- Aaron Judge’s 10-day IL stint may be a minimal one, as the Yankees star told Newsday’s Roger Rubin and other media that he is already recovered from his minor calf strain just two days after his placement. “I was begging for just a couple days…and I don’t need 10 days to be feeling good. I already feel 100 percent now,” Judge said. While Judge is “frustrated with myself not being out there,” he “wouldn’t say I’m frustrated with the organization. This shows how much the organization cares for me and looks out for my well-being.” Given how much time Judge (and other Yankees players) have missed due to injury in recent years, it makes sense that the club would be as cautious as possible in making sure a seemingly minor injury didn’t blossom into a bigger issue.
Yankees Rumors
Yankees Plan To Activate Aroldis Chapman Monday
The Yankees intend to activate closer Aroldis Chapman tomorrow, according to Lindsey Adler of The Athletic. Chapman has yet to pitch for the Yankees this year after a positive COVID-19 test during Spring Training 2.0.
Chapman originally went on the injured list on July 11, so it’s clearly taken a bit of time for him to not only get healthy, but also ramp back up into the swing of things.
Nonetheless, he’ll be a key addition to the back end of the Yankee bullpen, which has relied primarily upon Zack Britton in save situations through the first 20 games. Even with Chapman on the sidelines, Yankee relievers have been as dominant as expected, with Britton, Chad Green, and Adam Ottavino anchoring the unit. Unfortunately, they now find themselves without Tommy Kahnle, who underwent Tommy John surgery nearly two weeks ago.
The 32-year-old Chapman will embark on the first season of the $48MM extension he inked with the Yankees last winter. The shortened season means he will only earn a prorated version of his nominal $16MM salary.
Chapman, though perhaps slightly more worldly than he was when he broke into the Majors in 2010, is still one of the most dominant arms in baseball. Last year, he pitched to the tune of a 2.21 ERA while striking out 85 batters in 57 innings of work. And though his fastball averages a meager 98.2 mph these days, expect more of the same dominance when he makes his return to the mound in the coming days.
DJ LeMahieu Leaves Game Due To Thumb Sprain
9:28PM: LeMahieu is undergoing an MRI and CT scan but x-rays were negative on his thumb, Boone told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and other reporters. The injured list “could be” a possibility, Boone said.
8:28PM: Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu left tonight’s game due to what the team announced as a sprained left thumb. LeMahieu will undergo tests to determine the extent of the injury.
The injury seemed to occur during a fourth-inning at-bat, as LeMahieu was visited by trainers after swinging at a Nathan Eovaldi pitch. LeMahieu finished his plate appearance and then played second base in the top of the fifth, though not before another on-field visit from trainers and manager Aaron Boone. LeMahieu finished the inning but Tyler Wade replaced him at the keystone in the sixth inning.
After an injury-plagued 2019 season, the Yankees have again been hit with several notable health problems this season, including with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton currently sidelined. Losing LeMahieu would be another significant blow, as the second baseman entered Saturday’s action with a .429/.474/.557 slash line over his first 76 plate appearances. Leading the AL in batting average, OBP, and hits thus far, LeMahieu is on pace to top even his outstanding numbers from his 2019 debut season in the Bronx.
Wade and Thairo Estrada would be the top choices at second base if LeMahieu is out, plus veteran infielder Matt Duffy is at the Yankees’ alternate training site. While it’s too early to know whether LeMahieu will even require an IL placement let alone miss significant time, the lack of second base depth represents a potential area of focus for New York at the trade deadline should LeMahieu indeed face any sort of extended absence.
Yankees Place Aaron Judge On IL
The Yankees have decided to place outfielder Aaron Judge on the injured list, manager Aaron Boone announced to reporters including Erik Boland of Newsday (via Twitter). He’s dealing with a mild calf strain.
Boone made clear that this is only a precautionary move. While the injury is said to be merely a grade 1 strain, if that, the team is exercising ample caution with its star slugger.
Yankees fans will be forgiven for fostering greater concern than the skipper himself let on. Judge hasn’t topped five hundred plate appearances in a season since his mammoth 2017 rookie year, owing to a series of health issues.
