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Yankees Release David Hernandez

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The Yankees have released veteran right-hander David Hernandez, per an announcement from their Triple-A affiliate in Scranton (h/t: Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune, on Twitter).

The 34-year-old Hernandez had signed with New York on a minor league pact back on Aug. 15 after a disastrous season with the Reds, but he didn’t fare much better in his brief time with his new organization. Playing out the second season of a two-year, $5MM contract signed with the Reds in the 2017-18 offseason, Hernandez turned in a ghastly 8.02 ERA in 42 2/3 innings with Cincinnati. While he averaged a hefty 11.2 punchouts per nine innings pitched, the well-traveled righty also averaged 4.2 walks and 1.48 homers per nine frames.

More than anything, Hernandez appeared to be plagued by a gaudy .393 average on balls in play and a 54.5 percent strand rate that checked in more than 20 percent worse than his career rate. The Yankees took a no-risk flier on both of those numbers being aberrations, but Hernandez was tagged for six earned runs on five hits and eight walks through just seven innings in Scranton. He did tally 11 strikeouts, but the Yankees didn’t see enough to bring him north as a September call-up (as they did with veterans Ryan Dull and Tyler Lyons).

The release could mark the end of the season for Hernandez, although his track record should generate offseason interest. The right-hander put together terrific results just a year ago in Cincinnati when he notched a 2.53 ERA with 9.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and 0.84 HR/9 over the life of 64 innings. He missed the 2014 season due to injury but has otherwise averaged 63 appearances per season with a 3.39 ERA, 10.0 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 dating back to 2011.

Hernandez hasn’t lost any zip on his fastball from recent seasons — to the contrary, his 93.6 mph average is actually up from last year’s 93.0 mph mark — and his ability to induce whiffs is as strong as ever. This year’s 14.7 percent swinging-strike rate and 35.3 percent opponents’ chase rate on pitches outside the strike zone are career-highs, in fact. Hernandez has above-average spin on his fastball, and the .065-point gap between his actual opponents’ wOBA (.380) and expected wOBA (.315), per Statcast, is the ninth-largest in the league among pitchers who’ve faced at least 100 hitters. Overall, he looks like a solid bounceback candidate, though this season’s struggles could force him to settle for a minor league contract this winter.

Yankees Re-Sign Danny Coulombe

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The Yankees have signed left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe to a minor league contract for a second time, Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune reports (via Twitter). New York brought Coulombe into the fold on a minor league pact last winter but gave him his release from the organization on July 1. Coulombe signed with the Brewers a couple of weeks later but opted out of that deal late last month and is now returning to the Yanks.

Coulombe, 29, is a veteran of parts of five Major League seasons split between the Dodgers and Athletics. From 2016-18 with the A’s, the former 25th-round pick tallied 123 innings with a 4.10 ERA and a 119-to-50 K/BB ratio in 123 innings of relief work. In that time, Coulombe limited opposing left-handed batters to a paltry .237/.298/.338 batting line and allowed just four home runs to same-handed foes.

The 2019 season has been a bizarre one for Coulombe. He’s spent the year in an explosive offensive environment in Triple-A and served up nine home runs in 36 1/3 innings of work (2.2 HR/9). But, Coulombe has also missed at an eye-popping level — the likes of which we’ve never seen from the 5’10” southpaw. While he’s posted double-digit K/9 marks throughout his minor league tenure, Coulombe has turned in a superlative 15.1 K/9 mark in 2019. He’s totaled 61 strikeouts in his 36 1/3 frames, striking out 36 percent of the total hitters he’s faced.

Coulombe is still in line to be a free agent at season’s end, unless the Yankees opt to add him to the Major League roster, at which point he’d be arbitration-eligible (and also a non-tender candidate). Coulombe’s official return to the organization came on Aug. 31 — he was initially assigned to Class-A Tampa but did not pitch there — so he could technically be a postseason option if the Yankees see fit to carry him. If not, he can at least give Aaron Boone another lefty setup/middle relief option alongside Zack Britton, Nestor Cortes Jr. and recently selected Tyler Lyons should he find his way to the MLB level.

Yankees Activate Edwin Encarnacion

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TODAY: As expected, Encarnacion has been activated.

YESTERDAY: The Yankees are set to welcome Edwin Encarnacion back to the big league roster after a month-long absence due to a fracture in his right wrist, Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune tweets. Encarnacion cleaned out his locker with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate in Scranton following today’s game and told Foley that he feels “100 percent” and is “ready to go.”

