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Yankees Notes: Cole, Montgomery, Sanchez, Rizzo, German

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In the wake of another COVID-19 outbreak in the Yankees clubhouse, some of the impacted players are preparing to return to the field.  Manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Kristie Ackert of The New York Daily News) that Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery will be activated from the COVID-related injury list to start the Yankees’ next two games.  Cole will face the Angels on Monday, while Montgomery will face the Red Sox on Tuesday in one half of a doubleheader.

Additionally, catcher Gary Sanchez started a Double-A rehab assignment today, and could potentially be activated for one of those games against the Red Sox.  “We’ll see if we want to do another rehab game with them, potentially on Tuesday, but the idea would be he plays [today] and then come be with us tomorrow and work out, have a full day with us and then we’ll kind of evaluate the next step,” Boone said.

Six players are currently on the COVID list, which only added to roster issues for the injury-riddled Yankees.  Despite all these absences, however, the Yankees have been one of baseball’s hottest teams, with a 19-9 record since the All-Star break.

Anthony Rizzo was a big part of that hot streak, batting .281/.400/.563 in his first 40 plate appearances in the pinstripes since being acquired by the Cubs at the trade deadline.  Rizzo was also hit by a positive COVID test, and after over a week away, will begin to take steps towards returning to the field by undergoing cardiac testing on Monday.

Domingo German has been sidelined by right shoulder inflammation since August 1, and the right-hander tossed a bullpen session yesterday to continue his recovery process.  Boone said German threw all fastballs yesterday and will add more pitches in his next bullpen, which could take place as early as Monday.

Luis Severino To Undergo MRI On Right Shoulder

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Yankees right-hander Luis Severino reported tightness in his throwing shoulder yesterday, and was scratched from a planned Triple-A rehab start.  MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link) reported that Severino will see doctors on Monday, with Yankees manager Aaron Boone telling reporters (including Newsday’s Erik Boland) that Severino will undergo an MRI.  More will be known once Severino is examined, with Boone expressing hope at this point that the injury is only “something minor,” and saying “I feel awful for [Severino]” in the wake of yet another potential injury setback.

Severino missed much of the 2019 season due to shoulder and lat injuries, and then didn’t pitch at all in 2020 because of Tommy John surgery.  His return from that rehab was tentatively scheduled for around the All-Star break before he suffered a groin injury in June that pushed his timetable back another month.  The righty had already made four minor league rehab appearances, and it is possible Friday’s outing might have been his final hurdle before finally returning to the Yankees’ active roster.

Now, it is fair to wonder if Severino might be sidelined for another full season, given the timing of this shoulder issue.  Anything beyond basic soreness could require another shutdown, so it could conceivably be September before Severino again appears in a game.  It’s worth noting that Severino didn’t make his 2019 debut until September 17 (appearing in three regular-season games before starting two postseason contests), though even this usage may not be feasible depending on the nature of this new shoulder problem.  After such a long layoff, the last thing the Yankees would want is for Severino to incur yet another injury due to a desire just to get any game action in for the 2021 season.

The Bronx Bombers have long been counting on Severino to provide a late boost to the pitching staff, especially considering the team’s pitching ranks have been decimated by other injuries and a COVID-19 outbreak.  On the latter front, there is some good news, as Boone said Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery threw bullpen sessions yesterday and are on pace to be activated from the COVID list early next week.

Yankees Sign Sal Romano To Minors Contract

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The Yankees have signed righty Sal Romano to a minor league contract.  Conor Foley of The Scranton Times-Tribune (Twitter link) was the first to report that Romano was working out today with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate.

Romano is back with the Yankees less than three weeks after being designated for assignment by New York and then claimed off waivers by the Brewers.  Romano pitched in just one game for Milwaukee before being designated again, and he chose to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to the Brewers’ Triple-A club.

This makes it four uniform changes in less than three months for Romano, who began the season with the Reds before declining another outright assignment to catch on with the Yankees on his previous minor league deal.  Romano is out of minor league options, so he could face yet another round of DFA limbo should New York recall him to the big leagues and then again cut ties to make roster space for another player.

Amidst all the movement, Romano has a 5.63 ERA over 24 total innings in 2021 (one with the Brewers, 2 1/3 IP with the Yankees, and 20 2/3 with the Reds).  A veteran of five Major League seasons, Romano has a 5.18 ERA over 274 1/3 career innings, all with Cincinnati prior to 2021.

Injured List Activations: Schmidt, Frankoff, Blandino

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A trio of players were reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to their teams’ respective Triple-A affiliates.

