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MLBTR Poll: CC Sabathia’s Hall Of Fame Case

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If his longstanding plan to retire at season’s end holds up, Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia has thrown the last pitch of his illustrious career. The 39-year-old suffered a shoulder injury during a relief appearance in New York’s Game 4 loss to Houston on Thursday, forcing the Yankees to pull him from their ALCS roster. That means even if the Yankees manage to overcome what’s now a 3-2 deficit against the mighty Astros to advance to the World Series, Sabathia won’t be eligible to participate in the Fall Classic.

Sabathia’s left to root for the Yankees to win it all without his help, though he told reporters it’s “kind of fitting” he’s going out this way. “I threw until I couldn’t anymore,” said Sabathia, whose left arm has been through the wringer since he debuted with the Indians back in 2001.

Between the regular season and the playoffs, Sabathia has amassed 3,707 2/3 innings. Also a former Brewer, whom he all but dragged to the playoffs in 2008 after they acquired him from the Indians, Sabathia has eclipsed 200 frames in eight different regular seasons. He fired 241 (the second-highest mark of his career) in 2007, his lone Cy Young-winning campaign.

Various injuries robbed Sabathia of the chance for another workhorse-type season in 2019, as he racked up a career-low 107 1/3 innings during his uncharacteristically ineffective swan song. Sabathia only pitched to a 4.95 ERA/5.66 FIP, but a subpar final season hardly overshadows the rest of a brilliant run in the majors. Owner of a lifetime 3.74 ERA/3.78 FIP, Sabathia’s going out as one of the premier starters in recent memory, giving him a legitimate chance for enshrinement in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The question now is whether Sabathia should end up in Cooperstown, where he could earn a coveted plaque as early as 2025. As someone who ranks 16th all-time in strikeouts (3,093), 37th in pitcher fWAR (66.5), 48th in wins (251), 49th in pitcher bWAR (62.5) and 64th in regular-season innings (3,577 1/3), the credentials for strong consideration exist. He’s also a six-time All-Star, a one-time World Series champion (2009, when he was integral in the Yankees’ most recent title run) and, if it matters for his HOF odds, a revered teammate and leader. Whether all of that makes him a Hall of Famer is up for debate. What do you think?

(Poll link for app users)

Yankees Replace CC Sabathia On ALCS Roster

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10:34am: Sabathia has been diagnosed with a subluxation of his left shoulder joint, per the team. He’ll be replaced by righty Ben Heller.

6:07am: It appears that the long and storied career of Yankees lefty CC Sabathia is now at an end. He exited last night’s contest with an injury, with manager Aaron Boone saying after the game that Sabathia is likely to be replaced on the ALCS roster. Erik Boland of Newsday was among those to report the news via Twitter.

Sabathia, 39, was trying to bail his team out of an error-fueled jam when the trainer was summoned. Boone said after the game that the issue is in Sabathia’s pitching shoulder. Details are scant, but the skipper did say the outlook is “not good.”

The Yanks ended up dropping the messy game 5 contest by a score of 8-3. That puts the team in a 3-1 hole with Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole lined up to start for the Astros. Ripping off three-straight victories isn’t impossible, but will certainly be a tall order.

The front office will now need to settle on a roster replacement for Sabathia. The limitations of Giancarlo Stanton must also be considered; he’s said to be available to DH but is still dealing with a quad injury. Utilityman Tyler Wade and first baseman Luke Voit were both on the divisional series roster and remain options. Outfielder Mike Tauchman is also said to be available. It’s also possible the Yanks could instead add another arm.

As for Sabathia, he’s already committed to wrapping up his playing career at season’s end. But removing him from the roster would mean that he has now thrown his final pitches as a major leaguer. Sabathia would not be eligible to appear in the World Series — should the Yanks storm back and qualify — if he’s taken off of the ALCS roster.

Tauchman Available For Yankees If Roster Move Needed

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It’s only been five weeks since outfielder Mike Tauchman was diagnosed with a Grade 2 calf strain that came with a six- to eight-week recovery timetable, seemingly ending his season. However, general manager Brian Cashman told Joel Sherman of the New York Post prior to today’s Game 3 against the Astros that Tauchman is “healthy end eligible” to return to the roster, should New York need to place Giancarlo Stanton (or anyone else) on the injured list.

