nyy news

Yankees lose out on one of the top shortstops, Cashman is taking a risky approach

by
marcus semien, yankees

The New York Yankees are waiting patiently for the free agency market to simmer down, but that could be an extremely risky approach for a general manager Brian Cashman. The Yankees have plenty of money to spend this off-season, as they recently tossed a one-year, $25 million deal in the direction of Justin Verlander, who elected to stick with the Houston Astros on a two-year contract worth $50 million instead.

However, Cashman has a bit of flexibility with his spending, so we can expect them to push past the $210 million luxury tax threshold in hopes of landing a big name. The team desperately needs a shortstop addition and starting pitching, but one of the big prospects has come off the board.

Entering this off-season, there were a number of top shortstops looking to land long-term contracts, and Marcus Semien agreed to a seven-year, $175 million deal with the Texas Rangers on Sunday evening. Semien is an elite offensive player, hitting .265 with 45 homers and 102 RBIs this past season in his first All-Star caliber season. Semien ranked 3rd in MVP voting this year, earning a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award.

One of the most attractive aspects of Marcus is his health history, playing in 162 games in two of his last three seasons, with one of them being the COVID-19 shortened campaign.

With Semien off the board, earning $25 million per season, the Yankees’ focus shifts over to Carlos Correa and Corey Seager, who are still available and looking to sign a big contract.

The Yankees need to get on their horse:

Correa, despite his history with a Houston Astros, would be a splendid fit in New York, given his elite defensive and offensive attributes. He is a consistent contact hitter with solid slugging abilities, making him a perfect fit in a lineup that desperately needs another steady batter that doesn’t rely on the long ball. In addition, he’s a fantastic defensive player, and with the shortstop position being a liability with Gleyber Torres in the past, solving it once and for all would be ideal.

Nonetheless, Seager also fits the bill quite nicely for the Bombers, given his lefty bat and a short right porch in Yankee Stadium. Seager is expected to move to third base at some point in the future, and with a number of elite young prospects climbing through the Yankees’ farm system, they may see him as a more practical addition.

By waiting, though, Cashman is undoubtedly being a bit riskier as he waits for the market to settle down and price tags to diminish. However, with Semien setting the stage at $25 million per season, there’s likely no chance Seager or Correa land underneath that number.

Yankees have good injury news on the way as starting pitching rotation falls apart

by
yankees, gerrit cole

The New York Yankees featured Andrew Heaney in one of the most exciting baseball games of the year on Thursday evening. In the Field of Dreams game, Heaney underperformed, which has been a frequent reality for the Bombers as several starting pitchers are working their way back from injury and Covid.

Over 5.0 innings, he allowed seven earned runs on five hits, including three home runs. Hosting a 5.78 ERA, the bullpen fared slightly better until Zack Britton gave up a two-run blast in the ninth inning to walk it off for the Chicago White Sox.

The offense fought valiantly, smacking four homers, two of which came from slugger Aaron Judge. Home runs by Judge and Giancarlo Stanton in the ninth and gave the Yankees a one-run lead, but they couldn’t finish off the contest.

Better starting pitching would’ve given them a greater probability of securing victory, but Heaney wasn’t up to the task. However, reinforcements are on the way, as Aaron Boone has been forced to deploy the bullpen to supplement the starting rotation.

Both Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery are expected to return from the Covid list in the coming days. Cole hosts a 3.11 ERA this season, including 12.15 strikeouts per nine and a 41.8% ground-ball rate. His current ERA is the highest it’s been since 2017 but still represents one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Montgomery, on the other hand, features a 3.69 ERA, picking up four wins over 21 appearances this year. Aside from Cole and Montgomery, the Yankees also expecting Corey Kluber and Luis Severino to return in late August or early September. In Kluber’s first rehab assignment on Thursday, he threw 45 pitches, 20 of them going for strikes against the Portland Sea Dogs. Kluber gave up five runs on two hits, walking four and striking out just one batter. It is clear he will need time to regain his form, having posted a no-hitter in one of his last performances before going down with a shoulder injury.

