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Boone: Yankees Working On “Potential Deal” To Add Pitcher

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The Yankees are working on a “potential” deal to add a pitcher to the staff, manager Aaron Boone told reporters prior to today’s season opener (Twitter link, with video, via SNY). Boone didn’t futher tip his hand as to whether the Yankees are talking to a free agent or discussing a possible trade. However, they’re opening the season with 14 position players and 12 pitchers on their roster, reflective of both a potentially incoming arm and an off-day on the schedule Friday.

“We’re going with just seven guys in the ’pen, obviously with an off-day tomorrow, where we have a potential deal going that’ll probably change that moving forward in the next day or two,” said Boone. “…A pitcher could be in play for us, that we add or not. Whether or not we do, we’d be in a position to pull from the minor leagues, too.”

New York’s pitching staff has been hit hard by injuries, evidenced by the sheer number of players who are beginning the season on the injured list. The Yankees announced today that lefty Carlos Rodon (forearm strain) and righties Luis Severino (lat strain), Lou Trivino (elbow strain), Tommy Kahnle (biceps tendinitis) and Frankie Montas (shoulder surgery) have all been placed on the 15-day injured list. Right-handers Scott Effross (2022 Tommy John surgery) and Luis Gil (2022 Tommy John surgery) both were placed on the 60-day IL. Center fielder Harrison Bader (oblique strain) and catcher Ben Rortvedt (shoulder aneurysm surgery) are both on the 10-day IL.

Also of note from Boone’s media session today, the skipper indicated that not only will Oswaldo Cabrera get the Opening Day start in left field — but he’ll open the season as the team’s primary left fielder (Twitter link via Joel Sherman of the New York Post). Aaron Hicks will still get some time against left-handed pitching, and Cabrera’s versatility means he’ll occasionally line up at other spots, but it seems the current plan is for him to be the most frequently used option in left field.

The 24-year-old Cabrera made his big league debut in 2022, slashing .247/.312/.429 in 171 plate appearances. Originally expected to be in more of a versatile infield/outfield utility role, the switch-hitting Cabrera seized a more prominent role with a monster spring showing. In 57 plate appearances, he batted .340/.386/.623 with four homers, three doubles, four walks (7%) and 10 strikeouts (17.5%).

The Yankees also confirmed some previously known/reported moves. Top prospect Anthony Volpe’s contract has been formally selected, and he’ll open the season as the Yankees’ primary shortstop. Right-hander Jhony Brito was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and is expected to start the team’s third game of the season on Sunday. And, as was widely reported yesterday, the Yankees signed outfielder/first baseman Franchy Cordero to a Major League contract and formally added him to their Opening Day roster.

Yankees, Franchy Cordero Agree To Major League Deal

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The Yankees have signed outfielder Franchy Cordero to a Major League contract, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan (Twitter thread). It’s a split deal that’ll pay Cordero $1MM in the big leagues and at a $180K rate in the minors. Yeimel Mendez first reported late last night that Cordero was nearing a deal with the Yankees.

Cordero spent spring training with the Orioles and fared quite well, turning in a .413/.426/.674 slash with a pair of homers, four doubles, a triple and a stolen base. He also fanned 11 times in 47 plate appearances and didn’t draw a walk. The Orioles apparently determined that he wouldn’t make the Opening Day roster, however, and cut him loose earlier this week.

The 28-year-old Cordero has spent parts of six seasons in the Majors, tantalizing the Padres, Royals and Red Sox with off-the-charts tools but a lackluster approach and sub-par feel for making contact. He has immense raw power and speed alike but doesn’t get to that power enough in games due to his lack of selectivity and penchant for putting himself in disadvantageous counts. Cordero has connected on some of the most majestic home runs of the Statcast era, but he’s a career .221/.290/.386 hitter thanks in no small part to a career 34.8% strikeout rate. To his credit, Cordero slightly dropped his strikeout rate with Boston last season (33.5%, down from 35.7% previously) and upped his walk rate (10.2%, up from 8%).

Barring further additions, it now seems likely that Cordero will crack the Yankees’ Opening Day club, perhaps pushing out-of-options Estevan Florial off the roster in the process. The Yankees confirmed this morning that they granted outfielder Rafael Ortega his release — as MLBTR reported yesterday — which left Florial in line for the final outfield spot. The addition of Cordero, however, calls Florial’s role on the club into question.

