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Happ, Hill, McHugh Among Players Excluded From Vesting Clause Agreement

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6:39pm: Red Sox righty Collin McHugh is also excluded from the agreement, Martino tweets. McHugh, who’s still working back from the nonsurgical procedure he underwent on his pitching elbow over the winter, signed an incentive-laden deal with Boston in March. Back when McHugh inked the contract, it included $3.625MM in available incentives based on between 30 and 115 innings pitched; it also featured roster bonuses for 15 to 90 days on the team’s active roster.

1:02pm: It emerged yesterday that the league and union had agreed upon how to handle vesting clauses and certain bonuses in a highly modified 2020 season. But it seems the general agreement includes carve-outs for certain players.

Among those known to be excluded are Yankees lefty J.A. Happ and Twins southpaw Rich Hill, according to reports from Joel Sherman of the New York Post and Andy Martino of SNY.tv. In those cases — and, it seems, a few unidentified others — the team and player will have to reach modified agreements or submit cases to an arbitrator to decide how their contracts should be treated.

In Happ’s case, his original contract included a $17MM vesting/club option for the 2021 season. It would become guaranteed if he made 27 starts and/or threw 165 innings this year. As for Hill, there aren’t any options. But his deal included generous incentive pay for accumulating relatively small numbers of games started and/or innings pitched (maxing out at $9.5MM with 15 starts and/or 75 innings).

It’s still not fully clear just why certain players were excluded from the broader deal. A source tells Martino it relates to health situations at the start of the season, though as he notes that doesn’t quite align with Happ’s case.

Giancarlo Stanton Aiming To Play On Opening Day

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After battling injuries for the better part of two years, Giancarlo Stanton feels he is on pace to be in the Yankees’ lineup on Opening Day.  Stanton suffered a calf injury back during Spring Training that would have landed him on the injured list had the season opened as scheduled, though “the progress back has been good,” Stanton told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and other reporters.

“I’m good again and getting everything I need to be ready….I’ve been [taking fly balls] in batting practice.  It’s better to be in a controlled setting right now, especially while pitchers are trying to get their work in.”

That batting practice work has been Stanton’s only action on the grass during Summer Camp, as he hasn’t played in the field during intrasquad games.  The Yankees intend to use Stanton only as a DH when the season begins, and then potentially get him back to outfield work depending on his health.

Biceps and knee injuries limited Stanton to just 18 games and 72 plate appearances in 2019, plus 18 more PA over five of New York’s postseason games.  While Stanton had been rather notoriously injury-plagued earlier in his career, it seemed like had turned a corner after playing in 317 of a possible 324 games for the Marlins and Yankees in 2017-18.  The peak, of course, was Stanton’s 59-homer performance that won him the 2017 NL MVP Award, though his first full season in the Bronx was also very productive, as Stanton slugged 38 homers and slashed .266/.343/.509 over a career-high 705 PA in 2018.  Even last year, Stanton was dangerous when he was in the lineup, posting an .894 OPS over his 72 PA.

Aroldis Chapman Tests Positive For COVID-19

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The Yankees announced today that left-handed pitcher Aroldis Chapman has tested positive for COVID-19, showing mild symptoms (H/t Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). Needless to say, Chapman will be away from the team and won’t be allowed to participate in team workouts for the foreseeable future. He’ll need to test negative twice before he’s allowed to rejoin the Yankees.

Chapman’s positive test occurred after he passed the Yankees’ initial intake process and began team workouts, meaning that he had trained with the team at Yankee Stadium prior to testing positive. The Yankees conducted contract tracing after learning of Chapman’s results on Thursday, with James Wagner of The New York Times reporting that the process revealed no further positive tests.

The Yankees have also had Luis Cessa and DJ LeMahieu test positive for the virus, making Chapman the third Yankee to receive a diagnosis since the season reboot.

Should Chapman’s illness prevent him from playing in regular season games for the Yankees, veteran Zack Britton is the standout choice to take on the bulk of the closing duties in New York. That said, the unusual nature of this season will likely alter bullpen usage as we know it, so teams might be hesitant to rely on a single closer day in and day out. Nonetheless, look for Britton to pick up some slack in high-leverage innings.

Aaron Judge Says He’ll Be Ready For Opening Day

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Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge appears to be a full go as Summer Camp opens. He told reporters including James Wagner of the New York Times (Twitter link) that he’s ready for action and preparing for Opening Day.

Judge’s health likely would’ve been a big storyline and major area of uncertainty for the Yanks had the season gotten underway as normal. But when the pandemic put things on ice, Judge had a chance for a lengthy respite to heal from nettlesome rib injury that originally took quite some time to diagnose.

