Joey Gallo

The New York Yankees have a 2017 vibe one week after acquiring Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo

by
anthony rizzo, yankees

The New York Yankees won a huge game last night against the Seattle Mariners. The Bombers found themselves down 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and Aaron Judge at the plate.

Judge and Giancarlo Stanton were able to get base hits and up stepped newcomer Joey Gallo. While Gallo hasn’t gotten off to the best start with the Yankees, he had his chance to be the hero last night and he didn’t disappoint.

Gallo hit a towering home run that gave the Yankees a 5-3 lead which they would hold onto. Since the trade deadline last week, Anthony Rizzo has had the spotlight for the Yankees and for good reason. Rizzo has looked like a star both offensively and defensively.

Last night, Gallo was able to join in the fun. Since acquiring Rizzo and Gallo, the Yankees are 6-1. They are now just 1.5 games out of the second wild card and they’re only 4 games behind Boston for the first wild card.

New Vibes

The entire demeanor of this team has changed over the last week. The acquisitions of Rizzo and Gallo have provided a much needed shot in the arm to a team that has had too many punches to the gut all season long.

While the Yankees were dealt some brutal blows this week from positive COVID tests to Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery, and Gary Sanchez, the team has kept pushing forward. For the first time all year, the Yankees find themselves ten games over 500 now at 59-49.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the impact that Rizzo and Gallo have had on the Yankees. It’s not just the performance on the field, but the way they have already become crucial pieces to the morale in the clubhouse.

Anthony Rizzo already looks like a leader on this club and Gallo’s positive energy is contagious. Simply put, the New York Yankees are a different team than they were a week ago in every aspect.

2017 Yankees Feeling

I can’t help but think about the 2017 Yankees when thinking about this year’s team. The Yankees were struggling in July of 2017. The Bombers had a record of 48-44 when the team pulled off their first blockbuster trade of that deadline.

Brian Cashman was able to acquire Todd Frazier, David Robertson, and Tommy Kahnle from the White Sox. Frazier completely changed the vibes in the clubhouse and became somewhat of a team captain the rest of the way.

We all remember the ‘Thumbs Down’ calling card of the 2017 Yankees. That 48-44 team went on to finish 91-71 while making the playoffs. They pushed the trashcan banging Houston Astros to a Game 7 in the ALCS.

Of course, there are glaring differences between the two teams. Aaron Boone is leading this year’s team while Joe Girardi was the manager in 2017. The Yankees also acquired Sonny Gray in 2017 to go along with CC Sabathia, Luis Severino, and Masahiro Tanaka.

From a pitching standpoint, this year’s team is not as good as the 2017 team on paper. However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of going on a serious run themselves just like they 2017 did.

The Yankees are finally riding a wave of momentum right now and fans are feeling much different about this club. If all the pieces come together, the Yankees could still do something special in what was being thought of as a lost 2021 season.

Yankees star ecstatic about game-winning home run: ‘10-year-old me would be crying’

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yankees, joey gallo

The New York Yankees beefed up their lineup before the trade deadline by bringing lefty sluggers Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo. Both men have already started to contribute: timely home runs, walks, excellent defense, and even charisma.

Yesterday, however, may have represented the highest point of Joey Gallo’s young career with the Yankees. With his team down a run and two outs in the eighth inning, the slugger found two runners on base.

He proceeded to deliver a high drive to right field that may have been an out in most stadiums, but thanks to Yankee Stadium’s short porch, it ended up in the stands. The Yankees had turned a one-run deficit into a two-run advantage. Just like that.

A Yankees fan just living the moment

Gallo, who grew up as a Yankees fan, couldn’t hide his happiness after the game, even if he admitted that the short porch had a role in the ball leaving the park. A home run is a home run, and all that matters is that the Bombers earned a huge win against a direct rival in the hunt for a Wild Card spot.

“Ten-year-old me would be crying right now and not believing what’s going on,” he said, per NJ Advance Media. “It’s really crazy. It’s something that I have to take a step back from. I mean, I’m at Yankee Stadium, getting a curtain call from Yankees fans. It’s crazy to me.”

