Yankees Rumors

Yankees Acquire Jon Berti From Marlins, Trade Ben Rortvedt To Rays In Three-Team Deal

By Steve Adams | March 27, 2024 at 12:31pm CDT

The Yankees, Marlins and Rays have come together on a three-team swap just 24 hours before the season is set to commence. Miami is trading infielder Jon Berti to the Yankees, who are sending catcher Ben Rortvedt to the Rays. The Marlins will pick up a pair of outfield prospects in the deal, one from each team: New York’s John Cruz and Tampa Bay’s Shane Sasaki. All three clubs have officially announced the deal.

Berti will give the Yankees an option to open the season at third base, with DJ LeMahieu (bone bruise in foot) and Oswald Peraza (shoulder strain) slated to hit the injured list, and he can back up nearly any spot on the diamond once LeMahieu returns. He’s fresh off a strong .294/.344/.405 batting line (103 wRC+) with seven homers and 16 stolen bases in a career-high 424 plate appearances with the Fish in 2023.

While Berti doesn’t bring any power to the table — last season’s seven homers were a career-high — he’s been a roughly league-average performer at the plate throughout his career thanks to an above-average walk rate, lower-than-average strikeout rate and plus speed that helps him leg out his share of infield hits (and stretch some would-be singles into doubles). Overall, Berti is a career .258/.337/.368 hitter — about 4% worse than league-average (by measure of wRC+) when weighting for the Marlins’ quite pitcher-friendly home environs.

Berti swiped 41 bags in just 102 games back in 2022, and while he ran less often in 2023, that didn’t have anything to do with a drop-off in speed. Statcast ranked Berti in the 95th percentile of MLB players with an average sprint speed of 29.3 feet per second last season.

Defensively, Berti has played every position other than catcher or first base. He’s spent more time at third base than any other position (1050 innings), but he’s also logged 792 innings at second base, 764 innings at shortstop and 577 frames in the outfield (281 in left, 231 in center and 65 in right). Both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average agree that he’s been a plus defender at each of third base, shortstop and left field.

Given Berti’s experience at the hot corner and the injuries to both LeMahieu and Peraza, there’s a strong chance that the Yankees’ newest acquisition will start tomorrow’s season opener at third base. He’ll likely be the team’s primary third baseman in the short term, and the versatility that both Berti and LeMahieu bring to the table will give manager Aaron Boone plenty of lineup options once the bone bruise in LeMahieu’s foot mends.

From a financial standpoint, Berti’s contract surely held plenty of appeal to a Yankees club that is a third-time luxury payor who’s in the top tier of penalization. They’re taking a 110% tax on any dollars added to the payroll at this point. Berti is earning $3.6MM in 2024 — the second season of what became a two-year, $5.725MM deal when the Marlins exercised a club option on him for this year. The 2022-26 CBA stipulates that only the remainder of a traded player’s contract is counted for luxury tax purposes, however, so the Yankees will pay the tax on this year’s $3.6MM salary rather than the contract’s $2.86MM AAV. That means Berti will come with $3.96MM worth of taxes, bringing his total expenditure to $7.56MM.

The Rays will get the only other player with big league experience in this three-team swap, though Rortvedt is rather limited in that regard. Formerly a second-round pick of the Twins, Rortvedt is a defensive-minded backstop who landed in the Bronx by way of the 2022 trade that sent him and Josh Donaldson to the Yankees in exchange for Gio Urshela and Gary Sanchez.

Rortvedt only appeared in 32 games with the Yankees over his two-year stint with the club, thanks to a series of injuries. An oblique strain limited him during spring training in 2022, and Rortvedt underwent knee surgery that May after beginning the season in the minors. Last spring, he underwent surgery to address an aneurysm in his shoulder that had been contributing to pain and numbness in his hand.

In all, Rortvedt only has 177 big league plate appearances between the Twins and Yankees, and he’s posted a dismal .146/.234/.255 batting line in that time. He hit well in 124 Triple-A plate appearances last year (.286/.395/.505), but Rortvedt is surely being acquired by the Rays because of their belief in his defensive chops.

The Rays tend to prioritize defense over offense at the catching position, and over the years Rortvedt has turned himself into a plus defender behind the dish. Baseball America named him the best defensive catcher in the Twins’ system from 2018-20, and the 26-year-old boasts an outstanding 34% caught-stealing rate in his career — including a 39% mark in his limited MLB action. Baseball Prospectus credits him with plus framing marks throughout his time in the minors, and he’s graded well there in the big leagues as well.

Because of all his time on the injured list, Rortvedt has more than two years of big league service time in spite of his minimal playing time. He’s out of minor league options, so he’ll have to stick on Tampa Bay’s roster this season. That means he’s all but certain to open the season splitting time with Rene Pinto behind the dish. Non-roster invitee Alex Jackson, who’d previously been the favorite for the backup job, will instead head to Triple-A Durham. If Rortvedt lasts the whole year, he’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time in the 2024-25 offseason. The Rays can control him through the 2027 season via that process.

