rob brantly

New York Yankees News: Everything you need to know in one place

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CC, Jeff Nelson suggests Frazier shut his trap

The New York Yankees designated their failed outfielder Clint Frazier for assignment on Nov. 19 and cut him days later; the move brought to an end his tremulous time with the Yankees. Frazier, now 27 years old, took a one-year $1.5 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. He is now taking shots at the Yankees in usual Clint Frazier form as his immaturity shines through yet again. Some ex-Yankees are not taking it lightly.

Pitcher Jeff Nelson has been one of the most outspoken:

“Here is something for you,” Nelson tweeted. “You can talk the talk but, you have not walked the walk. Love the confidence but, you have to do something on the field.” “Don’t talk s–t about the Yankees when they gave him a chance so, screw you,” Nelson tweeted.

Pitcher CC Sabathia chimed in: 

“If I see another Clint Frazier story, bro, I’m gonna punch somebody in the f–king face,” he said on the R2C2 Podcast, per Audacy’s John Healy. “S–t is ridiculous. That kid played 15 games in the f–king big leagues. Get the f–k out of here with all these stupid ass f–king stories.”

Seiyu Suzuki suggests no-no to the Red Sox via social media

The New York Yankees have been reportedly aggressive in their pursuit of Japanese stud outfielder Seiyu Suzuki. After the lockout is resolved, it is assumed that Brian Cashman will continue that pursuit. Last season the start outfielder had a Suzuki posted a .317 batting average with 38 homers and 88 RBIs, striking out 89 times over 439 at-bats. If the Yankees can land the right-fielder, it could solve two problems for the team. They could move star Aaron Judge to center where he played flawlessly last season, sometimes replacing the ill Aaron Hicks, and put Suzuki in right.

The Yankees were not the only team in hot pursuit of the star; the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays were also aggressive. But in a bit of good news for the Yankees is that Suzuki apparently has scrubbed the Red Sox off his list of teams he might be interested in playing for. He un-followed the Red Sox on social media.

Ex-Yankee Mike Tauchman Korea bound

Many New York Yankee fans were sorry to see lefty Mike Tauchman leave the Yankees. Last season he played only eleven games for the Yankees when they traded him to the San Francisco Giants. He played in only 64 games with the Giants with a .186 batting average. Now a free agent, he has signed with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization, receiving a $300K signing bonus and salary of $700K for a total of $1 million. Hopefully, the outfielder can savage his career overseas.

Aaron Hicks is healthy and reported ready for 2022

Reportedly center fielder Aaron Hicks is healthy and ready to take his place on the field. On the upside, he played winter ball in the Dominican, which is now over. He got off to a slow start but heated up near the end of the season. With the Leones del Escogido he played in twelve games, hitting 4 home runs and batting .265.

The big question with Hicks is if he can stay healthy. History has proven that when he can stay on the field for any time, his hitting improves. However, the Yankees are not counting on him staying healthy. After the lockout is resolved, the Yankees may look to replace him, making him a bench player.

Rob Brantly to be number 3 backstop

The Yankees have re-signed catcher Rob Brantly to a minor league contract. Brantly played six games for the Yankees during the 2021 season, collecting three hits in 21 at-bats. Most of Brantly’s playing time last season came with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he hit .289 in 68 games. By signing Brantly, the Yankees will gain depth in triple -A and a third option at the Stadium, after Gary Sanchez and Kyle Higashioka.

Yankees among the teams that re-invest small amounts back into the team

One big question for Yankee fans, is after the lockout is over, will the Yankees spend the necessary money to improve the team for 2022? The Yankees in the last few years have been among the teams that have spent the least of their revenues to re-invest in their team. In 2018 they spent just 29.5 and only 33% of revenues for payroll enhancement in the last reporting year, 2019. 

The Yankees have some pretty big holes to fill, notably getting a shortstop to play in place of Gleyber Torres that has been moved to second base. Many of the best options are already gone. They also need a valid number two starting pitcher to follow Gerrit Cole. Add to that they need help in center field and also have decisions to make at first base. Both owner Hal Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman have indicated that they are willing to spend, but as of this point have done nothing.

Yankees bring back catcher on minor-league deal, adding depth to weak spot

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rob brantley, yankees

The New York Yankees have several weak spots they have to address after the lockout ends, with one of them being catcher. General manager Brian Cashman extended a one-year offer to Gary Sanchez to avoid arbitration, paying him $8 million, a significant pay increase despite his deficiencies.