Stanton is currently day-to-day with a quadriceps issue and didn’t start either Game 2 or Game 3 of the current series, but he homered in Game 1 and is hitting .300/.467/.600 thus far in a tiny sample of 15 postseason plate appearances. His bat would be a welcome addition against a potent ’Stros pitching staff, of course, but playing shorthanded also does the club no favors. That said, putting Stanton on the injured list is no small decision; should the Yankees do so and then advance to the World Series, Stanton would be ineligible to return. Notably, there’s quite a bit of rain in tomorrow’s forecast in New York, and potential postponement could buy the team some time to further deliberate.

Tauchman, 28, was a godsend for the injury-plagued Yankees in 2019. The 2013 tenth-round pick never got an extended look in the Majors with the Rockies, but he stepped up with a strong .277/.361/.504 batting line with 13 home runs, 18 doubles and a triple in 296 plate appearances. Even if Tauchman isn’t added to the ALCS roster, the Yankees would have the ability to reset their 25-man group between the ALCS and a theoretical World Series berth.

Latest On Giancarlo Stanton

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Oct 15: Stanton is out the lineup once again for Game 3. Said manager Aaron Boone, as relayed in a tweet from MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch: “[Stanton] wants to play. But we’ve also had some real conversations about, you’ve got to be honest with where you’re at. I mean, there is an injury in there.”

Oct 13: Giancarlo Stanton isn’t in the Yankees’ lineup for Game 2 of the ALCS due to a quad strain, manager Aaron Boone told James Wagner of the New York Times (Twitter links) and other reporters.  Cameron Maybin will take Stanton’s spot in left field for tonight’s game.

Stanton suffered the injury while beating out an infield single in the second inning of Game 1, though it wasn’t serious enough for him to stop playing.  In fact, Stanton even homered in a later at-bat, before finally being replaced by Maybin prior to the bottom of the eighth (seemingly just for defensive purposes).  A post-game MRI, however, revealed the strain, hence Stanton’s absence from the lineup.  He could still potentially come off the bench to pinch-hit, or play in case of an emergency situation.  Boone was hopeful that the slugger would return to the starting nine at some point in the series, perhaps as early as Game 3 if Monday’s off-day provided enough time for Stanton to heal up.

2019 has already been an injury-marred season for Stanton, who played in only 18 games due to a variety of biceps, calf, shoulder, and knee problems, most notably a strained PCL in his right knee.  In the wake of such a year (not to mention Stanton’s lengthy injury history in past seasons), this day-to-day quad issue looms larger for him than it would for most other players.  To be fair, Boone could be engaging in a bit of gamesmanship against the Astros by not putting any sort of timeline on Stanton’s return, though it also could be that the Yankees themselves are being as cautious as possible with the outfielder’s status.  If Stanton is removed from the ALCS roster due to injury, he would be ineligible for the World Series if New York were to advance.

With Stanton sidelined, the Yankees have four outfielders (Aaron Judge, Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, and Maybin) remaining on their roster, with Hicks himself only just returning from a late-season elbow injury.

Latest On Jasson Dominguez

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  • “It’s never an easy thing to drop $5.1MM on one player, but he made it pretty easy,” Yankees international scouting director Donny Rowland told Baseball America’s Ben Badler (subscription required) about Dominican prospect Jasson Dominguez.  The 16-year-old Dominguez’s $5.1MM payday matched the highest bonus given to any player in this year’s international draft class, and his stock has only continued to rise now that he has seen some action in the Dominican instructional league.  Badler’s piece details how the Yankees’ international scouting staff first came across Dominguez, and how the youngster is already showing potential as a five-tool center fielder (not to mention a sixth tool of plate discipline).

Rays Official Believes Team Showed 'Blueprint' To Beat Astros

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Ken Davidoff of The New York Post spoke with a Rays official in the wake of the team’s close-but-not-quite battle with the mighty Houston Astros, and the Tampa employee believes his team’s ALDS strategy could end up changing the shape of the postseason. “We gave the Yankees a blueprint for how to pitch them,” the official told Davidoff (link).

