Poll: Choose Your Franchise Catcher
Although potential Hall of Famers Buster Posey and Yadier Molina are among the most decorated catchers in baseball history, it appears the two 30-somethings have given way to a new guard at the position. J.T. Realmuto, Gary Sanchez and Willson Contreras stand out as the most valuable behind-the-plate building blocks in today’s game, owing to performance, age and affordable control. The Brewers’ Yasmani Grandal also belongs in the current class of elite backstops, but the fact that he’s 30 years old, expensive and only signed through this season works against him in comparison to Realmuto, Contreras and Sanchez.
Among those three, the longest big league track record belongs to the Phillies’ Realmuto, who’s in his age-28 season. The athletic Realmuto broke out with the Marlins in 2016 and proceeded to rack up 11.3 fWAR through last year, trailing only Posey and Grandal at his position. He’s fresh off back-to-back 4.0-fWAR seasons and is on a similar pace in his first year as a Phillie.
So far in his new digs, Realmuto has accounted for 2.0 fWAR through 208 plate appearances. While Realmuto’s offensive production has dropped from where it was over the previous three seasons (115 wRC+), his 102 wRC+ remains far above average for his position (89). He’s also an all-world defensive player who possesses far more speed than you’d expect a catcher to have. If there’s one check against Realmuto, it’s that he’s only under control for another season after this one, in which he’s earning $5.9MM.
No full-time catcher has fared better at the plate this season than the hard-hitting Sanchez, whose 154 wRC+ ranks 18th among all players with at least 100 PA. The 26-year-old has mashed 17 home runs, good for a fifth-place tie, to put an uninspiring 2018 behind him. Sanchez combined for 7.5 fWAR from 2016-17, his first two seasons, but fell to 1.7 in ’18 and sits well behind Realmuto this season (1.2). Although Sanchez has a big arm, he’s not in Realmuto’s stratosphere as an overall defender. However, Sanchez is making barely over the league minimum this year and comes with three more seasons of control via arbitration.
Contreras, who turned 27 on May 13, has been a revelation at the plate since he debuted in 2016. Dating back to then, Contreras’ 119 wRC+ ranks second among backstops (only Sanchez’s 128 has been better), while his 7.5 fWAR is eighth. He’s at 152 and 1.7 in those categories this year, having swatted 12 homers and gotten on base at a 40 percent clip. Although Contreras has not gotten rave reviews behind the plate this season or for most of his career, his offense, age and affordability are all huge pluses. Like Sanchez, he’s in his final pre-arb season and controllable through 2022.
Considering all of the above factors, which of these three catchers would you want to build a team around?
(poll link for app users)
Choose Your Franchise Catcher
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J.T. Realmuto 40% (5,316)
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Gary Sanchez 31% (4,139)
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Willson Contreras 29% (3,947)
Total votes: 13,402
Injury Updates: Sabathia, Gregorius, Peralta, Smith
The latest on some injured list situations from around baseball…
- C.C. Sabathia is lined up to start for the Yankees on Sunday, manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (Twitter link) and other reporters. Sabathia was placed on the IL on May 23 due to right knee inflammation, and it ended up being both a short absence, and a fairly standard one for a veteran player with a long history of knee surgeries. Boone noted that Sabathia threw a bullpen session today, so all systems seem to be a go for the left-hander’s 547th career start. Sabathia has a 3.48 ERA, 7.4 K/9, and 2.00 K/BB rate over 41 1/3 innings for New York this season.
- Boone also gave Hoch and other media members an update on Didi Gregorius, saying that the shortstop could return during the Yankees‘ upcoming road trip to Toronto and Cleveland from June 4th-9th. Gregorius has yet to play a full nine innings at shortstop in consecutive games, which Boone noted is an important step in his Tommy John rehab process.
- Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta hit the IL on May 24 with shoulder inflammation, and manager Torey Lovullo implied to reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic) that Peralta is likely to miss more than the minimum 10 days. While an early return isn’t totally out of the question, Lovullo said Peralta has yet to begin baseball activities. The struggling D’Backs are certainly hoping Peralta is able to get back to action as soon as possible, given his .309/.357/.524 slash line through 207 PA this season.
- Kevan Smith is also looking at a lengthier stay on the injured list, as the Angels catcher had some concussion symptoms return this week, Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times tweets. Smith was placed on the seven-day concussion IL on May 22 and had begun to take part in baseball activities, though he had been shut down for the last few days. DiGiovanna notes that Smith will be sidelined at least until June 4, when the Angels begin an eight-game homestand, though that timeline is far from certain given the unpredictable nature of concussions.