However, the Bombers recently retained catcher Rob Brantly on a minor league contract, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Brantly is a career backup, spending time with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last season and making six appearances with the Yankees at the major league level. At 31-years-old, he posted a .150 average with just three hits during his short stint with the top team.

Given Sanchez and his inability to progress, the Yankees desperately need to find a long-term solution at catcher. Brantly is a decent insurance policy in case Sanchez and Kyle Higashioka are both injured, but otherwise represents nothing but a minor-league body.

New York Yankees: Kyle Higashioka dealing “side soreness”

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New York Yankees, Kyle Higashioka

New York Yankees backup catcher Kyle Higashioka was scratched from Tuesday’s Spring Training game with what the team labeled “side soreness”.

“We didn’t want to mess with anything too much,” Yankees skipper Aaron Boone said.

Although this seems to be nothing serious, this could potentially be an interesting test of the Yankees catching depth. Higashioka has had some oblique issues in the past, so it’s definitely something to watch for.

Robinson Chirinos, who was expected to contend for the back-up catcher spot, is headed to the IL with a wrist injury. Chirinos fractured his wrist when he was hit by a pitch and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.

Along with Higashioka and Chirinos, Adam Warren (shoulder), Miguel Andujar (hand/wrist), Zack Britton (elbow), and Clarke Schmidt (elbow) are all dealing with injuries.

If Higashioka were to head to the IL, it would take him out of contention for a spot on the Opening Day roster. In that case, the Yankees would likely turn to Rob Brantly, who’s put together a nice Spring Training. He’s gotten hits in three of seven at-bats; two of which were home runs. Brantley has driven in five and has an OPS of 1.786.

Right now, Higashioka doesn’t have a return timeline, but Aaron Boone said that he felt fine. If for some reason Higashioka isn’t okay by Opening Day, the Yankees have Brantly and starting catcher Gary Sanchez to fill the void. Fortunately, things don’t seem to be too serious for Higashioka, and he should be back in the Spring Training lineup soon.

 

New York Yankees Recap: Yankees beat the Tigers 4-2, but it wasn’t pretty

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New York Yankees, Rob Brantly

The New York Yankees took a short bus ride northeast to Lakeland, Florida, to play the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium. The game was played under partly cloudy skies but with a nice 80-degree game-time temperature. The Yankee starter was Jameson Taillon in his second start of the season. He faced Julio Teheran of the Tigers. The Yankees again used their “B” lineup, which uncharacteristically had more lefties than righties. The Yankees won the game 4-2. It was a tedious game to watch as the Yankee pitching was subpar, to say the least.

Teheran faced Brett Gardner leading off for the Yankees. Gardner was in my “Spotlight” article for having the Yankee’s highest OPS (on-base percentage + slugging). In his first at-bat today, he gound out. Gary Sanchez struck out, and Jay Bruce singled to left. Clint Frazier finished off the half by striking out. Taillon first faced Robbie Grossman, and he walked. Candelario flew out, Castro ground into a force-out, and Cabrera flew out for the last out of the inning. No score.

At the second, Darren Dietrich moved to first after being hit by a pitch. Kyle Higashioka singled, moving Dietrich to second. Mike Tauchman singled, loading the bases with Yankees with no outs. Thairo Estrada grounded into a forceout, Dietrich caught at home plate.  Tyler Wade had a sac fly out, allowing Higgy to score, Brett, singled, and Tauchman scored. Gary Sanchez ground out to end the half, but the Yankees got on the board. Taillon, in his second inning of work he got Goodrum to strikeout. Ramos doubled, Paredes flew out, Reyes walked, and Jones struck out. Yankees 2 Tigers 0.

Jay Bruce led off for the Yankees at the top of the third by walking. Clint Frazier grounded into a double play, two outs. Dietrich struck out to end the half. Taillon out for the third walked Grossman. Candelario singled, two on no outs. Castro struck out, Cabrera reached on a Jay Bruce throwing error loading the bases. Goodrum struck out. The Yankees took Taillon out of the game, replacing him with Addison Russ, who got Ramos to ground out and allow the Yankees to get out of the inning, giving up no runs.  Yankees 2 Tigers 0.

At the top of the fourth, Higgy faced Jose Urena and ground out. Tauchman lined out, and Estrada flew for a quick inning for Urena. Nick Goody was out for the Yankees in the bottom of the frame. Paredes ground out, Reyes flew out, and Jones ground out for an easy inning for Goody. Yankees 2 Tigers 0.