Turning the Marlins’ return for Berti, they’ll acquire a pair of outfield prospects — a position that’s regularly been a weakness for them in recent years. Sasaki, 23, was limited by injury to 68 games last season and hasn’t played above High-A. He went unselected in this past December’s Rule 5 Draft. Baseball America still tabbed him 21st in the Rays’ system, touting his 65-grade speed (on the 20-80 scale) and ability to play plus defense in center field or left. He’s a hit-over-power prospect who turned in a strong .301/.375/.465 batting line with seven homers and a dozen steals in 293 plate appearances at High-A last year.

Given his success in High-A last year, Sasaki seems likely to open the 2024 season in Double-A with his new organization. With a strong showing early in the year, a bump to Triple-A or perhaps even to the big leagues could be well within reach. Miami has been looking for a long-term center fielder for years now. Sasaki’s lack of power means he’ll need to continue to draw walks and hit for average in order to profile as a regular, but he at least gives Miami someone with a reasonable chance to become that everyday center fielder they’ve sought — albeit with a perhaps greater chance he settles in as more of a fourth outfielder.

As for Cruz, he’s a much further-off value add to the Marlins organization. The 18-year-old ranked 25th among Yankees prospects at Baseball America and 28th at MLB.com. He’s yet to advance to full-season ball, having spent the 2022 campaign in the Dominican Summer League and the 2023 season with the Yankees Rookie-level complex league affiliate. He’s hit well at both stops, posting a combined .260/.394/.465 batting line with 15 home runs, 19 steals, a huge 16.4% walk rate and a 24.9% strikeout rate.

Scouting reports credit the 6’3″ Cruz with above-average power and speed but raise some questions about swing mechanics and pitch selection at the plate. He’s played primarily center field to this point but could wind up moving to a corner as he continues to fill out his frame. He’s a yearslong project but one with a fair bit of ceiling — as well as a good bit of risk.

Ultimately, it’s a needs-based trade for all teams involved (rather than the more standard swap of a veteran for the best prospects available, regardless of position). The Yankees acquired an affordable and versatile infielder who checks multiple needs: everyday third base option in the short term and backup shortstop option in the long term. The Rays added some needed catching depth and defense without increasing an already franchise-record payroll. The Marlins, who didn’t have regular at-bats for Berti after signing Tim Anderson and acquiring Jake Burger, Nick Gordon and Vidal Brujan via trade over the past several months, moved him and his salary in exchange for a pair of outfield prospects who provide organizational depth and upside at a position of need. Sasaki’s relative proximity to the majors at least creates the possibility that all three clubs will see some MLB benefit from the trade before season’s end.

Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald first reported that Berti had been traded to the Yankees. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Cruz’s inclusion in the deal. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com broke the news that it was a three-team deal with the Rays and that Sasaki was headed to the Marlins as well.

Yankees, Mets Remain Interested In Jordan Montgomery

By Nick Deeds | March 25, 2024 at 9:18pm CDT

With Opening Day a matter of days away, one of the offseason’s top free agent arms remains available in southpaw Jordan Montgomery. Reporting yesterday indicated that the lefty has multiple long-term offers on the table, though it’s unclear which clubs those offers have come from. Today, Joel Sherman of the New York Post indicates that both the Yankees and Mets have yet to “shut the door” on a hypothetical deal with the 31-year-old.

It’s hardly the first time a Montgomery-Yankees reunion has been rumored. A report last week revealed that the sides had “reopened discussions,” and the sides have been loosely connected all throughout the winter even as the lefty appeared to prefer a return to Texas while the Yankees pursued fellow southpaw and Scott Boras client Blake Snell. Per Sherman, the Yankees have provided Montgomery’s camp with a range at which they are comfortable striking a deal with the lefty, though the sides remain apart as things stand even as Montgomery’s asking price has dropped as the start of the regular season approaches.

Sherman indicates that Montgomery’s initial ask was in a similar range to the seven-year, $172MM deal signed by right-hander Aaron Nola back in November, but he’s since begun to target the extension Tyler Glasnow signed with the Dodgers as a potential comp. Glasnow’s deal was announced by the Dodgers as worth $136.5MM over five years, though it’s worth noting that figure includes his $25MM salary for the 2023 season. In other words, that deal guaranteed Glasnow just $111.5MM in new money over four years.

The Yankees don’t appear to be interest in going to that level to secure Montgomery’s services, however. Sherman indicates that the club has “privately assessed” Montgomery to be a #3 starter, suggesting that the club’s range of comfort could be closer to the four-year, $80MM deal veteran southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez signed with the Diamondbacks back in December. While a gap of roughly $30MM is significant, it’s hardly completely insurmountable. New York reportedly made a six-year, $150MM offer to Snell back in January, suggesting a willingness to stretch their budget to land an arm of Montgomery’s caliber. Particularly in light of the sudden uncertainty the club’s rotation is facing with ace right-hander Gerrit Cole set to miss at least a couple of months to open the season, it would hardly be a surprise to see Montgomery and the Yankees find some common ground and work out a deal at some point.

The Mets’ interest, by contrast, does not appear to be as advanced as their AL counterparts. Sherman indicates that the club’s strategy regarding Montgomery is similar to the one they employed when negotiating with veteran DH J.D. Martinez, who eventually signed with them on a one-year deal that guarantees $12MM, though the majority of that money is deferred. That’s not to say that David Stearns’s front office values the two Boras Corporation clients identically; even considering the depressed market Montgomery is likely facing this late into his free agency, it would be a shock to see him sign a similar deal to the one inked by Martinez. Rather, it appears that the Mets don’t expect to get more deeply involved in Montgomery’s market unless his asking price drops into their established range of interest.