While camp just got started, it’s just over two weeks until baseball’s bizarre 2020 season will be rolling. The quick ramp creates a bit of added concern, but Judge indicated he has already been hitting and putting himself through the paces before reporting for the second preparatory phase of the year.

If indeed Judge — and some other notable Yankees — are fully healed up, they’ll make for an immensely imposing lineup. The short season is generally disadvantageous to the most talented teams, since shorter swings of fortune will create more opportunities for other organizations. Then again, it also means the loaded Yanks roster will not have to endure as long of a grind before launching a hopeful postseason run.

Masahiro Tanaka Suffers Mild Concussion After Being Hit In Head By Line Drive

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TODAY: Tanaka has been diagnosed with a mild concussion, Boone told the New York Daily News’ Kristie Ackert and other media.  The manager is hopeful that Tanaka will be recovered for the start of the season.

SATURDAY, 6:58PM: Tanaka has been released from hospital, the Yankees announced.

6:14PM: Tanaka will indeed go into concussion protocol, manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and other reporters, though Tanaka had a negative CT scan.  Boone believes Tanaka will be released from hospital tonight.

5:30PM: In a very scary moment during a Yankees simulated game today, Masahiro Tanaka was struck in the head by a line drive off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton.  Tanaka was on the ground for several minutes before walking off the field accompanied by two club trainers.

As per a statement from the Yankees, Tanaka has been “sent to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital for further evaluation and testing,” and the right-hander “is currently alert, responsive and walking under his own power.”  It’s obviously great news that Tanaka may have escaped serious injury, though the Yankees are likely to be as cautious as possible in monitoring the hurler for any concussion symptoms before he returns to Summer Camp.

Tanaka is projected to line up behind newly-acquired ace Gerrit Cole in a rotation that is also expected to feature James Paxton, J.A. Happ, and Jordan Montgomery, though it’s possible the Yankees could work a sixth starter into the mix or use openers or piggyback starters until the rotation is fully ramped up.  The 31-year-old Tanaka is entering his seventh and what could be his final season in the pinstripes, as he is slated to enter free agency this winter.  A concussion (or any sort of injury) would be of particular concern to Tanaka in this shortened season, as he would have even less time to get back to full health and pitch effectively enough to position himself for another contract in the offseason.

DJ LeMahieu, Luis Cessa Test Positive For COVID-19

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Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu and right-hander Luis Cessa have both tested positive for the coronavirus, manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including ESPN’s Marly Rivera).  Cessa has mild symptoms, while LeMahieu is asymptomatic.  Neither player has arrived at the Yankees’ Summer Camp, as both were tested before making the trip to New York.

As per the league’s COVID-19 policy, LeMahieu and Cessa are under quarantine for a two-week period, and will then have to exhibit no symptoms and test negative twice for the virus before being cleared to play.  With Opening Day tentatively scheduled for July 23, that leaves some time for either player to make the initial 30-man roster, though Cessa might need a bit more time to get his arm in proper shape.

LeMahieu is coming off a superb debut season with the Yankees, as the veteran finished fourth in AL MVP voting and collected Silver Slugger honors after hitting .327/.375/.518 with 26 home runs in 655 plate appearances.  After getting a lot of playing time at first, second, and third base last season, LeMahieu is expected to be New York’s regular second baseman now that Gleyber Torres is taking over at shortstop, though LeMahieu’s versatility will give Boone some valuable flexibility in juggling his lineup.

Cessa has worked as a reliever and occasional starter for the Yankees over his four MLB seasons, and posted a 4.11 ERA, 2.42 K/BB rate, and 8.3 K/9 over 81 innings (all as a reliever) in 2019.  This workhorse-like ability to eat innings is particularly valuable in a short season, where New York’s entire staff will be called upon while the starters get ramped up.

Steinbrenner: Yankees “Expect” Spectators In 2020

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With COVID-19 infection rates soaring at the outset of baseball’s 2020 relaunch, even a TV-only season seems like a tall order. Nevertheless, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner offered a surprisingly optimistic tone regarding the return of fans to Yankee Stadium this year, as George A. King III of the New York Post reports.

“I do expect to see fans in our stadium at some point to some degree,” says Steinbrenner. There are limitations to the vision, naturally. Even the KBO, which has been playing now for some time, has yet to reintroduce fans and will do so on a limited basis when the time comes. Steinbrenner guesses attendance will “be in the 20-30 percent [capacity] range, hopefully, at first.”

