Yankees Take ’em or Trash ’em – Starting Pitchers

Posted on by Charlie Ricker

Welcome back! A few days ago, we dug in to Yankees position players in the first post-2020 season installment of “Take ’em or Trash ’em“. Over the next two installments, we will break down the pitching staff from ace starting pitcher Gerrit Cole to closer Aroldis Chapman, and everyone in between.

Let’s get started with the Yankees rotation, next time we will tackle the bullpen.

Starting Pitchers

Gerrit Cole – Cole proved why the Yankees were wise to give him a nine-year, 324 million dollar contract last December. After his first eight starts while paired up with catcher Gary Sánchez, Cole looked fairly pedestrian with a 3.91 ERA. He gave up home runs at an alarming rate, twelve round-trippers in only 46 innings. Beginning in September, Manager Aaron Boone had Kyle Higashioka catch for Cole. The results were strikingly better. The Yankees ace was unstoppable down the stretch. Over four September starts, Cole struck out 34 batters over 27 innings, allowing 14 hits, three earned runs and only two homers over that span. That success continued over three October starts, with the Yankees winning two of them. Look for Cole and Higgy to continue working together in 2021.

Do I really have to ask? Take him (duh).

Masahiro Tanaka – While job security isn’t an issue for the aforementioned Gerrit Cole, Tanaka may have pitched in his final start for the Yankees. It doesn’t seem all that long ago Masa signed a seven-year contract, after spending the first seven years of his career pitching in his native Japan. While Tanaka may not command the 22 million dollars a year he got in his last deal, he certainly is worth hanging on to. In 2019, Tanaka pitched to a 4.45 ERA while struggling to make his trademark splitter work. This year, he lowered his ERA almost a full run to 3.56, while increasing his K rate closer to his 2014-2018 levels. It was troubling to see Tanaka get roughed up in both postseason starts, and he will soon be 32 years old.

If Tanaka is gone, we’ll have this lasting image of him, Cole and their wives on a sushi dinner date.

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Take him (but only if the price is right).

James Paxton – 2020 was rough for the Big Maple. After rehabbing his back over the winter, the root of the problem wasn’t discovered until February. He had surgery and rehabbed while Major League Baseball waited out COVID-19. When the season started, Paxton was building his pitch count. He was clearly behind and it showed. Paxton got pounded early, his fastball lacked it’s normal velo. Normally 96-98 mph, his fastball sat 91-92. By the mid August, Paxton’s fastball improved. Things went south when he allowed one hit against the Rays. He walked the bases loaded before allowing a double, emptying the bases. He left with a flexor tendon strain, never to return. Paxton is a free agent. With Tanaka and Happ also free agents, the Yankees need starters. I would offer Paxton a one year deal with incentives. If he wants a lot of guaranteed dollars, I let him walk.

Trash him. đź—‘

J.A. Happ – Most of “Yankees Twitter” can’t stand Happ for various reasons. He pitched poorly in 2019, the first two outings of 2020 and the ill-fated Game 2 of the American League Divisional Series against the Rays. Most people don’t realize Happ was the Yankees most dependable starter for six weeks, including Gerrit Cole. From August 15 through September 19, Happ pitched to a 1.93 ERA with a 0.86 WHIP. After expressing his feelings regarding his usage (his contract situation earlier in the season to his role in Game Two of ALDS), It’s safe to say he won’t be coming back. However, Yankees fans shouldn’t be shitting all over Happ. He wanted to be treated fairly and used the way he is used to (and successful with). Happ didn’t ask too much. He’s now 38 and it’s hard to say how much he has left. Trash ’em“. đź—‘

Deivi GarcĂ­a – From the second oldest player (Happ) on the Yankees to the youngest, GarcĂ­a pitched much better than his ERA (4.98) indicates. If you take away his start against the Red Sox on September 20, GarcĂ­a’s ERA drops to a much better 3.73. What I’m saying here is this young man has a bright future. Deivi didn’t look like a typical 21 year old out there, and didn’t get rattled. Best of all, he drew praise from none other than Pedro MartĂ­nez, his idol.

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I look forward to seeing what GarcĂ­a will do over a full season in the Yankees rotation. There’s a spot open for him. Take!

Jordan Montgomery – Monty had his ups and downs in his first full season back from Tommy John Surgery. It’s been said one of the last things to come back for a pitcher recovering from TJS is command, and Montgomery’s command was spotty at times. This resulted in a season ending 5.11 ERA and high pitch counts that made for short outings for the 27 year old lefty. Monty’s stuff is there, and may be even better after his surgery. Look for Jordan to have a more stable 2021 season with the Yankees at the back end of their rotation.

Take him!