It’s much the same situation with fellow middle-of-the-order centerpiece Giancarlo Stanton. He’s also sidelined with what’s hoped to be a mild leg muscle issue, but comes with the same sort of worrisome background. In their absence, former top prospect Clint Frazier could get a window to prove himself.
Pirates Claim Nick Tropeano
The Pirates announced Tuesday that they’ve claimed right-hander Nick Tropeano off waivers from the Yankees, who had designated him for assignment over the weekend. Tropeano has been optioned to the Pirates’ alternate training site.
Tropeano, 30 this month, has pitched in parts of five big league seasons, compiling a 4.51 ERA with 8.0 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and 1.57 HR/9. He was at one point a fairly well-regarded prospect in the Astros and Angels organizations, but injuries have slowed his career. Tropeanos had Tommy John surgery that cost him all of the 2017 season, and he has since battled shoulder and elbow troubles that have limited him to 182 innings between the minors and big leagues.
Last season, Tropeano was hit hard in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League , posting a 5.87 ERA in 79 2/3 frames. Offense was elevated in that already hitter-friendly league, however, just as it was in the Majors thanks to alterations to the ball’s composition. Prior to last year’s ugly results, Tropeano had a career 3.67 ERA in 223 Triple-A frames. He’ll give the Bucs some depth for their rotation and a possible long relief option.
Yankees Recall Clint Frazier
With Giancarlo Stanton sidelined, the Yankees have recalled young outfielder Clint Frazier. He had been on optional assignment at the team’s alternate training site.
While hardly a surprising move under the circumstances, it’s a notable moment for team and player. Soon to turn 26, Frazier has long seemed ready for extended MLB action but has not yet received a full shot with the power-packed Bronx Bombers.
Given the timing of the move, Frazier obviously won’t have a chance to accrue a full year of MLB service. He’s likely to stay up long enough to push past the line into two full seasons, at least, and may log enough to qualify for arbitration as a Super Two in the ensuing offseason.
Frazier did take 246 plate appearances last year at the MLB level. The former top prospect turned in a .267/.317/.489 slash with a dozen long balls — good but not world-beating production from a bat-first player.
The question remains whether Frazier can carve out a permanent role in New York. If not, and if Stanton is able to return to health, this could end up functioning as an audition for a potential trade.
Latest On Giancarlo Stanton
The Yankees got some promising news on sidelined slugger Giancarlo Stanton. The burly outfielder was diagnosed with a relatively mild grade 1 hamstring strain, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).
With little reason to push Stanton now, the front-running Yanks already placed him on the injured list. He’ll no doubt be sidelined longer than the requisite ten days. But there’s now at least cause for hope that he can make it back to the roster in time to contribute down the stretch and into the postseason.
Stanton, 30, had turned in a resurgent effort at the plate in the early going. After missing the bulk of 2019, he was turning heads with a .293/.453/.585 batting line through 14 games this year. Better still, he had drawn ten walks to go with 11 strikeouts, a marked turnaround from the strikeout concerns that had cropped up since Stanton arrived in New York.
Now it’s back to the trainer’s room for a player who has been no stranger to it. Stanton has had prior hamstring issues, though that wasn’t among the particular problem areas that kept him off the field in 2020.
Chapman To Be Evaluated Tuesday
The New York Yankees will make a decision about Aroldis Chapman’s timeline to return to action after a throwing session on Tuesday, per ESPN’s Marly Rivera. Chapman has yet to make an appearance this season. He tested positive for COVID-19 back on July 11th after showing mild symptoms. Chapman has been working his way back to full strength and hopes to return to the back end of the Yanks bullpen shortly. Last season, Chapman put together another top-notch campaign with 37 saves in 60 games and a 2.21 ERA/2.28 FIP while striking out 13.4 batters per nine innings.
Yankees Place Giancarlo Stanton On 10-Day Injured List
The Yankees have placed Giancarlo Stanton on their 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain, the team announced. Thairo Estrada has been recalled to take Stanton’s place on the active roster.
Stanton was removed from last night’s 5-3 loss to the Rays, as manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) that the slugger suffered the injury while running the bases in the fourth inning. Stanton was was able to remain on the field and even advance to both third and home later in the inning to score a run, though Mike Ford replaced Stanton during the next DH at-bat in the sixth inning.