Encarnacion, 36, hit .238/.327/.497 with nine home runs an 10 doubles through 36 games and 162 plate appearances between his mid-June acquisition and his IL placement on Aug. 3. It’s a step back from the .241/.356/.531 pace he managed with the Mariners prior to the swap, but his return will nonetheless provide a boost to a Yankees lineup that continues to hit even as it deals with the absence of numerous regulars.

The Yankees recently welcomed Luke Voit back from the injured list and have been enjoying a torrid hot streak from Mike Ford, who has belted six home runs in his past 10 games. Major League rosters have expanded to 40 players this month, so the Yankees won’t need to option anyone out to accommodate Encarnacion’s return. Given the health of Voit and Ford’s recent excellence, Encarnacion could be eased back into action, as that trio is each restricted to first base/designated hitter duties only. As such, manager Aaron Boone can now play matchups as he sees fit with that trio — Ford has hit just .176/.278/.318 against lefties — and always have another dangerous bat on the bench.

Encarnacion is owed the balance of this year’s $20MM salary between now and season’s end — some of which is being paid by both the Rays (who were involved in the three-team Encarnacion trade in the winter) and the Mariners. Encarnacion’s contract comes with a $20MM club option for the 2020 season, which includes a $5MM buyout.

Report: Yankees Nearly Acquired Ken Giles At Deadline

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The Yankees and Blue Jays almost pulled off a significant, intra-division deal involving closer Ken Giles at this year’s trade deadline, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link). Three prospects would’ve headed to Toronto had the deal gone through, though their particular identities aren’t known.

This note is largely of historical import, though it’s interesting nevertheless. The Yankees were linked to Giles on deadline day, with Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeting that “deep” talks had taken place. Still, it wasn’t clear at the time just how far down the line the teams went. Rosenthal says the Jays actually informed other teams they expected a deal to go through, which made it impossible to pivot back and craft another agreement.

It’s still not entirely clear why talks collapsed at the last minute. No doubt health questions were a major factor, as he was dealing with elbow problems heading into the deadline. But the health records had already been exchanged and accounted for, Rosenthal notes.

Giles has continued to experience some trouble in the joint, but that hasn’t stopped him from continuing to rack up strikeouts. He’ll assuredly be discussed again in trade talks this coming winter, when he’ll be angling for a raise on his $6.3MM arbitration salary. The Toronto organization will hope it can generate more interest than it did at the deadline despite having only one season of control to market.

There’ll certainly be no shortage of ongoing interest — provided, at least, that teams get comfortable with the health situation. Giles has been excellent when available this year, throwing 44 innings of 2.05 ERA ball with 15.0 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.

Whether the Yanks will continue to push for Giles remains to be seen, and will no doubt involve quite a few other factors as well. The New York org will have to see how things proceed with closer Aroldis Chapman, who can opt out of his deal at season’s end, and also consider other priorities.

Aaron Hicks Resumes Throwing

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  • Nary a day goes by on this site without an update regarding an injured Yankees player, and this Labor Day evening should be no different. YES reporter Meredith Marakovits passes along that outfielder Aaron Hicks was engaged in throwing exercises today–the first time he’s done so since being placed on the injured list with a flexor strain on Aug. 4 (Twitter link). Like most injuries involving the Yankees this year, Hicks’ injury really only opened the door for another, lesser-known player to open eyes with a surprising fill-in performance, as outfielder Mike Tauchman did with his solid August at the plate (.274 BA and 5 home runs in 84 at-bats). When healthy in 2019, Hicks has himself recorded a .235/.325/.443 line (100wRC+) in 255 plate appearances.

Yankees Trade J.P. Feyereisen To Brewers

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The Brewers have acquired minor league right-hander J.P. Feyereisen from the Yankees in exchange for minor league infielder Brenny Escanio and international bonus pool space, per announcements from both clubs. Both Feyereisen, 26, and Escanio, 16, were eligible to be traded by virtue of the fact that neither has been on a 40-man roster at any point in 2019.

New York originally acquired Feyereisen alongside Clint Frazier and Justus Sheffield in the the trade that sent left-hander Andrew Miller to Cleveland back in 2016. The 2014 16th-round pick needs to be added to the 40-man roster this winter, lest he be eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft, and this trade likely signifies that the Yankees didn’t feel they had room to do so.