Luis Severino – It seems like forever since we last saw Sevy pitching in a Yankees uniform. After a shoulder injury sidelined Severino for most of 2019, he tore his UCL in spring training late in February. As of this writing, the plan is for Sevy, still only 26 years old, to be able to pitch early in the 2021 season. While the Yankees are known for being conservative, his return will be a welcome sight for the team and their fans. Take!

Domingo Germán – Germán sat out the 2020 season after a MLB investigation proved his guilt in a domestic violence incident late in the 2019 season. He has not been back with the team since. His suspension ended this past September but was ineligible to pitch in the postseason. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner did not commit to bringing Germán back in 2021. However, Hal’s father, George M. Steinbrenner III gave players second chances. Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden are two of the most famous examples. That said, no one George Steinbrenner gave a second chance to was guilty of domestic violence. Personally, I think Yankees should trash him. đź—‘

Clarke Schmidt and Michael King – Both Schmidt and King are guys the Yankees have high hopes for, but neither are ready for full-time rotation spots. Yet. Before everything went to hell in a handbasket in March with COVID, both guys were looking good in Florida in spring training. When everything resumed, King found himself in the Yankees bullpen as a long reliever/mop-up man. Schmidt returned to the team’s “alternative site” in Scranton/Wilkes Barre to keep sharp in simulated games. Both King (age 25) and Schmidt (24) were victims of infrequent use, resulting in ERA’s over 7.00 and wasting a year of their careers. Hopefully they will begin 2021 in Scranton-Wilkes Barre to refine things and cement their statuses as upper level prospects. If injuries hit, or Yankees don’t add a starter or two in free agency, one or both could start the new season on the big league staff.

Take ’em both – but they could use a little more seasoning in the minors.

In the next installment of “Take ’em or Trash ’em”, we will wrap things up with the Yankee bullpen. Join us!

 

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Yankees Take ’em or Trash ’em – Outfield

Posted on by Charlie Ricker

Welcome to the final installment of Yankees “Take ’em or Trash ’em”. We have covered everything from pitching to catchers to the infield. Today we will look at the outfield and decide whether the Yankees should keep outfielders from this past season for 2019 or whether GM Brian Cashman should kick ’em to the curb. Let’s get started!

 

Brett Gardner – (.236, 12 HR, 45 RBI) Brett Gardner had his worst statistical season as a full-time player over his long career in New York. The 35 year old veteran started off slowly, hitting .210 in April before gaining traction with a .313 average in May. After a fast start in June, his average was .268 on June 8. It was all down-hill from there, his average plummeted with each passing month. It’s no secret Gardy has always tailed off in the latter months of a long season. Given his age he may be better suited to be in a part-time role to help keep him fresh throughout the 162 game schedule. Brian Cashman signed Gardy to a one year deal on Halloween for 7.5 million.

I think it was a wise move for a couple reasons. He provides valuable depth who can be very effective in a more limited role. He’s still good on defense, can steal bases (16 SB in 2018), and is a respected and beloved man in the Yankees clubhouse. A lot of fans overlook that important aspect.

Take him (and they wisely did!)

 

Andrew McCutchen – (.255, 20 HR, 65 RBI) The 31 year old veteran came over to the Yankees on August 31 from the San Francisco Giants for a pair of lower-level minor leaguers. Over his month in Pinstripes, Andrew was an on-base machine, with an OBP of .421. He drew as many walks as strikeouts (22 of each), hit five home-runs, played solid defense and brought laughs to fans who follow him on Instagram and Twitter.

 

McCutchen is a free agent and it’s unknown whether the Yankees will bring him back. I think he would be a good guy to bring back because he produces on offense, and adapted well to left-field which was a new position for him and can play anywhere in the outfield. Cutch is also durable, routinely playing in over 150 games a season.

Take him.

 

Aaron Hicks – (.248, 27 HR, 79 RBI) “Hicksie” will be entering his fourth season with the Yankees when the 2019 campaign kicks off. He had a hot/cold type of season in 2018. Things started slowly for the now-29 year old Hicks. At the end of May, he owned a .230 average with five home runs. When June began, Hicks turned on like a light-switch with five hits in the first two games. He heated up and averaged .275 from June 1 through August 16, when his average was at a season-high .254. During that 77 day stretch, Hicks hit 15 of his 27 jacks (a career-high). From August 17 through season’s end, he logged 30 hits in 130 at-bats (.231) and his average dipped to .248 on the season.

On defense, the strong armed center-fielder gets to almost every ball possible and he has the hops to jump up and rob home runs that ordinarily just clear the fence. Hicks was hampered a bit by hamstring troubles a couple different times during the season, and may have contributed to slowing him down in the second-half.

At age 28, Hicks just coming into his prime and it looks like the Yankees’ patience with him is paying dividends.

Take him.