On the defensive end of things, Cordero has experience at all three outfield spots, and the Red Sox gave him 427 innings at first base over the past two seasons as well. He doesn’t grade out as a strong outfielder by measure of Defensive Runs Saved (-8), Ultimate Zone Rating (-6.3) or Outs Above Average (-1), but he has 1100 innings of big league experience split across all three spots. At least in the early going, he can back up the trio of Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton while providing some lefty thump off the bench.

While Cordero’s contract is a split deal, that’s not likely to come into play right away. Cordero is out of minor league options, so the only way the Yankees could send him to the minors would be by first passing him through waivers. They could opt to do so when Harrison Bader returns from the injured list, but at least for now, the big league agreement seems to signal intent to include him on tomorrow’s 26-mnan roster. He’ll earn the prorated version of that $1MM salary for any time spent on the Major League roster and the prorated $180K for any time spent in the minors.

AL East Notes: Lukes, Hamilton, Mondesi

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Blue Jays manager John Schneider informed reporters, including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, than outfielder Nathan Lukes has made the club’s Opening Day roster.

Lukes, 28, will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. A 2015 seventh-rounder, Lukes has spent eight years in the minors, going from Cleveland to Tampa Bay in the 2016 trade that sent Brandon Guyer the other way. He reached Triple-A by 2019, then saw the minor leagues get cancelled by the pandemic in 2020. He spent another year at Durham in 2021 but wasn’t given a roster spot and reached minor league free agency after that season.

Lukes signed a minor league deal with the Jays last year and impressed them enough that they added him to their 40-man roster in November. He’s never been a top prospect because he doesn’t really have a standout tool, but he does seem to do a bit of everything with some success. For the Bisons last year, he hit 11 home runs and stole 20 bases, walking in 9.7% of his plate appearances while limiting strikeouts to an 18.4% clip. His .285/.364/.425 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 111, and he spent time at all three outfield positions.

The Blue Jays previously had a very right-handed heavy lineup but have addressed that imbalance this winter. Righties Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. were traded while lefties Daulton Varsho and Kevin Kiermaier were brought aboard. That puts a bit less importance on the left-handed bat of Lukes, though he does give the club a true fourth outfielder, perhaps allowing Whit Merrifield and Cavan Biggio to stay on the infield more often that not.

Some other notes from around the AL East…

  • The Yankees have reassigned right-hander Ian Hamilton, who was in camp on a minor league deal, to Triple-A. Per Joel Sherman of The New York Post (Twitter links), Hamilton has the ability to opt out of his deal and return to free agency, but agreed to move his opt-out date to April 5. Hamilton had a nice spring, tossing nine scoreless innings while striking out six batters and walking three. It seems the club doesn’t have room for him on Opening Day, but their bullpen depth is a concern. Tommy Kahnle and Lou Trivino suffered injuries during spring and will be starting the season on the injured list. Since starters Carlos Rodon, Frankie Montas and Luis Severino are also starting the season on the IL, the weakened rotation will put extra pressure on the bullpen. Hamilton will stick with the organization for at least one extra week to see if his services are needed, but he could wind up back on the open market after that. He spent most of last year at Triple-A in the Twins’ organization, posting a 1.88 ERA with a 32.1% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 51.6% ground ball rate.
  • The Red Sox will need to find a roster spot for outfielder Raimel Tapia, who is going to make the club’s Opening Day roster. There’s still nothing official but Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reports that the corresponding move for Tapia could be infielder Adalberto Mondesi going on the 60-day injured list. Mondesi, 27, has shown tremendous talent in his career but is also frequently injured. He only played 15 games last year before being diagnosed with a torn ACL in late April that required surgery. Mondesi was expected to miss some of the start of the season but a trip to the 60-day IL would prevent him from returning until late May. The Sox picked him up from the Royals in a January trade sending lefty Josh Taylor to Kansas City. At the time, the hope was that he could help provide some middle infield cover in the wake of Trevor Story’s elbow surgery. Mondesi is in his final season of club control before reaching free agency for the first time.

Offseason In Review: New York Yankees

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The Yankees weren’t the busiest team this winter, opting for a handful of big moves instead of many small ones. That included signing one of the top starting pitcher free agents and retaining the consensus top overall free agent, the face of the franchise and now-captain Aaron Judge.

