NFT: Yankee tidbits for 7/20/2017

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Betances retires a Yankee. Guy took forever to become a Yankee, and has played his role without ever complaining. Hometown kid too. I don't place that much value in relievers, but would love to see him stick around and hang it up with us.

- Mateo continued his hot streak last night collecting 2-hits, including a 2B, RBI, & RS. The guy is becoming a walking double

- Billy McKinney continues to hit since his promotion to AAA, collecting two hits last night

In comment 13533255 Sgrcts said:

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Betances retires a Yankee. Guy took forever to become a Yankee, and has played his role without ever complaining. Hometown kid too. I don't place that much value in relievers, but would love to see him stick around and hang it up with us.

No.

He will be arbitration eligible through the 2019 season, at which point he will be 31 before he throws a pitch in the 2020 season. The Yanks should and likely will let him walk away in FA to the high bidder at that point.

Power relievers generally do not age well- and entering his 30's is a bad time to make a big money commitment. I think that the Yanks will and might already be regretting the Chapman contract- and probably should look to get out of it before things go South on him.

Chapman has a full no-trade clause, but the Yanks should certainly sit down with him and see if he wants to join a major contender (Washington, LA, maybe the Cubs again) soon.

off the board

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports confirms that David Phelps has been traded to the Mariners.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports says the Marlins will receive four minor leaguers in return, and one of them is 19-year-old outfielder Brayan Hernandez. Phelps figures to slide into a setup role with Seattle, giving the Mariners an improved bridge to young closer Edwin Diaz. The 30-year-old right-hander has a 3.45 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 47 innings this season, and a 2.69 ERA and 11.1 K/9 in 133 2/3 innings since the beginning of 2016.
Source: Jon Heyman on TwitterJul 20 - 11:22 AM


-Astros and A's in talks for Gray

An likely done as a Yankee. But I think he still has a future as a relief pitcher. He has an awesome fastball and slider, and he throws strikes. I think as a 1 or 2 inning pitcher, he could be very effective

In comment 13533274 Beer Man said:

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An likely done as a Yankee. But I think he still has a future as a relief pitcher. He has an awesome fastball and slider, and he throws strikes. I think as a 1 or 2 inning pitcher, he could be very effective

He's a FA at the end of this season- and almost certainly will not pitch in the majors next year. Time to forget about him- by the time he recovers, the Yanks will have long moved on past needing him.

The bullpen is amazing, but they still need starting pitching obviously.

With Gray to the Astros heating up, where will the Yankees go for a starter?

In comment 13533274 Beer Man said:

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An likely done as a Yankee. But I think he still has a future as a relief pitcher. He has an awesome fastball and slider, and he throws strikes. I think as a 1 or 2 inning pitcher, he could be very effective

Ugh. Not me. He doesn't have an out pitch that's reliable.

Does a package around Mateo get you Yu Darvish?

In comment 13533306 yatqb said:

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In comment 13533274 Beer Man said: Quote: An likely done as a Yankee. But I think he still has a future as a relief pitcher. He has an awesome fastball and slider, and he throws strikes. I think as a 1 or 2 inning pitcher, he could be very effective Ugh. Not me. He doesn't have an out pitch that's reliable.

His slider has always been his out pitch.

In comment 13533314 Keith said:

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Does a package around Mateo get you Yu Darvish?

It's really tough to say on Darvish as the Rangers are only 3.5 games out of the WC so they have periodically implied sellers and other times buyers. They do love pure athletes so Mateo does fit what they try and do. Other thing to consider is their return has to be greater than what they would get via QO as Darvish obviously wouldn't accept when offered.

In comment 13533320 Beer Man said:

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In comment 13533306 yatqb said: Quote: In comment 13533274 Beer Man said: Quote: An likely done as a Yankee. But I think he still has a future as a relief pitcher. He has an awesome fastball and slider, and he throws strikes. I think as a 1 or 2 inning pitcher, he could be very effective Ugh. Not me. He doesn't have an out pitch that's reliable. His slider has always been his out pitch.

As in "the quality of his slider is out of his control" pitch? Yes. Sadly.

I hope we keep him and pay him.

Who imo should play 3B with Torres at SS, deal Castro and move Didi to 2B

Or something like that atleast

And go Andujar 3B, Torres SS, Mateo 2B

Makes us younger, faster, maybe even more powerful too

In comment 13533324 RasputinPrime said:

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In comment 13533320 Beer Man said: Quote: In comment 13533306 yatqb said: Quote: In comment 13533274 Beer Man said: Quote: An likely done as a Yankee. But I think he still has a future as a relief pitcher. He has an awesome fastball and slider, and he throws strikes. I think as a 1 or 2 inning pitcher, he could be very effective Ugh. Not me. He doesn't have an out pitch that's reliable. His slider has always been his out pitch. As in "the quality of his slider is out of his control" pitch? Yes. Sadly.

