James Paxton

New York Yankees: Yankee players may be free agents already?

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New York Yankees, DJ LeMahieu

The New York Yankees are dealing with the coronavirus as all MLB teams are.  No games and a whole basket full of questions with no sure answers.  One of the biggest questions is when will the season start, or will it start at all?  The Yankees have three players that may become free agents at the end of the season unless they are offered new contracts.

If the virus can not be controlled, it is not out of the question that the season could be canceled entirely.   If that happens, the three Yankee players will become free agents without playing a single regular-season game this year.  MLB has made it clear in its deal with players that if the season is canceled, they will receive service time just as if the season had been played.  So James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka, and DJ LeMahieu may already be free agents.

DJ LeMahieu:

Of the three, DJ LeMahieu will most definitely be offered a new contract by the New York Yankees front office.  After his performance during the last season, the Yankees would be foolish to do otherwise.  The former Colorado Rockie came to the Yankees with a two-year contract that expires following this season.  Last season he batted .327 with an unexpected 26 home runs.  He played so well that he got the nickname “the machine” because of his ability to get on base.  He led the Yankees with 197 hits while being named fourth in the MVP voting, being an All-Star, and being awarded the Silver Slugger Award.  His defense was next to none.

James Paxton:

Paxton, like LeMahieu, also will be a free agent at the end of the season.  The New York Yankees are not likely to let loose of James Paxton even though he had some rough spots as a Yankee pitcher.  Paxton came to the Yankees from the Seattle Mariners.  To start the season, he was 9-3 in games he started.  Then hit a slide losing all of his July starts.  As August dawned, a new Paxton appear on the rubber.  He won his last eleven games in a row.  In the postseason, he went 2-1 and only gave up one earned run in the game he lost.

Masahiro Tanaka:

Masahiro Tanaka is in the last year of his seven-year contract.  He, like the other two, may become a free agent at the end of the season.  The question as to what to do with Tanaka is less clear compared to the others.  Tanaka is now 31 and will be 32 at the start of the next season.  This year was not a good year for him, he went 11-9 with a forgettable 4.45 ERA.  He gave up 28 home runs and seemed to tire, and struggle even in most of his wins.  He did pitch amazingly in a couple of his starts, but that was the exception.  In his career with the Yankees, he is 75-43  which is quite good, but if the Yankees extend him, it may only be on a year to year basis much as for the aging Brett Gardner.

Should the Yankees offer contract extensions?

While the coronavirus is distracting us from baseball, as usual, the New York Yankees have some big decisions this season.  The question is when to make those decisions.  Should they offer contract extensions for Paxton and LeMahieu, the answer is yes, and sooner than later, to relieve them from that question.

Although it would seem that the Yankees would offer extensions to Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez, that decision is clouded by their injury history.  If contract extensions are given to them it won’t be until after the season, if at all.  You can also be sure that any contract extension for the two will not be long term extensions.  The Yankee have been burnt before and are not looking to repeat.

New York Yankees: A look at 2021 free agency

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New York Yankees, DJ LeMahieu

The 2020 MLB season is still a mystery as to when it will begin if it begins at all. The MLB player’s association has a deal in place with the league to get things moving once the coronavirus pandemic comes to an end. As mentioned in previous articles on ESM, the New York Yankees are in an interesting position as to what they are going to do with DJ Lemahieu, Masahiro Tanaka, and James Paxton, all set to become free agents following the conclusion of this season. They have tough choices to make whether they want to resign them or not so I wanted to look at the potential contracts they could sign and whether or not they are worth the new contract from the Yankees in my own opinion.

DJ Lemahieu signed with the Yankees before this past season for a 2yr/24 million dollar deal. We all know what happened last year as Lemahieu garnered multiple MVP votes and came through clutch time and time again for the Yankees. Not only did he come through at the plate, he willingly played all over the infield wherever the New York Yankees needed him. Normally a gold glove second baseman, he also played third base and first base to keep his bat in the lineup. He was the prototypical utility player for the Yankees. In the event that the 2020 season moves forward and Lemahieu is able to have a similar season to last year (albeit most likely a smaller sample size of games), I think the Yankees will absolutely look to re-sign him. His current contract would be a nice starting point and maybe he would be given a little bit of a raise or even a third year on his contract. All things said and done I think he settles in for a 3-year deal around 30-35 million per year. As a sign of good faith, the Yankees could also throw in a team option for a fourth.

