Teams in need of a left-handed hitting outfielder might want to check in with the Yankees about the availability of Mike Tauchman. Though the Yankees have four years of control remaining, there may simply not be room for him on the opening day roster, writes the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. It’s not just the addition of Brett Gardner that could push Tauchman out of the picture, though that doesn’t help Tauchman’s case. He’s competing with Jay Bruce and Derek Dietrich for that fifth outfielder role, and that veteran pair both bring the ability to play first base as well. That’s not on Tauchman’s resume. After a surprising .277/.361/.504 line over 296 plate appearances in 2019 turned the 30-year-old into a valuable member of the Yankee reserves, the power dissipated in 2020. His bat slipped from 28 percent better than average to 22 percent below by measure of wRC+. Mike Ford’s playing time could also be at risk, but the backup first baseman has two option years remaining, whereas Tauchman would have to pass through waivers.
- Matt Carpenter is not conceding his spot in the everyday lineup just yet, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Carpenter won’t take many at-bats from Paul Goldschmidt or Nolan Arenado at the corners, and he’s competing with popular upstart Tommy Edman at the keystone, though Edman can play the outfield, too. Had the universal DH made its way to the league this season, Carpenter likely would have lined up for many of those at-bats. As is, he’ll be hard-pressed to beat out Edman at second, even if defense wasn’t a consideration. After being a 133 wRC+ hitter from 2012 to 2018, Carpenter fell to 95 wRC+ and 84 wRC+ the past two seasons. His batted ball profile has generally paralleled that trajectory, with exit velocity and hard hit percentage down in 2019 and 2020 from where he’d been previously.
- The Diamondbacks are promoting a new assistant general manager, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). Mike Fitzgerald was previously the analytics director, and he now joins Amiel Sawdaye as assistant GMs under Executive VP and GM Mike Hazen. Ross Seaton has also been promoted to director of pitching.
Tauchmann is best OF in AL East.
Yes, right after the 37 or 38 better outfielders in the AL East.
if he can manage that kind of offense he would be close to bad.
omg is this real????
The Angels are the best team in the AL West.
water is dry
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_water
Bravo, Calvin. =D
What games have you been watching. I’m a Yankees fan and I know Kiermaier is better.
After re-signing Gardner its natural for teams to check in on Tauchman. If Judge and Hicks stay healthy, Tauchman won’t play much (probably).
The odds aren’t great on them staying healthy, not even close.
Or Stanton and Frazier for that matter
I can’t understand why the Yankees would dump Tauchman in favor of Bruce or Dietrich. A little versatility vs. Higher upside and longer future. Is there some fatal flaw that would make them ditch him? Or is there that much untapped potential in the two vets that makes them so attractive?
Tauchman 13 HR .759 OPS
Bruce 318 HR .783 OPS
Tauchman is already 30 while Dietrich is 31 and Bruce is 33. All three hit lefty but Tauchman has almost no power (except in 2019 with the jackrabbit ball).
The Yankees haven’t said a word about this yet. It is Rosenthal assumption that this could be the case.
They’re not. I’d expect Bruce to opt-out shortly once camp breaks barring any injuries.
All 3 of those OF’s are over the hill. As are most of the Yankees.
Old guys that play station to station with below average D as they try to hit a fly ball into the short RF bleachers.
Who do they overpay next in free agency as they always buy at the top? And that starting pitching staff…..phew! Garbage.
Glayber should not be allowed to play SS, he’s a good 2B. And sorry, but he’s not the reincarnation of Jeter. Not close.
Yankees need to draft, develop and help young players adjust to playing at the ML level. They’re beginning to look like the early 1960’s Yankees to me – at some point they all get old, and there are no impact players in the farm system to make them a superior team.
Can’t say I agree. The Yanks starting outfield is Judge (28), Frazier (26), & Hicks (30). Tough to label them as over any kind of hill. Certainly not the one you are referring to.
Aaron Judge is one of the best defensive rightfielders in baseball. Frazier has moved well past the concussion stuff & was a Gold Glove finalist. Hicks is a capable centerfielder. All of those players do much more than you are giving them credit for.
Yankees add premier talent via free agency because it is an option for them. Most of this team was built from development, and trades. Very little via free agency.
Starting staff is a little thin. But we do have Gerrit Cole & pretty good overall depth. Hardly worth a “phew” much less a categorization of “garbage”.