The 31-year-old would be a surefire upgrade to either club’s rotation if signed. Over the past three seasons, few pitchers have been more reliable than Montgomery, who sports a 3.48 ERA (121 ERA+) and 3.62 FIP across 94 starts. Only five pitchers—Cole, Nola, Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, and Jose Berrios—have started more regular season games over the past three years, and of that group only Cole and Gausman have posted a lower ERA during that time. With that being said, Montgomery’s lengthy free agency has wiped out the opportunity for him to have a normal Spring Training and will almost assuredly leave whatever club signs the southpaw to remain without him for at least the first few weeks of the regular season.

The New York clubs aren’t Montgomery’s only known suitors. The left-hander has frequently been tied to the Red Sox throughout the winter, and more recent reporting has connected him to Philadelphia as well. On the other hand, the rumor mill has been mostly quiet about Boston and Montgomery in recent weeks, while Phillies GM Dave Dombrowski told reporters (including Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer) that the club is not “actively seeking” free agent pitching at the moment, even in the wake of the news that right-hander Taijuan Walker will open the season on the injured list due to a shoulder impingement.

Yankees Planning To Add Nick Burdi To Opening Day Roster

By Darragh McDonald | March 25, 2024 at 6:17pm CDT

Right-handers Nick Burdi and Clayton Beeter have been told that they have won the camp competition for bullpen jobs, per Joel Sherman of The New York Post, though Sherman adds that the Yankees might still change their plans if other opportunities present themselves in the next few days. MLBTR covered Beeter’s news earlier today.

Burdi, 31, signed a minor league pact with the Yanks back in December and has impressed this spring. He had made seven appearances for the Yankees with 13 strikeouts, four walks and two earned runs allowed.

The righty brings a power arsenal, having averaged in the upper 90s with his fastball in his career. But his health, or lack thereof, has been a significant obstacle for him. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017, thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in 2019 and a second Tommy John in November of 2020.

Around all of those surgeries, Burdi has managed to throw 15 1/3 innings in the majors but has accrued almost four years of major league service time, most of that spent on the injured list. He has a 9.39 earned run average in that tiny sample of big league work, but with an impressive 36% strikeout rate. His 13.3% walk rate suggests a lack of control but it also might just be a symptom of so much missed time preventing him from getting into a rhythm. He’s also only thrown 21 minor league innings over the past five years due to those absences.

That makes him a real wild card, as he was once a dominant pitcher in college and the early parts of his minor league career but he has hardly pitched in recent seasons due to those significant surgeries.

He is not yet on the Yankees’ 40-man roster and will need to be added, but as Sherman points out, the club is still giving itself some wiggle room to change course. Teams around the league are making their final roster decisions this week, which is leading to various players being released, opting out or being designated for assignment. If the Yankees find someone in that pile who appeals to them, they may pivot away from Burdi. If they do, Sherman relays that the righty has an April 15 opt-out in his deal.

If Burdi does end up on the roster, the Yankees will need to make a corresponding move. It was reported two weeks ago that Oswald Peraza will be shut down for six to eight weeks due to a shoulder strain, so he could be moved to the 60-day injured list to open up a spot. Gerrit Cole is looking at several weeks of rest and recovery as he looks to get over his elbow issue, though the club may be reluctant to move him to the 60-day IL until they confirm that he can’t return before the end of May.

Right-hander Tommy Kahnle has some shoulder inflammation but Sherman relays that the Yankees are expecting him to be back about two weeks into the season. If that comes to pass, both Beeter and Burdi have options and can be sent to the minors to make room for him, though Burdi will need to officially take a spot on the 40-man roster first.

Yankees Name Luis Gil Fifth Starter; DJ LeMahieu To Start Season On IL

By Darragh McDonald | March 25, 2024 at 11:36am CDT

Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced to the club’s beat last night that right-hander Luis Gil will be the club’s fifth starter to open the season, with Bryan Hoch of MLB.com relaying video of his comments on X. Joel Sherman of The New York Post reports today that right-hander Clayton Beeter has made the club, though Sherman adds it’s possible that a roster move in the coming days could lead to Beeter getting optioned (X links). Boone also says infielder DJ LeMahieu will start the season on the injured list, with Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News among those to relay the news.

A spot opened up at the back of the Yankee rotation with the recent injury to ace Gerrit Cole, who underwent various tests on his right elbow. Cole was recommended for non-surgical rehab for nerve inflammation and edema. Though it was surely good news that surgery wasn’t being recommended, the club would still need to figure out a plan to proceed without him for an undetermined amount of time, perhaps months.

Without Cole, four spots were taken by Nestor Cortes, Carlos Rodón, Marcus Stroman and Clarke Schmidt, leaving one open for a camp battle. As time went on, it seemed to come down to Gil and prospect Will Warren, with Gil getting the gig yesterday. Shortly after Boone announced Gil got the final spot, Warren was reassigned to minor league camp.

