Jhoulys Chacin

New York Yankees: 3 major takeaways from the Yankees 5-1 win over the Jays

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new york yankees, mike ford

In an early afternoon game at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida, the New York Yankees took on the Toronto Blue Jays in a game that I said they shouldn’t win because they didn’t start with a top of the line pitcher and put up their “B” lineup to face Jay’s pitching. I was dead wrong. The Yankees won the game 5-1 because the lineup stepped up to the job, and the Yankees got excellent pitching from six Yankee pitchers.

Gleyber Torres hit two homers in the game

In a game without leadoff hitter DJ LeMahieu and no Judge, Stanton, or Voit, the Yankees should have had their hands full trying to score against the Blue Jays enough to win a game. But win, they did. Gleyber Torres was the MVP of the game. He doubled and later in the game hit two home runs driving in 3 runs.

Mike Ford also hit a homer and went 4 for 4 on the day. Estevan Floria shined in the game defensively and at-bat. He also drove in a run.

We all know that Gleyber Torres can be an MVP type player but really suffered last season, hitting only 3 home runs after hitting 38 long balls in 2019. With the screwed-up spring training last season, he let himself get out of shape, and when the season started, he had to play catchup. With such a short season, he never did. This season he came into spring training totally healthy and ready for the season. If his performance in spring training is any indication, he will have a big season for the Yankees. After hitting only 3 home runs last season, he has hit 5 in spring training with 9 RBI’s.

Mike Ford shows off on and off the field

Mike Ford got cut from the 40 man roster two days ago. You would think after having an impact at the major league level the last two seasons, you would have heard some snarky comment from Ford. But no, he just went about his business and stayed ready.

Before today’s game, he was called up to be in the lineup facing the Blue Jays. I can’t imagine what must have been going through his head. But whatever it was, it caused heads to turn when he had one of the best games he has ever had in the majors. Early in the game, when a hit was surely going foul, Ford hustled to the right-field stands, reached over, and made the out. He also had two singles, a double, and a home run in the game, going 4 for 4.

Today’s performance by Ford probably won’t change any minds, he will probably still start the season at Scranton, but 162 games is a long season, fans of Mike Ford can be assured you will see him back at Yankee Stadium this season.

Yankee pitching was outstanding

With spring training waning, the Yankees didn’t waste any of their premium pitchers on today’s game. The Yankees only have two more games to play in spring training. The Yankees started instead with Jhoulys Chacin. Chacin was great through 2.2 innings; he did not allow a single hit while striking out two Jays.

Chacin was followed by Luis Gacia, who ended up getting the win. He pitched 1.1 hitless innings. Lucas Luetge allowed one hit in his scoreless inning while striking out 2 Jays. Kyle Barraclough and Albert Abreu both pitched hitless innings. The New York Yankees chose Tyler Lyons to close out the shutout game, but he gave up the only run in the game for the Jays.

Overall, the New York Yankees pitching was superb in today’s win over one of the American League’s best lineups.  In eight innings of play, the Yankees had 5 1-2-3 innings. The performance today by these pitchers shows the tremendous depth the Yankees have on the pitching staff. With this type of performance, the Yankees should be pretty well set up for backups if there are any injuries.

 

 

New York Yankees Recap: Gleyber Torres homers twice in win over the Blue Jays

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New York Yankees, Gleyber Torres

The New York Yankees were at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida, today to meet up with the Toronto Blue Jays. It was a beautiful day for a ballgame. The game-time temperature was 86 degrees, it was humid, and the game was played under mostly cloudy skies. The game was a game the Yankees shouldn’t win; they went with a very “B” lineup compared to the Jays A team. Jhoulys Chacin started for the Yankees and Anthony Kay for the Jays. The game was scheduled for 8 innings as agreed upon by both teams. The Yankees won 5-1.

The Yankees learned just before starting the game that last year’s home run leader, Luke Voit, would have to undergo knee surgery and would likely not be back with the team until sometime in May.