The majority of Gleyber’s errors are of the “too cool for school” variety. He has all the tools. Watch him & you see why the scouts all said he was “smooth”. But I think it’s a bit of a cultivated image. Just on pure talent – or whatever – I really don’t think Jeter was much more gifted. But. Jeter wasn’t nonchalant about spitting let alone fielding routine ground balls. That to me is the real difference. Hopefully it’s just a maturity thing. But Gleyber can certainly be a decent SS.
In the end, what you’re saying doesn’t carry much water. Vegas & Fangraphs see the Yanks as the second best team in MLB. I’m not completely sure about that. But I am sure that this is a good team that will be in the thick of things.
@ Ducky Buckin Fent;
I liked the Yankees. But they are no more.
Judge, Hicks, Sanchez, and Stanton are all heading downhill. Even the stats show it. Hicks should be playing a corner, Sanchez has always been substandard calling a game and playing defense, and now his hitting is atrocious …..I cannot believe how he’s fallen off there. Frazier is the only guy you mentioned that is improving – and I have doubts about his ceiling being much higher.
Voit is acceptable – except there are 3 other guys that can play 1B and would be hitting better if they were.
Two years ago Miguel Andujar was a doubles machine and their best run producer – often hitting clean-up. They’ve ruined him. I’ve loved Urshela since I saw him play in AA and he should be at 3B. But they can’t DH Andujar. And as with almost all of their players – they cannot get back anything in comparable value in trade, as it can be argued that either their contracts are too high and long, or the youngsters are regressing, not progressing (with the exception of Frazier).
Again, Glayber is out of position at SS. And along with the OF’s this isn’t helping the pitching staff. Of which…..
Sure, Cole is a solid ace. But take a step back and look at the rest of that starting staff. Pure and simple – it’s awful! You’ve got to get most of them out of the game around the 5th inning, and I don’t care how good the bullpen is, those guys will be overworked by August.
The AL East is in transition. The Rays have it for the next few years. The Jays are coming, but I’ve never been a Shapiro fan. The young stars he has were signed by the previous regime. He’s getting some money and overpaying free agents to put around them, but he hasn’t augmented them with young up-and-coming players. The Jays will flame out. The Sox and Orioles are doing it the right way, but they need 2-4 years to get in gear.
If you can’t see that the Yankees are deteriorating, then add this……
The Yankees may well be the team most affected by this years deadened ball. Not only do their LH hitters try to pull to the short RF bleachers, even the RH batters have changed their stances and approaches to hit routine fly balls to RF that the juiced ball made HR’s. If MLB just goes back to the pre-juiced balls those fly balls will be caught at the warning track.
P.S.
How can you have so many guys numbers going down in their late 20’s and early 30’s when those numbers should be going up?
1. The FO is interfering, and not for the good.
2. Boone is not a good manager.
Were I Steinbrenner, I’d do everything I could to get Antonetti or Chernoff out of the Indians FO to run the organization. Look at what Friedman has done with the Dodgers once they got him out of Tampa Bay and gave him a big budget.
No way we could be projected above Dodgers and Padres, but everyone else I could see. I don’t pay attention to these ratings as PECOTA is laughable. The Padres have 3 pitching prospects close to MLB ready along with Darvish, Snell, Lamet, Paddack and Musgrove. The Yankees have Cole and maybe this, maybe that–maybe Kluber’s arm won’t explode again, maybe Severino can get back to being what he was in 2018, etc.
Pretty dramatic opening.
Lots going on with your post. As I have some time let me just go ahead & deconstruct it…
Aaron Judge having another MLB caliber season is certainly not a wild hope. Same thing with Hicks playing in an All Star game. I’m genuinely curious what “stats show” all those players are “trending downhill”.
My thinking is you don’t have any evidence at all like that & are just making stuff up.
You seem to also really like your pop narratives. Gary Sanchez career DRS = 1. He’s hardly “atrocious”. & the young man spent his winter in the Dominican Republic playing winter ball. This is also his second year working with Swanson. That’s going to pay off.
Bet.
Now you’ve gone completely off the rails, Sam. Luke Voit led MLB in home runs, bro. Who are these supposed 3 “better first basemen” he’s blocking? Mike Ford? Gittens? Bro, I can’t even name any kind of third 1B prospect in the Yankees system lol.
No idea what you’re trying to say here.
Is this one of those word salad things?
Andujar injured his shoulder & was replaced by a superior player. Yet the Yankees “ruined him”?
Very curious take, Sam.
