Yankees Notes: Voit, Anderson, Offseason

Just about every day in October corresponds with a memorable Yankees postseason moment, and October 11 is no exception.  It was on this day in 1943 that the Yankees clinched their tenth World Series title, defeating the Cardinals in Game Five on the strength of a complete game shutout from starter Spud Chandler.  While the World Series MVP award didn’t exist back in 1943, it’s safe to say that Chandler would have been the winner — the righty tossed complete games in both the first and fifth games of the series, allowing just one earned run over his 18 innings for an 0.50 ERA.  This brilliant performance capped off a dream year for Chandler, who led the American League in ERA, WHIP, K/BB rate, and wins while winning AL MVP honors.

Something of a forgotten star in Yankees history, Chandler was a late bloomer who didn’t make his MLB debut until age 29.  Chandler posted a 2.84 ERA over 1485 innings for New York between 1937-47 (missing most of 1944 and 1945 while serving in World War II), and had a sterling resume that included four All-Star appearances, two league ERA titles, three World Series rings, and that AL MVP award.

Some items on the modern-day Yankees…

• Luke Voit will undergo an MRI on his foot today, as the slugger told reporters following the Yankees’ Game Five loss to the Rays on Friday.  While the MRI will reveal the specifics, Voit described his issue as a “classic case of plantar fasciitis.”  Voit’s lack of mobility became more apparent down the stretch, though he had apparently been dealing with the foot problem for much of the season, not that it stopped him from hitting .277/.338/.610 with a league-best 22 homers.
• There has already been much speculation about how the Yankees will respond to their ALDS loss, though SNY.tv’s Andy Martino doesn’t believe any major free agent spending is in the works due to revenue losses from the 2020 season.  Since spending around baseball is expected to be down this offseason, Martino believes this benefits a Yankees organization that has been adept at finding and developing hidden-gem players in trades and signings.  Of course, the challenge is that the Rays have also been experts in this arena, and Martino notes that the Yankees and Rays have been mutually interested in some of each other’s players.  For instance, the Yankees had interest in Nick Anderson in 2018, before Anderson had even debuted in the majors and before Tampa Bay acquired the ace reliever from the Marlins in July 2019.  Likewise, the Rays looked into a deal for Mike Tauchman back when the outfielder was with the Rockies, prior to Tauchman’s trade to New York in March 2019.
• Something of a contrast to Martino’s opinion is provided by Joel Sherman of the New York Post, who also believes the Yankees won’t spend much, and in fact might look to get payroll under the $210MM luxury tax threshold to avoid a third straight year of an escalating tax bill.  The one splurge Sherman figures the Yankees “pretty much have to” make is re-signing DJ LeMahieu, given the infielder’s overall importance to the team over the last two seasons.  But, in order to address roster issues like defense and an overload of right-handed hitting, Sherman suggests that Voit or Gleyber Torres could become trade chips to acquire some left-handed pop or some extra pitching depth.  New York would then need a shortstop to replace Torres, and Sherman suggests the team pick up a one-year rental in advance of signing one of the many star shortstops projected to be available in the 2021-22 free agent market.