Yankees Activate James Paxton
As anticipated, the Yankees have activated lefty James Paxton to start today’s game. The team had previously optioned righty Joe Harvey to open a roster spot.
Paxton had been sidelined since early May with a left knee injury. He’s still not quite at full health, as Zach Braziller of the New York Post was among those to report, but it seems the assessment is that he won’t be putting himself at risk of greater injury by returning to the mound. Paxton will be activated without making a rehab appearance.
The 30-year-old hurler turned in seven strong outings to open his Yankees career, working to a 3.11 ERA with 52 strikeouts and 13 walks in 37 2/3 frames. He was in dominating form, sitting comfortably in the mid-nineties with his fastball and generating swings and misses with 14.1% of his pitches.
Paxton’s return is an unquestionable boon to the Bronx Bombers, not that they have seemed in particular need of help. The club has more than weathered an injury barrage, moving into first-place position in the AL East.
Staying ahead of the Rays and Red Sox won’t come easy. Getting Paxton back into the rotation will help, though the rotation still figures to be an area to target for improvement over the summer. J.A. Happ has struggled to open the year, while Jonathan Loaisiga, CC Sabathia, and Luis Severino are all presently on the injured list.
Yankees Notes: Keuchel, Paxton, Betances, Judge
The Yankees sent a top evaluator to watch free-agent left-hander Dallas Keuchel throw a sim game in Newport Beach, Calif., on Sunday, Erik Boland of Newsday reports. That’s not necessarily an indication Keuchel is destined to land in the Bronx once his months-long trek to the open market ends, though. Watching Keuchel may have simply been a case of the team doing its due diligence, as Boland notes. Regardless, the 31-year-old Keuchel has been throwing sim games roughly every five days in hopes of staying in shape for whichever club signs him. As a result, Keuchel’s “not too far away from where he was at the end of last season,” Bryan Hoch of MLB.com tweets.
- New York’s rotation is about to benefit from a different established southpaw, James Paxton, who manager Aaron Boone said could come off the injured list Wednesday (via Boland). Paxton has been on the shelf since May 5 with a left knee injury, thus halting a terrific first season in New York. The former Mariner opened 2019 in spectacular fashion before going on the IL, tossing 37 2/3 innings of 3.11 ERA/2.50 FIP ball with 12.42 K/9 against 3.11 BB/9.
- In further positive news for the Yankees’ pitching staff, reliever Dellin Betances will throw off a mound Monday for the first time in his rehab process, per Boone (via Hoch). Betances hasn’t pitched at all this season because of a bone spur in his right shoulder. With late-game hurlers Adam Ottavino, Zach Britton and Tommy Kahnle bridging the gap to closer Aroldis Chapman, the Yankees’ bullpen has gotten along fine without Betances. But Betances, a four-time All-Star, has long been the club’s go-to setup man and one of the game’s premier relievers. He’ll be a key summer reinforcement for the Yankees if his recovery stays on course.
- Speaking of reinforcements, right fielder Aaron Judge – out since April 21 – is making progress as he works back from a left oblique strain, Hoch relays. “I’m feeling really good,” Judge told Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network on Sunday. “We’re progressing the way we want to, and it’s a good sign getting a chance to get on the field again and throw a little bit. It feels good to be back — sort of.” The slugger still hasn’t received clearance to swing a bat, but he’s hopeful that will change early this week. Even though Judge is the Yankees’ leading position player, they’ve managed to rip off 24 wins in 32 games without him or fellow injured superstar corner outfielder Giancarlo Stanton in the lineup. Brett Gardner, Clint Frazier, Cameron Maybin and Mike Tauchman (who’s currently in the minors) have held down the fort since Judge and Stanton have been laid up.
Didi Gregorius Begins Rehab Assignment
SUNDAY: Gregorius is likely to move to Triple-A Scranton on Tuesday, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com tweets. Boone is hopeful Gregorius will rejoin the Yankees in “a week or two.”
SATURDAY: The first-place Yankees have been without injured shortstop Didi Gregorius all season, but it appears he’s moving closer to a return. Gregorius is set to begin a rehab assignment with Single-A Tampa, per an announcement from New York.