Chacin took to the mound at the top of the first. J. Davis ground out to third. Crichuk struck out swinging, and Bichette ground to Wade for the quick inning for Chacin. At the bottom Tyler Wade led off for the Yankees; he bunted but just missed being safe as he limped off the field. Gleyber Torres followed with an off- the-wall double. Gio Urshela went down looking. Clint Frazier ground out to third, leaving Torres stuck at second.

Chacin faced Hernandez, he lined out. Tellez lined directly to a very athletic Chacin for the second out. Gurriel Jr. ground out for Chacin’s second 1-2-3 inning. At the bottom, Mike Ford singled to centerfield. Kyle Higashioka singled, but Ford was forced out at second. Chris Gittens walked, and then Estevan Florial hit the ball so hard off the centerfield wall that “Higgy” couldn’t score from third, but Florial loaded the bases for the Yankees. Grey Allen lined out. Tyler Wade got a long outfield fly out to leave the bases loaded. After two, Yankees, 0 Jays 0.

Alejandro Kirk led off the third inning against Chacin, striking out. Joe Panik walked. Santiago Espinal at the plate Higgy had a passed ball, with Panik advancing to second. Espinal popped out to Ford, who leaned over the fence to make the out. Luis Garcia replaced Jhoulys Chacin. J. Davis was out on four Garcia pitches. Leading off at the bottom for the Yankees was Gleyber Torres, Torres solo homered to left. Urshela ground out. Frazier ground out, and Ford got his second hit of the game. Higashioka base hit up the middle for two on and two outs. Gittens walked, loading the bases again. Florial lined off the pitcher. Florial singled in Ford. Allen lined out the Yankees left, three on again but scored two runs in the inning. Yankees 2 Jays 0.

Crichuk popped out to Torres. Bichette ground out to Wade. Hernandez flew out for a 1-2-3 inning for Luis Garcia. Tyler Wade led off the bottom; he drew a walk. Then stole second. Gleyber Torres hammered another one, this one off the scoreboard scoring him and Wade for the Yankees 4-0 lead. Urshela ground out. Frazier struck out swinging. Mike Ford got his third single of the game. That knocked pitcher Snead out of the game, replaced by AJ Cole. Higashioka chopped out. Yankees 4 Jays 0.

Lucas Luetge on the mound at the fifth for the New York Yankees, Tellez struck out swinging. Gurriel Jr. doubled off the left-field wall. Kirk struck out. Panik ground out, stranding Gurriel Jr. At the bottom, Gittens flew out to center. Florial singled. Lemahieu flew out to center. Allen lined out to second. A quick inning for both pitchers.

Kyle Barraclough on the mound for the Yankees, Espinal flew out to left. J.Davis ground out. Crichuk ground out. The Yankees have had 4 1-2-3 innings out of five played. Wade faced Castro and struck out swinging. Velazquez lined out. Urshela hit triple to right, Frazier ended the inning by striking out.

Albert Abreu was out for the seventh, facing Bichette, who flew to far-right, but a really sweet catch by Greg Allen got him out. Bec lined out, and Tellez out, another 1-2-3 inning for Yankee pitching. Mike Ford homered for his fourth hit of the game. Higashioka struck out, Brito singled. Allen forced out. Yankees 5 Jays 0.

With last licks on the line for the Toronto Blue Jays, Tyler Lyons took to the mound to close it out for the Yankees. Forest Wall doubled. McGuire flew out, Panik ground out. Espinal singled to left.  Urena struck out to end the game.  The final score was 5-1 New York Yankees. The winning pitcher was Luis Garcia and the loser Anthony Kay. Gleyber Torres had a double and two home runs in the game, and Mike Ford had a homer in a 4 for 4 game.

New York Yankees: Montgomery gets the job done in Yankee’s eighth win in row

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The New York Yankees traveled to Dunedin, Florida today to face the Toronto Blue Jays at TD Ballpark. Jordan Montgomery faced Thomas Hatch. The game time at 1:07 pm was not televised. The Yankees won their eighth game in a row behind Mongomery and Jhoulys Chacin’s excellent pitching. The Yankees shut out the Jays 1-0.