Major League Signings

2023 spending: $89.75MM
Total spending: $573.5MM

Option Decisions

Trades And Claims

Extensions

  • None

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

There was little debate about who the top free agent was this offseason. Though there were four excellent shortstops and three aces, Aaron Judge was #1 on just about any list you could find. His 2022 season was one of the greatest in recent memory, even beyond setting the American League single-season home run record with 62. He also posted a .311 batting average, walked in 15.9% of his plate appearances, stole 16 bases and played excellent defense. His 11.4 wins above replacement from FanGraphs was the highest by a position player other than Barry Bonds since Mickey Mantle in the ’50s.

It was widely expected that Judge would secure himself a huge contract, most likely to return to the Yanks. Here at MLBTR, we predicted eight years and $332MM, with all four contributors pegging Judge for a return to the Bronx.

That’s not to say that it was a fait accompli. The Yankees seemed to have a legitimate contender in the Giants. Not only did they have a fairly wide open long-term payroll, they were looking for a big free agent strike after a disappointing season. Since Judge was born and raised not too far from San Francisco and still has family in the area, the fit also made sense on a personal level. There was even a terrifying moment for Yankee fans when it seemed as if Judge was indeed going to the Giants, and the Padres almost swooped in and stole the day, but the Yankees eventually got the deal done.

The final contract came in at $360MM over nine years, the largest guarantee ever secured by a free agent. The average annual value of $40MM is the largest ever secured by a position player. The only pitchers who surpassed that were older aces on short-term deals, as Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander each secured AAVs of $43.3MM in their late 30s.

Judge was actually the second Yankee to be brought back after a trip into free agency, as the same had already played out with Anthony Rizzo. In early November, Rizzo opted out of the one year and $16MM remaining on his contract, which was quickly followed by the Yankees giving him a $19.65MM qualifying offer. As the qualifying offer deadline drew close, Rizzo was among those listed as rejecting it. However, just minutes later, it was reported that he and the club had reunited, keeping him as the first baseman in the Bronx.

With Rizzo and Judge both coming back, there will be much continuity with the Yankee roster relative to last year. However, there will be one significant change in the rotation, which the club needed to bolster after they traded Jordan Montgomery and saw Jameson Taillon become a free agent. The top of the starting pitching market featured three guys that stood out above the rest in Carlos Rodón, Jacob deGrom and Justin Verlander, though each hurler had unique characteristics as a free agent.

Verlander missed most of 2020 and all of 2021 due to Tommy John surgery but then returned to post a 1.75 ERA in 2022 and win the AL Cy Young. Going into his age-40 season, he was sure to get a short-term contract with a huge AAV. deGrom is a bit younger, going into his age-35 season, but he had missed significant time in each of the past two seasons. When combined with the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he hasn’t made more than 15 starts in any individual campaign since 2019. But given his excellent results whenever healthy, he was sure to get a big payout one way or another. Rodón, meanwhile, had plenty of injury concerns preceding an excellent 2021 season. He still missed a bit of time and was limited to 24 starts that year, which held him to short-term offers in his first trip to free agency. But he stayed healthy enough in 2022 to make 31 starts with a 2.88 ERA, making the easy decision to opt out of his contract and return to the open market.

MLBTR predicted Rodón would be able to secure the largest guarantee of the three. We pegged deGrom for a larger AAV, but figured his injury concerns would cap him at three years to Rodón’s five. In the end, deGrom was able to get five years and $185MM from the Rangers, $37MM per year on average. As mentioned earlier, Verlander got his high-AAV contract, signing a two-year, $86.6MM pact with the Mets. Rodón had plenty of interest, with clubs like the Red Sox, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Rangers, Twins, Giants, Mets, Orioles and Dodgers connected to him in various ways. That led his camp to reportedly look for a seven-year deal or a $200MM guarantee or both. The Yankees reportedly wanted to stick to four or five years, but the sides eventually met in the middle. The final deal of $162MM over six years came up short of deGrom both in terms of guarantee and AAV, but Rodón still handily topped the prediction of five years and $140MM.