Gil, 26 in June, had an encouraging major league debut late in the 2021 season, as he posted an earned run average of 3.07 in six starts. He struck out a strong 29.5% of batters faced, though he also gave out free passes at a 14.7% rate. He would have been looking to build on that in 2022 but unfortunately landed on the injured list after just one start and eventually required Tommy John surgery in May. That put him out of action for the remainder of that season and most of 2023 as well. He returned to official game action in the minors leagues late last year, logging four innings in September.

That will likely leave Gil with some kind of workload limit here in 2024, since he hardly pitched over the past two years. In 2021, he logged 29 1/3 innings in the majors and 79 1/3 in the minors for a combined total of 108 2/3, his highest in any season thus far. He had a 3.97 ERA in those minor league innings that year. The minor leagues were canceled in 2020, meaning he wasn’t able to pitch in any official capacity.

Taking all of that into consideration, Gil shouldn’t be counted on to suddenly shoulder 200 innings this year, but the Yanks will stick with him as long he’s in good form and will presumably make a decision about the workload later. He posted a 2.87 ERA this spring with a 37.7% strikeout rate and 9.8% walk rate. In January, it was reported that the Yankees were awarded a fourth option on Gil, meaning they can send him to the minors at some point down the road.

Warren, 25 in June, is one of the club’s best pitching prospects. He threw 129 innings last year between Double-A and Triple-A with a 3.35 ERA, then had a 3.52 ERA here in spring action. He’s not yet on the 40-man roster, so it would have been a little bit trickier to pick him over Gil. But given his larger innings tally last year, he could be called upon later in the season if Gil needs to be shut down or if someone else gets hurt.

As for Beeter, 25, he’ll be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. He was just added to the club’s roster in November, to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He had a 3.62 ERA last year, over 131 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. He struck out 28.8% of batters though had a concerning walk rate of 13.1%. He’ll break into the majors out of the bullpen, presumably providing the club some long relief innings alongside veteran Luke Weaver.

On the position player side of things, it was reported a week ago that LeMahieu was questionable for Opening Day after fouling a ball off his foot. It doesn’t seem as though it’s a terribly serious injury, but it’s enough to keep him from being available to start the season. Opening Day IL stints can be backdated by three days, so it’s possible he will just miss a week if he’s able to get over the issue in short order.

Though it may not be a long absence, it’s still not ideal for the 35-year-old to be dealing with an injury yet again. He dealt with quad and calf soreness last year and produced a roughly league average line of .243/.327/.390, wRC+ of 101. The Yanks would obviously love to have more, especially since LeMahieu hit .336/.386/.536 over 2019 and 2020. Boone said LeMahieu looked “more explosive” back in February, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, though he’s now once again hobbled by an unfortunate ailment.

In the meantime, Oswaldo Cabrera could step into the everyday third base role, which will leave open a bench role for someone like Jahmai Jones or Kevin Smith. Cabrera hit .247/.312/.429 in 2022 but then dropped to .211/.275/.299 last year, that latter line translating to a wRC+ of just 60. Smith isn’t on the 40-man roster but the Yanks could transfer Cole or Oswald Peraza to the 60-day injured list to open a spot. Peraza is going to be out of action for six to eight weeks due to a shoulder strain.

As clubs around the league cut down their rosters, there are plenty of guys getting cut loose who may pique the interest of the Yankees. As mentioned up top with Beeter, he could wind up getting optioned if the Yankees find a pitcher they like on waivers or someone entering free agency via a release or opt-out. The same could perhaps be true of their bench, as Cabrera steps in for LeMahieu.

AL East Notes: Holliday, Gil, Red Sox

By Nick Deeds | March 23, 2024 at 10:44pm CDT

The Orioles shocked the baseball world yesterday by reassigning top prospect Jackson Holliday to minor league camp, effectively ending his bid to make the Opening Day roster. The consensus #1 prospect in the entire sport, Holliday has taken the minors by storm since being selected first overall in the 2022 draft. After hitting .297/.489/.422 in 20 games down the stretch the year he was drafted between rookie ball and Single-A, Holliday tore through the minors in 2023 to advance all the way to the Triple-A level before the end of his first full season as a pro. In 125 games last year, Holliday slashed .323/.442/.499, including a strong .338/.421/.507 showing in 36 games at the Double-A level. The youngster continued to tear the cover off the ball this spring as well, slashing .311/.354/.600 across 15 games during camp.

GM Mike Elias today explained the club’s decision to start Holliday in the minor leagues after that incredible performance to reporters, including MASN’s Roch Kubatko. Among the reasons Elias listed for Holliday not breaking camp with the Orioles was his lack of experience against left-handed pitching. Holliday’s numbers against southpaws last year, while decent, were not at the same caliber as those he posted against right-handed pitching. While he crushed righties to a .331/.437/.551 slash line, his 124 trips to the plate against lefties last year saw him hit just .296/.387/.389. Elias also suggested that Holliday’s minimal experience at second base- where the club plans to play him in the majors- was another motivating factor behind Holliday’s demotion. The youngster has started primarily at shortstop throughout his professional career and has only 25 appearances at the keystone in 145 career minor league games.