Gallo showed his slugging prowess on Thursday night, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and the home run.

“It was just a big at-bat and a big moment and you could feel that could be a game-changing at-bat and I was glad I was able to come through and help the team win,” he said.

He joked about receiving texts from friends saying that his drive would have been a flyout to the right fielder in any other park, but he told them he plays for the Yankees now and the ball went out.

Frankly, that’s all that matters.

Yankees News: Surprise starting pitcher called to take on Mariners, Joey Gallo saves the day

by
wandy peralta

Down one run in the bottom of the seventh inning, New York Yankees slugger Joey Gallo was looking to uplift his team and smack his first homer in pinstripes. Gallo dreamed of hitting a home run a Yankee Stadium as a 10-year-old boy, and he accomplished that feat on Thursday evening, launching a three-run blast into right field to give the Bombers a two-run lead heading into the bottom portion of the game.

Gallo, who has a team-high 26 homers, is hitting .220 on the season with a 32.5% strikeout rate, the lowest it’s ever been. He also hosts an 18.6% walk rate, the highest in his career, indicating a solid offensive campaign. His batting and baserunning combined above average is 21.6, another career-high for the lefty.

Currently, on a one-year, $6.2 million deal and heading into arbitration this upcoming off-season, the Yankees would like to keep Gallo around for the long haul. He recorded three hits on four at-bats, tallying three RBIs in the win over the Mariners.

While Anthony Rizzo has been the primary catalyst for offensive production since the acquisition, Gallo picked up the slack as Rizzo failed to get on base against Seattle on Thursday. It is nice to see that both players are hitting their stride in pinstripes, as the Yankees seem to be an entirely different team than they were just a few days ago.

In the standings, they currently sit 5.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East and are just 1.5 games back in the Wild Card. They are picking up steam at the perfect time, and at this point, they seem destined for a playoff appearance.

An unusual starting pitcher will feature on Friday:

The starting pitching rotation has been decimated by Covid, as Gerrit Cole, Domingo German, and Corey Kluber are all working their way back. Kluber is dealing with a shoulder injury which he has been rehabbing for the past few months, but he is rehabilitating nicely and should be eyeing a return shortly.

The Yankees, however, will feature Wanda Peralta on the mound on Friday. As a primary relief pitcher, Peralta hosts 5.26 ERA this season with 6.31 strikeouts per nine. Obviously, this isn’t an ideal scenario for the Bombers, but skipper Aaron Boone has been forced to make tough decisions with injuries and illness mounting. Hopefully, Peralta can contribute a solid performance, stringing together another victory for a Yankees team that has won six of their last seven games.

New York Yankees Analysis: The Yankees can still win the AL East

by
anthony rizzo, yankees

The New York Yankees are 8-2 in their last ten games. If the Yankees continue at the same pace they can forget about the Wild Card berth, they will win the East! The Yankees are 16-9 since July 6th.

There have been some major changes from mid-July to now. The Yankees have been excelling, and the rival Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays have been faltering. At the beginning of the season, I predicted that the Yankees’ major stumbling block to winning the East would be the Tampa Bay Rays, and I still believe that. I also said the Red Sox would fall apart. Although they haven’t fallen apart, they are not playing good baseball recently.

In the past ten games, the Yankees are 8-2, the Red Sox are 3-7, and the Tampa Bay Rays are 5-5. The Yankee record is impressive because they have done it minus three of their starting pitchers. Ace Gerrit Cole, starter Domingo German, and Corey Kluber. Looking forward, all of these pitchers will be coming back shortly. In addition, near the end of the month, they will also get the 2018 19-8 winner, Luis Severino, back into the fold. If he doesn’t immediately return to form, he can still be a powerful arm out of the bullpen.

During this period the New York Yankees have also gotten some help from the minors. Nestor Cortes Jr. and Luis Gil have uplifted the Yankees with some really good replacement pitching. The likes of Rougie Odor, Greg Allen, and Tyler Wade have also helped the Yankees during a time that the Yankees have been without their gold glove-like third baseman Gio Urshela and 2020 home run leader Luke Voit.