“Again, Gleyber Torres is out of position.” Lol… according to whom? Ya know? Sam on the internet? & – again, Sam – Yanks outfield defense is good. We covered that last time. This is old ground already, bro.
The Yanks starting pitching is hardly “awful”. I know it’s merely projections but – as of now – Yanks staff is projected for the fifth highest fwar in MLB. That’s just simply a very far way from “awful”, Sam. Now those are merely projections & not fact. But I’d rather have the #5 rank than say 20th, or whatever.
Sorry to break this to you but all of your broad based, generalized, & oftentimes erroneous “points” don’t lend any support that the Yankees are “deteriorating”. Look. You guys say the same stuff every season, man.
Ya know what?
One of these years you guys are gonna be right.
This – however – won’t be that year. If it is you may want to contact Vegas about pursuing a career setting baseball odds.
As of today: Yankees +550 to win the World Series.
So.
Yeah I hate to break it to you Sam, but you sound less like a frustrated expert who knows what he’s talking about, and more like a hater with no real evidence who uses generalities and assumptions to the negative to deconstruct nearly every aspect of the Yankees into being bad players, bad front office, bad coaches, bad positional assignments.
You also said something about the Yankees being unable to get back a fair trade if they did flip these guys- meaning they do have value.
I will grant, basically every single current Yankee has failed to reach their potential the last few seasons, but none of them are negative WAR players, all of them are good to great when they’re healthy and this off season there’s been a near total focus on getting them healthy, figuring out why they keep getting injured, or they’ve taken the time off to recover from previous devastating injuries.
I believe that yoga is going to turn Judge and Stanton around. I believe that Frazier’s bigger issue to date was lack of consistent playing time and getting jerked around as to his role on the club, but now that he’s starting he can relax and just play and he’s figured out how to be a plus defender without destroying his body to do so.
Luke Voit has been a premier power hitter who hits for a good average, is good at being patient enough to work walks and his defense has improved to a nearly net neutral, and he’s slimmed down so it can be assumed he may in fact move more gracefully now and his defense will improve further to a net gain.
Gleyber Torres is 23 YEARS OLD. The dude is a baby. They have plenty of time to turn his defensive skills around. He’s someone who’s clearly dependent on training and consistency, but when he has those tools, he’s an average or better hitter with above average power and his defense, while not good, is not atrocious. He doesn’t crack -1 WAR for defense and a lot of teams will take that for his kind of power and his ceiling over the next 5-10 years.
I notice you never once mentioned DJ LeMahieu, because he works against your arguments in every facet, aside from being over 30, which isn’t an automatic regression for guys nowadays, nor has it ever been.
Yes, the Yankees had no starting pitching behind Cole last year. But they knew that. They’ve had a number of high profile busts as well, which can be attributed to a number of factors, but not the front office or the Yankees in general, just the psychological pressures of playing in NY or guys who were stalwarts for them wrapping up very long careers. The Yankees have time to get their pitching back together and this bridge year of a rotation could very well be the best rotation in the league- probably won’t be, but it has the very real potential to be. including a number of high upside prospects like Montgomery and Schmidt who could contribute.
Plenty of teams have overpaid, perennially injured pitchers on the wrong side of 30, or they have young studs but they lack other parts to get them to the WS. Look at the Athletics, basically every single year.
Gary Sanchez has been frustrating and most teams take a defensive catcher over an offensive one and he hasn’t hit for average, but a lot of players of his nature turn it around. I believe Gary can get himself up to a .240 batting average, which will be good enough.
I just think you’re looking for excuses to malign the Yankees’ entire operation and roster and yet you also seem to want to see them improve, but your suggestions have more to do with poaching talent by making lopsided trades for other clubs’ high upside players- which is not the way to sustain a good team.
Most of the Yankee players you think are over the hill or over rated would be scooped up for virtually any trade deal by most clubs, because they’ve exhibited so much raw talent and flashes of brilliance. Are all of those teams idiots?
There was no mention of Urshela either. Another player who doesn’t fit with that particular narrative.
Cashman has gone back to what’s worked out in the past with this group. It’s not led to a pennant yet but – if we’re being honest – most fan bases would absolutely love what the Yankees have done since ’17. ’16, really. & they played in the Wild Card game in ’15. So.
The lineup is nine deep. When I put it together I have Sanchez hitting 8th & Hicks 9th. Lord. Those are some pretty good bats for the bottom of the order.
Add what looks like the deepest bullpen in MLB & Gerrit Cole & the Yanks can win a series against anyone. Well…certainly anyone in the American League. Dodgers are something else, man.