Of course, those reasons for sending Holliday to the minors to open the year, however valid they may be, won’t outweigh the impact the move could have on Holliday’s future team control in the eyes of many. A player must be on the major league roster or injured list for at least 172 days of the 187-day season to earn a full year of service time. In other words, if Holliday spends at least 16 days in the minors this year, the Orioles could gain an additional year of team control over the up-and-coming star. Of course, if Holliday were to finish in the top two of AL Rookie of the Year voting this year, he would still be granted a full year of service time even if he spends less than 172 days in the majors this year. It’s also possible the club could reverse course in the early days of the season and call Holliday up in time for him to receive a full service year, in which case the club would receive a draft pick in the event that Holliday wins Rookie of the Year this season or finishes in the top 3 of AL MVP voting during his pre-arbitration seasons.

Yankees, Jordan Montgomery Have Reopened Discussions

By Anthony Franco | March 20, 2024 at 8:42pm CDT

The Yankees are “back in contact” with Jordan Montgomery’s camp at the Boras Corporation, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Heyman adds that there’s still a gap between the southpaw’s asking price and the team’s comfort level.

Montgomery is the highest-profile player available in free agency. He’s not the last notable Boras Corp. client who remains unsigned — J.D. Martinez has also lingered on the market — but he is the final member of the top group that included Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman and Blake Snell. All of those players eventually moved to short-term guarantees (three years for the position players, two for Snell) that allow them to opt out next offseason.

The 31-year-old Montgomery has reportedly been less amenable to that kind of arrangement. Heyman wrote that Montgomery was looking for a seven-year pact as recently as March 8. Early in the winter, his camp had tried to beat the $172MM guarantee which Aaron Nola landed to return to Philadelphia. Neither mark seems especially plausible just a week before Opening Day.

Part of Montgomery’s aversion to a short-term pact could be the qualifying offer. Since he was traded from the Cardinals to the Rangers midway through the 2023 season, he was ineligible to receive the QO. He hit this year’s market unencumbered by draft compensation. Each of Snell, Bellinger and Chapman declined a QO. They’re all ineligible to receive the offer again, as the collective bargaining agreement prevents a player from being tagged more than once in his career.

Montgomery could still receive the QO in a future winter, which could make the possibility of retesting free agency in a year comparatively less appealing. As MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald explored this afternoon, one option would be to wait until after the start of the regular season to sign. Only players who are on the same team for the entire preceding season can receive a qualifying offer.

It’s not clear how much that’s a calculus in Montgomery’s decision. Perhaps he was simply the most patient of the group in hoping that a long-term pact would present itself. That was clearly what he envisioned when he hit the open market after helping Texas to the first World Series in franchise history. Montgomery is coming off a personal-low 3.20 ERA in the regular season. He has reached 30 starts while allowing fewer than four earned runs per nine in each of the last three years.

For many players, the market simply hasn’t materialized the way they’d anticipated. The Rangers have cited concern about their local broadcasting contract as a reason for a relatively quiet offseason. Texas took a reduced rights fee to keep their contract with Diamond Sports Group for another season. While their deal had previously paid a reported $111MM annually, Heyman reported yesterday that they’ll receive $90MM for this year. There’s still broad skepticism about Diamond’s viability beyond the upcoming season.

The Yankees have no such concern about their television contract, as they’re very well positioned as co-owners of the YES Network. Their major spending deterrent is the luxury tax. New York is beyond the $297MM figure that marks the fourth tier of penalization. They’ve paid the CBT for two consecutive seasons, subjecting them to the highest penalties. The Yankees would owe a 110% tax on the average annual value of any additional signing.

That has evidently kept them from addressing a rotation that looks tenuous. Gerrit Cole will be out into May or June after experiencing elbow inflammation. New York parted with Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez and Drew Thorpe in the Juan Soto trade. Their only significant rotation acquisition this offseason has been a two-year deal for Marcus Stroman.

New York announced that Nestor Cortes will take the ball on Opening Day. He’ll be followed in the rotation by Carlos Rodón, Stroman and Clarke Schmidt. The fifth spot could fall to swingman Luke Weaver or a young pitcher like Clayton Beeter, Luis Gil or Will Warren. That’s already a risky group and there’s not much proven depth if anyone else from the top four suffers an injury.

Montgomery probably wouldn’t step into the Opening Day rotation given his lack of competitive Spring Training work, but he has been incredibly durable since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2018. There’s a clear on-paper fit for a return to the Bronx. While Montgomery had some parting shots for the front office after being traded to St. Louis at the ’22 deadline, Stroman had also publicly criticized the Yankees before signing his deal. Montgomery has been loosely linked to the Red Sox and Mets in recent weeks, yet neither franchise seems keen on making a significant investment at this point of the offseason.

Yankees Still Looking To Add Starting Pitching

By Darragh McDonald | March 19, 2024 at 7:46pm CDT

The Yankees were frequently connected to Blake Snell while he was a free agent, but the lefty reportedly agreed to a two-year, $62MM deal with the Giants last night. Though Snell is off the board, the Yanks are still in the market for starting pitching, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post.

It’s understandable that the Yanks are still on the hunt for arms. They were often connected to Snell even before the recent news that ace Gerrit Cole is going to miss significant time due nerve inflammation and edema in his elbow.

