Thairo Estrada

New York Yankees Analysis: Could Thairo Estrada be an option at second base?

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New York Yankees, Thairo Estrada

The New York Yankees now have a position to fill, that of second base.  With DJ LeMahieu last year’s MVP second-baseman testing positive for the coronavirus.  According to the health protocol, he must now quarantine for two weeks, then test negative twice, two days apart before he can rejoin the team.  Many that have recovered from the virus remain weak for some time, making it unlikely that he will be up to the stress of the regular season, at least at the start.

The Yankees do have options, with each one creating a new position to fill. Could the Yankees instead choose to place up and coming to prospect Thairo Estrada at second base?

Thairo Jose Estrada Villegas is a 24-year-old New York Yankee prospect infielder from Bejuma Venezuela.  Estrada has been with the Yankees since the age of 17 when he was signed as an international free agent. In his years with the Yankees, he has spent time with the Gulf Coast Yankees, Staten Island, Tampa, and the Charleston River Dogs.

In 2017 he was with the Trenton Thunder where he was an Eastern League All-Star.  He hit .301 with six home runs and 48 RBIs in 122 games. In 2018 while he and his wife were dining in a cafe back in his home Venezuela, he was shot in the hip in a robbery attempt.  The bullet could not be removed but he was cleared by doctors to play baseball. He played in only eighteen games that season.

The Yankees promoted Estrada to the major leagues on April 4, 2019, but sent him down to Scranton Wilkes/Barre two days later. On April 21, he made his major league debut that day. He laid down a sacrifice bunt that set up a walk-off single by New York Yankee catcher Austin Romine. He ended the season playing in 35 games with 16 hits, 3 doubles, and 3 home runs. He played a total of 164 innings, 105 of them errorless at 2nd base. 105 innings errorless is very impressive.

In spring training 1.0 in 2020, he played in 11 games for a total of 33 innings and racked up 5 RBIs.  So far in summer camp, he leads the team with 3 homers in just 4 scrimmages. Along with his excellent defense at second base, although not a super-utility player he has experience as a shortstop and playing in the outfield giving manager Aaron Boone even more options.

With the likelihood that DJ LeMahieu will not be available for opening day and possibly beyond, the New York Yankees have decisions to make.  They could put Tyler Wade at second.  They also could move Gleyber Torres to 2nd, putting either Tyler Wade or Gio Urshela who also has experience at short as the shortstop. If they make the Gio choice that would put Miguel Andujar back at his natural 3rd base.

The Yankees could avoid all those changes and put the emerging bat and excellent defense of Estrada at second base for the start of the season.  Only time will tell what decision Boone makes, but with just a little over a week left in summer camp, that decision should be forthcoming.

 

 

New York Yankees game recap: Cole dominant in Yankee 2-1 win over the Bombers

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New York Yankees, Gerrit Cole

The New York Yankees beat the intrasquad Bombers 2-1 in an afternoon game at Yankee Stadium.  It was the first intrasquad game that felt like a real ball game.  All position players were in their place and they had actual umpires albeit from the minor leagues.

More than just a game it was the Gerrit Cole Show, as he dominated for 5 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and only one walk.  He ended up with his longest outing of the summer camp with 84 pitches.  He also pitched 2/3s of the six-inning as he started to tire. Dan Otero came in to finish off the scoreless outing.

The Bombers started prospect, Micheal King.  King was sharp as well going three scoreless innings.  King in an after-game interview talked about how Cole is talking pitching with the other pitchers and teaching them tips.  One he mentioned, in particular, is that you shouldn’t practice your slider on flat ground, because it comes out of the hand entirely differently on the mound.

Nick Tropeano took over for King and gave up the two runs that the Yankees got.  Zack Granite walked and stole second and scored Luke Voit walked and then on double steal Voit scored. In a regular-season game that outcome would not have taking place.  As the hefty Voit barreled toward home, the catcher Erik Kratz, in a smart move stepped back and let Voit score. To do otherwise, he would have had a collision with Voit that would have surely resulted in an out.  In the move, he avoided possible injury to Voit in a game that doesn’t count.

In two great defensive plays, Estevan Florial and Zack Granite both made impressive plays from the right field. Florial in his throw showed Judge-like arm strength, throw our Luke Voit trying to make third from first base. Voit may be slimmed down but his speed has not improved, he was out by nearly twenty feet.