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Masahiro Tanaka came over to the U.S. with sky-high expectations to become New York’s ace of the rotation for years to come. While that didn’t quite pan out, there’s no question that Tanaka has more than held up his end of the contract he signed. He may not be an ace, but he is probably the most reliable pitcher they have had each year despite the partially torn UCL. His regular season stats don’t blow you away but the postseason is where Tanaka shines. With the UCL tear that could force him to have Tommy John surgery at any point in the future, he is definitely a gamble. Given all, we know about his ability to give the Yankees 160+ innings along with postseason dominance, and taking into account the potential health risk, I could see Tanaka signing somewhere in between the Twins Kyle Gibson’s 3yr/30 Million contract and the Braves Dallas Keuchel’s 3yr/55 million contract both signed in the previous offseason. Those two players represent players close in comparison to Tanaka in terms of age, statistical history, and health history. That would also put him playing into his age 36 seasons. If he gave them three more years at roughly 15 million average annual value I think he would be worth it. If the New York Yankees have to sweeten the deal they could throw in a team option for a fourth year. Tanaka seems to be someone who enjoys being a Yankee and would take pride in suiting up with them for the remainder of his career.

James Paxton came over in a trade last offseason for a former New York Yankees top prospect. He also had high expectations as someone who could help anchor the pitching staff with Luis Severino. The book on Paxton is simple: He has yet to remain healthy over a full season, but when he is, he can give you ace quality pitching outings. He put together a good stretch of games towards the end of last season, and also came up clutch against the Astros in the playoffs. For Paxton, he may be one of the few top tier pitchers on the market next offseason thus inflating the contract he signs. I think the contract he signs will be comparable to the one Hyun Jin Ryu signed this past offseason at 4 yr/80 million. Both pitchers have injury histories but are dominant when healthy. However, if he is the only top pitching commodity out there, expect that price to go higher with teams bidding against each other (i.e Zack Wheeler). As much as I’d like to see the Yankees re-sign Paxon, I think there will a more pitching needy team out there willing to give him more money than he is worth and will force the Yankees to let him walk.

Given the state of the sports world currently, it’s anyone’s guess when or if we will have a 2020 season. No matter what happens, the Yankees will have some tough decisions to make afterward.

New York Yankees: Yankee starting lineup narrows by the day, find out why!

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New York Yankees' Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

For the New York Yankees, today was supposed to be the second game of the regular season at Baltimore Park at Camden Yards, after a day off yesterday.  Instead, all of baseball is in delay caused by the spread of the coronavirus.  With two weeks of spring training likely to still take place, and the unknown as to when the season might start, that starting lineup for the Yankees remains in flux.

Just two weeks ago, it was uncertain as to if Gary Sanchez, Giancarlo Stanton, and Aaron Judge would be available to be inserted into the opening day lineup.  Since then, Giancarlo Stanton‘s grade one calf strain has healed.  Recently New York Yankee manager Aaron Boone has stated that is the season was to start today, Standon is ready to go.

“He’s pretty much over the hump,” Boone said. “He’s pretty much run aggressively and done the things necessary. If and when we begin spring training games, he would likely be ready to roll for that.”

Aaron Judge has a fractured rib and a healed partially collapsed lung.  The injury probably happened near the end of the previous season when he dove for a catch at Yankee Stadium.  The rib injury, which was initially diagnosed as shoulder soreness that later seemed to involve a chest muscle soreness, was finally after a second MRI diagnosed as the rib fracture.  Boone, when addressing the media on Judge’s progress, said:

“Aaron is still in the healing phase of that rib bone,” Boone said. “I think he’ll be re-evaluated in a few weeks as far as reimaging to see if there’s continued healing with that rib. But he’s been able to work out. Doing a lot of lower body stuff. Is able to do some upper body stuff, some overhead things, so he’s going in pretty much every day in Tampa there to continue his rehab.”