  • The Yankees activated right-hander Clarke Schmidt and optioned him to Scranton-Wilkes/Barre. The 25-year-old is one of the game’s better pitching prospects, but he’s been sidelined all year by an elbow strain. Schmidt, who briefly made his big league debut last season, tossed 8 2/3 innings on a rehab assignment and will continue to build up in the minors. Because of last year’s canceled minor league season, Schmidt has still yet to pitch at the Triple-A level. A 40-man roster spot was opened when reliever Clay Holmes was placed on the COVID-19 injured list due to virus-like symptoms.
  • The Diamondbacks activated right-hander Seth Frankoff and optioned him to Reno. The move fills Arizona’s 40-man roster. Frankoff signed a minor league deal over the winter and was selected to the big league club in April. The 32-year-old made four appearances and tossed 14 2/3 innings of 9.20 ERA/5.72 SIERA ball before landing on the IL with forearm soreness in early June.
  • The Reds reinstated infielder Alex Blandino and optioned him to Louisville. Reliever Art Warren was transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day IL to create a 40-man roster spot. Blandino, who has been out since June 5 with a fractured right hand, has a .200/.317/.257 line across 82 plate appearances this season. Warren landed on the IL with a left oblique strain on July 15. He’s now out until at least mid-September.

Yankees Place Gleyber Torres On Injured List

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5:12 pm: The Yankees were relieved by the MRI results on Torres, according to Boone, who estimates the shortstop could be back within 10-20 days (via Marly Rivera of ESPN). Urshela, though, suffered some form of setback that’ll push back his expected return date for at least a few days (relays Lindsey Adler of the Athletic).

3:15 pm: The Yankees announced they’re placing shortstop Gleyber Torres on the 10-day injured list with a left thumb sprain. Utilityman Andrew Velazquez has been selected to the roster in a corresponding move.

Torres suffered the injury diving into the second base bag during the fourth inning of yesterday’s game against the Mariners. He stayed in for a few frames before being removed for a defensive replacement in the top of the ninth. Torres was sent for an MRI after the game, with manager Aaron Boone acknowledging the team had some concern it was a noteworthy issue. There’s no indication at this point that Torres will have to miss anything beyond the ten day minimum, but the injury is apparently severe enough for the organization to shut him down for the next week-plus.

It comes at an unfortunate time for Torres, who had heated up at the plate over the past couple weeks after a subpar first half. Altogether, the 24-year-old has a .253/.328/.351 mark with six home runs across 407 plate appearances this season. Torres’ power production has largely evaporated over the past couple years, but he’d shown signs of life coming out of the All-Star Break. Torres has popped three home runs and hit .300/.337/.500 over his past 90 plate appearances.

With Torres landing on the IL, the Yankees rather incredibly have twenty players on the injured list at the moment. A few of those players figure to return in the coming days after testing positive for COVID-19, but New York will have to make due for now without lineup regulars such as Torres, Gio Urshela, Gary Sánchez and Anthony Rizzo — as well as key starters Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery. It’s particularly poor fortune for a Yankee club 2.5 games back of the Red Sox for the American League’s final playoff spot.

Torres, Urshela and Tyler Wade are the only players to see action at shortstop for the Yankees this season. It now seems Wade and the switch-hitting Velazquez could cover the position. Velazquez, signed to a minor league deal over the offseason, has a .156/.257/.219 line in 113 big league plate appearances between 2018-20. He’s had a very strong season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, though, slashing .283/.367/.471 while logging significant action at each of shortstop, second and third base.

Gleyber Torres To Receive MRI On Left Thumb

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Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres injured his left thumb during today’s 2-0 loss to the Mariners, and manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler) that Torres will receive an MRI to determine the extent of the problem.  For now, Boone indicated there is some concern that Torres has suffered a notable injury.

Torres hurt his thumb in the fourth inning while making a headfirst slide on a steal of second base.  Trainers checked on Torres but he remained on the field for most of the game, even hitting a single in his next plate appearance.  Torres kept playing until the top of the ninth, when Tyler Wade replaced him at shortstop.

Even with today’s 3-for-4 performance, Torres is still hitting only .253/.328/.351 over 407 plate appearances, representing below-average offensive production (92 wRC+).  That slash line does include an improved .833 OPS over his 82 PA prior to today’s game, however, so an injury just when Torres has been starting to heat up would be particularly inopportune.

Besides Torres and the injured Gio Urshela, Wade is the only other player who has seen time at shortstop for the Yankees this season.  Wade can cover the position if Torres only needs a game or two off, but a potential trip to the injured list for Torres would further test the depth of a New York club that has already been drastically shorthanded due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

Yankees Activate Luke Voit, Place Anthony Rizzo On COVID-IL

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11:30AM: The Yankees have also recalled Luis Gil as a replacement player and optioned Nick Nelson to Triple-A, per a club announcement.

9:51AM: The Yankees have activated Luke Voit and placed Anthony Rizzo on the COVID-IL. Manager Aaron Boone says Rizzo has tested positive, per Lindsey Adler of The Athletic. He also is exhibiting some symptoms. As a positive test, he will be quarantined for at least 10 days.

The Yankees are now further hampered by an ongoing COVID outbreak that has already seen them place Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery and Gary Sanchez on the IL in recent days. Since being acquired in a deal just before the deadline, Rizzo has had an excellent debut as a Yankee. In nine games, he’s slashed .281/.400/.563, for a wRC+ of 163.

