.

One swing in spring training does not make a season, and the Yankees have Gleyber Torres to spell Tulowitzki as he is eased back into an everyday role. Torres played shortstop through the Cubs’ minor-league system before he was dealt to the Yankees in 2016.

Torres started 15 games and had a .928 fielding percentage at shortstop in ’18, as opposed to the .970  fielding percentage he had at second base.  The Yankees have not wanted to move Torres around and instead prefer him to continue to solidify his defensive skills at second base.

The 24-year-old Tyler Wade is vying for a bench spot in ’19 and over the weekend, he had the hot bat, with 4 hits in 5 at-bats, three of those hits for doubles.  Wade is a lefty who profiles as a good glove man but who has never had success offensively at the major league level.  He is a career .161/.218/.250 hitter with the Yankees.

Cashman has said that he is committed to Tulowitzki at shortstop in Gregorius’ absence, with the All-Star and Gold Glove winner getting the majority of the playing time.

Yankee fans question whether Tulowitzki will remain healthy enough and have the stamina to play every day or whether there will be a round robin at shortstop with Wade and Torres seeing more playing time, especially to start the season.

Regardless of who holds down the shortstop position for the New York Yankees in 2019, the infield defense is one area where the Yankees need improvement.  The longer Tulowitzki can stay on the field, the better the Yankees will be on defense this season.

Can Tulo be consistent?

What will be interesting to see is whether Tulowitzki can keep up the pace offensively as his batting averages had dipped in the three years prior to 2017 when he went out with injuries.  He hit .239 in 2015, .254 in 2016 and .249 in 2017 in limited games.

I don’t believe the Yankees brought Tulowitzki in for his power, though he’s been known to have some pop in his bat, but instead for his glove.

Whatever the Yankees get out of the shortstop position offensively while Gregorius is out, is gravy.  There will be plenty of heavy hitters on the team to provide the offensive impetus for this team.

As for Yankee shortstops this spring, my advice to you, is love the one you’re with –  Tulowitzki, Wade and Torres will all contribute to the success of the team coming out of the gate.