That’s not for any lack of performance on the part of Feyereisen; to the contrary, in fact, he’s had a terrific season with the Yankees’ top affiliate in Scranton. Through 61 1/3 innings, the righty has pitched to a 2.49 ERA with 13.8 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, 0.88 HR/9 and a 36.7 percent ground-ball rate. That’s Feyereisen’s third tour in Triple-A, but he’s yet to receive a call to the bigs despite owning a collective 3.12 ERA and 195-to-76 K/BB ratio in 164 2/3 frames at that level.

The Yankees have prided themselves on ludicrously deep bullpens in recent seasons, and that depth hasn’t made it any easier for Feyereisen (and other potentially deserving arms) to crack the Major League roster. He’ll have a clearer path to the Majors in Milwaukee, though it’s not clear if the Brewers plan to bring him to the Majors. Even if the Brewers do promote him, the fact that the Feyereisen acquisition didn’t occur until September would render him ineligible for postseason play, should Milwaukee qualify.

The amount of bonus money acquired by the Yankees wasn’t specified, though international allotments must be traded in blocks of at least $250K. The international funds acquired here were the primary get for the Yanks, as Escanio was a relatively low-profile signing just two months ago on July 2 when this year’s international signing period kicked off. The Yankees spent the vast majority of their international pool to sign top outfield prospect Jasson Dominguez, and their lack of additional funds acquired to this point ultimately cost them the opportunity to sign another well-regarded outfield prospect: Jhon Diaz.

While it was reported on July 2 that Diaz had agreed to a roughly $1MM bonus with the Yankees, the organization needed to acquire additional pool allocations in order to make that agreement a reality. Just last week, though, Diaz signed with the Rays for a similar amount. With the Yankees having dedicated roughly $5MM of their $5.398MM pool to Dominguez, today’s deal will help them to further explore the market for remaining talent.

Notable September Callups

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We’ll track the flurry of notable callups as roster expand on September 1.

Latest Moves

  • The Mets promoted left-hander Daniel Zamora and right-hander Tyler Bashlor from Triple-A, and also selected the contract of second baseman Sam Haggerty.  (The club posted a fun video on its Twitter account of the players receiving the news.)  A 24th-round pick for Cleveland in the 2015 draft, Haggerty came to the Mets last winter part of the trade that sent Kevin Plawecki to the Indians.  Haggerty began the year at low-A ball and worked his way up to the Show after posting a .907 OPS over 49 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

Earlier Updates

  • The Diamondbacks announced a slew of callups today. Most notably, the club has selected the contract of outfielder Abraham Almonte and recalled right-hander Jon Duplantier. Almonte, 30, has logged time as a reserve each of the past six seasons, to the tune of a career .237/.294/.367 slash (79 wRC+). Duplantier, one of the club’s top pitching prospects, has battled injury issues in recent years but offers a high-upside bullpen piece for the stretch run.
  • The Rays’ September additions include a number of notable players, with Nate Lowe headlining a group of five call-ups. He’ll be joined by Peter Fairbanks and Daniel Robertson, among others.
  • The Braves announced they’ve recalled utilityman Johan Camargo. Camargo was optioned after the club signed Adeiny Hechavarría to replace the injured Dansby Swanson at shortstop. Swanson’s back now, and Hechavarría is still on hand, so it’ll be a tough climb for Camargo, who’s mired in a dreadful season. He’s only a year removed from a productive age-24 campaign, though.
  • The Padres will select the contract of right-handed reliever David Bednar, reports Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). The 24 year-old gets a little lost among the Padres’ loaded system, but he boasts a pair of plus offerings in his fastball and curveball, opine Kiley McDaniel and Eric Lognenhagen of Fangraphs. Despite a less-than-stellar reputation for his command, Bednar has dazzled in the Texas League this season, pitching to a 2.95 ERA with elite strikeout (35.8%) and walk (7.5%) numbers.
  • The Indians announced today they have selected the contracts of Ryan Flaherty and James Hoyt. They’ve also recalled Eric Haase. Flaherty’s solid Triple-A work this year has earned him his seventh consecutive big league season, where he’ll serve as infield depth for the club down José Ramírez. Hoyt logged 72.2 innings with the Astros from 2016-2018 and offers right-handed bullpen depth, while Haase, 26, is a power-hitting catcher with contact issues.
  • The Yankees announced they have selected left-hander Tyler Lyons. The veteran reliever just signed a minor-league contract with the organization a few weeks ago and adds depth to a loaded bullpen. Right-hander David Hale was transferred to the 60-day injured list to clear 40-man space. The Bombers also recalled right-handers Ryan Dull and Chance Adams and outfielder Clint Frazier.
  • The Cardinals have selected catcher Joe Hudson, per a team announcement. The 28 year-old got into eight games last year with the Angels. He’s had a tough season offensively with Triple-A Memphis, slashing .223/.293/.411. Outfielder Lane Thomas was transferred to the 60-day injured list with a season-ending wrist injury. Anne Rogers of MLB.com tweets that veteran backstop Matt Wieters is day-to-day with a calf strain, so the club elected to bring Hudson and Andrew Knizner aboard to bolster their catching depth.
  • The Brewers announced they have selected the contract of first baseman Tyler Austin. A former Yankee, Twin and Giant, Austin has a strong minor-league track record and brings some right-handed power, but has mustered only a .220/.288/.451 line in 556 career MLB plate appearances thanks to untenable strikeout rates.
  • Top Astros prospect Kyle Tucker isn’t up yet, but he will be shortly, tweets Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Houston’s additional reinforcements will be announced tomorrow, Rome adds. The 22 year-old corner outfielder has again laid waste to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League and has nothing left to prove at the minor-league level, but opportunities have been few and far between in the Astros’ loaded lineup.
  • Just-acquired first baseman Ryan McBroom will be selected to the Royals’ active roster shortly, tweets Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. As Flanagan notes, the 27 year-old was likely to be added to the 40-man this offseason to protect him from the Rule V draft regardless, so there’s little harm in giving him his first taste of MLB action in the meantime. The former 15th-rounder has put up strong offensive numbers throughout his minor-league career, culminating in a .315/.402/.574 line in the Triple-A International League this season.