The club will now turn to Voit and hope that he can return to last year’s excellent form. His wRC+ of 152 in 2020 was one of the best in the league. But 2021 has been a struggle so far, with a wRC+ of 98 while dealing with various injuries. The club reportedly nearly traded Voit after acquiring Rizzo, but the deal fell through at the last hour. After a knee injury in July, he had only started a rehab assignment a few days ago. But it seems Rizzo’s positive test has hastened his return.

Despite scrambling to cover for all of these players missing time, the team is on a hot streak and currently just 1 1/2 out of a playoff spot.

Yankees Place Aroldis Chapman On 10-Day Injured List

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The Yankees have placed Aroldis Chapman on the 10-day injured list with left elbow inflammation, retroactive to yesterday, per the team. In a corresponding move, Nick Nelson has been recalled from Triple-A.

It hasn’t been Chapman’s best season on the whole, but he had seemed to figure some things out of late. He had posted seven consecutive scoreless outings going back to July 21st. In fact, since allowing nine earned runs across three outings at the end of June, Chapman has posted a 0.82 ERA over his last 11 innings.

Nelson, 25, has been burned for 14 earned runs across 13 1/3 innings in 10 appearances (2 starts) this season. He’s fared much better in Triple-A, however, where he owns a 3.50 ERA across 36 innings with 46 strikeouts to 18 walks.

With Chapman out, the Yankees will likely turn to Chad Green to close games. Green has three saves on the year to go with 15 holds and a 3.21 ERA/3.45 FIP in 56 innings of work. Alternatively, veteran Zack Britton has plenty of experience closing, and he does appear to be rounding himself into form with a 2.57 ERA over his past seven outings. Jonathan Loaisiga also has three saves this season with a 2.53 ERA and 13 holds.

Yankees Nearly Traded Luke Voit Before Deadline

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The Yankees came very close to trading Luke Voit before last week’s trade deadline, Andy Martino of SNY reports. The Yankees discussed three potential deals involving Voit, per the report, one of which fell apart just before the deadline when the trade partner in question backed out of the swap.

With no trade coming together, Voit’s role on the Yankees has rather surprisingly become unclear. Despite the fact that the 30-year-old slugger paced the Majors with 22 home runs last summer and has generally been a well above-average hitter from the moment he arrived on the scene in the Bronx, the 2021 campaign has been something of a nightmare. Voit has endured three IL stints thanks to a torn meniscus, a strained oblique and a bone bruise in his knee, and he’s managed a tepid .241/.328/.370 output in 122 plate appearances when healthy.

Voit’s offense looked to be coming around in the weeks between his two most recent IL stints. From June 22 through July 11, he tallied 72 plate appearances and turned in a .281/.361/.453 batting line with two homers, three doubles and a triple. However, the Yankees acquired Anthony Rizzo at the trade deadline and already have a crowded designated hitter scene now that Joey Gallo has been added to an outfield mix that also includes Aaron Judge, Brett Gardner and Giancarlo Stanton. Per Martino, the team has at least discussed the possibility of optioning Voit to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre — a notion that not long ago would’ve seemed unthinkable.

With Rizzo now entrenched at first base and Giancarlo Stanton slotting in as the designated hitter most nights, there’s suddenly no room for Voit in the lineup. The Yankees are also currently employing a short bench of just three players, making positional flexibility more important than usual. Voit’s only time away from first base was a single inning in right field in 2018.

Rizzo is a free agent at year’s end, which could potentially open the door for Voit to retake his position at first base and in the lineup next year — assuming the team doesn’t again explore the market for Voit this winter. Voit, after all, would figure to have plenty of value to other clubs this offseason if the Yankees ultimately move in another direction. He’s due a raise on this year’s $4.7MM salary, but his injuries and the ensuing lack of counting stats will suppress the total of that raise. Voit is also controlled through the 2024 season, so an interested club could look to buy low in hopes of securing a longer-term option at first base.

In the short term, Voit began a rehab assignment in Triple-A on Tuesday and work to get back into game shape after a month on the injured list. Whether he immediately returns to the Yankees after that remains to be seen.

Gary Sanchez Tests Positive For COVID-19

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Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez has tested positive for COVID-19, manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News). He woke up this morning not feeling well and a rapid test came back positive. Rob Brantly is being re-selected to the roster as his replacement.

Sánchez is yet another notable Yankees player to land on the COVID IL. Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery hit the injured list earlier this week, and a few players (including star outfielder Aaron Judge) tested positive immediately after the All-Star Break. One of those players — reliever Wandy Peralta — just made his return from the IL this afternoon. Assuming follow-up testing confirms the positive result, Sánchez will miss at least ten days recuperating, leaving New York to rely upon Kyle Higashioka and Brantly behind the plate.

Brantly was selected as a COVID replacement, so he can be returned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at a later date without being subjected to waivers. He’s already been up as a COVID replacement once this season, appearing in four games.

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