“I just think I didn’t control the strike zone obviously like I would like, as I would expect myself to on a regular basis, but I haven’t pitched in a couple of months in a game setting so in a perfect world it goes better than that results-wise,” Kluber said after his start. “But I think if anything it gives me plenty to work on now between this one and the next one.

Yankees News, 6/20: Great Luke Voit injury news, Luis Severino dodges bullet

by
New York Yankees, Luke Voit

The New York Yankees have won four of their last five games, extracting a victory over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday by a score of 7-5. The Yankees posted 11 hits, striking out seven times, but saw consistent offense for a change.

The Athletics are a superior team at the moment, sitting 44-20 on the season, but the Yankees have crawled back of the AL East race with their most recent “W.” Thanks to another Gary Sanchez home run and a dominant performance by Gio Urshela, the Bombers are 5.5 games back from the Boston Red Sox and five games back from the Tampa Bay Rays. They are well within reach of inserting themselves right back into the playoff picture, but they need to remain consistent and string together a few wins over quality teams.

The Yankees are waiting on big-time reinforcements:

Luckily, the Yankees have support on the way, as starting first baseman Luke Voit is working his way back from a right oblique strain he suffered on May 26. The 30-year-old has been dominant with the Somerset Patriots, going 3-for-4 with a home run, double, and three RBIs on Friday.

Voit is working his way back quickly, but he must remain healthy once he finally returns to the top team. He’s only enjoyed 12 games this year with the Yankees, recording a .182 average and one home run over 50 at-bats.

In addition, the Yankees also received good news regarding starting pitcher Luis Severino, who has been working his way back from Tommy John surgery last year or so. He suffered a grade 2 groin strain two weeks ago in Brooklyn during a minor-league assignment.

The Yankees are excited to return Severino after two years of dealing with an injury, and luckily the groin strain won’t keep him out for a considerable amount of time.

Severino has already begun throwing just a week after the injury, and was playing catch before the Yankees’ game against Oakland. Traditionally, a groin strain of this nature can take 3 to 6 weeks to heal fully. Realistically, Severino will likely see his return date pushed back a month or so, which could’ve been much worse considering how bad the injury looked in the first place.

Yankees finally call up raking infielder to aid struggling offense

by
chris gitten, yankees

The New York Yankees fell to the Boston Red Sox on Friday evening in an embarrassing performance, as their offense tallied just two runs and blew multiple opportunities to drive in runners in scoring position. Totaling eight hits, they also logged 15 strikeouts, an unacceptable number. Some of the bigger victims on the evening were Gary Sanchez, who struck out all four times, Clint Frazier, Rougned Odor, Brett Gardner, Gio Urshela, and DJ LeMahieu all struck out twice apiece.

It seemed that Red Sox relief arm Hirokazu Sawamura had the Yankees’ number, recording five strikeouts in just 2.0 innings.

HOT NEWS:

With the majority of Yankee bats still struggling to get going, the team has elected to call up Chris Gittens, who is currently featuring in their AAA squad. The first baseman is hitting .283, with four homers and 11 RBIs. Having climbed the ranks in the Yankees’ farm system, this will be his first Major League opportunity, and seeing exponential growth in offensive production should allow him to make a contribution in one way or another.

Defensively, he has played 14 games at first base this year, not allowing an error and recording 95 put-outs over 113 innings. He has shown quality defensive play so far, despite six errors last year over 78 games. The 6’4″, 250-pound infielder will likely give the Yankees an alternative option at 1B, after utilizing DJ LeMahieu at the position in the loss on Friday.

It is clear skipper Aaron Boone does not trust the likes of Mike Ford and would rather LeMahieu stick at second base. Odor isn’t offering enough offensively to make him a cemented starter, so giving Gittens an opportunity is a positive move and one that should be commended as a desperate change is needed.

The Yankees are preparing to take on Boston at 7:15 on Saturday evening, with Jameson Taillon on the board against Eduardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez, a left-handed pitcher, currently features a 5.64 ERA over 52.2 innings, offering the Yankees a fantastic opportunity to get their offense going and extract a win in the AL East. They are currently 4.5 games back from the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Boston Red Sox have pulled away with a 3.5 game lead over New York.