I don't think we have been following the same SP. Pineda has a very low walk rate, and his slider is generally recognized as one of the best in the business. Where he gets into trouble is hanging his fast ball out over the plate.

Often it doesn't, and after going from an 0-2 count to 3-2 he has to come in with a BP fastball and gets hammered.

He's just an infuriatingly inconsistent pitcher.

In comment 13533332 DennyInDenville said:

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Who imo should play 3B with Torres at SS, deal Castro and move Didi to 2B Or something like that atleast

Whats the rush to move Didi and trade Castro to clear room for Andujar who has a career minor league obp of .320 and has big questions about his D? Man Castro and his production and solid D is just taken for granted around here.

In comment 13533274 Beer Man said:

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An likely done as a Yankee. But I think he still has a future as a relief pitcher. He has an awesome fastball and slider, and he throws strikes. I think as a 1 or 2 inning pitcher, he could be very effective

Pineda does not have the head to be a reliever.

In comment 13533439 Stu11 said:

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In comment 13533332 DennyInDenville said: Quote: Who imo should play 3B with Torres at SS, deal Castro and move Didi to 2B Or something like that atleast Whats the rush to move Didi and trade Castro to clear room for Andujar who has a career minor league obp of .320 and has big questions about his D? Man Castro and his production and solid D is just taken for granted around here.

I would just be excited by that infield.

I don't see Castro or Didi here for the long term. Maybe Didi is kept. But Torres needs a spot, and so do Mateo and Andujar unless they are traded (likely).

So if only torres comes up, maybe he plays 3B and they trade Mateo and Andujar...

But what happens when they sign Machado? Machado at 3B, Torres to SS, then Didi to 2B? Or Torres to 2B .. etc..

A simple probability is one of Didi, Castro are likely to be dealt. I could be totally wrong though. Just advocating

A lot of guys will be traded to make room. Including one of Didi/Castro imo.

Unless his price tag takes a significant drop. The increased production from Harper will not be significant enough over the youngster they already have to justify paying him the $400M to $600M payday that many predict he will receive. Plus the team needs to consider the dollars they are going to need in the future to keep their young stars

In comment 13533540 Beer Man said:

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Unless his price tag takes a significant drop. The increased production from Harper will not be significant enough over the youngster they already have to justify paying him the $400M to $600M payday that many predict he will receive. Plus the team needs to consider the dollars they are going to need in the future to keep their young stars

I agree. It's just all the big time baseball people all seem to think it's a marriage made in heaven. Plus the yanks will reset the tax this offseason making that money easier to pay.

In comment 13533323 DanMetroMan said:

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In comment 13533314 Keith said: Quote: Does a package around Mateo get you Yu Darvish? It's really tough to say on Darvish as the Rangers are only 3.5 games out of the WC so they have periodically implied sellers and other times buyers. They do love pure athletes so Mateo does fit what they try and do. Other thing to consider is their return has to be greater than what they would get via QO as Darvish obviously wouldn't accept when offered.

Yeah, Texas would ahve to drop a few games, but I think it'll happen. Darvish would be a solid fit for the Yanks, IMO. Mateo plus some secondary prospects is a good offer for a rental and something that I would be willing to do if I am the Yankees.

Highlight from yesterday.
Bomb - ( New Window )

In comment 13533551 Keith said:

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In comment 13533323 DanMetroMan said: Quote: In comment 13533314 Keith said: Quote: Does a package around Mateo get you Yu Darvish? It's really tough to say on Darvish as the Rangers are only 3.5 games out of the WC so they have periodically implied sellers and other times buyers. They do love pure athletes so Mateo does fit what they try and do. Other thing to consider is their return has to be greater than what they would get via QO as Darvish obviously wouldn't accept when offered. Yeah, Texas would ahve to drop a few games, but I think it'll happen. Darvish would be a solid fit for the Yanks, IMO. Mateo plus some secondary prospects is a good offer for a rental and something that I would be willing to do if I am the Yankees.

I like Darvish, but this is only worth doing if they are committed to paying his price to sign.

Absolutely raving about Jorge Mateo - said the overall tool package is greater than Torres, but the production hasn't matched Torres - until now. He said what's happening recently is no fluke, and the organization is thrilled.

Also said Frazier is likely headed back down when Hicks returns, assuming everyone is healthy at the time. He added that Hicks won't be back for awhile yet, so Frazier's return to AAA will be brief and he'll return in September.

Pretty much made it clear that he prefers and outfield of Frazier, Gardner, and Judge. Said the concussion takes time to come back from in regards to Ellsbury. Sounded like he didn't want to see Ellsbury in the lineup that much. Interesting.