 

Shane Robinson – (.143, 1 HR, 2 RBI) Let’s face it, the only reason “Sugar Shane” was in the Bronx is because of injuries. Regrettably, he was penciled into the starting lineup 17 different times out of necessity. After the first three starts, he was 3-8 with a sparkling .375 avg. In the final 14 games he started, he managed four hits in 41 at bats. Woof.

Trash him! 🗑️

 

Aaron Judge – (.278, 27 HR, 67 RBI) Here Aaron Judge was, sailing along toward another productive season at the end of July when Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Jakob Junis ran a two-seamer too far inside, clipping Judge’s right wrist. It caused a chip-fracture that side-lined him the next 45 games. Judge returned mid-September and he started to get the feel of things about ten days later. The Yankees struggled without him in the lineup, going 25-20 while Aaron healed up. Upon his return, they won nine of the 13 games he played. At the age of 26, Judge is an important leader on this team, and the team’s stellar play when he’s in the lineup is evident.

Take him (DUH)

 

Giancarlo Stanton – (.266, 38 HR, 100 RBI) Giancarlo was the marquee free agent addition last winter when Brian Cashman acquired him from the Miami Marlins. After hitting two home runs in the team’s season-opener in Toronto, he recorded 13 hits over his next 81 at-bats (.160), carrying a batting average of .198 after 20 games. After that, Giancarlo settled in, hitting at a .290 clip from April 23 through the end of August. In September, “Mike dropped” — hitting a lethargic .213 down the stretch. He was slowed down with a cranky hamstring that confined him strictly to a DH role, but he fought through it. Thanks to his early struggles, Yankees fans were slow to take to the 29 year old slugger — but he’s going to be just fine.

Take him.

 

Clint Frazier – (.265, 0 HR, 1 RBI) In spring training, Clint hit his head making a catch at the wall in left-field. Initially he was diagnosed with a “mild concussion”, but his recovery was slow, and it affected his entire season. Once he was cleared to play, he was sent to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Frazier hit 10 HR’s in 48 games in with the RailRiders, compiling a .311 average. He was promoted to the Yankees in July, and suffered concussion symptoms when he made contact with Baltimore Orioles 3rd baseman Jace Peterson in a mid-July game. Clint was placed back on the DL. Once he started feeling better Yankees brass sent him to Tampa to ramp up activity, but had to shut things back down after he began showing symptoms again.

At this point, we have to hope “Red Thunder” will continue recovering and be able to rid himself of these concussion issues that have disrupted this talented young man’s career. In Clint’s case, I’m not going to either take him or trash him — I’m just going to hope he starts to feel better and put this unfortunate chapter of his life behind him for good.

 

Jacoby Ellsbury – (Did not play in ’18) The 35 year-old Ellsbury missed the 2018 season recovering from oblique and hip injuries. His injury issues and less than expected production has long made him the whipping-boy of Yankees fans, but he was playing well in the first half of 2017 before suffering a concussion hitting the wall on a great catch. He wasn’t the same after he returned, although he got hot in September of that season, raising his season average from .238 in late August to .264 at season’s end.

Like Brett Gardner, a healthy Ellsbury can be still be productive with a controlled amount of playing time. Over-extending him will cause likely injury risk, but using him as a part-time player could wring out the last ounces of production. He’s signed through 2020, so why not get what you can out of him since he’s already being paid?

Take him (he’s getting paid regardless).

 

With that, we have now covered the entire team from pitchers, catchers, infield and outfield. We can sit back and watch what happens over the winter and toss more logs into the hot stove. It’s time to put “Yankees Take ’em or Trash ’em” to bed.

Gardy sleep

Happy hibernating! See ya next time.

Yankees Take ’em or Trash ’em – Infield

Posted on by Charlie Ricker

Welcome back to Yankees “Take ’em or Trash ’em”. Last time out, we covered New York Yankees catchers, this time we will go around the horn, covering the infielders. So let’s get started!

1st Base

Luke Voit (.322, 15 HR, 36 RBI) – The 27 year old Voit was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals on July 29 along with international bonus slot money in exchange for pitchers Giovanny Gallegos and Chasen Shreve. All Voit did in his first two months as a Yankee was set the league on fire, averaging a hit every three at bats (.333), slugging 14 home runs in his 39 games he played, essentially kicking Greg Bird out of his starting job. He won’t bring back memories of Don Mattingly in the field, but he won’t kill the team with errors, either. Based off his performance in August and September, Voit should get first crack at the starting job in 2019.

Take him.

 

Greg Bird (.199, 11 HR, 38 RBI) – Bird has been snake-bit over his short career, being perpetually injured. He began 2018 on the shelf yet again, having surgery on his troublesome right ankle late in spring training to remove a calcium deposit that caused pain. He returned in late May, finishing the month with five hits (including a home run and a pair of doubles) in 17 at-bats. Always a streaky hitter, he went cold in June with a .184 average and followed that up with a much better July (.265 avg.). After that, the wheels fell off for Greg — with ten hits in 82 AB’s (.122) in August. By this time, he lost his starting job to Luke Voit and started only three games in September. Bird is still young, celebrating his 26th birthday on November 9th. Eventually the Yankees are going to have to make a decision whether he fits into their plans going forward because right now, Luke Voit is the better option.