Montgomery had a hitless first inning. He pitched the first five innings of the game, the first Yankee pitcher to pitch five innings in a row. Over those five innings, he allowed only 1 walk, no hits, and no runs. Entering the game, he had an ERA of 1.80. With his performance today, he brought his ERA down to 0.90. He looked sharp in all five innings. Montgomery is not a strikeout pitcher, but in this game, he struck out 4 Jays. Montgomery got fly out after ground out after line out.

Jhoulys Chacin followed Montgomery and went 2.2 innings while striking out 3 Toronto Blue Jays. Lucas Luetge came in and finched off the Toronto Blue Jays in his 1.1 innings. For the eighth game in a row, it was all about the New York Yankees pitching as the Yankee lineup had a tough time hitting off the Blue Jays pitchers. They could only muster up one run today, and that was when Judge walked; Hicks then reached on a fielding error. Gleyber Torres then grounded out, Stanton struck ground out, scoring Judge from second. Jay Bruce struck out, ending the scoring in the game.

The Yankees bats were pretty quiet in the game, but Giancarlo had another good game. He singled twice and walked once as he continued his hot start in this spring training. Gary Sanchez struck out twice and flew out twice in the game. But he again showed off his rocket of an arm, throwing out Lopez when he tried to steal second base. DJ LeMahieu, who had no hits in 4 plate appearances, stole a base and had the only error for the New York Yankees; he played third base today. He scored the error on an errant throw to first base.

The final score reflecting the shutout was the Yankees 1 and the Jays 0. The winning pitcher was Jordan Montgomery, the loser Milone, with Lucas Luetge getting the save.

 

 

Veteran non-roster pitcher impressed Yankees’ manager after throwing live batting practice

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Jhoulys Chacin, New York Yankees

The New York Yankees’ rotation looks set as of right now: Gerrit Cole will be the ace, new incorporations Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon will follow him, and Jordan Montgomery and Domingo German will likely fill it out. However, depth is very important, and while the group is talented, it can also be considered injury-prone.

That’s why guys like Deivi Garcia, Clarke Schmidt, and Mike King are crucial to the Yankees, and that’s why they need at least one of Jhoulys Chacin and Asher Wojciechowski, cheap guys with no roster guarantees, stand out in camp.

On January 7, the Yankees signed Chacin, an experienced right-handed pitcher who has started and relieved over the course of his major league career, to a minor league contract with a spring invitation.

So far, and according to several media outlets covering the Yankees in Florida, Chacin has been able to leave a good impression.

Could the Yankees get something out of Chacin?

Chacin had a short stint with the Atlanta Braves last season and allowed four runs in five innings. In 2019, he was battered, finishing with a 6.01 ERA in 103.1 frames with two clubs. He has a lot to prove and much work to do if he wants to make the Yankees’ roster. He did have a 3.50 ERA and won 15 games in 2018.

“When I talk about the depth we’ve created, he’s part of it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Chacin on Thursday, per NJ Advance Media. “If he’s in our rotation or has a spot on our staff, you feel good about it.”

Boone praised Chacin after throwing live batting practice to Yankees’ hitters.

“I thought he was sharp,” Boone said. “I thought he worked his fastball well to both sides of the plate. He had good sinking action and threw some good breaking balls. He had a backdoor to a lefty. He’s going to be naturally tough on righties with his two-seam fastball and his slider mix. Those are two pitches that he’s very comfortable with.”

New York Yankees: Six non-roster invites who can make an impact in 2021

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New York Yankees, Adam Warren

On Wednesday, the New York Yankees announced that they signed 20 players to minor league deals with invitations to Spring Training. Six of the 20 have significant MLB experience and could make an impact for the Yankees in 2021.