Though the desire to add Snell seemed to be real, it appeared that the competitive balance tax was too much of an obstacle. The Yankees are set to be third-time payors of the tax and are already over the fourth and final threshold, meaning they face a 110% tax on any further spending. Snell didn’t find the long-term deal he was looking for, reportedly turning down a six-year, $150MM offer from the Yanks, and pivoted to a short-term pact with a high average annual value. Had the Yankees matched the $31MM AAV Snell got from the Giants, they would have had to pay $34.1MM in taxes as well.

That concern seemingly had them leaning towards a trade for Dylan Cease, since he’s still in his arbitration years and making just $8MM this year. But the Yanks missed out there as well, with Cease eventually getting shipped from the White Sox to the Padres. Heyman adds that they haven’t made much traction with other trade targets, such as Jesus Lúzardo of the Marlins.

But the need for reinforcements is apparent when looking at the rotation without Cole. Nestor Cortes went on the injured list due to a rotator cuff strain on two occasions last year and finished the season with a 4.97 ERA in 63 1/3 innings. Carlos Rodón dealt with a forearm strain and hamstring strain and posted a 6.85 ERA in his 64 1/3 innings. Marcus Stroman had a great first half but issues with his hip and rib cartilage pushed his ERA up to 3.95 by the end of the year.

Those three have each had much better results in the past but they are sort of wild cards now after their frustrating campaigns. Backing them up will be Clarke Schmidt, who had a 4.64 ERA last year. There would still be one spot open, with pitchers like Luke Weaver, Luis Gil, Clayton Beeter and Will Warren potential options. Weaver has finished three of the last four seasons with an ERA of 6.40 or higher. Gil underwent Tommy John surgery in May of 2022 and missed most of the last two years. Neither Beeter nor Warren have made their major league debuts yet.

The Yankees will understandably be open to upgrading that group, especially for a season in which they are clearly committed to winning. They sent five players to the Padres to get one season of Juan Soto, and two of Trent Grisham, and will pay Soto $31MM plus taxes in the process.

Opening Day is next Thursday but the club still has options, with various pitchers still unsigned thanks to this slow offseason. The club has been connected to pitchers like Michael Lorenzen and Jordan Montgomery, both of whom remain unsigned. Free agency also features guys like Mike Clevinger, Johnny Cueto and Noah Syndergaard. Earlier this month, reporting suggested Montgomery was still holding out for a seven-year deal but the other guys won’t require significant expenditures to sign.

With the start of the season so near, there would naturally be concern about a pitcher getting stretched out after missing so much of Spring Training. It seems Lorenzen has been getting himself ready on his own, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, who relays footage from Lorenzen’s agent of the righty throwing. Rosenthal reports that the righty recently threw 70 innings, getting up and down four times. He would likely still require some official game action but it doesn’t seem as though he would require a traditional six-week ramping up period.

Lorenzen has reportedly been seeking a two-year deal while also receiving interest from clubs like the White Sox and Mets.

DJ LeMahieu Questionable For Opening Day

By Darragh McDonald | March 18, 2024 at 5:40pm CDT

Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided reporters, including Greg Joyce of The New York Post, with an update today regarding DJ LeMahieu. The infielder fouled a ball off his right foot recently and Boone says LeMahieu has a “pretty significant” bone bruise and won’t be playing through it for the time being. With Opening Day now just over a week away, it’s unclear if LeMahieu will be ready in time.

LeMahieu, 35, is coming off a frustrating season. He didn’t go on the injured list last year but did battle through quad and calf soreness while hitting .243/.327/.390 for a wRC+ of 101. Just over a month ago, Boone was excited about LeMahieu’s improved health at the opening of camp. “He’s just more explosive to me,” Boone said, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Unfortunately, there now may be a snag in seeing that explosiveness in the regular season.

Even if LeMahieu misses some early time in the season, it may not be much. Opening Day injured list stints can be backdated by three days, so he might only miss a week if he’s put on the 10-day IL. It’s nonetheless a situation worth monitoring as it could leave them with a temporary hole at third base.

LeMahieu is slated to be the club’s everyday option at the hot corner, with Anthony Volpe, Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo filling out the rest of the infield. The club was looking to bolster its veteran infield depth, having recently been connected to players like Enrique Hernández and Amed Rosario, though those players have now signed with the Dodgers and Rays, respectively.

The plan with signing either of those two would have involved Oswald Peraza getting optioned to the minors for regular reps, ready to be recalled for more regular playing time if an injury occurred. That won’t be an option now as Peraza himself got injured by suffering a shoulder strain that will shut him down for six to eight weeks.

As it currently stands, the Yanks have Oswaldo Cabrera, Jahmai Jones and Jorbit Vivas as depth infielders on their roster. Cabrera had an exciting debut in 2022 but hit just .211/.275/.299 last year. Jones was just claimed off waivers three weeks ago while Vivas has not yet made his major league debut and was optioned to Triple-A after today’s game. Players like Josh VanMeter, Jeter Downs and Kevin Smith are in camp as non-roster invitees though each of them has struggled against big league pitching.