Clint Frazier Expected To Rejoin Yankees

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  • Somehow, the Twins hit six home runs tonight and still lost a 10-7 decision to the lowly Tigers. However, this would be called “burying the lead” in journalism: the real story is that the final home run of the night–a blast off the bat of Mitch Garver in the ninth inning–brought Minnesota’s home run total to 268 on the year, setting a new single-season team record. Though this record doesn’t have obvious trade or free agent implications, it’s still an impressive mark for a team that was largely debrided for organizational inactivity this offseason. Amazingly, the club has already received 20-plus homers from seven different players, with 38 home runs coming from the catching position alone (which is itself a record for an American League team). It’s hardly a surprise that such a powerful club holds an 83-52 record and +172 Run Differential, not to mention a 4.5 game lead in the AL Central. The home run record was previously held by last year’s Yankees team.
  • Tomorrow will likely see social media ablaze with news of Sept. 1 roster call-ups, but word of one particular promotion stood out from the transaction morass today. Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier is a player of considerable pedigree who has mostly logged solid offensive results at the major league level (103 wRC+ in 392 career at-bats). Nonetheless, his team saw fit to demote Frazier to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre in June, sparking both trade rumors and reports that highlighted an organizational mandate to Frazier regarding his suspect defense. September hope will spring eternal for the 24-year-old outfielder, however, as it appears that the man known as “Red Thunder” will rejoin his big league bombers when rosters expand today.  Frazier, for one, is excited: “Honestly feels like the first time I got called up all over again,” Frazier told Conor Foley of The Times-Tribune in Scranton (link). While in Triple-A this year, the right-handed hitter produced a .244/.302/.431 batting line.

Yankees Place CC Sabathia On 10-Day Injured List

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The Yankees placed lefty CC Sabathia on the 10-day injured list for the fourth time this season, the team announced. Jonathan Loaisiga has been recalled from Triple-A.

This news hardly comes as a surprise after Sabathia exited Friday’s start after three innings. Right knee inflammation is the diagnosis, but it’s certainly worth wondering if Sabathia will be healthy enough to pitch again, in this the final season of an epic career.

The 39-year-old Sabathia finally showed signs of slowing down this season as he’s struggled to stay healthy and productive. At 5-8 with a 4.93 ERA/5.97 FIP across 20 starts and 100 1/3 innings for the Yanks this year, he’s posted just 0.5 rWAR and 0.3 fWAR on the year.

Loaisiga, 24, has 3 starts and 3 relief appearances under his belt so far this year. A lackluster 5.12 ERA/5.50 FIP can be traced to 4.7 BB/9 and 1.9 HR/9 in the small sample. He hasn’t done much more in Triple-A in an injury-shortened season, though believers can point to 11.2 K/9 to 2.5 BB/9 in Scranton Wilkes-Barre as a sign of returning to form.

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