There is no question that the New York Yankees acquisitions before the trade deadline have boosted the Yankees’ fortunes of possibly winning the AL East. The Yankees can now put out a lineup that is right-left, making it much harder for opposition pitchers to navigate the powerful Yankees lineup. The Yankees added three pitchers, lefty contact hitter Anthony Rizzo and power-hitting lefty Joey Gallo. So far, contenders can’t keep Rizzo off the bases, and last night Gallo hit his Yankee leading 26th home run of the season, lifting the Yankees over the Mariners.

The addition of Rizzo and Gallo has also strengthened the Yankee defense; both are excellent defenders. As a result, the Yankees are finally getting the offense out of first base for the first time in years, not since Mark Teixeira have the Yankees had a healthy offensive defender at first base.

For the first time this season, the Yankees can look forward to an offense that can consistently win games. With 54 games left to the season, the Yankee season will be determined by how the pitching holds up and if they can escape further Covid problems. They will also have to rely on less than stellar play from those teams ahead of them and the rising Toronto Blue Jays. It won’t be easy, but the Yankees can pull out a division win in the East.

New York Yankees: Joey Gallo’s moon shot and more, Yankees win 5-3

by
yankees, joey gallo

Last night the New York Yankees entered a pivotal series with the Seattle Mariners, as both teams are battling for a wild card berth. Both teams were coming off lost attempts for a series sweep. The Yankees won two of three from the Orioles, and Seattle took two of three from the Rays. Tonight Gallo won it for the Yankees 5-3.

The Yankees were in third place 58-49, six games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. They are 7-3 in their last ten games. The Mariners are in third place in the AL West. They are 58-51, going 5-5 in their last 10 games, 7 1/2 game behind the Houston Astros. Tonight Nestor Cortes Jr. faced Tyler Anderson. Nestor Cortes kept the Yankees in it as Joey Gallo homered to give the Yankees the win.

With the win, the New York Yankees are now just 5.5 games out of first place in the East. While the Yankees have been excelling, the rival Red Sox and Rays have not been doing anything to help their cause. In the last ten games, the Rays are 5-5, the Red Sox 3-7, and the Yankees 8-2.  There are only 54 games left in the 2021 season. If the Yankees continue at the same pace they can forget about the wild card berth, they will win the East.

Nestor Cortes Jr. does a good job

Nestor Cortes has been one of the pitchers called up to replace Corey Kluber, who was ailing from a sore shoulder. So far, in 12 games since May 30th, 4 of them starts, Cortes has no record but an impressive 2.15 ERA. He has more than a strikeout per inning while walking only 13 and allowing only two home runs.

Last night was no different; he went 5 innings giving up two earned runs while keeping the Yankees in the game. Following Cortes, Chad Green came in and allowed an additional run in two innings of work. Zack Britton had a scoreless eighth, and Aroldis Chapman got the save, albeit a shaky nail-biting one.

Joey Gallo’s moon shot

With all the attention on the Yankee acquisition Anthony Rizzo due to his RBI in each game since he has been a Yankee, the acquisition of Joey Gallo has been overshadowed. Gallo has done fine hitting a couple of doubles and showing off defensively, yet not making the splash that Rizzo did. Last night that all changed as Gallo lifted the Yankees to a big win over the Seattle Mariners.

Last night Gallo in the seventh inning against Seattle reliever Paul Sewald, Gallo, with two on base, hit a 3 run home run that disappeared into the night sky. The moon shot was so high it went out of the reach of the cameras and caused all on the field to stretch their heads skyward. When it finally came down, it landed just short of the second row of the short porch at Yankee Stadium. No one was happier than Gallo himself that recorded his 26th home run of the season, leading all of the Yankees.

Yankees Covid luck continues to be bad

Yesterday before the game, the New York Yankees got the bad news that their primary catcher Gary Sanchez had tested positive for the coronavirus. The news caused the Yankees to bring up backup catcher Rob Brantly as they can’t have just one catcher available. Kyle Higashioka will take over the day-to-day catching.