This is without a doubt a playoff team.
Championship caliber if Cash rolls sevens with Kluber & Taillon. Or if he makes an in-season addition. Scherzer in his last year, for example. Could see Washington being out of it.
Besides some fairly far fetched doomsday scenario type stuff the Yanks will have a hard time not winning 90+ games in 2021.
@Ducky as for Sam’s posts I think most of what he stated is pure nonsense but I have to agree with him on Hicks. I’m not a fan of Hicks at all. When he’s not hurt he’s okay, the problem is that he’s always hurt. As soon as he comes back from one injury I start the clock for his next. I hated that deal when they made it and I hate it even more now. They have so much fire power I would love to see a guy like JBJ playing center for the Yankees. They don’t need him to rake just play that golden defense and I’d be happy.
What would Tauchman bring in return?
Probably a book or bust type prospect at best. Talented player with tools but last year tanked his value.
Probably a good stiff canvas bag that can be used to hold a few dozen of the spiffy new slightly less lively slightly more grippy baseballs that have been promised for this year’s festivities. Any stitching on the bag such as names or logos will require the addition of an extra payment of up to $1,000,000. per letter.
A lotto ticket. Two if the receiving team is feeling generous
Maybe the Rockies could send over Trevor Story.
Rockies already gave up on Tauchman once. They need another OF but already have a surplus of lefties.
Would make a good pickup for any team
Just because Tauchman struggled in 2020 doesn’t mean he will in 2021. No guarantee that Jay Bruce will make the team either. Even though I like his chances better then Tauchman’s.
if i were the yankees i would hold on to him with staton and judge having not the greatest record of health in recent years and you can’t have too much depth.
I’d imagine the Yankees would send Tauchman to AAA before just trading him for essentially nothing. OF depth is important when Judge and Hicks are two of the starters. Plus Tauchman is a lefty
Given that he’s relatively cheap, left-handed, can play all 3 outfield positions, and has some pretty good on base speed and skills, just the kind of player lots of teams are looking at as far as 4th outfielder backups on a short bench.
He won’t command a kings ransom but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and Cashman is pretty shrewd when it comes to getting back talent in a trade.
I get that but Gardner isn’t going to be around forever and Tauchman won’t fetch you that much in a trade. The Yankees are much better off holding onto him
He has no options left, but they probably would if he did.
I understand not everyone knows the Yankees system. But even if you didn’t. Read the article. Tauch is out of options and would never clear waivers
Calm down buddy, I missed that part of the article
“Tauchman would have to pass through waivers”
If he had options left then yes im sure they would agree and send him down, If a Heredia gets claimed its almost a guarantee Tausch will not sneak through waivers. That means you keep him on the 26 or you trade him.
Rocky, This is literally one of the first things I’ve ever asked. What are you talking about?
4 seasons, 414 at bats. OPS+ of 60, -16, 127, 83.
His neck is bigger than his head.
Perfect yankee.
Judge: ’20 OPS+ = 142
Frazier: ’20 OPS+ = 149
Hicks: ’20 OPS+ = 121
Gardy: ’20 OPS+ = 116
Stanton: 20 OPS+ = 144
I have absolutely no idea what intelligible “point” you are trying to make @whyhaze, serious.
I realize one of your erstwhile “hobbies” is being a Yankee Hating Troll. So I know it’s intended as an insult. Makes absolutely no sense, however, & comes off as not very knowledgeable.
But I get it.
You are all jealoused out over the Yankees outfielders. Not uncommon. Look, any one of these guys becomes the focal point of Cleveland’s offense.
But jealousy is unbecoming, bro.
Ya know?
None of his comments give an ounce of credence. Probably got dropped on his head too many times when young.
Tauchman’s a 1 year wonder
I rather keep Tauchman and not keep I’ll Bruce… Cheaper, younger and lefty
It will work itself out. Stanton might already be close to the 60 day for all we know.
I think Tauchman stays as 5th outfielder. Bruce replaces Ford on the Roster and Dietrich replaces Wade. What are all the other Yankees fans thoughts??
unless dietrich learned to play SS i dont think he replaces Wade as i dont think you have anyone currently on the roster other than Gleybar for SS if wade is gone.
@Flyby- the Yankees have Thairo Estrada he could back up Gleyber at shortstop if needed. Dietrich is probably not making this team over Tauchman. If Tauchman is traded then Jay Bruce probably makes the team and Mike Ford is then ticketed for Triple A.