Yet another trip to the IL is ominous news for Stanton and Yankees fans in the wake of the slugger’s oft-injured status over the last two seasons, and several leg-related issues (knee, quad, calf) were among Stanton’s long list of maladies. Stanton was limited to only 18 games in 2019 and he would have missed time at the start of a normally-scheduled 2020 season had the league not been shut down.
Though the first 14 games of the season, Stanton seemed to be in prime form, hitting .293/.453/.585 with three homers over his first 54 plate appearances. Albeit in a small sample size, this performance continues to indicate that Stanton is one of the sport’s most impactful bats when healthy, though remaining on the field is becoming an ever-increasing difficulty.
The Yankees played Stanton exclusively as a designated hitter this season in order to keep him as fresh as possible, and with the position now open, the club could cycle several players through DH duty. Of those on the active roster, Ford and Mike Tauchman are the likeliest candidates for more playing time, plus Miguel Andujar and Clint Frazier loom as potential call-ups from the minor league camp.
Chris Iannetta Retires
12:49PM: Iannetta explained his decision to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, saying that he told the Yankees in the offseason that he was going to retire if he wasn’t on the Major League roster. That stance didn’t change after Higashioka was injured.
“If I didn’t make the team out of spring, I was going to call it a career….That’s kind of what transpired when they took me off the roster and wanted me to go to Scranton,” Iannetta said. “I was like, no. I wasn’t about to hang on or sit around and wait for someone to get hurt or get called up again. I’ve never wished anyone to get hurt in my entire career, and I wasn’t about to start now.”
12:40PM: The Yankees placed catcher Chris Iannetta on their restricted list yesterday, a somewhat curious transaction that could now be a bit more clear. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link) that Iannetta “is believed to be retiring” after 14 seasons in the majors.
Originally a fourth-round pick for the Rockies in the 2004 draft, Iannetta spent eight seasons in total with Colorado, first from 2006-11 and then a return for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. In between those stints at Coors Field, Iannetta also spent four seasons with the Angels (after being dealt in a notable trade that sent Tyler Chatwood to Colorado), and one season apiece with the Mariners and Diamondbacks.
He inked a minor league deal with the Yankees last February and had his contract selected prior to their July opener, though Iannetta never officially appeared in the pinstripes before he was designated for assignment last week. Iannetta was then outrighted off New York’s 40-man roster but didn’t report to the club’s alternate training site, which George A. King III of the New York Post reports (via Twitter) was the reason for Iannetta’s placement on the restricted list.
A possible wrinkle to the story could be today’s news that Kyle Higashioka has been placed on the 10-day injured list with an oblique strain. Erik Kratz was called up to take Higashioka’s spot as Gary Sanchez’s backup, and with the Yankees now short on catching depth, one wonders if Iannetta might be persuaded to return if he has a clearer path to a Major League job.
If this is indeed it for the 37-year-old Iannetta, he’ll head into retirement with 1197 MLB games and 4253 plate appearances to his name, with 141 homers and a career .230/.345/.406 slash line. Iannetta’s 100 wRC+ makes him an exactly average run-creator over his 14 seasons, and his three best offensive seasons were somewhat unusually spaced out — a 129 wRC+ in 2008 over 407 plate appearances with the Rockies, a 125 wRC+ in 373 PA with the Angels in 2014, and then a 120 wRC+ over 316 PA with the D’Backs in 2017. Iannetta’s offensive production was largely fueled by an ability to reach base, highlighted by a .390 OBP during that big 2008 campaign.
Iannetta is the Rockies’ all-time leader in games caught, and as noted by Heyman, he is also a notable figure in the history of Rhode Island baseball. Of all big league players born in the Ocean State, Iannetta ranks seventh in games played, behind three Hall-of-Famers (Nap Lajoie, Gabby Hartnett, Hugh Duffy) and three other notables in Paul Konerko, Davey Lopes, and Bill Almon. MLB Trade Rumors congratulates Iannetta on a fine career, and we wish him the best in his post-playing days.