This week, Gary Sanchez became the third Yankee to test positive for the virus, joining pitching ace Gerrit Cole and starter Jordan Montgomery. It is not known if any of these three were unvaccinated. Adding these three to the list makes a total of nine Yankees players who have caught the virus, and that does not include Gleyber Torres and 6 in the traveling party in the original May outbreak.

The timing of the most recent outbreak is unfortunate as the Yankees fight for a wild card berth. The Yankees last night used Nestor Cortez as a replacement. Tonight it is thought at this point that they will patch together a game, and on Saturday, will use their newest call-up, Luis Gil, again. Yankee manager Aaron Boone had this to say about the situation:

“It definitely seems like we’ve been hit a little harder [than other teams],” Boone said. “I guess I’m a little concerned about everything, but I mean, no,we just gotta keep doing the best we can. Actually, Gary was wearing a mask much of [Wednesday]. We continue to get hit by some things, so we just gotta deal with it the best we can and try to get the best care for our guys.”

 

 

New York Yankees Recap: Joey Gallo wins it for the Yankees against Seattle

by
joey gallo, yankees

Tonight the New York Yankees could have been entering a pivotal series with the Seattle Mariners; both teams are battling for a wild card berth. Unfortunately, the Yankees and the Mariners are both coming off lost attempts for a series sweep. The Yankees won two of three from the Orioles, and Seattle took two of three from the Rays. Tonight Gallo won it for the Yankees 5-3.

The Yankees were in third place 58-49, six games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. They are 7-3 in their last ten games. The Mariners are in third place in the AL West. They are 58-51, going 5-5 in their last 10 games, 7 1/2 game behind the Houston Astros. Tonight Nestor Cortes Jr. faced Tyler Anderson.

In the first inning with Cortes on the mound, JP Crawford walked on four pitches. Mitch Haniger hit an around-the-horn double play. Ty France singled to left field. Kyle Seager popped out to Higashioka for the final out of the scoreless half. At the bottom, DJ LeMahieu tapped back to the catcher. Anthony Rizzo flew out to the far center. Aaron Judge struck out to end the scoreless inning.

At the second, Abe Toro flew out to Davis in center. Luis Torrens flew out to Judge in right. Tom Murphy went down on strike as Cortes went 1-2-3 in the inning. At the bottom, Giancarlo Stanton singled to center. Joey Gallo doubled to right. Gleyber Torres flew out to right, but Stanton scored on the play. Rougie Odor walked. Higashioka, with two on and one out, popped out. Jonathan Davis flew out to the warning track in left field. No score.

Jarred Kelienic led off the third inning by singling.  Dylan Moore walked. Crawford was out on a sac bunt. Haniger got a sac fly to tie up the game. France popped out to Torres to end the inning, but the Mariners tied up the game. In the bottom of the third, LeMahieu singled on a line drive to center. Rizzo lined out to left. Judge lined out to right. Stanton struck out to end the inning. New York Yankees 1 Mariners 1.

In the fourth inning, Kyle Seager was against Cortes; he homered for the Mariners to take the lead. Abe Toro flew out to the right-center. Torrens flew out to center. Tom Murphy, with two outs, singled to left. Kelenic hit into the force out, but the Mariners took the led in the game. At the bottom, Gallo doubled to right. Torres ground out to end the inning. The final score after four innings was the Yankees 2 and the Mariners 2.

In the top of the seventh inning Jarred Kelenic hit a homer off Chad Green to right to give the Mariners the lead in the game. In the bottom with two on base and the game tied at two, Joey Gallo hit a three-run homer to right field for his 26th home run of the season. New York Yankees 5 and the Seattle Mariners 3.

In the eighth inning, France doubled off a ball down the right-field line in the eighth inning that bounced off the wall. Seager went down on strikes. Toro got an infield single, with France moving to third. With men on corners and one out, Torrens hit into a double play to end the inning and leave two on base. At the bottom, Odor walked—Higashioka, who was 1 for 3 on the night, chopped back to first. Brett Gardner pinch-hitting for Davis popped out directly to first. LeMahieu ground out to second to end the inning. New York Yankees 5 Seattle Mariners 3.