Swapping an ace like Rodón in for a solid mid-rotation guy like Taillon is certainly an upgrade, though it’s one that comes with risk. As mentioned, Rodón had an “injury-prone” label before the last two seasons. In the four years from 2017-20, he went on the injured list in each of them. He never topped 20 starts in any of those individual campaigns and started only 41 times in total in that stretch. That included injuries to his shoulder, bicep and elbow. Even in his return to form in 2021, he eventually hit the IL with shoulder fatigue and had diminished velocity down the stretch.

Rodón’s health could be a topic of conversation around the club for the next six years and is in the spotlight already, as he’s going to miss the start of the upcoming season due to a forearm strain. By all accounts, it’s a minor issue and he shouldn’t miss too much time, but it’s not an auspicious start to that commitment. The plan was for Rodón to slot into a powerful rotation next to Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Luis Severino and Frankie Montas. However, Montas will miss at least a few months due to shoulder surgery and Severino is dealing with a lat strain. With Rodón also out of action for a bit, the club will have to rely on depth options like Domingo Germán, Clarke Schmidt and Jhony Brito.

After Rodón, the club’s most notable investment in a new addition was for Tommy Kahnle, and the story there is fairly similar. The 33-year-old righty has often had excellent strikeout stuff, including a previous stint in the Bronx. Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery wiped out most of his 2020 and all of his 2021. He returned last year as a Dodger, but went back on the IL in May after just four appearances. After a four-month layoff, he returned in September and pitched well enough to get a two-year, $11.5MM deal from the Yanks. But like Rodón, he’s also set to begin the year on the IL, as Kahnle is dealing with a biceps issue.

The club made a few other moves, including signing a bunch of minor league deals like all teams. But those are the headlines. Some deadline acquisitions from last year like Andrew Benintendi and Matt Carpenter have moved on, but Judge and Rizzo were brought back. The rotation lost Montgomery and Taillon but will have Rodón and Montas, though not to begin the year. The bullpen has lost some familiar faces like Chad Green, Aroldis Chapman and Lucas Luetge, but Kahnle should give them a boost whenever he’s ready. The primary relief weapons now figure to be guys who have taken steps forward in recent years, such as Clay Holmes, Michael King and Wandy Peralta.

All told, the roster turnover is fairly low, relatively speaking. Perhaps the most significant change Yankee fans will see in 2023 will be from within. For many years, the club has turned away from marquee free agent shortstops like Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Trea Turner and others, seemingly confident that their future shortstop was currently being cultivated on the farm somewhere. Late in 2022, both Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera got to make their debuts, even factoring into the club’s playoff roster. Not far behind them was Anthony Volpe, who finished in Triple-A. Here in Spring Training, it seems that the process is even further along. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, last year’s primary shortstop, has already been moved into a utility role. The club also seems to like Cabrera in that kind of a role, which leaves the shortstop job open for one of Peraza or Volpe. It was recently announced that Volpe will get the job out of spring, though it’s possible the battle continues beyond the start of the season. Whether it’s on Opening Day or down the line, it’s possible that the two of them take over the middle infield together, eventually pushing Gleyber Torres onto the trade block, but that remains to be seen.

Given the young kids pushing for time, the Yanks apparently pursued trades of some their players that started to seem superfluous. Kiner-Falefa, Torres, Aaron Hicks and Josh Donaldson were all reportedly floated in talks at various times, though nothing came to fruition, which also contributes to the continuity on the roster. Unless a late spring deal comes together, that group should all be back in action in some form, alongside other holdovers like Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, Jose Trevino and Kyle Higashioka.

Though the total volume of moves was on the low side, the moves they did make were all significant and have ramifications on the financial side of things. Roster Resource currently pegs the club’s payroll at $272MM, with a competitive balance tax figure of $292.5MM. That latter number is just a hair under the fourth tier of the luxury tax, which is $293MM. It was reported in January that the club is reluctant to cross the line, and they have indeed been fairly quiet since then. It’s a bit of a strange place to draw a line in the sand, as going over would lead to a slight increase in their tax rate on further spending, though no other penalties. But every team has a budget and this is apparently where the Yankees stop, at least for now.

It’s possible this could make things a bit tricky for the club throughout the year. If they want to make upgrades at the deadline and still want to avoid that last line, they would be limited to revenue-neutral moves. However, it’s possible that they may be able to clear some space in that time. If the younger players continue to develop as hoped, perhaps the Yanks could then feel better about lining up a trade of Hicks, Donaldson, Torres or Kiner-Falefa, even if it’s mostly about dumping salary and less about getting a return. Donaldson has a CBT hit of $25MM, Hicks is $10MM, Torres is $9.95MM and Kiner-Falefa is $6MM. Those players will have varying levels of interest that could be impacted by the upcoming season, but moving any one of them could give the Yanks a bit more wiggle room under that top CBT threshold.