DJL can play SS in a pinch.
@yank4life
Estrada is not on the 26 roster from what i can tell so you would have to lose someone else to bring him up. So you would be cutting Wade and Dietrich/Bruce to cover short if Torres has to sit out a few games.
I think it’s going to be really difficult to shoehorn both Gardy & Tauchman onto the roster simultaneously.
I also think we’ve probably seen his career nadir. However, according to BTV, he has a trade value of 4.2 mil. So all of those “trade him for a bag of baseballs” supposed takes (looking at you, whyhaze) are pretty ignorant.
Yanks can get something for Tauch. I think that’s the way they go here.
Stanton is reserving his spot right now. Judge is right behind him.
Carpenter needs to call it a career
Not sure the exact reason for his steady decline since 2016, 2018 being an outlier. Great player, will be sad to see him go. I’d rather see him do well with split time. Think he still holds the all time lead in batting average with the bases loaded. Somewhere near .450?
.491 avg and 1.174 OPS…not too shabby.
Carpenter seems to be a guy who needs everything to be right for him to be productive. He is willing to play through injuries, but he isn’t effective. I also don’t believe he is comfortable at 3rd and that affects his performance at the plate as well. However, I think he could give them some production making occasional starts on the right side of the infield. Goldschmidt might benefit from some rest whether he wants it or not.
So far in 16 PA this spring he’s walked 3 times, Struck out 7 times and recorded 0 hits.
let carpenter start season at second and leading off. make decisions on results
If they get 2019 Edman you have to find a place for that in the line up. If you get anything other than 2018 Carpenter, its hard to leave that in the line up.
I’d rather see the position battle in spring training. It’s nice having a super utility man in Edman, but I also think if he was a solidified starter he might get a couple all star appearances in his career. However, I did like the lead off hitting 2nd base version of Carpenter of the past. Once he moved to 3b and they put him in the 3-5 spots of the order I think he changed his approach. Due to work travel I haven’t had the daily access I use to have to FSN Midwest these past few years, so I’m going off my older recollections. But, in the lead off spot he seemed to have an up the middle line drive approach resulting in a lot of singles and gap doubles. The first year they put him in the middle of the order his launch angle increased a couple degrees and you could tell he was trying to go deep every time, and this just resulted in 3 fly outs to RF every game. I’d love to see a 300 avg on base machine Carpenter leading off, but maybe he’s getting old now.
Either way Carpenter is going to get a chance. We know the Cards love to play old guys past their prime that signed big contracts. And we also know they love to play infielders in the outfield, so Edman will see some time relieving the young guys and by default put Carp at 2nd
The pitching staff would not like going from Kolten Wong to Matt Carpenter. Edman is their 2nd baseman and Carpenter is backing up the corners.
The pitching staff might agree with you, but this is the team that gave Jose Martinez way too many chances to play in the field
That will happen when you hit .300 but only hit 13 homeruns in your prime, AL playoff teams deploy power from the DH, not contact hitters like Jose Martinez. I’m happy the Cardinals gave him the chance hard not to root for him, even if he had an iron glove
The Yankees outfield is a mess to say the least. Tauchman provides the speed, range and ability to play all three positions. He’s also a lefty bat with occasional pop. The Yanks picked up guys like Bruce etc. who have lefty bats and defensive limitations. Gardner is a sentimental signing who will still do well in the field but will show his age at bat. This is wrong discussion. The GM is what needs to be replaced. He acquires talent but fails to assemble a championship roster. This team doesn’t lack for talent. It will never win a championship because lacks balance in the defense, batting order and lineup.
The fact that Tauchman or Bruce’s jobs are in jeopardy because Cashman was obsessed with bringing back the glorified AAAA Brett Gardner is an absolute joke. Tauchman and Bruce both provide a substantial upgrade to the perennial underachiever as does the long term prospect Estevan Florial and probably many more. I was extremely happy with the Bomber’s offseason until it was announced that they resigned Brett Gardner. OK, Mr. Cashman, it’s time to turn the page. Y’all got rid of Willie McGee, Henry Cotto and Jay Buhner (see Frank Costanza bout that) yet you let Gardner continue to stink it up year after year after year after year aside from a couple years back that he so obviously roided up for? Two words… CUT BAIT. Should’ve happened years ago.
Matt Carpenter can’t hit and can’t throw but feels like the 2nd base job is up for grabs. He should be lucky he even has a job. ♂️