Gregorius, one of the Yankees’ most valuable players dating back to the beginning of his tenure with them in 2015, has been on the mend from Tommy John surgery since last October. The 29-year-old’s injury helped lead to speculation New York would pursue Manny Machado in free agency, but the club ended up taking much cheaper routes to bolster its infield, signing DJ LeMahieu and Troy Tulowitzki. The addition of LeMahieu, whom the Yankees signed to a two-year, $24MM contract, looks like a shrewd pickup so far. The low-cost signing of the oft-injured Tulowitzki hasn’t been nearly as beneficial, on the other hand, as he hasn’t played since April 3 on account of a calf strain.
With Gregorius and Tulowitzki out of commission, the Yankees’ middle infield has typically consisted of rising star Gleyber Torres at short and LeMahieu at second. It’s unclear how the Yankees’ infield will align once Gregorius comes back, as they also have surprising standouts Gio Urshela and Thairo Estrada joining powerful first baseman Luke Voit in the mix, but they surely consider that a high-class problem. Manager Aaron Boone said Friday that Gregorius should return within 20 days, per Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News.
Once Gregorius does come back, he’ll be vying for a potentially significant offseason payday. Gregorius, who’s fresh off back-to-back seasons of at least 4.0 fWAR, stands as the majors’ most enticing soon-to-be free-agent shortstop in the wake of Xander Bogaerts‘ extension with the Red Sox. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes ranks Gregorius as the game’s sixth-best impending free agent.
Yankees Place CC Sabathia On Injured List
May 23: The Yankees announced this morning that Sabathia has indeed been placed on the 10-day injured list due to right knee inflammation.
May 22: CC Sabathia has been dealing with discomfort in his right knee, and the veteran southpaw told reporters that he expects that he’ll need an injured list stint to get back on track, (Twitter links via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch). Rather than travel with the Yankees to begin their series in Kansas City on Friday, Sabathia will instead likely head to New York for treatment and an injection in his bothersome knee.
Sabathia has undergone multiple knee surgeries throughout his career, and this latest issue seems relatively minor, more akin to one of several routine maintenance-type procedures Sabathia has undergone over the years. More serious persistent knee troubles threatened to prematurely Sabathia’s career in the middle of the decade, though since that time, the left-handed has enjoyed a career revival as an anchor at the back end of the Yankees’ rotation, posting a 3.70 ERA, 7.6 K/9, and 2.43 K/BB rate over 517 2/3 innings since the start of the 2016 season.
The veteran southpaw has already announced that 2019 will the last season of what could very well end up as a Hall Of Fame career, and he is hoping to go out with another World Series ring for a Yankees team that currently leads the AL East. The Yankees achieved this success despite a staggering number of injuries, so it doesn’t seem the club should have much trouble managing what should be a relatively brief IL stay for Sabathia. James Paxton may be back in the rotation before May is over, and New York could also deploy openers or bullpen games to fill any other holes in the starting five.
Yankees Return Giancarlo Stanton To Injured List Due To Left Calf Tightness
7:14pm: Stanton will be shut down for 7-10 days before being re-evaluated, manager Aaron Boone told media (including the New York Post).
3:26pm: Just two days after Giancarlo Stanton began a minor league rehab assignment, the Yankees announced that Stanton has been returned to the injured list since the slugger is experiencing left calf tightness.
Today’s news is the latest setback in what has been a frustrating recovery period for Stanton, who originally sent to the IL after only three games due to a left biceps strain. While rehabbing that injury, Stanton then suffered a left shoulder strain that required a cortisone injection in early May.
All systems were seemingly go when Stanton took the field for the high A-ball Tampa Tarpons this week, though the former NL MVP has now been sidelined again. No information is yet known about the nature of Stanton’s calf problem, though such injuries are sometimes difficult to evaluate on a strict timetable. Since Stanton will now be out of action for an even longer period of time, the Yankees could consider shifting him to the 60-day injured list to create 40-man roster space, should such a need arise.
Despite playing without Stanton and a variety of other injured stars for much of the season, the Yankees are still a remarkable 30-17, and sit atop the AL East standings. The combination of Brett Gardner, Clint Frazier, and Cameron Maybin will continue to handle corner outfield duties while Stanton and Aaron Judge are sidelined, with Mike Tauchman as the top depth option at Triple-A.
Yankees Select Contract Of David Hale
The Yankees announced today that they have selected the contract of righty David Hale. To create roster space, the club optioned Nestor Cortes Jr. and shifted Miguel Andujar to the 60-day injured list.