Kyle Barraclough

Barraclough, a 30-year-old RHP, has the potential to become a middle-reliever with the Yankees. In five MLB seasons, he has an ERA of 3.00 or less in three of them. Over his career, Barraclough has a 3.53 ERA with a 1.359 WHIP in just over 250 innings of action.

Jay Bruce

Bruce, in his prime, was known as one of the most prolific power-hitters in all of baseball. He had his fair share of struggles last season, but at 33-years-old, Bruce could still have a few good years left in the tank. Bruce struggles in the field, but has totaled over 300 home runs in his 13-year career with three all-star nominations.

Jhoulys Chacin

Chacin, 33, has been a starter for seven teams over 13 seasons. He most recently pitched for the Braves in 2020, where he made two appearances. Chacin has a 4.04 ERA in 257 games with a 1.332 WHIP and a 4.22 FIP. In addition to starting, Chacin can be used in long-relief or low-leverage bullpen situations.

Robinson Chirinos

Chirinos could potentially become the Yankees’ back-up catcher if he were to beat out Kyle Higashioka this spring. He has just a .231 career average but is more of a defensive catcher. Chirinos spent the 2019 season in Houston, where he worked well with Gerrit Cole. He’s thrown out 24% of runners attempting to steal over his career and has a 5.8 dWAR.

Derek Dietrich

Dietrich has the potential to become one of the Yankees’ utilitymen in 2021. A left-handed power-bat who can play both infield and outfield, Dietrich has a career .245 average with a 107 OPS+. His OBP has been greater than .325 in each of his last seven seasons and he’s known to frequently get hit by pitches. Dietrich’s only draw-backs are his defensiveive struggles and his lack of speed.

Adam Warren

Warren will be joining the Yankees for the fourth team, re-signing with the team who drafted him. His career ERA sits at 3.53, but has pitched significantly better in New York with a 3.18 ERA in pinstripes. Warren’s career ERA+ sits at 117 with a 1.231 career WHIP in nearly 500 innings. The 33-year-old righty has the potential to find himself in middle-innings once again for the Yankees.

New York Yankees Analysis: The Yankees are building a Juggernaut of minor league pitchers

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The New York Yankees are doing nearly nothing. At the same time, they wait to see if they can re-sign DJ LeMahieu; they are not addressing their Major League need for a premium type starting pitcher. They need to replace Tommy Kahnle in the bullpen, but they have been quietly building strength in the minor leagues’ available pitchers. In November, the Yankees selected RHP Roansy Contreras and Alexander Vizcaino from Tampa Tarpons. During December, they assigned pitchers Matt Krook and Reggie McClain to the Yankees.

In the mid-month of December, they signed pitchers Lucas Luetge, Luis Garcia, Matt Bowman, and Adam Warren, who previously pitched for the Yankees. During January, they have signed pitchers Nestor Cortes Jr., Tyler Lyons, James Reeves, and just yesterday, Jhoulys Chacin. Just this offseason, the Yankees have added 14 pitchers to the already 70 plus pitchers they have in the minor leagues, and that doesn’t include the rookies pitching in the Dominican Republic. It makes you wonder what the New York Yankees are up to.

It appears at the moment that baseball is counting on a 162 game season that might possibly allow some fans in the stands at some point in the season. However, with the slow distribution of the new coronavirus vaccines, it doesn’t look as though those stands will return to full occupancy until very late in the season if then. The full health protocols and whether rules implemented last year will be continued yet to be seen.

However, after a 2020 canceled minor league season, there will be changes this season as well. It appears that the Triple-A season will start on time, but the lower levels will be delayed until the Triple-A players leave camp. This is obviously being done to increase social distancing and limit player interactions.  There is no definite date set as of yet.