The American League East figures to be a tough battle yet again, as the division supplied three playoff teams last year, with the Yanks finishing on top and the Blue Jays and Rays securing Wild Card spots. The O’s just missed the postseason last year and are on the rise with an organization stuffed with prospects. The Red Sox were fairly snakebit and ended up in the cellar last year but could get right back in it with better health. The Yankees can’t reasonably expect Judge to have the season of a lifetime every year, so they’ll need others to step up and help him out if they are to repeat as division champs and/or make the postseason for a seventh straight season.

How would you grade the Yankees’ offseason? (Link to poll)

In conjunction with the Yankees’ offseason review, we hosted a Yankees-focused chat on March 29. You can click here to read the transcript.

Yankees Release Rafael Ortega

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Outfielder Rafael Ortega has requested a release from his minor league with the Yankees and that request has been granted, reports MLBTR’s Steve Adams. Ortega had an opt-out in his contract yesterday and has been informed that he won’t make the club’s roster. He is now a free agent.

The outfielder was competing for a bench job on the roster alongside players like Willie Calhoun and Estevan Florial. Earlier today, Marly Rivera of ESPN reported that Calhoun has been reassigned to minor league camp, while Florial and Ortega were each set to fly to New York as manager Aaron Boone said the final rosters decisions had yet to be made (Twitter links). It now appears that Ortega isn’t going to get a spot and will be free to pursue opportunities with all 30 clubs.

Ortega, 32 in May, is a veteran journeyman who appeared in 143 MLB games from 2012 to 2020 with the Rockies, Angels, Marlins and Braves. He finally got an extended stretch of play with the Cubs over the past two years, getting into 221 contests over that span. He hit 18 home runs and stole 24 bases as a Cub while walking in 10.6% of his plate appearances. His .265/.344/.408 batting line in that time amounted to a 108 wRC+, indicating he was 8% better than the league average hitter. He largely played center field for the Cubs but the advanced defensive metrics thought him a tad overmatched there, as he was given grades of -5 Defensive Runs Saved, -3 Outs Above Average and -5.4 from Ultimate Zone Rating in center over the past two seasons, though they liked his work in the corners well enough.

The Cubs could have retained Ortega via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a salary of $1.7MM. Instead, they non-tendered him, sending him to free agency. The Yankees figured to have Harrison Bader as their regular center fielder with Aaron Judge in right. Left field was a bit less certain as Aaron Hicks is coming off a couple of frustrating seasons and saw his name appear in trade rumors this winter, though nothing came together. He seems like he will be the regular in left, though Giancarlo Stanton could play some right and bump Judge over to the other side. The club also has been getting infielders Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Oswaldo Cabrera some work on the grass.

That whole picture took a hit recently when Bader suffered an oblique strain that is going to keep him out of action for the few first weeks of the season, knocking out the top option in center. Both Judge and Hicks are options to take over in Bader’s stead, as Judge played there in 78 games last year. Hicks had been primarily a center fielder until getting bumped to left over the past few years. Given the demands of the position, it makes sense that the club would look to have another player capable of spending some time in center, in order to keep their well-paid veterans in the corners. Ortega has plenty of experience at the position but his grades there haven’t been especially strong, as mentioned.

It’s possible that the club prefers to take a chance on Florial, who is primarily a center fielder and much younger than Ortega at 25 years old. He’s out of options and can no longer be sent to the minors without being placed on waivers first. He has struggled in his major league time thus far, hitting .185/.302/.278 in a small sample of 63 plate appearances. He’s been much better in the minor leagues, including last year. In 101 Triple-A games in 2022, he hit 15 home runs and stole 39 bases. He struck out in 30.4% of his trips to the plate but also walked at a healthy 11.7% rate. His .283/.368/.481 amounted to a wRC+ of 124, indicating he was 24% better than league average.

Perhaps the Yankees didn’t want to give up on a player with that kind of apparent talent, MLB struggles aside. The speed portion of his game could perhaps become more important this year with the new rules that will encourage more baserunning. He has less than a year of service time and can be cheaply retained for the foreseeable future if he can provide enough value to hang onto a roster spot.