Pitcher Jame Paxton who was initially supposed to miss at least the first two months of the season is the most affected of the Yankee players by the season delay and now appears close to being ready by the time the season finally starts.  Paxton is continuing his work out and throwing program at his home in Wisconsin.  Aaron Boone has said the situation with pitchers is different than field players.  Even if Paxton is somewhat ready to start the season, he will still need more time to build up strength and will likely only pitch a few innings in their first starts.

Other New York Yankee players involved in injuries include Gary Sanchez with back soreness.  Shortly after being shut down with the soreness, Sanchez came down with the flu.  Little is known regarding how he is rehabbing from the back issue.  Yankee ace Luis Severino had Tommy John surgery about two weeks ago and will miss the entire 2020 season while recovering.  Another player Aaron Hicks who is also recovering from Tommy John from the previous season, will likely return to the field after Judge and Stanton.

This conclusion can be made; the original projected lineup is meaningless now with the unknown start of the season and the rehab progress of the above Yankee players.  When the final determination is made as to when the season will start, the Yankee lineup may be healthy and what manager Aaron Boone would have wanted it to be.

Commissioner Rob Manfred recently said regarding when the finish or mini spring training would ramp up, he said:

“My optimistic outlook is that at some point in May we’ll be gearing back up,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said on ESPN Wednesday. “We’ll have to make a determination depending on what the precise date is as to how much of a preparation period we need.”

During that min-spring training, observations will be made as to what that 26 man roster will look like and who will fill out the starting day lineup.  Questions remain if hopeful players like Clint Frazier, Tyler Wade, or Mike Ford will find a place on that opening day roster.  Whatever the case, the New York Yankees are in a better position due to the delay than if the season had started on time.

 

 

 

 

 

The New York Yankees don’t need to supplement the 5th man in the rotation anymore

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New York Yankees, James Paxton

This offseason has been one of the strangest in our collective lifetime, starting with the injury bug striking the New York Yankees before Grapefruit League play even began and ended with the MLB halting operations due to the coronavirus.

Players have been holes up in Tampa for the time being, recovering from injuries, and participating in socially distanced informal workouts. However, this time has been essential for some of the Yankees injured starters (this is not meant to degrade the situation going on around the world, we are aware and sending positivity to everyone affected), especially lefty pitcher, James Paxton.

When Luis Severino was initially ruled out for the entire 2020 season, Paxton followed close behind with a cyst in his lower back that required surgery. His expected return date was in early-May, and he seems to be on track to return to baseball form.

The loss of both starters for what seemed to be an extended period of time was projected to hurt the rotation, especially at the back end, with unproven players set to fill in in the meantime. However, options like Jonathan Loaisiga played well this spring, showing they could take over the spot with ease.

The Yankees will dodge a bullet with the extension of the regular season, as their starting rotation will likely be cemented with adequate talent.

  1. Gerrit Cole
  2. James Paxton
  3. Masahiro Tanaka
  4. JA Happ
  5. Jordan Montgomery

Happ remains the most significant question mark in 2020 after posting an abysmal 4.91 ERA with a career-high 34 homers allows last season. As one of the Yankees’ better arms in 2018, Happ backed his solid year up with a massive dud, being entirely ignored in the postseason and playing just a few innings as a relief option.

The Yanks desperately need him to return to his previous form, as he logged a 3.65 ERA in 2018, which would have been the best number on the team last season. Now, it’s fair to mention that he started just 11 games for New York while starting 20 with Toronto. It can often be problematic for pitchers to adapt to the Bronx on short notice.

Yankee News: COVID-19 side effects for Frazier, Paxton, Tanaka and more!

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New York Yankees, Masahiro Tanaka

Clint Frazier:

For the New York Yankees, we all know the COVID-19 virus, also called coronavirus, has canceled the remainder of spring training and created an uncertain situation to when or if the regular baseball season will start. But in addition to the obvious, there are side effects.  One of them involves Clint Frazier.  With the surgery recovering Aaron Hicks not expected back on the field until midseason, the calf strain to Giancarlo Stanton, and the rib injury to Aaron Judge, it now appears that when the season starts, these players will be ready to take the field.

Clint Frazier was one of the players that were expected to take the place of those players unable to play at the beginning of the season, giving Frazier, again a chance to prove himself in the outfield.  Now that chance may be dashed, and he may again find himself in the minors with the Rail Riders.

James Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka

New York Yankees pitchers James Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka, the side effects of the virus and a shortened season create unexpected woes.  Both of these veteran pitchers will become free agents at the end of this season if there is one.  Paxton has to throw 165 innings and/or starts 27 games this coming season to be vested for the 2021 season.  With the shortened season, that likely will not happen.  Both Paxton and Tanaka did not have great seasons last year and needed to show their free agency worth this year.  That also may be difficult now.  Tanaka, in particular, has been just average over the last few years, and he will have trouble at age 32, obtaining any long term contract.

Injury updates on Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge:

Yankee Manager Aaron Boone gave health updates on Stanton and Judge while talking from his home in Greenwich, CT, to Michael Kay on the YES Network.  He stated the Stanton has recovered from his calf strain and is ready to go if spring training started immediately.

As far as Aaron Judge is concerned, Boone indicated that he is slowly improving.  Judge was diagnosed with a fractured rib after an extended discovery period of CT scans and MRIs.  During the last MRI, it was also discovered that he had a partially collapsed lung, which is not unusual when associated with a rib fracture.  Boone reported that he has completely recovered from the lung injury.  Judge was unable to play in any spring training games.

“I think the thoracic outlet — he didn’t have that but that’s often times what’s associated. So it’s just making sure that that was healed because that’s when we have the concerns of flying and all that so cleared in that regard and hopefully now. Obviously, one of the good things is that hopefully this is a time where he can get the proper rest to allow that bone, allow that rib to heal properly and hopefully, when it’s time to play ball, Aaron’s with us.”

Both Judge and Stanton suffered a series of injuries during the 2019 season, keeping them off the field.  Stanton played in only 18 games last season.  The Yankees are hoping that both of these players can stay healthy this year.

This day in Yankee history:

Today marks the day that Yankee owner George M. Steinbrenner was banned from taking part in the day to day operations of the New York Yankees for thirty months.  Steinbrenner paid Howard Spira in January of 1990 to dig up dirt on Yankee player Dave Winfield when Winfield sued the Yankees for not making a contract mandated contribution to his charity.

Happy Birthday to these present or former Yankees:  Steve Karsay 1972, Starlin Castro 1990, Bob Tilman 1937, Ernie Shore 1912, Dick Kryhoski 1925, and Delin Betances March 23, 1988.

 

 

New York Yankees could be forced out of Tampa as Florida prepares for the worst

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New York Yankees

The New York Yankees elected to stay in Tampa and continue informal workouts while practicing healthy safety precautions due to the Coronavirus. The pandemic has sent a good portion of the country into a spiral economically and by means of lifestyle.

However, the Yankees have remained steady in Florida, spending their days working out and receiving treatment…from six feet away. Floria, though, is preparing for the worst, which could shut down gyms and other sporting complexes, which would force the Bombers to depart from the state and back to their respective homes.

Officials are preparing to enact a policy that would force people to stay-at-home with the exception of necessities like food and medical supplies. This would lead to injured players like Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and James Paxton to begin training in a different location, outside of the state.

Other players are still working out and spending time around the team but will need to find alternative locations as well. Most gyms in the state are closed and/or open with minimal access.

What will the New York Yankees do if Florida enacts this policy?

Aside from going home and participating in-home workouts, injured players might be forced to progress through their recovery steps by means of their own, unless they have conditioning coaches available in Tampa.

The Yankees have already seen two minor league players come down with the virus, and they have an entire team camped out in a hotel to mitigate any concern of spreading the virus.

When will the season start?

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred stated two weeks ago that the Regular Season could begin in eight weeks, but that date is seeming to be an optimistic one. Reports have varied in the potential length of the pandemic — ranging from 2-4 months of quarantine and isolation. Yankee players have been participating in social distancing, which is a highly advised practice to stop the spread.

New York Yankees: Five Interesting Facts About James Paxton

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New York Yankees, James Paxton

James Paxton is entering his second season as a member of the New York Yankees. He was previously a member of the Seattle Mariners. Here are five interesting facts about the 31-year-old lefty:

1. The Big Maple

Paxton was born and raised in Canada, giving him the nickname “The Big Maple.” Despite growing up north of the border, he came to the United States and the University of Kentucky to play college baseball.