At the top of the ninth with Yankee closer Aroldis Chapman on the mound, Tom Murphy ground out to third with a tremendous scoop by Rizzo at first. Kelenic walked. A wild pitch advanced Kelenic to second. Cal Raleigh pinch-hitting for Moore struck out with Seattle down to its final out. Crawford singled to Torres, who had no play. With men on the corners and two outs, Mitch Haniger took to the plate with 25 home runs. Haniger flew out to Gallo in left for the Yankee win.

The final score was the New York Yankees 5 and the Seattle Mariners 3. The winning pitcher was Chad Green, and the loser was Paul Sewald. Aroldis Chapman got his 23rd save of the season as shaky as it was.

New York Yankee Player Profiles: Joey Gallo trending up again?

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yankees, joey gallo

One of the new New York Yankee acquisitions leading up to the trade deadline was Joey Gallo, an outfielder from the Texas Rangers who is a power hitter who has not got much attention because of another new player Anthony Rizzo who has been knocking the leather off the ball. Although he has gotten off to a slow start with the Yankees, much more is to come. He has already shown his worth in the outfield at Yankee Stadium, and the home runs are not far behind. Joey has never been a hitter for average, but home runs, no problem. In addition, he leads the Yankees with 25 long balls and will probably end up with 40 or more.

Since he has spent most of his time (seven years) with the Texas Rangers, many Yankee fans don’t know much about him, so it’s time to learn more now. Joey was born Joseph Nickolas Gallo in Henderson, Nevada; he is 27 years old. He is 6′ 5″ and weighs 250 pounds; he throws right but adds a left-hand bat to the Yankees lineup.

Gallo attended Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. In his senior year, he was an All-American and was named the Nevada Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year. According to ESPN, he hit 67 home runs in 446 at-bats in his high school career. As a senior, he hit 21 home runs with a .509 batting average. After high school, he signed a letter of intent to attend Louisiana State University.

In the 2012 MLB draft, he was selected 39th overall by the Texas Rangers. He had to choose to go to LSU or choose the Rangers; he chose the Rangers and got a $2.25 million signing bonus. He started his career with the Arizona League Rangers. In his first year, he hit .293/.435/.733 with 18 home runs and 52 RBIs in 43 games. That performance got him named Arizona League MVP.

After a promotion and short stint with the Spokane Indians, he played the 2013 season with the Hickory Crawdads. He led the Class A South Atlantic League with 38 homers in 392 at-bats. He was a postseason All-Star. He became the first player to hit 40 home runs in a minor league season since 1962. Between the two teams, he hit .251 with 40 home runs and 172 strikeouts. Over the offseason, he worked with two former Yankees, Jason Giambi, and Troy Tulowitzki, at the Philippi Sports Institute in Los Vegas.

In 2014 Gallo played for two minor league teams and combined hit .271/.394/.615 with 42 home runs. He started the 2015 season with the Frisco Roughriders, but on June 1st, he was promoted to the major league. With the Texas Rangers on June 2nd, he hit his first home run and had 4 RBIs. He became the first Texas Ranger ever to have four RBIs in his debut game.  In 2015 in the majors, he batted .204/.301/.417 with 6 home runs and 57 strikeouts in 108 at-bats. In 2016, Gallo spent most of the season in the minors, appearing in only 17 games for the Rangers.

In 2017 and 2018, he hit 41 and 40 home runs, respectively. In 2018 he would also record his 100th home run with the fewest singles and the fastest player to reach 100 home runs, which Gary Sanchez has since surpassed.  2019 would be his first All-Star game. For the season he batted .258 with 21 home runs in 70 games. Although always having been an excellent defender in 2020, he won his first Gold Glove Award in the Rangers outfield.

In 2021 with the Rangers, he led the team with 25 home runs batting .216 and making his second All-Star game. Like I said before, don’t look for many ground ball singles; he elevates the ball for doubles and home runs. He averages a home run in every 12.5 plate appearances. He also seems to hit them in bunches with droughts in between. Because he stays healthy, he may be tuned to play in the most games of his career and hit the most home runs of his career in a single season.