It’s also possible that there are further moves forthcoming, as many players get released or opt out from contracts with other clubs at this time of year. Perhaps the Yanks will find someone they like more than Florial on the waiver wire or trade block, though that remains to be seen.

Injury Notes: Nevin, Severino, Houser, Suarez, Suzuki

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As expected, the Tigers will place Tyler Nevin on the 10-day injured list to begin the season.  Nevin suffered a Grade 1 oblique strain a little less than three weeks ago, making it doubtful that the 25-year-old would be fully recovered in time for Opening Day.  However, it is possible Nevin won’t miss much time, as Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press) that Nevin is on pace to start a rehab assignment this week.

Even a brief IL stint isn’t an ideal way for Nevin to begin his tenure with his new team, as he was only acquired by the Tigers in a swap with the Orioles back in December.  Nevin’s ability to play both corner infield and outfield positions makes him an interesting commodity on Detroit’s roster, as this versatility and Nevin’s right-handed bat made him a natural platoon partner or complement to such left-handed batters as Austin Meadows, Akil Baddoo, Nick Maton, or Kerry Carpenter.

More on other injury situations around baseball…

  • Luis Severino is another player headed for a season-opening IL stint, as the Yankees right-hander has suffered a lat strain.  This particular injury is a concern given that Severino missed over two months of the 2022 season with another lat strain, but the pitcher told reporters (including Greg Joyce of the New York Post) that this strain in lower in his back than last year’s problem and doesn’t seem as serious.  Severino suggested that he could miss “three or four starts,” but a more specific timeline isn’t known, since “I’m going to be a little bit cautious, but I think the Yankees are going to be more cautious than me.”  Last summer, Severino expressed both surprise and public displeasure with the Yankees’ decision to shift him from the 15-day to the 60-day IL, as he expecting a quicker return to action.
  • Brewers right-hander Adrian Houser left his spring outing yesterday due to groin tightness, and the club will further examine his status today.  The same injury bothered Houser both earlier in Spring Training and at the end of last season, resulting in an IL stint.  Considering the recurring nature of the groin problem and the close proximity to Opening Day, it certainly seems possible the Milwaukee could start Houser on the IL once more.  As the odd man out of a deep Brewers rotation, Houser had been tabbed for a relief role to begin the season, with the understanding that he is also the team’s unofficial sixth starter in the event of an injury.
  • Ranger Suarez played catch on Friday and Saturday, telling Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer that his left arm still had some tightness but no pain.  In general, Suarez felt “nothing too bad” and his forearm was doing “better.”  Despite this fairly positive update, it still seems unlikely that Suarez will be able to avoid an IL trip given how the Phillies will probably be cautious with a case of elbow inflammation.  The left-hander was projected to be either the third or fourth starter in Philadelphia’s rotation this season, but with his likely absence for part of April, Bailey Falter will step into that vacancy in the starting five.  Matt Strahm or Michael Plassmeyer could take the fifth starter job, as top prospect Andrew Painter, Cristopher Sanchez, and Nick Nelson are also battling injuries.
  • The Cubs haven’t yet decided how they’ll replace Seiya Suzuki on their season-opening roster, as Suzuki will need a 10-day IL stint after missing the last month of Spring Training due to an oblique strain.  Suzuki is making such steady development in his rehab work that even though he’ll miss some time during the regular season, it may not be all that much time. “Whether you are trying to put somebody on the [40-man] roster that’s not on it or trying to fill a gap for 10 days is a big deal,” Cubs manager David Ross told Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times and other reporters.  “And it’s a big decision.  We have so much talent and a lot of depth here.  We would like to keep as much as we possibly can because of the long journey we’re about to start.”

Yankees To Select Anthony Volpe’s Contract

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Top Yankees prospect Anthony Volpe has made the Yankees, according to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic. Volpe, a consensus top 10 prospect in the game, is now poised to be the Opening Day starter at shortstop in the Bronx this season. The Yankees later confirmed the news on Twitter. Volpe will need a spot on the 40-man roster before Opening Day, though a 60-day IL transfer for an injured player such as Scott Effross or Frankie Montas could easily be used to clear space.