2. Drafted By The Blue Jays

In the 2009 draft, the Toronto Blue Jays took Paxton in the first round. He decided that he didn’t want to play for the team of his native country and went to play independent ball for a year. He slipped to the fourth round in 2010 and was selected by the Mariners.

3. No-No

Paxton is one of the few major league pitchers to throw a no-hitter successfully. Not just that, he did so in Toronto, becoming the first Canadian pro to throw a no-hitter in Canada.

4. Married For Three Years

Paxton has been married to his wife, Katie Joe, for over three years. The two don’t have any children but have a dog. He was raised by his parents Ted and Barb and lived with a brother named Thomas.

5. Big And Strong

Paxton stands and 6″4 and throws pitches in the upper 90s. He spends a lot of his free time in the gym and enjoys it. The lefty is a bit injury prone, so he always stays in the best shape that he can and spends a lot of time analyzing his recent starts.

The Blessing and Curse For the Yankees and COVID-19

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New York Yankees, Aaron Judge

Fans and members of the New York Yankees can talk all about one thing these days. COVID-19, aka the coronavirus. There are some good things to happen to the Yankees, and some bad things to happen to the Yankees, as more information comes out about the disease itself, as well as the future of the 2020 regular season.

Let’s start with the Bad

Denny Larrondo was the first major league baseball player to test positive for the novel coronavirus. As I’ve pointed out, the virus spreads faster than any of the other past diseases we’ve had to deal with in the past 20 years, making it possible that one regular-season home game for the Yankees could result in 30,000 people getting infected. But, as our own Alexander Wilson reported, a second minor leaguer tested positive with the coronavirus.

Furthermore, the baseball season won’t begin until (hopefully) sometime in May. If the season were to begin in May, and the full 162 game season be played, realistically the offseason would consist of one month before Spring Training resumes in February 2021.

What makes things even worse for all of baseball amid the uncertainty of players receiving compensation during the coronavirus lockout, is that the current baseball CBA doesn’t expire until December 2021. We’re applauding basketball teams, and players like Zion Williamson, who are paying the hourly employees at these stadiums their wages during this social distancing period. But things are much more uncertain in baseball, with the Mets setting the bar early. If baseball screws the pooch on the Astros cheating scandal, AND properly compensating their players during this confusing time for everyone, we may see another strike in 2022.

But There is Still Some Good… Even if Minimal

The impact of Luis Severino’s absence in our starting rotation will be greatly reduced. I stand firm that MLB has no other choice but to shorten the season as they did in 1995. With a shortened season, that’s less time to scramble and find an adequate replacement for Severino, who won’t be back in action until sometime in 2021.

Which will also mean more reinforcements arrive sooner, rather than later. Giancarlo Stanton wasn’t expected to make Opening Day due to his calf strain. Now, he’ll be fully recovered and ready to hit the ground running. James Paxton may have an opportunity to play a couple of the make up Spring Training games baseball is expected to put on, as a tune-up for all of the players to be ready for the 2020 season once we have a better handle on the current coronavirus situation. Gary Sanchez suffered ANOTHER injury setback, on top of a coronavirus scare of his own. This extra time away will give him the opportunity to recuperate, recover, and give us the closest thing to a full season of Gary Sanchez.

Then there’s Aaron Judge. His worst-case scenario was always going to be his rib being surgically removed. Now, he’s got an extra month to do everything under his power to rest and repair that fractured rib (Mayor DeBlasio is talking following San Fransisco’s approach to containing the spread of coronavirus. If that means he doesn’t go to the gym to keep aggravating that rib, GOOD!).

And the best possible news is that while it’s unfortunate that Yankee minor leaguers are testing positive for the coronavirus, the 40 man roster seems spared of contracting the disease. I wish the speediest and most complete recovery to the minor league Yankees who have contracted the disease, but with all the injury problems the 40 man has sustained on the Yankees since 2019, the 40 man roster needed this win.

All of us at EmpireSportsMedia.com will continue to give you updates as coronavirus effects our daily lives, and our sports teams. Stay safe, and stay healthy everyone.

New York Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman tells us the injury news we want to hear

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New York Yankees, James Paxton

As the days go by and baseball seems like a distant memory, the New York Yankees must find a way to stay in shape and regular season-ready. Holding informal workouts in Tampa has been one way the squad has found ways to exercise, but with players looking to head home in the meantime, injured players will continue to rehab.