There’s certainly some merit to that takeaway. Although the Astros have been expected to steamroll their way to the Fall Classic for most of the year (Fangraphs’ playoff odds have tabbed Houston with a 30 percent-or-better chance to win the championship for much of the season), the Rays came awfully close to taking them down within the first round of the playoffs, in part via a bullpen-heavy mix-and-match pitching strategy. As Davidoff points out, just one Rays pitcher–starter Charlie Morton–threw long enough to qualify for a decision in the ALDS, with manager Kevin Cash calling on 11 separate pitchers to tame the wild Astros offense. Houston’s offense mustered just a .700 OPS in the divisional round against this all-hands-on-deck approach, and will now square off with a Yankees team that, for what it’s worth, notched a competent 4.08 collective bullpen ERA in 2019 (good for 9th in MLB). However, Tampa’s approach, it should be noted, may have had something to do with the fact that Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell, two of their frontline starters, were forced to work in limited capacity; the Yankees should be able to sport a more traditional look with their James Paxton/Luis Severino/Masahiro Tanaka starting triumvirate, although Severino’s own 2019 injury considerations could preclude an early dip into the pen by manager Aaron Boone.

CC Sabathia, Aaron Hicks Make Yankees ALCS Roster

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The New York Yankees announced their ALCS roster today with a couple of familiar faces joining the fray.

Veteran CC Sabathia makes the roster in what could be his final postseason appearances. The Yankees decided to go with 13 pitchers for this round, with Sabathia signing on as the extra man. It remains to be seen in what exact capacity he might be used, though he will probably come out of the bullpen. The more surprising addition is Aaron Hicks, who not that long ago was considering Tommy John surgery.

Hicks was really only healthy for about three months of the season and hasn’t seen action since early August, when a flexor strain in his elbow forced him to the injured list. After suffering a setback, Tommy John surgery was very much in consideration and it looked like Hicks would be unable to contribute in the postseason. However, it’s surely a pleasant surprise that Hicks has shown enough progress to warrant a return to the roster for a late-season comeback.

With Hicks and Sabathia back in the fold, infielders Tyler Wade and Luke Voit have been left off the roster. Additionally, the Yankees announced that right-handed pitcher David Hale has been designated for assignment to free a spot on the 40-man for Hicks, who had been on the 60-day injured list.

Here’s the complete 25-man unit:

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Catchers

Hicks will be prepared for any situation, including starting, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (via Twitter). If healthy, the switch-hitting centerfielder certainly has the talent to make an impact. Though he hasn’t met expectations this year, in large part due to injuries, Hicks offers the Yankees with increased defensive flexibility; if he plays in center field, where he’s garnered a reputation as one of the finest outfielders in the American League, Brett Gardner can slide to left while Giancarlo Stanton works as a DH. Of course, that scenario would force the Yankees to rejigger their infield mix if they want to keep Edwin Encarnacion’s bat in the lineup.

Wade would be the utility infield option, but with Torres, LeMahieu, and Urshela all capable of playing all over the diamond, Wade didn’t figure to see a lot of playing time regardless. Voit is the bigger name, and if you’d stopped watching baseball at the midway point of 2019 you’d certainly be surprised to see him left off this roster. An injury derailment and a tough second half slowed him down, however, and he did not make an appearance in the ALDS. He’s been knocked down the first base pecking order with LeMahieu getting the lion’s share of reps and Encarnacion at full health.

Yankees, Astros Announce ALCS Rotation Plans

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Yankees manager Aaron Boone and Astros skipper A.J. Hinch each spoke with the media today and divulged the upcoming starting pitching plans of their respective organizations. The teams have each named starters through the first three contests in the American League Championship Series.

Game 1, tomorrow night in Houston, will feature Masahiro Tanaka and Zack Greinke. The 30-year-old Tanaka has had his share of ups and downs in recent seasons, but turned in a strong effort against the Twins in the ALDS (one earned run in five innings with seven strikeouts and one walk). Greinke, who was acquired with a series like this in mind, struggled badly in his first postseason showing with his new team. But he’s one of the game’s most experienced hurlers and remains vested with quite a lot of trust.