Still not sold on the plausibility of that plan? Steinbrenner says it can be pulled off, claiming “it’s definitely possible in the stadium to keep people at a safe distance, wearing masks at those capacities.” And he says the team has already had plenty of promising interactions with New York governor Andrew Cuomo. The state’s top elected official has “been a big advocate to getting sports back on the field and then eventually, when things are safe, to get fans back in the stadium,” Steinbrenner says.

If and when the Yankees faithful are allowed back in the park, they’ll evidently do so in an unfamiliar formation. As you might expect, in addition to being asked to don masks, fans will be expected to spread out. Steinbrenner says that the team has worked with Ticketmaster at “putting a diagram together which would keep everybody at least 6 feet apart.”

First, the Yanks will need to make it through camp and get games underway. The team is mindful of the need to maintain a healthy roster. Steinbrenner says the org is committed to ensuring “that everybody is safe, everybody is keeping their distances and following the protocols” during the second training period.

Cashman: Yankees “Optimistic” Judge Will Be Ready For Opening Day

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After months of uncertainty surrounding the status of Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, general manager Brian Cashman said on a conference call today that the team is optimistic he’ll be ready for the rescheduled Opening Day (Twitter links via The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler). The Yankees are also optimistic that Giancarlo Stanton will be ready to open the year in the DH slot. Lefty James Paxton is expected to be ready to go as well, and it’s possible that center fielder Aaron Hicks could be game-ready come Opening Day as well.

Judge’s entire injury saga has been bizarrely vague, but it seems an end is at last in sight. It took the club several weeks early in camp to diagnose a stress fracture in his rib, and only two weeks later did the team reveal that Judge was also found to have a collapsed lung. Near the end of March, Boone revealed that Judge’s injuries may have dated all the way back to last September. Even throughout the shutdown, updates on Judge lacked specific timelines and frequently pointed to additional imaging as the next step.

Stanton sustained a calf injury back in Spring Training, and Cashman indicated today that he’s quite specifically referencing a DH-only role with regard to the former NL MVP’s Opening Day readiness. The YES Network’s Jack Curry tweets that the club wants to evaluate Stanton in camp before making any declaration about his ability to play in the outfield.

Paxton is more than four months removed from back surgery and could be game-ready right now, according to Cashman. There’s a bit less certainty regarding Hicks, who is eight months out from last year’s Tommy John surgery. Hicks has already proclaimed himself ready to go for the season opener, though the organization is understandably taking a bit more reserved approach and will use “Summer Camp” (as the league has now termed it) to make its own evaluation.

MLB, MLBPA Still Discussing Vesting Options, Retention Bonuses

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The length of the season, prorated salaries and protocols for health and safety are finally all set in place, but Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association are still negotiating the manner in which contractual options, performance incentives/bonuses and escalator clauses will be handled, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required).

Fortunately, an agreement is believed to be “within reach,” per Rosenthal. The league had initially sought to prorate the value of 2021 options using the same formula as 2020 salaries, although the MLBPA obviously pushed back against that notion. There’s still some debate over the handling of vesting options — particularly those that are triggered by reaching a set number of games pitched or plate appearances over the life of multiple seasons. The two sides also must determine how those options would be treated in the event that the season is canceled at any point due to health concerns.

There aren’t too many vesting options in MLB this year, although some of the notable ones include:

  • Jon Lester, LHP, Cubs: Lester’s $25MM mutual option ($10MM buyout) for the 2021 season would become guaranteed with 200 innings pitched in a normal season.
  • J.A. Happ, LHP, Yankees: Happ’s $17MM club option for the 2021 season would’ve become guaranteed upon making 27 starts or totaling 165 innings in 2020.
  • Andrew Miller, LHP, Cardinals: Miller’s $12MM club option for 2021 would have been guaranteed if he totaled 110 games between 2019-20. As Rosenthal explores, there are various ways to interpret how many more games he’d need to pitch to trigger that option — some more beneficial to Miller and others to the Cardinals.
  • Charlie Morton, RHP, Rays: Morton’s option is another that comes with a multi-year criteria. His contract calls for a $15MM club option in 2021 if he spends fewer than 30 days on the injured list between 2019-20. The option value decreases if he spends additional time on the injured list. Morton avoided the IL entirely last year. Unlike Miller, who surely hopes the number of appearances he needs to make in 2020 can be prorated, it’d be beneficial to Morton for that number (30) to remain as is. That seems unlikely, but the disparity between the clauses of Miller and Morton illustrates that this isn’t exactly straightforward for the player side. The value of his option
  • Kelvin Herrera, RHP, White Sox: Herrera, too, needed 110 games between 2019-20 for his $10MM club option to become guaranteed. He pitched in 57 games last year, leaving him 53 shy of his target.
  • Wade Davis, RHP, Rockies: Davis’ $15MM mutual option would’ve converted to a $15MM player option in the event that he finished 30 games. He’d only need to finish out 11-12 games in the shortened 2020 season if the two sides go with a strictly prorated interpretation of the qualifiers.
  • Bryan Shaw, RHP, Rockies: Shaw has the same 110-game target for 2019-20 that Miller and Herrera have. He pitched 70 times in 2019 and needed just 40 appearances in 2020 to lock in a $9MM salary for the 2021 campaign.
  • Jake McGee, LHP, Rockies: With 60 games pitched or 40 games finished in 2020, McGee would’ve locked in a $9MM salary for the 2021 season. His contract also allowed the option to vest with a with 110 games between 2019-20, but he only pitched in 45 contests last year.
  • Stephen Vogt, C, Diamondbacks: Vogt’s contract included a $3MM club option that not only vests but increases to a $3.5MM base upon starting 45 games and appearing n a total of 75 games overall.
  • Dee Gordon, 2B/SS/OF, Mariners: Gordon would’ve been guaranteed a $14MM salary for the 2021 season with 600 plate appearances this year. That, of course, was extremely unlikely in the first place, though.

Beyond those options, there are myriad escalator clauses throughout baseball that could be impacted by the shortened schedule. It’s fairly common for club options and/or future salaries to be boosted by steady performance — particularly among players returning from injury. Take Dellin Betances, for instance. His contract with the Mets calls for the value of next year’s $6MM player option to increase by $800K upon pitching in 40 games. He’d receive additional $1MM boosts to that figure for appearing in 50, 60 and 70 games apiece.

The league and the union are also still discussing potential retention bonuses for six-year veterans on non-guaranteed deals. In a typical year, any player with six-plus years of service who finished the preceding season on a 40-man roster qualifies as an Article XX(B) free agent. Such players must either be added to the 40-man roster, released five days prior to Opening Day or paid a $100K retention bonus to remain with the club in the minor leagues. Many players in that situation are released and quickly re-signed to a new minor league deal, but that won’t be possible in 2020 due to the fact that players who are removed from a team’s 60-man pool become ineligible to return to that team this season.

Yankees Sign Matt Duffy, Re-Sign Dan Otero, Place Luis Severino On 60-Day IL

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The Yankees announced their 60-player Spring Training player pool earlier today, a list that included a couple of new faces to the organization.  New York announced that infielder Matt Duffy and catcher Max McDowell were signed to minor league contracts, while righty Dan Otero was released from his previous minors deal with the club and re-signed to a new pact.  In addition, right-hander Luis Severino was officially placed on the 60-day injured list in the wake of his Tommy John surgery last February.

Duffy was most recently a member of the Rangers organization, though Texas announced earlier today that Duffy had been released.  It didn’t take him long to catch on with another team, as Duffy will now return to the AL East in the pinstripes after spending the last four seasons with the Rays.

Acquired in the 2016 trade that saw Matt Moore go from Tampa to San Francisco, the Rays had hopes that Duffy would become an everyday infielder, though Duffy was plagued by injuries.  Duffy did manage a solid .294/.361/.366 slash line over 560 PA and 132 games for Tampa Bay in 2018, though that performance was sandwiched between missing the entire 2017 season and only 46 games played in 2019.  Duffy has worked mostly as a third baseman, though he has enough experience at second base and shortstop that could provide utility depth for the Yankees if he cracks the MLB roster.

McDowell joins the Yankees after spending his five pro seasons with the Brewers, who selected him in the 13th round of the 2015 draft.  McDowell has hit .232/.335/.323 over 1417 career plate appearances in the minors.

It’s safe to assume that Otero’s new deal overwrites some type of opt-out clause in his previous minor league pact, signed back in early February.  The 35-year-old groundball specialist is looking to bounce back from a pair of shaky seasons in Cleveland’s bullpen, as Otero had a lot of trouble with home runs (1.8 HR/9) when batters did manage to get the ball in the air against him.  Otero’s 5.09 ERA in 88 1/3 innings over the last two seasons stands in sharp contrast to his 2016-17 numbers — a 2.14 ERA, 5.00 K/BB rate, and 6.5 K/9 over 130 2/3 frames for the Tribe.

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