So far in all the New York Yankees intrasquad games, the Yankees pitchers are looking really sharp.  Cole, Clarke Schmidt, Paxton, Happ, and Micheal King have all looked sharp. It is clear that the Yankee pitchers are further ahead in their game readiness than the hitters that are just getting the feel for their hitting. This game featured the most hitting so far in summer camp. As side note so far, Thairo Estrada is the New York Yankees summer camp hitting star with three homers leading the team.

Gerrit Cole in an after-game interview said he felt good and was locating his pitches as he wanted to. He said he did feel a bit tired starting the sixth inning.  He also offered that he felt ready to start the regular season when he faces the Washington National’s Max Scherzer on opening day in D.C. on July 23rd.

Cole may pitch again next Saturday in the New York Yankees exhibition game against the cross-town rival New York Mets.  This would put him in line for the Washington D.C. Opening day. If he pitches earlier than that, it would give him at least six days rest before the opening day outing.

New York Yankees News: Yankees play first Intrasquad game, Thairo Estrada hits home run (video)

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New York Yankees, Thairo Estrada

The New York Yankees played their first intrasquad game, the Yankees against the Bronx Bombers.  The game wasn’t played to see who would win, but to have pitchers get in their work and players to get to hit against live pitching. The game was broadcast live by the YES Network with Micheal Kay and David Cone calling the game from their respective homes. In the game, the Yankees overtook the Bombers 1-0.

The game was bizarre from the start. We have talked about no fans in the stands, but last night presented the reality of that, it was eerily quiet and spooky.  As far as I could tell there were only four people in the stands, two possible scouts with laptops, General Manager Brian Cashman and retired Yankee star CC Sabathia who watched the entire six-inning game from his seat while being masked.  All those in the stands practiced social distancing and were seated at least three seats apart.

Everyone in the stands, the coaches, umpires, Stevie Donahue, and manager Boone, were masked.  All of the ground crew were masked along with the bat boys. I mention the ground crew as the game was almost canceled due to heavy rains before the game.  The rain stopped soon enough to let the field drain and make the surface playable.

Bullpen catcher Radley Haddad donned his usual gear and squatted behind Gary Sánchez as the only umpire, signaling calls wearing purple protective gloves.

Both starting pitchers J.A. Happ and Clarke Schmidt pitched two scoreless innings in a game that saw nearly no offense.  Both Happ and Schmidt looked very sharp and in command. Pitchers Zack Britton, Adam Ottavino, Tommy Kahnle, Jonathan Holder, Chad Green, Dan Otero, Domingo Acevedo, Tyler Lyons, and Luis Avilán. all got to pitch in the game.  Most of the Yankee players got to have a plate appearance in the game including Estevan Florial, Rosell Herrera, and centerfielder Zack Granite. Although Aaron Judge got no hits he looked healthy and seemed not to be in any pain. The other Aaron, Aaron Hicks has two at-bats and hit a long out to right field.

All of the catchers in the game were surgically gloved. Gary Sanchez, Kyle Higashioka, and Zach Towle saw catching duties. As I said before the game was really bizarre as some half innings saw no outfielders or some with no infielders. This was done to limit playing time for all of the position players.  Another oddity was that some pitchers were allowed four outs. As each pitcher finished their innings they were allowed to have balls hit to them so they could throw to second and third base.

The only hit in the game that certainly would have scored was a bomb off the bat of Thairo Estrada who hit a big one into the left-center field stands off Tommy Kahnle.  In the game, Brett Gardner got one of the few hits in the game that was dominated by great pitching.  The Yankees will do it all over again tonight. One of the scheduled starting pitchers will be new New York Yankee ace Gerrit Cole. There are only 16 days to the opening of the regular season.

New York Yankees: 2 position battles to watch out for during spring training

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New York Yankees, Jordan Montgomery

The New York Yankees and GM Brian Cashman have done a stellar job meshing homegrown talent with free-agent signings in recent years, and now, they’re ready to enjoy the fruits that are ripening ahead of the 2020 season.

Signing arguably the best pitcher in baseball, Gerrit Cole puts the Yankees on the fast-track for a World Series appearance next season, which would be the first time in over a decade that the team reached the feat. Aaron Boone’s squad is stocked full of talent at starting positions, and the hope is that injuries won’t be as much of a problem this time around after the hiring of Eric Cressey to head their strength and conditioning department.

The biggest question lies within the depth of the team, specifically at the back-end of the starting pitching rotation and backup infielder spot. Every good team has a reliable pitching staff and utility infielder that can move around if need be. While the Bombers have DJ LeMahieu featuring as their primary utility option, they prefer for him to remain steady at second base than fill in for injured players.