With the Yankees pitching needs, the New York Yankees will be watching all of these pitchers to see how they may contribute during the 2021 season. We know that Deivi Garcia will certainly be on the opening day roster. Depending on what the Yankees do to augment the every day pitching staff, fans will surely see Clarke Schmidt, Micheal King, Luis Gil, and Luis Medina at some point in the season. As far as the bullpen is concerned, the Yankees will have many arms to evaluate. Two relievers could come into play this season; Greg Weissert and Glenn Otto have worked their way up through the ranks.

A photo accompanying the article is of Yankee pitcher Luis Media who has have an excellent winter season in Puerto Rico.

New York Yankee News: Yankees hire 15 game winner but it doesn’t offset Met’s blockbuster deal

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The New York Mets sealed the deal on a blockbuster deal yesterday, and the New York Yankees countered with the late-night signing of 15 game-winner, right-hander Jhoulys Chacin. On the surface, this might seem like a great counter, but it isn’t. Chacin, for the most part, is a washed-up once-dominant starting pitcher. His best career year was in 2018, but he has been an in the cellar pitcher for three teams for the last two years. This is why the Yankees signed him to a minor league deal to see if he has any promise.

When introduced to the New York Mets as its new owner, Steve Cohen said that he wanted to make the Mets New York’s team and a World Series contender. The New billionaire financier that has taken over the team had vowed to make the team better and wouldn’t be afraid to make the moves to make that happen. Yesterday he kept his word and made two major improvements in the team with the blockbuster deal that brought the best shortstop in baseball to the team in Francisco Lindor, once a Yankee target. The deal also included Carlos Carrasco, a premium mid-level starting pitcher, both from the Cleveland Indians.

I am sure that the New York Yankees move was not to counter that deal, and most likely was in the works before the Mets deal. But it is another case of the Yankees doing far less than they should be doing to improve a team with many needs. The Yankees have brought back to pitchers that they previously dumped, Adam Warren and Nester Cortes Jr. They now bring a once-great pitcher that has fallen apart in the last two seasons. Chacin with the Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, and Minnesota Twins has a career record of 78-87 with an ERA of 4.04. This past year he was 1-0 with an elevated ERA of 7.20. In 2019  he was 3-12 with an ERA of 6.01 with the  Brewers and Red Sox.

In the last two years, Chacin’s big problem is that he is another pitcher that gives up home runs and lots of them. While increased flyballs will lead to increased home runs, the home run rate can fluctuate wildly. Chacín was tied for the 8th highest HR/FB rate among pitchers with at least 100 innings last season, which should regress a bit in future seasons. Balls contained within the fences also found holes against Chacin. He will have to figure that out before the Yankees even allowing him to pitch at Yankees Stadium.

Meanwhile, with the DJ LeMahieu negotiations stalled, everything else is basically on hold. The team’s true needs, a good mid-level starter, and bolstering the once-great bullpen sit unaddressed. The New York Yankee brass has said that they are “satisfied” with the starting rotation, but the fact is they need at least one premium type starter that they can count on behind Gerrit Cole. The Yankees will get Domingo German back at the start of the season. He was the Yankee’s best starter in 2019. Sometime before the All-Star break, they will also get Luis Severino back in the fold. Although both of these additions are good news, the Yankees have no idea how they will pitch after not pitching for so long. German hasn’t pitched in a year and has gotten roughed up in Winter ball. Severino hasn’t pitched during the last two years while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

The Yankee bullpen has needs too. They lost Tommy Kahnle to the Los Angeles Dodgers and have no way of knowing if Adam Ottavino can bounce back from two subpar seasons. They need a solid premium type reliever to replace Kahnle. Cortes Jr., Warren, or the newly hired Chacin is that pitcher.

On Jhoulys Chacin’s part, it’s been an exciting, happy week for him, culminating in signing with the New York Yankees on Thursday. Just one day earlier, the 32-year-old Venezuelan-born Chacin became a naturalized U.S. citizen Wednesday. He turned 33 on Thursday. If he advances to the Major League team, you will want to know his name is pronounced Jo-lease Sha-seen. There is no way of telling what general manager Brian Cashman knows; he could be another gem in the rough, as improbable as that seems.