Volpe was selected out of high school in the first round of the 2019 draft by the Yankees as the 30th overall pick. After the 2020 minor league season was cancelled, Volpe broke out in 2021 with the bat, posting a whopping 1.027 OPS in 109 games split between Single-A and High-A. His success continued upon his promotion to Double-A at the beginning of the 2022 season, where he slashed .251/.348/.472 in 110 games even in spite of his deflated .272 BABIP. That performance earned him a promotion to Triple-A, where he struggled for the first time in his professional career. His slash line declined to just .236/.313/.404 in 22 games in Triple-A last year, while his strikeout rate spiked from 17.7% in Double-A up to 30.3% in Triple-A.

Fortunately for Volpe, those struggles appeared to be behind him this spring, as he slashed an exceptional .314/.417/.647 in 60 plate appearance during camp. That outstanding offensive performance was enough for the Yankees to anoint Volpe the Opening Day starter at shortstop in spite of his minimal experience above the Double-A level and struggles late last year at Triple-A.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa, the Yankees’s every day shortstop in 2022, was already expected to move to a utility role entering the 2022 season, leaving the shortstop job open for a trio of youngsters: Volpe, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Oswald Peraza. The switch-hitting Cabrera, according to Jack Curry of YES Network, is set to make the Opening Day roster as well, likely playing all around the diamond as he did in a 44 game stint with the Yankees last season. No decision has been made yet on Peraza, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Peraza is widely considered to be the best defender of the three youngsters, has more Triple-A experience than Volpe, and hit well in a cup of coffee in the majors last year, but has struggled to a .644 OPS in 45 plate appearances this spring.

By adding Volpe to the Opening Day roster, the Yankees stand to earn a draft pick should he finish Top 3 in AL Rookie of the Year voting, as the Mariners did when Julio Rodriguez won the award last year. Volpe a consensus top prospect who plays a premium position, certainly seems poised as a potential preseason favorite for the award, though he could have plenty of competition, with Grayson Rodriguez of the Orioles and Masataka Yoshida of the Red Sox representing just two of the other interesting rookies who could contend for the award.

Whether Volpe ultimately secures an additional draft pick for the Yankees with his play this season or not, the willingness of Yankees brass to promote Volpe to open the season rather than hold him in the minors to open the year, which would have gotten Volpe more Triple-A experience and potentially securing an additional year of service time in the process, signals a clear intent to win now. That’s no surprise for a perennial contender such as the Yankees, particularly with reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge still in his prime and older veterans like Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo and DJ LeMahieu still figuring to be quality contributors to the club this year.

Luis Severino Suffers Lat Strain, Likely Headed To Injured List

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Yankees right-hander Luis Severino is probably headed to the 15-day injured list due to what manager Aaron Boone described to reporters (including Joel Sherman of the New York Post) as a lower-grade lat strain.  Max Goodman of NJ Advance Media reported earlier today that Severino had been scratched from his planned start today, which was to be Severino’s last outing of Spring Training.

Severino becomes the third member of New York’s projected Opening Day rotation who will instead begin the season on the IL.  Carlos Rodon was sidelined with a mild forearm strain but has at least been back throwing, while Frankie Montas’ season is in jeopardy after undergoing shoulder surgery.  Those absences have resulted in Domingo German and Clarke Schmidt being elevated to rotation jobs, and the Yankees will now have to dip into their depth once more to replace Severino.  Deivi Garcia, Jhony Brito, Matt Krook, and Randy Vasquez are all on the 40-man roster and slated for rotation duty at Triple-A, but Garcia is the only member of that group with Major League experience.

While the Yankees have two off-days in their first nine days of the regular season, they will need a fifth starter to make one turn through the rotation.  In the best-case scenario, Severino would perhaps only miss one start or two starts, given how Boone left a bit of wiggle room about the IL placement and the severity of the injury.  That said, Severino also missed over two months last season with a similar lat strain on his right side, so there is no guarantee that this new injury could be a short-term issue.

It makes for yet another injury setback for Severino, who pitched only 18 total regular-season innings total during the 2019-21 seasons.  A more severe lat strain (as well as a rotator cuff problem) contributed to that layoff in 2019, and then Tommy John surgery wiped out almost all of his next two seasons.  Even with his 2022 season also shortened by an IL stint, Severino still managed to toss 102 innings and re-establish himself as a quality starter, posting a 3.18 ERA, 27.7% strikeout rate, and 7.4% walk rate in his limited action.