Hale appeared briefly in the majors last year, including a few outings with the Yankees, who actually designated the right-hander for assignment on three different occasions in 2018. However, he split most of the season between Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Korea’s Hanwha Eagles.
To open the 2019 season, Hale moved back to the Triple-A rotation in the New York organization. He has made six starts this year, working to a 4.11 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 over 30 2/3 innings. The 2009 third-rounder has a career 4.49 ERA in 192 1/3 Major League innings and a 4.57 ERA in 403 2/3 frames at the Triple-A level.
Giancarlo Stanton Begins Rehab Assignment; Aaron Judge Resumes Throwing
The Yankees finally put star slugger Giancarlo Stanton back into game action today, as he was in the lineup for the club’s High-A affiliate. That starts a 21-day rehab period. Meanwhile, Aaron Judge has begun playing catch, as Brendan Kuty of NJ.com was among those to cover.
Stanton has been sidelined since the first of April, when he was placed on the injured list with a biceps strain. It emerged recently that the the 29-year-old had also suffered a shoulder injury during the course of his rehab work.
In action tonight, Stanton launched a long ball and went down twice on strikes in three trips to the plate. That sort of showing is a familiar one for Yankees fans, who watched Stanton blast 38 home runs and strike out 211 times in 705 plate appearances last season.
Unfortunately, Stanton won’t come anywhere close to topping that career-high number of trips to the dish. He had been fully healthy in 2017 and 2018, but before that missed time with injuries in several campaigns.
The Yankees have cobbled together an all-time replacement roster, reeling off wins despite injuries to their three best outfielders and an array of other players. Aaron Hicks is back already, with Stanton now on the clock to do the same.
It’s less clear when Judge will finally be ready. He has yet to begin swinging the bat. While it’s encouraging that he feels good enough to pick up the ball, the very significance of that development is a reflection of the seriousness of his oblique strain.
With fill-in players now on the roster, those returning from the injured list will create some crunches. We already discussed the infield situation earlier this evening. Cameron Maybin and Clint Frazier have taken on unexpectedly significant roles, but could be pushed out of the lineup (and perhaps off the roster) when Stanton is ready. The veteran Maybin would need to be dropped from the 40-man if he becomes the odd man out; Frazier could be optioned. DH Kendrys Morales could certainly also be at risk, though the switch-hitter is one of only three active Yankees who swing from the left side.
Troy Tulowitzki Getting Work At Third Base
Yankees veteran Troy Tulowitzki has begun taking grounders at third base as well as his accustomed shortstop position, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reports on Twitter. Tulowitzki is said to have approached the club to express a willingness to move around the infield.
The 34-year-old Tulowitzki has never appeared at a position other than shortstop in his 13 seasons at the MLB level. (That’s also true of his 1200+ frames in the minors.) That’s a reflection of his well-deserved reputation for quality glovework at the game’s most challenging defensive position as well as his former excellence as as hitter. Teams have simply never had cause to utilize Tulowitzki elsewhere on the diamond, though there’s little reason to think he wouldn’t thrive in other positions.
Unfortunately, Tulo made it through only thirty innings of action this year before he was once again sidelined with a lower-body injury (this time, his calf). Even as he continues to work back to full strength, the man he was brought in to cover for — the younger Didi Gregorius — has made his own steady progress. Gregorius’s star rose steadily in New York before Tommy John surgery last October. Despite a rehab timeline that stretched into the middle of the 2019 campaign, the Yanks staked $12.4MM in arbitration salary on him.
So long as Gregorius makes it back as hoped — he’s still due to return at some point in June — there isn’t much of a path to playing time at short for Tulowitzki. Indeed, it’s not clear there’ll be a roster spot at all, even with third baseman Miguel Andujar sidelined for the duration of the season.
Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu are clearly at the top of the depth chart. Somehow, most of the Yanks’ fill-in infielders have produced at strong levels. Gio Urshela has been particularly impressive, turning in a robust .346/.400/.490 output in 115 plate appearances. And Thairo Estrada has posted a .303/.324/.545 slash through his first 35 turns at the MLB dish.
Injuries or setbacks could always intervene, as this team well knows, but there could be some tough choices when Tulowitzki and Gregorius are both healthy. It’s hard to fathom the Yankees bumping the out-of-options Urshela from the roster — barring a sudden collapse, at least. Estrada can be optioned, though that would only account for one roster spot. Switch-hitting slugger Kendrys Morales is the most vulnerable member of the roster, but he’s off to a hot start in the Bronx and offers a much-needed lefty bat.