Breaking down the two New York Yankees spring training position battles:

1.) The fifth starter

With J.A. Happ seemingly staying for the final year of his two-year deal, we can expect him to compete with the returning Jordan Montgomery. Happ, who had a disappointing 2019 campaign, was solid in his first year with the Bombers (2018), but his falloff opened up the floodgates for others to take his spot. By the end of last season, Happ was barely considered a bullpen arm, and the postseason he couldn’t be trusted.

Happ is set to earn $17 million next season, meaning the Yanks will dish out a nice chunk of salary for his below-average services. There were talks of a potential trade going down, but nothing has materialized up to this point.

The big competition will boil down to Montgomery, though, who posted two consecutive seasons of sub-.400 ERA baseball before succumbing to Tommy John surgery. He displayed incredible curveball numbers, and while Michael King has reached the headlines in a potential starting role, I can’t imagine him beating out Monty or Happ for the 5th spot. This position battle will most certainly come down to spring training.

2.) The backup infielder

The final utility option comes down to either Tyler Wade or Thairo Estrada, both of whom have looked good at times and inconsistent at others. The big positive that Wade possesses is his lefty bat, and with the Yankees lacking that factor in the hitting order, he could be an excellent addition if called upon. Also, his speed is elite, enabling great base running and defensive attributes.

The significant advantage that Estrada holds is his ability to plug into shortstop, which is the hardest position to play at the major league level. He has a bit more power in his bat that Wade, but that factor won’t mean much considering they aren’t power hitters.

I like Wade in this scenario, simply because the Yankees lack elite speed on the bases and lefty bats. Also, a bit of consistency could help Wade unlock his potential, something that was stripped away from him in 2019 after being sent down to high-A ball after a short stint on the active roster.

New York Yankees: Three Position Battles To Watch For With Spring Training Right Around The Corner

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Mike Tauchman, New York Yankees

Spring Training begins in just three short weeks for the New York Yankees. Here are three position battles to keep an eye on throughout February and March.

Fifth Starter:

Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, and Luis Severino are all starting rotation locks barring injury. But, the fifth starting pitcher position needs to be decided between JA Happ and Jordan Montgomery, if Happ isn’t traded.

In 2019, Happ wasn’t great. His ERA was near five, but somehow managed a 12-8 record. He has a year left on his contract, but is also 37 and his arm is fading.

Jordan Montgomery missed the majority of the 2018 and 2019 seasons due to Tommy John surgery, but is ready to go in 2020. He had a 3.88 ERA in 2017, his rookie season. Montgomery finished 6th that season in rookie of the year voting.

Going into the spring, I believe that Montgomery has the upper hand.

Utility:

The utility position would be decided between Tyler Wade and Thairo Estrada, but it may be Wade’s to lose.

He played a bit better last year for the Yankees, hitting .245 in 94 at-bats. He is such a good defender, versatile, and one of the fastest guys in the MLB.

Estrada hit .250 in 64 at-bats, but isn’t quite as fast or as good of a defender. He is still very versatile, being able to play four positions. But, Wade can play six.

Fourth Outfielder:

The race for the extra outfielder will between Mike Tauchman and Clint Frazier, with Tauchman having an early advantage.

Tauchman was great last year, batting .277 and driving in 47 runs in just 260 at-bats. His defense is pretty solid and has some speed, stealing six bases in 2019.

Clint Frazier is an offensive force, but his defense is very questionable. Frazier hit .267 with 38 RBIs in 225 at-bats. His stats are skewed due to being ice cold in September. He could however be moved by the end of the spring.

Yankees news/rumors: Derek Jeter getting his own street, the Yanks needs one reserve option to step up

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New York Yankees, Thairo Estrada, Gio Urshela

A Daily look at a summary of News and Rumors of interest for New York Yankees fans!

Estevan Florial:  Athletic’s Jim Bowden released his best 50 MLB prospects, Estevan Florial was the only Yankee on the list.  Florial has been with the Yankee minor league farm system since 2015.  The future centerfield star (hopefully) has been plagued with injuries the last few years. However, Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman still believes Florial will be a star player in the centerfield at Yankee Stadium.   Aaron Boone says he has the potential of developing into an impact type center fielder.  Scouts love his tools, which are average and above average except for his loud bat, which is impressive.  Yankee General Manager Cashman says, “Injuries, like last year being hit with a pitch and breaking his wrist, have robbed him of development time, but this is an exciting, high character, incredibly intelligent player. All the ingredients exist for this rare talent to reach his potential.”
Derek Jeter:  Two Bronx councilwomen, Vanessa Gibson and Diana Ayala, plan to introduce legislation to rename part of E. 161st street as “Jeter Street,” in a released report.  The plan is for “Jeter Street” to intersect “Rivera Avenue” — renamed after fellow Yankee pitching legend Mariano Rivera last year when he became the first unanimous inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Thairo Estrada:  After an unprecedented number of Yankee injuries during the 2019 season, the Yankees are hoping for much better luck this year with their new fitness training staff.  Even so, some injuries are unavoidable, and as they occur, they are likely to look to Scranton Wilkes/Barres star utility player Trairo Estrada who made his major league debut last season.  What males Estrada attractive is his ability to play anywhere on the field.  Last year he played at Short, at second base, and even helped out in the outfield corners.