The Texas Rangers will be paying the majority of this $6 million salary this season. He will be arbitration-eligible in 2022 and will become a free agent in 2023.  Just like Anthony Rizzo, Gallo is thrilled to be a New York Yankee. Upon becoming a Yankee he chose the number 13, being the first player to wear the number since Alex Rodriguez.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York Yankees: Takeaways from new look same ole Yankees loss to the Orioles

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What going on with the New York Yankees? The Yankees themselves spoiled what was to be a triumphant return to Yankee Stadium. The Yankees have taken another step backward after the exciting debut of new players and a sweep of the Miami Marlins. After an exuberant start by Anthony Rizzo in Miami, it seems that he, too, has caught the Yankee flu. That has nothing to do with Covid; it’s a flu that the Yankees haven’t been able to shake all season, not being able to hit a baseball even against a lousy team with a subpar pitcher.

Andrew Heaney flopped and flopped big time

After last night the new New York Yankee pitcher Andrew Heaney is saddled with the worst debut of a Yankee pitcher in the franchise’s history. It’s the first time a Yankee pitcher gave up four home runs in a debut start. Heaney was horrible.

Heaney took to the mound for the first time as New York Yankee facing Cedrick Mancini, who flew out to left. Austin Hays popped out to LeMahieu. Trey Mancini flew out to end a perfect half for Heaney. At the second, Ryan Mountcastle led off by doubling down the left-field line. Anthony Santander struck out. Ramon Urias flew out to Stanton playing right field for the first time this year. Pedro Severino tapped back to Heaney for the final out. So far, so good.

Then came the third inning when Heaney turned into Dr. Jeckle, and Mister Hyde wrapped up in pinstripes. Mullins homered to center for the Orioles lead. Austin Hays hit a back-to-back homer this one to left field. The fourth inning was led off by Mountcastle, who got the third Oriole home run. Urias hit another home run, and just like that, Heaney had forgotten how to pitch. With the Yankee’s lack of hitting, Yankee fans saw the all too familiar behind four runs in the fourth, blown out early in a game. The Yankees lost 7-1.

Yankees still can’t consistently hit the leather

Yesterday the Yankees faced a Baltimore Orioles pitcher that was sub-par to be polite. Jorge Lopez had an ERA of 6.19. The Orioles had lost 14 of his starts. With a right-left, right-left power-hitting lineup, the Yankees couldn’t get a single hit off Lopez until the fifth inning. After that, it would be the only hit the Yankees would get off of Lopez. It’s not that they didn’t have their opportunities; they did; he walked five Yankees hitters as the Yankees went 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

What has dogged the Yankees all season is their inability to hit the ball in the air. Instead, they continually hit ground balls into the infield and hit into double plays. As a result, they have hit into more double plays than any other team. If there was a Yankee star yesterday, Joey Gallo made some amazing defensive plays and hit a double in the sixth inning.

With all the opportunities the most exciting moment of the game was a cat running across the field that a battery of ground crew and security took several minutes to shoo off the field.

Yankees now have a big pitching problem

To add an even bigger downer to the Yankee’s loss, the Yankees announced that pitching ace Gerrit Cole has tested positive for the coronavirus. As a result, he will miss his start today and at laest another one or two starts. In the best-case scenario, he will have two negative tests and miss only two starts assuming he has been vaccinated; if not, he could miss three starts or more if the virus hits him hard.

Add to that that Domingo German has been put of the 10 day IL with shoulder inflammation. With those two pitchers out for at least two starts, the Yankees have a big pitching problem. They have at least four slots to fill and no one to fill them. Their best chance to win a game is with Nestor Cortes Jr. on the mound today, replacing Cole; beyond that, they are in an uncharted area. Micheal King is on the IL, Deivi Garcia is pitching horribly with an ERA over 7 at Scranton. Clarke Schmidt, Luis Severino, and Corey Kluber won’t return to the team before August 20th. This means that the Yankees will probably have to use Heaney again, Holmes, and likely have to piece together at least a game or two from the bullpen.

Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman earns glowing trade deadline reviews from MLB Insider

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New York Yankees, Brian Cashman

The Yankees were very active at the trade deadline trying to solve a major efficiency in the batting order, having too many righties and not enough left-handed hitters.

Looking to add a bit of diversity in the lineup, general manager Brian Cashman executed brilliantly, trading for Texas Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo and first baseman from Chicago, Anthony Rizzo.

Both players bring slugging ability from the left side of the plate, and Rizzo has already hit two homers wearing pinstripes. In the Yankees’ series sweep over the Miami Marlins, Rizzo recorded five total hits as Gallo managed to get on base three times. The first baseman has elevated the offense tremendously, earning Cashman glowing reviews for his moves.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic raved about Cashman’s work at the trade deadline:

Best job of getting other teams to pay players’ salaries: The Yankees. That’s right, the biggest-market-in-baseball Yankees. They got the Rangers and Cubs to pay the full 2021 salaries of Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo, and the Yankees also didn’t have to part with any of their best prospects in those trades. They also received cash considerations from the Angels to help cover some of Heaney’s salary.

The most impressive part is that Cashman managed to get their salaries paid for so the Yankees could stay underneath the $210 million luxury tax threshold. The Steinbrenner’s were reportedly understanding if they had to push over, but Cashman managed to find a way to add great talent without having to pay for it.

Gallo is earning $6.2 million and Rizzo is on the books for $16.5 million this season, accounting for $22.7 million the Yankees managed to displace. A brilliant piece of managing by Cashman to improve the roster, not that it should’ve needed it in the first place. Luckily, both Gallo and Rizzo are traditionally healthy players, so the Yankees can feel confident depending on them and relying on their skills to be available on a daily basis.

As the Yankees crawl their way back into the AL East race, currently sitting seven games behind the Tampa Bay Rays, their best bet is competing for the Wild Card. They sit 2.5 games back from the Oakland Athletics. They’re within striking distance, and these new additions should provide them the firepower to make a full comeback.

Yankees’ acquisition of Anthony Rizzo could spell the end for Luke Voit | Is a trade on the way?

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New York Yankees, Luke Voit

The New York Yankees made two massive moves to improve the batting order, injecting slugging left-handed batters. Acquiring Joey Gallo from the Texas Rangers and Anthony Rizzo from the Chicago Cubs will contribute more offensive production immediately.

Both players are expected to join the team against Miami on Friday, as Rizzo will take over at first base, and Gallo will host an outfield spot.

However, the acquisition of Rizzo could make Luke Voit expendable, as the Yankees have drawn interest in the power righty.

Jack Curry of the YES Network has indicated that the Yankees could trade first baseman, Luke Voit:

Luke Voit has drawn interest in trade discussions the Yankees are having with multiple teams. Voit is on the verge of returning from the IL. Led the majors with 22 HRs last season, but has been limited to 29 games this season.

Unfortunately, while Voit is a key piece to the lineup and has been one of the most exciting players for the Yankees the past two seasons, he was simply replaced due to injury.

Voit is currently on his third stint on the injured list due to left knee inflammation. Having signed a $4.7 million deal this past off-season, the Yankees could theoretically get his money off the books and add a bit more wiggle room to acquire a pitcher, whether it be in the bullpen or starting rotation.
There is always the possibility that the Yankees utilize Voit as their DH upon his return, which would give them one of the best home run hitting lineups in baseball if they don’t have it already. With team control until the 2024 season, Voit is an extremely valuable piece, and they might be inclined to retain him, given Rizzo is on the final year of a seven-year, $41 million contract. The Cubs are paying his entire $16.5 million this season but gained a solid haul of prospects in return.
On the year, Voit has only made 29 appearances, hitting .241 with three homers and 11 RBIs. However, he’s only one year removed from leading the MLB in homers with 22 and hosting a .277 average. He was arguably the Yankees’ top player last season, which shouldn’t be forgotten as Brian Cashman is looking to acquire value after the acquisition of Rizzo.