In comment 13533690 bceagle05 said:

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Absolutely raving about Jorge Mateo

I don't know if that is good or bad. The old Yankee way, was to over-hype these guys to try to increase their trade value. Personally, I hope they keep him, but these are the Yankees and they have a history of this. So far I like what I see in Frazier, and hope he keeps it up so that the team has to keep him. I'd rather see Gardner or Jacoby shipped out.

The Yanks have 10 Rule 5 candidates. Some I'm sure they don't want to lose:

1: Domingo Acevedo
2: Albert Abreu
3: Zack Littell
4: Billy McKinney
5: Thairo Estrada
6: JP Feyereisen
7: Nestor Cortes
8: Abiatal Avelino
9: Daniel Camarena
10: Rashad Crawford

Thanks for that list, not as bad as I thought

In comment 13533723 EddieNYG said:

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Pretty much made it clear that he prefers and outfield of Frazier, Gardner, and Judge. Said the concussion takes time to come back from in regards to Ellsbury. Sounded like he didn't want to see Ellsbury in the lineup that much. Interesting.

Almost everyone, other than maybe Girardi, doesn't want to see Ellsbury in the lineup that much.

nobody else in their right mind would have offered Ellsbury. Especially when he had in his own words "the same player" in Gardner. They will never be able to unload that contract. They'd have a better chance of trading Tanaka next year (I don't think he can afford to opt out the way he has pitched this year) if he shows something in the 1st half of 2018.

he did say Hicks had supplanted Ellsbury when Jacoby was on his rehab assignment.

Fuck that.

In comment 13533833 Beer Man said:

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The Yanks have 10 Rule 5 candidates. Some I'm sure they don't want to lose: 1: Domingo Acevedo 2: Albert Abreu 3: Zack Littell 4: Billy McKinney 5: Thairo Estrada 6: JP Feyereisen 7: Nestor Cortes 8: Abiatal Avelino 9: Daniel Camarena 10: Rashad Crawford

Yeah, Torres needs to be on the list too.

Keep in mind however that at the end of the year, CC, Pineda, Frazier and Holliday are all FA- so those 4 spots open up.

Bird and Fowler are on the 60 day DL- and both must be added to the roster at the end of the year. Expect Cooper to be DFA'd for one spot.

No one has any idea if Tanaka will opt out or not. Healthy, he probably does.

So after all that, the Yanks have 3 easy spots to open- that will cover Torres, Acevedo and Abreu easy. If Tanaka opts out, I expect Littell would be the next one added.

That means that the Yanks will likely have to protect Littell, McKinney and Estrada for sure.

I think Feyereisen goes the James Pazos route and is traded for another prospect who does not need protection this winter.

The rest can be lost or exposed without must worry. Avelino has been disappointing and has likely been overtaken by several middle INF. Cortes and Camerena may interest other clubs as lefties with marginal stuff- it may not bother the Yanks whether they are lost or not. Crawford has been disappointing and the Yanks might not mind if someone took him.

Thus, the Yanks need to find roster space for 2-3 more, depending on what Tanaka does.

There are several options.

One- trade some of the relievers- Heller, Shreve, Gallegos, Mitchell and Cessa could fit in here.

Two- trade some of the hitters- Hicks, Romine and Torreyes might be of interest to other teams for prospects that do not need to be protected this winter.

Three- swallow hard and eat the contracts of Headley and Ellsbury- or try and find someone who will take them if the Yanks eat most of the contract.

Gardner - LF
Sanchez - C
Judge - RF
Holliday - LF
Castro - 2B
Gregorius - SS
Frazier - 3B
Ellsbury - CF
Headley - 1B

Severino vs King Felix

after he started all 3 games in Minnesota.

Don't worry, only three more years!

Holliday is the DH obviously.

In comment 13533890 DennyInDenville said:

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Fuck that.

double fuck that.

The Warrior deserves respect. There are more than enough other numbers to choose from.

In comment 13534015 RasputinPrime said:

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In comment 13533890 DennyInDenville said: Quote: Fuck that. double fuck that. The Warrior deserves respect. There are more than enough other numbers to choose from.

Triple. The .206 hitting fuckstick just got here, will likely be gone after this year and he wants a revered warriors number? Send him to San Diego

He was a throw in, and the highlight of his baseball career came when he was 12 years old.

In comment 13534015 RasputinPrime said:

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In comment 13533890 DennyInDenville said: Quote: Fuck that. double fuck that. The Warrior deserves respect. There are more than enough other numbers to choose from.

Triple. The .206 hitting fuckstick just got here, will likely be gone after this year and he wants a revered warriors number? Send him to San Diego

Will stay with 29 and he never spoke with O'Neill about it.

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“I think I’m just gonna keep No. 29. That’s it,” Frazier said. “It’s a great number (No. 21), but at the end of the day it doesn’t really bother me that much. I would’ve liked to have the number, but at the same time No. 29 is a great number too.”

Link - ( New Window )

great post about ONeill