This offseason, Aaron Judge, who had been feeling discomfort for several months, was diagnosed with a stress fracture in a rib. Doctors informed him that he was about halfway through the healing process, and he would require a few more weeks to heal.

Giancarlo Stanton, on the other hand, endured a grade 1 calf strain and was set to miss the start of the regular season as well. The expected 7-10 day recovery timeline for a grade 1 calf strain seemed to avoid Stanton, who had missed two weeks before the MLB shut down operations.

James Paxton, who had a cyst removed from his lower back a few weeks ago, had a projected return date of mid-May, but he could be in line to miss minimal time after the regular season was pushed back, potentially for two months.

MLB.com’s Byan Hoch spoke with Brian Cashman, who stated that Judge, Stanton, and Paxton could all return for Opening Day.

Who is the most critical loss for the New York Yankees?

The Yankees managed just fine in 2019 without Stanton, as they gathered 103-wins in their quest toward a playoff birth. Judge was more impactful but missed significant time as well. Luckily, the Yankees had a stellar reserve corps that took over with ease — Cameron Maybin, Brett Gardner, and Mike Tauchman had career years in their own respect.

The most substantial loss would have to be Paxton, who pitched to a 3.82 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and 2.2 WAR over 150 2/3 innings. With Luis Severino scheduled to miss the entire 2020 campaign, Paxton’s presence will be crucial toward the Yankees’ success moving forward. The reduction in games missed for “Big Maple” is the silver lining in the push back of the regular season.

New York Yankees: The bright side to the pushback of the regular season

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New York Yankees, Miguel Andujar

The CDC sent out a memo last night that says they are recommending that events with 50 or more people should either be canceled or postponed for the next eight weeks, which means we are not likely to see New York Yankees baseball anytime soon.

This is something we have genuinely never seen before, and this is something that I pray we never see again in our lifetimes. This virus has swept through the globe and altered the way we are living our lives. As New York Yankees baseball fans, we should be gearing up for the regular-season debut of Gerrit Cole.

We should be clamoring for 450-foot bombs from Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton. Instead, most of us are living in fear of what is going on in the world. However, let’s talk about something on the lighter side of all of this. While baseball being pushed back sucks for the sports fans in all of us, it’s not the worst thing in the world if you are a fan of the New York Yankees.

Injuries were stacking up

The New York Yankees have been littered with injuries throughout the entire spring. Aaron Judge was just diagnosed with a broken rib that could have kept him out of action for the foreseeable future. James Paxton had to have surgery, which was going to keep him out for the first two months of the season. Giancarlo Stanton was dealing with calf issues that were going to cause him to miss opening day.

Recently, Gary Sanchez was also dealing with some lower back pain that kept him out of a couple of games. The Yankees are such a deep and talented team, but all these injuries were starting to stack up. As fans, we were beginning to wonder what the first couple of months of the season were going to look like without some of the more prolific Yankees around. However, due to everything getting pushed back because of this horrific virus, we might not have to. As Yankee fans, we want to see the team at full strength when the season starts.

We want to see Aaron Judge in the lineup. We want to see Giancarlo Stanton in the lineup, and we want to see James Paxton backing up Gerrit Cole in the rotation. With the start of the season being delayed, the Yankees can now get the team back to full strength while the world deals with this crisis that is going on. I believe that this pandemic will eventually pass, and when it does, we are going to get to see the New York Yankees that fans have been dreaming about all season long.

A message to fans

Here at Empire Sports, we are going to continue to try to put out as much content as we can for the sports nuts out there who are going to go crazy for a while. I’m starting a new article series that will go through the Yankees minor league system, but we know it won’t replace watching the game that we love.

This is an incredibly difficult time for everyone, and I pray that everyone is staying safe and staying healthy during this difficult time. I encourage everyone to stay informed with all of the updates that are going to be coming your way surrounding this virus.

On the bright side of all this is the fact that when this whole thing passes and baseball starts up either in May or June, we will get to see the Yankees team we’ve been looking forward to seeing all winter long. Stay safe Yankee fans, and when the season does start, let’s enjoy this teams march towards the franchise’s 28th world championship.