The Yankees were encouraged enough by this performance to exercise their $15MM club option on Severino’s services for the 2023 season, which seemed like a pretty easy call last November.  As a result, the original four-year, $40MM extension that Severino signed in February 2019 became a five-year, $55MM pact.  That deal was a departure for a Yankees organization that usually doesn’t sign players to extensions, and given how Severino has tossed only 120 regular-season innings since signing the deal, the investment simply hasn’t worked out to date.  Naturally, if Severino can get back onto the field relatively quickly, he still has plenty of time in the 2023 season to deliver some more return to the Yankees, as well as set himself up for another deal when he enters the free agent market this winter.

If the Yankees wanted to add rotation depth beyond their internal choices, the pickings are pretty slim on the free agent market at the moment.  However, some more names could become available as teams make their final roster cuts towards the end of Spring Training.  A pitcher facing an opt-out decision on his minor league contract, for example, might now view New York as a viable option if their current team isn’t planning on including them on the Opening Day roster.

Jed Lowrie Announces Retirement

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Former All-Star second baseman Jed Lowrie tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he’s retiring after 15-year Major League career and a professional career that spanned parts of 18 seasons. Lowrie tells Slusser that he’s “gotten to the point where I listen to my body and when I think about playing another 162, I don’t want to do that.” He adds that he’s looking forward to spending time with his young family and is already an assistant coach with his daughter’s softball team.

Now 38 years old, Lowrie was the No. 45 overall draft pick by the Red Sox back in 2005. The Stanford product reached the Majors three years after being drafted, hitting .258/.339/.400 in 81 games as a rookie with the Sox in 2008. He spent parts of four seasons in Boston before being traded to the Astros in exchange for reliever Mark Melancon.

That stop in Houston wound up being for just one year, as the Astros traded Lowrie to the A’s on the heels of a solid .244/.331/.438 showing and netted Brad Peacock, Chris Carter and Max Stassi in that swap. He’d spend the next two seasons in Oakland, performing at a high level (.272/.334/.405) before reaching free agency and signing back with the Astros. In a full deja vu sequence, Lowrie spent one season in Houston and was traded to Oakland a second time — this time in exchange for righty Brendan McCurry.

Lowrie spent the next three seasons in green and gold, culminating with a 2018 All-Star season that saw him club a career-best 23 home runs. That standout campaign helped Oakland secure a postseason berth, though the 2018 A’s fell to the Yankees in the one-game Wild Card format. Lowrie went on to ink an ill-fated two-year deal with the Mets, with whom he was limited to just nine games due to ongoing knee troubles. Lowrie reached free agency and once again signed with the A’s, making good on a minor league deal and reemerging as the team’s regular second baseman. He signed one final deal with Oakland for the 2022 season but was limited to just 50 games.

Overall, Lowrie spent parts of seven seasons in Oakland, four in Boston, two in Houston and two in New York (though he was on the injured list for the bulk of that time). He’ll retire as a career .257/.330/.406 hitter (103 wRC+) with 121 home runs, 292 doubles, 17 triples, 590 runs scored, 594 runs batted in and eight stolen bases. He made an All-Star team and reached the postseason in six of his 15 seasons as a big leaguer.

Given his obvious talent, he’d surely have further padded those totals had he been able to avoid the injured list with more regularity, but health troubles followed him throughout his career. Lowrie most notably was plagued by a torn ligament in his thumb, a capsule tear in his knee and a broken finger in his right hand, amid several other nagging injuries. It’s easy to wonder what might have been with better health, but Lowrie’s career was still valued nearly 20 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs, and just shy of 16 WAR per Baseball-Reference. He was regularly an average or better hitter when healthy, peaking with particularly big showings at the plate in 2010, 2013 and 2017-18. All told, he banked more than $60MM in salary over the course of his career and will be remembered particularly fondly for his time in Oakland.

What’s next for Lowrie isn’t clear, but he tells Slusser that he “loves the game too much” to simply ride off into the sunset. Lowrie adds that he has a “deep-rooted obsession with seeing the game continue to evolve, continue to get better, continue to promote participation and see it thrive because it’s the best game in the world.” Best wishes to Lowrie in whatever path he takes in the next step of what sounds like a lifelong baseball journey.

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