The end of Spring Training usually shakes a few players loose, as roster decisions are made around the league. For instance, veteran infielder Josh Harrison just opted out of his minor league deal with the Reds after being informed he wasn’t going to make the team. The Yankees could turn to Harrison or some other player in the coming days if they feel they need an extra body to cover for a LeMahieu absence.

Infielders like Donovan Solano and Evan Longoria remain unsigned. The Yankees are facing a 110% tax on any addition to their payroll at this point, as a third-time payor that’s over the fourth line of the competitive balance tax, but those guys won’t require huge sums to put pen to paper. The position player market has seemingly collapsed in recent weeks, with players like Hernández, Rosario, Gio Urshela and others signing for less than $5MM in guaranteed money.

Ultimately, the bigger concern might be the season-long performance, as opposed to any week-long absence. The 2023 Yankees were hampered by health problems, as Aaron Judge was only able to play 106 games due to IL stints while veterans like LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo struggled while dealing with various ailments.

Health is already in the spotlight for the Yanks as ace Gerrit Cole is set to miss significant time due to an elbow issue. Even before that situation cropped up, they knew they were going to need some bounceback campaigns from those veterans. They will therefore want to make sure LeMahieu is as healthy and productive as possible, which is perhaps why Boone is now suggesting he won’t be playing through this issue. The club may need to look to alternatives at third base until LeMahieu is back to being explosive again.

Gerrit Cole Recommended For Non-Surgical Rehab On Elbow

By Anthony Franco | March 16, 2024 at 11:06am CDT

March 16: Cole will be shut down for the next three to four weeks before re-evaluating his condition, the Yankees ace told reporters, including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. He added that it is too soon to determine a date for his return (per Hoch). The reigning AL Cy Young winner is nursing some nerve inflammation and edema, which he is planning to treat with “rest and recovery.” He does not anticipate getting any PRP injections.

March 14: The Yankees and their fans can breathe a sigh of relief. Jon Heyman and Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post report that defending AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole is expected to avoid surgery after further evaluation on his ailing elbow. The recommendation is for a treatment program of rest and non-surgical rehab.

Heyman and Sanchez report that Cole is expected to be out for roughly one to two months. Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets that the timeline for a return to MLB action should be closer to 10-12 weeks. In either case, surgery isn’t on the table at present and the Yankees should get their ace back within the season’s first half.

That was the initial expectation. Team doctors reportedly identified the issue as elbow inflammation and concluded that Cole’s ulnar collateral ligament was intact. He nevertheless visited noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache for additional testing today. It seems that in-person evaluation confirmed the initial indication that Cole has not sustained any UCL damage.

It’s a positive development given the concern any time a pitcher, especially one at Cole’s level, heads for an MRI on his throwing elbow. Still, the Yankees are going to have to navigate the early portion of the schedule without him. If the timeline checks in closer to 10-12 weeks, he probably wouldn’t make his season debut until June. There’s a chance he winds up on the 60-day injured list.

There’s obviously no way to replace a pitcher of Cole’s caliber, but his absence puts additional pressure on the rotation depth. Carlos Rodón, Marcus Stroman and Nestor Cortes project as the top three arms in the season-opening rotation. Clarke Schmidt is penciled into the fourth spot. There’s not a clear #5 starter at the moment. Prospect Clayton Beeter is on the 40-man roster, as are Yoendrys Gómez and Luis Gil. The latter two were optioned to minor league camp in the first week of March, suggesting they’re a bit further down the depth chart. Chase Hampton and Will Warren are not on the 40-man roster, but they’re upper level starting pitching prospects with more advanced control than Beeter has shown in the minors. Luke Weaver has plenty of starting experience and returned to the Yankees via $2MM free agent deal. He’s coming off a 6.40 ERA season.

The Yankees could benefit from adding veteran stability to the back end. They recently checked in with Michael Lorenzen, arguably the #3 starter still on the free agent market. Lorezen certainly doesn’t have the upside of either of the top two unsigned pitchers, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, but he’d come at nowhere near the cost. That’s an obvious concern for a franchise that would pay a 110% tax on further spending.

If New York expected Cole to miss the entire season, perhaps that’d have increased their urgency to land one of Snell or Montgomery regardless of the money. That seems less likely with the Yankees anticipating Cole’s return in late May or early June, but a mid-tier arm like Lorenzen or Mike Clevinger could remain in play.

Yankees Interested In Michael Lorenzen

By Darragh McDonald | March 14, 2024 at 1:48pm CDT

The Yankees have “checked in” on free agent right-hander Michael Lorenzen, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The righty’s market may be heating up with just two weeks to go until Opening Day, as he was also connected to the White Sox yesterday.

The Yankees were already in the market for starting pitching, having been connected to Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery throughout the winter. Their need for rotation help only grew this week when ace Gerrit Cole was sidelined by an elbow issue. Cole and the Yankees are still gathering information but it seems like he will miss a month or two of the season even in a best-case scenario.

Whether Cole is ultimately destined for a brief or a lengthy absence, it’s a huge blow to the club’s rotation. Up until this issue popped up, he was the rocksteady leader of an otherwise shaky group. Carlos Rodón, Nestor Cortes and Marcus Stroman all battled injuries last year to varying extents.