Sabathia and Teixeira:  Former Yankees weigh in on the Houston Astro sign-stealing scandal.  Former Yankee pitcher and future Hall of Famer CC Sabathia was not shy in saying he felt that the Astros illegal actions might have cost him another World Series ring.  Former first baseman Mark Teixeira also stated in an interview that any team that played against the Astros where cheated, including the Yankees and particularly the Los Angeles Dodgers who lost to the Astros in the 2017 World series.

Others get involved in Astros scandal:  Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) called for an official Congressional Oversight hearing into the scandal on Friday in a letter to the chairs of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, which is in charge of oversight of major league sports, according to Levi Weaver of The Athletic. If that ever comes to fruition, you could see significant names testifying before the U.S. Congress. The Los Angeles City Council is expected to vote on a resolution urging MLB to recall the World Series trophies awarded to the Astros in 2017 and Red Sox in 2018 and award them to the Dodgers instead.  It’s doubtful that that move will influence the MLB.

Yankees news, rumors: Is depth an issue in the infield? Aaron Judge hasn’t seen the money yet

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New York Yankees, Thairo Estrada

Most would agree that locking down Aaron Judge for the next decade is a prudent move. The New York Yankees avoided arbitration with their top young gun, finalizing an $8.5 million contract for 2020. Some believed they would extend a massive deal for the slugger, but holding out for one more year makes sense, as he will undoubtedly cash in on his abilities.

Keeping Judge on the East Coast should be a priority after he grew up in San Francisco. He has become an icon in New York and resembles the toughness and resiliency of the Yankees, despite sporting injuries the last two seasons. When healthy, Judge is one of the best hitters in baseball, and with the Yankees’ home-run centric mentality, they shouldn’t be looking to let him walk after his contract expires.

Aaron’s offensive and defensive qualities make him in-expendable, so expect to see the big outfielder in Pinstripes for many more years. However, while the outfield has plenty of reserve depth in case of injury, the infield isn’t in the same boat.

The New York Yankees need to be careful in the infield:

The Bombers have Thairo Estrada, Mike Ford, Miguel Andujar, and Tyler Wade as their primary reserve options. Relying on them to carry the load might not be the safest move, but manager Aaron Boone made it work in 2019 with career-average players.

Estrada is an exciting player, though, as he made an impact in 2019, despite his small sample size of 35 games. He slashed a serviceable .250/.294/.438 with a .732 OPS and 91 wRC+. While those numbers aren’t noteworthy, he’s an active utility player that can slot in around the infield. At the very least, he can provide decent offensive support to supplement injuries.

Ford, who’s primary a first baseman, will sit behind Luke Voit on the depth chart, and he could be used more frequently than imagined due to his lefty bat. The Yankees might be testing their luck a bit in the infield, but they have some of the best starting-level players in baseball.

Check out yesterday’s news!

New York Yankees: Hal Steinbrenner made a promise early on in free agency

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New York Yankees, Hal Steinbrenner

Before the offseason began for the New York Yankees and Gerrit Cole was signed to a nine-year, $324 million deal, owner Hal Steinbrenner made a conservative statement that indicated the Bombers wouldn’t be active in free agency. Aside from Cole, GM Brian Cashman has remained rather quiet in his signings.

“If the 2020 season was to start tomorrow, I would feel considerably more confident than I did a year ago at this time,’’ Steinbrenner said. “We will have both Severino and Montgomery back. We now know that [Domingo] German can pitch effectively at this level. And we know [James] Paxton can be the guy that we were hoping for when we made that trade. We have [Masahiro] Tanaka, [J.A.] Happ, [Jonathan] Loaisiga, and perhaps [Deivi] Garcia at some point. A very good rotation.’’

Steinbrenner wasn’t wrong when he made the statement — Severino and Montgomery’s return will be impactful for the starting pitching rotation. Still, the loss of Domingo German for 63 games in 2020 would have forced them through some tumultuous times.