Tyler Wade led off the fifth, striking out swinging. Brett Gardner ground out, and Gary Sanchez ground out, giving Urena his second 1-2-3 inning. Albert Abreu replaced Goody in the bottom. Grossman flew out, Candelario doubled, Nunez pinch-running. Castro singled driving in a Nunez. Goodrum ended the inning, but the Tigers got on the board. Yankees 2 Tigers 1.

Urena on the mound again. Jay Bruce ground out, Frazier flew out, and Dietrich flew out, giving Urena his third 1-2-3 inning in a row in quite a pitching display. Kyle Barraclough on the mound for the New York Yankees. Ramos flew out, Paredes walked, Greene walked, Baddoo walks, as Barraclough walked the bases full. Haase struck out, and Nunez ground out, allowing Barraclough to get out of an incredible jam. Yankees 2 Tigers 1.

Derek Holland started the seventh. Higashioka struck out swinging, Tauchman struck out swinging, Estrada closed out the half. Nestor Cortes Jr. took on the pitching in the bottom of the frame. Castro flew out, Cameron struck out, and Torkelson was called out on strikes. Yankees 2 Tigers 1.

Hoy Jun Park led off for the Yankees; he struck out, getting 3 balls then 3 strikes in a row. Amburgey walked, Rob Brantly homered in two runs for the Yankees. Gittens walked, Michael Beltre hit into a double play, but the Yankees tacked on 2 more runs. Tyler Lyons handled the bottom of the eighth. Rogers singled, Clemens struck out, Greene ground out, and Baddoo ground out to end the inning. Yankees 4 Tigers 1.

Ezequiel Duran singled in the ninth. Austin Wells grounded out but Duran moved to second. Thomas Milone struck out swinging, and Armando Alvarez followed with a strikeout. With last licks on the line, the Tigers took to the bottom of the ninth with Brooks Kriske on the mound, trying to close it out for the New York Yankees. Haase walked as Kriske was all over the place. Then he hit Nunez with a pitch. Two on no outs. Castro doubled driving in Haase. Cameron struck out, two outs. Torkelson flew out to end the game Yankees 4 Tigers 2.

The Yankee starter Jameson Taillon from the start did not have good control of his pitches; he had as many balls as strikes. However, he got out of the game without giving up a run. He only gave up two hits, but he walked three batters. Albert Abreu had his second poor outing. He has now given up six runs in 2.2 innings on the mound. His ERA is now 27.00. Barraclough walked the bases full. All in all, the Yankee’s pitching was not up to par. The photo accompanying the article is Rob Brantly who homered and drove in two runs for the Yankees.

The standout in the game was the Tiger pitcher Jose Urena who had three 1-2-3 innings in a row.

 

 

 

BREAKING: New York Yankees Acquire C Rob Brantly

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New York Yankees, Rob Brantly

The New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants have struck a small deal for journeyman catcher Rob Brantly. He was picked 100th overall in the MLB 2010 draft by the Tigers. In his MLB career so far, he’s spent time with the White Sox, Marlins, Phillies, and Giants. He was added to the Yankees’ 60 man roster and was sent to their alternative site.

Adding Catching Depth

While Gary Sanchez and Erik Kratz have held the fort down, for doubleheaders, if there are any prominent injuries, it makes sense to have a 4th in-house option. In his career, Brantly has a 72 wRC+ and -2.2 fWAR, so while he hasn’t had a very successful career, the Yankees still need the depth. He’s also the only left-handed hitting catcher on this MLB roster, so he can perhaps find some success in an MLB friendly park. He has shown signs of being able to hit in the minor leagues, as in his last AAA stint, he had an above .400 OBP.

So far, in 2020, Brantly has only one game played where he went 0-3.

Classic Sneaky Solid Move

This move doesn’t catch your eye and doesn’t blow you away, but it does work as a sound baseball move. You give up small cash considerations and get a 3rd catcher as Higashioka has been hurt. It makes sense, and it’s a position that just needs guys to play as depth. I don’t expect Brantly to be a mainstay in the lineup, but I do expect him to be waiting in the wing if the injury bug strikes again. This is just Cashman making sure he has guys to bring up if there’s an emergency.

People may not appreciate the move, but it’s a logical move. Welcome to the Bronx Rob Brantly, we hope to see you do well in pinstripes!