Stroman was having a great year prior to his injury woes, as he had a 2.96 ERA at the All-Star break, but hip and rib cartilage injuries led to diminished results and missed time, as he finished the year with a 3.95 ERA in 136 2/3 innings. Rodón and Cortes ended up having fairly similar years in terms of limited innings and poor results. Rodón battled a forearm strain and hamstring strain as he posted a 6.85 ERA in 64 1/3 frames. Cortes twice went on the IL due to a rotator cuff strain in his left shoulder and finished the campaign with a 4.97 ERA in 63 1/3 innings.

There’s tons of bounceback potential in that trio, as Stroman has a 3.65 ERA in his career while having reached 179 innings four times in his career. Rodón was an ace over 2021 and 2022, posting a 2.67 ERA in 310 2/3 innings in that time. Cortes had a 2.61 ERA in that same two-year stretch, though in a lesser workload of 251 2/3 innings.

If all three are able to get back to their previous forms, the rotation could be in good shape without Cole, but that’s a lot for the Yanks to gamble on. They are heavily committed to competing in 2024, as they gave up five players to get one year of Juan Soto. They also got Trent Grisham from the Padres in that deal, but Soto’s 2024 season was obviously the highlight for them. In addition to the talent they gave up, they are paying Soto a $31MM salary, plus the taxes incurred as a third-time payor of the competitive balance tax.

Even in an ideal situation where Stroman, Rodón and Cortes are all in good form, there’s still the back end of the rotation to think about. Clarke Schmidt will likely be taking one spot after he put up a 4.64 ERA last year. That’s probably fine for a #5 guy but the fact that the Yankees have been consistently connected to free agents suggests they would prefer to knock Schmidt down to #6, but he’s instead been bumped up to #4 for as long as Cole is out.

Current options to take a spot behind Schmidt would include Luke Weaver, Clayton Beeter, Luis Gil, Yoendrys Gómez or Will Warren. Weaver has posted an ERA of 6.40 or higher in three of the past four seasons. Gil missed most of the past two seasons due to Tommy John surgery. Gómez has literally two innings of MLB experience while Beeter and Warren have none.

It’s a less than ideal group and it’s understandable that the club is interested in bolstering it. They’ve long been connected to marquee free agents like Snell and Montgomery but signing either of those guys would be especially costly. The Yanks are above the fourth and final tier of the CBT and are set to be a third-time payor, meaning any additional spending comes with a 110% tax bill. Even if Snell or Montgomery could be talked down to a $20MM annual salary at this late stage of the offseason, the Yanks would be looking at paying $22MM in taxes on top of that this year.

That situation would be lessened with Lorenzen, as he has a far more limited track record as a starter than those two. The Reds kept him in relief for most of his career but he sought out a return to starting when he reached free agency ahead of the 2022 season. He signed a one-year, $6.75MM deal with the Angels and was able to toss 97 2/3 innings, missing a couple of months with a shoulder strain and finishing the year with a 4.24 ERA.

It wasn’t an elite performance but he held his own and pushed up his annual workload. He then signed an $8.5MM deal with the Tigers for 2023 and took another step forward. He logged 105 2/3 innings with Detroit over 18 starts, with a 3.58 ERA in that time. He was traded to the Phillies and his first two starts for his new club were excellent. He allowed two earned runs over eight innings against the Marlins and then followed that up with a no-hitter against the Nationals.

He tossed 124 pitches in that no-hitter and seemed to break down after that. He was sporting a 3.23 ERA at that time but then allowed 27 earned runs in 30 1/3 innings the rest of the way, getting bumped to the bullpen in the process.

His 4.18 ERA on the year might not look amazing but it’s possible he ran out of gas after pushing himself further than he had gone before. Even if his true talent is a mid-4.00 ERA guy, that can be useful for the Yankees this year. Cole may be back in a few months but other injuries are inevitable and Lorenzen would improve the depth by pushing everyone down a peg.

It was reported last week that Lorenzen was holding out for a two-year deal that hasn’t yet materialized. Whether he can get that pact or ultimately has to settle for a one-year deal, he’ll be looking at a lesser salary than Snell or Lorenzen and the Yankees would have less to worry about in terms of taxes. A hypothetical $10MM salary, just as an example, would lead to $11MM in taxes. That’s still $21MM for a backend starter but it’s perhaps preferable to committing far more money and many more years for someone like Snell or Montgomery.

The Yankees were reportedly leaning towards acquiring Dylan Cease in the wake of Cole’s injury, as Cease’s $8MM salary would be far more palatable to them than the Snell/Montgomery duo, but Cease was traded to the Padres yesterday. There are some theoretical trade candidates still out there, such as Shane Bieber of the Guardians and Jesús Luzardo of the Marlins. However, both the Guards and the Fish are dealing with significant rotation injuries and may be less inclined to further subtract from their pitching staffs at the moment.

Lorenzen has received interest from the Mets, Angels, Twins, Padres and Orioles at various points this offseason, but he remains unattached now in mid-March. The Sox trading Cease seems to have given them some interest in signing Lorenzen to replace his innings, in addition to the Yankees sniffing around due to Cole’s situation. The regular season starts next week with the Seoul Series featuring the Dodgers and Padres but the rest of the league starts the season on March 28, two weeks from today.

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