Nonetheless, the Yankees addressed their pitching in a big way, adding arguably the best pitcher in baseball, a player who logged a 2.50 ERA and 326 strikeouts in 2019.

Several weeks after the Yankees’ owner expressed his confidence in the team, he changed his point of view, stating:

“All options are open.”

“Anything that rolls across my desk I’m gonna be looking at real seriously.”

At this point in the offseason, plenty of options have rolled across Steinbrenner’s desk, despite having only executed on Cole. The potential for a Josh Hader trade has floated around in the media for several weeks, but nothing has materialized, as their price has been too high.

The New York Yankees aren’t done yet, and they shouldn’t be:

The Yankees do have several holes to fill, though, as the infield is weak at certain positions. With Tyler Wade, Mike Ford, Thairo Estrada, and Miguel Andujar available to play in the infield, the Bombers have a decent foundation of depth players, but relying on them for significant playing time could be turbulent. Andujar remains a defensive liability at third base, Wade is a solid defender but has lacked in his offensive production, and  Ford has minimal experience at the top level and struggled at times in 2019.

Adding another reliable utility player might give the Yankees an added assurance, but they’re running out of time and options. Factor in the lack of depth at the catcher position, and you could make the argument that the Yanks aren’t locked down. However, they did make sweeping changes across their strength and conditioning department in an attempt to lessen a record-setting year for injuries last season. The transformation of the program will hopefully mitigate significant damages to a degree.

New York Yankees: Tyler Wade or Thairo Estrada

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New York Yankees, Tyler Wade

The New York Yankees will likely be making a decision in the spring about which utility player to carry, and that would be between Tyler Wade and Thairo Estrada.

Wade:

Tyler Wade will be 25 in the spring, and has now spent parts of three seasons on the Yankees roster. After hitting under .170 in his first two seasons, he seemed to finally make strides in his third.

He hit .245 in 2019, driving in 11 runs, walking 11 times, and going yard twice. He’s also one of the fastest players in baseball and is very smart on the bases.

Wade played six positions in just 43 games for the team this year, and only made one error.

Estrada:

Thairo Estrada is about two years younger than Wade and a lot less experienced. He did hit .250 with 12 RBIs and three home runs, but is less major league ready in my honest opinion.

Like Wade, he can play middle infield and outfield, but doesn’t play third like Wade. Estrada has a decent glove but nothing to rag about. He’s a relatively good base runner and fast, but doesn’t compare to Wade.

Who I Think:

I think that the Yankees should go with Tyler Wade on their roster over Thairo Estrada. Wade is more experienced and has shown improvement, and I think that he will continue to improve in 2020.

They shouldn’t need him to play every day unless there are injuries, but he would fit right in. As a back-up, the Yankees wouldn’t expect him to hit .300. All they would need is a .250 average, good defense, and good baserunning. I think that Tyler Wade could give them that in 2020.

New York Yankees: Consider An Andujar Trade If Didi Resigns

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New York Yankees, Miguel Andujar

The New York Yankees will be forced to make a decision on third baseman Miguel Andujar knowing that he will be healthy for the start of the 2020 season. Gio Urshela had a great year at third and deserves the starting spot. But, I don’t think that Miggy should necessarily go to first base. The Yankees should strongly consider trading him, and weather Didi Gregorius resigns or not has a part of it.

If Didi Signs:

Didi Gregorius resigning with the Yankees would mean that Gleyber Torres plays everyday second base again, shifting DJ LeMahieu back to first. Luke Voit and Mike Ford are proven over there, and they should keep one, if not both. I’d rather they keep Ford for lefty power.

Gio Urshela would play everyday at third as planned. They could keep Andujar to back up the corners, but that might be too much corner depth and not enough middle infield depth. Tyler Wade or Thairo Estrada would likely get a spot for the middle infield.

If Didi Doesn’t Sign

If Didi Gregorius and the Yankees can’t strike a deal, you absolutely keep Andujar.

Torres would shift to everyday short and DJ to everyday second. First base could be Andujar, Ford, or Voit with Andujar backing up third. They would have to decide on Ford or Voit, but it probably wouldn’t be feasible to keep both.

Unless, what if Gio Urshela was to learn shortstop and second? He could still primarily play third, but it could make him more versatile and be able to carry both Voit and Ford instead of one of them and a primary middle infielder.

The only thing with that is that Wade and Estrada can both play outfield when necessary, and that is a thing the team would seriously have to consider when making roster cuts.

The Yankees have a decision to make on Miguel Andujar, and a lot of the decision comes from weather Didi Gregorius resigns or not.