Trash him (trade him while there still is value).

 

2nd Base

Gleyber Torres (.271, 24 HR, 77 RBI) – The young rookie from Venezuela made his much anticipated debut in the third week of April, and played so well he never was sent back to Triple-A Scranton. After going hitless in his first game in Pinstripes, Torres had at least one hit or more in 28 of his next 30 games. The 21 year old carried an average over .300 for a large part of the season, but cooled in the second half. He still finished at .271 and hammered 24 home-runs. His defense still needs some work, committing 17 errors (12 at 2B, 5 at SS) but will get better with experience as the game slows down for him. He’s expected to fill in at shortstop while Didi Gregorius recovers from Tommy John surgery.

Take him (Duh)

 

Neil Walker (.219, 11 HR, 46 RBI) – Walker was signed to a one year deal for four million during Spring training to provide depth at all infield spots, and he did that. The 33 year old Pittsburgh native had a very up and down season with the bat, but did provide some needed offense in July (.345 average) and August (6 HR’s) when required to play regularly. Walker is a handy guy to keep around due to his ability to play anywhere in the infield and being a switch hitter. If he’s willing to sign another dollar friendly deal, by all means do it. He’s not an everyday player, but can play decent ball a few days a week.

Take him.

 

Shortstop

Didi Gregorius (.268, 27 HR, 86 RBI) – Sir Didi, a Yankees fan-favorite continued to improve his game in 2018. His power output and run production was similar to his 2017 numbers. Gregorius hit 27 homers and drove in 86 runs, he also stole ten bases. His averaged dropped 21 points, but he raised his on base percentage twenty points by doubling his walk total (48 BB’s from 25 in ’17). In the field, Didi had six errors — down from nine the previous season. The Yankees are going to have to make do without Sir Didi for some time, as he injured his throwing elbow during the ALDS against the Boston Red Sox. He had successful Tommy John Surgery and will likely be out until after the All Star break. Gleyber Torres could possibly spend time filling in at short while Didi recovers.

Take him.

 

Ronald Torreyes (.280, 0 HR, 7 RBI) – Torreyes is probably glad this season is behind him. He was having a typical “Toe-type” of season, hitting .339 on May 20, when he was optioned to Triple-A Scranton when Greg Bird returned from ankle surgery. It was not an easy decision and manager Aaron Boone said it was “not deserved”, that it didn’t go over well in the clubhouse. A month later, Toe went on the inactive list as he returned to New York City to tend to his wife, who was ill and undergoing tests (thankfully his wife Anarelys is ok). He was inactive for almost a month before returning to action on July 23. Torreyes got back into playing shape, returning to the Yankees by mid-August. In his second game back, Toe had a three hits in a win against Toronto. He rarely played the rest of the way, with four hits in last six weeks of the season. Torreyes is still only 26 and can play anywhere in the infield, except 1st base. He also has some experience in the outfield. I think he’s ideal to keep around, especially since Didi’s going to miss at least half of 2019. He can get his hits, even if he’s only playing a few times a week.

Take him.

 

3rd Base

Miguel Andujar (.297, 27 HR, 92 RBI) – Okay. When a 23 year old rookie player hits 27 homers, drives in almost 100 runs AND hovers around .300 all season, you wouldn’t think there would be a need to justify the guy’s existence on the team for the foreseeable future. But here we are, with a lot of Yankees Twitter calling for Brian Cashman to sign free agent Manny Machado. Yes, there have been times when Andujar has struggled in the field but he only made 15 errors in 2018. Even Gleyber Torres had two more errors and played in 19 less games than Miggy! With each passing year, Miguel has worked on improving his glove-work and raised his fielding percentage. But he’s a natural hitter and an extra base hit machine, for a tiny fraction of what Machado would cost! I don’t think Cashman would disrupt the progress Andujar is making in the field and at the plate by going in a different direction. He’s smarter than that. Oh, did I mention that Andujar put up these numbers as a 23 year old rookie?

Just for reference, below are fielding stats for all 3rd basemen in MLB. I checked the E column (errors) to see who made the most. You’ll notice that Andujar had 15, tied for 4th most in the majors with a couple others including long time standout Evan Longoria.

Screenshot (46)

TAKE HIM (and stop the nonsense Machado talk) 🤫

 

PS. A couple years before Derek Jeter joined the Yankees, he made 56 errors at short. I think he turned out ok.

 

That covers the Yankees infield. Please join us next time as we decide whether to take or trash the outfielders. See ya then! 👋🏼