Thereafter, the clubs will turn the ball over to their best starters. James Paxton goes against Justin Verlander in game 2, while Luis Severino will square off against Gerrit Cole in game 3, the first contest at Yankee Stadium. There’s little doubt that Houston’s co-aces have the advantage on paper, but the Yankees duo is also amply talented.

Each of the six pitchers listed above will be faced with a massive challenge. As Greinke put it today, in typically dry manner, “it’s tough to get good hitters out than not as good hitters.” Both lineups (and benches) are loaded with good hitters.

Unless these starters can fill up a lot of frames, the two teams’ bullpens could end up getting a workout as well. That has the potential to make things quite interesting in game 4. Neither team has a clear, high-end starting option ready to run out after their top three arms. Even if the Astros roll with Jose Urquidy, he’ll be going on a short leash with expectations of leaning on multiple relievers. While the Yankees can get some length from Luis Cessa and/or Jonathan Loaisiga, they’ll likely be attempting a true bullpen game in a high-stakes situation.

Aaron Hicks A Consideration For ALCS Roster

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Oct. 11: Hicks is a definite consideration for the ALCS roster, per manager Aaron Boone. Ken Davidoff of the New York Post spoke to Hicks and also has quotes from GM Brian Cashman on the looming decision. Hicks, notably, said at one point during his current injury absence, he was bracing himself for the news that he would require Tommy John surgery. That didn’t end up being the case, thankfully for both Hicks and the team, and Cashman now faces a “complicated” decision on how to best compose the roster that’ll square off against the Astros.1

Oct. 8: The Yankees could get an important piece back prior to their upcoming ALCS matchup against either the Astros or the Rays. Center fielder Aaron Hicks, out since early August due to a flexor strain in his right elbow, tells Mark Didtler of the Associated Press that he is “definitely” ready to return to the lineup. Hicks adds that he’s been facing live pitching, throwing to bases and “pretty much doing everything” in terms of baseball activities.

The Yankees haven’t made any formal decision on Hicks’ status and presumably won’t announce their ALCS roster until this weekend. That said, a healthy Hicks would be a defensive boost for the Yankees, who have been playing a potentially less-than-100-percent Giancarlo Stanton in left field after he missed nearly the entire season due to injury. Hicks could conceivably push Cameron Maybin off the Yankees’ roster in the next round, though Maybin certainly helped his cause with last night’s late home run after replacing Stanton for defensive purposes. Tyler Wade and Luke Voit, meanwhile, both made the Yankees’ ALDS roster but did not make a plate appearance in the team’s three-game sweep of the Twins.

Hicks, who turned 30 last week, signed a seven-year, $70MM contract with the Yankees in Spring Training (six years and $64MM in new money), but a back injury landed him on the injured list to open the season. Between that back issue and the more recent flexor strain, the switch-hitting Hicks was limited to 59 games and 255 plate appearances, during which time he hit .235/.325/.443 with a dozen home runs. That translated to roughly league-average offensive production (102 wRC+, 103 OPS+) but was also a far cry from the combined .255/.368/.470 slash he posted from 2017-18.

The Yankees placed Hicks on the 60-day injured list in September, so they’d have to make a corresponding 40-man roster move if they decide to activate Hicks for the next round of play. That could likely be achieved by moving Mike Tauchman to the 60-day injured list in his place, though. Tauchman suffered a Grade 2 calf strain that was expected to sideline him for up to eight weeks just under a month ago.

Chapman Insists Hand Will Be Fine For ALCS

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Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman was seen with his left hand heavily bandaged during the team’s celebration last night, writes Dan Martin of the New York Post, but the lefty insisted that there was no serious injury at play. Rather, Chapman explained, he was hit with a bottle while jumping with teammates to celebrate the Yankees’ advancement to the American League Championship Series. There’s no indication that Chapman would need to miss New York’s forthcoming date with either the Astros or the Rays.

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